MMA/UFC Discussion Thread MMA • Page 249

Yeah it was the right call, it's a hindsight is 20/20 type deal. In that moment how the fuck could you blame Herb for the stoppage.

 

but was Ben out for a second as well?

 

It's tough to tell because the camera was behind his head, I believe Herb was right in front of his face though and could see he was still in it.

 

Regardless of if he went out or not, it was weird as hell how his arm came down. He said he decided his arm being up over his head didn't do anything for him so he decided to put it on the ground, but it 100% looked like it fell down. He didn't look like he pulled it down with his own muscles; it straight dropped like it was limp. That was enough for me to think he was out in the moment.

Agreed. In hindsight though, I do think it was maybe a little bad that Herb missed the thumbs up from Robbie but as I said above, I was celebrating and yelling that Robbie was out when it happened live. So I cannot judge either way.

I actually thought he went out one time in particular while he was on his back and then one of Robbie's shots woke him back up.

 

I kinda think he was and was floored Herb didn’t jump in and stop it. He was getting smoked and for a second there was doing nothing to defend.
Weird ass fight but zero issue with how it concluded.

 

Askren bouncing back from that opening attack says SO MUCH about him. Also, i'm a wrestling fan so I notice this stuff more but Ben had an aura about him when he came out for his fight, like he was already a total star. Might sound weird, not everyone has that but Ben has a certain confidence and swagger that can get over huge in the UFC, just like it has in other promotions, he's obviously not new.

 

My gut was telling me to go with Usman, Woodley just didn't seem into this fight from the start. Thought he had bad body language in fight week and as always, he keeps busy with his shows and music. Wonder how much that takes him out of prep. But I didn't think Usman would be able to wrestle that well because like you said, it's almost too obvious. Thought I read somewhere that Usman is Henri Hooft's first champion, which surprises me, if true.

That Askren/Lawler fight was weird, but I have no issue with the stoppage/non-stoppage.

 

The only reason I was at all irritated by the stoppage was because we didn't actually get to watch Ben do his thing. I had a bunch of friends and family over to watch the fights, and we live in Columbia, Missouri (which is where Ben and Tyron wrestled in college) so everyone was excited to finally see him in the UFC (not all of them are big fight fans). We were happy he won, but they felt underwhelmed and didn't understand the hype. I fully thought if the fight went on that he was about to dominate.

 

I was bummed about that too, I think if anything though it helps his drawing power for his next fight, I'd say even more people will be interested in whoever he takes on next.

 

He DOES NOT want a rematch with Robbie though hahaha

 

I feel like a rematch might go entirely different. well...maybe not entirely, just a lot more like the beginning of the fight

 

I don't know how a rematch would go honestly. Getting picked up and slammed on your head in the first 10 seconds is a game changer lol

 

Honestly think the real difference that caught Woodley by surprise was that Usman is STRONG. He looked bigger, and just had the stamina and natural strength to pull Woodley in and gas him out.

I definitely understand how it looked to Herb and wouldn't argue the call. But I also don't think Robbie went out, he just stupidly dropped his hand in a manner that looked like he was out cold.

 

That's sort of along the lines of what I was getting at. Woodley is used to being the strongest and having the wrestling advantage so it's almost like it didn't cross his mind that the fight would go that way or that Usman would be able to straight up handle him like that.

I also think (as much as he gets pissed when people say this) he does not have the gas tank and energy management to be able to hang with that pace - his body type does not allow it. He needs to be able to control the pace by turning that switch on and off. If he is allowed to explode then rest, he can manage his endurance to last five rounds. He was never given that chance in this fight.

 

What does it mean other than Askran having a good big chin to punch

 

He meant "That chin is too big to miss" but instead said it's "too big NOT to miss"....which makes no sense. haha.

 

Gracias.

 

I travel to Atlanta for work pretty often (was just there Friday). Seriously considering seeing if I can line up a work project so that I can go to the card there next month. It would be so fun even by myself. Haha.

 

There's one in South Florida next month I'm debating going to. Never been live I have no idea if it's worth trying

 

Report: Jose Aldo set for featherweight bout against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237

 

Excellent fight. Can't help but wonder what's planned for Ortega next then if it's neither of these two.

 

I got Lewis this weekend

 

Of course!

 

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