How exactly did Merab win Round 3?

[TheMMAnalyst]

I guess it's time for the bathtub brigade to go through their re-watches where they automatically start scoring things more favorly for their guy. They did it when islam had a close fight with volk -- after re-watching, the brigade decided that it actually wasn't a competitive fight and should be 4-1 islam if you're unbiased. Then they re-watched the Islam vs. Dustin fight, and of course upon re-watch, that wasn't as competitive as people thought either. Now we must re-watch Umar vs. Merab and give him round 3, and hell, why not round 5 as well! Easy 4-1, or 3-2 for umar at worst is the correct score! And he did it all with a broken hand!

Merab won. Let it go guys.

I was rooting for Umar, but thought Merab won. However, rounds 3 and 5 were INCREDIBLY close and round 5 might've even been edging towards Umar until the last 30 seconds when Merab landed a great punch and got a takedown to kind of clearly take it. A lot of him "clearly winning" is just body language but he wasn't even landing effectively despite pushing forward and throwing more later in the fight.

The annoying thing to some of us is that Merab and his team say stuff afterwords like "It was an easier fight then we thought it would be" when he lost the first two rounds clearly and then had to go through multiple other rounds that were incredibly close as well to win a 3-2 victory. They love to make it seem like his "dominant" victories are way more dominant than they actually are and that he's some unbeatable/unstoppable super-dominant fighter.

Suga was 3-2 (some say 4-1 but I thought 3-2). Umar was 3-2. Cejudo was 2-1. Aldo was 2-1. The only fight in his last 5 that wasn't close was when he was fighting Yan with basically one good arm plus inured his leg in the first 10 seconds of the fight. And before that he almost got KO'd like 3 times by a semi-washed Moraes and was incredibly close to getting stopped.

In all those fights (except Moraes) he won by gassing his opponent while taking more damage - his strategy is literally to push such an insane pace by spamming takedowns and creating reckless exchanges that his opponents can't find space/timing/rhythm to get attacks going and build momentum or find a perfect kill shot. He makes it work by not only having the most insane cardio we've ever seen but by also being incredibly tough and good at no-selling damage, as he took some brutal shots in all of those fights listed above (except probably the Yan fight where he didn't get hit much and really steam-rolled Yan).

Merab is an insanely tough fighter with a style that is impossible to replicate, but he almost never out-damages his opponents, never gets finishes (1 in 14 UFC fights against a past-it opponent that gassed out in the first by almost knocking him out 3 times), can't control opponents on the ground or sub-hunt, and gets in incredibly close fights with top-level opposition. But the narrative we keep hearing is how he is so dominant and unstoppable, when if we look at stats or their faces he really isn't running through guys, he's gassing them out as means to victory.

So the pendulum swings both ways with the performance narratives pushed by almost all fighters. They all love to seem more untouchable/unstoppable then they really are the vast majority of the time.

 

[AL-Tappo McSnappo]

Merab vs Umar: Round 3?​

I just rewatched R3 and honestly think Umar won. He landed a greater quantity of cleaner shots (although Merab's right hand was maybe the cleanest shot of the round), his takedowns were more meaningful given the subsequent control, and he actually cut Merab's face.

Merab's smiles and showboating are what won him the round, he made his takedowns seem more relevant than they were and Umar's less by playing to the crowd, even though it was the opposite. The commentary were repeatedly also crediting him with strikes that didn't even land (and the initial sig strike count displayed mid R3 was also very wrong, which we can see by the updated stats).

People will call this cope but I'm genuinely curious why so many think this was a decisive round for Merab? It was close at the very least.

View attachment 1080323

Showboating and failed takedowns wins fights these days

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Merab's smiles and showboating are what won him the round, he made his takedowns seem more relevant than they were and Umar's less by playing to the crowd, even though it was the opposite.

View attachment 1080323

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it's part of the game. That's why Jon Jones always walks away in the 5th round with his hands up, it's slight psychological tricks that, if they sway even one judges opinion, have done their job.

While one agrees with it or not is a hard thing to discuss, since we can never know if it's actually efficient or not, if it was the reason a round score was changed, etc.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

Fights are very visual and body language can tell a story that stats can't. The visuals for rnd 3 all pointed to Merab pulling a way. Umar better learn to pit on a poker face or shut down the taunting/joking because both these things weigh heavily when watching fights.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

I've watched a lot of close fights and that one wasn't that hard to score. It wasn't a blowout but it's not controversial.

 

[AmonTobin]

I was rooting for Umar, but thought Merab won. However, rounds 3 and 5 were INCREDIBLY close and round 5 might've even been edging towards Umar until the last 30 seconds when Merab landed a great punch and got a takedown to kind of clearly take it. A lot of him "clearly winning" is just body language but he wasn't even landing effectively despite pushing forward and throwing more later in the fight.

The annoying thing to some of us is that Merab and his team say stuff afterwords like "It was an easier fight then we thought it would be" when he lost the first two rounds clearly and then had to go through multiple other rounds that were incredibly close as well to win a 3-2 victory. They love to make it seem like his "dominant" victories are way more dominant than they actually are and that he's some unbeatable/unstoppable super-dominant fighter.

Suga was 3-2 (some say 4-1 but I thought 3-2). Umar was 3-2. Cejudo was 2-1. Aldo was 2-1. The only fight in his last 5 that wasn't close was when he was fighting Yan with basically one good arm plus inured his leg in the first 10 seconds of the fight. And before that he almost got KO'd like 3 times by a semi-washed Moraes and was incredibly close to getting stopped.

In all those fights (except Moraes) he won by gassing his opponent while taking more damage - his strategy is literally to push such an insane pace by spamming takedowns and creating reckless exchanges that his opponents can't find space/timing/rhythm to get attacks going and build momentum or find a perfect kill shot. He makes it work by not only having the most insane cardio we've ever seen but by also being incredibly tough and good at no-selling damage, as he took some brutal shots in all of those fights listed above (except probably the Yan fight where he didn't get hit much and really steam-rolled Yan).

Merab is an insanely tough fighter with a style that is impossible to replicate, but he almost never out-damages his opponents, never gets finishes (1 in 14 UFC fights against a past-it opponent that gassed out in the first by almost knocking him out 3 times), can't control opponents on the ground or sub-hunt, and gets in incredibly close fights with top-level opposition. But the narrative we keep hearing is how he is so dominant and unstoppable, when if we look at stats or their faces he really isn't running through guys, he's gassing them out as means to victory.

So the pendulum swings both ways with the performance narratives pushed by almost all fighters. They all love to seem more untouchable/unstoppable then they really are the vast majority of the time.

Actually the narrative with the most traction was that Umar's dominant victory was a foregone conclusion. When, in fact, despite being a close competitive fight, Merab had the most dominant moments. The most popular career criticism of Merab has been that he's not exciting and doesn't inflict damage and yet I can't remember seeing a more agressive Merab. He was landing beautiful strikes in several exchanges throughout the fight. His grappling alone had Umar diminished to the point of exhaustion and nearing defenceless in the final round. I'm not argueing that it was a domination throughout, but in my opinion, it was a strong championship performance. A clear win punctuated in the final 45 seconds. At the championship level especially, fights are commonly closely fought, so why are people holding Merab to this unrealistic standard for "not running though guys"?

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Actually the narrative with the most traction was that Umar's dominant victory was a foregone conclusion. When, in fact, despite being a close competitive fight, Merab had the most dominant moments. The most popular career criticism of Merab has been that he's not exciting and doesn't inflict damage and yet I can't remember seeing a more agressive Merab. He was landing beautiful strikes in several exchanges throughout the fight. His grappling alone had Umar diminished to the point of exhaustion and nearing defenceless in the final round. I'm not argueing that it was a domination throughout, but in my opinion, it was a strong championship performance. A clear win punctuated in the final 45 seconds. At the championship level especially, fights are commonly closely fought, so why are people holding Merab to this unrealistic standard for "not running though guys"?

We’re talking about different things - your point about the Umar narrative doesn’t negate the Merab narrative. Both can be true at the same time.

Also Umar was nowhere near defenseless, round 5 was almost dead even until the last minute. The showboating went to your head as well apparently, he was gassed but landing cleaner just couldn’t throw as much so got outworked ultimately.

I even said I thought he won, but you’d admit it was 2-2 and he won it in the end of round 5.

And yet Merab, his coach John Wood, and Aljo all say it was easier then they thought it would be when it literally couldn’t have been any closer lol.

 

[laleggenda27]

Just take the loss like a man and move on, TS. Close fight, but a very clear 48-47.

 

[GluttonforPunishment]

He didn't. He sold it to the judges and crowd. It happens. He got beat up that round, but he's tough and fights like he's on 80's crack. So it's a good optic.

 

[chinarice]

I thought Merab arguably won the 1st but everyone is acting like that was a clearcut Umar round.

 

[AmonTobin]

We’re talking about different things - your point about the Umar narrative doesn’t negate the Merab narrative. Both can be true at the same time.

I never said it did. But I think it’s relevant to people’s objectivity in scoring this fight.

Also Umar was nowhere near defenseless, round 5 was almost dead even until the last minute. The showboating went to your head as well apparently, he was gassed but landing cleaner just couldn’t throw as much so got outworked ultimately.

I said final 45 seconds but I can agree on last minute.

I even said I thought he won, but you’d admit it was 2-2 and he won it in the end of round 5.

And yet Merab, his coach John Wood, and Aljo all say it was easier then they thought it would be when it literally couldn’t have been any closer lol.

It can be close and still be easier than he expected. Maybe he expected to sustain more damage over 25 minutes than he actually did.
Chalking this up to "better cardio" and "good acting" seems pretty misinformed. They literally went toe to toe for 25 minutes. Merab clearly came out on top. People said it was going to be a layup for Umar. It wasn't. It was a lesson in humility.

 

[McSpikes]

The hype on this man winning a razor close decision while doing 0 damage is amazing to me. “BW” GOAT talks and everything smh.

With that said that said, Merab won that fight.

 

[TR1]

Umar was a more effective striker in every single round.

Merab flailed and showboated.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Close fight. Could've went either way depending on the judges.

As far as scoring goes I'm a big proponent of damage over volume/landed punches. But of course damage isn't always easy to measure. Likewise I'm against takedowns without follow up.If you take somebody down and don't do anything significant with it, the position is essentially neutral in my book. If you wanna count a takedown as octagon control time there might be a valid argument to score it that way.

Maximum damage and finishing effort should be the criteria above everything else

 

[Dionysian]

I had 345 Merab but 3 was the closest of the three rounds he won. That's why I made a thread arguing Umar might have been better off spending all of his cardio trying to snatch the 3rd solely for a 48-47 victory where he'd forfeit the championship rounds after gassing and only doing just enough to not get finished.

The big defense of that strategy is that Merab has a very low finish and 10-8 rate. Considering he just wins 10-9s at most if you won the first 3 you could maybe survive/win while being gassed and playing round-forfeiting defense after getting taken down in rounds 4 and 5.

I thought Merab arguably won the 1st but everyone is acting like that was a clearcut Umar round.

Interesting. I thought that was a clear Umar round IMHO. What was your rationale with that one in particular?

 

[Furious77]

I don't care about control time a takedown should count just as much as clean uppercut . Y'all act like putting a dagastani on his but is easy lol.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I never said it did. But I think it’s relevant to people’s objectivity in scoring this fight.

I said final 45 seconds but I can agree on last minute.

It can be close and still be easier than he expected. Maybe he expected to sustain more damage over 25 minutes than he actually did.
Chalking this up to "better cardio" and "good acting" seems pretty misinformed. They literally went toe to toe for 25 minutes. Merab clearly came out on top. People said it was going to be a layup for Umar. It wasn't. It was a lesson in humility.

It makes no sense to say it was easier than we expected but win in the last minute if the fight.

Like it couldn’t arguably be any closer, so how could you expect it to be tougher?

It’s just pushing the BS narrative that it was some dominant stream-rolling performance by Merab, which it wasn’t. He won by the narrowest of margins, therefore it couldn’t have been much harder outside of winning a split decision I suppose.

Which could’ve happened still - a lot of Merab’s “dominance” in the 5th was show-boating that doesn’t actually score (pretending he’s watching a missed kick go by, pointing and laughing after making Umar somersault, etc), but gives the impression he’s in control.

If he was in more control he should be landing more clean shots, visibly hurt/cut/bruise his opponent, get takedowns and have extended control/sub-hunt/land ground and pound. Instead his version of “dominance” is to fail on endless takedown attempts and relentlessly sling wild hooks that miss to the point his opponent is exhausted defending and can’t throw back much.

Yet him and his team act like he’s Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia.