Machida VS Romero
UFC FIGHT NIGHT June 27, 2015
Things haven't been going well for the Dragon. Losing 2 of his last 3 fights can't be good for morale or momentum. Granted the losses were to the middleweight champion Chris Weidman and #3 middleweight contender Luke Rockhold. Some fighters age like a fine wine for a spell but reality has a way of crashing down brutally especially in the virile ecosystem of MMA. Yoel Romero was an underdog coming into this fight but his fight record and pre-mma credentials tell a different story. Romero is an Olympic wrestler with a 34-11 record and 9-1 mma record. His body is built like granite, has both power in his hands and endurance to go the limit. Machida has always relied on his good measurement of distance and timing but has proven to be susceptible to ring cutting and crowding in his later fights.
Herein lies the problem with fighting in front of a live audience in the most popular MMA organization in the world. Sooner or later you'll be studied, scouted and overthrown. Machida hasn't really learned any new tricks as evident in this outing. He still uses his superior footwork to bridge the gap from the outside and hastily retreats only to tag his opponent in transition when they bear down on him. He's not known for good infighting or wrestler-level clinch work and is reliant on forcing his opponents to make mistake. Bouncing around and pivoting on his toes allows him to switch stances quickly and effectively when cutting off his opponent's line of attack. In this fight he was trigger happy and seemed less like the patient passive fighter he had been in his championship days.
In my opinion the more aggressive version of Machida has been more of an attempt to appease the fans. He's never won consistently with this approach against stronger more durable types like Weidman or Rockhold. Romero on the opposite end of the spectrum is a slow starter, content to feel out his opponent and is more deliberate when throwing his shots. There was nothing wrong with Machida bouncing around and faking but against a patient and savvy adversary this will get you timed once they get a feel of your attacks. The fight doesn't end well for the Dragon. Inspite of getting in some good combinations, Machida loses out in the clinch in the 3rd round, with the wrestler Romero on top and gets KO'ed by short elbows to the head.
Herein lies the problem with fighting in front of a live audience in the most popular MMA organization in the world. Sooner or later you'll be studied, scouted and overthrown. Machida hasn't really learned any new tricks as evident in this outing. He still uses his superior footwork to bridge the gap from the outside and hastily retreats only to tag his opponent in transition when they bear down on him. He's not known for good infighting or wrestler-level clinch work and is reliant on forcing his opponents to make mistake. Bouncing around and pivoting on his toes allows him to switch stances quickly and effectively when cutting off his opponent's line of attack. In this fight he was trigger happy and seemed less like the patient passive fighter he had been in his championship days.
In my opinion the more aggressive version of Machida has been more of an attempt to appease the fans. He's never won consistently with this approach against stronger more durable types like Weidman or Rockhold. Romero on the opposite end of the spectrum is a slow starter, content to feel out his opponent and is more deliberate when throwing his shots. There was nothing wrong with Machida bouncing around and faking but against a patient and savvy adversary this will get you timed once they get a feel of your attacks. The fight doesn't end well for the Dragon. Inspite of getting in some good combinations, Machida loses out in the clinch in the 3rd round, with the wrestler Romero on top and gets KO'ed by short elbows to the head.
Velasquez VS Werdum
UFC 188 June 13, 2015
I've never liked Werdum, even back in the Pride days I was more enamored with the likes of Cro-cop, Fedor, and Igor Vovchanchyn. Every horse has his day I guess. Not only does Werdum look like a horse, his nom de guerre "Vai Cavalo " means "go horse". This was a guy who had a stupid looking grin and was wont to flop defensively into an open guard position(like many old-school BJJ exponents on defense-mode) when the stand up exchanges weren't going his way. This was the way to go back when guard passing wasn't in the standard training routine of most fighters but in Pride a lot of wrestlers were mixing good grappling and punching ability(not boxing, guys like Fedor, or Big Nog don't really "box"), so I couldn't see why a guy of his size and reach would keep relying on these tactics. The open guard defensive style of Werdum came across as stalling or a cheap way to reset the engagement.
Recently Werdum has recently experienced a resurgence after training under former Chute Boxe striking coach Rafael Cordeiro. Werdum is currently on a 6-fight streak(this one included). Cordeiro teachers his fighter to brawl, not box. This style of fighting is pronounced in many former Chute Boxe stalwarts like Wanderlei Silva, Shogun, Cyborg(both male/female), Ninja. The main idea is to keep pushing forward while milling assorted combinations of punches and kicks . Getting hit is expected and this type of heavy sparring purportedly creates grit(at a cost). Not much head movement is involved which eventually takes a toll on the fighter after having eaten so many hits to the head. With the exception of Anderson Silva(before the leg injury) most of the original Chute Boxe stable is retired or on their way to retirement. Skill-wise, Werdum's striking is pretty raw compared to other guys in the UFC but apparently good enough for the Heavyweight Division.
Cain Velasquez is back from a long vacation. Primate training at the AKA is not for the feint of heart as members have been known to beat each other to a pulp in preparation for a match. The old adage that fights are won in the gym seems to be taken with an absurd level of seriousness at the AKA. Its a typical day when someone is injured and is expected to walk it off. In past fights, Cain was shown to have incredible endurance for man of his size. Cain sets a brisk pace coupled with a grind and beatdown method of attack. Working his opponents against the cage, cain combines pressure clinchwork with lots of heavy punches. In his last outing against Junior Dos Santos, Cain lit up JDS like a xmas tree and reduced his face into a puddle of grizzled meat.
The outcome of this match was leaning heavily in favor of the champ Cain. Some where expecting him to walk through Werdum(myself included). Cain starts out strong as expected and proceeds to trade blows with "Horsie". He secures a takedown or two but doesn't really do much as he allows the fight to continue in stand up. He gets cut but nothing really serious.
Round 2 sees Cain using more head movement and leg kicks. Werdum starts to get his rhythm and knocks Cain's head around a few while trying to mitigate some of Cain's strikes with clinching and defensively catching some of Cain's leg kicks. Cain at this point starts looking wobbly, his feet can't seem to catch him and his head bobbles around like a dash ornament. In some exchanges it even looks like he's gasping for air. Clearly all is not well. Cain's attack look pathetic as his punches are simply pawing and lack crispness. He doesn't throw his hip into the leg kicks here.
By round 3 there's no doubt that Cain is panting.Instead or taking a more patient approach, Cain's corner instructs him to go for takeaways. Cain does so and probably due to exhaustion or inability to cope with the thinner atmosphere in Mexico CIty, ends up feeding himself to Werdum's guillotine.
