Siyar Bahadurzada is still apparently expressing sour grapes over his loss to Dong Hyun Kim.
At UFC Fight Night 29, Kim shocked the world with a dramatic knockout victory over Erick Silva. Bahadurzada, who was defeated by Kim in March, hopped on Twitter after the fight to give his thoughts on Kim’s performance.
Perhaps Bahadurzada is bitter over Kim’s takedown-heavy approach in their fight.
The brunt of the bout was spent with Bahadurzada plastered on his backside and Kim riding out top position with steady ground-and-pound. There wasn’t any controversy lingering from the bout, as Kim racked up 30-27 scores across the board for a lopsided unanimous decision.
Bahadurzada’s frustrations likely stem from his inability to implement his usual game plan of keeping the fight standing and looking for the knockout. He was completely shut down by Kim’s takedowns and top control.
The difference in the Silva fight wasn’t necessarily Kim’s approach, but it had more to do with the particular problems caused by Silva. Unlike Bahadurzada, Silva was more effective in fending off Kim’s takedowns, especially in the second round. It wasn’t like Kim actually wanted to stand toe-to-toe with the explosive Brazilian, but he really didn’t have any other choice when his takedowns were nullified.
During the fight-ending exchange, Kim ducked under a straight and countered with a crushing overhand that flattened Silva. After the fight, Kim admitted the knockout was a stroke of “luck.”
“I know Erick has a lot of good strikes, but I believe it was very good luck to have won in the second round like that,” Kim said via translator after the event, according to MMAJunkie.com.
One thing is certain: There definitely wasn’t any luck in Kim’s win over Bahadurzada.
The potential is definitely there for Bahadurzada, a world-class striker with jarring knockout power. Still, this isn’t kickboxing, and the keys to success aren’t taking verbal jabs at past opponents who soundly defeated you. It’s about personal growth and continually evolving as a fighter.
A more constructive tweet from Bahadurzada would have been a picture of a wrestling mat.
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