[Kingz]

Hey pot, meet kettle.

 

[Bob Gray]

Uh, he has very good takedowns and very well could. Looking at his last four fights, he hit one against Thiago Silva, a half dozen against Shogun, one against Jones and one in his last fight against Manuwa. So no, Rumble is not more multifaceted than Gustafsson is. Gustafsson uses his knees too, that was the beginning of the end for Manuwa and he was kneeing Shogun's face in in the clinch and even rocked him with a front kick to the chin. He hit Jones with his own signature move, the spinning back elbow. I could go on. Gustafsson's style is more boxing centric but he's very much a competent kickboxer with grappling skills.

AJ has utilized his wrestling and ground game far more than Gus. That's not even a debate, really. naming different types of strikes people throw doesn't mean they're multi-dimensional. C'mon now. It's always been a pretty basic striking/grappling/wrestling metric.

 

[Hyperborean]

Not sure what's going on here.



All of Rumble's losses but one (at 185) are two weight classes below his natural weight class. He would annihilate any of those people now.



And powerful, and a great striker, has great defensive wrastling and decent/good offensive wrastling.

It's a good thing fighters take their opponents more seriously than the fans do.

No... Rumble has never fought at 185. His loss to Belfort was fought at a 197 catchweight.

 

[Got GOAT]

Hey pot, meet kettle.

You don't arguably beat (and many think he did) the #1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet if you're one-dimensional, so save that old and overused hypocrisy one-liner for another occasion.

 

[Snowfist]

Humble Rumble won't crumble in the jumble but will tumble after a fumble. RD4

Best prediction ever. Thank you sir.

Humble Rumble will tumble after a fumble causing him to stumble and mumble but he wont crumble.

 

[Hyperborean]

Of the two Gus is more one dimensional than Rumble is. Rumble has multiple high kick KO's. Heavy hands and started off as a wrestler. Gus is a boxer with good TDD.

And yet he has multiple submission wins in the UFC and regularly mixes up stand up with takedowns and groundwork? Not to add how he used a high knee to rock Manuwa. How is that in any way one dimensional boxing?

 

[drbolony]

Rumble is an awesome addition to the top of the LHW division, and i'm excited for all of his fights, but can someone who actually knows what they're talking about about tell me how rumble wins this outside of a punchers chance?

I think his gas tank is untested, and we haven't seen if AJ still folds when you put the pressure on him (see the Vitor fight). I know the Vitor fight is a bad example, because Vitor was gifted some stand up's, but I was drawing a blank on rumble fights.

 

[Hyperborean]

Kind of a weird thing to say. Gus' is more 1-dimensional than AJ, who has employed his wrestling to win various fights (Hardy, Arlovski). Nobody thinks Gus is gonna be looking to take people down and win the fight there.

Still, Gus is rightly the favorite to win the fight.

Why would they not? He took down and submitted Tehuna and Diabate, he took down and used groundwork against Shogun, Jones (briefly) and Manuwa etc. If you are actually familiar with Gustafssons body of work then you would know what an odd statement that is to make.

 

[Melas Chasma]

Of the two Gus is more one dimensional than Rumble is. Rumble has multiple high kick KO's. Heavy hands and started off as a wrestler. Gus is a boxer with good TDD.

Gus has two rear-naked chokes wins in UFC and Rumble has tapped three times to that sub. Gus also outwrestled Jones. I would say:

wrestling: Gus

stand up: Gus

BJJ: Gus

Cardio: Gus

KO-power: Rumble

Chin: Even.

 

[Got GOAT]

AJ has utilized his wrestling and ground game far more than Gus. That's not even a debate, really. naming different types of strikes people throw doesn't mean they're multi-dimensional. C'mon now. It's always been a pretty basic striking/grappling/wrestling metric.

Strike variety is important in being multifaceted. Using wrestling to dictate where the fight goes is important, as is standing and not always trying to go to the ground. A well-rounded fighter displays all of this and Gustafsson has. If you're standing all the time, even though you can wrestle, and you're only boxing most of that time then it means you're more on the one-dimensional side of the spectrum. It doesn't mean you are, it just means that you fight that way typically. Rumble could change this but he's always been a big puncher and not much else. He has good head kicks and does have wrestling but his A-game has always been using his fists mostly to knock guys out. Gustafsson will box a lot but he'll mix in leg kicks, elbows, knees and kicks to the body and head. Strike variety matters, it's part of the equation. I gave examples of Gus wrestling in his last 4 fights, even hitting a takedown on a guy that had perfect TDD in his career prior to him ruining that stat. Gus has always had a mean RNC too and showed scary GnP against some opponents, most notably Hamill.

While it may be a bit unfair to call Rumble one-dimensional, it isn't exactly far from the truth. If he mixed it up better then I doubt Gustafsson would be saying this. The more accurate and less harsh statement would've been to say that he is less diverse/dynamic of an MMA fighter in comparison.

 

[Sigmafight]

I'm actually surprised people think Rumble will knock out Gustafsson with any confidence.

People are super gullible and prey to marketing


Not saying it can't happen.. But cmon. He knocked out lil nog. Even i could do that after a couple good shots of TRT. The dude has a million miles on him.

The Rumble over-hype is greater than the McGregor train

 

[Redhawks100]

That's fine, that dimension is still dangerous enough to put Gustafsson to sleep.

Gustafsson has good footwork, but he's still VERY hittable and he doesn't have very good head movement. He was marked up by Hamill, rocked by Thiago, and hit numerous times by big shots against Shogun. I should also mention the fact that he was getting lit up by head kicks against Jones.

Gustafsson is going to be going for the takedown within the first minute of the fight. Nothing wrong with it of course, but that's going to be his gameplan. He isn't going to try and brawl with Rumble, and if he does and wins, that's a big feather in his cap for sure.

 

[Emjay]

People are super gullible and prey to marketing

Not marketing ... bodies

 

[betyourlife82]

Both guys are super confident and all business inside the cage. Can't wait for this one

 

[Cake4Breakfast]

This fight is a treat!

 

[Redhawks100]

People are super gullible and prey to marketing


Not saying it can't happen.. But cmon. He knocked out lil nog. Even i could do that after a couple good shots of TRT. The dude has a million miles on him.

The Rumble over-hype is greater than the McGregor train

Since when was Rumble over-hyped or marketed? He's an extremely dangerous fighter that has happened to hit his stride. He made Davis look like a joke and took Nogueira out in seconds. Yes, the same Nogueira that won a clear decision over top 5 Rashad Evans.

How can you watch his recent fights and think he's all hype? He actually has legitimate top wins, unlike McGregor.

 

[JayElectra]

Rumble is one dimensional to a certain extent, but the vast majority of MMA fighters are fairly one dimensional on the feet. Even Gustafsson isn't incredibly multi-faceted or versatile as far as the striking is concerned. I think Gustafsson should be able to outbox Johnson and his hands are heavy enough for a stoppage to be a real possibility, but I don't think he'll win due to a great advantage in versatility. He'll win because his style and quality of boxing should be able to deal with Johnson's pressure.

 

[HerpDerp]

Aww shit, I'm definitely getting more and more hyped as the event comes closer and closer.

I'm going with Gustafsson here, and I think it'll actually be a late 4th round finish. I'll be there live to witness it, so partially I'm biased towards predicting it'll last longer than expected. Totally scientific.

 

[Yolandabecool**]

Like I said earlier - Rumble is one dimensional. That being said, the more well rounded fighter isn't necessarily the best fighter.

There has been this myth for years on Sherdog of the superiority of being well rounded. Yeah it has it's it's pro's but there are also big weaknesses.

There are only so many hours in the day. It takes years and years of training to become truly elite in one aspect of fighting - Boxing, wrestling, jujitsu, muay thai etc.

If you have one trait that is so dominant, so powerful and you become adequate in all other areas, that can be enough to dominate.

Anderson Silva - He started off as a one dimensional fighter. His boxing was average but his Muay Thai was elite. When he developed adequate skill in other areas he dominated.

Chris Weidman is one dimensional. His wrestling is elite. He has become adequate in a range of other areas and now he is dominating.

A one dimensional fighter has the potential to be very dominant given the right guidance.

 

[deviake]

No... Rumble has never fought at 185. His loss to Belfort was fought at a 197 catchweight.

That is correct, but my point still stands.