The Trenches, Ep. 44 Poll: Like Manny Pacquiao, which fighter can remain elite after they turn 40?

Like Manny Pacquiao, which fighter could remain elite after they turned 40?


  • Total voters
    51
TITS - Both Leon Edwards and Raquel Pennington are nicknamed “Rocky” and both took home wins. Who do you think is more deserving of the “Rocky” nickname?
 
Pretty odd choices.

Conor seems a bit out of place considering he's basically retired and has lost a few of his last fights.
 
brackis1 - Does the Arlovski slur come as a way to pivot Hardy away from looking bad in a matchup?
 
Anderson Silva - Would you consider Trinaldo vs Hernandez the biggest steal in UFC history? I can’t think of a bigger robbery.
 
Yojimbo - Last week I lamented the MMA Gods for cursing us with Ortiz vs Alberto Del Rio, but now it seems their apology has come in the form of Cerrone vs Gaethje. What are you looking forward to the most about this fight?
 
Cormier would still remain elite in the next few years if he decided to continue to fight imo

Romero is the ultimate example of someone who's still elite in his 40s. It's crazy when you think the guy is 42 and still the 2nd best MW. He gave Whittaker the toughest fight of his career.

It's hard to say which guys will still remain elite in their 40s. Especially if these guys are in their early 30s right now. Lots can happen in 2 years in MMA not to mention 5-10.

I'd say Jon Jones has a pretty good chance of staying elite if he's careful with his health. He has been fighting for a long time but hasn't taken too much damage.
 
Follow-up question from last week: On the previous episode we discussed One FC and its threats to Will Chope about his comments on their drug testing policies. Since then, WADA has chimed in saying that One FC is not associated with or signatory of WADA, while reminding everyone they are not a testing agency. Thoughts?
 
They can surely pass the drug tests but gear allows you to compete longer at better shape.
Jones has looked way slower in the past 9 months or so and he is only 32, should be at his prime now.
Khabib could possibly do it but he is already talking about retiring after few fights or so and his weight cuts are killing him so I don't see him competing after 35.
Even though smaller guys age worse because speed>power at lighter divisions Cejudo at 32 looks to be in phenomenal shape right now and at his prime and no words of retiring, could possibly see him be elite still at 40 but it's still a long shot.
Don't know enough about Usman to really say anything but his knees seem to be really fucked up and that could play a huge factor in his careers longevity.
I don't see Conor having more than 1-3 fights in his career.

In MMA it seems to be really difficult to stay on top for long perioids of time even if you're younger.
Agreed on all the points.

To add guys that weren't in the poll options, Woodley seems like a good canditate for still being elite in his 40s. He's 36 right now. The artheritis in his hands could be an issue though.

Tony Ferguson is 35 and is ranked #1. He does take a lot of damage in his fights but doesn't fight very often.

But like you said, in MMA it's really tough to stay on top for long periods. The guys who are 30 and are on top right now could find themselves fighting on the prelims against medicore guys by the time they're 35.
 
To add guys that weren't in the poll options, Woodley seems like a good canditate for still being elite in his 40s. He's 36 right now. The artheritis in his hands could be an issue though.

Tony Ferguson is 35 and is ranked #1. He does take a lot of damage in his fights but doesn't fight very often.
From what I gathered, the hosts were looking at top guys in the sport that are currently in their prime (28-32). Max Holloway could be another choice. That way, it's asking if we think these champ-level fighters will still be at that level 10-ish years later.
 
was just thinking about this the other day
In terms of longevity the closest thing to Manny are Randy and Hendo , Both had good success in their 40s.
They werent as successful as Manny though.
 
BRaVo cHoKe - How do you think Weidman will fare at light heavyweight? Can 185-pound grapplers survive at 205?
 
From what I gathered, the hosts were looking at top guys in the sport that are currently in their prime (28-32). Max Holloway could be another choice. That way, it's asking if we think these champ-level fighters will still be at that level 10-ish years later.
I see. That's almost impossible to predict though. But i'd certainly favor the guys who fight in the higher weight classes (WW and above) and who have started fighting elite competition later in their careers.

Usman at 32 and just turned champ seems like a good pick.
 
The next question is our poll!
 
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UFC 240 Who You Got
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Voted Jones because its easier at the higher weightclasses.
But I would rather say Ngannou
 
Are we are talking about fights with no drug testing like the manny pacquiao fight or are we talking about fights with USADA?
 
DC and it’s already proven.
Citing Jones is a joke as he’s a proven juicer. You can’t judge the longevity of guys who are cheating. Look at what happened to Vitor when he tried to fight clean.
 
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