Do we really need Makhachev vs Gaethje

[AmbassadorFright]

I don't get the necessity behind this fight. I know they're both signed to Ali which makes this fight very easy to make but it's not an intriguing matchup whatsoever. We've seem Gaethje choke in 2 different title fights by easy submission losses. Is there any reason to think this wouldn't end the same way? He's fought 2 strikers that's it. Oliveira is still a harder fight than Gaethje, so is Arman. Even BSD is tougher for Islam than Gaethje. What's next Poirier gets a third shot? Fuck that shit GTFOH

 

[Kryptt]

I'll take it after the Arman/Charles v Mak plays out.

 

[Reptile_Bong_Hit]

I hear ya. I'm all for fresh match-ups, that's why I prefer Arman most. BSD if he gets passed Poirier is fire too!

If Justin or Poirier beat a grappler like Gamrot, Dariush, or Armen; or at least had a great streak going; then I could see it.

Charles has a very real chance of derailing Armen (like Dariush) and in the meantime Islam might be fighting Justin. Even if Justin got the upset, it'd be great in one sense but also very hard on the head.

 

[Krixes]

Yes...Let them bang...

 

[Substance Abuse]

Did we really need Islam/Olives II at it's originally planned date? He needed another win to lock it in, in my opinion. And don't get me started on them choosing Volkanovski over Gamrot, when he made weight as the original backup.

The UFC has done a piss poor job of elevating new talent, building them up and creating contenders the last few years at Lightweight. To make matters worse their fight timelines are terrible. Gaethje/Islam should already be booked so the Olives/Tsarukyan winner can fight him a few months after. None of this would be an issue if they would expedite the matchups.

 

[Liverkick-king56]

There was no point in doing Strickland vs Izzy since Strickland was leg kicked to a decision by Cannonier..... there was also no point in doing O'Malley vs Sterling because Yan was taking O'Malley down.

Gaethje has shown he has the striking skills to outstrike the 2 arguable best strikers at LW. As long as he can keep the fight standing he's a live dog.

 

[Istryker]

Nope I don't want it

 

[humdizzle]

not really. his ground game is embarrassing. If it gets to the ground islam taps him in 10 seconds tops.

gaethje has a punchers chance at most. and even if he does land... he's not going to get in islams guard for follow up shots like volk did. he's just going to walk away and let him back up.

 

[Blastbeat]

yes, we do. Gaethje earned his shot. i dont know why the fuck you watch MMA if you dont like watching Gaethje, seriously. 110% excitement in every fight that dude is in.
itll be interesting to see his strategy now that he knows the Dagistani wrestling is no joke. if he can keep it standing itll be a great striking battle between him and Islam.
Islam has much better striking than Khabib ever did so that brings a new level of intrigue.
Gaethje's chin is pretty solid and Islam's appears to be pretty good. he did get wobbled by Volk a few times in their first fight, makes me think his chin might be a bit less durable than Gaethje's. certainly less durable than Khabib's.

people saying Gaethje's ground game sucks are basing that opinion off of the Khabib fight. Justin doesnt like to get takedowns or work on the ground. we have ZERO idea how much his ground game has changed since the fight with Khabib. my feeling is that he'll have worked a lot on his TDD.

Islam beating him would be a good step up to being in the conversation of best LW champs the UFC has had. and if Gaethje wins its a feel-good story about the dude getting his belt on the 3rd try. would also be a massive win.

 

[Reptile_Bong_Hit]

yes, we do. Gaethje earned his shot.

I lean yes, personally, but it is debatable. The problem is, there are other contenders (e.g., Arman, Charles). Arman won 8 of his last nine; Charles only lost once in like 6 years and defeated Justin in a de facto title defense.

i dont know why the fuck you watch MMA if you dont like watching Gaethje, seriously. 110% excitement in every fight that dude is in.

110% agree here. Though Charles is also very exciting.

itll be interesting to see his strategy now that he knows the Dagistani wrestling is no joke.

If he didn't know before Khabib then...

if he can keep it standing itll be a great striking battle between him and Islam.

True.

people saying Gaethje's ground game sucks are basing that opinion off of the Khabib fight. Justin doesnt like to get takedowns or work on the ground. we have ZERO idea how much his ground game has changed since the fight with Khabib. my feeling is that he'll have worked a lot on his TDD.

True. But I still think Arman and Charles are better fights (stylistically)--even though they're rematches.

Islam beating him would be a good step up to being in the conversation of best LW champs the UFC has had. and if Gaethje wins its a feel-good story about the dude getting his belt on the 3rd try. would also be a massive win.

I agree, but only because it's Gaethje and he's so spectacular.

It's incredible how split the forum is on this topic. I understand it to a degree, but it's really fascinating (relatively speaking).

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

I'd like Justin to beat a Gamrot type guy first tbh

 

[Psychojoe86]

Islam will be a huge favorite against Justin, and will likely take him down and tap him out in round 1.

Imo it won’t be a fun, exciting fight. Ppl will just complain about how pointless it was lol

 

[chinarice]

Islam will be a huge favorite against Justin, and will likely take him down and tap him out in round 1.

Imo it won’t be a fun, exciting fight. Ppl will just complain about how pointless it was lol

Or Justin will catch him early and win and most will just say that if they run it back, Islam will win.

I don't expect that to happen but if it did, I expect these types of responses after.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Champ(155) vs Champ(BMF)

Plus Islam fighting an actual 155 contender

I'll allow it

 

[Psychojoe86]

Or Justin will catch him early and win and most will just say that if they run it back, Islam will win.

I don't expect that to happen but if it did, I expect these types of responses after.

Haha and I didn’t even mention that possibility. We could see a forced rematch/trilogy which will stall the division even more.

Yeesh lightweight is stacked but it has its downsides

 

[World eater]

Gaethje is 35. It’s sort of a “now or never”. Plus, He’s never in a boring match.

 

[Harlekin]

Gaethje showed poor TDD and submission defense against Oliveira and Khabib.
Probably the same outcome. Not the best matchup, but he has 2 great wins.

 

[James Eagle]

No

 

[blaseblase]

I don't get the necessity behind this fight. I know they're both signed to Ali which makes this fight very easy to make but it's not an intriguing matchup whatsoever. We've seem Gaethje choke in 2 different title fights by easy submission losses. Is there any reason to think this wouldn't end the same way? He's fought 2 strikers that's it. Oliveira is still a harder fight than Gaethje, so is Arman. Even BSD is tougher for Islam than Gaethje. What's next Poirier gets a third shot? Fuck that shit GTFOH

Yes, we do. Islam's second best win over a lightweight is Dan fucking Hooker. If you believe he is that good then his resume should reflect that. You cant just assume he's better than everyone else.

 

[Blastbeat]

I lean yes, personally, but it is debatable. The problem is, there are other contenders (e.g., Arman, Charles). Arman won 8 of his last nine; Charles only lost once in like 6 years and defeated Justin in a de facto title defense.

youve got a great username

Arman's resume is much thinner than Charles' or Justin's. he lost to Gamrot. his big wins are Dariush and i guess Damir, maybe throw in Frevola too. i just feel like if Arman beats one more top 10 person, he's the next one up for a title shot. he could pull it off against Charles since i think they are supposed to fight. thats a good matchup.