What Happened to the HW Grapplers?

[ArmenianAssasin]

Are there any GOOD grapplers left in the UFCs HW division outside of the ghost of Aleksei Oleinik? seems like the entire division is just filled with strikers and power punches

Watching the title fight today, I couldn't help to think about the Josh Barnett v. Big Nog fight from pride shockwave 2006 and how it was an absolute masterpiece in terms of grappling technique

Even the older generation wrestlers like kerr, coleman, and Couture seem to be a retired model

what happened to the grapplers of the HW division?

 

[JustOnce]

Juan Espino
Alexandr Romanov
Curtis Blaydes

 

[asdf122345]

How is Tom Aspinall? Any good?

 

[Andrei Orlovski]

Very few skilled wrestlers and even less skilled BJJ guys, barely anyone can do anything off their back now with Werdum gone.

 

[SteveColdStone]

Jeff Monson is coming for the belt

 

[JustOnce]

Alexandr Romanov has a freestyle wrestling pedegree that's matched by very few in any weight class, and that guy comes to grapple and got a decent sub game as well. I'm just not sure if he can go far with the cardio of his. I didn't like that he seems to have taken an easy way out against Espino either.

Espino is a fantastic grappler himself as well, more than held his own against Romanov.

Blaydes, well you know Blaydes.

Those three heavyweights are as good of a wrestler/grappler as any in UFC.

 

[ArmenianAssasin]

Juan Espino
Alexandr Romanov
Curtis Blaydes

Espino is 42 and fough 3 times in 4 years

Romanov is an interesting prospect

blaydes is more of a pure wrestler than grappler imo

 

[JustOnce]

Espino is 42 and fough 3 times in 4 years

Romanov is an interesting prospect

blaydes is more of a pure wrestler than grappler imo

You mentioned Coleman and Couture and Kerr.

And Espino is old, but more than held his own against Romanov. Probably got robbed.

 

[Project 2501]

The UFC hw division should be thanking daddy dana for not signing Gable Steveson

 

[ArmenianAssasin]

How is Tom Aspinall? Any good?

he's probably the best prospect at HW right now but he's a boxer

 

[Siver!]

Dana ran them out of town because he prefers sloppy kickboxers.

 

[JustOnce]

The UFC hw division should be thanking daddy dana for not signing Gable Steveson

Forget about that guy, I want Sadulaev in the UFC.

 

[heavyarms21]

Juan Espino
Alexandr Romanov
Curtis Blaydes

Blades keeps getting Merc'd before he can incorporate his striking

 

[ExitLUPin]

Juan Espino
Alexandr Romanov
Curtis Blaydes

lmaoooo a 41yo who took 6 years off MMA after getting pasted by Minakov comes back and is a top 3 grappler in the division

really tells you ALOT about the talent and skill level right now

 

[Sticko]

How is Tom Aspinall? Any good?

Tom Aspinall has pretty good BJJ. His dad Andy Aspinall is the BJJ instructor at the Team Kaobon MMA gym in England.

 

[ArmenianAssasin]

You mentioned Coleman and Couture and Kerr.

And Espino is old, but more than held his own against Romanov. Probably got robbed.

agreed

do you think these guys would be able to compete the mat with the hws of 2 generations prior? Nog, Fedor, Mir, Barnett etc

I just find it odd how the sport has clearly progressed in every other division except this one

 

[heavyarms21]

The UFC hw division should be thanking daddy dana for not signing Gable Steveson

You never know he might pull a Brock Lesnar and go WWE to UFC , after some soul searching

 

[SteveColdStone]

I think to answer the question seriously

Submission grappling based fighters just aren’t as common these days, and they’re even less common at HW as on average, big men are not going to be as fluid on the mat.

A lot of fighters are happy to just learn some sub defense and TDD and then focus on striking.
It’s what the UFC seems to want from their fighters anyway. It was definitely cool though when we had Nog, Werdum, Barnett, Mir, Fedor etc all capable of taking home a limb or neck. I don’t think we will see that many good sub grapplers all at once ever again at HW.

 

[JustOnce]

lmaoooo a 41yo who took 6 years off MMA after getting pasted by Minakov comes back and is a top 3 grappler in the division

really tells you ALOT about the talent and skill level right now

Minakov was a fucking monster. Nothing embarrassing about that. He's an amazing grappler. Maia is fucking 44 years old. So is Werdum. Grapplers tend to age a lot better, and at heavyweight?

 

[Taric]

Blaydes is honestly all there is. It's pretty sad really