I have not seen a full Merab fight yet.

[Frode Falch]

I honestly wish guys like Merab would get cut.

He doesn't fight. He does the opposite and trains only for that style of stalling. I'm not good at striking, not good at bjj or wrestling, have 0 shot against a skilled fighter, but i'm strong as a bull, i can easily hold anyone around my size down for 25min. We had alot of those disussions in the gym and tested it. If you have enough cardio and you're really strong, if your gameplan is to stall you can beat anyone honestly.Any skill the other guy possesses is thrown away if he can't get his hands and body free and is pinned up against the wall. But thats not fighting, its not mma. No mixed martial art teaches you to stall.

The fact that Bautista just held Aldo for 15min and said well Merab did the same and look at him now, he's the champ tells you everything you need to know. You could see skill wise Aldo was 10000 times better. Much better striker, better grappler, didnt get taken down even 1 time, but it doesnt matter, holding someone is different and you cant really do much about it if the gameplan is to stall. There should be a point deduction for these guys, not a reward. Any other sport there is a consequence if you stall, but somehow in mma you win a FIGHT. It's crazy, in a sport about basically trying to hurt someone, you get rewarded a for doing the opposite. Cut Merab!

I can see the argument. At the end of the day, MMA is a sport. Its main purpose is to entertain the viewers.

If you on purpose perform in a way you know is boring, you are doing it wrong.

Of course a fighter need to find a middle ground. Do go all out Michael Chandler either.. thats too much in the other direction.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

The salt in this thread is almost admirable lol ..

Do you think what Merab does is easy? Lol..

He makes his opponents look like amateur who can't adapt to his style over the course of 25mins...

I think really most people are just upset that grappling will always be a strikers Achilles heel and thus makes all those years of striking training irrelevant when a short grappling heavy opponent does what he wants with you for 25 mins and all u can do is try and breath

 

[TriangleMonkey]

He the worst wall-n-staller in the UFC

Mario Bautista tried to challenge Merab for that title when he applied that same strategy on Aldo


If you love just hanging on to dudes every moment of the fight, get some damn submissions in your arsenal

 

[JKS]

I am yet to see a fight with Merab. Being a striker myself, i tend to like exciting fighters with great striking. Like poatan, Izzy, spider Silva, McGregor, pettis, Jon Jones, ilia topuria.

But i like grapplers as long as they try to really fight on the ground. Like khabib, khamzat, Islam, ect.

I hate both dry humping and jab n run.

That being said: how boring is Merab?

On a scale from 1-10... 1 being jon fitch, 10 being prime Anderson Silva

If Jon Fitch is a 1, the Merab needs to go into negative numbers, we're talking like -3

 

[TrueBias]

I was happy when he beat sean, but I knew he would via boring ass control. Likely going to end up hating him.

10 decisions, yeah, but hes also little. The heavier a fighter is, the more likely for a finish.

 

[fortheo]

I don't find him that boring. I guess on your scale I'd give him a 5. The guy doesn't inflict much damage, but he is ALWAYS working for the most part. I've never seen anyone weaponize pace and cardio as well has he has, and that alone is somewhat interesting to watch.

 

[Streeter]

He is the most boring champ in UFC events counting wmma. Yes Julliana an Val better to watch than Merab. It's spamming Tds or trying to spam tske down with Cage clinching. He's a awful title holder an likely the only time I root for a Stan fighter is when Umar fights Merab

 

[chinarice]

I can see the argument. At the end of the day, MMA is a sport. Its main purpose is to entertain the viewers.

If you on purpose perform in a way you know is boring, you are doing it wrong.

Of course a fighter need to find a middle ground. Do go all out Michael Chandler either.. thats too much in the other direction.

While I don't enjoy the fighting, I still feel it's on the fighter to adapt and make something happen. If you can't, it shows a hole in your game IMO

 

[VAfan]

i find him strangely entertaining, for some reason. it's like watching a swarm of insects attacking prey, the way he's this unstoppable force that never slows down. a bit like khabib that way.

 

[bjjwar]

I can see the argument. At the end of the day, MMA is a sport. Its main purpose is to entertain the viewers.

If you on purpose perform in a way you know is boring, you are doing it wrong.

Of course a fighter need to find a middle ground. Do go all out Michael Chandler either.. thats too much in the other direction.

I agree on that. I dont expect him to go full retard either, but what he’s doing should be against the rules bc its not really fighting. Its winning by « stalling/anti-fighting ».

I’m totally fine with guys like Chael who were agressive in their grappling even if they dont mostly finish or sub or guys that try to improve position or at least try to damage their opponents. But what Merab is clearly doing is cheating on the rules. His only goal is to stall the fight and hold the other fighter till the end while looking « active » spamming all over the place for the ref not to stop it.

 

[TheTickG]

I am yet to see a fight with Merab. Being a striker myself, i tend to like exciting fighters with great striking. Like poatan, Izzy, spider Silva, McGregor, pettis, Jon Jones, ilia topuria.

But i like grapplers as long as they try to really fight on the ground. Like khabib, khamzat, Islam, ect.

I hate both dry humping and jab n run.

That being said: how boring is Merab?

On a scale from 1-10... 1 being jon fitch, 10 being prime Anderson Silva

Knees to the ribs is still a strike, even against the cage. I enjoy his fights.

 

[IneedSometop]

The salt in this thread is almost admirable lol ..

Do you think what Merab does is easy? Lol..

He makes his opponents look like amateur who can't adapt to his style over the course of 25mins...

I think really most people are just upset that grappling will always be a strikers Achilles heel and thus makes all those years of striking training irrelevant when a short grappling heavy opponent does what he wants with you for 25 mins and all u can do is try and breath

No one ITT implied what he does is easy? Merab has ATG levels of cardio and ability to push a pace.

It's also an objective truth that the dude is a decision machine that rarely looks to throw hard ground and pound, go for submissions, or try to finish fights in any meaningful way.

 

[cburm]

Merab is that 1000 pound blanket Colby wishes he was..

 

[RedDevilFan]

Sounds like a lot of haters

Merab is a machine and is one of my favorite fighters in the lower divisions. The man is a wizard with his wrestling and take-downs, and throws leather.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

I've seen Merab/Ricky Simon in full, and that's it.

 

[VinceArch]

I am yet to see a fight with Merab. Being a striker myself, i tend to like exciting fighters with great striking. Like poatan, Izzy, spider Silva, McGregor, pettis, Jon Jones, ilia topuria.

But i like grapplers as long as they try to really fight on the ground. Like khabib, khamzat, Islam, ect.

I hate both dry humping and jab n run.

That being said: how boring is Merab?

On a scale from 1-10... 1 being jon fitch, 10 being prime Anderson Silva

Watch his fight against Ricky Simon. It's actually good and spoiler alert, Merab loses.

 

[VinceArch]

I've seen Merab/Ricky Simon in full, and that's it.

Ricky's definitely one of the top fighters at the gym I used to train at, and some people like to dispute the result, Ricky has said Merab was gurgling in that guillotine.