Who do YOU want to see Poatan fight next? A detailed look at realistic contenders

[WoozyFailGuy]

I don't want Alex ever cutting to 185 again and neither does his team.

 

[SuperAlly]

These are the realistic options I see for him:

#1 Ankalaev - clearly the best contender in his division. I favour Pereira pretty heavily in this one because Ankalaev's grappling seems like a myth to me. I've never seen it. If anyone can post some examples please do.

Winnability for Alex 8/10, fan interest 6/10, the hardcores will eat it up but casuals not so much

#2 DDP - Poatan has mentioned claiming the MW title from DDP. I honestly think this is a tougher match on the grappling front than Ankalaev and Alex will be depleted

Winnability for Alex 6.5/10, fan interest 6/10, it would be a title fight at another weight class but doesn't seem that compelling to move down again

#3 Adesanya - It seems a bit silly considering Adesanya's current losses, but the history they have is so storied that it's an automatic blockbuster UFC trilogy even though it doesn't make much sense at this point

Winnability for Alex 7/10, fan interest 8/10, the fans will always eat this one up

#4 Khamzat - This has to be the worse stylistic matchup in the UFC barring the next guy on the list. I don't think Alex survives the first round blitz at all.

Winnability for Alex 3/10, fan interest 8/10, everyone will want to tune in for this one

#5 Tom Aspinall - This is the go for broke and all the marbles fight for Alex, he could become the first ever 3 weight champ but it's probably a loss

Winnability for Alex 3/10, fan interest 9/10, the biggest fight to make but not necessarily the best for Alex

There's a weird idea that has grown that Ankalaev is some kind of Khabib like wrestler. Perhaps because of the part of the world they are from.

In reality, if Ank fights the way he did against Rakic, Alex likely beats him up worse than he did Rountree

 

[SuperAlly]

Ank and move up to fight Aspinal. First fight cements in Legacy at LHW and the next puts him forever on the list of contenders for GOAT if he wins

If he beats Tom it would be hard to see anyone ever do anything that beats that tbh

A 3 weight champ is so unlikely really

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

No one in their right mind thinks an Ankalaev fight is more difficult and entertaining than an Aspinall fight.

Why are we even talking about Aspinal? He still needs to fight the biggest threat in his own division

 

[UppercutFromHades]

If performance and rankings mean anything, it has to be Ankalaev. That will be a close fight. Alex has dynamite offence but he'll be tested on grappling/wrestling and Ank is crafty in there.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Ankalaev.

If he wants to go up to HW honestly i'd rather see him fight Gane than Aspinall. More interesting match up stylistically.

 

[ExitLUPin]

No one in their right mind thinks an Ankalaev fight is more difficult and entertaining than an Aspinall fight.

Def more entertaining because it could at least be competitive. Aspinall immediately gets Alex down and submits him. Alex has no chance in that fight and its a waste of time.

 

[slavomir]

Ufc will make Adesanya vs Poatan III.

 

[AbominableJoman]

He should drop the lhw belt and permanently move to Hw. Vs Tom for the HW belt

 

[warriorfan808]

If he beats Tom it would be hard to see anyone ever do anything that beats that tbh

A 3 weight champ is so unlikely really

Hard to see but possible. Whatever the case, a 3 division champion will always be talk about in GOAT talks unless someone comes in and wins 4.

 

[andgonsil]

Aspinall is the only legitimate contender

Ank beat the first top 5 of his career, coming from a loss

 

[ElLunico]

Ankalaev period. But hes probably waiting for the Ulberg vs Volkan winner

 

[2004 account]

Poatan would wipe his ass with all those options chama

 

[Hdfi]

Why are we even talking about Aspinal? He still needs to fight the biggest threat in his own division

because Jones and Miocic will likely retire in November.

 

[Ibm]

Jones

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Ankalaev, he hasn't lost in his last 13 fights. It's beyond ridiculous that this is being questioned. No one has close to that unbeaten streak with wins over multiple current top 10 fighters or wins over fighters that beat current top 10 fighters.

People like to shit on Ion and Walker but both smashed Khalil.

 

[Luthien]

because Jones and Miocic will likely retire in November.

This. Sherdettes are deluded in thinking Tom is fighting Jones

 

[The Siege]

He should drop the lhw belt and permanently move to Hw. Vs Tom for the HW belt

That would be very bad optics, but I agree. If he wants to move to HW, it's best to let LHW move on.

I thought he should have done that instead of fighting Khalil if he wasn't going to fight Ank.

 

[nintey]

Ankalaev is the only one that really makes sense right now. I think he should wait until Aspinall is officially the champ then challenge him.

 

[Kevster]

Ankalaev, he hasn't lost in his last 13 fights. It's beyond ridiculous that this is being questioned. No one has close to that unbeaten streak with wins over multiple current top 10 fighters or wins over fighters that beat current top 10 fighters.

People like to shit on Ion and Walker but both smashed Khalil.

He also has a title shot for 4 fights ago, ended in a draw, prob should have won but that’s life so a draw it is.

Then a nc that prob should have been a dq loss.

He’s on a two fight win streak since his last title shot, definitely agree it should be him next but this notion that he has been criminally kept away from title shots is honestly complete gibberish.