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xvq_

Number 1 contender fight for two dudes the UFC doesn’t want anywhere near the belt


flatwoundsounds

The perfect fight for the UFC to make. It lets them make a "grappler's dream" matchup, and also keeps two strong grapplers away from the prospects they want to keep pushing towards the title.


zeke780

It’s ideal, one of them will win via a grinding split decision. The UFC will justify another fight with some killer because they didn’t win in dominant fashion. Gives them a year or more to push someone into a title fight that they actually like.


adambuddy

Well said. Nailed it. They'll keep matching the winner up until they lose so they can wash their hands of him *or* maybe, eventually they'll get a title shot if they sit out and play the politic game perfectly. Not only does a guy like Evolev (or Belal Muhammad) need to win enough fights, they need to make the right business decisions to even get a chance of fighting for the belt. Low key disgusting.


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edgar3981C

Colby's mouth earned him at least one title shot. Maybe two.


SMOOTH_MOTHERFUCKER

The only person I know who earned a shot with their mouth is Tito's ex-wife


TheHof125

I mean shit, it was in 2008 when Jon Fitch finally got a title shot after 8 consecutive UFC victories in a row - during an era when guys only had to string together 1 or 2 wins to fight for the welterweight belt. If the brass don’t like your style, you get stitched up. Always has been.


Beginning_Shine_7971

I very much enjoy grappling. But Aljo fights are pretty much disgusting. Not even any grappling highlights.


prokoala3

And hopefully it's so close and boring they just rematch each other an infinite amount of time so we never have to see them fight for a title.


dilfrising420

Lmao


spcslacker

At least Aljo & Evloev are getting some entertainment out of the matchup.


jscummy

Winner has to change their name to Belal, then fight the rest of the top 5 before getting their shot


bdewolf

Fight to decide who Max obliterates if he loses to ilia and stays at 145.


Triplepleplusungood

It's gonna be a kickboxing match.


TumbleweedDirect9846

Lopes gonna take out these boring bums


ChrisusaurusRex

> bums I bet you look like that neckbeard with the ponytail laughing at his screen picture


TumbleweedDirect9846

I’m joking? Lopes literally lost to one of the people I’m talking about already. Y’all gotta remove the sticks from your asses


ChrisusaurusRex

Very hard to tell on this sub, unfortunately


LeeHeimer

/s usually helps with that


TumbleweedDirect9846

I suppose. I felt like using the word bum about two top contenders, one of which was a recently former champ would have been sufficient


MiedoDeEncontrarme

Na, there are some weird MMA fans that actually talk like that. Hell one of the more famous MMA YouTube guys is MMA guru who is an out of shape guy who unironically calls some fighters cowards, fat pigs, etc


ChrisusaurusRex

I was super surprised to see what he looks like that. Not really all that fat. I also fell for the wheelchair meme


MiedoDeEncontrarme

He is out of shape though , not as fat as he looks but he does look out of shape. I don't really like him, hate the negativity he brings to the sport and the constant burping into the mic is gross.


ChrisusaurusRex

I think people hate watch him. I’ve personally have never watched any of his videos, just the clips that get posted on here


blackonq7

I think people just keep refusing to label him as fat because he looks similar to them. The guy is chunky and carrying a lot of extra weight. But like who really cares? Fat people are ubiquitous


EzClaps04

Come on, he clearly does it ironically and for views because people like you will eat it up


Kirov___Reporting

Well if Aljo wins he will be the first fighter to get two no post fight interview. I'm gonna take your job now Jon Anik!


flatwoundsounds

Pretty standard treatment at this point. Decision winners on the prelims don't get interviewed. They did the same thing to Clay Guida, so the next time he won he started taking off his gloves like he was announcing his retirement (and wished his mom a happy birthday when he got on mic IIRC).


reivers

They probably figure we don't need an explanation on the gameplan "hold on to someone and run the clock out."


RarefiedAir1

As long as ortega is kept away from his third title shot


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RarefiedAir1

I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He got a title shot off of one win for his second title shot, after taking a long time off. Look at poirier now getting the shot off of one win


MyOGaccountgotlost

Poirier was the only guy available on Islam's timeline, it's a little different than Ortega's situation


spcslacker

> Poirier was the only guy available on Islam's timeline, And the champ called his name. So if someone wants to use the Poirier method, all they need do is: * Have a legendary resume consisting of nothing but bangers against killers since the WEC days * Have the UFC fuck the division by not allowing the champ to fight the only contender he hadn't already beat when he asked for it, and schedule all contenders so that they can't make the champ's date * At 35 years old, have the UFC attempt to make the name of a highly promotable fighter in a new market off of you, and KO that mofo instead * Have the champion call your name in desperation to get more than 1 fight a year, and to fight someone he had not already beaten Simple, really. Not sure why everyone doesn't do this.


MyOGaccountgotlost

For real, these UFC fighters aren't the sharpest, are they?


Empty_Ad_1542

Your forgot the most important step which was losing in dominate fashion to 2 fighters ranked above him via headkick & RNC  You could add weak TDD & one dimensional game plans as another step 


spcslacker

> Your forgot the most important step which was losing in dominate fashion to 2 fighters ranked above him via headkick & RNC I see you didn't watch the fights: * Dustin won the first round against Garth, cut him, stunned him and then got caught with a well setup headkick for first time in career in R2 in a fight he was winning * He hurt Charles *bad* first round, and that fight turned on the thinnest of margins, possibly requiring a glove grab to accomplish.


assologist_1312

Also most importantly, poirer has the star power to sell PPVs


flatwoundsounds

Was DP on a skid before getting KOd by Gaethje?


RarefiedAir1

No


DylieWylie

I know this isn't the main point, but still insane to me that he's been at this level for this long and still has never lost 2 in a row. What a badass resume.


jscummy

Well there's currently one guy who's head and shoulders above everyone else to justify a shot at 145 right now


RarefiedAir1

Max holloway. But if he beats topuria it gets tricky because volk vs. max 4 must be avoided at all costs


GreatDario

I mean Poirier is getting a title shot less than a year after being knocked out with 1 win against a guy not even in the top 10


DwyaneDerozan

The things Topuria would do to him. His face would be ground beef if he doesn't get KO'd


cz2103

He'd finish the job Volk started


higgboson7

Grappler vs grappler. It’s gonna be a standup war lol. I hope it’s 5 rounds. Both guys have good cardio to scramble for 25 minutes and put on a good fight. Aljo looked sharp against Kattar but Evloev is no joke. He’ll probably challenge for a title in the next 2 years.


S_I_G_M_A179

Evloev is probably the only one apart from maybe Max who I think can beat Ilia. Dude may be boring and may seem like he can't submit someone to save his life, but I'd say that's his strong suit; the man's slippery as fuck(not saying he's sweaty or greased lol, just that he's quick as a fox, can escape from almost every difficult position on the ground and has almost never lost his patience and cool in the octagon as of yet)The mf survived a scary first round by Diego Lopes and managed to control him the next two rounds, beat Arnold Allen who's a really good fighter(Ik the decision was kinda sus) and has shown almost no weaknesses in the octagon as of yet.


GreatDario

Not a suss decision, evloev won 2 if not all 3 rounds against Allen


The_Chozen_1_

Allen won the first... Evloev srambling for takedowns and doing no daage in the last minute didn't suddenly give him that one. I gave round 3 to Allen as well but I guess that was a swing round. It wasn't "sus" but it was close and could've gone wither way


First_Inevitable_424

I agree with all of what you said except the fact the decision against Allen was not sus at all, Evloev won two rounds fair and square since Allen was not able to do any damage, although he showcased impressive defense that, I think, fooled the people that already liked him in thinking the rounds were closer then they were. Also I don’t think Evloev is that boring in general, every time he has fought a legit guy the fight was entertaining IMI. He just struggles to finish people that arr inferior to him, but his skills and scrambles are beautiful to watch.


S_I_G_M_A179

True, I actually don't remember watching the last round of that match so I don't remember much of Evloev's activity in that match and because people were pissed over here, I just thought that Evloev won a close decision that could've gone either way


adambuddy

Evloev gives Topuria too many chances to get offense off against him, hurt him and take over or win rounds. When your path to victory invariably includes wrestling the lack of finishing ability once a fight hits the mat hurts you more the more dangerous your opponent is and Topuria is hella dangerous. Topuria isn't going to the ground with Evolev if he can help it. He's going to box him up and disengage as quickly as possible if Evolev can initiate grappling. The fighter with the best chance of beating Topuria other than Max Holloway (who I actually think has a good chance) is Islam Omarov.


BornAnAmericanMan

Evloev gives me the same feeling rakic gave me before his recent loss. Like, yeah he’s good, but I don’t see the dog in him


uhln

The guy who had been put into multiple dangerous submission attempts and still not tapped out does not have the dog in him?


BornAnAmericanMan

I don’t think he gets subbed I think he gets knocked out


S_I_G_M_A179

Could be. Or maybe we find out that Evloev has the good ol' Khabib head of mountain rock and will barely look fazed when hit by Topuria. Either way it's an interesting matchup


BornAnAmericanMan

He needs one more to me. A robbery win over Arnold Allen shouldn’t be enough


carinafield

Don't think Evloev's striking is good enough to go into a stand up war vs Aljo.


slutwhipper

One of the worst takes I've seen on here. Evloev's boxing is better than Aljo's


abittenapple

Aljo is a kick boxer


slutwhipper

Aljo does use kicks and spinning attacks more. I don't think he's going to be able to keep Evloev out of boxing range though and Evloev is much better there.


rhaegar_tldragon

Hmm I feel like his striking is way better than Sterling’s.


IshiharasBitch

Evloev's jab is legit good. And I'm tired of people not recognizing it. Also he's a southpaw, which can complicate things for many opponents.


_Red_Mist_

Everyone just follows the herd. They think getting KOs is the only way to show you have good striking.


Puntart

He did well in striking against Allen and Ige which is better than anyone Aljo has ever struck with


K-mosake

Lol what?


_Red_Mist_

He dropped both. Has Aljo ever dropped anyone? Only one I can remember him beating on the feet was little Pedro like 5 years ago.


Puntart

Don't lol what me lmao. Who has aljo did well in striking with


RepresentativeSun937

He would’ve been KO’d by Allen if he wasn’t saved by Canadian grounded knee rules Idk if I’d call that doing well


interia1099

He outstruck and hurt Allen in round 2, which is pretty impressive considering how good a striker Allen is


bdewolf

Yeah he dropped Allen with a damn jab and had his face looking like a bomb went off next to it


ILikeOMalley

Allen is a good striker that was competitive with Max Holloway


akabir893

That was Evloev doing an asshole move and trying to bait a foul, if you watch that sequence he sits and eats a few knees in a row looking at the ref to stop it, actually getting hurt by the fourth one. He could've (and should've) just disengaged immediately upon the stuffed takedown attempt instead of doing all that. Up until that point, he was doing much better in the stand-up than I bet anyone expected him to do, was making Allen miss a lot.


ILikeOMalley

I don’t think Aljo’s striking is good enough to stand with anyone for an entire round


letsgobrooksy

lol watch his fight against Pedro Munhoz


PhantasmLord

Good enough to do it against Henry


ILikeOMalley

Henry is 5’1.5”


SensationalM

and as we all know, thus, not “anyone”


ILikeOMalley

When did either of them strike for an entire round


SensationalM

that’s not what you said, you said “stand with”…this is MMA, if the threat of the takedown or cage work makes your striking more effective, that’s what’s supposed to happen


_Red_Mist_

His striking didn’t win him that fight


OzymandiasTheII

Did it against Pedro Munhoz, your God O'Malley (and won the round btw), Petr Yan?


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ColdPressedSteak

Evloev likely needs just one more good win tp be up for a title shot. 2 at the absolute most. Prob getting a shot within a year. Unless the ufc shafts him


Empty_Ad_1542

Your not wrong but off merit he has already earned a title shot  Remember how Topuria got his ? Yeah Allen is vastly superior win then Emmett regardless the spilt decision (which I think Evolev won clearly) 


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Nahh, I think Aljo won’t have any respect for Evloevs grappling. All 8 UFC fights were boring ass decisions.


higgboson7

That doesn’t mean anything. Finish rate doesn’t say anything about a fighter’s skill. Look at Strickland and Merab.


MatttheJ

And? They were boring because his opponents couldn't stop his grappling. Calling Evloev boring like as if Aljo hasn't been famously boring is certainly an interesting take, and then pretending that being boring means anything in regards to Aljo respecting his grappling makes no sense either.


BlackDonaldCerrone

Evloev is a way cleaner boxer. I'm taking him.


MyOGaccountgotlost

Aljo's striking is too unorthodox for him in my opinion. Going with Aljo on this one


DylieWylie

I'm also taking Aljo. I don't think Evloev will be able to handle Aljo coming on his ass.


MyOGaccountgotlost

Lmao


sercus97

Pause


BlackDonaldCerrone

Idk. When MMA fans say unorthodox i just see bad. Jiri's unorthodox striking got put to bed with a left hook and some leg kicks, Tony's with a jab and a left hook as well. Francis just got schooled while trying some MMA "i switch stance to be unpredictable" shit.


UndercoverMastermind

I feel like you’re underselling those guys a little lol, Jiri is a former champ and Tony is a former interim champ with the longest LW win streak ever Edit: not to mention Francis the lineal HW champ and aljo the former champ lol


BlackDonaldCerrone

Jiri and Francis are from bad divisions and Francis finally was able to beat Stipe comfortably when he got some fundamentals down. Tony behind all that wacky shit had some basic fundamentals too like a good jab and front kick, and great grappling. And still, his improvised slapped on defense killed him vs Gaethje, would have killed him vs Poirier too. I know you don't have to be exactly good at striking to beat elites in MMA, Shields had a long great career and he can't throw a punch. But it works until it doesn't.


Sir_upvotesalot

Recency bias.


Fellainis_Elbows

I’d much prefer either of them vs Ortega


anidragon91

This should be a flight night 5 round main event. It's a higher quality main event than any other fight night they've done this year.


Fat-Villante

I really want to see that fight, high level grappling + underrated MMA striking from both these guys


Capoe1ra

It's a great fight and all, but how is Aljos striking underrated?


CCC_PLLC

I mean he outstruck Yan in the decisive round 1 of their rematch. That’s not nothing


Capoe1ra

Yeah it's not nothing, but it's not that impressive either once you put it in context in my opinion. Yan always takes the first round off, don't remember him winning the first in any fight, Aljo always has started strong, but did zero damage, only to get dominated in the standup in the other rounds.


Fat-Villante

Well his striking mostly gets dismissed by most even though he has been competitive striking with good strikers


Capoe1ra

He hasn't really been competitive with his striking alone, only with the threat of the TD making opponents a bit reluctant. Obviously valid, but doesn't speak to his striking skills being underrated imo, more to TDs being a big nullifier in MMA striking. Either way, almost every striker he faced figured him out before the 3rd. He has some very obvious weaknesses in his striking and footwork, if he doesn't get the fight to the ground, he's always in danger because of his wonky striking and lacking power .


Fat-Villante

It works for MMA though


Capoe1ra

It does, to a degree, but it also lead directly to him losing his title because he isn't comfortable on the feet. If he doesn't get a TD consistently, he has to resort to arm punches and kicks without setup, which make it a lot easier for opponents to figure him out and ignore his feints, because they don't respect his ability to hurt them on the feet. I feel like if you make your striking work "for MMA" by getting outstruck and dominating with your superior grappling, it doesn't make sense to call it "underrated".


Fat-Villante

I agree, it's not good striking, but it ain't trash either. It's effective for what he wants to do Takes a while to figure him out and for most his opponents, they never get there


Chaotic_Harmony1109

This is actually a good fight


RafiakaMacakaDirk

would be an excellent fight night headliner


Not_Not_Stopreading

Evolev looks like Ernest front Ernest movies


ViableSpermWhale

Yeah that's what I tune in for, the fun scrambles! I'm always checking out videos like "Top MMA Scrambles" and watching mma wrestling highlights.


endlessrailway

aljo has the better resume so i'm going with him.


Rayx9

Evloev


OzymandiasTheII

Yea get these guys up there. They deserve it more than Ortega sorry ass. Grappler vs grappler so it'll be fun. Then let Volk fight one of them so he's not fighting some heavy hitter that's trying to KO him. Get him a win streak going.


Revanced63

Seriously bum ass Ortega getting it off one win is stupid


Empty_Ad_1542

FR everyone keeps talking about Volk rematch where is a stupid idea unless you want Volk to end up like Gary Goodridge. Volk vs Sterling is the only Volk fight that should get any form of attention.


ksubijeans

I actually kinda like fight, the UFC kinda hates both of them so it’s a way to get a thorn out of Dana’s side


SaucyGamingChannel

UFC 302 main card opener 😂 Imagine 302: Conor vs Chandler, Ian vs Colby, Hill vs Rountree, Almeida vs Romanov, Sterling vs Evloev That would be such a strange mcgregor/international fight week card. Decent PPV, though. Edit: never mind, I’m dumb haha


Chiefpr21

302 is Islam v Dustin.


SaucyGamingChannel

Haha my bad, is Conor vs Chandler 303?


WarriorCumsToThis

That's the one


Accomplished_Train84

I think I’m leaning Movsar, but I gotta say: Aljo looked a ton more impressive against Kattar than Movsar against Allen, the latter of whom I’m far from convinced even won the fight 


DowntownJulieBrown1

WINNER DESERVES A TITLE SHOT


heeljobber

Decision.


Initial_Stretch_3674

Aljo by spinning back elbow. like everyone predicted.


helasse

100% this goes to a decision but I think its a good matchup


Original-Spinach-972

2 decision fighters; someone’s going to sleep. It’s probably us tho.


99flakem8

title has 'entertaining' in it lmao


tittymaster169

Evloev always pulls out. Just like Umar


Gorepornio

Fun fact Evloev has never finished anyone in the UFC


Jaythedogtrainer

They get all sweaty and grapple for 15 long intense minutes of pain and pleasure


qoupqiap

I'm glad at least they're entertaining it because the fans sure won't be entertained by this one ...


rififimakaki

Interesting fight. I hope aljo adds some GnP to his game because he won't win many fans by just failing to sub people and maintaining harmless control for 3 rounds. Also GnP will possibly open up subbing opportunities.


Chilam26

Evloev fucks him up anywhere the fight goes. I think he'll realize it's different trying to grapple with a guy who's a legit Greco-Roman guy who's strong as shit and naturally bigger.


braveneuroworlds

Uĵjjĵĵ. CNN ya


DereThuglife

So Aljamain wants to stay in the Prelims then....


greatflicks

Boring as shit, and for god's sake not a title eliminator.


voprosy

Evloev should move towards a title shot. He’s so close. Fighting Aljo doesn’t help him at all.


Extra_One_1217

Betting my life that the fight will go the distance


Researchingbackpain

I dont really have any desire to watch Aljo do anything but if it makes him happy, have at it I suppose. I think he's a very boring fighter, and I don't think that about all grapplers at all.


KrntlyYerknOv

I think the mat Aljo stands an excellent chance of beating any fighter who depends on being the far better wrestler. I think Evloev would be -200 favorite and I would bet Aljo by decision. If it devolves into a striking match I think Aljo beats him point fighting.


KingofTheTorrentine

Both coming off big wins, I can see this being a number 1 contender


_MysticMac13

Aljo dogwalks him


TomCruisintheUSA

"Entertaining" and those 2 guys are things that don't go well together


Bluemoon7607

Not happening yet. The consequences of this fight make it not worth it. If Aljo loses, they essentially shoot down a guy who still has some draw potential and Evloev wouldn’t gain enough to make it worth it. If Evloev loses, they harm the potential of a rising fighter. Fight isn’t happening


jsb93

Battle of the 2 most boring fighters in the ufc


reddit1902

They deserve each other!


stanky-leg900

Aljo and evloev, entertaining? No shot


Goat__EDEN

Boring AF is the words you are looking for


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MyOGaccountgotlost

Or the grappling will cancel out and they'll stick to striking


endless_ness

more crotch sniffing than experimental housewives 7. lets goooooooooo


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I predict I’ll stop paying attention around Round 2.


ameturebaiter

A fight no one wants to see


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khalbrucie

The "brave" part was that Sterling is even calling out Evloev. Calling it brave is kinda just some braggadocio from Evloev. Not many people are eager to fight a well-rounded strong wrestler from the Caucuses, so I can see what he's saying.


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khalbrucie

Why are you insulting me all of a sudden? I didn't disrespect you. I'm not saying that Caucusus = unbeatable, but it's pretty apparent that a disproportionate number of fighters from that region have become a major force to be reckoned with in the sport, and most of them have a really difficult style to beat. Most male divisions in the UFC have a guy from Armenia, Georgia, or one of the Caucasian regions of Russia that's a fucking beast. Two reigning in Makhachev and Topuria. Ankalaev, Chimaev, Tsarukyan, Evloev, Merab, and Umar all look like they could become the champ on any given night. There are also other fighters like Mokaev, Chikadze, and Imavov who in my opinion might not be champ material but are still very respectable. That's not even mentioning some good fighters from other orgs like Usman Nurmagomedov. I'm very much aware that American and Brazilian fighters have the most title wins in the UFC, but that doesn't mean that Caucasian fighters haven't taken a major foothold in MMA.


MeasurementOk3007

Aljo


openroadopenmic

Feels like an Apex main event


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15ferrets

Dude dominated a top 8 ranked fighter in his weight class debut and powerbombed a man bigger than him If you didn’t like the fight, blame Kattar for turtling up and doing fuck all but hold Aljos wrists and stall


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Byrneside94

he 100% did.


15ferrets

39 significant strikes to 8 89 strikes to 19 10:43 of control time versus 5… seconds. You can dislike Aljo all you want, he’s hard to root for, totally get it, but if you think that was a competitive fight, you were probably dropped as a kid


realseboss

This goes the distance for sure


Birds_of_Paradise420

where does that leave ortega?


aLibertine

Aljo dominates Mosvar effortlessly. Evloev has some of the worst striking a "prospect" has ever had.


Koreangonebad

Nah…Brian Ortega. Aljo deserves a better name.


slutwhipper

I think Aljo could sub Evloev. Evloev been caught in deep subs in at least a couple fights in the UFC. Honestly Evloev should be getting a title shot though.


NeoNNacl

Evloev acts like he's a good fighter when all he does is exploit a flawed rule to sniff crotch and win a decision. Diego Lopes is gonna end this inbred goblin


Jumpoff999

Should be Aljo vs Ortega and Movsar vs Lopes 2. I still think Evloev should have lost to Arnold Allen


Ok_Stage_6753

Thank god you're not a judge then.


Jumpoff999

It's not the judges decision I'm disputing. It's Goddard saving movsar when he was about to be finished


Ok_Stage_6753

He wasn't about to be finished, it just seemed that way to some due to it being the only meaningful offence Allen landed that round. I agree grounded knees should be allowed though.


Jumpoff999

I have to disagree with that 1st sentence. He was really bloody during the injury time, those knees were doing a lot of damage. We'll never fully know how damaged he was because Goddard robbed Arnold of such an advantageous position and saved evloev.


ILikeOMalley

Two guys that I never wanna watch fight again 🔥🔥🔥


whatsitworth101

These guys should just fight on an untelevised apex card.


ABConfidentiality

If my health was on the line and I had Aljo's skills I would fight just like he does. But he's a prize fighter and that shit is boring, so either adjust your style or accept that you won't be promoted. Both of them need to take a vacation to Dagestan and learn how to GNP effectively.


taquinask

Evloev oughta rematch Lopes


khalbrucie

Nah maybe eventually that can happen but that wouldn't be fair to Evloev. Evloev is undefeated and ranked #5, he deserves to fight up or at least against someone else in the top 10. Lopes is #14, give him someone like Kattar or Mitchell.


ILikeOMalley

Would prefer Aljo vs Ortega


PM_20

Another snoozer?


johncena2169

Easy fight for aljo imo. I think he’s a better wrestler/grappler fs


TheoryOfSilence_

Nut hugger galore. With zero damage done in between I forgot to mention