Beware of Can Crushers

Beware of the Can Crushers

This is my biggest pitfall when I’m making my DraftKings card.  These Can Crushers ruin my evening.  I’ll be at home, seen a couple fighters on my card get a first round stoppage and I think to myself, I’ll be in the money until my Can Crusher shits the bed and ruins my fight card. 

Brandon Thatch ruined my card last Saturday.  Yes Brandon Thatch is a Can Crusher.  I picked Thatch because like most Can Crushers.  He came into the UFC destroying his opponents in spectacular fashion.  Joe Rogan and Goldie start calling him a top prospect.  He has a setback against Benson Henderson, so what, Benson has high level jujitsu and a former world champ.  I chalk that up to learning curve,  he also losses against Gunnar Nelson,  I chalk that up to just getting caught, perhaps Gunnar big right that setup the choke was attributed to working with Conor for their fights on UFC 189.   I mean Come On, Brandon Thatch is supposed to be the next big prospect. He’s a huge for the weight class, all tattated up, he should win, right?  Didn’t you see how he knocked out his first two opponents?  Yeah, he is coming off two loses but those are named opponents.   He is opponent is also coming off two loses as well and 800 day layoff due to injuries   Why wouldn’t I pick him. 

Well that is because like all Can Crushers they make their names fighting BUMS.  Let’s take a look at the record of Brandon Thatch’s first two opponents for the last seven fights.   

Justin Edwards (2-7)                                      Paulio Thiago  (2-7)

Opponent	Win/Lose		Opponent	Win/Loss
Joe Proctor	Loss		Sean Spencer	Loss
Rasmey Nijem	Loss		Gasan Umalatov	Loss
Brandon Thatch	Loss		Brandon Thatch	Loss
Josh Neer	Win		Michel Przeres	Win
John Maguire	Loss		Dong Hyun Kim	Loss
Jorge Lopez	Win		Siyar Bahadurzada	Loss
Clay Harvison	Loss		David Mitchell	Win

These two fighters are the definition of a Can fighter and if you don’t know here is the Wikipedia definition.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato_can_%28sports_idiom%29

Erick Silva

Erick Silva is the most notorious Can Crusher there is in the UFC.  Mostly because the UFC spreads out his Can fights with actual opponents to hide the fact he just betting up Tomato Cans.  Erick Silva has 12 fights in the UFC  (7-5) (* Not counting the Carlos Prater fight as a loss, Mario Yamakei is a horrible ref and the shots he landed were legal it shouldn’t have been a disqualification, Joe Rogan is the name and showed him on the replay they were clean shots during his fighter interview).  None of the fighters he beat are currently in the UFC, all of them have been cut, including Prater.  Erick Silva fools you with his highlight heels and his first round KO’s and Submissions but Erick Silva is a can crusher.

I was distracted for last week’s card didn’t get a chance to do the research necessary to avoid picking a Can Crusher.    Don’t forget to research the quality of the opponent, forget spectacular nature of the win. 

The flame that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.