Media Islam Makhachev unimpressed with Leon Edwards: "We have to change the champion"

[DarthChen731]

If Islam beats Gaethje and Charles (or whoever might take Charles' spot if he fights and loses) and Leon is still champ by the end of the year year sure fuck it lets go baby

 

[BigOlJeet]

Lol even when Islam talks, the Conor fans come creeping out of their basements and talk shit.

Khabib really did destroy Conor and his entire fan base.

 

[Nobru]

Did Volk weigh in at 145? I also think Islam needs to defend more at LW but the "zero defenses against LWs" is as sour grape as it gets.

Volk is a FW. He can bulk it up but hes a FW. If you can name a top5 LW he defended against, Im in.

 

[djacobox372]

LOL at Islam gaining so much confidence after splitting two fights (arguably) against a 5'5" 35yo featherweight.

32yo 6' welterweight is a whole different animal.

Covington would likey beat Islam.

 

[cws80us]

Get 4 title defenses first at least, create some new record at LW, BJ, Bendo and Khabib are all tied with 3 title defenses

Edgar as well. Crazy that no one had more than 3. Speaks for how tough the division is. Khabib could've easily done it if he hadn't retired early. Islam only needs 1 more to tie the record. Should his 1st two count since both were against a 145er? Asterisk at least lol

 

[markg171]

That's just like in boxing. 175 to 200.

154-175 is where most normie men fall. Which means mma would be better off with an extra weight class.

No that's just retarded. Just like it is in boxing with all their weight classes.

Guys who fall in that area can all easily configure their bodies to make it. Practically nobody is going to be 6ft+ as there's just too much skeleton and extra length of muscles, ligaments, etc., that would make hard to be so little without being a twig. Look how stupid Chase Hooper looks being over 6ft tall and still fighting at 155lbs. Everybody knows he's undermuscled and that's the only way he makes the weight class. The rest of the guys are 5'7-5'11 and have plenty of frame to cover this without their being true size differences.

They're not the bigger guys where yeah, 6inches more of skeletal size is going to ensure we need a bigger gap. Their frames absolutely can handle way more which is why we separate them. Guys do still float around, but the successful ones are the ones who were enormously depleting themselves down in the first place like Pereira and Rumble. The guys who try and just jump up without trying to bulk properly end up realizing that 20lbs gap was real because their frames aren't holding as much as they could've.

 

[markg171]

Lol even when Islam talks, the Conor fans come creeping out of their basements and talk shit.

Khabib really did destroy Conor and his entire fan base.

The person who seems obsessed here would appear to be you bringing this up out of nowhere.

 

[markg171]

Volk is a FW. He can bulk it up but hes a FW. If you can name a top5 LW he defended against, Im in.

On top of that Volk never even bulked up in the first place either.

- Volk was announced 12 days before Islam/Charles as the backup. This was also on 3 months after his last FW fight. No time to have bulked to 155.
- 1st fight he had 3 months notice after that. Again, no time to have bulked to LW properly.
- After it he defended at FW 5 months later. Couldn't possibly have bulked to LW if he could then cut it off right afterwards
- 2nd fight was on short notice after surgery so he obviously hadn't bulked here
- He's again fighting at FW only 4 months later. Couldn't possibly have bulked to LW if he's able to cut right back down again

He's been a FW the entire saga. Which is problematic cause we've likewise seen with Holloway and Conor that just jumping up quickly without taking the time to adjust doesn't work. They all lost their fight attempting that.

 

[duke_droese]

No that's just retarded. Just like it is in boxing with all their weight classes.

Guys who fall in that area can all easily configure their bodies to make it. Practically nobody is going to be 6ft+ as there's just too much skeleton and extra length of muscles, ligaments, etc., that would make hard to be so little without being a twig. Look how stupid Chase Hooper looks being over 6ft tall and still fighting at 155lbs. Everybody knows he's undermuscled and that's the only way he makes the weight class. The rest of the guys are 5'7-5'11 and have plenty of frame to cover this without their being true size differences.

They're not the bigger guys where yeah, 6inches more of skeletal size is going to ensure we need a bigger gap. Their frames absolutely can handle way more which is why we separate them. Guys do still float around, but the successful ones are the ones who were enormously depleting themselves down in the first place like Pereira and Rumble. The guys who try and just jump up without trying to bulk properly end up realizing that 20lbs gap was real because their frames aren't holding as much as they could've.

I agree boxing became too much.

But IMO MMA would improve if it became 155, 165 and 175. They could remove 125 as the manlet twink divisions are the worst to watch.

 

[Prex32]

he actually said colby had to challenge the champ
not change the champ
but whatever

 

[nostradumbass]

You're doing that cool thing with stats again. Arman wasn't #4 when Islam beat him. He wasn't ranked at all. In fact he wasn't even in the UFC, he got in on short notice to fight Islam as a replacement. You don't get to retroactively call an unranked guy #4.

One of the scores was also 29-28 so yeah, Islam did lose a round there.

Nice try though. Maybe they should rematch or something so we can see what the fight's like between the champ and #4, and not on short notice for Arman.

Yeah, that's not how scoring works. You don't lose a round because 1 of the 3 judges scored it differently, the same way you don't lose a fight if 1 judge scores it for your opponent, and 11 of the 15 media scores agree with the 2/3 official judges. It was a grappling heavy fight and Islam took him down every round, stuffed 11 of 12 of Arman's attempts and outgrappled him every round.

Islam Makhachev def. Arman Tsarukyan :: UFC on ESPN+ 7 :: MMA Decisions

mmadecisions.com

And of course you still count wins when rankings move. That's why the rankings do move to reflect where guys actually are once they've fought, or if they're declining. If we're doing that, then Arman shouldn't be anywhere near a title since he lost to unranked Islam Makhachev and #12 Gamrot, and only has 1 ranked win.

 

[LeBron]

I don't think Leon is that great honestly. I think he caught Usman and Colby when they were both in decline. As far as his skills, he's good everywhere and has really good stand up but he's not elite anywhere despite how Rogan likes to talk up his striking. If guys like Pereira, Izzy or Omalley existed in his division, they'd piece him up on the feet. I think he's a solid champ but not like a top 3 p4p type of talent or someone who's gonna have a long reign

He struggled to take down Volk. He’s not Khabib level as a grappler and that’s what he would need to beat the bigger fighter in Leon. Leon’s striking might not be the best in the UFC but it’s elite, and better than Islam’s for sure.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

GTFOH

What bullshit

Lol How?

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

Maybe there is an underweight midget Leon can fight to impress Jizlam.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

I'm not a big fan of MMAth but after Leons performance against Colby, I think Islam wins it.

That's not what I took away from Leon vs Coby.

 

[JoeRowe]

How about Leon vs Belal & Islam vs Shavkat? Let Islam keep his ppv points & then let Charles/Justin rematch for the vacant belt.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

The person who seems obsessed here would appear to be you bringing this up out of nowhere.

His assumption is funny too; obviously Mark you know I'm not a McGregor fan at all, but I also don't like Islam. You've been spot on about him-fighting a much smaller man from a lower division, one top 5 win, not deserving of the aura he has.

Honestly I think Leon would win handily. Jizlam needs to fight some 155ers.

 

[Gilday]

Arman rematch, potential Charles rematch, Gaethje, Gamrot. 4 title defences before I even want to hear about moving up ffs

 

[Alpha_T83]

All I hear is talk. I'll believe it if I see Islam step up to 170.

 

[Dorkman]

Would really rather watch to see if Islam can set a new benchmark at 155 for defenses. But I get why he wants it. It's the in thing to do. And is pretty low risk considering what the rewards are. Worst case scenario you just go back to being the champion of your division.