UFC Fighters Who Won’t Fight for Your Money if You Bet on Them

I thought all fighters fight. Well, kind of. Some fighters will concede a lot sooner than others. I think we know that.

We have all seen them fold and fade so quickly or perhaps it is a slow death. They are always the worst. What I mean here is when your fighter who you bet your hard-earned money on gets taken down.

This isn’t good for us, obviously, but it is just a takedown. It happens. What matters is how quickly they can get up without allowing your opponent to advance his or her position and/or land effective ground and pound.

There are times where you simply can’t get up. The fighter on top of you has imposed their will and is staying very tight to your body with theirs. Maybe they aren’t trying to land any ground and pound, advance their position or secure any submissions.

We know this as the lay and pray tactic and referees are pretty hip to the game so they can spot it quickly and stand the fight up. We forget how close the referees are to the action. Think about how much they learn about fighting as a whole as well as each individual mixed martial artist’s fears, tendencies, secrets, you name it.

I would love to have Herb Dean sitting beside me as we handicapped and predicted these fights every week. I know it will never happen but a boy can dream, no?

Herb could definitely write this article today a lot better than me. He truly, truly knows what fighters will fight for your money or not. He knows the quitters and the hitters better than anyone in the entire game including UFC matchmakers, Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard.

Today, let’s focus on the quitters and highlight the fact that quitting isn’t all of nothing, it is relative or at least we can say that there are different ways of quitting. You can accept defeat and just try to make it to the judges’ scorecards.

Forgive me because I am not judging these men and women for what they do and the decisions they make. Fighting is obviously pretty freaking hard or else some of the best in the world, ehem, Conor McGregor, ehem, wouldn’t be looking for a way out sometimes.

You hear the commentators who are fighters talk about it all the time. They try to have some class about it which I like but they will still let you know. Yea, I think he was just looking for a way out.

Maybe it is even subconscious. One could argue that because every fighter and coach I have ever known has always told me that you can’t teach heart. You either have it or you don’t. Those are more or less the exact words I hear from many of them.

It takes more than one time, though, for us to be able to say hey, this guy is not going to fight for my money. If he starts to lose, sometimes he accepts it and that isn’t a trustworthy fighter. So, let’s hope the 5 UFC mixed martial artists that we highlight today have never received a bet from us.

*Any betting odds we use today will be brought to us by the fine folks over at BetOnline.

Greg Hardy

I think the former Dallas Cowboy is a good start for us. He is fighting this Saturday on the main card alongside a couple of other fast faders who we may or may not get to in a moment.

Greg is matched up with Australia’s Tai Tuivasa at UFC 264 and is currently the slight betting underdog at (+115) with the comeback on Tai at (-135). This is a close fight but why do you guys think Greg is the underdog?

He’s the bigger man. He has good speed to deal with the fast hands of Tai Tuivasa. I will tell you what I think. I believe that this line is the way it is because people don’t believe that Greg will fight for their money.

Most of these people either bet on and/or saw his performance against Marcin Tybura. We were on Greg here, unfortunately, I know. Smooth move. Hardy did look good early in that fight but he has a bad gas tank and when he fades, he fades, unless, of course, he has his inhaler on him!

Never forget. This was a good look and listen into everything that went down. Greg came out in the third round and looked pretty decent against The Wombat Ben Sosoli. This has more to do with the fact that Ben isn’t UFC level than it does the extra burst of oxygen Hardy got in between rounds.

Greg will always tire early in fights, especially those that are action packed. Greg won the fight that night but it was later overturned to a no-contest. He is a front runner, mas o menos.

Greg is mentally strong and sharp when he is winning but once the fight starts to go the other way and/or he gets tired, he doesn’t necessarily look for a direct exit but his striking volume will be cut in half and he isn’t a volume guy to begin with.

He looked absolutely atrocious on the ground when Tybura was on top of him. I know Marcin is on one heck of a streak right now but Hardy, a UFC Heavyweight, should not look that lost on his back.

I haven’t seen it yet. He kind of accepted defeat against Alexander Volkov. He was getting out struck at distance which is normal against Volkov and that’s fine. The problem comes in when he continues with the game plan that in all likelihood won’t help him get the win but he can at least survive.

Some people would come out and say this guy has no heart but I don’t know. Let’s just say Greg Hardy is not a fighter who will fight for your money.

The dude is massive, though. Here is a picture of his meal more than a week away from the fight. He is coming down from a big number and his opponent, Tai Tuivasa, is a smaller heavyweight.

I like Tai here, though. I think he is durable enough, mean enough, and determined enough aka he will fight for your money, that he gets the win and at (-130), it is worth a unit play.

Khalil Rountree Jr.

I really didn’t want to list a friend here but I have to. Khalil is one of the more talented guys at 205 pounds. One thing that is working HEAVILY against him is the size of his frame. He is only about 5’11” and the new breed of Light Heavyweights in the UFC are 6’5” and as broad as condors.

Another thing, though, is his lack of aggression. He will throw hard. Don’t get me wrong but in his last fight against Marcin Prachnio, Khalil did not have a good game plan, AT ALL.

Marcin is a Karate guy who loves his space even more than a lengthy Muay Femur Thai striker. Karate is all about the first shot. Most of their tournaments, unless Kyoshukin, score only the first shot landed and then time is called.

Yea, pretty lame I know and that is why it isn’t on pay per view this Saturday night like the UFC. Marcin just wants time and space and Khalil gave it to him. If you take that away, Prachnio can be finished rather quickly.

He was coming off of three consecutive knockout losses when he fought Rountree and Marcin was getting walloped by Ike Villanueva in his last fight before the Texan tired and had to give Marcin the time and space he needed.

If Ike Villanueva can just bumrush forward throwing haymakers then surely, Khalil Rountree, one of the best pure Thai striking stylists in the UFC can. But, he didn’t. Khalil was cool with sitting back and playing a game that wasn’t working.

That’s the key. If your game isn’t working yet you stay in that realm even though it likely means you will lose, you aren’t fighting for our money.

Kevin Holland

Y’all knew it was coming. Big mouth is definitely on this list after his previous two performances where he did not even try to get up off the bottom against either Derek Brunson or Marvin Vettori.

Against Marv, I think Kevin was outmatched but against Derek Brunson, Kevin could have won that fight and there was a clear path to victory that didn’t even involve a great number of strikes landed or securing a submission.

Kevin’s path to victory against Derek Brunson was “just make the man tired”. Make him work. Derek is one of the most explosive athletes in the UFC and has one of the best double legs in the game but because of this, he tires quickly and has a suspect chin from there.

Kevin and Derrick’s fight was a main event so it was scheduled for 5 rounds. This favored Kevin heavily because he isn’t the type of fighter to get tired. Unfortunately for his backers, though, he is the type of guy to lay on the bottom when he should be trying to get up.

That’s all he had to do against Brunson was just make him work. If it took you 1 minute to stand up and he took you back down in the next 15 seconds then so be it but Kevin would have been making his opponent with an atrocious gas tank work.

Instead, Kev got taken down like we all figured he would which is cool but then to just lay there and talk. Terrible look for Kevin and I hope he starts to bring it but it has been a repeat performance now so we had to list him.

Gillian Robertson

Gil, I’m a fan. I promise. I’m a fan of a few fighters on this list but I had to be honest with y’all. It wasn’t easy putting this one together because the UFC has done a great job lately of disposing of the fighters who accept defeat.

They make for boring fights, especially when they aren’t looking for a way out but more so a way through the fight. They don’t want to get knocked out or submitted so they play it safe. As I said, this is cool and all if you are winning.

Gillian Savage Robertson had her little dominant run there for a second in the UFC Women’s Flyweight Division. She was taking girls down and working her lethal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu top game.

It wasn’t long, though, that other fighters in the division along with fans and us cappers began to notice that if Gil isn’t able to score the takedown, she shuts down. It sounds harsh but that is more or less what I have seen from her.

Against Maycee Barber, Robertson took a beating up against the side of the Octagon by The Future but halfway through her butt whooping, she did the unthinkable. She turned her back to her opponent while she was getting hit.

The Future is bright for @MayceeBarber!!

What a finish! #UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/0yt59JK7lm

— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2019

The ref jumped in right after because he knew what was up. Gil wanted out and ASAP. Against Taila Santos, she really had a bad matchup but whenever she got put on the bottom, she didn’t try to get back to her feet.

She was comfortable enough to lose the round by trying to play the submission game from the bottom. If she was fighting for your money, she would have continually been getting up and hopefully making the larger fighter tired.

I’m not saying she would have beaten Taila this way but I know Kevin Holland would have won with the same strategy. Just fight for our money, guys!

Conor McGregor

Y’all mad now, ain’t ya?

I love Conor McGregor but the word of the day kids is honesty and I have to be real with the team about Conor McGregor. He will knock someone out for your money and hang in there against Nate Diaz one time but other than that, Conor is a fast fader.

He will throw hard and even be ridiculously reckless at times as he was in his last fight opposite his opponent at UFC 264 this Saturday, Dustin Poirier. Conor McGregor was overextending on his punches, particularly his best punch, the straight left hand, like he was an amateur.

The punches themselves weren’t really ammy shots as they were landing with frequency but many times, Conor’s upper body finished way past the knee. This is boxing 101 and don’t even get me started on how wide the man’s stance was.

My goodness. Just watch the fight for yourself. It is maddening. No wonder those kicks sunk in as deep as they did. McGregor was sunk down into the mat with his heels. I’m sorry. Leg kicks come fast.

There are Thais who can do it but they have been practicing their entire lives but checking a kick when your heel is flat on the mat is nearly impossible. McGregor was sinking down into the mat and bending at the waist while he searched for an opening to land his patented left hand.

This was a terrible idea. Sure, he could land it and put his opponent’s lights out but he is compromising his stance and his legs are highly susceptible to being kicked. This wasn’t so much Dustin finding an opening.

I think him and head coach Mike Brown already knew what was up. Conor was using the fight this past January with Dustin Poirier to get ready for Manny Pacquiao and not so Mystic Mac thought he was going to run through Dustin Poirier like he did the first time the two men traded bones inside of the Octagon.

Here is the thing with Conor McGregor. He is a front-runner. He is far more skill than will, and I don’t think he should be the betting favorite against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 this Saturday night.

The man fades and fades fast. Nate Diaz I and Dustin Poirier II, he faded and FAST! Yes, we all get tired but he hasn’t really shown us that he can persevere. His cardio also sucks and that tells me he isn’t pushing himself in training, especially when he is doing his cardio.

I didn’t like the bike he is always riding. I know it isn’t easy but the bottom line is you’re sitting on your butt the whole time. Well, hopefully, you’re sitting on your butt but you guys get the point.

McGregor is not the guy who will fight for your money for longer than a round or two. What he did in the rematch against Nate Diaz was pretty cool but it isn’t really like he had to come back from anything.

I wish the old Conor was back like anyone else but we have to remember that Conor was the same front-runner that he is now. He was a better fighter back then, in my opinion, but the point is that you can count on Conor to fight for your money…for 7 or 8 minutes and that’s about it.

He is going to have to prove me wrong to change my mind.

In Conclusion

Yea, we went with McGregor. I know I will receive a lot of hate for that choice but do you really disagree with me? Unless you are just simply a superfan of Conor’s, you have to see that the guy is a frontrunner and he fades faster than the battery of a Samsung phone.

Yea, I said that too. I am not an iPhone guy but for every Samsung, I have ever had, the battery has gone dead before I could drop and break the screen. If you know my clumsiness then you understand that a battery shouldn’t be fading so fast.

When you look at Conor McGregor, what is it about him that makes his cardio some of the worst in combat sports? Is it his explosiveness? While that is a component of how things are operating in his body, McGregor has been a flake for far too long now for me to change my mind.

As for the others, I thought about going with Salty Sean O’Malley but it was only one time and his leg was compromised so we will give him a pass.

Gillian Robertson has now lost two fights in a row and is in danger of possibly being cut in the future is she doesn’t get back on the winning track. Maybe she shows a ton of heart and grit that we have never seen from her before but then again, maybe not.

There is a reason there are patterns with these fighters not fighting for your money. It is personality more than anything else that is the driving force behind this.