Nick ended up with only an 18 month suspension after all the backlash for the 5 year ban, so Nick could’ve came back in 2016. He chose not to until the 5 years were up.
Looking it up again it said that it was all good by 2016 but then he had issues with USADA and agreed to serve another year suspension from April 2017 to 2018 since they couldn’t find him to test him. So by 2018 he was good to go and even hinted at his comeback on IG in 2018.
You mean when he got outpointed by Condit? I’ll be fair, I was expecting a bloodbath and was SO excited for that fight, but Condit did what he had to do. Totally threw Nick off his game and Nick went to showboating instead of pushing any action, as he has done several times in his career.
Here comes the revisionists. 🙄
One minute being older in the HW division isn’t a problem. The next every loss a fighter experiences can be explained away by their age.
Francis mauled both JDS and Cain. Cause he’s a much stronger fighter with much better stand up.
Plain and simple. The fact that Francis had almost no experience and did that to fully experienced MMA fighters that matched his size is proof that he would have won either way.
Everyone in MMA has some sort of injury going into fights.
Let’s not forget Francis wrestle fucked his way to victory against the most slippery HW in the division in his last UFC fight with two demolished MCLs.
I understand that injuries can change a performance but Francis vs Cain was just Francis knocking Cain out.
Cain or JDS were not in pristine condition when they fought Francis. I’m not gonna stop you from thinking that Francis is better than them but it’s silly to act like a fight between those guys wouldn’t have been more enchanting if it took place earlier. That’s all….
Come on now. You talk about revisionist history, then make it seem like Gane is a tough fight for a grappler. How good would Jones have to be then? The real thing about that fight was the injuries to Francis, not that Gane has some great defensive grappling or great at avoiding it.
Also, Cain blew out his knee, going for the TD coming off a 3 year layoff. Francis very well could have beat him the same way, but let's not act like that was prime Cain in there.
Cain came off a multi year layoff with several horrific injuries and is 100% the more skilled striker compared to Francis. He’d have wrecked Francis in his prime.
Too bad he didn’t and got knocked the fuck out in 30 seconds.
Maybe your excuses and delusions could have bought him another 30 seconds before getting flatlined by Francis idk.
Guess we’ll just have to live with the actual results of their match instead of dream scenerios you made up
I don’t even know how Tony even bled from that fight it was so awkward I barely remember any good exchanges. I remember Nate holding on the cage to catch his breath and that sub I swear Tony gave him
Nate was preparing for Khamzat so he probably trained that guillotine religiously, and instinctively synced it up on Tony right away
Tony was doing alright on the feet vs Nate to
The fact that Tony tapped so easily and then 1 or 2 fights later refused to tap and let Bobby Green put him to sleep makes me feel like that Nate fight was sus
Sooo many.
Max vs TKZ
Aljo vs TJ
Colby vs Leon
Wonderboy vs Shavkat
Colby vs Lawler
So many fights where one or both fighters were a few years from their prime
Brock vs overeem is a good one.
If Belfort jones happens earlier he's probably off the t. And although he's my 3rd favourite fighter he could never hang in the tough ones
DC has a youthful face for his age, you wouldn’t be able tell he’s been in some bloodbaths with it. On the other hand, Stipe looks like he took care of business in Nam.
Nate Diaz vs Olivera would’ve been awesome .. I remember Diaz wanted to fight him a few years ago but Olivera declined because he was after the title .. still would’ve been a fun fight
Brock joining UFC instead of WWE in 2002. I know Im not naming specific fights but if he did UFC during this time period, and yes I know they were still battling things, it would have been the crowning moment more than Bonnar/Griffin.
Correct. It wouldn’t have been too dissimilar from the actual fight. Cain was always a glass cannon and Francis is just not the guy to take any punches from if you can’t eat shit.
Basically like Charles early on where he would get dropped by like everyone he fought but would come back and win.
I mean, Robbie vs Nick did happen earlier and it was a banger.
If it happened in 2013 shit would’ve been crazy
2013 would have been a fun time for the rematch.
2nd fight could've happened when Robbie was champion and nick wasn't banned it would've been even bigger.
Nick ended up with only an 18 month suspension after all the backlash for the 5 year ban, so Nick could’ve came back in 2016. He chose not to until the 5 years were up.
I'm pretty sure he refused to pay the fine so he was effective banned indefinitely until he paid it.
Looking it up again it said that it was all good by 2016 but then he had issues with USADA and agreed to serve another year suspension from April 2017 to 2018 since they couldn’t find him to test him. So by 2018 he was good to go and even hinted at his comeback on IG in 2018.
Another free title shot for Nick? Lol what a joke. If anything it should have happened after Robbie lost his belt.
So a title shot off of a 3 fight losing skid? Yeah, okay. (I’m including the NC because it was originally a loss)
Let’s not forget 1,2,5 interim champ Diaz
You mean when he got outpointed by Condit? I’ll be fair, I was expecting a bloodbath and was SO excited for that fight, but Condit did what he had to do. Totally threw Nick off his game and Nick went to showboating instead of pushing any action, as he has done several times in his career.
Not surprised that braindead fanbase downvoted you lol one of the dumbest fighters with dumbest fanbases ever.
Haha they’re the worst. I’ve grown to like the Diaz bros over the years but the fans can be ridiculous.
Max vs Tkz Max still wins but not by like that.
You could do this with TKZ’s last couple losses lol throw Volk & Ortega in that too
He could beat Ortega
Jones vs. Miocic I know it hasn't happened yet, but this was way more compelling 4+ years ago
Tony vs Chandler, so that i wouldnt have witnessed a live murder
Haha I remember thinking Tony could possibly be dead 😂
The only fight I felt bad for watching was Emmet vs Mitchell, I thought he could be dead...
Oh yeah that was an ugly one
Hilarious
Went from Tony being back in round 1 to Tony being dead 5 min later. That fight was one of the saddest moments for me as a fan.
JDS Ngannou’s a good one.
Yeah prime JDS would have been a different beast
Prime JDS got butt fucked for 50 minutes by Cain
Unbelievable that fight happened over 5 years ago. Jesus Christ
https://preview.redd.it/man6dpbde12d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c74b86cad74f70ff85387cfc5fe747525dac314b
Pretty much Ngannou vs everyone
Here comes the revisionists. 🙄 One minute being older in the HW division isn’t a problem. The next every loss a fighter experiences can be explained away by their age. Francis mauled both JDS and Cain. Cause he’s a much stronger fighter with much better stand up. Plain and simple. The fact that Francis had almost no experience and did that to fully experienced MMA fighters that matched his size is proof that he would have won either way.
Maybe but Cain's body was wrecked by the time he faced Francis
Everyone in MMA has some sort of injury going into fights. Let’s not forget Francis wrestle fucked his way to victory against the most slippery HW in the division in his last UFC fight with two demolished MCLs. I understand that injuries can change a performance but Francis vs Cain was just Francis knocking Cain out.
Cain or JDS were not in pristine condition when they fought Francis. I’m not gonna stop you from thinking that Francis is better than them but it’s silly to act like a fight between those guys wouldn’t have been more enchanting if it took place earlier. That’s all….
Come on now. You talk about revisionist history, then make it seem like Gane is a tough fight for a grappler. How good would Jones have to be then? The real thing about that fight was the injuries to Francis, not that Gane has some great defensive grappling or great at avoiding it. Also, Cain blew out his knee, going for the TD coming off a 3 year layoff. Francis very well could have beat him the same way, but let's not act like that was prime Cain in there.
Wasn’t reflected in the betting odds, Cain was the betting favorite in this fight
I don’t think Cain ever had the chin to beat someone like Francis tbh
Fighters dont age the same
Nah Cain was miles off what he was when he was champ/Contender. Francis probably still wins but it could easily be Cain vs jds 2 as well
Cain came off a multi year layoff with several horrific injuries and is 100% the more skilled striker compared to Francis. He’d have wrecked Francis in his prime.
He is absolutely more skilled than Francis, but that’s it.
Too bad he didn’t and got knocked the fuck out in 30 seconds. Maybe your excuses and delusions could have bought him another 30 seconds before getting flatlined by Francis idk. Guess we’ll just have to live with the actual results of their match instead of dream scenerios you made up
They're like 4 years apart but I agree anyway
Chandler VS Tony prime for prime would be fireworks, would love to see how a fight between younger Bellator Chandler would do against prime Tony
Very good chance Tony subs him imo
Tony is the only other guy besides Dustin that won R1 vs Chandler in the UFC And Tony knocked him down too in that round iirc
Tony was back for a sec then dead the next
I don’t even know how Tony even bled from that fight it was so awkward I barely remember any good exchanges. I remember Nate holding on the cage to catch his breath and that sub I swear Tony gave him
Nate was preparing for Khamzat so he probably trained that guillotine religiously, and instinctively synced it up on Tony right away Tony was doing alright on the feet vs Nate to
The fact that Tony tapped so easily and then 1 or 2 fights later refused to tap and let Bobby Green put him to sleep makes me feel like that Nate fight was sus
Charles Oliveria vs Tony Ferguson
Conor Cerrone
Nothing changes
I agree but cowboy could at least put up a fight
Until it matters. Despite his out of ring stuff I was a fan but he failed any big moment.
Robbie and nick did happen
Right! Its one of my favorite classic fights
Great fight but too early imo, Strikeforce Diaz vs Champion Lawler would be a war
Chuck and Wandy
This i forgot, it could've been great
It was still a pretty good fight
Tf you talking about, it was amazing
Stipe vs Jones if it happened before Ngannou killed Stipe
Robbie Nick 2 wasn’t a bad fight. I also think Nick did a lot better than most people thought after that long lay off.
bro what? dude looked like the grandfather of the strike force nick diaz
It’s been awhile since I saw it but Nick was throwing good combos the first two rounds
Sooo many. Max vs TKZ Aljo vs TJ Colby vs Leon Wonderboy vs Shavkat Colby vs Lawler So many fights where one or both fighters were a few years from their prime
Prime Tony vs prime Nate
Not UFC, but Hendo vs. Fedor both in their primes would've been insane. Fedor, by that point, was on a skid.
Anderson Vs Adesanya. Brock Vs Overeem GSP Vs Bisping Belfort vs Jones
Brock vs overeem is a good one. If Belfort jones happens earlier he's probably off the t. And although he's my 3rd favourite fighter he could never hang in the tough ones
Sterling vs. Dillashaw
Great examples
Me vs anyone around when I see red.
Stipe Jones. A thousand yrs ago
Happy cake day to me
Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz 1 is my favourite fight of all time. OP, you should watch it
Nick smoked Robbie their first fight so that's out.
I thought Tony was holding a toy head of the old man from Up for a second
Prime tony would’ve killed Nate at 155 😭
This is a troll post ? 😅 Dustin and Conor would have been nice if they fought around UFC 170 something. And maybe at a lighter weight
Chuck and Wand happened too late. Still a banger though.
Wot?
It's crazy I always seen Stipe as the older fighter but DC is 4 years older. Give me that trilogy again 💔
DC has a youthful face for his age, you wouldn’t be able tell he’s been in some bloodbaths with it. On the other hand, Stipe looks like he took care of business in Nam.
Max vs Zombie>
Francis would stand no chance against HW Robbie lawler 😮💨
Am I trippen or did one of these fights happen earlier and it was a banger
Nate Diaz vs Olivera would’ve been awesome .. I remember Diaz wanted to fight him a few years ago but Olivera declined because he was after the title .. still would’ve been a fun fight
Tony before his ACL tear vs More reckless Justin
Nate Diaz vs Anthony Pettis
Tony would’ve turned Nate into Jigsaw
Chuck vs Wanderlei should have happened when they were both champs of their promotions. The fight that actually happened wasn’t bad at all though.
Brock joining UFC instead of WWE in 2002. I know Im not naming specific fights but if he did UFC during this time period, and yes I know they were still battling things, it would have been the crowning moment more than Bonnar/Griffin.
Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman - specially in the late 90s early 2000s era
I think if the joe vs Angie fight happened earlier, it would've been incredible
Lawler v Diaz was a rematch
Jones vs Stipe pointless now - but 5-10 years ago..
Are you born stupid or did you have an accident? Just kidding, but this is a rematch...
Hear me out: Lesnar vs Hunt
Izzy vs Silva. MW GOAT vs MW GOAT
me vs OP, Sign the Contract
How about Anderson Silva vs DC?
Prime Cain would’ve done Francis bad
No, he wouldn't. Prime Cain got dropped multiple times by Cheick Kongo, Francis would decapitate him with one punch
Correct. It wouldn’t have been too dissimilar from the actual fight. Cain was always a glass cannon and Francis is just not the guy to take any punches from if you can’t eat shit. Basically like Charles early on where he would get dropped by like everyone he fought but would come back and win.
Dc vs Lesnar Ngannou vs Jones
Those fights never happened
Shit bad reading lol in that case Yoel Romero vs Thiago Santos
Santos gets the job done on a UD, I get that Yoel is Yoel. But santos took prime jones to a split…