So ilia is the next LW contender ?

[Koya]

I don't think he deserves it yet. But who else ?

Arman is benched. Do Bronx needs another win. Or maybe they'll give it to him but I doubt it.

After that Dustin had his shot, hooker got manhandled by Makhachev already, Gaethje has absolutely nothing for him, Chandler is too far away in the rankings as are Dariush and Gamrot.

So it's going to be Ilia right ? And then they'll say Islam only fights FWs but really there's nobody ?

 

[CC27]

seems like Islam is gonna sit out till Abu Dhabi card and fight for WW title vs Belal/Shavkat winner, that seems like the only real option they dont give Arman the next shot.

I'm not against him getting a WW shot but really think he should have to beat Arman first and secondly sitting out the rest of the year till Oct when he fought in Jan and didnt take a scratch would be incredibly lame. Dudes in his prime, he could fight three times this year and maybe be FOTY. Do it. Fight again in June and then Oct. Screw the Arman bullshit, if he's healthy fight him and then talk about WW in Oct.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

I usually can't stand these super fights but iila is an exception. He already ko the best of that division. Fw and lw are basically the same weight. 10 pounds is something but volk already showed in the first fight Islam is not unbeatable.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

I don't think he deserves it yet. But who else ?

Arman is benched. Do Bronx needs another win. Or maybe they'll give it to him but I doubt it.

After that Dustin had his shot, hooker got manhandled by Makhachev already, Gaethje has absolutely nothing for him, Chandler is too far away in the rankings as are Dariush and Gamrot.

So it's going to be Ilia right ? And then they'll say Islam only fights FWs but really there's nobody ?

Any single one of those guys mentioned before Ilia. Fuck all these "Champions" that don't defend and think a win and a single defense makes them GSP, DJ, Jones or Anderson. Every name mentioned has something Ilia doesn't. A win and an actual earned ranking at LW. Ilia is not remotely worth mentioning as a title challenger at LW. He has no resume at LW and his FW resume is 1 defense. Get to a min of 5 Legit defenses and then we can talk.

Fuck Islam too. He has 4 defenses on paper but Volk a 2nd time when there was an actual LW paid to be the official back up that gets passed over makes that a non title bout. Renato "LW Khalil" Moicano as a last second guy was also a non title bout. He is at 2 Legit defenses and the fact one of them was a FW makes 2 very generous.

O'Malley was talking about a FW title shot and look at him now.

Conor got his 2nd title shot with a 1-1 record against a LW albeit at WW and then managed to beat Alvarez but that is his only win at LW ever.
Defenses matter.

 

[Luthien]

Hopefully

 

[Koya]

Any single one of those guys mentioned before Ilia. Fuck all these "Champions" that don't defend and think a win and a single defense makes them GSP, DJ, Jones or Anderson. Every name mentioned has something Ilia doesn't. A win and an actual earned ranking at FW. Ilia is not remotely worth mentioning as a title challenger at LW. He has no resume at LW and his FW resume is 1 defense. Get to a min of 5 Legit defenses and then we can talk.

Fuck Islam too. He has 4 defenses on paper but Volk a 2nd time when there was an actual LW paid to be the official back up that gets passed over makes that a non title bout. Renato "LW Khalil" Moicano as a last second guy was also a non title bout. He is at 2 Legit defenses and the fact one of them was a FW makes 2 very generous.

O'Malley was talking about a FW title shot and look at him now.

Conor got his 2nd title shot with a 1-1 record against a LW albeit at WW and then managed to beat Alvarez but that is his only win at LW ever.
Defenses matter.

How is it Makhachev fault that arman pulled out last minute ? If it was Jon Jones he would have cancelled the fight like he did when Hendo pulled out and he refused to fight Chael. Islam fought a tough guy on short notice replacement, was on weight and ready. How does it not count as a defense ?

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

Ilia needs to beat movsar/lopes before a chance to move up. Ilia should beat those guys on paper but just because he will likely win doesn't mean he can just avoid fighting them altogether. Leon(an unimpressive contender) beat usman, Evloev or Lopes beating Ilia is possible

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

How is it Makhachev fault that arman pulled out last minute ? If it was Jon Jones he would have cancelled the fight like he did when Hendo pulled out and he refused to fight Chael. Islam fought a tough guy on short notice replacement, was on weight and ready. How does it not count as a defense ?

Makhachev hater logic, he taps out a blackbelt in 3 minutes who is top 10 in his division and it doesn't count as a defense. Pereira drops 2 rounds to khalil before finding a finish who is the same ranking as moicano and he's a badassKhabib won his title off of Laquinta, so why shouldn't Islam's defense against a much better fighter count as a defense?

 

[Croton]

I know the Ilia KO is fresh on everyone's mind. But Max sparked the #3 ranked LW less than year ago.
Max should def be in the conversation.

 

[Harlekin]

Saying Ilia doesn't earn a title shot is so fucking retarded, how dumb can you be?

 

[ILove4MinutesHyuna]

Islam's Reign is going to be dismissed so hard after the fact.

 

[mister piscadinha]

no, he should face movsar and lopes first

 

[richardjohnson]

seems like Islam is gonna sit out till Abu Dhabi card and fight for WW title vs Belal/Shavkat winner, that seems like the only real option they dont give Arman the next shot.

I'm not against him getting a WW shot but really think he should have to beat Arman first and secondly sitting out the rest of the year till Oct when he fought in Jan and didnt take a scratch would be incredibly lame. Dudes in his prime, he could fight three times this year and maybe be FOTY. Do it. Fight again in June and then Oct. Screw the Arman bullshit, if he's healthy fight him and then talk about WW in Oct.

Islam said he wants to fight in June so I wouldn't be too surprised if they just end up rebooking the Arman fight for then. It's what makes the most sense regardless of Dana's feelings.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

How is it Makhachev fault that arman pulled out last minute ? If it was Jon Jones he would have cancelled the fight like he did when Hendo pulled out and he refused to fight Chael. Islam fought a tough guy on short notice replacement, was on weight and ready. How does it not count as a defense ?

A "Legit" defense is against a #1 contender. Sometimes you can't get the #1 guy but Islam has consistently chosen the easier guy. Maybe he didn't choose and it was the UFC but they skipped Gamrot who was the actual back up for a rematch with Volk a FW that he already beat who was not training at all at the time. They chose a lower ranked Moicano over Dariush. Benny has far better wins then Moicano and was ranked much higher for a lot longer. Moicano barely cracked the top 10. Benny has been in the top 10 for several years.

Islam chose Volk and Islam chose Khalil Moicano.

 

[richardjohnson]

A "Legit" defense is against a #1 contender. Sometimes you can't get the #1 guy but Islam has consistently chosen the easier guy. Maybe he didn't choose and it was the UFC but they skipped Gamrot who was the actual back up for a rematch with Volk a FW that he already beat who was not training at all at the time. They chose a lower ranked Moicano over Dariush. Benny has far better wins then Moicano and was ranked much higher for a lot longer. Moicano barely cracked the top 10. Benny has been in the top 10 for several years.

Islam chose Volk and Islam chose Khalil Moicano.

I know you weren't speaking to me but the thing that really sucks about all the criticism Islam gets for fighting Volk instead of Gamrot in that situation is we ALL know that if he had fought Gamrot the narrative would be how he ducked Volk.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

I know you weren't speaking to me but the thing that really sucks about all the criticism Islam gets for fighting Volk instead of Gamrot in that situation is we ALL know that if he had fought Gamrot the narrative would be how he ducked Volk.

I dismiss your assertion 100%. Islam chose a FW he had already beat coming off the couch and that choice was made so he could get a more decisive win when IMO he won a clear 49-46. He chose the easier fight over the harder fight and all while having spouted off about not wanting rematches specifically referring to Arman and Charles.


Nobody could credibly claim Islam "Ducked" a FW he had literally just beat. Just because some idiots might say it doesn't make it true.

 

[tritestill]

Any single one of those guys mentioned before Ilia. Fuck all these "Champions" that don't defend and think a win and a single defense makes them GSP, DJ, Jones or Anderson. Every name mentioned has something Ilia doesn't. A win and an actual earned ranking at LW. Ilia is not remotely worth mentioning as a title challenger at LW. He has no resume at LW and his FW resume is 1 defense. Get to a min of 5 Legit defenses and then we can talk.

Fuck Islam too. He has 4 defenses on paper but Volk a 2nd time when there was an actual LW paid to be the official back up that gets passed over makes that a non title bout. Renato "LW Khalil" Moicano as a last second guy was also a non title bout. He is at 2 Legit defenses and the fact one of them was a FW makes 2 very generous.

O'Malley was talking about a FW title shot and look at him now.

Conor got his 2nd title shot with a 1-1 record against a LW albeit at WW and then managed to beat Alvarez but that is his only win at LW ever.
Defenses matter.

This is emotional and not factual.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

This is emotional and not factual.

WTF are you on about?
Ilia has a LW resume to deserve consideration for a title fight at LW?
Ilia has a reign at FW that is worthy of consideration for a title fight at LW?
Ilia had equal defenses to BW all time great Sean O'Malley who also was trying to talk his way into a title fight one division above.

All of that is purely factual.
Everything said about Conor was factual.

 

[richardjohnson]

I dismiss your assertion 100%. Islam chose a FW he had already beat coming off the couch and that choice was made so he could get a more decisive win when IMO he won a clear 49-46. He chose the easier fight over the harder fight and all while having spouted off about not wanting rematches specifically referring to Arman and Charles.


Nobody could credibly claim Islam "Ducked" a FW he had literally just beat. Just because some idiots might say it doesn't make it true.

I think that’s very easy to say in hindsight after Islam nearly knocked his block off but prior to that rematch so many people said Volk won the first fight and Islam would never give him another opportunity. If he had fought Gamrot that night I strongly believe that there would be endless discussions about how he ducked Volk.

You’ve been here a lot longer than I, you know how this goes.

 

[sdpdude9]

No, currently has at least two viable contenders in his own weight class and only one defense. If he wants to vacate and take a #1 contender fight that’s different though.