wat
I thought Alex won, wasn't definitive either way. A clean win is a stretch, won't argue with the result though not too many championship fights have been won by leg kicks alone.
Poatan’s career has been highly managed, that’s for sure. That’s why I don’t rate him that high on all time lists. He was given several legs up to accomplish what he’s accomplished. Title shots on silver platters against favorable matchups.
Control isn't scoring criteria. Effective striking or grappling is. Alex outlanded him 1, 3, 5. Alex clearly landed the harder strikes in round 5(buzzed him with a head kick & snapped his head back twice) neither guy landed anything major in round 3, so it goes to the guy who did more.
Alex didn’t do more in rd 3, and when it’s a close round it’s scored for the person who’s controlling the round, generalship. The optics didn’t work for Alex, Ank backed him up pretty much the entire fight. Anyone who scored this fight for Alex was basically bending over backwards to score the rounds for him. If you really squint you can make an argument Alex won, but take the names away and it’s obvious Ank did more and deserved the win.
Octagon Control is no longer criteria? News to me. I know it's not of as high value as damage, effective striking and grappling and gets weighed in when there's not much to differentiate. Alex was walking backwards the entire fight. Most of his strikes were calf kicks.
But I do
If only looks could ….
