Fighting Not To Lose

[upintheclouds]

I know Jon had said that he was a little intimidated by Rashad during the fight, I'm not sure when the interview was it might have even been during the post-fight press conference. He also stated that Rashad clipped him a couple of times so that could have been in his head as well.

Overall though I'm not sure that Jon fought all that different than he has been. He is usually very methodical in his fights, picking his opponent apart from the outside. The only parts of the fight where I think he held back a little bit was when he clipped Rashad he didn't rush in like he has before and like I said above that might have been do Rashad being in his head a little.

[viaKO]

There's fighting conservatively and there's fighting defensively.

Fighting conservatively is avoiding as many unnecessary risks as possible.
-This is fighting to win, but not fighting to finish.

Fighting defensively is doing whatever you can to survive.
-This is fighting not to lose, but really fighting not to be finished.

GSP fights conservatively. His opponents often fight extremely defensively, which is why the Diaz match-up was so fascinating.

In his fight with Jones, Rashad was fighting conservatively up until he got smacked with that one elbow that wobbled him, that's when he went defensive.

This guy knows what hes talking about.

[YHWH]

It doesn't help when the UFC is discussing cutting a guy after two or three losses.

This is part of it, but I don't think Jones was fighting 'not to lose'. He had control of that fight, didn't want to get caught by a Hail Mary shot and just picked his spots to light up Evans.

Jon wasn't going flat out for the stoppage, but he wasn't trying to play it overly safe, either. What I saw was a champion who was winning easily but had to be wary of a possible game changer. Why risk your title and potentially millions of dollars to go for the KO/sub when you're already winning?

I recall a boxing match about 25 years ago (HWs) where the champion just had to make it to the final bell, but he got caught and KOed with less than 15 seconds left because he got careless thinking he had it won and could coast (kind of like Sonnen). Jones isn't the type to lose focus in that way, but there is still the risk of a fluke ending a title run.

Maybe the best bet is always finishing the opponent, but if it puts a guy at risk is it worth it? Jones is already being talked about as one of the best ever, so getting caught late when 'going for the finish' seems to be a bad idea.

Rashad on the other hand, seemed to be fighting not to get KOed after round 3.

[seb]

It doesn't help when the UFC is discussing cutting a guy after two or three losses.

This ^^^ it's a job, and unfortunately competition is tight so you have to win to stay around

[DanQuinnsKnockoutJab]

evans gutted out the fight after the knockdown elbow. good fight, no complaining from anyone is acceptable. yall hush.

[DJMaxPower]

So yes, there has to be a strategy when fighting. For a fighter to think that he can just go into the cage and wing it is naive at best. And I understand that no semi-intelligent fighter is going to risk a belt or a bunch of cash on the chance of a flashy finish. But that should be the challenger's job. The champ has the luxury of playing it safe. The guy trying to take his belt should be going for broke. That makes sense strategically and it makes for a much better fight.

As for the UFC cutting guys after one or two losses, I think that's just a case of policy backfiring. They were trying to encourage fighters to go for the win, but instead they ended up encouraging fighters not to lose. It's a question of the carrot and the stick. The stick doesn't seem to be working, so maybe they need to dangle more carrots, i.e., things like their bonuses for knockout and submission of the night. Or maybe they should throw more media hype (or give higher profile fights) to guys like Clay Guida who always put on a good show.

At the end of the day, this is a form of entertainment. The fights have to be entertaining or the audience will look for something else. The UFC should start looking for more ways to encourage fighters to take the offensive. More exciting fights are better for the UFC, better for the fans and better for the sport in general.

[JACKnoneREACHER]

Does anyone fight to lose?

[SamuraixJack]

Frenchy does this most of the time.

[LiamHillen]

It doesn't help when the UFC is discussing cutting a guy after two or three losses.

This ^^^ it's a job, and unfortunately competition is tight so you have to win to stay around

Sebs got a point

[Lsquared]

ultimate points fighting syndrome. true story