Matchmaking at 145 kinda sucks

[AmbassadorFright]

So by now we all know that 2 major fights have been announced Yair vs Ortega 2 and Aljo vs Kattar. These were both stupid fights to make. Ortega hasn't fought since the first Yair fight and in that fight he was outstruck, rocked and even submitted all in the first round. Who really wanted a rematch? Yair is coming off a title shot so if Ortega does win does he get ANOTHER shot at the belt and rewarded for inactivity? It's bad enough he's maintained his number 3 spot for sitting on his ass years between fights and his last win was the Korean Zombie. Sterling just lost the BW belt but was a defending and dominant champion regardless of shady circumstances and the best they offer him is 2 fight losing streak Kattar. Does no one see how stupid that is? Max Holloway is available but now there's rumors of him fighting Josh Emmett for no fucking reason. The least they could have done is offer Aljo Ortega or Yair while making Kattar vs whoever they didn't match up against Aljo and both would have been infinitely more intriguing and entertaining matchups. Soo stupid

 

[JoeRowe]

Yeah Aljo should have gotten Yair in Mexico. Each coming off Ls to the current champ, while Ortega & Kattar are each coming off long layoffs.

 

[Kenny Powerth]

Danar will do anything to keep AA out of a TS

 

[Portland8242]

Yeah Aljo should have gotten Yair in Mexico. Each coming off Ls to the current champ, while Ortega & Kattar are each coming off long layoffs.

I honestly can't see any good matchups for Aljo at 145. He's just not built for this division.

 

[Wreckless]

What's up with Ortega. Why is he so inactive? Guy has fought 3 times since 2018.

 

[Neck&Neck]

It’s no Sensei Sean Shelby match-make

 

[numberonebspod]

Unfortunately, we have 2 situations that are gumming up the top of the division a bit.

- What always happens when you have long standing champs is title shots happen quicker than they should (Yair, Topuria, Ortega's 2nd title shot). As a result, the division does not get built up. Topuria may win against Volk, but ultimately it would have been nice to see some more ranked match ups before stepping in against a generational talent. Also, we miss out on exciting build up fights because everyone has already had a shot at the champ, so if they knock off a prospect, they still haven't earned another title shot (see point 2).
- The other issue is Max continuing to prove he can beat anybody not named Volkanovski. As such, they have to be very selective with his matchmaking as he might knock off the other contenders while still having no hope of getting another title shot (so long as Volk is the champ).

Throwing Aljo in the mix (despite presenting some fun new matchups) does not negate these 2 obstacles. Pair that with the injuries Top 10 fighters have had (Ortega, Katta, Giga) and matchmaking becomes pretty difficult.

 

[geardo]

What's up with Ortega. Why is he so inactive? Guy has fought 3 times since 2018.

He’s coming off an injury and he’s also taken brutal damage against max and volk.

 

[Wreckless]

He’s coming off an injury and he’s also taken brutal damage against max and volk.

Holloway fight was 5 years ago. Think he's recovered buddy.

 

[geardo]

Holloway fight was 5 years ago. Think he's recovered buddy.

No shit he’s also had fights since then and got his ass beat again.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Holloway fight was 5 years ago. Think he's recovered buddy.

Well after that fight he took a long while off, came back beat zombie ez, then lost to volk badly. there was a season of tuf in there which also ate up some time, after getting his ass beat by volk he took of almost another year before he got hurt badly in the yair fight

 

[Wreckless]

No shit he’s also had fights since then and got his ass beat again.

Then why'd you mention Holloway ya dolt

 

[Wreckless]

Well after that fight he took a long while off, came back beat zombie ez, then lost to volk badly. there was a season of tuf in there which also ate up some time, after getting his ass beat by volk he took of almost another year before he got hurt badly in the yair fight

Still, if you look at his record prior to 2018 he never fought more than twice a year. That's rare for an up and comer.

Guy is inactive af

 

[geardo]

Then why'd you mention Holloway ya dolt

Are you really this fucking stupid? You asked why he’s been so inactive since 2018. Thats the year he fought max. Put down the bong weirdo.

 

[Wreckless]

Are you really this fucking stupid? You asked why he’s been so inactive since 2018. Thats the year he fought max. Put down the bong weirdo.

What are you trying to say, dummy?

It's been 5 whole years since that fight. If he's not recovered by now both mentally and physically then the guy has a problem.

But I like how you bring up the Max fight like that's a justifiable reason why he's inactive right now. I know it's christmas eve but take it easy on the drugs.

 

[RockyLockridge]

I've always thought 145 and 170 have the worst match making been that way for about 6 years now

 

[geardo]

What are you trying to say, dummy?

It's been 5 whole years since that fight. If he's not recovered by now both mentally and physically then the guy has a problem.

But I like how you bring up the Max fight like that's a justifiable reason why he's inactive right now. I know it's christmas eve but take it easy on the drugs.

As has been explained to you already, the max fight covers part of his inactivity. He’s had his ass beat since then even worse by volk and is coming off an injury against yair.

 

[ferrisjso]

With Volk and Max not losing for 10 years(at 145) theres nothing to work with from a matchmaking perspective. If a few fighters go undefeated for years a division kinda dies we saw the same thing at 125 where MM/Joe B and a revolving cast of third fighters(Dodson, Horiguchi, Henry)did not lose for years.

This is why they've tried to send both Max and Volk up to 155 but it hasn't worked like it did with Conor, Dustin and Charles.

 

[sonhow]

I would guess its mostly " Ortega only accepts this one fight" kind of problem.

Not a fact just a guess.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

What's up with Ortega. Why is he so inactive? Guy has fought 3 times since 2018.

I posted this in another thread in September, but Tony fought recently, so it's 8 now, and Ortega is STILL #3

Oct 2018, both Tony and Ortega were the #1's of their divisions. Since that time, both of them have only won 1 fight. But since Tony was active and fought 7 times, he's out of the rankings, while Ortega who only fought 4 times is still top 3.

Why even fight?

Ortega is apparently totally fine not fighting. Dunno what he actually busy with, but there's nothing incentivizing him to take fights when he can just wait