Is Umar Nurmagomedov regressing?

[Pequeño Corey]

they were both risk averse
the criticism is on umar cause he's the favourite, younger, taller and bigger
these criticism deflections are pathetic

The defense of a boring -1600 fighter for playing it safe is even more pathetic

 

[mister piscadinha]

It's not a deflection.

I don't care if you criticize anyone's performance.

It's a free world.

However, to put on a good performance, you need a willing partner.

If you disagree with that and think Umar should have went on the offensive, that's perfectly fine.

I just think it's easier to type about this stuff then actually fight someone who is idle.

does illia topuria ever need a "willin' partner" to put on a fight?

bekzat was walking back the whole fight against alexander yet he was forced to fight by the pressure

yan forced forced figgy to fight, and figgy was way better prepared in that fight

why cant umar, who has all the physical advantages in this fight, force an a opponent to fight?

 

[Pequeño Corey]

This is exactly how guys like Pimplett end up getting title fights.

Huh? Please, expand on that.

 

[HNIC215]

Too bad so sad.

It's a free world and Umar is free to choose the safe boring fight. But by making that choice he's also choosing to accept all the criticisms that come with such a performance, and choosing not to get a title shot.

Don't piss in the wind and cry when it flies back at you.

Obviously, it's not the first or the last time a fighter chooses to fight safe.

Especially against a former champion.

I don't think the Russians care about anyone's criticism to be honest - except maybe their own.

They are pretty set in their ways.

We speculate and type but it's their lives and careers.

He won 30-27 - that's good according to MMA metrics.

 

[xhaydenx]

You are very right that O'Malley has taken difficult fights before and found a way to win. And if he does see a way to beat Umar, he might very well take that fight.

I wasn't one of those people claiming O'Malley was protected and gifted a title shot. I'm actually a fan of his and enjoy watching him fight. I just think he's being strategic with his career at this point and trying to maximize his value. And IMO fighting Umar is the opposite of that.

Yeh, I know you're not being one of those blind haters or anything.

I think with Suga, it's not going to matter what he does. He isn't getting some layup next. It's going to be a tough as fuck fight whoever he faces, whether it's Yan or Umar or even Cory.

After the way Umar performed against Figgy, it'll most likely be Yan. Yan is a really bad matchup for Suga over 5 rounds.

I literally think outside of Cory, Umar is probably Suga's easiest fight just because of the style. Suga has good foowork for evading tds. He's not going to force himself onto them for Umar's benefit. If Umar was having trouble chasing Figgy down, he's going to have more trouble trying it against Suga, who has better footwork than Figgy, and will try and snipe him at the same time.

Still a hard as fuck fight, but better than Yan, who will be walking him down and wearing him out badly after 2.5. He was doing that in round 3 of their first fight and Suga was tired out. Heck, Suga was a very different fighter in 4 and 5 against Chito, and that's Chito, who barely does fuck all for entire fights anyway. If Suga is tiring out from Chito to that extent, He's going to be absolutely cooked if Yan puts it on him.

 

[UFC666]

Well. this fight wasn't exciting but at least Umar won, unlike O'Malley. I'd say Merab deserve it more to be next.

 

[Tp4myBungHole]

Styles make fights, how does it work.

 

[UFC666]

Wasn't that Usman that was playing video games with DJ? I can't remember.

It was Abubakar.

 

[Portland8242]

If Umar is so good he should have been able to cut Figgy off and force the fight on him while still being technical and safe. Good fighters do that easily lol.

Umar is good enough to do that. He chose not to even try any of that.

What is his incentive to do any of that?

He's in full control of the fight winning every second at range but he's the one who's supposed to put himself in harm's way against a very powerful puncher?

You're misplacing the blame - Figgy is the one who needs to take chances, not Umar.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

He's a counter kick-wrestler that takes minimal risks. He's ether completely on the outside counter striking and when the distance closes hes's all the way in grappling. He's great at avoiding danger and avoifs fighting at mid range where he's been open to getting countered with wild shots

 

[RockyLockridge]

What is his incentive to do any of that?

I think he's competing with other equally deserving fighters on the very same card for a potential title fight with yan

a lot of people went into this thinking that either omalley/yan or Umar/figgy could be justified for the next shot depending on who looked better.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

does illia topuria ever need a "willin' partner" to put on a fight?

bekzat was walking back the whole fight against alexander yet he was forced to fight by the pressure

yan forced forced figgy to fight, and figgy was way better prepared in that fight

why cant umar, who has all the physical advantages in this fight, force an a opponent to fight?

Yan has to force guys as he needs to close the distance and fight at range. He's not good at fighting on the outside due to his size. Yan also eats big shots every fight because of this.

Umar fights safe (although boring at times) and is highly effective at minimising damage and putting himself into unwanted exchanges.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

I think he's competing with other equally deserving fighters on the very same card for a potential title fight with yan

I understand why Umar fought the way he did, Figgy had 1 road to victory at that was to catch a frustrated Umar in a wild exchange.

 

[RockyLockridge]

I understand why Umar fought the way he did, Figgy had 1 road to victory at that was to catch a frustrated Umar in a wild exchange.

Yeah but if you were the promotion, based on performance, who would you have given the shot to if not merab?

Omalley or Umar based on their performance against their respective opponent?

if your answer is Sean, Then you know what his incentive was.

 

[Portland8242]

I think he's competing with other equally deserving fighters on the very same card for a potential title fight with yan

a lot of people went into this thinking that either omalley/yan or Umar/figgy could be justified for the next shot depending on who looked better.

Seems his biggest mistake was thinking Figgy - a guy who's getting a GOLDEN opportunity to jump everyone in the rankings - was going to show a bit more desperation and actually engage. He didn't. Umar's never been a fighter to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Reiterating again - I have no idea why he's the one who's getting all the shit here when his opponent showed zero interest in doing anything.

Once again - he was literally winning every second of the fight controlling it at his range. WTF is he going to risk it all for recklessly engaging a guy who could easily put his lights out.

 

[RockyLockridge]

I have no idea why he's the one who's getting all the shit here when his opponent showed zero interest in doing anything.

No one expected anything from figgy that's why. This was made as a squash match essentially.


Figgy has been in regression for quite some time. Figgy looked liked shit and did nothing. but the thread is about umar, because figgy, lets be honest, isn't relevent anymore.

 

[m249viking]

I also thought that it was strange he didn't get an interview, It was the prelim main event he had khabib and islam with him and to top it all off the next fight wasn't for another 30 mins..... they clearly had time...

Everyone was trying to wake up after the fight and the interview slipped through the cracks

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

i didn't even think he looked good against Merab. i thought he kind of got exposed. he gassed to basically Merab walking forward on him. the pressure made him panic strike too much and that was it. after that Merab started grappling and Umar was cooked.

being primarily a striker goes against the entire ethos of Father's Plan. the best strikers in the history of MMA are risk takers/gamblers, Father's Plan is risk averse. they are mutually exclusive. you can only fight boring for so long as a striker before guys catch on to your bullshit and knock you out. it's not like grappling where you can nullify the majority of the violence with holding/pressing/restraining/grinding them down. in striking, if the guy comes to you with violence the only way to nullify it is by violence back.

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

Now that he's in title contention they're going to coach him to not take risks?

Brother, he was LNPing for dear life back when he was fighting unranked fighters like Bezkat or whatever. He's been like this forever lol.

My guy, you may be accustomed to spouting bullshit to other bullshitters.....but after getting knocked down in the first, Umar was brutalizing Bezkat with elbows. Round 1 and 2 he put in work and in the third he went for a legit finish. Plenty of Umar fights to better frame your argument but you were too lazy to bother.

 

[RockyLockridge]

i didn't even think he looked good against Merab. i thought he kind of got exposed. he gassed to basically Merab walking forward on him. the pressure made him panic strike too much and that was it. after that Merab started grappling and Umar was cooked.

I agree entirely, I actually think there is a pretty strong argument that merab won 49-46, only losing round 2.

but the fight was entertaining and Umar hung on and made it a good fight, so he gets lots of credit and his stock goes up.