The Trenches, Episode 24 Poll: Who Will Leave Las Vegas with the Welterweight Title on Saturday?

[JayPettryMMA]

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Sherdog Main Page writers Ant Walker and Jason Burgos want to talk things over and answer your questions on a Live Video Chat series titled "The Trenches," airing Thursday at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.

We also want your thoughts on a poll posted in this thread, with this week's poll question asking the following:

Who will leave Las Vegas with the UFC welterweight title on Saturday? Tyron Woodley or Kamaru Usman?

Chime in on the conversation by voting in our poll or posting any fight questions you have.

Ant holds over 15 years of martial arts experience, training in multiple styles including Boxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Kung Fu and Krav Maga, and also coached amateur MMA fighters. A former Sherdog Radio Network personality and current contributor to Sherdog.com, this self-described "gym rat" seeks to impart his knowledge and discuss all things MMA with his fellow community members.

A journalist by trade, Jason has also co-hosted and produced multiple podcasts (including the "Fight Strength Podcast" with American Top Team trainer Phil Daru) over the years. He has contributed for several publications, and was a Senior Editor for MMASucka.com before landing at Sherdog. Along with his plethora of articles based on his exclusive interviews, Jason frequently covers live events for the site, chronicling the happenings with his growing photographic talents.

Select questions from this thread will be answered in the article, and additional questions from this thread may be used in an upcoming episode of live video chat series 'The Trenches,' hosted on the forum every Thursday. Below are links to previous episodes of that series as well as his previous 'Ask Ant' articles.


The Trenches Episodes:

Spoiler

The Trenches, Episode 23
The Trenches, Episode 22
The Trenches, Episode 21
The Trenches, Episode 20
The Trenches, Episode 19
The Trenches, Episode 18
The Trenches, Episode 17
The Trenches, Episode 16
The Trenches, Episode 15
The Trenches, Episode 14
The Trenches, Episode 13
The Trenches, Episode 12
The Trenches, Episode 11
The Trenches, Episode 10
The Trenches, Episode 9
The Trenches, Episode 8
The Trenches, Episode 7
The Trenches, Episode 6
The Trenches, Episode 5
The Trenches, Episode 4
The Trenches, Episode 3
The Trenches, Episode 2
The Trenches, Episode 1: UFC 229 Presser

Ask Ant Articles:

Spoiler

Ask Ant 2/23: Farewell to GSP Edition
Ask Ant 2/16: UFC on ESPN 1 Edition
Ask Ant 2/8: UFC 234 Edition
Ask Ant 2/2
Ask Ant 1/18
Ask Ant 1/12
Ask Ant 1/5

2018
Ask Ant 12/28: UFC 232 Edition
Ask Ant 12/14
Ask Ant 12/7
Ask Ant 11/30
Ask Ant 11/16
Ask Ant 11/9
Ask Ant 11/2: UFC 230 Edition
Ask Ant 10/26: MMA Trade Edition
Ask Ant 10/19
Ask Ant 10/12
Ask Ant 10/5
Ask Ant 9/27
Ask Ant 9/21
Ask Ant 9/14

Thank you, and please be respectful. We appreciate it.

 

[Frank McEdgar]

First off... Can I get a Kung Fu Bow for my Nigerian brother Kamaru Usman this Saturday night?

Does the Interim Tile on the line between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier make any sense to you guys?

What is the route to victory that you guys see possible for Anthony Smith this weekend at UFC 235?

If Woodley and Askren both win on Saturday do you think they will be willing to face each other for the UFC belt?

Misha Cirkunov vs Johnny Walker will definitely steal the show this Saturday. How do you guys think my fellow brother from Toronto will do against the crazy finisher Johnny Walker?

Which fight draws more numbers? Conor vs Cowboy or Conor vs Tony?

Which fight do you guys see as a real possibility for Thiago Santos after his impressive TKO over Jan Blachowicz?

Who is the best play by play commentator out of Dominick Cruz, DC, Dan Hardy and Paul Felder? For me its DC by miles.

How many eye pokes will Jones successfully land on Anthony Smith this Saturday night?

 

[Individualthoughtpatterns]

How succesful would Aldo be at 155? I believe he's still in his prime but I dont see him beating guys like Holloway or Tony. Would he fare up well against Khabib/Poirier/Al/Kevin?

Which 125ers would have the most success at 135 if/when the division gets cut?

Imagine Aaron Pico in 3 years debuts in the UFC. What does his career look like until that point and how will he go against UFC level competition? Seems like he is chinny and has low fight iq. He also gets hot a lot when you you go back and watch his fights. If you were his coach/manager what advice would you give him?

 

[Bobby Boulders]

How do you feel the PFL deal with ESPN, ONE's imminent partnership with WADA, RIZIN's partnership with TMT, and Bellator's deal with Sky Sports potentially affect the MMA landscape?

 

[JayPettryMMA]

Good questions so far, but are there more about this weekend's event? Or what about any news to come out, like Matt Hughes or the UFC quietly moving an event from Miami to Ft Lauderdale?

 

[ThatGuy7698]

Are you related to Johnny Walker?

 

[PurpleStorm]

Hi Ant. This weekend's fights features a fascinating one in Tecia Torres versus Weili Zhang. Torres (10-3) has outstanding experience against a who's who of well-known opponents. Zhang (18-1) has dominant victories against outmatched opponents but only 2 fights in the UFC. I usually go with experience against strong competition over past history against relative unknowns. But in this one I'm thinking Zhang can pull it out, given her size and physicality. What are your thoughts?

 

[MrBushMonkey]

Is ant short for Anthony or is it short for antagonist?

 

[wilKO]

Matt Hughes restraining order: talk to me. Without fighter bashing what is your stance on this recent news and did you read his book?

 

[europe1]

* Why in Gods name does the UFC care so much about these stupid Intrem belts!? Now Porier vs Hollaway is up for one. Does it really help in selling the event, and do fans and fighters really care for them?

* Shock and Awe! PFL has been picked up by ESPN! Wise men of the podcast, please tell us, is ESPN just really into MMA, or are we watching some high-level backroom scheming going on? Is the UFC about to get played?

* Ben Askren debuts against Robbie Lawler, a famed murder-puncher who has already killed the careers of sufficating wrestlers like Hendricks and Kosheck. Tell me, has the UFC brass made this match-up in hopes of seeing the Funky One slain?

 

[JayPettryMMA]

Matt Hughes restraining order: talk to me. Without fighter bashing what is your stance on this recent news and did you read his book?

Thank you for asking this question. We'll make sure it comes up on the broadcast, so I appreciate you broaching the subject in this fashion.

 

[PastOfPrime]

Do you see Diego Sanchez beating Mickey Gall \?
I think Diego's grappling is still good enough to dont get subbed by Mickey and as Randy Brown showed Mickey doesnt have that good of a bottom game.

 

[Gambit MMA]

EDIT - I'll ask a question about this weekend's event instead of Aldo, lol

Whats Jon Jones' rest of 2019 look like? The logical next fight if he stays at 205 seems to be Santos since Santos is a guy that wants to fight super often, and Jones himself has said he wants to fight 4 times this year if his body is all good. Makes sense to run that ASAP. By doing that you also give someone like Reyes more time to develop. After Santos in the summer time tho, what happens next? Jones name dropped Lesnar again in interviews. Heavyweight? Or stay at 205 and defend vs Reyes, Anderson, maybe Rockhold etc.

 

[JayPettryMMA]

The poll is up, and after some discussion it could change and we'll keep you updated. We want to know who you think is going to get it done at UFC 235 - Tyron Woodley or Kamaru Usman?

 

[JayPettryMMA]

Please, don't all jump at once.

 

[JayPettryMMA]

The show will begin momentarily. Ant just got back from the Open Workouts.

 

[emlax3]

C) Colby

 

[Croton]

Usman, been calling this for years.

 

[JayPettryMMA]

This thread is LIVE!

 

[europe1]

Should have asked if Ant had read Sean McCorkle's review of Matt Hughes book instead