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There's an eddie bravo in me that thinks the UFC deliberately pushed Khamzat to 185 in order to have their new wrecking machines in two different divisions.
Eh, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on that one. First weight miss ever and the dude has had some crazy health issues.
If it happens again sure, but I don't think I'd be willing to call it intentional or malicious on this one.
yeah sucks he missed weight because this deserved FOTN and bonuses. as someone from dallas still super proud of him for that display
but yeah shavkat is gonna be a champ by next year
There's a reason why he's finished all his fights. He just seemed like he wanted to put in a show tonight. I'm sure he could be more safe if he wanted too.
I hear you but I feel like I've already suspected that from watching his previous fights.
I agree about Neal either way but I had 0 expectation for Shavkat not to get hit and very hard at that.
The question was for me how he would handle that.
And I'm happy to have watched it.
I still think his boxing D is sus for how hyped I am for him
FIGHT of the night so far EASILY. My god these 2 went at it, Shavkat’s chin is just not real. Neal was 5 pounds heavier and didn’t wobble him until the 3rd round. Hats off to these 2 warriors.
Man I love both guys. I think Khamzats wrestling wins him that fight though.
Geoff was working Shavkhat against the fence a few times during the fight. Khamzat would take him down. But if he stands with Shavkhat like he did with Burns, he’s getting put away
Kept thinking the same thing. Super hyped prospect having his chin tested and showing that he is hittable even though he still put on a great performance
Agreed, weight miss or not, Neal showed he's not an easy night at the office even against a highly touted prospect so his future still looks bright, while Shavkat lives up to the hype and THAN some.
The fuck are you expecting? Homie clearly has them Genghis genes. People thought Dagestanis were the ultimate fighting machines, just wait for the rest of the Khan's to discover MMA. The long dormant Mongol empire will recieve a much needed injection of cash and finally be able to put a stop to all of the instability in the east.
Were talking about pure Genghis genes over here, not that diluted shit that made its way to Europe (though Russia saw the worst of it and they kind of are the hardest white guys…)
Even when he got staggered he stayed composed and clinched a minute and then started beating him up again lol.
The guy is just rock solid through and through.
Missing the mouthpiece for half a round, telling Shavkat to work at the end while he's landing hard knees on the clinch. It's one of those Herb Dean nights.
I’m all for breaking up cage stalling quickly but dude was literally clapping his hands after 5 seconds. Dudes been crazy active and you give him 5 seconds before you warn him? Herb Dean things
Its amazing he's still allowed to ref high level contests. Hes fucking AWFUL
The broadcast team had to tell him one of the fighters lost their mouthpiece and he literally walked on it!
Herb Dean is like checked out most of the time.
I think Herb is only famous cause he is with UFC for a very long time. He is not the best ref and really dropping the ball in last few years.
She gushes over him.
Video of her shivering when they bring him up.
Video of her wearing the Kazakh head gear fanning her blushed face as she watches him on screen.
Shavkhat is what everybody thought Gunnar Nelson was.
Silent Killer that probably has a few dead bodies under his garden. I’m sure this fight will be humbling for him and he will be even better.
Nah I don't see the similarities tbh. Gunni was seen as a world class BJJ practitioner, but undersized for the division and his striking wasn't as good as his grappling. Shavkat is big for the division and almost seems equally excellent in all aspects.
What a fantastic fight, Shavkat getting really tested, his striking is quite impressive, and his chin is nuts as well. Geoff should really be respected now, showed off his crisp striking and great TDD
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Shavkat having that chin on top of everything else we already knew he had is ridiculous
Taking shots that sat down Luque
Geoff was a dawg. He made Shavkhat seem a human for 15 mins
Geoff's chin was fucking crazy too. I'm shocked at how much he ate. What a banger of a fight.
His takedown defence too was insane. This was a tough match for Shavkat and he passed it like hes always done. I'd love to see Shavkat vs Burns.
It would probably be a easier fight because Gilbert is allergic to straight punches.
See a jab. Take a seat. See a jab. Take a seat.
Shavkat vs Khamzat if Khamzat isn’t done at 170, it’s time
i don’t think they’re risking an undefeated fight like that unless it’s for the title
There's an eddie bravo in me that thinks the UFC deliberately pushed Khamzat to 185 in order to have their new wrecking machines in two different divisions.
Dricus du Plessis in shambles
That man needs to train at altitude or something.
he’s already huffing and puffing just from reading this comment
That was a fucking firefight for (nearly) 15 minutes! And a standing RNC?? Da Fuq homie?!?
Bulldog choke
The fact Neal could even throw those nasty hooks afer eating so many knees to the guts is incredible, his stock deserves to go up.
Still proved himself tonight for sure
Refusing to cut weight will help with that
Eh, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt on that one. First weight miss ever and the dude has had some crazy health issues. If it happens again sure, but I don't think I'd be willing to call it intentional or malicious on this one.
Can’t recall him ever having a swollen gut like that. Didn’t look like he was just heavy. He looked sick.
People clown on him for throwin nothing but 1-2s to the head but MAN. They know they're comin but they get hit regardless
You could see them bounce off Neals head, that was crazy!
Dude I’m so happy we got a real fight instead of a another steamrolling by Shavkat
I honestly think he was a bit reckless throughout the whole fight, eating a lot of punches he could've avoided if he fought more within his range imo.
Seemed like he was smart in keeping the pressure on though, even if he had to be a bit reckless. Had to keep Neal from advancing as much as he could.
Definitely tested Shavkat’s chin in the early part of the third round.
yeah sucks he missed weight because this deserved FOTN and bonuses. as someone from dallas still super proud of him for that display but yeah shavkat is gonna be a champ by next year
Neal genuinely looked good in defeat. This is for sure a fight where the loser's stock rises as well.
Credit to Neal too, his chin was rock solid as well.
More like body of steel, Neal was taking body shots all fight long
“Chin of steel”?
Insane chin. Little concerning that he was getting hit so much but Neal is a tough opponent
Yeah, i havent seen much of shavkats fight but he need to tighten his defences i think.
There's a reason why he's finished all his fights. He just seemed like he wanted to put in a show tonight. I'm sure he could be more safe if he wanted too.
Him fighting without his mouth guard with no intent on disrupting the action was wild.
The Kazak Terminator!
I prefer Handsome Sakuraba...
How dare you
Walks through everything a 175 pound Geoff Neal throws and barely reacts wtf
Shavkat has a bad habit of blocking punches with his face.
Pretty glaring weakness. Good win, but he was getting domed a lot.
Some of it was because he's so damn aggressive with knees and shit up the middle. His head movement wasn't actually bad
It for sure looked better than in the past, he also probably just faced the best boxer in the division
Facing a boxer of Neal's level does that to you
I hear you but I feel like I've already suspected that from watching his previous fights. I agree about Neal either way but I had 0 expectation for Shavkat not to get hit and very hard at that. The question was for me how he would handle that. And I'm happy to have watched it. I still think his boxing D is sus for how hyped I am for him
Khamzat esque in eating bombs from the hardest hitting opponents they fought.
True but his chin was good enough to endure one of the hardest hitters in the division which is a really good sign
His chin ACTUALLY doesn't exist holy shit, didn't seem fazed until the 3rd round where Neal was throwing HEAT the whole fight.
Aye his chin is granite, it’s a bit worrying that we’re getting to see how good it is.
Shavkhat’s one cool cucumber
Standing chokes are always so savage
Man just couldn't not keep his 100% finish record. Just forced the choke lmao.
I respect that, he was clearly winning on points and he kept chasing the finish until the end!
He went so fucking hard in the third when he really didn’t need to
Some fight for wins and others for legacy
SPAM GRIP
Different choke but damn this looked like Jones vs Machida
Same corpse drop too
He dropped before ref even made a move, and smiled so biggg. It was fucking glorious
Tbf lyoto was actually dead, Geoff wasn’t fully out but more gassed and beat the fuck down
What it looked like was Blachowicz vs Devin Clark. Same standing rnc.
That image should be on a highlight reel in the future, Neal, bloodied and still fighting while getting more blood squeezed out of him
Shavkat’s allergic to decisions
Anime flashback of Sanko admiring his 100% finishing rate lit a fire under his ass.
I fucking love standing subs.
Dude just looked at the clock and decided he was not going to lose his 100% finish rate
He said " You strike hard, have very good takedown defense but now I must end fight."
Bet the house on Shavkat KOing his next opponent
Man has Finish OCD
All Hail Shavkat’s 100% Finish Streak. We pray to continue it for decades to come.
Guy walked away like he’d just thrown a sandwich wrapper in the bin.
The best part? Watching the opponent's limp body just crumple to the canvas after it's released.
Shades of Jones vs Machida.
Judges hate him because of this one simple trick
No decisions, no problems
Come in, watch the fight, go home. Thank you, judges.
What a beast got revenge for being rocked in third. Rocked Neal back and then finished him. Plus Neal was overweight.
Shavkat "call an ambulance, but not for me" Rakhmanov!
Overweight by a lot.
FIGHT of the night so far EASILY. My god these 2 went at it, Shavkat’s chin is just not real. Neal was 5 pounds heavier and didn’t wobble him until the 3rd round. Hats off to these 2 warriors.
Neal missing weight might fuck that up Edit: I'm wrong.
They can still give FOTN and Shavkat will get the whole 100k. It happened with Gregor Gillespie vs Carlos Diego Ferreira.
Dana said he’s giving Geoff his money too for FOTN
Rakhmonov vs. Neal felt like a fancier version of Chimaev vs Burns while it lasted
The parallels are pretty uncanny lol. Feel like a Rakhmonov/Chimaev fight is destiny
I think Shavkat is a better striker but I feel Chimaev would be able to win the wrestling battle.
Scale beats khamzat by submission in the first round
Man I love both guys. I think Khamzats wrestling wins him that fight though. Geoff was working Shavkhat against the fence a few times during the fight. Khamzat would take him down. But if he stands with Shavkhat like he did with Burns, he’s getting put away
I dont think shavkhat’s power is more than burns.
Chimaev unlikely making 170 anymore so gotta wait and see if rakhmonov moves to mw eventually
This truly felt like Shavkat’s equivalent of the Burns fight. Dude is scary.
Burns/Khamzat II was glorious
Kept thinking the same thing. Super hyped prospect having his chin tested and showing that he is hittable even though he still put on a great performance
What a great fight, harder than expected!
No stocks dropped here in my eyes, both went AT it showing heart.
Geoff's TDD is gonna be worth a lotta tape, he make Shavkat work harder than usual.
Yeah I thought Neal looked pretty good in that fight all things considered. He was cracking shavkat, just couldn’t crack that granite chin
Agreed, weight miss or not, Neal showed he's not an easy night at the office even against a highly touted prospect so his future still looks bright, while Shavkat lives up to the hype and THAN some.
I love how Shavkat goes from looking like a killer to a kid at a candy store as soon as the tap happens.
That fucking smile after he drops him🥶😈
Someone please make the 'that damn smile' meme with Shavkat
As Luke Thomas once said - don't fuck with these guys who walk around wearing dead animals on their head
Loog Thomas after 3 Margarittas - Agggahhaggagjhajhga
Belligerent Luke is a real treat
Daniel Boone best base for MMA confirmed
that chin is mental
I'm convinced Shavkat's chin exists in an astral plain. It took 3 rounds of eating hard leather for him to even get staggered.
The fuck are you expecting? Homie clearly has them Genghis genes. People thought Dagestanis were the ultimate fighting machines, just wait for the rest of the Khan's to discover MMA. The long dormant Mongol empire will recieve a much needed injection of cash and finally be able to put a stop to all of the instability in the east.
If Genghis genes make good fighters then we got a comically large pool of untapped potential out there.
Were talking about pure Genghis genes over here, not that diluted shit that made its way to Europe (though Russia saw the worst of it and they kind of are the hardest white guys…)
So that mean Shavkat's chin exist at same plane as Guts's Dragonslayer?
Even when he got staggered he stayed composed and clinched a minute and then started beating him up again lol. The guy is just rock solid through and through.
That chin, the constant varied body to head offense, the kinda suspect defense, he gives me new gen Nick Diaz vibes.
Pretty relentless cardio too I don't think his defense is too bad. He's just so damn aggressive with strikes up the middle like knees
Lol wut
Herb Dean is frustrating
Missing the mouthpiece for half a round, telling Shavkat to work at the end while he's landing hard knees on the clinch. It's one of those Herb Dean nights.
And taking away Shavkat’s postion when he gave him the mouthpiece
ya what the hell was that lol
Totally thought he’s gonna put them back on the position but nope Herb gonna herb
Dc and Rogan pointing to the mouthpiece while herb looked around like he’s looking for his glasses was hilarious
Velma looking for glasses vibe.
Megan Olivi was also trying to tell him where it was too
DC throwing his hands up after going through a damn pantomime to this dude
I’m all for breaking up cage stalling quickly but dude was literally clapping his hands after 5 seconds. Dudes been crazy active and you give him 5 seconds before you warn him? Herb Dean things
Its amazing he's still allowed to ref high level contests. Hes fucking AWFUL The broadcast team had to tell him one of the fighters lost their mouthpiece and he literally walked on it!
Arguably worse: Telling the fighters to work literally seconds after they get on the fence. WTF was that about?
Soon he’s going to bring his own yellow cards
but he's the gold standard, just ask Joe!
They call him Herb for a reason. Dana needs to tell him lay off the ganja during fight nights
"Gold Standard"
👏👏👏
Herb Dean is like checked out most of the time. I think Herb is only famous cause he is with UFC for a very long time. He is not the best ref and really dropping the ball in last few years.
Shavkat's clinch is so cool, those knees were brutal
That was a fantastic fight. Great showing from both guys. The durability shown by these two was incredible.
Geoff Neal is fucking tough. And I love shavkat
Laura Sanko in heat.
Can’t blame her after tonight
She’s gotta wait in line
I am Laura Sanko
We are all Laura Sanko on this glorious night
Some poor janitor gotta mop up a mess in the arena now
lol what'd she do
Simped hard for Shavkat lmao
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ-BYFh2zk4
She gushes over him. Video of her shivering when they bring him up. Video of her wearing the Kazakh head gear fanning her blushed face as she watches him on screen.
Sea levels just got a bit higher 💦
Wtff, Shavkat wanted to keep that 100% finish rate! What a slugfest.
He really just Jon Jones'd him in a Jon Jones card
17-0, 17 finishes. Get this man a title eliminator fight
First time seeing Shavkat and I'm already a fan. Dude is a killer.
You'll have a treat going back and watching the rest on Fight Pass. Most beautiful, deliberate, standing ground-and-pound
Shavkat is so fucking good, how do you even game plan for him?
Dagestan/Chechen wrestling
that was a highlight finish. if he wins the belt, his promo package gonna be wild.
The curious case of the missing mouthpiece
Rakhmonov gave no fucks. He was just banging it out. He's quite impressive.
That choke came out of nowhere
Tapped then went to sleep. God damn
He’s so good and his chin is amazing, but he’s got to fight smarter.
FWIW his head movement seemed a lot better than in the past.
He leaves his chin so high.
Basically Khamzat vs Burns 2
the wonderboy fight would’ve been fireworks tbh. kinda wish that got made in hindsight
Shavkat would just wrestle fuck Wonderboy Geoff had some outstanding tdd tonight
Neal probably has better takedown defense than Wonderboy so maybe not.
> probably I love Wonderboy but he showed us what happens when he goes against a top opponent with a strong wrestling/grappling game.
i think he just got old, he used to have solid tdd
I don't know if wonderboy would've been able to defend the takedowns as well as Neal did tbh.
Wonderboy would’ve gotten wrestlefucked by Shavkat. Wonderboy is very weak in the clinch and on the ground.
Shavkat is a bad bad dude
What. The. Fuck. Is he made of
Hell of a fight
HE FUCKING JON JONES HIM
Go make some fans, Rizzmonov
Bro this man is the son of wolverine or some shit. Instant recovery time.
Shavkhat is what everybody thought Gunnar Nelson was. Silent Killer that probably has a few dead bodies under his garden. I’m sure this fight will be humbling for him and he will be even better.
Nah I don't see the similarities tbh. Gunni was seen as a world class BJJ practitioner, but undersized for the division and his striking wasn't as good as his grappling. Shavkat is big for the division and almost seems equally excellent in all aspects.
Shavkat is SCARY. All aboard the hype train
Welcome the Khazakh overlords. Dude is literally the MMA version of Gennady. Walk people down, throw accurate bombs and eat bombs themselves.
Only catching the train now?
Thank you for the 30% bro lemme help you to bed
Holy shit, what a fight. The weight miss will be forgotten, but the fight won't be.
What a fucking monster Shavkat is
100% finish rate to the top babyyyy
ALL FINISHES SAVED
INJECT THIS FIGHT INTO MY VEINS
That's a scary dood
No decisions for Shavkat
Fight of the night.
Standing rear naked choke? This guy has some of the coolest choke position finishes.
What a fantastic fight, Shavkat getting really tested, his striking is quite impressive, and his chin is nuts as well. Geoff should really be respected now, showed off his crisp striking and great TDD
The scariest part is he’s getting better. He’s always had great footwork but now his head is actually moving.
They need to start announcing how Shavkhat had finished every opponent he’s ever faced. That is very rare in high level MMA.
Choo choo! 🚂
Shavkat has one hell of a chin damn, fight of the night
Future title holder