Tony won't be champ long.

[kneesus]

Tony has already gone through a murderer's row. He's no stranger to adversity. I see him taking out both Khabib and Conor, if the UFC ever put their darlings at risk.

 

[Bumblebeef]

i think we can be grateful for a division like this.

mcgregor - elite striker, medicore grappler
ferguson - elite allrounder with elite stamina, but not elite striker or elite grappler
nurmagomedov - elite grappler, medicore striker

i wanna see them fight each other. thats fucking cool man.

 

[Bumblebeef]

Tony has already gone through a murderer's row. He's no stranger to adversity. I see him taking out both Khabib and Conor, if the UFC ever put their darlings at risk.

hard, because u saw almost how lee nearly finnished tony on the ground with gnp.
i expected that tony would dominate more in that fight with a better tdd. i was kinda dissapointed on a way with the "defensive win" from ferguson. sure his submission on the back was cool, tony like, unpredicted...but for my taste he got dominated to much in that match.

but ferguson is one of my favorite fighters.

 

[fightfan70]

tony is a grinder. he is gritty and determined and does not give up. connie is an exceptional talent. his timing and precision is off the charts. he doesnt have to work hard to get wins. he has a gift. khabib is both, he is a grinder with an exceptional talent of grappling. pretty one dimensional though. i think tony has more tools than either one. but i dont know if he could impose his fight on either one. i dont see him stopping khabibs takedowns and i dont see him stopping connors left hand.

 

[rb3b3]

I like Tony. He's a character and a half. He's exciting. Funny. And a creative striker. But he won't be champ for long. It's not even his fault either. It's just the matchups in his future look bleak. If he fights Conor next, Conor will KO him inside 3 rounds. His striking is too open, gets hit way to much. Against a counter striking genius like Conor it won't end well. It goes similiar to the Eddie fight.

Or. He fights khabib. Khabib is such an unbelievable wrestler/Grappler. He will shoot on Tony within minutes of round one and either finish him with GnP, or just dominate him over 5 rounds.

His championship will be short lived

i agree with ur mcgregor prediction, but i can see tony catching khabib in a submission.. tony fights great off his back which is where he will be for 5 rounds against khabib. yes i think khabib will win but dont be surprised if/when tony subs him.. kind of like the way anderson sonnen went lol

 

[jeff7b9]

Loco Tony has an IRON chin.

He would survive the storm that first round McG brings, take over the fight in the second round, choke out McG in the third.

I tend to agree with this basic assessment.
I am a fan of both fighters and have watched and studied both.

I think Tony is better equipped to survive in Conor's world than the other way around.

Conor will have the striking advantage, he is faster, his punches are more accurate and he has possibly the best counter striking in the UFC. He could possibly exploit Sloppiness in Tony's striking defense that he has gotten away with with less lethal strikers in the past. If Lando can catch Tony and rock him, Conor can definitely hurt him. Has Tony tightened up these holes? I am inclined to think not because his ego probably tells him he can get away with it because it has worked this far, but all things come to an end eventually.

Tony has a great chin and he strikes differently than most, he is great with angles and very creative. This could make it harder for Conor to time him and find openings because unlike other strikers tony is less likely to repeat the same motions and techniques.

But if/when it goes it goes into Tony's world.... Conor is fucked.

Tony's subs are dangerous, he applies them quickly and is great at creating submission opportunities.

Tony can also beat Conor with Cardio. As Conor fades Tony will be just getting warmed up and he can sustain if not increase his pace as the fight goes on. In both of Conor's recent losses this was the deciding factor as he gassed and couldn't keep his hands up or slip fast enough to avoid strikes. Tony will SWARM him if that happens and won't give Conor breathing room to survive.

Tony also has power and Conor has shown that a clean shot when he is fatigued can open up his defense and lead to more strikes. I actually think if Tony gets a tko standing t is more likely to be "not intelligently defending" a barrage of strikes rather than a KO or knockdown. I think Conor's chin will hold up better than his cardio.

All that said I believe either man can win and probably favor Conor slightly just because he will probably have a chance to "play his game" first and if things go his way Tony won't get to return the favor. If it makes it out of round 1, I favor Tony and I think Conor needs to either finish in the first or do enough damage that Tony can't ever get momentum going. Once the tide turns it won't likely turn back.

 

[ncboy]

I think the Conor fight would be fun. Khabib is the best LW there is though. unlike conor, tony would actually fight him.

 

[TripTictonic]

Troll thread? It's an educated Fan/Martial artist analysis. Conor is the wayyyy better striker. And khabib is the wayyy better Grappler.

And this is MMA, and Tony is more well rounded than both of them.....

 

[linvillegorge]

He'll be 34 in February, so no he probably won't be champ for long.

 

[jx820]

The LW belt is probably the hardest strap outside of the HW division to defend. For different reasons, but no LW champ is long for this world.

 

[Johnnny]

Tony beats Conor 70% of the time.
Tony beats Khabib 15% of the time.

Conor beats Tony 30% of the time.
Conor beats Khabib 40% of the time.

Khabib beats Tony 85% of the time.
Khabib beats Conor 60% of the time.

 

[NotoriousMillions]

I like Tony. He's a character and a half. He's exciting. Funny. And a creative striker. But he won't be champ for long. It's not even his fault either. It's just the matchups in his future look bleak. If he fights Conor next, Conor will KO him inside 3 rounds. His striking is too open, gets hit way to much. Against a counter striking genius like Conor it won't end well. It goes similiar to the Eddie fight.

Or. He fights khabib. Khabib is such an unbelievable wrestler/Grappler. He will shoot on Tony within minutes of round one and either finish him with GnP, or just dominate him over 5 rounds.

His championship will be short lived

Tony is a top three fighter in the division, but can't get past Conor or Khabib. There's no shame in that, third place in the greatest division of all time by far is very impressive in itself. Take any other time in LW history or really any other division and Tony probably isn't just champ, but he's a long reigning one.

 

[jeff7b9]

The LW belt is probably the hardest strap outside of the HW division to defend. For different reasons, but no LW champ is long for this world.

What is the title defense record? 3?

Always lots of game talent at LW