Okay then... so what do rankings actually mean?

[@garfrockbreadtroll]

decimating friendships for our entertainment, what a chanel

[@mcsnuggie]

Someone’s never heard of healthy disagreements. Granted I’m halfway through the video but unless there’s some explosion of anger I have disagreements with my closest friends and my brother all the time

[@liammoon9309]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@mcsnuggieSomeone’s never heard of a joke

[@SnailHatan]

Chanel #4

[@LecksMoney]

Bro turned French…. Chanel 🐀 🥖 🧑‍🍳

[@allahalkareem8055]

Decimating friendships? We r MEN 💪🏻👹

[@idrial931]

hate that Ankalaev and Aspinall comparison. Aspinall has finished Volkov (#3), Pavlovich (#4), Blaydes (#5), Spivac (#7), Tybura (#9) all in the first round by complete dominance. Him winning the interim belt against the consensus #1 contender at the time in Pavlovich and defending it against another top contender in Blaydes Ankalaev has drawn to Jan (#4), beaten Walker (#9), beaten Smith (#12), beaten Oezdemir (#8) and beaten Krylov in a close fight (#6). His last win was Johnny Walkers goofy ass and has not won before that since mid 2022. I agree he’s the most deserving but to compare it to Aspinall is LUNACY. Not even remotely close to the same situation

[@dolod777]

Based as f

[@thequinlanshow3326]

It's the exact same thing. Ankalaev is a significantly more skilled fighter though.

[@idrial931]

@@thequinlanshow3326based on what. Is that based on his draw with Jan? Based on his extremely close fight with Krylov? Ankalaev is good and could beat Alex don’t get me wrong. But don’t act like this dudes been a monster. Every time he’s stepped up the level of competition to elite, he’s not looked significantly better then any of these guys. Alex (apart from the close Jan fight) has dominated these fools lmao. “Significantly better” 🤣🤣. Why? Cause he knocked out no chin Walker LMAO.

[@Alcarazboy11]

@@thequinlanshow3326no it’s not and no he isn’t.

[@zensj4408]

100% when I was listening I was like wtf

[@DreIsGoneFission]

Real ones remember when there was no rankings and everyone just had to know who had fought who.

[@westsidera97]

When guys used to debut in title fights and no one questioned it 😂😅

[@JeevanSuresh-ci4sw]

Exactly. 3/4 th of Andersons title defences were bums and people really call him the Goat

[@GrownUpKid94]

I almost prefer that more. The rankings never meant shit

[@GrownUpKid94]

@@JeevanSuresh-ci4swthat’s every champion. When you run thru a division, you gotta start scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[@double383]

@@GrownUpKid94 every champion? look at islam's defences look at who khabib defended against they certainly didnt scrap with the bottom

[@Starvin_Marvin138]

This is what you get when a contender that people don't really like tries pulling a power play telling the promotion and the champion when and where he gets his title shot. They set the precedent with number 10 Steve Erceg getting a title shot, now they can do it regularly

[@rico14]

Exactly! Everyone is mad at the ufc, but the only person to blame is ankalev. He got the opportunity of a lifetime, but he wants it on his terms.

[@tiredox3788]

I feel like not a lot of people is talking about this

[@WeAreGhuraba]

​@@rico14why you guys making things up? How social posts literally says multiple locations including America then ends with anywhere he is ready.

[@leohernandez1240]

@@WeAreGhurabathat was after he said he wanted to fight Alex in Abu Dhabi to which Alex responded he didn’t want to wait that long to fight again. He wanted to stay active

[@WeAreGhuraba]

@@leohernandez1240 so what does it matter? The fights were being discussed and negotiated and ankalaev came out of that saying ufc has different plans for alex. Also the point is y'all are wrong, he said anywhere which is easily verifiable by anyone, when he exactly said it doesn't matter bc it was before the fights failed being made

[@L65836]

Everybody seems to miss that Ankalaev had the chance to fight Pereira for the title following ufc 300 but he decided to wait and say he’d only fight in Abu Dhabi. The challenger should not dictate where the fight takes place and the ufc is rightly punishing him for trying to do so.

[@noodle_tax]

He never demanded Abu Dhabi. Thats a lie made up on twitter that youre just repeating because youre a moron 🤷‍♂️

[@sinistervulcan]

He is 100% being punished for that

[@drumusic5665]

I immediately remembered this. Especially since we all know how Petty Dana can be and how the UFC does try to set up there stars for winnable fights. The challenger needs to accept the fight and be willing to fight whenever and where ever.

[@BluskiiYT]

Dude Ankalaev legit tweeted he'd fight in las Vegas or New York and everyone ignored it and Dana made Ank vs Rakic right after the tweet

[@trapeziumm]

In fact no offer has been made for Ankalaev to fight Alex, Dana blatantly protecting his golden boy

[@PavarottiAcqua]

Not a fan of him but 100% agree rankings don’t matter anymore. It’s been several fights in the past that made me realize it.

[@theywouldnthavetocensormei9231]

What makes you really realize it is when there's a #3 vs a #9, and the #9 is the betting favorite.... Ok, someone is wrong in their assessment, obviously. If it's #3 vs #4, I get that maybe #4 has some stylistic advantage that may factor in, but when they're separated by that much, you would think the lower ranked fighter would be the betting underdog.

[@jgreen802]

Rankings have never mattered, the UFC has always done shit like this

[@slaktheking69]

How can you not be a fan of him he’s entertaining af and is a beast

[@johnmarkson1990]

@@jgreen802 i mean we can all agree that everyone he is champion right now is the best fighter in their division. its only really alex vs ankaleav thats close.

[@Ldoggmillionaire]

@@theywouldnthavetocensormei9231that tells you number 9 is on the come up but people think hes better but hasnt backed it up yet

[@memesenpai6321]

Jason is over exaggerating the situation inciting that Alex is "ducking" Ankalaev, he's been the most active champion, has fought Jiri (twice) and Hill the 2 most recent champions of the division, even beating Jan before these title fights. This is a UFC decision obviously Alex is the bad mofo ready to fight whoever they give him

[@JustaBelievernamedJohn]

Jason is the most annoying mf on this panel. Cry’s constantly.

[@whysoserious0]

The only wrestler he fought is Jan.. and went to a SD with him and many thought he lost that fight.. i don’t think he’s ducking, but the ufc is definitely protecting him

[@conormcgregorsbrokenleg9847]

@@whysoserious0He’s putting it in the line and winning. This was a timing situation. That’s like saying the UFC protected Islam for fighting DP. People said he didn’t deserve it but were generally okay with it.

[@dougp1026]

​@@whysoserious0 I think with the new damage over everything rules Alex won but with the previous it was Jan. still a very close fight

[@kokaop3838]

Still ducking lmao

[@doncarloalvir5789]

the rankings have not mattered for a LOOOOOOOOOONG time Chito title over Merab Colby last against Leon Khamzat super fast rise through rankings Isreal vs DDP This is all just the top of my head

[@l.k.9666]

Which is why I'm confused. At least Khalil v Alex is an exciting fight. We had to watch Colby sit out inactive and cry for a title shot twice!

[@ZzzzHgg]

Khamzat fast rise? He is nr11 on mw lol, despite being undefeated

[@doncarloalvir5789]

@@ZzzzHgg khamzat went from fighting li jiangling who im pretty sure at that time was unranked to gilbert burns who was rank 1. You wanna talk about present day, khamzat hasnt fought for 8 months, last fight being kamaru usman and now he’s a rank 11 about to fight rank 3 bobby whittaker

[@ZzzzHgg]

@@doncarloalvir5789 and he won lol, he was nr 3 in ww then and then dropped to r11 in mw lol.

[@doncarloalvir5789]

@@ZzzzHgg i didnt say he never won or not. Original point was that the rankings dont matter. Why does he get to jump from unranked to number 1? Shavkat had to do a steady climb even though he’s been dominating opponents. Belal had to fight pretty much everyone before getting his title fight. DDP went slowly up the ranks before he got his title fight. Again, original point, rankings are generally ignored by the ufc.

[@YouMightEnJoiThis]

Theh dont mean a damn thing. How does Roundtree go from fighting JH to fighting for the title this is a hot ass mess to say the least.

[@johnham14]

I'm not a fan but ankaleav I hate the wrestling crap but he should be fighting next, the ratings don't mean shit because of opinions like oh "RoUndTRee iS CoOl"

[@Grayson_Baker]

JH got smoked easily. KRT is a different fight for Poatan. Hope it's a fun fight.

[@YouMightEnJoiThis]

@@Grayson_Baker we are can only hope it's a great fight but this legit proves that ranking doesn't matter never and it never will

[@MrHorsesongs05]

Ank tried to call the shots and also turned the fight down previously because he wanted to fight on home turf.

[@DonPeppinoo]

& off a PED suspension

[@1stGenRex]

It’s almost as if there’s consequences for not just turning down a title fight, but also trying to dictate where that title fight should take place.

[@AkinataMoon]

Declined the poatan fight 3 times by now

[@MrHorsesongs05]

100% Ank did this to himself.

[@BPerriello94]

We don’t even have evidence that that actually happened

[@zackkousa]

UFC fans are worse than people who write fanfic. Atleast those people know what they’re coming up with in their head is made up, unlike y’all goofy mfs that read a tweet and make a whole different story out of it 😂

[@bradmoore9756]

@@BPerriello94 “I was actually offered to fight [Alex ]Pereira at this tournament, but since we had the holy month of Ramadan, I had to refuse."

[@l.k.9666]

Dustin Poirier and Colby Covington each have gotten 3 title shots. Vera got a title shot simply because Sean wanted to avenge a loss. Erceg got a title shot because Pantoja wanted to fight at home. Hendo got a title shot because Bisping wanted to avenge a loss. I could go on. I dont want to hear SHIT about Khalil. This fight isn't symbolic of anything that hasn't already been there for a long time.

[@obione51499]

Avenge, brother. No disrespect just something to know

[@l.k.9666]

@@obione51499 I'm fat fingering my phone lol

[@dirtyrottencromag]

Dustin earned the first two shots legitimately though

[@RammusTF]

That doesnt make it OK you casual scrub

[@m.t.swiontek8580]

This double standard has ALWAYS existed. This corruption stops MMA from being a major sport.

[@Lonestar1017]

Wym ?

[@milesmohrien8964]

mma or at least ufc is a major sport

[@bramvanderheijden899]

MMA is a sport. UFC is an entertainment company.

[@donovanpastor4856]

I’d actually say this does the opposite

[@Havok999]

There’s corruption in every major sport

[@atithesnail]

One important point you didn't mention - and I'm quite surprised by that - that what if the UFC tried to make the Ankalaev fight? We've heard about it in the past that Ankalaev is a bit hard to deal with, as he as a contender has demands, which you cannot always have when you are a contender.

[@ImextremelyAsian-c9g]

What are his "demands"?

[@atithesnail]

@@ImextremelyAsian-c9g when they tried to make the match before I think the Jamahal one, Ankalaev said that he will fight in Abu Dhabi only, stuff like that.

[@ImextremelyAsian-c9g]

@@atithesnail He's never said that, It's clear he's never been offered the fight, kzbin.info6jk4lPaDTnI

[@ageofragegamersinccozzie5t689]

If it pisses Hill off, I'm all in 😂

[@geeksworkshop]

I guess you love owning libs as well even when it's at your own cost.

[@tafaragaomab8543]

😂

[@Ben-xf7uy]

Old news. Rankings haven't mattered for a while. They kept Connor in the top 10 when he hadn't even won a fight in years. The fact that Jones is up there with ONE fight in 4 years also proves it. Rankings are suppose to be about TODAY. Right now

[@SnazziestOfSnazzy]

That “ONE” fight was for the title dumdum

[@Ben-xf7uy]

@@SnazziestOfSnazzyWas Gane champion? cope harder. It was a fight against a guy who was never champion himself dumdum. That was a gift fight from the UFC. You can twist it however you want, reality doesn't change. Jon Jones apologists are even more simple minded than Jones haha.

[@cody9325]

@@SnazziestOfSnazzyfor a vacant belt bro.

[@bored641]

ufc turning into boxing cuz stuff like that happens all the time over there 😔

[@chiquita683]

​@@Ben-xf7uywow you are a casual, stick to MMA gossip

[@vladimirgertner3960]

At 12:43 - IF you care about rankings, you will reward fighters with title shots. Nice Jason. I agree. And Ankalaev was offered to fight for the title. He refused, and said he would accept IN OCTOBER.

[@xannypacquiao_hxc]

Not only that, he can ONLY fight in UAE. If a 4th ranked guy could only fight in Bangladesh at a specific time he chooses that doesn’t mesh with the UFC calendar, the UFC would say “F*CK OFF”

[@xannypacquiao_hxc]

@MrWarxheliterally Ankalaev himself

[@noodle_tax]

it was short notice. If he lost on short notice he would never get a title shot again

[@vladimirgertner3960]

@MrWarxhe UFC 300 was after Ramadan. Not during. Ankalaev said that he has to recover from Ramadan (which honestly isn't that hard). So he can't take the fight in April. Instead he said, he wants to fight Alex on October 26. Alex said "I won't wait for that long". Even the fight against Khalil is 3 weeks before what Ankalaev was willing to accept.

[@Haki-t9n]

@@vladimirgertner3960 how would you know how hard it is to recover from ramadan, I very much doubt you are muslim seeing you raging on ank 🤣

[@SizzlingMMA]

The rankings have always been pointless. They should just get rid of them

[@slaktheking69]

There not if they had no rankings ufc would become boxing because they won’t be making fights that actually matter and make sense This is just a rare occurrence

[@noodle_tax]

They should actually mean something

[@Souljaxl]

People forget what the rankings are. It's just what a subset of media members think of fighters abilities. Nothing more nothing less. The UFC have a delicate act of keeping their legitimacy and creating a product that people want to watch, they have no obligations to follow some arbitrary ranking system to do so.

[@forwardmoving8252]

​@Souljaxl the system isn't "arbitrary".. You clearly don't know what thay word means. Also, if the ufc isn't going to honor the rankings, why do they promote fights using said rankings? Why do they display the rankings very clearly right next to the fighters when introducing them in the cage? Use your brain please

[@stefangreen3770]

@@Souljaxl you’re using the word arbitrary incorrectly, if it was based on random choice then why have the veneer of rankings in the first place? It’s because Dana wants to create the illusion of legitimacy while simultaneously picking and choosing who fights for the title who he deems is worthy more so going off a fighters record.

[@highcapnative]

Jason, do you not realize that Ankalaev was offered to fight Pereira at 303 but he literally demanded Pereira fight him in Abu Dhabi. Magomed really shot himself in the foot making useless demands, so don't act like its unfair. Its totally fair since Magomed DECLINED to fight for the title if it wasnt in Abu Dhabi. You're not very bright, are you, Jason??

[@everydaffodil5344]

No this is a completely made up lie please check your source

[@highcapnative]

@@everydaffodil5344 LMAO it's the UNDISPUTED truth. Casual.

[@nigerianprincewithaids]

His source is literally anks twitter right after the ufc 300 the event which he turned down….personal issues or not the company isnt gonna halt everything and meet the demands of someone who’s never even been champ 😂

[@highcapnative]

@@nigerianprincewithaids Exactly bro.

[@highcapnative]

@JayDee-w3d LMFAO you're a walking L bro, you a lame 😅

[@Haki-t9n]

The right guy is speaking facts while the middle guy represents the casual

[@zd9910]

couldnt disagree more. you cant watch an ank fight and tell me hes in any way entertaining to watch. dude should just go to the PFL if you ask me, snoozefest.

[@A.kennedad8791]

The guy on the right doesnt realize that Magomedov tried to demand that alex defends his belt in Abu Dhabi. Its no one fault that the dumb Russian doesnt want to fight outside of the middle east. Instead of crying "woah was me" he should have accepted the fight in Salt lake city.

[@A.kennedad8791]

​@@zd9910not only that Magomedov wants the title fight to happen in abu Dhabai

[@Haki-t9n]

@@zd9910 you seem to not like ko's, you prefer belals crotchsniffing I guess

[@Haki-t9n]

@@A.kennedad8791 he said he would fight anywhere, poatards making stuff up as always

[@andrewmedeiros3318]

This is crazy. Is anyone even informed on ankalaevs fight history? - Won his last fight against Johnny walker #10 - DQ loss to Johnny walker #10 for kneeing a downed opponent. Yes the record says NC but kneeing a downed opponent is a DQ loss and that should be a loss - Draw against Jan 3 fights ago. - ankalaev hasn’t beat a current top 5 fighter - Ankalaev got offered pereira TWICE and turned it down for UFC 300 and 303. He only wants to fight in Abu Dhabi If u read this and think ankalaev deserves a title fight, ngl, you should be on the short bus

[@bruce4751]

“You’re just a racist who hates dagis!!” Lmao

[@chiquita683]

You have to understand the entire KZbin MMA community is just a bunch of 12 year olds that dont even watch the sport. They all just listen to Guru make funny voices and then run around saying whatever he does. They dont even know Ankalev already fought for the belt

[@citizeny3795]

@@chiquita683 Wtf are you on about? What does Guru have to do with this? He would be the first one to agree with the OP

[@mas72450]

Literally the first thing you said can be debunked within 5 seconds of Google search. Walker was #7 and on a 3-fight winstreak when they fought. So who should be on the short bus?

[@308MiA]

​@@mas72450 so he was #7 instead of #10. What about the other 4 reasons

[@AkinataMoon]

Ankalaev declined the Titleshot like 3 times and it’s the 21 of August Poatan and the ufc are not duckin him he ruined his title chances all by himself

[@haldir3120]

3 times? Why make up 3? Why not 5 or 10 times?

[@matthewsimpson5621]

@@haldir31203. Times.

[@ILoveGaza77]

Not true that's the UFC's narrative, Ankalaev has not turned down a title fight. Get your facts right.

[@MickeyOphelan]

@@ILoveGaza77yes he has.. he said when Alex won the belt he would see him in October as if he was the one who got to decide.. Alex kept fighting he kept waiting

[@ArthurB26]

You think Ankalaev would turn down 3 shots at the title? Huh?

[@SaudiHaramco]

The annoying thing is that it's happening in practically any division at this point. At 125 they released Mokaev to avoid giving him a title shot, at 135 they pushed Chito ahead of Merab, at 145 the same will happen with Evloev if he wins his next fight, at 155 they let Volk and Poirier fight for the title ahead of Beneil and Arman, at 170 Colby got to skip ahead of Belal, at 205 Ankalaev has been skipped like 6 times in a row in favor of Jamahal twice, Jiri twice, Alex as well as Khalil now and at 265 we have the Jones vs. Stipe nonsense instead of Aspinall, at womens 125 Valentina and Alexa have been going at it for like 2 years while Manon, Erin and Taila had to wait and at W135 Julianna Pena out of all people is getting a shot coming off a loss 2 years ago... It's not just that rankings don't matter. There is zero meritocracy anymore. They will always favor popular fighters or easy wins for their stars over having a fight between the two best in the world.

[@The.Fallout.Fanatic]

I think we are neglecting some very important stuff here. 1. Anks most notable win is Krylov which is honestly a super solid win but other than that his resume is just a tad better than Rountree. 2. Ank was the one that demanded Ahu Dhabi and then accepted a pointless rakic fight instead of Pereira 3. Aspinall is an actual interim champion who's demolished 3 of the top 5 in his division right now in minutes. He's way more deserving than Ank 4. Pereira has said countless times he'd fight Ank and he's also stepped in to save the company against scary competition. This PPV looks exactly like that as without this fight it would be Pena vs Pennington in the main event so let that sink in

[@aliruslanov9032]

Ankalaevs resume is a tad better ? What ? 😂. He beat walker, oezdemir, krylov, santos and smith, all of whom where in the top 10 when they fought

[@asherandall7441]

I feel like this discussion is pointless cos I feel like this fight was made last minute. Ank vs rakiv had already been planned and they just needed a main event for 307 and Pereira is always okay with stepping in last minute

[@ChimpRevolution]

Yeah honestly they offered ankalev 300 and 303 yet he turned down both his fault for skipping opportunities

[@MyFavoriteSportsballTeam]

This is exactly what sound logic looks like. Idk why it's so hard for some people to understand, bro lol

[@conboy66]

Oh my your brain dead

[@ishu345]

Without even watching the video, I’m assuming it’s going to criticize Rountree for getting a title shot while Ankalaev is ranked at 2 and has to fight Rakic. First of all, Rountree is on a 5 fight win streak, 4 by finish. Ankalaev is 2 fights (technically 1 fight) removed from a title fight opportunity which he got a draw (I thought he lost, Jan destroyed his legs and was up 3-0 before Ankalaev layed and prayed for last two rounds and somehow got a draw). Second, Ankalaev got a no contest against Walker due to a dumb illegal knee, before finishing him his next fight. You don’t just get a title shot again after one fight, and finishing Walker isn’t that impressive at this point in time. Third, you add on the fact that Ankalaev is trying to pick and choose the date and location of his title fight. UFC doesn’t appreciate guys turning down fights then you add on the fact that Ankalaev was uncharacteristically disingenuous about his fight with Jan. Props to him for realizing this and taking the fight with Rakic to solidify a title shot opportunity. He’ll get his chance if he keeps winning, but the fans deserve Rountree and Pereira. Not that many guys calling Pereira out, and Rountree is a guy that has been through it all in his MMA career and deserves his chance at glory. Just my 2 cents.

[@Dukestboy96]

Rountree beating smith is much less impressive than beating walker who beat smith and ROUNTREE.. ank also has beat smith btw. Who else has rountree beat? He robbed Jacoby and had a few wins outside the rankings? Hardly title contender worthy. There's no argument for it other than it potentially being a fun matchup. It's like if all them years ago Izzy went yeah Darren you can have the title shot it'll be fun

[@ishu345]

@@Dukestboy96 he has finished 4 of his last 5 wins. Walker beat Rountree years ago, hence why Rountree went to Thailand and developed a completely new style. Clearly you didn’t comprehend that I’m talking about why Rountree deserves a title shot. It’s about your current streak of fights. You can lose a fight and win your next three and be in line for a title shot in the UFC. We’re not talking about overall records, and fights years ago. Ankalaev got his title shot after those wins and has been completely inactive since. How do you comment a reply with some bs without even reading what I said 😂😂😂

[@The_Libationist]

In addition to the other arguments against the Aspinall - Ankaleav comparison is that Aspinall has made himself completely available he will take on Jon anytime anywhere, Ank has made clear he doesn’t want to fight outside of home turf and will only do so on his schedule. If that’s what he wants to do then fine but Piererra will be taking more available fighters in the meantime.

[@areebsiddiqui758]

Ankalaev has never said he wont fight Pereira in America. Literally never said that. Its a completely fake narrative. His last fight was in the US, he fought Yan for the title in America as well.

[@chakir348]

Spreading fake news he never said that

[@blackheartmargo3429]

Between Jones ducking aspinal, Izzy getting an immediate title shot after being 1-2 in his last 3 fights, and now this, I feel like the UFC isn’t even trying to keep the mask of legitimacy anymore

[@chrismalinowski654]

Nick diaz and chael sonnen got title shots in 2013 coming off losses. Shits been happeninf forever

[@blackheartmargo3429]

@@chrismalinowski654 for sure, but usually there are breaks in between the undeserved title shots, lately it’s just been back to back

[@s1nnocense]

how is this even a discussion? anka had the shot offered and he didn't like the place and date, wanted to call the shots as a contender. so the next best guy gets it. strickland is currently doing the same thing, talking himself out of his title shot.

[@enricobreveglieri397]

Yeah I do not give a shit either about Ankalaev. I want to see my boy Khalil getting a shot at gold

[@l.k.9666]

Same

[@Nykandros]

Eh, Pereira can only run from grapplers for so long tbh. Considering he's 36 and can't really get any better at it atp, it's a free first round sub waiting to happen

[@jonasjorgensen8759]

​@@Nykandrosankalaev aint a good grappler

[@theunbeatable6598]

Ankalaev would inevitably Maul alex

[@mikemosley2948]

@@Nykandros Ankalea doesn’t have a submission Win……Not the 1st one on his record. Wrestling won’t save his Azz, he’ll be SLEEPING by the 3rd round. This is UFC saving Ankalea from Poatan. Count on it 💯☝️🤔

[@GI581d]

In my opinion, what’s going on at LHW and what’s going on at HW are completely different situations beyond people just liking Pereira and not liking Jones. Should Pereira fight the #2 guy? Sure, but does it bother me that one of the most active champs currently is fighting another ranked guy first? Not really. Aspinall, on the other hand, isn’t just the #2 ranked guy that needs a title shot. For all intents and purposes, he is the current HW champ, his only real challenge now is the inactive champ he’s under and it only makes sense to unite the title. If there weren’t 2 champs in the same division, then let Jones have his #6 legacy fight and ride off into the sunset, who cares

[@kevomeister]

This is ankelaev's fault

[@canadianbacon9819]

I like how the other two really don't even have arguments. He's right just accept it

[@TomsWhip]

Guy on the right is trying to argue logic with someone who doesnt value logic. It is not an argument you can win

[@Pretentious_Pony]

Who is the guy in the middle?

[@ZzzzHgg]

The middle guy is the ultimate casual

[@hellogoodbye1748]

He’s being perfectly logical and clear. He wants to see Khalil fight and doesnt really care about Ankalaev so hes okay with the unjustness of it. Not sure why its so hard to get. Ankalaev is also a cheater lol

[@noodle_tax]

​@@hellogoodbye1748 ankalarv is a cheater but khalil isnt?

[@drumusic5665]

Get over yourself lol. Just because you don't care for his opinion doesn't mean it lacks logic. He wants his favorite sport to be as entertaining as possible and Khalil v Alex is a super interesting fight on paper. MA is not only a more boring fighter he isn't dominate at all despite the narrative dude on the right is pushing. If anything dude on the right saying "it's such a dumbfight" is being closed minded and emotional lol Because even though I want the ranking to matter I can't lie and say Khalil is a less entertaining matchup like the dude on the right is insinuating. At least the middle guy is ADMITTEDLY only in it for the fun and knows the rankings should matter.

[@kristineulrich793]

Perfect example of what happens when you are a pro athlete contractor, throw a big sucky baby poor sport tantrum when you put on a boring draw for the BELT with Jan, then make ridiculous demands of the company you want a paycheck from. This is a business. Being a sucky person negatively affects your employment opportunities. ‘Deserves’ a shot at the belt is multi-dimensional.

[@NovaBlade926]

Rankings mean nothing, Dana white runs the ufc the same way he did years ago when rankings didn't even exist , they make the fights that bring in the $$, that's all they really care about

[@canadianbacon9819]

Roundtree has a large possibility of getting knocked out by almost everybody in the top five, even Rakic. You're talking him up a lot Balian. Don't get me wrong he has good striking but also cowers away from taking large shots, which has gotten knocked out. Buddy is 100% correct in this whole argument.

[@Totalnikkadeath]

Jones fighting n7 (8?) in the devision over the current champ will not go down well in history

[@skindred1888]

I dunno, nobody seems to give a fuck on how khabib won the belt

[@Totalnikkadeath]

@@skindred1888they do make fun of him quite a bit and its a different situation cuz he did fight the best in the world after that 3 times

[@Haki-t9n]

@@skindred1888bros mentioning khabib who retired 3 years ago 😭 rentfree

[@atomicpunk2360]

@@skindred1888initially yes, but him soundly defeating McGregor, Poirier, and Gaethje more or less canceled that out

[@chiquita683]

​@@atomicpunk2360You all claim McGregor was always trash so how does that cancel out anything? Dustin and Justin have been journeymen their whole career, when has either one a championship belt after? They are known for tapping

[@Joshpower57]

"Totally untested" .... wtf? Jan, jiri and jamal arent massive tests? The ank d riding in this is insane.

[@gimpystimpy5304]

i actually fully agree that khalil doesn’t deserve the shot, but it’s such an interesting fight why are we throwing a hissy fit when he’ll still end up fighting magomed

[@gypsylips1950]

Right - it's not like alex doesn't fight constantly.

[@noodle_tax]

The problem is that theres a huge chance he wont fight him and Khalil is not an interesting match up. Love Khalil but he will get KOed in round 1 because pereira is just levels above him

[@CalvinLangatMMA]

What’s the point of rankings then? This is how Sandhagen ended up being skipped over and now he lost to Umar and might never fight for the belt. Same with Gaethje taking the Max fight but that was on him.

[@gimpystimpy5304]

@@noodle_tax khalil loses yes maybe fast but i just don’t think a high level kickboxing fight won’t be entertaining and there’s definitely not a high chance the magomed fight won’t happen lol

[@gimpystimpy5304]

@@CalvinLangatMMA in both of your examples the higher ranked guy lost to the lower ranked guy, if anything you’re making the argument ranks are meaningless lmao

[@Khedran]

Why do you guys think the rankings matter anyway? The ONLY requirement from Athletic Commissions is that to challenge for a title, you must be ranked. Doesn't matter if you're ranked 1, 8, or 15, if you have a number next to your name you're allowed to be given a title shot. Jesus, I figured you guys would know this because that's why Khabib Nurmagomedov fought Al Iaquinta for the vacant lightweight belt even tho Al was ranked at the bottom of the list. They wanted to give the title shot to Paul Felder but the athletic commission refused to sanction that because Felder wasn't ranked at the time.

[@Empty-n3g]

Ankalaev refused to fight Pereira 2 times already, he only wants to fight in abu dabi, so the comparison with Tom is atrocious

[@MajorBased]

He just fought in Las Vegas in January.

[@mohamedhossam9360]

Bro he only suggested to fight pereira in abu dhabi he didn't insist to fight him there

[@deni6943]

how are people so confidently spreading this lie

[@Empty-n3g]

@@deni6943Interview of Ankalaev about ufc 300: I was actually offered to fight Alex Pereira, but since we had the holy month of Ramadan, I had to refuse; Ankalaev was offered to fight Alex at ufc 303 and refused again, cause he didnt want to take a short notice fight, so they called Jiri, thats two times he said no

[@sousgod5017]

@@Empty-n3gand at 301 he denied because of short notice

[@Cosmic_God_Particals]

Rankings are only the 2nd or 3rd important factor when making fights. I don't like that but its usually fighters not taking fights or other factors that are the reasons things get messy.

[@jordanterry6248]

Ankalaev hasn’t beaten anyone in the top 5. Why does he even have the rank he does. In tough fights he just tries to coast anyway. He only fights hard when it’s an easy win.

[@Slop_Dogg]

It’s a good question, really I think it does spell out that the rankings mean that JON JONES IS THE TOP P4P GOAT AND DANA WILL VIOLENTLY ASSAULT YOU

[@bramdoe3303]

Even Jason’s voice is whiny. No dude, people don’t care about Ankalaev. He had a chance to fight Pereira and he didn’t. “The best” doesn’t matter when a contender tries to call shots against the champ.

[@ImextremelyAsian-c9g]

You think tweeting a suggesting is a demand? At no point did Magomed demand anything or push for it, he clearly stated in an interview he would fight Alex anywhere. The reality is, the UFC never offered him a fight with Alex. Also, you want an example of someone who is demanding, and trying to call the shots? Sean Strickland.

[@bradshortland6169]

I think the main issue from a fans perspective is that it is actually Jon himself that is ducking the biggest threat. With Alex it seems like it’s possibly the company doing it for him. As far as I can tell, Alex will fight anyone

[@horobi-san4427]

This Pereira VS Khalil will be his third defense in a year, he's one of the most popular fighters in the company, Dana will move heaven and earth to make sure the gravy train doesn't end against a wrestler (and a boring one to boot, differently from Merab)

[@bradshortland6169]

⁠@@horobi-san4427plus Alex is very likeable and jones is to put it lightly, not the greatest person in the world 😂 I don’t think Ank is actually boring though. I guess personality wise he is, but in the cage he’s not boring. But yeah the khalil fight will almost definitely be a banger so even if he isn’t the most deserving, I’ll still be hyped for it

[@xicoxnicx]

Ankalaev doesn’t deserve shit for trying to call a title fight on his terms where he has location advantage

[@zachhamilton3274]

Rountree hasn’t beaten anybody in the top 10 explain to me how he deserves it

[@nigerianprincewithaids]

@@zachhamilton3274Anthony smith was rank #7-8 when he beat him🤨

[@dark_winter8238]

​@zachhamilton3274 ankalaev has not beaten anyone in the top 5. Neither really deserves it. Ankalaev has beaten bigger names but is not on as good as streak with one fight compared to 5.

[@chahin75]

Ankalaev beat : santos #5 krylov #6 walker #7 volkan #7 smith #5 and draw with jan And ko cutelaba he basically beat half of the top 10 lhw in the ufc, while khalil beat smith #7 and get kod by walker and cutelaba .

[@Christian.twumasi]

Bro, Ankalev didn’t want it, plus he already has a fight booked in the October. Alex asked him to do it after Jamal, Ankalev said no he wants it later, Alex said he wanted it sooner? Everyone in the LHW is already booked, so who else is actually next? Khalil!?

[@haldir3120]

Ankalaev is booked because he is not getting the Pereira card. Why are people so dense?

[@PughMMA]

The sport will never be a major sport like football or basketball until there is a system set in stone to make it a true sport. Until then, as long as the out-of-touch brass decides whatever they want, it will not compete. If the NFL decided to make the Super Bowl whoever won last year vs whoever won the most games, they would loose viewers year after year. This is why the PFL has gained traction among many hardcore fans; their system isn’t perfect, but their merit-based system literally pits the best versus the best (in their promotion) and you can never say the champion didn’t earn it (unless there is a bad call by the referee, which happens in every sport).

[@vladimirgertner3960]

Opening take is very bad. people are annoyed by Jones because he fights once every two years and is planning to retire. Alex fights every 3 months, so we don't mind, because everyone will catch those hands.

[@Haki-t9n]

Against who? The jiri rematch was pointless and so is this fight

[@vladimirgertner3960]

@@Haki-t9n Unlike Magomed, Jiri was a champ of a division. So was Jan, so was Hill. All of them deserved the match before Magomed.

[@Haki-t9n]

@@vladimirgertner3960 jiri had his titlefight where he got koed, and then got another one after one single win against rakic, lol

[@vladimirgertner3960]

@@Haki-t9n To be clear, he was a champ. He lost the title fight. He fought another title eliminator. he won it, got another shot at the title and lost. It makes perfect sense.

[@Haki-t9n]

@@vladimirgertner3960 why would u get a title eliminator after just losing a titlefight, how does that make sense lmao🤣

[@KerryKingFish]

Hard agree with Bayliun here, i agree that Ankalaev deserves a title shot, but i'd rather see Pereira v Khalil, it's unfortunate that it's also going to be for a belt as it taints the whole ranking system, but Alex v Khalil will be an absolute banger! We then see Pereira vs DDP for Alex's final middleweight fight, Alex back to LHW for Ankalaev to defend the belt, then on to HW to fight Aspinall for the HW belt after Jon retires.

[@PughMMA]

Why do people think that Ankalaev is a wrestler? He’s literally a kickboxer. It’s like saying Leon Edwards is a wrestler.

[@chiquita683]

Hes russian so casuals think all Russians are wrestlers now

[@pedrovskidantini2324]

because he loves to 😤 on 🎱

[@jf2849]

If I’m a fighter and I keep getting overlooked when I’ve earned the title shot I’m leaving and going to fight somewhere else. I’m not advocating for Ankaliev I’m just saying if the UFC wants to ignore rankings they better be careful it will have consequences good fighters will simply leave and go somewhere they feel appreciated.

[@colejames423]

That’s one of the most dimwit takes I’ve ever seen. If there were all these other better places where “fighters will simply leave and go” and feel all warm and fuzzy and loved, a ton of guys would have done it by now. It doesn’t exist No one cares if Ankaliev leaves, and he won’t leave, because no one is going to pay him better than what he’s getting right now. For the foreseeable future, the UFC runs mma.

[@jf2849]

@@colejames423 not everyone is obsessed with money did you ever stop and think many people fight to win championships people want to prove they are the best some just do it for fun. Training all the time keeps you in good shape and there are plenty of other places to fight . If you’re half decent you could go to a smaller organization and be a big fish in the pond just being fed victim after victim. Yes this is very appealing to some people money is not everything. But I do appreciate the back and forth so thank you for your stupid take on the matter.

[@dolod777]

Ankalaev fights once per year in suitable places. Perera bangs almost every 2 months lol. Who ducking who? Ank is ducking fights, what are we even talking about. Why should the goat go surrender to some random dagestani's demands? Funny to me as hell

[@Salesedere]

Ankalaev literally ducked the fight at 300 because "muh ramadan" which didn't affect Islamic fighters for decades until khabibs gym made it a month long excuse (they still eat twice a day and other religions have just as long a fasting period).

[@userlj355]

Ankalaev turned down the fight with pereira at 303. Ankalaev only wants to fight for the belt in Abu Dhabi. He can’t call the shots while being the challenger.

[@Judge_eyes6_6]

Of ankalaev last 5 fights 4 of them have been in the US while only one was in abu dhabi so how come he only wants to fight in abu dhabi

[@userlj355]

@@Judge_eyes6_6 he told pereira on twitter that he wants to fight in October in Abu Dhabi

[@reservoirfrogs2177]

Insane how Jason is constantly the only person who isn’t completely moronic. The entire logic the other 2 run with is so braindead how are they involved in a channel that produces such high quality content?

[@katrinam4232]

Jason needs to get new co-hosts

[@SouthernHavoc]

More than likely just providing a different opinion so that the video is interesting. They probably all agree on the same thing off camera.

[@ericdiaz4600]

having opposing opinions is what makes podcast based content good. i don't wanna hear a bunch of guys who agree with each other that's a boring conversation.

[@tmka660]

bro Jason was comparing Ankalaev to Tom Aspinal, Merab and Belal. Who the fuck has he beat? He drew with Jan (whom Alex had actually won against), beat Smith who is legit one of the worst fighters in the division and beat Johnny Walker who gets knocked out every other fight. I am not saying Khalil is more deserving than Ankalaev, god no. But glazing Ankalaev so much for so little is actually insane

[@conormcgregorsbrokenleg9847]

He’s was so 🤓🤓🤓 this vid. I understand but it’s very snotty and blanket approach in his arguments

[@CYMotorsport]

They mean everything. But without direct statements it’s impossible to actually know so I’m totally open to be proven wrong but I still think there’s more evidence that says rankings matter vs confirmation bias that I think dictates they don’t. Ppl say a lot of things off the record. But that’s what they are off the record. If the ufc media is anything like formula 1, there’s perceived consequences for speaking out. If the story were that good or held any weight, they’d be on the record. That’s harsh but it’s true.and why I avoid things off the record unless it’s apart of a bigger narrative. This is where I think someone’s opinion on the rank informs your entire take on this situation. Bc we have nuggets of litigation and moments from sanctioning bodies in writing that prove the rank means everything. Someone who believes in the ranking all this says is MA said no. Alex is a respectful guy who doesn’t kiss and tell likely from his kickboxing days but he’ll never admit MA said no . And neither would MA. He might even say the ufc never offered. Or like what happens in boxing a lot, when a guy doesn’t want a fight they price themselves out. Just IMO I think it’s very clear that’s what’s happening. It’s not like heavyweight at all bc I genuinely think Tom wants the fight and Jon has no where to run anyway but he signed to fight stipe. Jon could be stalling out hoping Tom loses in the interim much like what Fury did to AJ making him face his mandatories in Andy Ruiz and Usyk which he’d lose both and helped him avoid AJ much longer or maybe for good. But it seems pretty clear MA may want a lot to Alex. And that may be fair but the ufc isn’t boxing and has options. If not MA, then next would be KR. Sanctioning bodies have precedent to skip rematches to go down in the ranks that’s not a shock

[@yamuffiscabbage945]

Holy shit Jason was super annoying this video! Acting like he hasn't backed Conor in undeserved title shots!

[@SnazziestOfSnazzy]

They are all pathetic losers

[@stephenfinglas6220]

Conor literally has not fought for a belt since khabib so what title fight did he “not deserve”? Aldo deserved, Alvarez deserved, khabib deserved wtf?

[@yamuffiscabbage945]

@@stephenfinglas6220 if you honestly think he deserved the khabib then you are fucking crazy! He left the ufc to lose at boxing! Get off Conor and Jason's dick lil bro!

[@mackenzieroberts1]

often the case in these videos nowadays

[@Railerik]

Doing Devil's advocate. If everyone agreed the podcast would be pointless.

[@Soliditude]

You’re missing the most probable thing that’s actually happening: There is a money dispute, and it’s likely a similar situation as with Mokaev, where the UFC is not a fan of dealing with that whole group and their antics.

[@atomicpunk2360]

No, what’s really happening is that if not Pereira, who tf was gonna headline this card? Pennington?? 😂😂😂 the only other champ not booked and could be ready in time is Pantoja, but who tf does he fight in 307? The UFC beefs up some cards and leaves only bones on some others

[@iamFSRL]

Ankalaev turned down the chance to fight Pereira at UFC 300. Aspinall took an INTERIM fight on 2 weeks notice with a bad back. That’s why one is beloved and the other is not.

[@Yoshwayy]

Bangok ready Khalil vs Poatan could be a banger though

[@sousgod5017]

Why do people act like Ank didn’t get a title shot already ?

[@Haki-t9n]

Didnt jan himself say he lost and that ank should get the belt lol

[@sousgod5017]

@@Haki-t9n Well joe rogan basically forced him to admit it/gaslit him and fighters aren’t amazing sources minutes after a fight lol.

[@smith9157]

@@Haki-t9nwhich commission does jan judge for?

[@Haki-t9n]

@@smith9157 which promotion do the judges fight for?

[@samuelntim-addae2843]

I think it ultimately comes down to activity. Alex is such an active champion that we know that Ankalev is going to get his title shot relatively soon. In the other examples, the fighters were not active, so the wait time between shots was so much longer, and being delayed would actually cause a big issue. For example, Jon Jones fights less than once a year, so delaying Aspinalls titleshot is asking him to wait another year.

[@theunbeatable6598]

They want to squeeze the last ppv juice out of Alex coz Ankalaev would Maul him lmao

[@reptilez13]

I mean to me they arent an end all be all, especially the "oFfIcIaL" rankings. They are just a guide basically at best. Otherwise they just kinda... Do stuff. Its not a tournament bracket.

[@thequinlanshow3326]

Baleon loves to dump on Jon for "ducking" Aspinall but has no problem with Poatan ducking

[@MorgoYT]

how is Pereira ducking? Ankalaev already had a fight signed and they had Pereira main the card instead of the womans title fight

[@Dukestboy96]

This isn't on Alex

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Wait. Who is Pereira ducking?

[@fofopho]

That was somehow the smug temper tantrum I’ve ever seen from a grown man. This fight and the stipe fight is not a 1 to 1 comparison at all. For one, we are missing out on the better fight at HW. At LHW we are getting a more entertaining fight. At heavyweight we are getting an over the hill fighter, at LHW we are getting someone in his prime. There is an interim belt being defended at HW, whereas we have an active champ at LHW. I’m actually a big Ankalaev fan, and that is the fight to make. But no matter how much Jason moans about it … what’s happening at heavyweight and light heavyweight are not the same thing. They are not the same level of injustice to the fighters or the fans. I tend to believe Ankalaev is basically inevitable at LHW, but we can wait a bit longer. Let’s not forget that unlike Jones, Pereira has bailed out the UFC on short notice multiple times in the past year, if they want to give him a single softball as a reward, good. Man deserves it.

[@x_i_v8693]

THE UFC IS SMART TO DO THIS. A SITUATION HAPPENED LIKE THIS IN BOXING - FANS WANTED AJ VS WILDER. THAT FIGHT WAS POSTPONED UNTIL BOTH FIGHTERS LOST THEIR NO LOSS RECORD & FRIGHTENING AURA. IT IS BETTER CHAMA & ROUNTREE FIGHT NOW BEFORE ANKALAEV POTENTIALLY TAKES AWAY ALEX'S AURA

[@oaktwain]

The guy on the right is pissing me off. Just shut up and enjoy the fights

[@RealJesseONFIRE]

Ankalaev asked to be released INTO A MICROPHONE after the Jan fight in the octagon. He did it in Russian…but he did it. Dumb. He’s paying for it

[@Judge_eyes6_6]

Ankalaev said that he does not want to fight again in vegas because of the Judging that happend during ufc 282 and his translater misquoted him, if you wanna cover mma then at least get your facts stright

[@Dukestboy96]

I don't blame him after the way the UFC have treated him

[@cajuncombatmartialarts513]

Dude on the right is the only reasonable one at the table

[@dolod777]

The boring guy crying for sportsmanship in clown fiesta typo of sport. It's funny as hell

[@Haki-t9n]

Yea the guy in the middle is a casual muslim hater lol

[@MyFavoriteSportsballTeam]

on the contrary, he is the most blinded by emotion and least logical at the table lol

[@AshRain-nu3vz]

While this is definitely super stupid, Ankalaev was offered the fight before, and refused it because he wanted to fight in Abu Dhabi. As the challenger, he had no right to make that demand. And so, now the title fight that shouldve gone to him, goes to someone else.

[@atomicpunk2360]

Especially as a challenger that has zero personality or marketability.

[@AshRain-nu3vz]

@@atomicpunk2360 I'm sure Alex doesn't mind, cause now he just gets to walk straight through Rountree. Cause I don't think anybody would disagree that Ankalaev is a much tougher fight for him.

[@Horseprolapse]

Bayliun out here consistently giving the worst takes known to man 😂😂😂 Jason and Tommy fr the only voices of reason

[@ryanabbott4162]

Fr, never realized how much of an idiot he is

[@d0pp3lgang3r]

Straight up. Dude is agonizing to listen to.

[@noahfrye4583]

If you’re a contender trying to tell a champion to wait for them, you don’t deserve the fight

[@Thiccolo]

I think with Alex's success, he's calling the shots a little bit and dodging Magomed. UFC is probably game because Alex is a good draw.

[@QwertAsdfg-ih1ow]

Magomed didnt want to fight for UFC 300...

[@ZzzzHgg]

@@QwertAsdfg-ih1owalex only wants to fight the muslim on ramadan?😂

[@QwertAsdfg-ih1ow]

@@ZzzzHgg How is that problem of Alex or anyone in UFC?!

[@ZzzzHgg]

@@QwertAsdfg-ih1ow its not a problem, why shouldnt he fight him in october

[@zachhamilton3274]

I think a part of this that no one is talking about is the level of competition Rountree has beaten. His last 4 wins have a combined record of 4-16 in their last 5 fights and two of them were cut from the UFC

[@Ize-wb4ig]

Ankalaev was offered the fight and he didn’t take it meanwhile Alex has been taking fights back to back

[@cesarmata4466]

i think that’s what people forget he was offered the fight and didn’t take it. Like what are they supposed to do😂

[@katrinam4232]

Is that really true? Ankalaev has always said he would fight Pereira. It’s the UFC that wants to protect him.

[@QwertAsdfg-ih1ow]

​@@katrinam4232Ankalaev didnt want to fight on UFC 300.

[@SnazziestOfSnazzy]

@@katrinam4232Retard

[@Haki-t9n]

Offering a fight on ramadan to a muslim, what suprize 🤣

[@bramdoe3303]

What kind of Soylent creation compares Pereira to Jones in this manner? Pereira has fought 3 times this year already. This is like the 3rd card he’s saved from utter irrelevancy. Jones obviously IS ducking Aspinall. Has Pereira made excuses why he can’t fight Ankalaev? Obviously not. Ankalaev doesn’t get to call shots on where and when they fight. He’s earned his spot, but Pereira doesn’t owe him anything.

[@KZ_MMA-KZ]

No one cares about a boring, zero-personality wrestler, that can't even speak English. Pereira can't speak English but at least he's entertaining. Ankalaev kills PPV sales.

[@imawizard6876]

The reality is that grappling is the strongest base and anyone who isn't good in that area is going to be at a disadvantage no matter how good their striking is. We want to see KO's and the UFC knows that. From a biz perspective, why would you risk your star KO artist for a guy no one cares about? Money is the goal and Ankalaev will draw no eyes....simple

[@georgioslykakis1112]

The guy in the middle annoying af

[@PriceySweater]

Wrong... He's based

[@SnazziestOfSnazzy]

They all are. It’s excruciatingly pathetic

[@jafetvelez7377]

We all know there is no merit to this fight, but it’s not some great tragedy it isn’t happening. Alex didn’t wanna fight until Nov or Dec and the UFC needed him a lot earlier than that. So they’re doing eachother a favor by making and accepting this fight. N Alex is almost certainly not moving to heavyweight anytime soon, especially without fighting Ankalaev

[@BedrockMMA]

He wanted to fight only in abu dhabi, that's not Alex's problem?

[@ivanL7481]

He didn't say this. Prove me wrong

[@Ferdians66]

Dont trust ur source anymore bro. Even if its ur mom 😅

[@skindred1888]

​@@ivanL7481 that's just not true 😂

[@QwertAsdfg-ih1ow]

​@@ivanL7481Ankalaev didnt want to fight UFC 300, his coach said that they calling shorts and they decide when and where are going to fight...

[@ivanL7481]

@@QwertAsdfg-ih1ow where did the coach say exactly this? At no point there was public refusal to fight outside Abu Dhabi or statement of calling the shots. They were stating their preferences, but nothing like that. Ufc 300 was 4 days after Ramadan, knowing this offering Muslim fighter (if his name isn't Belal Muhammad) a fight there was a cheap way of forcing NO out of their mouths and then claiming they don't wanna fight.

[@theywouldnthavetocensormei9231]

It's like the "power rankings" in team sports, where the eggheads rank every team in the league best to worst. That's all fun but what really matters is making the playoffs, and then winning the championship, and half the time the team that wins the championship was not one with the best regular season record. It's just speculation to drive views and engagement, start conversations, which in sports more often than not are really arguments.

[@chippewaguy4193]

Doesn’t Ankalaev have visa problems getting into America? Or was that another bearded man?

[@Unknown-individual]

Fake news

[@ivanL7481]

Chimaev has, Ankalaev fought in the US not long ago and claims to have no issues

[@swalihmm]

He just fought at LA.

[@OmnipotentSpud]

That's most of the bearded guys 😂

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

It's Chimaev who can't get a visa to the US.

[@nicholaskola1519]

I’m really confused on how to sign up for the membership. I could be just high, but I’m very confused

[@nekozaemon3803]

Ankalaev didn't earn NOTHING, it's just his turn. Getting a title shot after Jonny Walker is a nonsense

[@Judge_eyes6_6]

But getting a title shot off beating anthony smith is better, who lost to johnny walker in the same year?

[@Dukestboy96]

​@@Judge_eyes6_6exactlyyyy

[@Amin52J]

There's a lot we're not aware of behind the scenes so you can't always book fights according to the rankings for so many reasons. I absolutely believe all the fighters in the top 10 deserve a shot at the title at any given time.

[@mattm8098]

13:00 it’s true , it’s why I have a hard time getting into the smaller promotions. I just want to see the best fight the best. The next best thing to that is seeing a promising prospect.

[@Juel92]

I'm thinking this has to be due to Ank seemingly so set on a Abu fight. Dana and Alex doesn't (understandably) want Ank to dictate where the fight is and when. That's my guess because even though Ank isn't a super hot crowd pleaser Khalil is so far back in the rankings/notable wins that I don't think they would make this fight just to keep Ank away from a title shot. That being said wouldn't surprise me if Dana is protecting his Golden Boy, only time will tell I think.

[@AwakenedNegus]

Honestly, I've always seen rankings as more of a "these 15 guys are important and could be champs so pay attention to them if you're more casual" whenever my non MMA friends ask me about fighters it's easier just to be like "he's number 6 in the division and he's number 8 so it should be a good fight" I've never actually taken them serious in terms of "he's the number 1 contender in the world he should get the next shot"

[@AllBlackAirpods]

Last time I checked it doesn’t matter what your ranking is if you’re trying to tell your employer what you will and won’t do

[@DiamondCowboy7]

Bro, its a sick fight! Im sure something happened behind the scenes to prevent ank vs Alex

[@TheGift651]

I didn't think this was gonna be as dope as it turned out good job boys

[@asherandall7441]

I feel like this fight was made last minute as they had nothing planned to main event 307. Alex said he wanted time off but being put on 307 doesn't give him that. Maint event for 308 was announced way before 307. Alex is the guy they can call up when they are struggling to make a card.

[@dontgojohnson]

As excited as I am for this fight with Roundtree, in a perfect world the shot should have gone to Ankalaev however you can’t have this conversation without adding the context of Ankalaev a) having been given a recent shot (that, even though I personally thought he should have squeaked out a win, was an overall lacklustre performance and ultimately ended in a draw) b) has been offered multiple shots since then, leading to c) seems to only want or be able to fight in the Abu Dhabi - Comparing Aspinall is Ankalaev is beyond ridiculous, Pereira wants to stay active and Ankalaev ONLY wants to fight under his own, restrictive terms, that’s going to cause him to get passed up when others are willing and ready

[@C3phoe]

Great roundtable discussion, perfect dynamic of opinions 👏 🎉🎉

[@gaeloconnor707]

I’ll say this, there’s big differences between what’s happening at HW and LHW. 1. Tom Aspinall is the interim champ and has had to defend his interim belt. That has only happened a handful of times in the sport. It’s ludicrous that that’s the case. Interim titles usually mean it is a guarantee that you’re fighting for the now ‘disputed belt’ 2. Ankalaev has already fought for the belt in a fight that he did not win and tbh, the 10-8 (which imo was a little generous) saved him. He then only beat Johnny walker after what should have been ruled a disqualification. 3. And this is the big one, Alex wanted ankalaev and ank chose to be picky. Alex said he wanted to fight him, he even said he wanted to fight him on 4 weeks notice. How Alex did break his toe which ultimately stopped that happening but the big take away is Analaev said he wanted to fight in Abu Dhabi in October. The offer was there, Alex agreed to the fight but ank wanted it on his terms. That is how you get yourself out of a title shot mate

[@izharulhaqtruthrevealed1185]

So with this logic Arman shouldn't be next for Islam since he declined also 2 months notice fight

[@izharulhaqtruthrevealed1185]

So with this logic Arman shouldn't be next for Islam since he declined also 2 months notice fight

[@vaughnordakowski8774]

People have already listed the differences in qualifications between the defending interim champ aspinall and "draws in title contender fight" ankalaev. Stuff less talked about - magomed tried to power play the ufc on where and when his championship fight should take place. - alex is an insanely active fighter, and he doesn't want to wait till magomed is ready. On top of that, his activity means he WILL fight magomed in fairly quick time. Jon jones only has so many fights left so people care more about who gets the chance

[@jortkebabopjebord]

There is one argument that cancels out this whole 20 min segment, which is: ankalaev is already booked against rakic and pereira wants to stay active so they matched him up with khalil, this happened so many times (porier vs islam) so why all of a sudden is this such a blatant fight to make