First off, I believe Jones/Cormier was the best fight in the UFC in a long time. The UFC doesn’t need to non-stop action to be interesting, what I found interesting was that two very advanced fighters who basically were able to stalemate each other for most of the fight. And not just stall against the cage, but both were so good that they were able to stall even in the middle of the octagon. I really hate the scoring system, but I would give the fight to Jones because he was more effective in round 4, while the other rounds I would score evenly between both fighters.
What is displeasing is the wide acknowledgement that Jones dominated the fight start to finish save round 2. And I believe this has come from two different sources. Jones had a varied attack, and Jones was able ‘look dominant’ when both fighters were stalemating/grinding on each other.
For this I am making two key assumptions that I believe people are making who believe that not only did Jones win, but won convincingly.
1. If both fighters land equally amount of punches and do equal amount of damage, the fighter who is able to effectively work in kicks, elbows, and other attacks is ‘ahead’ in striking.
DC cannot do what Jones does, and limited in his style of his attack, even if his attack is just as effective. Jones had 12 inches of reach on him, and even a greater kicking reach. Jones used his abilities just as much as DC used his abilities to keep Jones on a leash and work in dirty boxing. It is actually surprising that DC was able to overcome the advantages that Jones has to enact his grinding gameplan. I don’t believe Jones is obviously more effective in striking when, both fighters were able to strike effectively in their respective styles.
2. If both fighters are grinding in the center of the octagon, or against the cage, the fighter that is taller, and able to use their leverage in a dominant fashion is ‘ahead’ in grappling.
I thought both fighters effectively stalemated each other, and I don’t believe one can just give Jones a nod because he is able to easily get overhooks on DC, or is able to use his height to make DC look helpless. There is no pretty, or dominating way a person who is much shorter can get ahead of grappling when both fighters are good enough to stalemate. In order for the shorter person to win convincingly with grappling is with takedowns, there is no method DC could have out grappled Jones without takedowns. While it is entirely conceivable that Jones out grappled DC even when we ignore his takedowns. His height gives him a grappling advantage even though, they stalemated each other for every round except 4.
TLDR For DC to win, he needed to take down Jones every round, or win with a knockout. Jones has no such requirement. He could have not taken down DC in round 4 and people would still believe he won convincingly. Under no circumstance when both fighters stalemated each other, could DC look dominant, so the advantage, even when both fighters are effectively using their strategy, will always go to Jones.
What is displeasing is the wide acknowledgement that Jones dominated the fight start to finish save round 2. And I believe this has come from two different sources. Jones had a varied attack, and Jones was able ‘look dominant’ when both fighters were stalemating/grinding on each other.
For this I am making two key assumptions that I believe people are making who believe that not only did Jones win, but won convincingly.
1. If both fighters land equally amount of punches and do equal amount of damage, the fighter who is able to effectively work in kicks, elbows, and other attacks is ‘ahead’ in striking.
DC cannot do what Jones does, and limited in his style of his attack, even if his attack is just as effective. Jones had 12 inches of reach on him, and even a greater kicking reach. Jones used his abilities just as much as DC used his abilities to keep Jones on a leash and work in dirty boxing. It is actually surprising that DC was able to overcome the advantages that Jones has to enact his grinding gameplan. I don’t believe Jones is obviously more effective in striking when, both fighters were able to strike effectively in their respective styles.
2. If both fighters are grinding in the center of the octagon, or against the cage, the fighter that is taller, and able to use their leverage in a dominant fashion is ‘ahead’ in grappling.
I thought both fighters effectively stalemated each other, and I don’t believe one can just give Jones a nod because he is able to easily get overhooks on DC, or is able to use his height to make DC look helpless. There is no pretty, or dominating way a person who is much shorter can get ahead of grappling when both fighters are good enough to stalemate. In order for the shorter person to win convincingly with grappling is with takedowns, there is no method DC could have out grappled Jones without takedowns. While it is entirely conceivable that Jones out grappled DC even when we ignore his takedowns. His height gives him a grappling advantage even though, they stalemated each other for every round except 4.
TLDR For DC to win, he needed to take down Jones every round, or win with a knockout. Jones has no such requirement. He could have not taken down DC in round 4 and people would still believe he won convincingly. Under no circumstance when both fighters stalemated each other, could DC look dominant, so the advantage, even when both fighters are effectively using their strategy, will always go to Jones.
