IIIIIIIIIIIt’s time! To answer your questions about MMA.
Each week, I put up a prompt for questions in The Feed, which I then split into two separate but equally important parts: the ones I answer in the responses, and the ones I answer in the mailbag. These are those answers.
What’s going on with Poatan?
Alex Pereira used to be one of my favorite fighters, but this whole complaining tour has soured my opinion of him as of late. Do you think this run of complaining will affect his overall legacy, especially if he handles a Pavlovich loss similarly?
I’m glad I’m not alone in this. For almost the entirety of Alex Pereira’s UFC career, he cultivated this stoic, terrifying personality akin to prime Fedor Emelianenko. The man never said much, and when he did speak, it was usually a very simple answer, or just “Chama.” And the fans ate that up. The combination of his thrilling performances and his implacable “cool” personality, which was punctuated by small moments of breaking the stoicism, all worked to give Poatan the most aura of any fighter in years. But since losing to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House, it seems like he’s lost that. Months after the loss, Pereira is now beefing with Daniel Cormier over nothing.
Perhaps you disagree, and if so, fair enough, but I’ve hated Pereira’s response to losing to Gane. Does he have a case about Gane landing illegal strikes to the back of his head? Absolutely. Do people really care? I’m not so sure. Does he gain anything by harping on that? I don’t know what it would be. It didn’t get him another shot at the title, and it actively turned off some of his fans.
Hopefully, now that he has a fight booked with Sergei Pavlovich, Pereira will reset and move on (he’s talking about a title fight after he wins, but that’s pretty normal). We’re all entitled to having a bad spell, after all. But I am now extremely interested in what happens should he lose to Pavlovich, because it’s clear that Poatan is extremely focused on winning a third title. If that’s suddenly no longer a real option, does he continue to pursue it and waste the last years of his career up at heavyweight, grasping at straws? Or does he go back down to 205?
Whatever happens, I’m pumped for that fight.
(And for what it’s worth, I don’t think any of this affects his legacy. He’s already a Hall of Famer and one of the most accomplished fighters of this generation. No crash out can take that away.)
Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes, double retirement fight?
Hey Jed, what do you think the odds are that Kayla vs. Amanda ends up being a double retirement fight? Also, if your excellent advice is ignored and Valentina doesn’t move up, could it be a triple retirement fight? (retirement of the women’s bantamweight belt / division)
It seems extremely likely.
Kayla came out last week and said that she might have retired if it weren’t for the allure of fighting Amanda, so unless those two are running it back, I’m just not sure what would get her back in the cage. Valentina Shevchenko is the only possibility, and that doesn’t feel like it’s happening.
As for Amanda, it’s hard to say. She already retired, and she’s suggested this might not be a one-off return, but the same goes for her: why would she stick around?
So, yeah, I think by next year, there’s a vacant women’s bantamweight title fight.
And for those who don’t know what Kanaka means concerning the second part, read this.
Now that you’re caught up, the answer is no. Shevchenko strikes me as a person who will have to be dragged away from the sport. She seems perfectly content to go back to 125 and defend the belt for as long as she is physically able, and I commend her for that.
Dana vs. Eddie
Dana once set up a boxing match between him and Tito Ortiz, one of his biggest rivals, but Tito never showed. Let’s say he were to do this again and sets up a match between himself and Eddie Hearn. Who walks away the winner? Also, what would be a good bet the two could make on the fight?
Eddie Hearn, obviously.
This is extremely simple: Dana is 5’11 and 57 years old; Eddie is 6’5” and 47 years old. It’s not quite Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, but Dana would, very obviously, lose. It’s why Eddie was so quick to say yes, and why Dana walked it back despite being the one to first suggest it. And there’s no shame in that. Dana is pushing 60. 60-year-olds should not fight, especially if they aren’t former professional athletes. Eddie wins an awful-to-watch decision
As for what that could make, I bet they could get something close to $50 million for a total purse. They’re very famous people, with a ton of combined promotional might, and a genuine dislike for one another. People will pay to watch something like that, even if the end product would be dreadful viewing.
Commentary
How do you feel about the guys given some commentary duty recently ie. Weidman/Chiesa /Jouban? I think they’ve all been pretty solid.
I support them.
My longstanding belief is that the UFC should use more commentators, because I think all commentators get dramatically worse the longer they stick around. It seems like, invariably, after a few years of working the booth, they all turn into caricatures of themselves, harping on the same talking points in the same way. I don’t blame them — it’s a hard job — but I’d much rather see the UFC rotate in new people every 3-5 years.
As for Weidman, Chiesa, and Jouban specifically, I have mixed thoughts. My big takeaway is that they’re all new to this, and they need time. No shame in that, but reps are the best way to smooth over some of their shortcomings, and that will happen eventually.
I think Chiesa has the best potential as an actual commentator. He’s still green, but I think he has a good eye for what’s happening, and most of his issues are simply about feeling his way through the job of live commentary, which he’ll get better at. But he’s had a decent tenure as an analyst already, and you can see some of that in his commentary.
Jouban is second. I think he’s actually better than Chiesa right now as a commentator — he has a more natural feel for the job and sits in the pocket better — but he also never really hits me with some perspective on the fight that feels compelling. He’s just there — not in a bad way, but not really bringing much either. He feels like a more natural analyst fit, and primarily as the desk anchor. Like, if he swapped out for Din Thomas on Deep Waters, I think that’s his best sort of role.
Weidman is the one I have the most questions about. I simply don’t think the man is meant to be talking for a living, and I doubt I’ll ever take to him as an analyst or commentator. But I still like to see the UFC giving more people chances, if only to mix things up.
Describe each weight class
Simple challenge for ya! Can you describe each weight class in one word? I’m sure this will be fun!
I liked this challenge, but as someone in the comments suggested, it would be pretty easy to use the same word, *cough* trash *cough*, for several weight classes. But I’m gonna try really hard not to do that, and pick a different word for each weight class.
HW: Catastrophe
205: Depressing
185: Complicated
170: Enchanting
155: Best
145: Transitional
135: Narrow
125: Burgeoning
WBW: Collapsed
WFly: Oppressed
115: Starving
I think most of those are self-explanatory, but I’ll let y’all figure out what I mean by the ones that aren’t.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because every week I put a prompt into The Feed for your questions. Fir