Stock up bro, for a few reasons.
1) He put on a show. There has been some criticism of some of his recent belt defences that he's just a boring point fighter. He still fought very smart (which is a pleasure itself but not what every fan is after) but also used balls to the wall aggression every time he got a sniff of a finish. And some would argue being picked up by your corner illegally robbed him of a finish (you could see Herb indecisive). So an absolute war fight raises his stock (for fans with short memories or missed his earlier fights).
2) His cardio becomes a mental weapon + physical weapon against people now. It was always impressive but coming out of not one, but two! extended purple faced chokes & just immediately upping your aggression & output, no recovery needed. That will get some attention.
3) He had been a little but under-rated perhaps previously. But two escapes like that start to build a little bit of aura- well what he did after the escapes builds it that is. People are calling him a savage & bmf now. That probably wasn't happening before.
4) He's started to loosen up a little bit and be more open and assertive with the media side. He was a pretty shy character naturally but he's realising the importance of it and he's growing in confidence there. If you watch his old JRE episode it takes him 20 minutes to warm up a bit but his post fight presser fir this one was entertaining from the get go. And he did it in his own style, with mad respect for Ortega and a chill attitude after, not by putting on an act like some have to.
So yes, grapplers will look at him and think they have an avenue there- it's smarter for a grappler than trying to outstrike him. But he's shown good enough defence & counter that he won't exactly fear that himself. He's no fish.
