Media Ilia announces comeback in April-June

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

I'm excited to see Ilia come back, but I'm disappointed in how he has handled being champ

It's pretty obvious to me he wants to make Paddy/Justin instantly jump back into camp after their fight

Then he will likely leave the division after he beats one of them, fight Islam, then he will retire... at least that's his plan if all goes well

I hope I eat my words, but this kind of picking fights, jumping divisions, timing everything to your advantage, then retiring after doing as little as possible to make a GOAT claim is soooo bad for the sport

 

[jeskola]

I'm excited to see Ilia come back, but I'm disappointed in how he has handled being champ

It's pretty obvious to me he wants to make Paddy/Justin instantly jump back into camp after their fight

Then he will likely leave the division after he beats one of them, fight Islam, then he will retire... at least that's his plan if all goes well

I hope I eat my words, but this kind of picking fights, jumping divisions, timing everything to your advantage, then retiring after doing as little as possible to make a GOAT claim is soooo bad for the sport

He won't fight Islam. Dana is kinda putting the kibosh on the weight class thing. It started with "you gotta vacate" and now its turned into "no".

I predict Ilia fights winner of Paddy/Justin then "goes on hiatus" again, loses due to rust, and tries desperately to get Dana to let him box, then retires.

 

[AmericanMMA]

Hand Sanitizer boy is going to get smashed, lad

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

He won't fight Islam. Dana is kinda putting the kibosh on the weight class thing. It started with "you gotta vacate" and now its turned into "no".

I predict Ilia fights winner of Paddy/Justin then "goes on hiatus" again, loses due to rust, and tries desperately to get Dana to let him box, then retires.

I think they will make an exception for this

It’s a massive fight and both guys will retire in not too long, so from the UFC’s perspective there isn’t much to lose

 

[SuperNerd]

Zzzz.. shut up and fight.

 

[SamuraiBro]

 

[Substance Abuse]

The UFC and Ilia are both working overtime to avoid Arman.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

The UFC and Ilia are both working overtime to avoid Arman.

I didn't want to get bogged down in that since I know more than a sentence or two is pushing people's attention spans on here

But imo the biggest factor in the UFC not booking Arman is Ilia being so openly against fighting him, you can't prove it, because we don't know what happens behind the scenes, but it sure seems that way

 

[jeskola]

I think they will make an exception for this

It’s a massive fight and both guys will retire in not too long, so from the UFC’s perspective there isn’t much to lose

They won't, the fight isn't happening

 

[Alpha_T83]

Topuria was probably told if he can't defend before July that he has to vacate his title.

 

[Söze Aldo]

View attachment 1129812

 

[hbombbisping]

If Ilia was who he said he was he'd have no problem fighting Arman.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

The UFC and Ilia are both working overtime to avoid Arman.

They aren’t working that hard, they just know it’s easy to avoid a fight when you have all the leverage.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Topuria was probably told if he can't defend before July that he has to vacate his title.

I disagree, I don't think the UFC is telling him shit

I think he knows this is his opportunity to get an easy defense (preferably against Paddy) on his timeline, and if he waits too long the division could move on and put him in a less favorable position... plus he's in his prime and has no reason to wait any longer than that

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

They aren’t working that hard, they just know it’s easy to avoid a fight when you have all the leverage.

It's possibly, partially due to laziness they aren't making it for the same reasons they'd make Islam vs Usman out of laziness

They don't want to have to negotiate with Ilia, if he doesn't wanna fight Arman why deal with the headache

It works out that Paddy is kinda marketable but it wouldn't surprise me if half the reason wasn't due to laziness (and obviously not caring about the health or sanctity of the sport enough to work at it)

 

[Jinx_AA]

He smokes Gaethje or paddy

 

[Trabaho]

He won't fight Islam. Dana is kinda putting the kibosh on the weight class thing. It started with "you gotta vacate" and now its turned into "no".

I predict Ilia fights winner of Paddy/Justin then "goes on hiatus" again, loses due to rust, and tries desperately to get Dana to let him box, then retires.

It's pretty corny to claim superiority by gaining 10-15 pounds. 2 div champ. 3 div champ. It literaly be eating more gaining 10 pounds and beating one guy. Compared to someone cleaning out the curent top 5 of their division.

 

[Neck&Neck]

Hell yeah, The GOAT is back
I kinda wish they would just give him Arman, so it would shut this forum up with all the retarded he’s ducking bullshit
You can’t duck someone who’s never been offered the fight
But it’s also funny watching fighters totally disregard Posh boy in the media lol
And sherdoggers taking it serious lol

Paddy is the bigger fight anyways

 

[John makfresshi]

Tiny man Toporia is maybe the worst thing in MMA. He just is the lamest little manlet

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Hell yeah, The GOAT is back
I kinda wish they would just give him Arman, so it would shut this forum up with all the retarded he’s ducking bullshit
You can’t duck someone who’s never been offered the fight
But it’s also funny watching fighters totally disregard Posh boy in the media lol
And sherdoggers taking it serious lol

Paddy is the bigger fight anyways

Ilia created that narrative himself by emphatically saying he'd never fight Arman for no real reason

Of course when the guy you're refusing to fight for no reason is also the best challenger in the division by a sizable margin that's what people are gonna say