Renato Sobral vs. Jason Lambert: “Mistake By Sobral Gives One Dimensional Lambert The Win”
I have seen Lambert fight several times, and the guy is one dimensional. He can strike, but has limited submission skills and few take down maneuvers. When he fought Rashad Evans, he only threw punches. He does not appear to be a fully developed MIXED martial artist.
Despite Lambert being the more physically imposing fighter, I expected Sobral to beat Lambert by a wide margin. At first, it looked like things would unfold that way. Sobral had a nice take down, and grounded and pounded while attempting to lock in a rear-naked-choke.
Yet Sobral made two very big mistakes.
First, he went for a leg kick at the end of the first round and dropped his hands. Lambert caught him with a stiff right and dropped him.
In the second round, Sobral's second mistake was his last. He again attempted a vicious leg kick. Lambert countered, and the end result was a TKO of Sobral. Despite being a fantastic submission artist who uses an array of tactical takedowns, Sobral showed himself here to lack sufficient striking power to be great—and he left himself open for big shots and a knockout.
This was a big upset, and needless to say, I am disappointed in Sobral. He should work hard at his striking, and we will see if he learns his lesson next time he fights. If he is going to attempt a leg-kick he needs to keep his hands up or protect his head as Tito Ortiz and Georges St.Pierre do very well.
As for Lambert, his skills are not nearly as impressive as his strength and size. Right now, I think he is a mid-tier fighter, at best. He’s one of those guys in sports like pro-basketball player Darius Miles.
I remember watching Miles get drafted out of high school. The guy had some serious skills and incredible physical tools, but he was just unable to translate them into greatness. Lambert looks to me like a stout athlete with good athletic ability, but I don’t know if he has enough to be groomed into a very good fighter.
Matt Hughes vs. Chris Lytle: “On Off Night, Hughes Still Dominates Improved Lytle”
I give Lytle a lot of respect. By the end of the fight I could tell he had put a lot of work in and trained hard. Although Lytle was dominated, his ground game was much improved and he didn’t take any MONSTER shots.
On the other hand, Hughes was a little disappointing. He dominated the fight but didn’t look overly impressive. I wonder if his skills are declining, or perhaps he cruised a little, looking ahead for a title shot. He clearly didn’t attempt to strike. His seemingly inhuman strength displayed earlier in his career doesn’t seem to be there as much anymore.
According to Dana White, he is next in line for a title shot, but not because of his performance in this fight, in my opinion. While I realize he is the former champion, I think there are some more exciting fights out there.
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