Cain vs Dos Santos II and III were maulings. That was very far from being a mauling. I don't mind ground work. I don't like boring spoilers who spam a million take downs and don't even come close to finishing fights.
How is it being a boring spoiler when hes actively reigning down strikes and cranks from top position? He did barely any stalling at all in the first 4 rounds, and actually gave Omalley plenty of chances in the standup, when he didnt need to. I mean, what exactly is he supposed to be doing with a fighter the size and quality of Sean, whose specialty and biggest chance to win is to land a cross. Anyway, not trying to go in circles here, thanks for your perspective on it. Your view definitely seems to be the consensus that I see.
I mean he did more than he did against Cejudo and Yan in terms of offense I'll give him that, but he still did plenty of stalling. He circled constantly when not looking for a takedown and he wasn't actually looking for submissions. Those were all designed to hold O'Malley in place and drain him of energy. Even when when he kneed him in head several times and actually mounted a ground and pound attack worthy of mention there was nothing that came even close to ending the fight. The UFC ****ed up big time by making this fight. Lost a ton of money and hammered the finals nails into a division that used to be extremely exciting. Should have booked O'Malley/Sandhagen and shelved Merab or forced him to fight Umar.
Cranking someone and body folding them to drain them out isnt stalling, its vintage ground and pound when mixed with strikes like Merab was doing. Stalling would be if he got control and wasnt working towards anything other than to pass time in control, imo. And so what if his knees didnt come close to ending the fight. They were meaningful strikes all the same. The circling you mention is some of the only actual stalling he did and that was simple fight IQ. Why would you not circle on Omalley. It wasnt stalling as much as simply not allowinf Omalley to set up one of his only paths of victory. This fight was perfect timing, because Merab dominated Sean and deserves to be the champion. Whats the point in having an inferior fighter be the champ. Manipulating the rankings because the dominant style isnt what 'fans' like. Would make the UFC an even bigger joke than it already is.
Just out of curiosity did you happen to see his fights with Yan and Cejudo? The joke is that he refused title shots for years and acted as a bodyguard for his boyfriend. The bald idiot is allowing an inferior champion in Jones to fight old inactive Stipe and duck Aspinall anyways, so don't expect any consistency from the UFC. I'll say this.. While I hate Merabs style I would completely agree in principle if it weren't for his history in the division. **** him. If there's any fighter who deserves to be screwed by the company for the good of the sport it's him.
Merab is great. He is also a terrible fighter for the UFC. I actually slept in during the rounds last night, which I NEVER EVER do..... he is greatly skilled, much better than O´Malley... but he is going to have problems with Dana.
Well, the UFC actually has been doing this for a while. The whole Dana White contender series, while it is great, shows what is the deal... they will hire a punching bag that packs a wallop and walks forward all the time...
And much to nobody surprise, Dana criticized Valentina and Merab´s fights in the post press conference...
Also the UFC have been blessed with a lot of great strikers and stand up fighters in recent years, especially since the McGregor era so some fans that first experienced MMA at that time probably aren’t thrilled with the state of some of the champions/divisions right now. The level of striking in the past decade have meant wrestlers or ground have had to also improve their striking, but can also use that to create openings for their bread and butter. Belal, Islam, Merab are all good examples of this and even DDP to an extent. His wins over Sean and Izzy he could stand with them, but had to use other means to get the job done
Also UFC 309 fights announced Jones Vs Stipe - finally we get to see a heavyweight champion fight again after a year and half. Chandler Vs Olivera - Both fighters in the twilight of their career. You’ve got to think whoever wins this puts themself in a good position for a potential title shot if they can get 1 more solid win afterwards Bo Nickal Vs Paul Craig - It would have been nice to see Nickal fight someone ranked, but I imagine that will happen in his next fight. Craig does have wins over Jamaal Hill and Akalaev (via submission in literally in the last second of their fight he was losing) but this seems more of a padding/numbers/gain not experience fight for Nickal. Not one that’s particularly going to impress or progress his career 1 more decent name on the main card and this is really cool card. It’s nice too see the UFC putting two good cards together in a row (UFC 308 is insane) after some really lack luster cards this year
