Rank these great according fight IQ

[DaveHilly]

Probably GSP is first.

I'd like to take this opportunity to bring up something ridiculous that people say on here. I've read multiple times that widemans degree is psychology helps him in the fight. Ridiculous. Everyone knows psychology degrees are worthless.

 

[DMC Ender]

All of wmma

 

[Shael]

GSP
Jones
Aldo
Weidman
Werdum
DC

Meaning no disrespect to the fighters at the bottom, they're obviously all smart fighters.

 

[Monkfish]

Jones' IQ outside the UFC (or lack thereof) has cost him millions.

Lol this JJ IQ loses via eye poke, own goal.

 

[SilentM]

1. Datsik

 

[Gregoire1]

Jones
GSP
Aldo
DC
Werdum
Weidman

 

[Crylo]

They're all pretty good.

 

[Dart Feld]

I'd have Jones #1. They all have great camps that come up with great gameplans and can execute them to the letter. If you're going to compare them then you have to also look at things like mid-fight adaptations with and without corner advice.

GSP was near perfect in carrying out his gameplans. He never really showed an exceptional ability to adapt mid-fight. Partly because he had very few opponents that could disrupt them. Also it's difficult to gauge how well he and his camp actually tailored his approach for different fighters. Often it seemed like it was more GSP could get by with his jab, right hand, superman punch, and excellent level changes + top control. The Diaz fight is one of the better fights that showed a tailored gameplan, he shut down Diaz's rolls with ease and repeatedly outscrambled him to get the back.

Weidman has been very good at adhering to gameplans. He did get a little frustrated and taken out of his gameplan to some degree in the first Silva fight by his own admission. Against Machida is was mostly grit and a fire fight that let him turn around the 5th round. Versus Vitor it was a no brainer to take him down.

DC has also been solid sticking to them. He did let the Jones build up get to him and he fought at a pace he couldn't sustain while absorbing consistent body shots. That cost him big time and by the time the 5th rolled around he knew he needed a finish or very dominant round but put all of his energy into a moral victory(getting at least one TD). DC did get it and Jones was done for all of 1 second.

Aldo is def. #2 or #3 but it's hard to gauge him. He def. can execute gameplans down to a T but often they don't account for his gas tank. That or he intentionally has taken the later rounds off, feeling secure in the dec. being his. He has been closing fights stronger in the last couple of years however, like in the Mendes rematch. Really it's the only thing keeping me from having him interchangeable with Jones. It'd be hard to rank him first with not being able to sustain the strategies for full fights consistently imo.

Werdum is very sly, probably the most deceptive in midfight adjustments but also has been stumped when his opponents don't bite at them. The set up for the knee against Hunt is probably his best work in that regard.

Jones and his camp come up with great gameplans. He excels in mid fight adaptations. His switching from double legs to single legs which got Page down in the third and led to the mount and elbows that sliced him open. The pivotal corner advice in between rounds 1 and 2 of the Machida fight. Jones with advice from his corner feinting the kick to draw the counter. It's often missed but he also improvised and worked in a left jab feint that set up a big right hand right before the TD. The hand traps mid round 2 vs Shad which perfectly flowed into the dozens of elbows that followed while eliminating Shad's defense.

Picking up on which side Gus would dip his head when body jabbing + disguising the fight hinging spinning elbow with a single leg feint. The spur of the moment shoulder lock against Glover. The clinch control and posture against the cage to limit Teixeira's power, wear on him, and set up nasty dirty boxing and elbows. Most recently the investment in body shots against DC that paid dividends in the later rounds.

I could go on and on and Jon has continued to look even sharper over time. It's one of the things that keeps him being one of the hardest fighters to beat, one of the most underrated ones tbh.

I'd rank it Jones then GSP/Aldo then Weidman followed closely by DC then Werdum at the rear. All very smart/crafty fighters, really.

 

[Rum]

Jones, DC, GSP, Werdum, Weidman, Aldo

1: Weidman - I can't think of any strategic errors in his career. Just superb at the more subtle aspects of MMA, distance and maneuvering.Maneuvered both Lyoto and Anderson into defeats and handled Vitor proficiently.

2: Aldo - He might be a bit methodical at times and not go for the finish, but that isn't necessarily a weakness.

3: GSP - Trying to jab vs Hendricks wasn't the best strategy perhaps, since Hendricks is a Southpaw who is good at handfighting (the fact that he still managed to win is indicative of how insanely good GSP is at jabbing). To be fair though, I can't think of any alternatives for him, since he has delimited himself so much on his technical arsenal in his post-Serra career. He has trained himself into a corner, basically.

4: Jones - Many of his gameplans are briliant. Like clinch-fighting vs a boxer like Glover, robbing him of all the best punches he can throw. The Gustaffson fight was a major flaw though, as he initally tried to box with a guy who is a much more sophisticated and nuanced boxer than him. Jones had the smarts though to shift from boxing towards a more Kick-and-Elbows oriented approach, which won him the fight.

5: Werdum - He has grown increadibly crafty in recent years - managing to pull tricks out of nowhere (like the fake-takedown into a flying knee vs Hunt. Faking being hurt vs Fedor). However, at several times in his carrer he has been left planless and therefore not known what to do (like vs Overreem or Kharitonov)

6: DC - I can't really think of any examples where DC has shown to have a great fight IQ.




I think there should be a diffrent pool for "Gameplan" and "Creativness". Werdum might be increadibly crafty but he's not the best gameplaner it seems, for example.

I like your breakdowns but Weidman is an odd choice for #1. The man has said himself he lets emotion rule too often. Trading with Vitor - even non-TRT Vitor - wasn't the most clever move ever and Chris admitted that himself.

His fight IQ is highest when he listens to his coaches. They're definitely the brains of that operation and he's not afraid to admit it.

 

[Rum]

GSP
Aldo
Werdum
Jones
Weidman
DC

1. Aldo doesn't just come in with solid game plans, he adjusts mid-fight if what he's brought to the table initially isn't working. The Mendes rematch was a beautiful example. He's smart enough to play to his strengths, never getting into any of the emotion/ego-driven "take them on where they're strongest" malarkey. He strikes with wrestlers and wrestles strikers and of all the champions has been the most dominant because of it, never losing more than a round in any of his title fights on most judges scorecards even though he fights in one of the P4P toughest divisions and never being KOed like GSP or sent to the hospital like Jones was by Vitor and Gus.

2. GSP's losses weigh heavy, but I still consider him the closest we've had to a bona fide MMA genius and with other geniuses like Danaher and Firas in his corner he comes to the octagon with frightening mental firepower at his disposal.

3. Werdum's strength has always been his craftiness. Aside from underestimating JDS he has an unblemished record of coming with solid gameplans and executing them. He figured out a way to out-strike the then K1 champion Alistair Overeem and was successful for a round before wrenching his knee early in R2 and being forced to goof onto the mat for the remainder of the fight.

4. Jones may get caught up in non-smart moves like trying to prove points to his detractors (standing in the pocket with Glover, boxing with Gus) but like Aldo and GSP he's also fantastic at reading a fight and adjusting mid-stream.

5. DC is a limited fighter, so it's tough to judge his fight IQ. It's not that I've ever seen him fight dumb, but he only has one gameplan, so it's tough to herald him as any kind of savant either.

6. Weidman isn't a dumb guy by any means, but he's admitted himself he sometimes doesn't fight smart, letting his emotions take over at key moments. He's gotten away with it so far, and it makes him very exciting to watch, but for the sake of his longevity I hope he pulls his head in on this one.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Weidman - He hasn't lost yet or made any stupid mistakes in the cage, best footwork, timing and fight IQ at MW.
Aldo - only has an early career loss, fights very smart, best fight IQ at FW.
GSP - Avenged all his losses, fights very smart, takes no risks, best fight IQ at WW.
Jones - one loss, lost his shit forgot the rules, best fight IQ at LHW.
Werdum - He's super well rounded now and he is fighting like it too, much smarter in the cage than early career Werdum.
DC - One loss to Jones, close fight.

 

[dcho8]

Aldo #1 obviously

 

[screaminleeman]

DC's fight IQ against Jones was nothing to brag about.

Jones' IQ outside the UFC (or lack thereof) has cost him millions.

Well, at least he had the IQ outside of the UFC to understand that he would not get away with the "shenanigans" that he does in the UFC had he elected to pursue the NFL career that both of his Brother achieved!

Code of Conduct is taken seriously in the NFL with only one exception. Tom "POS" Brady!

He actually saved himself millions by being in a position to continue to bank a decent payroll upon his return, rather than being "FIRED" from the NFL "likely as a bench warmer".:icon_chee

 

[Rum]

Well, at least he had the IQ outside of the UFC to understand that he would not get away with the "shenanigans" that he does in the UFC had he elected to pursue the NFL career that both of his Brother achieved!

Code of Conduct is taken seriously in the NFL with only one exception. Tom "POS" Brady!

He actually saved himself millions by being in a position to continue to bank a decent payroll upon his return, rather than being "FIRED" from the NFL "likely as a bench warmer".:icon_chee

Hmm, when you put it that way ... :icon_chee