No Real UFC Stars Left

[Edward Henry Greb]

The UFC is losing talent in almost every division. There are almost no champions I would pay to see fight.

Last night, even though UFC fight night was free (for ESPN-Plus members), I wouldn't even waste my time watching the fights last night. I only watched the last rounds of two fights: Jacoby's KO and Buckley's stoppage of Colby.

Jacoby's KO was exciting; the Colby fight was boring.

That said, of the current UFC champions, these are the only ones I would actually pay to see fight:


HEAVYWEIGHT (up to 265)
Jon Jones (Defenses: 1)
COMMENT: Would pay to see Jones fight either Aspinall or Pereira. Don't care to see Jones fight anyone else at HW. Jones' fight IQ + savagery makes him always interesting and dependable.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (205)
Alex Pereira (Defenses: 3)
COMMENT: Would pay to see Pereira fight most anyone in the division; dude is always looking to kill or be killed. And he usually does the killing. Doesn't give two shits about anything but winning by finish. Will always pay to see this.

MIDDLEWEIGHT (185)
Dricus Du Plessis (Defenses: 1)
COMMENT: Honestly hate Duplessis' style. His fight against Strickland was boring AF. Would only pay to see Dricus fight Chimaev, and not sure who I would be rooting for.

WELTERWEIGHT (170)
Belal Muhammad (Defenses: 0)
COMMENT: Not a fan of Belal at all. Would never pay to see him do anything.

LIGHTWEIGHT (155)
Islam Makhachev (Defenses: 3)
COMMENT: Makhachev is talented, but he has no charisma, almost reminds me of "Gomer Pyle" with muscles, never an inspiration. His extreme Dagestan training has made him difficult to be; but I don't think he could whip one side of his mentor, Khabib. Islam may have finished Volkanovski in the second fight, but he looked like ship in the first fight, which I thought Volkanovski won. Makhachev seems more like a front runner to me, and is only the king of a broken division of failed-efforts against Khabib.

FEATHERWEIGHT (145)
Ilia Topuria (Defenses: 1)
COMMENT: Would pay to see Topuria fight most opponents. Dude comes to finish and is always looking to mix it up.

BANTAMWEIGHT (135)
Merab Dvalishvili (Defenses: 0)
COMMENT: I admire Merab in many ways, but can't stand watching fights go the distance. Would not pay

FLYWEIGHT (125)
Alexandre Pantoja (Defenses: 3)
COMMENT: Would pay to see Pantoja fight most opponents. Dude comes to fight, and as tough as nails.

WOMAN'S BANTAMWEIGHT (135)
Julianna Peña (Defenses: 0)
COMMENT: Peña is gritty, but so technically unsound it's painful to watch.

WOMAN'S FLYWEIGHT (125)
Valentina Shevchenko (Defenses: 0)
COMMENT: Never liked Shevchenko, would not pay to see her fight again.

STRAWWEIGHT (115)
Zhang Weili (Defenses: 2)
COMMENT: I was a big fan of Weili, and in a way still am. I would pay to see her fight Rose again, or maybe Shevchenko, just on the outside chance she might win. But I can't think of any one else that I pay to see her fight. Wish her well though.


Which champions would you pay money to see fight?

Most any of these I would watch for free, but I'm getting sick of spending $80 every other weekend for bullshit.

As much as I liked Pantoja, I didn't pay for his last fight. Would probably pay to see his next, because he really look good.

Thoughts?

 

[HHJ]

Casual

Saturday's card was nothin but knockouts.

#gowatchmondaynightraw

 

[Sonny Qc]

Agree

UFC is dying.

 

[Khaosan]

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Stars come and go, but gifs of finishes are forever.

 

[ComfortablyNumb55]

Colby can get back.

Just needs to focus.

 

[joy2day]

I don't really agree with the way the TS frames this, but I think it is true that the UFC is about their brand and not individual stars. However, that is also partially to do with the fact that there just aren't any fighters capable of being a breakout commercial sensation right now, and the last one the UFC had is a raper like Diddy. They seem to be managing commercial success with the brand though, I don't think I'm in on the idea the UFC dying, lol

 

[Thesnake101]

I wouldn't even waste my time watching the fights last night.

You missed some pretty good shit like Kape's fight, Cub's war with Quarantillo, Joel's mauling of Klose and MJ's KO of Azaitar. Brutal finishes and great fights, much better than some PPVs imo.

I don't look at names anymore, but rather matchups. Some prelim bouts deliver more than marquee fights.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Lol

This is just like your opinion guy ...

 

[Clark Rogers]

UFC been dying for 2+ decades here, surely they've set some record for surviving an obviously terminal condition this long.

Somebody save this "i won't pay for any of these" thread for next time OP is griping on pay issues.

 

[flektarn]

hear me out: a card with poatan and olives.

 

[bobafett]

People still pay for these?

 

[Tweak896]

I think the belts are going through transition, but these champs are better than the recent ones.

 

[Substance Abuse]

If you disagree with TS he might try to fight you over the internet and talk about his masculinity. Maybe post a photo or two of himself. Watch out, guys.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Casual

Saturday's card was nothin but knockouts.

#gowatchmondaynightraw

Um, idiot (dare I say, "Casual"?) ... it was a FREE card ... and those "knockouts" came from clubfighters, not Champions.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

You missed some pretty good shit like Kape's fight, Cub's war with Quarantillo, Joel's mauling of Klose and MJ's KO of Azaitar. Brutal finishes and great fights, much better than some PPVs imo.

I didn't "miss" anything.

I invested my time elsewhere, and not one penny on these fights.

I misspoke, as I did watch Cub's "war" with Quarantillo (a glorified club-fight).
Actually, I only watched the last round. After the fact.

I agree both dudes were gritty, and I admire Cub's win ... but DUDE ... it was a mid-tier CLUB FIGHT.

Do you really think either of these palookas = Champion Material?

Neither do I.

I don't look at names anymore, but rather matchups. Some prelim bouts deliver more than marquee fights.

I understand your point: Hey, I like watching banger matchups also.

But will I pay for them?
NO ... unless I am watching a current (or potential future) Champion.

The guys you mentioned already get a tiny portion of my payment from my ESPN+ membership, and that's all they'll ever get. It's really all they deserve to get.

Would I pay $80 to see Cub Swanson fight Billy Quarantillo? Um, no.
Would I pay $80 to see Colby fight Buckley? Um, no.

Not all "brutal finishes" or worthy of time to watch, and especially my time to pay to watch.

Would I pay $80 to watch Pereira fight Ankalaev? Hell Yeah
Would I pay $80 to watch Jones fight Aspinall or Pereira? Hell yeah

But there's not much else I would actually pay for to see these days.
Much of the shit, I'm not even bothering to watch anymore these days, TBH.

Oh, I also watched the final stanza of Bryce versus Kron, and it was almost an utter waste of time to watch.

You couldn't pay me to watch that whole fight.

At the end of the day, I absolutely love watching fights + MMA, but not bullshit.
Not pretenders (incapable contenders), and not washed-up past contenders "fighting for a payday" ... to "stay relevant."

We are all different in what we like and want.

For me, I will only PAY to watch fights involving at least one (and preferably two) legit Champion-level contenders.

The sad truth is, most of the current UFC "contenders" are nothing but "old past failures" for the title, still struggling to "be relevant."

Who TF wants to pay for that?

 

[asdf122345]

I think Ilia Topuria and Alex are the only interesting fighters so far. Everyone else is meh. And Jones is on his way out.

 

[Just Creed]

The ufc have struggling for stars for years. Conor appeared on the scene in 2013 and the UFC grabbed him immediately and that was when there were no stars so we're taking a minimum of 11 years with no stars

 

[Thesnake101]

I didn't "miss" anything.

I invested my time elsewhere, and not one penny on these fights.

I misspoke, as I did watch Cub's "war" with Quarantillo (a glorified club-fight).
Actually, I only watched the last round. After the fact.

I agree both dudes were gritty, and I admire Cub's win ... but DUDE ... it was a mid-tier CLUB FIGHT.

Do you really think either of these palookas = Champion Material?

Neither do I.




I understand your point: Hey, I like watching banger matchups also.

But will I pay for them?
NO ... unless I am watching a current (or potential future) Champion.

The guys you mentioned already get a tiny portion of my payment from my ESPN+ membership, and that's all they'll ever get. It's really all they deserve to get.

Would I pay $80 to see Cub Swanson fight Billy Quarantillo? Um, no.
Would I pay $80 to see Colby fight Buckley? Um, no.

Not all "brutal finishes" or worthy of time to watch, and especially my time to pay to watch.

Would I pay $80 to watch Pereira fight Ankalaev? Hell Yeah
Would I pay $80 to watch Jones fight Aspinall or Pereira? Hell yeah

But there's not much else I would actually pay for to see these days.
Much of the shit, I'm not even bothering to watch anymore these days, TBH.

Oh, I also watched the final stanza of Bryce versus Kron, and it was almost an utter waste of time to watch.

You couldn't pay me to watch that whole fight.

At the end of the day, I absolutely love watching fights + MMA, but not bullshit.
Not pretenders (incapable contenders), and not washed-up past contenders "fighting for a payday" ... to "stay relevant."

We are all different in what we like and want.

For me, I will only PAY to watch fights involving at least one (and preferably two) legit Champion-level contenders.

The sad truth is, most of the current UFC "contenders" are nothing but "old past failures" for the title, still struggling to "be relevant."

Who TF wants to pay for that?

I guess it's just a different perspective because I don't have to pay to watch the fights - not even pirating, if you're in South America you can watch a livestream of the fights for free on a betting site. Just the fights, no commentary and no interviews/ads.

I get what you're saying though, I was much of the same mindset years ago, didn't even enjoy watching Gaethje's fights with Palomino because they were so sloppy it was ridiculous, but I guess my perspective has shifted after over a decade of watching MMA. I do skip fights here and there if I know the likelihood of them going the distance, and not being very competitive, is high. There's also fights I wish I skipped, like Ankalaev vs Rakic, Sandhagen vs Chito or Munhoz's last three fights.

I also got a bit jaded in regards to the title picture after all these years of shenanigans that fucked over some very good fighters' chances, namely stuff like Bisping rematching Hendo and then fighting GSP, Conor vs Eddie and every other champion wanting to get a second belt without even cleaning out their division. Now I'd rather be entertained above all.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

I think Ilia Topuria and Alex are the only interesting fighters so far. Everyone else is meh. And Jones is on his way out.

Concur, but Pantoja brings it as well (imo).

What makes Jones compelling (to me) is he IS elite ... THE MOST ELITE ... but IS obviously on a decline ... and yet he shocked a lot of people @ HW ... in beating the two biggest fish remaining in the division, Gane and Stipe, both by finish.

Meanwhile, Aspinall beats Blaydes, Pavlovich, and Volkov by comparison

But yeah, Alex = Alex, a peerless "will fight anyone, anytime" WINNER ... taking fights no other Champion would take (short-notice, etc.), and finishing their ass anyway.

Topuria is highly-talented also, but more of a "diva already," and is becoming insufferable to listen to.

Pantoja and Pereira are more "down and dirty" to me, also elite, but more worthy of support.

.