- Joined
- Dec 19, 2012
- Messages
- 5,978
- Reaction score
- 13,833
With Aljo likely to employ an "all the way in or all the way out" approach (i.e. will be feinting/kicking at range and looking to shoot/clinch reactively, probably won't be boxing or throwing hands except as a set-up), it does force Sean to probably try a "gambit" approach to give him the best chance at winning.
Because if he plays a patient game trying to time the perfect step-in counter on a leg-kick he'll likely be too low volume and just get his legs chewed up until his movement/TDD are compromised. I think the lesson learned from the Moraes fight is that Aljo is most susceptible to being hurt and blitzed very early in a fight, before he gets comfortable with his opponents techniques/speed/timing.
In some ways Yan was kind of a good opponent for him, because he starts so slow it lets Aljo get a feel for the fight and be able to make adjustments and reads, as he is a very intelligent fighter. But if you just get in his face and start throwing hands early he'll typically just try to panic-shoot or clinch and control you, so if Sean can get in his face immediately and just start feinting he might be able to bait the reaction he needs to land a huge step-knee/head-kick/uppercut.
I mean, I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't be shocked either - it's just such a narrow-approach to victory you need to execute that strategy flawlessly or else the holes get exposed as the fight goes on. McGregor was able to pull this trick off repeatedly at FW and it looks like Suga is trying to do the same at BW i.e. be the tallest/longest striker that has great timing and speed, use early pressure to bait opponents to blitz and then counter them. Just like McGregor I think he lacks the durability and cardio to implement this style effectively over a 5-round fight, but he can definitely do it for 1.5 rounds and be very dangerous for that period.
