Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Review of the Fedor - Crocop Pride match...
Ok, I gotta admit, I never really was much of a MMA (mixed martial arts) fan. Having watched tomato cans like Bob Sapp and over-hyped C-rated fighters like Musashi become champions in K1, it pretty much reinforced my disdain for this pro-wrestling kind of fighting. That is, until I finally watched a truly good fight on Pride tonight. Here's my analysis of how the fight between Crocop and Fedor went down. CAUTION: if you haven't seen this fight yet and don't want the results to be spoiled, STOP reading this now!
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Ok, here we go:
Round 1: Crocop's style is kickboxing, meaning that he fights best on his feet, not on the ground. As predicted, Crocop was circling around the ring in an outboxing style, waiting for the opportunity to unleash his vaunted high front roundhouse kick.
Meanwhile, Fedor's style is Sambo, meaning that he fights best on the ground and is extremely deadly at close range. As Crocop was circling around the ring, Fedor did the smart thing and bided his time by sealing off the ring and occupying space.
Crocop jabbed and threw some good left straights. In the middle of the round, Crocop landed his best shot, which turned out to be a heavy-handed jab to Fedor's nose. While stunned, Crocop rushed over and landed 2 more heavy jabs right on Fedor's nose, which subsequently was most likely broken by then. However, when Crocop tried to get in his money shot - the left front roundhouse kick - Fedor was able to duck under the kick and avoid a potential KO. By the time the 2nd half of the round came up, Fedor was finally able to close in on Crocop and tackled him down. While Fedor was able to mount Crocop and had great position to land his heavy shots, Crocop displayed good defensive skills and was able to finish the round unscathed.
Close Advantage: Crocop - I thought he really nailed Fedor with some good punches during their exchange at middle range. Had Crocop been able to land his kick or resumed his rush with more punches, I thought the match could have been finished there. However, even though Crocop had the advantage by breaking Fedor's nose, Fedor's determination was building.
Round 2: The beginning of the 2nd round pretty much started the same way as the first round. Crocop was once again circling the ring to create some space and Fedor was sealing off the ring and moving forward. Crocop finally broke the peace by launching his kick. However, Fedor completely blocked the kick aiming for his ribs. Crocop threw 2 more kicks, one aiming for the ribs, one going for the head...but Fedor calmly blocked those kicks with rock solid blocks. Those blocks seemed to sap the energy out of Crocop and Fedor quickly clinched him, then tackled him down again. This time, Fedor was able to land some great punches and spent much of the round mounting Crocop. Fedor outweighed Crocop and the extra weight seemed to be wearing out Crocop on the ground. Not much action would ensue until the end of the round.
Advantage: Fedor - By this time, it was clear that not only had Fedor made up ground from the first round, the momentum had also shifted in his favor. Crocop did a pretty good defensive job on the ground, but he was getting worn out by Fedor's attacks.
Round 3: Crocop's legs were clearly tiring at this point and he tried desperately to land his kicks, but Fedor successfully blocked all the kicks yet again and still looked like he had the same amount of energy as in the first round. After Crocop's kicks, Fedor rushed in again and tackled him. Fedor landed some good shots, but not enough to KO Crocop. Final decision time.
Decision goes to - Fedor
Turning point - Fedor's defense was just simply amazing. He knew exactly where the kicks would be going and blocked them solidly. On the ground, Fedor's defense actually consisted of head movement. With Fedor's subtle head movement, he made sure that Crocop's punches landed on top of his head, which is the hardest part of the human body, which in turn negated any damage done.
Great fight, the level of skill, guts, and intelligence displayed in this fight was a sight to behold. I think I may be becoming a Pride fan soon...
-----------------------------
Ok, here we go:
Round 1: Crocop's style is kickboxing, meaning that he fights best on his feet, not on the ground. As predicted, Crocop was circling around the ring in an outboxing style, waiting for the opportunity to unleash his vaunted high front roundhouse kick.
Meanwhile, Fedor's style is Sambo, meaning that he fights best on the ground and is extremely deadly at close range. As Crocop was circling around the ring, Fedor did the smart thing and bided his time by sealing off the ring and occupying space.
Crocop jabbed and threw some good left straights. In the middle of the round, Crocop landed his best shot, which turned out to be a heavy-handed jab to Fedor's nose. While stunned, Crocop rushed over and landed 2 more heavy jabs right on Fedor's nose, which subsequently was most likely broken by then. However, when Crocop tried to get in his money shot - the left front roundhouse kick - Fedor was able to duck under the kick and avoid a potential KO. By the time the 2nd half of the round came up, Fedor was finally able to close in on Crocop and tackled him down. While Fedor was able to mount Crocop and had great position to land his heavy shots, Crocop displayed good defensive skills and was able to finish the round unscathed.
Close Advantage: Crocop - I thought he really nailed Fedor with some good punches during their exchange at middle range. Had Crocop been able to land his kick or resumed his rush with more punches, I thought the match could have been finished there. However, even though Crocop had the advantage by breaking Fedor's nose, Fedor's determination was building.
Round 2: The beginning of the 2nd round pretty much started the same way as the first round. Crocop was once again circling the ring to create some space and Fedor was sealing off the ring and moving forward. Crocop finally broke the peace by launching his kick. However, Fedor completely blocked the kick aiming for his ribs. Crocop threw 2 more kicks, one aiming for the ribs, one going for the head...but Fedor calmly blocked those kicks with rock solid blocks. Those blocks seemed to sap the energy out of Crocop and Fedor quickly clinched him, then tackled him down again. This time, Fedor was able to land some great punches and spent much of the round mounting Crocop. Fedor outweighed Crocop and the extra weight seemed to be wearing out Crocop on the ground. Not much action would ensue until the end of the round.
Advantage: Fedor - By this time, it was clear that not only had Fedor made up ground from the first round, the momentum had also shifted in his favor. Crocop did a pretty good defensive job on the ground, but he was getting worn out by Fedor's attacks.
Round 3: Crocop's legs were clearly tiring at this point and he tried desperately to land his kicks, but Fedor successfully blocked all the kicks yet again and still looked like he had the same amount of energy as in the first round. After Crocop's kicks, Fedor rushed in again and tackled him. Fedor landed some good shots, but not enough to KO Crocop. Final decision time.
Decision goes to - Fedor
Turning point - Fedor's defense was just simply amazing. He knew exactly where the kicks would be going and blocked them solidly. On the ground, Fedor's defense actually consisted of head movement. With Fedor's subtle head movement, he made sure that Crocop's punches landed on top of his head, which is the hardest part of the human body, which in turn negated any damage done.
Great fight, the level of skill, guts, and intelligence displayed in this fight was a sight to behold. I think I may be becoming a Pride fan soon...
# posted by bastard : 5:08 AM
