 Red Belt
Join Date: May 2005
Location: satx
Posts: 7,552
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toughest matchups for page
Now that rampage is champ, its time to consider not who is the top contender for the title; but who can pose the most problems for him in regards to tech/ability/exp. Now there is a diff between being the number one contender and being the number one threat; right now henderson is the number one contender, an i don't think he poses a threat to rampage.
Dan can win-he is a high level wrestler, has improved his overall standup (he is no functional in that he can use both hands, counter shots and throws short/basick combos and has some def outside of the takedown)he has power/toughness and durability. But i feel dan is not big or athletically gifted enough and as strong as he is, is not capable of meeting or matching quinton's strength; an the adv that gives page the biggest shot to win is obviously his boxing, quinton has good handspeed, timing, strateg=y, tech (he counters, leads, blocks, slips, uses body shots, jabs, lead rights, crosses, hooks, upperbody/headmovement and footwork..in regards to mma his boxing game is worldclass) The biggest prob for dan is that page is a slick/tech who has POWER-misaki who outworked and outslicked henderson had skills and conditioning; but no power, an silva for all his intensity is wide in regards to his off, avg at best w/his def and is not a ko striker..he is a volume guy who breaks u down w/pressure and an accumulation of strikes, punch for punch many people hit harder.. henderson/page/liddel/baroni/shogun. Henderson's off is better, but he is still there to be hit and if he cant physically dominate u he can't win and its been shown time and time again in all his losses.
the three i give the best shot at page are here
lyoto machida- he is a quick footed, unorthodox, tech, mobile and active counter striker; he won't press page, he is gonna make page come to him and have to stay busy. Machida is not gonna get koed w/one shot, because he won't get caught clean because he does not fully commit to shots/strikes, i.e. settling in and opening up. He sticks and moves, he potshots and dances away, making u have to constantly adjust ur range, an timing to account for the movement, variety of strikes and his style. Rampage won't be able to tee off and will have to work to cut off the cage for a clinch or to open up w/hands; an when he does have him cornered he won't get off effectively because machida has great time and abilty to slip off/roll out/parry punches. Page will have to stay busy w/his hands and will most likely get picked apart w/sharp/stiff punches/kicks. Does machida have the power to get page's respect and is he slick enough to maintain his range and angles when page puts that stick on him (jab). I dunno; but i think he poses alot of problems for page tech
rashad evans-he is similar to page, the diff being he is a better wrestler and does not quite have the polish in his standup (in regards to the hands..the footwork and headmovement is prob even, page being more tech/smooth-evans being more athletic/unorthodox) Page hits harder and has the better hands all round and is physically stronger; but evans hands aren't that far off from page's, evans style is just a little more freewheeling and less structured which has alot to do w/his athleticism which is far above pages. Quinton can power him in clinches and muscle him down, but he lacks the tech to just control evans down there and when u match that w/evans explosiveness and fluidity, u have big problems for page in regards to gnp. This fight could be an mma version of jones jr v hopkins-as good as page is in the standup, which is really where he is above guys in mma; he is still gonna have problems w/the herky jerky athletic style of evans.
Forrst Griiffin-good condition-good strategy and excellent footwork, spacing, pucnhing; his prob is the same as gatti; he can't stick to a gameplan, he gets hurt and he bombs away. His second prob is he can't punch and guys that can't punch can't afford to get away from the mapped out strategy. The power is gonna be the issue here, page is a heavy striker and a tech striker, which is bad for somone like griffin who looks to make a WAR everytime he fights. But if he plays it smart he can really give page a test, griffin has fast hands, good timing, and pucnhes in bunches and sets up his shots and gives angles, something page is not accustomed to seeing. If griffin keeps moving his hands...keeps giving angles and learns to tie up or stall he can present issues for rampage.
thoughts opinions
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