Is Amir Sadollah a future UFC Champion?
by jmjinks on Mar 29, 2011 3:41 PM EDT
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After a hard fought win this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 24, the "Ultimate Fighter" season-seven winner is now sitting on a 5-2 record. What is more impressive is that all of his fights have been inside the confines of the Octagon. Are there advantages to have only fought on the biggest stage in the world? I would hazard to guess yes. Without having to travel the independent circuit and fight lesser quality opponents along the way, Amir is learning to adapt to the limelight much quicker, and hone his skills against higher-quality opponents. Who knows, maybe someday Amir could become a UFC champion. Now, before you mock me for suggesting this, take a closer look at a few other current UFC fighters who had limited fight experience outside of the Octagon, and have now seen the fruits of their success
Frankie Edgar made his UFC debut in February of 2007 against Tyson Griffin. This was only his sixth pro fight.
Now with a record of 13 - 1 - 1, the "Answer" sits on top of the lightweight division as the current UFC champ. The only blemishes on his stellar record come at the hand of Gray Maynard, a former "Ultimate Fighter 6" cast member, who has compiled an impressive 10-0-1. Only 2 of Maynard's 11 fights have been outside the octagon.
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At UFC 46, in only his 6th pro fight, a French-Canadian fighter made his Octagon debut.
Its hard to say if you might recognize this fighter.
Seven years later, Georges St. Pierre is the UFC Welterweight Champion and is considered by most people - one of the world's P4P best fighters.
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Coincidentally during UFC 83 in Montreal, the night that GSP beat Matt Serra to reclaim his title, a young heavyweight prospect was making his UFC debut with only two pro bouts to his name.
On October 23rd, 2010, two and half years after his UFC debut, that young prospect became champion when Cain Velasquez defeated Brock Lesnar during their title fight at UFC 121. Coincidentally, the former champion, had joined the UFC with only one pro fight under his belt.
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And last but not least, we must mention a young fighter who after having 6 pro fights in the span of 3 months made his UFC debut at UFC 87 in August of 2009. A year and half later, at the age of 23, Jon "Bones" Jones is now the UFC Light Heavyweight champion.
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With so many fighters coming into the UFC for the first time with 5or 20 pro bouts already under their belts maybe we should keep a closer eye on those young prospects picked up early in their pro career. We should keep an eye on the fighters with a handful of pro bouts, or we should keep an eye on the only Ultimate Fighter winner to win that title while also making his pro MMA debut,
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simply put I would be shocked if he does win a UFC title
by TheBirdsDen on Mar 29, 2011 3:58 PM EDT reply actions 6 recs
At This Stage In His Career...
I don’t think he’d come close to winning against a guy like GSP, but who knows what the landscape of the Welterweight division might be like in a few years.
Here is what Sadollah doesn't have
that everyone else on that list does;
1. youth – he’s not as young as the other guys were when they started in the UFC
2. dominance – all these guys have been much more dominant in their wins
3. grappling – Sadalloh’s grappling is mediocre at best, he would get crushed by top WW’s
That being said I enjoy his fights and I agree that fighting only in the UFC has helped him tremendously in his development.
by malkav on Mar 29, 2011 4:22 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs
No.
I’m invoking Betteridge’s Law.
Also, correlation ≠ causation. There are also plenty of fighters who had a limited number of pro fights before their UFC debuts who went on to be… not champions.
None more gangster.
Tweeter!
by alicks on Mar 29, 2011 4:28 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Second element of correlation =/= causation:
All of the above champions are also spectacular wrestlers.
I love Amir, but he is not a spectacular wrestler.
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Your article is crazy (which is why I rec’d it), but I can’t believe you left out BJ Penn. He debuted in the UFC (like Amir) and has won the title in two weight classes. Of course, BJ was blessed with other-worldly talent…
by MMABookworm on Mar 29, 2011 4:49 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
if he couldn't handle Stun Gun laying on him
he’ll never get past the likes of Fitch, Shields, and the other wrestler’s he’d have to beat to earn a title shot
Negative.
I think he will continue to improve, and could become a Jardine-like figure in his weightclass, an solid gatekeeper who is always out to give 110% on fight night.
CroCop vs BigNog, under the Strikeforce banner, in Alabama! #buhbye
Wanna chat MMA or just shoot the shit, I got opinions! Twitter away.
No. But I like the guy and he’s developed into a pretty fun fighter to watch. Maybe if he’d got started when he was younger. I would like the UFC to give him a solid step up in competition. I’ve heard Hardy mentioned, and I think that would be a good, winnable fight for Amir.
What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power, but two?
by Kwisatz Haderach on Mar 30, 2011 1:09 AM EDT reply actions
What keeps Sadollah from winning a title:
1.He’s too hittable,power punchers are gonna have a blast with him
2.His TD defense isn’t there
Sorry, reply fail below:)
What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power, but two?
by Kwisatz Haderach on Mar 30, 2011 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Well I think it’s more than that. Takedown defense certainly needs a lot of work, but probably so does his ground game in general. We haven’t seen him against the top wrestlers in the division, and I’ve gotta think Kos, Fitch, Shields and GSP would just maul him on the ground. I think his kickboxing is actually pretty high end for the division, and continues to develop nicely. Love that he throws elbows standing when he’s on the inside or against the cage, though. So many guys don’t use short elbows and just bat each other with arm punches. If he continues to learn to use his reach he’s going to be a problem for a lot of guys. Love his aggressiveness and general goofy attitude about it all. I’ll be rooting for him, just not expecting him to ever crack the top five. Hardy, Thiago, Swick hopefully, guys like that would make for some great fights for Amir.
What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power, but two?
by Kwisatz Haderach on Mar 30, 2011 12:27 PM EDT reply actions
amir
the ufc only pushes him bc he is goodlooking like gsp but with more personality [like thats hard to do]
so no no no and no
Hes a great fighter but...
The second he goes up against one of the top WW he would get crushed on the ground (GSP, Kos, Fitch, BJ, Shields)
We are all one
He is absolutely fun to watch but title talk is a bit much right now. Once he faces of the elite at 170 then we will know where he stands.
brandonmaiden13
by brandonmaiden13 on Apr 13, 2011 5:06 PM EDT reply actions
If Silva changes weight classes he has a chance
Having said that I would be flabbergasted if he ever won a UFC belt
We are all one
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