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https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2021/3/...-breaks-down-a-champions-mindset-ufc-mma-news
“On paper, you put down my stats, no one’s gonna pick me in a fight,” Holloway said. “‘What the f—k is this guy? F—ng next!’ But then, there’s that mental part and that heart part that you can’t measure. And that’s that ‘Crazy Land’ part. People don’t know what the f—k ‘Crazy Land’ is.
“If they see this guy, like, ‘Oh, OK, he got a passport to Crazy Land, but these are his stats, out of then, like threes.’ And this is the guy (he’s fighting), he’s got all nines, maybe a couple of tens in there, but he don’t have a passport to Crazy Land. Like, ‘F—k Crazy Land, this guy is great!’
While I agree with Max entirely that what separates the top dogs from the rest is all mental, I'm a little surprised that he sees himself as some sort of perennial underdog with sub-par stats....like where in the fuck would he give himself a 3?
Even if we broke down into unique sub-traits I'd rate (ball-park):
Striking (offense) - 8 or 9/10
Striking (defense) - 8 or 9/10
Wrestling (offense) - 5/10
Wrestling (defense) - 8/10
Grappling (offense) - 7/10
Grappling (defense) - 7/10
Athleticism (5'11' for FW, cuts from 170+, iron-chinned, endless cardio) - 8/10
I get it - he's not as explosive as prime Aldo or as strong as Chad Mendes, but it's always a trade-off...that's the reason those guys don't have his chin or cardio (and they also don't have his height+reach, tho Aldo has the reach).
Must still have a chip on his shoulder from the early UFC days when he was typically an underdog, but just odd he rates himself as being a "3" anywhere in the game, especially being champ for like half a decade.
“On paper, you put down my stats, no one’s gonna pick me in a fight,” Holloway said. “‘What the f—k is this guy? F—ng next!’ But then, there’s that mental part and that heart part that you can’t measure. And that’s that ‘Crazy Land’ part. People don’t know what the f—k ‘Crazy Land’ is.
“If they see this guy, like, ‘Oh, OK, he got a passport to Crazy Land, but these are his stats, out of then, like threes.’ And this is the guy (he’s fighting), he’s got all nines, maybe a couple of tens in there, but he don’t have a passport to Crazy Land. Like, ‘F—k Crazy Land, this guy is great!’
While I agree with Max entirely that what separates the top dogs from the rest is all mental, I'm a little surprised that he sees himself as some sort of perennial underdog with sub-par stats....like where in the fuck would he give himself a 3?
Even if we broke down into unique sub-traits I'd rate (ball-park):
Striking (offense) - 8 or 9/10
Striking (defense) - 8 or 9/10
Wrestling (offense) - 5/10
Wrestling (defense) - 8/10
Grappling (offense) - 7/10
Grappling (defense) - 7/10
Athleticism (5'11' for FW, cuts from 170+, iron-chinned, endless cardio) - 8/10
I get it - he's not as explosive as prime Aldo or as strong as Chad Mendes, but it's always a trade-off...that's the reason those guys don't have his chin or cardio (and they also don't have his height+reach, tho Aldo has the reach).
Must still have a chip on his shoulder from the early UFC days when he was typically an underdog, but just odd he rates himself as being a "3" anywhere in the game, especially being champ for like half a decade.