I figure Ricardo spent roughly half the fight in the two most dominant positions...the full mount & taking an opponents back. Sure the rear naked is usually defended pretty well, but he seemed clueless as far as trying anything else. I don't know where everyone else stands on this opinion, but if you have your opponent in the full mount position as many times as Ricardo did and CANT finish him you have to ask why the hell hasn't he worked on this position in training. His striking from the mount was pathetic. He exhibited great take down skills but couldn't muster much else.
Mount is harder for subs than most other positions IMO. If someone is content to take your punishment, but not let anything be caught (eg arms), it can be VERY hard to get a sub.
These questions always amuse me, because when someone hunkers up and is a pussy, you can spend an eternity trying different setups to no avail.
Also, I've seen SO many subs and sub attempts from Ricardo in various clips, that he is IMO a sub master, which indicates it's more than likely his opponent putting a stop to the subs more so than Ricardo's skill level.
I'd have to agree with Pulsar. Getting a sub from the mount position while your opponent does NOTHING but defend is difficult.
Most of the time you catch people in subs from the mount position when your opponent opens himself up while trying to escape or reverse the position.
In true NHB, there are no gloves, and you can HIT TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD. That really opens up submission possibilities.
In Pride or UFC rules, since there are no shots to the back of the head, and the gloves make it difficult to slide through, fighters actually give up their back to escape from the bottom. Sakuraba and many japenese fighters do it. Fedor did it on purpose againts Coleman too.
i think that no one here can doubt ricardo's submission ability. i believe that whatever he did in his fight against chonan was a strategy decision. chonan is an extremely wild and heavy striker, so i think ricardo wanted to isolate him as much as possible. also, if you noticed, chonan holds a lot on the bottom, so i believe ricardo preferred to keep a dominant position, and wait for his moments.
congrats to my teacher, the big dog!!!
Ricardo did what he had to do to win. He dominated the whole fight and it is extremley hard to finish from your opponents back with the nhb gloves on. And Skimhead was right in sayin Chonan holds alot. Ricardo played the perfect game and and showed he is a smart fighter. And Ricardos submission skills are certainly world class. Congrats Ricardo and Team Gracie.
Having rolled with Ricardo before, I can tell you without a doubt that he has incredible finishing skills.
MMA has gotten so advanced that it can be extremely difficult to finish a tough, sweaty opponent that won't give you anything, especially when you're wearing gloves.
"but he seemed clueless as far as trying anything else"..."you have to ask why the hell hasn't he worked on this position in training"
This post doesn't even deserve a serious response, but just for the record: YOU ARE A MORON.
RSB-NHBFAN, I will assume based on your post that you have never stepped into a ring or tied up on a mat. Ricardo is one of the top BJJ fighters in the sport today and his record is proving that. His position and submission skills are excellent. He also has the experienced to know when he should and shouldn't transition for a submission.
Chad
If Ricardo can't finish you on a given night, you probably aren't going to get finished by anyone. He has a very sick game but now he plays smart and wins fights.
RSB-NHBFAN = Moron
4.5 on the troll-o-meter
I stated the rear naked is usually defended well, ok clueless was kinda harsh. My main point was Ricardo's inept striking not sub's from the mount. There is no way you should have your opponent mounted as many times as Ricardo did and not be able to finish with strikes. A fighter of Ricardo's level should have solidified his striking game enough where he could make an opponent pay dearly for Ricardo putting him in that position.
I don't see why you should be knocking Almeida
Give props to Chonan for being extremely tough to finish. I have no idea how Chonan got out of that arm-triangle.
This thread did not deserve a response. Ricardo is easily a top 5 middleweight now, possibly even as high as #2 in the division. He choked out Nate Marquardt and dominated the entire fight against Chonan. You are the one who is "clueless."
He did waste Marquardt with a sicknes.
BTW, can somone phonetically spell Marquardt for me? I have no idea how to pronounce his name.
"My main point was Ricardo's inept striking not sub's from the mount. There is no way you should have your opponent mounted as many times as Ricardo did and not be able to finish with strikes."
RSB-NHBFAN do you fight? And if you do, is it on a world class level like Ricardo? Cause if not your really starting to piss me off with your stupid ass comments. Ricardo did exacty what he had to do to win that fight. Sometimes finishing someone isnt as easy as you think. His opponent defended well. He also went to his belly alot, and you cant strike to the back of the head. So back off. He did what he had to do. Tom D.
"Edited because I got angry and put in the wrong name"
Marquardt = (Markeeyeearted)
np
tamien, that wasn't SolitaryZen that said that...
Thanks MR ColdCock (LOL)... Still a bit of a fucker to pronounce there...
Put the crack pipe down please. You are going to hurt yourself. You think Almeida is clueless on finsihing? This is the guy that sub's Marquardt, Shubuya(who beat HW Ian Freeman), Eugene Jackson etc... sub's Josh Barnett, Shaolin, Rigan Machado, etc.. in ADCC and nearly sub'd Kerr. 4x national BJJ champ. Pan Am champ etc... and he doesn't know subs? Give me a break.
The rear mount is not he position it used to be. It was the best position when it was NHB, but since the rule changes it's not nearly as good a position. The gloves make rear choked very rare. No strikes to the back of the head mean guys only have to defend the choke and not strikes, making subs even more difficult. WHne a guy is doing nothing but defending it makes subs very hard to come by. etc... CHonan beat Sakurai. It's not like he's some scrub. Subs are not easy anymore. Guys are very hard to sub these days.
Oops..Im very sorry ZolitaryZen.... i will change that in my post. ..
congrats to ricardo on a great fight in which he completely DOMINATED his opponent!!
is that not good enough these days? this "if you don't sub or ko someone then you suck" mentality is quite funny...i guess that means cro cop sucks since his couldn't ko his opponent...hmmm
big dog is the man, his skillz in the ring and on the mat are world class. great guy. great fighter. great teacher. congratulations again on a great win!