Should Merab troll umar if he beats sandhagen?

[RockyLockridge]

Figgy had won 3 in a row at 135. Umar had won lot more, including a win over Corey that's a much better win than anyone Figgy beat at BW. It doesn't make sense to say Figgy got screwed.

I dunno man never seen a former champ win 3 in a row after moving up and beat the most recent title challenger and not get a shot. Kinda unprecedented. Figgy beat a former champ, a perennial top 10 and the most recent title challenger and still didn't get a title shot Umar only had one notable win in a fight he probably didnt even deserve. Just a pure fast track to justify an opportunity to cash in on a familiar last name

 

[mkess101]

I dunno man never seen a former champ win 3 in a row after moving up and beat the most recent title challenger and not get a shot. Kinda unprecedented. Figgy beat a former champ, a perennial top 10 and the most recent title challenger and still didn't get a title shot Umar only had one notable win in a fight he probably didnt even deserve. Just a pure fast track to justify an opportunity to cash in on a familiar last name

Come on man. Cody was champ in 2018. Beating him 6 years later after he went 3-3 in his next 6 fights isn’t some big win. Font is a decent win, but (as evidenced by Corey clowning Font and shutting him out 50-45) levels below Corey. And Corey clowned Chito too (the split was a joke, the other 2 judges had it 49-46 and 50-45 and the stats were comically lopsided for Corey). In other words, the Corey win was far and away better than any win Figgy got at 135. And while Umar didn't have any major wins prior to Corey, the fact that he was undefeated (including 6-0 in the UFC winning all fights convincingly) makes his case easily better than Figgy's.

I'm not some big fan of Umar or anything, in fact I'm a Sandhagen homer so Umar beating my guy sucked. But reality is reality. Umar and Corey are levels above Figgy at 135. We saw it in Iowa where Corey wrecked Figgy, if there was ever a doubt.

 

[HuskySamoan]

TS is either wasted or typed this from some other language into google translate.

Umar is fighting Bautista in 8 weeks.

Merab was the one saying 50-45ing Sandhagen wasn't a good enough win for Umar to get a title shot, but apparently now the same guy who wasn't good enough to earn someone a title shot is a legitimate title defense?

Sandhagen paid his dues, got several top 10 wins, was in there with former and future champs. Umar rolled into the UFC, fought bums and was handed a title shot off of his first ranked win. Its clear Umar is a top 3 guy, super elite, likely Merabs biggest threat but I think Merab was arguing more on merit than ability. Its not complicated, you always seem confused about simple things bro.

 

[Paladin]

first sandhagen is a tough cat, and this will be a tough fight for merab in Oct.

Umar does not have a fight lined up, and seems to be just waiting it out like Arman.

If Merab beats Corky, he can really troll Umar by looking at his other options.

I think the best move for Merab would be to defend against Pantoja who has no one left to fight at FLW. Merab should go further and pitch it as TUF coach thing which puts the fight out in July and make Umar wait until Dec.

Umar will need to take a fight agaisnt Yan or Omalley to get the next shot in the meantime. Now if Yan skips umar fights omalley again yan can very well be the clear cut number one moving Umar title shot to 2027.

I think it is the best move for Merab if he gets past Corky. Merab should handily beat Pantoja. And it's a good payday.

And if he loses to Umar in dec 2026 it sets up a trilogy payday for Merab to retire on and comeback to Georgia as the richest man in their country.

Umar vs Yan is fire.