Not a "Stipe fan" but do see obvious holes in Ngannou's game. Forget the ground game, Overeem should have smacked him twice before having his head shot out of a cannon to Bolivia. He chickened out and paid for it. Watch the finishing sequence and tell me that's not true. If Overeem had hit him half as hard as he kicked that little girl in the gym, it might have been lights out for Ngannou.
Lol, a back hand on the wrist would drop Lebron for the count! I think we saw Curry drop Lebron with a WWF style forearm.
This is not a bashing thread. The point is that at this level, guys who are only good at one thing and rely purely on physical attributes are supposed to be a thing of the past. The last fighter who succeeded that way in the UFC was Brock Lesnar and that was a long time ago. It would look bad on the sport if Stipe loses.
Ngannou: the only real threat he presents are his hands. Supposedly he had some kind of boxing background but he shows very little of it and no jab, the most important punch of all. He's too raw, just look at his footwork. Doesn't really have any other weapons on the feet, doesn't have a ground game(aside from a keylock against a lower level guy) and his TDD is still a question mark. And with all that muscle there's no way he's not gassed out by round 3.
Even if he lands another windmill and wins the title(highly unlikely. Stipe's no shot ArReemski) he's not destined for longevity. He will be figured out quick because he doesn't have enough other skills to fall back on in this constantly evolving game.
Stipe will win by simply being what a modern MMA fighter is all about. Hate to be a buzzkill sherbros.
it'll be a step blackwards.
This. It's good to see that TS isn't fooling anyone with his subtle implications.
Probably because this is a fight that is fairly easy to call. Ngannou has power, that is it. Blaydes took him down quite a few times and landed quite a few shots on him before the doctor stoppage. I dont think Francis has really evolved this crazy amount like other believe he has. I think Stipe has a home for the ole 1-2 and a takedown. As long as he stays away from Ngannou's power and doesnt lead with kicks, only finishes combos with them, I think he can coast to a late finish or UD. I havent really commented much on HW's because I just don't really like them that much. However, Stipe has shown thus far to be the vastly superior fighter. Don't let this fool you tho. There is a reason the HW belt has only been defended 3 consecutive times. It is because at that size, one big power shot can end it.
Yeah but its UFC, Ngannou or Stipe wouldn't get very far in a toughman competition. Lebron would probably be GOAT in a few fights the way this sport is lol other great top athletes too, if they went to a top MMA gym for a year. In boxing Lebron couldn't get far, but in UFC he could probably be champ with 18 months of training
