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Re: UFC on ESPN+: Cejudo v Dillashaw
I cannot wait to see both Gillespie and Hernandez. Both of those dudes are MONSTERS. I didn’t even realize they were both at 155 until a minute ago. That’s like, a superfight for the hardcore MMA fans. Stylistically awesome matchup, hope it happens at some time down the line.
Gillespie is a LITTLE stiff on the feet, but he’s great at landing hard strikes between wrestling sequences or after missing a TD. His elbows off the clinch and just overall brutality with the dirty boxing is second to none. Of course his wrestling is his thing, he’s just relentless with the pressure. He’s one of those rare fighters who can just wrestle at 100%, balls to the wall for an entire fight, and just overwhelm people.
Hernandez is a little harder to say, since we have limited tape on him. His debut was impressive, KOing with Dariush. He clearly brings serious intensity, whether striking or wrestling. But his OAM fight really showed what he’s capable of, and what his assets are. He, like Gillespie, can just go 100% with the offensive wrestling for an entire fight. He’s also a physical specimen - not that it means much, but there’s no doubt that he looks the part. He has a serious intensity and confidence that just seems to bypass any other contenders right now. That is... except for Gillespie.
That’s why Gillespie vs Hernandez is such an intriguing fight. I expect them both to win their respective fights tomorrow*, and hopefully some time soon, fight each other.
*Less confident on the Hernandez fight. Even though he’s a promising contender with clearly elite wrestling and conditioning, Cerrone is good at spanking the news kids. Especially wrestlers. Cerrone’s got some of the most underrated grappling in MMA, period. Off his back he’s arguably the most dangerous at WW. I mean, I can’t think of a time he’s ever been held on his back. He’s always immediately attacking. Remember when BJJ ace Myles Jury took Cerrone down? Cerrone just immediately attacks with a gogoplata, then transitions to the back and slaps on a body triangle all within seconds of hitting the mat. Stayed on Jury’s back for the rest of the round, attacking with chokes. Even his offensive wrestling is surprisingly very good, he’s surprised a lot of fighters with his takedowns, including wrestling standout Rick Story.
Cerrone, against specific styles, can look AMAZING. I mean, when Cerrone does win, he looks like one of the greatest to ever do it. He looks untouchable. Some of the cleanest combinations you’ll ever see in MMA, super flexible legs with very fast kicks. Super active ground game, takes the back of black belts like Myles Jury, and scores double legs on NCAA wrestlers like Rick Story. He just looks like a potential goat against certain guys. But then we see him look completely helpless against somebody with a good 1-2. Nate Diaz, Masvidal and Till all basically just 1-2’d cowboy into oblivion. He also has looked rather meh against guys like Leon Edwards.
But what I’m getting at, is Hernandez may be one of those guys Cerrone can shine against. Maybe the bottom game of Cerrone shuts down the wrestling of Hernandez. Maybe the striking of Cerrone is more polished than Hernandez, and he’s able to expose some holes in Hernandez’s standup. Or maybe Hernandez lights him up and finishes him. Who knows, you never know with a Cerrone fight. But one thing you can generally bank on, is that Cerrone won’t get outgrappled. I don’t think he ever has been outgrappled, and I doubt we’ll see it against Hernandez.
Overall though, I’m leaning Hernandez. My instincts tell me that Hernandez is a force to be reckoned with, that he’ll fight smart, and come out with the W. And hopefully, in the not so distant future, we see Gillespie vs Hernandez, a battle of the undefeated, super intense, super aggressive phenoms.
Last edited by Good Grappler; 01-18-2019 at 07:49 PM.
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01-18-2019, 07:45 PM
