Yan must win. The Merab Meta Is Killing Bantamweight

[prime_lobov]

But he’s literally dropped or hurt every opponent he’s fought except Merab.

So this more about Merab’s ability to take/avoid heavy damage then Yan’s ability to hurt people.

He has plenty of power and it’s been shown many times with a variety of different strikes.

Ok I guess what I mean is he doesn’t have sufficient power specifically to win via TKO/KO against Merab.

 

[Neck&Neck]

Props to Merab for defending his belt I think 4 times this year!?
We need a new BMF type belt, the MAC… Most Active Champ

 

[krelianx]

It requires a better quality grappler like Umar to make the grappling competitive. My hunch is Umar will win the rematch.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Ok I guess what I mean is he doesn’t have sufficient power specifically to win via TKO/KO against Merab.

Don’t over estimate Merab’s durability.

He’s getting old, been in the game a whole, lots of camps and grueling fights, trying to cut weight and defend 4 times in a year.

They said Leon didn’t have the power to hurt Usman. Anything can happen in a fight between elite combatants and I’ll give Yan the credit to say he is more than capable even if it’s unlikely.

 

[nonoob]

It’s because he lets his opponents touch him too much.

Seems like a touch too much.

 

[jeff7b9]

TBH I didn't even watch that fight as I have a wife and young kids and had to get them to bed before I could locate a stream of dubious legality and watch Costa/Rockhold and Usman/Edwards 2.

So this forcefield is a completely legal tactic, that has been utilized at some level, in the UFC since the mid-late 90s?

Aldo certainly was on the decline at that time but he should have had better hands, better kicks and maybe even better BJJ than Merab that point. It's not like Aldo didn't chew up wrestlers earlier in his career though that was sometimes aided by fence grabs and shots after the bell. Aldo's standup was always on another level compared to his opponents so he never had to do anything differently, maybe he should have played the ground game with Merab if his striking is neutralized.

This thread isn't really about Aldo though, the point is it takes 2 to tango. Do I wish Merab went for finishes more? Yup. Is it hard to finish top guys? Yup. Look no further than the endless threads we've had about Khamzat/DDP and Islam/JDM.

Pretty much yes to all that shit... but that is not the point

MMA is chess, not checkers so you know that someone will figure out Merab sooner rather than later.

Father time.

Papa gonna come sooner or later and zap that energizer bunny battery.

Telomeres have but a finite amount of times which they may be divided before they become frayed.

Science may one day find a work around but that paradigm shift is quite unlikely to occur within the reign of this frankly already quite long in the tooth little fellow.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

i hope merab wins, we got to keep the american champ going strong!!!!

big fan of merab, great attitude, unstoppable wrestling, and proud american

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

The what?

The uber-meta-twit ?

more words to say nothing! it's better this way

 

[Trabaho]

I prefer realisitic fights over finishes. If that is his style I want it to stay. I want to see who wins. No fake show.

 

[Dmac07]

Merab doesn't really seem to want to move up and fight Volk. Between obviously having a lot of respect for Volk, and probably seeing it as a tough style match up, he is racking up the defense's, and who can blame him.

Wouldn't mind seeing Merab v Volk though, Volk is a little chinnier now, but I don't see Merab KOing him, and if Volk can get up vs Islam he can do it vs Merab. Would still be a fascinating fight.

 

[empsim]

I don't mind Merab. He has a high pace and also stands and trades a bit between the wrestling.

The last Chimaev and Makhachev fights were much worse.

 

[chinarice]

But he’s literally dropped or hurt every opponent he’s fought except Merab.

So this more about Merab’s ability to take/avoid heavy damage then Yan’s ability to hurt people.

He has plenty of power and it’s been shown many times with a variety of different strikes.

I've watched him have no answer for grappling in multiple fights. Are you sure he hurt Aljo in the rematch? Pretty sure he was tooled almost the entire fight. His 1st round of doing nothing in damn near every fight is predictable and just not my cup of tea.

 

[MMACro]

No Merab fight has been as boring as Khamzat or Islam's most recent wins.

Seriously,Aldo fight?

 

[Deceasedxo]

Seriously,Aldo fight?

yup

 

[Fahcough]

Agreed, wrestlers are boring and the cage should be a ring. With 10 second stalling stand ups

 

[fizzlehiss]

The Merab Meta is basically a human infinite takedown glitch, and it’s horrible for the health of the division. He isn’t winning by out fighting fighters, he’s winning by exploiting the scoring system with weaponized, freakishly inhuman cardio. He’ll shoot 20+ times a fight, never slow down, and at some point you stop calling it “good conditioning” and start getting suspicious as to why his stamina is literally superhuman. The goal isn’t to secure clean takedowns, it’s to chain wrestle, cage push, knee your thighs and spam activity until the judges cave.

Look no further than the Aldo fight. Merab landed zero takedowns. Yet he won clearly just by pinning Aldo to the fence and shutting the fight down for 15 minutes. No damage, no real moments, just pure negation. You even saw it vs Cory Sandhagen. He actually had Cory hurt on the feet, and instead of going for the kill with strikes, he immediately went back to grappling and control. His instinct isn’t to end him, it’s to smother him.

If Merab keeps the belt, bantamweight will turn into a 25-minute cardio and clinch exam for every contender. Camps become “don’t get backpacked” seminars. We lose finishes, highlights, and violence, and get nothing but “hustle” and scorecards. That’s why a Yan win would be bigger than just his comeback story. If he beats Merab, he’s not just dethroning the champ, he’s saving 135 from an era of grinding, risk averse boredom.

Wrong. Merab is one of the most exciting things to happen at BW. He doesn't only wrestle, he strikes and makes it exciting.

 

[bjjwar]

Crazy that Merab’s whole strategy is doing everything to avoid figting and and he gets rewarded for that.

When he actually once tried to fight, Marlon Moraes knocked him down 7 times in 5 min lol.

The least skillfull fighter of all time in every single department of mma is unbeatable. Its embarassing, its like we’re not even at the skilllevel of UFC 1…

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I've watched him have no answer for grappling in multiple fights. Are you sure he hurt Aljo in the rematch? Pretty sure he was tooled almost the entire fight. His 1st round of doing nothing in damn near every fight is predictable and just not my cup of tea.

He hurt him later in the fight when Aljo was gassed and couldn’t stall out rounds from backpack. That fight was a split, first round toss-up and then 2 clear rounds either way. Anyways I said every fighter he fought, and he clearly hurt him bad multiple times (including dropping him) in the first fight.

It’s actually a false narrative that he does nothing in the first round, that was literally only in the few fights against Aljo. If you look at fight stats he actually outworks opponents in 90% of first rounds. He is lower output though early because again, that’s his style - see what opponent is doing and craft a counter approach to break it apart.

Not liking an incredibly high degree of technical violence from someone that never gets finished and is always trying to hurt opponents is an interesting take though, I’ll give you that. I can get not liking Yan as a person, but it’s incomprehensible to me to like martial arts/fighting/violence and not enjoy his fights.

 

[chinarice]

He hurt him later in the fight when Aljo was gassed and couldn’t stall out rounds from backpack. That fight was a split, first round toss-up and then 2 clear rounds either way. Anyways I said every fighter he fought, and he clearly hurt him bad multiple times (including dropping him) in the first fight.

It’s actually a false narrative that he does nothing in the first round, that was literally only in the few fights against Aljo. If you look at fight stats he actually outworks opponents in 90% of first rounds. He is lower output though early because again, that’s his style - see what opponent is doing and craft a counter approach to break it apart.

Not liking an incredibly high degree of technical violence from someone that never gets finished and is always trying to hurt opponents is an interesting take though, I’ll give you that. I can get not liking Yan as a person, but it’s incomprehensible to me to like martial arts/fighting/violence and not enjoy his fights.

I can't say I'm ever like oh boy, Petr Yan is fighting. I can appreciate his skill and think he's a very good fighter. Just never been a fan.

 

[Frode Falch]

- Do wild clay guida style striking.
- spam 300 takedowns.
- get 13 of them.
- the guy gets up after a few secs

Repeat.. Win the fig... I mean the point match.

ZZZzzz...