Denny Prokopos vs AJ Agazarm IBJJF American Nationals 2013

[Josh Bodmon]

First off, solid fight Denny, and mad respect for going out there and fighting in a tournament like this. A black belt with your accolades and rep as a beast doesn't need to prove anything, so respect for going out there and putting it on the line.

Secondly, Denny got the two for his guillotine when they went out of bounds. He had a sub on and they went out of bounds as AJ tried to defend, those are the rules.

Finally, I realize that people are mad Denny supporters, and so am I, but don't hate on AJ. He didn't just try to stall out the whole fight or anything. He wasn't trying a bunch of flying subs as you may see in a sub only event but he won within the rules set. Saying that things would be diff in a sub only match is true, but that's unfair to AJ because maybe he would have fought differently under different rules. I am a huge Denny fan, but bear in mind that he has been a high level black belt for years and AJ just got his. He might have just been trying to respect Denny's mad sub game and not go too crazy as he was clearly gunning for double gold, which he obtained.

Not trying to be a hater or anything, just think that respect should be given to both sides. AJ has that rader-like style of being short, stocky, solid at wrestling and really tough to sub as he pushes forward relentlessly. It was an IBJJF tournament, not NAGA or some sub only event lol, so why would he do something ridiculous when Denny was putting some decent sub attempts on him?

[Mike Nall]

Yeah your rules explanation cleared that up. It is what it is. Unfortunate.

Very much so.

[Kurzy]

He might have just been trying to respect Denny's mad sub game

Any sane man would! lol

Not trying to be a hater or anything, just think that respect should be given to both sides. AJ has that rader-like style of being short, stocky, solid at wrestling and really tough to sub as he pushes forward relentlessly. It was an IBJJF tournament, not NAGA or some sub only event lol, so why would he do something ridiculous when Denny was putting some decent sub attempts on him?

I don't think anyone is hating on AJ at all Josh. It's just another one of those IBJJF discussions about what a bummer "rule players" can be.
Anyone who fights at those levels deserves respect imo. You don't get there by not being good at jiu jitsu!

[David Rosado]

I'm hating on AJ. I speak for myself though. Not a fan of the guy. I don't think he's Rader-esque at all considering that Rader looks to finish.

[brianspinaltap]

Exciting match to watch!

What was with the Marcel Marceau routine at the start?

[Mike Nall]

I'm hating on AJ. I speak for myself though. Not a fan of the guy. I don't think he's Rader-esque at all considering that Rader looks to finish.

AJ did the Kumite, which was sub only, and he did very well. He actually got bonus money for being involved in the "most exciting no-gi match of the tournament."

MOST competitors look to finish. I'm not talking AJ here but in general. Just because someone doesn't go for a flying triangle doesn't mean they aren't looking to finish. Also, some people aren't as good at finishing. There are for sure a few people that are happy to win by stalling, but it's the minority.

Most black belt matches are really close for one reason. Everyone is really fucking good. Purple belt matches are so much more fun to watch by and large. You can't watch black belt matches at the top level and expect to see finishes all over the place. Everyone knows the game inside & out and the windows to finish are smaller.

If you watch ADCC or the NoGi Worlds you see most of the finishes coming in the opening rounds, and then once you get to the quarter finals and especially the semi finals everything is close as fuck.

You need to win first. If you can finish that's better. It's not realistic to expect everyone to grapple like Bill Cooper.

This match is awesome. If what AJ does at 2:35 isn't exciting than I don't know what is. Check it out just for Gary Tonnon who is always super exciting

[Aaron Gustaveson]

lol, Damn David.

[David Rosado]

We're entitled to our opinions. I'm not a fan. One flying whatever that was...flying into sprawl control..lmaooo...nah I don't find that exciting.

I've seen that fight. I remember laughing pretty much the whole time at AJ. I'm like, geez this guy just get can't get point fighting out of his system. Don't get me wrong, his positioning was fan-freaking-tastic. But that's what made me laugh. He kept going from position to position to position and instead of attacking with a sub, he'd transition to another position, meanwhile his opponent was looking for subs the entire time from all angles. And guess what, at the end of that match, AJ loses. If points mattered, he probably scored like a 100 points in 20 minutes....and he still lost because he was playing the wrong game. And it's that style that I have no love for. Again, I speak for myself as a fan. Sure he can kick my ass. So can the Klitschkos. But boring is boring to me.



I don't expect everyone to be like Bill Cooper. But for entertainment, I do prefer an attack based style, not just position.

[Brandon Mccaghren]

I'm certain that I'm in the minority, but I love the position based players. Ben Askren is all position and he's probably the most entertaining guy in MMA to me. It's fascinating to watch his understanding of control and flow. I know you guys probably just screamed at your computer screen when you read that.

I love Jon Fitch, too. And GSP.

[David Rosado]

I'm certain that I'm in the minority, but I love the position based players. Ben Askren is all position and he's probably the most entertaining guy in MMA to me. It's fascinating to watch his understanding of control and flow. I know you guys probably just screamed at your computer screen when you read that.

I love Jon Fitch, too. And GSP.

Jon Fitch though?