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Rumble would've slept DC in their rematch if he hadn't lost his mind trying to wrestle.
For me, it's Rumble.
DC had his number stylistically. I think Rumble on paper would be the guy to beat Jones.
Hard to say, definitely a fight that could go either way. Honestly, I still suspect the fight would have followed the path of the first. For all the technical improvements Rumble made, the window he had to get DC out of there was still limited to about a round and a half and I think DC would've been able to bog down Rumble's swarming and submit him in the later rounds. DC isn't really a guy you can just one-shot, and Rumble tends to get a little wild when he's trying to finish.Rumble would've slept DC in their rematch if he hadn't lost his mind trying to wrestle
Well we can agree to disagreeHard to say, definitely a fight that could go either way. Honestly, I still suspect the fight would have followed the path of the first. For all the technical improvements Rumble made, the window he had to get DC out of there was still limited to about a round and a half and I think DC would've been able to bog down Rumble's swarming and submit him in the later rounds.
Would definitely be a crazy fight though.
Yeah, ok, fair enough.Well we can agree to disagree
Rumble's takedown defense at that point was almost god-tier. He easily stuffed all of DC's clinch and takedown attempts in the first round, with pretty incredible ease. But Rumble is Rumble.....and well, was never destined to be champion.
Fair point, but DC took him down pretty easily in the first round of their first fight, while that was clearly not the case in their rematch.Yeah, ok, fair enough.
Just to expand my case - I don't think finishing takedowns in the first round are as important as just burning out the clock from DC's perspective. Rumble isn't losing the first round to any fighter in history at 205. I'm not sure if Rumble's TDD was superb technically so much as the combination of his wrestling and super powerful physicality made him very difficult to take down early. As we even saw in the fight, DC outwrestled him (and finished) once AJ had lost the initial explosion.
Basically, my reasoning comes down to the fact that I think DC is is crafty and durable enough with pretty good stalling wrestling to survive the first round and a bit and cost Rumble some of his intensity, and the following rounds would be progressively easier until the submission.
Definitely conceivable that Rumble lands something though, would be pretty crazy to call anyone a lock against Johnson.
It's sad how Rumble constantly shot his potential in the foot, first with insane and counterproductive weight cutting and later with shit gameplanning in the biggest fights of his life. Even now if he returned I think he could make a sincere run at the HW title (IMO he beats Stipe if he can avoid someone like Blaydes on the way up). He might have problems with USADA if he comes out of retirement though, he looks like he's been using some gear as an amateur bodybuilder. Would need some time to clear his system.Fair point, but DC took him down pretty easily in the first round of their first fight, while that was clearly not the case in their rematch.