Ricci Looked REALLY Out Of Shape

[Jblizzle]

Colton wasn't simply muscling Ricci. His technique in the clinch and with his greco is solid. I said this prior to the fight - he's a lot trickier than he gets credit for.

No I agree Smith's grappling looked really good last night. I just felt Ricci not being used to fighting guys of Smiths strength and intensity was what wore him out so fast

 

[tekara]

The UFC was hoping they market him as another big Canadian fighter coming out of TriStar but unfortunately it backfired.

One thing I found alarming was when he was interviewed by Helwani a few days ago and he said his main frustration was that being in the house for a few weeks cut him off from the rest of the world and that his friends got different haircuts that he didn't know about.

When you're given an opportunity as big as this, you should embrace it. Looks like he didn't.

 

[Wanna Bet]

The UFC was hoping they market him as another big Canadian fighter coming out of TriStar but unfortunately it backfired.

One thing I found alarming was when he was interviewed by Helwani a few days ago and he said his main frustration was that being in the house for a few weeks cut him off from the rest of the world and that his friends got different haircuts that he didn't know about.

When you're given an opportunity as big as this, you should embrace it. Looks like he didn't.

When I first heard that I was so confused but it all made sense when I saw the prefight montage and I realized that his BFF Rory dyed his hair blonde and didn't tell him...

 

[Wanna Bet]

And honestly, I'm not convinced that Ricci is really better all around. Ricci has better standup? Sure. Obviously Colton has the wrestling. I also give Colton the edge in the clinch and in overall grappling. He had positional dominance throughout. Factor in the strength and cardio edge to Colton, and Ricci is actually not as well rounded.

Very true. It all depends on how you categorize the various skillsets in MMA which is hard to do. Standup isn't one category much like grappling isn't one category.

I agree though that it's not as cut & dry as I was implying. I was giving Ricci the benefit of the doubt as being more well rounded because I guess that what others were seeing in betting him at -250 to -300... I dunno.

I think the lesson learned is that one brutal knockout can erase the public's short-term memory of Ricci getting grapplefucked by Dom and only winning because of a technical error by Dom with 90 seconds remaining which left Dom on the bottom.

 

[MMAth Problem]

Yea i thought that to, holding Colton for that long wore on him it seemed, i still have hope for this guy though. I just hate seeing interviews with him, seems arrogant.

 

[irish_thug]

There is also the fact that he got place kicked in the nuts and got no recovery time.

 

[Paladin114]

I think the biggest factor is that Ricci is used to fighting 155 pound fighters. Colton was just too strong and relentless

So Maynard, Guida, Khabilov, LaVesseur, and a couple other guys I can't think of off the top of my head also tool the crap out of him. Strong, relentless 155 pound wrestlers.

Great. TUF puts two more future prospects into the mix, I guess.

 

[Paladin114]

Colton wasn't simply muscling Ricci. His technique in the clinch and with his greco is solid. I said this prior to the fight - he's a lot trickier than he gets credit for.

Pretty much this. A couple of those trip takedowns looked very similar to another Army fighter, Tim Kennedy. Identical to the one he used to drag Melvin Manhoef to the mat, IMO.

Greco-Roman fighters are a whole other animal from freestyle fighters because their takedown attempt doesn't stop even if you get a good sprawl and base initially. They just hold, clinch, then get positional advantage and find some way to drag the fight to the mat anyway.

Seeing as how they lived together and saw each other fight and train as much as they did, I'm surprised Ricci didn't see this coming. I know he's got some very solid elbows, but it seemed like he just couldn't get any striking going in the clinch, which he must have known was Smith's bread & butter.

 

[0vary hugger**]

To be fair, Colton must be exhausting to fight.

I did expect much more from Ricci though.

This.Colton's style is actually the most devastating to face.
It wears you the feck out.

 

[0vary hugger**]

i missed what she looked like. pics?

With a GF like that, i wouldn

 

[closetfighter]

ricci straight up blew his chance. pretty much let colton enforce his will upon him the entire fight.

 

[Mark Andeya]

I think the lesson learned is that one brutal knockout can erase the public's short-term memory of Ricci getting grapplefucked by Dom and only winning because of a technical error by Dom with 90 seconds remaining which left Dom on the bottom.

Not really worth getting into an argument over, but I just want to point out that this isn't what happened at all. Ricci controlled the first round of that fight standing, and then got outgrappled by the much larger Waters in the second. In the third though, with like, nearly 3 minutes left in the round, he got that reversal and maintained top position. And it wasn't some huge, idiotic, tactical error like Dana made it out to be. Ricci was turtled and Waters was trying to spin behind him. That's a sound, sensible maneuver. In the replay, you could even see that he had attempted to block the arm. Ricci just had great timing/luck and managed to grab the outside leg as went by and drive into it, getting the reversal. DFW acted like Waters had some colossal brainfart, because Dana doesn't know shit about MMA, Jiu-Jitsu, or Wrestling. Again, it's not a huge deal, but please don't let Dana's idiocy cloud your judgment.

So Maynard, Guida, Khabilov, LaVesseur, and a couple other guys I can't think of off the top of my head also tool the crap out of him. Strong, relentless 155 pound wrestlers.

Great. TUF puts two more future prospects into the mix, I guess.

ok, throw Khalibov out of there right now, because he sure looked great last night but we have in no way seen enough of him to use him as a meterstick like that. He could be LW 2004 Kevin Randleman, or LW 2011 Karlos Vemola lol, chill out people. Also, get LeVesseur out of their too. The guy's a wrestling legend, but doesn't have anything that even looks like the skills needed to hang at a UFC level in MMA.

Now if you're expressing disappointment that the TUF house is failing to produce guys capable of beating Maynard and Guida, you're in for a lifetime of disappointment lol. think about how absurd of a standard that would be? These guys are all very young in their careers, give them a break, jeez.

 

[PabloZed]

GSP and Rory put themselves on the line in this fight too by being so visible. Rory was there. If Ricci was missing workouts or seemed exhausted in training they and the coaches would have known.

It also seems he was trying a bit too hard to be more than a fighter, almost a metrosexual celebrity.

 

[Wanna Bet]

^^^

IIRC, Dom began rolling for a sub and Ricci blocked it and scrambled on top. Dom could've rode out top control and won the third round but he went for a high risk move. That's my recollection. It has nothing to do with what Dana said; I don't even remember Dana commenting on it. I remember shaking my head when Waters gave up position on a guy who's never been subbed. Stupid tactical error which costed him the quarter finals fight.

Ricci would've lost that fight if Dom had a more conservative top control game (read: Colton Smith!)... Last night's outcome was not surprising in the least.

 

[Terror Zone]

^^^

IIRC, Dom began rolling for a sub and Ricci blocked it and scrambled on top. Dom could've rode out top control and won the third round but he went for a high risk move. That's my recollection. It has nothing to do with what Dana said; I don't even remember Dana commenting on it. I remember shaking my head when Waters gave up position on a guy who's never been subbed. Stupid tactical error which costed him the quarter finals fight.

Ricci would've lost that fight if Dom had a more conservative top control game (read: Colton Smith!)... Last night's outcome was not surprising in the least.

Your recollection is incorrect, that's not what happened.

 

[Mark Andeya]

I don't know if you could call it rolling for a sub. He was trying to move to more of a "referee's position" type of position and got snagged. Would he have been more successful if he had shucked the other way first, or kept his ass way up in the air, yeah probably, and a more experienced wrestler like Smith would probably have done those, but it was a relatively small and simple mistake imo. There's a multitude of other things that transpired after that which compounded it is all. I was just so fucking pissed at stupid Dana bashing the poor guy for it.

I don't know though about it not being surprising in the least though, I mean, 3-1 favorite was a bit absurd, fair enough, but Colton had some really awful striking in his fights in the house, it wasn't unreasonable to think that the more adept striker could have busted him up.

 

[AP_RESURRECTION]

Well, the clip they showed prior was largely him and his GF. Didnt know about the twitter-feed. It might have been as little as the disruption of cornering Rory's bout. Something. But his conditioning was nowhere near where it should have been.

i honestly doubt it had to do w his prep - he was at tristar with firas in his corner, i doubt he would be unprepared

but i think he showed poor cardio on the show as well, esp in that close three rounder in the first round, i believe

he may just not be able to get grapple fucked at intense pressure for multiple minutes with colton

doesnt seem like his grappling is up to par for the ufc - thats how i see it personally

 

[dissolved]

https://twitter.com/MikeyRicci/status/280214918546993153

Cool, thanks for that! Looks indeed like the plan is already in place to be fighting at 155! Sweet!

 

[dissolved]

She's pretty but training hard should not have been a concern.

Above average IMO.

 

[925]

Colton looks smaller than Ricci.

He does. Colton looked tiny for a WW.

Ricci couldn't cope with the smothering pressure or non stop wrestling ability of Smith. He grinded Ricci out and totally demoralized him.

Smith might never be a world beater but he's going to improve. He's mentally tough and looks to have great cardio. He would be wise to drop to lightweight.

As for Ricci. I don't rate that kid too highly. I don't think he's got a future. Looks soft. Primadonna type.