Merab to 145 soon?

[jeskola]

Merab is getting close to cleaning out his division. He's got Yan & Umar rematch & nothing after that. Maybe Bautista if he beats Umar or Yadong if he beats Suga Sean?

145 is loaded up with contenders in Lerone, Diego, Evloev, Yair, Zalal, Aljo, & Jean Silva. Possibly Pico & Allen if they catch a win streak?

If a super fight is in the future for Merab after gutting the 135 division, I'm sure Merab fighting for the 145 belt would be more realistic compared to a Pantoja super fight.

Thoughts?

He should just stay in his division and set another record IMO. He can rematch Yan and Umar and fight Bautista or Zahabi that will get him to 17 UFC wins in a row breaking Anderson's record. Then he can line up newcomers and rematches to go for the title defense record, then retire.

 

[MRT]

Bro who is close to Merab, don't say Cruz when his best win was a close fight vs TJ or an undersized DJ.

No need to disrespect Cruz's opponents or try to marginalize his wins. Faber and Benevidez are no slouches...and there are other good fighters on there too.

Of course you can argue that Merab has the better resume...but then others can point to Cruz having more title wins/defenses (TJ does too...not that I would argue for him). This is my point...if Merab gets the defenses, then the debate is over. Cementing a case is exactly that...removing all doubt. There currently is at least some doubt because of how different people weigh the various criteria. Some heavily weigh title wins/defenses and Cruz simply has more.

Look at GSP and hwo the totality of the evidence is there for his status as WW GOAT. Merab can get there too and it should not take long. Beating Volk will just result in a lot of people saying Volk is old and washed, a .500 fighter over his last six, blah blah blah. IMHO, Merab is better served by ending all debate at 135, which he easily could do within next 12 months at the rate he is going, then moving up and fighting whoever has the title at that time.

 

[BarbellzNbacon]

If changing weight classes is an option for him, I rather him go up in weight than down

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

I'm so weirded out by how many people are bringing up an Umar rematch so quickly when he hasn't done anything since losing to Merab. Generally speaking, ya gotta wait for a guy to actually rebound before floating their name back into the mix.

 

[KO Shotz]

I'm so weirded out by how many people are bringing up an Umar rematch so quickly when he hasn't done anything since losing to Merab. Generally speaking, ya gotta wait for a guy to actually rebound before floating their name back into the mix.

This.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

I'm so weirded out by how many people are bringing up an Umar rematch so quickly when he hasn't done anything since losing to Merab. Generally speaking, ya gotta wait for a guy to actually rebound before floating their name back into the mix.

Yea Umar has no right to a rematch whatsoever. Merab has defended his title an additional two times since he fought Umar, Umar has done nothing and has a tough fight in Bautista ahead of him.

 

[nostradumbass]

I think the question is whether he can walk through punches from guys a weight class up. It’s not like he’s not getting clipped at BW, but so far he’s not come across anyone who hits hard enough for that to be a problem. I’d be interested to see if that’s still the case at 145.

He's been rocked and/or dropped several times at BW, by Cejudo, Umar, don't know if body shots count as rocked, but O'Malley had him hurt pretty bad to the body in the 1st fight.

IMO his biggest problem at FW wouldn't be punches, it would be evloev slinging him around.

 

[BowserJr]

Merab is getting close to cleaning out his division. He's got Yan & Umar rematch & nothing after that. Maybe Bautista if he beats Umar or Yadong if he beats Suga Sean?

145 is loaded up with contenders in Lerone, Diego, Evloev, Yair, Zalal, Aljo, & Jean Silva. Possibly Pico & Allen if they catch a win streak?

If a super fight is in the future for Merab after gutting the 135 division, I'm sure Merab fighting for the 145 belt would be more realistic compared to a Pantoja super fight.

Thoughts?

Seems way too small

Merab v Pantoja at 135 could be good

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

Volk would beat the fuck out of Merab. Merab got all stuttery when they asked him about Volk. He knows what would happen he wants nothing to do with it.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

I doubt it. Merab is too small, and he can earn plenty of money just defending his title until he gets too old. Being the GOAT BW is a much more obtainable and memorable legacy for him than just being a double champ.

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

Yea Umar has no right to a rematch whatsoever. Merab has defended his title an additional two times since he fought Umar, Umar has done nothing and has a tough fight in Bautista ahead of him.

People are writing off Bautista and just know Umar is the toughest match up for Merab. I agree tho Umar needs the Bausita win and one more to be in the convo. And thats if he looks impressive, not just grinding out some bullshit decisions.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

The Umar fight was much closer than the Yan fight, at least Umar won two rounds. Yan didn't get as tired but his game was shut down from the start from defending infinite takedowns.

I feel like Yan was exhausted too lol. I gotta rewatch that one

 

[YEET]

Nah, he's too small for 145. Unlike a lot of other 135ers who are there because they cut a lot, Merab says he barely has to cut from his natural weight.

Wild hearing that he doesn’t cut much and he just doesn’t eat. He’s built kind of dense so I assumed he was trimming 15ish lbs. I think the broadcast said about 6lbs.

 

[Fedorgasm]

By the time he fights yan and Umar a whole year would have gone by. More if there were injuries/delays.

Plenty of time for new challengers to arise

 

[RockyLockridge]

I see no reason to move weight divisions for merab he has fights he can take for the forseeable future he should continue to do exactly what he is doing in remaining active and taking as many fights as he can while he is still young and healthy.

He should rematch Yan, fight song yadong, rematch Umar then maybe consider a weight change. At that point he'll have 7 title fight win at bw. he could do that in a year at this pace.

if he's still champ by end of 2026 yes. but lets keep this division in check for atleast 2 years first.

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

Pantoja is most likely the super fight he gets...

 

[Doctor Grudge]

By the time he fights yan and Umar a whole year would have gone by. More if there were injuries/delays.

Plenty of time for new challengers to arise

Plus the 125 pound champ can always move up to challenge him.

 

[RockyLockridge]

By the time he fights yan and Umar a whole year would have gone by. More if there were injuries/delays.

Plenty of time for new challengers to arise

exactly. There is song and bautista and in that time Oliveria, martinez or mitchell could potential move up and make a splash in that time. There is work for him to do there no need to rush him out

 

[Söze Aldo]

Wild hearing that he doesn’t cut much and he just doesn’t eat. He’s built kind of dense so I assumed he was trimming 15ish lbs. I think the broadcast said about 6lbs.

He probably sheds weight the way old school fighters did, where they dropped the lbs during their training camps and not killing themselves in a sauna the night before trying to cut 20+ lbs.

Come to think of it, that probably plays a role in why his cardio is so good in fights.

 

[Nausicaa]

Merab dominated Umar. I don't see a rematch going any different. The only rematch that is interesting at this point is with Yan. Other than that, there really is nothing left for Merab at 135.

Your delusion surpasses Merab's achievements