Don't buy the "can't make weight" Ilia thing. Again: he is smart.

[usernamee]

Maybe he absolutely hates the feeling of weight cutting and the potential future downsides it will bring on his life and he's super conscious about it.

That said, if he vacates the belt just to fight some fucking jobber like Poirier at 55? The fuck? That would be how to go from the most amazing run to lame shit in comparison.

It's Islam or bust for me at 55.

 

[10000yearsold]

Stunting silly like a temper tantrum cause his accolades don’t warrant his demands

 

[KO Shotz]

Oh ya. Moving up a weight class & going after one of the top dogs in the UFC (Islam), while possibly having to go through the murderous row of 155 with matchups like Porier, Gaethje, Arman, & Oliveria, is the safest bet rather than fighting Lopes, Volk, or Evloev.

 

[Conan the K-9]

Runs from Diego and Mosvar to a division with Charles and Arman.




At LW he has similar bigger money matchups and a champion with suspect chin, almost tailor made for him.

 

[FrappeDuRocma]

Runs from Diego and Mosvar to a division with Charles and Arman.




At LW he has similar bigger money matchups and a champion with suspect chin, almost tailor made for him.

Charles chin is more suspect than Islam's... What makes you say that Oliveira is a hard fight, but Islam an easier one ?

 

[contrail]

Double champ status, early retirement,
his brother might not want to make 35 anymore. That could be another factor. Either way, I like how Ilia is being a man about it. Gives up the belt with no complaints.

Zero chance that belt left his waist by choice in any regard. He would have gladly stalled FW to pursue dual champ if they let him, but his team made the mistake of thinking they had some form of leverage at the negotiating table.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

I think he wants the double champ shit and thinks Islam is vulnerable (maybe because the speed difference).

Topuria is awesome but he has been tagged in the past and also controlled on the ground by Bryce Mitchell. I think Evloev and Aljo have a legit chance to outgrapple him.

Islam would be smart to take it to the ground. I think he outmuscles Illia on the ground.

 

[Conan the K-9]

Charles chin is more suspect than Islam's... What makes you say that Oliveira is a hard fight, but Islam an easier one ?

Where did I say that?

 

[FrappeDuRocma]

Where did I say that?

It's the way I understood your message, since you said that Islam is almost made for him, but nothing about Charles. If it's not what you said, have a nice day.

 

[HHJ]

Yeah im not sure if i buy his reasoning, but i dont care if he's lying either. He gave up the belt and moved into a division with more money fights. Why not do it?

 

[Ozze]

You say he doesn't want to cut weight and risk losing strengh against other guys in his division so the answer is to move up, where even stronger guys will fight him?

Doesn't make much sense.

 

[Conan the K-9]

It's the way I understood your message, since you said that Islam is almost made for him, but nothing about Charles. If it's not what you said, have a nice day.

I compared Charles and Arman with Diego and Mosvar, similar styles but better money (as TS thinks he is running from them) and on top of that the champ is winnable too.

Have a good one and sip less bathtub water!

 

[FrappeDuRocma]

I compared Charles and Arman with Diego and Mosvar, similar styles but better money (as TS thinks he is running from them) and on top of that the champ is winnable too.

Have a good one and sip less bathtub water!

Yeah, whatever, all this hate, because Islam humiliated Charles, you may get over it, on day. Stay strong.

 

[Daniel Henry]

You can't really call illia smart. All he is doing from the tattoos, to the way he dresses, to the career path is follow the footsteps of a cokeup rapist. He's not even trying to be original.

 

[krelianx]

Height is not the only factor in size. Illia is a very dense, strong dude.

 

[chardog]

Vacating was silly, going up isn’t. Maybe they offered him the title shot only if he vacated … who knows. Still, you have no champ status and PPV points to fall back to if you lose.

In general going up is always lower risk than defending, if you lose there is the inbuilt “was undersized” excuse, if you win then it’s double champion glory against the bigger guys (and in the case of Islam a P4P great).

he risked the bag for glory, and that's a monumental risk for most folks, and it's not for a high profile boxing fight either. The financial risks are immense, he's giving up championship guaranteed show money, and a fight where he's the favorite, in favor of glory. Of course the glory can lead to financial rewards and next level stardom, but it requires working his way on up.

 

[Mynameisjeff]

Maybe he absolutely hates the feeling of weight cutting and the potential future downsides it will bring on his life and he's super conscious about it.

That said, if he vacates the belt just to fight some fucking jobber like Poirier at 55? The fuck? That would be how to go from the most amazing run to lame shit in comparison.

It's Islam or bust for me at 55.

Poirier is a "jobber"??