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UFC Fight Night 124: Stephens vs. Choi (1/14/2018) - St. Louis, MO (Scottrade Center)


Elsalvajeloco

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Michael Johnson is so frustrating.  He loses way too many fights he should win.  I swear he is the best 1st round fighter on the planet and the worst 2nd and 3rd round fighter.  

Darren Elkins talks exactly like someone who's spent his fighting career getting punched in the face until his opponent gets too tired to defend himself.  

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God damn it, Michael Johnson. That first round is exactly where he excels. Using his long arms to tag his opponent while keeping relatively safe. But once somebody starts to pressure he him, he folds like a cheap suit.

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Just now, supremebve said:

Michael Johnson is so frustrating.  He loses way too many fights he should win.  I swear he is the best 1st round fighter on the planet and the worst 2nd and 3rd round fighter.  

Darren Elkins talks exactly like someone who's spent his fighting career getting punched in the face until his opponent gets too tired to defend himself.  

It worked for Homer Simpson. Why not in real life?

MJ just doesn't have the innate ability to make adjustments on the fly especially in terms of grappling. If you're a "wrestleboxer" who primarily likes to throw punches, unless you have to fighting ending ability against every opponent, you have to be ready when your opponents strings together offense on their own. Elkins moved to his back with no problem at all. No matter what weight class he's in, MJ is always going to have that string bean type physique where guys can easily overpower him. So adding into that porous ground defense and giving up position willingly, you're at a big strength deficit especially against a guy whose best asset outside of sheer toughness is being underrated in the strength department. All Elkins had to do is secure the choke. MJ did the other steps for him.

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4 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

It worked for Homer Simpson. Why not in real life?

MJ just doesn't have the innate ability to make adjustments on the fly especially in terms of grappling. If you're a "wrestleboxer" who primarily likes to throw punches, unless you have to fighting ending ability against every opponent, you have to be ready when your opponents strings together offense on their own. Elkins moved to his back with no problem at all. No matter what weight class he's in, MJ is always going to have that string bean type physique where guys can easily overpower him. So adding into that porous ground defense and giving up position willingly, you're at a big strength deficit especially against a guy whose best asset outside of sheer toughness is being underrated in the strength department. All Elkins had to do is secure the choke. MJ did the other steps for him.

Johnson's frame projects smaller than anyone in the sport.  I swear almost every fighter I've ever seen in person is surprisingly large or surprisingly small.  He's not just surprisingly small, he almost projects frailty.  

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Just now, supremebve said:

Johnson's frame projects smaller than anyone in the sport.  I swear almost every fighter I've ever seen in person is surprisingly large or surprisingly small.  He's not just surprisingly small, he almost projects frailty.  

When he was just a TUF fighter (and Jeremy Stephens' homeboy at Alliance), I thought that was going to be his undoing when it came to staying in the UFC. Luckily, he's a much better fighter since those days. However, he has to catch people on the button for his punches to be meaningful because he doesn't have a base to generate power from. 

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I really don't see who Usman couldn't do that to. Even Wonderboy would have to be careful and keep his distance. I think a fight with Woodley would be interesting because Tyron is certainly capable enough to stop those takedowns and Usman really hasn't had extensive time being on the feet. Woodley is always a right hand away from ending matters. The problem is once you get into the middle rounds and championship rounds, Usman can probably grind away at Woodley.  Then, we could get scoring all over the place.

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3 minutes ago, supremebve said:

I'm trying to imagine Usman getting slapped with a boomerang, and nope I can't even imagine it.  Therefore, I agree.

I cannot see Usman making a bitch ass snitch ass social media video saying he's going to press charges immediately afterwards. I'm laughing out loud at the thought of it.

All those scouting reports I read about Usman in like 2014 or '15 saying he had inhuman strength and some of the best wrestling in MMA certainly were spot on. He's good enough on his feet not to get into major trouble, certainly not fluid yet, but once he gets hold of you you're done. I think he outmuscles Tyron and, as you said, outlasts him if he doesn't get put to sleep by the right. 

Awesome promo afterwards too. 

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There is no way a fighter at this point in their career shouldn't be able to finish a triangle choke.  She never really got her ankle under her knee and didn't pull her arm across her neck.  Just figure fouring your legs around someone's head and arm is not enough.

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100% agreed. It's unfortunately her best attribute. She's pretty good in scrambles and when things devolve into wild brawls but Rose-Clark stayed tight and technical even when Paige caught her with that spinning backfist/elbow and tried to pressure immediately. She was landing really nice counter punches right on VanZant's exposed jaw as Jessica backed up. Good work. Unspectacular but you don't need to be spectacular to be a top flyweight.

This main event should be fucking nuts. Head says Stephens, heart says Choi.

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11 minutes ago, Oyaji said:

100% agreed. It's unfortunately her best attribute. She's pretty good in scrambles and when things devolve into wild brawls but Rose-Clark stayed tight and technical even when Paige caught her with that spinning backfist/elbow and tried to pressure immediately. She was landing really nice counter punches right on VanZant's exposed jaw as Jessica backed up. Good work. Unspectacular but you don't need to be spectacular to be a top flyweight.

This main event should be fucking nuts. Head says Stephens, heart says Choi.

I believe that was Fabiano Scherner in Paige's corner as chief second since he teaches in the Portland area. As someone who has a BJJ black belt, you should tell your students that head and arm throws are a no-no. Yet, she attempted one tonight .

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1 minute ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

I believe that was Fabiano Scherner in Paige's corner as chief second since he teaches in the Portland area. As someone who has a BJJ black belt, you should tell your students that head and arm throws are a no-no. Yet, she attempted one tonight .

It is women's MMA, someone is obligated to try one in every fight.

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1 minute ago, supremebve said:

It is women's MMA, someone is obligated to try one in every fight.

Yeah, in the lower level fights (and every now and then back in Strikeforce). She hasn't made it work since the Curran fight and that was her debut. The job of the new trainer should be to isolate the weak points and eliminate them. This was basically the same PVZ except before she hurt her arm, she was a little bit more confident in her techniques. Hell, matter of fact, she looked better after the injury.

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Jeremy Stephens always wins these fights if not puts up an incredibly respectable performance in a losing effort. DHC was buzzing Stephens a lot early but I don't think that made him super uncomfortable. He got closer and closer to DHC, and it was just a matter of time.

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It's always so frustrating when you encounter a fighter like Choi; someone with tremendous upside who is completely undone at higher levels by a small amount of bad habits. Choi's complete inability to move his head is going to prevent him from ever being a contender.

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