re: UFC 319 Thread - Dricus vs Khamzat

In hindsight, it should have been obvious that Dricus was going to have a major struggle with Khamzat.

Dricus is a fricking tank. But slow and awkward.

Khamzat is fast and shoots fast as hell for how big he is.

Dricus could work on grappling, takedown defense, getting back up--but he'll just get taken back down again since he's slower than Khamzat. Not sure what he can do to stand a chance in a rematch.

Khamzat has had some exciting fights. But someone looked at his fight against Gilbert Burns and told him--if you don't get involved in firefights like that, you'll never lose a fight.

He's a freak of nature / generational talent. Him being champion someday seemed destined to happen at some point.

A lot of people on the internet mentioning Usman. Nobody mentions that Khamzat tore a ligament in his right hand in the first round against Usman. Usman would have been dominated again in rounds two and three if that hadn't happened.

JDM or Topuria--against Islam--have the best chance of beating one of these Russian / Dagestani wrestlers.

If Pereira had a hand injury in his first fight against Ankalaev, and that injury was the reason that he hardly threw any punches--I hope that his hand is healed up and that he gets the redemption victory against Ankalaev.

I'm a spectator. I like exciting fights. I can respect technical dominance, but I don't get the come out of my seat and cheer feeling I'm looking for when I watch a fight. I can respect the hell out of Mayweather. He's one of the best to ever do it, but given the option to watch Gatti V Ward in their prime, I'm choosing the latter. It's more fun.

All that being said, someone will solve the Russian puzzle and then everything will go back to normal. This happens in MMA ever 5 or 6 years. A style dominates and then it is solved and a new style comes to the forefront. It will be fun to see who solves this one.

ETA: Not going to lie. There was a part of me that was internally screaming for DPP to just punch Chimaev right in the nuts when he was just laying on him. You're already behind on the cards. Just get him off you and make him think about that position for the rest of the fight. Who cares about a point deduction?

quote:

---

he didn't even attempt to sprawl during takedowns.

---

Dricus managed at least one sprawl later on in the fight. Maybe he finally got used to the timing of the shots, or maybe Khamzat had slowed down just enough by then for Dricus to manage to sprawl. Early on Khamzat shot takedowns so fast and strong that DDP just got grabbed and then backpedaled into getting taken down. I don't think Dricus is going to be able to get faster or less awkward in his movement in order to prevent that in a potential rematch.

quote:

---

And he took zero chances in trying to move into a favorable position. Looked to me like Dricus was content with losing a decision vs trying to win and maybe getting submitted.

---

For a lot of the time, Dricus was trapped in crucifixes. And he bucked hard early on and in the middle trying to get out of those, but then I think he realized he was just burning energy.

When he was kneeling down with one knee with Khamzat draped over him--afterward Dricus said that he felt like Khamzat knew what he was going to try to do next and was just a step ahead of him the whole time.

I think Dricus just wanted to avoid getting submitted in the hopes that he might be able to get a finish late--if Khamzat gassed out or something. Even if that meant just being stuck in positions or accepting them and riding them out until the end of rounds. Dricus actually ended up on top of Khamzat once or twice late, so it almost worked.

He crucifixed, mounted, passed guard, reversed position and mounted him.

What more do yall want??

quote:

---

I'm betting on BJJ

---

BJJ by itself isn't solving wrestling. BJJ has been part of MMA training regimens for decades, and BJJ specialists like the Gracies are now MMA dinosaurs. The writing has been on the wall regarding wrestling in the last few years, so most fighters are entering MMA with some sort of wrestling experience now. But these Central Asian and Caucus guys grow up with wrestling as essentially their culture and national sport and are just elite at what they do. Mere knowledge of takedown defense and grappling are still levels behind where these guys are. Wrestling is the new bjj, and it's going to take people who grow up with a similar wrestling base to neutralize it, like DI and Olympian wrestlers transitioning into MMA.

quote:

---

ETA: Not going to lie. There was a part of me that was internally screaming for DPP to just punch Chimaev right in the nuts when he was just laying on him. You're already behind on the cards. Just get him off you and make him think about that position for the rest of the fight. Who cares about a point deduction?

---

This is the level of ignorance we are dealing with here lol

quote:

---

This is the level of ignorance we are dealing with here lol

---

Oh the shut the frick up. Dirty boxing and taking fouls to get out of bad positions has been part of the fight game since it began. I didn't say he should do it. But it's a title fight and you're down three rounds with two to go. Some fighters would "inadvertently" tag a guy to get him off of him and force a break. Some won't.

It's no different than a DB tackling an open WR that will score the game winning touchdown if he catches the ball or taking a penalty and making them line up again. Or intentionally fouling during the last minute of a basketball game in hopes of getting a few breaks and evening the score.

Athletes break the rules for an advantage all the time and fighters are no different.

quote:

---

think the reason they haven't, is because it highlights a glaring issue with the rules in genera

---

Imagine looking for the refs in football to tell a team they have to stop successfully running the ball and force them to pass because they are too good at running lol