Official Women's Division Discussion #25

[Nintendomark]

Anderson had some decent striking then it was all Holm. Megan's got a lot to work on, especially takedown defense & grappling from her back. Holm proved she's an experienced veteran & got to show off some other sides to her game. Always enjoy her post fight interviews as she's a class act.

Yeah, I enjoyed her talk with Rogan after. Liked how she mentioned wanting the 135 belt back, I would be way more curious to see how she matches up with Amanda Nunes over a Cyborg rematch. She fought a smart fight last night, against a bigger opponent.

That was my first time watching Megan fight, the brief striking exchange in the beginning looked impressive but she clearly has a lot to work on and could use more experience. Hopefully with her visa/injury issues sorted out, she will be more active and get a chance to fight more.

Carla/Clauda was a fun, close fight. Even though Carla lost on the score cards, all losses aren't created equal and I liked what she was able to do in the striking department.

 

[ions82]

Perhaps Gadelha just isn't as hungry as she once was (both literally and figuratively.) She has lots of experience and training under her belt, but it sounds like most folks here feel she has either reached a point of stagnation or perhaps even taken a step back. Either that or everyone else is still progressing (Esparza's striking, for example.)

 

[ions82]

Holly showed a lot better ground game than I thought she had.

Or, maybe wrestling Anderson on the ground is a lot like hitting pads. LOOKS good, but is it ACTUALLY good.

 

[PurpleStorm]

Perhaps Gadelha just isn't as hungry as she once was (both literally and figuratively.) She has lots of experience and training under her belt, but it sounds like most folks here feel she has either reached a point of stagnation or perhaps even taken a step back. Either that or everyone else is still progressing (Esparza's striking, for example.)

It could be all of those things. Claudia's had a lot of changes in the past couple years, Brazil to New Jersey to Albuquerque to Las Vegas. She mentioned in an interview that she left Albuquerque for personal life reasons, not because of coaching. Seemed to indicate she prefers the social life in Vegas, like maybe more cosmopolitan or more younger people. For me she's always been a fun to watch wild card. She can look great some moments and not great in others. Like first round versus Andrade she showed amazing striking but then it was downhill from there. Unless she gets a stoppage (like her dramatic submission over Karolina) she often loses the last round of a decision. Everyone always says it's due to gassing and it definitely is but I also think it's sloppy decision making. It's like her fight iq goes out the window, lol. Last night it's tough to determine because she revealed today she blew out her knee in the first round. I'd say it was a gutsy performance & she won round two in dominant fashion.

Esparza has definitely improved. She's dramatically better in the striking department than she was back in the TUF days & her loss to Johanna. She's improved in all areas & it's pretty amazing she still competes so well given her size disadvantage. Very impressive last night from Carla even though she lost a very close split decision.

 

[PurpleStorm]

Yeah, I enjoyed her talk with Rogan after. Liked how she mentioned wanting the 135 belt back, I would be way more curious to see how she matches up with Amanda Nunes over a Cyborg rematch. She fought a smart fight last night, against a bigger opponent.

That was my first time watching Megan fight, the brief striking exchange in the beginning looked impressive but she clearly has a lot to work on and could use more experience. Hopefully with her visa/injury issues sorted out, she will be more active and get a chance to fight more.

Carla/Clauda was a fun, close fight. Even though Carla lost on the score cards, all losses aren't created equal and I liked what she was able to do in the striking department.

Holly's always a pleasure to watch in interviews. The crowd noticed it too. It's looking like Holly will fight Nunes. Nunes tweeted today that she's down to fight Holly. Cyborg tweeted something too that she'll fight the winner of that one. Gotta credit Holly for aiming big.

Agree Megan needs massive improvement & I hope we see her more often. She's only been doing mma like four years so she's a novice. If she can develop a passable ground game she could be a star. She has the personality for it.

I enjoyed Carla/Claudia too! Kept going back and forth. First round seemed Carla might ko Claudia - she had her rocked. Toward end of that round Claudia was close to finishing Carla with the guillotine. Like you say all losses aren't equal. In her last four fights Carla's clawed her way back near the top via hard work & dedication.

 

[Daniel4802]

Did Claudia specify when in the first round the injury occurred? When rocked, possibly?

 

[MajorTB]

Yeah and it could be all of those things. Claudia's had a lot of changes in the past couple years, Brazil to New Jersey to Albuquerque to Las Vegas. She mentioned in an interview that she left Albuquerque for personal life reasons, not because of coaching. Seemed to indicate she prefers the social life in Vegas, like maybe more cosmopolitan or more younger people. For me she's always been a fun to watch wild card. She can look great some moments and not great in others. Like first round versus Andrade she showed amazing striking but then it was downhill from there. Unless she gets a stoppage (like her dramatic submission over Karolina) she often loses the last round of a decision. Everyone always says it's due to gassing and it definitely is but I also think it's sloppy decision making. It's like her fight iq goes out the window, lol. Last night it's tough to determine because she revealed today she blew out her knee in the first round. I'd say it was a gutsy performance & she won round two in dominant fashion.

Esparza has definitely improved. She's dramatically better in the striking department than she was back in the TUF days & her loss to Johanna. She's improved in all areas & it's pretty amazing she still competes so well given her size disadvantage. Very impressive last night from Carla even though she lost a very close split decision.

She’s been competing since 2008, and has had quite a few tough weight cuts. She’s also taken 3 tough losses, and it wouldn’t surprise me a ton if she’s just not feeling it anymore.

I’m also absolutely not a fan of long distance coaching, and her main sparring partners leave a lot to be desired.

Even though I’m not a fan, Carla could easily be on a 5 fight win streak if 2 judges went her way. She’s put in some serious time and work, and I gotta give her credit for that.

 

[PurpleStorm]

Did Claudia specify when in the first round the injury occurred? When rocked, possibly?

She didn't specify just said she's in hospital. I'd have to watch again but possibly when rocked it buckled. Definitely noticed her hobbling in third round & post-fight.

 

[awiv]

From all I am hearing from Holly, it sounds like she wants to face Nunes next, but it is a tough sell since Nunes vs. Cyborg would make more money. If that is the case maybe has Holly face Ketlen for the number 1 contendership.

 

[Daniel4802]

She didn't specify just said she's in hospital. I'd have to watch again but possibly when rocked it buckled. Definitely noticed her hobbling in third round & post-fight.

I don't have Fight Pass anymore so I didn't watch the fight; just read the Play by Play and everyone's comments. I'd be interested in knowing the severity of her injury, though.

 

[Eater of Souls]

Or, maybe wrestling Anderson on the ground is a lot like hitting pads. LOOKS good, but is it ACTUALLY good.

Given Megan's size and strength advantages, her performance on the ground was horrible. And once Holly figured out her timing, on the feet it was not much better for her. Almost as if someone with five years experience and less than a dozen fights does not do well against people with twice the experience in both areas. In time she might be OK, but she needs real training, which she obviously is not getting considering the fundamental holes in her basics.

 

[Eater of Souls]

Did Claudia specify when in the first round the injury occurred? When rocked, possibly?

No, but it apparently was an issue last month, so she probably just put her damn foot down wrong and made it worse. Usually how that shit happens.

 

[PurpleStorm]

I don't have Fight Pass anymore so I didn't watch the fight; just read the Play by Play and everyone's comments. I'd be interested in knowing the severity of her injury, though.

Same. Here's Claudia's instagram message. There's photos at the link.



Hoping it comes back okay for her.

This could be where she hurt her knee. Looks like it buckles & wobbles. 2:27 into first round.

 

[Daniel4802]

Yeah I figured. She hopped about and didn't plant her right foot until Carla hit her again.

 

[Felis]

Given Megan's size and strength advantages, her performance on the ground was horrible.

It's not just that she was not good on the ground - that can (kinda, a bit) be exused by her being rather young in the fight game.
But to me it also seemed as if she was utterly perplexed that the fight even went there. Like she had in her mind: Holly=former boxer=I don't have to worry about the ground.

 

[Felis]

From all I am hearing from Holly, it sounds like she wants to face Nunes next, but it is a tough sell since Nunes vs. Cyborg would make more money. If that is the case maybe has Holly face Ketlen for the number 1 contendership.

That's a rather big IF imo. I kinda got the impression that Nunes would really rather not face Cyborg..

As for Holm: In general I'm not in favor of giving Holly a title shot almost every other fight. But in this specific situation here I think maybe the UFC should strike the iron while it's hot. Right now Holly is high, her win against Megan was, despite it being a decision, entertaining & impressive and her post-fight speech was inspiring. I'm not sure if this momentum should be wasted on a contender fight, as imo Holly is perfectly capable of losing to Ketlen and/or making it a stinker. And then Megan would have been sacrificed for nothing.

 

[Eater of Souls]

It's not just that she was not good on the ground - that can (kinda, a bit) be exused by her being rather young in the fight game.
But to me it also seemed as if she was utterly perplexed that the fight even went there. Like she had in her mind: Holly=former boxer=I don't have to worry about the ground.

I am just going to say it. Other than size and power, Megan is pretty much lacking in every single area of MMA. It has been over four years and even her basic footwork is horrible. Holly has never been someone who has impressed me with her technical brilliance, but she is light years ahead of Megan.

 

[Tobago Jones]

I read somewhere Megan Anderson is a purple belt in BJJ. True or not, getting out grappled by Holm like that is terrible.

 

[Felis]

I read somewhere Megan Anderson is a purple belt in BJJ. True or not, getting out grappled by Holm like that is terrible.

Well, for a purple belt this would indeed be a pretty poor showing.

I do think tho that people might be underestimating Holly's grappling a bit.

 

[thatdude21601]

Jujeath Nagaowa won an MMA fight in China yesterday. She fought a Thai lady I don't know, but good to see that the smallest John Lineker is back to fighting.