Confirmed: Team Dricus expected Chimaev to try early finish

[Unheralded Truth]

Dricus pretty much confirms that this is the one thing they planned for, building the gameplan around.

This is what he said two days before the fight:

“It’s just business. And I’ve said this many times. You can be the biggest shit in the world or the nicest guy in the world. I’m still going out there to try
and kill you, and it’s what I’m here to do. I’m going out there to fight my style and see what happens. He didn’t change his gameplan for Robert Whittaker
only because it now was a five-rounder,” du Plessis said. “That kind of already gives me the sense how he’s not gonna think about five rounds here -
when he really should be. Five rounds is a long time, so I am not scared to get into that dark place first. We’ve seen that. If we go full speed, you know,
I can fight tired all day. I’ve done that many times. So, let’s go for it! Let’s go from the first bell to the end. Let’s go full speed and see who quits.”

Wow. What a turn of events that Khamzat then decided to fight smart when DDP showed some good awareness in sub defence. It's obvious that
they were going to try and exploit him "only thinking about an early finish", so he just sat there on the mat and waited for something that never came, lol.
To be fair to Dricus he has always listened to his team, so it's not a 100% on him here. And he was able to scramble as Khamzat went for it more in round 5.

 

[StoicBeau]

Fight was boring

 

[usernamee]

They should've changed their approach after two rounds. It was retarded just playing defense for five fucking rounds while losing your championship. He looked like a guy worried more about getting finished than getting the win.

 

[mangokush]

One of the most boring title fights in a very long time however Dricus won this fight under PRIDE rules

Actually made the attempt to finish the fight in the 5th with the RNC while Khamzat just hugged the whole fight

Under PRIDE rules he would be deemed the winner just for attempting to finish the fight while Khamzat would have been issued yellow cards and possibly DQ due to just stalling & holding Dricus on ground and not trying to finish the fight

Only "offense" that Khamzat did was just holding Dricus on the ground and some "brutal" knees to the thigh of Dricus



Under the pussified UFC rules though, Khamzat won

Even the crowd was booing all that hugging and cheered when Dricus locked in the RNC which officially was the only sub attempt according the UFC stats

Khamzat fans who are defending this hugfest better keep up that same energy when other huggers in the UFC do this

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

Adapting is the key. And Dricus didn't adapt.

 

[Jeffery09]

One of the most boring title fights in a very long time however Dricus won this fight under PRIDE rules

Actually made the attempt to finish the fight in the 5th with the RNC while Khamzat just hugged the whole fight

Under PRIDE rules he would be deemed the winner just for attempting to finish the fight while Khamzat would have been issued yellow cards and possibly DQ due to just stalling & holding Dricus on ground and not trying to finish the fight

Only "offense" that Khamzat did was just holding Dricus on the ground and some "brutal" knees to the thigh of Dricus

View attachment 1109548

Under the pussified UFC rules though, Khamzat won

Even the crowd was booing all that hugging and cheered when Dricus locked in the RNC which officially was the only sub attempt according the UFC stats

Khamzat fans who are defending this hugfest better keep up that same energy when other huggers in the UFC do this

this is some serious copism and mental gymnastics

 

[Captain Herb]

Can't gas just laying on top of someone. His plan was clearly to camp out in a dominant position and run out the clock. Not going to watch that BS again, he wasted 25 minutes of everyone's time

 

[Captain Herb]

this is some serious copism and mental gymnastics

If Dricus had clinched him against the cage for 25 minutes would he deserve to win?

 

[Ramon Antonio]

DDP should've at least tried to go crazy from round 4 on. He had a little success in round 5. Especially after he's said he's willing to die in there. Surely you can risk getting submitted then.

 

[188912345]

They basically listened to all the NPCs in MMA-media who claimed Khamzat had zero cardio or ability to improve his cardio/pacing and game planning.

The way they were grinning in between the early rounds was kind of embarrassing in hindsight.

 

[JBJ was here]

They basically listened to all the NPCs in MMA-media who claimed Khamzat had zero cardio or ability to improve his cardio/pacing and game planning.

To be fair, Khamzat listened to them too, which is why he put in the least amount of effort necessary to hold DDP down on the mat, which wasn't a whole lot of effort considering that DDP attempted escapes as though he were fighting two-weeks after double hip-replacement surgery.

Khamzat started to gas significantly in the fifth round anyway, so there's probably something to the contention that his cardio is a weakness. Still, to take advantage of that weakness an opponent would need to force Khamzat to work rather than just turtling and hugging from the bottom for four-and-a-half rounds.

 

[188912345]

To be fair, Khamzat listened to them too, which is why he put in the least amount of effort necessary to hold DDP down on the mat, which wasn't a whole lot of effort considering that DDP attempted escapes as though he were fighting two-weeks after double hip-replacement surgery.

Khamzat started to gas significantly in the fifth round anyway, so there's probably something to the contention that his cardio is a weakness. Still, to take advantage of that weakness an opponent would need to force Khamzat to work rather than just turtling and hugging from the bottom for four-and-a-half rounds.

I think it was more the fact that his team knew that they could 100% get an easy, low risk victory if they focused on wrestling.

Khamzat himself wanted to strike more.

A Khamzat who would have fought "harder" would likely still have won, but it would've presented more opportunities for Dricus to find a finish from out of nowhere.

With this game plan, Dricus chance of winning went from ~30% down to ~5-10%.

The notion that Khamzat was doomed past round 1 was always a fallacy.

He proved he could take down and control Usman (97% TDD) in the later rounds with a severely compromised hand, that should have been enough for people to understand that he would be able to do the same or more to Dricus (50% TDD).

There was also information out there about how he had changed his training/recovery, that he had prepared at altitude in Russia since the Whittaker camp, and also the cardio training he did with coach Cal, but people believed what they wanted to believe.

 

[Luffy]

If Dricus had clinched him against the cage for 25 minutes would he deserve to win?

Yes. He'd be winning a wrestling component of the game... Controlling the area. Chimaev controlled the area, the pace, and taking down, working on 7 submission attempts, landing more strikes even if they aren't the ones to hurt DDP too badly, is winning the fight in every aspect. Which Khamzat did, he took DDP down whenever he wanted, even when the referee stood them up Dricus' could do nothing to prevent the takedown, tried 5x a crucifix, 10x more strikes enough that their face post fight told the tale... And he won 99% of the fight. Of course he deserved the win, Dricus just didn't... Have a response to Khamzat's grappling

 

[Staph infection]

Team Dricus should have had him drilling sprawls the whole camp. They knew exactly what Chimaev was going to do. Dricus's takedown defense was as good as CM Punks. This guy was the champ with a ton of fights under his belt and he looked like a sacrificial lamb.

 

[Luffy]

I think it was more the fact that his team knew that they could 100% get an easy, low risk victory if they focused on wrestling.

Khamzat himself wanted to strike more.

A Khamzat who would have fought "harder" would likely still have won, but it would've presented more opportunities for Dricus to find a finish from out of nowhere.

With this game plan, Dricus chance of winning went from ~30% down to ~5-10%.

The notion that Khamzat was doomed past round 1 was always a fallacy.

He proved he could take down and control Usman (97% TDD) in the later rounds with a severely compromised hand, that should have been enough for people to understand that he would be able to do the same or more to Dricus (50% TDD).

There was also information out there about how he had changed his training/recovery, that he had prepared at altitude in Russia since the Whittaker camp, and also the cardio training he did with coach Cal, but people believed what they wanted to believe.

Yes. It's not like Khamzat had never shown his ability to fight later on. Like when DC pointed out to the Usman fight, Chimaev said "But Usman was tired too... And I was expecting to face Paulo Costa, so fighting Usman needed a change in approach in the last week, so the game plan and preparation wasn't for Usman. But we both were tired, I don't see why my cardio was bad. Burns was tired too after 3 rounds, not only Khamzat. We didn't know how Khamzat would look after 3 rounds, so we can call him Roundtree lol

 

[Captain Herb]

Yes. He'd be winning a wrestling component of the game... Controlling the area. Chimaev controlled the area, the pace, and taking down, working on 7 submission attempts, landing more strikes even if they aren't the ones to hurt DDP too badly, is winning the fight in every aspect. Which Khamzat did, he took DDP down whenever he wanted, even when the referee stood them up Dricus' could do nothing to prevent the takedown, tried 5x a crucifix, 10x more strikes enough that their face post fight told the tale... And he won 99% of the fight. Of course he deserved the win, Dricus just didn't... Have a response to Khamzat's grappling

I don't think anyone deserved to win that fight, everyone lost. Khamzzzat had 0 (none) submission attempts. At least Dricus attempted one when he got the chance. All the ground control and pitter patter shouldn't count for anything. Takedowns shouldn't count for anything either.

 

[188912345]

I don't think anyone deserved to win that fight, everyone lost. Khamzzzat had 0 (none) submission attempts. At least Dricus attempted one when he got the chance. All the ground control and pitter patter shouldn't count for anything. Takedowns shouldn't count for anything either.

If you watched the fights instead of just the stats, you could see that he indeed did try for submissions.

Problem was that Dricus defended his neck very well, as well his arm when he went for an Americana.

He also defended his back against Khamzat putting his hooks in very well, when he camped out in the turtle position against the fence.

Yeah, most strikes were light, but some of them weren't, especially in round 3.
I also don't think full force knees to the back and ribs from behind look too comfortable, and Dricus showed clear discomfort (wincing).

I know which one of them I would rather be during and after the fight.

There was also a contrast in their urgency when Khamzat was on the bottom compared to Dricus.

Khamzat dug for an underhook to wrestle up (and Dricus tried to guillotine him), whereas Dricus was unwilling to risk giving up his neck and instead tried to control posture from the bottom, which made him end up in a crucifix multiple times.

 

[Luffy]

I don't think anyone deserved to win that fight, everyone lost. Khamzzzat had 0 (none) submission attempts. At least Dricus attempted one when he got the chance. All the ground control and pitter patter shouldn't count for anything. Takedowns shouldn't count for anything either.

No, Dricus lost badly. 50-44. That was so one sided that it could be 50-42. Dricus deserved and lost fairly all rounds dominantly. No question about it, he did nothing

 

[Luffy]

If you watched the fights instead of just the stats, you could see that he indeed did try for submissions.

Problem was that Dricus defended his neck very well, as well his arm when he went for an Americana.

He also defended his back against Khamzat putting his hooks in very well, when he camped out in the turtle position against the fence.

Yeah, most strikes were light, but some of them weren't, especially in round 3.
I also don't think full force knees to the back and ribs from behind look too comfortable, and Dricus showed clear discomfort (wincing).

I know which one of them I would rather be during and after the fight.

There was also a contrast in their urgency when Khamzat was on the bottom compared to Dricus.

Khamzat dug for an underhook to wrestle up (and Dricus tried to guillotine him), whereas Dricus was unwilling to risk giving up his neck and instead tried to control posture from the bottom, which made him end up in a crucifix multiple times.

Yeah iirc Khamzat had him on a crucifix 5x. He also landed a lot of knees to the body and legit elbows. Dricus did nothing. Just sheer domination from Khamzat. They're just coping, reality is Chimaev ragdolled Dricus

 

[shunyata]

One of the most boring title fights in a very long time however Dricus won this fight under PRIDE rules

Actually made the attempt to finish the fight in the 5th with the RNC while Khamzat just hugged the whole fight

Under PRIDE rules he would be deemed the winner just for attempting to finish the fight while Khamzat would have been issued yellow cards and possibly DQ due to just stalling & holding Dricus on ground and not trying to finish the fight

Only "offense" that Khamzat did was just holding Dricus on the ground and some "brutal" knees to the thigh of Dricus

View attachment 1109548

Under the pussified UFC rules though, Khamzat won

Even the crowd was booing all that hugging and cheered when Dricus locked in the RNC which officially was the only sub attempt according the UFC stats

Khamzat fans who are defending this hugfest better keep up that same energy when other huggers in the UFC do this

Under Pride rules, Dricus was stalling and would be getting the yellow cards.