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News Asu Almabayev Steps in Vs Manel Kape - March 1st

I´m with Asu here, Kape rubbs me the wrong way all the time. Can´t stand his antics.
Would be a new guy fighting for the belt. It´s tough to get interested if always the same guys fighting for a belt.
 
I think Asu is better than Mokaev. I never cared for the guy since he came to UFC.

BUT I don't think Asu has that willingness to make the fights boring as fuck like Mokaev, and Kape is dangerous.

And as you could see guys like Poirier develop their TDDs, as seen by his performance against Islam.

This is a great fight. I really wanted to see Asu vs Erceg, but this will do.

This also could turn out to be an ugly ass fight like Mokaev fight but for five rounds. I think Erceg fight would've been fireworks, but oh well.
 
Good matchup!
Asu deserves a title shot if he beats Kape.
 
wrestling-edge.gif

That's a good replacement!

This is a big opportunity for Asu, since that Erceg match was apparently canceled for no foreseeable reason.
 
Mma math says Asu > nicolau> Kape so I'll go with that and a interesting new challenger for pantoja. But the UFC will probably book him vs Royval for some reason instead.
 
Looking at Asu record he seems to have fought every garbage man in Russia. Meh ill watch
 
vinnie245 said:
Erceg got moved to main event the Mexico City fight night against Moreno at the end of March
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Man, that makes so little sense to me, other than "Moreno needs to fight someone for the Mexican fans." Getting finished in the first round, then fighting Moreno feels like the UFC is trying to make it 3 losses in a row for Erceg
 
Mohawk Banditó said:
Man, that makes so little sense to me, other than "Moreno needs to fight someone for the Mexican fans." Getting finished in the first round, then fighting Moreno feels like the UFC is trying to make it 3 losses in a row for Erceg
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It's kinda hard to book Erceg in fights that really benefit him.

He's in such a weird spot.

At least if he loses to Moreno, there's some credibility in it, losing to young guns like Asu and Taira or some random guy like Charles Johnson is just no good for him at all.

And to be honest, I honestly think he loses to a lot of top guys. He's very clean, but he's not the best.
 
sickness666 said:
I´m with Asu here, Kape rubbs me the wrong way all the time. Can´t stand his antics.
Would be a new guy fighting for the belt. It´s tough to get interested if always the same guys fighting for a belt.
Click to expand...
But Kape never fought for the belt
 
JustOnce said:
I think Asu is better than Mokaev. I never cared for the guy since he came to UFC.

BUT I don't think Asu has that willingness to make the fights boring as fuck like Mokaev, and Kape is dangerous.

And as you could see guys like Poirier develop their TDDs, as seen by his performance against Islam.

This is a great fight. I really wanted to see Asu vs Erceg, but this will do.

This also could turn out to be an ugly ass fight like Mokaev fight but for five rounds. I think Erceg fight would've been fireworks, but oh well.
Click to expand...

I've been peddling Asu for longer than any of you guys, I do not think he's better than Mokaev. He's real athletic and fairly well rounded but technically a bit lacking and untested in a lot of ways. Anyone who can stand up to Kapes power can beat him though, Kape himself isn't that great...solid but not contender level really. This is an interesting replacement.

For as much young talent as there is at 125lbs, it seems hard for the UFC to actually bake it into a flourishing division somehow. Igor Severino and Mokaev getting cut really did not help either.
 
Mohawk Banditó said:
Man, that makes so little sense to me, other than "Moreno needs to fight someone for the Mexican fans." Getting finished in the first round, then fighting Moreno feels like the UFC is trying to make it 3 losses in a row for Erceg
Click to expand...
Ercegs manager/coaches or whoever advicing him sucks. I get that it's cool fighting top guys but there's nothing wrong with warmup fights.

Or you know, fights that matches your rise. Just get a win dude. Why the rush?
 
Siver! said:
It's kinda hard to book Erceg in fights that really benefit him.

He's in such a weird spot.

At least if he loses to Moreno, there's some credibility in it, losing to young guns like Asu and Taira or some random guy like Charles Johnson is just no good for him at all.

And to be honest, I honestly think he loses to a lot of top guys. He's very clean, but he's not the best.
Click to expand...

Erceg got that Cory Sandhagen syndrome. A lanky unathletic guy who isn't super fast nor does he hit super hard. His defense is also noticeably worse than his offense. Well rounded but still can get taken down and lose rounds vs someone more physical and skilled in that department. He only got a title shot because they ran out of contenders, I don't think he beats Moreno.
 
HuskySamoan said:
Erceg got that Cory Sandhagen syndrome. A lanky unathletic guy who isn't super fast nor does he hit super hard. His defense is also noticeably worse than his offense. Well rounded but still can get taken down and lose rounds vs someone more physical and skilled in that department. He only got a title shot because they ran out of contenders, I don't think he beats Moreno.
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Yeah, in a nutshell. His beautiful TKO of Matt Schnell had people believing he had power for some reason, but... you know, Schnell.

I think that title shot is a curse at this point. The UFC are either going to match him against fighters that are too high a level (like Moreno), or they're eventually going to use him to platform another up-and-comer.

What he really needs is to fight Ode Osbourne or similar. It's not just the title shot, either, the debut win over the rather pants David Dvorak had him immediately ranked... none of it has helped him.
 
13Seconds said:
Ercegs manager/coaches or whoever advicing him sucks. I get that it's cool fighting top guys but there's nothing wrong with warmup fights.

Or you know, fights that matches your rise. Just get a win dude. Why the rush?
Click to expand...

Once you're ranked, the UFC wants to keep you in ranked fights. If you're signed to a pricey contract, then youve got zero leeway. I do somewhat blame management and coaches too but this idea of building a fighter up intelligently or taking steps back in competition, in order to rebuild, is kinda new to MMA and not viewed fondly by many. I partially blame boxing, they ruined the sport by going so far in the opposite direction it's pathetic.

UFC doesn't take kindly to "hey, my fighter just lost twice in a row, I think we should take a step back, there's things we need to work on. Our guys just entering his prime, in 12-18 months Moreno is someone we'd love to fight but right now it's too much too soon and I want Erceg to get more experience and his confidence back". Dana probably "why the fuck are you even in the UFC? You're ranked, you fight other ranked guys. You don't turn down fights against former fucking champions" and " I talked to Erceg, I'm not sure this kid wants to fight or he's got a real fuckin screwy camp." Theyd likely find ways to justify not having to pay him for turning down fights too, i think that's how the 3 offers within 14 months works on the contracts.
 
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