Hot Take Yan broke Merab-s nose early in the rematch

[CroCopsLHK]

If anything to say some may be overlooking or missing this. This was one of my favorite fights of the year. Im glad Yan solved the Merab puzzle and it rightfully closed the year. I feel Merab bit off more than he can chew. Yan's comeback is something books and movies are based on

And he did it partially by cracking that nose. I believe in the first round. And it compromised his breathing, energy, and cardio. Which he is the king at

I am immediately reminded of Max vs Gaethje. I understand the pitch of my post may be excuses from your perspective. Or a "fluke". Far from it. Max's spinkick was evil mastery and Petr did what every fighter does, wing a punch into the nose.

All Im saying is it seems overlooked to me

 

[TheBulge]

It was part of solving the puzzle. Do serious damage early that causes a lot of blood loss, and constantly attack his body. That is the way to slow down Merab. Easier said than done.

 

[rear naked ankle pick]

Run it back, bloody nose isnt merabs fault he should get instant rematch cause of this. Some fighters are really dirty. Shame on you Peter Yan

 

[DiazSlap]

Thanks Capt Obvious

 

[Greyscale]

Was it really broken or just busted? The nose had been crooked already

 

[CroCopsLHK]

Run it back, bloody nose isnt merabs fault he should get instant rematch cause of this. Some fighters are really dirty. Shame on you Peter Yan

XD

Always love your posts man. I agree with you. Merab Solid Nose is GOAT

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

broken nose effects the breathing, but how does it allow Yan to destroy his body? that's a defense problem, not a breathing one. same thing with Max vs Gaethje. a broken nose doesn't stop you from defending the dozens of strikes Max is hitting you with, shitty defense and slow reaction time does that.

 

[188912345]

Merabs energy and cardio still looked good.

Yan just consistently stopped his takedown attempts and landed the more damaging blows in every round.

 

[HatKick]

It defnitely gave Yan an advantage although I'd say Merab's cardio held up just fine but a broken nose is always a major inconvenience. Regardless, Yan stuffed all takedowns and easily outstruck Merab in every round. I think that happens whether Merabs nose gets broken or not.

Merab's problem is he can't play his normal game with someone who has great defensive wrestling and can keep up with his pace. Yan's cardio shouldn't be such a surprise since he broke Aldo, Sandhagen and Sterling in the late rounds with his pressure. Yan forces Merab to stand with him for at least 2-3 minutes per round, and that's when you get your nose broken, skull rattled and liver examined.

 

[CroCopsLHK]

broken nose effects the breathing, but how does it allow Yan to destroy his body? that's a defense problem, not a breathing one. same thing with Max vs Gaethje. a broken nose doesn't stop you from defending the dozens of strikes Max is hitting you with, shitty defense and slow reaction time does that.

It allows Yan to destroy the body because Merab has less oxygen to think and about protecting his body at the right time. Shitty defense and reaction time has to do with being able to breathe much less LMAO. Or when something goes wrong you think differently

Its all about who turns out on their best night, the record book doesnt give a flyyyying fuck about it. Until the RE where Yan will hope to smack those nostrils again

 

[AL-Tappo McSnappo]

If anything to say some may be overlooking or missing this. This was one of my favorite fights of the year. Im glad Yan solved the Merab puzzle and it rightfully closed the year. I feel Merab bit off more than he can chew. Yan's comeback is something books and movies are based on

And he did it partially by cracking that nose. I believe in the first round. And it compromised his breathing, energy, and cardio. Which he is the king at

I am immediately reminded of Max vs Gaethje. I understand the pitch of my post may be excuses from your perspective. Or a "fluke". Far from it. Max's spinkick was evil mastery and Petr did what every fighter does, wing a punch into the nose.

All Im saying is it seems overlooked to me

I think this move changed everything

 

[CroCopsLHK]

I think this move changed everything

I dont have IG. Its asking me to DL it

Is this the slam Yan landed in R3 I think? I feel that played a part

 

[AL-Tappo McSnappo]

I dont have IG. Its asking me to DL it

Is this the slam Yan landed in R3 I think? I feel that played a part

Nah, its when Yan put his hand up Merab ass, i think Merab just didn't know how to respond after that

This move may have also helped, when Yan kept elbowing Merab forearm, it seem to bother Merab a lot.

 

[blunttruth]

Yes the nose damaging face punch has generally been too overlooked in the forum post fight analysis. Even more overlooked, is the cliché that "the best defense is a good offence". All too often we see fighters far too concerned of their opponents particular prowess, and far less concerned than they should be, about just going out there and quickly beating the shit out of their foe with their best shit.

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

This was Merab's third loss in the UFC... It's not like he was some unbeatable God like Prime Fedor.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Hyper sensitive Yan fans itt

 

[HatKick]

I think this move changed everything

You could tell the crowd was thinking about having a laugh but Yan didn't give a shit. He was like, "Yes I stuck my hand up his ass! This is what peak performance looks like!"

 

[Tito Tapped]

This thread got me me thinking..... We really do not give any sympathy at all when a fighter gets injured in the cage but guts it out. Broken bones don't make you immune to critism of your performance.

Yet in other sports.... You see that guy limping but staying in the game and we don't just excuse it, we hail it as a feat.

"Warrior mentality"
"He's not 100%"
"Playing though the pain"
"This means so much to him"

But you break your hand on an MMA fight and we're going to admonish you for not punching more.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

Merab fought like a champ but got beat my the better fighter. It was a good fight and I hope they run it back eventually. I hope merab has another run in him because he had to claw his way to the top

 

[Arm Barbarian]

Nah, its when Yan put his hand up Merab ass, i think Merab just didn't know how to respond after that

This move may have also helped, when Yan kept elbowing Merab forearm, it seem to bother Merab a lot.

That sequence of elbows on Merabs forearm was actually brilliant, early calculation by Yan.

Merab actually was trying to shake out that same arm when he went back to the corner between rounds.

It definitely fucked his forearm up. Likely made his grip strength less pronounced.