Teashi
29-12-2010, 14:33
Thought i'd weight up some pro's and con's of the most anticipated and unexpected fight of the New Years Eve shows, so who do you think is going to win?
Pros For Duffy:
* Nothing to lose: Bottom line is, nobody really expects Duffee to win this fight. Overeem is the hottest heavyweight property in MMA right now, he's coming off winning the K-1 World Grand Prix, he's also the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. No fighter has ever held two consecutive major titles in MMA and K-1 at the same time. Todd Duffee is a relative novie, just 6-1 in MMA yet outside of his 1 defeat Duffee has looked like an absolute monster, i think the majority of people only remember the Russow fight. Duffee has the potential to shock the world here, if he wins he basically makes another career for himself after the UFC release, Japan will likely keep him around forever, Strikeforce will want him. This could be the case in defeat too, if Duffee gives a good account of himself he is going to do himself no harm.
* Money: Duffee has not hidden the fact that he's short of cash, even going on MMA message boards asking fans about available part time work. The only worrying thing about this aspect of it is, has Duffee only taken the fight for the money (in the region of $60,000). Duffee has taken the fight on a couple of weeks notice, perhaps Duffee has no intention other than to go over there, lie-down and get paid. I hope this isn't the case.
* KO Power: Todd Duffee has proven KO power, until he met the iron-headed Mike Russow, Todd Duffee was walking through opponents. Allistair Overeem is many things, but iron chinned is not one of them, Overeem has fallen apart in the past when he's taken a big shot to the chin. Duffee's role in this fight opitomises the 'punchers chance' theory.
http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/621501/todd-duffee2.jpg
* Underestimated: Everyone seems to be seeing this from Duffee's perspective. What about Overeem himself underestimating Dufee? Overeem's confidence has to be sky-high at the moment, he's K-1 Champion and he's undefeated in MMA for 3 years, Overeem has got to feel pretty untouchable right now. This could play in Duffee's favour.
* Japanese fans: There's no doubt that Japan are gonna love Todd Duffee. Japanese MMA has always been littered with huge muscle-bound fighters from other countries. Look no further than James Thompson, a man who has a shocking MMA record but continually gets booked in Japan based primarily on the way he looks. Going back to what I said previously, If Duffee looks good even in defeat he probably sets himself up for life in Japanese MMA.
* A window back to the UFC: I aint sure if Duffee wants to go back to the UFC after being released and chastised by Dana White, but Dana admitted that if Duffee sorted out his 'attitude' they'd have him back. A win over their rival promotions heavyweight champion might just be an attitude adjustment in itself.
* Overeem himself: Allistair Overeem's place in Heavyweight in MMA has been the subject of debate for years. Ever since Overeem (some say 'mysteriously') bulked up he's looked a different fighter. For many years Overeem was pretty much a gatekeeper of PRIDE, someone who was always on the cusp of going to the next level but would usually come up short against the top guys. The guy then packed on about 30lb of solid muscle and he's been a wrecking machine ever since...the problem with this is that his level of opposition has dropped considerably. Despite being undefeated in 3 years, no one Overeem has fought has been in the top 10 and i'd wager a bet that Duffee could defeat everyone that Overeem has faced. Overeem always had a problem with cardio in his fights, nobody knows if this problem has been rectified, Duffee could be the man to test it out.
Cons:
* Coming off a KO: Who knows what kind of effect the KO loss to Russow will have on Duffee, some fighters are never the same after a KO. Duffee's taking the fight proves either that he still firmly believes in his abilities and the KO hasn't effected him, or perhaps it's a case of the dreaded 'taking it for the money' scenario.
http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/621498/ufc114_09_russow_vs_duffee_022.jpg
* Another defeat: If Duffee loses this, he's 0-2 in 2010. For a guy who reportedly has acting ambitions it could spell the end of Duffee's MMA run. There's no doubt a future as a b-movie henchman for Duffee if he wants it.
* Outmatched/Overeem himself: There's every possiblity that Duffee gets destroyed. A crushing defeat to guy ranked so highly might tell Duffee that he no longer wants part of MMA. This is the kind of thing that can either motivate a man to get better or break a man. No one knows until it happens. On paper there's no reason to believe that anything other than Overeem destroying Duffee is what's going to happen, Overeem has transformed into an absolute wrecking ball, Duffee really should stand no chance.
* Short Notice: Nobody knows what kind of shape Duffee is in? He hasn't fought in 7 months and his next fight wasn't scheduled until the end of January, chances are Duffee is only at the start of his camp for the January fight. Once again this leads me to believe that Duffee is only going for the money. Alternatively it might mean Duffee will go in a man possessed, throw everything out there early and try to KO The Reem early on.
* Manager's Reluctance: Duffee's manager, Monte Cox has gone on record in saying that he didn't want Duffee to take the fight. This could be gamesmanship in that Cox is trying to lead Overeem's camp into thinking that Duffee isn't ready. On the flipside it might mean that Duffee isn't ready and Cox is genuinely trying to protect his investment.
Neutral:
* Fans win: New Years Eve has been an MMA hotspot for years, when PRIDE, K-1 and Inoki MMA were running New Years Eve shows it was the most exciting MMA day of the year, that'snow gone but DREAM and Sengoku have picked up the baton and are trying to run with it. Duffee/Overeem is pure New Years Eve MMA, it's a bit of a 'pipe dream' fight in that people never thought it would happen and it's been announced on 2 weeks notice, it kind of makes it feel like the good old days. I can't wait to see how it plays out.
Todd Duffee to Shock the World? - Bloody Elbow (http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/12/29/1901826/todd-duffee-to-shock-the-world)
Pros For Duffy:
* Nothing to lose: Bottom line is, nobody really expects Duffee to win this fight. Overeem is the hottest heavyweight property in MMA right now, he's coming off winning the K-1 World Grand Prix, he's also the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. No fighter has ever held two consecutive major titles in MMA and K-1 at the same time. Todd Duffee is a relative novie, just 6-1 in MMA yet outside of his 1 defeat Duffee has looked like an absolute monster, i think the majority of people only remember the Russow fight. Duffee has the potential to shock the world here, if he wins he basically makes another career for himself after the UFC release, Japan will likely keep him around forever, Strikeforce will want him. This could be the case in defeat too, if Duffee gives a good account of himself he is going to do himself no harm.
* Money: Duffee has not hidden the fact that he's short of cash, even going on MMA message boards asking fans about available part time work. The only worrying thing about this aspect of it is, has Duffee only taken the fight for the money (in the region of $60,000). Duffee has taken the fight on a couple of weeks notice, perhaps Duffee has no intention other than to go over there, lie-down and get paid. I hope this isn't the case.
* KO Power: Todd Duffee has proven KO power, until he met the iron-headed Mike Russow, Todd Duffee was walking through opponents. Allistair Overeem is many things, but iron chinned is not one of them, Overeem has fallen apart in the past when he's taken a big shot to the chin. Duffee's role in this fight opitomises the 'punchers chance' theory.
http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/621501/todd-duffee2.jpg
* Underestimated: Everyone seems to be seeing this from Duffee's perspective. What about Overeem himself underestimating Dufee? Overeem's confidence has to be sky-high at the moment, he's K-1 Champion and he's undefeated in MMA for 3 years, Overeem has got to feel pretty untouchable right now. This could play in Duffee's favour.
* Japanese fans: There's no doubt that Japan are gonna love Todd Duffee. Japanese MMA has always been littered with huge muscle-bound fighters from other countries. Look no further than James Thompson, a man who has a shocking MMA record but continually gets booked in Japan based primarily on the way he looks. Going back to what I said previously, If Duffee looks good even in defeat he probably sets himself up for life in Japanese MMA.
* A window back to the UFC: I aint sure if Duffee wants to go back to the UFC after being released and chastised by Dana White, but Dana admitted that if Duffee sorted out his 'attitude' they'd have him back. A win over their rival promotions heavyweight champion might just be an attitude adjustment in itself.
* Overeem himself: Allistair Overeem's place in Heavyweight in MMA has been the subject of debate for years. Ever since Overeem (some say 'mysteriously') bulked up he's looked a different fighter. For many years Overeem was pretty much a gatekeeper of PRIDE, someone who was always on the cusp of going to the next level but would usually come up short against the top guys. The guy then packed on about 30lb of solid muscle and he's been a wrecking machine ever since...the problem with this is that his level of opposition has dropped considerably. Despite being undefeated in 3 years, no one Overeem has fought has been in the top 10 and i'd wager a bet that Duffee could defeat everyone that Overeem has faced. Overeem always had a problem with cardio in his fights, nobody knows if this problem has been rectified, Duffee could be the man to test it out.
Cons:
* Coming off a KO: Who knows what kind of effect the KO loss to Russow will have on Duffee, some fighters are never the same after a KO. Duffee's taking the fight proves either that he still firmly believes in his abilities and the KO hasn't effected him, or perhaps it's a case of the dreaded 'taking it for the money' scenario.
http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/621498/ufc114_09_russow_vs_duffee_022.jpg
* Another defeat: If Duffee loses this, he's 0-2 in 2010. For a guy who reportedly has acting ambitions it could spell the end of Duffee's MMA run. There's no doubt a future as a b-movie henchman for Duffee if he wants it.
* Outmatched/Overeem himself: There's every possiblity that Duffee gets destroyed. A crushing defeat to guy ranked so highly might tell Duffee that he no longer wants part of MMA. This is the kind of thing that can either motivate a man to get better or break a man. No one knows until it happens. On paper there's no reason to believe that anything other than Overeem destroying Duffee is what's going to happen, Overeem has transformed into an absolute wrecking ball, Duffee really should stand no chance.
* Short Notice: Nobody knows what kind of shape Duffee is in? He hasn't fought in 7 months and his next fight wasn't scheduled until the end of January, chances are Duffee is only at the start of his camp for the January fight. Once again this leads me to believe that Duffee is only going for the money. Alternatively it might mean Duffee will go in a man possessed, throw everything out there early and try to KO The Reem early on.
* Manager's Reluctance: Duffee's manager, Monte Cox has gone on record in saying that he didn't want Duffee to take the fight. This could be gamesmanship in that Cox is trying to lead Overeem's camp into thinking that Duffee isn't ready. On the flipside it might mean that Duffee isn't ready and Cox is genuinely trying to protect his investment.
Neutral:
* Fans win: New Years Eve has been an MMA hotspot for years, when PRIDE, K-1 and Inoki MMA were running New Years Eve shows it was the most exciting MMA day of the year, that'snow gone but DREAM and Sengoku have picked up the baton and are trying to run with it. Duffee/Overeem is pure New Years Eve MMA, it's a bit of a 'pipe dream' fight in that people never thought it would happen and it's been announced on 2 weeks notice, it kind of makes it feel like the good old days. I can't wait to see how it plays out.
Todd Duffee to Shock the World? - Bloody Elbow (http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/12/29/1901826/todd-duffee-to-shock-the-world)