Rahkmonov kinda sucked

[Big Al's Texas BBQ]

If a fighter steamrolls his opponent-----> "hE's StiLl UnTeStEd, NeEdS tO fiGhT tHe EliTe!!11

If a fighter overcomes adversity---------> "hE's OvErRaTeD, wiLl LoSe To ThE eLiTe!!11

 

[brackis1]

This is the problem with the Eastern European/Caucasian/Russian fighters. They look untouchable against a certain level of competition. Then, when they reach elite levels, even with a win, they look human, and people rush to say that it is just hype. Shavkat is a beast and elite level talent, but same with khamzat he’s not going to look untouchable against elite competition

who the hell is this mythical "elite competition" Shavkat is gonna face with better striking than Neal? Neal is the hardest hitter in the division with extremely fast hands.

 

[Bearknuckle]

who the hell is this mythical "elite competition" Shavkat is gonna face with better striking than Neal? Neal is the hardest hitter in the division with extremely fast hands.

Well said. And its not like he lost to Neal. He beat him down pretty bad. He got caught a few times but there wasn’t a moment in that fight where Neal was winning. Even when he wobbled shavkat, shav came forward for the rest of the fight and blasted neal and finished him.

people are just finding something to criticize

 

[Bearknuckle]

He's a complete fighter, other than the striking defense. His great chin obviously kept him out of trouble last night, but may not be the best strategy for longevity in the division.

Even with his bad defense, he was able to block and evade a lot of shots. I dont see anyone at 170 giving him problems in the standup outside of leon edwards.

 

[Hassan Mouzine]

he fought great. of course his defense is not 100% closed.....he fights aggresively and wants to FINISH. he doesnt play it 100% safe but he also doesnt go all out brawling. you dont get to 100% finish rate by playing defense all the time.

dont know what fight you saw but i saw a very very diverse offensive skillset. he threatened with takedowns and clinch work, used punches knees and kicks to body and head. elbows as well and pivoted away after alot of those attacks. he could be hit, but he brought the fight non stop to neal, who is known for knocking people out or hurting them

neal was never finished in his carreer, missed weight by 4 pounds and shavkat schooled him.

the hate is strong with OP

 

[Siciliansavage]

he looked better against neal than khamzat did against burns.

Burns is better

 

[TheMadHatter]

He doesn’t move his head enough for my liking but he’s far from a bum. I just can’t see his career lasting super long if he absorbs shots to the head like that going forward.

 

[BluntForceTrama]

I think the basic gist of his problem is that his head movement is all reactionary instead of being built into some game, sequence, or routine.

Head movement is something he elects to do when he sees the opponent swing at him.

So when he's focused on swarming his opponent with offence, he's not keeping check on their strikes.

Because of this he cannot be offensive and defense at the same time. He can move his head, but only when he's thinking about defense.

This is why he gets cracked in exchanges so much. Mid-range boxing-stuff is his flaw while the clinch-game and kicking-distance stuff was much safer.

exactly what I saw

and thats whats most concerning to me the dude got hit clean with multiple counters in awkward positions where he wasnt prepared to absorb punches

i dont care who he is, its going to catch up with him

 

[kenetics]

Looked amazing

Neal looked amazing last time out - and he’s insanely tough …. Did better then the guys above him would do

He looked like a punching bag. He stayed center line and got hit ALOT. He keeps his chin up high and open. Won't last much longer.

 

[Jinx_AA]

Burns is better

neal would knock out burns …. Neal has great tdd and better striking and chin

bad matchup for burns

 

[BluntForceTrama]

Even with his bad defense, he was able to block and evade a lot of shots. I dont see anyone at 170 giving him problems in the standup outside of leon edwards.

ur frieaking kidding me right??

its not always about pure power
Usman or Masvidal have the sccuracy to lay this guy out proper if he comes in all superman bzarro


also saw a handful of chances where he was wide open like Masvidal here

Usman would dedtroy Shavrock

 

[textwarrior]

He took Neal’s best shots and still moved forward and finished him. Neal is no slouch. This fight showed me more about Shavkat. Dude’s durable and he’s got a chin. He’s trouble for WW like we all thought.

I agree, I thought this fight was a good gauge where he fits. I think 5 rounds will benefit him now, but, not sure where he fits at top 5 now. I think Colby would be a good next test. ...I think style wise he does well against Leon and Colby but has a problem vs Usman, Burns, and Khamzat.

 

[BluntForceTrama]

He looked like a punching bag. He stayed center line and got hit ALOT. He keeps his chin up high and open. Won't last much longer.

fucking thank you

jesus

 

[BluntForceTrama]

He doesn’t move his head enough for my liking but he’s far from a bum. I just can’t see his career lasting super long if he absorbs shots to the head like that going forward.

If u read my OP this is basically the essence of what I wrote

 

[StonedLemur]

Neal is criminally underrated around here. After Luque I think it was, I saw multiple posters around here calling Neal one of the best boxers in the UFC. Now Shavkat sucks for finishing him in a fucking awesome fight. The fuck guys?

These fans are like psycho women sir.
One minute they love you, the next minute you're a piece of shit even though you brought flowers lol.

 

[StonedLemur]

He went toe to toe with arguably the hardest hitter in the division winning every round then choked him out standing. What the fuck else could he have done?

He could've not been hit at all, and that's the only thing that would've made this cat happy sir lol.

 

[Bearknuckle]

ur frieaking kidding me right??

its not always about pure power
Usman or Masvidal have the sccuracy to lay this guy out proper if he comes in all superman bzarro


also saw a handful of chances where he was wide open like Masvidal here

Usman would dedtroy Shavrock

Lol usmans striking is not that good. Usman would be crotch sniffing as soon as he knows he cant match the speed and accuracy of shavkats strikes.

 

[ChimRichalds]

He looked off to me tonight in the wrestling, from getting clean trips in the clinch vs Magny and dominating with takedowns to hitting a body lock slam on Odilov, I was surprised how little he could move Neal with takedown attempts.

Standing I was impressed with some aspects and less with others. Super impressed with his nice long quick jab and the way he closes the distance with that step up knee is violent and his clinch is strong..those knees, elbows and Thai clinch control were nice. I do wonder why he doesn't throw leg kicks? Such a great kicker and he goes well to the body and head but never throws a leg kick. His head movement looks to be a work in progress, I hear people saying "he's going to exposed by someone else" but who? Who's a better striker in the top 10 than Neal? Maybe Leon but Leon is a different kind of striker and I think Shavs length and pressure gives him trouble. But still the head movement could be better, he's a little overly willing to give up his range and mix it up in the pocket with a shorter man in Neal too. I don't hate leading with rear uppercuts if you're in tight or if it's a counter to your opponent dropping levels when they throw or feint by the way.

Lastly, this was the first time Shav made it to the 3rd round in the UFC and the 2nd time in his career I believe. It was a crazy fight but he definitely slowed down. You In time come to expect fighters who are undefeated and blowing throw guys to look bad vs their first true test, kinda like Khamzat vs Burns but Shavkat made sure to finish still.

I think it might just turn out that Shavkat is a long guy with great tools from range but that he's naturally more of a pressure fighter. Either way there's so many components to his game that you call really continue to build and improve him.

This is an absolutely fair critique, and one that doesn't involve saying he sucked. It seems everything has to be pure domination these days or people are left disappointed.

 

[StonedLemur]

This is an absolutely fair critique, and one that doesn't involve saying he sucked. It seems everything has to be pure domination these days or people are left disappointed.

That's because their pussy lips hang outside their underwear sir lol.

 

[drbolony]

The rear-uppercut is so bad, mma fighters seem to always throw it without their lead-hand glued to their temples. I suppose with mma gloves it's easier to get clipped anyways but why not try lol? JDS v Blaydes & Till vs Woodley came to mind immediately when I saw Shavkat throw it naked. He did have a really sick rear-uppercut to the off of a counter straight left that pretty glorious tho.

Yeah the problem is throwing it naked, or when the guy isn't shelling up. In the rear instance you are throwing it, you usually have your opponents timing down and or they're shelling up. Shavkat just looked like he pressed the wrong button, lol.

I think Till vs Woodley was a lead uppercut to a straight, which is a viable combo, just not against a fresh guy who is one of the most explosive punchers in the sport (at the time). JDS vs Blades is a perfect example, that was dumb because JDS was also throwing the lead uppercut combo that got Till caught and when that didn't work, he thought going with the backhand would be it...
<{dayum}>

I think the worst example I've ever seen of this was Gaethje vs Ferguson. Lucky for Justin, he recovers quickly, and I believe it was near the end of the round, but he got clipped hard by Tony with a shorter lead upper. Gaethje not only went with the rear hand, but he loaded up hard and really shoveled it. So many tells, it was almost disrespectful.