Media Umar vs. Song Not Even Signed! (so says Faber)

[blaseblase]

I literally just said:

He's also a Palestinian-American raised in Chicago that doesn't speak Arabic, not a Dagestani surrounded his entire life only by a culture of people that adhere to the exact same belief system.

Why are we using the otulier as a rule when he's not even a Dagestan but comparing him against them?

Kudos to Belal, he's a savage and special example of dedication regardless of religious beliefs, but it's definitely an obscene expectation to expect every Muslim to do this, especially when it is such a tremendous disadvantage when prepping for a fight.

When did I say that they should be? I'm just pointing out that Belal does, he observes the exact same traditions that they do. You seemed to be downplaying what Belal does, especially when you questioned his "dedication", which is an insane thing to say imo. He is in fact so dedicated that he puts himself through hell in order to fight during Ramadan and should be praised for doing so.

 

[tritestill]

I agree with you, but 5 months is not rushing unless Merab is injured.

How are you dictating his timeline brother?

 

[The Siege]

How are you dictating his timeline brother?

I mean, if they are both free and healthy, dont you think 5 months is enough? Obviously, he is free to fight whenever is convenient for him and the company, but he has a #1 contender ready and waiting (if there is no Yadong fight), it would be good for the division.

If Figgy/Yan and Umar/Yadong all take damage, they probably cant fight in March/April/possibly June which would further delay a fight. Who are they going to throw in there?

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

When did I say that they should be? I'm just pointing out that Belal does, he observes the exact same traditions that they do. You seemed to be downplaying what Belal does, especially when you questioned his "dedication", which is an insane thing to say imo. He is in fact so dedicated that he puts himself through hell in order to fight during Ramadan and should be praised for doing so.

I never said that you should be comparing the two, but it seemed to be naturally inferred that you were making some type of parallel since you brought up this point about Belal training through Ramadan literally right after I explained why it's different for him to do it based on where he was born and raised. It seems you were just adding more context, so my apologies if I took your point the wrong way, I think I better understand what you were trying to do now.

re: Questioning Belal's dedication - my main goal was to point out the cultural differences between him and Dagestani's, I didn't mean to get taken in the way of "oh he's not as devout a Muslim" but that he is better positioned to hypothetically make that sacrifice if he so chooses to (as you noted, his entire team can then help him which the Dagestani's don't get the luxury of).

I mean I even said " [Belal's] a savage and special example of dedication regardless of religious beliefs," but I think we would both agree it's still a huge handicap as a fighter to train throughout Ramadan even if your team is able to support you.

Sorry if I misinterpreted your attempt or my points came off as Belal slander, that was not my intention in any way.

 

[tritestill]

I mean, if they are both free and healthy, dont you think 5 months is enough? Obviously, he is free to fight whenever is convenient for him and the company, but he has a #1 contender ready and waiting (if there is no Yadong fight), it would be good for the division.

If Figgy/Yan and Umar/Yadong all take damage, they probably cant fight in March/April/possibly June which would further delay a fight. Who are they going to throw in there?

Just saw him say Sean rematch is his best option. That hints at ducking. If he came out and said he wants to fight Umar when he is ready, that would be more respectable. That may be too long of a lay off for him though.

Looks like he wants time off right now, which is his right. If healthy then fight, not all fighters have that mentality and when they become champ, things change. He has a long road to be champ. Timelines don't match and I think the Muslim fighters should be held against their beliefs, as their beliefs don't dictate other people's lives. One should not rush to accommodate the challenger.

 

[CieloLuce]

Looking at the current rankings:

(C) Merab - Can't fight until March or April
1 - O'Malley - Coming off loss
2 - Umar - Coming off win over #4 Cory, Possible vs Yadong
3 - Petr - Booked vs #5 Figgy
4 - Cory - Just lost to Umar
5 - Figgy - Booked vs #3 Yan
6 - Marlon Vera - Coming off loss to #5 Figgy
7 - Cejudo - Coming off loss to Merab, Unknown when he will come back
8 - Yadong - Coming off loss to #3 Yan, possible next opponent for Umar
9 - Bautista - Coming off win over #11 Jose Aldo
10 - Font - Coming off win over #12 Kyler Phillips, probably wont be ready for DEC, JAN, or FEB
11 - Jose Aldo - Coming off loss to #9 Bautista
12 - Kyler Phillips - Coming off loss to #10 Font
13 - Jonathan Martinez - Booked vs McGhee
14 - Dom - Coming off loss to #6 Vera
15 - Jackson - Coming off win over Blackshear

Looking at the rankings, excluding the champ, only Umar, Bautista, Font, and Montel Jackson are coming off wins.

O'Malley, Cory, Vera, Cejudo, Yadong, Aldo, Phillips, and Dom are coming off losses.

Yan, Figgy, and Martinez are booked.

The best-case scenarios were:
1- Umar vs Merab in February while Figgy waits for a TS
2 - Merab vs Figgy while Umar waits for TS or takes another fight

Now, Merab will not fight Umar AND there is a chance that Figgy vs Yan is a war and they are both too damaged to fight Merab in March.

We knew since the end of Merab vs Sean that Merab didnt want to fight Umar, the UFC should have just booked Figgy vs Merab. Figgy already had a good case for a TS and the clock is ticking, he is old and now they are going to make him go through an elite BW in Yan which will no doubt damage him further or in the worst-case scenario (for him) he loses and drops out of title contention. Pretty shit match-making IMO.

Appreciate ppl who this. Gives it better context.