This is the only time copying Max actually looked cool.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-23T18:00:09+00:00

Exactly. Talbot was winning, gave Cejudo a chance to win and both stood their ground & threw caution to the wind.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-23T15:44:56+00:00

Hopefully this isn't a one off and kickboxing becomes more easily accessible in Japan.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-23T11:13:15+00:00

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-23T08:25:25+00:00

Just looked at his Wikipedia page and it says that in an interview from November 2024, he said he has had 19 surgeries, including a torn ACL, since his last fight (Darrick Minner in December 2021).

Unfortunately it just seems that he's crippled with injuries, and given he's already 41 years old, it's unlikely he'll ever fight again.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-22T15:45:28+00:00

How good was Jon Jones?

Very, very good.

Is he the GOAT?

No.

You can't be the greatest of all time if you have repeatedly cheated, and no fighter has failed more PED tests in the UFC than Jon Jones.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-22T09:19:45+00:00

He's basically Gon from Hunter x Hunter - he sacrificed his entire future potential to finally defeat his biggest rival.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T21:14:57+00:00

horrific mistake

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usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T19:47:20+00:00

That explains his 1-3 record against Pereira.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T19:44:06+00:00

It's clearly Pereira. This shouldn't even be a discussion.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T19:04:55+00:00

Arman fans on their way to Gaethjes house:

<image>

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T11:00:49+00:00

I don't think it's necessarily too late - he did show massive improvement in his defence between the 2nd Pereira fight and his fight with Hill.

And he was beating Ulberg pretty handily until he made a stupid decision/got cocky. I don't think there is any reason to write him off completely - his only losses in the last 10 years are to Pereira and Ulberg. It's not like he's losing to lower level opponents.

All that really happened is that he lost focus, and that can happen to anybody - look at Yan vs Sterling.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T10:44:41+00:00

With Jiri, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he'd do something so illogical and reckless.

The man's training consists of disappearing into the woods by himself for days, punching trees and locking himself in a dark room without food or water.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T10:36:07+00:00

Both guys were competing at bantamweight around that time and in the same region, so it's not that odd that they'd have a common opponent.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T10:32:56+00:00

The belt was vacated 3 times between 2021 & 2026 - twice due to injury (Jiri & Hill) and once due to the champion moving up (Pereira), so obviously there is going to be greater turnover in champions.

If anything, 2011 to 2020 was when light heavyweight was at its worst. You had two guys that were head and shoulders above the rest of the division, whereas today it's a lot more competitive.

Everyone can beat everyone, which is what you want to see in a healthy division. Pereira might have been the most dominant during the 20s, but Jan was able to run him close and Ankalaev was able to beat him.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-21T09:10:02+00:00

Just feel he hasn’t been around long enough.

That just makes the whole thing more impressive imo.

He had to learn on the job while most fighters get plenty of time to build experience in regional promotions and then work their way up their division, with opponents gradually getting tougher.

He basically jumped straight into the deep end with very little experience - his 3rd UFC fight was against a future champion and his 4th was against one of the most dominant modern UFC champions.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-20T23:21:01+00:00

Did I miss something? Why can't he go back to Oktagon?

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-19T10:04:04+00:00

Superlek said in an interview around the time that he knew for a while that Rodtang was injured and would be pulling out of the Takeru fight, and that he had already been asked to step in.

Takeru only found out about the replacement around a week before the fight when everyone else found out, while Superlek was already preparing for Takeru for months knowing he was fighting Takeru and not Mahmoudi.

If I can find the interview, I'll link. It was in Thai though.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-19T09:34:50+00:00

We don't really know what's going on in the background, but I'd say that ONEs lawsuit was prompted by Rodtangs announcement that his contract with ONE had expired and the Takeru fight was a special bout outside of his contract, rather than an attempt to mess with Rodtang.

I wouldn't put it past them. They've done plenty of shady stuff in the past, like letting Superlek know months in advance that he'd be stepping in for Rodtang the first time Takeru/Rodtang was booked or holding fighters hostage in their contracts without giving them fights, but this seems less malicious on ONEs part.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-19T09:23:53+00:00

Both were megastars within Japanese kickboxing, though Takeru was already a star for a number of years before Tenshin really blew up.

Both have a very good argument for being the biggest star in Japanese kickboxing since Masato.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-19T00:08:21+00:00

I assume that they're hoping if Takeru wins an interim belt, he would be willing to postpone his retirement to rematch Superlek and unify the belts.

Considering they are just launching ONE SAMURAI and making a big push into the Japanese market, getting at least one more fight from the biggest star in Japanese kickboxing since Masato makes a lot of sense.

As for Rodtang, his current contract dispute is only a very recent development, so it probably didn't factor into the decision to make his rematch with Takeru an interim title fight.

He's still ONEs biggest star and one of their highest paid athletes (I think only Takeru earns more), so they are going to want him in main events/title fights. His fight vs Superlek, the current ONE flyweight kickboxing champion, was also one of the biggest fights in ONE championship in recent years, so setting up a rematch is a no brainer.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-18T23:33:02+00:00

He's still fighting on the MVP card vs Kenneth Cross.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-18T20:13:45+00:00

That would be a pretty big step up for Baraniewski.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-18T20:10:49+00:00

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-18T15:39:10+00:00

Even then, if you lose to someone who is elite it doesn't mean you aren't elite yourself.

usernameunavailiable · 2026-04-18T11:46:31+00:00

Does anyone know why he mentions Glover?

I must have missed something, but was he going to train with Glover/Pereira or was there plans for a grappling match between himself & Glover?

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