Vannata: Nah, not naturally a FW, hit 146.5lbs once and almost died. Done with FW, LW forever

[ExitLUPin]

So we can officially kill this "145" shit



1:14

 

[tdavis925]

Landon Vannata is a lightweight, 100%. He tried cutting to featherweight once, got to 146.5, and "almost died." He has literally never fought at featherweight, and never will. He's more likely to fight at welterweight.

From the man himself (edit: he talks about it at 1:20):
With that out of the way, he looked spectacular tonight, super excited for his future. Have to wonder how his defensive grappling is though, that tends to be the downfall for flashy strikers. Who do you guys want to see him matched up with next? I heard suggestions of Darrell Horcher (storyline and all that), but I think that's a horrendous mismatch. I think it makes sense to give him someone out of the top 15 despite how he looked against Ferguson. How does Kevin Lee sound?

Better yet, throw Sage to him. I'd like to see the UFC put their weight behind a prospect that shows real promise. I've seen very little from Sage that makes me think he's going to be a top fighter in the future other than some flashy athleticism.

 

[McgreGOATsLeft]

Still wobbled T-Ferg 3 times who is a big LW baby!!!

 

[McgreGOATsLeft]

Still wobbled T-Ferg 3 times and made it look easy baby!

 

[ReasonableMMAFan]

How about him vs Poirier?

 

[ExitLUPin]

Still wobbled T-Ferg 3 times who is a big LW baby!!!

True, still got choked tho.

 

[tdavis925]

That's what I'm saying- the guy looks amazing. To be fair to Ferguson though, it is hard to fight against a late replacement when you were expecting a totally different fight (i.e., a grappler in Chiesa), especially one as tricky as Vannata. I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't even bother watching tape on the guy.

His movement was excellent , and he had seriously deceptive power. He really needs to keep his hands up though. You can only get away with that shit for so long, especially in a division like lightweight. It's cool, yeah, but it stops being cool after you get KTFO. Lucky for him he has a hell of a chin to back it up.

 

[Davey Crockett]

I thought horchit was signed for one fight only

 

[andy9432]

Sage vs Vannata sounds like a good matchup to enter top 15 rankings

 

[Spitfire3000]

Was this fight extremely short notice?

 

[tdavis925]

How about him vs Poirier?

Too big a jump IMO. I know, Ferguson is ranked higher, but the circumstances in a short notice fight are much different. I want to see him against another striker first. I feel like Duffy is a good choice.

 

[MMA92585]

Still wobbled T-Ferg 3 times and made it look easy baby!

Hahaha! Right? And he still got that ass choked out.

 

[McgreGOATsLeft]

True, still got choked tho.

His ego got in the way, he started trying to walk him down and take the punches and on top of that was getting tired.
Don't get it twisted though T-Ferg got DOMINATED in the first.
He got wobbled 3 times man, lol.

 

[tdavis925]

Sage vs Vannata sounds like a good matchup to enter top 15 rankings

Sage is miles away from top 15. He's coming off a narrow win off of Enrique Marin, for fuck's sake.

http://rankingmma.com/ufc-rankings/lightweight/
http://rankingmma.com/ufc-rankings/lightweight/
Not quite top 50 seems about right. People forget how stacked lightweight is.

 

[Spitfire3000]

Hahaha! Right? And he still got that ass choked out.

Looked it up. He had 2 weeks notice.

 

[BigGucciSosa]

Suit straight outta Saints Row

 

[MMA92585]

Looked it up. He had 2 weeks notice.

And? Ferguson was preparing for an entirely different opponent.

 

[BeerAndKush]

Looked it up. He had 2 weeks notice.

And Nate Diaz had less than 2 weeks notice to destroy McQuitter.

 

[ReasonableMMAFan]

Too big a jump IMO. I know, Ferguson is ranked higher, but the circumstances in a short notice fight are much different. I want to see him against another striker first. I feel like Duffy is a good choice.

That's a fun fight for sure.

 

[ExitLUPin]

His ego got in the way, he started trying to walk him down and take the punches and on top of that was getting tired.
Don't get it twisted though T-Ferg got DOMINATED in the first.
He got wobbled 3 times man, lol.

Vannata got wobbled a couple times in the 1st too, body was red by the body shots and was dropped himself. Not like it was a 10-8 round. Vannata won it but theres a reason ppl are talking about it as a ROTY contender, only dominating round was the 2nd for Ferg.