What is Pettis missing to be a complete fighter?

[JonSnitchPhones]

honestly he gets hit alot. i remember gil landed some clean shots. so overall keeping his chin tucked and circling out bc he was also against the cage alot.

Honestly, that's a pretty dumb statement. Very few of them were clean. He was rolling away from punches. And he was naturally tight after a 15-month layoff where the whole division was bitching about him and he collecting a bunch of major sponsorships. He took a few deep breaths between rounds and then got hit like once of note in the 2nd round.

How do you weigh one round of getting hit a few times decently as more important than an entire career of 12 fights in Zuffa where he has seldom gotten hit and not clearly knocked down (he may have been kd'ed against Bartimus, it's hard to tell)?

The only time Pettis is kind of susceptible to getting hit is when he's trying to return to kicking range, circling up the fence, and his foot and somewhat head movement are compromised. From the pocket he was dominating both Gil and Bendo by moving his head while he threw. In the middle of the cage he senses danger and evades quickly, works angles going forward, keeps proper distance, and even parries or leans out of range while throwing kicks.

On the ground he's tough to hit too because of his wrist control, reflexes, and poise.

His defense is about as good as it gets. Nobody evades getting hit all the time.

Sherdog's top analyst Jordan Breen: "Pettis is one of the very best defensive fighters in MMA". That was after winning the belt against Bendo. So short-sighted to now claim he has bad defense.

 

[0hm]

Maintaining proper distance and octagon control.

 

[JonSnitchPhones]

Durability for sure. Only seeing him about once or twice a year now is becoming something of a detriment to his overall legacy.

The only time he fought once in a year primarily due to injury was this last one. And he may have fought twice if not for TUF.

Prior to the blown pcl, he was always healthy enough to fight. The UFC just kept dicking him around with title shots, keeping him on the shelf. Took the title shot away after the Maynard/Edgar draw, after the Lauzon win leading him to get elective shoulder surgery (said he'd have kept fighting if he got the title shot), after the Cerrone win, and before the Aldo fight which he was healthy enough to compete in but the UFC forcibly pulled him from. That was after a ridiculously long time until the Aldo fight which was far from Pettis' doing.

He's odds on to be a more active champion than most now that he's got leverage, UFC support, and a propensity to finish quickly.

 

[SilvaMoney]

Geico Insurance to protect against the Guida LNP

 

[Bones245n4847]

Offensive wrestling/takedowns. Jones/Weidman/Cain trio are elite and complete because they have it all.

 

[johnyboy]

Dude has one loss in the UFC and I would have gave him that fight considering how active he was off his back.

 

[MayhemMonkey]

he's one of the most complete fighters in MMA..... Id struggle to offer any advice to improve his game lol

thats why he gets paid stacks and Im on sherdog lol

 

[MayhemMonkey]

Putting on troll mask...

***Conor McGregor's charisma...***

Taking off troll mask...

his name is fucking "Showtime" LOL.... and he tries crazy ass kicks, I dont think he lacks charisma lol

although its not on Conors level of course lol

 

[Docile]

The cardio knock is b.s. It's like there are cardio police looking for every time you open your mouth to breathe and that means you're gassing. Hector isn't gassing nearly to the degree as his detractors suggest, and Pettis wasn't whatsoever against Melendez. He was taking deep breaths between rounds to calm himself down because he was a little nervous in there, it was getting him caught against the cage, and he needed to loosen up and make adjustments.

I suppose you could say then he can be a slow starter. He started fast against Cerrone because he pissed him off. In both fights against Bendo, and the one against Melendez, he got off to a slow start. He got off to a slow start against Guida,. He's a cerebral fighter. He can over-think things when the moment is big. That's a double-edged sword because it shows perspective and potential to be one of the all-time greats, but he has to dial it down a bit. Easier to dial down than up.

Other than that I'd say it would behoove him for his top game to become more potent. Never seen much from him as far as gnp or subs from top go. All his subs have been from the bottom.

His clinch strike game could get better too. I think he under-uses elbows with his lanky frame. Could get them going in tight and on top.

I don't think his wrestling is much of an issue to speak of at this point. A virtually one-dimensional wrestler like Khabib is probably too predictable for him at this point to not hurt him badly enough and finish over 25 minutes.

Even though he lost to Khabib, I think a guy like RDA's wrestling is more troublesome to him because it holds the element of surprise, and he can potentially hang on his feet, to win a close decision. But he'd have to stay tremendously unpredictable and not make almost any mistakes over 25 minutes. That means continuing to switch up his approach. If Pettis picks up a pattern he's finishing him. Kid Nate of MMA Nation put it like, "to beat Pettis, it's pretty much like throwing a shutout against a tough lineup".

People love to overreact to the first few minutes of a Pettis fight and want to extrapolate them to 25. I think it's virtually meaningless if RDA takes Pettis down early. It doesn't somehow forecast future wrestling struggles. The right gameplan for Pettis is to take the center of the cage early because RDA wants to and poses danger with his strikes. If RDA uses Pettis' aggression to counter td, Pettis can see what's there from the bottom, if he doesn't get a sub force a stand-up with his slick sweep and get up techniques, and has 20-some more minutes to make RDA pay if he gets predictable at all. Whereas with Khabib he'd just know what he was doing from the outset.

Post of the week, if not the month. Spot on.

 

[Davemeddlehed]

The only time he fought once in a year primarily due to injury was this last one. And he may have fought twice if not for TUF.

Prior to the blown pcl, he was always healthy enough to fight. The UFC just kept dicking him around with title shots, keeping him on the shelf. Took the title shot away after the Maynard/Edgar draw, after the Lauzon win leading him to get elective shoulder surgery (said he'd have kept fighting if he got the title shot), after the Cerrone win, and before the Aldo fight which he was healthy enough to compete in but the UFC forcibly pulled him from. That was after a ridiculously long time until the Aldo fight which was far from Pettis' doing.

He's odds on to be a more active champion than most now that he's got leverage, UFC support, and a propensity to finish quickly.

Guy has fought six times in three and a half years now, with the most recent fight being last month. The guy simply can't fight/train without injuring himself it seems like. Two times in the last three and a half years he's had long layoffs, once for eleven months, and once for sixteen months. Durability being an issue is a fair point when the guy spent 26 of the last 47 months on the shelf due to surgeries and staph infections.

 

[7437]

fights

 

[method115]

honestly he gets hit alot. i remember gil landed some clean shots. so overall keeping his chin tucked and circling out bc he was also against the cage alot.

He uses the cage to get back up. Gill landed alot but also had to be extremely reckless and got rocked himself doing that.

 

[JonSnitchPhones]

Guy has fought six times in three and a half years now, with the most recent fight being last month. The guy simply can't fight/train without injuring himself it seems like. Two times in the last three and a half years he's had long layoffs, once for eleven months, and once for sixteen months. Durability being an issue is a fair point when the guy spent 26 of the last 47 months on the shelf due to surgeries and staph infections.

The staph infection didn't delay the Cerrone fight at all, and he got the elective surgery on his shoulder because he was in title shot limbo. He said he'd have kept on fighting if they just gave him the next title shot as promised. They dicked him around on 4 promised title shots (Edgar, Aldo, Bendo post Lauzon, and Bendo post Cerrone). I already explained this to you and that was the real primary reason as to why he's been as inactive as he's been the last few years. But I guess you'll just believe what you want at the end of the day.

 

[Davemeddlehed]

The staph infection didn't delay the Cerrone fight at all, and he got the elective surgery on his shoulder because he was in title shot limbo. He said he'd have kept on fighting if they just gave him the next title shot as promised. They dicked him around on 4 promised title shots (Edgar, Aldo, Bendo post Lauzon, and Bendo post Cerrone). I already explained this to you and that was the real primary reason as to why he's been as inactive as he's been the last few years. But I guess you'll just believe what you want at the end of the day.

I don't know why you're so upset here. Get butthurt all you want, fact is Pettis has taken two long vacations from competition in the last three and a half years. Promised shots or not, it is what it is.

 

[JonSnitchPhones]

I don't know why you're so upset here. Get butthurt all you want, fact is Pettis has taken two long vacations from competition in the last three and a half years. Promised shots or not, it is what it is.

You're the one being upset that I contradicted you. All I'm doing is providing the real story but you're not being receptive to it because I guess you'd have to acknowledge you were wrong and you don't like the feeling or since it doesn't fit your agenda.

 

[Davemeddlehed]

You're the one being upset that I contradicted you. All I'm doing is providing the real story but you're not being receptive to it because I guess you'd have to acknowledge you were wrong and you don't like the feeling or since it doesn't fit your agenda.

Lol yeah I'm so upset over you defending the guy like you two sleep in the same bed.:icon_lol:

 

[Poohead7]

winning the belt in an era where only complete fighters can. o wait he has that. ts dont reproduce thanks.

 

[JonSnitchPhones]

Lol yeah I'm so upset over you defending the guy like you two sleep in the same bed.:icon_lol:

When people play that card quickly and arbitrarily it always says more about their sexuality.

 

[scorpipede]

durability

yep. this is the big one. he needs to fight more often thus staying healthy is paramount. As far as his skills, his TDD could be better and his offensive wrestling.

 

[chiefwiggum]

Pettis was constantly working for subs trying to win the fight. guida wasn't doing much at all.
At least that's how I remember it.