GDT: UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie/PFL 9

[Avs_19]

Only saw highlights because it wasn't televised but it seems like best case scenario. We knew it was going to go badly for TKZ against Max but he only takes 35 head strikes and gets out of there so I guess that's better than expected.

Max is in one of the weirdest spots among the elite so I don't know where this gets him but he did what he needed to do.

All the best to TKZ. He was one of the most fun fighters to watch in his prime and really even towards the end when he lost a step. It's too bad he got robbed of some of his prime due to the mandatory requirements back home. He'll go down as one of the legends among the more hardcore fans and rightfully so.

 

[Taytro]

Blanchfield/Giga/Max parlay all the money

Thank you.

Max is in one of the weirdest spots among the elite so I don't know where this gets him but he did what he needed to do.

Ideally let Aljo move up and get a lesson in Holloway and that will give Volk time to fight at lightweight. If Volk wins, Max get a shot at the vacant title. If Volk loses, Max gets his final shot at Volk.

 

[td_ice]

Oh great, sat down to watch the fights live, and wow, I'm about 12 hours late, haha.

 

[Taytro]

Caceres is a pretty tough guy to put on that kind of performance with a broken forearm.

Awful timing, at 35 it's probably not going to be a quick recovery and his time in the sport is winding down despite having some of his best performances as of late.

 

[CDJ]

Pretty wild that KZ’s last two fights were Volk and Max. Usually don’t see people going out against some of the p4p best like that

 

[Taytro]

Pretty wild that KZ’s last two fights were Volk and Max. Usually don’t see people going out against some of the p4p best like that

I mean in his defense... He didn't deserve either of those fights. Only 3 wins in the last 5 years, losing to Ortega and beating Dan Ige doesn't get a normal guy a title shot.

I will say he looked pretty good vs Max though so I'd love to see him again against some more moderate competition if he decides he doesn't want to hang them up.

 

[16Skippy]

Glad KZ got a proper send off. And he's only 36, hopefully he stays retired and hasn't taken so much damage that it will affect the rest of his life. And is it just me or did Max get hit more than expected? Or maybe I'm romanticizing how crazy his initial rise was.

Blanchfield probably deserves a shot, but it was a little boring. I don't hold it against her but if the winner of Rose-Manot gets a finish I could see them getting the next title shot instead.

Caceres is one of my favourite non-contenders, still remember when I actually watched TUF he was just some goofy kid lol. Anyway he probably did better than most people expected, maybe he would have gotten another round if it he didn't hurt his arm.

 

[Taytro]

Glad KZ got a proper send off. And he's only 36, hopefully he stays retired and hasn't taken so much damage that it will affect the rest of his life. And is it just me or did Max get hit more than expected? Or maybe I'm romanticizing how crazy his initial rise was.

Blanchfield probably deserves a shot, but it was a little boring. I don't hold it against her but if the winner of Rose-Manot gets a finish I could see them getting the next title shot instead.

Caceres is one of my favourite non-contenders, still remember when I actually watched TUF he was just some goofy kid lol. Anyway he probably did better than most people expected, maybe he would have gotten another round if it he didn't hurt his arm.

Max has definitely gotten hit a lot more since he stopped sparring. I feel like Yair, Volk, and even Arnold Allen hit him quite a bit more than what he would take before. He's changed his game up and doesn't throw the same volume he used to, it allowed KZ blitz him and control the pace. Still a big win but I definitely see what you're seeing.

 

[pistolpete11]

I mean in his defense... He didn't deserve either of those fights. Only 3 wins in the last 5 years, losing to Ortega and beating Dan Ige doesn't get a normal guy a title shot.

I will say he looked pretty good vs Max though so I'd love to see him again against some more moderate competition if he decides he doesn't want to hang them up.

No way, man. That was the perfect send off. I think he could still beat some good guys, maybe even ranked guys, but the chances of it being sad instead are too high.

Glad KZ got a proper send off. And he's only 36, hopefully he stays retired and hasn't taken so much damage that it will affect the rest of his life. And is it just me or did Max get hit more than expected? Or maybe I'm romanticizing how crazy his initial rise was.

Interesting question.

In terms of strikes absorbed per min (SApM):

Zombie : less than 3.4 (too lazy to the do the actual math to factor in the 23s in the third, but I imagine it doesn't change it much.
Allen : 3.04
Volk 3 : 7.96
Yair : 6.36
Kattar : 5.32
Volk 2 : 5.48
Volk 1 : 6.28
Frankie : 3.84
Poirier : 7.12
Ortega : 5.5
Aldo 2 : a little more than 5.8
Aldo 1 : a little more than 3.67
Pettis : 3.53
Lamas : 4.27
Stephens : 3.13
Olivera : 3.33 (KO'ed him in like 1.5min)
Cub : a little more than 4.00
Miller : 2.06
Corassani : a little more than 3.67
Collard : a little more than 5.00
Fili : a little more than 3.14
Chope : a little more than 4.4
Conor : 3.53
Bermudez : 4.87
Garcia : 5.93
Lawrence : a little more than 3.2
Schilling : 1.8
Poirier 1 : a little less than 3.14 (but it only lasted like 3.5 min)



Over his entire career is 4.79.



My take aways from this exercise are:

1. 4.79 SApM with so many being 5 round fights = a metric f***ton of damage.

2. There was an uptick in the amount of damage he took once it got around Aldo 2, but this is more likely to do with the level of competition than anything else IMO.

3. Even if you conclude the answer to your question is 'yes', it's not really true against Zombie.

 

[16Skippy]

No way, man. That was the perfect send off. I think he could still beat some good guys, maybe even ranked guys, but the chances of it being sad instead are too high.

Interesting question.

In terms of strikes absorbed per min (SApM):

Zombie : less than 3.4 (too lazy to the do the actual math to factor in the 23s in the third, but I imagine it doesn't change it much.
Allen : 3.04
Volk 3 : 7.96
Yair : 6.36
Kattar : 5.32
Volk 2 : 5.48
Volk 1 : 6.28
Frankie : 3.84
Poirier : 7.12
Ortega : 5.5
Aldo 2 : a little more than 5.8
Aldo 1 : a little more than 3.67
Pettis : 3.53
Lamas : 4.27
Stephens : 3.13
Olivera : 3.33 (KO'ed him in like 1.5min)
Cub : a little more than 4.00
Miller : 2.06
Corassani : a little more than 3.67
Collard : a little more than 5.00
Fili : a little more than 3.14
Chope : a little more than 4.4
Conor : 3.53
Bermudez : 4.87
Garcia : 5.93
Lawrence : a little more than 3.2
Schilling : 1.8
Poirier 1 : a little less than 3.14 (but it only lasted like 3.5 min)



Over his entire career is 4.79.



My take aways from this exercise are:

1. 4.79 SApM with so many being 5 round fights = a metric f***ton of damage.

2. There was an uptick in the amount of damage he took once it got around Aldo 2, but this is more likely to do with the level of competition than anything else IMO.

3. Even if you conclude the answer to your question is 'yes', it's not really true against Zombie.

That’s interesting. Maybe KZ was landing heavier than the Ortegas and Kattara? Or maybe it was too early for a weekend and I didn’t have enough coffee lol

 

[CDJ]

Judging by how the fight was playing out I think there’s a chance zombie wins it if they fought in his prime, he just can’t rely on his chin like he used to

 

[pistolpete11]

That’s interesting. Maybe KZ was landing heavier than the Ortegas and Kattara? Or maybe it was too early for a weekend and I didn’t have enough coffee lol

Zombie rocked him in the first and landed a few other good shots, but I really don't think Zombie did all that much It's probably just that it was better than expected

Judging by how the fight was playing out I think there’s a chance zombie wins it if they fought in his prime, he just can’t rely on his chin like he used to

How so? Max outstruck him by like 20 in each of the first 2 rounds?

 

[m9]

Judging by how the fight was playing out I think there’s a chance zombie wins it if they fought in his prime, he just can’t rely on his chin like he used to

I mean, maybe it's close in that 2014/15 area when Zombie was off on military relief and Max was still on his way up. Maybe.

Anytime after that, no chance.

 

[CDJ]

Zombie rocked him in the first and landed a few other good shots, but I really don't think Zombie did all that much It's probably just that it was better than expected


How so? Max outstruck him by like 20 in each of the first 2 rounds?

It would require him KO’ing Max which in fairness doesn’t seem possible but I think the pressure would be effective, particularly if he was a little faster and not chinned out

Maybe it is What you say tho- he just did better than I expected lol

 

[pistolpete11]

On a separate note, some of the post fight stuff is why Max is the man. He does such a good job walking the line of boasting about being the man and respecting his opponent. He gave his props to Zombie and even played up the nickname more. He said Zombie stopped breathing during the choke and knocked him out in the second, but each time he came back to life like a real zombie. So kind of saying how Zombie's so tough, but also kind of saying I finished him 3 times

It sent me down a bit of rabbit hole and had some stuff recommended to me from the Oretga fight that I forgot.

First was the press conference. Max said "You won 6 in a row? I got 12. You beat a champ? I beat 2 and one of them twice. Everything you've done, I've done better. The Blessed Express is lapping you, bro." Ortega was asked to respond and he said "Sometimes the best response is no response." To which Max said "And sometimes you don't have a response." The look and smile on Ortega's face was priceless

The second one was during the fight. Max in the middle of a round stops the fight to show Ortega where to put his hand to block his punches Then continues to put a beating on him.

Speaking of Ortega, is there any update on him? I know he had major shoulder surgery, but it's been over a year now. I'd expect to at least start hearing about when he's targeting a return.