Mailbag: Can Stipe Miocic actually pull this off? Plus the great Ilia Topuria vs. Alex Pereira debate and more

How good of a chance does Stipe Miocic have to pull off the upset at UFC 309 and ruin everyone else’s plans? Who’s made the strongest case for 2024 Fighter of the Year? Who has the best walkout in the game right now?

All that and more in this week’s edition of the mailbag. To ask a question of your own, hit me up at @BenFowlkesMMA.

Huge. Massive. Which I know seems a little counterintuitive, since (as we will be reminded many times between now and Nov. 16) Stipe Miocic was the greatest heavyweight champ in UFC history, according to the numbers.

But to come back after three and a half years away, at age 42, and become the first person to beat arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time? That would be an amazing feat and a colossal upset. I also don’t think it’s going to happen.

No disrespect to Miocic, who will go down as one of the greats no matter what happens in this fight. But that’s a long time to be out of action. The man was still in his thirties the last time he fought (and it didn’t go great). To shake off the rust and beat Jon freaking Jones after all this time would be the stuff of legends. Or, if you prefer, myths. Which is why I don’t see it happening in real life.

It is tough, but I’d give it to Ilia Topuria. He beat two of the best featherweight champions we’ve ever seen in one year. And he didn’t just beat them — he demolished them. He knocked out guys who typically don’t get knocked out. He made it all look pretty easy, too.

Alex Pereira’s case for Fighter of the Year is also pretty solid. He fought three times and won them all via knockout. Two of those wins came against former champs in the division, though to be fair, the UFC light heavyweight title has been passed around a lot since Jones left for heavyweight.

Still, the quality of competition edge has to go to Topuria. Pereira deserves a lot of appreciation for being willing to step up and fight whoever just to save the card. Most of that appreciation should come from the UFC, hopefully in monetary form, since it’s the company’s product he was improving with his gameness.

That alone ought to make you employee (independent contractor) of the year. I don’t think it’s enough to make you Fighter of the Year, at least not when Topuria is your competition.

1. If memory serves, didn’t Justin Gaethje basically say that he didn’t want to do much with his custom shorts on account of being a “no frills” kind of guy? So that’s on him.

2. It did not wow a single person. Magomed Ankalaev needed to not only win, but also make a case for himself as the next light heavyweight title contender. Instead he won a forgettable decision and then had to be gently walked through the callout by Daniel Cormier. He might get the title shot anyway, but it will only be because no one has any better ideas at the moment.

3. Agreed. Let Sean Strickland go fight another contender and give me Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev right now.

4. See how many swears you can slip in there. Let’s find out exactly how “unfiltered” it is, really.

5. Alexandre Pantoja vs. Parker Porter. Just because.

I really think PFL needs a name for Francis Ngannou to fight. Putting him in there with another big guy who they have to educate people about is not going to get people interested. This is doubly true if it ends up as the headliner for another attempt at pay-per-view. You want people to pay $50 to see a dude who lost to Waldo Cortes-Acosta on the undercard of a UFC Fight Night card? Get outta here.

I think in most cases it should be at least three. I’d make exceptions for fighters who had to almost clean out the division just to get to the title, and for former champs who have reclaimed the belt after losing it.

But someone like Topuria? Say the UFC were to take Diego Lopes’ advice and first do an interim title bout with Alexander Volkanovski. Then say Topuria beat the winner of that. What’s left for him to do at featherweight after that? Might as well go up and see what Islam Makhachev is up to.

It’s been a little while since I rewatched “Conan the Barbarian,” but I seem to recall that his wins could not easily be counted when he had Crom in his corner.

I lack the patience to sit here and list five different walkout songs, but by far the best overall walkout in the game right now belongs to “Poatan.” The drums. The slow march to the cage. The invisible bow and arrow aimed at his opponent. Anyone who stands there waiting in the cage through all that and doesn’t flee in terror has my respect.

As for a grappling match, man, I haven’t rolled in probably five years or so due to how absolutely trashed my neck is. I don’t regret any of the years I spent on jiu-jitsu mats, but I do think about the cost every time I have to turn my whole body in the seat to check my blind spots while driving.

Clearly, Mark Hunt is upset. I can’t say he doesn’t have some legitimate grievances, but I don’t think he’s going to get the resolution he wants in court. He seems to be one of the only fighters I’ve seen come out against a big cash settlement from the UFC antitrust case.

Overall, his social media presence seems to be dedicated to lashing out in anger pretty much daily. I believe he came by that anger honestly, but it’s still tough to watch.