was tony ever that good

[Do better]

most of his vistories are over gatekeepers like cerrone , pettis and lee

edit (found this post on FB)

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Victories*
Yes he was as good as his ranking suggested. He is old, his lack of fundamentals are more apparent now that he isn't physically superior. Michael Jordan didn't go far with the wizards, I guess he wasn't that good. Do you see how ridiculous that is?

 

[mmafan559]

yes go fuck yourself

 

[The Schmoop]

I think there was a time when he could’ve beaten Justin and Dustin. Sure, by the time he faced Justin he had been through a lot of wars, was reaching his late 30s and was post-knee surgery. And Justin was hitting the form of his life.

But if Tony fought Justin during the time he fought Alvarez and DP I think he could’ve beaten him for sure.

Similarly, the version of Poirier who lost to Johnson and had a war with Jim Miller wasn’t gonna run through Tony in the least.

This always happens with guys who get a little older. We look at whoever is currently in peak form and decide they always would’ve beaten the guy. Luque would crush Fitch, Vettori would crush Rich Franklin, etc. IMO it’s bullshit.

Tony was rocked and dropped by a Pettis punch. Any version of Tony has issues with any version of Gaethje, Porier, Conor or khabib. Not all fighters are championship caliber. That’s not to say he didn’t have an excellent career.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

we've been over this, no.

He's kinda like a beniel dariush type fighter, making a name off of washed up fighters and thinking he's elite for it.

Oh cmon. No way. That’s flagrant revisionism.

Barboza was very close to his peak and Tony just drowned him in violence of all sorts. Right after that fight Edson looked awesome in wins over Pettis, Melendez and the amazing Dariush KO.

RDA was coming off a flash KO loss but still had quite a bit left in the tank (in fact he’s still at an elite level). While RDA was in need of a reboot at that moment, it’s very very rare for elite fighters to meet when both were at their absolute apex. Very few lightweights have ever got the best of RDA in a sustained battle. Tony won decisively.

Thomson was getting up there but had recently KO’d Nate Diaz (which nobody does) and was coming up very close split decisions peak Henderson and Bobby Green. Ferguson just overwhelmed him.

Cerrone was getting up their (as was Tony) but had just completely smoked Hernandez and Raging Al in his return to 155. Couldn’t answer the bell after ten minutes of Tony.

Pettis was past his peak too but was still capable of beating good lightweights like Miller and Chiesa and would go on to knock out Wonderboy. Couldn’t handle ten minutes of Tony either.

Tony was rocked and dropped by a Pettis punch. Any version of Tony has issues with any version of Gaethje, Porier, Conor or khabib. Not all fighters are championship caliber. That’s not to say he didn’t have an excellent career.

Issues? Absolutely, I agree. But he’s survived being hit really hard because he had a terrific chin. Dustin and Justin beat the crap out of each other for four rounds before the finish came. I don’t think Tony was suddenly gonna be shut off by the same strikes.

I’m not saying Tony is a lock to win those matchups, not by any stretch. But I also don’t think it’s fair to assume he’d just get owned. He was a junk yard dog at his best and was dangerous everywhere.

 

[The Schmoop]

Oh cmon. No way. That’s flagrant revisionism.

Barboza was very close to his peak and Tony just drowned him in violence of all sorts. Right after that fight Edson looked awesome in wins over Pettis, Melendez and the amazing Dariush KO.

RDA was coming off a flash KO loss but still had quite a bit left in the tank (in fact he’s still at an elite level). While RDA was in need of a reboot at that moment, it’s very very rare for elite fighters to meet when both were at their absolute apex. Very few lightweights have ever got the best of RDA in a sustained battle. Tony won decisively.

Thomson was getting up there but had recently KO’d Nate Diaz (which nobody does) and was coming up very close split decisions peak Henderson and Bobby Green. Ferguson just overwhelmed him.

Cerrone was getting up their (as was Tony) but had just completely smoked Hernandez and Raging Al in his return to 155. Couldn’t answer the bell after ten minutes of Tony.

Pettis was past his peak too but was still capable of beating good lightweights like Miller and Chiesa and would go on to knock out Wonderboy. Couldn’t handle ten minutes of Tony either.


Issues? Absolutely, I agree. But he’s survived being hit really hard because he had a terrific chin. Dustin and Justin beat the crap out of each other for four rounds before the finish came. I don’t think Tony was suddenly gonna be shut off by the same strikes.

I’m not saying Tony is a lock to win those matchups, not by any stretch. But I also don’t think it’s fair to assume he’d just get owned. He was a junk yard dog at his best and was dangerous everywhere.

I think Tony would be competitive with damn near anyone. I don’t think they blow him out of the water but I don’t see him beating them. As you mentioned, he butchered some top LWs and belongs near the top which is where I put him. I just can’t see him beating any of the four I mentioned.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Oh cmon. No way. That’s flagrant revisionism.

fret not, I was being sarcastic.

this guy is saying that everyone tony fought was shot, but you can say that tony is shot and beneil just fought him anyway. so what does it matter? it's a stupid question and a stupid discussion

 

[chs140]

He was technically really good too

Where