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Chandler is just giving fights away

NationWideNinja

NationWideNinja

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I dont know if hes panicking in there, or that hes so married to this idea of being an all-action fighter, but I cant help but feel that hes giving wins away. The Poirier fight looked beyond winnable if he didnt spaz out from the get-go and emptied the gastank in round 1. He could probably have comfortably wrestlefucked Poirier if he commited to a disciplined gameplan.
Same with the Gaethje fight. Had he fought a somewhat smart fight he could have taken an important round and walked away with the victory.
The Oliveira fight is the only one I feel that he fought a good fight but simply got caught.

If he didnt go HAM every time he stepped in the cage he could currently be 4-1 in the UFC instead of 2-3.
 
If he had used jabs and straights he would have had Poirier out of there in the first round. A big part of Dustin's R1 strategy was letting Mike wiff on huge looping haymakers.
There was a point where Chandler had Poirier hurt. At that point, he should have used body work and straight punches
 
His fight IQ during his UFC run has been pretty bad. Pretty obvious he's fighting to entertain moreso than to win.

He's become the ultimate company man in such a short space of time.

I honestly think his main goal is to set himself up with a long term job with the UFC when he retires, as a commentator or an analyst, more than it is to become champion.
 
OldBoy91 said:
His fight IQ during his UFC run has been pretty bad. Pretty obvious he's fighting to entertain moreso than to win.

He's become the ultimate company man in such a short space of time.

I honestly think his main goal is to set himself up with a long term job with the UFC when he retires, as a commentator or an analyst, more than it is to become champion.
Click to expand...

If that is the plan more power to him, but I think its such a waste when he obviously has the potential to hang with the elite of the division.

I think he semi-panicks and doesnt believe that he can win a measured fight so he wants to overwhelm. I remember a JRE podcast where he said that he struggled with confidence and has somewhat of an imposter syndrome thinking he doesnt belong
 
NationWideNinja said:
I dont know if hes panicking in there, or that hes so married to this idea of being an all-action fighter, but I cant help but feel that hes giving wins away. The Poirier fight looked beyond winnable if he didnt spaz out from the get-go and emptied the gastank in round 1. He could probably have comfortably wrestlefucked Poirier if he commited to a disciplined gameplan.
Same with the Gaethje fight. Had he fought a somewhat smart fight he could have taken an important round and walked away with the victory.
The Oliveira fight is the only one I feel that he fought a good fight but simply got caught.

If he didnt go HAM every time he stepped in the cage he could currently be 4-1 in the UFC instead of 2-3.
Click to expand...
He tried taking down Gaethje a few times and failed. Just because Khabib took Gaethje down doesn't mean it's easy. He's been able to stuff most TDs or get back to his feet quickly. Admittedly, his ground game and submission defense is quite weak, but I don't know if Chandler could keep him down. Justin actually got the better of Chandler when they briefly rolled and scrambled IIRC.

It's possible Chandler could've taken down Gaethje early in the fight and won a round, but it's not certain at all. Remember, Dustin's TDD is quite bad. You can't extrapoloate too much from a fight with Poirier to a fight with Gaethje--they're very different. That said, i agree Chandler's Fight IQ is bad and he should've at least tried taking down Gaethje earlier in the fight.
 
mkt said:
He tried taking down Gaethje a few times and failed. Just because Khabib took Gaethje down doesn't mean it's easy. He's been able to stuff most TDs or get back to his feet quickly. Admittedly, his ground game is quite weak, but I don't know if Chandler could keep him there. And Justin got the better of Chandler when they briefly rolled and scrambled IIRC.

It's possible Chandler could've taken down Gaethje early in the fight and won a round, but it's not certain at all. Remember, Dustin's TDD is quite bad.
Click to expand...

I’m not saying he would easily run these guys over, but its hard to execute a wrestling gameplan when you empty the tank early and are running on fumes at the end of the first round.
 
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He's bought into the idea of being an "exciting fighter" to the point that he's losing winnable fights because of it. Maybe it's part of his campaign for a Conor fight. Maybe he's trying to please Dana and secure a post fight career commentator job. Either way he's looking like one of the dumbest fighters on the roster atm.
 
OldBoy91 said:
His fight IQ during his UFC run has been pretty bad. Pretty obvious he's fighting to entertain moreso than to win.

He's become the ultimate company man in such a short space of time.

I honestly think his main goal is to set himself up with a long term job with the UFC when he retires, as a commentator or an analyst, more than it is to become champion.
Click to expand...
It's pretty obvious that this is exactly what he is doing. In an ideal world guys at Chandler's level would have enough money to retire and do whatever they want for the rest of their life. It's sad if you actually think about what guys do to make money to take care of their family. I'm not big on the suck-up type of stuff which is why I'm not a big fan of DC.
 
He gassed a little in round 1.
You could see him heck they clock twice. Bad sign.


he had Dustin mildly hurt against the cage early, I say mildly Bc Dustin covered up. At this moment I thought chandler should’ve backed up and chose his shots more carefully. With his wrestling level change he mixup he could’ve been hard to deal with.

then again in round 1 he went for a sloppy kamura. He should’ve just done gnp
Chip damage.


Round 3 he went for a huge slam and lost position,


He could’ve won all 3 rounds if he was more patient.


Having said that he’s gonna be on the next main event hopefully against conor right ?
 
This idea that Chandler is willing to take unnecessary damage just to put on a show for the fans is just fucking stupid. He fights the way he does because his cardio isn’t great and his best path to victory is to get his opponent out of there early like he did to Hooker and Tony.
 
NationWideNinja said:
If that is the plan more power to him, but I think its such a waste when he obviously has the potential to hang with the elite of the division.

I think he semi-panicks and doesnt believe that he can win a measured fight so he wants to overwhelm. I remember a JRE podcast where he said that he struggled with confidence and has somewhat of an imposter syndrome thinking he doesnt belong
Click to expand...

That is very interesting, maybe he is constantly trying to ease himself with his non stop motivational speeches.
 
He is exciting to watch. That’s what made him a millionaire. Stick with the plan. He is short for the division and knows a John fitch style will bring in more wins but less money. Don’t think he is dumb and doesn’t know this.
 
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