Usman is still elite

[egk]

He's still elite at WW. Whether that makes him elite at MW remains to be seen. We still don't know if Chimaev is an elite MW yet either.

Usman's wrestling isnt near what it once was but his striking his better than it used to be.

 

[Portland8242]

His problem seems mental more than anything, as he himself said in the post fight interview. He has been at it for a while and his knees are shot but when he really commits, he does look like the Usman of old. You could see it in the third Leon fight as well, when he wanted to press the action, he was able to but most of the time, the dude looked wary. In the Khamzat fight, he looked hesitant in the first but you could see him build confidence as the fight went on.
That said, mental block aside, dude is still legit. His last two losses were razor close and even at 36, idk, I think he's a top 5 MW.

I'm not seeing it. His power is gonna be nothing special at MW and he's going to be notably outsized by the likes of DDP, Whittaker, Cannonier, Strickland. When you're moving up in weight - speed is the advantage you need to bring. Usman isn't bringing that.

There's a caveat they always forget to mention when they talk about guys doing better when they move up in weight - younger fighters do better when they move up in weight, older fighters actually have a scary bad record moving up in weight in a later age. DC was one of the only guys who defied this, and only cause HW is stupidly weak.

 

[Yep]

I think it is safe to say that Usman is still a very good fighter. Safe to say that he has skills still that will keep him competitive at the top. However, there’s lots of questions. Can he perform like that at WW with the weight cut still? Can he be the smaller guy and win at MW? I am not an Usman fan by any stretch but I thought it was a pretty damn good performance considering. It’s crazy that you’re labeled as “Usman was never good” poster when you point out that he is older and his skills have diminished somewhat. He’s still good. Real good. Elite? Not sure about that but perhaps. The next fight will be telling for sure. Either way, it was crazy to see him gain confidence in there after he weathered the storm. He whooped Khamzat besides getting controlled in the first. Khamzat controlling him like that was something to see. However, I would like to see damage inflicted or subs from Khamzat.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

MMA fans are getting dumber. Never before has anyone believed anything as outrageous as Volk deserving the win over Islam in their first fight, and now Usman deserving the win over Khamzat.

never before? literally many people think volk won the first one and usman beat kamzhat.

 

[Huligani]

never before? literally many people think volk won the first one and usman beat kamzhat.

My point being prior to those fights, no one was ever so wrong about judging fights before.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

My point being prior to those fights, no one was ever so wrong about judging fights before.

what? the fuck are you even saying? judges got it wrong plenty of times before that one.

 

[Prex32]

not sure about elite, but he surely is a threat to everyone (with full camp)

 

[MrAlottaCheese]

Yes it was, and the fact that it was scored for Khamzat instead of as a draw was a robbery

Usman did more damage R2 and R3

Chimaev won R1, but Usman's slam broke his hand, so "technically" he did more damage in the one move than Khamzat dished out w 4+ minutes of control. It was really the only submission Khamzat threatened in all 3 rounds, and it resulted in Usman breaking Kham's hand.

 

[ferrisjso]

Fun fact Chimaev is Martys first opponent he doesn't have a win over.

 

[Brit_Brawler]

Khamzat was blowing out of his arse when usman finally kicked it in to gear. If that was a 5 rounder usman likely would have started jabbing his head off. He looked to be getting in to the Groove. Thst being said usman looked a little uncharacteristically tired himself. Clearly his conditioning wasn't where it should be. Khamzat has no excuse. Trains for 12 weeks and was noticbly depketed by rhe second round.

 

[MEAN357]

your just saying that because it allows you to try and dismiss GOATmaev's greatness

Nah, in no way meant to detract from the huge win Chimaev had. Can't discount that he trained for a totally different fighter and style and had to face a formerly dominant champ on 10 days notice.

Props where its due to Chimaev, I'm a big borz fan

 

[WallNStallToeStomper]

Nah, in no way meant to detract from the huge win Chimaev had. Can't discount that he trained for a totally different fighter and style and had to face a formerly dominant champ on 10 days notice.

Props where its due to Chimaev, I'm a big borz fan

respect big dog i spoke out of turn broski respect we still cool tho ya mean

 

[RockyLockridge]

His problem seems mental more than anything, as he himself said in the post fight interview. He has been at it for a while and his knees are shot but when he really commits, he does look like the Usman of old. You could see it in the third Leon fight as well, when he wanted to press the action, he was able to but most of the time, the dude looked wary. In the Khamzat fight, he looked hesitant in the first but you could see him build confidence as the fight went on.
That said, mental block aside, dude is still legit. His last two losses were razor close and even at 36, idk, I think he's a top 5 MW.

He's begining to doubt himself. It's over. He's still elite skills wise, but losing 3 times in a row will effect your killer instict after one more loss he's going to begin to wonder why he does all this. That's when it's truly over for a fighter I feel.

I think it's very Likely that usman loses his next fight, Unless he takes a large step down. I don't think he should fight in the WW top 5. I think he should see a match up like neil magny or kevin holland.These other guys are licking their chops hoping to use usman as a ticket to the WW title. Shavkat, Wonderboy, Belal... would all beat him right now. He needs a lay up to get his confidence back. It's too big a risk at this point of his career to take a 4th straight loss. It will kill his marketabillity as a former champion. As it is right now, He's still close to a WW title fight but he should take a 2-3 fight path to the title and stay active, rather than just jump into the fire right now because after a 4th straight loss, he'll likely never be viewed as a title contender again.

 

[BigDramaShow26]

I agree but these guys are good. Belal is a hard fight for Usman if that's what's coming. Shavkat is a nightmare too. This isn't a good time to be a 37 yr old on your last legs. I dont think it ends well for Usman even if he still has juice left.

 

[MEAN357]

respect big dog i spoke out of turn broski respect we still cool tho ya mean

On fonem

 

[nostradumbass]

He was always a bum.

 

[WallNStallToeStomper]

He was always a bum.

you are a manlet

 

[muaythaidon1]

He might be boarderline elite but he is nowhere near the same fighter he was. Reminds me of GGG in his last fight with Canelo, probably still elite but a shadow of his former self.

 

[textwarrior]

His problem seems mental more than anything, as he himself said in the post fight interview. He has been at it for a while and his knees are shot but when he really commits, he does look like the Usman of old. You could see it in the third Leon fight as well, when he wanted to press the action, he was able to but most of the time, the dude looked wary. In the Khamzat fight, he looked hesitant in the first but you could see him build confidence as the fight went on.
That said, mental block aside, dude is still legit. His last two losses were razor close and even at 36, idk, I think he's a top 5 MW.

I was petting my cat when you posted this.