Ronda Rousey has come and gone, after which she left a brand new MMA group.
Final weekend’s MVP MMA 1 was an undisputed success, with Rousey, Gina Carano, Nate Diaz, and the remaining performing very respectably for Netflix. So let’s speak concerning the aftermath of that occasion and Conor McGregor’s official return towards Max Holloway.
Associated to the Ronda Rousey vs. Julianna Pena ballot: How most of the present prime 10 girls’s bantamweights will Rousey beat?
To be clear, all the pieces I am about to say just isn’t a results of being very impressed with Rousey’s win over Carano, however slightly an announcement on the moribund state of the UFC girls’s bantamweight division. As a result of promotion, this division disappeared.
Here is extra about Rousey: Even should you do not like her, and even when her matches are restricted, Rousey continues to be top-of-the-line feminine fighters of all time, and even at this age, she’s a greater athlete than most within the division. Rousey is a authentic world-class athlete with a novel and harmful set of abilities and the power to throw punches with actual energy. That alone makes her a menace to all however the prime girls’s bantamweight divisions proper now.
I would not wager my life on it, however I believe Rousey has a superb likelihood to beat nearly everybody on the backside of the present UFC prime 10, and some on the prime. The truth is, the one fighters I really feel snug selecting to beat Rousey are Kayla Harrison (full slaughter) and Raquel Pennington (sufficient sturdiness and loads of means). Juliana Peña would be the favourite and, unsurprisingly, she was additionally nominated by Germaine de Randamie. Rhonda was capable of toss her and end it off.
The unhappy actuality is that the ladies’s bantamweight division has all however collapsed in recent times, and promotions appear content material to keep up the established order. The highest girls’s bantamweight rankings cried lots in the course of the APEX card qualifying spherical! I type of assume the UFC may fold the whole division if Kayla retires. A dramatic decline in what was as soon as the very best girls’s division within the sport.
If Nate hadn’t fought Conor, what would his path have been like?
An attention-grabbing mid-card fighter who achieved five-figure outcomes earlier than Crimson Panty Knight, taking up the identify of his youthful brother.
I believe it is a very attention-grabbing query, however your reply was utterly flawed.
What I believe has been forgotten over time (and a brief turnover within the common MMA fan’s life cycle) is that earlier than he beat Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz was nonetheless a giant identify. The truth is, that is why he acquired the chance to battle McGregor within the first place. The UFC did not abruptly throw Diaz into the battle towards McGregor. As a result of he was the one one who answered that decision. They did it as a result of Nate was already completed.
So, did defeating McGregor change all the pieces? completely. Nate was common earlier than McGregor, however he was Nick Diaz’s youthful brother. What about after McGregor? Nate was a star, surpassing Nick Diaz in fame. This opened doorways that may by no means have opened in any other case, nevertheless it’s additionally unfair to assume that all the pieces would have remained the identical if Nate had misplaced to McGregor.
Nate was 31 years previous when he defeated McGregor, so he wasn’t within the last phases of his profession. Even a loss to McGregor would have been an enormous shock to him, and who is aware of the place it should lead him. Positive, it isn’t as large as beating Conor, however that does not imply he’ll by no means get away.
Stardom is like an explosion, it would not simply occur randomly. First, all the required components have to be current. Then an explosion happens. It is a thud. And whereas one spark could also be random, should you depart a flammable chemical round lengthy sufficient, it is solely a matter of time earlier than it will definitely explodes. Positive, McGregor was the most important doable spark for Diaz, however he is not the one one. In the end, Nate goes to blow up. Simply ask Jorge Masvidal.
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
Which X-factor will hit McGregor Holloway the toughest? Mac’s ring rust or Max’s mileage accumulation?
I believe Prime Max would simply settle for this. But when Connor takes this severely, Max in 2026 is way more winnable (additionally a giant if).
To me, the reply is fairly apparent, however most likely not what you are assuming. Holloway’s gathered mileage will play a a lot larger issue within the end result of this battle, as McGregor’s ring rust would not actually matter. However let me be clear: I do not assume Holloway’s mileage issues all that a lot both.
Max Holloway will beat McGregor’s reinforcements this summer season, nevertheless it will not be as a result of Conor has been out for 5 years. That is most likely as a result of he is a greater fighter than McGregor and a stylistic nightmare. Sure, Conor already beat Max, however that was earlier than Max was actually good at preventing. since then? He grew to become the best fighter of all time and developed a method that McGregor had no actual method to beat.
Even when Holloway’s sturdiness is lastly beginning to present cracks, Max has the very best chin of all time and it is nonetheless good. Even on the peak of his powers, Conor had no intention of KOing Max. That meant he needed to take a disciplined 25 minutes to win. This was by no means Conor’s match, he simply wasn’t a starter towards Holloway’s quantity. Except Conner in some way manages to get Charles Oliveira all the best way, he will be put by means of the woodchipper.
But when there’s one cause to beat your self up for a McGregor upset, it is Max’s mileage. McGregor has nice timing and energy, and we lastly noticed Max’s jaw crack. think about A world the place Connor catches Max early on, particularly a world the place he catches Max at 170 the place Max has to surrender some dimension. It is unlikely, however that is the one factor that makes this battle compelling.
Ilia Topuria and Josh Hokit
If there was no safety between Josh Hokit and Ilya Topuria, how lengthy would they’ve lived? We’ll solely reply in milliseconds.
Attention-grabbing reply: Topuria is so good that you simply may really be capable to scrap with Hokit for a short while.
Actual reply: Hokit can merely sit on Topria. Weight courses are actual.
W, L, or D, how quickly will McGregor depart the UFC after preventing Holloway and Chandler back-to-back?
To start with, I do not assume he’ll get Chandler after Max. Max’s battle would not make a lot sense promotionally to start with, however Chandler’s battle for Conor’s final dance doesn’t suggest something. I believe the UFC will attempt to get another person out of him. I’ve lengthy thought Paddy Pimblett was the logical alternative, so I am going to stick to that.
Second, it’s totally quick. Ever since McGregor fought Poirier, I have been saying he simply must battle out his contract (two fights) and transfer on. Outdoors of the UFC, McGregor may make near $500 million from quite a lot of fights, together with three Nate Diaz fights, Jake Paul, two Floyd Mayweather fights, Manny Pacquiao, and even Mike Tyson, so why would he stick to the UFC? My opinion is that Connor is making an attempt to get out of his contract and begin earning profits once more, and now that he is seen the financial proof of idea that’s Netflix, he is making an attempt to facilitate that.
Conor will seemingly be preventing Jake Paul by subsequent summer season.
Thanks for studying, and thanks to everybody who despatched in questions. Do you have got any burning questions on something at the very least considerably associated to martial arts? You are in luck as a result of we enter your questions in our feed each week. Ship them in there and I am going to attempt to reply the very best one within the mailbag and reply the remaining.
