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[aussiemma]

hughes will not win the rematch ! thiago has some of the best tdd apart from his fights with fitch and gsp. i can see a similiar result to the first match.

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by rivethead

Hughes takes the rematch.

rh

Originally Posted by WhootYouGotOwned

I think Hughes Rapes the over hyped alves in the rematch, I bet he took him lightly the 1st time around, And i'd like to think theese workouts with BJ will do wonders for his defence against faster strikers.

IMO Alves is overhyped. Is he a great striker sure, is his TDD that good? it is ok. We have seen time and time again, that if a good wrestler (like Hughes) grabs and controls/clinches/ gets on top, Alves will gas and get beat up and UD'd

Matt takes this fight all day. He will press Alves and get the TD. Matt by UD

I think Alves really has one strike chance (normally called punchers chance but with Alves it could be a knee) but he better catch Matt clean before the TD

[Supe]

When i read the thread title "Matt Hughes wants Thiago Alves next" all's i thought was....man i hope he doesnt want him for a fight. I love Hughes but wow is that a terrible idea.

[Y2JUBAE]

Thiago's lack of takedown defense didn't stop him from beating Matt the first time.

[Masscore]

Originally Posted by Y2JUBAE

Thiago's lack of takedown defense didn't stop him from beating Matt the first time.

He still got taken down by Hughes a few times and wasn't even close to making weight for their fight. Hughes still cut down to 170 and Alves I think was like 175-176. So Alves did not even attempt to cut weight knowing Hughes would still take the fight no matter what. He has does the same thing several times.

But I still think Alves takes the rematch. Hughes 5-6 years ago takes Alves down and takes his arm home with him. Hughes right now probably survives for 3 rounds and losses a decision.

Personally I want to see Hughes fight Hallman.

[Luc1an]

Originally Posted by rivethead

Hughes takes the rematch.

rh

what are you basing that on exactly lol

[earle]

Alves was pretty much a MW the first time they fought. He was 174 at the weigh-in but he must have been 190+ at fight time. The guy looked absolutely huge.

[Repenter]

alves TDD isn't as good as it seems. the best example of how good it is is the koscheck fight, but in that fight he rocked kos with a hard knee and follow-up shots in the first, and kos barely survived. from then on, the takedowns, (especially koscheck's high-risk high-reward cross-body doubles) didn't really take. hughes got a little careless in the first match and ended up getting TKO'd, but i think his style would work pretty well against alves at 170.

against GSP, alves got taken down at will, and never had an answer to getting past that pressure. hughes also has much more proven finishing power than GSP. just me, though

[MMAMainiac]

Originally Posted by Lefthookstcrook

Pretty long read, but good non the less.

Let me start off by saying im a big thiago Alves fan. Now thats out of the way, I see Thiago beating Hughes again if they fought imo. Hughes relies heavily on his TDs when facing a better striker, and (imo) Alves is in the top 3-4 for TDD at WW. I doubt if it would end they same way, but I cant see it going good for Hughes imo.

Im also not big on ex fighters becoming judges myself. I have no problem with them "shadowing" or trying to change the system/add in some insight etc. But to actually see Matt Hughes as a judges name would put a bad taste in my mouth personally. Like Dan Henderson vs Jeremy Horn, With Hughes/Militech and Couture as judges? Not something I wanna see myself.

BUT with that said I do somewhat agree with his system for judging a fight. (For those who dont want to read it all)



Thoughts? I think this system would end alot of "Lay n pray" myself, because you would actually have to make an attempt to do damage or finish the fight, or risk losing. (Sounds a lil familiar dont it lol)

And I hate it how a JJ master can pull guard(where he wants to be), go for subs and do more damage from the bottom. But the guy on top did nothing but "not lose", and he wins 9 out of 10 times

Good find.

I personally don't think "damage" shouldn't be the most important criteria. There are guys that simply don't get cut often, and there are those with paper thin skin that bruise/bleed from so much as a slap in the face. If i so much as look at my skin the wrong way, it goes red, personally.

The biggest example of "damage" being more show than actual effective striking IMO would be the first BJ-GSP fight. After the first round, GSPs eye was swollen up, and his nose was pissing blood. If you actually rewatch the fight, all of the damage was done with 2 hits, 1 being an accidental eye poke, the other being an uppercut that just grazed the tip of GSPs nose (Rogan even points this out in the replays) Neither strike "hurt" GSP (except maybe the eye poke fuckin up his vision), and he was by far no where near being in danger, though one would think (just by looking at the "damage") that it wasn't even a competitive round.

Damage should weigh in, but only in conjunction with effective strikes.

I do agree with the fact that the guy on top shouldn't always be the one winning the points. If the person in the bottom is landing more strikes, he should be given the tilt.

[rivethead]

for the record, I don't think this fight will happen. I don't think Alves get's past Story, and if he does, I don't see him wanting to face Hughes again, since there just isn't a big percentage in a win for him, and the risk of a loss--to a guy most people don't think has a chance against him--would propel him to the outer fringes of top 15, if not beyond. [Meaning if he loses to Story and Hughes, he'd be 1-4 in his last 5.] I just don't see Zuffa giving Alves any kind of a threat if he loses to Story. The gave him Howard after Fitch ground him out, and he wasn't exactly impressive with a B-lister coming off a loss.


Also for the record, I don't think Alves' takedown defense is shitty, as some posters have said, but Hughes still has a great shot and a great clinch. Moreover, I think Matt is a smart fighter, and he's not going to do anything close to standing and trading with Alves. He'd be more likely to train to check/catch legkicks, use mobility and a reach advantage to stay away from Alves' jab and look to clinch and/or slam. If it goes to the ground, it's 90% Hughes's fight to lose...if it stays standing, I've only got it 60/40 for Alves.

I just think Matt will fight a much smarter fight this time. There is a lot more high-profile film on Thiago at this point, and Matt is looking to have a dominant win to retire on...that's going to make him at least as hungry as someone trying to keep their career treading water.

rh