People said GSP was boring back in the day. GSP had a ~53% finish rate in winning performances. Merab and Belal have a combined 4 finishes in 31 UFC fights, and/or a ~13% finish rate. Big difference there.
You’re missing context, though. Most of GSP’s finishes came early in his career. Before his loss to Matt Serra, he went 13-1 with 10 finishes. After that loss, he went 13-0 with only 4 finishes, two of them coming within the year he lost to Serra. Those last thirteen fights also came over the span of 10 years, as opposed to the five pre Serra. Clearly had a massively reduced finish rate. The post Serra loss era also coincided with his title reign, meaning that most of the finishes he got weren’t as well remembered, while his high profile decisions were. This is one of the tricky ways statistics can lie to us. While his finish rate might be average, it wasn’t spread evenly throughout his career. That’s why I think your point that GSP wasn’t as boring as people remember is a little shaky.
@@toombroon1110 I think you and Shadow completely misunderstood my point, because I 100% agree with you. I'm comparing GSP to Merab and Belal. You pointing out GSP's drastically reduced finish rate during his title reign is exactly why it makes the other two even more concerning now that they are champs. If they were lay and pray all day before they captured a title what do you think future fights from them will be like?
@@Shadow-n1c4lyou don’t do someone’s last x fights. You do all of them. If someone wins their first 5 fights by finish, then their next 5 by decision, it’s still a 50% finish rate. It’s people like you that think EVERY single fight has to end in a stoppage.
Imo the attitude era would be after Conor I’d say 2017-2022 range with Conor still being the biggest star but not his era anymore I think GSP Silva era was the golden era or like the 80s for the wwf
UFC doesn't have those WWE kinds of eras. The Liddell & Tito era The Late 2000s BOOM/TUF era (GSP, Silva, Lesnar, BJ Penn, Rampage, Machida, Rashad, Diego, TUF) The (2011-2013) Last of Silva & GSP reigns, Beginning of Jon Jones Dominance + Cain vs JDS, WEC merge McGregor era (2015-2018) The 3 Kings era of Usman, Adesanya, and Volkanovski (2019-2022)
Wrestling and BJJ don't conflate with boring fights. You can be a fantastic grappler that is also exciting because you are always chasing the submission or big ground and pound shots. Or you can be like Belal and Merab and lay and pray. It depends on the fighter and their style. Strikers can be boring too. Look at Leon Edwards. Up until "headshot dead" everyone said he was boring, rightfully so.
Is it really that dramatic? Pantoja, Topuria, Makhachev, DDP, Pereira and the real champ Aspinall are still belt holders and all finishers. I don't think it's a new era off a couple recent UFC results.
2012-2022 is a long time. You'd have to wait 8 more years to make a fair comparison. And in the end people will kinda Gloss over the boring champions and only focus on the entertaining ones. Like they do with the 2000s
I hate when purists keep saying, "If its boring then go watch boxing." I like submissions. I like grappling. I don't like stagnation and lack of activity. Smothering your opponent for 25 minutes isn't appealing. Its effective no doubt, but its boring to watch.
@@albertoamoruso7711 OK then unexciting. The highlights of the fight for me were his back and forth with Welsh and kissing O'Malley. If he had attempted more than 1 submission I could understand, but there was literally 1 whole round when he did nothing but hold Sean down and attempt a handful of ground and pound.
@@midwestylewell it worked tho… if MMA fighters prove that smothering and slowly ground-and-pounding people to death is the ultimate form of martial arts, it is what it is (unless you argue that unnecessary rules forced the sport into this)
@@VTWS I agree it is effective and the fighters are smart to choose it. And yes, if your opponent can't stop it, keep doing it. I'm not arguing any of that. The fighters should do whatever they want within the rules to win and if that's how they do it, so be it. I'm just saying as a viewer, I find it unexciting. But its not my place to tell them how to do their craft.
All depends who does it though, When DC was having boring wrestling matches before stipe, people werent having meltdowns because they liked DC. They will stack Merab cards to make sure they sell at least average, and we will all watch.
@@sarmadhabibkhan3036 exactly my point I don’t see how it’s merabs fault that O’Malley was never willing to put it all on the line and start throwing flying knees and shit
@@Alcarazboy11there are people that hold both of these 2 opinions at the same time: “the challenger has to EARN the belt” and “the fight is boring if the challenger doesn’t do anything”. How both of those can be true is insane. If Sean stuffed every takedown and point fought him with strikes, they would say it was the best performance they’ve ever seen
I dont think this is the "boring era" of UFC, this is the "bad matchmaking" era. The "boring champs" were #1 contenders that won title fights. The big issue with the ufc is people like Roundtree, Pena, and Stipe getting title shots while holding back the title picture from a FAR more compelling title fight (Ankalaev, Harrison, Aspinall). The matchmaking maybe worse now then it has ever been ever. So many undeserved/unwanted fights being made for PPV buys, it just doesnt make sense.
This is what happens when MMA promotions get TV deals like with ESPN. They’re not selling fights to us, what we want doesn’t matter. They’re selling fights to ESPN. What the execs at ESPN think will sell is what the UFC will put on. The problem is that there’s a massive disconnect between them and most of the fan base. They’re out of touch with what most of the fan base wants. Also, I will add this. Wrestling heavy fighters aren’t being held back. Boring fighters are being held back. Diego Sanchez is my favorite example of a wrestle heavy fighter that was fun. He’s actually my favorite fighter period. But he was very wrestle heavy. His plan was primarily to take people down. But in the process, he was going for submissions, banging it out in the pocket before shooting, and trying to get ground and pound TKOs. Another great example is Beneil Dariush. Very grapple heavy fighter, but I’ll never forget his war with Drakkar Klose. But look at Leon Edwards or Sean Strickland. Two striking heavy fighters that are clearly boring. We all know Leon got held back and the only reason Sean didn’t get held back is because he rallied the largely conservative American fan base behind him like Colby did.
@@BiggityBoggity8095good point about ESPN deal, never thought of it like that. But I must say I think the large disconnect can’t be true. With today’s social media it’s impossible NOT to know what everyone wants. I think they’re obsessed with trying to make stars more than anything
@@Chris-df1zr I wonder what the formula is for manufacturing a star. There has to be a way to reverse engineer the process and then replicate it with an industry plant. Who knows? The UFC has probably already done it and we’d never know. They keep their PPV numbers classified. The only way we know if someone is popular is if the UFC says they are. Which becomes a sales pitch in itself, “you guys should watch this fighter because other people watch this fighter.” Watch what cards they release the PPV numbers for. This will tell us who they’re staking the business on.
The big issue is that wrestling isn't that popular, so the talent selection leans toward strikers who eventually win titles and lose them as soon as half a decent wrestler shows up. Khabib is considered an out-of-this-world grappler even though he cemented his legacy beating Barboza, Conor, Poirier, Johnson, Iaquinta, Gaethje... All strikers. The only guy he fought that was a tough wrestler, was Tibaou, and he struggled a lot to win a close decision.
@@dontmatter1664 to say that Gaethje or MJ had questionable wrestling is bogus. Both of those guys are talented wrestlers, Gaethje was even a collegiate champ.
It doesn’t make you a casual to think a fighter is boring. Winning championships without any threat of a finish ever is not interesting to watch. You don’t have to agree, but that’s how most people feel.
I feel the UFC doesn't do enough grappler vs grappler style fights. If you guys can't think of, or haven't seen a single MMA fight that didn't end in a KO, but was still entertaining, you probably haven't even watched a single full card.. You tune in for one fight, then turn it off, or are so messed up by the time it comes on can't even remember what happened during the fights. 🍻
True. People assume two grapplers will just grapple each other but it's just as likely that they will just throw sloppy overhands for 25 minutes which is at least more entertaining.
Not world class fighting though is it, there's the rub. Remember when "jab and grab" Klitschko got accused of killing boxing heavyweight division, he had something like 58 KOs in 65 wins
Merab & Belal are objectively boring fighters, great personalities in general though. It’s not the fact they wrestle, it’s the zero threat of a finish (I never said I DONT enjoy watching either guy)
I'm worried about belal fignting once a year. More then anything. Merab was fun to watch dude moved around so much i felt tired watchig sean trying to land on him. Merab head was OoOO oOOoOoOoOo O Oo OoO ooOo I was looking at merab like some kid jumping around after eating a bunch of sugery food i a candy store. I
nah, if you understand grappling you know how crazy some of these performances are. Blame their competitors for not being competent enough to counter the easiest game plan they have to offer.
Il take the Diaz brothers having a personality and going for the win over 100 boring wrestle humpers and a billion dagastanis destroying everyone any day
@@simonheit8025 nah, it's MMA, not a grappling exhibition. It's boring as fuck for the common fan and the UFC is doing nothing to keep fans with the PPV price. UFC is on a downslope and it's very obvious
@@ImNotYourEnemy Rather have him living free in my head (like every thought anyone has ever had) than be riding on his meat like you. Enjoy the ride bro...he doesn't gaf about you 😂
Heavyweight has never been the apex weight division. Light heavyweight built the ufc and he’s been not competing there for 5 years now basically and when he was there it was good even when he was gone for peds because DC Gus AJ picked up the weight.
I don’t mind the wrestlers, I don’t like the pancake method when they take someone down and sit on them. I would NEVER pay 70-80$ for a wrestling match.
Are you telling me Aspinall, Poatan, Du Plessis, Makhachev and Topuria are boring champions? I mean 3 out of 8 champions being "boring" seems normal to me
Well you could say that a champion that hasn't defended his belt could be consider boring because he's not active in my opinion, now once Topuria becomes an active defending champion I don't think he will be boring,
Islam is a boring champ. I appreciate he tries to strike. But if he gets in trouble he immediately goes back to who he really is, a grappler. He’s a grappler faking it. Again. Appreciate he makes an effort
I think the issue is people expect, “holy 💩” moments every fight… when you watch other sports or even boxing you don’t get that… that’s what makes those moments special, if you don’t like grappling don’t watch MMA go invest your time in kickboxing…
It is LITERALLY up to the fighters to find a strategy against the other fighter. Not all fights will be stand up slugfests, and as MMA fans, we have to accept it. Wrestling is a good skill to have in the cage, anyways. Its not pretty, but it is VERY effective. And also, Merab toying O'Malley was very enjoyable.
The problem isn't fights needing to be a slugfest. People like submissions too. Look at Rousey, Harrison, Khabib, Oliveira, Islam. I liked watching them because they were active. I have no problem with wrestling, I have with no activity or smothering.
a lot of stupid people thought Demetrious Johnson was boring. All of his fights were dynamic and full of action. If he was boring there is no word left to use for Merab, Strickland, Leon Edwards, etc
Totally is in my opinion, I've said many times, Conner didnt grow the sport so much through holding opponents, the amount of friends I've heard dislike the sport for the laying and hugging, I win them back with some striking footage but the slug method of draining opponents and scoring from being in a position is proving dominant. Yes I believe its a problem, I think K1 rules or something would be best, or score less for floor time.
Conor has about 18 KOs via punches in 22 wins doesn't he?? Most in first round, he was a front runner power puncher, they ALWAYS get hype, Deontay Wilder my God his resume was absolutely dreadful but the made his rep on a big KO record when he was still fighting chiny fat journeymen in his 34th fight, and casuals thought this man might be the hardest hitting boxer of all time, it was painful discourse going through his record and the records of George Foreman, who nearly killed 2 prime all time greats coming of wins over Ali in a combined 4 rounds. Different levels than the guys Wilder knocked out. People like knockouts, but mostly casuals will grab onto the knockout artists at first, Wilders fans were as delusional as him
@@geedee1264 Yup, imagine asking any fighter what thier chosen highlight reel would be like, you'd bet most would want walk off knockouts, high risk kicks and combos. Not desperate looking rugby tackles hoping for that all 'exciting' tap 🤣 Yeah sure
Apparently, two "boring" fighters getting the belt means we're in a new dark era of UFC. Hilarious to watch people freak out. We have no idea how long these fighters will even hold the belt.
@@panner11 Merab won't be holding his for long. That's why hes trying everything in his power, power he does not have, to avoid the fight with Umar. He knows that he won't be able to use his boring wrestling methods against Umar cuz Umar is the better wrestler and he won't be able to stall like he usually does. Umar is literally better in every aspect. So of course the 🤡 is trying to skip by the #1 contender to fight the #5 BW in Figgy cuz he knows Fig is primarily a striker. That's 🤡 shit
@@CrazyAspyKid also if rabbit punches were allowed every wrestler would get hit with a few 12-6 elbows to the back of the head every time they got a takedown
It absolutely is boring but it’s effective, unfortunately. They don’t go for finishes and would just lay on someone for 25 minutes. It wins fights but man is it lame to watch
I’m not sure what people watch MMA for but I was not bored during that main event, Merab is such a character between his takedowns, antics, and how he frustrates his opponents, it’s exciting. I don’t know many guys in the world that can do what he can do, with that stamina. It’s truly impressive to watch. Different guys are interesting for different reasons, we need variety in MMA. Dana’s made a risky choice putting Valentina and Grassos fight on this card and expecting any different from Val, she did what she was supposed to do so these judges couldn’t rob her.
I'm convinced most of the complainers must only want to watch KO highlights and not full fights. Plenty of striking battles are slow with opponents figuring out the range and being standoffish. Meanwhile Merab is running at you the whole fight throwing punches, kicks and going for takedowns. He fights with possibly the highest pace on the entire roster, which is why he had 200 strikes and 6 takedowns in the o'malley fight. His fights are full of activity. And yes, you can't tell me him lifting Cejudo on his shoulder mid fight while talking to Mark Zuckerberg of all people wasn't entertaining.
@@panner11 RIGHT! That was great, when and he’s not defensively sound, so he gets rocked and it’s exciting to see if he can pull through and win! I know a lot of the noise is Sean fans coping but it’s sad to see people don’t appreciate the chaos he brings. Variety makes MMA better, and it also makes every fighter have to get better to keep up.
TBD by their performances defending the belt. But on its face…we have 3 champions who won by wrestling great strikers and holding them down (aside from Dricus who got the strangle finish). No one can accuse Dricus of being boring. And Belal…watch his fight against Brady and tell me that was boring. Merab…infuriatingly boring
It's a damn sport lol, these people are using their best skillsets to win. That was the basic conceit of the UFC going back to UFC 1. Wrestling is part of MMA, deal with it or stop watching tf 😂
NBA players would be more effective if they didn't have to dribble... but they do because if the rules. Literally every sport is defined by what you CANNOT do. FOOTBALL... not allowed to use hands, (in real countries anyway).
My only issue with the "exciting" argument is there's no safeguard for being "exciting". If you're exciting but you lose, your stock goes out the window. Dan Hooker vs Porier was the most exciting fight I've seen in a long time. But two loses later Hooker was being written off as a bum until his recent resurgence. Michael Chandler is super exciting. But people shit on him for losing in big fights. Cowboy Olivera was exciting in his fights, not he's out of the UFC. Being exciting is fun, but winning is more important at the end of the day. You need to win to have a career. If you can do both, great! But at the end of the day, your livelihood is based on winning. Not being exciting.
Yep the Era of boring fighters in the UFC begins. That's why UFC isn't going to do Merab or Belal any favors. Lets not get it twisted people Don't hate wrestlers I like Khabib, Islam because they finish. What fans hate is the Takedown, Lay and Pray approach. Yes Merab is a ROBOTIC, BORING Fighter. Same with Belal with the Takedown Lay and Pray approach. It's the TAKEDOWN LAY and PRAY APPROACH that take the fun out of MMA.
Merab doesn't have finishes sure. But you can't call it lay and pray, more like rush slam repeat. He fights with possibly the highest continued pace on the roster. He's rarely standing at distance or just idling in advantageous positions on the ground. In the sean fight, the stats show he had over 200 strikes, 6 takedowns. His fights don't lack activity. He just doesn't have power and isn't a sub threat.
@@panner11 it is still a boring approach. It's either u go for submission or ground and pound. U can't rinse and repeat Takedown Lay and Pray and call it a fun fighting style. Watching paint dry will be better than watching Takedown Lay and Pray fighter.
Mma is at a point where it's hard to find a top 10 fighter without both wrestling and striking (except heavyweight division). Its not lay and pray they are literally struggling to advance to a submission.
@@SmokinBlunts781 Judging by your username and presuming you're an O'smelly fan, I have no doubt you're the head representative of the alphabet community. Thank you for your hard work!
Short answer, no. Merab’s fight wasn’t even boring. He was pushing the pace constantly. He wasn’t just laying on him like Valentina, he was putting hands on him the whole time. I put zero weight on the huge group of fans crying about it being ‘boring’ because they said that about fucking GSP of all people, who was finishing half of his fights. Merab sucks the life and the confidence out of people and it’s amazing to watch.
UFC has been boring for a long while now, I personally never watch a card from start to finish like I used to back in the day, I usually skip straight to the fight im interested in, I skip the walkouts and the Buffer introductions and go straight to the start of the 1st round, I would also silence the commentators if I could as they irritate me nowadays. The product has become too cookie cutter, the presentation is always the same no matter where they are the arena always looks the same, the introductions are always the same, the walkouts are the same for everyone except for music because Dana dosnt like big walkouts like boxing. The cards are very weak nowadays as well, too often I find myself only interested in a couple of fights on a card and the rest is just padded out. Was a huge fan of the sport in general for over 15 years and the UFC has been brilliant to watch, but I think it needs freshening up a bit. The Sphere was a welcome change in terms of presentation.
Most MMA journalist don't have favorites because it is really hard. It's been tuff for me being a person that wants someone to root for. I'm a huge Tony Ferguson fan 😬 Say football has an advantage that you have your local team you root for just built in. You go through the ups and downs with the team and players You want to feel a personal connection. It is boring now in some ways the greats of a generation are fading or gone DC, DJ, Khabib, Conor, Justin and Holloway just put on a great show but how much time do they have left? Some exciting fighters with unoriginal personalities mimicking stars of the past I won't name, but I'm not panicking these things go in cycles there's some really fun young fighters I'm starting to learn about. I don't think just boring wrestlers are going to take over. Look how Alex Peirra just blow up by surprise. Either way you watch is valid though. If just want to see the best, great fights or like me want someone to root and someone to hate. You also have gamblers that probably have a unique way of enjoying the sport. Idk i never gamble
It's mix martial arts. I love watching Merab and Belal. Not every fight has to be rock em sock em robots. You can't be the best if you can't stop a takedown.
I hate it when anyone puts the blame on the wrestlers for dominating. We should be more critical of fighters who can’t nullify them to keep the fight standing
I think people overstate the idea that 'grappling/wrestling' is boring. Strikers have 'boring' fights too when they choose to basically point fight. See Adesanya defending his belt. The issue is more that grapplers have found 'their' way to point fight. Just take-down and hold a person down. An easy way to think of it is imagine no time-limit. Just Merab and Sean locked in the cage and only one can walk out. After that fight, we still don't know. Sean looked fine. Merab looked fine. Maybe eventually Sean would have started landing every now and then and away you go. There are plenty of grapplers who fight good fights and try and finish. Islam and Khabib generally had good fights. Watching Charles on the ground is also fun. It's also that 'strikers' have gotten good enough at defending on the ground so many grapplers can't 'easily' finish. But I think you also have to blame the strikers (Sean, Leon Edwards...) somewhat as they don't really risk their striking either. They don't just risk getting hit by say blitzing in. like DDP goes in hard with a blitz. Even if he gets hit, the fight goes. Did we ever see Sean blitz in on Merab and just risk everything? Nope. Who knows what would have happened if Sean pulled a DDP? Strikers will need to adapt (Personally I think they need to watch some DDP) . Some rule changes might take effect (like they got rid of the silly cases of knees to a grounded opponent). It's like a constant evolution of the game.
We know how no time-limit ends from the early UFC days. Strikers don't get stood back up and don't get to rest between rounds. No rounds means grappler just tires the striker out until they give in. Considering Merab's infamous gas tank, it's obvious what would happen. We know.
Great show and set up. If you guys can find ways to make the lights not on screen- it’d look even better. Our eyes always go to the brightest point of an image, so when it competes with your guys faces it can be distracting at times. Just a small note from a professional photographer. Keep up the great work!
I think if their style was truly Lay and Pray, you could make that argument. Merab and even Belal are weaponizing cardio which means high pace and pressure. With or without a finish I enjoy watching it.
It’s not real fighting though is it. Lay and pray to a decision That’s how cowards fight. Takes a real man to stand and trade and that’s why it’s boring and these guys will struggle to sell 100k ppv .
Even in a random street fight, people will instinctively try to go for a choke if they get a chance to cling on someone's neck. No one fights by just laying on their opponent except if you are 300+ ibs, that style is unrealistic
You can't fight in the street by laying on an opponent because things like biting, ball twisting, eye gouging becomes a problem, and I know plenty of dirty scumbags who will straight for those techniques if they don't have a blade nearby You used to be allowed to use the thumb choke and lean down on it but that can crush a windpipe so that was banned from pride many moons ago
Bro Belal only has 3 finishes Merab had a 11 fight win streak with not ONE SINGLE FINISH via sub/ko And you guys are tellin me this who y’all want for champ someone that doesn’t go for finishes ….
@@thisismyname603 1-0 vs your mum. I went heavy wrestling on her and luckily managed to get the finish as well. Something belal and merab could never do
I think the deeper conversation is, what is MMA? In basketball you have to make the ball go through the basket. In MMA you can KO an opponent, make them submit, those are clear, but with the judges and scoring, guys can win a lot of fights without managing any of those. Supposedly the main criteria is damage, but with grappling, the striker gets so tied up in defending takedown and getting up that their damage dealt is still less than the grappler.
@@kaostheninja His name was Rush because of his gas tank, not because anybody thought he was exciting. You're rewriting history. If you really did watch when you said you did, you know people complained about his decision heavy resume. It's only in retirement that all these warm words came. You're a liar or idiot and I don't know which is worse.
Hey, if you are dead set on how a fight is supposed to look, then pro wrestling is probably more your thing . If you want to see standup fighting with minimal grappling, why don't you watch muay thai?
What a BS take. There are exciting grapplers, those who actually try to finish a fight, and there are strikers who are generally more exciting than grapplers.
He gets called "boring" because he's a Muslim with a chinstrap beard and looks like every other Muslim fighter. He's one of the most well rounded fighters we've ever seen but I guess people think everything is boring unless its a Gaethje vs Ferguson fight or a Dan Hooker vs Dustin Poirier fight. If fighters aren't trying to be in a wheelchair fed through a straw by the age of 60 then it's considered "boring" to most. @DarrenReddix-q1k
I disagree the fight wasn’t boring it actually was entertaining you guys just want wars I’m here for the gameplans. And it’s mostly Sean’s fault he threw less than 2 punches in multiple rounds.
Being mad about the people who choose to stand and bang with Alex and also being mad at the people who see a clear disadvantage for the opponent and go after it is completely hypocritical
People aren't mad about fighters taking advantage of another fighters weakness. People are mad at objectively boring fighters and their snooze fest performances. You can be a grappler and be exciting, hunting for big ground and pound, a submission, or any sort of finish. Or you can lay and pray like Belal and Merab.
@@JMA_21 I'll give you the most obvious and high profile one in Khabib. Always looking to land big shots, or get a submission. ~65% finish rate. Compared to Belal and Merab's lay and pray style with a combined 4 finishes in 31 UFC fights, and/or a ~13% finish rate. There's a huge difference in style there and the numbers show it. I don't know exactly where you want to draw the line personally, numerically speaking, as people called GSP boring even though he had a ~53% finish rate in winning fights. Although he was a bit more well rounded. Khabib also goes against the common theory that fighters tend to become boring point fighters after becoming champ. His title reign was short but all three defenses were finishes.
@@TheBigZ0603 honestly I remember people saying Khabib was boring before he got the title and the championship fight itself was boring but Al was a replacement for Tony. I’d have to go back and rewatch the last 3 fights but off memory alone they were more entertaining than any merab or Belal fight I can think of. But do you feel like the finish makes the entertainment?
@@JMA_21 I'd say it's a pretty major factor, yeah. But there have definitely been 5 round bangers that were great that didn't end in a finish. Conversely there are fights like Mir vs Cro cop lol.
Honestly don't get the hate Merab gets. Yeh, he doesn't finish fights but he has an aggressive/explosive style, and funny socials. The hate for Belal I TOTALLY get on the other hand. I think it's just his personality in general he comes across as a deeply unlikeable guy in the media.
GSP had a ~53% finish rate in winning performances. Merab and Belal have a combined 4 finishes in 31 UFC fights, and/or a ~13% finish rate. Big difference there.
He also went on a 7 fight run across 4 years going the distance as champ where he was regularly flamed for just laying and praying. I get it, he was MORE of a finisher than those guys but the reality is he received the same criticism.
@@SleepyArmadillo-mp1if Exactly. And rightfully so during that dry spell. And now we have two champs in Belal and Merab are considerably worse if you look at the numbers. Those criticisms aren't just limited to grapplers though, which the video seems to imply. Leon Edwards was and still is considered boring outside of "headshot dead", and I'd say it's justified. Low output point striking is just as boring as a lay and pray wrestler IMO.
@@All_Hail_Chael You have to be joking about Cain right? Remember Cardio Cain? High output all day whether on the feet or ground. 12 out of 14 wins (~85%) were finishes. His 2 decision wins were absolute bangers and total domination. He was finished in every loss so you can't say he didn't take risks and go for it. What are you smoking my dude?
Why would you invest $20 million and put those exact fights on that card. It was asking for a boring card. That's why people thought the sphere would suck. Luckily the prelims delivered
I blame dana white and the ufc for this narrative about fighters being "boring" his comments about not being able to control the fight are clearly negative towards guys who arent as exciting........this is also a man who claimed he could "fall asleep" watching a jon Fitch fight........
As big of a D-bag Dana is a lot of the time he is right about this. Some fighters like Merab, Belal, and Fitch are objectively boring. Strikers can be boring too, it's not just limited to grapplers. Leon Edwards was considered boring before "headshot dead", and rightfully so.
"It's not CM punk I'm missed with, it's the guy who beat him"to Dana is a tool, brought in a front man by the Fertitta job money when they bought the company, a as dirty criminals
Golden age to the dark ages… I prefer my champion having an exciting style and rainbow hair instead of boring style and rainbow personality. Merabs most significant kisses landed record will never be broken
Either the UFC has to stop signing grapplers/wrestlers and stifling their progress, or the strikers need to round off their game by learning how to wrestle better, not just learn wrestling defense.
Grappling isn't the problem. Boring fighters are the problem. Both grapplers and strikers can be boring. Belal and Merab are boring because they lay and pray more often then they look for big damage, a submission, or any sort of finish once they establish a dominant position. "Headshot dead" aside, Leon Edwards is boring because he is a very passive, low activity striker.
@@AlphaQHard This! If they actually allowed knees to the head of a grounded opponent then you could knee them in the face after stuffing the takedown.
Everyone is a boring champ. And then they retire or lose the belt and when the new guy is crowned, everyone turns on them and says; “aw man, we took ‘that guy’ for granted, he was awesome”. Happened with Usman. Happened with Woodley. Happened with Volk. Happened with Aljo to a certain extent. Happened with DJ. The fan base is just supremely negative and is always looking for things to lash out about and get angry about, and when you’re going out of your way looking for things to be mad about, you’re going to get mad pretty easily
From what I heard the crowd was definitely into the fight, especially during the big takedown and close submission moments. If you were to argue that the crowd wasn't into it, it was because we just sat thru Grasso and Shevchenko for 25m doing nothing so it killed the spark for Merab's fight.
Merab is an excellent fighter. I won't be gaslit into somehow enjoying his boring ass style just because it's effective. Islam is also an Uber grappler and he's way more entertaining than Merab.
islam goes into fights with intentions of finishing whoever is infront of him, he always is not scared to challenge himself in the stand up against strikers. and he displays some elite level trips, sweeps and takedowns... merab shoots 50 times against a boxer and gets 40 of them stuffed, spent 15 minutes trying to get a single leg on aldo and failed as aldo was yawning.. merabs gameplan is to ride out the clock using his cardio, his opponent is the clock not the guy standing across from him
Why do you think they never pushed Belal and he had to win like 200 fights before getting a title shot. His style isn't exciting and hardly anybody cares about him. But he became undeniable so people are just going to have to deal with it for a while 😊
It was a great conversation, but having three people who agreed with each other wasn't what I was looking for. Might I suggest one antagonist for conversations like this? I love the show, fellas.
Personality and fighting style are different. He has a cool personality but his fighting style IS boring. Thats why he has to kiss Omalley's back and display all these antics in the cage to make it seem exciting.
name one 'OMG' or memorable moment from a merab fight? merab got fed Aldo and petr yan back to back.. two of the most exciting fighters in the division, and those fights are unbearable to watch... he won against aldo for trying to get a takedown all 3 rounds, 0/16 takedowns... aldo was yawning as merab was just pinning him against the cage holding his legs.. that's entertaining??
No, they are boring. Trying for a submission or some decent ground and pound is great. Diving for someone crotch and just staying on top for 25 minutes is boring.
Go watch a Islam fight and then come back and watch a Belal or Merab fight and tell me they are not boring. Islam is an amazing wrestler but guess what? He goes for finishes. He has submissions he can try. He has ground and pound. He actually does stuff with the wrestling. That's what makes him not boring and makes them extremely boring. They learned how to wrestle and decided they didn't need to know how to do anything else. It's absolutely incredibly boring. No one likes watching it except people that want to look like hardcore fans.
Are people insanse. We have aspinal, all finishes, ddp all finishes, topuria ko machine, islam tons of finishes, pereira insane knockouts. How you gonna say this era is boring when most of our champs are crazy skilled and dangerous
The rules need to be fundamentally changed so that even if you lay on someone for 24 minutes with no damage, if they rock you or hurt you somehow, they still win
Wrestling and BJJ don't conflate with boring fights. You can be a fantastic grappler that is also exciting because you are always chasing the submission or big ground and pound shots. Or you can be like Belal and Merab and lay and pray. It depends on the fighter and their style. Strikers can be boring too. Look and Leon Edwards. Up until "headshot dead" everyone said he was boring, rightfully so.
To me it’s just inherently interesting to see what the most effective form of fighting is, the form which allows you to dominate and damage your opponent and prevent them inflicting any damage on you. So I’ll always be interested in title fights which in theory at least should be the pinnacle, the ‘ultimate fighters’, no matter who is competing and what their finish rate is within the time limit. I don’t need the most exciting fighters to have belts, they are also inherently interesting due to their style. So I’m perfectly happy with, say, watching Merab compete for the belt and watching O’Malley compete not for the belt. It’s arguably even better. You have two different branches of interest to follow instead of one.
If the UFC doesn't do something to limit the Russian "lay and pray" wrestling stall tactics then, yes, I guess we're in the boring era. Refs seem to reward simple ground control a lot and are very weary of standing people up even though nothing major happens for minutes on end. The UFC needs to tweak the rules a little if they want the sport to be MMA and not pure wrestling. Warnings and negative points for prolonged timidity and stalling? Add entertainment to the the judging criteria? No points awarded or negative points for sterile ground control in case the fighter never risks losing position to try to submit or ground and pound the opponent within a given time period, say 30 seconds. Wrestling can be fun, especially when both fighters are wrestlers but, this is MMA and pure wrestling against a non wrestler can be terribly boring, especially when the wrestler does nothing to try to finish the fight. In DWCS Dana frequently denies contracts to fighters who win by controlling the opponent in boring, lackluster fights. The same should somehow be true in UFC fights. MMA's popularity skyrocketed because it's so much more entertaining than boxing, but it needs to stay that way if the UFC doesn't want to lose ground to other combat sports.
I would like to hear these gentleman discuss how being a fan of martial arts, specifically UFC, has changed for them as it’s become an obligation for them to make content about it. All this talk about just enjoying the fights and the unknown chaos by not having personal favorites, but how much can you enjoy the sport when you have obligations to make constant and consistent content about the sport? Just curious, loved the video guys.
Wrestling and BJJ don't conflate with boring fights. You can be a fantastic grappler that is also exciting because you are always chasing the submission or big ground and pound shots. Or you can be like Belal and Merab and lay and pray.
BJJ whole point is literally to make people tap, aka finishes. Its not that people don't like BJJ, they just dont like lay and pray wrestler like Merab, Evloev and Belal
Most men's Champions are entertaining 👇🏽 • Alex Pereira • Tom Aspinall (100% finish rate) • Dricus Du Plessis (22 wins, 20 finishes) • Ilia Topuria (15 wins, 13 finishes) • Islam Makhachev (finished Oliveira, Volkanovski, Poirier, Green, Hooker, Moises, etc.) These are ALL entertaining Champions. Only Belal, Merab, and Pantoja are boring af.
Everyone wants constant stand and bangs, as if they're not boring at times. Derrick Lewis vs Francis Ngannou was literally the most boring fight of UFC heavyweight history.
What I will say is that that is a much bigger rarity with guys who “stand and bang” like how many wins by Derrick lewis or ngannou are not entertaining that fight was a HUGE one off bc Francis was coming off the stipe loss
Having strikers as champions is no guarantee of a stand and bang. Look no further than Leon Edwards. When he wouldn't stop saying that "headshot d***" bs, i was saying that's not gonna happen. People got so enamoured by him KO'ing Kamaru they created this narrative he's a finisher now.
@@megamanxhunter I agree with you completely that’s not the argument I’m making for real being striker ≠ stand and bang but there are stand and bang guys who tend to be more entertaining
My biggest problem is not with the fighters or the fights: it’s the rule set. As a formal wrestler, I love wrestling and grappling exchanges in mma. What I don’t like is when wrestlers just take people down and hold them without throwing any threatening punches or submissions. The sport is fighting. Watching Schevchenko vs Grasso 3, or Aljo vs Kattar, it’s like I’m watching somebody try and de-escalate the fight hoping somebody breaks it up before anybody gets hurt. If a fighter has over 10-15 minutes of control time and you just throw rabbit punches never threatening anything other than advancing their position, I don’t really blame the fighter for a boring fight but the rule set. The ufc needs to change their rules to be more like ONE FC
They are objectively boring. Not because they are grapplers. Because they don't look to land any big damage, a submission, or any sort of finish. They lay and pray. Strikers can be boring too. Look at Leon Edwards. Everyone thought he was boring before "headshot dead", and rightfully so.
Valentina's performance was horrible, I don't think I've ever seen someone play it more safe than her, I really don't care for her reign. Alexa should of been better for sure, she tried some submissions but nothing more. Terrible co main event.
But at the end of the day it was the right decision, boring as fuck nevertheless but now she's back on Championship money. Would you not do a dull performance to get yourself increased pay just once?
Her performance was boring, but she fought a perfect fight in terms of strategy; she completely out-struck, out-wrestled and out-grappled Alexa. It was a dominant performance. Much of the blame should fall on Alexa for not doing anything, she showed a complete lack of urgency. Perhaps most importantly though she showed zero improvement to any aspect of her game despite being in the prime of her career and having a full year since the second fight, that's inexcusable.
just my 2 cents (coz ppl will come at me lol). but I genuinely don't find fighters like Islam and Merab boring. The dont stall time and they grind like crazy... i've yawned more in Izzy fights than any other main event fights. I get we always want those spectacular poatan Ko's or fighters who brawl and put on crazy shows.... but wrestlers who look for finishes are never boring to me. Anyone agree with me lol
Plus at least he was hitting O’Malley all the time, and it’s not JUST for points, Merab did some damage over time. Though I do agree with people that this wrestle-and-pound style is less varied/exciting than rapid BJJ finishes. The co-main event was also interesting for those who actually tried to understand the finish possibilities/attempts in there.
4 years ago when I started watching this channel and got into this sport I would never think that a video like this would drop. UFC is definitely in a boring era maybe not with the fighters but the production quality has definitely taken a nose dive besides the sphere
This era is definitely less exciting, I’ve been watching since the Chuck and Tito days and this is the worst of champions we’ve ever had. Belal, merab, and Pennington are some of the least exciting champions of all time. Tired of these newer, pretentious fans, thinking that they are the best things and sliced bread. Pennington isn’t Nunez’s, Belal isn’t GSP, and merab isn’t khabib. Enjoying grappling and glazing grappling are 2 different things .
It’s the ultimate fighting challenge, the point of it is too beat the other guy not stifle his offense until time runs out,finishes, or if it’s obvious your trying too finish,should be the biggest deciding factor in who gets a title shot
![YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Sneaking [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ILUps2zDFU/mqdefault.jpg)
People said GSP was boring back in the day. GSP had a ~53% finish rate in winning performances. Merab and Belal have a combined 4 finishes in 31 UFC fights, and/or a ~13% finish rate. Big difference there.
do GSP last 7 fights.
You’re missing context, though. Most of GSP’s finishes came early in his career. Before his loss to Matt Serra, he went 13-1 with 10 finishes. After that loss, he went 13-0 with only 4 finishes, two of them coming within the year he lost to Serra. Those last thirteen fights also came over the span of 10 years, as opposed to the five pre Serra. Clearly had a massively reduced finish rate. The post Serra loss era also coincided with his title reign, meaning that most of the finishes he got weren’t as well remembered, while his high profile decisions were.
This is one of the tricky ways statistics can lie to us. While his finish rate might be average, it wasn’t spread evenly throughout his career. That’s why I think your point that GSP wasn’t as boring as people remember is a little shaky.
@@Shadow-n1c4lbrotha no one wants to talk about the decision machine. They only wanna talk about can crusher gsp
@@toombroon1110 I think you and Shadow completely misunderstood my point, because I 100% agree with you. I'm comparing GSP to Merab and Belal. You pointing out GSP's drastically reduced finish rate during his title reign is exactly why it makes the other two even more concerning now that they are champs. If they were lay and pray all day before they captured a title what do you think future fights from them will be like?
@@Shadow-n1c4lyou don’t do someone’s last x fights. You do all of them. If someone wins their first 5 fights by finish, then their next 5 by decision, it’s still a 50% finish rate. It’s people like you that think EVERY single fight has to end in a stoppage.
MMA fans are in the “we miss the Attitude Era” phase lol iykyk😂😂
That was pre-Mcgregor phase.
@@Jeff-k6cattitude era for ufc is defo before Conor. Then Conor made his own era tbh
Imo the attitude era would be after Conor I’d say 2017-2022 range with Conor still being the biggest star but not his era anymore I think GSP Silva era was the golden era or like the 80s for the wwf
@@JOK3RC4RDx I see your point but i feel like it would be the time of Liddel/Tito up to lesnar imo.
UFC doesn't have those WWE kinds of eras.
The Liddell & Tito era
The Late 2000s BOOM/TUF era (GSP, Silva, Lesnar, BJ Penn, Rampage, Machida, Rashad, Diego, TUF)
The (2011-2013) Last of Silva & GSP reigns, Beginning of Jon Jones Dominance + Cain vs JDS, WEC merge
McGregor era (2015-2018)
The 3 Kings era of Usman, Adesanya, and Volkanovski (2019-2022)
There was a wrestling scare in the early 2010s, this is no different. I've been a fan since 2005, I'm gonna keep watching.
Wrestling has always been a dominant force in MMA, this only affects casuals
@@socratese5 stop trying to prove you're a hardcore fan🤣🤣 so cringe
Spot on
@@adamburke3379🤣🤣🤣 I swear. Like who cares if he watches or not
Wrestling and BJJ don't conflate with boring fights. You can be a fantastic grappler that is also exciting because you are always chasing the submission or big ground and pound shots. Or you can be like Belal and Merab and lay and pray. It depends on the fighter and their style. Strikers can be boring too. Look at Leon Edwards. Up until "headshot dead" everyone said he was boring, rightfully so.
Well, im not sure about boring, but lets just say people will not be talking about this era like they do 2012-2022 lmao
It's boring, especially when you pay 80$ for it
@@bastard8892lol you pay for it?
Is it really that dramatic? Pantoja, Topuria, Makhachev, DDP, Pereira and the real champ Aspinall are still belt holders and all finishers. I don't think it's a new era off a couple recent UFC results.
2012-2022 is a long time. You'd have to wait 8 more years to make a fair comparison. And in the end people will kinda Gloss over the boring champions and only focus on the entertaining ones. Like they do with the 2000s
2022-24 has been a hell of an era imo. 2024 alone has been insane so far
I hate when purists keep saying, "If its boring then go watch boxing." I like submissions. I like grappling. I don't like stagnation and lack of activity. Smothering your opponent for 25 minutes isn't appealing. Its effective no doubt, but its boring to watch.
I'm no Merab fan (it's actually one of the fighters I dislike the most) but the fight with O'Malley was anything but boring
@@albertoamoruso7711 OK then unexciting. The highlights of the fight for me were his back and forth with Welsh and kissing O'Malley. If he had attempted more than 1 submission I could understand, but there was literally 1 whole round when he did nothing but hold Sean down and attempt a handful of ground and pound.
@@midwestylewell it worked tho… if MMA fighters prove that smothering and slowly ground-and-pounding people to death is the ultimate form of martial arts, it is what it is (unless you argue that unnecessary rules forced the sport into this)
@@VTWS I agree it is effective and the fighters are smart to choose it. And yes, if your opponent can't stop it, keep doing it. I'm not arguing any of that. The fighters should do whatever they want within the rules to win and if that's how they do it, so be it. I'm just saying as a viewer, I find it unexciting. But its not my place to tell them how to do their craft.
All depends who does it though, When DC was having boring wrestling matches before stipe, people werent having meltdowns because they liked DC. They will stack Merab cards to make sure they sell at least average, and we will all watch.
DDP, Pereira, Aspinall, Topuria. We'll be fine for fun championship fights.
God bless thouse guys. The weight classes with good punch power >>>>>> cringe 50 kgs smurfs smudging each other
@@dolod777okay Bradly Martin. You’d get beat up by the 15th ranked “Smurf”
@@DarthBinky89 nah I would not
Pereira gets embarrassed by the first wrestler he faces, and the UFC know it by protecting him them.
4 champs out of 12 and none of them sell PPVs
O’Malley threw 8 punches in round 2
And piggy Guru thinks it was close
And somehow the fight being boring is Merab's fault. Doesn't make any fucking sense, does it?
@@sarmadhabibkhan3036 exactly my point I don’t see how it’s merabs fault that O’Malley was never willing to put it all on the line and start throwing flying knees and shit
He was also hurt. Try throwing punches with an injured hip. Y'all hate the guy but at least he didn't back out like a bitch
@@Alcarazboy11there are people that hold both of these 2 opinions at the same time: “the challenger has to EARN the belt” and “the fight is boring if the challenger doesn’t do anything”. How both of those can be true is insane. If Sean stuffed every takedown and point fought him with strikes, they would say it was the best performance they’ve ever seen
I dont think this is the "boring era" of UFC, this is the "bad matchmaking" era. The "boring champs" were #1 contenders that won title fights. The big issue with the ufc is people like Roundtree, Pena, and Stipe getting title shots while holding back the title picture from a FAR more compelling title fight (Ankalaev, Harrison, Aspinall). The matchmaking maybe worse now then it has ever been ever. So many undeserved/unwanted fights being made for PPV buys, it just doesnt make sense.
This is what happens when MMA promotions get TV deals like with ESPN. They’re not selling fights to us, what we want doesn’t matter. They’re selling fights to ESPN. What the execs at ESPN think will sell is what the UFC will put on. The problem is that there’s a massive disconnect between them and most of the fan base. They’re out of touch with what most of the fan base wants.
Also, I will add this. Wrestling heavy fighters aren’t being held back. Boring fighters are being held back. Diego Sanchez is my favorite example of a wrestle heavy fighter that was fun. He’s actually my favorite fighter period. But he was very wrestle heavy. His plan was primarily to take people down. But in the process, he was going for submissions, banging it out in the pocket before shooting, and trying to get ground and pound TKOs. Another great example is Beneil Dariush. Very grapple heavy fighter, but I’ll never forget his war with Drakkar Klose. But look at Leon Edwards or Sean Strickland. Two striking heavy fighters that are clearly boring. We all know Leon got held back and the only reason Sean didn’t get held back is because he rallied the largely conservative American fan base behind him like Colby did.
@@BiggityBoggity8095good point about ESPN deal, never thought of it like that. But I must say I think the large disconnect can’t be true. With today’s social media it’s impossible NOT to know what everyone wants. I think they’re obsessed with trying to make stars more than anything
@@Chris-df1zr I wonder what the formula is for manufacturing a star. There has to be a way to reverse engineer the process and then replicate it with an industry plant. Who knows? The UFC has probably already done it and we’d never know. They keep their PPV numbers classified. The only way we know if someone is popular is if the UFC says they are. Which becomes a sales pitch in itself, “you guys should watch this fighter because other people watch this fighter.” Watch what cards they release the PPV numbers for. This will tell us who they’re staking the business on.
The big issue is that wrestling isn't that popular, so the talent selection leans toward strikers who eventually win titles and lose them as soon as half a decent wrestler shows up. Khabib is considered an out-of-this-world grappler even though he cemented his legacy beating Barboza, Conor, Poirier, Johnson, Iaquinta, Gaethje... All strikers. The only guy he fought that was a tough wrestler, was Tibaou, and he struggled a lot to win a close decision.
@@dontmatter1664 to say that Gaethje or MJ had questionable wrestling is bogus. Both of those guys are talented wrestlers, Gaethje was even a collegiate champ.
It doesn’t make you a casual to think a fighter is boring. Winning championships without any threat of a finish ever is not interesting to watch. You don’t have to agree, but that’s how most people feel.
actually it does. grappling/wrestling is part of mma, if you dont agree, then shut up and dont watch
@@TeakBoxxx3rhe’s saying no threat of a finish is boring, not wrestling
@@thecourtneyking Sean threw 10 punches in 2 different rounds.
@@TeakBoxxx3rIf you're not going to actually read and comprehend a comment then don't respond. Just shut up.
@@TeakBoxxx3r he wasnt a threat, it has nothing to do with wrestling or MMA. It's lazy and unmotivated behavior. He. Can't. Finish.
I feel the UFC doesn't do enough grappler vs grappler style fights.
If you guys can't think of, or haven't seen a single MMA fight that didn't end in a KO, but was still entertaining, you probably haven't even watched a single full card..
You tune in for one fight, then turn it off, or are so messed up by the time it comes on can't even remember what happened during the fights. 🍻
True. People assume two grapplers will just grapple each other but it's just as likely that they will just throw sloppy overhands for 25 minutes which is at least more entertaining.
Not world class fighting though is it, there's the rub. Remember when "jab and grab" Klitschko got accused of killing boxing heavyweight division, he had something like 58 KOs in 65 wins
They mentioned Gordon Ramsay loving MMA, well that first started because he loves boxing, was always ringside at the big fights
@@geedee1264that doesn't make sense???? You would think that boxing fans would love a knockout machine
oh yes boring us to death
seems to be a trend these days
go away with your boring shit
Merab & Belal are objectively boring fighters, great personalities in general though. It’s not the fact they wrestle, it’s the zero threat of a finish (I never said I DONT enjoy watching either guy)
I'm worried about belal fignting once a year.
More then anything.
Merab was fun to watch dude moved around so much i felt tired watchig sean trying to land on him. Merab head was
OoOO oOOoOoOoOo
O Oo OoO ooOo
I was looking at merab like some kid jumping around after eating a bunch of sugery food i a candy store.
I
nah, if you understand grappling you know how crazy some of these performances are. Blame their competitors for not being competent enough to counter the easiest game plan they have to offer.
Merab cool belal suks
Il take the Diaz brothers having a personality and going for the win over 100 boring wrestle humpers and a billion dagastanis destroying everyone any day
@@simonheit8025 nah, it's MMA, not a grappling exhibition. It's boring as fuck for the common fan and the UFC is doing nothing to keep fans with the PPV price. UFC is on a downslope and it's very obvious
Should have Jon Jones in the thumbnail. He has made the Apex Division's belt straight up irrelevant and boring
Rent free
@@ImNotYourEnemy Rather have him living free in my head (like every thought anyone has ever had) than be riding on his meat like you. Enjoy the ride bro...he doesn't gaf about you 😂
Heavyweight has never been the apex weight division.
Light heavyweight built the ufc and he’s been not competing there for 5 years now basically and when he was there it was good even when he was gone for peds because DC Gus AJ picked up the weight.
@@almonjoseph4382I think it’s more of the fact that heavyweights beat all other weight classes in a fight
@@ImNotYourEnemy zip his pants up when you're done kid
The issue is they are fighting to not lose rather than to win. Finishes are a good metric for this.
Nice to see the women from The View sit down to discuss MMA
You know what's boring?
A striker who can't defend takedowns and has amateur bjj game.
If said striker has no BJJ game, can defend a takedown and an elite tier grappler STILL can’t finish them… says more about the grappler.
we knock every wrestler out
that’s why they desperately try to take us down looking a complete clown
I don’t mind the wrestlers, I don’t like the pancake method when they take someone down and sit on them. I would NEVER pay 70-80$ for a wrestling match.
Guess you guys wont be wearing Izzy or O'Malley Merch in your prediction videos anymore?
Looking forward to when mma evolves and fighters can’t just lay on top of someone for the win anymore.
Are you telling me Aspinall, Poatan, Du Plessis, Makhachev and Topuria are boring champions? I mean 3 out of 8 champions being "boring" seems normal to me
Well you could say that a champion that hasn't defended his belt could be consider boring because he's not active in my opinion, now once Topuria becomes an active defending champion I don't think he will be boring,
I'll tell you what you say three out of eight is really not that bad it's just regular
Merab bullying Sean was not boring 😂 what a clown you are
@@dogramagra7937 Topuria won the brlt this year
Islam is a boring champ. I appreciate he tries to strike. But if he gets in trouble he immediately goes back to who he really is, a grappler.
He’s a grappler faking it. Again. Appreciate he makes an effort
I think the issue is people expect, “holy 💩” moments every fight… when you watch other sports or even boxing you don’t get that… that’s what makes those moments special, if you don’t like grappling don’t watch MMA go invest your time in kickboxing…
It's the era of me hitting easy parlays
It is LITERALLY up to the fighters to find a strategy against the other fighter. Not all fights will be stand up slugfests, and as MMA fans, we have to accept it. Wrestling is a good skill to have in the cage, anyways. Its not pretty, but it is VERY effective.
And also, Merab toying O'Malley was very enjoyable.
Wrestling is the most protected form of martial art in the ufc which is very frustrating to watch
@@TheSinsOfAvarice97every round starts on the feet
The sport is LITERALLY called mixed martial arts not wrestling. If guys are going to hump all fight they don't belong in the sport
The problem isn't fights needing to be a slugfest. People like submissions too. Look at Rousey, Harrison, Khabib, Oliveira, Islam. I liked watching them because they were active. I have no problem with wrestling, I have with no activity or smothering.
I enjoy also when the small fighter beats the tall one - especally when he is arrogant like Sean
a lot of stupid people thought Demetrious Johnson was boring. All of his fights were dynamic and full of action. If he was boring there is no word left to use for Merab, Strickland, Leon Edwards, etc
If by "stupid people" you mean the overwhelming majority of the fans, then sure.
UFC will kill itself if it keeps on adding more wrestlers.
@@Habib_Osman even worst than a boring wrestler is a boring striker, like Strickland and Edwards
Colby Covington was more well liked than DJ. 98% of the fans hated DJ
@@american1207 that is really sad, one of the greatest never received the appreciation he deserved just because he is small
Totally is in my opinion, I've said many times, Conner didnt grow the sport so much through holding opponents, the amount of friends I've heard dislike the sport for the laying and hugging, I win them back with some striking footage but the slug method of draining opponents and scoring from being in a position is proving dominant.
Yes I believe its a problem, I think K1 rules or something would be best, or score less for floor time.
Conor has about 18 KOs via punches in 22 wins doesn't he?? Most in first round, he was a front runner power puncher, they ALWAYS get hype, Deontay Wilder my God his resume was absolutely dreadful but the made his rep on a big KO record when he was still fighting chiny fat journeymen in his 34th fight, and casuals thought this man might be the hardest hitting boxer of all time, it was painful discourse going through his record and the records of George Foreman, who nearly killed 2 prime all time greats coming of wins over Ali in a combined 4 rounds. Different levels than the guys Wilder knocked out.
People like knockouts, but mostly casuals will grab onto the knockout artists at first, Wilders fans were as delusional as him
@@geedee1264 Yup, imagine asking any fighter what thier chosen highlight reel would be like, you'd bet most would want walk off knockouts, high risk kicks and combos.
Not desperate looking rugby tackles hoping for that all 'exciting' tap 🤣
Yeah sure
There are literally 3 out of 11 divisions with "boring" champs. Chill the fuck out and wait for the fun champs to be back next month
Apparently, two "boring" fighters getting the belt means we're in a new dark era of UFC. Hilarious to watch people freak out. We have no idea how long these fighters will even hold the belt.
@@panner11 Merab won't be holding his for long. That's why hes trying everything in his power, power he does not have, to avoid the fight with Umar. He knows that he won't be able to use his boring wrestling methods against Umar cuz Umar is the better wrestler and he won't be able to stall like he usually does.
Umar is literally better in every aspect. So of course the 🤡 is trying to skip by the #1 contender to fight the #5 BW in Figgy cuz he knows Fig is primarily a striker. That's 🤡 shit
You think merab bullying Sean after Sean talked all that shit was boring? What? How? Are you slow?
@@philosopher1130 where is your ufc belt 😂
@@panner11 bunch of salty O'Malley fanbois shitting up the comments the last few days lol
Takedown spamming is the meta of MMA. I don’t see how anyone can stop it.
One fc grounded knees was pretty good they used to have soccer kicks so it mafe it harder if you failed a takedown
@@CrazyAspyKid also if rabbit punches were allowed every wrestler would get hit with a few 12-6 elbows to the back of the head every time they got a takedown
It absolutely is boring but it’s effective, unfortunately. They don’t go for finishes and would just lay on someone for 25 minutes. It wins fights but man is it lame to watch
I would say yes these champions lack the killer instinct to finish
I’m not sure what people watch MMA for but I was not bored during that main event, Merab is such a character between his takedowns, antics, and how he frustrates his opponents, it’s exciting. I don’t know many guys in the world that can do what he can do, with that stamina. It’s truly impressive to watch.
Different guys are interesting for different reasons, we need variety in MMA.
Dana’s made a risky choice putting Valentina and Grassos fight on this card and expecting any different from Val, she did what she was supposed to do so these judges couldn’t rob her.
I'm convinced most of the complainers must only want to watch KO highlights and not full fights. Plenty of striking battles are slow with opponents figuring out the range and being standoffish. Meanwhile Merab is running at you the whole fight throwing punches, kicks and going for takedowns. He fights with possibly the highest pace on the entire roster, which is why he had 200 strikes and 6 takedowns in the o'malley fight. His fights are full of activity. And yes, you can't tell me him lifting Cejudo on his shoulder mid fight while talking to Mark Zuckerberg of all people wasn't entertaining.
@@panner11 RIGHT! That was great, when and he’s not defensively sound, so he gets rocked and it’s exciting to see if he can pull through and win! I know a lot of the noise is Sean fans coping but it’s sad to see people don’t appreciate the chaos he brings. Variety makes MMA better, and it also makes every fighter have to get better to keep up.
TBD by their performances defending the belt. But on its face…we have 3 champions who won by wrestling great strikers and holding them down (aside from Dricus who got the strangle finish). No one can accuse Dricus of being boring. And Belal…watch his fight against Brady and tell me that was boring. Merab…infuriatingly boring
It's a damn sport lol, these people are using their best skillsets to win. That was the basic conceit of the UFC going back to UFC 1. Wrestling is part of MMA, deal with it or stop watching tf 😂
The UFC can't afford for people to stop watching. That is the point
NBA players would be more effective if they didn't have to dribble... but they do because if the rules. Literally every sport is defined by what you CANNOT do.
FOOTBALL... not allowed to use hands, (in real countries anyway).
@@billyblanks6730 They're a monopoly, ofc they can. And nobody ever stops watching
if you want to watch wrestling go watch wrestling bro. This is MMA which includes strikes.
My only issue with the "exciting" argument is there's no safeguard for being "exciting". If you're exciting but you lose, your stock goes out the window. Dan Hooker vs Porier was the most exciting fight I've seen in a long time. But two loses later Hooker was being written off as a bum until his recent resurgence. Michael Chandler is super exciting. But people shit on him for losing in big fights. Cowboy Olivera was exciting in his fights, not he's out of the UFC. Being exciting is fun, but winning is more important at the end of the day. You need to win to have a career. If you can do both, great! But at the end of the day, your livelihood is based on winning. Not being exciting.
Yep the Era of boring fighters in the UFC begins. That's why UFC isn't going to do Merab or Belal any favors. Lets not get it twisted people Don't hate wrestlers I like Khabib, Islam because they finish. What fans hate is the Takedown, Lay and Pray approach. Yes Merab is a ROBOTIC, BORING Fighter. Same with Belal with the Takedown Lay and Pray approach.
It's the TAKEDOWN LAY and PRAY APPROACH that take the fun out of MMA.
Merab doesn't have finishes sure. But you can't call it lay and pray, more like rush slam repeat. He fights with possibly the highest continued pace on the roster. He's rarely standing at distance or just idling in advantageous positions on the ground. In the sean fight, the stats show he had over 200 strikes, 6 takedowns. His fights don't lack activity. He just doesn't have power and isn't a sub threat.
@@panner11 it is still a boring approach. It's either u go for submission or ground and pound. U can't rinse and repeat Takedown Lay and Pray and call it a fun fighting style. Watching paint dry will be better than watching Takedown Lay and Pray fighter.
Mma is at a point where it's hard to find a top 10 fighter without both wrestling and striking (except heavyweight division).
Its not lay and pray they are literally struggling to advance to a submission.
Power slap is a thing for people just like you
@@talemwakaheru5831 Nope I completely disagree Merab and Belal doesn't go for submission.
The moment that Merab gently kissed O'Malley's back is when I became a fan.
The lgbt+ community is happy to have gained you as a fan 🌈
@@SmokinBlunts781 Judging by your username and presuming you're an O'smelly fan, I have no doubt you're the head representative of the alphabet community. Thank you for your hard work!
Short answer, no. Merab’s fight wasn’t even boring. He was pushing the pace constantly. He wasn’t just laying on him like Valentina, he was putting hands on him the whole time.
I put zero weight on the huge group of fans crying about it being ‘boring’ because they said that about fucking GSP of all people, who was finishing half of his fights. Merab sucks the life and the confidence out of people and it’s amazing to watch.
UFC has been boring for a long while now, I personally never watch a card from start to finish like I used to back in the day, I usually skip straight to the fight im interested in, I skip the walkouts and the Buffer introductions and go straight to the start of the 1st round, I would also silence the commentators if I could as they irritate me nowadays. The product has become too cookie cutter, the presentation is always the same no matter where they are the arena always looks the same, the introductions are always the same, the walkouts are the same for everyone except for music because Dana dosnt like big walkouts like boxing. The cards are very weak nowadays as well, too often I find myself only interested in a couple of fights on a card and the rest is just padded out. Was a huge fan of the sport in general for over 15 years and the UFC has been brilliant to watch, but I think it needs freshening up a bit. The Sphere was a welcome change in terms of presentation.
Sounds like anhedonia more than the UFC being boring.
Most MMA journalist don't have favorites because it is really hard. It's been tuff for me being a person that wants someone to root for. I'm a huge Tony Ferguson fan 😬 Say football has an advantage that you have your local team you root for just built in. You go through the ups and downs with the team and players You want to feel a personal connection. It is boring now in some ways the greats of a generation are fading or gone DC, DJ, Khabib, Conor, Justin and Holloway just put on a great show but how much time do they have left? Some exciting fighters with unoriginal personalities mimicking stars of the past I won't name, but I'm not panicking these things go in cycles there's some really fun young fighters I'm starting to learn about. I don't think just boring wrestlers are going to take over. Look how Alex Peirra just blow up by surprise. Either way you watch is valid though. If just want to see the best, great fights or like me want someone to root and someone to hate. You also have gamblers that probably have a unique way of enjoying the sport. Idk i never gamble
Merab gets so much flack for his decision wins, yet merab vs Aldo and merab vs moraes were both bangers.
Merab vs Aldo was trash and just him holding Aldo by the cage.
@@KwabzModding right? If you think Aldo vs Merab was a banger you have down syndrome
@@KwabzModding false. Watch it again.
Merab vs Aldo was TERRIBLE. he literally laid Aldo up against the cage for 15 minutes! You're delusional! That's completely revisionist history.
Merab bullying Sean gave me a lit of entertainment
It's mix martial arts. I love watching Merab and Belal. Not every fight has to be rock em sock em robots. You can't be the best if you can't stop a takedown.
To say this isn’t a lax period in mma is an understatement
I hate it when anyone puts the blame on the wrestlers for dominating. We should be more critical of fighters who can’t nullify them to keep the fight standing
Nah, wrestling is just stronger than striking. Good wrestlers will always dominate Good strikers.
It has nothing to do with wrestling and everything to do with the style the employ it in.
@@Habib_Osman O’Malley/Aljo, Hill/Teixeira, Leon/Usman, Leon/Colby, Adesanya/Vettori, Silva/Chael… It’s not that one sided
@@datboytrav True. The word "always" didn't belong there. It's more like a 70% thing. Good wrestlers will beat good strikers 70% of the time.
@@Habib_OsmanBut wrestlers are dominating MMA. Tom Aspinall, Pantoja, Du Plesis, Ilia Topuria and Alex Poatan are not wrestlers
I think people overstate the idea that 'grappling/wrestling' is boring.
Strikers have 'boring' fights too when they choose to basically point fight. See Adesanya defending his belt.
The issue is more that grapplers have found 'their' way to point fight. Just take-down and hold a person down.
An easy way to think of it is imagine no time-limit. Just Merab and Sean locked in the cage and only one can walk out. After that fight, we still don't know. Sean looked fine. Merab looked fine. Maybe eventually Sean would have started landing every now and then and away you go.
There are plenty of grapplers who fight good fights and try and finish. Islam and Khabib generally had good fights. Watching Charles on the ground is also fun.
It's also that 'strikers' have gotten good enough at defending on the ground so many grapplers can't 'easily' finish.
But I think you also have to blame the strikers (Sean, Leon Edwards...) somewhat as they don't really risk their striking either. They don't just risk getting hit by say blitzing in. like DDP goes in hard with a blitz. Even if he gets hit, the fight goes. Did we ever see Sean blitz in on Merab and just risk everything? Nope. Who knows what would have happened if Sean pulled a DDP?
Strikers will need to adapt (Personally I think they need to watch some DDP) . Some rule changes might take effect (like they got rid of the silly cases of knees to a grounded opponent). It's like a constant evolution of the game.
We know how no time-limit ends from the early UFC days. Strikers don't get stood back up and don't get to rest between rounds. No rounds means grappler just tires the striker out until they give in. Considering Merab's infamous gas tank, it's obvious what would happen. We know.
@@panner11 It also incentives the grappler to go for a finish via submission cause the fight wont end if they just hold the striker down indefinitely
*2 fighters that people think are boring*
*every mma channel and their moms*
“Is ThIs ThE eRa Of BoRiNg FiGhTeRs¿”
UFC isn't a sport it's an entertainment business. The boring champions are gonna be forced to fight fighters they don't want fight aka unmar
UFC is a promotion, so yes it literally is a business, and it's business model shafts fighters, MMA is the sport
Great show and set up. If you guys can find ways to make the lights not on screen- it’d look even better. Our eyes always go to the brightest point of an image, so when it competes with your guys faces it can be distracting at times. Just a small note from a professional photographer. Keep up the great work!
I think if their style was truly Lay and Pray, you could make that argument. Merab and even Belal are weaponizing cardio which means high pace and pressure. With or without a finish I enjoy watching it.
It’s not real fighting though is it. Lay and pray to a decision That’s how cowards fight. Takes a real man to stand and trade and that’s why it’s boring and these guys will struggle to sell 100k ppv .
Even in a random street fight, people will instinctively try to go for a choke if they get a chance to cling on someone's neck.
No one fights by just laying on their opponent except if you are 300+ ibs, that style is unrealistic
You can't fight in the street by laying on an opponent because things like biting, ball twisting, eye gouging becomes a problem, and I know plenty of dirty scumbags who will straight for those techniques if they don't have a blade nearby
You used to be allowed to use the thumb choke and lean down on it but that can crush a windpipe so that was banned from pride many moons ago
Great chats, love the disagreements
Bro Belal only has 3 finishes
Merab had a 11 fight win streak with not ONE SINGLE FINISH via sub/ko
And you guys are tellin me this who y’all want for champ someone that doesn’t go for finishes ….
You realize you don't get to choose the champ right? Go watch WWE kid
Wow these are embarrassing numbers for elite fighters
@@MMAHAPPYHOUR what's your record 😂
@@thisismyname603 1-0 vs your mum. I went heavy wrestling on her and luckily managed to get the finish as well. Something belal and merab could never do
@@MMAHAPPYHOUR I appreciate the originality of thay comment lmao. Was a journey
If the wrestlers have to learn to strike, the strikers should learn to wrestle.
Bro the new dude on the show has the most casual takes ever!
he is such a casual i don't understand why he's the there.
If you mean jason he sometimes has a decent take but it's very obvious that he's never trained.
I believe Jason is the American wasn't talking bout him I was talking bout the real skinny one he all the way to the left at the table
@@sapphiresoul327 yeah the one on the left with the consistently casual takes exactly.
I think the deeper conversation is, what is MMA? In basketball you have to make the ball go through the basket. In MMA you can KO an opponent, make them submit, those are clear, but with the judges and scoring, guys can win a lot of fights without managing any of those. Supposedly the main criteria is damage, but with grappling, the striker gets so tied up in defending takedown and getting up that their damage dealt is still less than the grappler.
"GSP only had a few finishes" yeah but he was also putting on more exciting fights with ground and pound or standup. Another shit take from Jason
You weren't around for GSP. He was called a boring fighter for the same reason, even at his peak.
No he wasn't, they called him boring. You were probably too young to even remember that
Damn the comments shut you down 😂😂😂
@@MartyFromDagestan nah they are delusional. GSP was not considered boring. I've watched since 2002, and he was called rush for a reason.
@@kaostheninja His name was Rush because of his gas tank, not because anybody thought he was exciting. You're rewriting history. If you really did watch when you said you did, you know people complained about his decision heavy resume. It's only in retirement that all these warm words came. You're a liar or idiot and I don't know which is worse.
Hey, if you are dead set on how a fight is supposed to look, then pro wrestling is probably more your thing . If you want to see standup fighting with minimal grappling, why don't you watch muay thai?
If grappling is too boring there is always Power Slap.
What a BS take. There are exciting grapplers, those who actually try to finish a fight, and there are strikers who are generally more exciting than grapplers.
He gets called "boring" because he's a Muslim with a chinstrap beard and looks like every other Muslim fighter. He's one of the most well rounded fighters we've ever seen but I guess people think everything is boring unless its a Gaethje vs Ferguson fight or a Dan Hooker vs Dustin Poirier fight. If fighters aren't trying to be in a wheelchair fed through a straw by the age of 60 then it's considered "boring" to most. @DarrenReddix-q1k
@DarrenReddix-q1k sure his last couple fights weren't boring.
Don’t forget it’s gay too
@DarrenReddix-q1k Who tf is calling Islam boring?
I disagree the fight wasn’t boring it actually was entertaining you guys just want wars I’m here for the gameplans. And it’s mostly Sean’s fault he threw less than 2 punches in multiple rounds.
Being mad about the people who choose to stand and bang with Alex and also being mad at the people who see a clear disadvantage for the opponent and go after it is completely hypocritical
People aren't mad about fighters taking advantage of another fighters weakness. People are mad at objectively boring fighters and their snooze fest performances. You can be a grappler and be exciting, hunting for big ground and pound, a submission, or any sort of finish. Or you can lay and pray like Belal and Merab.
@@TheBigZ0603 who would you say is an exciting fighter on the ground?
@@JMA_21 I'll give you the most obvious and high profile one in Khabib. Always looking to land big shots, or get a submission. ~65% finish rate. Compared to Belal and Merab's lay and pray style with a combined 4 finishes in 31 UFC fights, and/or a ~13% finish rate. There's a huge difference in style there and the numbers show it. I don't know exactly where you want to draw the line personally, numerically speaking, as people called GSP boring even though he had a ~53% finish rate in winning fights. Although he was a bit more well rounded. Khabib also goes against the common theory that fighters tend to become boring point fighters after becoming champ. His title reign was short but all three defenses were finishes.
@@TheBigZ0603 honestly I remember people saying Khabib was boring before he got the title and the championship fight itself was boring but Al was a replacement for Tony. I’d have to go back and rewatch the last 3 fights but off memory alone they were more entertaining than any merab or Belal fight I can think of. But do you feel like the finish makes the entertainment?
@@JMA_21 I'd say it's a pretty major factor, yeah. But there have definitely been 5 round bangers that were great that didn't end in a finish. Conversely there are fights like Mir vs Cro cop lol.
Honestly don't get the hate Merab gets. Yeh, he doesn't finish fights but he has an aggressive/explosive style, and funny socials. The hate for Belal I TOTALLY get on the other hand. I think it's just his personality in general he comes across as a deeply unlikeable guy in the media.
Oh how quick we all are to forget that every GSP fight was a dry hump fest for years in a row.
Cain too, I'm convinced their fans weere not around in those days. They say GOAT based on a wiki page and nothing else.
GSP had a ~53% finish rate in winning performances. Merab and Belal have a combined 4 finishes in 31 UFC fights, and/or a ~13% finish rate. Big difference there.
He also went on a 7 fight run across 4 years going the distance as champ where he was regularly flamed for just laying and praying. I get it, he was MORE of a finisher than those guys but the reality is he received the same criticism.
@@SleepyArmadillo-mp1if Exactly. And rightfully so during that dry spell. And now we have two champs in Belal and Merab are considerably worse if you look at the numbers. Those criticisms aren't just limited to grapplers though, which the video seems to imply. Leon Edwards was and still is considered boring outside of "headshot dead", and I'd say it's justified. Low output point striking is just as boring as a lay and pray wrestler IMO.
@@All_Hail_Chael You have to be joking about Cain right? Remember Cardio Cain? High output all day whether on the feet or ground. 12 out of 14 wins (~85%) were finishes. His 2 decision wins were absolute bangers and total domination. He was finished in every loss so you can't say he didn't take risks and go for it. What are you smoking my dude?
I find this format of MMA on point the least engaging.
Yes. Next question
Why would you invest $20 million and put those exact fights on that card. It was asking for a boring card. That's why people thought the sphere would suck. Luckily the prelims delivered
I blame dana white and the ufc for this narrative about fighters being "boring" his comments about not being able to control the fight are clearly negative towards guys who arent as exciting........this is also a man who claimed he could "fall asleep" watching a jon Fitch fight........
As big of a D-bag Dana is a lot of the time he is right about this. Some fighters like Merab, Belal, and Fitch are objectively boring. Strikers can be boring too, it's not just limited to grapplers. Leon Edwards was considered boring before "headshot dead", and rightfully so.
"It's not CM punk I'm missed with, it's the guy who beat him"to
Dana is a tool, brought in a front man by the Fertitta job money when they bought the company, a as dirty criminals
Golden age to the dark ages… I prefer my champion having an exciting style and rainbow hair instead of boring style and rainbow personality. Merabs most significant kisses landed record will never be broken
Either the UFC has to stop signing grapplers/wrestlers and stifling their progress, or the strikers need to round off their game by learning how to wrestle better, not just learn wrestling defense.
We just need more people with Jose Aldo type of Takedown defense.
Rules need to change. The current ruleset allows grapplers to fail takedowns and stall with no repercussions
Grappling isn't the problem. Boring fighters are the problem. Both grapplers and strikers can be boring. Belal and Merab are boring because they lay and pray more often then they look for big damage, a submission, or any sort of finish once they establish a dominant position. "Headshot dead" aside, Leon Edwards is boring because he is a very passive, low activity striker.
@@AlphaQHard This! If they actually allowed knees to the head of a grounded opponent then you could knee them in the face after stuffing the takedown.
@@AlphaQHardIf they actually allowed knees to the head of a grounded opponent then you could knee them in the face after stuffing the takedown.
Everyone is a boring champ. And then they retire or lose the belt and when the new guy is crowned, everyone turns on them and says; “aw man, we took ‘that guy’ for granted, he was awesome”. Happened with Usman. Happened with Woodley. Happened with Volk. Happened with Aljo to a certain extent. Happened with DJ. The fan base is just supremely negative and is always looking for things to lash out about and get angry about, and when you’re going out of your way looking for things to be mad about, you’re going to get mad pretty easily
From what I heard the crowd was definitely into the fight, especially during the big takedown and close submission moments. If you were to argue that the crowd wasn't into it, it was because we just sat thru Grasso and Shevchenko for 25m doing nothing so it killed the spark for Merab's fight.
Merab is an excellent fighter. I won't be gaslit into somehow enjoying his boring ass style just because it's effective. Islam is also an Uber grappler and he's way more entertaining than Merab.
islam goes into fights with intentions of finishing whoever is infront of him, he always is not scared to challenge himself in the stand up against strikers. and he displays some elite level trips, sweeps and takedowns...
merab shoots 50 times against a boxer and gets 40 of them stuffed, spent 15 minutes trying to get a single leg on aldo and failed as aldo was yawning.. merabs gameplan is to ride out the clock using his cardio, his opponent is the clock not the guy standing across from him
Why do you think they never pushed Belal and he had to win like 200 fights before getting a title shot. His style isn't exciting and hardly anybody cares about him. But he became undeniable so people are just going to have to deal with it for a while 😊
Neither Leon vs Belal nor Merab vs O'Malley felt boring to me. Both were one sided whoopings.
It was a great conversation, but having three people who agreed with each other wasn't what I was looking for. Might I suggest one antagonist for conversations like this? I love the show, fellas.
I will die on the hill that Merab isn’t boring. He also has a very engaging and fun personality, he seems like a really cool dude
It's the casuals that think these guys are boring. They are the same idiots that think floyd is still going to fight Conor in mma.
Personality and fighting style are different. He has a cool personality but his fighting style IS boring. Thats why he has to kiss Omalley's back and display all these antics in the cage to make it seem exciting.
Lame
Imagine the hill you're standing on be more dangerous than Merab
name one 'OMG' or memorable moment from a merab fight? merab got fed Aldo and petr yan back to back.. two of the most exciting fighters in the division, and those fights are unbearable to watch... he won against aldo for trying to get a takedown all 3 rounds, 0/16 takedowns... aldo was yawning as merab was just pinning him against the cage holding his legs.. that's entertaining??
Excellent video
Not a single one of them is boring. Call the 2nd fundamental part of the sport "boring" is childish. You have WWE for that.
No, they are boring. Trying for a submission or some decent ground and pound is great. Diving for someone crotch and just staying on top for 25 minutes is boring.
Watching merab wrestle is boring. Watching a Damian maia in the same five rounds would be at least twice as exciting.
Go watch a Islam fight and then come back and watch a Belal or Merab fight and tell me they are not boring. Islam is an amazing wrestler but guess what? He goes for finishes. He has submissions he can try. He has ground and pound. He actually does stuff with the wrestling. That's what makes him not boring and makes them extremely boring. They learned how to wrestle and decided they didn't need to know how to do anything else. It's absolutely incredibly boring. No one likes watching it except people that want to look like hardcore fans.
@@felipekolzbruno174 go watch power slap kid 😂
@@DontCome2LA bro he BULLIED Sean after Sean talked a huge game. If that's not entertainment to you then go watch power slap 😂
Are people insanse. We have aspinal, all finishes, ddp all finishes, topuria ko machine, islam tons of finishes, pereira insane knockouts. How you gonna say this era is boring when most of our champs are crazy skilled and dangerous
The rules need to be fundamentally changed so that even if you lay on someone for 24 minutes with no damage, if they rock you or hurt you somehow, they still win
Wrestling and BJJ don't conflate with boring fights. You can be a fantastic grappler that is also exciting because you are always chasing the submission or big ground and pound shots. Or you can be like Belal and Merab and lay and pray. It depends on the fighter and their style. Strikers can be boring too. Look and Leon Edwards. Up until "headshot dead" everyone said he was boring, rightfully so.
Watch kickboxing or muay thai then
To me it’s just inherently interesting to see what the most effective form of fighting is, the form which allows you to dominate and damage your opponent and prevent them inflicting any damage on you. So I’ll always be interested in title fights which in theory at least should be the pinnacle, the ‘ultimate fighters’, no matter who is competing and what their finish rate is within the time limit. I don’t need the most exciting fighters to have belts, they are also inherently interesting due to their style. So I’m perfectly happy with, say, watching Merab compete for the belt and watching O’Malley compete not for the belt. It’s arguably even better. You have two different branches of interest to follow instead of one.
If the UFC doesn't do something to limit the Russian "lay and pray" wrestling stall tactics then, yes, I guess we're in the boring era. Refs seem to reward simple ground control a lot and are very weary of standing people up even though nothing major happens for minutes on end. The UFC needs to tweak the rules a little if they want the sport to be MMA and not pure wrestling.
Warnings and negative points for prolonged timidity and stalling? Add entertainment to the the judging criteria? No points awarded or negative points for sterile ground control in case the fighter never risks losing position to try to submit or ground and pound the opponent within a given time period, say 30 seconds.
Wrestling can be fun, especially when both fighters are wrestlers but, this is MMA and pure wrestling against a non wrestler can be terribly boring, especially when the wrestler does nothing to try to finish the fight.
In DWCS Dana frequently denies contracts to fighters who win by controlling the opponent in boring, lackluster fights. The same should somehow be true in UFC fights.
MMA's popularity skyrocketed because it's so much more entertaining than boxing, but it needs to stay that way if the UFC doesn't want to lose ground to other combat sports.
Its not wrestling people dislike. Its when you win with just having insane s and c rather than being really skilled
I would like to hear these gentleman discuss how being a fan of martial arts, specifically UFC, has changed for them as it’s become an obligation for them to make content about it. All this talk about just enjoying the fights and the unknown chaos by not having personal favorites, but how much can you enjoy the sport when you have obligations to make constant and consistent content about the sport? Just curious, loved the video guys.
people that dont like wresting and bjj dont like mma
Wrestling and BJJ don't conflate with boring fights. You can be a fantastic grappler that is also exciting because you are always chasing the submission or big ground and pound shots. Or you can be like Belal and Merab and lay and pray.
Wrestling and BJJ are fine, lay and pray for 25 minutes is not.
BJJ whole point is literally to make people tap, aka finishes. Its not that people don't like BJJ, they just dont like lay and pray wrestler like Merab, Evloev and Belal
Most men's Champions are entertaining 👇🏽
• Alex Pereira
• Tom Aspinall (100% finish rate)
• Dricus Du Plessis (22 wins, 20 finishes)
• Ilia Topuria (15 wins, 13 finishes)
• Islam Makhachev (finished Oliveira, Volkanovski, Poirier, Green, Hooker, Moises, etc.)
These are ALL entertaining Champions.
Only Belal, Merab, and Pantoja are boring af.
Everyone wants constant stand and bangs, as if they're not boring at times.
Derrick Lewis vs Francis Ngannou was literally the most boring fight of UFC heavyweight history.
What I will say is that that is a much bigger rarity with guys who “stand and bang” like how many wins by Derrick lewis or ngannou are not entertaining that fight was a HUGE one off bc Francis was coming off the stipe loss
Having strikers as champions is no guarantee of a stand and bang. Look no further than Leon Edwards. When he wouldn't stop saying that "headshot d***" bs, i was saying that's not gonna happen. People got so enamoured by him KO'ing Kamaru they created this narrative he's a finisher now.
@@megamanxhunter I agree with you completely that’s not the argument I’m making for real being striker ≠ stand and bang but there are stand and bang guys who tend to be more entertaining
@@abiolaolagunju1433 Yes, Ngannou sure made up for that, since he finished his next 4 opponents under 1:30😂😂😂😂
Some people have the worst analogies possible let’s pick one fight that suits your narrative as if Lewis and ngannou weren’t fun
There’s something about the history of the UFC that hits different than people talking about the nba or nfl or something. Idk what it is
One word: Yes
Watch kicking boxing then. Or muay thai
@@j.a.8970One championship is cool
My biggest problem is not with the fighters or the fights: it’s the rule set. As a formal wrestler, I love wrestling and grappling exchanges in mma. What I don’t like is when wrestlers just take people down and hold them without throwing any threatening punches or submissions. The sport is fighting. Watching Schevchenko vs Grasso 3, or Aljo vs Kattar, it’s like I’m watching somebody try and de-escalate the fight hoping somebody breaks it up before anybody gets hurt. If a fighter has over 10-15 minutes of control time and you just throw rabbit punches never threatening anything other than advancing their position, I don’t really blame the fighter for a boring fight but the rule set. The ufc needs to change their rules to be more like ONE FC
Just because a champion doesn't have a lot of knockouts or submissions does not mean they are not exciting. I mean take GSP
Shout out to Bailen (idk how to spell his name) for making these kinda funny
They aren’t boring, the people they are fighting need to step it up and become better to beat them.
They are objectively boring. Not because they are grapplers. Because they don't look to land any big damage, a submission, or any sort of finish. They lay and pray. Strikers can be boring too. Look at Leon Edwards. Everyone thought he was boring before "headshot dead", and rightfully so.
Right, Sean back pedaled and ran the whole fight and got outstruck 200-50 but Merab was the boring one?
@@3volk715How many of those weren't pitter patter shots? Lol like 5.
We so *not* back
Valentina's performance was horrible, I don't think I've ever seen someone play it more safe than her, I really don't care for her reign.
Alexa should of been better for sure, she tried some submissions but nothing more. Terrible co main event.
But at the end of the day it was the right decision, boring as fuck nevertheless but now she's back on Championship money. Would you not do a dull performance to get yourself increased pay just once?
Her performance was boring, but she fought a perfect fight in terms of strategy; she completely out-struck, out-wrestled and out-grappled Alexa. It was a dominant performance.
Much of the blame should fall on Alexa for not doing anything, she showed a complete lack of urgency. Perhaps most importantly though she showed zero improvement to any aspect of her game despite being in the prime of her career and having a full year since the second fight, that's inexcusable.
just my 2 cents (coz ppl will come at me lol). but I genuinely don't find fighters like Islam and Merab boring. The dont stall time and they grind like crazy... i've yawned more in Izzy fights than any other main event fights. I get we always want those spectacular poatan Ko's or fighters who brawl and put on crazy shows.... but wrestlers who look for finishes are never boring to me.
Anyone agree with me lol
You can’t blame the dominant fighter for being boring. The majority of the blame is on the dominated fighter.
Plus at least he was hitting O’Malley all the time, and it’s not JUST for points, Merab did some damage over time. Though I do agree with people that this wrestle-and-pound style is less varied/exciting than rapid BJJ finishes.
The co-main event was also interesting for those who actually tried to understand the finish possibilities/attempts in there.
Facts I’m so tired of these goofy takes. I’ve never seen another sport where ppl whine so much about how champions went about winning
There’s like 2 boring champions and people start to freak out
It all started with Sean strickland
It definitely did.
4 years ago when I started watching this channel and got into this sport I would never think that a video like this would drop. UFC is definitely in a boring era maybe not with the fighters but the production quality has definitely taken a nose dive besides the sphere
This era is definitely less exciting, I’ve been watching since the Chuck and Tito days and this is the worst of champions we’ve ever had. Belal, merab, and Pennington are some of the least exciting champions of all time.
Tired of these newer, pretentious fans, thinking that they are the best things and sliced bread. Pennington isn’t Nunez’s, Belal isn’t GSP, and merab isn’t khabib.
Enjoying grappling and glazing grappling are 2 different things .
It’s the ultimate fighting challenge, the point of it is too beat the other guy not stifle his offense until time runs out,finishes, or if it’s obvious your trying too finish,should be the biggest deciding factor in who gets a title shot
I won’t pay for a Merab, Belal or any women main event PPV.
Damn your gonna cripple the UFC bro
U all illegally watch it soo🤷
Trump lost and he's gonna lose again.
Okay, thanks for letting us know 👍🏿
So you don’t respect one of the major tenets of MMA and hate women. Cool.