Mousasi wants to move up to LHW to fight for the belt

[tehMoose]

Mousasi is a little like McGregor in that he is at once one of the most overrated and underrated fighters in the world. Half the time on here he's an also-ran "ufc reject", the other half are dedicated fanboys sure he's about to kill everybody and become 3-weight champ. I don't like the Nemkov fight for him at all; a bigger guy, who's longer and likely hits significantly harder on the feet, and who also has great defense, great takedowns, powerful ground and pound and submissions? Youth isn't exactly on Moose's side either. Moose vs Nemkov gives me the same vibes I got with Rory vs Moose, a great fighter at his own weight biting off more than he can chew against a bigger stronger guy who holds all the advantages he likes to have in fights.

Umm, you know Moose fought LHWs and HWs and was the Strikeforce LHW champ? Nemkov is not a bad matchup for Mousasi at all, on the other hand Davis probably is.

 

[careto]

Mousasi is a little like McGregor in that he is at once one of the most overrated and underrated fighters in the world. Half the time on here he's an also-ran "ufc reject", the other half are dedicated fanboys sure he's about to kill everybody and become 3-weight champ. I don't like the Nemkov fight for him at all; a bigger guy, who's longer and likely hits significantly harder on the feet, and who also has great defense, great takedowns, powerful ground and pound and submissions? Youth isn't exactly on Moose's side either. Moose vs Nemkov gives me the same vibes I got with Rory vs Moose, a great fighter at his own weight biting off more than he can chew against a bigger stronger guy who holds all the advantages he likes to have in fights.

Yes, I agree, he is criminally underrated in the UFC and sometimes very overrated in Bellator. I dont agree with Coker or Mousasi thinking that he should fight for the LHW title. I think that fight ia bad news for Mousasi. I believe she should defend the belt against Tokov first and then go for a fight against Nemkov. Mousasi is a badass, though.

 

[TheBiggestLittleTinyMan]

Umm, you know Moose fought LHWs and HWs and was the Strikeforce LHW champ? Nemkov is not a bad matchup for Mousasi at all, on the other hand Davis probably is.

You don't think Nemkov's bigger and stronger than Moose? Rory could probably easily picked up wins over sexyama or tim boetch at MW, that doesn't mean size isn't an issue. I'm not slagging Mousasi, just being realistic, he's a middleweight. Beating extremely shot Goodridge and "Beer and Cigarettes" Hunt doesn't mean he's ready for Sergei/Minakov/Uber Bader, he's a natural middleweight. Even his wins at light heavy are pretty underwhelming, they're mostly either against other middleweights; the best natural LHWs probably being extremely green Ovince and Latifi, and a fading Babalu. I mean, he himself cited the physicality as the big issue when he moved down didn't he?

And Davis' wrestling is a problem for Moose, but Nemkov's is at a similar level as we saw in their fight. But another big issue will be Nemkov's leg kicks. Moose didn't have a great answer for Lima's kicks, he took a lot of damage to his legs by the end of the fight, and that was with his takedown and GnP threat. That threat is reversed against Nemkov, Vadim will be able to basically kick him with impunity unless Moose can thread the needle of constantly smothering his kicking range while also never giving Nemkov a shot at his hips (not easy).

 

[careto]

You don't think Nemkov's bigger and stronger than Moose? Rory could probably easily picked up wins over sexyama or tim boetch at MW, that doesn't mean size isn't an issue. I'm not slagging Mousasi, just being realistic, he's a middleweight. Beating extremely shot Goodridge and "Beer and Cigarettes" Hunt doesn't mean he's ready for Sergei/Minakov/Uber Bader, he's a natural middleweight. Even his wins at light heavy are pretty underwhelming, they're mostly either against other middleweights; the best natural LHWs probably being extremely green Ovince and Latifi, and a fading Babalu. I mean, he himself cited the physicality as the big issue when he moved down didn't he?

And Davis' wrestling is a problem for Moose, but Nemkov's is at a similar level as we saw in their fight. But another big issue will be Nemkov's leg kicks. Moose didn't have a great answer for Lima's kicks, he took a lot of damage to his legs by the end of the fight, and that was with his takedown and GnP threat. That threat is reversed against Nemkov, Vadim will be able to basically kick him with impunity unless Moose can thread the needle of constantly smothering his kicking range while also never giving Nemkov a shot at his hips (not easy).

I ve said it many times, Nemkov and Tokov are nightmare match ups for Mousasi. Tokov is a massive MW with great grappling and heavy hands and a solid chin. Nemkov is a massive LHW with great striking, strong wrestling and great TDD. I know Mousasi himself is a fucking badass and a legend but stylistically these 2 pose big problems for Mousasi. I actually think Mousasi would outwork Davis given that Davis has forgotten he is a wrestler and has turned into a stiker.

 

[manboy<3]

Nemkov fades in later rounds - hes never been in a 5 round fight. He is also obviously on something...

Mousasi's outfighting style would be enough to contain Nemkov for the first 3 rounds and clearly win or even finish Nemkov in the last 2

 

[asdf122345]

I hope he goes up in HW as well. He will conquer all 3 divisions.

 

[careto]

Nemkov fades in later rounds - hes never been in a 5 round fight. He is also obviously on something...

Mousasi's outfighting style would be enough to contain Nemkov for the first 3 rounds and clearly win or even finish Nemkov in the last 2

Very possibly, we have never seen Nemkov past the 3rd round and he was gassing in the 3rd against Davis. So him gassing going into the 4th is a possibility.

 

[pankrat]

I ve said it many times, Nemkov and Tokov are nightmare match ups for Mousasi. Tokov is a massive MW with great grappling and heavy hands and a solid chin. Nemkov is a massive LHW with great striking, strong wrestling and great TDD. I know Mousasi himself is a fucking badass and a legend but stylistically these 2 pose big problems for Mousasi. I actually think Mousasi would outwork Davis given that Davis has forgotten he is a wrestler and has turned into a stiker.

Tokov a massive MW?
Definitely not in terms of frame. I think Mousasi could jab him up all-day.

I dont see how is he a nightmare matchup for Mousasi. Nemkov is a different beast

 

[pankrat]

You don't think Nemkov's bigger and stronger than Moose? Rory could probably easily picked up wins over sexyama or tim boetch at MW, that doesn't mean size isn't an issue. I'm not slagging Mousasi, just being realistic, he's a middleweight. Beating extremely shot Goodridge and "Beer and Cigarettes" Hunt doesn't mean he's ready for Sergei/Minakov/Uber Bader, he's a natural middleweight. Even his wins at light heavy are pretty underwhelming, they're mostly either against other middleweights; the best natural LHWs probably being extremely green Ovince and Latifi, and a fading Babalu. I mean, he himself cited the physicality as the big issue when he moved down didn't he?

And Davis' wrestling is a problem for Moose, but Nemkov's is at a similar level as we saw in their fight. But another big issue will be Nemkov's leg kicks. Moose didn't have a great answer for Lima's kicks, he took a lot of damage to his legs by the end of the fight, and that was with his takedown and GnP threat. That threat is reversed against Nemkov, Vadim will be able to basically kick him with impunity unless Moose can thread the needle of constantly smothering his kicking range while also never giving Nemkov a shot at his hips (not easy).

I doubt Rory would have "easily" beat Tim Boetsch in his prime at 185.

Akiyama is another bloated WW who if I'm not mistaken never broke the rankings at 185 in UFC

Boetsch had one of the superior physicalities at 185, with the power, strenght and chin of a natural LHW...I wasn't surprised at all when he run through Hendricks

 

[careto]

Tokov a massive MW?
Definitely not in terms of frame. I think Mousasi could jab him up all-day.

I dont see how is he a nightmare matchup for Mousasi. Nemkov is a different beast

Tokov is huge, at least compared to the other MWs he has fought. Look at him next to Gerald Harris or Shlemenko and he look bigger. Not a very wide frame but very muscular on his upper body with big-ass arms, similar to how those ACA and KSW guys tend to look, if you know what I mean. He also tends to weigh-in at 185.9 at the very limit of the weight class.

Stylistically, Mousasi struggles with big pressure wrestlers, that has been his achilles heel his entire career. Tokov presents a similar style to what Mousasi tends to struggle with. Tokov is not necessarily a wrestler but he is a great grappler with good pressure take downs against he cage and very good top control. He does not shoot from the outside like a traditional wrestler but he hides the take downs behind his strikes. I have always thought Tokov is the guy to beat Mousasi at MW in Bellator. Now, of course I can be wrong and Mousasi could win the fight like he usually does. But I feel that stylistically Tokov, being a big grappler with great top control and decent stand up can make the fight ugly for Mousasi. Also, lets also not forget that Tokov is 30 so you could argue he is still improving and barely entering his prime, where as Mousasi is 35 and could possibly be leaving his prime.

Nemkov is a completely different animal IMO, I just dont see Mousasi's path to victory against a younger, hungrier, bigger, faster Nemkov and with more power than Mousasi.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I doubt Rory would have "easily" beat Tim Boetsch in his prime at 185.

Akiyama is another bloated WW who if I'm not mistaken never broke the rankings at 185 in UFC

Boetsch had one of the superior physicalities at 185, with the power, strenght and chin of a natural LHW...I wasn't surprised at all when he run through Hendricks

I agree Rory wouldn't have had an easy time with a prime Tim Boetsch, that was a big powerful fucker at the weight.

 

[Ibm]

Anderson should face him.

 

[DS7]

Shit, if Mousasi wins those fights he should be in the conversation for current P4P and all time MW GOAT.

I like Mousasi but this is a classic example of how overrated he is by his fans. It's just ridiculous.

 

[careto]

I like Mousasi but this is a classic example of how overrated he is by his fans. It's just ridiculous.

Can you elaborate? What exactly about Mousasi is overrated or ridiculous?

 

[DS7]

Can you elaborate? What exactly about Mousasi is overrated or ridiculous?

Mousasi is not near being the greatest MW of all time. And i don't need to elaborate on that, for obvious reasons.

And he was never the best MW in the world like his fans tried to say for several years, stop that.

 

[careto]

Mousasi is not near being the greatest MW of all time. And i don't need to elaborate on that, for obvious reasons.

And he was never the best MW in the world like his fans tried to say for several years, stop that.

I dont think me or anyone else is saying he is the greatest MW of all time, that honor goes to Anderson Silva. Hands down, no argument there. My point is that Mousasi has had a very successful career, in which he has been top 10 for over 10 years, something that very few fighters can claim (Anderson, Hendo, and Machida that I can think of).
The point I was trying to make is that if Mousasi defends his MW title twice and moves up to become LHW champion, I think he should be consider in the conversation for MW all time greats. You may or may not like Mousasi but his accomplishments are there in black and white and there is no denying the guy has had a very successful career spanning over 10 years.

 

[DS7]

I dont think me or anyone else is saying he is the greatest MW of all time, that honor goes to Anderson Silva. Hands down, no argument there. My point is that Mousasi has had a very successful career, in which he has been top 10 for over 10 years, something that very few fighters can claim (Anderson, Hendo, and Machida that I can think of).
The point I was trying to make is that if Mousasi defends his MW title twice and moves up to become LHW champion, I think he should be consider in the conversation for MW all time greats. You may or may not like Mousasi but his accomplishments are there in black and white and there is no denying the guy has had a very successful career spanning over 10 years.

I like Mousasi. And i agree with that comment, i guess in your first post you didn't express yourself well or i didn't interpreted it well. No doubt Mousasi will go down as one of the best MWs ever, but far far from being the GOAT or P4P GOATs.

 

[careto]

I like Mousasi. And i agree with that comment, i guess in your first post you didn't express yourself well or i didn't interpreted it well. No doubt Mousasi will go down as one of the best MWs ever, but far far from being the GOAT or P4P GOATs.

Agreed.

 

[pankrat]

I dont think me or anyone else is saying he is the greatest MW of all time, that honor goes to Anderson Silva. Hands down, no argument there. My point is that Mousasi has had a very successful career, in which he has been top 10 for over 10 years, something that very few fighters can claim (Anderson, Hendo, and Machida that I can think of).
.

There are more fighters that remained top10 status for about a decade. Marquardt, just for example.

Few have had the SoS of Mouasi across different weigthclass. Another thing to consider is that he very rarely was finished or clearly outclassed, even if he has had some close losses.

 

[GueseGuy]

Can’t see Coker and Bellator using a Mousasi fight on Salter tbh