I've already stated my opinion on the fight. I'm not here to argue, or listen to people insinuate I'm "delusional" for seeing things differently. It's my opinion. I've trained Boxing and Muay Thai since I was very young. Given my perspective I think Diaz won. I'm not a fan of Diaz. I love what Conor has brought to the sport.
This was my prediction for the first fight. I'm one of the very few who got it right.
knownone":3aur4loe said:
Conor actually walks around in the 175-180 range. I don't think size is an issue here. The big issue for Conor is fightinga rangy boxer who is arguably better than Conor with his hands. Conor will need to work on Diaz legs because if he tries to trade punches he's going to get worked. Diaz is a great volume boxer who does well going against fighters who don't try to physically impose their will. Connor isnt strong enough to really wear Diaz down, so it'll be interesting, much closer than the betting line implies.
Interesting fight. It feels like a trap for CM...
I brought up leg kicks in that post. I knew that was the only style Conor could use to beat Diaz. If I was Conor's coach. I'd coach him to circle and work the leg, avoid trading punches at all costs. I think Conor wins easily if he does that. Why? Because kicking Diaz lead leg... is like scoring a layup in the NBA when you're the only one on the court. His stance is front heavy, he wades forward, and he very rarely checks kicks. He wants to engage you, and if you stay away from him, he will chase. MMA judging encourages this lack of fighting, and we've seen many people win fights only legging kicking, boring to watch but MMA allows it. Luckily for us as fans Conor didn't do this the whole fight.
Diaz is a world class boxer. You might think his punches don't have power, and that is exactly what Diaz wants you to think. This is skill. World class strikers don't put power into every punch. It's exhausting, and a great way to gas yourself. What Diaz is doing is establishing range, while trying to lull Conor into a sense of security. Make him think he can handle your punches, getting him to lower his guard. In boxing we call this "pitter patter pitter patter POWER" and it's one of the easiest ways to knock out inexperienced fighters while sparing. A tactic he used brilliantly against Donald Cerrone.
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The fight with Cerrone is a great comparison for this fight. Cerrone knocked Diaz down multiple times, and Diaz never dropped Cerrone, however Diaz clearly won the fight. The biggest difference between the 2 fights? Cerrone didn't run away, he fought Diaz. Conor fought to survive. If you implement a rule that docks points for time wasting wasting, Conor probably doesn't leave the 3rd round on his feet.
In every other combat sport you are docked a point for turning your back to an opponent. People are parroting the word "reestablishing position" without actually knowing what that means. In muay thai you reestablish position by circling to the center, you cannot and do not turn your back and jog away. That is consider time wasting, do it more than once and you lose a point. This is true of boxing, and kick boxing as well. Conor did it 12 times in the fight, and wasted 4 minutes of fighting. This is an issue. If we are going to stand fighters up for laying on top of guys, then you've got to take points away when fighters are actively avoiding the fight.
I said in my initial post that I felt round 2 was close. Diaz landed more significant strikes to the head, by a wide margin. He landed more total strikes, while most of Conor's strikes landed were unchecked leg kicks. From my perspective, Diaz won that round. That's my opinion, it is what it is.
Even if you think a 10-8 round is wrong. Winning a fight 3 rounds to 2 is not "soundly beating" someone. It's still a close fight.
I have big issues with MMA judging. I don't think a combat sport with multiple disciplines should be judged by rounds. I think knockdowns and takedowns should be judged on an individual basis. I don't think perception should play a role in who wins. What I mean by perception, is blood, cuts, ect. Someone like Nate who has a lot of scar tissue is gonna look much worse than someone without scar tissue, that is not indicative of who is winning the fight, thus it should not play a role in who you think is winning the fight.
Guys like Diaz, Maia, and Gonzalez, are known for going down to weak punches on purpose, in an attempt to lull you into going to ground with them. It's my belief, that Diaz did that in this fight. IMO he at no point looked like he was going to be finished... He looked like Nate Diaz. There is a reason Conor didn't even attempt to go to ground with Diaz. If Diaz was actually hurt, why not go for the finish? Why did Diaz stand up immediately every time? Why did Diaz scoot to try entice Conor to the ground... because he wasn't hurt. It's a mind game, something Diaz is really good at.
MMA judging rewards point fighting, and it's ruining the sport, a sport that I love.
I'll finish on this. I thought Diaz won. I'm not upset Conor won, the fight was close. We all have different perspectives on the topic, but it's important to remember that none of us are wrong. Seahawks.net is a great community. If we want to continue to grow this community, we can not resort to calling people with disagree with "delusional". It doesn't bother me personally, but I know it prevents people from expressing their own opinions, because they don't want to be talked down to. I'm sure that wasn't your intent. Just keep that in mind, focus on the facts that support your opinion, and let others decide who they agree with.
Thanks.