If Max Keeps Improving...

[IAmTheGOAT]

He can easily go down as the GOAT. My first Max fight I saw was his first fight vs. Aldo and I thought he looked good in it. The second Aldo fight he improved a lot and looked great. I thought Ortega would beat Max based on the Max that fought Aldo but damn he improved again by a huge margin.

I think it's interesting because i've never seen a fighter be continually able to improve like Max. Fighters like Khabib are phenomenal, but you can tell they seem like they've peaked. Max over his last fight fights has been able to fine tune and tweak the smallest details in his game, and it shows in his improvements.

I can't think of another fighter that after you think "Oh, he must've peaked" just takes it too another level like Max. Like, there's a night and day different after each performance.

 

[AimedWithV]

He can easily go down as the GOAT. My first Max fight I saw was his first fight vs. Aldo and I thought he looked good in it. The second Aldo fight he improved a lot and looked great. I thought Ortega would beat Max based on the Max that fought Aldo but damn he improved again by a huge margin.

I think it's interesting because i've never seen a fighter be continually able to improve like Max. Fighters like Khabib are phenomenal, but you can tell they seem like they've peaked. Max over his last fight fights has been able to fine tune and tweak the smallest details in his game, and it shows in his improvements.

I can't think of another fighter that after you think "Oh, he must've peaked" just takes it too another level like Max. Like, there's a night and day different after each performance.

I think eventually he will find himself at LW.
And to become a GOAT from there - extremely hard mission, if not impossible.

 

[migeru29]

He can easily go down as the GOAT. My first Max fight I saw was his first fight vs. Aldo and I thought he looked good in it. The second Aldo fight he improved a lot and looked great. I thought Ortega would beat Max based on the Max that fought Aldo but damn he improved again by a huge margin.

I think it's interesting because i've never seen a fighter be continually able to improve like Max. Fighters like Khabib are phenomenal, but you can tell they seem like they've peaked. Max over his last fight fights has been able to fine tune and tweak the smallest details in his game, and it shows in his improvements.

I can't think of another fighter that after you think "Oh, he must've peaked" just takes it too another level like Max. Like, there's a night and day different after each performance.

He needs to fight a big and powerful wrestler.

 

[oldschoolmmafan]

He has two title defenses, give him some time.

 

[fortheo]

He needs to fight a big and powerful wrestler.

Those don't really exist at FW. The best wrestlers in his division are half a foot shorter than max, do not very big.

 

[IAmTheGOAT]

I think eventually he will find himself at LW.
And to become a GOAT from there - extremely hard mission, if not impossible.

Why not? Hooker had a hard time at 145 and is having an easy time at 155. I'm finding the whole "155 is stacked" thing a myth. Showtime got wiped by Max and has been doing ok at LW. The only question for Max at LW is Khabib, but even then, I think Khabib's wrestling is a myth. He doesn't have god like cardio everyone suggests. He got tired in both the Al and Conor fights. And lets be honest, Conor's wrestling isn't Max's wrestling. Max took a fight against Ortega who is a stylistic nightmare and dominated. Khabib's never fought a stylistic nightmare.

The only real challenges at LW for Max IMO are Tony because of Tony's reach and style.

But lets look at Max and Khabib.

Both are pressure fighters, Khabib is a pressure fighter with wrestling, max striking

Max's cardio is on another level imo

Max is a way better striker

Max has P4P top 3 TDD

Max is an underrated wrestling and has an underrated GG.

Don't get me wrong, Khabib might wipe the floor with Max, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the opposite.

 

[migeru29]

Those don't really exist at FW. The best wrestlers in his division are half a foot shorter than max, do not very big.

Then he needs to move to his real weight class.

 

[Lint]

Holloway is looking good, but let's not be the "you're as good as your last fight".

Give him say 4 or 5 more impressive wins and we can start talking about it.

And just to say I'm really looking forward on that, dude's a killer!

 

[fortheo]

Then he needs to move to his real weight class.

Nah, he doesn't. He can run shop at FW, considering he made weight.

 

[Pious Augustus]

Why not? Hooker had a hard time at 145 and is having an easy time at 155. I'm finding the whole "155 is stacked" thing a myth. Showtime got wiped by Max and has been doing ok at LW. The only question for Max at LW is Khabib, but even then, I think Khabib's wrestling is a myth. He doesn't have god like cardio everyone suggests. He got tired in both the Al and Conor fights. And lets be honest, Conor's wrestling isn't Max's wrestling. Max took a fight against Ortega who is a stylistic nightmare and dominated. Khabib's never fought a stylistic nightmare.

The only real challenges at LW for Max IMO are Tony because of Tony's reach and style.

But lets look at Max and Khabib.

Both are pressure fighters, Khabib is a pressure fighter with wrestling, max striking

Max's cardio is on another level imo

Max is a way better striker

Max has P4P top 3 TDD

Max is an underrated wrestling and has an underrated GG.

Don't get me wrong, Khabib might wipe the floor with Max, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the opposite.

What's GG, my man?

 

[filthynumber1]

I think eventually he will find himself at LW.
And to become a GOAT from there - extremely hard mission, if not impossible.

Its possible. Hes 27 and looking amazing.
Skys the limit

 

[AimedWithV]

Why not? Hooker had a hard time at 145 and is having an easy time at 155. I'm finding the whole "155 is stacked" thing a myth. Showtime got wiped by Max and has been doing ok at LW. The only question for Max at LW is Khabib, but even then, I think Khabib's wrestling is a myth. He doesn't have god like cardio everyone suggests. He got tired in both the Al and Conor fights. And lets be honest, Conor's wrestling isn't Max's wrestling. Max took a fight against Ortega who is a stylistic nightmare and dominated. Khabib's never fought a stylistic nightmare.

The only real challenges at LW for Max IMO are Tony because of Tony's reach and style.

But lets look at Max and Khabib.

Both are pressure fighters, Khabib is a pressure fighter with wrestling, max striking

Max's cardio is on another level imo

Max is a way better striker

Max has P4P top 3 TDD

Max is an underrated wrestling and has an underrated GG.

Don't get me wrong, Khabib might wipe the floor with Max, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the opposite.

That's a BUNCH of mistakes and unproven assumptions.

1. Pettis was DRAINED at 145.
2. Khabib won all his 5 rounders, dominating in later rounds, just like Max. No ones cardio is better or worse. He was NOT gassed.
3. Ortega was NOT a stylistic nightmare for Holloway. He's not a stylistic nightmare for any careful fighter , because his style is to capitalize on mistakes.
4. You have no clue, for now, who is stylistic nightmare for Khabib.

And what's the connection with Hooker? Yes, he's doing good now. Has he now done better than BJ or Edgar?

 

[IAmTheGOAT]

That's a BUNCH of mistakes and unproven assumptions.

1. Pettis was DRAINED at 145.
2. Khabib won all his 5 rounders, dominating in later rounds, just like Max. No ones cardio is better or worse. He was NOT gassed.
3. Ortega was NOT a stylistic nightmare for Holloway. He's not a stylistic nightmare for any careful fighter , because his style is to capitalize on mistakes.
4. You have no clue, for now, who is stylistic nightmare for Khabib.

And what's the connection with Hooker? Yes, he's doing good now. Has he now done better than BJ or Edgar?

1. And Max isnt drained? His weight cus it worse than Pettis
2.Looked tired in 3rd and 4th against Al
Looked tired in 3rd against Conor
3. Yes he is, his ground game was a threat to Holloway. Even in the 4th when Ortega was battered bloody and tired to the lowest level imaginable he almost had an angle lock on Max.
4. Anyone who can survive his ground and pound and has good cardio, stand up pressure.

BJ is old, and Edgar is small.

 

[AimedWithV]

1. And Max isnt drained? His weight cus it worse than Pettis

There are fighters who CAN cut more and there are fighters who CAN NOT.
Holloway obviously can. Pettis can't, his FW course has been a disaster and he's not supposed to cut that much.
Neither is Holloway, but he can be in a fighting shape at 145. It's individual.

2.Looked tired in 3rd and 4th against Al
Looked tired in 3rd against Conor

So if we're into "looked", then it's your personal opinion which I have no reason to trust.
Fact is: Khabib DID NOT GAS in later rounds and won them.

3. Yes he is, his ground game was a threat to Holloway. Even in the 4th when Ortega was battered bloody and tired to the lowest level imaginable he almost had an angle lock on Max.

His ground game, in case you haven't noticed, is a threat to ANYBODY.
Being in a COMPETITIVE FIGHT =/= stylistic nightmate.

4. Anyone who can survive his ground and pound and has good cardio, stand up pressure.

BS. Pretty much everyone survived his GnP. Conor included. Conor, Iaquinta, RDA - all have good cardio, all have good standup and pressure.
You're clueless.

BJ is old, and Edgar is small.

Huh? Do you even follow the conversation?
I was talking about BJ and Edgar being the best champions the LW division has seen.

 

[blaseblah]

BJ is old, and Edgar is small.

You realize Edgar was the LW champ right?

 

[IAmTheGOAT]

There are fighters who CAN cut more and there are fighters who CAN NOT.
Holloway obviously can. Pettis can't, his FW course has been a disaster and he's not supposed to cut that much.
Neither is Holloway, but he can be in a fighting shape at 145. It's individual.



So if we're into "looked", then it's your personal opinion which I have no reason to trust.
Fact is: Khabib DID NOT GAS in later rounds and won them.



His ground game, in case you haven't noticed, is a threat to ANYBODY.
Being in a COMPETITIVE FIGHT =/= stylistic nightmate.



BS. Pretty much everyone survived his GnP. Conor included. Conor, Iaquinta, RDA - all have good cardio, all have good standup and pressure.
You're clueless.



Huh? Do you even follow the conversation?
I was talking about BJ and Edgar being the best champions the LW division has seen.

1. Stop with that bullshit.
2. Khabib did gas in the later rounds, he won because Conor has shitty cardio and Al took the fight on one days notice and trained for 3 rounds.
3. Stylistic nightmare: Iron chin, pressure, relentless ground game, powerful hands.
4. Conor doesn't have good cardio, and has never been a pressure fighter, LaQuinta took the fight on 20 hours notice, RDA fight was 3 rounds and Khabib could barely take him down let alone GNP him if he even did.

 

[IAmTheGOAT]

You realize Edgar was the LW champ right?

And? Different era. Edgar should be fighting at Bantamweight RN.

 

[ostlerrage]

He can easily go down as the GOAT. My first Max fight I saw was his first fight vs. Aldo and I thought he looked good in it. The second Aldo fight he improved a lot and looked great. I thought Ortega would beat Max based on the Max that fought Aldo but damn he improved again by a huge margin.

I think it's interesting because i've never seen a fighter be continually able to improve like Max. Fighters like Khabib are phenomenal, but you can tell they seem like they've peaked. Max over his last fight fights has been able to fine tune and tweak the smallest details in his game, and it shows in his improvements.

I can't think of another fighter that after you think "Oh, he must've peaked" just takes it too another level like Max. Like, there's a night and day different after each performance.

How do you know he's improving.

 

[VenomCarnage]

You guys need to slow down man.

I love Max, been a fan for a while now, but his resume is light years away from GOAT status.

Swanson
Lamas
Pettis
Aldo twice
Ortega

Don't get me wrong, it's a great start! That said, Cub is one of the most overrated fighters in MMA history, Lamas isn't far off that description, Pettis was severely depleted from a ridiculously ill-advised weight cut, Aldo was on the downside and Ortega as much as he's hot property now, we found out a lot about him on Saturday.

Look, I understand that it seems like I'm nitpicking, but I'm just trying to see it from all angles. Stopping Jose Aldo twice is incredible on paper, and people will cry, bitch and moan about him "not being out of his prime" but he's been hindered for a while now. There is no coincidence that a guy who is the best kicker in MMA almost exclusively boxes now, the injuries have clearly taken a toll. You also see how well Aldo does against men his size, Mendes, Edgar etc. he's only ever lost to natural Lightweights in Conor and Max.

Max has other meh names like Stephens and Fili, but I'm not throwing them into a GOAT status argument, especially when the Stephens win was pretty much Max point-fighting his way to 30-27.

Great fighter, he's in the race for the best Featherweight ever, but GOAT status is just laughable at this point.

 

[AimedWithV]

1. Stop with that bullshit.

This is a fact, whether you like it or not. Or you really assume that anyone's ability to cut weight is the same? Really?

2. Khabib did gas in the later rounds, he won because Conor has shitty cardio and Al took the fight on one days notice and trained for 3 rounds.

No, he absolutely DID NOT GAS, no matter how many times you're going to say the same idiotic thing again.

3. Stylistic nightmare: Iron chin, pressure, relentless ground game, powerful hands.

Again: This is not a "stylistic nightmare", this is a COMPETITIVE FIGHT.

4. Conor doesn't have good cardio, and has never been a pressure fighter, LaQuinta took the fight on 20 hours notice, RDA fight was 3 rounds and Khabib could barely take him down let alone GNP him if he even did.

BS after BS after BS and a lot of excuses. You're quite full of crap aren't you?
Conor has good cardio as well, he showed that in Diaz fight.
RDA was absolutely taken down at will by Khabib, in every second of their fight. And got a fair amount of pounding on the canvas.

Conslusion:
Khabib is a great champion in an extremely talent-full division, and to think that Holloway, by coming up, will crack it like a nut is delusional like yourself.