Stipe vs a wrestler

[Joseph_McBride]

Even tho I favor Stipe to beat DC, I did notice that throughout his 7 year ufc career he has not faced 1 wrestler; Cain, Brock, Barnett, Blaydes. So he is going up against an Olympic wrestler in his first fight vs a primary wrestler.

And in the 2 fights Stipe had to go all 5 rounds vs JDS & Ngannou, Stipe got very tired. He gassed out vs JDS for sure, and vs Ngannou as well but Ngannou was exponentially more exausted so it wasnt as easy to notice.

DC really needs to avoid the straight right from Stipe, clinch him, take him down or wall-n-stall to tire him. Both guys prefer to pressure but I think DC would be wise to let Stipe pressure, then come up under that straight right into the clinch rather than trying to slip it. Use Stipe's momentum against him which nobody has tried to do yet.

Stipe has tremendous power as only the 260+ lbs of Hunt & Ngannou have been able to keep from getting KO'd cold. There is a path to victory here for DC but will his chin hold up & can he land some early takedowns?

 

[LouisBolanos]

DC has never faced someone like Stipe and vice versa. That's why this is a fantastic matchup for hardcores.

Still doesn't change the fact that it's a shit matchup for casuals. Zero drama, no popcorn.

 

[PEDS Help me Post]

inb4 Final Say tells everyone how Stipe is the best wrestler and best boxer ever to live

 

[Futbol Ukraine]

inb4 Final Say tells everyone how Stipe is the best wrestler and best boxer ever to live

Stipe is the best boxer in HW history and one of the best wrestlers.

 

[loisestrad]

DC has never faced someone like Stipe and vice versa. That's why this is a fantastic matchup for hardcores.

Still doesn't change the fact that it's a shit matchup for casuals. Zero drama, no popcorn.

It's a HUGE problem, when a superfight between the HW-champ and the LHW-champ is a match for the "hardcores".

 

[PEDS Help me Post]

Stipe is the best boxer in HW history and one of the best wrestlers.

 

[BigTruck]

Stipe is the best boxer in HW history and one of the best wrestlers.

To ever live.

 

[Futbol Ukraine]

Whos better then

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

DC has never faced someone like Stipe and vice versa. That's why this is a fantastic matchup for hardcores.

Still doesn't change the fact that it's a shit matchup for casuals. Zero drama, no popcorn.

Brehhhh, you had me until '....no popcorn'. If even casuals can't get amped for the only time the LHW champ has fought the HW champ, then they should pick another sport to casually watch. Granted, I see the argument that there has been no chair throwing and temper tantrums, but this will be the most elite pairing of natty skill level that we have ever seen in the cage.

 

[LouisBolanos]

It's a HUGE problem, when a superfight between the HW-champ and the LHW-champ is a match for the "hardcores".

Well what do you want the UFC to do? Put Jones and DC in a room for 10 minutes and you're guaranteed at least one viral video. DC and Stipe were together for an entire season of TUF and made no popcorn for themselves. Stipe straight up said he told the UFC no when they asked him to go on talk shows. It would be stupid for the UFC to just dump money on ad campaigns and hope for some return.

Brehhhh, you had me until '....no popcorn'. If even casuals can't get amped for the only time the LHW champ has fought the HW champ, then they should pick another sport to casually watch. Granted, I see the argument that there has been no chair throwing and temper tantrums, but this will be the most elite pairing of natty skill level that we have ever seen in the cage.

Casuals don't give 2 shits about elite pairing. They'd rather watch 49-0 vs. 0-0 or Ronda ragdolling woefully over-matched Brazilian accountants. Always have, always will. If you want to succeed adapt to your customers' needs, don't tell your customers to find another product.

 

[kalabula]

Nice write up TS. Didn't DC gas against Jones in the first fight? I can't imagine his gas tank will be better carrying an extra 30 pounds. But, I'll be pulling for him.

 

[Final Say]

Even tho I favor Stipe to beat DC, I did notice that throughout his 7 year ufc career he has not faced 1 wrestler; Cain, Brock, Barnett, Blaydes. So he is going up against an Olympic wrestler in his first fight vs a primary wrestler.

And in the 2 fights Stipe had to go all 5 rounds vs JDS & Ngannou, Stipe got very tired. He gassed out vs JDS for sure, and vs Ngannou as well but Ngannou was exponentially more exausted so it wasnt as easy to notice.

DC really needs to avoid the straight right from Stipe, clinch him, take him down or wall-n-stall to tire him. Both guys prefer to pressure but I think DC would be wise to let Stipe pressure, then come up under that straight right into the clinch rather than trying to slip it. Use Stipe's momentum against him which nobody has tried to do yet.

Stipe has tremendous power as only the 260+ lbs of Hunt & Ngannou have been able to keep from getting KO'd cold. There is a path to victory here for DC but will his chin hold up & can he land some early takedowns?

Stipe dictates pace and distance. It's not that no one has tried to counter him using his own momentum, he just moves better than everyone he fights and knows where to be and how to get there. Dangerous off his backfoot and out of range even when he's aggressive.

He's a tough puzzle to strike with.

inb4 Final Say tells everyone how Stipe is the best wrestler and best boxer ever to live

Stipe is the best boxer in HW history and one of the best wrestlers.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Stipe is the best boxer in HW history and one of the best wrestlers.

His MMA boxing and ability to mix it up is amazing. There is no way Cain, DC or Jones could have pulled of that Doom KO, running away off the rear foot. In a pure boxing match, guys like Toney or Jeremy Jackson would beat him, but throw in the threat of takedowns and the full MMA arsenal and I tend to agree with you.

This just seems like a horrible fight for D.C. but will atleast be illuminating in letting us know where Stipe sits comparitively to Jones and who is the greatest fighter on the planet. To me, Stipe just seems like a combo of all the best attributes that D.C. has faced, mixed up in a monster sandwich: KO power of Rumble, boxing of Gus, fight IQ size and wrestling of Jones. It will be exciting AF anyway, and is a hardcore's wet dream.

 

[Futbol Ukraine]

His MMA boxing and ability to mix it up is amazing. There is no way Cain, DC or Jones could have pulled of that Doom KO, running away off the rear foot. In a pure boxing match, guys like Toney or Jeremy Jackson would beat him, but throw in the threat of takedowns and the full MMA arsenal and I tend to agree with you.

This just seems like a horrible fight for D.C. but will atleast be illuminating in letting us know where Stipe sits comparitively to Jones and who is the greatest fighter on the planet. To me, Stipe just seems like a combo of all the best attributes that D.C. has faced, mixed up in a monster sandwich: KO power of Rumble, boxing of Gus, fight IQ size and wrestling of Jones. It will be exciting AF anyway, and is a hardcore's wet dream.

Yes stipe hits twice as hard as rumble and way bigger than jones or gus

 

[Final Say]

His MMA boxing and ability to mix it up is amazing. There is no way Cain, DC or Jones could have pulled of that Doom KO, running away off the rear foot. In a pure boxing match, guys like Toney or Jeremy Jackson would beat him, but throw in the threat of takedowns and the full MMA arsenal and I tend to agree with you.

This just seems like a horrible fight for D.C. but will atleast be illuminating in letting us know where Stipe sits comparitively to Jones and who is the greatest fighter on the planet. To me, Stipe just seems like a combo of all the best attributes that D.C. has faced, mixed up in a monster sandwich: KO power of Rumble, boxing of Gus, fight IQ size and wrestling of Jones. It will be exciting AF anyway, and is a hardcore's wet dream.

Better boxer than Gus tbh

The feet don't lie

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Stipe dictates pace and distance. It's not that no one has tried to counter him using his own momentum, he just moves better than everyone he fights and knows where to be and how to get there. Dangerous off his backfoot and out of range even when he's aggressive.

He's a tough puzzle to strike with.

Something that Hardy brought up in his breakdown too is that Stipe isn't the type of fighter that needs space/distance to be effective. Gus and Jones both needed distance to work, but Stipe is best in the short range like Cormier. If you look at the Overeem KO, he KO'd him in the guard, and versus Arlovski, he KO'd him with a six inch arm punch. His ability to generate copious amounts of power in small distances is just silly scary.

If he looked like this, Sherdog would be hailing him the greatest fighter to ever set foot in the universe.

 

[Skarsgard]

Well what do you want the UFC to do? Put Jones and DC in a room for 10 minutes and you're guaranteed at least one viral video. DC and Stipe were together for an entire season of TUF and made no popcorn for themselves. Stipe straight up said he told the UFC no when they asked him to go on talk shows. It would be stupid for the UFC to just dump money on ad campaigns and hope for some return.



Casuals don't give 2 shits about elite pairing. They'd rather watch 49-0 vs. 0-0 or Ronda ragdolling woefully over-matched Brazilian accountants. Always have, always will. If you want to succeed adapt to your customers' needs, don't tell your customers to find another product.

Just run promos how they used to with tons of highlight KOs and submissions. Not just for this card, but make that the norm again. That's how you stop this childish bullshit.

 

[LouisBolanos]

Just run promos how they used to with tons of highlight KOs and submissions. Not just for this card, but make that the norm again. That's how you stop this childish bullshit.

Right, because that totally worked for Anderson Silva, king of the HL reels. Silva's beef with Vitor (established star in Brazil) turned him into a legit star in his home country, and his fake beef with Chael turned him into a legit star in the states. Those promos didn't do shit for the casuals.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Better boxer than Gus tbh

The feet don't lie

I agree, but I'm just illustrating that he has all the best traits of the fighters that have given D.C. trouble, and possibly even better in the areas where they were good at. And if not a technical better boxer than Gus, he certainly has WAAAAY more power. Gus has a weaker punch than Brian Ortega for crying out loud!

The scariest thing about Stipe is I feel he has been and is still progressing in all areas. People will cherry pick from his early fights and say something like "See! JDS had better boxing", completely ignoring the fact that he made leaps and bounds from their first fight, adapted, adjusted and then demolished him. Above all, his fight IQ and intelligence may be his best attribute. And as you point out, the ability to fight off the front and the rear just does not happen with the big boys, and really doesn't even happen with the smaller guys either - even Andy had trouble fighting off the front and being anything other than a counter striker.

 

[Joseph_McBride]

It's a HUGE problem, when a superfight between the HW-champ and the LHW-champ is a match for the "hardcores".

Yeah, thats a sobering perspective if youre a WME/UFC executive.