Can't think of a top caliber fighter like Tony with such a crappy stand up

[linvillegorge]

Unorthodox doesn't necessarily equal crappy. No high level striking coach is teaching his techniques, but the guy is still highly effective.

 

[560ti]

You don't beat guys like Barboza and RDA on the feet with crappy standup

People also heavily under-rate the Josh Thomson fight.

Thomson had damn good hands/footwork and up untill the Tony fight hadn't had a clear cut loss in almost 10 years........

 

[Hazuki Ryo]

Hmmm i should up this

 

[jeff7b9]

Lol what a silly thread. Guys with a crappy stand up don't do this to their opponents. Just because it's unorthodox doesn't mean it's crappy.

Amen.
Tony mauled Barbosa, RDA, Pettis, Cowboy.

His standup has proven effective against elite proven strikers, Gaethje just beat him fair and square and had the answers the last 12 guys didn’t.

 

[GBcrazy]

What forced guys like barboza to wrestle is to catch a break. His pace makes it very difficult to trade blows for a full round. That's why i say a good wrestler is his weakness

>only two losses are to strikers

Yeah sure, his weakness must be good wrestlers, right?! Let's forget his unbeaten so far ground game and best guard of the division.

Oh god, the stupidity I see here.

Also, his striking isn't crappy. He is awkward and sloppy, but efficient. Justin is just better on the feet and was able to abuse Tony's weakness.

 

[Ryanpb87]

He forces barboza to become a wrestler. He dominated petis, Cerrone, Thompson...

I am absolutely sure something was wrong with him last night. I could tell as soon as he walked out. He looked off and slow.

 

[Hazuki Ryo]

Hmmm i should up this

And again...

 

[moreorless87]

He forces barboza to become a wrestler. He dominated petis, Cerrone, Thompson...

I am absolutely sure something was wrong with him last night. I could tell as soon as he walked out. He looked off and slow.

I think the issue is that his game overall is highly dependant on pace, forcing opponents into more aggressive fights than they are used to so their technique and cardio suffer.

The beating he took from Gaethje does seem to have taken a lot of the aggression and willingness to take punishment out of him and I think thats a much bigger loss to him than it would be to most guys.

 

[sipatai]

12 win-streak and he passed his prime time and lose, now people forgot all of his winning history and called him crappy? his stand up is risky, but not without surprises and advantages.

 

[GOATtalks]

12 win-streak and he passed his prime time and lose, now people forgot all of his winning history and called him crappy? his stand up is risky, but not without surprises and advantages.

That 12 win streak is very deceptive and overrated. He could’ve lost most of those fights. The names on that streak are good, but most of them weren’t really top dogs of the division. He never faced guys like Khabib, Conor or Poirier. His only 2 good wins in my opinion are RDA, Barboza and maybe Kevin Lee

 

[CroCopsLHK]

Tony Ferguson has good striking.

He seems to be in a slump right now though. Gaethje outstruck him and beat the brakes off him. Charles and Beniel outgrappled him and in those two fights he didn't seem comfortable with any offense. It was like he was in a trance. Tony is in a very bad place psychologically and he needs a step down

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

Of course i'm talking about modern era. We are far from days where a jiu jitsu guy could become champion with no good striking skillset.

What is unsual with a guy like Tony is despite all the progress that has been made in the professionalism in MMA, the guy does not seem to care about implementing basic striking fundamentals.

Don't get me wrong, he is great. He is unpredictable and relentless with his offense. But let's be real, from a technical point of view, he's not a good striker.
He fights with his chin up, hands down, gets countered easily, and has been knocked down quite a few times.

What makes him stand out is definitely his unbelievable cardio, his crafty ground game and his ability to transition well from standing to ground position.

What astonishes me is that he hasn't been ko'd before. I guess if you add to his cardio his iron chin, there's nothing his opponent can really do.

A bad match up would be a prime bendo, edgar, or khabib obviously. A good wrestler that can follow his pace and control him on the ground without being overwhelmed with his advancing.
Because i don't know if ANY of the fighters in ufc match his cardio..

I guess what i want to say is that it's so uncommon to find such a top fighter not being well rounded

8(

 

[Lusiv]

More I read this thread more I realise there's some really shit takes on striking.