Will Colbys size affect him

[goOb]

Yes. Girls will always be unsatisfied.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Colby is a small WW and Leon is a huge WW. We seen how small Colby looked against Usman and Leon dwarfed Usman. On paper this looks like Colby wins but I think Leon’s size advantage can keep him on the feet most of the fight. Unless Leon gasses from the pressure I think he could pull it off. I don’t see Leon getting ragdolled like everyone else I at least expect Leon to look good for the first couple rounds

no reason leon should get ragdolled, He has great take down defense and better striking

 

[Wreckless]

Height doesn't equal size.

Edwards "dwarfing" Usman in height does not mean he's bigger than him. Just look at his hands and waist. Guy has small bone density.

Still bigger guy than Colby but I wouldn't say he's bigger than Usman just because he's taller.

 

[Royce's Gi]

Leon is a big dude. Strong and athletic and with one of the most aesthetic physiques in the UFC (No Homer)

 

[Fight Professor]

The bigger they are the harder they fall.

 

[UWPguy]

Height doesn't equal size.

Edwards "dwarfing" Usman in height does not mean he's bigger than him. Just look at his hands and waist. Guy has small bone density.

Still bigger guy than Colby but I wouldn't say he's bigger than Usman just because he's taller.

Agreed. I'm still shocked Usman made weight. I'm sure it was tough but there was never a rumor he might not make it and he never looked Conor @ FW awful on the scale.

Of course most here know this but Colby definitely cuts weight, he just isn't coming into fight week at 190-200 like lots of WW's, he's more like 180-185 so that cut is relatively easy in comparison .

 

[AstralPanda]

on paper colby wins?

 

[PatrickBatemanVHS]

He doesn’t look that much smaller to me

 

[pseto223]

He doesn’t look that much smaller to me

Because he is not. He has decent WW size. He is not the biggest, but he is not small either. I doubt that Covington cam make LW too (unless he Dillashaws himself).

The narrative that he is not cutting weight is not one I believe too. (Too bad that there are only one or two states in which octagon weight is measured and announced.)

 

[SkinnyClaw]

I don't think Colby looked small against Usman, and he was strong enough to hold Usman against the cage in the later rounds and push the wrestling. Colby shouldn't have a problem strength wise, especially if the fight gets into the later rounds. If Usman couldn't manhandle him, how could Leon? The skill difference will be great too, Colby is a better grappler than Usman, especially a black belt in BJJ, to Usman's nonexistent BJJ. Wouldn't surprise me if Colby dominated on the ground.

People also talk about Leon taking Usman down, I don't think Usman even had it in his head that Leon would try something like that and was caught by surprise, Leon had zero luck doing that again in both fights. Leon wouldn't control Colby on the ground even if he did take him down, because Colby actually knows BJJ, unlike Usman.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Colby says he does not cut weight but mannnn his face looked drawn out and sucked in to me at the presser.


?

I don't recall Colby ever showing his out of competition weight.
Doesn't mean that those videos/photos aren't out there.
I've just never seen them.

I would imagine that keeping his weight relatively low would be beneficial for training cardio, though.

Either way, the "I don't cut weight" is a nice story.
Almost as good as the "they were going to cut me after my next fight" even though he was on a 4 (& subsequently 5) fight winning streak; and wasn't on an inflated super expensive contract.

Most people are taking Leon and he's the favorite so idk where you got that from "on paper." After seeing how Usman had nothing really for Leon in the rematch makes me think Leon takes it. The shot Colby has is he is more willing to keep attacking for takedowns more than Usman is because of his cardio. His striking is also played towards that, throwing a large volume of strikes until you back up against the cage where he wants you. I think if Leon circles when Colby rushes in with kicks and punches to stay off the cage it should be an easy win for him.

Usman's movement has been compromised for quite some time; whereas (so far as I know) Colby doesn't have any of those issues.
He's going to attempt to stay glued to the champ for 25 minutes.
He also has the cardio and the mental/physical toughness to do so.

Yeah I don't see Colby's style being able to work here, Leon's too big and too physical to be bullied around the cage. Edwards, UD.

It really depends how Leon approaches the fight.
The key for Leon (IMO of course) is:
-Keep the fight at range in general
-Circle off his jab and work the body to disrupt Colby's breathing
-Work Colby's legs to slow down his TD entries
-Start targeting Colby's chin once the latter is less mobile.

^This is the conservative way to break the challenger down

Conversely, Colby needs to:
-Stay in the champ's face
-Create a lot of scrambles on the feet as it will allow him to get the fight to the ground
-Once down he needs to stick to the champ and make him fight every inch when he's trying to return to the feet
-Keep his hands up and be sure to move his head

If Colby's able to establish his game plan, it's going to be a very long night for the champ

Because he is not. He has decent WW size. He is not the biggest, but he is not small either. I doubt that Covington cam make LW too (unless he Dillashaws himself).

The narrative that he is not cutting weight is not one I believe too. (Too bad that there are only one or two states in which octagon weight is measured and announced.)

The not cutting weight narrative is fanciful to say the least.

 

[UWPguy]

I don't think Colby looked small against Usman, and he was strong enough to hold Usman against the cage in the later rounds and push the wrestling. Colby shouldn't have a problem strength wise, especially if the fight gets into the later rounds. If Usman couldn't manhandle him, how could Leon? The skill difference will be great too, Colby is a better grappler than Usman, especially a black belt in BJJ, to Usman's nonexistent BJJ. Wouldn't surprise me if Colby dominated on the ground.

People also talk about Leon taking Usman down, I don't think Usman even had it in his head that Leon would try something like that and was caught by surprise, Leon had zero luck doing that again in both fights. Leon wouldn't control Colby on the ground even if he did take him down, because Colby actually knows BJJ, unlike Usman.

I agree with the size/wrestling part of your post.

The BJJ input here is a little short sighted, there is more to grappling than just BJJ and to think that Usman has no BJJ skills is absurd. He wouldn't have survived on the ground against Khamzat if that was the case and possibly not even against Edwards in their 2nd fight. He certainly trains BJJ but I doubt he would ever care to get beyond a blue belt in gi BJJ. He'd do quite well in no-gi grappling though.

 

[HatKick]

Colby's game won't work on Leon. Leon's TDD is too good and he's great at countering aggressive fighters. On top of that he doesn't have to worry about Colby's power like he did with Usman, so Colby will find it difficult to even get Leon on the backfoot. Striking-wise Leon will school him. Just a bad matchup for Colby who's in for a rude awakening.

 

[mjfan23]

Leon is a giant... has to be at least 6'5

Wow. How much height does Edward actually cut to make 170?

 

[The XL]

Colbys age might hurt him if anything. He's old for a welterweight

 

[deanambrose]

Wow. How much height does Edward actually cut to make 170?

About 2 Rogans.

I don't get why people are not giving Colby a chance.
He fought Usman twice and it was 'almost' stalemates. While Leon fought Usman three times - two times Kamaru was dominant but second time he got caught. Third time he wasn't himself after KO - he was gunshy and it seemed that Leon has his number from now on.
I thought that Kamaru is washed but no he fought on par with elite fighter in Khamzat in new weightclass.
On paper Colby has what it takes to beat Leon. And vice-versa.

Also - do you really want to have vacuum of charisma champion that most people do not care about?
Or Stricklandesque asshole loudmouth?

I am neutral towards both but I am curious.

 

[mjfan23]

About 2 Rogans.

I don't get why people are not giving Colby a chance.
He fought Usman twice and it was 'almost' stalemates. While Leon fought Usman three times - two times Kamaru was dominant but second time he got caught. Third time he wasn't himself after KO - he was gunshy and it seemed that Leon has his number from now on.
I thought that Kamaru is washed but no he fought on par with elite fighter in Khamzat in new weightclass.
On paper Colby has what it takes to beat Leon. And vice-versa.

Also - do you really want to have vacuum of charisma champion that most people do not care about?
Or Stricklandesque asshole loudmouth?

I am neutral towards both but I am curious.

I think people feeling Colby doesn’t deserve the title shot is spilling over into their opinion on the competitive nature of this fight.


I personally feels it’s a toss up.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

Colby says he does not cut weight but mannnn his face looked drawn out and sucked in to me at the presser.


?

Serious Cutting weight is like strict dieting for weeks then a heavy water cut the last week. Colby probably eats whatever he wants then does a small water cut a few days before.

 

[SkinnyClaw]

I agree with the size/wrestling part of your post.

The BJJ input here is a little short sighted, there is more to grappling than just BJJ and to think that Usman has no BJJ skills is absurd. He wouldn't have survived on the ground against Khamzat if that was the case and possibly not even against Edwards in their 2nd fight. He certainly trains BJJ but I doubt he would ever care to get beyond a blue belt in gi BJJ. He'd do quite well in no-gi grappling though.

There's more to grappling than BJJ, but I am talking specifically about BJJ, and when I say non existent I am obviously exaggerating, I'm sure he trains jiu jitsu, but relatively speaking compared to guys like Colby he has no BJJ. He did good fighting off the choke attempts from Khamzat, but there's more to BJJ than just defending a RNC. Gunnar Nelson was getting dogwalked by Maia for 3 rounds and could still defend multiple attempts, Iaquinta could defend Kevin Lee and Khabib choke attempts, in all those cases the difference in grappling was dominant, but a submission attempt could still be defended, my point is Colby is just better at it so whatever Leon could do to Usman, he won't be able to do it to Colby anywhere near as easily.

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

Serious Cutting weight is like strict dieting for weeks then a heavy water cut the last week. Colby probably eats whatever he wants then does a small water cut a few days before.

Good explanation, thx