Shouldn't gaethje fight the winner of Dariush vs. Tsarukyan?

[Dr Fong]

Homer Simpson has earned his repeat title shot more than Chucky Olives has. Two quality wins are better than one.

And at least we haven't already seen him get ragdolled by Islam.

 

[cheachea]

Sherbros Justin is basically our just bleed representative that keeps us excited to even watch MMA anymore at this point.

He should get one last Title Shot as soon as possible in my opinion.

 

[Jihad-MMA]

Gaethje is at the peak of his prime right now. He either KTFOs Holloway within 2 or Tony-Ferguson CTEs Holloway within 5 especially if the last bout Gaethje shows up.

 

[gentel]

Gaethje deserves the title shot right now on virtue of beating Fiziev and Poirier. Yes he got beat by Khabib and Oliveira but Islam isn't either of those people and Gaethje was active and got two top wins to earn himself a TS

Chucky Olives still hasn't earned a title rematch, only one win since getting ran through, and he pulled out of his title shot which further worsens his case. He should fight Gamrot or Tsarukyan to earn a title rematch

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

I get what you are saying BUT that's not how the business works. Gaethe has the money and the hype and the UFC isn't interested in forcing him to fight the winner there or paying what he'd ask for.

Maybe IF Charles wins. The Islam camp will be in an uproar and they book a trilogy, then gaethe would need a fight.

 

[mjfan23]

In ufc? Pointless convo to have it’s all about dollars. Lets discuss if this can sell well

 

[fightfan70]

Name another fighter that has beaten 2 top 5s in a row sir.

that is more than islam has EVER done

 

[StonedLemur]

that is more than islam has EVER done

He beat Charles and Volk twice... that's pretty good tbf sir.

 

[fightfan70]

He beat Charles and Volk twice... that's pretty good tbf sir.

no doubt. i think justin, dustin,charles,beniel all beat volk twice as well.
volk is at 145 for a reason. he may be heavy but he has a small frame. length, reach etc.
every lightweight in the top 5 has a big physical advantage over him.
and islams first fight against volk is nothing to brag about.
islam should have stopped him that fight too.
islam hasn't even competed against to top 5 lightweights in a row or ever for that matter.

 

[StonedLemur]

no doubt. i think justin, dustin,charles,beniel all beat volk twice as well.
volk is at 145 for a reason. he may be heavy but he has a small frame. length, reach etc.
every lightweight in the top 5 has a big physical advantage over him.
and islams first fight against volk is nothing to brag about.
islam should have stopped him that fight too.
islam hasn't even competed against to top 5 lightweights in a row or ever for that matter.

Yeah I want Islam to defend against 2-3 actual LWs before moving up to be honest with you sir.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family btw.

 

[JKS]

With the rumors of islam vs. Charles 2 being next, wouldn't it make all the sense in the world to keep the LW division moving and book a true number one contender bout between the winner of dariush/arman and gaethje?

It makes plenty of sense timeline wise. Islam and charles 2 isn't even booked yet. So you could likely book gaethje and the winner of dariush/arman around the same time as that title fight, and then have the winners fight.

The alternatives is just a lot of waiting, or gaethje having a fun fight against max, but that fight doesn't really do much for keeping the top of the LW division moving.

I realize a lot of people think gaethje should wait, but the guy is only on a two fight win steak since his last title fight. This will be his third chance at a undisputed title, so it seems like asking him to go on a streak longer than wins Is fair.

What do you guys think?

JG more than likely has one more shot at the title. He fought a new contender it Fiziev and beat him and then KO'd the #1 or 2 guy in Poirier. He's earned it so I don't think he need to risk it.

Dariush/Arman can fight again IMO. I don't think either one of them has really been that impressive to the point where they are the clear #1 contender.

 

[fortheo]

JG more than likely has one more shot at the title. He fought a new contender it Fiziev and beat him and then KO'd the #1 or 2 guy in Poirier. He's earned it so I don't think he need to risk it.

Dariush/Arman can fight again IMO. I don't think either one of them has really been that impressive to the point where they are the clear #1 contender.

My point is that gaethje will be out for a year, and by that time arman or dariush or even bsd will indeed have fought again (maybe more than once) and we very well might have a fresher, more deserving contender than gaethje by that time, but we'll have a log jam because gaethje sat out. None of this is taking into account the possibility of oliveira beating islam and a trilogy needing to happen, thus causing even more of a mess.

It just seems to me like gaethje being active and keeping the division moving isn't an unfair ask considering how many shots at the belt he's already had.

 

[fortheo]

Homer Simpson has earned his repeat title shot more than Chucky Olives has. Two quality wins are better than one.

And at least we haven't already seen him get ragdolled by Islam.

Guys who won belts and defended it tend to get preferential treatment and expedited paths back to the belt. If you ask me, I would have rather them gave the shot to gaethje next, but from what the ufc has said, they're still looking to do oliveira vs. Islam 2, and the topic of this thread is under that presumption.

 

[fortheo]

Name another fighter that has beaten 2 top 5s in a row sir.

Fiziev is not, was not, and never was top 5.

Ask me again after a year, which is how long gaethje will be waiting out. Arman will fight multiple times by then, bsd just fought 3 times in 4 months, so who knows what his resume looks like by then. There's plenty of possibilities that gaethje waiting out causes a log jam.

Though, your requirement of two top 5 wins will be hard to meet since dariush is the only one ready and willing to fight anymore

The top 5 is

Charles: supposedly fighting for the title.
gaethje: sitting out
Dustin: only takes money fights
Dariush: only guy taking on contenders
Chandler: innactive


Again, I'm not saying gaethje hasn't deserved his 3rd title shot (if he was next, I'd be fine with it) but has he deserved it so much so that he can sit out a year on it and partake in clogging this division? I'd just rather see things moving, and I don't think it's unfair to ask a guy who has failed his last two title shots miserably to have to add another win to his resume in the meantime.

 

[IronGolem007]

Gaethje has had two shots at the title, failing both.

Failed in Round 2 versus Khabib, failed in Round 1 versus Oliveira.

Gaethje should have to win at least five more fights, against Top 5 contenders, before being gifted another title shot — only to lose again, against Makhachev.

 

[cws80us]

Gaethje has already earned a title shot with his last two wins. At this point in his career, taking another contender fight would be a huge risk because he may never get another shot if loses.

 

[JKS]

My point is that gaethje will be out for a year, and by that time arman or dariush or even bsd will indeed have fought again (maybe more than once) and we very well might have a fresher, more deserving contender than gaethje by that time, but we'll have a log jam because gaethje sat out. None of this is taking into account the possibility of oliveira beating islam and a trilogy needing to happen, thus causing even more of a mess.

It just seems to me like gaethje being active and keeping the division moving isn't an unfair ask considering how many shots at the belt he's already had.

Even if the winner of Arman/Dariush fight one more time, I don't think that will place them ahead of JG, but it will just solidify them as the clear #1 contender while JG maintains his spot. At the moment, neither with a win next month has done enough to be the clear #1 contender IMO.

I think it's too risky for JG to fight again, especially as this is likely his last shot at the title. While he's had 2 previous shots, it can't really be argued that he didn't earn them. This one in particular I think he earned beating two highly ranked opponents.

Also, considering how often fighters pull out. Whomever Islam is defending against next, JG is gonna be the back up guy and ready. So if he takes another fight, he may miss that opportunity if someone pulls out. I think it's just asking too much of him.

I think the timeline matches up fine for all the LW contenders, unless Islam demands going to 170.

Islam vs Charles Feb/March or after Ramadan in May/June.

Winner fights JG in October

Dariush/Arman winner fights in spring/summer (May to July) vs top contender and then fights for a title early 2025.

 

[fortheo]

Even if the winner of Arman/Dariush fight one more time, I don't think that will place them ahead of JG, but it will just solidify them as the clear #1 contender while JG maintains his spot. At the moment, neither with a win next month has done enough to be the clear #1 contender IMO.

I think it's too risky for JG to fight again, especially as this is likely his last shot at the title. While he's had 2 previous shots, it can't really be argued that he didn't earn them. This one in particular I think he earned beating two highly ranked opponents.

Also, considering how often fighters pull out. Whomever Islam is defending against next, JG is gonna be the back up guy and ready. So if he takes another fight, he may miss that opportunity if someone pulls out. I think it's just asking too much of him.

I think the timeline matches up fine for all the LW contenders, unless Islam demands going to 170.

Islam vs Charles Feb/March or after Ramadan in May/June.

Winner fights JG in October

Dariush/Arman winner fights in spring/summer (May to July) vs top contender and then fights for a title early 2025.

That timeline has the winner of dariush/arman only fighting once in all of 2024.....all because gaethje wants to wait, so they must wait too? That's my problem with it, gaethje waiting slows everything else beneath him down.

That is one slow ass moving division man, but every one seems fine with gaethje getting two wins, then waiting a year for his 3rd title shot in the past 3 years.

I guess I'm the odd man out here wanting to see them all stay busy. Oh well, all is good

 

[StonedLemur]

Fiziev is not, was not, and never was top 5.

Ask me again after a year, which is how long gaethje will be waiting out. Arman will fight multiple times by then, bsd just fought 3 times in 4 months, so who knows what his resume looks like by then. There's plenty of possibilities that gaethje waiting out causes a log jam.

Though, your requirement of two top 5 wins will be hard to meet since dariush is the only one ready and willing to fight anymore

The top 5 is

Charles: supposedly fighting for the title.
gaethje: sitting out
Dustin: only takes money fights
Dariush: only guy taking on contenders
Chandler: innactive


Again, I'm not saying gaethje hasn't deserved his 3rd title shot (if he was next, I'd be fine with it) but has he deserved it so much so that he can sit out a year on it and partake in clogging this division? I'd just rather see things moving, and I don't think it's unfair to ask a guy who has failed his last two title shots miserably to have to add another win to his resume in the meantime.

I never said it was a requirement but Gaethje has beaten Poirier by head kick ko...how many have done that at 155?

He beat Fizzy which if you remember correctly everyone said Gaethje would get smoked...and he didn't.

Fizzy was on the rise and not many wanted that fight, but Gaethje took it and won.
Dariush already deserved the title shot before fighting Charles...he didn't get it for whatever reason.

Other than Dariush, Gaethje has the 2 biggest wins as of late.

 

[fortheo]

I never said it was a requirement but Gaethje has beaten Poirier by head kick ko...how many have done that at 155?

He beat Fizzy which if you remember correctly everyone said Gaethje would get smoked...and he didn't.

Fizzy was on the rise and not many wanted that fight, but Gaethje took it and won.
Dariush already deserved the title shot before fighting Charles...he didn't get it for whatever reason.

Other than Dariush, Gaethje has the 2 biggest wins as of late.

I'm actually a big gaethje fan and I was laughing at the notion that people suggested gaethje's leg kicks wouldn't work on Fiziev just because Fiziev has a muy thai guy. I've been supporting gaethje since his debut and calling him more technical than his reputation for ages.

I defend gaethje against the comments of @rjmbrd all the time.

I have nothing against gaethje, but this is him trying to earn a third title shot -- he just lost two within the past 3 years -- surely it is okay to ask a guy to go on more than a two fight win streak to earn a third try?

And again, he may have the best case for a title shot right now, but will he after he waits out a year? I do not know, and I think him waiting has a good chances of log jamming the rest of the division.