It really says a lot about Smith in that he's in there hanging with the best of the best and beating all of them without decisions.
Happy for Smith but also sad for Gus. He gave Jones and DC the toughest fights of their careers so that is something to be proud of, but it has to sting knowing how close you were. On that note, I know Smith wants another shot at Jones, but I’m not sure what he needs to do differently. He fought well against Jones, but at the same time, he was fighting completely defensively. Almost like he was trying to not lose and was specifically focused on what Jon was doing.
IDK if there is a Boxing thread, but it was wild to watch Joshua v Ruiz. One of the more entertaining bouts in boxing that i've watched in a long time. I think he'll come back strong as ever after some work on his conditioning which seemed to be his big fault.
Highlights of the Joshua vs Ruiz fight - as even an MMA fan, this fight was great to watch, especially watching the pure hunger to win that Ruiz had
I couldn't believe the power he had in the 7th round. He kept catching Joshua off-guard after he'd throw with these intense flurries and I don't think Joshua knew he'd be able to hang with him that long.
Imagine how much faster he'd be if he lost 15-20 pounds; he wouldn't lose any of his power, but his endurance would go up a bit. Wonder how much he'll try to improve his physique, if at all, before the rematch later this year.
Gus, King Mo and Jimi all retiring this week. The LHW division just keeps getting thinner, but hopefully this is the beginning for a new crop of guys.
Manager: Khabib Nurmagomedov is now ‘highest-paid athlete in the UFC’ after new deal "We don't WANT to reward shitty behavior and starting brawls in the crowd after fights, but.....ya know...."
Not that I wouldn’t watch the fight (I 100% would), but I don’t want to see GSP take it for the wrong reasons nor see his retirement redacted. Would be disappointing and totally unnecessary. I felt proud of him for retiring on his terms.
huh... he was asked about it in the scrum and he acted like he had no idea what they were talking about, did some shadow boxing and bounced around for a second then claimed that he didn't work out because of a contract obligation(????). Right after that though he mentioned he hit his knee on a desk last night so that's what the tweet was referring to. I didn't believe it at first but that's pretty suspicious. Obviously the fight is still on though.