Porier v. Holloway, Adesanya v. Gastelum. Things I learned looking back.

WarFan90

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First and foremost I can't stop watching both of these fights, they are unbelievable back and forth wars of skill and toughness that left me incredibly impressed with all four guys. That being said, here's a few things I learned from those fights and said fighters performances that night and since.

1) Dustin Porier is about as legit a boxer as you get in mma, his ability to land full power shots on Holloway throughout the fight was super impressive.

2) Adesanya has real heart. I remember wondering if and when Jon Jones would get his truly tested in the cage and if he would pass that test. He did, and somewhat surprisingly to me so did Izzy, with flying colors to boot.

3) Gastelum is a monster at 185. He is a headache too deal with and is absolutely a legit top 5 middleweight. Possibly even as high as 2 and on the right night could become the champ. Despite facing a guy who is probably the most crisp and technical striker at mw or even mma in general, and not really getting much done on the ground despite his wrestling base, came about as close to winning as you can without getting your hand raised.

4) Holloway needs to get bigger and stronger to eventually dominate lws like he does fws. His pace, toughness, and striking skills are all very elite, but as a guy who takes shots to land shots he needs to close the power gap for his style to succeed against top 155ers. Porier has elite boxing, is very powerful for the division, and that shell defence was tailor-made for a fight against a fighter like Holloway. Despite that loss, I think Holloway smokes virtually every lw outside the top 3 or 4 guys even without the power upgrade, with it though he would be a different animal imo.

Side note-, I thought Holloway v porier was 2-2 going into the 5th. 1/2 clearly porier, 3 Holloway edged, 4 Holloway looked like he was about to take over and was putting it on him most of the round, he took that knee and got that big cut towards the end but I still thought Holloway won a very close round. 5 was another close round but I gave it to porier by about the same margin I gave 4 to Holloway. I thought it was a much closer fight than most of the opinions I saw.

I could go on but I'm curious what other people saw and learned in that event and since about these 4 guys.
 
Excellent post, agree just basically everything you said. I scored rounds 4 & 5 both 10-10 in the DP/Max sequel. Max took that fight on 2 months notice, so if he took another fight at 155 it would serve him well to do like Nunes did, take a few months to properly put on new weight.

DP/Max 2 was my favorite fight this year. I don't expect it to win FOTY but it was a masterclass in speed-chess fighting.
 
I like the way you look at fighting....you understand how stock rises in adversity and tough fights.

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That's a really, really good post!

Kudos to you TS :)
 
summed it up quite nicely!
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I agree that Poirier vs Holloway 2 was much closer than people made it out to be. But man that was one of the biggest differences in power on display I've seen in a recent fight.
 
McKenzie > Garcia > KZ > Poirier > Duffy > McGregor > Aldo > Edgar > Penn > Sanchez > Karo > Serra > GSP > Hendricks > Lawler > Rory > Maia > Sonnen > Bisping > Hamill > Jones

<45><45><45>
Thanks, man, that's the GOAT display of MMath. :D
 
First and foremost I can't stop watching both of these fights, they are unbelievable back and forth wars of skill and toughness that left me incredibly impressed with all four guys. That being said, here's a few things I learned from those fights and said fighters performances that night and since.

1) Dustin Porier is about as legit a boxer as you get in mma, his ability to land full power shots on Holloway throughout the fight was super impressive.

2) Adesanya has real heart. I remember wondering if and when Jon Jones would get his truly tested in the cage and if he would pass that test. He did, and somewhat surprisingly to me so did Izzy, with flying colors to boot.

3) Gastelum is a monster at 185. He is a headache too deal with and is absolutely a legit top 5 middleweight. Possibly even as high as 2 and on the right night could become the champ. Despite facing a guy who is probably the most crisp and technical striker at mw or even mma in general, and not really getting much done on the ground despite his wrestling base, came about as close to winning as you can without getting your hand raised.

4) Holloway needs to get bigger and stronger to eventually dominate lws like he does fws. His pace, toughness, and striking skills are all very elite, but as a guy who takes shots to land shots he needs to close the power gap for his style to succeed against top 155ers. Porier has elite boxing, is very powerful for the division, and that shell defence was tailor-made for a fight against a fighter like Holloway. Despite that loss, I think Holloway smokes virtually every lw outside the top 3 or 4 guys even without the power upgrade, with it though he would be a different animal imo.

Side note-, I thought Holloway v porier was 2-2 going into the 5th. 1/2 clearly porier, 3 Holloway edged, 4 Holloway looked like he was about to take over and was putting it on him most of the round, he took that knee and got that big cut towards the end but I still thought Holloway won a very close round. 5 was another close round but I gave it to porier by about the same margin I gave 4 to Holloway. I thought it was a much closer fight than most of the opinions I saw.

I could go on but I'm curious what other people saw and learned in that event and since about these 4 guys.
Great post with a lot of common sense. Rare on Sherdog.

Agreed on all points.

To add to it, a lot of people dismiss Holloway's chances at LW because he loss to Poirier.

But they overlook the fact that the fight was competitive, each had their moments and Poirier just fought for the title. It was also Holloway's first time dipping his feet at LW, so I think people need to give him a chance.

Holloway would be a legit top 5 at LW, possibly even champion if he decided to keep working and put on the proper mass. Aside from Khabib, I would never count him out against anyone in that division.
 
Max's heart, willpower, humility and toughness is the best in the sport I think.

He embodies a world champion in every facet of Combat sports. He checks off every box.

Even crazier is after that war with Dustin he immediately went into the back, signed his gloves and gave them to Dustin's wife for their charity.

Blessed is a classy guy and as game as they come
 
Porier v. Holloway, Adesanya v. Gastelum
I'm curious what other people saw and learned in that event and since about these 4 guys.

1. Holloway is never gonna do what Conor did. He is awesome at 145 and should own and defend that belt as long as he can.
2. Poirier is a beast, but I knew Khabib was going to mangle him. Looking forward to Poirier vs Ferguson someday
3. Gastelum is a beast, but I later learned he can be pieced up (Till) and still refuses to use effective grappling at crucial moments when his GnP could be a dominant tactic.
4. Adesanya is getting better every time I see him fight. That became more evident after seeing him vs Whittaker. Going into his prime at age 30, we may have a 5+ year champion at 185
 
Great post with a lot of common sense. Rare on Sherdog.

Agreed on all points.

To add to it, a lot of people dismiss Holloway's chances at LW because he loss to Poirier.

But they overlook the fact that the fight was competitive, each had their moments and Poirier just fought for the title. It was also Holloway's first time dipping his feet at LW, so I think people need to give him a chance.

Holloway would be a legit top 5 at LW, possibly even champion if he decided to keep working and put on the proper mass. Aside from Khabib, I would never count him out against anyone in that division.
Completely agree
 
I agree that Poirier vs Holloway 2 was much closer than people made it out to be. But man that was one of the biggest differences in power on display I've seen in a recent fight.
It was a jarring difference. The fact that Max took those shoes and still very nearly win that fight is incredible
 
Excellent post, agree just basically everything you said. I scored rounds 4 & 5 both 10-10 in the DP/Max sequel. Max took that fight on 2 months notice, so if he took another fight at 155 it would serve him well to do like Nunes did, take a few months to properly put on new weight.

DP/Max 2 was my favorite fight this year. I don't expect it to win FOTY but it was a masterclass in speed-chess fighting.
I honestly thought I would get a lot of shit about how long this post was. Pleasantly surprised at the response.
 
I like the way you look at fighting....you understand how stock rises in adversity and tough fights.

View attachment 677911
Thought I would get shit for posting about an event that wasn't yesterday also. Hindsight is 20-20 and a little time to reflect is never a bad thing. I do truly believe that it's hard to judge a fighter until you see how they handle real adversity, especially late in a fight when they are exhausted. Champions. can be made in 1 round and without so much as getting hit, but legends and atg s will at some point need to overcome and respond.
 
I agree that Poirier vs Holloway 2 was much closer than people made it out to be. But man that was one of the biggest differences in power on display I've seen in a recent fight.
It was the greatest difference in power that I've witnessed in a modern fight, the fact Max survived those first two rounds was more than incredible to me. To then find a way to win the following 2 was a feat hard to match
 
Interesting takes on the fight that I pretty much agree with.

Curious on what you took from Gastelum vs Till?
 
First and foremost I can't stop watching both of these fights, they are unbelievable back and forth wars of skill and toughness that left me incredibly impressed with all four guys. That being said, here's a few things I learned from those fights and said fighters performances that night and since.

1) Dustin Porier is about as legit a boxer as you get in mma, his ability to land full power shots on Holloway throughout the fight was super impressive.

2) Adesanya has real heart. I remember wondering if and when Jon Jones would get his truly tested in the cage and if he would pass that test. He did, and somewhat surprisingly to me so did Izzy, with flying colors to boot.

3) Gastelum is a monster at 185. He is a headache too deal with and is absolutely a legit top 5 middleweight. Possibly even as high as 2 and on the right night could become the champ. Despite facing a guy who is probably the most crisp and technical striker at mw or even mma in general, and not really getting much done on the ground despite his wrestling base, came about as close to winning as you can without getting your hand raised.

4) Holloway needs to get bigger and stronger to eventually dominate lws like he does fws. His pace, toughness, and striking skills are all very elite, but as a guy who takes shots to land shots he needs to close the power gap for his style to succeed against top 155ers. Porier has elite boxing, is very powerful for the division, and that shell defence was tailor-made for a fight against a fighter like Holloway. Despite that loss, I think Holloway smokes virtually every lw outside the top 3 or 4 guys even without the power upgrade, with it though he would be a different animal imo.

Side note-, I thought Holloway v porier was 2-2 going into the 5th. 1/2 clearly porier, 3 Holloway edged, 4 Holloway looked like he was about to take over and was putting it on him most of the round, he took that knee and got that big cut towards the end but I still thought Holloway won a very close round. 5 was another close round but I gave it to porier by about the same margin I gave 4 to Holloway. I thought it was a much closer fight than most of the opinions I saw.

I could go on but I'm curious what other people saw and learned in that event and since about these 4 guys.
Dustin did great in the Max fight, he won after all. But that fight just proved how even with the power of a hand grenade in your shots you really can't stop Max's pressure.
Dynamic footwork and honestly very sound defense (even if dustin caught him a couple of times) makes him such a fucking brutal guy to fight with.
 
I agree with almost every word of your post, except that I don't see how you could say Gas is potentially #2 at middleweight when he just dropped his last two fights to MWs. Isn't #3 the highest he could possibly be?

I think Kelvin is a high quality MW, legit top 5. However, I think he put on the fight of his life against Izzy and is unlikely to look that good again or ever win a title. I think it's similar to Gus with the first Jones fight.
 
I like Izzy because he got a similar frame like myself, but underrated power that people would be very surprised once they feel it.
 
Porier v. Holloway, Adesanya v. Gastelum


1. Holloway is never gonna do what Conor did. He is awesome at 145 and should own and defend that belt as long as he can.
2. Poirier is a beast, but I knew Khabib was going to mangle him. Looking forward to Poirier vs Ferguson someday
3. Gastelum is a beast, but I later learned he can be pieced up (Till) and still refuses to use effective grappling at crucial moments when his GnP could be a dominant tactic.
4. Adesanya is getting better every time I see him fight. That became more evident after seeing him vs Whittaker. Going into his prime at age 30, we may have a 5+ year champion at 185
To all 4 points I couldn't agree more. Thanks for the input. I think Tony eats porier though that madman is the only guy on the planet at 155 that I think scare
I agree with almost every word of your post, except that I don't see how you could say Gas is potentially #2 at middleweight when he just dropped his last two fights to MWs. Isn't #3 the highest he could possibly be?

I think Kelvin is a high quality MW, legit top 5. However, I think he put on the fight of his life against Izzy and is unlikely to look that good again or ever win a title. I think it's similar to Gus with the first Jones fight.
That's certainly possible that he just fought above his norm, just like it's possible Izzy smoking whit was him having an above average fight. I don't think that's the case though. Styles make fights. Till is a scary fighter at 185 and who knows but at this moment I think gas is the better 185er with an unfortunate style match-up against till who is imo one of the better strikers on earth with a good match-up to boot. Izzy will destroy anyone who's not amazing at closing distance, which gas does incredibly well
 
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