How would Dustin VS Illia play out?

[rollthedice]

13 months ago on the wrong side of 35 at lightweight, is not 'just had' IMO although I take your point.




Topuria has absolutely murder KO'd three all-time fighters in succession in two weight divisions and he did it with complete impunity.

We are likely looking at one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and already established as one of the best of his generation.

Nobody "has much for Topuria." So theres that lol

You know people said the same thing about JDS and Alex Pereira once upon a time, just some food for thought

 

[rollthedice]

Nah true story, I’d never lose to a bitch named Randy.

It seems things are getting heated between Koro and Randy, I got $5 on Koro.
Maori power > Canadian estrogen all day

 

[188912345]

Holloway answered that question when he slept JG, a certified killer at LW that had never fought at FW unlike DP. DP just has Max's number imo. DP and JG are 1-1 I believe. I do agree they should give up and comers a chance when it's earned and imo they have. We seen Katter get boxed up by Holloway once upon a time, DP against BSD and JG even gave Fiziev his chance and denied him.

No doubt, Holloway had a great performance vs Gaethje. He definitely showed that he belongs.

I was thinking more of a different challenge in terms of facing a bigger/taller/stronger grappler or striker at 155, something new.

Gaethje and Poirier seem to have consistently avoided Dariush/Arman/Gamrot/Moicano/Paddy type of matchups in favor of other "stars" who are also strikers, even if they were rematches. Repetitive matchmaking.

Gaethje has also been particularly inactive since 2020.

I would have been more excited to see some movement with fresh matchups in the top 10 then them facing each other over and over again. Ironically, Gaethje even rematched Fiziev (short notice, I know).

Arman, Dariush, Gamrot, had to face each other (or Charles Oliveira) instead of a stylistically more favorable matchup in Chandler, Gaethje, or Poirier.

 

[Koro_11]

It seems things are getting heated between Koro and Randy, I got $5 on Koro.
Maori power > Canadian estrogen all day
View attachment 1102538

I live in Canada, but I wasn’t born here bro, I grew up behind that iron curtain, we’re a different kind of white people.

 

[rollthedice]

No doubt, Holloway had a great performance vs Gaethje. He definitely showed that he belongs.

I was thinking more of a different challenge in terms of facing a bigger/taller/stronger grappler or striker at 155, something new.

Gaethje and Poirier seem to have consistently avoided Dariush/Arman/Gamrot/Moicano/Paddy type of matchups in favor of other "stars" who are also strikers, even if they were rematches. Repetitive matchmaking.

Gaethje has also been particularly inactive since 2020.

I would have been more excited to see some movement with fresh matchups in the top 10 then them facing each other over and over again. Ironically, Gaethje even rematched Fiziev (short notice, I know).

Arman, Dariush, Gamrot, had to face each other (or Charles Oliveira) instead of a stylistically more favorable matchup in Chandler, Gaethje, or Poirier.

That's a very fair point and I agree. We have had a few fresh match ups but the inactivity and and rematches makes it look like rank squatting, but I think Arman, Dariush, Gamrot have all had shots, Arman is considered #1 contender and fought Charles.

Dariush got a crack at Charles and Arman and come up short both times. And Gamrot who has wins over Arman and Fiziev but also has loses to Dariush and Hooker in between them hence why he hasn't had more push but he has also had opportunities, he just came up short.

Fiziev ain't up their ever since his loss to JG. JG cracked DP but then got flatlined by Max which stalled momentum but has since rebounded with a win over Fiziev.

Moicano has lost to Islam and Dariush so he has had his chances. Turner has his chance against Hooker and was denied.

Hooker has losses to Islam and Poirier but he is actually on a decent streak since his 2 fight skid.

Charles has had plenty of opportunities and has given plenty of opportunities to guys like Arman and Dariush that left Charles with mixed results.

Arman, Hooker and Paddy have the best win streaks in the top 10, Arman has a black mark for missing weight and pulling out of his title shot, he did make weight for the back up recently but I personally don't think he should be rewarded for missing weight and being punished would set a good precedent for future contenders who mess up and event like that. I'd rather Paddy now. If Dustin wins against Max, that fight is intriguing, otherwise I think Hooker has earned a shot otherwise give him JG or Charles as a fresh match up. Hooker VS JG for #1 contender would make sense and be a great fight we were supposed to get once upon a time. I wouldn't mind a Olivera VS Moicano match up once they're both healthy and good to go

 

[beater81]

50/50 fight. I think fortune favors the younger, fresher guy. Howver, you can't count out Dustin's crisp hands and serious one punch power. IF you think Ilia is immune to being ko'd by Dustin your a retard.

 

[swarrrm]

Dustin gets hit too much, Topuria chins him

 

[McSpikes]

I would hope Dustin gets flatlined if that happens. He had a great career but he has WAY overstayed his welcome and I am sick of seeing his name on cards at this point.

The guy's 0-3 in title fights (0-4 if you count that BMF joke), has had 6 REMATCHES in recent years, and would be riding a whopping 1 fight win streak against a guy he'd have now beaten THREE TIMES... who would be the co-main event on that card? Cain vs Bigfoot Silva??

Nah, Dustin can GTFO win or lose against Holloway. I'd rather he avenge his loss and take Michael Johnson out of the UFC on this card than have everyone's time wasted with yet another pointless fight with Max. 2 top 5 ranked fighters do not need to be tied up in a pointless fight with zero title implications in a main event... LW and FW are too starved for new talent for this BS.

Calm down buddy, are you one of the few people his wife didn’t respond to in the DMs?

 

[fortheo]

13 months ago on the wrong side of 35 at lightweight, is not 'just had' IMO although I take your point.




Topuria has absolutely murder KO'd three all-time fighters in succession in two weight divisions and he did it with complete impunity.

We are likely looking at one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and already established as one of the best of his generation.

Nobody "has much for Topuria." So theres that lol

Illia's awesome, and he's definitely going down in the history books, but I'm not convinced he's going to be some long term reign of terror just yet. The guy still only has like 4 really good MMA wins in his career. Honestly, the way people talk about him reminds me a lot of the way they were talking about Pereira recently. And like with pereira, there's an obvious elephant in the room -- with pereira it was Ankalaev, with illia it was Evloev at FW and now Arman at LW. Anyways, Ilia has age on his side and is looking amazing and I won't be surprised if he ends up proving you right, I just need to see a little more from him first, and preferably against young prime contenders like Evloev or Arman. It's going to be fun watching his career though, that's for sure.

 

[icerealm]

illia take the win, illia vs arman will be a good fight, arman will wrestlefuck GNP him and it will be a test for topuria

 

[rjmbrd]

Illia's awesome, and he's definitely going down in the history books, but I'm not convinced he's going to be some long term reign of terror just yet.

Murdering Volk, Max and Charles in a row is completely bonkers. All 3 of them are/where still top fighters. Volk won his last fight at featherweight and his next fight at featherweight, sandwiched by Topuria slumping him to sleep like he was putting down a sick dog.

Charles was coming off beating the shit out of Chandler and out classing him everywhere the fight went. Before that he went to a controversial split decision with #1 Arman. He is still clearly one of the best. Couldn't survive a single round.

Max was coming off a masterclass 5 round performance against Gaethje and arguably the biggest win of his career. Topuria fought him with complete disregard and wrecked him.

When you say "4 really good MMA wins" three of those are absolute best in the world names you can get at the time he fought them. That is extraordinarily rare to the point I cannot think of anything comparable in anyone elses career.

The guy still only has like 4 really good MMA wins in his career. Honestly, the way people talk about him reminds me a lot of the way they were talking about Pereira recently.

145/155 has - by the numbers - much more depth compared to 205lbs. This is setting aside the average age, demonstrable skill level and athleticism is hilariously low in the upper weight divisions by comparison.

It is much easier to put together name brand wins at 205 compared to 145/155, and Pereira went 1-1 with his best win at middleweight getting scary knocked out.

And like with pereira, there's an obvious elephant in the room -- with pereira it was Ankalaev, with illia it was Evloev at FW and now Arman at LW. Anyways, Ilia has age on his side and is looking amazing and I won't be surprised if he ends up proving you right, I just need to see a little more from him first, and preferably against young prime contenders like Evloev or Arman. It's going to be fun watching his career though, that's for sure.

Pereira went 1-1 with Izzy and went to sleep. He then moved up and went to a controversial decision with Jan. He has some fine wins from there, but its almost a joke to compare this to undefeated Topriua, IMO.

 

[rjmbrd]

You know people said the same thing about JDS and Alex Pereira once upon a time, just some food for thought

Heavyweight is a joke and has literally half the roster depth of 155lbs, its simply not a competitive division. This is why a one skilled fighter like JDS could win the title in the first place.

Alex went 1-1 with his big win at 185lbs getting scary, all the way asleep KO'd by Izzy. He then goes to a controversial decision with Jan.

Topuria is undefeated and murdering these best-in-the-world fighters with complete impunity. He isn't learning how to wrestle on the job, he's one of the most well rounded fighters in the sport. Charles had absolutely nothing for him in wrestling/grappling, and that says A LOT.

I don't know how there is even an argument, what Topuria did murdering Volk, Max and Charles in a row is basically peerless in modern MMA.

 

[is a]

An elite pressure wrestler is the kryptonite of any fighter who delivers serious KO power with their hands.

Tyron Woodley comes to mind with amazing KO power and elite wrestling (or used to have) that got folded under the pressure of Usman's P4P class wrestling.

Unfortunately, Gaetjhe, Poirier, Holloway, and even Volk will not do what is mentioned above.

Islam moved up, and it might even be a permanent move for him this time, thus leaving a giant question mark on his career while cancelling out a potential fight between the two.

 

[Streeter]

Same as his last 3 fights in 3 rds he goung down

 

[jnes]

Prime Dustin vs Ilia has a chance to be an all time great fight. Dustin's best work is when he's back against the cage exchanging in the pocket and he might be able to catch Ilia. Overall though I'd pick Ilia via rd 4/5 stoppage or pretty wide decision.

That just shows how special of a fighter Ilia is, I wouldn't pick anyone else to out gunsling a prime Dustin.

 

[BowserJr]

Genuine LMFAO @ including Hooker in this. Hooker is not a league above Mac Danzig let alone anyone relevant.

Poirier faced 1 up and comer in the last decade so that's a total lie. He's barely done anything since his fights with Conor FFS.... take a second to acknowledge just how much time has passed since he was actually on a streak and you'll realize how insulting it is that OP suggested he could get ANOTHER shot. That would be 3 title shots coming off 1 win in a row and 5 TOTAL... even Urijah Faber would scoff at that level of favoritism.

Gaethje has only beaten Fiziev in 2 close decisions so it is also false to suggest he has been actively fighting and knocking down potential prospects. Hey... at least he beat Poirier in their rematch but what else has he done in the last 5 years except lose gifted title shots? Just like Poirier, he has the 1 sloppy seconds win over Chandler (who is now 1-5 in his last 6) separating him from now ancient wins over retired stars... both are clogging up the division with their cherry picking opponents and repeated title shots. People hate to admit it because they're much more likeable/exciting but there really isn't that much separating their behavior from Colby Covington's.

Arman really hasn't done much of anything yet and is far from some proven entity. He was one of only 2 people ever who decisioned Charles (who has been stopped 9 times including 2 recent ones) and he's playing suit with the rest and sitting out for over a year waiting for a shot. In what way is he "leagues above" the rest of the division?

And then finally we have Charles who was actually the active, defending champion and thus has a completely valid reason to not be gatekeeping against up and comers. However, to no one's surprise, his schedule has been clogged up fighting the usual suspects (including 2 wins over Chandler, oo la la) further adding to the monotony of the division. While it's great that Charles is active and is clearly willing to fight anyone, I am hoping that he will actually give some new faces a chance now that he's lost 2 title fights convincingly and is in his late 30s. He's not an offender right now... but if we see Charles vs Gaethje 2 booked next, he'll quickly join the ranks.

So yeah I call BS on your "the old lions keep on fending off the new lions" theory. The LW division keeps recycling the same names because the UFC has been incredibly desperate for star power since Khabib/Conor retired and they did everything in their power to try and get either Poirier/Gaethje to get a belt.

The marketing has clearly worked on you but objectively, these guys (except Arman) are all several years removed from a significant win streak and are just cherry picking "low risk" fights against each other while preventing ANY opportunity for someone new to climb the ranks. How are new prospects going to get credibility when they don't even get the chance to fight name opponents? That's how WW ended up in the state its in with Shavkat being anchored by a win over a 40 year old Wonderboy Thompson... rank squatters are ruining the sport and I'll be glad when Poirier is gone for good

Rank squatting has killed divisions. It literally makes them look weak AF.

Current era and the one directly proceeding are trash

 

[contrail]

The Porier who fought Islam is a handful for anyone. Ilia has never fought someone as good in the pocket as Poirier. If Poirier lands clean on you there even once you're in trouble because he's just a consistent, patient finisher when he hurts guys inside.

 

[ChrisBenoit]

Like the first Conor fight

 

[Söze Aldo]

Like the first Conor fight

But with an actual KO vs the TKO Conor got.

It'd be a great fight, but no fighter will be able to beat Ilia trying to outbox him, like Dustin would certainly try to.

 

[rollthedice]

An elite pressure wrestler is the kryptonite of any fighter who delivers serious KO power with their hands.

Tyron Woodley comes to mind with amazing KO power and elite wrestling (or used to have) that got folded under the pressure of Usman's P4P class wrestling.

Unfortunately, Gaetjhe, Poirier, Holloway, and even Volk will not do what is mentioned above.

Islam moved up, and it might even be a permanent move for him this time, thus leaving a giant question mark on his career while cancelling out a potential fight between the two.

It's a shame Illia never fought Movsar, that could've answered a lot of questions