Hot Takes

Sean Strickland as middleweight champion is the funniest thing that could have happened to the UFC's PR team.

Chuck Liddell was the UFC's first real superstar and the sport owes him more than it gives him.

Dricus du Plessis has the ugliest style that works in the entire sport. Nobody can solve it.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili 1 is the best women's fight the UFC has ever put on.

Khabib retiring at 29-0 was the smartest career move in MMA history. Nobody ever got to see the decline.

Fighter pay is the real scandal in this sport. The fighters are the product and they get the smallest slice.

Joshua Van is going to hold the flyweight belt for years. Nobody at 125 can keep up with him.

Interim belts should be scrapped. Either you are the champion or you aren't.

Jon Jones at heavyweight was never really tested. Two fights isn't a heavyweight career.

The prelims are better than the main card more often than not. The UFC puts its best fights on too early.

Khabib's perfect record is partly timing. He fought the right guys at the right time.

Conor is never fighting in the UFC again. The comeback is a marketing campaign.

Robert Whittaker is the best middleweight of his era who couldn't solve Adesanya.

Nate Diaz beating Conor was the best thing that ever happened to Conor's career.

The smaller cage at the Apex changes fights more than anyone admits.

Islam Makhachev's résumé is already better than Khabib's. Say it.

Wrestling is the most boring road to a belt and also the most effective one. Deal with it.

Belal Muhammad's title run proved you don't need a highlight reel to become champion.

Georges St-Pierre in his prime beats Islam Makhachev at welterweight. Five rounds, clear decision.

Women's strawweight was the best women's division ever and the UFC stopped selling it.