How did Bellator dominate UFC in picking up Russian prospects?

Another thing that is under mentioned, Ali has a great relationship with Coker & the PFL guy who’s name I’m forgetting. So a lot of the Dagestan guys end up there through the Ali-Khabib connection.
 
Drugstore Cowboy said:
IMO, Usman Nurmagomedov (155) and Magomed "Tiger" Magomedov (135) would be at least top 15 in their respective divisions.
I agree about Khasan Magomedsharipov who is still too young and inexperienced and I feel like Amosov is overrated and would be exposed quickly.
Usman Nurmagomedov is also very young but he seems to have better all-around game and physicality so I believe in him more.
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Tiger Magomedov would be no worse than #2-3 in the UFC imo. Have you watched his two fights with Yan and his most recent Bellator fights? The guy is class, give him another Yan matchup and he’d only be a very slight underdog. He’d destroy Aljo and out grapple Dillashaw imo,…the Sandhagen fight would be interesting because the length would pose problems for him.
 
It's because the UFC has a quota on Eastern European fighters. There are so many good ones and the UFC passes on more of them then those from nations they are interested in being in the market of. This leaves a lot of them them available for other promotions. There's a reason Eastern European guys are taking over all the major promotions. Of course there are also guys who have their heart set on the UFC and are squandering away their prime not fighting or fighting for next to nothing praying the UFC calls. Tarvanyan and Tumanov are the most prominent examples.

At the end of the day determining who is going to be a champion requires some scouting. Scouts don't always get it right and the UFC, while it has all of the cache in the world doesn't get it right every time. That leads to them using some of their quota spots on guys who aren't as good while leaving some guys either out in the old or fighting elsewhere.
 
moosaev said:
Tiger Magomedov would be no worse than #2-3 in the UFC imo. Have you watched his two fights with Yan and his most recent Bellator fights? The guy is class, give him another Yan matchup and he’d only be a very slight underdog. He’d destroy Aljo and out grapple Dillashaw imo,…the Sandhagen fight would be interesting because the length would pose problems for him.
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I don't want to go nuts with names because it ends up devolving into "NO WAY X BEATS Y" between two guys who pretend to know more then they do on the internet but I think it's very fair to say Magmoedov is world class.
 
MeatWagon06 said:
Aww.. Look at you admitting defeat again so easily, Weak kneed Bellator sock puppet.
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Another one of your meltdowns is always welcome. Keep going my little donkey.

BOO-HOO-HOO-gif_RONALDMATTERSdotcom.gif
 
Mob69 said:
Modern UFC has evolved into something akin to kickboxing with small gloves and some moderate grappling. Lay and pray, and wall and stall, have mostly been solved by technical evolution. It’s a winning formula.
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They could solve it if 10-9 rounds turn into 10-10 rounds. Thats the end for Lay and pray, wall and stall, stick and move......
 
Imagine if Dana Whie did Contender series with only Soviet/Eastern European prospects...there would be hella more talent going through that system than what he has now.
 
Simple'Slam said:
It does. Control time is always a factor, even control time resulting from pushing someone against the cage.
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According to the current flawed scoring criteria that nonsense stuff is rewarded yes. But do you think its a good thing to reward those insignificant 10-9 actions?
 
Simple'Slam said:
because takedowns can be lethal in and of themselves in a real fight
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Most of the time not.

Simple'Slam said:
It's a good idea to reward takedowns that lead to the establishment of a dominant position, yes
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But even a dominant position by itself is not resulting in damage. It depends what a fighter is doing in a dominant position. Only GnP or Sub counts.
 
SherdogFan23 said:
How would you say that the UFC should be able to outbid them?

Viacom CBS
Total assets: US$52.66 billion (2020)
Net income: US$2.42 billion (2020)
Revenue: US$25.3 billion (2020)
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Viacom doesn't put most of their money into Bellator, not even close.
 
I do think it's becoming a bit frustrating how many top fighters or prospects aren't in the UFC, at least from the perspective of seeing the best fight the best. But you have to remember the UFC is entertainment oriented. It's focused on excitement and storylines, not meritocracy or featuring the best fighters. You have to remember, this is what people want. And no, not just american people. The UFC caters to the western euro market, they try to market south and central america, they want a presence in asia, the UFC wants as much diversity as possible because the more diversity, the more markets. The UFC also wants entertaining fights. They want fighters who are...how to say this...very reckless and uncalculated. If you wrestle well, you're a wrestlefucker and the UFC doesn't want you, if you strike smart, you're a point-fighter and the UFC doesn't want you. And to be fair, like I love wrestling so I'm not a fan of the UFC's approach, but I do think most people agree with them. Most people prefer when guys swing wildly and walk into punches and kicks. Because it creates more wildness and action.

If you fight recklessly, you won't have a long career, and even if you do then not without suffering a good bit of brain damage. Fighters who want longevity play smart, but the trade-off is that you sacrifice something in entertainment value because you will be fighting to minimize risks. The UFC doesn't sign the best, but be honest, do you really want to see the best? People complain all the time these days about GSP, well GSP was the best. He minimized risk, consistently outscored his opponents, and now people don't like him. And if you don't like GSP, you're going to convince me that you'd be hyped to see Makhachev vs. Mamedov? Of course not. Even if Mamedov came to the UFC and then UDed say Riddell, RDA, Hooker, Chandler in quick succession and the fight was the title fight to make you wouldn't want to see it.
 
Drugstore Cowboy said:
IMO, Usman Nurmagomedov (155) and Magomed "Tiger" Magomedov (135) would be at least top 15 in their respective divisions.
I agree about Khasan Magomedsharipov who is still too young and inexperienced and I feel like Amosov is overrated and would be exposed quickly.
Usman Nurmagomedov is also very young but he seems to have better all-around game and physicality so I believe in him more.
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Find that statement surprising, care to elaborate? His boxing is pretty meat and potatoes but his grappling is absolutely tremendous. The fact he was able to mitigate Logan Storley's offensive wrestling isn't an achievement to be downplayed.

I think Usman beats him cleanly on the feet to be clear, but I also think his grappling is good enough to force a stand up battle out of Kamaru. That's saying something.
 
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