I watched this video from Luke Thomas, who I have previously avoided (because he is annoying), and he made what I thought was a very good point about the match: Khamzat's control was almost entirely for the sake of neutralizing DDP, and was not/could not have been with the intent to actually
win the fight.
CAVEAT: I am differing to his expertise, because frankly this went way over my head when I was watching, and I simply do not have the experience to know whether what he said is accurate- as far as what is and is not possible for an athlete at that level.
The reason he says Khamzat's control was entirely for the sake of neutralizing DDP, and not for the sake of trying to win the fight is because the
unified rules of MMA (judging criteria) emphasize that a fighter needs to "to advance to a position to finish the fight". Luke Thomas claims that mechanically Khamzat could not have been trying to "advance to a position to finish the fight" because it was mechanically impossible from the majority of his positions (chest to front, chest to back, knees on ground).
He also added some anecdotal evidence relating to corner directions, including Khamzat asking for permission to stand with DDP or attempt a submission- which is neither here nor there in my opinion.
[Those are the cliffs, Luke talks for nearly 20 mins, but that's all he actually says- other than "I'm right"]
Point being, I am one of those people who felt that his domination, and the style of his domination, was sufficient. Looking at the ruleset, and with more insight as to Luke's view on Khamzat's approach (remember my CAVEAT), I am now reconsidering my position.
It was cool to see the control, but in light of the unified rules, the casual fans, and the Just Bleed God hardcore fans, I wonder whether Khamzat's strategy is a bigger problem than I initially took it to be.
A fight is a necessarily risky undertaking. At a certain point, an excessively risk averse approach is not really fighting. Beyond simply standing fighters up, should there be more significant penalties for stalling a fight, and if so, perhaps Khamzat should not be the champion (in that manner). That is my question, notwithstanding my feeling that Khamzat is a MUCH better fighter than DDP, and that he should be champion.