Mixed Martial Arts / Boxing Thread

[Karposh]

I thought this was pretty funny - "Alexander Volkanovski being Australian"...(Note to self, cue the inner bogan) - What a sick cunt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWFjNJhvo54

On a side note, I wonder if there's going to be another rematch? There's a lot of people out there who are saying that Max got robbed.

[Dejan]

Yeah, i didn't have Alex winning that fight personally, but i'm no judge. He was quite solid on the tail end of the fight

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/ufc/ufc-251-live-updates-results-fight-island-kamaru-usman-vs-jorge-masvidal-alexander-volkanovski-vs-max-holloway-start-time-in-australia-how-to-watch/news-story/ee5fe57ffb0e72aa6896cb558c87befe

Kamaru Usman proved tougher than the UFC’s ‘Baddest Motherf*cker’, Australian Alexander Volkanovski survived a huge scare, and a new champion was crowned in the bantamweight division as Fight Island got off to an incredible start. Usman, the welterweight champion defended his strap for the second time at UFC 251 on Yas Island after defeating Jorge Masvidal in what ended up being a comfortably display of dominance. The 170-pound king is now 12-0 in the UFC, and took the unanimous decision victory (50-45 x 2, 49-46) to beat Masvidal, who took the fight on six days’ notice after a positive COVID-19 test forced Gilbert Burns out of the headline act. In the co-main event, Australian Alexander Volkanovski was dropped in the first and second rounds, but roared back defend his UFC gold against Max Holloway. It was his first featherweight title defence, and he had a far harder time than he did in their first go-around. Still, sitting in a 2-0 hole, Volkanovski never looked flustered as he pulled off three straight rounds to take the split decision victory (48-47 x 2, 47-48).

Before that, Petr Yan became the new bantamweight champion of the world after a stunning display against Jose Aldo. In the first of three title fights on the card, Aldo, off the back of two losses, was given a shot at the vacant 135-pound belt, but was outclassed by his Russian opponent who finally stopped him in the fifth round. Yan, who takes the title Henry Cejudo left behind when he retired, is now 7-0 in the UFC. The new champion took over in rounds four and five, with a final round barrage proving too much for Aldo, who probably could have been put out of his misery earlier than he was by referee Leon Roberts. In a rematch of champions, Rose Namajunas survived a late push from Jessica Andrade to avenge her 2019 loss in a hard-fought split decision victory. Before that, Amanda Ribas made light work of Paige VanZant.

Congratulations to Alex for defending his belt, very close call. Good to see Rose get her revenge also. But unfortunate for Jorge Masvidal, he has been the most interesting fighter to watch since last year but the short notice and consequent rapid weight cut before the fight may have taken its toll. I hope he bounces back stronger. Either way, no excuses, all of their opponents fought well. It would be great to see Conor make a comeback and challenge Alex or Usman for their belts.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Tyson Fury will beat them all. He’s too tall, long, skillfull, quick, uses faints, good footwork and speed for heavyweight especially at his height and weight.

Many people say that. Hard to disagree, but I still think, despite the lack of finesse and potentially questionable endurance (especially when he has suffered some damage), Wilder is still the most dangerous and brutal heavyweight boxer today and has the capability to knock them all out. The rematch with Fury should be a great fight.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Another great win for Volkanovski today. A unanimous decision by the judges gave him the 5 round fight. Congratulations to Alex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA08iW7MOQk

The first UFC champion of Macedonian heritage. He beat a man who is arguably the best featherweight MMA fighter in history. Congratulations Alex!

[Karposh]

Another great win for Volkanovski today. A unanimous decision by the judges gave him the 5 round fight. Congratulations to Alex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA08iW7MOQk

[Chicho Makedonski]

Massive upset today with the so-called unified heavyweight champion (Joshua) being taken out by a Mexican-American (Ruiz) who nobody thought had a chance. Some are comparing it Tyson-Douglas. Honestly, serves Joshua right for dodging Deontay Wilder for so long, knowing that the latter had a more than average chance of knocking him into next week. So much for the 'money fight'.

Tyson Fury will beat them all. He’s too tall, long, skillfull, quick, uses faints, good footwork and speed for heavyweight especially at his height and weight.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Massive upset today with the so-called unified heavyweight champion (Joshua) being taken out by a Mexican-American (Ruiz) who nobody thought had a chance. Some are comparing it Tyson-Douglas. Honestly, serves Joshua right for dodging Deontay Wilder for so long, knowing that the latter had a more than average chance of knocking him into next week. So much for the 'money fight'.

[Chicho Makedonski]

That’s beyond stupid. How does Edgar deserve a title shot over Volkanovski? Volkanovski beat the #1 contender meaning he should be the #1 contender and next in line for a title shot, not Edgar that hasn’t even beaten Aldo let alone Holloway. I believe the UFC put Aldo against Volkanovski in Brazil to put everything in Aldo’s favour so he could be victorious and get the shot at the title next with his ‘comeback story’. They wanted Aldo to win, wasn’t to be

[Gocka]

Looks like the UFC aren’t going to do the right thing. In addition to the Ortega vs Zabit fight in July, the same card will apparently feature Holloway vs Edgar. So Alex beats the number 1 contender (who himself has beaten Edgar twice) and they look past him. Unbelievable.

It doesn't make any sense in terms of rankings. Its obviously down to popularity, what else could it be?

[Soldier of Macedon]

Looks like the UFC aren’t going to do the right thing. In addition to the Ortega vs Zabit fight in July, the same card will apparently feature Holloway vs Edgar. So Alex beats the number 1 contender (who himself has beaten Edgar twice) and they look past him. Unbelievable.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Zabit is doing well but is beneath Alex in the rankings. Ortega, who is beneath Aldo, suffered a defeat in his last fight against Holloway. And rumour has it that Zabit and Ortega will be fighting each other soon. As for Edgar, he got decked by Ortega last year and has lost to Aldo twice. Alex is on a 7 fight winning streak in the UFC so if they do what's right, he should be next in line for a shot at the title. I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if Holloway doesn't return to featherweight after his recent loss as it's a competitive division. On another note, Conor has been taking subtle shots at both Aldo and Holloway recently, in addition to hinting a possible return. Perhaps a bit of wishful thinking, but how crazy would it be if Alex takes the featherweight crown from Holloway and then matches up against Conor in the near future. Alex has been severely underrated in his last few fights by all sorts of morons and supposed die-hard UFC fans, but the guy is confident, fights like a lion and has relentless energy. He has every chance of becoming champ.

As for his maternal side being Greek, I don't see it as an issue. She couldn't be an anti-Macedonian racist (like many other Greeks) if she married a Macedonian man. And it would be wrong to expect him to disregard his mum's heritage. That said, he doesn't look like a guy that would allow people to insult his Macedonian heritage. And let's face it, given the rabid hatred for Macedonians that many of them espouse, few Greeks (aside from his relatives and friends) are going to support him anyway. The very fact he identifies as Macedonian is enough for those maggots to despise him.

[Chicho Makedonski]

If it’s not the title shot next I think they will give him Zabit, Ortega or Edgar. It all depends if and when Holloway wants to come back down to Featherweight for a title fight.

[Karposh]

He identifies his ancestry as Macedonian while also acknowledging his maternal side is not. Don’t see an issue there, he seems like a decent enough bloke. Doesn’t strike me as political but pretty sure he won’t allow others to denigrate his father’s heritage.

Congratulations to Alex. I just wanted to touch on the ethnicity of his mum for a moment. Alex has clearly stated that his mum is Greek and that should be the end of it you would think. However, there are rumours going around that his mum is in fact an Aegean Macedonian from Lerin. I heard that one from a friend today but he admitted he can't confirm it. Interestingly, in what I can only describe as a six degrees of separation moment, it turns out my brother-in-law's half brother, who lives in the Gong, is good mates with Alex Volkanovski. Unfortunately he's not close with him at all so there's no way I can get him to confirm the rumour from his half-brother. Volkanovski doesn't strike me as political either so if his mum is in fact an Aegean Macedonian then it probably wouldn't be a stretch to assume that her "Greekness" could be just a flippant remark because her roots are from Greece.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Alexander won by a decision in a dominating performance against a legend. Title shot coming up next (hopefully)!