Thrashen
Hall of Famer
Howard said:How Kingsbury won that decision is beyond me. Compu strike numbers show Maldonado outstriking him and he even swept Kingsbury a couple of times. BS decision
For an alleged "MMA betting expert,"Â you certainly don't seem very familiar with the scoring system. Perhaps you bet against Kyle Kingsburg and were merely watching the fight through money-ravenous eyes?
Kingsbury's multiple muay thai knee strikes from the clinch were effective, especially in Round 1"¦but there's a reason that Maldonado has never been KO'ed in boxing or MMA (his chin is outstanding). Maldanado did slightly more damage (and seemed to have Kingsburg "in trouble" on several occasions), but Kingsbury scored multiple takedowns and landed a comparable amount of blows when his knee strikes are taken into consideration. Realistically, I saw the fight as a draw"¦but as Anak mentioned, all MMA scoring systems heavily favor successful takedowns.
As for Maldonado being "white," well, that's debatable. He has completely European skin pigmentation, but has dark eyes and Portuguese-looking (and therefore partial Arabic) facial features. Also, it's always difficult to trust that anyone hailing from the "Mutt Capital of the World" is entirely white. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs"¦
With his exceptional chin and quick hands, Maldonado is a scary fighter to face. Obviously, I'd love to see Kingsbury as the future champion at Light Heavyweight. He has great size, athleticism, reach, and heavy hands (see his fight with Romero)"¦but his ground game needs some serious work. His moderate chin and propensity to be submitted will likely be his eventual downfall again top opponents. I hope I'm wrong.Edited by: Thrashen