Best Matches Seen November 2019 |
GLORY 71 11/22/19
Arthur Sorsor vs. Matt Zilch 3R. Zilch had a massive output in each round, content to stay in the mid to close ranges that Sorsor liked due to his muay thai background & just keep throwing & throwing & throwing some more to keep from ever having to go on the defensive. He landed a lot of low kicks early, but was more effective backing Sorsor with the front kick then coming forward with the left hook (especially effective to the body) & following with the left uppercut. Zilch was scoring better with the left hand even out of the orthodox stance, and while Sorsor would hit him back hard from time to time, it was really his all out aggression that was winning him the fight for as long as he could sustain the kind of pressure that would allow him to get away with fighting without exiting the pocket. This was also Zilch's first pro fight, so you figured he'd have an energy or adrenaline dump at some point or hell just tire out from endless throwing, but his output was really insane. Sorsor decided if Zilch was going to throw a strike a second, he really had to do something to put him on his back foot, and did a much better job of forcing Zilch to think about defense early in the 2nd. Zilch was still throwing & throwing, but these were more arm shots as Sorsor used his left hook effectively & mixed his approaches, throwing in the flying knee, to try to keep Zilch from settling in. Sorsor did a good job using the right straight to set up the left hook, but as the round progressed, he was the one who couldn't keep the crazy pace up & Zilch again became the aggressor. With Zilch again outlanding Sorsor so badly, the round could have been his, but due to the virtues of open scoring, we knew every judge gave it to Sorsor. With everything on the line in the 3rd, they somehow managed to fight even more frantically, charging at one another then bombing away on the inside. Again, Zilch seemed to be overwhelming Sorsor for the most part, doing a great job of mixing the hook & uppercut with the same hand off either side, and it looked like he was going to wind up outlanding Sorsor by about 150 for the fight. Sorsor got himself off the ropes in the last minute though, and hurt Zilch with a big uppercut. Zilch, of course, stood in front of Sorsor throwing & throwing, but Sorsor had a lot more on his blows, and was able to stun Zilch with a left hook. I don't know how either of these two had any energy, but Sorsor was pumped up by his late success, and even managed to hit a short range flying knee. I thought Zilch should have won the decision based on the 1st two rounds. I get that damage is the key factor in GLORY, and Sorsor had a few powerful hooks in the 2nd, but Zilch still outlanded Sorsor 57 to 34 in that round. Overall, Zilch landed 186 strikes while Sorsor only threw 172. Either way, this was just an insane amount of action. Sorsor won a split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Very good match.
Lowrant-T Nelson vs. Ammari Diedrick 3R. Nelson is a real old school throwback, if you have a fight in any discipline, or three at once as he's a two time "King of Sparta", he'll gladly show up for the challenge. Nelson isn't the fastest starter though, and Diedrick did a good job of holding the center of the ring in the 1st round, just fighting a solid technical style featuring the left hook & right low kick. Nelson did a much better job of pressuring Diedrick in the last 2 rounds to create an inside fight. He'd use a flying knee to get in, where he'd bring more knees until Diedrick exited. Diedrick didn't always do that so elegantly, and when he tried to just back out to stop the flurry of knees, Nelson dropped him with a hook. The rest of the round was great action back & forth as Nelson looked for the finish, but Diedrick had a lot left, and they just exchanged bombs in the pocket. Ultimately, this was a battle of styles with Diedrick winning when Nelson waited because he has more technique, but Nelson winning the inside or exchanges because he could create chaos & just be more fluid & reactive. Being the natural welterweight, Diedrick should have been the harder striker, but he's a bit stiff, & after the 1st round Nelson did a good job of keeping the action just inside Diedrick's comfortable striking trajectory. Nelson also shut down Diedrick's offense by going into the clinch after he threw a punch or two. Diedrick just couldn't get the space to counter or answer, as Nelson mostly just swarmed him the last two rounds. Nelson won a unanimous decision 29-27. Good match.
Benjamin Adegbuyi vs. D'Angelo Marshall 3R. Adegbuyi KO'd an overeager Marshall in just 36 seconds in their 1st bout at Glory 50 2/16/18, but Marshall has improved, and this time he did a good job of fighting a solid technical fight behind his very effective jab. Until the final 10 seconds of the 1st, Marshall was clearly winning, but Adegbuyi used the jab to set up stunning Marshall with the right uppercut then dropped him with another uppercut with about a second remaining. Marshall recovered well in between rounds, the issue for him was that he didn't have the stamina to keep on the offensive & isn't the type of fighter who moves much when his combo is finished. As long as Marshall was initiating, he did well, but once he'd stop & just stand in the pocket waiting to make his next push, Adegbuyi had way too many offensive options & would use his jab to open up the big shot around or through Marshall's block. Marshall has the 7.5" reach advantage, but he didn't do a good job of fighting long. His jab was effective, but he was mostly using it to close the distance, which then benefitted Adegbuyi rather than holding his ground and doubling it up, using the front kick, fighting long & throwing the big right hand at distance when it was there. It's not that Marshall's attacks didn't work, it's that Adegbuyi has more power & more technique, so once Marshall put himself in front of Adegbuyi with no real exit strategy, he had to deal with all that Adegbuyi had to answer with. It seemed like Adegbuyi knew that as long as Marshall didn't fight a smarter fight, he wouldn't be able to create an opening for the big shot & Adegbuyi would get equal opportunity to answer him with his more accurate & powerful punches. Marshall could have won the 2nd round, but going into the 3rd 20-17 didn't result in drama being at an all-time high. Todd Grisham was overselling the quality of the fight, but the pace was very good for heavyweights. Still, it was one of those fights where Adegbuyi & his corner weren't really happy as he was somewhat overly defensive, still covering when he could have been attacking, yet at the same time he was running away with it on the scorecards & had no reason to now open up in the 3rd despite his corner urging him to put Marshall away. It seemed like Marshall should have been leading in total strikes, with Adegbuyi's advantage being landing the handful of really good shots, but both had landed 78 when they showed the stats midway through the 3rd. This round was pretty close as well, with the same story of Marshall being more active but Adegbuyi being more accurate. In the end, Marshall landed 1 more shot but threw 74 more. Honestly, even though Marshall wasn't getting rounds from the judges, if not for final 10 seconds of the 1st, you could make the argument that he should have got the decision. Adegbuyi got the decision 30-26. Good match.
UFC 244 11/2/19: Stephen Thompson vs. Vicente Luque 3R. Thompson is a difficult task for any striker because he's so long out of his side stance, and is able to switch & back up so fluidly, throwing shots and even combos in the process. He's also incredibly difficult to read because his hands are so low it's hard to see the angle the punches are coming from, and he can throw multiple kicks out of the same stance and land punches from odd angles out of the quick stance switch. This was Thompson at his very best, really moving & flowing beautifully, and just having too big an advantage in speed & footwork for Luque to deal with. Luque did well early on because he just fought his own bull in a China shop pressure style, trying to disregard what Thompson was doing to some extent & if he ate a shot coming in, so be it. This was going to be a difficult style to maintain for 3 rounds because Thompson is so accurate with his strikes & generates a lot of force even with small movements, but Luque had no chance if he was chasing Thompson around the octagon, he had to keep things at close range one way or another. Luque was coming in behind the low kick then going for the big right when he closed the distance, and he stunned Thompson twice in this round, which is why I thought he won it. After stunning him the 2nd time, he did some good work against the cage where Thompson's attributes are largely negated. Once Thompson recovered, he began dictating range even if he had to literally push Luque back to do so, but mostly it was straight shots combining punches & the side kick, opening a cut around Luque's left eye. Thompson would wait for Luque to make the move forward & counter with a straight from the power hand, which is not a shot that most fighters would be willing to eat, but Luque knew his only chance was fighting on the inside and trying to limit Thompson's ability to move. It's surprising that Luque didn't make more of an effort to grapple, though Thompson was moving so well, it was hard to reach him with the fist much less lock him up. Thompson really started to find his rhythm with his hoppy stance switching early in the 2nd. The grace with which he would land the jab & jump into the opposite stance to get closer & generate more power for his follow up straight with the other hand was really unique & impressive. Luque knew he had to make it more of a brawl because no one is going to beat Thompson in a pure kickboxing match, but now Thompson countered his entry with a short right hand and this time it was Thompson going to work against the cage on a stunned Luque. Thompson was looking to finish Luque with a spinning kick, but as long as Thompson was standing close, Luque was landing some good hooks back in return. Luque's left eye was causing problems for him, and he was battered in general, but even though he was getting outstruck, he was still okay with this type of fight because as long as it was a fire fight, he could land a big answer and be in there with more than a punchers chance. Thompson knocked Luque off his feet with the side kick for the 2nd time early in the third, and when Luque got up & tried to come with the left outside leg kick to Thompson's lead right leg, Thompson drilled him with the left straight for the knockdown. Luque's timing & hand speed are good, and he still had some moments in the middle of the round when he was able to lunge forward aggressively enough with his counter punch that Thompson couldn't get out of range in time, but the grace & complexity of Thompson's footwork is just next level & Thompson could have easily just pecked away from the outside if he wasn't trying to make a statement & finish the fight. Thompson stunned Luque again leading with the left straight out of the southpaw stance then following with the right, and thought Luque was still able to defend high kicks from both sides, his offense was pretty much shut down for the final minute as Thompson just sniped him, trying to get something through that would finally take him out. Luque is well known as one of the toughest, most durable fighters in the UFC, and once again proved to have one hell of a chin surviving a fight where Thompson outlanded him to the head about 3-1 and could have got 10-8 rounds in both the 2nd & the 3rd. Thompson won a unanimous decision 30–26, 30–26, 29–27. Good match.
