Was UFC better 10 years ago?

[ipowerslapmywife]

Cain was gone a long while before Jon moved up. If anything, in the past few years, Francis was the reason he didn't

He was supposed to move up when Cain was still champ lol and JDS was around. He waited until the division was weak to move up

 

[chinarice]

He was supposed to move up when Cain was still champ lol and JDS was around. He waited until the division was weak to move up

Oh yeah Im sure there wouldnt have been a million threads about him ducking DC if he did that lol

 

[L0ki]

???
Jones is not a good matchup for Cain. Sure Cain is more physically powerful but it's pretty much impossible to wear down Jones and he would be sure to exploit Cain's awful knees. Also Jones dominated DC twice who is the closest opponent stylistically to Cain. DC is not that much worse than Cain. With the understanding though that Jones is not the fighter he used to be (we really haven't seen enough of him to know how much he's declined) it's probably a very close fight.

Aspinall vs. Cain is a tossup. Either Aspinall can finish Cain early or we see Tom get his cardio tested. Aspinall hits at least as hard as JDS, is faster than JDS, and is a better grappler than JDS. Aspinall absolutely has the tools to beat Cain in either striking or grappling considering that we've never seen Aspinall do anything but be able to finish his opponent anywhere the fight goes.

I don't see how you think Cain stomps either Jones or Aspinall.

I think, just as evenly, how do you think Strickland decisions Chris Weiner and gets KO'd by Anderson?

The Chris showed to be a better fighter than Anderson in all facets in those 2 fights.

 

[Shaddows]

Champ vs Champ

Fly - DJ v Pantoja DJ 50 45s
BW - Barao v Omalley - Good fight
FW - Prime Aldo v current Volk - great fight
LW - Islam v Bendo/Pettis. Islam 50 45s
WW - GSP. V Edward's GSP wins but close.
MW - Weidman/Anderson v Strickland. Weidman but close Anderson 1-2rd ko
LHW - Bones v Alex Bones sub rd 1
HW - Cain v Aspinal/Bones. Cain anyway way he wants vs either.

I got it 5 definitely for 2013 with 2-3 toss ups. 1 definitely for 2023.

Has the UFC gone down this much the last 10 years in talent level or is this not an accurate comparison?

LW - I wouldn't bet on Islam winning so easily against Bendo. Not if we are talking about "prime Bendo" (Same as you used "prime Aldo").
HW - I Disagree that Cain would easily beat Jon. DOn't forget that Jon went against a bigger version of him and never lost.

 

[Streeter]

LW - I wouldn't bet on Islam winning so easily against Bendo. Not if we are talking about "prime Bendo" (Same as you used "prime Aldo").
HW - I Disagree that Cain would easily beat Jon. DOn't forget that Jon went against a bigger version of him and never lost.

Talking about 13 Cain v 23 Jon. Age matters

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

We're seeing old AF, past prime Jon. Can't compare him to prime Cain. That's ridiculous.

Yes we can, that's literally the premise of this thread.

Thanks for joining us

Oh yeah Im sure there wouldnt have been a million threads about him ducking DC if he did that lol

In 2012, Jon said he'd be looking to move up in 2013. Cain won the title end of 2012 and was champ through 2013. DC didn't even drop to LHW until 2014

Please continue telling us who is supposed to wake up here

 

[Marko Atanasovik]

DJ, O'Malley, Volk, Islam, Anderson, Bones, Cain.

 

[chinarice]

Yes we can, that's literally the premise of this thread.

Thanks for joining us


In 2012, Jon said he'd be looking to move up in 2013. Cain won the title end of 2012 and was champ through 2013. DC didn't even drop to LHW until 2014

Please continue telling us who is supposed to wake up here

That doesn't make any sense. Jon was in the UFC 10 years ago and comparing him 10 years later to the people 10 years prior is absolutely ridiculous lol

Sorry he would have been ducking Rashad or ducking someone else. He wasn't gonna move up to HW as a LHW. He was gonna take time and always said that. He still had guys to defend against.

You trollin. There were plenty of HWs out there to pose more problems that overrated AF Cain.

 

[Barteh]

You understand that's like saying Silva avoided Jones, right?

Is there anybody who thinks Silva didn't avoid Jones? He obviously wanted none of that and for good reason.

 

[anuscakes]

GSP vs Edwards isn't a close fight at all. And Islam finishes Bendo and Pettis in one night.

 

[Shaddows]

Talking about 13 Cain v 23 Jon. Age matters

No.... I reckon we're talking about Prime versus Prime, and I am sorry, but Jon obliterates Cain!!

 

[Marko Polo]

I was thinking the same thing after I rewatched DDP vs Whittaker. While Dricus is an effective fighter who uses his size and physicality very well, I can’t see him getting out of a round against Anderson

 

[Marko Polo]

No.... I reckon we're talking about Prime versus Prime, and I am sorry, but Jon obliterates Cain!!

No way. Jon went to war with DC who always said how much better Cain was than himself. Cain would have used his head movement to get around Jon’s greatest weapon - his illegal eye pokes to manage range. Closed fist Jon get annihilated but cheating Jon lasts a few rounds.

 

[Shaddows]

No way. Jon went to war with DC who always said how much better Cain was than himself. Cain would have used his head movement to get around Jon’s greatest weapon - his illegal eye pokes to manage range. Closed fist Jon get annihilated but cheating Jon lasts a few rounds.

sorry, but you are obviously the "willingly blind". Obviously DC would say that! But who was the team captain? DC was! Who won the Strikeforce HW Belt ? DC was.
Please don't tell me you think Cain was better than DC......

 

[Marko Polo]

sorry, but you are obviously the "willingly blind". Obviously DC would say that! But who was the team captain? DC was! Who won the Strikeforce HW Belt ? DC was.
Please don't tell me you think Cain was better than DC......

A Jones stan talking about willingly blind… bet you thought he beat Reyes too?

Cain was better than DC. The only guy who gives prime Cain a fight is prime Fedor and even then the fans are divided who takes it.

 

[Shaddows]

No way. Jon went to war with DC who always said how much better Cain was than himself. Cain would have used his head movement to get around Jon’s greatest weapon - his illegal eye pokes to manage range. Closed fist Jon get annihilated but cheating Jon lasts a few rounds.

hate all you want, DC is a homer; of course he'd say that. But who was the team captain? That's right, the better of the two. DC.
Cain would lose as badly as he did against Werdum.

 

[Marko Polo]

hate all you want, DC is a homer; of course he'd say that. But who was the team captain? That's right, the better of the two. DC.
Cain would lose as badly as he did against Werdum.

DC was the team captain because he’s more charismatic than Cain. Being in a leadership role ina gym doesn’t automatically give you more validity as a fighter, if that was the case all the coaches would be fighting.

 

[Shaddows]

DC was the team captain because he’s more charismatic than Cain. Being in a leadership role ina gym doesn’t automatically give you more validity as a fighter, if that was the case all the coaches would be fighting.

and many do (or did).
The fact DC was an Olympian (also team captain there) shows PLENTY who the better fighter is.

 

[Marko Polo]

and many do (or did).
The fact DC was an Olympian (also team captain there) shows PLENTY who the better fighter is.

Better wrestler sure, not better fighter- your claims are unfounded. Again, being in a leadership role doesn’t automatically mean you’re the best. It’s about how you interact with people. I feel like you don’t have much real world experience.

 

[Bobble Head]

Just my opinions..

Mighty Mouse vs. Pantoja - Mighty Mouse 50-45’s Pantoja. He’s the flyweight GOAT for a reason.

Barao vs. O’Malley - O’Malley TKO’s Barao.

Aldo vs. Volk - This is actually very hard for me.. Aldo at his very best was as elite as they come, but Volk at his best is in the same boat. I’d pick Volk by a very close decision. I could even see it being controversial.

Pettis/Bendo vs. Islam - Islam destroys Pettis IMO. I don’t think it would be close. Bendo would be more competitive because he was good at making fights close, but Islam I’d say.

GSP vs. Edwards - GSP decisions him, but Edwards may take a round or two. He has good defensive wrestling, but GSP does what he does.

Silva/Weidman vs. Strickland - Silva KO’s Strickland. I don’t think Strickland’s pressure would get to him, and if anything it would help Silva set up for that finish because as we know, “his precision is very precise.” Weidman wins as well. He may have fallen off a cliff, but people forget how legit he was back in the day. His wins over Lyoto and Belfort shouldn’t be overlooked, and regardless on whether you think his two wins over Silva were a fluke, IIRC the second fight he was looking fantastic before the injury anyway. I don’t think he got the credit he deserved because he was a bit smug and his decline was rough.

Jones vs. Pereira - Huge Pereira fan, but Jones is gonna Jones. If he decided to stand with him for 5 rounds, it may be a different story though. Still, gotta pick Jones.

Velasquez vs. Jones - hard to say, don’t really know how Jones actually is these days. His fight with Gane was so fast. Need more data because he didn’t look very fast in that minute.