say what you will but Conor he is fighting top level this time

[tripleo]

True Conor hasn't been active but I honestly believe he wanted to be more active in 2020. I think Dana had a lot to do with it.

Who should be fighting for the title in your opinion?

the winner of conor and poirier, def would be fighting for the title in their next fight

 

[TRYHARD 2001]

Aside from Cowboy when has Conor fought anything besides elite guys?
(And only due to the timing with Cowboy)

He doesn’t get enough credit for his strength of schedule.

Completely agreed on this end.

He doesn't fight often these days, but he does fight the top fighters at FW and LW. Poirier, Holloway, Mendes, Aldo, Eddie, Khabibi, etc. Hell, he even boxed Floyd!

He's been a little choosy and inactive lately but in the end the dude is a hell of a talented fighter that does fight the best and usually wins impressively, Nate RNC and submissions in Cage Warriors notwithstanding.

 

[Sweater of AV]

True Conor hasn't been active but I honestly believe he wanted to be more active in 2020. I think Dana had a lot to do with it.

Who should be fighting for the title in your opinion?

Oliveira deserves to be fighting for the title at this point. A fight with Poirier makes sense. Gaethje could fight Conor and then Chandler-Hooker/Tony. Or they could do a mini-tournament but Uncle Goof needs to have too much control for that to happen.

 

[SL1200]

So we should jerk him off for actually fighting real competition now? Geez the former champ actually has to fight a real opponent and we should praise him for doing what he’s paid ,very generously btw, supposed to do...

Goddamn....It’s all participation trophies with you kids these days

He doesn't say we should praise him. It's just that you can't say anymore that he doesn't face real competition. Relax...

 

[chupacabra5]

People on here don't seem to understand you can not be as good as Khabib and still a very good fighter.

I know what you meant to say but it’s funny that your phrasing implies Khabib sucks.

 

[Sure Dawg]

we criticized him for fighting a washed Cerrone, wouldn't apply here
Poirier is hell of a test, arguably the best lightweight currently, along with Olivera and Conor himself

hes not much of a test, conor knocked him out already in less than a round. Poirier has gotten better at doing the same thing he's always done arguably, and that thing, that style, has proven to be - AND NOT JUST TO CONOR - ***very hittable*** Showing his toughness repeatedly has equally shown how hittable he remains. This is the same fight as it was years ago, if conor is at 80% its a fairly easy showing. Says little about conor other than hes still good at "timing" and "accuracy" as far as fight selection goes.

 

[markg171]

Conor has never stopped fighting top competition.

Every fighter he's fought since Poirier back in 2014 has been top 10. You're shitting on Cerrone, who was #5 at the time.

 

[markg171]

Actually, nevermind. He was on a two fight losing streak.

To two of the top 5 guys, who got to fight each other for the next interim.

It being better for Conor to have fought one of Tony, Gaethje, or Poirier =/= Cerrone himself wasn't a top fighter. He was #5 when Conor fought him.

 

[waldywaldy]

No it shouldn't be for the title. Conor doesn't deserve a title shot over the guys that have been actively fighting. Agreed that Dana needs to let Khabib go though.

Agreed

I don't put it past the Bald Goof to put a belt on the line at the last moment though

 

[Kyojiro Kagenuma]

To two of the top 5 guys, who got to fight each other for the next interim.

It being better for Conor to have fought one of Tony, Gaethje, or Poirier =/= Cerrone himself wasn't a top fighter. He was #5 when Conor fought him.

True.

 

[Memeojima]

we criticized him for fighting a washed Cerrone, wouldn't apply here
Poirier is hell of a test, arguably the best lightweight currently, along with Olivera and Conor himself

It's a guy he already KOd tho. Give him Gaethje and see if he's shot out or not

 

[Kid Quick]

He might not appear to be, but he is
the only legit level fighter he's beaten in his last 13 fights was Al
he lost to anyone good in the last 3 years

Alex Hernandez is an outstanding fighter.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Agreed

I don't put it past the Bald Goof to put a belt on the line at the last moment though

He has a pile of interims in his office. If Khabib says he isn't coming back he'll flip one to an actual belt for Conor.

 

[markg171]

No it shouldn't be for the title. Conor doesn't deserve a title shot over the guys that have been actively fighting. Agreed that Dana needs to let Khabib go though.

it shouldn't be for the title, there are too many LW with better track record than Conor, who is 1-1 at LW

Who exactly are you talking about? Conor, Poirier, and Oliveira are the only top ranked fighters coming off wins. Tony, Justin, and Hooker are all coming off losses. And now Hooker is signed to fight Chandler.

What exactly better fight was there? Poirier, who has the same win streak as Conor, vs Oliveira?

It did make the most sense to just do Conor/Poirier for the title, then first defence against winner of Tony/Oliveira. Instead we've got this nonsensical timeline that the LW title might not be up for grabs until like July or the fall, when Khabib retired in October.

 

[Sopapo]

Well yeah, fair point. He is also the only current TOP LW he already beat.
Im not gonna diss conor though, when he showed those DMs with Dana it was clear he was all about getting a fight.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Who exactly are you talking about? Conor, Poirier, and Oliveira are the only top ranked fighters coming off wins. Tony, Justin, and Hooker are all coming off losses. And now Hooker is signed to fight Chandler.

What exactly better fight was there? Poirier, who has the same win streak as Conor, vs Oliveira?

It did make the most sense to just do Conor/Poirier for the title, then first defence against winner of Tony/Oliveira. Instead we've got this nonsensical timeline that the LW title might not be up for grabs until like July or the fall, when Khabib retired in October.

Lol at Conor coming off a win. Cerrone at 170? He's coming off a loss at 155 like many others and it was over two years ago.

The only reasoning for Conor to be fighting for the title over all those guys is because he's still Dana's baby.

 

[Plenti0203]

It really is silly to keep questioning Conor's willingness to fight. He has balanced facing elite competition with also maximizing exposure and value. Faced Aldo, was slated to face RDA, when that fell through, faced Nate up a class, came back to avenge his loss, fought the champ at 55, fought in a different sport where he could have been humiliated, fought Khabib, came back after a lay off and fought a diminished but still competitive Cerrone (hardly the first person to take an easy stylistic match up upon return) and is now facing Poirer.

Im a Conor fan, not a huge one, and I'll be cheering for Dustin. But the Conor haters here are more insufferable than the nut huggers. Makes me speak up haha

 

[Willek]

the ones Conor would have serious trouble with would be Olivera or Islam

If he thought Adriano Martins hit hard then Conor will send him into another dimension.

 

[tripleo]

Conor has never stopped fighting top competition.

Every fighter he's fought since Poirier back in 2014 has been top 10. You're shitting on Cerrone, who was #5 at the time.

it doesn't matter, he won like 4 of the last 13 fights, that's a fact, ranking not withstanding

 

[tripleo]

It's a guy he already KOd tho. Give him Gaethje and see if he's shot out or not

and Poirier beat Joe Duffy who beat Conor, the past is the past, it only measures so much
the thing is Poirier has improved dramatically since their fight at 2014,Carlos Ferreira, Jim Miller, Eddie Alverez, Pettis, Gaethje, Holloway, Hooker

that's a hell of stacked lineup

Yes, fighting Gaethje would be nice, I think Conor beat Gaethje too, and I think that fight would happen. it would be a more difficult matchup for Conor but I think he can pull it off.