Usman vs. Ponzinibbio

I'll take Ponzi by KO/TKO. Usman may very well just dryhump his way to yet another boring UD, but Ponzi will be the best striker he has faced, will be able to keep him at range, has legitimate KO power and won't be easy to take down. Usman has zero fight IQ. If he can't impose his will on the ground, and can't get the fight there, he will buckle like a belt.

Think Ponzi ices him in the second. Not sure why so many convinced he'll win by KO/TKO given that not even Perry could KO Ponzi and he hits way harder, and has much better shot selection than Usman.

* Edited at 03.24.2018, 9:58 PM ET *

Maybe 1 day wrestlers will get the respect they deserve. Nothing builds more character. This isn't 91' anymore. Wrestling beat Jiu Jitsu. Khabib will win. Colby will win. Usman will win and because Till won't try to grapple, Thompson will win. 

@Bruce I think the best part of MMA is that it serves to force different methods of fighting to evolve.At least it does in an MMA context. It sure was easier calling the outcome of a fight way back when for this reason. It used to be the case that grapplers/wrestlers pretty much dominated the upper tiers of combat, especially wrestleboxers. I'm not even talking the pioneer days either. Guys like Hendo, Rashad etc. Dan henderson was able to become a multi-division champ on the back of wrestling and an overhand right like a sour mule's back leg.

So the kickboxers and karate guys had to go back to the drawing board and learn to incorporate sprawls, hooks etc into their clinch games and basically re-calibrate what they did at what distance and when they did this, we saw this new breed of modified kickboxing-based fighters (guys like Aldo, pettis, machida, Rua) dominating. I think a lot of it has to do with how much better boxing is in tight spaces, and at middle distance, than American Kickboxing and Muay Thai--and the latter being so ingrained in the mentality of older generation MMA fighters.This is probably compounded by the fact that these also have very predictable patterns and frames. Although it's a bit of a simplification, it's true to a certain extent that if you've seen one muay thai or kickboxing fight, you've seen them all. I definitely wouldn't say that of professional boxing. Or Maybe I just mean that the expression of fights is much more varied in Boxing than kickboxing.

Case in point; Rose Namjunas icing JJ, who really is a buckstandard kickboxer (albeit a very good one) at boxing range after  reading exactly what she was going to throw  and catching her out of time. Or that glorious uppercut KO from Ortega on Edgar. Aldo getting boxed up Holloway, twice. The time of  traditional chute-to-box in MMA has passed.

The pendulum seems to be swinging back the other way now with grapplers/wrestler/boxers/ dominating (Garbrandt, Dillashaw, Mcgregor, khabib, DC, Lee, Ortega).  We're seeing more and more fighters solicit the services of professional boxers (Dillashaw hiring lomachenko, Justino sparring with shields).


And I think that's the game. It's a kind of this never-ending, ever-evolving arms race. And I think that's great.

Agreed 100%. Each Martial Art has evolved, combat has evolved and more importantly, people have evolved and its amazing to watch. Just think, in less than 10 years Ortega will be getting blasted by some kid who does everything better. 

My point though, is that no matter how evolved everything becomes, a high-level wrestler will still be the most formidable opponent. No matter how unstoppable these forces become..wrestling is the immovable object. Look at what Khabib did to Barboza...Edson Fu***** Barboza. Made him look average, silly. The skill involved in order to achieve such a feat is apparently unfathomable.  Look at how Maia dismantled and embarrassed Gunni Nelson..then look at how Colby smoked him at his own game. There's just nothing like being able to hold a man down..nothing. Matt Brown, a much younger Matt Brown, made Wonderboy look like Wonderbread. What Stipe did to Francis etc. 

Wrestling is so powerful it triggers even the viewers. They see a man stuck, helpless, outclassed and they spew "this is boring". Most would rather watch Gordon Ryan and that Jones guy play footsies. Or people preaching Aoki and Tonons grappling ability...meh. Khabib would pin them down and that would be that. Askren would pin Tonon down and it'd be over. Wrestlers don't need to attack your ligaments either..They go after your torso and arms. So because you attacked my ACL that makes you a wizard at grappling? Colby could roll out of bed and make John Danaher look like the fool he is. Sakuraba vs the Gracie esc. 

To me, there is no comparison. For the people who call wrestling boring to watch, I implore you to visit a wrestling gym. Go back to your high-school and see how long you last up there. There's nothing tougher, more physically & mentally demanding and once you've mastered it you've mastered this planet and all its inhabitants. 

The Stun Gun is 1 of the most exciting fighters on the roster imo. From mounted crucifix TKO's to flying knees to spinning elbows. Hell, even when he loses its entertaining. Speaking of which, where is he? I miss him. 

Because a backpack is dependable. How is dependable boring? I don't get it but that's just my opinion. Maybe Kim will opt out of another UFC contract, when the time comes, and end up at Rizin or Bellator. That would be awesome haha

Well, I personally prefer striking-based fights. Boxing is the only martial art I've ever trained (had a crack at Muay Thai, wasn't for me, tried Karate for one lesson, also not for me) and I like a good old fashioned fisticuffs exchange.

I'd say a lot of Australians will be similar to me. In the states, wrestling is an institution...it's a huge part of the sporting culture and basically every highschool has a wrestling team. In Australia it's pretty much nonexistant. Robert Whittaker is the national wrestling champ though, so it has to be going on somewhere. And given the performance against Yoel, he's not too shabby at it.

Do i find wrestling boring? Yes and no. I certainly find it a lot less boring than when I first started watching MMA.  I definitely have a healthy respect for it.It depends on how much work is going on from the top. If whoever has top position is just laying there doing nothing, landing some pissy little hammerfists with zero torque behind them for 3 minutes/not working for a transition then yeah, I hate that ****. Probably the only thing worse is fence-grinding and wall and stalling....frustrates me no end. But if you're talking Khabib smashing people into goo, or DC slamming someone someone then that's a different deal. That doesn't bore me at all. I also like a good sub as much as good KO, but quite honestly wouldn't watch a BJJ match.

I'd probably like it more if I understood it better. Having never competed in it  even in a friendly environment, and not understanding the rules  a wrestling match isn't something I can access for enjoyment. However I recently became a fan of Ice Hockey which is also non-existent in Australia, so there's hope for me yet.

* Edited at 03.26.2018, 2:32 AM ET *

@Fishrat that's big of you to admit man! Props. I wrestled for 5 years. Started in Middle-school to keep me in shape for football. Funny thing is I hated it at first. Absolutely hated it. Getting man-handled and mauled by guys twice my size day in & out. Having to wear a singlet...yikes. Once I grew into my britches some, I could handle myself better. That's when I really fell in love with it. Its like nothing else I've ever done. 

My favorite part was the drilling. You'd learn a couple techniques everyday and got to drill them nonstop. Being in a room where iron is being sharpened. People bettering themselves every single day in ways that will apply to life. How there's a million ways to trip, slam and pin a man. 

Holding someone down is actually very difficult. People never stop squirming and its like gravity is working against you. 

@Bruce next time there's a flagship event coming up give me a heads up and I'll tune in. I actually have no idea what's what in the word of wrestling and wouldn't even know where to begin watching it. But yeah, I'll give it a try.

While Freestyle and Folk is amazing, my favorite is Greco-Roman. Nothing like lifting up a human from their belly & slamming them on their head. Literally my favorite thing ever. Check out United World Wrestling's youtube account. They cover everything Greco-Roman and even some freestyle. Have classic matches like Snyder vs Sadullaev & much more! 


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8PYovluicFUUD_YxJIcMA