that could either be very good (aoki gets him in a clinch and refuses to let him out, thus forcing edgar to actually fight) or very bad (edgar throws a double jab and runs around for 5 minutes x 3)
hahaha yea man frankie might look like this guy after the fight. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niejfZsV3FM[/ame]
That's not how Melendez beat him up and it's not how I would expect any of the UFC wrestlers to do it. Why bother with taking him down and counting on the cage to nullify his guard when you can just sprawl and brawl? His main problem with fighting Stateside isn't the cage, it's that the best LWs are here, they can all wrestle, and Aoki can't wrestle or strike for ****. If he fights the top LWs in America he'll be faced with guys that can dictate where the fight takes place and when one can only win the fight in one position that doesn't bode well for one's chances. And let's not forget that he's got a despicable Glass Jaw.:rofl
Because when you clinch an opponent against the cage there isn't any way he can bounce off of it to circle out and you can press him into it thereby negating his hips while pummeling for a better position. Why do you think people say Couture wouldn't have been nearly as successful had he contested the majority of his career in a ring?atsch
Yes, the **** it is. Did you even watch the fight? Every single time they were on the ground Melendez would just press him up against the cage, giving him no room for work for submissions. The cage was basically a third man in there. He doesn't play the striking game often, and with Aoki it's not so much a matter of whether or not he's able to take you down so much as whether or not he's able to latch onto you with anything. He can submit you standing or on the ground, top or bottom, cause you to react to danger in a way that better sets him up for something else, etc. That's all nullified when all the wrestler needs to do in the cage is press him up against it in order to stifle his ability. That's not the case with the ring. Both fighters have free reign. I'm not saying he's the best Lightweight in the world, I'm saying his kind of style fares vastly better in a ring than inside a cage, that's all. There are certain guys who'd beat him in both environments, certain guys who'd lose in both, and certain guys who'd split the meetings. I do think that, at his best, Aoki is capable of submitting all but the most skilled BJJ fighters (think BJ Penn) in the ring, though.
This is news to me, I did not know Couture was a UFC submission legend, You are talking about wrestling, and in that case yes, the cage makes it much easier to hold your opponent in position, but in terms of working for a sub, you are 100% wrong, subs are easier when there is space, just look at some of Aoki's subs, or at least stop discussing him until you have