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