Meet The Contenders: #2 Keegan O'Toole vs #3 Jaden Abas
Meet The Contenders: #2 Keegan O'Toole vs #3 Jaden Abas
Breaking down the Who's #1 matchup at 138lbs between Keegan O'Toole of Wisconsin and Jaden Abas of California
For the third time in the history of Who's #1, fans will be treated to a four-man mini tournament for the top spot in the country. The second match on the card will feature #2 Keegan O'Toole against #3 Jaden Abas.
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There are a couple things that are pretty much guaranteed to happen: points will go on the board, maybe the highest scoring match of the night, and it might be the best scrambles of the evening, too. Let's get things started with the California boy, Rancho Bernardo's own Jaden Abas.
It's hard to argue Abas' spot at WNO, after making the Super 32 and Ironman finals, and then winning a Doc B title in January before taking his first California state crown. He is extremely dangerous from both neutral and top, able to finish matches from either position.
Jaden Abas did WHAT?!? Abas with the pinfall over No. 2 Mitch Moore to make the Super 32 finals! ??? pic.twitter.com/W4PFZm2XTs
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) October 29, 2017
On his feet, Abas mainly shoots on his opponent's right leg. His weapon of choice is a low knee pull, but he also has an excellent swing single. What makes both of these so difficult to stop are his speed and his length. It's hard to find film where he doesn't get to legs, and that mainly happens against older and more seasoned competition.
Abas is extremely crafty, repeatedly figuring out ways to finish takedowns. He is adept at getting his left hand on his opponent's far ankle on swing singles, sometimes putting the ref in a difficult position to not call a takedown. Additionally, he'll have times where it looks like there's no way he'll be able to finish a shot, only to see he's snagged an ankle and has the man he's facing with their knee bent in front of him. Lastly, he's very strong from a reverse lock off a shot, particularly with his left arm.
From top position, Abas is always looking to put opponents away. In the early rounds of most tournaments he's getting first and second period pins, even at some of the tougher, higher level events. He's very good with a cross wrist tilt and transitions to it well from takedowns, however, it's more well-timed than it is purely quick. Sometimes though he'll let the man try to stand up, at which point he'll rip a cradle, which is both fun to watch and probably an absolute nightmare to coach against.
Now, Abas is a tremendous scrambler, but that's a good segue to his opponent, Keegan O'Toole. The Wisconsin native will relish the opportunity to put Abas in 50/50 positions, be it a leg pass, crackdown, or goofy step-over situation. While we've mentioned Abas' big move potential, it has also cost him matches the past two years at Ironman by winding up in bad positions.
The thing with O'Toole is that he hasn't faced many opponents with the kind of elite foot speed and shot quickness that Abas has. The future Missouri Tiger is far more comfortable in traditional folkstyle handfighting positions than Abas, so instead of trying to outscramble him, O'Toole might be better off working underhooks, 2-on-1s, and collar ties. Abas has a solid 2-on-1 of his own, but O'Toole has a sneak good slideby he can work off a collar tie if he can keep Abas engaged long enough.
Both of these guys are already committed, as Abas is heading to Stanford. I lean slightly towards the future Cardinal in this matchup, in large part due to what I saw in O'Toole's matches with Gabe Tagg and Branson Proudluck. In the second period of their Fargo final, Tagg figured out O'Toole a little bit and fought back into the match, the kind of adjustments I also believe Abas will make. Now the Proudluck match was two weight classes down and nearly a year ago at this point, but he was able to beat O'Toole with an offense that is not quite as developed as Abas'.
However, Abas plays with fire enough that there's plenty of points that can come from the O'Toole-box. The swing single position will be especially important, as O'Toole will try to swing his free leg over to get in a crackdown and force a cradle, while Abas attempts to use his length to catch that far ankle and either fight through a whizzer or limp arm out.
If this were freestyle, I'd like O'Toole to take it. But between Abas' big move potential and the speed of his shots, he should be able to outscore his very formidable opponent. Take the over on this one, it might just be the highest scoring bout of the night.
Nomad's Pick
Abas 8-6 over O'Toole