Rampage;3416038 said:
just cause you get a belt from a gracie doesn't make you a submission expert. Matt serra got his black belt from a gracie and hasn't subbed anyone in mma since 2002. as you should know their's 2 types of guys when it comes to bjj. #1 guys who are good at the grappling aspect but can't get subs. #2 guys who are good at the grappling aspect and can get subs. Rashad hasn't even attempted a sub probably because he's afraid he's gonna screw it up and lose his positioning(the inner wrestler in him lol). so he's not a sub bbj so how about his grappling? he's nothing but takedowns. he struggled to even hold Bisping and Thiago Silva down after he got the takedown. Rashad's whole grappling game(wrestling and bjj) is very overrated. getting a belt from a Gracie don't mean nearly as much as it used too.
Rampage is no sub expert(though he has became one at avoiding them) but neither is Rashad.
FF crashed (I need a new browser!) on me, so my lengthier post was lost. Gonna make this quick ..
Serra is one of the more accomplished BJJ fighters in MMA. Background in BJJ competitions speaks for itself. Horrid example to show that a Gracie black-belt means nothing.
Bisping - he put down regularly, or had in the clinch for the majority of that fight. He gassed late in round 2, but went into round 3 and was still able to put Bisping on his back 3-4 times, IIRC.
Silva - BJJ black-belt, so a bad example that you want to use. But since you do, you know that Evans put him on his back nearly 10 times in that fight. Used clinch quite a bit. But never easy to hold down a well known BJJ black-belt.
Gracie is the mecca of BJJ. Gracies are infamous for being hard on students, and holding back students who deserve promotion. Nate Diaz knows this lesson, hard.
BraveHeartFan;3416320 said:
Actually I think Dan Henderson is a much better wrestler than Rashad and Quintin did just fine against him and beat him in a 5 round championship fight.
Rashad is a solid wrestler but he's nothing spectacular. He struggled to keep Bisping and Silva down with his wrestling and neither of those guys are anywhere near as good as Quintin when it comes to fighting.
As far as being a submission kind of guy, please. Rashad hasn't even attempted any during his career cause it's not his game. If he was any good at them he'd be trying them more regularly. He doesn't attempt to end fights that way because he's not good enough to end fights that way.
The striking isn't even a question, as you said. Rampage hits harder than Chuck, Silva, Griffin, and Machida and these are all guys who were giving Rashad trouble, including Machida absolutely destroying him with it.
Rampage is going to knock Rashad clean out.
Very valid point on Hendo. However, the one constant downfall throughout Hendo's career is that anyone who has pressured him with a ground game, and moreso able to get him on his back, he has horrid luck with. The fight with Jake Shields being a prime example of that. A natural '70er was able to keep him down, and hold him down.
However, Hendo is still an accomplished wrestler who Rampage held up well against.
But again, grappling simply isn't about wrestling. It encompasses more than that, which makes Rashad a better grappler.
Silva and Bisping - read above in my response to the other guy. Not good points to make.
Saying 'because he doesnt use them means he aint good at em' is a strawman argument.
Napao, Thiago Silva, Serra, Shogun, Anderson Silva, Diego, Wandy, among others are all experienced BJJ brown or black belts who very seldom use their ground skills. Just because you don't use them doesn't mean you don't have them. Even more, I won't argue with a Gracie about BJJ, just like I wouldn't argue with Peyton Manning on how to throw a football or Larry Bird how to shoot a basketball.
I did not say the striking wasn't in question. I said Rampage is a superior boxing. His boxing and defense ARE superior to Rashad's. However, if Rashad develops a strategy like his buddy Jardine did, it is a different story.
Rampage can tear anyone apart that is willing to stand and BOX with him. But it is why he has struggled against so many Muay Thai fighters throughout his career that will beat his lead leg to death.
BraveHeartFan;3416320 said:
He also had some struggles on his feet against Chuck and Forrest as well before he was able to catch them. Chuck doesn't have the power he used to and Forrest isn't any kind of Knock out guy. If the same situations happen to Rashad against Rampage, as he had against his last 4 opponents, then Rashad is going to sleep, again, just like he did against Machida.
Rampage lost to Forrest, and struggled mightily with Jardine (who some thought he lost to). The tit-for-tat game can always be done.
And I'm glad someone brings up the Liddell fight by saying Rashad struggled, as I will definitely take the time to talk about that one, as I still have that fight saved on hard drive.
If you re-watch that fight, you actually see an incredible ability of a plan developed, a plan executed, and a plan finished. Rashad actually won that fight not because of a lucky punch, but because he spent the fight up until the point he KO'd Chuck in setting up one punch.
Go back to watch when Rashad leads. He would either lead with a jab or left hook, and follow it up with another. When he did this, he would circle to his left (Chuck's right) while putting his head down. He made this routine.
Go to the 2nd round, and you see Rashad slowly begin to work his 1-2, and even threw one right before the KO. Chuck begins to think he can catch an uppercut as Rashad throws the first jab. He was reluctant to pull the trigger right before this on an uppercut, but began to do it the second time. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick enough on that one. :laugh2:
Chuck went in, was willing to eat the first jab, just to land the uppercut. Rashad feints the jab, throws the overhand right that puts Chuck to sleep.
Essentially, Rashad and Greg Jackson was able to set up the fight hunting for that single punch. And Rashad used that gameplan to perfection. That thing was absolutely beautiful, if you look at it outside of 'it was just lucky', because luck had absolutely nothing to do with that. It had more to do with Greg Jackson and his camp being absolute monsters in making the right gameplan and getting their fighters to stick to it.
These two crack me up...
if you really believe Rashad has black belt bjj skills. how long did it take him to get his black belt.......a couple months?
