Quote:
Originally Posted by Machinehead
What's Kim's path to victory? Maia's striking is nothing special but it's probably better than Kim's. Can Kim push Maia against the cage for 15min? Can he get takedowns and not get schooled by Maia's BJJ?
Kim has a VERY good top game, and if he goes for takedowns I'm fully confident he will secure them. Other than being swept once by Condit, I haven't seen anything to indicate that he has trouble with BJJ fighters. Of course Maia is an entirely other class of BJJ, giving him a chance for a sub at any time (only reason I wouldn't like Kim if he were beyond -200).
I like Kim's ability to grapple for control, grinding out points there, and I also like him in the stand-up partially because it's Maia's first fight at WW, and we don't know how his (already lackluster) speed will hold up with the lighter guys.
The cut also brings in questions of cardio if kim can grind out the first 1.5-2 rounds.