MailBag: What are the options for Tom Aspinall right now? And what is the next great UFC rivalry?

So, what do we have here, down week at MMA?

Yes, people, this weekend is one of the rarest events in professional sports. This is a Saturday without the UFC. With that in mind (and last weekend’s card was just as memorable as a team meeting on Tuesday afternoon), this week’s topic is primarily a discussion of future possibilities. So let’s grab our Dr. Strange and jump in immediately.

Tom Aspinoll and John Jones

“John Jones is playing with Hasbra in Thailand, playing like a baby, and doing nothing other than unifying the belt. Tom Aspinel is clearly okay to wait for Jones indefinitely, what can you do to force the UFC’s hand?”

there is nothing. Tom Aspinall can’t do anything to force anyone to do anything in this situation. What he is facing is a sad reality.

Due to the UFC’s market power, fighter jets have little leverage. The non-star fighter is almost entirely seen in the will of the UFC, but at this point, even the biggest stars of the sport can’t force the UFC’s hands. The only real weapon the star has to act in this fight is refuse to fight, but it doesn’t work when the problem makes John Jones fight him in the first place. It’s like trying to break up with your ex-girlfriend – it doesn’t work.

So Tom is functionally stuck with Limbo and is waiting for John to agree to fight him. We’re waiting for the UFC to raise an offer to John or the UFC to eventually stop it and strip John. And there’s nothing Tom can do about it.

That being said, if I were on Tom’s corner, I would be telling him to do two things. The first thing I do is fight someone else. All reasonable people recognize at this stage that Tom Aspinel is the real heavyweight champion, so they just need to protect the belt. There are no Kahorings or Needlings that John Jones can be a badge. And if you celebrate Jones on a great career and a happy retirement, that wouldn’t be the worst idea.

And the second thing I do is call UFC with this nonsense. Aspinall is now the longest intervening interim champion in UFC history and is approaching 600 days fast as interim champion. It’s the objectively awful look of the UFC, and it’s really vulnerable. They are actively hurting your legacy to a man who may never fight again. Make it effectively. Stand up for yourself. So what’s the worst thing they can do for you, will they sit you down? You’ve already done it. Since the majority of people know you’re here, start airing complaints and let them do their frigginy work.

The next great rivalry

“Are there two fighters who will form a rivalry for the next great UFC title fight?”

Man, this is a great question, but it also raised another question for me: What are our great rivalries these days? I think the answer is Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya, but they’ve only fought twice in MMA. Still, it’s probably the latest big thing, as Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland is definitely not counting.

Anyway, when it comes to the next great thing, I think people are people I wanted it It’s Islamic Makhachev and Ilia Topria, but it’s doubtful that we’ll get there. These two may still be fighting, but at this rate it appears to be a one-off deal.

If “Suga” can elicit Merab’s upset next month, there will be cases of Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley, but if that happens, there is also the possibility that the UFC will try to fill up Merab and protect O’Malley.

Currently, the 170 is the hottest division in sports, and there are many great competitions in the 170, but that’s also hard to call. It’s hard to imagine there will be many repetitive businesses in the near future. So with that in mind, I am willing to exist: Doricus Duplesis and Lineia de Ridder.

It is no secret that I have been one of the biggest supporters of both DDP and RDR over the years, and we Very close With these two beautiful violence, the eccentrics match each other. If RDR throtts Robert Whitaker later this year, he jumps the line at the middleweight division and when DDP (so he said “when”) beats Kamza Chimaev, we set it up for the best middleweight fight you’ve ever seen. And if RDR wins, DDP did enough to guarantee an immediate rematch. So these two might end up fighting a few times before it’s all said and done. At least I hope.

Most likely to succeed

“Who do you think is the most likely fighter jet that is not currently ranked in the top five in their category to win the belt?”

There are really many good options for this question. Intention Do that. With that in mind, here is a quick list by weight classes of the people fighting.

Flyweight: Joshua Van – He’s 23 and is amazing. If he continues to improve, he is well set up to grab the money in the end, but flyweights have many young batters coming to the pipe.

Bantamweight: Patchy Mix – This is just signing with the UFC and as a result, he has no rankings, but he’s really good.

Featherweight: Jean Silva – I was obsessed with the “Lord” Candidate Series Performance, and nothing changed my mind. Also, 23-year-old, incredibly talented Kevin Vallejos has the shade of Ilia Toplia. That’s a man you have to be careful about.

lightweight: Paddy Pinbullet. Ilia Topuria is not ranked lightweight, so he is qualified, but putting it aside and Pimblett won me. I didn’t really believe him at first, but he continues to improve and he will have many opportunities.

Welterweight: Ian Machado Gully. Joaquin Buckley and Michael Morales are the guys I bet on fighting for the title, but I’m not confident in my ability to win it. Garry gets a lot of hatred, but he is a very wonderful fighter and is still very young.

Middle class: rdr -duh. However, Caio Borralho is also legal.

Light Heavyweight And the heavyweight: Myton Almeida? These weight classes are awful.

Mackenzie Dern is the only person when it comes to women’s weight classes. Maybe Do it, but it is very suspicious.

But if you had to choose one of the “best” options, give Machado Garry. I’m very sure he’ll fight for the title at least once and he’s a really great fighter in weight class that could bring in a lot of turnover.

The biggest loser

“Do you think the current UFC champions are most likely to lose their belt next? We’ll include those who predict they’ll win the free lightweight belt.”

The odds maker suggests that it is Giuliana Pena, and I tend to agree. Pena defends the women’s bantamweight belt against Kayla Harrison at UFC 316, and I think she’s trying to get away.

Then, going back to the first question, I think Jones will have to ultimately give up on the belt. The same may be said about Zhang Weili, who appears to be heading towards the next 125, but please don’t include these two for the time being.

Apart from champion Pena, I think it’s most likely that he’ll lose his belt in his cage. Sorry, Australia, that’s my very rude, but that’s how I see things.

JDM will protect its belt against Islam Makhachev later this year. I didn’t bet my house on Islam, but I like his chances. Belal Muhammad makes it hard to Della Maddalena, and Islam is much better than Berals. He is the best fighter on the planet for reasons and I am giving him the bounty of doubt.

As for Volkanovski, his victory over Diego Lopez was legally inspiring. Being able to win a high level victory when you pass your Prime is a trait of the greatest greatest ever. But that’s a subtle line to walk. Volkanovski doesn’t look to me as he is in the form of the pinnacle anymore. And we don’t know how long he can eat up his father’s time while he missed it against the ropes.

Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who sent me a tweet (xs?)! Are there any burning questions about at least some relevance to combat sports? Then you are lucky because you can send your tweets to me, @jedkmeshewand I answer all the good things! As long as they’re good it doesn’t matter whether they’re local or insane. Thank you once more, and take a look at y’all next week.