What if EA allowed one more fighter? Who would you want?

[Good Grappler]

Quote: Originally Posted by RomeroXVII

You also have to consider with Hominick he had a terrible weight cut, yet he TOOK DOWN Hominick MULTIPLE times in their fight, yet the only part of the fight he lost, was half of Round 5 as you said, where he laid on his back after failing that guillotine attempt when Hominick shot in. You also have to consider that with Aldo, he constantly had that knee ready as a threat against the takedown, threw teeps to discourage the takedown, and it paid off dividends. His striking was also leagues above the others in his division. The difference between Woodley and Aldo for example, Woodley would shuck off Takedown attempts, but he wouldn't really punish, he would reset back to the cage. Aldo uses his hips, feeds his opponents hips, cross faces them and makes them pay for shooting, there's a consequence for shooting on Aldo. Another difference is the lateral movement of Aldo which you see in his, yet another 5 round fight against Edgar at UFC 200. All those guys that you mentioned that guy outwrestled against the cage by their said adversary, (Colby against RDA, Usman against Woodley, Gillespie against Medeiros). They move back up in a straight line rather than keeping their footwork in motion laterally, and it leads to them getting pinned against the cage. Frankie against Cub Swanson (1st fight), Jeremy Stephens (albeit with a scare, Yair Rodriguez, BJ Penn (Fight 2) did almost exactly what Gillespie did to Yancy, what Colby did to RDA, what Lee did to Barboza, but against Aldo he couldn't do it. I wouldn't consider Hernandez to be apart of that list, nor would I consider Volkanovski either, but the threat is there for sure. Sent from my SM-G965U using Operation Sports mobile app

Very good points. Especially your point on how Aldo’s defensive wrestling isn’t strictly a result of his ability to deny the entries themselves, but also a combination of his lateral movement, threat of knees, use of hips, and more.

Very important points indeed.

I like your Woodley example as well. He’s a perfect example of a “one and done” defensive wrestler. A guy who looks great defending takedowns one at a time, but got wrecked when he finally fought a relentless wrestler.

Aldo, however, as you’ve pointed out, is well equipped to neutralize even the more relentless styles of wrestling becoming more frequent nowadays in MMA. Your Woodley example did a good job of emphasizing that.

It’s also an important point that Edgar has utilized very relentless wrestling attacks, similar to Gillespie, in previous fights. So it’s not like Aldo’s success against Edgar was attributable to a Edgar’s lack of intensity, or use of a “one-and-done” wrestling approach. It only appeared that way because Aldo’s defensive wrestling was so good, Edgar was forced to fight that way, essentially being stuck on the outside without any good opportunities to wrestle.

Honestly you’ve given me a refreshed view on Aldo’s anti-wrestling thanks to your points about Edgar. I always knew it was insanely good (who doesn’t), but you’ve renewed my faith in his ability to maintain that effectiveness against essentially any wrestler at 45 or 55.

Volkanovski vs Aldo is a fascinating matchup. Would answer a lot of questions as to whether Aldo can still win those types of matchups, or if Volkanovski really is the next big thing. Classically, that’s the type of matchup where Aldo shines. I can totally visualize this scene where it’s the third round, Volkanovski hasn’t scored a single takedown yet, he’s frustrated, coming up short with his strikes, and Aldo’s just edging the rounds.

[WarMMA]

Aldo's td defense is probably the best i've ever seen in MMA, next to prime Cro Cop. Prime Cro Cop used to make high lvl wrestlers look like first day tryouts for a high school wrestling team. In all fairness though, Aldo's is maybe even better, considering wrestlers have evolved since Cro Cop's days. But that's another topic. Aldo though...the guy is just SO hard to take Aldo down. Especially early on. However, I will say that the wrestlers/grapplers that can have most success against him are the one's that will be relentless and chain wrestle. They have to go in there with the mindset that Aldo will stuff their initial attempt (cuz he most likely will) and be ready to chain off into something else. Sure he can defend the initial attempt, but can he defend the 2nd, 3rd, 4th chain? Sort of like Khabib did with Conor in the 1st round of their fight. Conor did great stuffing the initial attempt and even defended the 2nd chain, but Khabib never gave up on it, chained into a 3rd td and still put Conor on his back. That's the kind of wrestling you have to use if you wanna get a guy like Aldo down. Add to that you better have great conditioning to go along with it. Thing is even if you are a great chain wrestler, Aldo's defense is so good you may not even get the opportunity to chain off into anything.

[SMOKEZERO]

Three round Aldo is great, Five round Aldo was more of a fight manager. He’ll punish when pressed and isn’t afraid to throw down when his ego is tested. Edgar is a good wrestler, but not a pressure fighter like Alexander. Aldo is literally the worst matchup for Frankie. Volkanovski is a pace pressing machine. His durability will be tested as he attempts to pressure Aldo, but you can’t scare the guy off. If Aldo can’t KO him in one, Volkanovski will make it a rough night for him. Hope this one is definitive, because the last thing I want to see is the judges needed in Rio with a Brazilian legend. This is a fantastic matchup regardless and I can’t wait.


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[RomeroXVII]

Quote: Originally Posted by SMOKEZERO

Three round Aldo is great, Five round Aldo was more of a fight manager. He’ll punish when pressed and isn’t afraid to throw down when his ego is tested. Edgar is a good wrestler, but not a pressure fighter like Alexander. Aldo is literally the worst matchup for Frankie. Volkanovski is a pace pressing machine. His durability will be tested as he attempts to pressure Aldo, but you can’t scare the guy off. If Aldo can’t KO him in one, Volkanovski will make it a rough night for him. Hope this one is definitive, because the last thing I want to see is the judges needed in Rio with a Brazilian legend. This is a fantastic matchup regardless and I can’t wait. Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Well three round Aldo has been ko-ing everyone this far, so I hope he continues to deliver.