Askren's first fight in the UFC is going to be Till. Not a done deal by any means, but that's the fight that Askren wants and (i believe) the fight that the UFC wants. No idea on Till's camp though.
Doesn’t even matter that it’s Cormier. That bottles my mind too though. ....but what if that right hand touches just above Cormier’s ear?
Oh he can absolutely knock Cormier out. That dude can knock anyone out. No question about it. I meant he's never going to be more prepared than he is today. TBH I'll probably throw down some money on him because I have the feeling DC is going to stand with him a bit.
No way. He wants to get in and out of this fight. He for sure took this fight because they offered him too much money to say no. He’s all about his legacy, not his ego. His legacy/$$$ depend on him getting through this fight quickly and successfully, so that he can go cement it by fighting Brock and avenging the Jon Jones losses. Then he retires and becomes an announcer for UFC and Smackdown.
Just telling my buddy how him and DJ are polar opposite one another. Askren is entertaining but his fights are boring DJ puts on a fun fight but he's just a nerd.
Or I’ve listened to what he’s been saying in interviews repeatedly. I’m not being a dick, just saying this fight is a quick crash grab for him, before he moves on to career defining fights.
I have no idea who this guy is or if this is legit. Russian politics are incredibly corrupt. But khabibs agent is a legit piece of shit and needs to be deported. There's next to no justification for him being allowed to stay within the United States.
I doubt Conor even made that for their fight. Not sure a Khabib vs Ferguson fight would do 750K buys.
The UFC wouldn't lose a step without Khabib. I'd tell him to kick rocks. He can't promote a fight, and his style is boring to the casual fan.
The style thing is what it is. I don't think they should cut someone bc of their style. They need to have the best fighters, style be damned. Now the running around with known terrorists thing is a different story. They should absolutely sit down and have a talk with him about that stuff. Change your circle or kick rocks.
Right. The terrorist stuff was part of my thought process. As a whole, Khabib really isn't worth the hassle. Heard rumors yesterday of Khabib/GSP. Hard pass for me. Would be a boring promotion, boring fight. Not to mention Schaub said something before the Connor fight about Khabib wanting to retire soon. I have no problem with that.
This is nothing new with khabib. Unfortunately it’s kind of the nature of the game in Dagestan where he is from. When you have nothing and you have guys offering you more money than you’ve ever imagined, you take it. He’s connected to all kinds of shady characters. This is just par for the course.
I imagine not hanging out with them would be disrespectful and probably cause him a lot of trouble. Still, if I'm the UFC I find a way to let him go away.
Nah, this is nothing new. This is par for the course in the fight game. In Russia, MMA has historically been run by the mob, now I guess they're called terrorists. In Pride, it was the yakuza. They basically took control of the promotion by force and ran it into the ground. This is nothing new. A lot of the international guys have shady connections, and in Russia it's practically a given.
This is the UFC. We aren’t in Russia or Asia. They’re never this public. At least not in my time following the sport. So when they start attacking fighters after fights and sucker punching them, you have to figure some shit out. Khabib is a beast but he’s not a draw and now he’s a huge liability.
I'd like to see khabib vs a couple people. He wouldn't draw as much as a Connor vs (insert someone) but then again Connor prob can't either right now. I know you ideally want someone who can self promote, but plenty of people are into watching the best fight eachother. And he's one of the best right now. If Dana can't promote that then he should just fucking quit. UFC may be morally right to distance from him, but it'd also be stupid of them to.
I never said he wasn't a draw, but he certainly won't put up the numbers he's been putting up after getting steamrolled like that imo. And yes I am high
I mean that the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce....they all dealt with the mob. It's impossible not to with a lot of foreign figures, a bunch of them have connections to extremely shady figures. Not saying it's all, but there's a ton.
Re: Askren He did an interview yesterday where he said he got fat eating ice cream every day and ballooned up to 208 pounds (he looked all of that when I saw him) He says he was at 193 this morning. He will get to 180 then cut to 174 for Midlands (College wrestling tournament before new years). Said he doesn't plan on fighting long, wants to win the belt, beat up Colby, and then go on his way in 12, 18, 24 months. He dropped a nugget and said Tyron's talked to him about maybe going up to MW. Sounds like his two most preferred fights are GSP and Khabib. Said his two hardest fights are 1. GSP 2. Khabib. Easiest is Nate Diaz.
Edited my post. It's an Open tournament. I believe the plan was (is) for him to enter a full team of guys 125-HWT. Can't remember the full list but I know he's the 174 and his brother Max is the 184.
He's an underdog. He's on a collision course with returning NCAA champion Zahid Valencia, who finished 2nd in world team trials to Kyle Dake, who recently became a world champion (and it wasn't that close). Askren was asked about wrestling Zahid and he said "I don't know if I can beat him, but I know I can pin him".
I'm so confused. So grown men, men that competed in the Olympics, invade a college wrestling tournament and compete with kids? That makes me cringe.