quarta-feira, 14 de novembro de 2018

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

   Who else was pumped to see Cowboy get a big win against a young up-and-comer like Mike Perry ? I certainly was.
   We take Donald Cerrone for granted because he has around for a long time and takes a fight everytime the UFC gives him one. We are talking about the man with two records " Most wins in UFC history (21)" and "Most finishes in UFC history (15)", we are talking about an active future hall of famer and an extremely exciting fighter to watch, a knockout artist and high level striker who is also a very underrated grappler and very agressive looking for the submission (16 submission finishes in career).
   Donald has a illustrious career, but he is highly ranked in two divisions and very active and just 35 years old, if that seems old remember, Tyron Woodley is 35 and Conor Mcgregor is 30, this man still has a  lot of gas in the tank and he doesn´t seem like the type of guy to retire because of a lack of passion or being burnt out, also being described by his personal friends like Joe Rogan as an adrenaline junkie.
   I can´t wait to see what is in store for this charismatic and exciting fighter, especially now that there is talk of him fighting Mcgregor, wich would be a good fight to watch and a massive payday for Donald, although I would love to see Cerrone fight a guy like Nate Diaz or Justin Gaethje, maybe Beneil Dariush more amazing fights to watch and push Cowboy up the rankings in a more gradual manner.

 

quarta-feira, 7 de novembro de 2018

Do not sleep in "T-City"

  Brian Ortega, an interesting case.
  This is a very tricky fighter to figure out, a grappler and BJJ expert who doesn´t attempt to control his opponent for large periods of time on the ground, instead Brian strikes with an impressive boxing and some MMA knees and elbows, if you don´t believe check his knockout of Frankie Edgar (first time Frankie got finished) and his hard earned KO against Clay Guida with a nasty knee after he adjusted his striking.
   Ortega doesn´t attempt takedowns constantly to try and avoid striking and get the fight to the ground as soon as possible, like Demian Maia, actually according to UFC.com he has attempted 7 takedowns in all of his UFC fights and got 1 of them, although the fight by fight stats in the same page, there are no records of Brian getting a takedown (If you look up his highlights you will see a sweep from back clinch). He takes advantage of grappling scrambles, or a takedown from his opponent lik Renato Moicano, who shot a takedown and got guillotined.
  I have to say I am a fan of Brian and can´t wait to see his fight against Max Holloway, how can you not be excited about a young mixed martial artist who has a very high fight IQ, a strong and creative grappling style and submission game and a scientifc and adjustable striking.
Place your bets, Brian or Max ?

sexta-feira, 2 de novembro de 2018

Jon Jones, an unsolved case.

   Rising through a division of killers in Light Heavyweight, Jonny Bones has been a difficult theme for me to talk about with MMA fans and people who have never watched even KO highlights, I don´t know wether to introduce him as one of the greatest to ever set foot in the octagon, or the man who has been suspended and arrested multiple times, then shows himself unapologetic, cocky and says he´s  worthy of forgiveness. Well I can´t just forget about the hit and run of a pregnant woman.
   I don´t share the opinion that he, because of his talent, has some responsability to be great like Joe Rogan said in his podcast, I think that he worked and devoted himself to fighting, even if less than others, he still deserves recognition for that. However the theory goes that Jon could be even better... Truth be said, we will never know, maybe without the illegal substances, the partying or whatever Jon wouldn´t perform, things just turned out like this. Even though he is a superstar and his life is very public and so are his mistakes he should be allowed make his own decisions and his own mistakes.
    It is very satisfying for me to hear Daniel Cormier talk trash to Jon, his words, although harsh and often said with bad intentions, they seem more paternal and caring, like a wish of improvement for a younger brother going down a darker path, even though this did not take the sting out of some words it does lose some meaning because of the domination that Jon inflicted on DC over the span of two fights, that makes the trash talk look more like the ramblings of a sore loser, instead of a nice guy who legitimately wants better for a young man who is following on his footsteps.
   Watching Bones Jones fight is a pleasure, his flowy striking, his technical but imposing wrestling, his brutal, animalistic ground and pound and his devastating close range knees and elbows. I´d say he is missing a stronger submission game and better boxing to be the ultimate all around martial artist, and after his press conference for his fight against Alexander Gustafsson he said his hands were much better. This is why this topic came to my mind, this press conference Jon looked honest and charming, talked some funny stuff and teased Gustafsson, and I hope this is the end of the two-faced and cocky Jon that we saw in the press lead up to the Cormier fights.
   Despite all the charachter flaws, I hope this is a new beginning for Jon because I am a fan, and it´s a pleasure to watch him fight.