In the episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 33, India’s most exciting prospect Arshiyan Memon loss via TKO against the Mexican fighter Imanol Rodriguez in the last minute of the First-Round. Both fighter has the undefeated records before this fight. Imanol Rodriguez was an orthodox fighter while Arshiyan was a southpaw fighter.
In the 1st minute of round one, Arshiyan tried to land an inside law kick but it went to the Imanol law blow cup. Imanol Rodriguez lands a good lever kick on Arshiyan Memon which impact a lot and Arshiyan back to the cage but Arshiyan shows his big heart and survived.
After that Arshiyan try for the take down but Imanol have good takedown defense. And both exchanges some punches but Rodriguez landed more punches to Arshiyan Memon but still Memon does not defend any punches and his head is available for the punch and in last minute of the round one, the fight was stopped by the referee and Arshiyan Memon lost the first fight of his career.
What does Arshiyan Memon loss mean to his Career?
After the loss in TUF 33, Memon still has the chance to earn the UFC contract because he delivered an exciting fight and showed his resilience and fighting spirit and also earned the respect of the MMA fans and also the promoters.
With the Arshiyan Memon loss against Imanol, his 7-fight winning streak is stopped, but it does not define his MMA career. Dana White said some good words to Arshiyan and congratulated Imanol for the win and delivering a good fight. The coaches of TUF 33, Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier also praised and motivate Arshiyan Memon. Arshiyan shows his capability and skills on the big international stage, and may he learn from this loss and comeback stronger in his next fight.
Who could Arshiyan Memon face next?
The next opponent of Arshiyan is not announced yet, but as the history of the TUF format shows, Memon’s next fight could be against the next eliminated fighter of the TUF 33 as a redemption fight.
But if Arshiyan does not deliver a good fight and loss, then Memon could return to regional promotions to rebuild his momentum before making another push for a UFC contract.
What were the key techniques used by Rodriguez in this fight?
To secure the first-round TKO win over Arshiyan, Imanol shows his multiple skills and techniques, which are shown below :
- Striking and distance management: Imanol shows his 3-4 punch combination, including body shots, and compared to Arshiyan, his distance management is also good.
- Body Kick: Rodriguez also landed a very hard body kick that forced Arshiyan back to the cage and found an opening on the chin of Memon.
- Footwork: As compared to the Arshiyan, Imanol has good footwork and positions while backing away or pushing to Arshiyan and landed significant punches.
- Ground-and-Pound: Imanol took the back of Arshiyan, and on the ground, he landed very good punches and controlled Memon on the ground for some time.
- Take-Down Defense: At one point in the fight, Arshiyan tried to take down Imanol, but he showed good take-down defense and stopped Arshiyan’s take-down.
Daniel Cormier the coach of the Imanol also praised him for his striking ability and his win over the Arshiyan via TKO.
What are Memon’s strength and weakness as a fighter?
Arshiyan Memon fights in the Flyweight division and he has multiple wins via KO/TKO and it shows his power full striking ability. Volume striking and wild striking are great tools of Arshiyan. Memon also won the fight via armbar submission and it shows his good submission skill on the ground. So these are the strengths of Memon.
But as Arshiyan Memon loss in his first TUF fight via TKO, He needs to work on his striking defense and have improvement areas on the ground and his composer in the fight.
What challanges Arshiyan faced in his career?
Arshiyan Memon has an impressive pro-MMA record and has multiple victories via KO/TKO but like any other fighter Arshiyan also faced some challenges in his MMA career like his wild striking styles which has been noted as his weakness in some fights and using he also had some victories. But this style of fighting opens up the window for the counter striker’s opponents to land the punches, as seen in his last loss in TUF 33.
Despite these hardships, Arshiyan has continued to improve his skills of striking and his fight IQ and also refine his ground game.
What are common next steps after for fighters after lossing a fight?
After losing a fight, MMA fighters typically follow a recovery process very strictly and then bounce back again. Below are some common steps to follow for the fighters after loss :
Follow post-fight Medical Evoluation.
- Accept and process the loss and positive mindset which helps to build their confidence.
- Proper sleep, hydration, and nutrition to heal their bodies and regain strength
- Review their fight clips and learn from the mistakes and include the solutions in training sessions.
- Also need to listen and follow their coach’s advice to improve their fighting skills.