Lopez is just big for the weight, all he has is power, no fundamentals and can't cut the ring off, he shouldn't have been in the ring with Volk.
Yeah its easy to sit there and say “just cut the ring bro”, Volk arguably has the best movement in FW history, easily top 5-10 striking skills and is an absolute freak of an athlete who is still somehow faster than Lopes at 37. Lopes is plenty dangerous on the feet for most other FWs with his size, power and offensive skill and his BJJ is very good.
True, kinda... but who are those guys in the division? Its not Evloev, who used the opposite approach to Volk when he beat Lopes. Its not Yair, or Murphy, or Sterling. Silva and Allen? Nope. No one in the division has Volkanovski´s footwork, and if they beat him they will use a different method.
A look at how Askren is doing now. Later in the video they show his recovery and physical rehabilitation... and I am amazed at how withered away his body is. Its as if he was in a come for years. He really was half way out of this realm. This content is protected Hopefully he makes a full recovery, I am rooting for him!
No idea why, it’s almost like the heavyweights from 10 years ago had been blasting PEDs their whole career. They looked way more athletic and better in the ring. I doubt the PEDs had anything to do with it though.
Guess what else happened 10 years ago? The Reebok deal. The athletic heavyweights are still out there, but UFC "cant" afford them. Several heavyweights from that era said that they made more from sponsorships than fighting, but this made it worthwhile to fight for the UFC. Given how notorious the UFC is when it comes to low fighter pay, its no wonder that there is a lack of quality heavyweights. In the end, Heavyweights are the most paid athletes in all of combat sports, generally speaking. Its easier to make a buck as a big boy. ...but in MMA this seems to be the opposite. The heavyweights really aren't paid more than guys in the other divisions. If UFC heavyweights made millions then the division would be booming. But as long as the UFC is giving out low six figure contracts, its going to be a **** division. Man, imagine if Ngannou had stuck around. Imagine if guys like Nemkov, Malykhin and Goncharov were in it. ****, I bet old ass De Fries would still beat the current half of the division with ease.
Brock was on PEDS but was slow as hell in the octagon, heavyweights 10-15 years ago were crap, DC was good but very short.
Bro... its not even close. 2015 heavyweight rankings **** on 2026. Its one thing to say that they were not that good, fine, whatever, but lets not defend the 2026 roster here. Any rational person can see how bad the division is right now. https://imgur.com/a/YD4UNVI
