Marvin Vettori being a top 5 MW for 5 years and got a title shot shows how HORRIFIC that era of MW was when Izzy and Rob were the top dawgs

[Doctor Grudge]

I think this current crop of MW is the worst the division has had in 20 years.
, who was written off as a seriously contender a few years ago, is somehow now a top 5 fighter.
Imavov being in the top 5 is a reflection of the division getting worse not Imavov getting better.

lol what the hell are you talking about? Imavov is only 30 years old. He wasn't a contender because he wasn't in his prime, you absolutely get better in your 20s.

Like, I love how you're totally lost that this guy is now a contender as if he's been around forever, he only joined the UFC during the pandemic.

 

[cold_spring_harbor]

I don't think people really understand how effective weaponized cardio is

Edgar, colby,Marvin, all these fighters at their absolute peak were a huge problem

 

[Bend NvR Break]

lol what the hell are you talking about? Imavov is only 30 years old. He wasn't a contender because he wasn't in his prime, you absolutely get better in your 20s.

Like, I love how you're totally lost that this guy is now a contender as if he's been around forever, he only joined the UFC during the pandemic.

Pandemic is literally 5 years ago.
He's been on the roster longer then most fighters in UFC history.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Yeah I really can't be arsed with him, dont think ive enjoyed a single one of his fights.

 

[marvinparsons]

He isn't the first or last to get a title shot because they were around when a division got cleaned out. Or who went way up the ranks based on beating people who were artificially ranked too high or due to flukes. Or got a big win streak against middling competition.

You have Diego Lopes fighting for the belt at 145 right now and that's been a quality division. I'm not saying he's a bum, but he went from being 2-2 in regionals, losing in UFC, beating 4 guys that shouldn't even be ranked, then he beats late Gustaffson period Ortega. Boom: title shot.

I'm not saying Lopes sucks, he could go on to be the next Charles Oliveira or a multi time champion. Or he could get stomped by Volk, go 50-50 against top 10 guys for the next 7 years and everyone here will be saying he never deserved a title shot and it wasn't a good win for Volk.

Part of the problem in MMA is that guys fight so infrequently you don't get that much of a sample size. So if you rattle off a few wins that's all there is to go on.

Imagine if you judged the MLB, NHL or NBA based off the last 10 games only.

 

[snaportap21]

Marvin being top 5 for years and getting a title shot shows how garbage that era of MW was. He is not good at anything striking or grappling, mid athlete, one of the worst finishers of all time I think his last one was during the Obama administration. Roman won the 1st fight too should have had it 29-28. Rob beat the piss out of him. Cannonier pushing 40 recorded the most significant strikes landed in a MW fight against him. Roman dominated most of the rematch now. Marvin's last CLEAN win was fucking Paulo Costa in 2021 LMAO.

He just has one of the best chins ever he is tough as shit but that's literally it no power, no speed, no technique.

A Marvin Vettori is a top 15-20 ranked guy AT BEST in any half decent division. Fact that he was top 5 for years shows how HORRENDOUS that era of MW was.

Now we finally have the MW division BACK.

Dricus, Khamzat, Imavov, Caio, Sean, Fluffy, Roman, Brendan, Bo, Pyfer, Kopylov, Robocop, Iron Turtle, Bruno, Aliskerov, Malkoun.

Izzy and Rob were great in their prime and the top 2 by far but their era of MW was dogshit with the talent they competed against. They wouldn't have had near the same success with this crop of MW talent. Izzy already getting rekt left and right don't be surprised if same happens to Rob. There are no more Marvins or Costas to pad their record against.

cardio, size, pressure and toughness makes an elite fighter, even if they are lacking power. if you have a bigger man walking you down who you can't hurt who mixes in takedowns with their strikes that's difficult to deal with. technique isn't the end all be all.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Yea man the Italian Dream is pretty much over. Marvin is the best MMA fighter from the boot so far imo. A huge step up from Sakara, but still not the prince who was promised. Marvin did ok in UFC. MW wasn’t quite as good in 2021 as it was when we had Jacare, Luke, Nazi Hunter, Moose, Romero, etc., but I don’t think it was ever as bad as HW or LHW right now.

Patiently waiting for our next Italian hope.

 

[Deceasedxo]

You can say this for every division for every era. Not everyone who is in the top 10 is gonna be champion material and a lot of them fall down hard.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

I think Marvin regressed quite a bit.

IDK if the beatings he took from Whittaker and Cannonier broke him but he used to be better.

 

[Blond]

I agree with above. He was a decent contender during his come up. After the second adesanya fight he stopped wrestling and his offense fell apart

 

[ElLunico]

i dont believe izzy and rob would beat guys like prime rockhold or weidman
theres lots of killers like vitor
even tim kennedy a well rounded fighter could beat izzy

LMAO prime Rockhold. Who the fuck did he beat in his prime? Machida, Bisping??.. The fuck are you smoking? Izzy literally has multiple title defenses and was super active. Wtf has Rockhold accomplished that comes close to that?. And Weidman claim to fame was beating a declining Anderson, not to mention Anderson was clowning too much

 

[Hassan Mouzine]

i agree with topic starter on a few points but not his conclusions.
middleweight wasnt shit when vettori got a couple of wins and a ts. costa (short span) and romero (long span) were beasts. there were other good fighters as well during that time. gastellum had a few good fights in him.

ts conclusion that MW was shit because vettori had some succues.....nah man, im not buying that.

Wha i do agree with is that vettori is very very very mediocre. in alot of other divisions he probably wouldnt enter the top 10. That doesnt mean that MW is really shit......there are alot of variables and I think vettori over achieved with toughness and grit and had some luck/good timing with match making along the way. being quite inactive also kept him longer in the rankings.

so all 'n all.....yes vettori is very mediocre and has been ranked for too long but no.....it was not because of the division lacking in talent.

 

[Tapatio]

The big booty Latinas in Miami ruined him

 

[pankrat]

Yea man the Italian Dream is pretty much over. Marvin is the best MMA fighter from the boot so far imo. A huge step up from Sakara, but still not the prince who was promised. Marvin did ok in UFC. MW wasn’t quite as good in 2021 as it was when we had Jacare, Luke, Nazi Hunter, Moose, Romero, etc., but I don’t think it was ever as bad as HW or LHW right now.

Patiently waiting for our next Italian hope.

Sakara was a bit underrated imo but Marvin is newer generation so obviously better

 

[CroCopsLHK]

He's pretty similar to Strickland. It seems his perogative is getting into a slugfest to decision. He's like a created fighter who traded power for cardio/chin. He hurt Roman too but didn't have the killer instinct

I can understand why he's been top but sadly he's never been champ material. And he looked so rusty last weekend. Roman was hitting him with axe kicks and he was showboating

You got to think he took time off and had an awful shoulder injury but he looked slow

 

[CroCopsLHK]

BTW Roman is a grappler first imo. What he did to Hermansson was GD frightening. The fact Nassourdine and Marvin can prevent that tells me they are gorillas

But seeing Marvin lose the rematch when Roman had to stand with his looping singular shots. It was pretty disturbing

 

[snaportap21]

LMAO prime Rockhold. Who the fuck did he beat in his prime? Machida, Bisping??.. The fuck are you smoking? Izzy literally has multiple title defenses and was super active. Wtf has Rockhold accomplished that comes close to that?. And Weidman claim to fame was beating a declining Anderson, not to mention Anderson was clowning too much

He beat a prime Jacare and a prime Weidman. I’m not convinced Izzy beats prime versions of either of those two men. Rockhold most likely would take Izzy down and submit him if he didn’t approach the fight arrogantly. Once he got the ufc belt he started believing his own hype and then got stopped a bunch. Izzy has a serious grappling deficiency. Whittaker, Vettori, even Alex Pereira have gotten Izzy down. Chris and Luke matchup well with Izzy.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Sakara was a bit underrated imo but Marvin is newer generation so obviously better

I just meant in terms of accomplishments, and ignoring the progression of the sport. I think Marvin stayed ranked longer and actually fought for a title.

I also heard an interesting take that Marvin got the rub from the Fertittas because he’s Italian. Not sure how true that is. I think he was good enough to warrant his rank and TS.

 

[ElLunico]

He beat a prime Jacare and a prime Weidman. I’m not convinced Izzy beats prime versions of either of those two men. Rockhold most likely would take Izzy down and submit him if he didn’t approach the fight arrogantly. Once he got the ufc belt he started believing his own hype and then got stopped a bunch. Izzy has a serious grappling deficiency. Whittaker, Vettori, even Alex Pereira have gotten Izzy down. Chris and Luke matchup well with Izzy.

Lol at Rockhold taking Izzy down.. Izzy would not have been champ and defended his title multiple times if he had trash TD defense.. What did Rockhold accomplish in the UFC besides getting killed by pillow fisted Bisping? Lol

You think a mf who lost to Costa beating Izzy? Lol

 

[snaportap21]

Lol at Rockhold taking Izzy down.. Izzy would not have been champ and defended his title multiple times if he had trash TD defense.. What did Rockhold accomplish in the UFC besides getting killed by pillow fisted Bisping? Lol

You think a mf who lost to Costa beating Izzy? Lol

Rockhold lost to Bisping because of his overconfidence and arrogance. When he took Bisping seriously he dominated that fight. Rockhold walked forward with his hands down, anyone can be ko'd like that. Besides, Imavov isn't exactly heavy handed and he stopped Izzy. Bisping at least has over half of his wins via stoppage. Imavov has only 7 out of his 16 wins via tko. Bisping has 18 out of his 30 wins via tko.

Izzy had been taken down by Marvin Vettori in both fights, Robert Whittaker, Alex Pereira, DDP, Jan Blachowics (i did not spell that right lol), Kelvin Gastelum, and Rob Wilkonson. If all these men could get Izzy to the mat, why wouldn't Rockhold be able to? On top of that, Rockhold has world class grappling. In 2007 he won gold at purple belt for ibjjf. He just matches up well with Izzy. And losing out of your prime doesnt really say much. Rockhold retired after from MMA because he said he's old after the fight ended. Prime vs Prime, Rockhold beats Izzy.