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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Who Has the Better Win Over Jose Aldo?

June 7, 2017 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, and it is my pleasure to bring you another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA. Thank you, for your votes and comments last week. It is appreciated and I encourage you to dish it out this week. Last week, Jeffrey Harris pushed forward against the best in the game, Dino Zee. They fought tooth and nail over Tony Ferguson’s quest to fight Nate Diaz, Volkan Oezemir jumping into the pit with the best at 205, and Germaine de Randamie’s refusal to fight Cris Cyborg in addition to other topics. Jeffrey showed how gritty he is by pushing Dino to his limits with thunderous combinations. Dino, unlike Jose Aldo, was able to use his elusive defense to bash Jeffrey with hard counters. Congratulations, Dino, on your 16-to-12 victory. Thank you, both for your efforts and contribution.

This week, I’m stepping in for Todd Vote to challenge Evan Zivin. We will lock horns over who has the better win over Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes’ UFC debut, Demetrious Johnson standing up to Dana White, and much more! It’s time to grab that grub and make yourself comfortable. C’mon, it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let’s get the show on the road…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Evan “White Tiger” Zivin
Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
4-4-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
Lorenzo “Corpse Grinder” Vasquez III
Host/Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
7-4-0

Kazushi Sakuraba’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame is long overdue and it’s a shame it’s taken the UFC this long to honor “The Gracie Hunter.”

Evan Zivin: FACT I’m not going to chastise the UFC over their choice of UFC Hall of Fame inductees and how long it’s taken to get some of these names enshrined (with the possible exception of Frank Shamrock). It’s only been within the last few years that the company has committed to having an annual induction ceremony, mainly so people have more reason to come out for International Fight Week (since The TUF Finale sure isn’t doing it). Still, it’s good to see Sakuraba get recognized. He was a big part of the reason why MMA survived and thrived in Japan in the early 2000s after Takada proved he wasn’t capable of carrying that weight. Plus, he exposed the Gracies for being the weirdos that they are so I am beyond excited to watch Sakuraba join other legends like Severn and Miletich and Liddell…and Frank Shamrock…dammit UFC…

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FICTION I’m going fiction here based on my opinion, that the UFC Hall of Fame is no major hall of fame because of the fact it is controlled and maintained by the UFC and not an outside entity. They do as they please. Plus, professional mixed martial arts is relatively young so any talk of who is hall of fame worthy, and such, is far from long overdue. Sakuraba is a legend of the sport, one of the best to grace us, and a pioneer. He has a place in every hall of fame that exists now or will exist in the future. Sakuraba deserves much respect and I think a large majority of hardcore fans acknowledge the man and his status. It is nice he is getting some recognition and he deserves just as much credit as the Gracies and any other name who helped to strengthen the foundation of professional MMA. It’s also nice that this provides an opportunity for casual fans to get to know a legend of the sport. The UFC Hall of Fame Inductee is a nice designation to have, but to me, it lacks the prestige because, while the UFC has filled it up with legit hall of famers, it is done with business/financial intentions. It is something they can capitalize on and draw a crowd; more so than strictly as an honorary system.

Max Holloway’s win over Jose Aldo was much more impressive than Conor McGregor’s 13-second stoppage of the Brazilian.

Evan Zivin: FACT I’d say so, if only because Holloway actually fought Aldo. McGregor didn’t fight Aldo. No wait, that’s not true. McGregor did fight Aldo but he did his fighting before he entered the Octagon, getting under Aldo’s skin and inside his head to the point that Aldo was willing to rush into the first punch that Conor threw and get himself knocked out. Holloway didn’t fight an emotional Aldo. He fought the cerebral killer we’re all used to seeing. Holloway got a taste of that Aldo and proved he wasn’t intimidated by him, weathering the early storm, sticking to his gameplan, and winning the fight after knocking the champ down and owning him on the ground. It was an excellent performance, one that doesn’t leave nearly as much doubt over who the better fighter is than Conor’s quick KO does, even if that was the more hilarious fight to watch.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT Conor McGregor accomplished a feat undone before in about 13 seconds. He deserves much credit for his win over Aldo and by no means do I believe it was a lucky, or one-off, punch. McGregor has proven, though he has some defense deficiencies, his timing and accuracy are high level. Max Holloway, not only stopped Aldo, but he picked him apart in route to getting the stoppage. This, too, is a first for Aldo. The difference between McGregor’s win and Holloway’s is Holloway was methodical, patient, and really put crafty work into beating Aldo.

There are no questions about Holloway’s win. However, people can make the claim Aldo wasn’t himself against McGregor, he was mentally defeated long before entering the octagon, or that McGregor landed a lucky punch. I tend to believe Aldo was mentally defeated before entering the cage and fudged up immediately in the opening seconds against McGregor and paid dearly with the Irishman’s timing and accuracy. But against Holloway, once the first round was over, Aldo was outclassed, in my opinion. Jack Slack has a great column discussing the brilliance of Holloway’s win. So, I’m going fact. I hate to compare both wins because of the circumstances and I’d still like to see how Aldo would perform against McGregor with a clear head.

Now would be the perfect time for Max Holloway to rematch Conor McGregor.

Evan Zivin: FACT Now would be an excellent time for that rematch. It won’t happen, obviously, but it would be great to see the newly crowned champ, one of the only men the Irish Superstar failed to finish, defend his crown against the king who still lays claim to it. It would be a pretty easy sell and would likely result in a huge buyrate if Conor was fully committed to it. But he’s not. And he won’t be, mainly because Conor isn’t coming back after he gets the Mayweather fight and, even if he does, he’s not going to see any money in fighting Max (nor does he care about regaining the featherweight belt, especially since he never lost it). Maybe if Max changes his name to Nate Diaz…

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT Of course! Holloway’s reached a huge milestone in his career as has McGregor. If McGregor is willing to make 145-pounds, then let’s get it done. Holloway has cleaned up his game since his loss to the current lightweight champ and is improving a great deal. McGregor has cleaned up his conditioning while narrowly avenging his loss to Nate Diaz and becoming a 2-division champion. I’d say now is the prime time to get this rematch done. But we all know it is not likely to even come close to a possibility, let alone a reality. McGregor is busy chasing money while Holloway looks to cement his legacy as the next great dominant featherweight champion. While this is a fact, don’t expect it to happen unless McGregor decides he wants to reclaim the featherweight strap or that Holloway is a gold mine.

SWITCH!

Claudia Gadelha has become the Frankie Edgar of the women’s strawweight division; she can clean out the division but can’t beat the champ.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT Unfortunately, for Gadelha, this is largely a fact, though things may have just changed in the fortune of Edgar. But, I wouldn’t say she is as in bad a position as Edgar is/was. I believe Gadelha has a better chance of beating Joanna Champion then Edgar ever did of beating Aldo. Plus, the women’s strawweight division isn’t as stacked as the men’s featherweight division; so, for the time being, Gadelha will always a have a chance of getting another crack at Joanna and she has the tools, and in my opinion, the better odds, to beat her. She also seems to understand that her game must always evolve. If she can commit to the appropriate changes and perform like she does in the first round for at least three or four rounds against the champ, the gold strap is hers.

Evan Zivin: FACT Well, to be fair to Frankie, we don’t know if he can beat the champ, since he never got to fight Conor…I know, I know. Aldo or whatever. Frankie’s essentially stuck in the spot he took from Chad Mendes (anyone remember him?), although Holloway may give him a way out. It tends to happen when you have multiple elite level fighters in a division but with one who is clearly better than the others. She knows Joseph Benavidez’s pain but, for her, it’s not necessarily a bad place to be. She has two losses to the champion but she did also just get to co-headline a Payperview so the UFC clearly likes her, as do many of the fans. Not everyone is going to be champion but that doesn’t mean you still can’t have a successful and happy career in the UFC. She doesn’t need gold to validate her career and, even if she feels like she does, as long as she keeps winning, she’ll always be on the cusp of getting another shot. I mean, who else is Joanna going to maul? She needs to be fed again soon, right?

https://twitter.com/MMA_Jim/status/871423870691147777

Despite losing to the No. 3 Bantamweight, Raphael Assuncao, Marlon Moraes proved he can hang with the top five of the bantamweight division.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT This is an easy fact. I must say, I felt both could have done more, it was a great fight, but I felt there were times both fighters could have done more. Nonetheless, taking the No. 3 ranked bantamweight to a split decision isn’t bad, even if you were on the losing end. Moraes proved that he belongs among the best bantamweights in the UFC. He should be a competitive top five, top ten, bantamweight in the UFC for the foreseeable future.

Evan Zivin: FACT Um…considering that he did go to a split decision with the Number 3 ranked bantamweight, I would interpret that to mean, yeah, he can hang with the top five. That’s just my opinion though…I think Marlon will be fine. He was a World Series of Fighting champion. That means something to somebody, I assume.

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is doing right by denying to fight T.J. Dillashaw, and instead, looking to fight the next legitimate flyweight title contender.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT I think Might Mouse deserves more than a say in this situation. The guy is a company man. He shows up, puts on a helluva show, and only on seldom occasion has to pull out of a fight. I mean, the man is the pound-for-pound best in the world right now. He’s earned the right to call some big shots. Borg may not be the biggest threat but is up next and I think Mighty Mouse has the right to say that is who he wants to fight next. I understand T.J. is a bigger fight, perhaps, the bigger threat, a former champion, and was scheduled to fight the bantamweight champ but this jumping in and cutting in line is nonsense. Plus, T.J. has never fought at 125-pounds. It’s not like this would be a champion vs. champion fight. In this regard, T.J. should have to earn his flyweight title shot. As much as T.J. wants this fight, it is the UFC and Dana White who really want this. It’s about the bottom line, making fights that might bring in some extra funds, etc. Might Mouse knows his value and is playing this card in the correct manner. If T.J. and the UFC want this fight to happen, I imagine they will have to make the pound-for-pound king of the octagon a deal no man could refuse and that would be long overdue for a man who has never complained or shook the foundation.

Evan Zivin: FACT I find it a little funny how Dana White calls it “insanity” that DJ would rather fight Ray Borg, a committed flyweight with a win streak in the division, instead of TJ Dillashaw, a bantamweight who has never made the cut to 125 before and only wants the fight because Cody Garbrandt hurt his back, especially when we know that neither fight is going to sell because UFC has never made any concerted effort to promote DJ or the flyweight division. No, what’s “insanity” is that this next fight for DJ is the first opportunity he’ll have to earn Payperview points. That’s right. He’s the top Pound-4-Pound fighter on the planet, the man about to break Anderson Silva’s record for title defenses and he’s only now getting privileges that UFC has offered to fighters who have never even won a title. It’s a joke how poorly they have treated him and how little they have regarded his contributions. In this situation, I think DJ needs to stick to his guns, demand the fight he wants to take, and hope that his speaking out turns public opinion in his favor and gets UFC to recognize what they have before it costs them business and the services of one of the best fighters on the planet. DJ doesn’t have to put up with this. I’m sure he’s been smart with his money (what little he’s actually made in the UFC). Plus, he has a career in livestreaming to fall back on. I’m sure he’d rather get shit talked by 13-year-olds than having to put up with Dana. Actually, the two may not be all that different.

So who won? Was I able to squeak by Evan or did “The White Tiger” strike before I could catch my bearings? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Saturday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today but, as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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411 Fact or Fiction (MMA), Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Max Holloway, Lorenzo Vasquez

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