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Not all of these are popular but here are my thoughts on 196:
1) WE DODGED A BULLET BY HOLLY LOSING.
Yeah I know Holly is popular and I'll catch heat for this. I think she's a nice person. But at the start of the last round I was saying "oh please not have THIS as the new standard for WBW." Face it. If Holly won 3 fights in a row landing 3 push kicks to the body per round and coasting to decision after decision while being defensive and point-fighting while defending TDs... that'd get old REAL quick.
2) CONOR LOSING MADE ME LIKE HIM A LOT MORE
After losing he was humble and didn't take anything away from Nate. Took his loss like a man and didn't regret the outrageous risk he took moving up 2 weight classes.
.
First off, no, not a Conor fan. Second off, as many of you know, yeah I've always been a Nate fan. I spent the last week or so telling everyone I know "yeah Nate's never been oustruck without the TD threat there" and singing his praises/chances. But a lot of what Conor's done lately has caught my attention. The talk about martial arts being first and foremost and not weight classes was a VERY welcome change. If he won we may have seen other fighters boldly adopt that "screw weight classes" mentality. Of course they exist for a reason, but I miss that old school mentality.
3) THERE ARE POTENTIAL POLITICAL DOWNSIDES TO CONOR LOSING
We know the upsides. Less pressure on everyone to trash talk and BS to sell fights. That is good. Less centered on pushing one guy to carry a promotion. That is good. But look at the downside. The BAD precedent set by his loss. All the hype/backlash/PR/fans/bullshit aside the guy lost because he took risks that the VAST majority of champs don't fucking touch at ALL. Almost a shame to see him lose because it reinforces that GSP-like "see what happens when you take chances/move up/fight on short notice" mentality amongst all the UFC champs. Imagine if Jones beats DC again and then never fights at HW, never progresses, etc etc. Greatness should entail risk and not relying on bullying smaller guys til you retire. Conor took on a bigger/taller/rangier/dangerous guy on short notice while moving to a weight class he never fought at. That shouldn't be a negative thing, regardless of if he wins or loses.
4. HOLLY LOSING DIDN'T MAKE ME ANY MORE EXCITED FOR RONDA'S RETURN OR WBW'S FUTURE... IF ANYTHING IT PUTS IT IN A LESS-APPEALING-LIMBO
Yeah I know the story. Ronda beats Meisha and Holly beats Ronda so now the balance has returned and Ronda is in the picture blah blah. Unless she came back and annihilates Meisha and Holly it doesn't really change the triangle and even if she did... it'd just send WBW into a one-woman show again. Tonight was a fun fight but I don't see how WBW rejuvenates itself. It still all boils down to "oh man can Cyborg make weight?!?" which kind of exhausted itself as an interest YEARS ago. Not to be a downer but I don't see how it gets exciting.
1) WE DODGED A BULLET BY HOLLY LOSING.
Yeah I know Holly is popular and I'll catch heat for this. I think she's a nice person. But at the start of the last round I was saying "oh please not have THIS as the new standard for WBW." Face it. If Holly won 3 fights in a row landing 3 push kicks to the body per round and coasting to decision after decision while being defensive and point-fighting while defending TDs... that'd get old REAL quick.
2) CONOR LOSING MADE ME LIKE HIM A LOT MORE
After losing he was humble and didn't take anything away from Nate. Took his loss like a man and didn't regret the outrageous risk he took moving up 2 weight classes.
.
First off, no, not a Conor fan. Second off, as many of you know, yeah I've always been a Nate fan. I spent the last week or so telling everyone I know "yeah Nate's never been oustruck without the TD threat there" and singing his praises/chances. But a lot of what Conor's done lately has caught my attention. The talk about martial arts being first and foremost and not weight classes was a VERY welcome change. If he won we may have seen other fighters boldly adopt that "screw weight classes" mentality. Of course they exist for a reason, but I miss that old school mentality.
3) THERE ARE POTENTIAL POLITICAL DOWNSIDES TO CONOR LOSING
We know the upsides. Less pressure on everyone to trash talk and BS to sell fights. That is good. Less centered on pushing one guy to carry a promotion. That is good. But look at the downside. The BAD precedent set by his loss. All the hype/backlash/PR/fans/bullshit aside the guy lost because he took risks that the VAST majority of champs don't fucking touch at ALL. Almost a shame to see him lose because it reinforces that GSP-like "see what happens when you take chances/move up/fight on short notice" mentality amongst all the UFC champs. Imagine if Jones beats DC again and then never fights at HW, never progresses, etc etc. Greatness should entail risk and not relying on bullying smaller guys til you retire. Conor took on a bigger/taller/rangier/dangerous guy on short notice while moving to a weight class he never fought at. That shouldn't be a negative thing, regardless of if he wins or loses.
4. HOLLY LOSING DIDN'T MAKE ME ANY MORE EXCITED FOR RONDA'S RETURN OR WBW'S FUTURE... IF ANYTHING IT PUTS IT IN A LESS-APPEALING-LIMBO
Yeah I know the story. Ronda beats Meisha and Holly beats Ronda so now the balance has returned and Ronda is in the picture blah blah. Unless she came back and annihilates Meisha and Holly it doesn't really change the triangle and even if she did... it'd just send WBW into a one-woman show again. Tonight was a fun fight but I don't see how WBW rejuvenates itself. It still all boils down to "oh man can Cyborg make weight?!?" which kind of exhausted itself as an interest YEARS ago. Not to be a downer but I don't see how it gets exciting.
