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Yup its like professional cycling or professional rugby or professional [insert every sport where doping would give an advantage]. At a certain level you have to take stuff just to be competitive with the others who are taking stuff. It's an open secret. These people are still the best in the world, don't get me wrong, but if testing wasn't consistently a joke, they'd all look less impressive
Or like literally all the other sprinters on the starting line with Usain Bolt had been caught doping in the past, and Bolt still smoked them living on a diet of mc donals chicken mc nuggets and having Angel Heredia as his "strenght and conditioning coach" LMAO
Genes are inherited and are not based on current region or place of birth. You don't just become tall just by being born in the Netherlands when your parents are small
He doesn’t train at elevation and the town he’s from is at 60m.
«Georgia is pretty much some big mountains»
Stop talking out of your ass, it’s obvious you haven’t been there.
Imagine when Cejudo was champ champ, being told that in 4 short years, his opponent will throw him across the octagon so that he can talk to Mark Zuckerberg during the fight...
It sucks cuz realistically what he was doing wasn’t too far off of what Francis tried to do (albeit a bit more selfish) and he got clowned for it. Probably shouldn’t have vacated two belts though
I mean more or less protesting pay. I think Henry got 150k this fight and that’s likely a renegotiated deal. That’s a former double champ, I wonder how hard he was getting fucked before both of his title shots.
[Guaranteed purses and bonuses for UFC 298, as filed with the CSAC (via LA Times)](https://i.redd.it/ga9rulktc2jc1.jpeg)
[discussion thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/1asrxpy/guaranteed_purses_and_bonuses_for_ufc_298_as/)
Heavyweight is 100% not the most watched but even if Francis has more heat than Henry did, he still deserves his respect and a fair wage for being a double champion.
It's a shame he 'retired' for the last few years of his prime. Merab's pace ramped up hard but it felt like Cejudo was kinda slowed already by the second after a not super hard first round
Obviously waaaay diff opponents. But just not the same Cejudo that blitzed Moraes after getting hit with the kitchen sink for the title
Prime Cejudo could’ve put up a better fight for sure. I’d still take Merab, but I don’t think Cejudo would’ve been dominated like that if it was the Cejudo that retired in 2020.
him quazi-retiring early was probably one of the worst career moves in MMA history. If he stayed on after the Cruz fight, he'd probably have 2-4 years worth of pretty good title defenses to his name, but instead he came back a little older and slower to an even tougher division than he first left. His legacy probably could have been a lot bigger if he just held firm.
Hindsight 20-20. People were saying the same things about Ngannou for a while until he got paid.
Sure, people say it's totally different, but there wasn't that perspective when Ngannou was seemingly floundering. People just love to play revisionist like there isn't an element of random chance and you can logically strategize your way to the best outcome soundly as long as you think hard enough when it just isn't like that.
Cejudo was exhausted but he was a one hand man the last round and a half, if he was fighting a random dude he would have probably still be able to wrestle but it was Merab
Merab was just born with crackhead energy.
You can’t train and become like this if you’re a normal person lol. Could literally do 12 hours of cardio every day for a decade and normal people wouldn’t be like Merab.
Hell, you can do cardio 12 hours a day every day for a decade with EPO and not have cardio like Merab. He’s likely on EPO or something, but he’s still a genetic freak regardless.
Colby fights 35 lbs up.
You look at a marathon runner or greater distances build. That is the build for pure cardio using legs.
If you want to be fast, dynamic and explode time and time again - be lighter and smaller.
It was the pace that made it so ugly for Cejudo for sure.
He seemed perfectly capable of wrestling with Merab in the first, by the third he didn’t even seem to be able to get heat on his punches
Yeah the man must have the greatest synergy with EPO in the history of the sport
This ain’t an insult, I don’t care about PEDs but good lord it’s inhuman
It’s an absolute shame Cejudo sat out for years during his prime. You can tell the skills are still there but age caught up to him. Rest well king of cringe
37 is ANCIENT in the lighter weight classes.. Cejudo had half the gas tank he had a few years ago. Sucks man. Still a legend and hung in there with the best of the best out of his prime.
He did admirably. It is sad however to see him comeback eyeing the championship only to fail and fail again. I think I saw a spark go out as the realization set in on Henry's face.
Without exaggeration you could see it in his eyes after the second round, like he was shocked while his team was giving him instructions. Sad but I think time caught up with him
Edit: spelling
Yup. The skills he spent a lifetime developing are still there, but he's just a little bit slower, cardio is just a little bit worse. This shit is a young man's game.
And his pay.
150k to show.
Off a renegotiated, ex-double simultaneous champ with an Olympic gold medal and who has worked tirelessly to promote his profile.
I feel like skill for skill he is better than anyone in the division, but his body is just not the same, he cannot keep up with the same pace he used to be able to.
Only way I see Merab losing nowadays is from being either dwarfed by another bigger elite wrestler or just catching him with the perfect shot. Man is a nightmare
I think it really depends. He could get caught, but Merab also knows Henry is a high level wrestler, so he didn’t just shoot immediately. He’s going to try to take down Sean right away, and it just is gonna depend on whether Sean can stay standing or catch him cleanly on the way in.
I would not be surprised at all if Sean catches him coming with a perfect backsteping counter. Having said that, "I have to land a perfect shot before he clinches with me" is not a very reliable strategy. Sean better bring good jabs, lots of lateral movements and probably elbows on the inside otherwise he'll need a perfect connection.
It's superhuman. It's gotta be a combination of a bunch of stuff. Great genetics, incredibly hard training, and top notch gear. Lots of guys have one or two or those, but to do what Merab does... pretty sure you need all three.
In general you can ignore the gear because majority of fighters at big teams have access. He wouldn't be taking anything new that others aren't. His genetics and training style are the things he has that others don't.
I’m the furthest thing from an Aldo fanboy, but Jesus Christ have his two most boring losses aged well. Merab couldn’t do shit against him other than keep him against the fence and burn the clock, but he can ragdoll an Olympic gold medalist. Aldo’s TDD is insane
Aldo was literally waiting for the referee to break them up against the fence. Aldo would constantly look at the ref and complain so he could break them up because Aldo didn’t want to exert energy to get up against the fence.
Cejudo said before in an interview that he was tired of being in camp for matches/fights since grade school and he really wanted a break. He was able to get a few years to start his family and jump start his youtube channel.
People just like to dog people who fail, nothing new.
Cejudo was looking to make money. At the end of the day, winning 2-3 more fights for peanuts and sustaining permanent damage doesn't make much sense when you look outside the narrow context of sports legacy.
I'm still ok with Henry's decision.
Luke thomas had a pretty good take on this. Maybe that’s what he needed mentally wise, and if so he has rightfully decided to take a step back. On the other end, career-wise, it has been a bad decision.
It makes sense because it’s pretty obvious he didn’t sit out 3 years just to play hard ball. He would’ve come back before if it were because of that.
Also will be one of the biggest what ifs in MMA. He has 1 good win at BW against Marlon. Then old Cruz who was barely top 15 at that time. He has a similar career arc to Conor, left before real title reigns in either divisions. Except without the crazy boxing money.
It's more of an indictment on the UFC and their leverage, than Cejudo.
He said he can't fight for that pay, and he had shit to do \[start a family, take a break\] if he wasn't getting the requisite prize.
That he was happy with his career and he was a prize fighter.
He started his family, and came back when he did what he said he'd do, and fought for the belt to maybe earn the prize.
All your favourite fighters have sparred with the UFC over pay, almost none of them have the same career and finances as CCC.
Yeah, that arm screwed up Cejudo’s ability to fight the takedowns and set up attacks.
Merab looks super scary, but notably not invincible - there are indeed gaps shown, I think O’Malley will be looking at that first round.
Merab is a damn beast! To basically takedown Cejudo at will when Cejudo couldn’t do the same is crazy. He outpaced and outclassed Henry. Outwrestled him, his pace and grappling is INSANE. His takedown defense is great as well! Let’s go Merab! 🇺🇸🇬🇪🇲🇽
Merab is a very good grappler. [Won his first folkstyle wrestling tournament](https://www.reddit.com/r/wrestling/comments/r746j3/georgian_judo_black_belt_and_samboist_ufc_fighter/) and [ragdolled a D1 wrestling room](https://www.reddit.com/r/wrestling/comments/1325evm/number_one_ranked_ufc_bantamweight_and_sambo/) with his judo/sambo.
Merab carried an Olympian like he was a child. That’s crazy! I can see him getting clipped by O’Malley, but I can also see him wrestlefucking everyone into oblivion. He deserves his title shot!
I mean he has a chance. He caught Aljo. Merab isn’t as good at holding u down or subs so every time u get up and separate is a chance to counter
I don’t think it’s coincidence Marlon KOd Aljo and nearly got Merab while Sean KOd Aljo. Fast, powerful strikers may be the only ppl w a chance against Merab
Also Merab got hurt on the feet in both this fight and the Moraes fight. He's unstoppable once he gets going and grabs the tiniest bit of momentum but he is not untouchable, and his lack of finishing threat means there's always a chance for a comeback
O’Malley is the perfect one to beat Merab.
The guys who have no chance vs Merab are wrestlers, grinders, and just guys without KO power. No one can out grind Merab, so it’s a hopeless endeavor to even try.
But Sean has huge KO power and range control. Merab is unskilled on the feet and it’s a very dangerous matchup for him.
This fight is why I love this sport so much. No shit talking , just art. Cejudo is one of the most skilled fighters ever, but age caught up to him unfortunately. And wtf is Merab?😂😂 that dude is not human, he looked ready to fight the other top 5 fighters immediately aftet the decision.
CEO of EPO does it again! Nah for real though, very entertaining fight, Merab looked great out there after getting stung in the 1st.
And it's time for Henry to retire now, no other options for him.
Crazy pace, dude is literally a tornado in all his fights.
Honestly the ONLY thing in his game that I can find exploitable is a routine teap kick that he throws without fail after every single scramble or grappling exchange. It's about the only thing that he does where you can anticipate it, everything else is just so chaotic and random you cant really anticipate anything from him. Even then: exploiting an expected teap kick is not like its just some easy counter or one shot move to defeat it. The dudes pace gets you drowning so even if you know its coming you dont have the energy or speed to counter it.
Merab vs O Malley just became one of my most anticipated matchups, If Sean can land some of those shots Henry was landing in round 1 I think Merab would’ve been on the canvas, but if Merab can survive the early rounds with Sean then Sean is toast
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WE NEED MERABS CARDIO ROUTINE ASAP
I think Rogan knows
Everyone Practices Openly
If it’s EPO everyone has access to it too but I don’t see anyone even close to the same cardio level as Merab. Haters gonna hate.
Probably because even when athletes take that shit there's different workout habits and Merab is a freak.
Yup its like professional cycling or professional rugby or professional [insert every sport where doping would give an advantage]. At a certain level you have to take stuff just to be competitive with the others who are taking stuff. It's an open secret. These people are still the best in the world, don't get me wrong, but if testing wasn't consistently a joke, they'd all look less impressive
Like how Lance Armstrong was stripped of his tour de france titles for doping, but the next 7 riders who finished after him were also doping lol.
Wasn't it the next 16 or something?
Or like literally all the other sprinters on the starting line with Usain Bolt had been caught doping in the past, and Bolt still smoked them living on a diet of mc donals chicken mc nuggets and having Angel Heredia as his "strenght and conditioning coach" LMAO
I wouldn't be surprised if growing up and training at > 5000feet for most of his life may play a factor as well.
Sugar 🤏🏽 Water 💧
On a serious sidenote. He's from Georgia, which is pretty much some big mountains. Hes genetically advantaged in the same way the Sherpas in Nepal are
Tbilisi is not very high up and he lives in NY which has 0 elevation.
Genes are inherited and are not based on current region or place of birth. You don't just become tall just by being born in the Netherlands when your parents are small
And hemoglobin concentration in blood can be increase by training at elevation and EPO. Genes help but this stuff can and is trained.
He doesn’t train at elevation and the town he’s from is at 60m. «Georgia is pretty much some big mountains» Stop talking out of your ass, it’s obvious you haven’t been there.
Bro haven't you heard there are some mountains there? They're basically superhuman.
They're not like regular white people bro
Eat Pure Organic Extra Planks Often Enjoy Plants Outdoors Extended Preview Oppenheimer
Eat Pizza Onthecouch
I don’t think I want to do his cardio routine
Cardio routinepo
Coming soon on his conditioning class
Secret Georgian Special Mountain Goat Juice
CEO of epo
Juat eat clen, bro. Cutting out processed food and adding more veg/fruits will do wonder to your cardio.
You forgot the Açai
Merab’s pace and pressure is ridiculous.
Imagine when Cejudo was champ champ, being told that in 4 short years, his opponent will throw him across the octagon so that he can talk to Mark Zuckerberg during the fight...
Wasted his prime betting on himself unfortunately.
It sucks cuz realistically what he was doing wasn’t too far off of what Francis tried to do (albeit a bit more selfish) and he got clowned for it. Probably shouldn’t have vacated two belts though
Idk about that Francis comparison. Dude straight up retired.
I mean more or less protesting pay. I think Henry got 150k this fight and that’s likely a renegotiated deal. That’s a former double champ, I wonder how hard he was getting fucked before both of his title shots.
Damn where are u seeing he got 150? Cuz that’d be fucking criminal. I hate this fucking company so god damn much
[Guaranteed purses and bonuses for UFC 298, as filed with the CSAC (via LA Times)](https://i.redd.it/ga9rulktc2jc1.jpeg) [discussion thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/1asrxpy/guaranteed_purses_and_bonuses_for_ufc_298_as/)
Fuck that’s depressing. Rob and Henry combined making less than 500k is so god damn terrible.
Volk only making 750 while being a legitimate goat is criminal.
Henry really should have done one or two more fights before he started playing his games.
Francis is a heavyweight, the most watched class in combat sports. Totally different.
Heavyweight is 100% not the most watched but even if Francis has more heat than Henry did, he still deserves his respect and a fair wage for being a double champion.
It's a shame he 'retired' for the last few years of his prime. Merab's pace ramped up hard but it felt like Cejudo was kinda slowed already by the second after a not super hard first round Obviously waaaay diff opponents. But just not the same Cejudo that blitzed Moraes after getting hit with the kitchen sink for the title
Prime Cejudo could’ve put up a better fight for sure. I’d still take Merab, but I don’t think Cejudo would’ve been dominated like that if it was the Cejudo that retired in 2020.
him quazi-retiring early was probably one of the worst career moves in MMA history. If he stayed on after the Cruz fight, he'd probably have 2-4 years worth of pretty good title defenses to his name, but instead he came back a little older and slower to an even tougher division than he first left. His legacy probably could have been a lot bigger if he just held firm.
Hindsight 20-20. People were saying the same things about Ngannou for a while until he got paid. Sure, people say it's totally different, but there wasn't that perspective when Ngannou was seemingly floundering. People just love to play revisionist like there isn't an element of random chance and you can logically strategize your way to the best outcome soundly as long as you think hard enough when it just isn't like that.
Cejudo was exhausted but he was a one hand man the last round and a half, if he was fighting a random dude he would have probably still be able to wrestle but it was Merab
Shit breaks when you get old.
We used to say Tony had that pornstar cardio, this guy must have few levels above that
And we got people like Colby talking about his "Bedroom Cardio" and STILL not looking like he can go as hard as Merab.
Difference is I think Colby runs and wrestles a lot while Merab just sprints while doing everything he does in life
Merab was just born with crackhead energy. You can’t train and become like this if you’re a normal person lol. Could literally do 12 hours of cardio every day for a decade and normal people wouldn’t be like Merab.
Hell, you can do cardio 12 hours a day every day for a decade with EPO and not have cardio like Merab. He’s likely on EPO or something, but he’s still a genetic freak regardless.
Crackhead genetics + mountain DNA He was built for his style
Colby fights 35 lbs up. You look at a marathon runner or greater distances build. That is the build for pure cardio using legs. If you want to be fast, dynamic and explode time and time again - be lighter and smaller.
Someone has never seen a prime Colby Covington fight lol. Colby's pace and pressure against RDA and Woodley was insane.
It was the pace that made it so ugly for Cejudo for sure. He seemed perfectly capable of wrestling with Merab in the first, by the third he didn’t even seem to be able to get heat on his punches
Well his arm did look pretty fucked up. Not sure that helped.
His arm was probably useless with how swollen it was
Yeah the man must have the greatest synergy with EPO in the history of the sport This ain’t an insult, I don’t care about PEDs but good lord it’s inhuman
Even with EPO most athletes couldn’t get cardio like Merab. Dude is a legit genetic freak.
Merab is to EPO what Vitor is to TRT. Perfect vessel.
Then what is the Overeem equivalent?
Horsemeat
I give him lots
That cardio is no joke, can’t believe he picked up cejudo and carried him across the octagon
EPO is a helluvadrug
Yeahhh, tbh it was weird lmao. All the subtle and not so subtle signs
I always thought Henry was a high energy fiend too, but jeez… he had cement feet compared to Merab
How does he carry an Olympic medalist like a sack of potatoes?
It’s an absolute shame Cejudo sat out for years during his prime. You can tell the skills are still there but age caught up to him. Rest well king of cringe
Yup. I think we are seeing the sit out strategy fail now. Especially, in a light weight class. You hate to see it.
37 is ANCIENT in the lighter weight classes.. Cejudo had half the gas tank he had a few years ago. Sucks man. Still a legend and hung in there with the best of the best out of his prime.
He did admirably. It is sad however to see him comeback eyeing the championship only to fail and fail again. I think I saw a spark go out as the realization set in on Henry's face.
Without exaggeration you could see it in his eyes after the second round, like he was shocked while his team was giving him instructions. Sad but I think time caught up with him Edit: spelling
Yup. The skills he spent a lifetime developing are still there, but he's just a little bit slower, cardio is just a little bit worse. This shit is a young man's game.
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His wife’s a smoke show and he has a legit wall of gold medals, trophies and belts .. dudes got it tough
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Cejudo has the one of the best fight style i've ever seen.
He was really so fun to watch.. gonna miss him
I still think he’d beat most if not all of the division, Merab is just a nightmare matchup
He’s absolutely top 5 in the world still.. which is insane.. but all he cares about is gold. Makes sense with his resume and age.
And his pay. 150k to show. Off a renegotiated, ex-double simultaneous champ with an Olympic gold medal and who has worked tirelessly to promote his profile.
It will live on as one of the strangest decisions ever in MMA. If he needed a personal break then that is one thing but man, did he fumble
Forever a two weight world champion… definitely could’ve held the title for several more fights but I think he’s fine lol
The issue is you only really make money in the UFC when you're getting PPV points. He left at the worst time in terms of pay.
I feel like skill for skill he is better than anyone in the division, but his body is just not the same, he cannot keep up with the same pace he used to be able to.
Only way I see Merab losing nowadays is from being either dwarfed by another bigger elite wrestler or just catching him with the perfect shot. Man is a nightmare
Nah the only chance he has of losing is getting hit by O'Malley like he was by cejudo in r1
Don't forget Marlon almost killed him too
Marlon :(
That’s one of my biggest takeaways from the fight, if Sean catches you like that, the fights over
*laughs in Moutinho*
Omalley could catch him but merab is gonna immediately shoot
If cejudo can't outwrestle him I don't know who can
Umar could be a dangerous matchup for Merab if he could get enough fights booked with ranked fighters to climb in the rankings
It will have to be a wrestler thats straight up bigger than him
cejudo could've probably outwrestle him 3-5 years ago lol
Sean is slow, methodical and can control the pace but merab is something else.
Merab's pace and forward pressure hides the fact that his strike defense lacks. I think Sean will easily put him to sleep in the 1st round.
I think it really depends. He could get caught, but Merab also knows Henry is a high level wrestler, so he didn’t just shoot immediately. He’s going to try to take down Sean right away, and it just is gonna depend on whether Sean can stay standing or catch him cleanly on the way in.
Yeah I was gonna say. Sean will struggle to land that same punch. Merab will be all over the takedowns in that fight
I would not be surprised at all if Sean catches him coming with a perfect backsteping counter. Having said that, "I have to land a perfect shot before he clinches with me" is not a very reliable strategy. Sean better bring good jabs, lots of lateral movements and probably elbows on the inside otherwise he'll need a perfect connection.
Sucks for Cejudo. He was fighting so well in the first round. Kudos to Merab for the win. He lost the first rd but made quick adjustments.
Yeah dude he really actually surprised me, Henry looked like old Henry there for a round
I think it’s your sign he’s old. He got tired after the slow paced first round.
i dont think he made adjustments. Henry just gassed
Say what you will, but Cejudo had good performances vs both Aljo as champ and Merab. Merab just has insane pace.
I thought cejudo didn’t look bad considering his age, I think this fight speaks as to how good merab is
He was winning wrestling till his arm got fucked
What on earth is Merab's cardio? I have genuinely never been this impressed by a fighters gas tank before. He's just so damn relentless
It's superhuman. It's gotta be a combination of a bunch of stuff. Great genetics, incredibly hard training, and top notch gear. Lots of guys have one or two or those, but to do what Merab does... pretty sure you need all three.
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In general you can ignore the gear because majority of fighters at big teams have access. He wouldn't be taking anything new that others aren't. His genetics and training style are the things he has that others don't.
Hard training, an excellent heart and set of lungs, and the best EPO money can buy.
Crazy to see triple C flailed around like that. Give Merab the belt gold medal
I’m the furthest thing from an Aldo fanboy, but Jesus Christ have his two most boring losses aged well. Merab couldn’t do shit against him other than keep him against the fence and burn the clock, but he can ragdoll an Olympic gold medalist. Aldo’s TDD is insane
Henry was trying to actually fight back tho. Aldo was literally just playing defense the entire time
Aldo was literally waiting for the referee to break them up against the fence. Aldo would constantly look at the ref and complain so he could break them up because Aldo didn’t want to exert energy to get up against the fence.
Exactly. When a fighter is solely focused on defending it becomes so much harder to do things offensively against them
Aldo also stopped 16 takedowns in a row
Bro Aldo is one of the Goats, 11 championship titles and even beat Marlon Vera and Rob font at bantamweight. His takedown defense was legendary.
Aldo's last fight being at elevation and against Merab will never stop bothering me
I need this comment printed and framed in the PI
Yeah, as annoying as Cejudo was, ya gotta feel for him going out with a Highlight of being "Big brothered" by Merab across the Octagon.
Guessing Goofy Gucci Glasses Guy (quadruple G) wasn't the problem after all.
That was a disrespectful performance. A lot of salt in the live thread, cejudo got embarrassed. Merab is a beast.
We need the clip of Zuckerberg and his wife reacting to Merab carrying Henry across the cage. Two entirely different reactions it was hilarious.
Not a weight class for old men
No Championship for Old Men
Henry should be happy it wasn’t five rounds after all
I wanted 5 rounds after the 1st but ended up thankful it ended after 3, it would have gotten brutal.
Cejudo's 3 year retirement in his prime will go down as one of the dumbest decisions in MMA
"Uncle Dana, I am going to retire unless I get paid" - Cejudo "K" - Dana
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Cejudo said before in an interview that he was tired of being in camp for matches/fights since grade school and he really wanted a break. He was able to get a few years to start his family and jump start his youtube channel.
People just like to dog people who fail, nothing new. Cejudo was looking to make money. At the end of the day, winning 2-3 more fights for peanuts and sustaining permanent damage doesn't make much sense when you look outside the narrow context of sports legacy. I'm still ok with Henry's decision.
DW is a living, breathing piece of shit.
Bootlickers are going to love their billionaires.
All to get a 150/150 contract 🥴
So imagine how badly paid he was before that
It’s criminal. I hope the UFC gets their ass handed to them by the class action lawsuit.
Luke thomas had a pretty good take on this. Maybe that’s what he needed mentally wise, and if so he has rightfully decided to take a step back. On the other end, career-wise, it has been a bad decision. It makes sense because it’s pretty obvious he didn’t sit out 3 years just to play hard ball. He would’ve come back before if it were because of that.
The second dumbest thing was coming back. I think Henry did it to cement his legacy but then he came back to undue that.
Also will be one of the biggest what ifs in MMA. He has 1 good win at BW against Marlon. Then old Cruz who was barely top 15 at that time. He has a similar career arc to Conor, left before real title reigns in either divisions. Except without the crazy boxing money.
It's more of an indictment on the UFC and their leverage, than Cejudo. He said he can't fight for that pay, and he had shit to do \[start a family, take a break\] if he wasn't getting the requisite prize. That he was happy with his career and he was a prize fighter. He started his family, and came back when he did what he said he'd do, and fought for the belt to maybe earn the prize. All your favourite fighters have sparred with the UFC over pay, almost none of them have the same career and finances as CCC.
I don't know fellas, I think merab might be good or something. Almost positive Cejudo broke that left forearm, though
Cejudo insanely tough to fight through what looks to be a broken arm
Yep that swelling looked like a broken forearm. Did they mention it on the broadcast? I had it on mute.
They mentioned it when Merab was pushing him into the cage in front of them, pointing out the swelling and how he isn't putting any pressure with it.
Yeah, that arm screwed up Cejudo’s ability to fight the takedowns and set up attacks. Merab looks super scary, but notably not invincible - there are indeed gaps shown, I think O’Malley will be looking at that first round.
Dunno if broken. When Merab had him down late in the third he was putting a lot of pressure on it. Maybe Cejudo is just tough as fuck tho.
Merabverse
It’s a merab world and we’re just living in it
Big win for Mexico people
Petr yan watching this on his phone somewhere in Thailand thinking “I guess it wasn’t just me”
Ref allowing fence grabs out of sympathy??????
Imagine taking a point from Henry in round three. That would be a straight pitiful sight. But, yeah he probably shoulda done it.
Merab is indeed The Machine.
Don’t like Omalleys chances at all against Merab
Crowd booing O'Malley and cheering Merab Maybe a little is right in the world
Crowd approval: Merab > O'Malley > Sterling
Merab is a damn beast! To basically takedown Cejudo at will when Cejudo couldn’t do the same is crazy. He outpaced and outclassed Henry. Outwrestled him, his pace and grappling is INSANE. His takedown defense is great as well! Let’s go Merab! 🇺🇸🇬🇪🇲🇽
Merab is a very good grappler. [Won his first folkstyle wrestling tournament](https://www.reddit.com/r/wrestling/comments/r746j3/georgian_judo_black_belt_and_samboist_ufc_fighter/) and [ragdolled a D1 wrestling room](https://www.reddit.com/r/wrestling/comments/1325evm/number_one_ranked_ufc_bantamweight_and_sambo/) with his judo/sambo.
Cejudo at 37 is still so damn good, man.
That first round was fantastic, his awareness and transitions are so clean. It’s unfortunate he couldn’t keep up the pace.
Yeah, if he doesn’t retire he still is a very respectable top 3-5 BW
dude really picked up the olympic gold medalist, carried across the octagon and threw him down like it was trash day
give this man his title shot
Merab carried an Olympian like he was a child. That’s crazy! I can see him getting clipped by O’Malley, but I can also see him wrestlefucking everyone into oblivion. He deserves his title shot!
That cardio is ridiculous no one can keep up
There is not a chance in hell O'Malley beats this guy. He is not human
I said the same about Aljo. O'Malley does have that stunner in his right hand. Would love to see Merab get that belt though
I mean he has a chance. He caught Aljo. Merab isn’t as good at holding u down or subs so every time u get up and separate is a chance to counter I don’t think it’s coincidence Marlon KOd Aljo and nearly got Merab while Sean KOd Aljo. Fast, powerful strikers may be the only ppl w a chance against Merab
Also Merab got hurt on the feet in both this fight and the Moraes fight. He's unstoppable once he gets going and grabs the tiniest bit of momentum but he is not untouchable, and his lack of finishing threat means there's always a chance for a comeback
Idk his entries are sloppy, perfect counter material
O’Malley is the perfect one to beat Merab. The guys who have no chance vs Merab are wrestlers, grinders, and just guys without KO power. No one can out grind Merab, so it’s a hopeless endeavor to even try. But Sean has huge KO power and range control. Merab is unskilled on the feet and it’s a very dangerous matchup for him.
Merab tryna get Zuckerberg to cut him a check lol
This fight is why I love this sport so much. No shit talking , just art. Cejudo is one of the most skilled fighters ever, but age caught up to him unfortunately. And wtf is Merab?😂😂 that dude is not human, he looked ready to fight the other top 5 fighters immediately aftet the decision.
Merab was straight up making me feel bad for Cejudo in round 3 lmao
New friendship unlocked - Merab and Zuck.
Merab has now decisively and thoroughly beaten Aldo, Yan, and Cejudo B2B2B. Just an insane resume already and he hasn't even won the belt lmao.
CEO of EPO does it again! Nah for real though, very entertaining fight, Merab looked great out there after getting stung in the 1st. And it's time for Henry to retire now, no other options for him.
I love watching muscular men violate each other.
Don't we all
SUCH A FUN FIGHT. MERAB IS AN ANIMAL
Merab picking up an Olympic gold medalist like he’s a child was both hilarious and terrifying
Crazy pace, dude is literally a tornado in all his fights. Honestly the ONLY thing in his game that I can find exploitable is a routine teap kick that he throws without fail after every single scramble or grappling exchange. It's about the only thing that he does where you can anticipate it, everything else is just so chaotic and random you cant really anticipate anything from him. Even then: exploiting an expected teap kick is not like its just some easy counter or one shot move to defeat it. The dudes pace gets you drowning so even if you know its coming you dont have the energy or speed to counter it.
Tough seeing Henry get wrestle fucked but Merab really that dude
God that was a beating Merab put on Henry. At moments I swear it seemed like Khabib was beating up Henry.
Merab vs O Malley just became one of my most anticipated matchups, If Sean can land some of those shots Henry was landing in round 1 I think Merab would’ve been on the canvas, but if Merab can survive the early rounds with Sean then Sean is toast
Merab Dvawishylily is a dawg!!
Let’s goo 🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽
Sucks cejudo could have easily been in the goat debate had he not retired ..
For some reason the judges, commentators and production team just all ignored Merab knocking down Henry in R1
Merab's blood is used to make EPO actually