It is just such an easy answerUSADA
Terrible weight cuts, no more IV/USADA, and a 40 fight career can take it's toll on the body.
I think it's a combo of TJ putting two beatings on him and also there being a clear blueprint on how to beat him now. Before that he was 32 and 1.
It's a shame, Barao is one of the first fighters I became a fan of when I started watching, loved seeing him beat guys with that explosive spinning back kick. He clearly had some big holes in his game that I didn't see at the time though.
I'd also say, BW has definitely gotten more stacked since the first time TJ beat him. Look at some of the guys they have now that weren't around when Barao was beating up on Wineland, Faber, McDonald etc. Sterling(who beat Barao), Cruz has ofcourse been back for awhile, Moraes, Rivera, Garbrandt,
It's painful watching him now, try to support him as a fan though. Havnt given up on him.
I definitely feel the pain of Chuck, Frank, Anderson, Wanderlei, Fedor etc fans. Really hard to see your guys get beat on so badly.
It's a shame, Barao is one of the first fighters I became a fan of when I started watching, loved seeing him beat guys with that explosive spinning back kick. He clearly had some big holes in his game that I didn't see at the time though.
I'd also say, BW has definitely gotten more stacked since the first time TJ beat him. Look at some of the guys they have now that weren't around when Barao was beating up on Wineland, Faber, McDonald etc. Sterling(who beat Barao), Cruz has ofcourse been back for awhile, Moraes, Rivera, Garbrandt,
It's painful watching him now, try to support him as a fan though. Havnt given up on him.
I definitely feel the pain of Chuck, Frank, Anderson, Wanderlei, Fedor etc fans. Really hard to see your guys get beat on so badly.
Last edited:
I'd like to see TJ rematch Dodson, he wouldn't have to go on a total tear for me to be ok with that fight, it's a natural rematch and Dodson is a motherfucker. That fight makes sense already to me.
I know he's 2-2, but with a couple good wins, TJ should get a chance to avenge that loss. After fighting DJ and maybe Moraes(the fight Dodson had was pretty close iirc), I'd be all for them making that one. He's a better fighter now than when he was 4-0 and a fresh faced newcomer.
I know he's 2-2, but with a couple good wins, TJ should get a chance to avenge that loss. After fighting DJ and maybe Moraes(the fight Dodson had was pretty close iirc), I'd be all for them making that one. He's a better fighter now than when he was 4-0 and a fresh faced newcomer.
This is a good post. I concur
i was just waffling on the UG that he got ktfo falling out the bath during a rough cut, while obviously dehydrated. could be a part of his problems, that sounded serious/worrying
He said when he moved to the U.S. that he finally had proper nutrition guidance etc. and that's why he was able to go back to 135. Imo most likely the cuts as he got older plus the IV ban affected him a lot - plus his team kind of breaking up and changing coaches to go to the losingest gym would not help things.
Faber may have been able to go out a little more gracefully, but he had the same problem - the IV ban took away his beast mode, imo.
I wonder how the gym wars have worn on him? All of the Nova guys from that generation have wilted even in other organizations. That's the only reason i don't place as much of the blame on USADA.
is there a single camp in mma that has been elite for as long as nova união would be if it was still at that level? I don't think so and I don't think no coach/gym/camp in boxing has been elite for decades in a row too (I don't have that kind of in-depth knowledge about boxing though).
Same thing in muay thai. The top camp now is Kiatmoo9 which has been around for 30+ years but has been elite for ~15 and the coaches have been saying that it's getting harder and harder to find new kids to train. The closest thing I can think of is the Petchyindee camp which was one of the best in the late 1970's and still is but even then, it's been revamped, it went through ups and downs and it buys out talent from outside as much as it produces its own fighters these days.
it looks to me like all the traditional high quality camps from the last decade are either going through a mid life crisis or dying and the great camps from before are dead already. Most of the time it's one standout head coach or one strong leadership that makes the difference and once that guy or group gets old/tired/loses their edge then it's time for some new force to take over.
Also MMA is so new and chaotic, IMO there isn't much that a camp/coach can do outside of turning someone from bad to mid level and providing experience. But the jump from mid level to very good and elite is all up to the fighter.
Look at TJ Dillashaw. seeing him fight it may look like he's employing some form of revolutionary movement and footwork but look beyond: is there anyone else that does that with success? is there anyone else that his coach has turned into a great fighter? Not that I know of.
Look at TJ Dillashaw. seeing him fight it may look like he's employing some form of revolutionary movement and footwork but look beyond: is there anyone else that does that with success? is there anyone else that his coach has turned into a great fighter? Not that I know of.
They guy laughing is in the same boat as Barao.USADA
I'm glad you caught that
Ah. Captain obvious.
To be fair, Ludwig isn't really taking on too many new guys, he did what he could with the TAM guys and they improved vastly, but outside of TJ he doesn't put time into anyone else.
He probably got a flu shot
DId they really "improve vastly"? Not claiming either way but I don't recall ever seeing anything special.
And do you know all of that for sure? in the video I posted in the recent thread about TJ it looks like there are a bunch of low/mid level fighters at his gym (or they're so full of themselves they feel like they can give pointers to a profesional kickboxer?)