MMA / Boxing / Combat

[Kontradiction]

Usman got sloppy at the end of that fight. Otherwise, he was 100% winning that fight. Hope he gets a rematch soon as he’s going to be leaving his prime soon.

 

[BB8XSBW]

I was happy for Edwards until he started talking. No British person should ever speak out loud around other non-brits. Dude got lucky and was talking about the trenches. We'll see how long he defends the strap. Great win and mental toughness but let's be real. He got lucky.

Never stop moving. Level changes, head movement. Boxing, MMA, we the sport it always creeps up no matter how great you are and Usman is a top 10-15 all time UFC fighter.

That wasn't luck. Leon and his team drilled that exact kick in training, because they saw a weakness in Usman's game on film.

Ever since Usman has moved to Denver to train with Trevor Whitman, his game has become very boxing heavy. The way he slipped that right hand of Leon's is perfect boxing technique, but slipping a punch to the point of leaning so heavily inside is a great way to get your head kicked off your shoulders in MMA. Colby Covington nearly got Usman with that exact same kick, too.

 

[Kontradiction]

That wasn't luck. Leon and his team drilled that exact kick in training, because they saw a weakness in Usman's game on film.

Ever since Usman has moved to Denver to train with Trevor Whitman, his game has become very boxing heavy. The way he slipped that right hand of Leon's is perfect boxing technique, but slipping a punch to the point of leaning so heavily inside is a great way to get your head kicked off your shoulders in MMA. Colby Covington nearly got Usman with that exact same kick, too.

Who wins in a rematch - Conor or Floyd?

 

[BB8XSBW]

Who wins in a rematch - Conor or Floyd?

Jake Paul.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

That wasn't luck. Leon and his team drilled that exact kick in training, because they saw a weakness in Usman's game on film.

Ever since Usman has moved to Denver to train with Trevor Whitman, his game has become very boxing heavy. The way he slipped that right hand of Leon's is perfect boxing technique, but slipping a punch to the point of leaning so heavily inside is a great way to get your head kicked off your shoulders in MMA. Colby Covington nearly got Usman with that exact same kick, too.

Yea I saw that and there were people in fighters row yelling hook / head kick. He actually did a good job setting it up but he was 100% lucky. I'm not sure you're understanding what I'm trying to get across. I'm sure he trained for that and other stuff he can use. The same way Curry practices halfcourt shots or Luka practices off balance shots. The same way Connor was envisioning KO'g Aldo. They wanted to be prepared for everything. I get that.

Edwards was dominated for 85% of their two fights though and won bc Usman got lazy in the last minute of the last round.

I like the shake up and think it's good for the sport right now but he got lucky.


I'll be very interested to see how Usman comes back. Again he won almost 90% of the rounds in those fights but sometimes you're never the same after taken a shot like that.

I remember that CC kick you're talking and 100% agree about Usman becoming boxing dependent. He actually would get murdered if he tried some of the stuff he did against Edwards against a top tier boxer. He was advertising body shots that would get him in trouble vs another fighter.

Lot of respect for Edwards but he got lucky. Let's see how long he defends the strap.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Who wins in a rematch - Conor or Floyd?

I actually think Conor does a lot better if they square up again. Flloyd's legs aren't the same. I actually wouldn't mind seeing that as opposed to the first time.

All these veterans need to just fight each. It's clear once you hit a certain age or peak some of these guys just can't hang with the young guys. UFC boxing it's tough. I think Conors best days are far behind him.

 

[Kontradiction]

I actually think Conor does a lot better if they square up again. Flloyd's legs aren't the same. I actually wouldn't mind seeing that as opposed to the first time.

All these veterans need to just fight each. It's clear once you hit a certain age or peak some of these guys just can't hang with the young guys. UFC boxing it's tough. I think Conors best days are far behind him.

Just wait until Floyd blows all of his money again. Round 2 may just happen.

 

[BB8XSBW]

Yea I saw that and there were people in fighters row yelling hook / head kick. He actually did a good job setting it up but he was 100% lucky. I'm not sure you're understanding what I'm trying to get across. I'm sure he trained for that and other stuff he can use. The same way Curry practices halfcourt shots or Luka practices off balance shots. The same way Connor was envisioning KO'g Aldo. They wanted to be prepared for everything. I get that.

Edwards was dominated for 85% of their two fights though and won bc Usman got lazy in the last minute of the last round.

I like the shake up and think it's good for the sport right now but he got lucky.


I'll be very interested to see how Usman comes back. Again he won almost 90% of the rounds in those fights but sometimes you're never the same after taken a shot like that.

I remember that CC kick you're talking and 100% agree about Usman becoming boxing dependent. He actually would get murdered if he tried some of the stuff he did against Edwards against a top tier boxer. He was advertising body shots that would get him in trouble vs another fighter.

Lot of respect for Edwards but he got lucky. Let's see how long he defends the strap.

I still wouldn't classify that as lucky.

Edwards is undoubtedly the more well rounded fighter. He has more tools with which he can win a fight, and is more dangerous. We saw it in the first round, where in only 3 minutes of control on the ground, he came much closer to securing a finish than Usman did in 10 minutes of total control time. Then we saw it on the feet in round 5.

Usman got a bit overconfident and fell in love with his boxing a bit too much at the end because he thought he had broken Edwards, and Edwards exploited a tendency in Usman's game.

"Lucky" would be Curtis Blaydes getting a W over Tom Aspinall because Aspinall tore his knee in 15 seconds.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Just wait until Floyd blows all of his money again. Round 2 may just happen.

I really, genuinely don't think Conor wants to compete full-time anymore in the UFC. Again once you hit a a certain # of fights or age it's just really tough to compete against the best of the best every fight. But yea I think it's happening. These guys are perfect for each other. Conor thinks he's a boxer and Flloyd has no one left to fight thats relevant.

 

[BB8XSBW]

Surprised at the odds for the main event. Not that Khamzat is favored, but by how much.

His cardio and striking defense looked horrid against Burns in a 3 rounder. Now he will be in there for 5 rounds against a good boxer with superb cardio.

Khamzat will need to lean heavily on his wrestling, in which case he could cruise to a fairly easy victory, but based on what I saw in his previous fight, I'm not sure if he has the fight IQ or discipline to do so and to stay away from a brawl.

Edit: Nevermind. I was out of the loop, but just saw that Khamzat weighed in 8 lbs over the limit, so he's out. UFC working towards Diaz vs Ferguson now. I was right about Khamzat's IQ, though. The guy is a dumb motherf***er with no discipline. Diaz vs Ferguson should be a good fight, though.

 

[Guts]

Well Canelo won again against an aging GGG. Boxing needs to shake things up

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Well Canelo won again against an aging GGG. Boxing needs to shake things up

Yea kinda expected. I love GGG! He's a warrior but his last few fights were telling. What a warrior though.

Also Canelo is an all time great. That's been obvious for a while now but he's unbelievable. The way he's improved on his footwork, head movement and overall defense is remarkable for a guy that was punching through walls early on in his career. You put him and Floyd against each other in their primes and that's a much different fight.
If I'm Canelo I'm doing a few things.

1)take the rest of the year off and maintain when it comes to training. He's fought a ton and had some scraps recently. Made a ton so he can afford to shut it down for a few months.
2)Bivol in early 23. Bivol fought a great fight but not perfect and Saul is more than capable of beating him. If he does ...
3)Benavidez. He should have fought him by now. Not many you can say about when it comes to Canelo but this one needs to happen. If it does and he wins he should retire and fight Jake Paul, Nate Diaz guys like that for a 60 70 million.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Great UFC fight too. Song is a beast !!! That whole division is bonkers. Loving this mini tournament. 280 looking juicy.

 

[jays52]

Big card this weekend fellas who we got? Just to get it going off the main card I have Dariush, Yan, Aljo, and Islam. Undercard is freaking stacked too.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Big card this weekend fellas who we got? Just to get it going off the main card I have Dariush, Yan, Aljo, and Islam. Undercard is freaking stacked too.

Unbelievably stacked. We've had a few recently that haven't lived up to the hype but this one is too good not to.

I really don't know which I'm most excited for bc 3 are main card worthy.

I like Dariush, Suga, Aljo, Charles.

I know Dilla had been working with Loma. Dilla didn't look spectacular the last few times and I think Aljo is due for a big show.

Suga & Yan is so intriguing its not funny. Physically so different. Suga's spacing and accuracy vs Yan's movements. Yan's ability or lack thereof to impede Suga's short game will be key. I know Yan can defend and slip and slide from a distance but how will he fair when they're in close quarters and Suga had those long arms coming from different angles.

I think Islam might be too strong for Charles on the ground but no one Charles wants to live on the ground with Charles. Idc who you are. He's too strong in the clinch and so technically sound. Again I'll admit Islam is probably stronger but unless it's a massive difference I don't think it'll matter. Charles is a much better striker and his takedown defense has only improved.

Another thing thats becoming bigger to me is the ability to win and knowing how to win. It's one thing to be more talented and bigger and stronger but knowing how to win is so clutch. Knowing who the judges are, how your opponents have been training, with who, how much time is left, reading a room etc Charkes has been in sooooo many big fights now I believe that'll play a part but I have a lot of respect for Islam. He's for real.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

 

[BB8XSBW]

.

I think Islam might be too strong for Charles on the ground but no one Charles wants to live on the ground with Charles. Idc who you are. He's too strong in the clinch and so technically sound. Again I'll admit Islam is probably stronger but unless it's a massive difference I don't think it'll matter. Charles is a much better striker and his takedown defense has only improved.

Another thing thats becoming bigger to me is the ability to win and knowing how to win. It's one thing to be more talented and bigger and stronger but knowing how to win is so clutch. Knowing who the judges are, how your opponents have been training, with who, how much time is left, reading a room etc Charkes has been in sooooo many big fights now I believe that'll play a part but I have a lot of respect for Islam. He's for real.

Charles has been submitted 3 times in the UFC.

Islam will very much want to be on the ground with Charles, because he will be able to easily control him with his top pressure. BJJ is entirely useless against these Dagestani wrestlers. There was a video of Khabib completely dominating Luke Rockhold, who is at least 30 lbs heavier, and a black belt in BJJ. Islam is regarded as being at least on Khabib's level by everyone at AKA.

As far as Charles' striking, his offense has gotten better, but he still gets dropped in every single fight.

Islam will smash this guy from opening bell to minute 25 if Charles can last that long. I wouldn't be surprised if he quits mentally before then, though, like has has many times in the past. Islam seems like the type of guy who can bring the b!tch out of Charles.

 

[jays52]

Another thing thats becoming bigger to me is the ability to win and knowing how to win. It's one thing to be more talented and bigger and stronger but knowing how to win is so clutch. Knowing who the judges are, how your opponents have been training, with who, how much time is left, reading a room etc Charkes has been in sooooo many big fights now I believe that'll play a part but I have a lot of respect for Islam. He's for real.

100% I think if Olivera is going to win he will need a finish. The judges will be heavily in favor of Islam. Barring several 10-8's which I don't think is likely they will give it to Islam. Just a month ago my buddy had a pair of 10-8's on a guy in Abu Dhabi. Opponent was a Chechen cat, alhamdulillah. Was smashing the guy from top half in the 3rd. He took a meaningless 12-6 elbow and started leaking a tiny bit. They called a doctor stoppage. Have to assume heavy bias in favor of their brothers going into the fight.

 

[jays52]

Islam will very much want to be on the ground with Charles, because he will be able to easily control him with his top pressure. BJJ is entirely useless against these Dagestani wrestlers. There was a video of Khabib completely dominating Luke Rockhold, who is at least 30 lbs heavier, and a black belt in BJJ. Islam is regarded as being at least on Khabib's level by everyone at AKA.

Luke is good. Excellent top game. But there's levels for bjj. Purple belt Nick Rodriguez beat him in a submission grappling match last year. He's very good, but he's not ADCC champion good. The level BJJ is at now is incomparable to what it was even a decade ago. A good purple belt today could work most competition black belts from the aughts.

The Dagestanis are excellent grapplers. They could likely medal at ADCC. There's a lot of BJJ guys who could beat them in submission grappling though. What they do excel at is funneling people into that Abdulmanap system, although Islam does enter his chains more in open territory than many of them. Funneling Olivera into that system is the key. Olivera is excellent at the interconnection of the front headlock-back-kimura systems. Islam enters off of the single so he will be there for the kimura system entry. Having said that, the time in position is so great for those guys I don't view it as being a threat. It's not like Olivera is Wagner Rocha. Because of this, Islam should have the upper hand. Fundamentally the grappling matchup is a control based grappler (Islam) vs a movement based grappler. Generally speaking when these two styles meet the control based grappler wins. Olivera is very dangerous from his preferable positions but Islam's style should prove prohibitive to getting there.

 

[BB8XSBW]

Luke is good. Excellent top game. But there's levels for bjj. Purple belt Nick Rodriguez beat him in a submission grappling match last year. He's very good, but he's not ADCC champion good. The level BJJ is at now is incomparable to what it was even a decade ago. A good purple belt today could work most competition black belts from the aughts.

The Dagestanis are excellent grapplers. They could likely medal at ADCC. There's a lot of BJJ guys who could beat them in submission grappling though. What they do excel at is funneling people into that Abdulmanap system, although Islam does enter his chains more in open territory than many of them. Funneling Olivera into that system is the key. Olivera is excellent at the interconnection of the front headlock-back-kimura systems. Islam enters off of the single so he will be there for the kimura system entry. Having said that, the time in position is so great for those guys I don't view it as being a threat. It's not like Olivera is Wagner Rocha. Because of this, Islam should have the upper hand. Fundamentally the grappling matchup is a control based grappler (Islam) vs a movement based grappler. Generally speaking when these two styles meet the control based grappler wins. Olivera is very dangerous from his preferable positions but Islam's style should prove prohibitive to getting there.

I agree with your assessment of Luke, but he's still a talented grappler, and also has a significant size advantage.

Anyways, excellent breakdown of the matchup. I agree that the entry will be the key for Islam. His striking offense may be more pedestrian than Oliveira's, but his striking defense, head movement, and the timing of his TDs are all much more sound. He has a decided advantage over Charles in those areas. I think he'll have a relatively easy time getting takedowns because of this, and once he's on top, with that physical strength, heavy top pressure, and his overall level of grappling prowess, it won't matter how good your BJJ is.