Should't we put an asterisk every time we hear about

[Fossor]

Should't we put an asterisk every time we hear about an "elite American wrestler".
They said Aljo has the best wrestling in 135, but he had nothing against Yan. Petr took his back a couple of times, defended all his takedowns and dropped him a few times by sweeping his legs.
Now, I am not saying that Aljo doesn't have a great wrestling - he shown through out his ufc career that he does.
But aren't there levels to this?

Yes, Petr avoided the ground game, but isn't taking your opponent down is a part of being an elite wrestler?
Unlike Aljo Petr's wrestling experience is limited to the few recent years. But unlike Aljo Petr trained with the true elites from Dagestan.

We also saw what Askarov did to Joe B, Maya to Askren, who was positioned as probably the best wrestler in mma, so much that he never learned to strike. Justin Gaethje, the D1 wrestler who was supposed to present a challenge for Khabib on the ground, was submitted in seconds after they hit the ground.

 

[Askren’s chin]

D1 wrestler ain’t gonna like this

 

[sampuncher]

Sterling does have a solid ground game, there's just not that many grapplers at 135 so its an easy claim to make

The problem with Sterling was what DC picked up on, he was almost too eager to grapple that Yan could forsee it, he was panic wrestling and seemed to eager to get Yan down that he wasnt really setting them up.

 

[13Seconds]

Aljo is the best grappler not wrestler. He's better off his back than on top. There's a reason Yan backed off every time he took Aljo down. People acting like Aljo tried to stop the takedowns lmao he'd be happy with any prolonged grappling.

 

[Iron Nick]

No.

Yan just has amazing wrestling himself.

Saying Aljo can't wrestle because of his performance against Yan is a lot like saying Chad Mendes can't wrestle because of his performances against Aldo.

 

[Yagadot]

 

[Fossor]

Aljo is the best grappler not wrestler. He's better off his back than on top. There's a reason Yan backed off every time he took Aljo down. People acting like Aljo tried to stop the takedowns lmao he'd be happy with any prolonged grappling.

Aljo is an mma fighter, first of all. Expecting that your opponent turns his back, so you can choke him from behind is a shitty mma plan.

 

[Fossor]

No.

Yan just has amazing wrestling himself.

Saying Aljo can't wrestle because of his performance against Yan is a lot like saying Chad Mendes can't wrestle because of his performances against Aldo.

You should read more carefully. As I said, there are levels to this shit.

 

[chupacabra5]

Might as well put an asterisk next to “kick-boxer” as well because Overeem got KOd by Ngannou and Izzy got outstruck by Jan

 

[elwani]

I also wondered about this promo but have not watched him carefully enough to know how true it actually is.

But wrestlers seem to have a weakness against trips, perhaps because trips are rarely used in freestyle when you’re exclusively going for takedowns, can grab the legs, and are therefore always in a low stance.

 

[Fossor]

Might as well put an asterisk next to “kick-boxer” as well because Overeem got KOd by Ngannou and Izzy got outstruck by Jan

Kick-boxing is bullshit. Poor Gokhan Saki.

 

[Pain4Pain]

Aljo always starts gassing in round 3, part of it is because he’s explosive and since he throws flashy moves.

Yan has most definitely been grappling since before the start of his pro career in 2014, but the main difference was Yan’s incorporation of Judo trips, some of which are used by traditional Muay Thai fighters. Diving for singles and doubles is very taxing, whereas judo trips are much more energy efficient.

Yan definitely has much more striking experience since he took boxing and TKD as a teenager and has had plenty of smoker fights in the underground arenas. The man has ice in his veins.

 

[aichokyu]

Should't we put an asterisk every time we hear about an "elite American wrestler".
They said Aljo has the best wrestling in 135, but he had nothing against Yan. Petr took his back a couple of times, defended all his takedowns and dropped him a few times by sweeping his legs.
Now, I am not saying that Aljo doesn't have a great wrestling - he shown through out his ufc career that he does.
But aren't there levels to this?

Yes, Petr avoided the ground game, but isn't taking your opponent down is a part of being an elite wrestler?
Unlike Aljo Petr's wrestling experience is limited to the few recent years. But unlike Aljo Petr trained with the true elites from Dagestan.

We also saw what Askarov did to Joe B, Maya to Askren, who was positioned as probably the best wrestler in mma, so much that he never learned to strike. Justin Gaethje, the D1 wrestler who was supposed to present a challenge for Khabib on the ground, was submitted in seconds after they hit the ground.

yean americans make it sound like D1 is so high level wrestling, maybe it is in pure wrestling, but in mma yet quite a few d1 wrestlers got outwrestled by guys who don't have these credentials

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Great credentials doesn't necessarily mean the fighter utilizes them well in mma (regardless of where you're from). Yoel's mma wrestling sucked when compared to his credentials, we've seen countless kickboxers get KO'd due to the timing difference/size of gloves, and only like a handful of bjj fighters are an "immediate danger" when on the ground because striking changes the game significantly. Adaptability is easily one of the most important attributes of a successful mma fighter regardless of their background

 

[storeybuckle]

Might as well put an asterisk next to “kick-boxer” as well because Overeem got KOd by Ngannou and Izzy got outstruck by Jan

 

[Fossor]

Great credentials doesn't necessarily mean the fighter utilizes them well in mma (regardless of where you're from). Yoel's mma wrestling sucked when compared to his credentials, we've seen counter kickboxers get KO'd due to the timing difference/size of gloves, and only like a handful of bjj fighters are an "immediate danger" when on the ground because striking changes the game significantly. Adaptability is easily one of the most important attributes of a successful mma fighter regardless of their background

Agree, yet the commentators keep emphasizing those credentials, as they would represent a significant advantage in a fight.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Agree, yet the commentators keep emphasizing those credentials, as they would represent a significant advantage in a fight.

Oh yeah it's ridiculous but smart fans need to look past the hype and base their opinions off of the fighters' actual performances and not on paper bs.

People will skew stats and credentials to suit whatever their agenda is. Justin Gaethje is apparently Sean Sherk when Khabib fans want to claim he has beaten great mma wrestlers and Tyron Woodley has the best takedown defense ever because Demian Maia flopped all over the cage for 25 minutes against him. MMA fans are very easily fooled by stats and biased commentary