Is it a new hype or do you think that Opetaia is solid? Personally I am a huge Jai fan and I believe that Briedis is really good. How do you think Opetaia would fare at HW? And what about Opetaia Beterbiev at CW?
Very good fighter but vulnerable. Having a tough fight with briedies is not something to be ashamed of but I think the two guys he knocked out before hand flattered his image a little
He's an excellent fighter. He has it all: Skills, speed, power, accuracy, footwork, chin, stamina, heart, ring IQ etc. But the thing is everything I said there also applies to Briedis who is also a very complete fighter. There's no disgrace in being hurt by or struggling against Briedis whatsoever because he can punch holes in castle walls and he's a brilliant fighter. The fact that both of them did 24 rounds with each other, landed plenty of bombs on each other and broke each other's bones without either being knocked down is a testament to their toughness and heart and even a 39 y/o Briedis is probably still the #2 CW in the world.
It was a good performance, not perfect but against Briedis you're never going to have an easy time. I think he showed some improvements from their first fight, was less reckless and more defensively responsible. Hard to say how he does at heavyweight. Can he handle the power of the bigger guys, will his power translate at the higher weight.
Very poor performance. I can tell you his team was very disappointed. After several exciting bouts his dance with Breidis sucked all the air out of the arena. Maybe he just doesn't match up with the Latvian....let's see his next couple fights.
Briedis is old but he had a lot more left the other night than I was expecting and when he did start being more aggressive and letting his hands go more he looked really good. I think that Breidis would beat Zurdo, CBS, Goulamirian, Riakporhe etc. and I don't think any of them sans possibly Goulamirian are taking his power like Jai did. You have to remember Briedis broke both sides of his jaw in the first fight not just one side. Imagine suffering a terrible and agonizing injury like that and still gutting it out to the final bell and taking bombs off the hardest puncher in the division? Yes he stuggled in the back half of the fight against Briedis in the rematch but it wasn't a close fight and in addition to his skills, heart, speed, and ring IQ, and savage power Briedis is made out of iron and he was able to soak up punishment from Jai that few other CWs would and hang in there to mount a late rally.
Good points on Briedis having a broken jaw. And Agree that Briedis would beat those guys you listed but those guys are pretty bad lol.
