Reflecting back on KZ vs Ortega

BluntForceTrama

BluntForceTrama

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Decided to rewatch the fight


I had become such a KZ fanboy that I didn't think KZ had much to worry about. Turns out I was completely wrong . It was an outclassing

I'm thinking there should be more chatter about this Ortega character because whatever he's eating or drinking I want. That transformation was another world

I'm watching this and Ortega is completely unpredictable If KZ looked off balance or out of sorts it's because he was completely confused . He didn't know what to protect from what because it was coming from all directions. Ortega was totally unpredictable and being predictable is what the zombie feasted on in previous fights. Ortega's doing some weird capoeira dance in there too

I hope KZ can come back but it can't be more deflating than this at 34 yo . He's gonna climb the ladder again at this stage? I guess so .... But like I said this fight sort of exposed his major weaknesses and he'd never been this exposed until this fight . He needs the opppnent to be predictable . He has to have a game plan. Ortega coming from nowhere (2nd coming I know) basically surprised the zombie

I'm wanting to see if there's any post fight insight from any of you


 
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Ortega disappeared for 2 years to reinvent himself. That makes it hard to prepare for him and it was going to be a tough fight either way.
Unless KZ just decides he doesn't want to do it anymore, there's nothing I've seen that suggests he needs to retire.
 
TRT City was just too long, explosive and athletic for an aging Zombie.
 
Ortega looked outstanding and was very unpredictable. Either of Volk or Max II would be a good fight.

As for KZ I believe he said he has no memory of what happened after the spinning shit at the end of the second round. It's amazing he made it to the end of the fight.
 
Sweater of AV said:
Ortega looked outstanding and was very unpredictable. Either of Volk or Max II would be a good fight.

As for KZ I believe he said he has no memory of what happened after the spinning shit at the end of the second round. It's amazing he made it to the end of the fight.
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Yeah I'm def not of opinion he was just having a bad day he had no idea what to do and it really dawned on me that he's a pure counter striker When he went on attack on Ortega he wasn't effective and his kicking seemed to hurt himself more than Ortega bc he often ate counterpunches for trying

although I would like to see Ortega vs KZ II in Seoul in a packed hall

I think he was slightly weirded out by the crowd less theater in AbuDhabi
 
Ortega attacked him everywhere and made it a tricky fight from the get go. KZ and his team were actually aware of the fact that Brian made a lot of changes cause he talked about it in interviews and changed coaches. However they were sure they could force some of the old tendencies back which obv. didn't really happen. If you look back at KZ, he does his best work when countering, Brian didn't give him the chance and forced KZ to come to him. You could tell by just by the distance Brian kept. This opened KZ up for Brians own counters. As a big fan of KZ, his offensive approach always left openings. Its the fact he is so tough and durable that he can wear opponents down. Overall a fantastic strategic approach by Brian, changes or not, he knew how to tactically approach KZ weaknesses.

As for KZ, the guy had so many surgeries and has been KO'd cold by Yair and Roop, its hard to see him get the title or a titleshot anytime soon. Esp. after saying he doesn't even remember the elbow from Brian and thought he was in the second round when it was the fifth. Winner of Yair vs Zabit will fight the winner of Brian vs Volk, so KZ needs to fight some of these other hungry FW's coming up which could prove problematic. He's not getting younger and he already looked slower against Brian. Plus who knows where is mind is at. After that damage and talking about retirement for a while, does he have the motivation to put together another streak and go for the title? Personally I doubt it.
 
I rewatched the fight and KZ clearly won all rounds. I don’t know what fight the judges and you guys were watching.
 
T-City looked like a completely different fighter from his previous(w/ Holloway).I hope to see some more, to be able to determine if it was truly him that changed, or it was KZ that was lacking.
 
It was about to be 1-1 going into round 3 but that spinning-elbow changed everything. Ortega may have still won but it seemed like KZ was on autopilot the last 3 rounds.

I cant wait for Volk/Ortega though, should be a very high-level striking chess match. If Volk trys his wall-n-stall Ortega will take his neck in the clinch.
 
the ammount of flack ortega copped for losing to max was sickening.

but thats sherdog for ya. undefeated fighter loses, oh he is a can.

seeing ortega take that time off to gut his team and reinvent himself as a new fighter with new coaches was great.

id favour him to beat volk when they fight.
 
BluntForceTrama said:
Decided to rewatch the fight


I had become such a KZ fanboy that I didn't think KZ had much to worry about Turns out I was completely wrong It was an outclassing

I'm thinking there should be more chatter about this Ortega character because whatever he's eating or drinking I want That transformation was another world

I'm watching this and Ortega is completely unpredictable If KZ looked off balance or out of sorts it's because he was completely confused He didn't know what to protect from what because it was coming from all directions Ortega is totally unpredictable which is what the zombie feasted on in previous fights Ortega's doing some weird capoeira dance in there too

I hope KZ can come back but it can't be more deflating than this at 34 yo He's gonna climb the ladder again at this stage? I guess so But like I said this fight sort of exposed his major weaknesses and he'd never been this exposed until this fight He needs the opppnent to be predictable He has to have a game plan Ortega coming from nowhere (2nd coming I know) basically surprised the zombie

I'm wanting to see if there's any post fight insight from any of you


Click to expand...


Yeah, I'm over it man. Brian was the better fighter that night. It is what it is. This whole rivalry has been very stressful and put a lot of pressure on him, along with this pandemic. He's not used to being in a 'bad blood' or 'having beef' with anyone situation, and it just took a toll on him along with the high stakes of this fight. It's more of a mental thing in his part imo rather than skill discrepancy. I'm just looking forward to see a resurgence. True KZ fans, now is not the time to doubt him. He always comeback strong from tough losses and is in good spirits now in his new videos and is back in the gym already.
 
The fight ended after the elbow landed. KZ wentfrom night to day like the elbow hit a switch.
 
Jung showed very little sense of urgency in that fight. He fought each round the same way, even after it was clear he needed a finish to win, and made it an easy night for Ortega...

Not taking anything away from Ortega, who was dominant from start to finish, but there was no adjustments made by Jung to deal with Ortega’s jab.
 
Ortega changed it up by being more movement/feint orientated. He switched from boxing heavy to being kick heavy. KZ was expecting a boxing match judging from Ortega's last fight, he was always punch heavy in his previous fights with a few kicks here and there and not a lot of movement and feints.

That's the best way to fight counter fighters is with movement and feints - they don't know when to bite. Ortega was in and out and always managing distance and countering KZ every time he tried to close the distance. KZ was never a footwork heavy, movement based fighter, he couldn't keep up with the movement.
 
Rorschachxx said:
Ortega attacked him everywhere and made it a tricky fight from the get go. KZ and his team were actually aware of the fact that Brian made a lot of changes cause he talked about it in interviews and changed coaches. However they were sure they could force some of the old tendencies back which obv. didn't really happen. If you look back at KZ, he does his best work when countering, Brian didn't give him the chance and forced KZ to come to him. You could tell by just by the distance Brian kept. This opened KZ up for Brians own counters. As a big fan of KZ, his offensive approach always left openings. Its the fact he is so tough and durable that he can wear opponents down. Overall a fantastic strategic approach by Brian, changes or not, he knew how to tactically approach KZ weaknesses.

As for KZ, the guy had so many surgeries and has been KO'd cold by Yair and Roop, its hard to see him get the title or a titleshot anytime soon. Esp. after saying he doesn't even remember the elbow from Brian and thought he was in the second round when it was the fifth. Winner of Yair vs Zabit will fight the winner of Brian vs Volk, so KZ needs to fight some of these other hungry FW's coming up which could prove problematic. He's not getting younger and he already looked slower against Brian. Plus who knows where is mind is at. After that damage and talking about retirement for a while, does he have the motivation to put together another streak and go for the title? Personally I doubt it.
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I agree with most of this but Personally I'm not buying he's slowing down The Edgar fight wasn't that long ago and he looked like a live wire back then
 
BluntForceTrama said:
Decided to rewatch the fight


I had become such a KZ fanboy that I didn't think KZ had much to worry about Turns out I was completely wrong It was an outclassing

I'm thinking there should be more chatter about this Ortega character because whatever he's eating or drinking I want That transformation was another world

I'm watching this and Ortega is completely unpredictable If KZ looked off balance or out of sorts it's because he was completely confused He didn't know what to protect from what because it was coming from all directions Ortega is totally unpredictable which is what the zombie feasted on in previous fights Ortega's doing some weird capoeira dance in there too

I hope KZ can come back but it can't be more deflating than this at 34 yo He's gonna climb the ladder again at this stage? I guess so But like I said this fight sort of exposed his major weaknesses and he'd never been this exposed until this fight He needs the opppnent to be predictable He has to have a game plan Ortega coming from nowhere (2nd coming I know) basically surprised the zombie

I'm wanting to see if there's any post fight insight from any of you


Click to expand...


Ortega's performance was beautiful to watch. It had moments of prime Jon Jones' martial art poetry in motion.

He'd be an interesting match-up against Volkanovski stylistically. However, I think Volkanovski's athleticism, footwork, speed, and power would nullify Ortega's unorthodox striking.
 
giovanni002 said:
Yeah, I'm over it man. Brian was the better fighter that night. It is what it is. This whole rivalry has been very stressful and put a lot of pressure on him, along with this pandemic. He's not used to being in a 'bad blood' or 'having beef' with anyone situation, and it just took a toll on him along with the high stakes of this fight. It's more of a mental thing in his part imo rather than skill discrepancy. I'm just looking forward to see a resurgence. True KZ fans, now is not the time to doubt him. He always comeback strong from tough losses and is in good spirits now in his new videos and is back in the gym already.
Click to expand...
He is so wide open to spinning elbows man Jeez

you know he's actually lucky he didn't eat one in the Yair fight


How do you think Ortega would do against Yair Both pretty similar on stand up
 
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