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Karo isn't quite ready to be a champ

713 views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  zescstar 
#1 ·
Firstly, let me just say I am a huge Karo fan. I think he's awesome frankly, w/ alot of potential for a 24 year old.

However, he is not yet proved himself worthy of the belt. Mostly, in my opinion, becuz of his inability to finish opponents. If he wasn't such an exciting fighter to watch, I'm sure this would be a more popular opinion.

Let's start with Karo when he first appeared at UFC 44 against David Strasser. He won that fight via kimura. Since then, he's had 9 mma bouts against alot of great fighters. He lost 2 of them by decision to GSP and Diego, and won 7 of them, finishing ONLY 1 of the 7 victories (against probably the worst of the 7 opponents) and going to decision for the other 6.

For comparison, lets take a look at other champions, starting w/ GSP. GSP has had 10 UFC bouts, winning 8 of them, finishing 5 of his 8 victories.

Or Matt Hughes, whose had 18 UFC fights (is that the most ever?). Only 4 of his 18 fights have went to decision, that's pretty amazing really.

I think for Matt Serra, you need to take into account he did not get a title shot in the conventional way, and need to look past his decision after decision record.

IMO Karo needs to step it up and start finishing opponents, especially IMO "B fighters" like Fickett and Burkman.

I would appreciate feedback on this..
 
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#4 ·
You're right in that Karo doesn't finish many fights. It doesn't bode well for high level competition, where many opponents have the tools to put you out in the first round. Karo is tough though, and his Judo keeps him in the dominant position in most fights. He's also exciting, so despite the fact that he goes to decisions, it's fun to watch so you know he'll sell tickets.

If there were two guys competing for the title, I'd definitely give it to the guy who finishes over the guy who gets decisions. But, on the other side of the coin, not alot of guys have been around for as long as Karo and he seems to be on a hot streak, so if he earns it, he earns it.
 
#5 ·
I thought that he did deserve a title shot BEFORE his fight with Burkman because I liked Karo and he's the judo flip king. That fight however did say alot about him though, he can throw a punch and take em, but the fact is that he took Josh to a decision and should have been able to finish it. Against other top contenders, he has went to decisions and has lost. Maybe just coming up short, but that he needs to be able to finish his opponents before he expects to be a role model and a champion.


Very VERY! impressive for a 24 yr old though.:thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
Negative1 said:
I thought that he did deserve a title shot BEFORE his fight with Burkman because I liked Karo and he's the judo flip king. That fight however did say alot about him though, he can throw a punch and take em, but the fact is that he took Josh to a decision and should have been able to finish it. Against other top contenders, he has went to decisions and has lost. Maybe just coming up short, but that he needs to be able to finish his opponents before he expects to be a role model and a champion.


Very VERY! impressive for a 24 yr old though.:thumbsup:
oh for sure, he's getting better and better..how can you not when your w/ Randy Couture i mean...

as a fan, I'd love to see him start finishing guys tho...Diego has the same problem IMO, he's great, he's beaten some tough guys but he needs to start finishing.
 
#7 · (Edited)
i know that karo is awesome and all, but i loast all respect for him
he was acting like a wanna-be hitman (no offense to anyone) when he was being an ass to Diaz
he shows no respect for others and is arrogant...he kept talking down on Diaz
he is the guy who hangs out with you and your friends and you want to kick him out of the group but he would beat the crap out of you if you told him you wanted him out
i pick my fighters by more than just their performance, which is why joe lauzon is my favorite fighter

but anyway, i agree with you that he needs to step it up to become a champion. i don't really care though because i hate that guy lol

**repped** [Aaronyman]
 
#8 ·
I KiMuRa I said:
i know that karo is awesome and all, but i loast all respect for him
he was acting like a wanna-be hitman (no offense to anyone) when he was being an ass to Diaz
he shows no respect for others and is arrogant...he kept talking down on Diaz
he is the guy who hangs out with you and your friends and you want to kick him out of the group but he would beat the crap out of you if you told him you wanted him out
i pick my fighters by more than just their performance, which is why joe lauzon is my favorite fighter

but anyway, i agree with you that he needs to step it up to become a champion. i don't really care though because i hate that guy lol

**repped** [Aaronyman]
I hear what youre saying and I agree Karo was way out of line in TUF, but I think some things need to be taken into consideration there.

First off, it was a reality show. Karo could've been stirring shit up completely as a marketing ploy for maybe a Karo Diaz II :praise01:. Ok that's unlikely but it's not a stretch to say that Karo may not have been acting like himself due to the fact that he knew America was watching, same for Nate. Im not saying the incident should be disregarded completely, and Im definitely not pulling one of those "editing made him look like the bad guy" arguments (theres certain situations editing can really mess with but Karo slapped Nate on the face over and over PERIOD), but what I am saying is that the Karo we saw on that episode may very well not be the Karo you'd meet in the gym or wherever.

Secondly, we're always a little bit ahead of ourselves to think we really know the attitude or demeanor of any fighter outside of the ring. Yeah you can draw conclusions here and there but the fact is Tito might be a class act and Chuck might be a dickhead. We dont know these dudes.

Those are basically the reasons that, even though I really didn't like what I saw of Karo on TUF, Im not gonna stop being a fan. He's an exciting unique fighter and he's still super young with tons of potential.

On the thread topic though, I agree. I honestly think he's just a step or two away from finishing fights he wouldn't have finished before. He just needs to learn to really capitalize on his throws and his dominant positions. I feel like he's leagues ahead of his peers in some aspects (judo) but kind of a little behind on others (fight ending ground n pound). He's learning this shit though and once he gets to where he can really finish fights fuckers in WW better watch out.
 
#9 ·
Was Matt Serra ready? Everybody is ready for a title shot it is just who has the luck to get it. Life isn't fair you just have to deal with it.
 
#11 ·
jeff monson isnt too exciting but hes still a beast and he lets alot of his fights go to a decesision but hes also got a nasty ground game but when you put monson against another good ju jiztu guy it just becames a game of chess usually ending in a decision so to say karo has to finish fights to become champion is a little pushing if he keeps winning and the crowd loves him he ll be getting that shot soon wether he can finish fights or not.but the only thing is weve seen him go 3 rounds and not finish whats gonna happen if he cant finish in rd 4 or rd 5 he seems like he ll gas out after 3 rds
 
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