UFC-ийн нисэх жингийн аварга Жошуа Ванг тэргүүлсэн шинэ чансаа нь Илиа Топуриа болон Арман Царукян нарын байр суурьтай холбоотой шүүмжлэлийг дагууллаа.
ESPN байгууллага жил бүр уламжлал болгон гаргадаг 30 хүртэлх насны шилдэг 30 тамирчны жагсаалтаа танилцуулсан нь тулааны спортын хүрээнд багагүй маргаан өрнүүлэв. UFC-ийн нисэх жингийн аварга Жошуа Ванг өнгөрсөн сард Александр Пантожаг шүүгчдийн санал нэгтэй шийдвэрээр ялж, аваргын бүсээ амжилттай хамгаалсны дараа тус чансааг тэргүүлсэн байна. Өнгөрсөн жил жагсаалтын гуравдугаарт бичигдэж байсан 24 настай Ванг ийнхүү нэгдүгээр байрт дэвшжээ.
Харин хоёрдугаар байрт PFL-ийн хөнгөн жингийн аварга Усман Нурмагомедовыг нэрлэсэн нь олон нийтийн эсэргүүцэлтэй тулгарлаа. Шүтэн бишрэгчид UFC-ийн хоёр жингийн аварга асан Илиа Топуриаг Усман Нурмагомедовоос илүү өндөр амжилттай гэж үзэж байгаа бөгөөд Топуриа өнгөрсөн жил уг жагсаалтыг тэргүүлж байсан юм. Түүнчлэн хөнгөн жингийн шилдэг тулаанч Арман Царукяныг жагсаалтад багтаагүйд олон хүн бухимдалтай хандаж байна.
Жагсаалтын эхний аравт Майкл Моралес, Дакота Дичева, Сонг Ядон, Жош Хокит, Иан Мачадо Гарри, Наталья Силва болон Квиллан Салкиллд нар багтжээ. UFC 332-ын үндсэн тулаанд оролцох Наталья Силва есдүгээр байрт бичигдсэн нь ирэх амралтын өдөр болох түүний аваргын бүсний төлөөх тулааны өмнө анхаарал татаж байна.
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ESPN have dropped their yearly 30 before 30 list and fans aren’t too happy with some of the picks.
Over the past few years, there has been somewhat of a changing of the guard in MMA, with the older generation of fighters having bowed out of the sport, making way for the younger stars.
There are currently 34 fighters under the age of 30 ranked in the UFC‘s official rankings, across 11 different weight classes.
And while the future is now, ESPN have released their annual rankings of 30 athletes under the age of 30, with some selections having caused controversy amongst fans.
Joshua Van tops ESPN’s 30 before 30 list while other selections cause controversy
Just a few weeks ago, UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van made the second defense of his 125lb title when he took on veteran, Alexandre Pantoja.
Van beat Pantoja by unanimous decision in what was a Fight of the Year contender, once again improving his position in the pound-for-pound rankings. And now, with ESPN releasing their 30 before 30 list, ‘The Fearless’ Van has topped the list at number one. Last year, the 24-year-old was rank number three on the list.
ESPN’s pick for second place has caused some controversy amongst combat sports fans, as former PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov comes in ranked higher than former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria.
‘El Matador’ topped the list last year, while Nurmagomedov came ranked outside of the top five at rank seven. And despite Topuria’s shocking loss to Justin Gaethje earlier this year, fans believe he should still be ranked about the undefeated Russian.
“Usman above Topuria is f—— insanity. Usman’s wins outside of the UFC are the equivalent of Ilia winning his first belt without any defenses,” one fan commented.
“A fake hardcore made this list and it’s pretty obvious. Topuria was a two division champion in the UFC while Usman was a champion but in a lower level promotion, so how exactly is he ranked above Topuria? I’m not saying Usman is bad but he’s not yet accomplished more than Ilia,” another fan said.
“Topuria below USMAN?!” a third fan questioned.
“There is zero reasoning to putting Usman above Ilia. Ilia’s best 3 wins are (Alexander) Volkanovski, Max (Holloway) and Charles (Oliveira), let’s compare that to Usman,” another fan said.
Another extremely questionable omission saw Arman Tsarukyan miss out on the list, despite being just 29-year-old. ‘Batman’ is widely regarded as the best lightweight fighter on the planet, above both Topuria and Nurmagomedov.
“Usman above Ilia and no Arman? What a joke. Do better ESPN,” another fan said.
“Besides all the valid points everyone else has made, having Gable Steveson in there at 22 is absurd. And no Arman. I repeat: Steveson against all other 8 guys, no Arman,” said another angry fan.
Other fighters that made up the top 10 include Michael Morales, Dakota Ditcheva, Song Yadong, Josh Hokit and Ian Machado Garry.
UFC 332 headliner Natalia Silva comes in at number 9 ahead of her first title fight this coming weekend. Soaring lightweight contender Quillan Salkilld rounds out the top 10.
