UFC @ the APEX 5
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UFC @ the APEX 4 Recap
- Curtis Blaydes used his wrestling to defeat Alexander Volkov and wants a title shot. Francis Ngannou has KO’d Blaydes twice and wants a title shot. DC wants a title shot. Does anyone care what I want? I want to see what happens when someone stuffs Blaydes’ takedown, can Curtis Blaydes strike with a top heavyweight? Maybe Blaydes’ wrestling is that good and I’m just a hater, but I look at Blaydes and I see a fighter that looks uncomfortable on the feet. Eventually, shooting naked double legs without having a striking threat won’t be effective. Stipe, DC, and Francis all stuff those naked double legs, but again, maybe I’m just a hater.
- Josh Emmett vs. Shane Burgos was amazing. Burgos has an unreal chin and I cannot believe he makes 145 lbs. Emmett is a stud, he hurt his knee in the 1st round and just kept fighting. After the fight Emmet announced his injuries which begs the question, was he hurt, or was he injured?
- Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad lived up to the hype. Belal won the fight, but Lyman did more damage. Sometimes you’d like to see the judges reward the fighter that carries power and hurts his opponent rather than a point fighting contest.
- Don’t look now but Jim Miller is sneaking up on the all time wins list and he looks good. I wouldn’t mind seeing Cowboy vs. Demian Maia one day for the most UFC wins of all time one day.
- Max Rohskopf wanted out of his fight with Austin Hubbard after the 2nd round. It’s been discussed and debated in the MMA community, but I’d like to focus on Austin Hubbard. Hubbard made his UFC debut against grappling mutant Davi Ramos. He got the best of Kyle Prepolec. His next fight was against Olympic wrestler Mark Madsen. For his 4th UFC fight he took on grappling wizard Max Rohskopf. Austin Hubbard is good, don’t let his performance be overshadowed by Max Rohskopf throwing in his towel.
Dustin Poirier (-220) vs. Dan Hooker (+200)
This fight could headline a Pay Per View. Dan Hooker got a hometown decision against my boy Paul Felder and he has his eyes on the 155 lbs strap. Dustin Poirier was choked by Khabib and he’s looking to work his way back to a title fight. This is going to be good.
Dustin Poirier has one of the best walkout songs in the UFC, “The Boss”-James Brown. This American Top Team captain is looking to right the ship after losing to Khabib in Abu Dhabi.
Things I Like
- Dustin Poirier used to be a fighter that relied on his power. In his last 6–7 fights he’s really focused on fighting behind the jab and controlling distance. Poirier will often land a straight left when his opponent enters his boxing range.
- Poirier is very hard to hit clean. He’s made tremendous improvements with his striking defense over the years. He has good head movement along with implementing the shoulder roll and keeping his right forearm protecting his chin. Max Holloway went back to his corner and said, “He blocks weird.”
- Poirier carries power.
- Poirier is a very capable wrestler. When he finds his opponent circling the octagon he will shoot a double and clinch against the fence. The Anthony Pettis fight is the most recent example of Poirier using his wrestling. He’s a black belt in jiu jitsu and despite Pettis nearly locking in 10–15 triangles in that fight, Poirier has a strong top game and good scrambles.
Things I Don’t Like
- Poirier is almost exclusively a boxer and is heavy on his lead leg. His lead leg is vulnerable to calf kicks. If his calf becomes compromised, he will lose the power in his left hand.
- Not a cardio machine. There are patches where Dustin will look to rest, he needs that rest. In the 3rd round against Max Holloway I thought he significantly slowed down, and I even think there's an argument for Max winning that fight 48–47.
- Poirier throws strikes almost exclusively to the head.
- Leans forward and throws boxing combinations with his chin up.
- Doesn’t switch stances, Poirier will fight southpaw.
- Poirier throws to the head and protects his head. His body is there to be hit.
- Nate Diaz was scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier not too long ago. If I remember correctly Dustin pulled out of that fight to have hip surgery. Hip surgery doesn’t sound good and this old horse has been through a lot of battles.
Similar to Tom Wilson in hockey, I feel like Dan Hooker is self conscious about how good looking he is, so he gravitated towards fighting. The man does look good in a suit.
Things I Like
- Hooker’s jab is very effective and helps him take advantage of his reach to manage striking distance.
- Hooker attacks his opponents legs with kicks.
- I like his takedown defense. His long arms pose choking hazards in scramble situations.
- Hooker has a fantastic flying knee, ask Ross Pearson.
- I don’t hate his head kick. He doesn’t throw it often, but he makes his opponent think about it.
Things I Don’t Like
- Hands are always low. Poirier is very capable of closing the distance and taking advantage of that.
- Edson Barboza beat him down. That seems like a fight that will always have an effect on a fighter.
- Crazy Al caught Hooker with a couple right hooks when he was forced to fight southpaw due to leg kicks. Crazy Al also caught Hooker with punches when he was switching stances. Poirier used to do a lot of punching as he was switching stances.
- Felder had success dirty boxing with Hooker.
- Hooker really struggled with Felder’s power in Rounds 4 and 5. It will be interesting to see how Hooker handles Poirier if the fight goes the distances.
Prediction
Hooker is going to attack Poirier’s right lead leg with inside leg kicks. Poirier is exclusively a southpaw boxer, he doesn’t switch stances and he doesn’t throw kicks. He will be heavy on his lead leg and Hooker will have success attacking it. I also think Hooker will mix in a fair amount of right head kicks so make Poirier block and possibly compromise his left hand. Poirier is a headhunter. He rarely attacks the body or legs. If Poirier is too one dimensional Hooker will have success countering his jab and straight left. Hooker doesn’t like when fighters get inside, he wants to fight behind his jab, at his distance, for the entire fight. Poirier is very capable of moving forward with 3–4 punch combination that tests Hooker’s jaw. I saw Hooker struggle with Felder’s power as the fight went into the 4th and 5th rounds, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Hooker struggle with Poirier’s power. There much being made about the small octagon and Poirier’s grappling advantage. Hooker has good takedown defense and I don’t see grappling being a large part of this fight. And plus, Hooker has that flying knee that can end the fight. This is a very close fight, but I like Dan Hooker here. He has the size advantage and I think he uses it to jab and inside leg kick his way to a decision.
Betting
This is a very close fight. Hooker shouldn’t be a +200 underdog.
- Hooker Wins (+200)
Mike Perry (-300) Mickey Gall (+270)
Darn, I don’t think I’m going to get to this one this week. I can’t wait to see Mike Perry this Saturday. I don’t even mind him bringing only his girlfriend to his corner, I bet it works out for him. Most of the time the corner is just a bunch of dudes sucking all the oxygen from their fighter and giving him a list of 13 things to remember for the next round. That won’t work for Mike Perry, he needs a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the butt, “Go get him, baby.”
