Erronius
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MMA Thread
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
Lanx
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Demetrious Johnson: I ‘accepted’ fight with TJ Dillashaw but got ‘injured’
shoulda taken the TJ fight, normal mouse.
Also, these fighters really gotta start dating non fighters
Also he deserves to be ranked 10 with this FightIQ
1x right hook!
2x right hook!
FUCK IT, lets try 3x right hook!!!
shoulda taken the TJ fight, normal mouse.
Also, these fighters really gotta start dating non fighters
Also he deserves to be ranked 10 with this FightIQ
1x right hook!
2x right hook!
FUCK IT, lets try 3x right hook!!!
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Jozu
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That salvo of hooks was actually a beautiful thing to watch.
Garbrandt is a very adept offensive striker, able to explode out of nowhere with sustained, varied attacks. The way to counter that is to bite down, hunch your shoulders, stand your ground and unload from a compact stance, countering while he is vulnerable.
That's exactly what TJ did, he just hunkered down and fired 3 straight hooks instead of retreating or backing out with his head titled, chin exposed. That sequence was the difference in the fight, as he might have been in trouble if he decided to defend instead of staying in the firing lane.
And no I dont think Khabib can tap Conor. I mean he is certainly capable of it, I just dont believe Conor will come into this fight with poor conditioning or take any half measures. So Khabib would have to get lucky to catch Conor in something, as McGregor should be able to keep the fight standing early, and once they work up a sweat I dont see Khabib being able to sink anything in, or want to really. If Khabib gets to Conor it's going to be by way of wrestlefuck, not grappling and sub attempts.
Garbrandt is a very adept offensive striker, able to explode out of nowhere with sustained, varied attacks. The way to counter that is to bite down, hunch your shoulders, stand your ground and unload from a compact stance, countering while he is vulnerable.
That's exactly what TJ did, he just hunkered down and fired 3 straight hooks instead of retreating or backing out with his head titled, chin exposed. That sequence was the difference in the fight, as he might have been in trouble if he decided to defend instead of staying in the firing lane.
And no I dont think Khabib can tap Conor. I mean he is certainly capable of it, I just dont believe Conor will come into this fight with poor conditioning or take any half measures. So Khabib would have to get lucky to catch Conor in something, as McGregor should be able to keep the fight standing early, and once they work up a sweat I dont see Khabib being able to sink anything in, or want to really. If Khabib gets to Conor it's going to be by way of wrestlefuck, not grappling and sub attempts.
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Lanx
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look at the exchange, such a difference.
cody is coming in like some meathead bar brawler and TJ, right hooks reset, defends 3x, all this while on recovery
Jozu
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Another thing I wanted to touch on is the current state of the UFC regarding trends and what's the flavor of the month from a style standpoint.
Striking has seemed to have taken over the sport in terms of who is on top. Most of the champions and best fighters are currently strikers for the most part, or are having success by way of striking.
DC, Robert Whittaker, Colby Covington, Conor, TJ,, the list goes on and on. I get that declaring striking as the pinnacle of MMA is disputable and obviously not 100 percent true, but grappling and wrestling have not been as effective as the top level strikers lately.
Khabib and DC as well as a few other BJJ wizards get it done without having to rely on striking, but it really seems guys like Duke Rufus, Mark Dellagrotte, Duane Ludwig etc are highly sought after as you really have to know what your doing on the feet or your going to get dusted this day in age.
Was a while ago now but the best example of this IMO was when Hector Lombard trashed Palhares. Palhares was terrifying at the time, just ripping dudes' legs apart, as leg locks were starting to create a buzz and guys were worried about getting caught.
Then Lombard comes in and displays what incredible stregnth AND high level striking can do, nullifying Palhares' brute stregnth and grappling by simply staying out of compromising positions and out striking him at every turn.
Palhares couldn't do ANYTHING with him, he looked pathetic. And Palhares is a fucking killer, one of the most devastating BJJ practitioners of all time. Yet he got wiped out by a mid level guy who has great Judo/TD defense and top tier striking ability.
Striking has seemed to have taken over the sport in terms of who is on top. Most of the champions and best fighters are currently strikers for the most part, or are having success by way of striking.
DC, Robert Whittaker, Colby Covington, Conor, TJ,, the list goes on and on. I get that declaring striking as the pinnacle of MMA is disputable and obviously not 100 percent true, but grappling and wrestling have not been as effective as the top level strikers lately.
Khabib and DC as well as a few other BJJ wizards get it done without having to rely on striking, but it really seems guys like Duke Rufus, Mark Dellagrotte, Duane Ludwig etc are highly sought after as you really have to know what your doing on the feet or your going to get dusted this day in age.
Was a while ago now but the best example of this IMO was when Hector Lombard trashed Palhares. Palhares was terrifying at the time, just ripping dudes' legs apart, as leg locks were starting to create a buzz and guys were worried about getting caught.
Then Lombard comes in and displays what incredible stregnth AND high level striking can do, nullifying Palhares' brute stregnth and grappling by simply staying out of compromising positions and out striking him at every turn.
Palhares couldn't do ANYTHING with him, he looked pathetic. And Palhares is a fucking killer, one of the most devastating BJJ practitioners of all time. Yet he got wiped out by a mid level guy who has great Judo/TD defense and top tier striking ability.
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Lanx
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look at fucking Damien Maia, his last 3fight losing streak he had 100% stuff TD's everyone one of his fights against woodly/colby/usman 100% stuffed TD's
SURE!!! they couldn't beat him, they just had to stuff his TD's and face off against his mediocre standup
sure, all 3 were dominant wrestlers, of course they could stuff 100% of Maia's TD's they have probably faced 100,000 TD's lulz
But that's how strong these wrestlers are, they have retard strength!
Origin
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Real happy for TJ. Dude just murked Garbrandt and solidified his position. If they hadn't given Cruz that decision, a few years back, TJ would be on a sick winning streak.
There was no post fight interview with Cody, but i can't wait to see what he says.
There was no post fight interview with Cody, but i can't wait to see what he says.
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Ameraves
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Colby is in no way a striker. Not sure how you got that impression.
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Jozu
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I haven't watched a ton of his fights but he isnt terrible from what I've seen. Maybe it's a stretch to say he is a high level striker, but he is at least able to keep guys honest on the feet.
He probably isnt the best example, should of mentioned Aldo instead, he is just not who he used to be.
He probably isnt the best example, should of mentioned Aldo instead, he is just not who he used to be.
Jozu
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And that's kind of the point isnt it? Stuffing takedowns prevents most grappling and 90% of sub attempts, which forces striking to take place.
You cant stop striking instances like you can grappling via sprawl, the fight starts standing and if you can keep it there and you can strike, chances are you are going to win.
You cant stop striking instances like you can grappling via sprawl, the fight starts standing and if you can keep it there and you can strike, chances are you are going to win.
yamikazo
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I'm not sure I agree. Looking at each division's champ:
125 – Cejudo (wrestler)
135 – TJ (striker)
145 – Holloway (striker)
155 – Khabib (wrestler)
170 – Woodley (striker)
205 – Whittaker (striker)
225 – DC (wrestler)
HW – DC (wrestler)
Certainly grapplers are having a hard time. Wrestling is probably the best base, because even "strikers" in Whittaker and Woodley come from strong wrestling backgrounds before getting into MMA. If we look at each division's #1 contender:
125 – Mighty Mouse (everything) wrestling background
135 – Cody (striker) wrestling background
145 – Ortega (grappler)
155 – Conor (striker)
170 – Covington (wrestler)
205 – Yoel Romero (striker) wrestling background
225 – Gustaffson (striker)
HW – Stipe (everything) wrestling background
In the top 16 spots in the sport, across all weight divisions, I count 11 as primarily wrestlers or come from a strong wrestling background. Yes, the fight starts on the feet, but the person able to dictate the pace and direction of the fight is the one who reaches the top. Only a few can succeed at the highest level without excellent wrestling.
I think we both could agree the answer certainly isn't grappling. Grapplers expose guys lower in the rankings and might be able to put on some clinics against top 15 or even top 10 guys, but it's rare right now to see them achieve success at the highest level of the sport right now.
Lanx
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Jozu
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Well look at Roger Gracie for example. He was doing pretty well in Strikeforce until he got beat by Lawal. He then lost to Tim Kennedy and retired.
He just came back in Japan and is the champion in the ONE promotion I believe, although the competition there is no where near the UFC.
Point is, Roger is probably the most skilled and accomplished Gracie, outside of maybe Rickson ,Royce and Renzo.
Even then Roger has tapped Marcelo Garcia, Buchecha, and has won more grappling tournaments than basically anyone. Yet he really couldn't compete at the highest levels of MMA.
He just came back in Japan and is the champion in the ONE promotion I believe, although the competition there is no where near the UFC.
Point is, Roger is probably the most skilled and accomplished Gracie, outside of maybe Rickson ,Royce and Renzo.
Even then Roger has tapped Marcelo Garcia, Buchecha, and has won more grappling tournaments than basically anyone. Yet he really couldn't compete at the highest levels of MMA.
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Yeah, now hopefully writers stop referring to this dude as "GOAT". Really like DJ, he seems like a cool dude... But Jesus, combat sports writers get ridiculous with putting dude's on pedestals. Boxing is the fucking worse with that. Then again, "P4P Rankings" lead to all sorts of theoretical retardation.
Erronius
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I'm on the other side of this. It isn't that I think Conor isn't capable of keeping it standing or boxing the snot out of Khabib, I just don't think Khabib is going to oblige him on that. And I think Khabib's TD game has improved...I mean, early he was good, but I think he's gotten better.
Maybe I'm wrong, though, and Conor will be able to negate Khabib and start picking him apart on his feet. We'll see, I guess.
If Khabib gets to Conor, it might not matter anyways.
To me, once it's on the ground it's largely a distinction without a difference, anyways. Submission is quick, but let's say Khabib takes his back and tries for a RNC. Conor gets an arm, so Khabib starts peppering him with shots with his free hand. Conor will squirm. Is he good enough to get back up from under Khabib, or can he defend until the bell? If he can't, the only way subs vs GnP distinction might really matter is when they're updating his Wiki page.
What legit worries me, though, is if Khabib decides he wants to go the full distance and smash Conor's face in, and passes on even attempting to sub Conor because he doesn't want the fight to end 'early'. Conor isn't someone I'd want to give extra chances to for no reason.
I won't try to say that Roger's standup was great, but I think his biggest problem was trying to fight at Middleweight. When he was dominating the BJJ scene he was still quite lean and weighed ~220. At 170 he looked nearly dead, and it showed in his athleticism (though he was never particularly explosive) and cardio. I think his grappling would have been more effective, though not world-beating in MMA, if he'd been closer to his natural weight.
Jozu
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Roger's stand up is actually pretty decent. He has stopped people before with strikes.
His BJJ is amazing though. Beating Buchecha Almieda is a huge feat in itself, and he did it after taking time off, during Buchecha's prime. He just controlled Almieda's collar, staying level with him and preventing any takedown or sweep attempts.
He then calmly transitioned from guard to take his back before he sunk in a nasty double wrist choke for the win. He makes it look easy, whereas someone like Eddie Bravo looks like he is one sweep away from suffering a heart attack while rolling.
Khabib can get caught by a Conor left hand all day. He might turn it into a snoozefest, and grind his way to a boring decision, but I think there will be pressure on him to finish or win impressively. A boring decision win wont cut it for him IMO, so Conor WILL have second and third chances in the fight as Khabib is going to be looking to capture that flash.
Problem is McGregor is the one with that lightning in a bottle, and it might strike if Khabib plays that game.
His BJJ is amazing though. Beating Buchecha Almieda is a huge feat in itself, and he did it after taking time off, during Buchecha's prime. He just controlled Almieda's collar, staying level with him and preventing any takedown or sweep attempts.
He then calmly transitioned from guard to take his back before he sunk in a nasty double wrist choke for the win. He makes it look easy, whereas someone like Eddie Bravo looks like he is one sweep away from suffering a heart attack while rolling.
Khabib can get caught by a Conor left hand all day. He might turn it into a snoozefest, and grind his way to a boring decision, but I think there will be pressure on him to finish or win impressively. A boring decision win wont cut it for him IMO, so Conor WILL have second and third chances in the fight as Khabib is going to be looking to capture that flash.
Problem is McGregor is the one with that lightning in a bottle, and it might strike if Khabib plays that game.
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Lanx
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Rewatch barbosa vs. khabib, if barbosa focused on leg kicks Khabib has no answer. Barbosas problem was he kept on back away, which meant he was closer towards the cage... at that point Khabib just has to bum you and now he'll cage fuck you long time.
Barbosa kicks amazingly well, but his standup is atrocious, he'll eat a right hook in order to land a spinning back kick.
If Conor just presses forward and puts Khabib up against the cage, that'll be different. he does it by cutting off the guy from going left w/ his right. and he cuts them off from going circling out right w/ left high kicks and spinning right kicks.
Barbosa kicks amazingly well, but his standup is atrocious, he'll eat a right hook in order to land a spinning back kick.
If Conor just presses forward and puts Khabib up against the cage, that'll be different. he does it by cutting off the guy from going left w/ his right. and he cuts them off from going circling out right w/ left high kicks and spinning right kicks.
Merrith
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Gavin, we all fear this to be 100% true...but hope springs eternal.
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