Congrats to Bam Bam Tai...but he gets mopped by anyone with decent takedowns

[zxyss25]

Blaydes, Tybura, Volkov, Gane, Stipe, Jon Jones, Aspinall

Anyone with decent takedowns should easily beat him

Derrick Lewis dominated him in the ground in Rnd 1

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Well ya. Therein lies the rub.

OTOH he could wait 8 months and fight Volkov, if Volkov wins his next one.

That’s why managing careers is so valuable. And so maddening.

 

[Johnny_Knuckles]

Lucky he's a heavyweight in the ufc then

 

[HNIC215]

I think Bam Bam knows he's not going to be a long reigning champ or legendary figure in the heavyweight division.

He just likes to fight, make money and have a good time while doing both. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Volador]

But Volkov doesn't have takedowns

Gane beats him, but via striking (got wrestlefucked by Ngannou, lol?).

As for the rest of the guys, anything is possible, because it's HW. See: Blaydes vs Ngannou 1 & 2, Blaydes vs Lewis. Jones is unproven at HW. Stipe might be done, hard to tell. Aspinall, sure.

The only guys clearly on top of the rest are Francis and Gane, and possibly Aspinall (to be determined). As for the rest, anyone can beat anyone else.

 

[Tweak896]

All he has to do is avoid Blaydes, but even Blaydes has a weakness for powerful strikers. I think you're confusing the divisions, Tai could get a titleshot soon.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Luckily he fights in the heavyweight division but yeah, sooner or later he will have to face a more experienced and harden wrestler

 

[Adebisi]

Gane would pick him apart and Ngannou is just too physically overwhelming, but I wouldn’t rule him out against anybody else.

I would have him as an underdog against all the other top guys, but he always has a puncher’s chance.

Volkov and Blaydes can get caught and KO’d, neither is a particularly dominant fighter.

Stipe has far more skill, but we don’t know if he’s washed. This is a sport where your career can be finished overnight.

Jones and Tuivasa will never fight, so that’s a moot point.

Aspinall is far more skilled, but it’s not like he’s physically or skillfully overwhelming against Tai IMO.

 

[M.U.S.C.L.E.]

Anyone with decent takedowns should easily beat him

Derrick Lewis dominated him in the ground in Rnd 1

But... he got back up.

 

[SokoudjouFanboy]

Correct. Every fight starts on the feet and he's obviously got big power but there's nothing about his recent run that shows me that he's fixed his lack of grappling. There are heavyweights over in Russia that 99% of yall on the heavies have never heard of that I genuinely think could beat Tai.

 

[Repsac]

I think Bam Bam knows he's not going to be a long reigning champ or legendary figure in the heavyweight division.

He just likes to fight, make money and have a good time while doing both. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Considering he just KO'd the guy that beat the reigning champ, his aspirations right now might be loftier than you think.

 

[redblue]

I could see Spivak choking him again if they run it back.

 

[Phisher]

I wrote him off totally after he lost to Spivak.

If he actually puts the work in, he has the physical tools to compete with anybody in the division.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Congrats but you suck Tai.

Great thread.

Why not just leave the congrats out and just say, I believe any wrestler whoops his ass.

It’s all sour grapes anyway. And it’s the most predictable sport in the world, especially at HW??

 

[Swarthy]

Thinly veiled hate thread.

Your boy Black Beast got an asswhooping deal with it.

Hope Bam Bam just keeps doing his thing!!

 

[warriorfan808]

Tai does need to work on his TDD.

 

[Brit_Brawler]

Curtis will brutalise him on the ground if he doesnt get one shot killed standing in the process.
That's what makes tai so exciting.
He is vulnerable but dangerous as fuck

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Blaydes, Tybura, Volkov, Gane, Stipe, Jon Jones, Aspinall

Anyone with decent takedowns should easily beat him

Derrick Lewis dominated him in the ground in Rnd 1

Well I did say that Tuivasa was lucky he got to skip the Blaydes fight, he’d get wrestlefucked most likely

 

[mma sharingan]

yall forgetting Tai defended Lewis's first takedown attempt and it was good defense, the second takedown beast landed a nice trip n caught Tai lacking in the clinch. Tai has shown grappling improvements imo with AKA, even getting back to his feet with black beast on top (thats no easy feet, we've seen many many people get stiffened on the ground from the black beast).

I also like his willingness to jump in the fire and he has kinda technical muay thai for a HW. he uses his low kicks well (they're heavy, no heavyweight will like those), he has KO power in both hands and a iron chin with great recovery when he does get rocked. He also has great elbows in close and a pretty decent clinch game, I think he's proven himself to be a dangerous fight for anyone.

 

[DS66]

It's pretty elementary and ignorant to just conclude that "he gets mopped by anyone with decent takedowns". People said the exact same thing about Ngannou and Lewis in the past. It's HW, and Tuivasa has elite KO power. He's an incredibly dangerous fight for anyone in the division. Sure, a good wrestler might be able to get him down and win, but they also might get knocked the fuck out on the way in.