Happy Friday Maniacs. I hope you’ve had a good week and you’re looking forward to the fights this weekend. However, based on the fact UFC Vegas 120 got zero questions in our mailbag, this might be an event people are skipping.
We did get a question about UFC 330, though. Scroll down to see that and a few other fun things we were asked about this week. We also get to share a great Kevin Randleman story courtesy of the incomparable Jesse Holland.
And New?
Question: Does Ian Garry truly have a shot at beating
Islam, or are we going to see another dominant performance from Islam? (Igl00Man)
Alex Behunin: The more and more I think about this fight, I do believe Ian has a very good shot at upsetting Islam IF he keeps the fight boring and doesn’t get taken down. He is an excellent point fighter and just knows how to win fights. He can stay on the outside and just pick apart Islam because he does have better striking than Islam. But if Islam doesn’t let him stay at range, he’s fucked.
Jesse Holland: I’m picking Garry for the upset. Shavkat and Belal were 2-17 on takedown attempts and Garry is a better point fighter than Islam. It will be a close (and boring) decision but “The Future” is NOW.
Thomas Myers: It’s a mixed martial arts (MMA) / cage fight — anything can, and often does, happen. There are very few “sure things” in this sport, especially when it comes to expecting dominant fighters to continue to dominate (see Pena vs. Nunes). Garry has a chance if he can keep the fight upright. And is Islam thinks he suddenly has those “Canelo Hands,” it’s a recipe for Dagestani disaster. But, Islam has Khabib in his corner — perhaps the smartest fight IQ the sport has ever seen. If Islam loses a round playing touch butt, I can almost guarantee he will spend the remainder of the fight grinding Garry to an Irish pulp on the mat. I see Garry maybe taking a round, possibly two, off the champ, but I’d bet Jesse’s entire paycheck Islam wins this rather comfortably (if not convincingly).
Andrew Richardson: I think Garry has a very good chance. Lightweight to Welterweight is still a very big move, and I don’t think Jack Della Maddalena performed very well against Islam. As such, he still feels fairly untested to me at 170-pounds despite holding the belt. Garry has the size, smarts, and skills to make this very interesting.
Tim Edwards: I’m guilty of counting Machado Garry out of fights only to then have to eat humble pie. He looked great against Rakhmonov (even if Rakhmonov wasn’t totally fit). And he made Carlos Prates look human (even if Prates did catch up to him in the end). I think his defensive skills give him a chance against anyone. When you add in how much size he has on Makhachev, and how long Makhachev has been resting, then I think there are lots of reasons to expect a close fight. I think I’m still going to pick Makhachev, though. His wrestling just seems like a trump card that can defeat anyone right now. And I’ll keep believing that until I see otherwise.
Serbia Sequel?
Q: Flares are fun! Does the UFC go back to Serbia? I hope so. (The Sassing Machine)
Alex Behunin: Dana confirmed last weekend that they will be going back to Serbia, which is awesome because that crowd was electric. But I really hope the promotion decides to hit other spots in Europe like Germany and POLAND!
Jesse Holland: They are definitely going back, but consider it low priority on the International circuit. Too many other big markets that come first.
Thomas Myers: Would love to see it — gave me Paris / Dublin vibes. You could feel the energy from the crowd at home just watching. I think only four of the nine Serbians on the card won (double check that math, please), so hopefully they can have a little better success on that front next time around; however, it didn’t seem to really bother that insane crowd .. whatsoever.
Andrew Richardson: I would hope they go back often enough to keep the Uros Medic hype rolling.
Tim Edwards: This part of the world is crazy for MMA. It reminds me of here in Canada during the GSP years. OCTAGON and KSW sell out big arenas and stadiums in the Balkans and across Europe. They do that thanks to tribalism/nationalism, since they have so much talent from this part of the world. The UFC isn’t quite there yet, as far as who is on their roster right now. They really struggled to put together a card of competitive fights in Belgrade using local talent (a number of those locals were squashed by guys and girls with a little bit of Octagon experience). I think they’ll be back in Serbia, especially since Medic looks like a big star in that market, but I don’t think they’ll be able to develop Serbia and neighbouring countries into reliable landing spots unless they sign a lot more European fighters.
The Holland Files
Q: Question for Jesse: Tell a crazy story of your time covering Strikeforce (or UFC) (AlexBehunin)
Jesse Holland: I was covering Strikeforce in St. Louis for the “Lawler vs. Shields” event back in 2009 and Kevin Randleman was competing against Mike Whitehead. Well, Randleman went crazy at the weigh ins and declared war on the MMA media for some reason, so I decided to hang out in my hotel room until things blew over. Later that night, I hit the street with my cameraman to find a place for dinner. We started walking down the sidewalk adjacent to the hotel and there was a dead bird on the sidewalk, looked like a fairly recent death.
“Randleman probably thought he worked for the media,” I joked, and out of nowhere here comes “The Monster” walking up the same sidewalk from the opposite direction. He was wearing a grey jumpsuit and was shaking his arms to and fro, all fired up. We were like “nope” and crossed the street. We slowed our pace and watched him walk up to the bird. He stopped, just kinda stood there for a minute, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of plastic utensils like you get in a takeout order.
We stood there, horrified.
“Oh my god … he’s going to eat it.”
Randleman took the napkin out of the utensil bag and opened it up, then bent down and wrapped the bird in the napkin. My dumb ass was thinking, “burrito?” Then Randleman walked into the grassy area next to the building and placed the bird under a bush, covering it with some mulch. Turns out the big scary “Monster” had a heart. I think about that moment a lot when I see fighters acting outlandish or being labeled a certain way.
RIP, Kevin.
What’s the deal with low kicks?
Q: So, we’ve seen how destructive low leg kicks can be (see Miloš Janičić) and a few years ago when they were really gaining traction they would always talk about checking the leg kick (esp Cruz) but now not so much. So… 1. It really seems to affect some fighters more than others (Sean Strickland gets low leg kicked to death, doesn’t slow him down at all, also see many Muay Thai fighters) why is this? What is the defense to low leg kicks? (LoneCowboy)
Alex Behunin: This is good question for Andrew.
Jesse Holland: It’s all in the technique. If a fighter does not get slowed down or even slightly bothered by low kicks then whoever is throwing them is not doing it right.
Thomas Myers: They were “gaining traction” because it’s all stupid Joe Rogan would talk about. I feel like UFC has ruined John Anik’s prime paring him with those two idiots. Sorry, did someone mention low kicks?
Andrew Richardson: Strickland does a pretty good job of checking kicks generally, you have to time his jab and let him step into the low kick to get to him (compare the Izzy fight to the DDP rematch). Generally, leg endurance is like chin endurance: a combination of inherent physical traits like bone density and physical fitness. A fighter who has been getting kicked in the leg often for decades will generally be better at absorbing a low kick then a wrestler who transitioned to MMA two years ago.
Tim Edwards: What Andrew says. Strickland is extremely active in checking kicks. And the fact he’s always moving forwards means he’s pretty light on that lead leg. That means kicks are often moving his leg to the side, instead of sinking into them and leaving a dent. A lot of the leg kick TKO’s we’ve seen lately have seen fighters getting their legs smashed, while planted. That’s what happened to poor Harry Hardwick in the picture up there.
Build-a-Fighter
Q: Top 3 characteristics of top MMA fighters. (i.e. what’s the common factors that separate top UFC fighters from boxers/Muay Thai guys/bums on the street/Gable Stevenson’s opponent) (LoneCowboy)
Andrew Richardson: Composure is number one, the ability to bring one’s skills from the gym to the cage is a more vital aspect of fighting than most fans might realize. You wouldn’t believe how much more skilled most fighters are in training than under the bright lights. No. 2 and 3 are cardio and athleticism — the average levels of speed and power rise as you progress up the ladder.
Dan Hiergesell: This is going to sound cliche, but toughness. Every fighter who competes in combat sports is tough in some way, shape, or form, but not every fighter has the ability to get their ass kicked for 10 minutes and then still find a way to win in the later rounds. Pair that with situational IQ and the willingness to follow corner direction mid-fight and you have the recipe for success, assuming natural ability and MMA skill match.
Thomas Myers: I’ll echo Dan on toughness — not every round or moment is going to go the way a fighter plans on it. How they react, and adjust, is so important. Fighter IQ, knowing strengths and being self aware, is so important, too. And you have to be well-conditioned. Seems silly, but many of these “professional” fighters show up and are ready to rock for five minutes or less. Give me a tough, smart, well-conditioned athlete who has put in the work in the gym and he or she will be successful more often than not.
Tim Edwards: I’ll echo a lot of what Andrew and Dan are saying here in agreeing that the mental side of things is super important. For my three characteristics, I’m going with: coachability, intelligence and athleticism. Intelligence and athleticism are pretty self-explanatory. All of our legends of the sport have had that in abundance. I think coachability is a very underrated aspect to the game, though. So many guys and girls go out there either without a plan or without being able to follow a plan. I think the greats in this sport are people who can analyze situations, with their team, and then implement game plans and adjustments which are being spot by either them or their team. We have great coaches in the sport right now, too, so fighters who are able to actually learn and improve by spending time with those coaches are also always going to have a leg-up on the competition (guys who just do their own thing, irrespective of who the opponent is or what is unfolding in the fight).
Volkamania
Q: If Volkanovski decided to make one last run at becoming a double champ, do you think the UFC would honor it and do you think he’d be able to beat Gaethje? (cavemanoncomputer)
Andrew Richardson: I am not high on Volkanovski at Lightweight generally. He did a great job of resisting Islam’s wrestling, but he’s too small on the feet to deal with the massive hitters. Gaethje jabs his head off …
Jesse Holland: Alex Volkanovski, who turns 38 in September, had his shot at lightweight and couldn’t get it done. And let’s be honest, Volks is featherweight champion because Ilia Topuria changed divisions. Justin Gaethje is just too big and too dangerous.
Alex Behunin: UFC would probably honor it, but it would be a mistake – Justin, Arman hurt him bad. He should just stay at Featherweight and rack up two more title defenses and then call it a legendary career.
Thomas Myers: I would hope UFC learned its lesson allowing Alex to go up … twice. He’s perfect where he is. He’s perfect for Featherweight.
Tim Edwards: I think if Volkanovski really pushed for it, I think they would honor it. UFC does seem to treat their 1 percent better than the rest (when it comes to decisions that don’t cost them money). I’m not sure Volkanovski, at this stage of his career, wants that, though. There are some interesting Featherweights on the horizon for him, too. If a fight with Gaethje did happen, I’d pick Gaethje. Size makes a heck of a difference (in this situation). I think Volk would take too much damage at range and Gaethje’s takedown defence will hold up (on a smaller man).
Let’s brag!
Q: What’s something you think you’re better than the average person at? (cavemanoncomputer)
Alex Behunin: Movie trivia, Call of Duty, and Arc Raiders.
Thomas Myers: Pretty good at movie trivia … I challenge Alex to a duel! I can sell ice cubes to eskimos — Facebook Marketplace stands no chance. I’m a helluva lawn edger, too. Clean lines, baby. Clean lines.
Jesse Holland: Recall. If it happened and I was there or part of the discussion, I remember every detail. It’s not the gift it sounds like. It’s more like a polluted ocean and every year more plastic bottles get dumped into the sea.
Andrew Richardson: Martial arts and rock climbing are the obvious ones. I was objectively pretty good at fighting with a couple belts to show for it. In the style of traditional climbing I pursue, I’m definitely in the upper percentile of difficulty. A couple notches below the pros and true lifers who started young, but that’s about it.
Tim Edwards: My serious answer is listening. I’m very good at listening to people and really hearing what they are saying. It helped me as an interview writer back in the day. But now, as someone who just got trained as a counsellor, I think I can put that to even better use. For a silly answer… sleeping. I am really good at falling asleep. No tossing and turning for me. When I lay down, I’m able to go an a little imagination quest and then be out like a light in about ten minutes. And I generally sleep pretty well, too. It’s not the sexiest mundane super-power, but I love waking up at 6 and feeling very well rested (and ready to work on stuff).
