Have to admit i was a bit underwhelmed by Adesanya's performance last night. He was far too safe and over-reliant on leg kicks compared to his usual, brash, swashbuckling/matrixy style. Running scared against a 43 year old guy isn't a good look for a guy who claims he wants to move up and fight Jon Jones.
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I would normally agree with you but Yoel was there trying to steal rounds. With so much more to lose, Israel did the right thing.
It's up to the challenger to take the title.
You're underestimating Izzy's ability to take a shot.
Re-read what I wrote. If he didn''t have the mouth and show-talk, how he wins wouldn't matter. But when you talk about doing X, Y or Z to opponent X, Y or Z, then go in there and be so tepid, you should stop talking, or put the job on them you talked about pre-fight.WhatHe was hardly fighting scared when he went to war to win vs Gastelum and then just bullied Whittaker.
He's one of the best strikers in MMA for a reason so criticising the way he uses that to win is just weird.
I don't have a big issue with Adesayna, but he's shown nothing to suggest he is next in line for all-time greatness or to be compared to those who have done great things against numerous great opponents.
How can he possibly act like he didn't know what he was going into the octagon with in Romero? Why talk about 'legacy' and then go out there and fight like that? Why hype pre-fight if you're not going to deliver anything? And a counter striker blaming another counter striker for not initiating is the height of stupidity, too - goes for both of them.
Nope, I'm saying it's going to get him sparked because he shouldn't be getting hit like he does in the first place IF he's the air apparent to all-time greatness in league with names at the top of the tree.
For me, the Costa fight is way more interesting now.
Ok let's see. Same thing happens, outpointed for 5 rounds
For how close it turned out to be and all of the plaudits Joana deserves for her toughness and perseverance, I think her corner banked a bit too much on her enjoying her usual huge strike differential, but it never came to fruition because Weili is very durable and maintains a high output herself. Her unwillingness / inability to get her head off the centre line and to get out of range opened her up to a lot of unnecessary punishment. If they were to run it back, making better use of the jab and range and forcing Weili to play the aggressor could be the way to go.
How her forehead didn't explode after Weili kept hitting it, I'll never know.
Shell have a lengthy medical ban for sure.
Adesanya’s brand has taken a hit. He ran the few times Romero could be bothered to engage, after so much talk. You can fight tactically and you can be scared of fighters power, but you can’t talk like he talks and then put in a performance like that.
That being said, he is a counter striker, so I fully expect him to dismantle an aggressive Costa with a far greater reach advantage, and all this will be forgotten. I do think he needs to talk less though, especially after his twin towers comment and his embarrassed rambling in the cage post fight.
For someone supposed to be so charismatic, he can be very awkward and cringeworthy at times. He seems to speak before he thinks it through. It’s not natural. He will end up becoming one of those “I wish someone would shut him up” fighters, if he isn’t careful.
That being said, he is a counter striker, so I fully expect him to dismantle an aggressive Costa with a far greater reach advantage, and all this will be forgotten. I do think he needs to talk less though, especially after his twin towers comment and his embarrassed rambling in the cage post fight.
For someone supposed to be so charismatic, he can be very awkward and cringeworthy at times. He seems to speak before he thinks it through. It’s not natural. He will end up becoming one of those “I wish someone would shut him up” fighters, if he isn’t careful.
Adesayna has a lot to work on to match the hype around him and also what comes out his mouth.
I think it'll be an interesting fight. Don't know how I'd call it.
It's too late for Joanna to change, imo - her biggest strengths are also her biggest weaknesses. She does what she does on automatic, which makes her linear and predictable, but also a proposition if the opponent is of the same straight line systems. Rose gave her fits because of the circular movement and attacks from all over the place with her follow ons being a mile away from where she started an attack, but then, Joanna is out there trying to lead from the off, not pick and pick and reset. It would take more time than she's got left in the game to modify that style.
Not sure what she can do to overcome the hurdles she has, which is basically all of the cream of the crop.
I reckon in a rematch, you'd see more adaptation from Li than Joanna.
Really shameful to try play down all the talk of Romero being scary/boogeyman but then back off every time he engages.
If a passive Yoel had him running he might shit himself when Costa walks him down.
Jones would handily beat him so hopefully he shuts up about that.
If a passive Yoel had him running he might shit himself when Costa walks him down.
Jones would handily beat him so hopefully he shuts up about that.
Agreed. Costa will relentlessly attack him from the start and probably finish him, if he fights like he did yesterday.
If Costa attacks him, Izzy will have something to work off, a la Gastelum, a la Whittaker.
True, but I see Costa as being on another level in terms of intensity. Izzy had real problems with Gastelum and Costa will be a super charged version of Kelvin.
It isn't about adjusting to a style that isn't her own, really. In this fight, she just looked too content to mirror Weili's somewhat reckless forward movement, which caused her to neglect fundamentals that she absolutely is capable of e.g. getting out of range to avoid the counter, something she showed well enough in the Shevchenko fight. Perhaps it's because this was down at 115 and she thinks relatively little of the power, but she wasn't showing that same slickness and looked too static at times. I just think she can execute a simple, better strategy than she did last night. She'd be well advised to heed DC's advice because he was making some good observations about those problems.
As I predicted her to win this one, I'd still go for Weili in the rematch. She is a joy to watch and is a daunting prospect for all of the strawweight contenders.
Having woken up and not being so bothered anymore about the lack of spectacle, Izzy did what he had to do. Like Joshua vs Ruiz, except Romero had no intent to initiate engagement which is ridiculous for a fighter on his last shot at the title. It comes across really dumb when then they come out and complain that the champ/opponent didn't dance to their tune, he was more interested in standing/jumping/doing weird shit on the spot with his hands up. Where it was disappointing is that Izzy gave a lot of talk about legacy, 'he no boogieman' and all that, only for it to develop the way it did - a pointless fight with a couple leg kicks. Sure he got a handsome payday but i'd imagine he's also alienated a lot fans with some of his comments, there's a thin line between charisma and being a bit of dick. Regardless, him vs Costa is gonna be a madness.
The women absolutely smashed it [and each other!!] though and totally made up for it. Warriors.
The women absolutely smashed it [and each other!!] though and totally made up for it. Warriors.
Bolded - Action - reaction is tough when you've got a mini bullet blitzing you and instinct and all those years of drills are going to take over. Zhang doesn't give opponents time to think and any pause or stutter as they try to do so, she's going to eat up. Her relentless aggression was problematic for Joanna because that's what she does to opponents. It's hard to modify in a fire fight. It's a different situation to the chess match of Shevchenko and her sudden death actions that come out of nowhere - that's a fight that gives thinking time (although it generates a lot of second-guessing) and a chance for corrective form.
Last night, Joanna tried her hardest to keep her wits about her but was drawn into far too many exchanges she wouldn't normally have to entertain - the amount of times they hit each other at the same time was mostly brought on by Zhang's proactivity, and for the most part, she's throwing with everything she has, in bunches! Very hard to contend with when coupled with the speed, footwork and, again, that crazy level of aggression. Usually headhunters are quite cumbersome and slow and leave openings and opportunities to evade them, like Amanda, but the Chinese pocket rocket is a very different proposition, one I think opponents need more concentration just to stay in the fight with. I think she'll draw more instinct out than anyone else because of how much she cuts their real time thinking down.
Agree with this. However what we don't know his how much WZ can adaot to a less forward maurading fighter. JJ in point scoring, back foot evasion mode could easily win this fight given the same Weili Zhang as last night.
Of course things are rarely the same, and that's what makes an eventual rematch intriguing.
It's hard to give JJ a rematch even though the fight was deserving of it. She has lost 4 championship fights in a row now I think...
Weili's speed and power shouldn't be underestimated, but it's more about Joanna placing herself in dangerous positions to face that power and speed to begin with, which was a natural result of her being content to play the role of aggressor at times. Since Weili does carry that speed and power, it places an even greater emphasis on negating those attributes as much as she can to begin with by not mirroring her so much.
Again, not a radical adjustment to her overall style, and a more cautious approach is by no means guaranteed to lead her to victory, but I think it would serve her much better over five rounds if she were to avoid being dragged into a war. She even showed signs of those adjustment at times in this fight, so it's not a radical proposal for her, but yeah, too much infighting for her own good.
True. I can sit here and tap out boring bullshit about my take on fights, but there are so many variables to consider. Who knows what adjustments Weili would make. Going off what I've seen in her other fights, I think there was a good bit she didn't show herself in this fight.
I don't think it's optional, personally. Joanna's style is based on peppering shots and going forward maintaining pressure via volume and precision; her ability to circle and fight on the backfoot whilst being equally effective isn't there and I'm not sure it's a smart route to take against an opponent who will gladly gobble all that space up and walk her down, forcing her to take action regardless.
That mirroring wasn't optional, imo. It's either that or get steamrollered - better to try and meet in the middle and at least then have a bit of room for manoeuvre than give up her natural strengths in the octagon.
I would agree with what you're saying if not for how Zhang's footwork (speed across the ground) startles and forces action opponents wouldn't normally have to engage in. Another route would be to have some lateral movement, but we already know Joanna can't do that. Rose vs Zhang would be a fascinating contest because of how many short circuits Rose's style has for anyone trying to barrage forward on tracks.
Ah. Not sure this gets a runback anyway as there are others who will want their chance and Joanna probably has to wait her turn.
Ironically that was as good as I've seen JJ all things considered. Yes, she out in a clinic against Andrade but Andrade was like a moronic darlek telegraphing her every move
I'm not desperate to see her rematch. She should concentrate on remedying that big head of hers, if you'll excuse the pun.
That will probably suit Adesanya more. If Costa wants to have a fight and engage (I’m sure he will go forward) Adesanya will pick him apart and shut the lights out.
I think it’s a bit of a joke Romero trying to claim about wanting to engage. the fight went probably exactly how Romero would have wanted it to go. The pace wasn’t fast and all he did was cover up and look to burst in little moments. Izzy was trying to find a way and as he said look at the state of Romero’s leg. He chewed that thing up.
I found it mind boggiling that people thought Romero was even in that fight. His lack of ability or knowing how to cut or position really showed.
Romero is a bit like Wilder. Stays calm for much of the fight then unloads when he can. I find it bizarre that he's an Olympic medalist in wrestling but never uses it in MMA.
Getting wound up by the fat, jovial voice.
Zhang vs JJ, yeah that’s probably the highest quality and best female fight I’ve seen. I can totally understand why Zhang got the win but I honestly felt like Joanna could have won that as well. Felt like Zhang maybe had the bigger damaging moments but Joanna hit many cleaner opportunities. Maybe just doesn’t have the power to gain as big a reaction.
Do agree with what some were saying her Mua thai style is yes her strength but it was also a bit of a weakness just moves forwards and back, rarely seemed to try and get off the centre line. I thought around the 3rd she’d maybe try and go a bit more stick and move like she did vs Andrade but she seemed adamant in staying in the pocket and just trading shots.
It was a fantastic fight and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
Do agree with what some were saying her Mua thai style is yes her strength but it was also a bit of a weakness just moves forwards and back, rarely seemed to try and get off the centre line. I thought around the 3rd she’d maybe try and go a bit more stick and move like she did vs Andrade but she seemed adamant in staying in the pocket and just trading shots.
It was a fantastic fight and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
Thats a terrible comparison. The only real comparison I guess is yes they are both terrible at striking, terrible at footwork and positioning but both have ungodly power.
Wilder does not stay calm. He’s fought bums most of his career and the two times he actually stepped it up with Ortiz and Fury he got messed up for most of the fights and the one gift he has pulled his ass out the fire.
I don't understand why he doesn't try and wrestle more. He's pretty damn good at it!
Yep.
That's precisely the comparison I'm making. Romero has recently taken to being patient and waiting for his chances, especially as he gets older and has to preserve cardio.
God, I really do not enjoy Stylebender as a person. I just find him a little cringe worthy. Looked like a spoilt brat in the aftermath, gesturing to the crowd and giving the camera the finger.
As a fight, it was shit. Kinda reminded me of Wonderboy/Woodley in the sense that you were intrigued while it was live, as you felt either man could land something big; however, when that ‘something big’ doesn’t arrive, you get what we got last night.
Leaves a lot of fun matchups though, with Costa at the head of the queue.
As a fight, it was shit. Kinda reminded me of Wonderboy/Woodley in the sense that you were intrigued while it was live, as you felt either man could land something big; however, when that ‘something big’ doesn’t arrive, you get what we got last night.
Leaves a lot of fun matchups though, with Costa at the head of the queue.
Wasn't expecting a bangrr in the main event . Attention was all on the co main, and with good reason. It was never going to fail. That fight woke me up from the dead and pumped me up like few others....Thank you ladies!
Again, though, the suggestion isn't to do anything she hasn't already done and compromise her style in a major way. Since she's not going to transform into an Andre Ward overnight, not quite having the skillset to be a complete outfighter doesn't mean she needed to stand in range too long looking to fire off calf kicks, leaving her head exposed. Since Weili can be tempted into moving forward and is hittable, just giving her that bit of room to do so and timing her on the way in looks to be a better gameplan than initiating contact and exchanging combinations with her dead in the middle. Not a radical idea and one that could still easily lead to defeat, but since Joanna came away from the fight with two heads but no belt, why not.
Yeah he's hard to watch in interviews. It's really really cringing and he puts so much effort in to it as well
OK, my point is that to do that for a whole fight and not just flits is very, very difficult when you have someone whose footwork is faster than your own coupled with hand and leg speed that's evidently at least on par. Each action has to be thought through as it's not natural and instinctive to Joanna, and will, I believe, lead to openings during hesitation. As I said before, the pace and aggression of Zhang really cuts thinking time down to practically instinct and a number of exchanges where, imo, Joanna was stuck in the headlights and had to fight her way out of - I don't think she opted to do that, I think it was forced upon her.
Her style is not to go to war in fire fights; it's to pepper and pepper whilst slipping shots - I know she said she expected a war in there, but I bet even she was surprised at how many times they exchanged within microseconds of each other, essentially creating double hits that hurt her more than Zhang due to the power differential.
I just personally think you need a natural mover to keep someone like Zhang out for concerted periods of time, especially so if you're trying to give deterrents and something for her to think about in the meantime. Joanna showed an inlet with some of the front kicks, but for the main was comfortably outdone at range by Zhang's side kicks to the body, and also her work to the left leg, but worse from there is no right of reply from Joanna - at least by trying to hold ground she can strike back.
Should note also that Zhang literally caught Joanna's kicks (in her hands) at least 6 times in the fight, which added to Joanna's hesitancy as it was clear that wasn't a route to go down.
More interesting is that, when both were fresh, there was more figuring out range, and where Zhang was landing those side kicks before Joanna opted to close distance and not provide those opportunities. Zhang looked to have the advantage at distance.
I've watched the full fight 3 times now. I thought it was a draw watching live, but on each replay, I've got it 3-2 Zhang. Joanna's 3rd round was spectacular though, especially the inside crescent kick counter to the straight close to the end of the round.
Anyway, after all that, I think that the biggest issue Joanna has is not having enough power and the footspeed across the mat. They hit each other an almost equal amount of times, but the power really took a toll in the end. Joanna also said she had a head 'going on and off' which probably means she was feeling that power and it was distorting her. Also, she kept on that centre line more than she should trying to generate that extra power to match what was coming at her; I can see the logic behind it as clearly peppering Zhang is going to get you nowhere in terms of her respecting you enough to back off.
On a sidenote, how embarrassing is the hype to the fight straight after followed by the fight that it was? Jeez. "I wanna be the first man to stop him properly." "I wanna be the first man in the UFC to put him away." OK Israel.
Frankly speaking, I don't actually believe Joanna would beat Weili in a rematch, hence why I predicted Weili to win this one to begin with. She arguably has the attributes to negate anything Joanna may try, but it's at least worth speculating about adjustments for a different strategy because the first fight was too damaging to go in and repeat.
Another reason for speculating about the rematch is that it's looking a bit underwhelming outside of Rose and Joanna right now, so it would be great to see them go again later on down the line should Weili beat the winner of Rose-Andrade. She's a crap personality but at least Joanna can fight and wouldn't be an automatic write-off going into a rematch.
I wrote that Zhang would destroy Joanna before the fight - I didn't favour it being competitive, but that's because I expected those shots Zhang connected with to bring her down, but Joanna took a tremendous amount of punishment and proved what she said about the bad weight cut draining her and making her extremely intolerant to damage was true.
I think you actually wrote that it's Zhang that would have more strings to bring to the next fight, and I think you're right. She didn't have to stand and trade all night, but it felt to me like she wanted to knock Joanna out more than anything in the world (probably for that tweet) so the bad blood and emotion probably molded the fight.
I'm not going to call Joanna a gatekeeper because that's not accurate, but the issues with her linearity are going to meet their match at the top level as has been shown by 3 fighters who are simply better than her. All of them will beat her in a rematch because she doesn't have anything else to give, but what she does bring is the qualities of the champion she would be if those others didn't exist. She'll always be a glorious loser to those women as her time at the very top has come and gone, unfortunately for her.
Having said that, it's a no brainer to watch her clash at the top level because she'll always be game.
Rose is the one who really could put the cat amongst the pigeons if she comes back in the right state of mind.
Been a fun chat with you, Fener. Nice posting!
Likewise. I'm making more of an effort to understand what I'm actually seeing when I watch MMA and find posts like yours good for that. Look forward to seeing what you have to say on upcoming fights.
Khabib is going to jump out of the ring again, isn't he?