Media Leon Edwards Interested in Islam Fight, But Says Both Have More Work to Do Before Their Fight. Would Like to Fight for 185 Belt Himself.

[Substance Abuse]

 

[TempleoftheDog]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

They call for these fights before they even win the title, etc.

The winner of the Oliveira/Islam vacant LW title was already committed to defending against Alex.

But O’Malley, Topuria, Islam, Edwards, and Dricus have all asked for the free TS at the next weight.

 

[HHJ]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

They call for these fights before they even win the title, etc.

The winner of the Oliveira/Islam vacant LW title was already committed to defending against Alex.

But O’Malley, Topuria, Islam, Edwards, and Dricus have all asked for the free TS at the next weight.

Yeah they both seem pretty unfocused on what they wanna do,and the activity level just makes it worse.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

They call for these fights before they even win the title, etc.

The winner of the Oliveira/Islam vacant LW title was already committed to defending against Alex.

But O’Malley, Topuria, Islam, Edwards, and Dricus have all asked for the free TS at the next weight.

Yeah they both seem pretty unfocused on what they wanna do,and the activity level just makes it worse.

It’s the name of the game nowadays. Chase clout instead of respect.

 

[Shaolin Alan]

Edwards ducking Islam, confirmed!!

 

[GrantB13]

5 defenses minimum before challenging another weight as a current belt holder. I think this needs to be a rule. I'm tired of everyone jumping weights.

 

[The Siege]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

They call for these fights before they even win the title, etc.

The winner of the Oliveira/Islam vacant LW title was already committed to defending against Alex.

But O’Malley, Topuria, Islam, Edwards, and Dricus have all asked for the free TS at the next weight.

Can you blame them, though?

The UFC has made it where the risk of going up to the upper weight class for a free TS is nothing worse than a digit in the L column.

You keep your belt, you make way more money, you get a free shot at the champ and should you win, even more money and fame.

The downsides are, like I said, you might lose and/or might get injured. Basically the same downsides as fighting in your division.

Why wouldn't guys be calling for a free TS? They are merely maximizing their earnings, much in the same way that the UFC maximizes it's profits.

There should be a minimum number of defenses needed across the board before getting a TS up a class. Something doable, but not too far out of reach, maybe 4 defenses?

 

[TempleoftheDog]

It’s the name of the game nowadays. Chase clout instead of respect.

And Conor can suck 100% of my ass tor it.

I was pointing the shit out in real time.. In 2014+.. All you had to do was read. Well.. An ability to look passed the end of your nose helps, for sure. I did the exact same thing with Ngannou, too.

It NEVER should have gotten to this point.

 

[svmr_db]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

They call for these fights before they even win the title, etc.

The winner of the Oliveira/Islam vacant LW title was already committed to defending against Alex.

But O’Malley, Topuria, Islam, Edwards, and Dricus have all asked for the free TS at the next weight.

Yeah the Oliveira/Islam winner vs Volkanovski made sense, sure people can frame it as an "easy" defense on paper just in that he got to fight a bulked up FW, but ultimately Volkanovski earned his shot no matter what.

If a champion can rack up a notable amount of defenses then they deserve a shot at double champ status, regardless of if the belt was just won by a new champion. In a perfect world yeah it would be great if both champions in these matchups has multiple defenses, but the champion who "earned" the shot shouldn't be frozen out of an opportunity just because the higher weight class belt is being passed around like a hot potato.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Can you blame them, though?

The UFC has made it where the risk of going up to the upper weight class for a free TS is nothing worse than a digit in the L column.

You keep your belt, you make way more money, you get a free shot at the champ and should you win, even more money and fame.

The downsides are, like I said, you might lose and/or might get injured. Basically the same downsides as fighting in your division.

Why wouldn't guys be calling for a free TS? They are merely maximizing their earnings, much in the same way that the UFC maximizes it's profits.

There should be a minimum number of defenses needed across the board before getting a TS up a class. Something doable, but not too far out of reach, maybe 4 defenses?

You’re 100% right. I just mentioned it in the post I made before yours. We were typing at the same time. Somewhat abbreviated, but overall that is the gist.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

And Conor can suck 100% of my ass tor it.

I was pointing the shit out in real time.. In 2014+.. All you had to do was read. Well.. An ability to look passed the end of your nose helps, for sure. I did the exact same thing with Ngannou, too.

It NEVER should have gotten to this point.

Blaming Conor is short sighted. Blame capitalism and technology.

 

[Striker Fox]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

fwiw Chael says once Islam moves up to WW he's staying there. Something about that he already has a tough time making weight and it's getting harder as he's getting older.

Seems like if he adds some good weight to his frame, he'll be in a good spot at 170lbs like Whittaker was when he moved up to MW

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Yeah the Oliveira/Islam winner vs Volkanovski made sense, sure people can frame it as an "easy" defense on paper just in that he got to fight a bulked up FW, but ultimately Volkanovski earned his shot no matter what.

If a champion can rack up a notable amount of defenses then they deserve a shot at double champ status, regardless of if the belt was just won by a new champion. In a perfect world yeah it would be great if both champions in these matchups has multiple defenses, but the champion who "earned" the shot shouldn't be frozen out of an opportunity just because the higher weight class belt is being passed around like a hot potato.

I have a slightly different opinion.

You can argue Alex MIGHT have deserved a free TS at LW. But it was literally going to be the FIRST defence of the new LW champion.

Reminds me of Izzy. I think he had 5 defences. He got the crack at Jan, in Jan’s first attempted defence (I called the shit out of that fight, btw).

I don’t think a dominant champion (5 consecutive defences). Should move up for a SuperFight, against a champion making his first attempted defence. This should be common sense btw, I would think?

 

[SuperNerd]

aintnobodygottimefordat.gif

 

[sdpdude9]

They all want the free TS a division above. Or defending against the champ from a lighter division.

They call for these fights before they even win the title, etc.

The winner of the Oliveira/Islam vacant LW title was already committed to defending against Alex.

But O’Malley, Topuria, Islam, Edwards, and Dricus have all asked for the free TS at the next weight.

It’s trying to take shortcuts to greatness in my eyes. Win 1 fight and achieve the supposed pinnacle of the sport. If you lose, oh well, you still have a belt and it doesn’t hurt your legacy because you took a disadvantaged fight. It’s a way easier way to establish a legacy than to win 5+ fights against top contenders. Low risk, high reward.

Maybe I’m in the minority here but making double champ fights fairly common is one of the worst things they’ve done in modern UFC in my opinion. All it does is make messes of divisions and leaves us with no longstanding champions. It should be reserved for very few.

 

[Prologue]

Thanks Conor.....

 

[CieloLuce]

Semi reasonable take. Still, can these fighters stop thinking about being double champ? Like neither Islam or Leon have cleaned out there divisions. Either drop the belt and move up or dont.

 

[AmonTobin]

UFC set this precedent. They're to blame for all the multi-division challenge jibber jabber. They should have always held every fighter to the same standard no matter who they are. But no they had to go full showbiz.
5 title defences to qualify, seems reasonable. I also think the 5x defending champion moving up should get their crack with or without the heavier champ's approval. If Islam defends 5x and then challenges Leon, Leon should not have a say in it. He just has to fight him. In fact, champs should never get to decide who they will or wont defend against. Case in point Jon fookin Jones. #champsdontcherrypick

 

[Clark Rogers]

It’s trying to take shortcuts to greatness in my eyes. Win 1 fight and achieve the supposed pinnacle of the sport. If you lose, oh well, you still have a belt and it doesn’t hurt your legacy because you took a disadvantaged fight. It’s a way easier way to establish a legacy than to win 5+ fights against top contenders. Low risk, high reward.

Maybe I’m in the minority here but making double champ fights fairly common is one of the worst things they’ve done in modern UFC in my opinion. All it does is make messes of divisions and leaves us with no longstanding champions. It should be reserved for very few.

Fans reinforce that thinking in a major way, too. Poatan is a perfect example, people already trying to put him in GOAT conversations just because he's had a belt n two divisions.