Bryan Battle storms Paris, Plays heel following KO victory

Val Dewar

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Bryan Battle storms Paris, Plays heel following KO victory image

MMA: UFC Fight Night - Charlotte © Jim Dedmon | 2023 May 13

Bryan Battle continues to live up to his surname by proving himself a warrior, and arguably the best unranked prospect in the welterweight division. His charge right into the heart of Paris on Saturday evening led to him taking the nation by storm with an intelligent, violent shellacking of French-born Kevin Jousset.

He then put his mouth where his money was by immediately getting on the mic after his spectacular, brutal beatdown and taunting the Parisian crowd into a frothing frenzy. That may be what really earns him fan attention in the next week, but he deserves it just as much for the art he paints with his fists. The off-rhythm combinations, sense of timing, shot selection, feints, defensive reactions he uses are all done at levels which constitute mastery, and that's all without mentioning his physical attributes like hand speed, cardio, even eyesight for his ability to track motion and see shots coming.

 

 

Of course, Battle does rely overmuch on those defensive reactions by being hyper-aggressive and not having much of a system of defense, as is the case with dozens of young fighters in the UFC today whom have rarely felt the sting of defeat and are thus too confident in their skills to do cowardly things like use a "high guard," or a "shoulder roll," or even "put your hands up." We see them pay for it often, even at smaller weight classes. A notable recent example is the electric budding star Joshua Van, whose undefeated run ended when his chin finally failed him in his fantastic fight against Charles Johnson. At only age twenty-two he has more time to fine-tune things like so many action fighters before him – men like Dustin Poirier who tighten up their game, develop a system of defense, and go on to have long careers while still being a fan favorite for entertainment.

Bryan Battle does not have the same luxury. At age thirty, time is not on his side. This is not to denigrate 'The Butcher' (formerly known as Pooh Bear). I enjoy his fights, skillset, and personality. Even without making the suggested changes he is still capable of getting himself into the top fifteen of the UFC welterweight division, but if he does not use a defense that affords the appropriate respect when he fights some of the more dangerous strikers in the division – Wonderboy, Maddalena, Rakhmonov, Leon Edwards – then he will pay for it.

 

 

Fixing small things like where he leaves his chin and how he defends it is especially important given the fact we have seen him hurt and knocked out before. Fighters like Max Holloway who can absorb anything and stay conscious are another story, but the rest of us mortals must actually employ a proactive defense. If Battle shores this aspect up then who is to say he cannot make it all the way to a title fight?

With an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ championship and three-fight (could be four, if not for the no-contest vs Loosa in a fight Battle was dominating) finishing streak in tow, 'the Butcher' is realistically three wins from a title shot at most. He needs to be given a ranked opponent in his next fight; he deserves it, especially given how much he has improved since his last loss, which came at the hands of a genuinely good Rinat Fakhretdinov, in a bad stylistic matchup for Bryan. There is always the chance that a wrestler will be his undoing again, that his defensive wrestling has not improved as much as the rest of his skills, but Battle has shown improved takedown defense since then as well, albeit against weaker wrestlers than Rinat.

If Bryan has improved to the level of great or elite takedown defense then he will be a real threat in the wrestler-heavy 170-lb division. It would be a real treat for him to enter the consortium of skilled, rising welterweight prospects with good striking alongside the aforementioned fighters Rakhmonov, Jack Della, and Michael Morales, as well as Ian Garry and Carlos Prates, who have also shown incredible potential. The fights between those five – six if Battle reaches that level – would be a treat for fans in a few short years.

If he cannot reach those heights – after all, most fighters are just not in the tier of talent to reach the top five in the UFC – then Battle will still be an entertaining and good fighter. Just because someone is not elite does not mean they stink. With Bryan's slew of highlight-reel knockouts, like the one today against Jousset or his fourteen second decapitation of Gabe Green, we already know full well that he does not stink. If he remains an unranked fighter or fringe-ranked one for the rest of his UFC career, fans will still be more than happy to see his exciting fight style and hear his new, bombastic microphone personality whenever Bryan Battle pops up on a fight card.

 

 

Val Dewar

Val Dewar Photo

Val was initiated into Steelers Nation from the moment he was born — his first memory is a game vs. New England from when "Slash" was QB — and doing sports writing has always been a dream career for him. In 2022 he broke into the industry by writing about combat sports for Cageside Press, and now has the opportunity to continue that work with TSN as an MMA writer, as well as get his feet wet on the Steelers beat.