Hey everyone, here’s this week’s mailbag post chocked full of answers to the questions YOU wanted ask. Now, we didn’t get around to everything, but I am keeping all those questions logged and will try and get the answers to those in a future edition.
Here’s what we talked about this week:
Question: Did DDP look much improved because of the age and size advantages he had over Usman or was it because he’s actually leveled up that much? The answer can’t be both ;). (Chucs)
Andrew Richardson: The answer is both, but DDP was especially sharp. I wrote about all his improvements in detail RIGHT HERE!
Jesse Holland: Like Khabib said, it’s easy to look like a lion when you’re up against sheep (I’m paraphrasing). The 39-year-old Usman is not washed up by any means but we have weight classes for a reason – and Du Plessis is seven years younger.
Alex Behunin: While DDP did look like he leveled up a lot, he is a big boy at Middleweight, and that played a lot into his win. He hurt Usman a lot, something that never really happened to him at WW.
Thomas Myers: I feel like DDP let him off the hook more than once – had Usman wobbling in almost every round. The fact that he was calm, patient and didn’t rush into anything shows a high level of intelligence and restraint. I would have loved to see DDP get a finish, but I was impressed with his ability to stick to the script. He did look cartoon-ishly larger than Usman, but there are weight classes for a reason. Usman should stick to 170 and/or retire – the Khamzat “success” might have over-inflated his already over-inflated ego.
Tim Edwards: I think Du Plessis deserves a lot of credit. He followed a very smart gameplan and used great technique on those knees to disrupt Usman’s takedowns and the headkick to make Usman wobbly for half the fight. I also don’t think Usman is “washed”. He looked great against Buckley and I think there’s some good Middleweights out there he can beat. He might not be able to ragdoll them around, but he’s still good on his feet. He took a round off Du Plessis with his striking, after all (I also don’t agree with those 50-45 scores).
Q: After the fight, Usman has come out with an excuse that his sight was compromised in round two or three, leading to the loss. What do you think about that? And also what do you think about this trend of losing fighters coming out with some sort of major physical excuse or unprovable excuse that’s why they lost or can’t perform to their standard? (JudgefnMueller13)
Andrew Richardson: Usman lost vision because DDP punched him in the face — that’s fighting! The explanation for why this happens is that fighting requires a certain level of delusion, so fighters have to explain to themselves why they’re still the Baddest Man On The Planet despite having just lost. If they don’t believe that to be true, they stop winning entirely.
Jesse Holland: Most fighters are very insecure and struggle to accept defeat. They are not trying to convince fans with these ridiculous excuses, they are trying to convince themselves. If you get punched in the eye by a trained fighter, chances are your vision will be compromised. Welcome to fighting. Usman was the underdog for a reason and perfect vision was not going to save him from defeat.
Thomas Myers: Every fighter, almost always, is going to come into a fight with some type of bump, bruise, soreness … something. Getting punched in the eye, mid-cage fight, is not a good excuse, at all. It’s terribly ridiculous. I hope that once he watches it back, he will realize how stupid he sounded. But, maybe not? Maybe he will just switch up excuses and blame a torn pec for all those times DDP had him doing the Stanky Leg. Usman has a very fragile ego – I think Belal proved that when he didn’t like the words being used against him during that podcast dust up. It’s hard going from Welterweight GOAT to self-proclaimed “Moneyweight” fighter … at age 40.
Tim Edwards: I think we’re being a little unkind to Usman with all this. I think Alex Pereira’s unusual response to his fight with Cyril Gane have us all feeling a little fatigue when it comes to excuses. Usman’s complaints about his vision are fair. He was punched in the eye and it did affect him. In the post-fight chat he didn’t call that a foul or anything. He rightly said it was a punch where the thumb his his eye. So I don’t think this is a trend, so much as we are just more sensitive to these things after Freedom 250.
Q: The top of the middleweight division is kind of chaotic at the moment. DDP looked great against Usman. He’s beat Strickland twice, but was fully outclassed by Borz. So, if you were the matchmaker for the next title shot, what do you think makes the most sense for both the company and us fans? Keeping in mind that any decision involving booking Khamzat likely holds the division up for 8-10 months (Fighting_From_The_Couch)
Andrew Richardson: Book Strickland vs. Imavov next, then DDP vs. Brendan Allen winner (aka DDP) takes on the victor. Send Borz up to Light Heavyweight like he wanted in the immediate aftermath of the Strickland loss.
Jesse Holland: Beating a rickety welterweight who is way past his prime didn’t really do anything for Dricus Du Plessis except cure his wounded ego. Sorry Khamzat, but you don’t get an immediate rematch without a single title defense and Nassourdine Imavov has earned his shot at the strap after beating Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier. I’d like to see Du Plessis fight No. 5-ranked Brendan Allen and Khamzat fight No. 4-ranked Joe Pyfer.
Alex Behunin: I don’t believe Khamzat Chimaev deserves an immediate title shot with no title defenses – and as much as I don’t care for Nassourdine Imavov, he clearly deserves a crack at the title. DDP should probably get another shot but beating Usman doesn’t really do anything so he can fight Brendan Allen like Andrew said.
Thomas Myers: Strickland is dealing with a shoulder injury that could sideline him until late 2026 / early 2027. Imavov is next man up, but that’s a long time to wait (last fight was Sept. 2025). Imavov vs. DDP for interim title / true No. 1 contender? Seems like a very UFC-like thing to do. It would be a fun one, too.I like Brendan Allen vs. Joe Pyfer. The Khamzat rematch will be there whenever UFC wants it (and whenever Khamzat is ready). I have zero interest in Strickland vs. Khamzat 2 if I am being totally honest. I have zero interest in Sean Strickland, ever, actually so interim title it is!
Tim Edwards: A title elimination between DDP and Chimaev makes a lot of sense, but I think it’s unfeasible given how unreliable Chimaev is. I’d like to see Imavov given a chance, just to freshen things up. He’s earned it with his winning streak and the fact Strickland beat him once doesn’t matter, considering how many of the other fights on tap are all rematches.
Q: With the Islam Garry fight upcoming, how much tread does Islam have left on his career? Is a loss to an annoying and perhaps less than favored by the fans opponent who is physically much bigger a significant blow to islam’s career, does he then go back to 55 or does he forge ahead and stay the path at 170? Or is there another scenario that possible? (Chucs)
Jesse Holland: If Islam loses, I think he sticks around at 170 for at least one more fight. Moving up was as much about the weight cut as it was about the belt. Can’t imagine he’s in any big hurry to revisit 155 after turning 35 in October.
Alex Behunin: It just feels like Islam is going to dip out sooner rather than later. It would be hard to see him retire off a loss, so assuming he loses, he’d probably fight one more time
Andrew Richardson: Impossible to say exactly, but I would be surprised if Islam fights more than three times total (counting Garry as one).
Thomas Myers: Islam Makhachev is not losing to Ian Machado-Garry. And then he probably smokes Carlos Prates or Michael Morales … one of those types. Then, I think, UFC should give him the one-off chance to get a third belt at Middleweight. His Lightweight championship resume is sorta weird, beating a Featherweight (twice) and two short notice replacements (Moicano and Poirier). I’d like to see if he is who he says he is. Ride off into the sunset, triple champ – the only way to eclipse his mentor, Khabib. I’d bet the house he beats Sean Strickland tomorrow if given the opportunity.
Tim Edwards: I don’t think Makhachev is going to be around much longer. He’s following the example set out by Nurmagomedov and he already seems to be at the stage where he becoming a team captain/coach. I think a win over Garry Machado might be a fitting swansong for him (the Nurmagomedov path also includes going out on top). This would be unsatisfying to us, since there are a lot of good contenders at 170. But that’s also part of the Nurmagomedov playbook right, leave them wanting more. I also think, like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev seems to be pretty satisfied with life overall and doesn’t need training camps and fights to find meaning. I think he might be very content to fight once or twice and then just enjoy his money and his farm up in the mountains.
Q: Arman Tsarukyen got beat finally by Covington in RAF this weekend, after putting together a nice run of grappling wins. So does the UFC finally get the lightweight his title opportunity (after narrowly missing the makachev fight with an injury) or do they go in a different direction now that he isn’t on a huge superstar-esque combat sports win streak. Because then the UFC would have had to really pay Arman, had he come back, won the 155 title, while also holding a RAF grappling title and being able to call his title win. (Kinda like McGregor) (JudgefnMueller13)
Alex Behunin: I honestly believe the UFC brass doesn’t even watch RAF so Arman has nothing to worry about. Everything is pointing to him fighting Charles Oliveira in LA at UFC 331 – I would expect that announcement soon.
Q: Chaos just outwrestled Tsarukyan, the UFC’s lightweight. at a RAF event this weekend. As to the UFC’s ability to market Arman in a future title fight, does that loss matter? Further, do any of these RAF side quests affect the UFC’s bottom line? And if so, when (hypothetically) would Dana draw the line? (TheSassingMachine)
Andrew Richardson: I don’t think the UFC is looking at RAF records when making decisions. Best case scenario, their guys pick up a few new IG followers before their next cage fight. Otherwise, I doubt it matters much.
Jesse Holland: Covington is the bigger athlete and the more credentialed wrestler so I’m not sure why everyone is shocked that Arman got handled. I also don’t think UFC cares (or even knows) what RAF is doing so long as nobody gets hurt. Once Khamzat Chimaev or Gable Steveson or another big name blows out their knee or something you can forget about all these goofy crossovers. UFC will book Arman after it has exhausted all possible title options; which it hasn’t, so expect Tsarukyan to continue his side quests.
Thomas Myers: I don’t think winning, or losing, in RAF has any impact whatsoever on UFC matchmaking. Having said that, I think that Arman’s RAF run has been impressive and has kept his name in the headlines more than if he was just trolling on social media. So, I think the positive, consistent visibility helps Arman specifically at a time when UFC sorta hoped he would just go away. Eventually the dam will bust loose, but for now, UFC seems very okay with him not competing for a UFC title because he’s viewed as perhaps “difficult” to work with. UFC’s “bottomline” is, and will continue to be, more than fine with our without RAF.
Tim Edwards: I don’t think the UFC cares that much about what fighters are and aren’t available. Their business model is now just putting live bodies in the cage and knowing that the letters U-F-C are what people are paying to see. They make their money on site fees, extremely high ticket prices, government contracts and TV deals sweetened by their powerful connections. They do not need to draw an audience to be successful.
Q: Macmillan looks a ton of fun, he’s also young and massive, it’s still very early days and he looks like a killer but how long can he stay at 145 before the cut is just to much and does he have the tools to get to the top within that timeline? (Chucs)
Andrew Richardson: Tommy Gun has the tools to be a Top 20 or so guy, but there are too many sharp strikers at Featherweight to let him be more than a fun action fighter.
Jesse Holland: Most fighters can stay at the same weight for the majority of their career if they treat fighting like a full-time job. You would be shocked at the number of high-level fighters who do close to nothing when they’re not in camp. It’s not old age that brings an end to these weight classes, it’s the years of yo-yo dieting and crash cuts.
Alex Behunin: I personally don’t think he looks bigger than the other big Featherweights. He’ll crush all of the shitty Featherweights, but the day he gets matched up with a good striker, he’s getting decapitated ala Jose Delgado, Lerryan Douglas, Kevin Vallejos.
Thomas Myers: I would love to see Tommy Gun try out that “style” against Kevin Vallejos, who is ranked No. 10. I don’t think he’d last 90 seconds. I’d love to even see him try it against Josh Emmett – let’s see if he can trade in the pocket with the heavy-handed, 145-pound gatekeeper. Having said all of that, UFC should book him against Contender Series talent … let him keep doing his shtick. He’s fun, he’s a character. I don’t take him seriously … yet.
Tim Edwards: I’m not into his personality, at all, but he’s going to generate some pretty fun fights. His lack of defense makes me think he won’t ever get ranked high or challenge for a belt.
Q: I don’t train MMA….just a fan. So can one of you (who trains or is more knowledgeable than me) tell me what Tommy mcmillen’s ceiling is in mma? He fights like such a madman, it’s hard for me to tell if he has any good technique. Could he make it to the top 10 one day the way he is currently fighting? (AllDayJ)
Jesse Holland: Andrew Richardson is a fighter, trainer, and scout. He is the authority on that sorta thing. I just make funny headlines and laugh at my own dick jokes (and my own dick).
Andrew Richardson: Tommy is big, aggressive, and tough — those traits will always carry fighters a long way. He also has nice body work, which is another plus. However, there’s a reason elite fighters don’t push the pace quite like him: other elite talent will tag him with hard counters, and there’s a level of puncher he won’t be able to walk through. I could see him breaking Top 15 but would be very surprised by actual title contention.
Q: My questions is, when do you guys start trusting lettuce again? (YourMom’sBox)
Jesse Holland: I never stopped. If you look at the cases of food poisoning every week in the United States, the percentages were the same before, during, and after the lettuce “crisis.” But “explosive diarrhea” makes for an amazing headline (kinda jealous) so I get why the media latched on to it.
Alex Behunin: I kind of stopped fucking with lettuce when there was a report saying that Subway had a parasite outbreak.
Andrew Richardson: I ate at Taco Bell on Tuesday, July 21st on the way home from Yosemite.
Thomas Myers: I lived with e-coli, unknowingly, for more than one year so …not scared.
Tim Edwards: This is the second week in a row we’ve had a food question from YourMom’sBox (really, with that name, dude?). I think I got hit during the first wave of this stuff. It wasn’t at Taco Bell, though. It was my local shawarma place. I have some lettuce growing on my balcony right now. Those should be safe.
Q: It went a little unnoticed in the commotion, but Mario Bautista continues to march up the rankings. How do you think the title picture at 135 shakes out as we currently stand and how would you match people up next? (cavemanoncomputer)
Andrew Richardson: Bautista is really good. I kind of feel like he’s reached his ceiling — Yan, Merab, and Umar all seem like really hard fights — but I could see him beating O’Malley and giving the rest trouble at a minimum. Hurry up and book Merab vs. Yan 3, winner of that faces winner of Umar vs. Song or winner of O’Malley vs. Bautista.
Jesse Holland: Mario Bautista is a great fighter but unfortunately he’s stuck in the same era as Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili. It also doesn’t help that Bautista has the personality of a house plant. I don’t see a case for anything outside of the Yan-Dvalishvili rubber match. Umar is going to embarrass Song and get the winner, while Sean O’Malley should probably drop the title-or-bust attitude and fight Mario Bautista.
Alex Behunin: Yan vs. Merab is going to go down in Abu Dhabi in October, meaning the next title challenger is going to get a shot until earlyish 2027.
Thomas Myers: Mario Bautista just keeps on winning and winning and winning. He’s like a Beneil Dariush? I see him always hanging around the top of the division, never getting a title shot unless it’s last-minute and UFC doesn’t have to try and make him seem like something he’s not. He’s hard to promote. Or, UFC could put him up against someone like Sean O’Malley and hope “Suga” steals his shine (and ranking). Why do we talk about Umar and title shots … because of his last name? I find nothing about him exciting – he might as well be Mario Bautista. Merab vs. Yan 3 is next. Let Mario try and get his revenge on Umar – it will be boring and non-descript, like their personalities (and first fight). And let’s do it outside of Abu Dhabi. Those scorecards were whack if I remember correctly. I had moments during that interview where I was like… ‘Wow, I’m talking to Ken Shamrock.’
If Yan wins, they will probably run the O’Malley rematch; if Merab wins, I bet they do Umar again.
Tim Edwards: Sorry it took a week to get to this Caveman!
Q: Almost every week we see a fighter have a huge brain lock moment. They have their opponent totally rocked, out on their feet and instead of finishing them, they try and take them down to……….do something. Either the finish moment passes or sometimes the opponent is a ground specialist who then chokes them out. Last week it was Jose Miguel Delgado but he’s not alone. Why do they do this? What causes this? Training? exhausted and just not thinking good? Are they looking for something that just happens not to be there this time? (LoneCowboy)
Jesse Holland: This might be the most frustrating thing in our sport. Maybe they’re all afraid of having their Pat Barry-Cheick Kongo moment?
Andrew Richardson: MMA is chaos, and the “correct” answer is ever-changing. If Fight A rocks Fighter B, then Fighter A quickly takes the wounded opponent down for a submission win, they’re a genius. If Fighter B recovers, then Fighter A is an idiot … even though the decision was the same. You can play the scenario on the feet too — Fighter B could get finished, survive, or even turn the tables a la Barry-Kongo. In the eyes of fans, Fighter A is either smart, dumb, or an absolute fool based entirely on an outcome beyond his control. That’s fighting!
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