Media Uncle Chael explains why Daniel Cormier would win against prime Randy Couture

[Choco]

Isn't freestyle wrestling also better suited for MMA than greco roman wrestling?
Plus Cormier is also the much better striker, between the two.

What do you think Randy competed at, in college (And yes smartasses Folkstyle and Freestlyle at that level are practically the same)?

 

[BoomStronk]

true, DC haters just seem like miserable losers tbh and it sucks that such an amazing fighter and genuinely good person like DC had to “ lose “ to a piece of dogshit cheater like jones.

Totally agree.

Jones is something you should shield children from knowing about. An example of a shitty person cheating and prospering.

 

[HavokHarmon]

I mean he’s probably right at least in the sense that DC would be a bad matchup for Randy. Having said that, the version of Randy who destroyed Gonzaga I would be a game opponent for any hw imo.

 

[Iron Nick]

That's a major point of debate in wrestling/MMA circles it seems. There are arguments in either direction, like freestyle wrestlers having a larger pool of techniques to draw on and being more accustomed to defending lower body attacks versus Greco guys being used to fighting out of a more natural upright stance akin to what one actually uses in MMA rather than the traditional hunched, hands extended wrestling stance (and of course their mastery of the clinch).

What also has to be considered is where the wrestler comes from. It's entirely plausible to find someone with a Greco base who doesn't hail from a nation with a powerhouse wrestling circuit who would be largely ignorant of the lower body stuff as their time would have likely been entirely devoted to learning their sport as an Olympic discipline. Conversely, I personally feel that one of the "sweet spots" is a wrestler with an Olympic-caliber Greco-Roman game who previously came up being exposed to other styles of grappling. For instance, in the States a wrestler being GR only is all but unheard of. They come up learning folkstyle through middle school, high school, and college (which is far more like freestyle in its ruleset than Greco-Roman), often times competing in GR tournaments during the folkstyle off-season. If they were good enough in college and in said GR tournaments they might get a shot at the Olympic Trials. In the end you ultimately have a very well-rounded base for an MMA wrestler who's accustomed to both lower body attacks from years of folkstyle at the highest level and who likely has a dangerous clinch game.

This is actually how Randy's career happened: he was a standout in high school and applied for the Army's freestyle wrestling team. His paperwork got misfiled and he was placed in Greco-Roman tryouts and basically walked on with zero experience. His collegiate and Olympic wrestling career came after he got out. And while he was ultimately known for his clinch work, body-lock takedowns, and dirty-boxing, he never forgot his roots. Every once in a blue moon he pulled out a high single. Hell, he hit James Toney with an ankle pick that was downright dirty.

And it's not just Americans, mind you. That was just a convenient example. A lot of Russian (or Russia-adjacent) Greco guys will have backgrounds in Sambo, Judo, Freestyle, Pankration, etc. to complement and round out their primary foundation. Movsar Evloev is a good example who's on fire right now.

I'm not saying that Greco is superior for MMA or even that I believe it is (in fact in a vacuum with no other styles to prop either up I think freestyle is probably the better base). We've seen tremendously successful guys with freestyle bases dominate. Cormier ragdolled guys from the clinch despite having minimal Greco experience. Khabib is one of if not the best MMA grappler(s) of all time. The list goes on. But just putting some food for thought out there as I think it's a more nuanced subject than it seems at first glance.

That's been a very insightful post, thank you.
Frankly wasn't familiar with much, outside of GR not having the lower body attacks!

 

[KramerFtw]

Imagine what a prime Jon Jones would do to Randy and Liddell… Not only is Jones better at being a bad husband than Couture, he’s better at partying than Liddell too. He would ruin both in a fight as well.

actually disagree with lidell
liddell vs jones would have been interesting

 

[Human Bass]

DC is better at...everything. The end.

 

[Choco]

actually disagree with lidell
liddell vs jones would have been interesting

I've contested both. Randy has three divorces (Would be four hasn't he finally accepted that he shouldn't marry Mindy) while Jon has none.

Randy is tied wtih Don Frye MMA divorcing GOAT.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Cormier by total domination

 

[dracul]

who the hell thought Randy would have won

lol

 

[Chosen]

You're doing exactly what I said people do which is only talk about the times he looked great as though they're exemplary of his whole career. Only 3 months prior to the Bigfoot fight he had a lackluster showing against Monson. After Bigfoot he again looked good against Barnett, but then had 3 lackluster showings against Staring, Mir, and Nelson.

He looked beatable on plenty of occasions, far more so than the times he looked amazing, making it silly to say he could beat every HW in MMA history. Cormier himself proved that Cormier doesn't always show up. It might still be enough, but he's not the guy who shows up "on" every time. That's dangerous. IMO had he continued at HW rather than dropping to LHW when he did he was going to get KO'd/lose sooner than he did.

Prime mir and Nelson are no push overs how many people have ever just ran thru those guys during that time? I’ll admit dc may not have the best finishes or dominating wins but he was unmatched outside of Stipe skill for skill. Cain was already an after thought and JDS had lost to the reem badly. Werdum is honestly the only HW dc would’ve had trouble with all time due to this Muay Thai clinch and BJJ. The other HWs dont have the grappler/striking combination to stop a guy like DC.

 

[djacobox372]

Randy always lost to guys he couldn't out grapple.