I asked and you delivered (again!). This week’s mailbag answers include lots connected to last week’s UFC 329 and nothing regarding this weekend’s UFC Oklahoma City. Is there a hangover effect happening here or is that card just too bad to draw any kind of attention?
Anyways, here’s what we were asked recently and what we had to say about it:
Conspiracy Theories
Question: Lots of folks asked things about McGregor and his ‘fight’ at UFC 329, here are those:
- Conors pain management Dr visit was totally unrelated to the fight ending injury, right? (Lurker2006)
- Do you believe McGregor’s knee was at least partially injured before he even walked? (evidence seems to say so). Well maybe not completely torn, something was not right. (LoneCowboy)
- Was Conor in withdrawal from drugs and I think the whole thing was just pre-planned cash grab (Icedrocket)
- Did Conor blow a bunch of smoke up my ass (The_Citadel)
Andrew Richardson: I think every fighter that enters the cage at age 37
has at least minor injuries. It’s very common. I have a friend who fought his entire season of TUF with a torn meniscus … and won! So, I don’t think Mac pursuing pain relief fight week means anything, otherwise we’d have to investigate every day who shows up in the Octagon with cupping bruises.
Jesse Holland: I don’t believe he was injured heading into the fight. At the same time, I also think he likes keeping it a mystery, painting himself as the wounded warrior who soldiered on to keep the card together and deliver for his fans. He already pulled out with a broken pinky toe, so I’m sure a serious knee injury would have resulted in the similar fight delay. He certainly doesn’t need the money.
Thomas Myers: I don’t think he was seriously injured before he walked into T-Mobile. And I don’t think he’d do such a high-risk, low-reward move straight out of the gate if his knee was even remotely compromised. He’s on the wrong side of 35, hasn’t been in a cage for five years and abused his body for at least four of those five years, if not more. Just a recipe for utter disaster. Or, a simple case of cosmic karma.
Tim Edwards: I don’t buy that McGregor was hurt going into this fight. I know he’s desperate to get out of his deal, but we’ve seen that McGregor doesn’t like to fight when compromised. And the backstage footage of him drilling the kick looked pretty convincing to me that he was — physically — in the right shape for a fight. I do think he was mentally off his game heading into this one, though. I think at his age, coming off that injury, he wasn’t very confident about how he would do in this fight. I think he was looking to recapture that magic he had with Aldo by drilling and going for a quick killing blow (maybe he wanted to see if the titanium in his leg would help him out there). It was a desperate shot and I think that’s because he is a desperate fighter. He’s desperate to repeat his old glories and show the world (and himself) he’s still ‘Notorious’ for all the right reasons. He failed that last week. He’s never getting back what he had before the Mayweather fight. I think he might know that now.
How far can Basharat go?
Q: I thought the smaller Basharat brother was higher up in the pecking order but after watching him struggle at times vs a new comer and late replacement how far from the top 10 do you think he is? (Chucs)
Alex Behunin: I think Farid Basharat is very good and beats several people in the Top 15 rankings. He definitely didn’t look like a -500 favorite against John Garza, but then again, he was taking the fight on short notice, too (with a torn MCL). He isn’t the most exciting fighter to watch at all, but he’s very good.
Andrew Richardson: He’s slick enough to beat some ranked fighters but not dangerous enough that an athletic unranked guy couldn’t potentially spark him. Also, it’s hard to face guys on short-notice when you’ve been preparing for a different kind of challenge.
Thomas Myers: I’m not a fan of either and don’t think they will go near a title, ever.
Tim Edwards: Basharat feels a bit like a throwback to me. The sport used to be full of guys who could just win with their wrestling. But I feel like the base-level of wrestling defense is so much higher now that these wrestlers need very good striking to survive. I don’t think Basharat has the striking to be a real factor at this decision. Those leg kicks just aren’t going to cut it. He also just feels like he’s lacking some X Factor and doesn’t fight with much of a will to finish someone. I think he might break the top ten, but I don’t think he’ll ever break top five or challenge for a title unless he can make people respect his striking.
Whittaker’s future
Q: Sure he won but I didn’t love the way Robert Whittaker looked in that fight. He’s always seemed like one of the more reasonable, realistic and down to earth fighters. Do you think he will be honest with himself and hang it up or do you see him fighting we’ll past his prime and going through the grinder on the way out? (Chucs)
Alex Behunin: Throughout the week, Robert kept saying he only has a few more fights left (I’m guessing 3-4), so I don’t think he’ll stick around way past his prime. I think he’ll get a top Light Heavyweight next to see what’s up. If he wins, shoot him towards a title shot; if he loses, give him a couple of fights against fun fighters, and then he’ll retire in Australia in late 2027 or early 2028.
Andrew Richardson: I agree with Alex. Robert is on a run at the top, and if it ends catastrophically, expect one more fight in Australia to hopefully walk away with a win. War Bobby Knuckles!
Jesse Holland: Fighters are the first ones to know it’s over and the last ones to admit it, so I would expect to see Whittaker hang around for another year or two. Khalil Rountree Jr. sounds like a fun fight.
Thomas Myers: I think Rob has done well for himself throughout his career. Seems like he has his head on straight. Still dangerous and competitive. He’s only 35, so he’s aging like Joe Riggs in MMA years. I would think he’d be good for another two years, four-ish fights, then dip if I had to guess.
Tim Edwards: I think the size and power gap in this division will catch up to Whittaker at some point. It all depends who he gets match-up with. I don’t think he can hang with the top ten at Light Heavyweight. That being said, there’s plenty of fights he can win in the division. I assume the UFC want to use his name against other bigger names, so that might mean this experiment does’t last very long.
Scoring Sandhagen vs. Bautista
Q: How on earth did Sandhahen not win rounds 1 & 2? I honestly have barely been online since the fight, so I have no idea if there’s been an uproar, outside of the one that happened in my living room. (Lurker2006)
Alex Behunin: I thought Sandhagen was winning round one until he got trapped in the leg lock. He won round 2 and then lost round 3. I could definitely see him getting the nod, but ultimately think the decision was correct.
Andrew Richardson: As a certified Sandhagen homer, he won the first until Bautista ripped his hamstring off. Unfortunately, the judges didn’t credit successful leg lock attempts back when it was Sandhagen ripping apart TJ’s knee at the end of round one …
Thomas Myers: The leg locker getting leg-locked is just a real bad look. Most dudes probably would have tapped, too. I think, based on his post-fight comments, he knew he lost after nearly getting his hamstring torn off the bone.
Tim Edwards: I agree that Sandhagen took the second round, which is pretty amazing given how messed up his leg was. Bautista not going for the kill in that round was shocking. I do think Bautista pulled out the third round, though. It was a really close round to score, but I think Bautista’s punches were doing the most damage in that last round.
Gaethje vs. Tsarukyan predictions
Q: If Justin defends against Arman, how do you see the fight going? (Lurker2006)
Alex Behunin: Off the top of my head: Arman either tackles Justin repeatedly and eventually stops him or Justin defends the takedowns and batters Arman.
Andrew Richardson: Right now, I favor Justin, who is still performing at a very high level and has a strong anti-wrestling game. By the time they actually book that fight, who knows?
Jesse Holland: Rafael Fiziev was 2-for-2 on takedown attempts against Gaethje and Arman is only 29-years-old and an absolute beast. I think Arman by late submission.
Thomas Myers: Assuming fighter IQ is leveraged (BIG assumption in MMA), and Arman doesn’t think he’s going to out-box Gaethje, he’d be too much over the course of five rounds.
Tim Edwards: With the way Topuria sliced through Gaethje’s guard, I think Tsarukyan can find a lot of success on the ground with him. Topuria got full mount, but was too tried and banged up to do anything with it. Tsarukyan going for that early, and then having more size on him, would be very tough for Gaethje to handle.
Is McKinney too frail?
Q: What is McKinney’s problem? is it mental? Just he just fold if he hasn’t gotten the finish after 3 or 4 minutes? I mean we can all say early stoppage, but it mattered not at all, he had quit. Just like all his fights. He’s a great hammer, but absolutely cannot be a nail. Just completely falls apart. (LoneCowboy)
Alex Behunin: I honestly hate that I’m saying this word because of the disrespect, but he has a lot of quit in him. He has five minutes of relentlessness, and then he’s done. He will be the hammer against below-average fighters, but against anyone who can withstand his barrage, he will lose every time.
Andrew Richardson: Alex is trying to be nice, so I’ll be more honest: he’s a blatant quitter. One of the most blatant in the sport. He tries hard for 2.5 minutes, and if it doesn’t work out, he’s happy to fold and walk away without taking too much damage. If McKinney had any level of dog in him, he’d be Top 10.
Jesse Holland: Terance McQuittey is this generation’s Melvin Guillard. All of the physical tools, none of the mental tools. And he’s got that Kevin Holland attitude of, “Hey I get paid either way so who cares.”
Thomas Myers: What Jesse said.
Tim Edwards: I think we need to give more credit to King Green. He’s the toughest and best dude McKinney has ever fought and it showed.
Now for something important…
Q: Does ketchup belong on a hot dog? Is it for kids only? Is it anyone’s business but the eater? I like ketchup and spicy mustard on a hot dog myself. (YourMom’sBox)
Alex Behunin: I think Ketchup is perfectly fine on a hot dog. I like mine plain, though lol.
Andrew Richardson: I’m a ketchup and mustard guy as well. Policing hot dog condiments is dork behavior — it’s ground up organ meat, not a filet. Do whatever you gotta do.
Jesse Holland: Nathan’s frank on a potato bun with ketchup, mustard, and a little onion. Dammit, now I want one.
Thomas Myers: Ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut … gimme all dem fixins … who cares? Put sour cream on your glizzy if that’s how you want to gobble.
Tim Edwards: I’m the wrong person to ask. I used to put ketchup on everything and have only recently started breaking the habit.
Quick hits
Q: Of the below 3 which do you wish was flourishing today, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce (gadgetsCA)
Andrew Richardson: WEC, PRIDE, Strikeforce in that order. RIZIN is doing quite well over in Japan even if it’s not at PRIDE levels, so it would be really nice to have a US promotion that people care about.
Alex Behunin: I would say Pride just because it was so legendary and fights in Japan are fucking awesome. RIZIN definitely trying to replicate the magic, but isn’t there just yet.
Jesse Holland: People romanticise Pride but let’s be honest, they had some truly terrible fights. Fedor vs. Zuluzinho on New Year’s Eve? C’mon. WEC was too “KIng of the Cage” for me, which if you understand West Coast MMA, you’ll know what I mean. I’ll also admit that I’m a Strikeforce mark and a Scott Coker fanboy, so I’m clearly biased.
Thomas Myers: Pride, hands down. It’s what got me into the sport in the first place. The entire vibe was just batshit crazy, loved every second of it. Used to binge late-night re-runs at night on cable.
Tim Edwards: Of all those mentioned, I was the most active viewer of WEC. For this question, though, I wish we had Strikeforce acting as a strong Pepsi to the UFC’s Coke.
Q: Who’s your favorite fighter to have interviewed? (Caveman Computer)
Alex Behunin: I have very good chemistry with a few fighters. Obviously, Sean Strickland and I have gone viral a few times because he was making fun of me (but that was Apex Strickland). I love chatting with Jordan Leavitt, Khalil Rountree and Adrian Yanez. Cub Swanson is super raw once you break down his wall. But to answer your question, Carlos Prates is probably my favorite as of today.
Thomas Myers: When I used to do interviews, I spoke with Matt Mitrione, I think before his Kimbo fight? The connection was “bad,” and I guess he didn’t like my first two questions, and he ended up calling me, “a fucking Herb” as he hung up on me. I hadn’t heard that insult in like 20 years … I thought it was pretty cool. Respect.
Tim Edwards: There’s a few ways I can take this question. When it comes to someone I have good conversations with, it’s got to be Angela Hill. I always found her easy to talk to and found what she had to say very interesting. As far as just being lovely, Antonio Carlos Junior and Gabriel Benitez come to mind. When it comes to getting a good quote, Aljamain Sterling was always good for that. For someone who I was a little star-struck with, it’s Ken Shamrock. I had moments during that interview where I was like… ‘Wow, I’m talking to Ken Shamrock.‘
Q: Maybe this one is better as a poll, but who is the greatest trash talker in UFC history? Conor and Chael come to mind, of course, but who else would you put on the Mt. Rushmore of trash talkers? (Adam Wagner)
Alex Behunin: Conor McGregor, Chael Sonnen, Michael Bisping, Colby Covington/Dominick Cruz.
Thomas Myers: It’s the Chael Sonnen “coaching tree” and all who follow are his disciples. But, Dricus is the best in the sport, currently. Hands down.
Tim Edwards: I must admit DDP is pretty good. I was never a fan, but I must admit that McGregor was very good at what he was doing back in the day. I do like Islam Makhachev’s sneaky trash talk, though. It gets a chuckle out of me, but wouldn’t be Mount Rushmore material, probably.
