RJ Clifford

@RJcliffordMMA • 8,414 subscribers

Worst All-American wrestler in history. I make TV for @UFC. I make podcast for @AnikFlorianPod. UFC Weigh-In Show bartender. But mostly Frankie's dad.

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RJ Clifford

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Beaten, battered, cornered and blind in both eyes ... Ilia STILL shoulder rolls, dips and pivots flawlessly like he's shadowboxing in an empty gym.

Lost in the barrage of Tommy McMillen strikes he ate, Alberto Montes hit a sweet inside leg kick that squared McMillen's stance and made his head drop enough to land a knee. Even pivoted away from the counter after.

This was such a cool, sneaky throw by Nate. But it shows the weakness of a lot of judo/Greco-style throws in MMA: they’re built for the launch, not the landing. Perry easily scrambled on top.

DC on Steveson, "What's most impressive is just Gable's willingness to fight. One thing wrestlers generally struggle with is getting hit, being inside of the fire. This kid does seem to be worried or afraid to step into the fire and fight." This is 1000% correct. All of it.

Kirk Cousins has his sons wrestling because he wants them to become “irrepressible.”

Darrius Flowers gets it. Slams for damage should be intentional and trained.

Lost in Charles Oliveira’s dominant performance: he's the first fighter to actually get the better of Max Holloway after the trademark “point to the canvas” moment.

"Now make him pay right now E!"

Not many guys can make Julian Erosa look foolish.

Garza's reversal was perfectly timed. Not for any technical reason. Just because it saved us from a deep dive conversation between Rogan and DC about the pluses and minuses of hairy legs in MMA.

Can't remember the last keylock in the UFC.

Really nice strike to single leg sequence shelf slam by Charles Jourdain against Jean Silva. But I never noticed the sneaky knee mid move. You could hear it.

Josh Hokit's striking is hilarious but he was well prepared for Blaydes' jab. Came over the top with a right several times. Hurt him twice.

No surprise Dr. David Martinez did his homework. The southpaw head kick is Chito's best weapon. KO'd Dominick Cruz with it. So Martinez was prepared with a catch and sweep twice. Easy, low energy TD and it made Chito wary of throwing his head kick.

Videos

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I will go to my grave never understanding how a carbon-based lifeform survived this, let alone came back and won.

Of all of Ilia Topuria’s performances, the Ryan Hall fight might low-key be his most impressive. He’s the only guy who didn’t look completely befuddled or like it was his first day of jiu-jitsu.

Listen to two of MMA’s best coaches, Eric Nicksick and Mike Brown, play cat and mouse from opposite corners: Nicksick: “He’s leading big left hook… couple options now.” Brown: “Lead with the back hand. Lead with the right. Careful leading with the hook.”

Curtis Blaydes rode in the same ambulance as Josh Hokit. Their exchange went exactly as you'd expect.

Charles Oliveira's premeditated fight week cry therapy session is such a trip, man. Glad he was willing to share it.

The strength of Justin Gaethje’s leg kicks is that he throws them ridiculously hard. The weakness of Justin Gaethje’s leg kicks is that he throws them ridiculously hard.

They need to invent a Sequence of the Year Award

Racking my brain trying to think of better WMMA finishing sequences than Alexa Grasso last night. This came to mind.

Tatsuro Taira lost his fight to Joshua Van but it was a brilliant display of "long guy wrestling."

A misconception about Ilia Topuria is that he's wide open for head kicks because Jai Herbert dropped him. But its opposite. His high guard, perfect positioning and vision keep him safe. But he NEVER counters them. Full video coming later.

I’m getting WAYYYY ahead of myself, but Petr Yan vs. Ethyn Ewing feels like the kind of fight that would rewrite the rule book for boxing in MMA.

They just don't make white boys this slick. Here's every counter, slip, pivot, combo and entry from Ethan Ewing against Malcolm Wellmaker.

Nate Marquardt might be the most underrated fighter in history.

This is the type of sequence from Tatsuro Taira that gets me all hot and bothered at his potential: -Reactive single -Puts in the hook -Pushes off the wall -Secures body triangle The whole sequence took 15 seconds. Against a former title challenger. He was 24 at the time.

The second Manuel Torres steps outside your foot in an open stance, alarm bells should be ringing in your ear like a nuclear warning system.

Yaroslov Amosov in 18 seconds: strike, level change, clinch, takedown, control, damage, sub, break dance

Raoni Barcelos put on a wrestling clinic Saturday night. Six takedowns. Six different techniques.

Bo Nickal asked Daniel Cormier what to expect in his UFC debut. Maybe its just the wrestler in me, but DC's answer gave me goosebumps. DC is every wrestler-turned-fighter's big brother. True coach.

For no reason, here's Dominick Cruz knee tapping the hell out of 3x Pac-10 wrestling champ Scott Jorgensen.