MMA

[jujigatame]

Page has brilliant speed and he knows how to mix his strikes up so opponents don't know what to expect.

It will be very interesting to see how he deals with a grinder like Gonzalez who will try to keep pressure on him.

[p4p1]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KK1hhmZULUE

This is how page should deal with all double leg attempts.

Also it never gets old watching Hughes get kneed in the face. He's a pudendum

[lefty]

Page has brilliant speed and he knows how to mix his strikes up so opponents don't know what to expect.

It will be very interesting to see how he deals with a grinder like Gonzalez who will try to keep pressure on him.

I'm watching Koreshkov for the very first time right now. fornicate me I'm impressed. Good striking, really good wrestling. When Rory signed with Bellator I saw a lot of people saying that it's basically a foregone conclusion that he'll be the new welterweight champion. After just watching Koreshkov I could see him beating Rory or atleast it being a good 50-50 type affair. That's no walk over. I'm curious to hear your take on him and that matchup?

[lefty]

On a sidenote- it's sad to see Askren wiltering away over at one fc. The only guy to beat Koreshkov and has a win over Lima aswell. I'm talking from a competition stand point. Admittedly he's dull as hell to watch though lol.

[jujigatame]

Totally agree that Koreshkov vs. MacDonald is an even fight. Rory hasn't developed like I thought he would. 5 years ago I thought he was a can't-miss future champ. But his grappling seems to have regressed a bit. He used to ragdoll guys in the clinch, now he's a more 1-dimensional striker who tries to keep distance and only resorts to takedowns as an ineffective desperation maneuver when an opponent is outstriking him. He's more predictable and that hurts him.

It actually reminds me of the way Jon Jones's style changed over the years.

[jujigatame]

On a sidenote- it's sad to see Askren wiltering away over at one fc. The only guy to beat Koreshkov and has a win over Lima aswell. I'm talking from a competition stand point. Admittedly he's dull as hell to watch though lol.

Yea it is sad. I know his style isn't fan friendly but I've found at least a few of his fights entertaining. He was a top talent and it was shameful that neither the UFC nor Bellator bothered to make him a decent offer. He's like the Rigondeaux of MMA. Well, maybe not as good as Rigondeaux, but you get the idea.

[lefty]

Page vs Lima would be a good fight. Lima has a nice jab and a really good outside leg kick. Would be interesting to see how Page dealt with those attributes alongside the decent enough grappling Lima has.

[lefty]

Totally agree that Koreshkov vs. MacDonald is an even fight. Rory hasn't developed like I thought he would. 5 years ago I thought he was a can't-miss future champ. But his grappling seems to have regressed a bit. He used to ragdoll guys in the clinch, now he's a more 1-dimensional striker who tries to keep distance and only resorts to takedowns as an ineffective desperation maneuver when an opponent is outstriking him. He's more predictable and that hurts him.

It actually reminds me of the way Jon Jones's style changed over the years.

Rory was seen as the next GSP to a large extent. I don't think he was blessed with the kind of athleticism that George's was though. The speed of his double leg was insane. The only guy who could compete in that aspect was Koscheck in his prime. He had a really fast double leg takedown aswell.

[Counter-puncher]

Page has brilliant speed and he knows how to mix his strikes up so opponents don't know what to expect.

It will be very interesting to see how he deals with a grinder like Gonzalez who will try to keep pressure on him.

I'm watching Koreshkov for the very first time right now. eff me I'm impressed. Good striking, really good wrestling. When Rory signed with Bellator I saw a lot of people saying that it's basically a foregone conclusion that he'll be the new welterweight champion. After just watching Koreshkov I could see him beating Rory or atleast it being a good 50-50 type affair. That's no walk over. I'm curious to hear your take on him and that matchup?

Koreshkov looks a real natural striker, big, fast, powerful, he fights relaxed and so he tends to take advantage of his striking opportunities. Hes the bellator fighter that has impressed me most in the stand-up, I really cant speak for his grappling cant recall him having to do much

[p4p1]

Totally agree that Koreshkov vs. MacDonald is an even fight. Rory hasn't developed like I thought he would. 5 years ago I thought he was a can't-miss future champ. But his grappling seems to have regressed a bit. He used to ragdoll guys in the clinch, now he's a more 1-dimensional striker who tries to keep distance and only resorts to takedowns as an ineffective desperation maneuver when an opponent is outstriking him. He's more predictable and that hurts him.

It actually reminds me of the way Jon Jones's style changed over the years.

Rory was seen as the next GSP to a large extent. I don't think he was blessed with the kind of athleticism that George's was though. The speed of his double leg was insane. The only guy who could compete in that aspect was Koscheck in his prime. He had a really fast double leg takedown aswell.

He just seemed to stop progressing very early. It's strange, I know he was very successful very young but when you look at someone like Aldo who was champ at 22 he has improved even though he doesn't get as many stoppages as he used to. Jones seems to have plateaued a bit over the last couple of years as Saad said. I would've expected by now Jones to be a much better striker technically, however his grappling is just as good as it ever was. I believe the plateau we believe we are seeing has a lot to do with competition though IMO and it's against the grain when Jones burst onto the scene LHW wasn't particularly deep, it had a ton of big names but all of them other than Rashad were past their best.

Shogun went from on top of the world and looking amazing at 23 to having some pretty bad performances in his late 20s though I think that's down to 3 or 4 or however many he has had knee reconstructions.

[lefty]

Page has brilliant speed and he knows how to mix his strikes up so opponents don't know what to expect.

It will be very interesting to see how he deals with a grinder like Gonzalez who will try to keep pressure on him.

I'm watching Koreshkov for the very first time right now. eff me I'm impressed. Good striking, really good wrestling. When Rory signed with Bellator I saw a lot of people saying that it's basically a foregone conclusion that he'll be the new welterweight champion. After just watching Koreshkov I could see him beating Rory or atleast it being a good 50-50 type affair. That's no walk over. I'm curious to hear your take on him and that matchup?

Koreshkov looks a real natural striker, big, fast, powerful, he fights relaxed and so he tends to take advantage of his striking opportunities. Hes the bellator fighter that has impressed me most in the stand-up, I really cant speak for his grappling cant recall him having to do much

Yeah in his fight with Henderson (his last fight) he chose to keep it standing and he didn't really use his grappling much, bar stuffing take down attempts. In his fight against Lima though he was shooting for takedowns and achieving a large percentage of the attempts. Aside from a good single and double leg takedown- it also looks like he is versed in judo or sambo (would make sense being Russian and all). Some of the takedowns were him picking Lima completely off thr ground from a clinch position and almost face planting him. Reminded me a bit of a prime Matt Hughes. That almost gorilla like strength that a lot of judokas and grapplers generally tend to develop.

Very impressive fighter. Would be interesting to see how he'd fare in BJJ.

[lefty]

Totally agree that Koreshkov vs. MacDonald is an even fight. Rory hasn't developed like I thought he would. 5 years ago I thought he was a can't-miss future champ. But his grappling seems to have regressed a bit. He used to ragdoll guys in the clinch, now he's a more 1-dimensional striker who tries to keep distance and only resorts to takedowns as an ineffective desperation maneuver when an opponent is outstriking him. He's more predictable and that hurts him.

It actually reminds me of the way Jon Jones's style changed over the years.

Rory was seen as the next GSP to a large extent. I don't think he was blessed with the kind of athleticism that George's was though. The speed of his double leg was insane. The only guy who could compete in that aspect was Koscheck in his prime. He had a really fast double leg takedown aswell.

He just seemed to stop progressing very early. It's strange, I know he was very successful very young but when you look at someone like Aldo who was champ at 22 he has improved even though he doesn't get as many stoppages as he used to. Jones seems to have plateaued a bit over the last couple of years as Saad said. I would've expected by now Jones to be a much better striker technically, however his grappling is just as good as it ever was. I believe the plateau we believe we are seeing has a lot to do with competition though IMO and it's against the grain when Jones burst onto the scene LHW wasn't particularly deep, it had a ton of big names but all of them other than Rashad were past their best.

Shogun went from on top of the world and looking amazing at 23 to having some pretty bad performances in his late 20s though I think that's down to 3 or 4 or however many he has had knee reconstructions.

Didn't Rory start fighting at 16 or something ridiculous like that? I remember reading stories of how he was beating up grown men in the gym within a short period of him starting to train. Something like 14/15. Pretty mad.

[Counter-puncher]

You think his gorilla strength comes from grappling a lot? Lol. They all grapple a lot don't they? I'm going with the 'hes Russian so his piss probably sets off Geiger counters' option

[jujigatame]

Rory Mac turned pro at age 16. He was only 20 when he came within a hair of beating Carlos Condit!!

[lefty]

You think his gorilla strength comes from grappling a lot? Lol. They all grapple a lot don't they? I'm going with the 'hes Russian so his piss probably sets off Geiger counters' option

Lol sorry I meant the guys who have been grappling a long time! That kind of strength that develops from grappling years and years. However I agree- his piss would probably cause USADA's labs to explode lol.

[lefty]

Rory Mac turned pro at age 16. He was only 20 when he came within a hair of beating Carlos Condit!!

Yeah, I thought so. That's pretty crazy huh.

[lefty]

Jujigatame, I was just having a look at Bellators roster and came across this guy http://bellator.spike.com/fighters/qecb8m/andre-fialho

If you've seen him fight; is he any good or just got a padded record?

[Counter-puncher]

You think his gorilla strength comes from grappling a lot? Lol. They all grapple a lot don't they? I'm going with the 'hes Russian so his piss probably sets off Geiger counters' option

Lol sorry I meant the guys who have been grappling a long time! That kind of strength that develops from grappling years and years. However I agree- his piss would probably cause USADA's labs to explode lol.

I was being facetious to be fair I would have no clue whether he is or isn't juicing. Its just interesting as a striker that he could manhandle Lima like that

[lefty]

You think his gorilla strength comes from grappling a lot? Lol. They all grapple a lot don't they? I'm going with the 'hes Russian so his piss probably sets off Geiger counters' option

Lol sorry I meant the guys who have been grappling a long time! That kind of strength that develops from grappling years and years. However I agree- his piss would probably cause USADA's labs to explode lol.

I was being facetious to be fair I would have no clue whether he is or isn't juicing. Its just interesting as a striker that he could manhandle Lima like that

Lol don't worry I know you were. However that being said, I don't think Bellator has a particularly stringent drug testing policy to my knowledge so your facetious remarks were probably pretty accurate.

Regarding the Lima fight though- I'm just watching his (Koreshkov)fight with Askren for the first time and he's getting fookin mauled and that's being kind really. Shows how good a grappler Askren is.

[lefty]

Regarding Askren- it would be interesting to know how he'd approach a fight with Maia. His entire game really is to take you down and then control you from thr top pretty much. I don't think that strategy would be smart against the present Maia. Shields managed it but I think Maia has improved since then.

Wonder if Ben would try and keep it on the feet. If so, god that would be one ugly fight lol. Both of them are dire on that front.

[lefty]

Ben Askren vs Andrey koreshkov - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UUgcJpkgTsw


What an absolute fornicating man handling. Koreshkov has very good grappling. Askren made him look like a straight up anateur or a child even for that matter. I agree with you jujigatame- I don't find it boring. That's a straight up clinic in grappling. You have to respect the skill there.

[p4p1]

Regarding Askren- it would be interesting to know how he'd approach a fight with Maia. His entire game really is to take you down and then control you from thr top pretty much. I don't think that strategy would be smart against the present Maia. Shields managed it but I think Maia has improved since then.

Wonder if Ben would try and keep it on the feet. If so, god that would be one ugly fight lol. Both of them are dire on that front.

Have you seen Maia vs Fitch?

[jujigatame]

Jujigatame, I was just having a look at Bellators roster and came across this guy http://bellator.spike.com/fighters/qecb8m/andre-fialho

If you've seen him fight; is he any good or just got a padded record?

Don't think I've ever seen him. Looks like he hasn't beaten anyone decent, but he's young (22) so maybe they're bringing him along slow as a prospect.

[danamba7]

Anyone seen the CM Punk documentary? Seen the first 2 episodes and though it was an OK watch but as a beginner he was absolutely shocking. He genuinely couldn't even through punches properly. The injury might have been the best thing that could've happened to him because it's given him more time to improve. I'd still be surprised if he beats Gall who actually looks quite good.

[Impractical Poster]

Regarding Askren- it would be interesting to know how he'd approach a fight with Maia. His entire game really is to take you down and then control you from thr top pretty much. I don't think that strategy would be smart against the present Maia. Shields managed it but I think Maia has improved since then.

Wonder if Ben would try and keep it on the feet. If so, god that would be one ugly fight lol. Both of them are dire on that front.

Have you seen Maia vs Fitch?

Maia gave Fitch a bit of his own treatment.