• Xenforo is upgrading us to version 2.3.7 on Thursday Aug 14, 2025 at 01:00 AM BST. This upgrade includes several security fixes among other improvements. Expect a temporary downtime during this process. More info here

The "Khamzat proves Usman is still elite" problem

It's been years since Usman has attempted this many singles and doubles. Maybe he spent the time off healing and getting his knees healthy. He clearly reads the talk online about him saying his knees aren't as bad as everyone is saying.

I wonder if he went to Germany to get stem cell treatment. Quite a few famous athletes have done it.
 
Twc said:
It's been years since Usman has attempted this many singles and doubles. Maybe he spent the time off healing and getting his knees healthy. He clearly reads the talk online about him saying his knees aren't as bad as everyone is saying.

I wonder if he went to Germany to get stem cell treatment. Quite a few famous athletes have done it.
Click to expand...

Probably that. It works wonder. Wish I had the money for it lol.

Hope he's not doing repeated cortisone shots. It's bad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Twc
I'm starting to think the whole "Usman has no knees left" narrative was all a hoax
 
markys00 said:
I'm starting to think the whole "Usman has no knees left" narrative was all a hoax
Click to expand...
Yeah, his knees were already in a bad place on his climb up to become champion.

He seems to have a very strong mentality and pain threshold to make it work anyway.
 
Stem cell treatment plus high pain threshold and several years of not over-working his knees probably helps.

Only thing is.. he only shot 5 or 6 times in 4 rounds. How would his knees hold up if Buckley stuffs 3 or 4 of those take downs in the 2nd round instead of 5. Would've been much more taxing.

This was a good fight for Buckley because he will improve significantly. He knows what quality wrestling and top pressure is now. He knows he needs to improve and he worked hard for 5 rounds and really has a great gas tank.

Buckley would appear to have fairly decent fight IQ as well.
 
mkt said:
A lot of people are saying Usman should be favored tonight because of the Khamzat fight. But remember, Burns also went to a decision with Khamzat and gave him a tough challenge. Burns is the same age as Usman (38) and is on a 4-loss streak. His last win was against an even older Masvidal.

Usman is on a 3-loss streak. His last win was 4 years ago and his last 3 wins were Colby, Masvidal and Burns. I think there's a pattern here.

Also, the "Usman will go back to wrestling to win" thing is a stretch. He hasn't won a fight by a dominant display of TDs and ground control since Woodley in 2019. He beat Masvidal largely by wall-n-stall. But Masvidal is a former LW and not a particularly big/strong WW. Buckley is a former MW who's considerably stronger than Jorge.

Anything can happen, but history shows the younger/prime contender usually beats the old lion in these fights.
Click to expand...
1750004035972.png
 
Oopsie.

Usman has and always will be a fucking tough fight.

I wouldn't be surprised if he got the next title shot against Islam/JDM. He definitely can beat either one on a good day.
 
WoozyFailGuy said:
Turned out he did! Thankfully I left to go to the club during Petroski Edmen so I saved an hour of my life. Sucks for Buckley, but there are levels to this!
Click to expand...
2009 join date still going out to the club.........
 
shunyata said:
Things we learned:

Buckley needs to train with Craig Jones and Volk, getting up from bad positions for a few months.

Usman still has it. Colby is washed out. Khamzat really is that good.
Click to expand...

Chuck Liddell would be good if he has any mobility left. He was very good at defending TDs and getting back to his feet if he ever did hit the ground.

I didn't think Buckley was a great grappler, but thought he would at least be a decent wrestle-boxer. Boy was I wrong. He's basically like a late 1990s striker (someone like Mo Smith) when it comes to grappling. He has some basic submission and GnP defense, but barely tries to get back to his feet. He has no scrambling ability and below mediocre TDD. He has a LOT of work to do, and I don't know if he's willing to do at 31 years old and with 28 fights under his belt. The whole "old dogs don't learn new tricks" thing. It's kind of like the Diaz bros never learning to wrestle or defend against leg kicks. The same with Rampage as he got older and turned into an almost pure boxer.
 
WoozyFailGuy said:
Sucks for Buckley, but there are levels to this!
Click to expand...
If he doesn't improve his grappling, Suckley or Cuckley might become his new name. All of the top guys (except maybe JDM) will beat him with TDs, ground control and holding him against the cage.
 
Cuckley had to take a seat
Usman still a problem for a lot of high level fighters
Those Brazilian knee lifts do wonders
 
womp womp
yeah turns out our eyes weren't deceiving us. Usman's neck and neck performance with Khamzat shows he's still elite.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,269,116
Messages
57,578,774
Members
175,753
Latest member
buttcrack

Share this page

Back
Top