UFC 257 Letdown/Hangover: The money that won't be made

 

A collective sigh escaped a lot of people's mouths seeing Conor slumped in round 2. I don't think Khabib was gonna come back TBH, but the game is fickle and the folks who now forgot his starching of Aldo and Cerrone, act like he's washed up because he got caught in a fight he won the first round et cetera. 

I'm bummed for the fight that might've been and the blockbuster of the lead-up to a Khabib sequel. I don't think Khabib sees any upside to fighting a punch heavy wrestler like Chandler who he will argue has only 1 win in the UFC. I've always thought a guy with a punch heavy attack, and stronr wrestling would be tough for him, but I doubt we'll see him come back for Michael Chandler. It also leaves us in this limbo of Gaethje has a loss to Poirier, Poirier is 1-1 with McGregor, I don't care what Nate Diaz wants to do because he's been gone for what feels like ages, and Khabib has beaten the top 3 guys. Hooker is now 0-2 in his last 2, and I don't think he wants a Gaethje fight after these 2 most recent losses. Lightweight is kinda a mess if we're being honest. Folks will stump for a trilogy/immediate rematch, and I don't doubt that having seen Poirier up close the next fight will be much closer (and likely longer) but either Khabib should move on from the UFC or decide he's going to face someone regardless of who it is. The marketing feels inauthentic when the champ does and says things that suggest no one is worthy of facing him. That may be the perception but saying that then charging folks 60+ dollars for a fight one of the combatants is saying is not meaningful lands poorly with audiences to some extent. Elsewhere at lightweight the forgotton guy is Charles Oliveira who no doubt deserves a crack at the title but is not the guy Khabib is going to come back to face. I think a fight between Poirier and Oliveira for the title makes sense in the event Poirier and McGregor don't run it back. 

Chandler did the best thing he could've done which is come in, and violently crush a top tier guy. When I picked Hooker for this fight I did not expect him to immediately start the fight backpedaling, and sure enough, he pulled away directly into the path of an oncoming looping hook. 

Elsewhere on the card: McMann seemed tired or slow to react with her back taken and her handfighting did her in eventually giving up the RNC. Tsarukyan showed real precision in mixing up his striking, takedowns, submission hunting, and top control against Matt Frevola. Brad Tavares looked very good coming off a long layoff and thwarting takedowns, getting back to his feet, and punishing Antonio Carlos Junior on the feet.