What a lame fight.
Around 2:58 of the fight Vera lands a side kick to O'Malley's right knee. O'Malley actually reaches down and touches his right knee for a second and immediately switches stances and is leaning heavily on his left leg. A few seconds later O'Malley tries to put weight on his right leg and the foot just gives way leading to a brief but noticeable slip. Rewatching it now the reason this wasn't more noticeable on the broadcast is probably because the camera is to the left and a little bit behind O'Malley and only showing him from the chest up so it's not clear from that angle what caused the stumble. It also doesn't help this happened right while Rogan and Cruz were marveling at Anik telling them that both Vera and O'Malley have longer legs than Stipe which distracted them from actually calling the fight in front of them for about a minute. This slip was well before the ankle roll that everyone, including the commentators, noticed and this is the moment Okamoto mentioned in the post fight commentary but even he wasn't really sure what he saw as he hadn't rewatched the fight. When it happened Vera kind of taunts O'Malley like "what's wrong?" while pointing to his right leg. That injury was definitely caused by that kick by Vera.
Crazy the broadcast didn't replay that moment.
I know Jones is 'undefeated', but I had Gustafsson winning their first fight and Reyes winning the last one. Santos didn't win but that fight was hugely disappointing for Jones.
I've seen people stop fighting for less. Half his finger is buried in there.
The best was when Cormier complained about it and the ref was like 'it was a punch, go sit down'.
Me neither, I thought it was a good back and forth for a while until Stipe started taking over. I would have liked to see DC use his wrestling more but credit to Stipe maybe he’s just hard to take down.I don’t think the main event was lame at all
I think both of their skill sets sort of cancelled each other out, just evenly matched fighters, DC’s boxing is underrated even though he’s the wrestler he’s good at that dirty boxing and when he steps in and out quick but Stipe kept the distance better in this fight with better footwork and used his reach, and DC couldn’t shoot in. I don’t think you can deny Stipe as the GOAT heavyweight he’s had the most title defences in the history of the UFC at HW, that’s one more than Fedor with Pride.I feel a sense of vindication for saying back on the first page that I wasn't really looking for to the main event...
There was nothing special about this fight other than the unwarranted hype leading up to it...
Cormier is supposed to be an all-time great wrestler, but he wasn't able to wrestle Stipe...
Stipe is supposed to be an all-time great heavyweight striker, but he wasn't able to dominate a short, out of shape wrestler on the feet...
It's embarrassing that this fight was marketed to decide the GOAT heavyweight in UFC history!
And can someone please explain to me why Stipe wasn't peppering DC's face with jabs all night?
Go back and re-watch the fight... it's nothing but openings for Stipe to land jabs, and he barely threw any!
I hope they both retire...
To each their own, but I thought it was a good fight. There was momentum swings, DC won the first round, then Stipe started taking over, then DC started coming back. Stipe got rocked. DC got rocked. Without knowing how the judges were scoring it, it could have been anyone's fight going into the 5th. The only thing it didn't have was a finish. I mean it wasn't an all time classic, but it was a high level MMA fight.I feel a sense of vindication for saying back on the first page that I wasn't really looking for to the main event...
There was nothing special about this fight other than the unwarranted hype leading up to it...
Cormier is supposed to be an all-time great wrestler, but he wasn't able to wrestle Stipe...
Stipe is supposed to be an all-time great heavyweight striker, but he wasn't able to dominate a short, out of shape wrestler on the feet...
It's embarrassing that this fight was marketed to decide the GOAT heavyweight in UFC history!
And can someone please explain to me why Stipe wasn't peppering DC's face with jabs all night?
Go back and re-watch the fight... it's nothing but openings for Stipe to land jabs, and he barely threw any!
I hope they both retire...
For his legacy, sure. But he also made millions of dollars between the Lewis fight and Stipe 2 and 3.DC should've retired after the first. He had finally overcome the "always finishing 2nd" mentality by being temporary double champ and could've ridden off into the sunset. Oh well.
Hopefully his eye isn't long-term f***ed up and we still have him around to enjoy on broadcast for a long time to come.
To each their own, but I thought it was a good fight. There was momentum swings, DC won the first round, then Stipe started taking over, then DC started coming back. Stipe got rocked. DC got rocked. Without knowing how the judges were scoring it, it could have been anyone's fight going into the 5th. The only thing it didn't have was a finish. I mean it wasn't an all time classic, but it was a high level MMA fight.
'Unwarranted hype"? 2 of the best to ever do it in a HW trilogy for the belt? That doesn't warrant hype?
Cormier is a great wrestler and Stipe is a good boxer, but what makes both of them so good is that they are well rounded. Expecting either of them to dominate the other was foolish and on you, not them. And as I said before the fight, DC is 41 years old, 236lbs, and going against a big, strong guy. Expecting him to wrestle for 5 rounds was not in the cards.
To answer your question, it's easy to say use your jab. But every time you throw a jab, or anything for that matter, it leaves an opening. So is landing a jab worth possibly having to eat a right hook from DC?
DC's fought at the highest level of MMA and only ever lost to Jon Jones who is probably the GOAT and Stipe who is unquestionably the greatest HW in UFC history. It's really not even close at this point. DC's got wins over Stipe, Lewis, Rumble (x2), Gus, Henderson, Mir, Barnett, Bigfoot who was coming off a win against Fedor. Besides beating Jones or Stipe again, what more could he have done?I just don't think Cormier is among the best to ever do it, so maybe that's the sticking point for me...
As for the jabs...
Stipe has an 80 inch reach, Cormier's is 72.5
It would seem physically impossible for Cormier to land counter hooks if he's on the end of Stipe's jab
DC's fought at the highest level of MMA and only ever lost to Jon Jones who is probably the GOAT and Stipe who is unquestionably the greatest HW in UFC history. It's really not even close at this point. DC's got wins over Stipe, Lewis, Rumble (x2), Gus, Henderson, Mir, Barnett, Bigfoot who was coming off a win against Fedor. Besides beating Jones or Stipe again, what more could he have done?
If Stipe sticks him with it, sure. But the more you throw it, the more chances you give DC to time it, slip it, and crack you.
DC's fought at the highest level of MMA and only ever lost to Jon Jones who is probably the GOAT and Stipe who is unquestionably the greatest HW in UFC history. It's really not even close at this point. DC's got wins over Stipe, Lewis, Rumble (x2), Gus, Henderson, Mir, Barnett, Bigfoot who was coming off a win against Fedor. Besides beating Jones or Stipe again, what more could he have done?
If Stipe sticks him with it, sure. But the more you throw it, the more chances you give DC to time it, slip it, and crack you.
How does he beat these guys without having the skills?Don't get me wrong, his resume is solid, I'm speaking more about his skills as a fighter...