If Leon doesn't land the headkick on Usman...

[Egészségére!]

Jan would have defiled him

Right I didn’t say he wouldn’t & you know that but still if there’s one Minowaman type weight-class traveler prime, full-camp Usman would be a good pick to have some success at that

 

[Sycho Sid]

THe only thing I feel about 50% confident saying is Colby would not have got a 3rd title shot.

 

[BowserJr]

And Usman wins. How does the division play out after that? IIRC, Usman was one fight away from tying Silva's record. He had defeated Burns, Colby and Leon and the next challenger would have been Belal, who, as good as he is, I doubt would have been able to beat Usman.
Wild card would be Khamzat who was still considering WW around then but 5 rounds with in (mostly) Prime Usman in a five rounder and full camp might have been a different story.
How many more defenses do you think Usman would have gotten had he defeated Leon? Do you think, considering the contenders at that time, he would have broken Silva's record?

Colby wouldnt get another shot so he'd likely fights Belal a few years ago and wins and probably fights JDM wins and then fights Garry or Shav and loses cuz he'd be so shot by then

 

[hector domino]

Right up there with the hypothetical of Cain if he never underestimated the altitude of Mexico city.

nah Cain was kinda fucked due to the style matchup as he only faced favourable opponents and never faced a Bjj ace. what's even worse was that Werdum had developed excellent kickboxing aswell and could throw knees and kick without giving a fuck about cain taking him down. It basically shut down cain's biggest tool that he used to grind people's cardio aka his wrestling

 

[TOMFDJYEDH]

Leons fall off has been generational.

Even if the headshot dead was a 'fluke' he still went and beat Usman in the 3rd fight.

Its crazy to me how some fighters fall off so quickly and sharply, around early-mid 30s but some continue on strong.

Of course there can be a lot of reasons why, in Leon's case I think it was the classic, made a lot of money, won the belt and that hunger and desire just goes, even if they dont realise it themselves.

 

[theincognito]

Usman:

Beats Belal in mid 2023
Moves up to chase Strickland in late 2023 (wins)
Probably holds the title until Chimaev

170:

Shavkat vs Colby for the vacant (Shavkat wins)
Shavkat vs Garry (Shavkat wins as IRL)
Shavkat long absence as IRL
Garry vs JDM for interim (Garry wins)
Islam beats Garry
Islam waiting for Shavkat

 

[Lee Danger]

if Aldo doesn't rush in the first seconds of the Conor's fight...

 

[TerraRayzing]

nah Cain was kinda fucked due to the style matchup as he only faced favourable opponents and never faced a Bjj ace. what's even worse was that Werdum had developed excellent kickboxing aswell and could throw knees and kick without giving a fuck about cain taking him down. It basically shut down cain's biggest tool that he used to grind people's cardio aka his wrestling

Agreed. That thai clinch from Werdum when Cain tried to wall-n-maul was great game-planning.
I think the altitude did affect Cain but even at sea level, Cain would have had problems with Werdum, imo. Bad match up.

 

[hector domino]

Agreed. That thai clinch from Werdum when Cain tried to wall-n-maul was great game-planning.
I think the altitude did affect Cain but even at sea level, Cain would have had problems with Werdum, imo. Bad match up.

yup he would have lost imo. Werdum was a horrific style matchup for cain. You see Khamzat having low effort easy wins against big dudes like Kevin holland, DDP and Whitaker where its either 1st round finish or easy 5 round decision meanwhile Khamzat had to fight life and death against a 155er. The sole reason was that Burns was the worst possible style matchup for Khamzat and he only got out due to the size advantage. I am a huge fan but I personally think Khamzat has little to no chance against a prime Jacare who is a bigger Burns with a lot better chin. Khamzat has paths of Victory against both Romero and Weidman but I dont see any chance against Souza

 

[Prazeres]

Bit of revisionist history there. Usman Edwards 2 was at 278 and Khamzat Nate was for 279. So yeah they would've booked it still.

How does Khamzat being given a tune up fight while the title picture was tied up by a rematch disprove the idea that he would have been next if not for the circumstence that lead to the rematch

 

[BowserJr]

Leons fall off has been generational.

Even if the headshot dead was a 'fluke' he still went and beat Usman in the 3rd fight.

Its crazy to me how some fighters fall off so quickly and sharply, around early-mid 30s but some continue on strong.

Of course there can be a lot of reasons why, in Leon's case I think it was the classic, made a lot of money, won the belt and that hunger and desire just goes, even if they dont realise it themselves.

Thats part of it but its also the number of fights and fight camps.

Eventually the body and stamina breaks down not just cuz age but cuz of mileage

 

[fractal]

He fights Colby 5 times for the title and then loses it to Belal