Beating Champs: Cracking Rampage’s Game (1 of 5)
By Josh Stein on May 22, 2008
The more I’ve been watching the things that people have been saying about the five resident kings of the UFC (for the record, I no longer consider Couture a champion, as his contract dispute will probably never put him back in the Octagon again) and it’s made me think that people are a little bit too attached to them, a little bit too enamored with what are, undoubtedly, incredibly impressive performances.
I’m not saying that the UFC champions aren’t the best fighters in the world. Certainly, some of them are and some of them are debatable. Still, it is important to remember that the UFC champions are beatable, and so I want to pick apart their games, take a look at what makes them tick and, most importantly, take a look at what can be done to beat the men that so many tout as the “undisputed champions” in a sport where there are so many ways to win, and even more ways to lose.
Just to explain the method to the seeming madness: I want to address these in order from easiest to hardest, and in order to make sure people don’t believe I’m talking about hypotheticals, I’ll list the guy (or guys) in each division that I think gives the largest problem, given my analysis, to each fighter. I’ll be saving the largest wrecking ball of all, Anderson Silva, for last. This will be in five parts, and I’ll make sure I finish these up.
Lets start with the man I personally believe is the most beatable colossus in the UFC right now. Not because he’s not an incredible fighter, but because he’s in a tough, turbulent division, and has alot of guys dancing around him with very challenging and very versatile skills sets.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of the most explosive fighters I’ve ever seen, and his raw power is something that I’ve been impressed with since first seeing him fight. Everybody knows that he can explode, and everybody knows that he is, almost certainly, the strongest guy in that division. Honestly, I’m well aware that Quinton has power and I think that anyone who lacks technical striking skills and tries to brawl with ‘page will be utterly, embarrassingly decimated.
Rampage’s game is run on his power. It’s run on his ability to work from every position and explode from every position. The problem is, there are some positions that explosions become incredibly difficult from, and there are positions that Rampage himself admits that he sucks from. He doesn’t think his jiu-jitsu is that good, and while there are many who have said that he’s a good grappler, I don’t think they were talking about the technical prowess of his guard game.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s a guy in the UFC right now who can put Rampage on his back, but that’s what I think someone should try to do. In terms of the guy who is best suited to fight Rampage, many are probably thinking I’m going to say Tito Ortiz, because I know that that name is fresh in everybody’s mind, given his fight with Machida. That’s not what I’m going to say.
Honestly, I think that Tito would have a hard time dealing with Rampage because I think he’d fall into the same problem he did against Chuck Liddell, which is simply that Tito is a straight shot fighter. While Rampage doesn’t counterpunch as well as Liddell, I think that, even moving forward, Rampage’s short right hand off of the sprawl will present alot of problems for Tito.
No, I’m actually thinking differently. I’m thinking of a man who no longer fights in the UFC and who has largely been given up on as a wash-out. It’s unfortunate, actually, because he had my favorite nickname of any 205 pounder and, for a long time, the best submission game: Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
I know what you’re thinking: “How can a guy with that kind of jaw be expected to beat Rampage?”
I’m not even looking at Babalu’s chin, or his striking skills, which are obviously inferior to Rampage’s. I want to look at his wrestling, which most people forget is phenomenal, and, most importantly, I want to look at his submissions.
There’s another hole Rampage’s game that was exploited by Wanderlei Silva, and that’s his trouble with getting out of the clinch. Rampage can’t really explode out of the clinch, because that’s not how it works. The clinch slows the game down, and Rampage can’t handle that. I think that if Sobral catches Rampage in the clinch, he could put this fight in a very tough position, and by that, I mean we’d see Babalu land on top.
I think that if this fight hits the ground, it’s obvious whose game it is, but in case you’re not convinced, I should point out that all of the guys that have beaten Sobral have done so by being superior in the clinch and being better wrestlers. I don’t think that Rampage is a better wrestler, and I think that by putting ‘page on his back, Babalu can shake him up and catch a submission.
Babalu’s ability to transition off of the top is, in my opinion, the best in the 205 pound division, and if he locks down a joint, he can finish Rampage. What’s unfortunate is that a fighter who doesn’t do this as well as Babalu will be put into the position of executing this game plan, and probably isn’t going to be able to.
If we see Jardine attack this game plan, or Forrest Griffin, I’m not convinced that they’ll be able to do it right. I’m also not convinced that if the man I believe best suited to beat Rampage in the UFC (Thiago Silva) can catch ‘page in the clinch, because he can’t shoot as well as Babalu and can’t lock him in the corner. If he does, I believe Thiago Silva could be the next UFC champion, but, like I said, that’s not the way I would approach the situation.
Rampage is in a good position right now. He’s in a tough division filled with different kinds of fighters, but the opponents eligible to fight him have all had their weaknesses exposed and the two that everyone seems to think will be getting the most imminent title shots (Griffin, obviously, and Keith Jardine) have shown their weaknesses to be the one thing that Rampage does best: brutal, unrelenting explosions.
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Cool article but I think you’re missing one key thing here. Rampage is not the same fighter he was in Pride AND he’s not the same fighter he was in his first 3 UFC fights. He’s admittedly aware of his weaknesses and is more than likely trainging to improve those deficiencies.
If you look at his fight with Dan Henderson, he’s displayed incredible skills on the ground. And just like he said “I got jui jitsu.” Now, I’m not claiming he’s a blackbelt but he’s working on it and will surely improve. But with that said, Jackson better improve his clinch power.
Here’s an example to help illustrate my point. Rich Franklin is not known for his jui-jitsu at all. He doesn’t look to take his opponents down. But his defense against Travis Lutter’s armbar was perfectly executed. Ok, I’m no bjj expert, but Franklin’s escape was very impressive. Kenny Florian is another example, he is an ever-changing fighter.
I never thought about that, but yeah I would love to see Thiago Silva versus Quinton Jackson.
“The largest wrecking ball” is Anderson Silva. Yeah, he systematically kills all hype, conjecture, hypothesis with every fight in the Octagon. He’s one of the few fighters that truly validated Joe Rogan’s hyperbole since he entered the UFC. Sure he has weaknesses, he knows he can be beat, he has, but the question is how, by who and under what circumstance?
Good response, Vee. Thiago is my pick to beat ‘page among the guys that in the division right now, but I’m not sure that he’ll be able to trap him the clinch.
You’re right that Rampage is an evolving fighter, but when we get up to this level, all of the guys are. I’m just pointing out what I believe to be the primary flaw in his game, and Rampage knows that his jiu-jitsu sucks as much as I do (and he’s said so, publicly).
Still, you’re right that he’s working to improve that game. We’ll see if he does. Until I’ve seen the proof, I think Babalu would be the best guy for the job for the reasons I’ve enumerated.
Josh, I like your concept of finding potential holes in the styles of the champs. You’re right that no champion or fighter is invincible. However, Babalu certainly isn’t the guy to put Rampage on his back or stop him. Babalu tends to rush opponents with short flurries in order to Greco-clinch with them. He doesn’t have a great single or double, and his footwork is primitive. Babalu also has a bad habit (as seen in the Lambert fight) of attempting to strike at close range with his hands down. Babalu would only be a danger to Rampage if Rampage slammed him or took him down first, and then Babalu could work for position on the ground and get an RNC, a guillotine, or an Anaconda choke.
Rampage is not particularly vulnerable off his back. Both Lindland and Hendo put Rampage on his back a number of times and Rampage won those fights.
The thing about Rampage is that his footwork and striking are actually a LOT better than people give him credit for. Rampage trains with Juanito Ibarra, whom people forget is a boxing coach. Juanito’s background is in boxing, and he has honed Rampage’s striking skills tremendously. It’s baffling to hear people laud someone like Chuck as a genuine striker and then dismiss Rampage when Rampage outstruck Chuck on the feet in both their fights. Babalu would have NO chance against Rampage and would get knocked out trying to come in for the TD.
It should be obvious to any real fan that Rampage’s known weakness is the Muay Thai plum. Wand and Shogun both demonstrated that. Rampage gets caught in the plum, takes knees and gets stopped. Juanito (Rammpage’s head coach) is not a Muay Thai expert, so it’s doubtful that Rampage would have significantly improved his plum defense since his PRIDE days. Rampage is also somewhat vulnerable to a Greco-Roman clinch, but you can’t use deadly knees to the head in a Greco Clinch, so (as Lindland showed) you can’t really stop Rampage definitively with a Greco-Roman approach.
Josh, you need to watch the fights and dig deeper in your analysis. It’s a great subject, but you’re off to a poor start. Stop being so speculative and discuss the actual patterns which are evident from the fights themselves.
See, I disagree that a shot is what would put Babalu in position. He’s got a great clinch and I think that he’d strike his way in and take the fight to the ground from there.
Both Lindland and Hendo (all due respect to the guys) have terrible submission games, which is why someone like Babalu, who can fight from that position, would be best.
It’s not just the plum, though. And any fan who paid attention to the fights with Lindland and Hendo (which you mentioned, so I assume you watched) would know that he can’t work his way out of the clinch in general. Which is why Babalu’s Greco game would be a problem.
You’re right that Babalu does strike stupidly when he gets inside, and you’re right that if he did that with Rampage, he’d be smashed into the ground.
As for Rampage’s weakness in the standup, you missed the entire point of what the larger space of the Octagon allows him to do (circle and do damage with strikes while avoiding that plum).
You can’t stop Rampage definitively with a thai plum either, as Rampage has rocked guys out of that position plenty of times before.
Juanito’s not an expert in alot of things. You don’t think that training with guys like Brandon Vera has improved his thai plum defense? He was anticipating a fight with either Shogun or Wanderlei right after winning his title, I think that him not training for the thai plum is even less doubtful than him training for the Greco game or the submission game.
As far as Rampage’s guard not being a weakspot. Have you ever watched footage of the guy train? His guard is bad. You don’t think a grappler like Babalu would exploit that? You’re nuts.
I’m looking forward to the next four articles. Thiago Silva was my first choice to take the belt from Jackson, but I think Machida has a good shot too. Rampage’s power is only useful if he can get his hands on his opponent. Machida’s style makes that difficult. It might not be an exciting win, but I think Machida can outwork Jackson for 5 rounds.
Now, this will come across as petty, but I’ve heard this line used so many times: “…a sport where there are so many ways to win, and even more ways to lose.” Can you point out even one way to lose that isn’t by default also a way to win? The answer is no. Again, not to be petty, but this line is being used at least once a month in MMA articles, and it doesn’t make any sense.
Sure, JJ. I don’t consider a DQ loss for one’s opponent a win. DQ’s are the big one, and they come in so many forms (missed weight cut, illegal strike, roids, whatever), so, yeah, there are more ways to lose than there are ways to win.
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