Originally posted on 05/07/2020:

Quote Originally Posted by turbozed View Post
At the time Tony fought those guys, they weren't in their primes but they weren't shot. Cowboy was on a 3 fight win streak just having beat Hernandez and Iaquinta. Pettis was still competitive beating guys like Wonderboy, Chiesa, Miller and Chucky Olives but losing to greats like Poirier and Holloway. Lee was on a 5-fight win streak and people were saying (erroneously) at the time he would be competitive with Khabib. Barboza was still legit in 2015 as evidenced by his win streak after losing to Tony. You could argue that Tony contributed to a few of those guys looking more shot by how much damage he put on them. I think the take that Tony wins weren't impressive wins is heavily influenced by hindsight bias.

That being said, Gaethje might be a completely new fighter after his eye surgery. He's a legit live dog, but if he wins it won't be because Tony was overrated IMO.
You don't think Barboza (age 29) or Dos Anjos (age 32) were in their athletic primes when Tony beat them?