"Stipe's win over Francis was better than Francis' win over Stipe"

[spinup]

I'm not arguing it does. As I said, I can't really make up my mind either way. Gun to my head, I'd say a dominant decision win would suggest the better fighter, over an early KO. But it's not like a KO is a fluke. So again, hard for me to decide.

The dominant decision tells you with certainty who is better.

The one punch KO leaves uncertainty. But does not discredit the winner either, that would be a mistake to say that.

KO artists have to be judged on their consistency over many fights. Not on one single fight (like Joachim Buckley).

 

[surgeyou1]

Yeah of course Curtis Blaydes thinks decisions are better than KOs lol

 

[Ozze]

Like some already said, Ngannou victory wasn't just a hail mary punch that KOed Stipe.
He lost the first, adjusted and had a very good fight and got the KO.

Would Stipe have anything new to bring to the table in case of a third fight?
Ngannou was able to improve. Would Stipe be?

But yeah, too soon to be calling Ngannou GOAT. People need to cool it with this "won the belt is he GOAT?" stuff.

 

[HHJ]

Finishes are always more impressive than decisions.

No that is not true.
Not all finishes are satisfying or decisive

 

[theleerygoose]

The problem is that we have one fighter who wasn’t in his Prime the first time, and one fighter who was falling out of his Prime in the second fight. Stipe is not the same fighter at age 39 having suffered 3 battles with DC including a KO loss and Retina tear. Sorry, not how it works.

Same with Ngannou he looked much cleaner and more technical in the rematch.

At this point a rematch is pointless. Stipe would get destroyed again. But Prime for Prime they are probably pretty evenly matched.

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

I do consider Stipe's win better than Naganu's win.

Naganu did improve in the rematch against Stipe, but Stipe had been through wars against DC and Stipe is like 40 years old. And Stipe foolishly came in way too light.

I'd favor Prime Stipe over Prime Naganu.

 

[Question]

If he KO'd Stipe in 10 seconds sure, I can agree. For example, the Rozenstruik was fucking ridiculous with that windmill attack.
However, Ngannou dismantled Stipe while addressing all the criticisms from the 1st fight.

Don't go head hunting, mix it up with head/body, patience(pacing his cardio), pick your shots, don't put 100% into every punch, better boxing, wrestling defense, punish Stipe for failed takedown attempts and don't rush for the finish.

The only little blemish is when Stipe clipped him after the 1st knockdown, but Francis has a chin made of granite. After that he landed the KO blow after Stipe did the mistake Francis usually does, which is rush for the finish(thinking he had Francis hurt more than he actully was) and Stipe paid for that mistake. Otherwise perfect peformance.

 

[Linelo]

First fight only proved Stipe is pillow fisted and can’t finish Francis

I think the lack of finish was more due to Stipe’s BJJ. He had many opportunities to get in hooks and pursue an RNC esp. in the later rounds.

 

[Jewish Lightning]

There's some truth to what he's saying. Ngannou definitely not a GOAT. Not even close. Gane is the first well rounded HW Francis will fight since Stipe. Let's see what happens.

 

[sfer1]

Not always but in this case yes, I think Stipe managed to basically exploit a few flaws in a relatively green fighters game in the first fight, in the second their was really no question of who the better fighter was.

First fight Stipe vs Second Fight Ngannou I'd definately pick Francis.

Stipe was 38 the second time they fought.

 

[Egészségére!]

I was more impressed by Stipe's win than Ngannous but I don't think Francis' win was a fluke either

It's a great situation for a rubber match tbh

 

[sfer1]

I was more impressed by Stipe's win than Ngannous but I don't think Francis' win was a fluke either

It's a great situation for a rubber match tbh

Stipe would be 40 by the time it happens. I don't need to see a 40yo Stipe fighting a monster like Ngannou. It wouldn't be good for his legacy nor his health.

 

[xhaydenx]

“I’m a lot more impressed by decisions. I know that’s weird to say, that a unanimous decision is more impressive than a knockout, but at heavyweight, anybody can get knocked out,”
Well, Blaydes mainly wins by decision and all his losses were by KO/TKO. This is the reversal "I only count knockouts" by Conor. Both are dumb as bricks.

Blaydes never shat on people who finish fights and his opinion made perfect sense. You're the one who is dumb as bricks if you can't see the merit in what he said.

 

[Busgosu]

Blaydes never shat on people who finish fights and his opinion made perfect sense. You're the one who is dumb as bricks if you can't see the merit in what he said.

Nothing in what he says makes any sense. He got KO'd twice from the fighter he's trying to take merit away and he's just trying foolishly to save face.
He's an idiot and and so are you for buying his BS.

 

[xhaydenx]

Nothing in what he says makes any sense. He got KO'd twice from the fighter he's trying to take merit away and he's just trying foolishly to save face.
He's an idiot and and so are you for buying his BS.

How is what Blaydes saying make no sense? It's HW. HWs routinely KO each and a lot of that has to do the weight class and power they all have, making a decision a more risk-filled route to a win.

Meanwhile, you're the idiot who tried to compare what he's saying to that dumb "KOs only count" crap by Conor lol.

 

[MCS]

The rematch was more impressive as there were improvements by Ngannou and he overcame defeat. Both of those raise the skill level of the contest. The first fight was a lot about Ngannou's shortcomings. Lack of wrestling.

 

[Busgosu]

How is what Blaydes saying make no sense? It's HW. HWs routinely KO each and a lot of that has to do the weight class and power they all have, making a decision a more risk-filled route to a win.

Meanwhile, you're the idiot who tried to compare what he's saying to that dumb "KOs only count" crap by Conor lol.

I see your intention is to repeat the same thing over and over. Whatever.

 

[Bob Sapp]

ill say this, it was a lot harder for Stipe to beat Francis in first fight than it was for Francis to beat Stipe in the rematch.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

2 topics here:

1) does a guy who beat a GOAT (not saying Stipe was, just for argument sake) become GOAT, or does it take consistency, many wins, many title defenses? Blaydes is saying the latter, and many agree with him (me included).

2) is winning 25 minutes more impressive than winning in 7? Blaydes is saying so, and many agree with him (but I don’t).

Most importantly, that 3rd paragraph in the OP has compelling arguments. Even if I don’t agree with them all, he makes better arguments than most sherdoggers. And for that, kudos to Blaydes.

1. When a fighter wins they do not absorb the other fighters resume. Conor is not > FW than Aldo but he beat him in 13 seconds. Denis Hallman has 2 submission wins over Matt Hughes but is not the 2nd best WW of all time.
2. The second point is subjective. Anderson was able to KO certain fighters and finish 9 of his title defences. His style allowed him to KO lots of guys. GSP had finishes in title fights vs Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, BJ Penn & Bisping. A lot of his wins were dominant decisions. His ability to dominate a variety of different styles and find ways to win is more impressive to me.

They say styles make fights. In MMA sometimes its Rock, Paper, Scissors. One style always beats another. The true greats find a way to beat Rock, Paper, Scissors and more.

 

[mjfan23]

15 out of 20 of Stipe’s wins have been by ko or tko. Not bad for a guy with pillow fists. Black beast must have pillow fists too cause he couldn’t finish Francis.

He landed like 600 strikes on Francis. Stipe has never finished a good young fighter