Dream.15 (July 10, 2010)

[blkout]

I wonder why more guys don't just latch onto a leg and work on it until something happens. Seems effective.

[cowboyronnie]

True.

You need insane grip strength, I think. Aoki is teammates with whatshisface, no doubt there was a lot of technique involved in that. But aside from Shinya, whatshisface and that other guy, no one really pursues them.

[Cammo101]

Shinya can beat anyone under 170 on any given day. Aoki vs GSP. Book it.

You forgot the green font.

[cowboyronnie]

The other issue with knee and ankle locks is that it's usually only taught to brown belts or higher in BJJ because of the dangers in drilling it. A lot of guys don't have that kind of pedigree or aren't comfortable in training it.

[Nemesis21]

Mousasi took out O'Brien quick .

[damo[23]]

Mousasi took out O'Brien quick .

Jake looked near amateur there - from the get go he looked like he was going to get subbed to me. Shocking performance on his part.

[CPT]

I wonder why more guys don't just latch onto a leg and work on it until something happens. Seems effective.

They would be infinitely more effective under the unified rules too, because you couldn't get heel kicked in the face like Crusher was doing.

You do have to really know what you're doing though, because you put yourself in a pretty vulnerable position.

[blkout]

You do have to really know what you're doing though, because you put yourself in a pretty vulnerable position.

There's so many BJJ black belts around you'd think a few would at least risk it. Mir did it to Brock out of desperation but it worked, there's no way you'd get that guy in an arm bar or anything like that.

[cowboyronnie]

It's not the risk in the fight, it's the risk to yourself and your training partners. You have to roll around really unpredictably feeling for the right position and the hold 'sinks' very suddenly. Before the guy can tap, you may have really done some terrible damage.

I don't know how Imanari has become so proficient at it - how he can drill it so safely.

[cowboyronnie]

Shinya can beat anyone under 170 on any given day. Aoki vs GSP. Book it.

You forgot the green font.

I don't see why.

Anyone in the world is vulnerable if they try to put Aoki on his back.

Aoki fights at 160, is surprisingly big for 160, and has fought at 170.

[Cammo101]

Shinya can beat anyone under 170 on any given day. Aoki vs GSP. Book it.

You forgot the green font.

I don't see why.

Anyone in the world is vulnerable if they try to put Aoki on his back.

Aoki fights at 160, is surprisingly big for 160, and has fought at 170.

Except anyone in the world with a brain won't put Aoki on his back. Here are fighters at 170 who would absolutely embarrass him like Melendez did...

Georges St. Pierre
Jon Fitch
Thiago Alves
Josh Koscheck
Nick Diaz
Dan Hardy
Carlos Condit
Martin Kampmann
Anthony Johnson
Matt Serra
Paulo Thiago
Mike Swick
John Hathaway
Diego Sanchez

...Aoki would have no shot against any of these guys. And there are plenty of other guys I'd make a favorite over Aoki at 170. If Aoki can't get a takedown, he is completely undangerous.

[CPT]

Except anyone in the world with a brain won't put Aoki on his back. Here are fighters at 170 who would absolutely embarrass him like Melendez did...

Georges St. Pierre
Jon Fitch
Thiago Alves
Josh Koscheck
Nick Diaz
Dan Hardy
Carlos Condit
Martin Kampmann
Anthony Johnson
Matt Serra
Paulo Thiago
Mike Swick
John Hathaway
Diego Sanchez

...Aoki would have no shot against any of these guys. And there are plenty of other guys I'd make a favorite over Aoki at 170. If Aoki can't get a takedown, he is completely undangerous.

I think Aoki could take a lot of those guys down. Hardy, Condit, Kampmann, Serra, Thiago, and Swick would be somewhat vulnerable against him. They could also brutalize him in Sakurai-esque fashion.

He's a LW, it's probably better to keep the conversation there.

[Cammo101]

Except anyone in the world with a brain won't put Aoki on his back. Here are fighters at 170 who would absolutely embarrass him like Melendez did...

Georges St. Pierre
Jon Fitch
Thiago Alves
Josh Koscheck
Nick Diaz
Dan Hardy
Carlos Condit
Martin Kampmann
Anthony Johnson
Matt Serra
Paulo Thiago
Mike Swick
John Hathaway
Diego Sanchez

...Aoki would have no shot against any of these guys. And there are plenty of other guys I'd make a favorite over Aoki at 170. If Aoki can't get a takedown, he is completely undangerous.

I think Aoki could take a lot of those guys down. Hardy, Condit, Kampmann, Serra, Thiago, and Swick would be somewhat vulnerable against him. They could also brutalize him in Sakurai-esque fashion.

He's a LW, it's probably better to keep the conversation there.

I don't think he has a prayer to take any of those guys down before they pound him into the ground. Melendez has no power, these guys would not let him hang around for 5 rounds.

Agreed on him at LW, he needs to stay there and prove he can beat the top tier there before considering 170. This is all speculative, considering Aoki has never shown the desire to challenge himself. He is contend to stay in Japan and get hand picked fights.

[cowboyronnie]

You forgot the green font.

I don't see why.

Anyone in the world is vulnerable if they try to put Aoki on his back.

Aoki fights at 160, is surprisingly big for 160, and has fought at 170.

Except anyone in the world with a brain won't put Aoki on his back. Here are fighters at 170 who would absolutely embarrass him like Melendez did...

Georges St. Pierre
Jon Fitch
Thiago Alves
Josh Koscheck
Nick Diaz
Dan Hardy
Carlos Condit
Martin Kampmann
Anthony Johnson
Matt Serra
Paulo Thiago
Mike Swick
John Hathaway
Diego Sanchez

...Aoki would have no shot against any of these guys. And there are plenty of other guys I'd make a favorite over Aoki at 170. If Aoki can't get a takedown, he is completely undangerous.

(Please Use More Appropriate Word).

Sakurai = Kawajiri = Melendez = Alvarez. On any given day, Aoki will get ahold of you.

LOL Matt Serra!

[cowboyronnie]

Aoki has never shown the desire to challenge himself. He is contend to stay in Japan and get hand picked fights.

This is just trolling bull. Go away.

He puts an insane amount of pressure on his shoulders. Before the Melendez fight, he gave the fight insane significance for Japan and Japanese MMA.

Do you realize all the hype he and Kawajiri pumped into that fight?

"Hand-picked"??? How does this make any sense? Shaolin, Sakurai x 2, Hansen, GZ, Alvarez?

[cowboyronnie]

Sakurai - coming down from 170 - was once described as "as mean as a badger with his paw in a light socket".

Easy picken'!

[Cammo101]

(Please Use More Appropriate Word).

Sakurai = Kawajiri = Melendez = Alvarez. On any given day, Aoki will get ahold of you.

LOL Matt Serra!

Matt Serra would KO Aoki Spotscenter Top 10 style. If Aoki can't take you down, he can't beat you. He is a one trick pony, even if he is elite at that one trick. He can beat elite guys like Alvarez because he can take those guys down. He is not a good enough wrestler IMO to take down even marginally good wrestlers like Serra or Swick before their radically superior striking and his weak chin put's him through the ground.

[Cammo101]

Sakurai - coming down from 170 - was once described as "as mean as a badger with his paw in a light socket".

Easy picken'!

Sakurai was clearly past his prime by the time this fight happened.

[CPT]

Aoki doesn't need great wrestling to get guys to the ground. Of course, it's harder to take the great wrestlers down, which is why I removed them from the list, but it's not like Aoki is shooting in for power doubles. Even when guys defend his takedowns, he often finds a way to grab a limb, take their back, or get them to the ground in an unorthodox way. He's very sticky.

I think some of the guys he's beaten (at 155, granted) have much better wrestling than the guys I kept on the list.

Aoki being content to stay in Japan and not challenge himself is nonsense as well. It's well documented that he wants to test himself in the US, he did it in his last fight, and he's fighting the guy who beat him next. Even in Japan, I think entering a 170 lb tournament, fighting the likes of Crusher, Alvarez, Hansen, etc, is challenging himself. LW is one of the few weight classes where you can fight top guys consistently without being in the UFC.