Media Merab vs Yan is one of the scariest cardio performances i've ever seen

[13Seconds]

Yan will sometimes let his opponent do slightly more than him in the first round, but that's as long as he isn't getting beaten-up.

If someone comes after him the way Merab came after him he would typically start to throw power-counters when the opponent closes the pocket to discourage the pressure. He definitely looked like he wasn't confident in his ability to defend and once it started snowballing he had no way to adjust.

I just re-watched the start of the first round and actually caught something - the first takedown by Merab 10 seconds in (4:50 left in the first round), Yan goes for a spinning scramble to counter and his right knee buckles, he puts his hands on it for a split second and looks at it, then it buckles again when he stands. 5 seconds later with 4:42 left Merab is hanging on him in the clinch landing shots and as he pivots out it kind of buckles again and he wobbles as he tries to regain his balance (if you doubt me set the playback speed to 0.25x and watch those two sequences).

If he had an injury that kept him from cutting weight it's likely a leg injury and based on how he reacted to the first takedown/scramble/clinch it looks like Merab's takedown re-injured it immediately.

Shit. Yeah I see it. I see the sequence you're talking about. It's a factor. Every injury is.

Was it enough of a factor to say Merab wouldn't do the same thing to a healthy Yan? I don't think so. I think if they were to rematch it's the same result.

 

[AstralPanda]

too much competition for pussy among manlet dominated gym?

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Fans have argued for a long time about whether a guy should get credit for fighting takedowns, and part of the argument against that was just, you just have to fight them off. It is your responsibility to make distance and take your opportunities when you get them, cuz the guy isn't just going to shoot the entire 25 minutes.

..and then a guy like Merab came along who really just shoots for 25 minutes.

 

[13Seconds]

Fans have argued for a long time about whether a guy should get credit for fighting takedowns, and part of the argument against that was just, you just have to fight them off. It is your responsibility to make distance and take your opportunities when you get them, cuz the guy isn't just going to shoot the entire 25 minutes.

..and then a guy like Merab came along who really just shoots for 25 minutes.

It's tough. Ultimately i don't think TDD alone should make a dent in the scoring criteria. Same thing with headmovement, kick checks etc. It should be about what you do after you succesfully defend.

Kinda mean with Merab though. Because all you do is defending, and hope for that one shot counter. Defending 50 fucking takedowns in 25 minutes should count for something but hey...

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Shit. Yeah I see it. I see the sequence you're talking about. It's a factor. Every injury is.

Was it enough of a factor to say Merab wouldn't do the same thing to a healthy Yan? I don't think so. I think if they were to rematch it's the same result.

We have a sample size of 1 where Yan re-injured himself in the first 10 seconds of the fight….not exactly a statistically significant sample size or a representation of how a healthy Yan performs.

I mean yeah stylistically it’s a tough fight, but we don’t know if Merab would be anywhere near as effective if Yan wasn’t hurt.

Maybe he is though…I hope Yan comes back strong so we find out!

 

[13Seconds]

We have a sample size of 1 where Yan re-injured himself in the first 10 seconds of the fight….not exactly a statistically significant sample size or a representation of how a healthy Yan performs.

I mean yeah stylistically it’s a tough fight, but we don’t know if Merab would be anywhere near as effective if Yan wasn’t hurt.

Maybe he is though…I hope Yan comes back strong so we find out!

He already did! I thought Yan looked good in his last fight. He's still up there imo.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

He already did! I thought Yan looked good in his last fight. He's still up there imo.

Tore his ACL though



So needs to do it again…

 

[Joinho10]

Dana is going on an all-time great rant if the sphere main event looks anything close to this.

 

[kingmob6]

Fans have argued for a long time about whether a guy should get credit for fighting takedowns, and part of the argument against that was just, you just have to fight them off. It is your responsibility to make distance and take your opportunities when you get them, cuz the guy isn't just going to shoot the entire 25 minutes.

..and then a guy like Merab came along who really just shoots for 25 minutes.

interesting thing about Merab is that is that he really isn't great at controlling opponents once he gets them down, he is much better at controlling in the clinch. Its almost sadistic that he lets you get up, just to spam takedowns at you again, and gets you tired defending his relentless threats.

 

[ExitLUPin]

crazy to think merab was like a 2-1 dog against yan. what a performance.

It was a fair line at the time though. Merab "beat" Aldo by hugging him against the cage after getting outstruck in round 1 and having all his TDs stuffed. Marlon nearly KOd him right before. Many thought Yan beat Aljo in the rematch and Sean fight was a maligned robbery.

 

[13Seconds]

Tore his ACL though



So needs to do it again…

Wait what? Didn't know about this.

When did Petr Yan tore his ACL?

 

[13Seconds]

It was a fair line at the time though. Merab "beat" Aldo by hugging him against the cage after getting outstruck in round 1 and having all his TDs stuffed. Marlon nearly KOd him right before. Many thought Yan beat Aljo in the rematch and Sean fight was a maligned robbery.

And Moraes rocked the shit out of Merab just before. Merab won but his defense in the standup departement was (and probably still is) in question.

 

[gentel]

Dana is going on an all-time great rant if the sphere main event looks anything close to this.

The fans gotta be huuuge casuals to not be impressed by this superhuman pace. I was going crazy watching Merab clowning Yan

 

[Safton]

It's tough. Ultimately i don't think TDD alone should make a dent in the scoring criteria. Same thing with headmovement, kick checks etc. It should be about what you do after you succesfully defend.

Kinda mean with Merab though. Because all you do is defending, and hope for that one shot counter. Defending 50 fucking takedowns in 25 minutes should count for something but hey...

Mind you I agree with the general notion that defense shouldn't score, but I think one can make an argument an argument for things like kick checks being scoreable. We've literally seen them end fights and/or be the most impactful moment within a round. Sometimes they do more damage than a low kick itself. You're making a conscientious decision to damage an opponent's leg with the added perk of lessening the impact of his incoming kick and hopefully deterring him from throwing more in the future.

Hell, I'm not even opposed to certain types of TDD being scoreable if it results in a high-amplitude counter to a takedown that results in visible disorientation or injury to the one who attempted the TD. Though I get that that would probably result in a lot of vagueness and subjectivity.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Wait what? Didn't know about this.

When did Petr Yan tore his ACL?

Song fight in the first round at 299 earlier this year.

 

[Joinho10]

The fans gotta be huuuge casuals to not be impressed by this superhuman pace. I was going crazy watching Merab clowning Yan

I loved that performance but at the same time considering how much money UFC has spent on the sphere and all the hype surrounding the event I just don't think UFC and the fans who spent up to 20k to watch the event would be happy to watch Merab shoot takedowns for 25 mins.