Categories: MMA

Hot Tweets: UFC Vegas 55, Aleksandar Rakic’s injury, and the 2022 All-Violence First Team

It’s been a relatively quiet week in MMA, with a small UFC card this past weekend and another less talked about card tonight, before we get a rare weekend free of fights. There aren’t many big stories this week, so let’s get into a bunch of things.


Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Holly Holm, but to suggest that her fight on Saturday might be a “banger” requires a real leap of faith. For all of her excellence as a fighter, Holm only has four bonuses in the UFC, and two of those came for her demolition of Ronda Rousey (also, a third was Fight of the Night against Cris Cyborg, which, let’s be honest, was not a great fight). Holm is tremendous, but realistically, she’s a better version of Katlyn Chookagian — exceedingly competent but prefers a ranged kick-boxing game or grinding clinches.

As for the co-main event, there is a much higher likelihood of Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michel Pereira putting on a classic, but it’s not guaranteed, which is a shame, because two years ago, I would have been salivating about this fight. Periera, however, has taken a conscious effort to reduce his crazy-man lunacy in the name of cardio. It hasn’t worked but it has been less enjoyable. There’s still a chance these two go hammer and tongs, but there’s also a chance that we get a more measured, tactical fight. There is a much greater chance for a KO here, though.

As for the lack of buzz, I think it’s a combination of factors. The fact that we’ve had so many events this year certainly plays as a part, as does the fact that, in general, women’s bantamweight is not a division that gets people talking. This is the UFC’s way of doing business. The UFC hasn’t done much to promote events other than PPV since the switch to ESPN. This is what happens when you have a group of good fighters, but no self-promotion. That’s fine. This is a solid card, and it’s something I look forward to on Saturday.


Unfortunate injuries

ICYMI: Aleksandar Rakic blew out his knee while fighting Jan Blachowicz at UFC Vegas 54.

Injuries during fights are extremely unfortunate, for exactly the reason you note: it doesn’t feel like a real win. Although it is true that the injury occurred according to all rules and logic, the fighter still feels as though they were robbed. The injury could be caused by another fighter’s action, such as a check leg kick. An injury can be considered a loss, but it is still acceptable. Rakic was not so fortunate.

Blachowicz was up and fighting, but the result was still uncertain. We were about to move on to the meat of this fight when each man took a round. If Rakic hadn’t injured his knee, I don’t know what would have happened in the three remaining rounds. But we won’t ever know. At least not until Rakic can return, and when he does, I think a rematch makes all the sense in the world.

The pros of such a fight are clear: It resolves the question “Who’s the better fighter?” Both men are top five light heavyweights. This is an extremely important issue to solve. The down sides would not be as severe. If Blachowicz reclaims the title, an immediate rematch would mean Rakic heads into a title fight coming off a loss AND and injury layoff. And if Blachowicz doesn’t have the title, then perhaps he is coming off a loss, which makes the matchup still good, but less appealing. Still, when Rakic is back, assuming the landscape remains the same or similar, running this fight back makes sense.


Dustin Poirier vs. Colby Covington

ICYMI: Dustin Poirier said he was now willing to fight Colby Covington, even if it wouldn’t be his first choice of opponent.

* To a certain extent yes. Although Poirier is an excellent fighter and better than Covington in many ways, the stylistic and physical advantages Covington has make this a good matchup. Although Poirier can be a good wrestler, he is not good enough for Covington to keep him on his feet. He’s also not strong enough to stand up after being knocked out. Poirier would need to land something big early to win this fight, and that’s not impossible, but it’s a tough ask.


Khabib vs. Tony: TUF Edition

ICYMI: Tony Ferguson suggested he and Khabib Nurmagomedov should coach against each other on The Ultimate Fighter, and Khabib seems to agree.

I will say that it is low because I don’t think the UFC really cares. For better or worse, the UFC seems to believe that TUF serves as a promotional vehicle for big fights. Although they rarely have had other coaches, most seasons offer more footage of the fighters fighting for promo purposes. A TUF season with Tony and Khabib probably doesn’t tangibly increase viewership and would build to nothing, so I feel like the UFC’s appetite for it will be low.

Personal note: I’m not a fan of this idea. It would be a terrible reminder about the great fight that was never. Don’t get me wrong, I have zero doubt that Khabib would have smashed Tony with little issue, but the stakes, the story, and everything that went into it, was the absolute pinnacle of what this sport can be, and to have been robbed of that still hurts.


GOAT Conversations

I doubt any of them will do it. But if I had the task, it seemed pretty clear that it would be :

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  1. Charles Oliveira
  2. Kamaru Usman
  3. Israel Adesanya.

The reason is that some people are (wrongly) already saying that both Oliveira and Usman have assumed GOAT status. Oliveira is probably closer to this claim because Khabib made such controversial claims to the lightweight title GOAT, which would allow Usman to beat Georges St Pierre.

Now, here’s why I don’t think any of them will do it.

For Oliveira, while some people will give him the title, his numerous losses make it a tough claim, or at least a claim that has obvious arguments against it. Plus, I’m confident that Islam Makhachev is going to dust him up, and once that happens, any talk of being better than Khabib goes out the window.

For Usman, personally, I still think he needs to do A LOT to overcome GSP, as his title defense number pales in comparison, and that he’s fought so many rematches is another tough one. Add in that I think Khamzat Chimaev has a great shot to beat him and we’ve got another close but no cigar.

Finally, for Adesanya, I think he’s going to leave the division next year to make another run at 205 pounds, and this time commit to adding the weight to make it more viable. Izzy has basically said he plans to do so soon, and after another year at middleweight, there won’t be anyone too interesting for him to face.


Fighter nicknames

This is an excellent question, as there are not many great nicknames for title fights. In the UFC, I think the honor goes to either of the two fights between Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and Robert “Bobby Knuckles” Whittaker. You might think that “Bobby Knuckles”, his nickname is “The Reaper,” however, this would be incorrect as “The Reaper,” is lame while “Bobby Knuckles,” is the rule. Also, shout out to Demetrious Johnson as “Mighty Mouse” is an incredible name, but sadly there’s not a lot of nickname juice from his various opponents.

As far as for any organization, basically any Pride title defense by “The Ax Murderer” Wanderlei Silva qualifies because it’s the best nickname in MMA history, and the guys he fought had solid nicknames of their own: The Gracie Hunter, The Aloof Genius, Rampage — all bangers.


All-Violence First Team

ICYMI: We started a new podcast for MMA Fighting, DAMN! They Were Good. It features our top fighters and most importantly, the All-Violence All Stars. Check it out.

I assume the request is for the All-Violence first team and not the All-Time. It’s easy to choose, but we need to keep the focus on today.

Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall. The man has delivered every time out.

Light Heavyweight: Jiri Prochazka. C’mon. Is there another choice?

Middleweight: Andre Muniz. Three first-round subs in his last three fights. Gas is man.

Welterweight: Khamzat Chimaev. Four obliterations and a Fight of the Year contender in his last five. If Vicente Luque hadn’t gotten the full Belal Muhammad treatment, it would be closer.

Lightweight: Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje. There are no wrong answers here. Both men deliver, every single time.

Featherweight: Max Holloway. He can throw more strikes than any other person. Is that boring?

Bantamweight: Marlon Vera. Sean O’Malley delivers more consistent finishes, but Vera puts on a show against better opponents. Louis Smolka deserves a special shoutout because he refuses to take any decisions.

Flyweight: Brandon Royval. Man gets what he wants. There’s no middle ground.

Women’s Bantamweight: Amanda Nunes but I don’t feel good about it. She’s had some serious stinkers but W135 is not the strongest.

Women’s Flyweight : Valentina Shchenko. She’s similar to the previous, but she has had less stinkers since becoming champion.

Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Andrade. Need I say more?


Thanks for reading and thank you for everyone who sent in Tweets! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your Hot Tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer them! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane. Send them to me and I’ll answer the ones I like the most. Let’s laugh.

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