What was your first impression of the current beltholders?

[HHJ]

What was the first fight you saw them in, and what was your impression then?

If you cant be arsed to do them all, just do whichever ones you wanna do.

Tom Aspinall
Magomed Ankalaev
Khamzat Chimaev
JDM
Illia Topuria
Volk
Merab
Pantoja
Kayla Harrison
Valentina Schevchenko
Zhang Weili

 

[HHJ]

Aspinall, I saw his UFC Debut, and thought ok this doesnt look like a normal fat HW. He kind of reminds me of Dudley from Street Fighter Alpha.

Anyway's when the bell rang, he pranced towards the guy he fought with no fear, and when he did that, I knew this guy was good. He even fought like Dudley with the slick boxing. Been a fan ever since.

 

[HHJ]

Ankalaev first caught my eye in the two Ion Cutelaba fights. Especially the second fight he fucked Ion up bad.

Since then I went back to watch his older fights, and saw this guy, in skill, is a cut above most of the other guys in the div.

 

[don't ask]

I've loved Kayla since I first laid eyes on her. I always cheer for a Judoka.

Zhang won me over with how scrappy she is. I love her side control so much.

I cheered for Val as soon as I heard she was a Judo black belt, but I've never heard it since so maybe I heard wrong.

Aspinall looked like other superstars on the rise, a level above.

I started cheering for Ankalaev when it was obvious the UFC didn't want him to have the belt. He was a grinder.

Khamzat was a mystery because I had no way to tell what was hype and what was real. Thanks to a freak injury by Rob and the stupidest gameplan in history by DDP, I still don't know.

JDM still hasn't made an impression. I'm disappointed in Belal -- he got pulled out of his gameplan and it cost him.

I hated the way Islam jumped the top ten, fought a FW twice, and then said he wanted to move up because he cleaned out the division.

Does Volk still have the belt? I don't remember my impression of him. I think Topuria was foolish to move up, not sure why he did it. I don't remember my first impression of Topuria either.

Merab... I don't remember my first impression. He got lost in the wave of Caucasian grapplers. I became a fan after seeing him dismantle O'Malley so effortlessly in the rematch, he just let himself go.

I remember thinking Pantoja was well rounded, but now I'm not quite sure if I'm remembering the first time I saw him correctly. I'm pretty sure he impressed me with his ground game.

 

[HHJ]

Zhang i had seen destroy Jessica Aguilar, and im like, yea ! this is a future champion right here.

 

[don't ask]

What was the first fight you saw them in, and what was your impression then?

If you cant be arsed to do them all, just do whichever ones you wanna do.

Tom Aspinall
Magomed Ankalaev
Khamzat Chimaev
JDM
Illia Topuria
Volk
Merab
Pantoja
Kayla Harrison
Valentina Schevchenko
Zhang Weili

Wait, is Topuria the LW champion now? The fight with Charles was for the belt?

Man, I really do tune in just for the PBP threads these days.

 

[HHJ]

Wait, is Topuria the LW champion now? The fight with Charles was for the belt?

Man, I really do tune in just for the PBP threads these days.

Yes, and Volk defeated Lopes for the vacant FW belt.

 

[xhaydenx]

Tom Aspinall - Knew he would be paper champ.

Magomed Ankalaev - knew he would be champ eventually.

Khamzat Chimaev - thought he'd get exposed long before getting a belt.

JDM - Thought he had potential.

Illia Topuria - Knew he would be GOAT.

Volk - Knew he would be GOAT.

Merab - Never paid much attention to him. I didn't really love his fights.

Pantoja - Always loved him from the start, especially when he was rocking the dirty moustashe and scruffy hair. Thought he had too many holes and would never be champ, but now look at him. GOAT.

Kayla Harrison - Thought she was just a can crusher back in PFL who looked crap there against anyone half decent. Didn't think she'd beat Holly lol.

Valentina Schevchenko - Knew she'd be champ and one of the GOATS.

Zhang Weili - Could tell right away she would be a top fighter. Sucks that she got beat by Rose twice and makes her feel like a bit of a paper champ. Still one of the SW GOATs though. 2nd place.

 

[TheBrownRanger]

Tom Aspinall - Knew he would be paper champ.

Magomed Ankalaev - knew he would be champ eventually.

Khamzat Chimaev - thought he'd get exposed long before getting a belt.

JDM - Thought he had potential.

Illia Topuria - Knew he would be GOAT.

Volk - Knew he would be GOAT.

Merab - Never paid much attention to him. I didn't really love his fights.

Pantoja - Always loved him from the start, especially when he was rocking the dirty moustashe and scruffy hair. Thought he had too many holes and would never be champ, but now look at him. GOAT.

Kayla Harrison - Thought she was just a can crusher back in PFL who looked crap there against anyone half decent. Didn't think she'd beat Holly lol.

Valentina Schevchenko - Knew she'd be champ and one of the GOATS.

Zhang Weili - Could tell right away she would be a top fighter. Sucks that she got beat by Rose twice and makes her feel like a bit of a paper champ. Still one of the SW GOATs though. 2nd place.

Eh. Aspinall being a paper champion is a bad take, especially when Jon Jones himself is a paper champion at Heavyweight also considering he never beat Ngannou.

 

[Jeffery09]

I knew Khamzat Chimaev was the most skilled fighter on the roster way before he took the belt. The high level technicality he showchases everytime he steps into the octagon is nothing short of admirable. Tom Aspinall once said everytime I watch Chimaev i feel like i need to up my game and learn from him. He is the type of fighter other fighters will study his skills not only by present fighters but future fighters as well. He is a student of the game himself.

Example Jon Jones was inspired by Khamzat Chimaev in his Ciryl Gane fight and established a Chimaev-esque game plan on Ciryl Gane

 

[xhaydenx]

Eh. Aspinall being a paper champion is a bad take, especially when Jon Jones himself is a paper champion at Heavyweight also considering he never beat Ngannou.

I mean I'm basically joking with that lol.

Jon also a paper champ though.

 

[HHJ]

I mean I'm basically joking with that lol.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

I thought Merab's debut decision loss against Saenz and his follow up submission loss to Simon were both kinda bullshit. The judges scored the Saenz fight badly, and Merab making it to the bell should mean he didn't get stopped.

The fact is, going out can not only be caused by blood being cut off by also because of blood rushing back into someone's head, and when he was demonstrating his consciousness until that point, it seems to suggest the fight being over is what put him in that state.

If a guy wins 3 rounds ground and pounding his opponent, then walks back to his corner and has an adrenaline crash after the final bell and goes loopy on his stool, you gonna call him TKO'd? He didn't get back up right away? Yeah, he shouldn't need to at that point. Fight's over. Only kind of referee intervention after the bell is if a guy needs to be disqualified, because fouls can occur outside of the action.

 

[xhaydenx]

Does the Vinny Mac thing mean you're going to poop on the top of my head for what I said or nah?

 

[fortheo]

Pantoja -- thought he would be a scrappy top 10 guy for a while. Fun fighter, but I thought someone with good tdd and good striking would give him fits, but he's developed his takedowns and back takes a lot.

Merab -- I thought he was just a cardio wrestler with weak jitz that would eventually get subbed or knocked out. I'm pleasantly surprised by him in every fight

Volk -- I saw a lot of potential in him from the beginning. The kicks from his lead leg, the pace, and the wrestling stood out immediately. I wasn't sold that he'd be the one to dethrone max until the kennedy/Elkins fights. Had zero doubts that he'd beat max after I saw him out box Mendes after that.

Ilia -- I was impressed by his left hook, but thought he'd be a front runner who would eventually get ground out by a cardio wrestler. I still kind of think that might happen if he ever faces one.

Jack -- his scrambling and his body work impressed me instantly.

Khamzat -- great wrestling, but felt like he stole a lot of Khabib's fanbase just by saying "smesh"

Ankalaev -- my brother lost a huge bet on him when he tapped to Paul Craig with one second on the clock. I laughed

Tom - honestly I don't even recall my first impression.

 

[HHJ]

Does the Vinny Mac thing mean you're going to poop on the top of my head for what I said or nah?

 

[Flower2dPeople]

First impressions:

Tom Aspinall - journeyman
Magomed Ankalaev - solid top 10 in a shallow division which doesn't say much.
Khamzat Chimaev - contender
JDM - journeyman
Illia Topuria - contender
Volk - contender
Merab - solid top 10
Pantoja - contender
Kayla Harrison - contender in a shallow division
Valentina Schevchenko - contender in a shallow division
Zhang Weili - journey... person

 

[HHJ]

First impressions:

Tom Aspinall - journeyman

How could that be your first impression? That doesnt even make any sense.

Same with Zhang...do you even know what a journeyman is?

 

[aerius]

Valentina - A fellow sherdogger wrote an article about her shortly before her UFC debut against Kaufman. I checked out a few of fights and thought she'd be a serious problem for everyone if she figured out MMA and how to make the right adjustments & put everything together. All the raw skills were there and she was also way more athletic than average, definitely champ material if she adjust well to MMA.

Weili - Found out about her on Sherdog a few months before her UFC debut. First fight I saw was a slugfest in some Asian organization where she got wobbled several times before pulling off a win. Thought she had a lot of potential, but also a lot of weaknesses & holes in her game. Didn't think she'd be a champ since she wasn't showing the skill progression at the time to make a serious run at the top fighters in her division.

Merab - The first fight I remember seeing was when he nearly got KO'd by Moraes. Thought he showed good toughness & recovery, and was impressed he could push that hard after nearly getting finished. Didn't think he'd be anything special, just another fun fighter in a deep division.

 

[HHJ]

Valentina: I thought she was OK against Nunes, but over time, that fight became more impressive to me, considering both of their later careers.

Merab: My first impression actually was when he dove face first into a frozen lake lmao

Kayla: First was intrigued by this Muscle Mommy when i heard she was gold medalist judoka, and she was hanging out with Khabib and Triple Cringe.

Khamzat: his first three UFC fights were a force of nature!

Pantoja i hadnt followed, but he had already beaten most everyone before he even got his title shot....against a guy he'd already beaten, so i paid attention from that point on. I guess what impressed me most was his tenacity.