Mailbag: Max Holloway vs. Nate Diaz, Jon Jones wanting 6 months, and the best names in MMA

First published at www.mmafighting.com

Max Holloway | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Well, UFC Vegas 104 is in the books and …. yeah, we don’t even need to bother. It was more fun than it could have been but we aren’t going to be talking about that one again anytime soon. And while UFC London this weekend is definitely better on paper, it’s still not the most exciting thing going.

So this week we opened up the questions to whatever tickled your fancy, which means we’re going on a journey, folks. Buckle up.

Max Holloway vs. Nate Diaz

Max Holloway v Nate Diaz has been floated by some but has seemingly received significant pushback with the online community. Is there any downside to making this fight? I struggle to see one.

I’m kind of with you on this one. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the fight I’d choose to make for either man, but I don’t really see the downside either. The current “BMF” champion (for whatever that’s worth) against the creator of the title is a fun storyline, and given how beloved both are, people would line up to see this one. The only downside I see is that Max is a featherweight-turned-lightweight, and I’m not really sure Nate can make 155 anymore.

If I had my druthers, Max would rematch Charles Oliveira, and Nate would do the trilogy with Conor McGregor, but if this ended up happening, I’d be fine with it.

UFC Vegas 104


Compare the Dolidze/Vettori 2 card on paper to the Emmett/Murphy card on paper.

I lied. Apparently we will talk about UFC Vegas 104 for a moment.

I said this heading into last weekend’s event and stand by it: UFC Vegas 104 was the worst on-paper card in since COVID. At least until UFC Vegas 105.

The UFC’s next trip to the APEX has a much better main event than the Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze rematch (Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy is sick) but the rest of it is … well, it’s not good. Some good prospects and some decent matchups, but like with this weekend, nothing we’ll talk about ever again after the event is over.

That’s becoming a theme with UFC cards in 2025.

The lightweight division

Do lightweights rock because it’s the glory division of MMA and people are more likely to try to make their bodies fit in the weight class? Or is it something more about average physiology causing more people to just be that size, so naturally there would be more talent?

There might be a little about it being a glamor division and thus attracting more people, but mainly it’s the latter. It’s a simple numbers game and a majority of people more naturally fall into the 155-pound category. On top of that, 155 pounds (or, more accurately, 175 pounds walking around weight) is not as competitive as other sizes for athletes. One of the reasons the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions are so bad is, if you’re a naturally bigger person, you’re probably playing other sports that pay better and/or involve less brain injury. Football isn’t stealing too many 170-pounders from MMA, so more can come over.

This is also why flyweight is as thin as it is (there are fewer people around the world) but generally has a high level of talent: because where else are athletic dudes who weight 130 pounds going to pursue sports?

Yay for statistics.

Robert Whittaker

Robert Whittaker is talking about moving up to light heavyweight. Light heavyweight is generally not very good. Despite being undersized, how far can Robert go there?

Speaking of bad weight classes!

Light heavyweight is an abomination of a weight class and the only reason we don’t talk about how bad it is more often is because heavyweight is so moribund (plus Alex Pereira is fun, and that makes people forget). But I’m very unsure that Whittaker will make headway there.

My concern with Whittaker isn’t just his size, but his decline. I think “Bobby Knuckles” appears to pretty clearly be on the back nine of his career and that’s usually not the best time to try something new. Now Whittaker will be undersized — by a huge amount in some instances — and not bringing his A game. Might not go well.

Jon Jones

Will we ever see John Jones fight Tom Aspinall?

No. And we won’t see Jon Jones fight him either.

Jon Jones part 2

How do you feel about Jon Jones allegedly demanding a minimum of 6 months after the fight is signed to prepare to fight Tom Aspinall?

He is perfectly within his right to want that. But if it wasn’t apparent before even the most ardent of believers have to accept the truth for what it is: Jon Jones does not want to fight Tom Aspinall.

For Jon, it’s a matter of risk vs. reward. If he fights and loses, the entirety of the identity he’s built for himself as the GOAT suddenly falters, because people will see him defeated. And if he wins, well that’s just another win (this is wrong, actually, and a win over Aspinall would be the crowning achievement of his career, but that’s another discussion). Why would he do it?

Jon is not going to fight Tom unless the UFC pays him infinity dollars, and the UFC isn’t going to pay him anywhere close to that because they don’t have to. This is two immovable objects locked in a game of chicken, and because Jon is the fighter, he will have to blink first.

The call for six months is Jon simply trying to extend this thing out as long as he can in the hopes that Dana White caves and meets his number. He won’t and I wish we’d just end this farce and move on.

Merab Dvalishvili

If you had to put $100 for someone to beat Merab at bantamweight who would it be and why? (Past OR Present)

Easy. In the present, Umar Nurmagomedov. In the past, T.J. Dillashaw.

I know Umar just lost to Merab, and if they fought again this year, I’d pick Merab to win again. But Umar did make Merab work, and he’s still on the rise. In a year or two, he’s still the best bet to get the thing done.

As far as past, Dillashaw is the obvious answer. People hate T.J. now because of the EPO, but prime Dillashaw is the best bantamweight I’ve ever seen compete. He’s an elite wrestler, has exceptional cardio, and vastly superior striking to Merab. The only reason I’m not confident prime T.J. would dogwalk Merab is because, well, Merab keeps dummying people. Still, I’d bet Dillashaw with confidence.

Oh, and of course if you’re going to allow prime Jose Aldo to drop to 135 earlier than he ultimately does, he is the obvious choice.

Comedy

Some fighters are intrinsically funny characters, like Sage Northcutt naively approaching every experience with wonder, or how any emotion besides anger confuses Cody Garbandt, which makes him angry. Is there anyone who isn’t past their prime who still provides comedy like that?

Jiri Prochazka looked Alex Pereira in his eyes and told him with 100 percent sincerity that in their rematch he needs to not cheat with the help of spirits. That is one of the most unintentionally funny things to happen in MMA ever.

Best MMA name

Whats the best MMA name of all time? Im partial to Vernon “Tiger” White or Mirko Cro Crop. If were including all of combat sports, its pretty hard to beat Fighting Harada.

So it seems like we’re not just talking about government names, but also including nicknames, which is good. Nicknames are the lifeblood of MMA, and whenever someone changes a great nickname to a lame one (looking at you, Corey Anderson — “Beastin’ 25/8”was spectacular) it hurts my soul.

Of course, names that usurp the given name will always end up being the best, so your callout of Mirko Cro Cop is an excellent one, as are Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson. But setting that aside, here are a few great ones that don’t fit that mold.

  • Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (I do not recognize “Felony” same as with Corey Anderson)
  • Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson
  • Roy “Big Country” Nelson
  • Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt
  • Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

But sticking with what was said at the top, the best MMA name ever has to be Korean Zombie. Seriously, how many of you even know what TKZ’s real name is? It’s unique, perfectly descriptive of the man, and became something much bigger than him. It’s the runaway winner.

Oh, and on the boxing tip, The Sweet Science has a million great names, but I’ve always been partial to Smokin’ Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Robinson. Those are simply perfect. Whenever you can add the nickname as a title, do that. It’s way better. I’ll never forgive Dominick Cruz for being “The Dominator” instead of “Dominant” Dominick Cruz.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! It doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.

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