Woke up this morning still buzzing about that Ryan Hall vs Ilia Topuria scrap. Grabbed my laptop first thing before coffee even kicked in, ya know? Wanted to break down how that sneaky leg lock master got wrecked by a young killer.
Finding the Footage First
Opened up YouTube right away. Typed in “Hall vs Topuria full fight” but kept getting damn highlight reels instead. Clicked through like five videos where people just screamed over the finish. Got pissed off – needed to see the whole damn thing unfold properly.
Finally found the full first round buried deep in some Russian channel with Cyrillic comments. Hit play and squinted at that tiny screen. Noticed Hall doing his usual weird butt-scoot stuff right off the bat.
Breaking Down the Disaster
Rewound that nasty knockout about twenty times. Slowed it down frame-by-frame with my spacebar. Saw Topuria stand tall while Hall was stuck on his knees like a turtle. Made sense now why those leg entanglements never happened.
- Hall’s Setup Failed Big Time: Kept trying to pull guard but Ilia just… stood there. Felt frustrated watching Ryan eat punches while begging for leg locks.
- The Final Punch: That overhand right was beautiful and terrible. Saw Ryan’s eyes roll back before his face hit the canvas. Goosebumps every replay.
Topuria’s Patience: Kid looked calm as hell. Didn’t panic when Hall rolled around. Dropped those fists like damn hammers when the time came.
Screwed Up My Own Training Later
Tried some dumb rolling at evening BJJ practice. Went for an imanari roll I saw on the tape – ended up faceplanting on the mats. Coach yelled at me for “fighting like a drunk ostrich.” Btw why do I even try copying pro stuff? Same crap happened last month after watching Gordon Ryan.
Sat down later comparing my notes with Danaher’s breakdown. Realized I missed how Topuria angled his hips before the KO. Scratched out half my page. Should’ve watched the damn corner cams earlier – coaches were screaming “STAY VERTICAL” the whole round. Obvious in hindsight.
Main takeaway? Pure jiu-jitsu looks stupid against killer fists. Might glue this lesson to my gym bag. Or just stop analyzing fights before coffee.
