amazing how effective UFC PR is (Khamzat)

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Those of us who know anything about fighting saw it. You literally couldn't make it any more clear if you tried. I had Khamzat in my sig before he joined UFC because I saw it.

1. He annihilated his UFC debut opponent taking 1 strike.
2. Then he annihilated his 2nd opponent 10 days later taking no strike / cutting another 15 pounds.
3. Then he annihilated his 3rd opponent shortly after taking no strike.
4. Then COVID happened/he didn't get to fight Leon Edwards which was the plan.
5. Then he annihilated Li Jinglang (ranked at bottom of top 10 at the time) after taking no strike.
6. Then he won a FOTY candidate vs the #2 ranked WW of Earth / Gilbert. I was at the fight. You should have heard the place. It absolutely exploded for Khamzat when he walked out, far more than the title fight which occurred later on the same card.

BUT THEN...
7. Then UFC PR blamed him for them fixing the event of UFC 271 in the most obviously doctored PR job in UFC history. The fans and media very publicly turned on the match (Khamzat executing Nate) and lambasted the UFC for the match in the media / made Nate into a hero. Then mysteriously a UFC "doctor" told Khamzat to rehydrate/he weighed 8 pounds above/everyone on all of Sherdog dropped 50 IQ points and acted like it was a weight miss instead of how literally everyone on the roster would weigh after rehydrating. Tony, who never competed at 170 for many years, prior to the "weight miss" was magically competing at 170 (and never has since). Kevin, who never weighed 180 in his life, was magically set for a 180 catchweight before Khamzat "missed weight." His opponent, Rodriguez maintained 180 while Li, the guy with the least marketing power among the fighters, was the only one forced to fight the larger opponent. Did anyone ever find footage of the "biggest brawl" in UFC history by the way? The one that involved 20+ pro fighters and didn't result in a single scratch or injury to any of them? The one that was used to justify canceling the Nate/Khamzat fight to promote the Khamzat/Kevin fight? The one that 10 cell phone cameras and UFC camera crews caught the "beginning" of when people yelled at one another but which all magically stopped functioning once the "brawl" started? Anyway... this PR did it. The public HATED Khamzat for YEARS after this RIDICULOUS con job of an event. After that...

8. Khamzat annhilated Kevin Holland taking no strikes.
9. An injured Khamzat IMMEDIATELY ragdolled Kamaru, previously the #1 P4P and the person with the best statistical TDD in all of the UFC. Then broke his hand. Then still won a decision.
10. Khamzat annihilated Robert Whittaker (did he even take any strikes?)

Do you realize what we've been watching? This has literally never happened before. If it wasn't for UFC PR and bullshit matchmaking (he should have been fighting for the WW belt after beating Gilbert / not setup to punish Nate fucking Diaz because the UFC wanted to kill his value prior to leaving the UFC) Khamzat COULD have been the 3-time division champ of memes. We have likely lost the prime of the most exciting prospect in MMA history solely due to political bullshit, and all it took was a laughably transparent storyline 37 events ago to sway fairweather fans. Since then we've seen political posturing about how it is Khamzat's fault that he is being politically persecuted and prevented from competing due to the West's desire to virtue signal / ban a top athlete because they don't like his president. And for what? So you can kill the chance to watch some of the best performances in MMA history?

War Khamzat. When I say he "annihilated" people I mean the same way I'd win going 100% vs an old lady. Do you realize how Earth-shatteringly odd that is vs UFC-level and elite-level talent? It is literally unprecedented. Those of us who get what we are watching understood that a long time ago... while the rest were still rehashing PR taglines spoon-fed to them to cover the UFC's ass for hijinks years ago. He should be double champ by now (WW and MW). Instead PR has wasted it on bullshit bookings like vs Nate and vs Costa 46 times or whatever it was for that completely idiotic matchup.

Enough time wasting. Title shot NOW. Stop wasting the prime of this guy with amazing potential so we don't have to watch the utterly uncompelling DDP vs Sean rematch that literally no one on Earth besides Sean is campaigning for.

Khamzat pulled out of fights and was fighting in the wrong division. UFC PR has something to do with it but only a small part.

 

[Dobymick]

After the Burns fight UFC and Dana were all over him and they gave him the Nate fight exactly to cement him as a rising star and then give him the title shot because everyone knew he would murder Nate.

It was his first and still the only event he was set to headline and it was against a very known and popular fighter. But he really did messed up on that weight cut and a concern for lack of professionalism was raised. So they forced him to forget about welterweight and focus on middleweight only and kinda reset his title run there

Having him to fight one more fight after Burns in order to give him a title shot was reasonable. The weight miss and subsequent health issues is what really slowed his career down

I do agree that he should fight for the MW belt next over Sean

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Are you fine ? Still coping ?

Coping about what? Not a Whittaker fan and never was, his fans are much too emotional.

 

[Dionysian]

After the Burns fight UFC and Dana were all over him and they gave him the Nate fight exactly to cement him as a rising star and then give him the title shot because everyone knew he would murder Nate.

It was his first and still the only event he was set to headline and it was against a very known and popular fighter. But he really did messed up on that weight cut and a concern for lack of professionalism was raised. So they forced him to forget about welterweight and focus on middleweight only and kinda reset his title run there

Having him to fight one more fight after Burns in order to give him a title shot was reasonable. The weight miss and subsequent health issues is what really slowed his career down

I do agree that he should fight for the MW belt next over Sean

IMHO, he was assigned the Nate fight to be an executioner. They clearly wanted to diminish Nate's bargaining power with a lopsided loss as he left the company, which is their standard MO as most fans know.

But it blew up in their face. Fans turned against them for it, ESPN turned against them and said it was a bullshit match... literally everyone did if you remember from back then. It was unanimous in the PR and WME realized that early on it became a PR nightmare. Nate became the martyr and UFC the villain. But they already announced the fight and were screwed.

So they had to undo the damage they were taking and not say "we suck and realize we suck, our bad." So read my point #7... because there was A LOT of weird shit with that card. Most weird shit of any card ever, and it is hard to ignore.

1. A clear lie regarding "biggest brawl in UFC history" they used to justify changing it to Khamzat vs Kevin
2. Tony booked at 170 for literally no reason (so yes I'm saying booking him at 170 they already knew they'd change the event to him vs Nate)
3. Kevin booked at 180 for literally no reason / Rodriguez booked at 180 for literally no reason

They had the narrative down as soon as they realized they needed to bail. Their "doctor" (probably a fucking PR guy wearing a labcoat, who the fuck knows) would tell Khamzat the UFC "ordered" him to rehydrate (confirmed by Khamzat). They weigh him and, like literally any fighter on the roster, rehydrating the gallon of water (which is 8.34 pounds) puts them 8 pounds over. Tony vs Nate, Kevin vs Khamzat (super dangerous for him to fight without dying until he drank a gallon of water but then he's all good, right "doctor"?), Li vs Rodriguez. How neat and tidy. Oh, and it is all Khamzat's fault. And the fans literally ask no questions and turn on Khamzat... don't ask why the "brawl" story (supposedly between 20 pro fighters and the "worst ever" event in UFC history) resulted in literally no injuries, no scratches and no footage despite multiple cell phones and UFC camera crews catching the part where Khamzat and Kevin yelled at each other that supposedly set it off... guess they all turned off 10 seconds later huh? No fan ask about the utterly bizarre weight class declarations made more than a month before the event (ie: when UFC realized they were already axing the card once they took heat from fans/ESPN).

Khamzat was made the fall guy for their decision and that "fall guy" act justified:
1. a weight class change
2. 0 title shots despite it being on lock after he beat #2 ranked Gilbert in a FOTY, and ultimately
3. years of inactivity
4. all fans showing they have no fucking clue how weight cutting works when they lambasted him for years for being "a whole 8 pounds over!!1!" despite it being made public he was ordered by a UFC doctor to rehydrate... literally every non-HW would be over the limit by the same amount if they did this

Also robbed us of double belt status and legendary fights as Khamzat would have fought both Kamaru and Izzy. All because UFC wanted to throw a fighter under the bus for their shitty matchmaking.

 

[jooohnmatrix]

His achilles heel was Covid, not the UFC or their marketing team. He’s literally a cliche of being a pussy with manflu.

 

[markys00]

Are you fine ? Still coping ?

Lol seems like khamzat fans are the ones coping

 

[World eater]

If the guy can’t fight on US soil, it’s a moot point anyway. Huge talent, but being unable to get a working US visa due to Kadyrov connections will be a big obstacle for him.

 

[Tweak896]

It's kind of crazy how we could've avoided the Leon era at WW, probably had Khamzat vs usman, Leon, belal, shavkat. Then a MW fight with DDP if he got the title shot after Burns. I've seen people think it was fine for Romero to miss weight, but Khamzat missing once was unforgivable and to be banned.

 

[Dionysian]

If the guy can’t fight on US soil, it’s a moot point anyway. Huge talent, but being unable to get a working US visa due to Kadyrov connections will be a big obstacle for him.

... and should fans just normalize this? Political virtue signaling of banning the most talented athletes on the planet so we can pat ourselves on the back and say "look how righteous we are, banning ethnicities from competing on the world stage" due to their president?

It's kind of crazy how we could've avoided the Leon era at WW, probably had Khamzat vs usman, Leon, belal, shavkat. Then a MW fight with DDP if he got the title shot after Burns. I've seen people think it was fine for Romero to miss weight, but Khamzat missing once was unforgivable and to be banned.

Yup exactly. And the entire justification was "lol look at how much he missed by / 8 pounds" from a bunch of people that never cut weight in their life. Spoiler alert... 1 gallon of water (rehydration as ordered by UFC doctors as reported by MMA media) = 8.34 pounds. Guess how much Khamzat was over after being ordered by a UFC doctor to rehydrate and THEN weigh in... it is almost like it had something to do with the fact he rehydrated before weighing in hmmm.

There was a reason Khamzat gave double middle fingers while fans booed him for weighing in at 178. He got fucked by the UFC and the fans blamed him for it.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Khamzat doesnt know you or care...

Why did you write soo much ..

Sheesh..

 

[Dionysian]

Khamzat doesnt know you or care...

Why did you write soo much ..

Sheesh..

Who gives a shit / the fuck difference does it make. The truth is the truth independent of whether a random fighter knows about it or emotionally cares or not.

Maybe if people wise up to how the UFC operates the next generational-talent won't have their prime sidelined and the fans cheer it on like idiots.

 

[GrantB13]

Khamzat isn't blameless for his absence. The UFC aren't making him be friends with dictators. It isn't the UFC not allowing him to fight in the US or other nations. Governments don't like his background and associates. Plus, don't you think the UFC would be ecstatic to have the Khamzat that fought twice in ten days?

 

[HNIC215]

We all operate on God’s Plan.

All things come in due time at different stages for different people.

Khamzat will get his title when the time is right.

You can see his maturity more than ever now. He is almost there.

 

[Poirierfan]

A lot of the time wasting was mostly Khamzat's own doing. Also he can't even get into the states anymore. And if you know me I love to blame the UFC more than most people. Khamzat more or less sabotaged his own career, then he's always sick with something.

 

[World eater]

... and should fans just normalize this? Political virtue signaling of banning the most talented athletes on the planet so we can pat ourselves on the back and say "look how righteous we are, banning ethnicities from competing on the world stage" due to their president?

And what do you suggest we as fans should do about this?

 

[Dionysian]

And what do you suggest we as fans should do about this?

I don't understand how I made a response, and you were able to reply to it, and yet I still can't see it.

Anyway, I suggest we merely raise the issue. Not raising the issue is exactly what normalizes the behavior. Just like we raised the issue of Nate at 271 and that was exactly what forced the UFC to change their course. Our opinions matter / industry cares what their consumers think.

Raising the issue is the only way this shit will ever change.

A lot of the time wasting was mostly Khamzat's own doing. Also he can't even get into the states anymore. And if you know me I love to blame the UFC more than most people. Khamzat more or less sabotaged his own career, then he's always sick with something.

It isn't his fault if he is banned from half the world. The fault for that is political virtue signaling / banning promising athletes solely based on their ethnicity to show how morally righteous we are.

We all operate on God’s Plan.

All things come in due time at different stages for different people.

Khamzat will get his title when the time is right.

You can see his maturity more than ever now. He is almost there.

Maybe but we would have already saw legendary title fights vs Kamaru and Izzy if we didn't operate on the UFC's plan of tossing fighters under the bus for PR disasters / that's my only point. Potential GOAThood is modified by these decisions so it matters.

 

[Ayreon]

We are witnessing to Khamzat era. This is a milestone in MMA just like GSP era, Silva era and few other elite champions.

I just hope he doesn't retire just after winning the gold like he promised to his mother.

 

[SuperNerd]

Congrats TS

 

[World eater]

I don't understand how I made a response, and you were able to reply to it, and yet I still can't see it.

Anyway, I suggest we merely raise the issue. Not raising the issue is exactly what normalizes the behavior. Just like we raised the issue of Nate at 271 and that was exactly what forced the UFC to change their course. Our opinions matter / industry cares what their consumers think.

Raising the issue is the only way this shit will ever change.

I understand your point of view, but raising the issue in this case is not something that can work easily. Khamzat associates with Kadyrov and has been for years. It is not a nationality issue. Khamzat was a citizen of Sweden at that time (not sure if he is UAE now). Ramzan is a dude who needs no introduction and has been specifically sanctioned by the UK since 2014 and by the US since 2017, and has been mocking these countries for years. If you are a Swedish national employed by an US country, you should know better than to associate with that guy. Sucks for Khamzat, but I don’t see how fans can escalate this issue. Do you thing the US government cares about such things?

 

[BigTruck]

Those of us who know anything about fighting saw it. You literally couldn't make it any more clear if you tried. I had Khamzat in my sig before he joined UFC because I saw it.

1. He annihilated his UFC debut opponent taking 1 strike.
2. Then he annihilated his 2nd opponent 10 days later taking no strike / cutting another 15 pounds.
3. Then he annihilated his 3rd opponent shortly after taking no strike.
4. Then COVID happened/he didn't get to fight Leon Edwards which was the plan.
5. Then he annihilated Li Jinglang (ranked at bottom of top 10 at the time) after taking no strike.
6. Then he won a FOTY candidate vs the #2 ranked WW of Earth / Gilbert. I was at the fight. You should have heard the place. It absolutely exploded for Khamzat when he walked out, far more than the title fight which occurred later on the same card.

BUT THEN...
7. Then UFC PR blamed him for them fixing the event of UFC 271 in the most obviously doctored PR job in UFC history. The fans and media very publicly turned on the match (Khamzat executing Nate) and lambasted the UFC for the match in the media / made Nate into a hero. Then mysteriously a UFC "doctor" told Khamzat to rehydrate/he weighed 8 pounds above/everyone on all of Sherdog dropped 50 IQ points and acted like it was a weight miss instead of how literally everyone on the roster would weigh after rehydrating. Tony, who never competed at 170 for many years, prior to the "weight miss" was magically competing at 170 (and never has since). Kevin, who never weighed 180 in his life, was magically set for a 180 catchweight before Khamzat "missed weight." His opponent, Rodriguez maintained 180 while Li, the guy with the least marketing power among the fighters, was the only one forced to fight the larger opponent. Did anyone ever find footage of the "biggest brawl" in UFC history by the way? The one that involved 20+ pro fighters and didn't result in a single scratch or injury to any of them? The one that was used to justify canceling the Nate/Khamzat fight to promote the Khamzat/Kevin fight? The one that 10 cell phone cameras and UFC camera crews caught the "beginning" of when people yelled at one another but which all magically stopped functioning once the "brawl" started? Anyway... this PR did it. The public HATED Khamzat for YEARS after this RIDICULOUS con job of an event. After that...

8. Khamzat annhilated Kevin Holland taking no strikes.
9. An injured Khamzat IMMEDIATELY ragdolled Kamaru, previously the #1 P4P and the person with the best statistical TDD in all of the UFC. Then broke his hand. Then still won a decision.
10. Khamzat annihilated Robert Whittaker (did he even take any strikes?)

Do you realize what we've been watching? This has literally never happened before. If it wasn't for UFC PR and bullshit matchmaking (he should have been fighting for the WW belt after beating Gilbert / not setup to punish Nate fucking Diaz because the UFC wanted to kill his value prior to leaving the UFC) Khamzat COULD have been the 3-time division champ of memes. We have likely lost the prime of the most exciting prospect in MMA history solely due to political bullshit, and all it took was a laughably transparent storyline 37 events ago to sway fairweather fans. Since then we've seen political posturing about how it is Khamzat's fault that he is being politically persecuted and prevented from competing due to the West's desire to virtue signal / ban a top athlete because they don't like his president. And for what? So you can kill the chance to watch some of the best performances in MMA history?

War Khamzat. When I say he "annihilated" people I mean the same way I'd win going 100% vs an old lady. Do you realize how Earth-shatteringly odd that is vs UFC-level and elite-level talent? It is literally unprecedented. Those of us who get what we are watching understood that a long time ago... while the rest were still rehashing PR taglines spoon-fed to them to cover the UFC's ass for hijinks years ago. He should be double champ by now (WW and MW). Instead PR has wasted it on bullshit bookings like vs Nate and vs Costa 46 times or whatever it was for that completely idiotic matchup.

Enough time wasting. Title shot NOW. Stop wasting the prime of this guy with amazing potential so we don't have to watch the utterly uncompelling DDP vs Sean rematch that literally no one on Earth besides Sean is campaigning for.

You sound like you breath your own farts