Should Merab fight Umar next?

[Rapa]

Makes no sense they didn't book Umar vs Yan when both were free.

Umar said no bcs he knows yan will beat him

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Why would we give a guy off a loss with a lone top 5 win a title shot? Because of his last name?
Slop.

I'd like to remind you that GSP lost his title to Mat Serra, then had to beat Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck to get a rematch.

 

[Mcnugget]

I wanna see merab fight chandler !

 

[Raise Your Fist]

Corey or Peter vs Merab next please

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

OH yippy another rematch.

Sandhagen is the next in line

 

[AL-Tappo McSnappo]

I think Umar has the best chance of beating Merab but just feels like a big mistake.

I think Merab should be excited for the rematch though. It will be a tough fight but if he beats him again while Merab is still near his peak. It will be tougher for the company to make him fight his toughest challenger again when he is older and starting to decline. Eliminate him now so he can beat up guys like Sandhagen when no longer performing at 100%

Yes, but not right away, both should fight other fighters first.

 

[sdpdude9]

Just because someone has the best chance doesn't mean they keep getting a chance. Umar lost clearly and hasn't even fought again.

This exactly. You earn title shots by getting wins not because you may be the biggest threat stylistically.

 

[Cameron]

This is a rematch I want to see. The first fight was a banger.

 

[Elvis.]

I think Umar has the best shot at him. But it’s the sandman’s turn

 

[cade187]

Sandhagen, Bautista, and Yan are all way more deserving. Go out and get some wins.

 

[ejazahmednit]

Umar needs atleast one decisive win over a top 5 before he can claim a TS
enough with the shitty unearned TSs
Yan, Sandhagen are both in line

 

[Blastbeat]

nope, Umar should get at least 1-2 wins over top 10 opponents to get another shot.
O'Malley shouldve too, so lets not start running away with the "playing favorites" concept.

Cory gets the next shot.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

The champ has spoken and said Cory was next

BW GOAT Merab calls the shots now. You sit and watch.

 

[Rorschachxx]

Sandhagen has earned his shot imo.

Umar needs a big win and then can challenge again. Their first fight was one of the best this year and I can't see any BW challenging Merab like Umar.

Obv. lots of adjustments to make for Umar nonetheless. He will have learned a lot of lessons from this fight.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Remember when fighters had to win fights to get title shots?

 

[Myrddin Wild]

Cutting through teh hype

Looking at teh top 5​

Song & Sand are teh only 2 Merab hasn't beat a time or 2.

UMAR GASSED!!! If teh arm was injured "during" teh Merab fight... is that really an excuse? If it waz injured ahead of time, then maybe that gets a little consideration... but gassing has nothing to do wit a fooking arm. He'z got to up his VO2Max, & that takes time. So give Umar time, & let him earn his title shot again.

Spoiler: Umar gassed

MMAth puts Petr ahead of Song. Song throwing bombz in teh Yan fight is fun, and would've been brilliant had it been effective... but he got shut down by Petr's more technical game. Song'z KO power is interesting... because that's the only way you're going to take out Merab... but Petr's rematch is ahead of Song imo.

Sand is teh fight to make atm... because there's nobody else that makes sense. Merab doesn't have him on his resume yet. Sand haz a very solid gym to prepare him, & they've been likely preparing for a long time prior.

We all know what's comming. Hard to imagine they're blind to it.

Meanwhile Yan needz more fights to make his case because he got absolutely shut down in Merab's 5 round fight with him.

I just watched it again prior to posting. Good on Yan for staying in there & not gassing, but FFS he didn't offer much of anything. Yan has a lot of potential with his stellar TDD & otherwise stellar striking... but has a lot of work to do regarding Merab's relentless attacks from any & all directionz.

Merab broke teh UFC record for TD attempts in teh Yan fight! That threw off Yan'z striking game like nothing else could. It was perfect. Between R4 & 5, Merab is "standing" in his corner after a ridiculous 4 round pace... & smiling & ready to go. Yan sitting down barely able to see out of his swollen right eye didn't look anything like a killer. He had to get a finish to win, but didn't have it in him to even up his pace. Did he look like he was capable of a legit attempt at a finish? Teh fook waz Yan shooting on Merab in teh 5th for? That failed earlier several timez. Teh fook? That seemz like a "heart" problem. He should've been swinging for teh fencez.

What Yan needz... takes time to develop.

Per Merab's pace: I will submit that in the 1st O'Malley fight, that Merab seemed to "take a round off" to rest & do more striking. Whether that's because he couldn't continue to spam TD's (like he did vs. Yan) is debatable, but Merab could be slowing down. To support this pov, Merab has openly admitted that he's been hurting by training too much. Merab aging is the only way anyone has any chance.

O'Malley was the biggest threat due to his KO power, but Merab has now upped his Sub game, & that's even more devastating, because he had that same grip on Yan many timez throughout that fight, but wasn't even close to a sub.

There's no rush to get Yan back in there. He should take on someone else in the meantime, & absolutely destroy them to make his case. Since Yan & Umar got a lot to prove... the 2 could fight each other for teh opportunity.

That said, if teh UFC is thinking that those are the only 2 contenderz to Merab'z title, then it will likely be that they are both given canon fodder so that they can feed Teh Machine a couple of fights in the future that makes any kind of sense.

Post 316- Dana waz asked who could take Merab out. He said "maybe Umar"... lol... meanwhile Sandhagen'z already next.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

No, enough of these constant UFC title fight rematches all the time, is UFC that awful now that we have to keep regurgitating the same title fights over and over again. I have UFC title rematch fatigue

 

[El Fernas]

Stop it with the Ultimate Rematch Championship, he fought Omalley twice now, if he gets Umar Nurmagomedov its going to be another rematch, and both guys had no fights in between the rematch, so no, make it a new matchup.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Stop it with the Ultimate Rematch Championship, he fought Omalley twice now, if he gets Umar Nurmagomedov its going to be another rematch, and both guys had no fights in between the rematch, so no, make it a new matchup.

Totally agree with you brother, I'm so bored and tired of the constant UFC title rematches, it seems like every other UFC title fight is a rematch these days, its getting really boring now. Lets see some new fresh matchups. I have that UFC title fight rematch fatigue

 

[agibmxmma]

Umar gave Merab his toughest fight during his undefeated streak thus far and has a recent win over Sandhagen. Merab should fight Pantoja next, non title superfight at 130lb catchweight for International Fight Week, and allow both divisions to sort themselves out a little bit. At 135 Umar vs Yan for next title shot, O'Malley vs Sandhagen winner fights the Yadong vs Baustista winner for next title shot.