I agree for the most part, though I feel like Topuria was landing some decent shots on the feet especially in the second half of the round regardless of the numbers. There was one that seemed to visibly sting Hall in particular -- he stopped and blinked like "whoa" before getting back to it. Not anywhere close to his usual level of success in the boxing range, but I don't feel like he was totally shut down.
I also don't remember him being so heavy on his rolls to the neglect of his kicks before. Again, I know he was technically outstriking him by the numbers, but as it went on I felt it was clear that he wasn't really earning Topuria's respect in any one area. Against Elkins and Maynard -- unless I'm remembering incorrectly -- he was a lot more aggressive with his kickboxing and primarily rolled defensively or when he perceived openings. IMO, he needed more of that rather than trying to simply be awkward and "chain-wrestle" with Imanaris.
Speaking of which, how on Earth did Ryan Hall miss the boat of the rest of the no-gi guys and not develop a legitimate takedown game beyond the Imanari? Like a few years ago Keenan Cornelius was complaining about how no-gi was "imploding" because it was dominated not only by leglocks, but wrestling. Most guys coming out of Danaher's basement have a mix of dominant wrestling and Judo takedowns, trips, throws, sweeps, and entanglements. It may be too late, but if Demian Maia leveled up his offensive wrestling to a respectable level and made title runs into two different divisions, maybe Ryan could get a couple of Ws and even a number next to his name before retiring.
I'm not hating on the Imanari -- it's cool as hell and plays into his style quite well, but he needs to vary it up IMO. In his first few fights on the regional scene, he showed the ability to achieve RNCs and GnP dudes out from other positions rather than just diving on legs. For what it's worth, I've been saying the same thing about Chase Hooper -- he should go train with his dad in wrestling for a while.
