Rothwell fighting a guy coming off of a loss...

[chitoortiz]

JDS is #6 in official rankings, Rothwell is #5.

I can definitely see JDS losing this fight honestly if he performs to the standard of his past two appearances.

I see Rothwell mauling JDS.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Pretty amazing how things have changed in a couple years, no one on Earth would have predicted Rothwell beating JDS.

 

[Wizzlebiz]

I am.

Well i break it down for ya.

Nothing is guaranteed with UFC. Actually thsts not true. The olny guarantee is title shots will be promised than the promise is broken more times than not.

 

[basherofbrains]

Alright, can we fuckin stop with this?

Not even close. Mitrione, Vera and Barnett are totally negligible. He didn't even look good against Barnett. Wins alone aren't enough. Strength of schedule is huge.

Stipe's last three opponents were all top 3!

He's far and away the most deserving

LOL not only that, but Meathead was dominating him so there is that.

 

[Kryptt]

Rothwell basically said he wanted to fight a lot in 2016 - pretty sure that warpath he intends to carve includes the belt.

 

[Bagatur]

did I miss something? why are people so sure Ben gets the title shot if he beats JDS? lol, is that people's excuse why he has to fight JDS?
did Dana say that? not that it matters anything, but still better than pulling it out of their asses.

 

[YesMySon]

Stipe's last three opponents were all top 3!

yeah and he's 2 and 1 in those 3 fights.

 

[LilNubi]

Well i break it down for ya.

Nothing is guaranteed with UFC. Actually thsts not true. The olny guarantee is title shots will be promised than the promise is broken more times than not.

There are guarantees if you name is Rousey, McGregor or Jones.

 

[LilNubi]

Alright, can we fuckin stop with this?

Not even close. Mitrione, Vera and Barnett are totally negligible. He didn't even look good against Barnett. Wins alone aren't enough. Strength of schedule is huge.

Stipe's last three opponents were all top 3!

He's far and away the most deserving

His last 3 opponents weren't top 3, let's not kid ourselves. With that said, he only one 2 of those 3 fights.

 

[Final Say]

yeah and he's 2 and 1 in those 3 fights.

His last 3 opponents weren't top 3, let's not kid ourselves. With that said, he only one 2 of those 3 fights.

Yes they were

Stipe against JDS > Rothwell against Mitrione and Barnett

 

[Kahran]

Yes they were

Stipe against JDS > Rothwell against Mitrione and Barnett

But he lost that fight...
What is this, an award for participation?

 

[LilNubi]

Yes they were

Stipe against JDS > Rothwell against Mitrione and Barnett

I see your point, we'll just have to agree to disagree though.

 

[BigMuffler]

Stipe's last three opponents were all top 3!

Hunt was top 3? That seems messed up.

 

[KillerIsBack V2]

Big Ben via cheat code subs

 

[Final Say]

But he lost that fight...
What is this, an award for participation?

Arguably. Strength of schedule and individual performance. Rothwell looked like hot shit against both of those guys, even in victory. He won, but look at who he fought. He looked like shit against that. Stipe looks like a fuckin boss against Junior and a third of every body scored it for him.

 

[Final Say]

Hunt was top 3? That seems messed up.

I'm 99.99% positive, I've been looking for an article to prove it actually. I know he was top 3 for a short while and coming off an (interim) title fight when he fought Stipe. It's plausible that he slipped out before the stipe fight happened. He was certainly top 5 though.

 

[SmilinDesperado]

No, JDS is still probably ranked higher than Big Ben.

Any opponent ranked higher is good for business for Rothwell.

Yeah, but that's because the . rankings are bullshit.
It's not a huge slap in the face, but it doesn't make a lot of . sense for the arguable contender front runner to be fighting a guy coming off a loss...former champion or not.

 

[Kahran]

Arguably. Strength of schedule and individual performance. Rothwell looked like hot shit against both of those guys, even in victory. He won, but look at who he fought. He looked like shit against that. Stipe looks like a fuckin boss against Junior and a third of every body scored it for him.

I wouldn't say I disagree with you, Stipe looked very good in that JDS fight but we both know how things work. It's very rare for someone to be rewarded for looking good in a loss. A win against a lesser opponent matters more than a loss against a better opponent. It's up to the individual whether they agree with that or not.

 

[Randy BoBandy]

Former champ who is coming off a loss in a de-facto title eliminator? Not a huge slap in the face, as a win puts him up there w/ overeem/Stipe/et al.

A loss to JDS would put him about where Overeem and Stipe are in my book.

 

[YesMySon]

stipe looked great losing to JDS so he should get a title shot. great argument. can't argue that one.