Stipe: 'I think (Werdum) realized that it wasnt going anywhere'

[Rex Kwon Do]

 

[Final Say]

 

[High Altitude]

I guess that is the running man ko. You just keep running straight in until you get koed.

 

[Final Say]

I guess that is the running man ko. You just keep running straight in until you get koed.

he was head hunting, looking for a KO of his own.

didnt expect stipe to have the skill and footwork to avoid, plant and land first. good ol' boxing, the most slept on martial art in MMA.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

nah, id like to see it. werdum is a smart guy and that fight could be a very slow and methodical one because both of them are typically gameplanners. plus, if stipe wins in january, theres going to be some rematches on the horizon for him, why not?

i think this is right, as is your op. Werdum could still calm down and drag it out over the 25 minutes as a gameplan. I think his shit wasnt working on Stipe, too, but I do think he panicked, or thought he could surprise Stipe with a bumrush. Before he did that he wasnt getting killed or anything, either. Things open up as fatigue sets in and mistakes are made. Would be a good rematch, boring or not, because they are #1 and ..... #2 or 3?

 

[High Altitude]

he was head hunting, looking for a KO of his own.

didnt expect stipe to have the skill and footwork to avoid, plant and land first. good ol' boxing, the most slept on martial art in MMA.

Yup, Stipe was in full control through that whole exchange just waiting for his opening.

 

[Final Say]

i think this is right, as is your op. Werdum could still calm down and drag it out over the 25 minutes as a gameplan. I think his shit wasnt working on Stipe, too, but I do think he panicked, or thought he could surprise Stipe with a bumrush. Before he did that he wasnt getting killed or anything, either. Things open up as fatigue sets in and mistakes are made. Would be a good rematch, boring or not, because they are #1 and ..... #2 or 3?

i suspect its a lot more difficult being in there with stipe than you can see as an outsider. hes aggressive, his feet are always moving, hes cutting off the cage and i also believe hes deceptively strong. when youre as coachable and technical as he is, its just a lot of trouble for someone else to remain calm and fight him normally.

think about Arlovski, Werdum, Overeem and JDS. EVERYONE said they all fought funny, they all did wrong things... werdum panicked and ran in, overeem panicked and ran out, JDS couldnt circle out and found himself in the cage like always except he coulfnt get his own punches off. i dont think this is luck on stipe's part, hes forcing the issue.

I just think stipe is a shark in there and people dont realize how tough it is to survive with him.

 

[Koutalianos]

Werdum definitely went full retard at that fight. And we all know that it is never good to go full retard

 

[Blond]

I was down for a rematch, but i don't like how werdum has looked since that fight. His striking has been looking very nonthreatening lately.

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

What ive been saying about this fight for a long time. A lot of people thought werdum had some stupid game plan or went 'full retard' but stipe kind of confirms what i always thought.



timestamp:

wasnt going anywhere? after 2mn50?

 

[Final Say]

wasnt going anywhere? after 2mn50?

yeah, just like he said. werdum was losing the striking, missing punches, getting his kicks checks, eating strikes.. he didnt like how that was going. he didnt come close on a TD or a flying knee and he couldnt strike with stipe much longer, so he just forced the issue and started to head hunt. night night

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

i dunno, just watched it again. It was really even up to the KO. a lot of leg kicks each way, some nice jabs from Stipe, a few right hands from Werdum, two good ones from Stipe, a shucked single leg on Werdum’s attempt, Werdum pushed out of Stipes collar tie, a decent teep by Werdum.

I think the crowd might have played a part in hyping Werdum up, too, and he had just landed off of a running rush right before he tried it again and got KOd. Stipe had landed on him earlier in a similar situation.

A large part of the problem has to be that Werdum, as good of a striker as he has become, still loops his punches, and Stipe is straight down the pipe. You can get away with loopy punches in combination against worse strikers, or even good strikers if you have fearful power. Werdum doesnt, and Stipe looked to be trying to capitalize on that looping bumrush twice before it happened on the third try.

Werdum might want to stick to the kicking, and the combos that come off of kicks.

He wasnt getting beaten, though, but I can see straight punches landing on him easily if he rushes Stipe, or stands in the pocket throwing again.

Stipe has got to be the most wellrounded HW ever, imo. There really isnt a weakness. Before Fedor gets brought up, Stipe has size and better wrestling, more technical boxing. He isnt as blessed with speed, but he is fine there, too. Plus, I always felt Fedor’s chin was so-so... a guy like Fujita was strong but had no punching mechanics.

Stipe should be at or near the top for a long time if he doesnt get concussed too badly, which can always happen at heavyweight. Plus, he doesnt get paid enough, so he will probably stay in top shape for a long time. Werdum is a gamer, also wellrounded, and should make some noise in a rematch and for a few years before he hangs them up, hopefully, before he is too old.

 

[Final Say]

i dunno, just watched it again. It was really even up to the KO. a lot of leg kicks each way, some nice jabs from Stipe, a few right hands from Werdum, two good ones from Stipe, a shucked single leg on Werdum’s attempt, Werdum pushed out of Stipes collar tie, a decent teep by Werdum.

I think the crowd might have played a part in hyping Werdum up, too, and he had just landed off of a running rush right before he tried it again and got KOd. Stipe had landed on him earlier in a similar situation.

A large part of the problem has to be that Werdum, as good of a striker as he has become, still loops his punches, and Stipe is straight down the pipe. You can get away with loopy punches in combination against worse strikers, or even good strikers if you have fearful power. Werdum doesnt, and Stipe looked to be trying to capitalize on that looping bumrush twice before it happened on the third try.

Werdum might want to stick to the kicking, and the combos that come off of kicks.

He wasnt getting beaten, though, but I can see straight punches landing on him easily if he rushes Stipe, or stands in the pocket throwing again.

Stipe has got to be the most wellrounded HW ever, imo. There really isnt a weakness. Before Fedor gets brought up, Stipe has size and better wrestling, more technical boxing. He isnt as blessed with speed, but he is fine there, too. Plus, I always felt Fedor’s chin was so-so... a guy like Fujita was strong but had no punching mechanics.

Stipe should be at or near the top for a long time if he doesnt get concussed too badly, which can always happen at heavyweight. Plus, he doesnt get paid enough, so he will probably stay in top shape for a long time. Werdum is a gamer, also wellrounded, and should make some noise in a rematch and for a few years before he hangs them up, hopefully, before he is too old.

well we can disagree on how we saw the fight but one thing which i think is a fact is that werdum is the one who got tagged big on that first rush, which immediately preceded the rush that got him KO'd. i think he lost big on them both, back to back.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

well we can disagree on how we saw the fight but one thing which i think is a fact is that werdum is the one who got tagged big on that first rush, which immediately preceded the rush that got him KO'd. i think he lost big on them both, back to back.

yep, he did walk into something, for sure. He landed, too, but I dont think it was as good as the straight punch that he walked right into. I think he will always lose that type of exchange, he just doesnt have the type of power that takes guys minds off of countering and puts them on to surviving.
I think he was doing better outside of the rushes than you saw, though.
I would favor Stipe in a rematch, fyi, but its definitely worth giving Werdum a chance to correct his approach.

 

[Final Say]

yep, he did walk into something, for sure. He landed, too, but I dont think it was as good as the straight punch that he walked right into. I think he will always lose that type of exchange, he just doesnt have the type of power that takes guys minds off of countering and puts them on to surviving.
I think he was doing better outside of the rushes than you saw, though.
I would favor Stipe in a rematch, fyi, but its definitely worth giving Werdum a chance to correct his approach.

its the looping punch thing you alluded to. i was exposed to and taught basic boxing before i even knew what mma was, it makes it really hard to respect long looping punches like mma fighters use soooo frequently.

 

[ultramanhyata]

It's similar to the misconceptions about Silva/Weidman 1. Anderson didn't get "caught" clowning. He was deliberately taunting Weidman to get him to open up because he couldn't do shit in the first round and realized that Weidman was legit when he almost got caught in that kneebar.

... because we never saw Silva try and clown an opponent he was already outclassing. It was always his desperation move when he felt threatened. lol

 

[Danespina]

Only the second best GOAT HW could do that to the #1 GOAT HW which is what happened there.

I feel like half the heavyweight roster could knock out Werdum for doing that. It's Ronda level bad.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

It’s actually hilarious how calm and calculated Stipe was with that right hand. You can see him watching and moving Werdum, timing the shot perfectly.

It’s insane how underrated he is in here.

Is he underrated? ya, i guess he is.... under talked about, for sure. i never hear anyone saying he is a bum or anything, like many champs have gotten. He flies under the radar.

He was looking for that punch in all three rushes. I didnt notice until your post that Werdum lands on the chin there... but that is the difference between a nice straight shot down the pipe on someone coming forward, and a loopy desparate wing on a guy who is moving away.

Again, you can punch like that and get away with it if you have Manhoef or Wanderlei power.... Stipe has no fear of Werdum’s power. He will remain calm and look for the counter every time. Werdum has to set up his punches with kicks and he has to get out of the pocket fast. He is NOT going to outbox or overwhelm Stipe.

 

[Fahrenheit1221]

Stipe is one of the only fighters I've ever known who has definitive knockout power and savage finishes but I still find him incredibly boring, bland, unlikable and impossible to root for.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

its the looping punch thing you alluded to. i was exposed to and taught basic boxing before i even knew what mma was, it makes it really hard to respect long looping punches like mma fighters use soooo frequently.

No shit.

Because of pay, we STILL havent seen high level boxing in MMA. If you are really good, you are still going to go the boxing route. We get failed boxers, or guys who gave it up and went to wrestling. Stipe and Conor are killing guys with straight punches. They are darned decent boxers who could have carved out careers in that sport, but they arent the cream of the crop.

We have had top end wrestlers, sambo and bjj and judo players. Pay these guys and teenage phenom boxers might start to take up the full game. Id also like to see more thais enticed into MMA.