Is Usman a hopeless match-up for Woodley in a rematch?

youllneverwalkalone said:
I don't know what you mean with the last sentence ("we have him on tape"). In my understanding GSP didn't want to fight Usman, not sure what Dana could have done.
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Read again... Woodley fighting GSP. They asked if that's next if Woodley wins and Dana answered yes in the press conference: "for sure" type of an answer. Then he gets pissed by how Woodley wins and gives it to Bisping.
 
spacetime said:
Read again... Woodley fighting GSP. They asked if that's next if Woodley wins and Dana answered yes in the press conference: "for sure" type of an answer. Then he gets pissed by how Woodley wins and gives it to Bisping.
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I meant Woodley (not Usman) of course. My point still stands. Iirc GSP is on record saying he didn't think fighting Woodley would do anything for his legacy or smtg like that. So, regardless of what Dana wanted to do I doubt we would have gotten that fight.
 
youllneverwalkalone said:
I meant Woodley (not Usman) of course. My point still stands. Iirc GSP is on record saying he didn't think fighting Woodley would do anything for his legacy or smtg like that. So, regardless of what Dana wanted to do I doubt we would have gotten that fight.
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I seem to recall that Woodley wanted the GSP fight...
 
youllneverwalkalone said:
He said Woodley was not a big enough name and a fight with him would not improve his legacy, compared to fighting Bisping and becoming a two-divisions champion.
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That's funny. Woodley's credentials are much better.. But in retrospect, judging by the Usman fight, he made the right decision
 
spacetime said:
That's funny. Woodley's credentials are much better.. But in retrospect, judging by the Usman fight, he made the right decision
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Well, that's what GSP said anyway. Another (popular) opinion is that GSP essentially ducked Woodley and just went for Bisping because it was an easier fight.
 
youllneverwalkalone said:
Well, that's what GSP said anyway. Another (popular) opinion is that GSP essentially ducked Woodley and just went for Bisping because it was an easier fight.
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Yeah but I think Bisping put up a better than fight than Woodley would have. GSP is surely much better than Usman.
 
Problem with woodley is that he likes to back up against the fence and wait for you to engage but marty wants you against the cage and due to his superior wrestling and better cardio can easily wear him down and dominate. Woodley needs to engage and throw and not get backed up against the cage if he wants to win
 
spacetime said:
Yeah but I think Bisping put up a better than fight than Woodley would have. GSP is surely much better than Usman.
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In hindsight maybe, but at the time with Woodley being a dominant champ and GSP being away for so many years few people think GSP had a shot at beating Woodley. I think it's a pity we never saw that fight instead of the semi-nonsense fight with Bisping.
 
Dan177 said:
Problem with woodley is that he likes to back up against the fence and wait for you to engage but marty wants you against the cage and due to his superior wrestling and better cardio can easily wear him down and dominate. Woodley needs to engage and throw and not get backed up against the cage if he wants to win
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That's like asking an out-fighter in boxing to become a brawler. It's not that simple.
 
spacetime said:
How far apart are Woodley and Usman in the wrestling credentials? Cormier usually won because once he dominated the wrestling, the striking followed naturally..
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Woodley is D1 and Usman was D2 in college. When I gave Usman a good chance before the fight, I was repeatedly reminded of this. It goes to show that MMA wrestling is about a lot more than credentials--GSP (no credentials) and Jon Jones (only juco wrestling) are good examples.

Usman is younger, more physical, more active and has developed better MMA wrestling. Woodley has fallen in love with his KO power (like Hendo, Hendricks and other former wrestlers) and has mostly used his wrestling defensively for the last 4-5 years.

I give Woodley very little more than a puncher's chance. He's not beating Usman in a 5-round wrestling/cardio-intense fight.
 
mkt said:
Woodley is D1 and Usman was D2 in college. When I gave Usman a good chance before the fight, I was repeatedly reminded of this. It goes to show that MMA wrestling is about a lot more than credentials--GSP and Jon Jones for example.

Usman is younger, more physical, more active and has developed better MMA wrestling. Woodley has fallen in love with his KO power (like Hendo, Hendricks and other former wrestlers) and has mostly used his wrestling defensively for the last 4-5 years.

I give Woodley very little more than a puncher's chance. He's not beating Usman in a 5-round wrestling/cardio-intense fight.
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But Usman was an Olympic alternate.
 
On paper Woodley is the better wrestler but MMA wrestling is different.

I think if Woodley lets his hands go he can beat any WW out there.
 
spacetime said:
Nobody is stupid enough and stand and trade with him.
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But pulling guard and committing to a half-assed guillotine early was a stupid decision. He gassed his arms out and gifted Kamaru the top position 2 minutes in.

Not to mention the thirty vicious body shots that Usman landed from that position; Woodley had nothing left after that.
 
spacetime said:
That's like asking an out-fighter in boxing to become a brawler. It's not that simple.
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Never said it would be but if he where to beat marty thats how he would have to do it imo
 
spacetime said:
But Usman was an Olympic alternate.
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So was Randy Couture, but he never won a national championship in college wrestling. So it depends what you're comparing. Did Woodley try out for the Olympics? If not, we can't compare them in that area.
 
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