7 days ago10 min read

Revolution Nearly Complete

Madison Square Garden witnessed another epic night of UFC warfare as Bones Jones returned in emphatic fashion to send Stipe Miocic officially into the sunset. As we feel the aftershocks, the fight world's revolution around the Sun is nearly complete with only a few fight-cards remaining to go before the flip of the new year. Lots to talk about... reflection; catch-up; changes atop the chain; and what needs to come with not many fights booked for the future. Strap up. Time for liftoff.

We have a new batch of risers on the come up, ready to set their liftoff into the rankings. Risers from all over the globe, with a chunk of 'em coming from the Fighting Nerds Camp out of Brazil. The gym that is takin' over the fight game going into the revolution; the Fighting Nerds have been making themselves known around the fight world, especially since August. The camp is currently 12-1 in 2024, with all five UFC signed fighters taking home dubs this year. The collective record in the UFC between the five fighters now sits at 18-1 (Bruna Brasil split-trained, but didn't have FN full-time in her corner until the Shauna Bannon bout). That collective record doesn't include Brasil's record when she had the Insanis camp in her corner. From the Contender Series, to knocking on the doors of the UFC ranked. The Fighting Nerds have arrived.

Dana White's Contender Series has been a home-run, delivering the UFC star-power in the likes of Sean O'Malley, JDM, Geoff Neal, and GR's Jamahal Hill- among others. Now, the Fighting Nerds take it by storm, to build the mega-storm they have active going into the final orbital phase. The Nerds are 6-1 in the DWCS among six fighters, they had been undefeated until gym-mate Jair Farias came up short in October of last year (not signed with UFC). The cats ran through the Contender Series, and now are running through the depths of the UFC- doing so in exciting fashion. Out of the 13 fights and 12 wins, the Nerds have 9 knockout/TKO finishes. Carlos Prates claims four, Jean Silva has three, plus Caio Borralho & Mauricio Ruffy each have one. Victims that include Charles Jourdain, The Leech, Neil Magny, and Charles Radtke. Prates is playing the role of the Reaper, currently riding a 10-fight knockout streak, with 13 KOs in his last 15 MMA fights.

Prates arguably has the nastiest, most ferocious highlight-reel active today. With four finishes on his resume this year, he is running away with the honors of Breakout Fighter of the Year, Riser of the Year, and has his name on the board for Fighter of the Year... yup, that's right. Prates' energy is being bolted off the walls inside camp Nerd. Ruffy looks to be riding his wave, possessing an extremely intriguing skill-set and fighting motion that is sponging fight fans in. A Karate style similar to prime Conor McGregor, with a finishing stamp of Mauricio Ruffy: What's there not to rave about with the Fighting Nerds! They are here to takeover.

We also have a former ONE cat, grappling-God Reinier de Ridder now in the big leagues ready to challenge the 185 division. RDR introduced himself nicely to the UFC universe with an excellent arm-triangle dub of grappling-God himself GM3:

video via @silversteinmma//X

People certainly didn't appreciate the fight, a true MMA bout with elite grabbling; transitions; and ground IQ... and they certainly are down-grading the value of RDR submitting GM3, a dude who only had been submitted once in 21 UFC fights (has 29 career submission wins). Not only is GM3 one of the very best in the grappling & sub-game, he also has trained hours with RDR. Finding a finish in a three-round fight is remarkable. I was thoroughly impressed with the fight and RDR's performance. It wasn't leg-huggers holding down each other, it was the highest level of grappling in the world. A joy to watch. Huge win for RDR. The Khamzat call-out, I respect it, but that needs the brakes. Keep in mind, Khamzat struggled taking down GM3 (as all do), so I can understand the confidence that RDR has in his grappling game, but lets not forget he quit against Anatoly Malykhin in ONE Championship, and was KO'd by Malykhin. The deep waters of Chimaev are waters he wants to test after some experience in the big leagues. Next route has to be 12th ranked Jack Hermansson. Oh man is that a matchup! Make it happen, Hunter.

Ruffy got the main-card of 309 started hot alongside James Llontop. The mood dwindled a bit, staying mild until the headline fights. Bo Nickal did what everyone expected; beating Paul Craig in 15-minutes of tamed violence. So tamed, the MSG crowd collectively chanted "overrated" towards Nickal as he played out his game-plan to execution. Scenes you only really see with WWE and Futbol crowds, not MMA crowds. So, that was a first, and the only unexpected moment of the fight and main-card up to that point. Then insert Do Bronxs and Michael Chandler.

The energy bar was immediately raised the moment those two entered the Octagon simultaneously. The drift in the room was different. Unfortunately, the fight was mostly one-sided to Oliveira's behalf, outside of a Chandler furry in round-4. I was ok with it being scored 49-46, or 49-45. Chandler got smoked; out-classed in all facets, especially striking- which was the most surprising. The break from the Octagon was obvious for Chandler. He didn't feel comfortable or confident in his spacing, movement, nor game-plan. Very choppy; something you can't do against an elite mix-martial-artist like Olives- who declares he isn't done yet on the top of the lightweight mountain.

Oliveira was damn near flawless, outside of the knack for wanting to finish Chandler on his back, and the trouble he allowed himself to be in late. I do give Chandler some major respect for surviving until the final horn. Major respect. No man had ever gone more than three rounds with Oliveira in 46 bouts. Chandler went the distance, while surviving constant submission attempts by the greatest submission artist in UFC history. Again, major respect, but that doesn't change the fact that he got his tail whopped. Oliveira put his name right back behind Arman Tsarukyan for another eventual crack at Makhachev and the throne (or Tsarukyan II and the throne..). Olives worked Chandler with relentless pace, elite grappling, and shut-down ground work. I have two beautiful examples to get you filled with awe from his craft. First, this gorgeous takedown sequence:

video via @OpenNoteGrappling//X

A true master of his work. Oliveira shoots with velo; denies Chandler's uchi mata attempt; secures a body lock to trip, then shucks to the back to use a gorgeous broomstick to secure the takedown. That sequence is so pure. Once he had Chandler on the canvas, it was just domination from there. I'll tell you what, Oliveira may be the fighter who benefits the most from the freeing of the 12-6 elbow:

video via @lethlbjj//X

Pure destruction he is with those hellbows from top-guard. I thought he should have bailed on the bloody sub attempts from the back to secure a TKO finish with the elbows. I feel it was right there. Chandler did himself no favors in that fight, which was ironic considering he was far more tamed and less relentless in his pursuit. Chandler went right into Oliveira's strengths, and away from his own, but I think it's clear that those strengths still can't out weigh the strengths of Oliveira, regardless. The frantic pace might just be what's best for Chandler's odds to win against the best of the best. Just look at his fights, and his best performances. It's the same thing with Gaethje.

Not sure what's next for Chandler. Waiting on McGregor is stupid, but not as stupid knowing he won't be a champion in that division. Chandler has been in wars his whole career, I won't judge him for waiting out a final payday against an addict (easy fight) that is sure to make him millions. The issue? I won't bet on McGregor ever returning to the UFC. Chandler will be faced with a decision. I would like him to keep fighting; matchups against Dan Hooker or Max Holloway are the first two off my mind. Time will tell. I would also like him to stop with the dirty fighting.

Chandler is humble and an ultra exciting fighter that sells a fight win or lose, but he needs to stop with the unclassy bullshit in the Octagon. He fights very dirty when he is in the trenches, which is a spit on the game. Grabbing the top of the cage, holding the cage for long periods, back of the head smashes, pulling on gloves, and of course his fish hooking of Poirier. Some antics are whatever, finding an advantage is a known tactic in sports- making the referees' job ultra important. Refs need to be on stuff like that, some BS I can let pass, as the ref needs to find it and punish it, but Chandler has shown to go above and beyond. Which hits on his integrity as a fighter and competitor. Not a good look, for a good guy. Olives taught him a lesson for it:

video via @Magicman062//X

Oliveira showed he is still one of the best and most dangerous fighters on the planet... with Jon Jones dropping down on MSG to deliver the same message. Jones did what everyone expected he would do, by successfully retaining his Heavyweight crown in a sweeping of the hands performance over the great Stipe. Jones ran through Miocic. It was an impressive display, but the display also showed that Miocic did not care to be in that fight. Before that dive, I'll shed the positive light on the champ. Jones showed his skill-set is still in the stratosphere. Seeing his craft at the Heavyweight level is impressive. His speed, agility, and IQ is remarkable for a heavyweight & light years ahead of the rest of the division... outside of possibly one man. Stipe was not his prime self, yet he is probably the only heavyweight that survives the ground-and-pound that Jones rained down on him. Only cat that could have survived those hellbows for as long as he did. The man runs through fires for a living, so that has come to no surprise. Jones looked damn good, despite Stipe looking like he just wanted it all to end. Hate 'em or love 'em (I can't f'n stand him), Jones still looks above the rest. Maybe you need another look at his spinning rib-buster to face the clarification:

video via @SportsCenter//X

Naaah. Take a peek AND a listen at the slo-mo angle... like a bloody shotgun rounding off:

video via @HaterReport//X

Gorgeous kick; gorgeous finish of an all-time great competitor. Next is Aspinall. Jon Jones either fights Aspinall, or retires. That's the bottom line. A fight for the ages. A heavyweight clash far past the billing of Wilder/Fury. Aspinall versus Jones; interim champ vs the champ; the most dominant fighter in history against the most dominant fighter in the now. For all the marbles. Rock and Hogan at 'Mania type sh**. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Got the 'bumps from just writing this paragraph. Jones, I know those insecurities run deeper than possibly any other man on this planet, but for the love of the fight game, for the love of being a man- accept this fight to secure your legacy. Accept this fight to help you kill the demons that hold you back. Accept this fight for fight fans, and for any dignity that you have left in your core (if there is any). Jones can absolutely beat Aspinall, as Aspinall can absolutely be the one to finally end Jones' streak. So lets stop with the charades and BS. Sign the paper and settle what needs to be settled. The ringside angle of Jones finishing Stipe:

video via @HappyPunch//X

Now some controversy... with Jones winning with ease, and looking in good shape, I have quite the changes to my pound-for-pound list. Changes that may make me quite a hypocrite, and a prick, but I was left with no choice. I figured my next update would have a retired Jones removed from the ladder, and perhaps a new champ in Shavkat to make the line. Now, I am forced to face some revelation... key word 'some'. Revelation not of fact, as it's opinion at the end of the day.

I didn't have Jones in the top-3 of my power rankings due to inactivity. His performances against Reyes and Santos also played a part. Two large factors have now come in play to raise him back to the top, in my opinion. Those being a) the rule change of the 12-6 elbow, and b) another TKO title defense win. Bones Jones now has 16 wins in title fights... those all coming consecutively (2011 was his last non-title bout). Considering the 12-6 rule now being abolished, he would be 29-0 with 18 finishes. Jones has won a title in two different weight classes, including the most dangerous class at heavyweight. Even with Stipe looking awful, it's another title defense for Bones. His resume unfortunately trumps the resumes of Makhachev and Pereira.

Islam Makhachev's resume is building rapidly, but it's a quarter of what Jones has done. Islam has never won a title in two different weight classes, and has been knocked out before. Jones has yet to face the reaper. Alex Pereira and Makhachev are close for 2nd. I have Pereira just recently slipstreaming past Islam due to his 2024 production (three knockout wins), winning titles in multiple weight classes, and Pereira fighting in 6 title fights compared to Islam's 4. The two wins that Islam posses over Volk are huge, and have helped build his resume stronger. I'm sticking to my three going into the final PPV event.

On here, there is no bias. My personal opinions on people for there own personal behavior is for X or public conversions. I cover things from a sports standpoint, and a sports standpoint only on here. I firmly stick with my three. All three are close though, 2025 will bring madness! Jones can't go on another hiatus if he wants to keep the top spot. Fighting and beating Aspinall would make him untouchable, and the GOAT of the sport, no doubt. If Makhachev can run through Tsarukyan (still no eta on fight booking) and then possibly fight Oliveira again, shutting that door- he would jump back up to the top-spot. Shit, Jones could be retired by then anyway. This all brings us to one important road: UFC needs to schedule fights! Updated Men's Pound-for-Pound List (Women's no update):

Revolution Nearly Complete

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