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I'm a Cigano fan, but I can't understand why Junior and his team had not addressed the very obvious issues from the last fight, and formulated a much better fight strategy.
After the second fight, it was so clear that in order to be competitive with Cain, Junior would need to utilize better footwork and movement to continually circle round the edges of the cage, pivot into the Octagon centre, and try to keep Cain stuck on the end of his jab, so as to avoid flinging punches with his back on the cage while leaving Cain free to choose when to end the exchange and go for the shot. It was also blindingly obvious that Junior had to defend himself better against punches. I'm not suggesting he should have held his hands up by his chin like a boxer, as that would have made defending takedowns harder, but there is of course a happy medium between the boxing peek-a-boo and having your hands by your waist, ffs.
I reluctantly accept now that Cain is the better man, as his strategy was more intelligent, as it played to his opponent's weaknesses, unlike Junior's.
I hope Junior now sees the problems, and addresses them. It still may not be enough to beat Cain if they ever fight again, but I'm sure it would result in a more competitive fight. I still love Junior as a fighter, and can't wait to see him back to winning ways.
And Cain is a worthy champion, the best UFC heavyweight champion ever, and I think Werdum will be an interesting match-up, so looking forward to that too. A sad night in some ways, but a great card all-round. War Cigano.
After the second fight, it was so clear that in order to be competitive with Cain, Junior would need to utilize better footwork and movement to continually circle round the edges of the cage, pivot into the Octagon centre, and try to keep Cain stuck on the end of his jab, so as to avoid flinging punches with his back on the cage while leaving Cain free to choose when to end the exchange and go for the shot. It was also blindingly obvious that Junior had to defend himself better against punches. I'm not suggesting he should have held his hands up by his chin like a boxer, as that would have made defending takedowns harder, but there is of course a happy medium between the boxing peek-a-boo and having your hands by your waist, ffs.
I reluctantly accept now that Cain is the better man, as his strategy was more intelligent, as it played to his opponent's weaknesses, unlike Junior's.
I hope Junior now sees the problems, and addresses them. It still may not be enough to beat Cain if they ever fight again, but I'm sure it would result in a more competitive fight. I still love Junior as a fighter, and can't wait to see him back to winning ways.
And Cain is a worthy champion, the best UFC heavyweight champion ever, and I think Werdum will be an interesting match-up, so looking forward to that too. A sad night in some ways, but a great card all-round. War Cigano.
