Florian vs. Maynard

[ACL Tear]

I think florians striking and bjj are way better. Sadly I think Maynard will win by getting takedowns. Using his wrestlers base to sit in the gaurd and pound on Florian for a boring descision. He is much bigger and seems to win by takedowns and control as opposed to somthing more impressive or fun to watch. Also takedows seems to count for so much now days. I think the advatage Florian will have in the exchanges will be nullfied by takedowns and control.

Maynard by way of being a larger stronger wrestler.

I hope I am wrong.

 

[best athlete****]

I like both fighters, and while I think if Kenny can keep it on the feet he'll win, nobody has been able to do that against Gray yet. Earlier I said this was a hard fight to call, and it is. But I'm gonna say Gray Maynard by UD.

If Kenny wins I won't be surprised either. This one is a toss up.

On a LW division note, if Gray wins and Frankie wins, and they setup a rematch for the title, Gray is gonna moonwalk right into the 155 LW title. Frankie is not ever gonna beat Gray Maynard. Too much of a style problem.

EDIT: I love Gray's little step-over thing he always does after a big slam.

you are right is real close fight kenny have the striking, the subs, and elbows from the botton,maynard has the strengh advantage and is a real smart fighter and agressive wrestler, but i see this fight kind of like sherk vs kenny but only time will tell

 

[Drew Foster]

Agreed about the GSP part. Learning TD defense with GSP is going to be exactly what he needs for this fight (though he wouldn't necessarily be at a disadvantage there). What people are forgetting is that Florian has very good standup ability, and usually softens people up on the feet before subbing them. That is to say, it's not just his BJJ that puts them away, the MT sets them up (Clay Guida for instance).

The bottom line here is the Florian is the best lightweight in the world who isn't BJ Penn. He is a fantastically complete fighter, moreso than just about any other in the division (again, excepting Penn). He takes this fight, and it's not unlikely he chooses where (by whether or not he lets Maynard take him down).

That's what is so frustrating about Florian to me. I also think he's the most talented LW outside of BJ Penn, but when he gets to title fights, he just fights differently. More tentative. I'll give him a pass on the Sherk fight since Kenny's skills weren't as developed, but he's an animal and then gets weird in title fights. I couldn't believe the strategy he used against BJ Penn.

 

[Drew Foster]

you are right is real close fight kenny have the striking, the subs, and elbows from the botton,maynard has the strengh advantage and is a real smart fighter and agressive wrestler, but i see this fight kind of like sherk vs kenny but only time will tell

That's what immediately came to mind was Sherk/Florian. Out of all the wrestler-boxers at 155 (Sherk, Maynard, Guida, Miller, Edgar, Griffin, etc.) I think Gray is the best pure wrestler for MMA of the bunch. Florian isn't "bad" against wrestlers, as long as they dont have a lot of bulk on them. Gray is a big dude. Kenny will have his hands full, but he's certainly no bitch. I'm really looking forward to this fight, along with the Nate Diaz fight, the Maia fight, and the Joe Lauzon fight, if we're talking non-main event fights.

 

[best athlete****]

That's what immediately came to mind was Sherk/Florian. Out of all the wrestler-boxers at 155 (Sherk, Maynard, Guida, Miller, Edgar, Griffin, etc.) I think Gray is the best pure wrestler for MMA of the bunch. Florian isn't "bad" against wrestlers, as long as they dont have a lot of bulk on them. Gray is a big dude. Kenny will have his hands full, but he's certainly no bitch. I'm really looking forward to this fight, along with the Nate Diaz fight, the Maia fight, and the Joe Lauzon fight, if we're talking non-main event fights.

yeah is a good card a lot of good fights i am really waiting for that maia fight, i like the guy work on his back he just pull subs left and right, the fight against ed herman really make me a fan

 

[Squints]

Kenny by RNC!

 

[SuperSuperRambo]

How so? I would think someone like Diaz would be a worse matchup. Florian isn't really known for having a dangerous guard in regards to subs.

I could see Maynard getting the takedown and being relatively safe from subs in Kenny's guard.

Maynard can't finish the fight and has fewer tools in his arsenal. He has to do a takedown, gnp for 3 rounds.

 

[Greg Santana]

bad match-up for Maynard...

Agreed bro!

 

[randomg1t]

I like both fighters, and while I think if Kenny can keep it on the feet he'll win, nobody has been able to do that against Gray yet. Earlier I said this was a hard fight to call, and it is. But I'm gonna say Gray Maynard by UD.

If Kenny wins I won't be surprised either. This one is a toss up.

On a LW division note, if Gray wins and Frankie wins, and they setup a rematch for the title, Gray is gonna moonwalk right into the 155 LW title. Frankie is not ever gonna beat Gray Maynard. Too much of a style problem.

EDIT: I love Gray's little step-over thing he always does after a big slam.

quality post.

i think from a fan's perspective it would be best if penn demolished edgar and maynard beat florian. i don't want to see penn vs kenny again and i don't want edgar vs maynard 2 either. penn vs maynard in a 5 rounder is intriguing though.

but most of all i just want bj to beat the crap out of frankie.