Mousasi fans ; What do you make of Mousasi now?

Those who thought he could challenge Machida and Shogun, do you still think so? Those who thought in a few short fights he could challenge Machida or Shogun, do you still think so?

Anyone's opinion changed on Mousasi since Saturday?

I thought so then, and being takedown by the best wrestler in the division and losing a decision for it doesn't change that opinion. What made me think Mousasi was good had nothing to do with wrestling skills. I think he does what Machida and Shogun well enough to be very dangerous to either. Machida almost never looks for a takedown anymore and I doubt he would here with as dangerous as Mousasi has been off his back. If Machida doesn't want to get hit, he won't take Mousasi down. I don't think Mousasi dished out more damage from punches than Mo did on the ground, but I do think he dished out the most damage from punches I think I've ever seen off the bottom, and did a real number with upkicks. We've never seen Machida fight a well rounded MMA fighter with K1 level kickboxing in their prime, and he looked somewhat mortal against Shogun, making this type of fight all the more compelling.

Shogun is a pretty decent wrestler when he isn't fighting Coleman types(King Mo types) and I imagine he could get Mousasi down at some point in the fight. It would be interesting to see if Shogun tries some of his explosive leaping ground and pound style against Mouasi's explosive upkicking and punching. In the UFC Mousasi would be able to strike with elbows as well, which would only make his attack off his back even more real. On their feet I find it hard to give either fighter an edge. This fight would be very action packed and explosive. This may be one of my biggest dream fights right now.

I still think a lot of Mousasi. He isn't going anywhere, except to the gym to train wrestling. As good as he picks up ever other martial art he touches I have no doubt he will be able to add MMA worthy wrestling to his game eventually. I doubt the only moves he can't learn or aren't athletically able to do at a high level are the sprawls and sweeps.

I think Mousasi left M-1 for 0-1....yeah

I think he's great. Great standup, probably the best upkicks in the game, lands powerful shots off his back, is really good off his back...and he's 24.

I think his gameplanning can use some work. It was shabby vs. Sokoudjou but he was able to get away with that. Not against Mo. I didnt put too much stock in the takedowns untill later because i think thats what Mousasi wanted, he wanted Mo to take him down and spend the fight trying to pass his guard while taking upkicks and punches...and after round 2 i thought Mo was dead in the water and Mousasi had an excellent game plan..but it backfired and Mousasi wore down.

He'll be back.

Kept waiting for Mo to tire, kept waiting for the opening for a submission or upkick, but it never came and before Mousasi knew what happened he found himself in a frustrating situation he had no answer for. We knew this day was coming though. GSP no doubt texted him immediately after that he is still an amazing fighter and this will just make him stronger and better, and this was a good thing that will elevate him to the next level. GSP know, GSP know.

still a top fighter in the division and at only 24 can only learn and get better.

Mo showed a ton of heart. Mousasi would've won that fight against a lesser fighter because he did so much damage in the first two rounds off his back. Mo pushed through the fatigue and showed a lot of heart to continue getting takedowns throughout the fight.

Mousasi will be fine, he's young and uber-talented. Who gives a shit about the SF belt anyway? He needs to be in the UFC fighting with the best 205ers in the world...same with King Mo.

Mousasi also has an explosive top game. Everything in MMA he seems to be good at except blocking throws and takedowns. Hard to believe he can't improve these skills with proper training. I would suggest he train with GSP even more on technique, but considering both he and Nate Marquardt got thrown around like ragdolls after the training they already have done with GSP, maybe GSP is bad luck or something.

Mousasi should work with Randy Couture or someone like that to build MMA wrestling, but I think he should work with wrestlers on the individual art itself as well.

Machida has faced really good to great strikers: Michael MacDonald, Thiago Silva, Rich Franklin, Stephan Bonnar, Vernon White, Rashad Evans and Shogun, and beat them all. Heck, Sokoudjou had the most feared hands in MMA when he fought Machida and was exposed. On top of it all Machida has one of the best sprawls in MMA. Serously, watch his catalogue -- it's sick in terms of sprawl. Mo could get him down, but he would struggle far more than he did with Gegard. Plus I think it's clear that Machida's weakness is defending kicks. Gegard has some lethal ones, but he's more of a boxer than anything.

As for Shogun, I really think there's a big difference between the takedowns of COleman and Mo at this point. SHogun has solid takedowns and could probably take Gegard down, but they're not exceptional, his BJJ however is sick. He had no luck against Machida and couldn't hold CHuck down for more than a second, but those guys are legends in my mind in that regard. Shogun's biggest weakness is being outworked and I'm not sure if Gegard has that kind of will.

I think Gegard is really, really good; but probably not top ten and before the fight I always stated that he was somewhere between 8-9 on the top ten. But at 24, this kid will be filthy.

I still think Mousasi can be the best LHW in the world. Holes in his games are obvious, but he is still a very skilled fighter. Mo was just a horrible match up. He's 24 so he's got time to keep getting better. Too many people were looking to say I told you so once Mousasi lost, but they'll change their tune after he beats Hendo and eventually rematches with Mo.

Quote :

Machida has faced really good to great strikers: Michael MacDonald, Thiago Silva, Rich Franklin, Stephan Bonnar, Vernon White, Rashad Evans and Shogun, and beat them all.

Not discounting those wins or saying those are bad strikers, but none of them besides maybe an improved Shogun would win K1, where Gregard can hold his own. Of course there was MacDonald, who Machida just tapped out with a forearm choke. Machida has never faced a kickboxer on Gregard's level who close to as well rounded.

My opinion on Gergard didn't change at all. My opinion on Mo did.

He's 24 and despite what is said on here, still a top 10 LHW.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Those who thought he could challenge Machida and Shogun, do you still think so? Those who thought in a few short fights he could challenge Machida or Shogun, do you still think so?

Anyone's opinion changed on Mousasi since Saturday?

I thought so then, and being takedown by the best wrestler in the division and losing a decision for it doesn't change that opinion. What made me think Mousasi was good had nothing to do with wrestling skills. I think he does what Machida and Shogun well enough to be very dangerous to either. Machida almost never looks for a takedown anymore and I doubt he would here with as dangerous as Mousasi has been off his back. If Machida doesn't want to get hit, he won't take Mousasi down. I don't think Mousasi dished out more damage from punches than Mo did on the ground, but I do think he dished out the most damage from punches I think I've ever seen off the bottom, and did a real number with upkicks. We've never seen Machida fight a well rounded MMA fighter with K1 level kickboxing in their prime, and he looked somewhat mortal against Shogun, making this type of fight all the more compelling.

Shogun is a pretty decent wrestler when he isn't fighting Coleman types(King Mo types) and I imagine he could get Mousasi down at some point in the fight. It would be interesting to see if Shogun tries some of his explosive leaping ground and pound style against Mouasi's explosive upkicking and punching. In the UFC Mousasi would be able to strike with elbows as well, which would only make his attack off his back even more real. On their feet I find it hard to give either fighter an edge. This fight would be very action packed and explosive. This may be one of my biggest dream fights right now.

I still think a lot of Mousasi. He isn't going anywhere, except to the gym to train wrestling. As good as he picks up ever other martial art he touches I have no doubt he will be able to add MMA worthy wrestling to his game eventually. I doubt the only moves he can't learn or aren't athletically able to do at a high level are the sprawls and sweeps.

+1

In the beginning, after he saw that Lawal's take-downs were better than his TD defense he could of put more emphasis on doing more damage on his feet while he had the chance, he looked good enough with what he was throwing but was hesitant because of the take down. But he remained slow in the pace there, never attempted any good knees to counter the shoot and really gave little push back at all on the feet it seemed. He was going to get taken down, he wasn't going to stop it, he might of benefited by being less cautious of it.

The aftermath of this fight, one would think, could be very positive for him though. He fought a strong fighter who physically put him where he didn't want to be or couldn't be effective enough to win and thus lost. He knows what he needs to work on given that some of the best fighters out there have a fighting foundation in wrestling. If his progression can focus on making strengths out of his weaknesses, or at least improving them, then he will move forward positively. He is young, in shape, and appears to have a good head on his shoulders. Now what needs fixing has been laid out in front of him and he needs to expand.

I think people overreacted to Gegard (me included) and under appreciated Mo'. that being said, none of his issues are even close to be unfixable. I think a strict wrestling camp for 6 months and some incorporating camp for a few months would fix most of it.

I don't think Gergard's TD defense is as bad as some are saying I think Mo's TDs are just really good. I'm betting there's a whole lot of LHWs that Mo could take down just as easy.

MMAEYES wrote:

I don't think Gergard's TD defense is as bad as some are saying I think Mo's TDs are just really good. I'm betting there's a whole lot of LHWs that Mo could take down just as easy.

I think that fight told us a lot about both men. Gegard needs to work on takedown defense and Mo has good takedowns. Mo continuously landed the same takedowns and Gegard never adjusted to defend them. Single leg, turn, takedown, single leg, turn, takedown, single leg, turn, takedown... I thought at some point Gegard would be able to defend it but never could.

Bottom line, Gegard comes out of this fight looking worse than he really is and Mo comes out of it looking better than he probably really is at this point in his career. Both men obviously have the potential to be great, here's hoping they both end up in the UFC sooner rather than later. There are so many great matchups for them there, can't say the same about SF unfortunately.

MMAEYES wrote:

I don't think Gergard's TD defense is as bad as some are saying I think Mo's TDs are just really good. I'm betting there's a whole lot of LHWs that Mo could take down just as easy.

I agree. I think Moussasi is still a great talent. His composure is unreal. But, the way the announcers and critics were condemning his takedown defense was a bit unfair. He was fighting quite possibly the best wrestler in mma at 205. Mo was an olympic alternate in 2008. That means he is still in his wrestling prime. It wasnt that Moussasi's takedown defense is bad, but that Mo's takedowns are on another level. Moussasi will improve in that area, no doubt. He is only 24!

I think he is still a great fighter that had a terrible style matchup against Mo. It's obvious what he needs to work on and he has plenty of time to do it considering he is so young. His wrestling and cardio need major tweaks. I think he would be best suited in joining a camp in America. I think Team Quest would be a great place for him.

As for the fight itself many people are really underplaying his performance. He hurt Mo really bad off his back in the first couple of rounds and had a pretty solid guard. If he didn't gas I probably think he could of won the fight if he was active enough off his back like he was in round 2.

As for camps I think the easiest transition would be with GSP at Jackson or whenever he goes up in Canada/NE. GSP has outstanding cardio and we all know about the wrestling too. Then you can get with guys like Carwin, Rashad, and Nate who are great wrestlers too. They have trained together before.

MMAEYES wrote:

I don't think Gergard's TD defense is as bad as some are saying I think Mo's TDs are just really good. I'm betting there's a whole lot of LHWs that Mo could take down just as easy.

+1

With "some" meaning LA, who dared me to make this thread, and is now conspiciously missing in action.


LA I dare you to post your silly talk here.

He's not man enough, Wolf. He's too busy hiding in the off-topic area taking childish pot shots at me about Mousasi there...

MMAEYES wrote:

I don't think Gergard's TD defense is as bad as some are saying I think Mo's TDs are just really good. I'm betting there's a whole lot of LHWs that Mo could take down just as easy.

Really? .. It looked like Gegard was standing square at him and being 1-2 feet away .. and than he looked slower than Thiago Silva with a bad back.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

MMAEYES wrote:

I don't think Gergard's TD defense is as bad as some are saying I think Mo's TDs are just really good. I'm betting there's a whole lot of LHWs that Mo could take down just as easy.

+1

With "some" meaning LA, who dared me to make this thread, and is now conspiciously missing in action.


LA I dare you to post your silly talk here.

I dared you to make a thread saying Mousasi could beat Machida or Shogun, this is what this thread is about?

i still think he's a very skilled and talented fighter, but his cardio was absolutely horrid in that fight. He needs to drop the dutch kickboxers and get with a real camp and a real strength and conditioning coach. If he does that i still think he can be a p4p guy. But for christ sake work on your take down defense Gegard.

Ninja\Rua/Fan wrote:

I think he is still a great fighter that had a terrible style matchup against Mo. It's obvious what he needs to work on and he has plenty of time to do it considering he is so young. His wrestling and cardio need major tweaks. I think he would be best suited in joining a camp in America. I think Team Quest would be a great place for him.

As for the fight itself many people are really underplaying his performance. He hurt Mo really bad off his back in the first couple of rounds and had a pretty solid guard. If he didn't gas I probably think he could of won the fight if he was active enough off his back like he was in round 2.

Totally agree and have been saying this since the fight happened. Mo was taking a major beating from Mousasi while on top. That was impressive.