Dave Doyle had an exclusive interview with Josh Grispi after his win over veteran Mark Hominick on Wednesday night at WEC 32. Some of the quotes reveal the thinking behind Grispi's gameplanning for the fight.
The 19-year old did his homework before his match with Mark Hominick and knew all his opponent’s tendencies. He then used what he learned to perfection, scoring a victory via rear naked choke at 2:55 of the first round in his World Extreme Cagefighting debut at the Santa Ana Star Center in suburban Albuquerque.
“I saw his match against Rani Yahya where he basically walked right into a choke,” Grispi said. “I knew he’d give me the opening if I looked for it.”
Why is it that in many interviews leading up to events, we hear fighters stating that they simply go with the flow and don't want to concentrate on tape too much? I understand the concept of oversaturating your mind with tell tale signs of weaknesses in an opponent, only to realize that during the fight, your opponent has worked his ass off to correct those mistakes, but what if he hasn't? Just like in many other sports, "watching tape" on a specific event can only help you, and in this case, it helped a young prodigy in Grispi put the choke on Hominick.
Another great line:
“I’ve seen that in tapes of his fights,” Grispi said. “He likes to leave his leg out there and then escape. I knew he’d get his shot in, so I braced for it and waited for him to move.”
The biggest difference I've noticed in fighters studying their opponents is the intricate details that they seem to have the eye for catching. Small, suttle things in their game that seem insignificant to a fan are exploited by the fighter. Grispi was able to get a double leg takedown after working from the leg of Hominick. This ended up being the last exchange on the ground that ended the fight.
Grispi is on the right track. He has awesome striking skills, explosive means to ending a fight, and the ground game to back up his standup. Add in the smart gameplanning of his opponents, and you can almost say that he's a complete fighter. We may very well be saying he's a complete fighter if he continues on his run toward the top.