🥊 YOUR Hot Takes in MMA = ANSWERED

Last week’s UFC Vegas 96 card was fun, but rather than recap and reload for the weekend, let’s take a different approach this week with YOUR “hot takes” answered in MMA for Pound 4 Pound.

Check out the latest Pound 4 Pound if you are so inclined!

Make sure you hit that subscribe button

LISTENER HOT TAKES

WHAT UP KENNY!?

Kenny has slowly become one of the hot-button Tweeters on MMA twitter, or are we calling it “X” now? (Nobody is calling it X)

SO KENNY SAYS: Aljo winning a title at 145 pushes him into the Top 5 in UFC history on the GOAT list

Kenny, not only do I not think this is a hot take…

I think this is the most likely reality.

Now from the jump. Aljo is my boy. He gave me a shot to start his podcast with him “The Weekly Scraps” and we’ve remained friends even after splitting from the show. So I’m trying to check my bias the best I can here…

But Aljamain Sterling is an all-time great fighter. He is widely considered one of the best 135lbs champions of all-time, and save for ONE bad mistake against Sean O’Malley, his resume stands up to some of the GOAT’s like Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson.

Stats wise? Aljamain ranks Top 10 in 15 different stat categories at 135lbs all-time. He has the most wins (14), fourth most finishes, 3rd most submissions. His 4 title fight wins are behind only TJ Dillashaw and tied with the aformentioned Cruz & Renan Barao. He is a historic GREAT at 135lbs, and now seeks to move up to a division where he’s probably even BETTER suited for success.

Aljo’s coach Matt Serra has widely considered Sterling the best BJJ player at this level of the sport. He’s proven time and time again he can control and smother his opponents, nullifying them regardless of their dynamism.

If Aljamain beats Evloev (he’s currently +170 on some books) then the “sell” of a former champ coming up to fight for the title off another dominant win is an easy one. Sterling vs Topuria, Sterling vs Holloway, it makes no difference if Aljo gets the win over Movsar. He will fight for the belt, he will WIN that belt, becoming the rarified 2-division champ and cementing his place in the UFC Hall-of-Fame.

AGREE 👍️ 👍️ 👍️ 

LET’S KEEP RIDING 💥 💥 💥 💥 

Well “IsWhatIs1” I love the name, very Max Holloway.

Now I won’t sugar coated it, I’m Team Jon Jones, period. We actually partied together in college when he was with Team Bomb Squad up in Ithaca, NY. I’ve never felt so small in my life than when I stood next to this man and shook his hand. I was a mere child with a mountain of a man. Intimidated? You’re goddamn right I was!

Part of that, was his aura. This menace of a man, chilling sipping a beer dancing around college kids with shoes sticking to the floor. I knew in my head he could kill every one of us if he wanted. That alone brings a certain amount of respect.

Add into the fact he is the greatest martial artist of all-time, who used to try to self sabotage himself into losing…and never could.

Remember that old clip of DC and Jon with Joe Rogan? It is incredibly mystifying to watch considering it was over a decade ago.

As “IsWhatIs1” said above, he is a true villain, and goddamnit we LOVE a good villain far more than a good hero. Heroes are boring. They do the right thing. Blah Blah Blah. But we LOVE a bad boy. We love watching a train wreck no matter the outcome

AGREE 👍️ 👍️ 👍️ 

Get ‘EM TATE!! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

ANOTHER ONE 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

SMOOGY!

One of the true OG’s of MMA Twitter is my guy @smoogymma. Never one to shy away from a hot take or controversy.

Now he’s making me go down a PFL rabbit hole to answer his hot take…”Shamil Musaev is the Fighter of the Year”

So this man is called “The Silent Assassin”, and for good reason. He’s got a sterling 19-0-1 record on Tapology, and at just 30 years of age, ranks as the 40th best welterweight in MMA on that platform.

Now let’s dive into his 2024:

April 19th, 2024: Musaev vs. Storley was one-way traffic. It took Shamil just 27 seconds into the second round to knockout Storley via G&P. Storley, who entered the first 15-2, has names like Neiman Gracie and Michael Page on the resume. A blip of a loss to Amosov and then back again with a win off a TKO win off Brennan Ward. Storley was a Bellator STUD at the time of this fight, and Musaev made him look like an amateur.

June 28th, 2024: Musaev vs. Ramazanov 1 was incredibly close, until it wasn’t. Ramazanov did a great job at keeping the fight in the grappling/clinch realm for most of the first round, which could’ve gone either way. He worked to implement a similar game plan in Round 2 until Musaev caught him with an absolutely stellar left hook that put him out clean. Poor defensive responsibility and perhaps some overconfidence led to the knockout.

June 28th, 2024: Musaev vs. Ramazonov 2 was a rematch that saw Musaev enter as the -375 favorite, and he fought as such. All 3 judges saw this one 30-27 for this blanketing from Musaev. From pillar to post, he controlled the clinch, kept the grappling exchanges at bay, and landed the more damaging shots.

Now at first, I was going to disagree with Smoogy but…he’s RIGHT!

Musaev is one of the only fighters with a 3-0 record in 2024, and not only that, those fights are in the PFL playoffs so they do hold championship weight a bit more than a UFC Fight Night. I wanted to say a name like Nassourdine Imavov with his two wins over Cannonier & Dolidze in 2024 and another fight against Brendan Allen slated for 9/28. Perhaps Renato Moicano was on my mind, who also has a 9/28 fight against Benoit Saint-Denis that could push his case for fighter of the year after already netting 2 massive wins, including a UFC 300 KO win over Jalin Turner.

SMOOGY this isn’t a hot take…YOU ARE RIGHT!

AGREE 👍️ 👍️ 👍️ 

Last week’s UFC Vegas 96 card was fun, but rather than recap and reload for the weekend, let’s take a different approach this week with YOUR “hot takes” answered in MMA for Pound 4 Pound.

Check out the latest Pound 4 Pound if you are so inclined!

Make sure you hit that subscribe button

LISTENER HOT TAKES

WHAT UP KENNY!?

Kenny has slowly become one of the hot-button Tweeters on MMA twitter, or are we calling it “X” now? (Nobody is calling it X)

SO KENNY SAYS: Aljo winning a title at 145 pushes him into the Top 5 in UFC history on the GOAT list

Kenny, not only do I not think this is a hot take…

I think this is the most likely reality.

Now from the jump. Aljo is my boy. He gave me a shot to start his podcast with him “The Weekly Scraps” and we’ve remained friends even after splitting from the show. So I’m trying to check my bias the best I can here…

But Aljamain Sterling is an all-time great fighter. He is widely considered one of the best 135lbs champions of all-time, and save for ONE bad mistake against Sean O’Malley, his resume stands up to some of the GOAT’s like Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson.

Stats wise? Aljamain ranks Top 10 in 15 different stat categories at 135lbs all-time. He has the most wins (14), fourth most finishes, 3rd most submissions. His 4 title fight wins are behind only TJ Dillashaw and tied with the aformentioned Cruz & Renan Barao. He is a historic GREAT at 135lbs, and now seeks to move up to a division where he’s probably even BETTER suited for success.

Aljo’s coach Matt Serra has widely considered Sterling the best BJJ player at this level of the sport. He’s proven time and time again he can control and smother his opponents, nullifying them regardless of their dynamism.

If Aljamain beats Evloev (he’s currently +170 on some books) then the “sell” of a former champ coming up to fight for the title off another dominant win is an easy one. Sterling vs Topuria, Sterling vs Holloway, it makes no difference if Aljo gets the win over Movsar. He will fight for the belt, he will WIN that belt, becoming the rarified 2-division champ and cementing his place in the UFC Hall-of-Fame.

AGREE 👍️ 👍️ 👍️ 

LET’S KEEP RIDING 💥 💥 💥 💥 

Well “IsWhatIs1” I love the name, very Max Holloway.

Now I won’t sugar coated it, I’m Team Jon Jones, period. We actually partied together in college when he was with Team Bomb Squad up in Ithaca, NY. I’ve never felt so small in my life than when I stood next to this man and shook his hand. I was a mere child with a mountain of a man. Intimidated? You’re goddamn right I was!

Part of that, was his aura. This menace of a man, chilling sipping a beer dancing around college kids with shoes sticking to the floor. I knew in my head he could kill every one of us if he wanted. That alone brings a certain amount of respect.

Add into the fact he is the greatest martial artist of all-time, who used to try to self sabotage himself into losing…but never could. His entire being is intimidating.

Remember that old clip of Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones with Joe Rogan? It is incredibly mystifying to watch considering it was over a decade ago.

As “IsWhatIs1” said above, he is a true villain, and goddamnit we LOVE a good villain far more than a good hero. Heroes are boring. They do the right thing. Blah Blah Blah. But we LOVE a bad boy. We love watching a train wreck no matter the outcome

AGREE 👍️ 👍️ 👍️ 

Get ‘EM TATE!! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

LAST ONE…👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Thanks for the response Danimal… love the name. Part Dan, Part Animal.

Anyways, do I think gambling on WMMA should be “illegal” as you put it here? No, I don’t… but there is something to be said for just how differently these judges see these fights from their points of view in the cage.

Take this last weekend’s fight for example. Most people I know, including about half a dozen insiders and fighters watching the fight, thought it was a clear 50-45 win for Rose Namajunas. However, 33%, or 1 of 3 judges, thought it was a thin 48-47 margin of victory for Thug Rose. On MMA Decisions, nobody had that score out of 15 noted experts/judges/reporters in the field.

FURTHER, out of 72 public submitted cards, which take this with a grain of salt given the commentary, gambling bias, randomness of knowledge, etc… just 19% of cards had 48-47.

So, should gambling on Women’s MMA be “illegal”… NO, but with over 70% of WMMA fights going to decision, it is a scary proposition to be putting your dollars into the hands of these judges.Reply to this email and let us know!

But Danimal….you need to Wang Cong tonight!

Also send in your hot takes and we will feature our favorites in the newsletter answered by yours truly!

GET THIS KID A CONTRACT! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!