- Joined
- Oct 25, 2006
- Messages
- 341
- Reaction score
- 5
Just wanted to offer my thoughts on this event: what worked, what didn’t, and what needs improvement.
THE GOOD
The fights
Six out of nine fights on this card were certified bangers. Opacic vs Staforidis got things started off on the right foot; you love to see big boys show off some serious agility and technical prowess in a thumping kickboxing match. It’s especially nice when a guy who looks like he works the checkout desk at a rental car center beats the hell out of an obviously juiced freak. Grigorian vs Ozcan was outstanding, non-stop action & a very close, back and forth contest (baffling that this wasn’t on the main card, in fact.) Amir & Freymanov both look legit frightening, and they both finished high quality opponents in devastating fashion. Stamp vs Radzuan was absolutely thrilling and if Stamp had managed to finish that leg bar, it would’ve ascended to legendary status. And of course, Xiong vs Lee was wildly entertaining and damn close as well. Once again, ONE delivered in the way that mattered most.
The diversity of disciplines
In addition to pumping out highly entertaining fights, diversity of disciplines is basically ONE’s main differentiator from the UFC, and this card did a nice job of featuring it. To see elite MMA, grappling, kickboxing, and Muay Thai in the same show is a real treat, and for me, the primary reason I watch ONE. I’m very thankful they haven’t dumbed things down in a bid to appeal to a more mainstream audience. My only complaint is that the one Muay Thai bout was terribly lopsided, while there were several good ones shoved on the 161 card 24 hours earlier.
Superior rule set
Knees to the head of a grounded opponent played a major role in almost all of the MMA fights on the card, and it was plainly obvious that it’s one of the keys to more entertaining fights. It simply does not allow for extremely boring defensive and/or stalling tactics that are all too common in the UFC, and the results are often explosive. I just wish they hadn’t banned soccer kicks; both techniques have been studied and neither is any more dangerous than what can be done on the feet.
THE BAD
The announcing, again
The announcing was a bit better this time—Dragon & Franklin were less awkward & more insightful—but the new play-by-play guy is still dull as rocks. I know Schiavello isn’t for everyone, in the same way that Dick Vitale isn’t for everyone, but I generally love the guy’s work and can’t fathom why they’ve replaced him.
New guy: “Wow, this is entertaining.”
Schiavello: “This fight has me wetter than South Florida in a hurricane! It’s nastier than divorce court! It’s got more money shots than the Bang Bus! It’s incredible! It’s surreal! It’s the best fight we’ve seen since Frank Dux took on Chong Li!”
I’m actively pissed I didn’t get to hear Schiavello call some of the fights on this card. Instead, I had to listen to a guy who sounded like he was narrating a senior golf tournament drone his way through some incredible action. For the love of god, please bring back Schiavello and let the man cook.
The refereeing
This really surprised me because ONE has a reputation for excellent refereeing that prioritizes fighter safety. But this card saw two late stoppages, one by the notoriously awful Herb Dean—who was clearly brought in for marketing reasons, rather than quality of work—and the other by Olivier Coste, who is one of the best refs in the business. I’m confident Coste will learn from his mistake, but Dean’s record of allowing athletes to take unnecessary damage is simply too long to tolerate. On a minor note, Elias Dolapsis should never be allowed to ref a kickboxing or Muay Thai fight again; he simply cannot police the clinch competently.
The replays
This was a real problem on the first Amazon Prime card, and it was a problem this time as well. Whoever is running the replay booth is doing a crap job: the angles are often wrong, the clips are seemingly random, and the connection to the announcers is non-existent. I shouldn’t have to wait to see the right slo-mo angle on Instagram hours later.
THE UGLY
Weight cutting and cancellations, again
I’m all for whatever system guarantees fighter safety, but what ONE is doing here clearly isn’t working. Way too many fighters miss weight, and it hurts the integrity of the fights. Additionally, this card was plagued by cancellations and withdrawals, some of which can be chalked up to bad luck, but some of it can’t. I don’t know what the fix is, but someone at ONE has got to figure this out.
CONCLUSION
The action in the circle was outstanding, as usual, and proved once again that ONE’s product can absolutely compete with the UFC’s. Some of the things surrounding that action, though, need to be improved. Unfortunately, when you’re taking on a behemoth like the UFC, simply having a better product isn’t enough; your execution has to be almost perfect as well and ONE has some work to do. Fingers crossed they get there.
THE GOOD
The fights
Six out of nine fights on this card were certified bangers. Opacic vs Staforidis got things started off on the right foot; you love to see big boys show off some serious agility and technical prowess in a thumping kickboxing match. It’s especially nice when a guy who looks like he works the checkout desk at a rental car center beats the hell out of an obviously juiced freak. Grigorian vs Ozcan was outstanding, non-stop action & a very close, back and forth contest (baffling that this wasn’t on the main card, in fact.) Amir & Freymanov both look legit frightening, and they both finished high quality opponents in devastating fashion. Stamp vs Radzuan was absolutely thrilling and if Stamp had managed to finish that leg bar, it would’ve ascended to legendary status. And of course, Xiong vs Lee was wildly entertaining and damn close as well. Once again, ONE delivered in the way that mattered most.
The diversity of disciplines
In addition to pumping out highly entertaining fights, diversity of disciplines is basically ONE’s main differentiator from the UFC, and this card did a nice job of featuring it. To see elite MMA, grappling, kickboxing, and Muay Thai in the same show is a real treat, and for me, the primary reason I watch ONE. I’m very thankful they haven’t dumbed things down in a bid to appeal to a more mainstream audience. My only complaint is that the one Muay Thai bout was terribly lopsided, while there were several good ones shoved on the 161 card 24 hours earlier.
Superior rule set
Knees to the head of a grounded opponent played a major role in almost all of the MMA fights on the card, and it was plainly obvious that it’s one of the keys to more entertaining fights. It simply does not allow for extremely boring defensive and/or stalling tactics that are all too common in the UFC, and the results are often explosive. I just wish they hadn’t banned soccer kicks; both techniques have been studied and neither is any more dangerous than what can be done on the feet.
THE BAD
The announcing, again
The announcing was a bit better this time—Dragon & Franklin were less awkward & more insightful—but the new play-by-play guy is still dull as rocks. I know Schiavello isn’t for everyone, in the same way that Dick Vitale isn’t for everyone, but I generally love the guy’s work and can’t fathom why they’ve replaced him.
New guy: “Wow, this is entertaining.”
Schiavello: “This fight has me wetter than South Florida in a hurricane! It’s nastier than divorce court! It’s got more money shots than the Bang Bus! It’s incredible! It’s surreal! It’s the best fight we’ve seen since Frank Dux took on Chong Li!”
I’m actively pissed I didn’t get to hear Schiavello call some of the fights on this card. Instead, I had to listen to a guy who sounded like he was narrating a senior golf tournament drone his way through some incredible action. For the love of god, please bring back Schiavello and let the man cook.
The refereeing
This really surprised me because ONE has a reputation for excellent refereeing that prioritizes fighter safety. But this card saw two late stoppages, one by the notoriously awful Herb Dean—who was clearly brought in for marketing reasons, rather than quality of work—and the other by Olivier Coste, who is one of the best refs in the business. I’m confident Coste will learn from his mistake, but Dean’s record of allowing athletes to take unnecessary damage is simply too long to tolerate. On a minor note, Elias Dolapsis should never be allowed to ref a kickboxing or Muay Thai fight again; he simply cannot police the clinch competently.
The replays
This was a real problem on the first Amazon Prime card, and it was a problem this time as well. Whoever is running the replay booth is doing a crap job: the angles are often wrong, the clips are seemingly random, and the connection to the announcers is non-existent. I shouldn’t have to wait to see the right slo-mo angle on Instagram hours later.
THE UGLY
Weight cutting and cancellations, again
I’m all for whatever system guarantees fighter safety, but what ONE is doing here clearly isn’t working. Way too many fighters miss weight, and it hurts the integrity of the fights. Additionally, this card was plagued by cancellations and withdrawals, some of which can be chalked up to bad luck, but some of it can’t. I don’t know what the fix is, but someone at ONE has got to figure this out.
CONCLUSION
The action in the circle was outstanding, as usual, and proved once again that ONE’s product can absolutely compete with the UFC’s. Some of the things surrounding that action, though, need to be improved. Unfortunately, when you’re taking on a behemoth like the UFC, simply having a better product isn’t enough; your execution has to be almost perfect as well and ONE has some work to do. Fingers crossed they get there.
