Is Ankalaev underrated in his striking or is Poatan overrated in his striking?

[Black Blood]

Ank is a solid enough striker. Above average even. In a pure kickboxing match I'm sure he'd lose against Alex.

But this is MMA. You gotta worry about the ground game, and Alex was worried about Ank taking him down, or just trying to take him down. Ank didn't have to worry about that, as even if Alex did get him to the ground that wouldn't be the most horrible thing in the world for him.

We've seen it over and over and over again, where the superior striker (on paper) gets worked over by an inferior striker because of the takedown threat.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

I believe one of the things that enabled Ank to have success defensively and somewhat offensively on the feet was the threat of the takedown. You see time and time again that inferior strikers get the better of their opponents on the feet because they have a superior wrestling/ground game and the threat lowers the guard. I do feel Ank may be a touch underrated on the feet but I feel his success has a lot to do with his overall MMA game. Striking in MMA is a lot different than in Glory.

 

[HHJ]

Ank is a solid enough striker. Above average even. In a pure kickboxing match I'm sure he'd lose against Alex.

But this is MMA. You gotta worry about the ground game, and Alex was worried about Ank taking him down, or just trying to take him down. Ank didn't have to worry about that, as even if Alex did get him to the ground that wouldn't be the most horrible thing in the world for him.

We've seen it over and over and over again, where the superior striker (on paper) gets worked over by an inferior striker because of the takedown threat.

No one gives a fuck who would win in kickboxing match they will never have.

MMA striking there is more to it than just adding grappling and the threat of grappling. Small fingerless gloves also make a huge difference, offensively and defensivley

 

[NicholasJBasile]

Ank is a solid enough striker. Above average even. In a pure kickboxing match I'm sure he'd lose against Alex.

But this is MMA. You gotta worry about the ground game, and Alex was worried about Ank taking him down, or just trying to take him down. Ank didn't have to worry about that, as even if Alex did get him to the ground that wouldn't be the most horrible thing in the world for him.

We've seen it over and over and over again, where the superior striker (on paper) gets worked over by an inferior striker because of the takedown threat.

You beat me to the punch lmao

 

[Söze Aldo]

When you combine good grappling with good striking, you will get a very good if not particularly exciting MMA fighter every time.

Alex is an elite striker, anyone saying otherwise is gaslighting. But he fought extremely timid due to being so preoccupied by the takedown threat.

Alex can absolutely beat Ank in a rematch whenever it happens. You can tell he focused everything training to prevent takedowns but he has to focus more now on defending and countering wall wrestling.

 

[HHJ]

Alex is an elite striker, anyone saying otherwise is gaslighting.

Yes but Ank exploited holes in his striking game.

He hand fought to shut down the left hand.

Alex just didn't even use the right hand. It showed he's reliant on his kicks and his left hand and if those don't work, he's got not much else. He doesn't fight well moving backwards

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Depends by who. Also styles makes fights

I remember in my muay thai years.. I struggled sparring some guys that most of the gym would kick the shit out of but somewhat I could hang toe to toe with some of the better training partners.

I think Alex struggled with Ankalaev being southpak and having a good straight left hand. He could never get his timing because Ankalaev did not allowed him to.
But we also saw Ankalaev being dropped in the past by guys we would definitely consider worse strikers than Pereira.

 

[HHJ]

I think Alex struggled with Ankalaev being southpak and having a good straight left hand. He could never get his timing because Ankalaev did not allowed him to.
But we also saw Ankalaev being dropped in the past by guys we would definitely consider worse strikers than Pereira.

He never really got hurt in his other fights other than his leg in the jan fight and he won his other fights too other than his debut.

 

[Söze Aldo]

Yes but Ank exploited holes in his striking game.

He hand fought to shut down the left hand.

Alex just didn't even use the right hand. It showed he's reliant on his kicks and his left hand and if those don't work, he's got not much else. He doesn't fight well moving backwards

Yes, even people at elite levels will have gaps that can be exploited but the true elite respond to that and come back better.

People are quick to forget before Alex went on his tear becoming the face of the UFC, he literally got one shot KOd by Izzy.

Like I said, Alex fought uncharacteristically timid. He expected to be defending shooting takedowns every second and would get caught when Ank came forward striking but not shooting.

Ank is underrated in striking but for MMA striking Alex is still very elite. It was technically a close fight despite Alex fighting somewhat scared.

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

Jiri, Izzy, and Khalil are all better strikers than Ank. Hill is arguable, but he probably just has awkward timing and decent power. They just don't have the threat of grappling or clinchwork to supplement rudimentary boxing and good timing.

Jamahal hill and khalil are not better strikers than ank, they don't have the same timing or defense, Hill's footwork is abysmal. Jiri is more powerful but his goofy style makes him easier to ko. Izzy is the only one who is better than ank in striking imo

 

[Skarsgard]

Are they? Are they really? I don't think this is so clear tbh.

Izzy most certainly is (in his prime, he's aged out)

Jiri gets hit too much and is collecting brain damage for his style. I have a hard time agreeing he's "better" than Ank who is rarely out of position and doesn't get dropped/tagged regularly. Hill hits harder, I wouldn't say he's better, and demonstrably he's not more effective at winning fights.

Khalil is a better striker AND has more power, that is the only one I'll agree with cleanly here. He sucks at grappling of course and that is his big limitation.

Obviously we can't know without Ank fighting them.
Jiri has shown excellent movement and defense when he doesn't go full offense.

I think without Ank's perceived grappling ability, he's not going to have half of the effectiveness on the feet. It's not a knock against him. He's just not this amazing, polished striker. He has a toolset that he uses effectively.

 

[HHJ]

Obviously we can't know without Ank fighting them.
Jiri has shown excellent movement and defense when he doesn't go full offense.

I think without Ank's perceived grappling ability, he's not going to have half of the effectiveness on the feet. It's not a knock against him. He's just not this amazing, polished striker. He has a toolset that he uses effectively.

If it's that obvious that "we can't know" than don't say Poatan beat guys who were better strikers than Big Ank.

Without the grappling, Ank has a lot of skills standing up and is also defensively responsible, which is a part of the striking game.

He hardly grappled at all in his other fights and yet he earned two title shots and only lost once in 7 yrs. So let's not cry the blues now about "perceived grappling ability"

He's a damned good striker. Live with it.

 

[Rio Ferdinand]

The threat of a takedown makes even Khabib look like a decent striker.

Same theory goes for Ank.

Clearly Alex was hesitating on throwing because he was always thinking about the takedown in some form or other.