Stipe has fought some of the worst game planners/IQ fighters in MMA

[neil_totally]

Miocic didn't manipulate anything against Ngannou, Overeem or Werdum, he didn't make them throw excessively with pressure or feints, he was just there. I imagine they perceived him to be worse than he was and they paid for it.

You know who WOULDNT do that against Miocic........? Better fighters.

 

[HHJ]

Yup.... and those tendencies make them into the level/quality of fighter they are. In this case, there a 4 listed fighters who all “just made one mistake” against Miocic. Either a; they are the fighter that made that mistake, or b; Miocic manipulated them into making that mistake. Both of these options mean Miocic is the better fighter, no matter what angle you look at it. If he wasn’t, he’d be the one making mistakes against these four dudes and not the other way around.

I dont argue stipe wasnt the better fighter but i cant follow your logic. Fighters can make mistakes and come back to win even if his opponent is technically flawless. There are more variables at play here.

 

[Fullmount Triangle]

You know who WOULDNT do that against Miocic........? Better fighters.

Better fighters can make bad decisions that lead them to losing. It happens, like, all the time. More often than not, that's what upsets are. I don't think Ngannou is better than Stipe, Werdum and Overeem are objectively better in a pure sterile on paper environment, but that's not where fights are contested. There are a million factors. The drive to jsut write off fights saying "If you win, you're the better, more skilled fighter" erases the nuance that makes combat sports interesting.

 

[delbosque]

I'm amazed that anyone can call Werdum a bad gameplanner. The game plans that he executed against Fedor and Cain are some of the greatest of all time.

 

[Blank7]

Werdum - Charge towards opponent with hands down, throwing punches... twice in a row.

To this day, I still have Werdum's title defense up there with Cat's flying knee attempt on Ronda. I also refuse to watch the KO since the day it happened, reminds me of the Hendo KO on Bisping who kept fucking circling to his power hand.

 

[HHJ]

Paulo thiago is technically a better fighter than diego sanchez. Better striker,much more tools. All diego did was keep running into his fists with his face..but eventually paulo could not deal with diegoes relentless forward movement and his discipline started to break and diego took over the fight. There isnt anything to prepare you for that kind of suicidal tactic until it happens to you in a match. Thats not going to happen in the gym. You cant just spout "better fighters wouldnt do that" cos you dont know what you are talking about,ignoring all sorts of intangibles.

 

[HHJ]

To this day, I still have Werdum's title defense up there with Cat's flying knee attempt on Ronda. I also refuse to watch the KO since the day it happened, reminds me of the Hendo KO on Bisping who kept fucking circling to his power hand.

Werdum was always pretty reckless,esp when he gets tagged,he alwaya tries to give back what he got times 3. Watch the cain fight,he plants his feet and goes rockem sockem with cain when he didnt need too. He fights on emotion sometimes.

 

[HHJ]

I'm amazed that anyone can call Werdum a bad gameplanner. The game plans that he executed against Fedor and Cain are some of the greatest of all time.

They throw out terms like "fight iq" and dont even know what they are talking about

 

[Chagaev]

JDS - Let a guy with a severely compromised leg to pin you against the fence and needlessly stay in the pocket. Not attacking the hurt leg relentlessly.

He should've swept that leg.

No mercy.

 

[neil_totally]

Better fighters can make bad decisions that lead them to losing. It happens, like, all the time. More often than not, that's what upsets are. I don't think Ngannou is better than Stipe, Werdum and Overeem are objectively better in a pure sterile on paper environment, but that's not where fights are contested. There are a million factors. The drive to jsut write off fights saying "If you win, you're the better, more skilled fighter" erases the nuance that makes combat sports interesting.

I’m not saying that that isn’t the case. More just trying to point out that finishes like this one (Miocic x Ngannou for example) shouldn’t just get written off as one-offs, but should be considered seriously as part of a fighters career/ability.

If Overeem were a better fighter, for another example, he would have seen that a finish was significantly more attainable by tko when he knocked Miocic down rather than the guillotine he tried for. If he were a better fighter “on the night”, he’d just be a better fighter in general because he WOULDN’T be the type of fighter that lets excitement get in the way of good judgement, etc.

 

[Fight Professor]

Stipe definitely needs to fight Cain or DC to answer all the questions. If Struve manages to beat Arlovski, he could get a title shot to make things interesting.

 

[quantiqus]

Werdum - Charge towards opponent with hands down, throwing punches... twice in a row.

Overeem - Fought an ok plan. Probably shouldn't have gone for the guillotine after dropping Stipe. Gave him too much time to recover.

JDS - Let a guy with a severely compromised leg to pin you against the fence and needlessly stay in the pocket. Not attacking the hurt leg relentlessly.

Francis - Throw bombs with no patience and gass yourself out in the 1st round. After "underestimating" your opponent.

This is no knock on Stipe. I'm just making a point here. After watching these fights, I noticed how hittable he is. He's got a ton of heart, but he gets rocked a lot. Against Werdum, it's probably 50-50, whoever manages to drop the other. Against a healthy Cain, I think he puts Stipe away. His chin is solid enough to absorb Stipe's shots and he should have enough power to stop him.

My point is that these fighters had all the tools to beat him with a better game plan, especially JDS and Francis. They blew that chance with stupidity.

Welcome to HW!

Seriously now, there aren't many fighters that have a proper game plan, like GSP has, like TJ has, like Cruz has, like Woodley has.

Yes, Stipe gets rocked a lot, but he has:
- cardio - well, at least better cardio than the other HWs
- good boxing
- solid wrestling
- good movement - for a HW
- good chin
- good clinching
- heart

Most well rounded HW

 

[NotoriousMillions]

Werdum - Charge towards opponent with hands down, throwing punches... twice in a row.

Overeem - Fought an ok plan. Probably shouldn't have gone for the guillotine after dropping Stipe. Gave him too much time to recover.

JDS - Let a guy with a severely compromised leg to pin you against the fence and needlessly stay in the pocket. Not attacking the hurt leg relentlessly.

Francis - Throw bombs with no patience and gass yourself out in the 1st round. After "underestimating" your opponent.

This is no knock on Stipe. I'm just making a point here. After watching these fights, I noticed how hittable he is. He's got a ton of heart, but he gets rocked a lot. Against Werdum, it's probably 50-50, whoever manages to drop the other. Against a healthy Cain, I think he puts Stipe away. His chin is solid enough to absorb Stipe's shots and he should have enough power to stop him.

My point is that these fighters had all the tools to beat him with a better game plan, especially JDS and Francis. They blew that chance with stupidity.

Lol

 

[Phi-]

Stipe has fought and beaten the best there are. He didn't pick a single opponent. It is impossible to do more. Accept it.

All hail the king!

 

[HHJ]

I’m not saying that that isn’t the case. More just trying to point out that finishes like this one (Miocic x Ngannou for example) shouldn’t just get written off as one-offs, but should be considered seriously as part of a fighters career/ability.

If Overeem were a better fighter, for another example, he would have seen that a finish was significantly more attainable by tko when he knocked Miocic down rather than the guillotine he tried for. If he were a better fighter “on the night”, he’d just be a better fighter in general because he WOULDN’T be the type of fighter that lets excitement get in the way of good judgement, etc.

Again disagree. Armchair thoughts after the fact. Overeem going for the guillotine has no bearing on how good of a fighter he is or isnt. He took a risk and it didnt work out. As Many fights are won by doing what he did,as they are lost.

 

[oldschoolmmafan]

Stipe was just better than those guys. It's why he won. He is the champ for a reason.

 

[HHJ]

Fedor made a mistake against fujita
"If he had been a better fighter" doesnt work here,cos there has never been a better fighter.