Remember how beastly Michael Johnson looked vs Barboza?

[Joshua8531]

And he iced Poirier. Then everyone wrote off Poirier, who looked great vs Eddie, who barely beat/arguably lost to Pettis who is suppose to be washed up. The truth is we put too much stock in the mathematical difference in rankings, specifically at 155 where the margin of skill between #1 & #10 is minimal. Dariush/Barboza, Poirier/Eddie, Ferguson/Lee, Conor/Nate (even tho they fought at 170) are good examplea of this. Even Khabib was nearly KO'd by MJ & was stalemated by Tibau

Khabib was clearly KO'd by Johnson? Stop embarrassing yourself.

Ferguson is clearly on another level I would say also Khabib. McGregor we don't know. Nate ahh. Barboza could be in his next couple.

 

[Joshua8531]

Just watched, MJ was beating him on the feet and it wasn't even close.

Annnd thaaan?

 

[Joshua8531]

He beat the shit out of Khabib on the feet for as long as he could keep it there. He starched Dustin. Idk why he is so inconsistent but I don't think he's done shocking people.

Maybe in your opinion, would have to hear more of your opinion's.

Anyone who seen that fight and doesn't understand Khabib thoroughly raped him.

Not sure if there is much hope for you.

 

[barados]

Barboza fight - Feb 2015
USADA - July 2015

Maybe watch his fights instead of just looking at the fight finder. MJ probably has the worst fight IQ out of the top 10 in his division, he stopped using leg kicks against Diaz after the first round and didn't follow his game plan against Gaethje as well. And the Dariush decision was a robbery, there is no way anyone can give Beneil 2 rounds let alone a 10:8 round. USADA has jack shit to do with his losses.

 

[Soulkrusher]

Put on a clinic on how not to defend leg kicks in the first round

And then proceeded to ride off into the sunset with every ounce of MJs pride and dignity

 

[Rea_ctor]

Maybe watch his fights instead of just looking at the fight finder. MJ probably has the worst fight IQ out of the top 10 in his division, he stopped using leg kicks against Diaz after the first round and didn't follow his game plan against Gaethje as well. And the Dariush decision was a robbery, there is no way anyone can give Beneil 2 rounds let alone a 10:8 round. USADA has jack shit to do with his losses.

Shut up Michael, you're nothing without the roids and you know it.

 

[Toco]

MJ is great at taking a shit ton of damage in most of his UFC fights. Takes its toll. I was honestly scared for his health when khabib had him on the ground. ("I must be champion, you know this")

.

He was so far from done that Khabib had to BEG him to quit.

Heart of the lion

damn, prime khabib is a beast. a shame the motherfucker can't stay not injured, not making weight and not in ramadan

 

[CanCrusher77]

meh, barboza got better.

I think this is a good point. You could see a big difference in his boxing after that fight. Barboza didn't fight well when he was being pressured, and needed space to work. He fights way better in close quarters now.

 

[Roljo]

He looked big, confident and aggressive.

What happened to that guy? In his last 2 fights he's looked tiny and weak... Still skillful but not nearly the same.

Johnson beat barboza because of his stand up discipline, the brain damage khabib gave him must have made him forget it against gaethje

 

[Toco]

Before USADA performance.

Also look at :

Conor - setting INSANE pace and drowning Mendes and Holloway with barrage of strikes

Khabib - scoring like 40 takedowns in one fights, moving like a wolverine, insane quickness

For the examples from the very same division.

All those guys are still great, but had to slow down to more humane performances.

Conor last 8 minutes of punching

Khabib no longer moves like a blitz, that can throw you around all day, has to settle with conventional TDs and control.

#dubscreepingin

#regretnothing

now can anyone tell me what good thing USADA has done to the sport?

 

[CanCrusher77]

Michael Johnson is pretty basic. I'm actually shocked at the guys he's beaten and the ranking he's reached. Not a particularly good striker, not a boxer.... just athletic and explosive I guess

Maybe not the best fight IQ, but he is a pretty accurate striker, fast hands, and he definitely has power. I just don't think he is champion material. Excellent fighter overall though.

 

[CanCrusher77]

He's really only lost to Diaz, Gaejthe, and Khabib lately, which are all elite guys. So nothing happened, he just lost to great fighters.

Not to mention that he fought a motivated Diaz. Nate is a handful for any LW when he is on his game. That was one of Nate's best performances IMO.

 

[CanCrusher77]

Just watched, MJ was beating him on the feet and it wasn't even close.

I don't think anybody is disputing that MJ won the fight while it was standing. I think the point is MJ didn't hurt him as bad as people make it sound. Khabib got hit clean. No doubt about that, but he recovered quickly, and then owned MJ until it was stopped. He was also talking to him while beating on him lol. Gangster shit.

 

[Thaijitsu612]

How'd he look different? He was super aggressive against barboza but it was a super overrated performance. A ton of his strikes missed. The difference in strikes landed between the two was in single digits and barboza landed the bigger shots imo