Was there something off about Ortiz v Shlemenko?

[jeremyemilio]

I didn't get a chance to watch last night, but I was actually happy to hear Tito won... but I just watched the fight and something about it just seemed off to me.

I don't go in for the fight fix conspiracy stuff very often (although I'm a long time boxing fan, so I realize it happens)... but to me there just didn't seem to be much of anything on any of the strikes from either fighter, including the knees (I actually went back to the video and played the fight from the start just to see that it wasn't playing slow)...

... and then when Shlemenko gets taken down he goes to a wrestler's four point and just hangs out there. I'd expect that from a wrestler in his very first fight... but from a guy who has 57 pro fights? Seems odd.

... and then Tito just basically wrestles him? No strikes on the ground of any kind and no attempt to take the back either?

... and then Shlemenko goes from resisting to just popping his arm up and giving up the choke.

I'm not saying there was a fix. Just that to me, personally, it felt off.

So am I just seeing things that aren't there or was there something odd about that fight?

 

[joeyjoejoe]

Yeah Tito won. Definitely seemed odd, no fading and getting beat up as the fight went on. Almost like he was bigger and better than his opponent.

 

[surgeyou1]

Other than the fact it looked like a heavyweight fighting a welterweight? Then no

 

[WildF]

Shlemenko recently went vegan, Tito looked in really good shape.

 

[Championstuff]

other than it was a fucking sham?

 

[Tchernobog]

Fight was legit, Tito was just much bigger and stronger than Shlemenko. I think he caught Alex by surprise with that side choke.

 

[Championstuff]

Fight was legit, Tito was just much bigger and stronger than Shlemenko. I think he caught Alex by surprise with that side choke.

at this stage in the history of mma, if a fighter is surprised by wrestling and jiu jitsu then he is in the wrong fucking sport.

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

Was there something off about Ortiz v Shlemenko?

Yeah, the betting lines.


I can't believe I didn't check them until Sunday morning, right before watching the fight.
There was a TON of money to be made on that.

 

[The ScorpioN]

at this stage in the history of mma, if a fighter is surprised by wrestling and jiu jitsu then he is in the wrong fucking sport.

For a man who has almost 60 fights, Shlemenko looked clueless on the ground.

 

[Mumrik]

Shlemenko made a huge grappling mistake. Well, more like a few in a row honestly (2-3 different fuckups with his arm positioning in the ending sequence). It's not weird for him to get taken down, he is just pretty good at winning in spite of it. We knew it stylistically was a bad matchup though. His weakness was always wrestling, and while Tito isn't the most explosive wrestler at this point, he is a solid grappler with a very clear size and strength advantage.

Tito is pretty old and very worn down at this point, but what more could he ask for than a small brawler with weak wrestling? I'm not saying it was obvious he'd win, just that this was the right type of fighter for him have a chance.

 

[TFanatic]

My twitter was going crazy saying Tito was whispering into Schlemenko's ear.

I don't usually go in for fix talk, especially in mma, but that was the buzz

 

[JKS]

I think he was just much bigger and surprised him with that choke

 

[emperor]

No, and this is garbage talk.

 

[MuayThaiBX]

I had a feeling the fight might go down similar to how it did. A lot of the experts picking this fight underestimated how much bigger and stronger Tito would be. As dilapidated as he is, Tito still has solid wrestling and BJJ. Sometimes that's all you need if you are much larger and physically stronger than your opponent.

 

[farbeyondD]

i didnt think there seemed to be too much of a weight difference, tito was definitely in it to win it he showed heart and fought through some shots , got ahold of shlemenko when he was tired who had been doing well of moving out of range until then, and made sure he got the finish once he had him in his strong point

 

[jeremyemilio]

My twitter was going crazy saying Tito was whispering into Schlemenko's ear.

I don't usually go in for fix talk, especially in mma, but that was the buzz

Okay... so I'm not going nuts then.

Not saying it was a fix... but good to know that other people thought it had an odd feel to it.

 

[benjaminbuttons]

I think if they were gonna fix the fight it would have been for Alex. Bjorn was calling him the best MW in the world a few weeks back.

 

[farbeyondD]

tito was talking something at the weigh in too, he was probably saying mean things, what else would he say like How are you doing ? Yeah im good too thanks

 

[jeremyemilio]

I think if they were gonna fix the fight it would have been for Alex. Bjorn was calling him the best MW in the world a few weeks back.

Yeah. I do find that strange.

I think Askren suggested a month or so ago that he thought the fight was just a work to give Shlemenko some exposure.

I dunno. Just parts of it felt very choreographed to me.

 

[ralphus1]

It was weird the way the fight ended so suddenly. Shlemenko just made a huge mistake counting on his left leg to stop Tito from getting full side control while he had the arm choke in place.