Ank may be champ for a long time

[Sean Chowdhury]

As with most (sans dvalishvili) of the Russian/Eastern European fighters, it's not Ankalaev that's unbearable, it's his inbred fans.

View attachment 1086077

merab has annoying fans too

 

[Pequeño Corey]

At that point, if there is a move up to HW - you think he should challenge for Aspinall's interim or wait for Jones?

I think Jones will be gone by then. No clue if Ank has ambitions to move up. I won’t even speculate. He seems like a chill dude who just wants to compete. I’m certain that his tweets are all Ali, which is kinda sad. Why let your manager paint you as a troll? Perhaps Ali acknowledges that his guy is bland and views this as a way to better promote him. I don’t think it’s necessary. For us die hards, a quiet guy who just keeps winning can speak on its own. Ali is just tarnishing Ank’s image.

 

[don't ask]

I can actually see him doing that. It's a good way for him to avoid fighting Tom.

He'll claim that LHW is his home and he misses it. He proved his point at HW already, etc.

I predicted this after Gane. Never thought he'd pick an elderly fighter out of retirement to defend against. No matter how cynical I am, Jones sinks lower.

 

[Fergelmince]

merab has annoying fans too

Yeah, but he's more annoying than they are. Not the case with ankalaev, etc.

 

[FreedomCricket]

I wouldn't mind seeing the rematch of Jan vs Ank.

Jan won that first fight after all......

 

[Blastbeat]

Are you implying he will hold it for a long time because he fights so rarely?

Yeah this is the problem I have with Ank being champ. It's not Ank himself; I am happy for the guy. Even though the fight was dull he proved himself as being championship material. He failed his first shot but took it this time. I like watching his fights when he doesn't fight like he did vs Alex. He also doesn't seem like a bad dude, not controversial, doesn't shit talk unprovoked, etc.

He just doesn't fight enough. I don't want the division to be held up. I also hope that if he beats Alex in the rematch, he will be more confident going forward which will lead to more finishes.

 

[Limeade]

Jiri over Ank. His wild style will outpace Ankalaev's sound defense. Plus you can't clinch Jiri he will elbow and knee on the break.

 

[MMA Maine-iac]

Yay...

 

[pamirec]

It’s crazy so far his only loss is to Craig, which he was just 1 sec away from winning.
12-1-1 as a Lhw is very impressive.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Nah he ran away from the division & dumped the belt to avoid the rematch with Reyes, he would lose to Ankalaev at this point.

You're probably right. His last several fights at LHW weren't great. Shows how unskilled heavyweights are that he can move up and dominate top contender.

 

[HHJ]

Just looking at the top 10, and I don't really see any big threats.

Jiri and Alex ( in a rematch) probably have the best shot... But I'd still favor Ank over both

Jiri and Alex are both threats.

 

[shunyata]

Jiri and Alex are both threats.

Call me crazy but I'd like to see a quick turn around with Jiri vs Ank in the summer.

Give Pereira some time to work on his right hand so he doesn't get shutdown by a southpaw nullifying his left effectively and then have him fight the winner in December.

 

[TR1]

Are you implying he will hold it for a long time because he fights so rarely?

Where does this come from?

Ank fights an average of twice a year.

That is completely normal for a modern day champ.

 

[HHJ]

All Jones has to do is make the weight and the belt is his again.

I honestly believe he doesnt want the belt again.\

Consider that he wont fight Aspinall because hes not a name, hes gonna move down to fight Ankalaev?!?!?!

Who also could beat Jones.

(if Reyes could, why not??)

 

[joy2day]

Yeah, the top 3 divisions in terms of weight in the UFC are super weak, a developing pattern.

 

[HHJ]

It’s crazy so far his only loss is to Craig, which he was just 1 sec away from winning.
12-1-1 as a Lhw is very impressive.

And other than him getting injured in the Jan fight, he hasnt really takin a beating this whole time.

There are a bunch of fighters that UFC avoided putting him against, but i can def see him having a good chance to beat them all. People doubt him cos he's not flashy but really.. hes a better striker than alot of these guys.

 

[Fedorgasm]

I wouldn't mind seeing the rematch of Jan vs Ank.

Jan won that first fight after all......

Yeah but Jan was already over the hill in that fight. There's no way he's better now.

They should fight just so Ank can set that right, but I don't see Jan having much of a chance.

 

[usernamee]

I don't think so. He tends to end up in closely contested decisions and all it takes is a bad scoring from the judges and it's sayonara.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Just looking at the top 10, and I don't really see any big threats.

Jiri and Alex ( in a rematch) probably have the best shot... But I'd still favor Ank over both

But really Ank always had the tools, he was just criticized for his fight IQ, but this weekend he proved that he's getting better in that regard.

I don't see any universe where Hill can beat Ank. And I can't imagine Jan has gotten better since their last match, just older.

Then you look at guys like Rakic, Ulberg, and Rountree, and do you really see any of them beating Ank?

Like it or not, I think he's going to hold that strap for a long time.

I tend to agree, I was going through the rankings post fight and would favour him against any of them. They are big fellas though and one shot can change everything etc

 

[Alpha_T83]

I could see it. Pereira is very good and has a chance in the rematch, but if Pereira loses the rematch I don't see who beats Ankalaev. He's obviously cleaned out the division minus Jiri, and I just don't see Jiri beating him either.