Stipe vs. Black Beast for the Interim is perfect

[tritestill]

Just wait until Francis leaves and have the legit belt

 

[Final Say]

Nah Gane needs to fight Blaydes next to test himself against a wrestler. Lewis/Stipe next if Lewis ktfo Tai.

nah, gane is in a better standing within the division than lewis by far. it should be stipe v gane especially considering lewis is already scheduled.

blaydes is a guy who comes up short every time he gets a big stage, it sucks he has to wait but its nobody elses fault.

 

[thewhiterooster]

beast has to beat tuivasa in a couple of weeks first of course.

 

[Ladder Master]

Nothing he's not a goat.

A few screen shots I saved from several years back.

 

[Megatronlee]

I was just thinking to myself "what we need is another interim belt at HW... Especially with two guys with recent losses against the previous champ/challenger"



Fuck man, Heavyweight is so fucked... The original division, the former flagship of MMA...

Hurts me to see it in this state.

It’s in a great state. We got a great champ.

Legit an amazing champ

 

[Megatronlee]

A few screen shots I saved from several years back.

Idk man. Mma fans were weird back then.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Derrick just fought for the interim title and was TKOd after being shutout for three rounds there is no scenario where he fights for an interim title anytime soon. However, if Francis is stripped of the belt Derrick is an ideal candidate to fight for the undisputed title since he not only never lost to Francis Ngannou but has a win over him.

Jon Jones against Derick Lewis for the undisputed title is a lot more realistic than Stipe against Jones for the undisputed title. Stipe was knocked out by Francis Ngannou, while Derrick Lewis and Jon Jones both never lost to Francis Ngannou

Ciryl Gane is also still the number one contender, not Stipe, so if Stipe wants to get back in title contention the UFC is at the very least going to make him prove he has not lost a step. The man is nearly 40 years old. It also allows the UFC to match Gane up against a wrestler and gets him back in the title picture immediately if he wins.

I don't see the UFC doing another interim title. If Ngannou has not reached a new deal by April/May they are going to strip him of the belt. The title is not a birthright if you are not signed with the company you are not eligible to be champion its as simple as that.

 

[Pierced7681]

nah, gane is in a better standing within the division than lewis by far. it should be stipe v gane especially considering lewis is already scheduled.

blaydes is a guy who comes up short every time he gets a big stage, it sucks he has to wait but its nobody elses fault.

Why would you have the guy who lost to Francis fight for the title instead of the guy who beat Francis? Makes no sense but that’s just my opinion

 

[Final Say]

Why would you have the guy who lost to Francis fight for the title instead of the guy who beat Francis? Makes no sense but that’s just my opinion

i dont really even think about the francis/lewis fight. i dont think anybody should consider that fight especially within the current picture. also, i didnt even really see a path to victory for lewis in the gane fight, so a rematch doesnt interest me

 

[Captain Herb]

I mean he had to do this before with OSP. And OSP was by far the lowest profile fighter he's fought since he won the belt.

That's a good point but the time factor is way off. From DC to OSP was less than a year and a half. Here, he will be out at least 3 1/2 years and counting.

 

[Buff]

It’s in a great state. We got a great champ.

Legit an amazing champ

I'm not bashing Ngannou by saying it's in a terrible condition - the problem is the void once you remove him from the conversation... The old school vs new school argument is still a thing because so few guys have come along to replace - Arlovski is still kicking around the top 10. He might even be a win or two away... Gane is super green, and everyone else is old or fat.

It's a sad state of affairs.

 

[WhosTheBoss]

Dana should just do a tournament to end the nonsense

If you can’t make the fight on the night, you forfeit. Or someone steps in and is now in the tourney

 

[ferrisjso]

That's a good point but the time factor is way off. From DC to OSP was less than a year and a half. Here, he will be out at least 3 1/2 years and counting.

Think you're off one year. He last fought in early 2020. So we coming up on 2 years so if he doesn't fight till next year it's 3 tops.

 

[JoeRowe]

It's a good move to make if you're the UFC, because if Ngannou does leave then you will at least have a new champion that can claim they beat him already.

 

[Captain Herb]

Think you're off one year. He last fought in early 2020. So we coming up on 2 years so if he doesn't fight till next year it's 3 tops.

I'm thinking if they have an interim sometime this year, they can't unify it until either Ngannou is healthy or makes his decision to leave. Both would be toward the end of this year at the soonest. Then they would have to have a unification fight. Then Jon would have to accept the challenger role. If this is what happens, I don't see that happening until the middle of next year. That is a looong time to be out in addition to moving up to a division you have never fought in, for a championship fight, potentially against Ngannou.

 

[g*r*b]

Painful, right?

10 years ago this wouldn't have been the problem that it is now. 20 years ago and they'd have just done a tournament and it would have been awesome.

Currently we're looking at some washed up and slain victims fighting for a pointless belt that they will inevitably lose at the worthless unification with no contenders to follow.

Bad times.

Ah yes, nostalgic for the good old days when the heavyweight throne would be vacated due to contract disputes and failed drug tests and motorcycle accidents, and for the tournaments where belts could be won by being an unheralded alternate and fighting only once.

 

[Buff]

Ah yes, nostalgic for the good old days when the heavyweight throne would be vacated due to contract disputes and failed drug tests and motorcycle accidents, and for the tournaments where belts could be won by being an unheralded alternate and fighting only once.

Nostalgic for the days when there were enough name brand HWs to be able to still put on a worthwhile show.

Spoiler

Dont say Gan McGee

 

[pick999]

Lewis doesn't win title fights

 

[StonedLemur]

I was just thinking to myself "what we need is another interim belt at HW... Especially with two guys with recent losses against the previous champ/challenger"



Fuck man, Heavyweight is so fucked... The original division, the former flagship of MMA...

Hurts me to see it in this state.

It's a cluster fuck sir.
A true mess, like a tangled extension cord on a job site lol.

 

[Shoguns Prodigy**]

No no it’s not. Stop giving black beast title shots for no reasons.