Just Rewatched Tony Ferguson vs Kevin Lee

MescalineDreams

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First of all id just like to say, I think this was probably the best Kevin Lee has looked in all of his past fights.

His boxing was sharp, moved well, solid jab, good kicks. He outstruck Tony in the first round

And the 2nd was very competitive on the feet with Tony barely edging it

Lee took him down, passed his gaurd, mounted him, took his back and threw some serious punches on him. If he had 30 more seconds, he very well could have finished it.. Tony was getting fucked up really bad

As the fight went on, Tony's pace, cardio and toughness began to take over, he started flowing and got sharper / more technical. Threw a sick standing elbow, his elbows from the bottom throughout the fight were amazing too

This fight happened shortly after Lee lost his head coach. He seemed very on point here relative to all his later fights, put everything together well, fought smart, moved well, transitioned well.. Compared with his last few where he more or less felt directionless without a proper head coach to guide him



If Lee can continue to build on this form under new coach Firaz Zahabi / GSP and fix some of his issues surrounding cardio and energy management, we could very well see Lee as a champ in the future.

Everyone's sleeping on him now because that's what losses do on sherdog but it's impossible to watch this fight and not see the immense talent, well roundedness and potential in the 25 year old Kevin Lee. Which is precisely why GSP has spoken so highly of him

This is probably blasphemy to say here but Lee at 25 years old against Tony is better than GSP was at the same age. A fair bit better actually. Which is saying a lot about what he can potentially accomplish if him and his team put the pieces together
 
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I always thought Kevin Lee had a lot of potential.
I think the loss of his coach really affected him and it's 100% understandable.
I wasn't a fan of his last two performances, but I shouldn't only judge him off those losses.
Gillespe is a very tough fighter, I'm really looking forward to that fight.
I'm worried about him training at Tristar now, because I know for a fact that the gym is overrated and he isn't getting the coaching he should be getting.
 
Meh. Even Lando Vannata looked like a superhero against Tony until he got finished.
 
A typical Tony Ferguson fight is like that exam you only studied day before, almost failed but managed to get a decent score. Like his fights with Lee and Vannata. The man adapts and survives very well for what it's worth.
 
You didn’t even mention Khabib once

<mma4>
 
He should train at Rothwell mma. His dancing, as of now, is meh at best.

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I always thought Kevin Lee had a lot of potential.
I think the loss of his coach really affected him and it's 100% understandable.
I wasn't a fan of his last two performances, but I shouldn't only judge him off those losses.
Gillespe is a very tough fighter, I'm really looking forward to that fight.
I'm worried about him training at Tristar now, because I know for a fact that the gym is overrated and he isn't getting the coaching he should be getting.
I think you can really see just how much it affected him by rewatching this fight

From this point, fight by fight you started seeing Kevin Lee fight with less and less direction / purpose. Which he's even attested to himself

Lee already has the skill, what he needs is someone who can see the bigger picture as an outside observer / analyst and put those pieces together. Something Firaz, much like Greg Jackson and other minds in mma have the ability to do. I think training with / under Firaz and gsp alone is worth the journey to Tristar and Imo, seems like the best possible fit stylistically for him I can think of.

He's a fighter very similar to gsp in his skillset, well roundedness and objectives during a fight
 
Tony's strategy in that fight is to make FKL work hard
 
Everyone looks good until they don't when they're fighting Tony. He takes people into deep waters, drowns them, and takes their soul.
 
I think you can really see just how much it affected him by rewatching this fight

From this point, fight by fight you started seeing Kevin Lee fight with less and less direction / purpose. Which he's even attested to himself

Lee already has the skill, what he needs is someone who can see the bigger picture as an outside observer / analyst and put those pieces together. Something Firaz, much like Greg Jackson and other minds in mma have the ability to do. I think training with / under Firaz and gsp alone is worth the journey to Tristar and Imo, seems like the best possible fit stylistically for him I can think of.

He's a fighter very similar to gsp in his skillset, well roundedness and objectives during a fight
Tristar is not what you think it is. Firas is far from the coach this forum portraits him as, trust me, I know what I'm talking about.
 
Tristar is not what you think it is. Firas is far from the coach this forum portraits him as, trust me, I know what I'm talking about.
I don't think anything

Firaz has always seemed to work best with GSP as an mma mind, not as much with anyone else for whatever that's worth



Obviously I have no idea but my impression is that Firaz isn't a one size fits all type of coach. But stylistically it seems to be a good fit for Lee on the surface if he can manage to adopt a similar role that he did for GSP, or at least one of the pieces of his puzzle.

Makes perfect sense why Lee chose that spot, he wants some of what made GSP successful to rub off on him. Even just a few of those tweaks could be all he needs
 
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I don't think anything

Firaz has always seemed to work best with GSP as an mma mind, not so much with anyone else for whatever that's worth



Obviously I have no idea but my impression is that Firaz isn't a one size fits all type of coach. But stylistically it seems to be a good fit for Lee on the surface if he can manage to adopt a similar role that he did for GSP, or at least one of the pieces of his puzzle
You're impression is wrong my friend, Firas* isn't what MMA media portraits him as being. He is an opportunist that leveraged GSP's success to perfection. He hasn't built any champion from the ground up, GSP and Rory were pro fighters long before moving to Tristar. GSP always had a plethora of coaches guiding him at all times. The idea of Firas being the master mind behind his success is simply wrong. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm willing to bet Kevin Lee isn't going to do more than 3 training camps over there. Remember this.
 
Weak chin, shit gas tank - good luck becoming champ with those characteristics. Skill alone isn't enough to make you great.
 
I kept expecting this to turn into a post about khabib vs tony
 
I remember two of the most glorious moments in jiujitsu I've took from both guys that night.

Lee did a cross step escape from the first submission attempt, which gave Tony a read on how Lee usually responds to armlocks and he catched him second time around locking his base hand on the opposite side of his body.

Both guys shined that night.
 
You're impression is wrong my friend, Firas* isn't what MMA media portraits him as being. He is an opportunist that leveraged GSP's success to perfection. He hasn't built any champion from the ground up, GSP and Rory were pro fighters long before moving to Tristar. GSP always had a plethora of coaches guiding him at all times. The idea of Firas being the master mind behind his success is simply wrong. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm willing to bet Kevin Lee isn't going to do more than 3 training camps over there. Remember this.
I've never thought such a thing

its never just one man responsible for an athletes success but a combined effort. GSP has always been a fighter with many masters

But Firaz is definitely highly intelligent, philosophical and seems to have a strong mind for mma as an outside observer, there's definitely a reason why GSP has opted for Firaz in his corner, even above guys like Greg Jackson. Without a doubt he does bring something to the table and it's his mind

Regardless, it's clear that Lee wants some of what GSP has to rub off on him, a big part of moving up there is likely training with and picking GSP's mind himself, not just Firaz
 
I remember two of the most glorious moments in jiujitsu I've took from both guys that night.

Lee did a cross step escape from the first submission attempt, which gave Tony a read on how Lee usually responds to armlocks and he catched him second time around locking his base hand on the opposite side of his body.

Both guys shined that night.
Makes me think Tony may be a little past his prime now

He seemed more fluid / more pep in his step against Lee compared with his last 2 fights
 
Lee strikes me as one of those guys that has all the talent in the world but just cant really put it perfectly together.

He will have a career of winning a few and then losing to a guy he should beat on paper and never having a champion level run
 
I always thought Kevin Lee had a lot of potential.
I think the loss of his coach really affected him and it's 100% understandable.
I wasn't a fan of his last two performances, but I shouldn't only judge him off those losses.
Gillespe is a very tough fighter, I'm really looking forward to that fight.
I'm worried about him training at Tristar now, because I know for a fact that the gym is overrated and he isn't getting the coaching he should be getting.


Go on...
<Varys01>
 
Weak chin, shit gas tank - good luck becoming champ with those characteristics. Skill alone isn't enough to make you great.
If only proper analysis were that simple

Short sightedness is the reason why so many sherdoggers are wrong about so many fighters / big fights
 
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