It seems to me inevitable that Magomedsharipov will be fighting for a UFC title, and here thinks 2020 will be the year. And I think for a 6-foot-2 featherweight with an offensive toolbox that opens up like the Tardis, those famous six words apply: It’s only a matter of time. He blasted through a whole host of ov’s in the Russian ACB promotion (Zamanov, Temirov, Kokov, Arapkhanov) and has done the same against everyone he’s faced thus far in the UFC (6-0). Only one man has ever defeated Zabit Magomedsharipov, and that was the great Igor Egorov on crisp April night in Rostov-on-Don, that beautiful port near the mystical Sea of Azov. With the first pick in the 2020 Future Gold draft, Team Mindenhall selects, at featherweight, hailing from Russia, Zabit Magomedsharipov!

And with that, let the 2020 contender draft begin! It’s redemption time. Good times.īy virtue of your win, that means you are awarded this year’s No. Your squad (Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, Francis Ngannou) nailed both the middleweight and welterweight titles, while my squad (Tatiana Suarez, Cain Velasquez, Tony Ferguson) sort of lolled around, fought a combined three times all year, and ultimately ended 2019 with a big fat zero to show for it. You took my picks behind the woodshed and laid down a 50-43-esque smacking that would impress even the most unimpressable. On that note, Chuck, it pains me to admit that last year you annihilated me.

But the more belts you end up with, the better. The goal is to put together the three-fighter team most likely to end 2020 with at least one UFC title in tow. This is meant to be an exercise in prognostication, not fight prediction.Ĥ. That means only one pick per team from this group: Daniel Cormier, Dominick Reyes, Yoel Romero, Tony Ferguson, Joseph Benavidez, Deiveson Figueiredo, Katlyn Chookagian and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. In an effort to force more adventurous thinking this year, only one section will be allowed per team from the pool of fighters who are already expected to challenge for a belt in 2020. So former champions? They’re fair game.ģ. Only fighters who are not currently UFC champions are available to be selected. 4 and 5, while the person who gets the second pick will also get picks No. The draft will be three rounds, snake-draft style, meaning the person who gets the first pick will also get picks No. Before we get started, let’s lay down some ground rules.ġ. Just moments away from our second annual UFC contender draft - and our first one here on The Athletic.

He retired with a mark of 45-5-2 (23 KOs) and comedian Greg Davies’ impression of him is phenomenal.Al-Shatti: Here we are once more, Chuck. His greatest success came at super-middleweight where he’d reign supreme as WBO champ until losing to Steve Collins in 1995. When he took his big fight against Benn later that year, he beat “The Dark Destroyer” by TKO in a classic to become WBO middleweight champ. This was genuinely one of only a handful of first-round (T)KOs in Eubank’s career, and he was never a big puncher to begin with. Sadly, he died at just 34 years of age and just a few months after his final fight.

His victory pose staring emotionless at the camera while dos Santos is being tended to in the background is something else.ĭos Santos ended his career 15-13 (11 KOs) and suffered a slew of KO losses in Brazil before winning his last four bouts. The subsequent post-fight reaction by the eccentric Eubank is what makes an ordinary KO over an overmatched opponent into something memorable. Dos Santos tried getting up in the same way one would rise out of bed in a groggy state, but to no success when it came to actually beating the ten count. Literally the first punch Eubank threw was a big right hand and planted dos Santos right away. This was a mismatch on paper and a “get rounds in” booking and it did not even accomplish that. Eubank was an up-and-coming star of world boxing. But Eubank’s precursor to his first fight against Nigel Benn is a KO that would be a social media delight had such a thing existed back in 1990.Īt this stage in his career, dos Santos was an 11-4 fighter with not one seriously notable win. This was before Eubank even became a world champion. Reginaldo dos Santos does not rank anywhere near Chris Eubank’s greatest wins.

One hitter quitter meaning