How Good is Holloway at Striking Compared to Barboza and RDA?

legkicktko

legkicktko

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Because at the end of the day, matchups make fights and Holloway is not about to grind Pettis like Guida or Eddie Alvarez.

If Holloway wins this fight, its because he gets it done with his bread and butter and that is his striking.

So take your emotions out of it. Where does Holloway stack up against the strikers who have outstruck Pettis? Use examples, not just emotions.
 
I think Pettis is the better technical striker and has better power but Holloway looked really good against Lamas. I think it's a coin flip fight.
 
Holloway can't grind Pettis. Pettis probably wins the fight with kicks.

I think Barboza is a better striker than Pettis especially when they fight one another as Barboza eats up anyone who isn't aggressive. Pettis usually a cautious counter striker.

RDA pushes forward and pressures. If it was striking only Pettis would beat RDA and Barboza would beat RDA. But in MMA RDA will beat both of them with pressure + grappling + above avg striking.
 
Pettis is overrated. he looked awful against oliveira. oliveira was out striking him in that fight and iirc wobbled him a couple times.
 
applesbananas said:
Pettis is overrated. he looked awful against oliveira. oliveira was out striking him in that fight and iirc wobbled him a couple times.
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Not trying to be a dick, but you don't recall correctly. I watched it this morning.
 
RDA used pressure and takedowns to beat Pettis, wouldn't say it's his striking that won him the fight.

Pettis better be ready for a war or Max will pick him apart like he did with Cub.
 
applesbananas said:
Maybe you're right. maybe I'm confusing Brazilians.
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You mean Olivera and Barboza? Could be man.

Yeah when I was watching it I remember it being a barn burner, which it was. That said, Olivera was definitely on the receiving end of that fight. Pettis landed more strikes statistically, was more accurate as well, landed ALL the damaging strikes and the only knockdown, and then wound up submitting him.
 
RDA didn't purely outstrike Pettis. He used pressure and grinding against the cage to nullify Pettis' striking. That's the tactic Hollaway needs to use because if he tries to stand and bang or play around in Pettis' guard, he's gonna get in trouble.
 
legkicktko said:
Because at the end of the day, matchups make fights and Holloway is not about to grind Pettis like Guida or Eddie Alvarez.

If Holloway wins this fight, its because he gets it done with his bread and butter and that is his striking.

So take your emotions out of it. Where does Holloway stack up against the strikers who have outstruck Pettis? Use examples, not just emotions.
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Not very. He's more of a brawler than a technical striker.
 
welcometohavoc said:
Not very. He's more of a brawler than a technical striker.
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Holloway has solid foundation and technique, but he does have a "showtime tendency" where he throws risky shit and gets tagged.
 
I have a question. How is Anthony Pettis' chin so much better than his brother's? Don't genetics count for anything?
 
Stevanchez said:
RDA didn't purely outstrike Pettis. He used pressure and grinding against the cage to nullify Pettis' striking. That's the tactic Hollaway needs to use because if he tries to stand and bang or play around in Pettis' guard, he's gonna get in trouble.
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See that's why I think this fight is interesting.

Its my opinion, but I think people are batshit crazy if they don't think RDA's takedowns influenced the fuck out of the striking exchanges.

Holloway is not about to take Pettis down. Pettis has some serious submissions and is explosive as hell.

I feel he either has to play a safe clinch/cage grind striking approach like you said, or go full Barboza and go kick for kick and punch for punch.
 
Holloway has better hands than Pettis thats for sure, for me Pettis has very average hands, he has great kicks, very good at kicking, but his punches are not that crisp and not much power, don't remember him ever knocking out anyone with a punch or dropping them even with a punch.
 
Chad The Limey said:
I have a question. How is Anthony Pettis' chin so much better than his brother's? Don't genetics count for anything?
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That little dude probably cuts a shit ton of weight which can't help. I saw a video on Instagram of him benching 300 + and looking every bit of 150-160 but his ass is fighting at 125?
 
I like both guys equally, but I think Holloway can get it done with his forward pressure, so long as he's not careless. I was shocked, to see that he's only an inch taller than Pettis and that Pettis has a 3" reach advantage. For some reason, I thought Max was much larger, with longer range.

Regardless, I think Max can still punch Pettis' ticket by constantly moving forward, as long as he keeps Pettis guessing and does it tactfully... nothing too careless/risky. I can see Anthony trying to lull Max into a slower rhythm, employing a jab and leg kicks until waiting for his big moment to capitalize on a frustrated, emotional Holloway.

As far as how good Max is in comparison to Barboza/RDA-- obviously, Barboza reigns supreme with kicks (and has great striking across the board), whereas RDA does best with mixing it up with solid transitions from striking to clinching to ground work. I feel that RDA is so dangerous because of the fact that he's progressed in more than one aspect, and his ability to adapt is pretty fluid. Holloway can hang in my opinion, but he's more of a traditional striker. His skills are there, but the x-factor is that he doesn't seem afraid to take a chance and he fights with more emotion than say, Barboza/RDA.
 
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Chamber said:
I like both guys equally, but I think Holloway can get it done with his forward pressure, so long as he's not careless. I was shocked, to see that he's only an inch taller than Pettis and that Pettis has a 3" reach advantage. For some reason, I thought Max was much larger, with longer range.

Regardless, I think Max can still punch Pettis' ticket by constantly moving forward, as long as he keeps Pettis guessing and does it tactfully... nothing too careless/risky. I can see Anthony trying to lull Max into a slower rhythm, employing a jab and leg kicks until waiting for his big moment to capitalize on a frustrated, emotional Holloway.
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Great breakdown. I'm very excited to see how it plays out
 
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