Yeah, I can understand folks giving Zhang the win, and many do.
If anyone hasn't watched Yair Rodriguez vs Max Holloway though, what are you doing with your life?
It was an incredible fight. I admit I wrote Yair off. He hasn't fought in a couple of years, and I already though Max was the superior striker.
Yet, Yair has improved so much he forced Max to actually grapple. That's utterly insane. Yair was mixing his boxing in well, luring Max into boxing exchanges only to switch it up with kicks and elbows. Shit was incredible. Even though he loses in the end, he gained a lot of fans.
This might be me still being hype, but Yair is a problem for a lot of folks. If his bottom game, scrambling, and takedown defence continue to improve, he is going to kick the shit out of a lot of the division.
It is insane to think how he quickly that downward spiral came. We thought he might be the person to beat Khabib not long ago.
Best of luck to him though. We've seen other fighters have resurgences later in their careers, so he still has time to make a comeback. He also seems like a good dude and is likeable.
Last edited by StyleTime on Dec 1st, 2021 at 12:23 AM
People forget he was considered the possible P4P #1 in his prime. He was so far ahead of everyone, that even after age has decayed his abilities, he's still beating contenders. And his chin has remained remarkably sturdy.
Also, his top control is no joke, and I'm glad we got to see it here. He's known primarily for his striking ability but don't get it twisted: you do not want him on top of you in a grappling situation.
Exactly. Hes still seems to be as fast or faster than the contenders even after dropping a weight class. His grappling was superb. His hips stayed heavy and his conditioning held up.
I'm gonna go dust off his funko now.
Dustin vs Charles should be an interesting matchup. Not really sure who to take tbh. I feel like they both present problems for the each other at practically all ranges.
.....the fight everyone overlooked, myself included, wound up being the craziest.
Julianna Pena chokes out Amanda Nunes, after outstriking Amanda in a brawl in Round 2. What the actual hell?
If anyone was bold enough to take that bet, they made some money. Lol. Some analysts didn't even bother doing a pre-fight breakdown, since it was thought to be hopeless for Pena.
Last edited by StyleTime on Dec 13th, 2021 at 01:12 AM
Ah yes. Khamzat. I've actually had some recent discussions about him with others.
I do agree he looks impressive. His wrestling looks Khabib level at times, he has a really cool knockout win, and he hasn't been in any danger in his entire time in UFC.
That said, I hesitate to jump on the bandwagon because we just plain haven't seen him against the top 10 yet. It's happened plenty of times before, when a promising contender looks unbeatable until they run into a veteran or top 10er.
People already argue he'd beat Usman, but I think that's stretching it. Usman's own wrestling is pretty insane and he's become a better striker with a lot of power. He's not the top striker out there, but Usman has shown a cohesive game with the results to back it up. We've really only seen Khamzat strike into range for takedowns, apart from the one KO.
That said, Usman is open about his knees being pretty bad. His injuries may catch up to him by the time Khamzat gets there, if he's able to.
I'd actually be interested in Burns vs Khamzat if Khamzat keeps moving up. Burns presents an interesting problem on the ground, and has that same early dynamic pressure on the feet.
Last edited by StyleTime on Dec 14th, 2021 at 09:32 PM
I'm impressed with both fighters, but particularly with Ngannou. Holy shit...his wrestling has come so far. He literally won by outgrappling Gane repeatedly, and we all assumed Gane would have the wrestling advantage. Even on the bottom, he was showing a fairly active guard too.
I feel like Ngannou will break the record for HW title defenses. He's really showing that he's improving his skillset constantly. We don't always get to see it because he KO's most people, but he's just a different fighter from that first Stipe fight.
Excellent showing from Gane despite the loss though. He absolutely outstruck Ngannou, and his defense totally neutralized Ngannou's power. He's still young for a HW, and has only lost to the champ in a fairly close fight. This isn't the last we'll see of him.
It's kind of funny to see strong wrestling from these two though. France isn't exactly known for their wrestling scene, but these two are pulling it off.
Last edited by StyleTime on Jan 23rd, 2022 at 07:14 PM
It was definitely a close fight. I thought it might go to a split decision, so the the UD for Izzy was a surprising. And I definitely don't think Izzy won round 5 like one of the judges had it.
Rob's new game plan was much better suited to fighting Izzy than his previous one, and he seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the closing rounds of the fight.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if we get a trilogy.
Got a feeling Cannonier will get the next shot though, although I don't like that matchup for him. I like him, but I just don't know if his offense is nuanced enough to face Izzy. He'll likely do better than Costa, but that's not saying much since Costa got obliterated.
Last edited by StyleTime on Feb 14th, 2022 at 07:53 PM
I like Gane too, but I love that Ngannou now has the UFC in this position. Ngannou had no fights left on his contract, yet retained the championship belt.
They must have wanted him to lose so badly, considering their contract dispute. Dana no-showed at the press conference, essentially refusing to wrap the belt around Ngannou.
Now Ngannou is a free agent AND legitimately holds the most valuable heavyweight title in MMA. His negotiating power skyrocketed.
Part of me wants Ngannou to go over to OneFC or Bellator tbh. Considering his status, they would pay ridiculous amounts of money to have him, and it would help competition. He'd finally get paid what he's worth, and they'd be able to legitimately claim they have the best HW fighter on Earth.
Last edited by StyleTime on Feb 14th, 2022 at 08:10 PM
he could even bring the belt to Bellator and wind Dana up further whilst the UFC would strip him of the title the fans would know where the UFC belt and champion are and so would the ring announcers and commentators. Epic lulz ST.
I haven't checked the fights out yet, since Elden Ring has absorbed every waking moment of my life. Looks like you finally got a prediction right though, LOB.
Weird hearing about Cain. It's an odd case of probably being morally justified, but not legally justified. It's insane thinking he's facing attempted murder charges though. Definitely a headline you'd never expect to hear.
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