Mma

[BudPalmer]

Can we talk about this Kyle Maynard guy?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Congenital-amputee-Maynard-survives-first;_ylt=Am1fPmcEbIgr2vzWed8VZiVYEo14?urn=mma,159259

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AouMPeJsNbjawrmlzgPFeEE9Eo14?slug=dw-maynard042809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[FoxInStocks]

Silva isn't very good on the ground. As long as Forrest can get some ground n pound or fight well standing up without getting put in that wicked clinch, he might actually have a chance.

That's what they said when they picked Hendo to fight him. He choked Hendo out. :ermm:

Interesting. I wonder what weight it's going to be at. At least the only falling down will be because of someone getting hit.

Confirmed at 205.

Can we talk about this Kyle Maynard guy?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Congenital-amputee-Maynard-survives-first;_ylt=Am1fPmcEbIgr2vzWed8VZiVYEo14?urn=mma,159259

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AouMPeJsNbjawrmlzgPFeEE9Eo14?slug=dw-maynard042809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

We can, but there's not much to say. I give the guy a lot of credit, but I don't think that a sport where you can be punched and kicked in the head but you can't defend against it due to a handicap is the sport for you. Still, he's got more balls than most for even getting into the ring in the first place.

[BudPalmer]

The guy has heart, no doubt but how does he think he can complete? I mean don't you pretty much just have to keep him off your back? Just some strange images...

[Torpedo Vegas]

Has anyone seen this yet :)

Hong Man Choi vs Jose Canseco!

Edit: It has been announced, and not actually happened yet

[Hellfire117]

That's what they said when they picked Hendo to fight him. He choked Hendo

Yeah, I was soooo disappointed with Henderson in that fight. My mind tells me that Silva will dominate Forrest, but I'd love to see Forrest outlast him with his crazy cardio.

[FoxInStocks]

Yeah, I was soooo disappointed with Henderson in that fight. My mind tells me that Silva will dominate Forrest, but I'd love to see Forrest outlast him with his crazy cardio.

I love Forrest, but the dude has two major problems: Not "finishing" power, and a questionable chin.

Forrest himself said he doesn't have power, he has "punches in bunches". He's also got underrated ground skills, but he's no Hendo (and lets not forget that Silva is a black belt in BJJ).

Then there's his chin. One fight he gets knocked out by Jardine, then he takes a beating from Rampage and survives, and then he gets rocked/TKO'd by Rashad.

I won't count Forrest out, but he's got an uphill battle against a fighter who he's essentially going to play right into the hands of.

With that said: I'll be pulling for Forrest. Not that I dislike Silva, but I'd really love to see Forrest pull out this sort of win. It'd be like Shogun all over again.

[Hellfire117]

Totally Agree. I'll be backing Forrest all the way...

[batjester]

Has anyone seen this yet :)

Hong Man Choi vs Jose Canseco!

Edit: It has been announced, and not actually happened yet

If only it was Bonds.

[FoxInStocks]

Did anyone catch TUF last night?

That last fight was crazy. Dude got four teeth knocked out during the fight and spit a fifth one out afterwards. They had to stop the fight for a minute between rounds because one of his teeth was stuck in his mouth guard.

Ow. :D

[Hellfire117]

Did anyone catch TUF last night?

That last fight was crazy. Dude got four teeth knocked out during the fight and spit a fifth one out afterwards. They had to stop the fight for a minute between rounds because one of his teeth was stuck in his mouth guard.

Ow. :D

I was watching that too. They weren't real teeth, he had gotten implants from a previous accident. I gotta say though, Bisping is making an a$s of himself on that show. I can't wait til Henderson shuts him up in the finale. :)

[batjester]

Well tonight is UFC 98. Looking like it's going to be a good card so I figure it's prediction time, and we all know I'm always right :noid:

Evans Vs Machida - I don't think it's going to be a snoozefest like some on the other boards are feeling. I'll take Machida by TKO in the 3rd.

Serra Vs Hughes - Time for some old school GnP after an old school slam by Hughes. Hughes in the 2nd.

McFedries vs Foupa-Pokam - Wish Irvin was still in this one but I'll go with Prof X.

Miller vs Sonnen - I'll run with Miller.

Sherk vs Edgar - Sherk should take this one.

Only prelim I'm really interested in is the Nover/Bradley fight. Nover should win, but if he doesn't he's toast in the UFC.

[batjester]

Well tonight is UFC 98. Looking like it's going to be a good card so I figure it's prediction time, and we all know I'm always right :noid:

Evans Vs Machida - I don't think it's going to be a snoozefest like some on the other boards are feeling. I'll take Machida by TKO in the 3rd.

Serra Vs Hughes - Time for some old school GnP after an old school slam by Hughes. Hughes in the 2nd.

McFedries vs Foupa-Pokam - Wish Irvin was still in this one but I'll go with Prof X.

Miller vs Sonnen - I'll run with Miller.

Sherk vs Edgar - Sherk should take this one.

Only prelim I'm really interested in is the Nover/Bradley fight. Nover should win, but if he doesn't he's toast in the UFC.

Further proof I suck at predictions. At least I got the two most important right. Right? :noid:

[BudPalmer]

Ya got the big two almost right (only off by a round). Machida is the effing man. I can't wait to see who manages to beat him.

[batjester]

Ya got the big two almost right (only off by a round). Machida is the effing man. I can't wait to see who manages to beat him.

Yes he is. I think we could be looking at a really long title reign, and I'm ok with that.

[FoxInStocks]

HAHAHA, OH WOW. (http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/tuf-takes-slice-17739)

Guess I'll be watching the next season of Ultimate Fighter.

[Denim Demon]

Some great fights coming up!
mike Brown vs Urijah Faber 2

Affliction 3 looks awesome:
Jake Shields vs Robbie Lawler
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett
Vitor Belfort vs Jorge Santiago
Andrei Arlovski vs Brett Rogers

wow!!

Not forgetting the UFC , event 99 is ok but UFC 100 is gonna be awesome!!
Lesner vs Mir
Pierre vs Alves
Fitch vs Thiago
Henderson vs Bisping
Coleman vs bonnar
Jones vs Obrien

looking forward to having giant cable bills this summer!!!

[batjester]

Well with 99 coming up this weekend I guess it's time to show what I (don't) know about MMA with predictions guarenteed to make you go HUH?


Franklin Vs Silva - This is a toss up. Both guys have a punchers chance and suspect chins. Someone is getting a nap and I'll say it's Silva who'll need his teddy bear. Knock out of the night.

Kongo Vs Velasquez - Over under on low blows is 3. I think Velasquez should win this since Kongo has a weak ground game.

Swick Vs Saunders - I'll take Swick by TKO.

Davis Vs Hardy - Give me Davis in a war that could end up in fight of the night.

Fisher Vs Uno - I think the King gets the job done.

Crocop Vs Al-Turk - Both have great names for Street Fighter, that being said Crocop should handle Al-Turk as long as he's mentally into the fight.

For the prelims there's only one fight I'm really interested in, and that's more because it's borderline freak show

Stojnic Vs Struve - 5' 11" Vs 6' 11"?????????????????? 235 Vs 238??????? If Stojnic can get inside of Struves reach he should win.

[batjester]

Sorry bout the double, computer/site was acting up.


I don't know if I'm getting the PPV either, might just head down to Wild Wings and watch there.


PS, if you're agreeing with me I'd avoid buying lottery tickets lol.

[Denim Demon]

I agree with your predictions except i think Franklin will lose...i dont think ill be getting this pay-per-view though...

[Torpedo Vegas]

Tim Sylvia was knocked out in 9 seconds by Ray Mercer! He weighed in at 310 pounds! Combine that with Brett Rogers 22 second knock out of Andrei Arvolski and it looks like Fedor is back to square one. If he really wants to be considered the best heavy weight in MMA he really needs to get into the UFC. With the lack of success alot of the big names from PRIDE are having in the UFC I am really questioning Fedors title as pound for pound best fighter inthe world. To add insult to injury Dana White said he wants to pick up Barnett if he beats Fedor, and in the same interview also said he wants Allister Overeem.

HAHAHA, OH WOW. (http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/tuf-takes-slice-17739)

Guess I'll be watching the next season of Ultimate Fighter.

It should be interesting. Along with Kimbo I think they said it will have 5 or 6 ex NFL players. I dont know alot about these guys, but it really sounds to me like they will be bringing down the competition to give Kimbo the best chance possible to make it to the finals. I bet they have him fight the guy with no arms or legs to guarantee he will at least make it into the house :)


Kongo Vs Velasquez
and
Swick Vs Saunders


This is just a good article on how the UFC treats top prospects. (http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/sacrificing-the-young-17968) I have noticed it before, but never really thought to much about it until now.

[batjester]

Tim Sylvia was knocked out in 9 seconds by Ray Mercer! He weighed in at 310 pounds! Combine that with Brett Rogers 22 second knock out of Andrei Arvolski and it looks like Fedor is back to square one. If he really wants to be considered the best heavy weight in MMA he really needs to get into the UFC. With the lack of success alot of the big names from PRIDE are having in the UFC I am really questioning Fedors title as pound for pound best fighter inthe world. To add insult to injury Dana White said he wants to pick up Barnett if he beats Fedor, and in the same interview also said he wants Allister Overeem.


I don't think it hurts Fedor too much with Tim and Andrei losing. He still only has the one loss on his record (and that's a fluke loss) and made short work of both of them. If he had trouble with either than you could say he's slipping, but I still see him as the alpha-male in MMA.

I don't think we'll ever see him in the UFC since he doesn't want to be owned by Dana, and I don't blame him.

[Torpedo Vegas]

I don't think it hurts Fedor too much with Tim and Andrei losing. He still only has the one loss on his record (and that's a fluke loss) and made short work of both of them. If he had trouble with either than you could say he's slipping, but I still see him as the alpha-male in MMA.

I don't think we'll ever see him in the UFC since he doesn't want to be owned by Dana, and I don't blame him.

I think it hurts him more then you think. After Pride folded Fedor founght Matt Lindland and Hong Man Choi. Critics said that he was not facing real competition, like the UFC has, so the Sylvia and Arlovski fights were suppose to address that. I was slightly impressesd when he beat Sylvia and was pretty geeked about the win over Arlovski. Now fast forward 4 months with their recent losses and both of these guys look like the washed up, more so Sylvia, former UFC fighters they are.

Without the UFC his future is not looking so bright either. If Fedor wins the Barnett fight and Buentello beats Sylvia then we will probably be seeing a Fedor / Buentello fight if they stick with their current Affliction fighters. After that there are only a handful of fighters out there, unless the UFC releases fighters, that they can put int the ring. All the while Fedor will be fighting B list guys who can destroy his future and any leverage he has with the UFC in one lucky punch like Serra/GSP. Unlike GSP he will not have a chance to make it back to the top and continue to take on the best fighters who come along.

Since Fedor and his group only seem to be interested in a one shot title fight against the UFC champ I really believe that they do not think he can handle the greater competition the UFC Heavyweights now offer. Like it or not the only future for Fedor is in the UFC

[FoxInStocks]

Fedor's refusal to sign with the UFC is a lot more complex than "not wanting to be owned".

Negotiations between Fedor's management and the UFC broke down because Fedor's management is used to dealing with Pride and Affliction, where they can demand anything and get it, on top of getting a million dollars per fight. Heck, there's evidence behind the notion that M1's initial failure (when Monte Cox was involved) was due in large part to the huge paydays Fedor got as opposed to what he actually drew in. Same goes for Affliction's current financial woes.

UFC wasn't going to play that game, and I don't blame them. Fedor's management demands reportedly included:

- UFC would sign several unknown and untested Red Devil fighters, i.e. Fedor's manager's other clients
- UFC would let Fedor compete in Sambo tournaments
- UFC would co-promote with M1 Global, which is madness plain and simple; UFC is not going to promote the competition when UFC is already synonymous with MMA throughout most of America and maybe even much of Europe.
- Fedor wanted a HUGE sum of money per fight; this is rumored to be part of why Randy Coture started his legal battle with Dana, as he'd heard about the money offered to Fedor and was insulted that he wasn't offered a similar sum.

Fedor's management know he's their golden goose. They aren't going to let him go cheap. Fedor is a simple dude who just wants to provide for his family, so he's going to go where he gets the most money.

On top of all of that, Fedor's value in the UFC is questionable at best. Only hardcore MMA fans know who Fedor Emelienanko is, and I think we all know that the typical UFC fan is not a hardcore MMA fan. So the UFC would have to spend money building up this big, pudgy, stoic Russian so he can beat...who? Mir, Lesnar, Coture. Those are the only three fights in the UFC for him. He's either beaten everyone else (Minotaro, Herring, Cro Cop), or is clearly above everyone else (Carwin, Kongo, Valasquez).

And lets face it: He'd very likely murder Mir and Coture, and MIGHT have trouble with Lesnar due to Lesnar's size, speed and strength, but I still call Fedor by armbar, Round 1.

If Fedor beats Barnett, he's pretty much done. He's beat all the best save for Randy, and I doubt many people would bet on Randy for that fight.

[Torpedo Vegas]

On top of all of that, Fedor's value in the UFC is questionable at best. Only hardcore MMA fans know who Fedor Emelienanko is, and I think we all know that the typical UFC fan is not a hardcore MMA fan. So the UFC would have to spend money building up this big, pudgy, stoic Russian so he can beat...who? Mir, Lesnar, Coture. Those are the only three fights in the UFC for him. He's either beaten everyone else (Minotaro, Herring, Cro Cop), or is clearly above everyone else (Carwin, Kongo, Valasquez).


I agree 100%! Fedor needs the UFC much more then they need him. I also agree that he as already beat half of the fighters in the UFC, but the remaining fighters will give him a start. More importantly though he will be facing the best new fighters that come along to continue his legacy. I am not totally convinced though that he can make it through the second half the UFC currently has to offer.

If Fedor beats Barnett, he's pretty much done. He's beat all the best save for Randy, and I doubt many people would bet on Randy for that fight.

If he does not join the UFC I think the next big name that could come along is Chuck Lidell. I dont know what is going to happen with the UFC and Chuck, but if he still wants to fight I cant think of a better opponent. Other then that Bobbi Lashley is a big name that can get attention, even with his lack of experience. Former UFC contender Jeff Monson believes it is his destiny to beat Fedor and is campaigning publicly for a shot. I really dont see Overeem taking a fight with him before he takes a deal with another organization. I guess they could always get one of the newest MMA sensations Jose Canseco

I really do believe, if Affliction does not fold, that the Tim Sylvia / Paul Buentello fight is setting Buentello up with a big name, they are hoping he will beat, to be the "Top Contender".

[batjester]

I don't see how Fedor needs the UFC more than the UFC needs Fedor. He doesn't need their money, he's got plenty and gets plenty whomever he fights for.

I don't think he needs them to fight "the best" because lets face it, most of the HW division in the UFC is either unproven, overrated, or about finished with their careers.
Mir? He looked good against Nog, but was that because he's improved or because Nog wasn't healthy?
Lesner? Maybe in a few years, but he's 3-1 and I wasn't that impressed with his victory over Randy.
Randy? Even though he can still put up a battle he's alot closer to the finish line than the starting blocks.
Nog? He's killed him twice (I truely think he killed him that first fight but Nog just hasn't realized it yet).

Those are the top 4 in the UFC and would a win over any one of them be that impressive? In a way he's like GSP, just that much better than the rest of the division (of course having said that GSP is going to now lose to Alves just to prove me wrong.)

Fedor has one loss on his record (due to a cut) and dominant wins over some of the best in the business. The casual fans will probably never realize how great of a fighter he was/is, but they are only usually interested in the current fad and they tend to have very short memories. No big loss there. Hardcore fans know who he is and what he's done, so never making it to the UFC shouldn't hurt his legacy.

[FoxInStocks]

I don't see how Fedor needs the UFC more than the UFC needs Fedor. He doesn't need their money, he's got plenty and gets plenty whomever he fights for.

Hardcore fans know who he is and what he's done, so never making it to the UFC shouldn't hurt his legacy.

Honestly, neither needs the other. UFC will continue to make a zillion dollars and be considered "what MMA is" with or without Fedor. Fedor has already secured his legacy and beat 99% of the top talent in his division.

Here's the catch: If Fedor wants to keep getting million-dollar purses, he's going to keep putting fledgling MMA promotions out of business. Eventually he's either going to have to settle for UFC money from another promotion or actually go to the UFC.

UFC, on the other paw, already has a lot of the sheep convinced that there is no MMA outside of the UFC. And think of this: They've signed KIMBO SLICE, a heavyweight who may well be the most well-known fighter out there right now, to Ultimate Fighter. As long as he generates ratings there (and you know he will), Kimbo will get into the UFC win or lose.

Now, here's the sad truth: The majority of the UFC's fans - the people who fund much of the UFC's bankroll - are more interested in slugfests and exciting fights than they are in seeing technical exhibitions and relevant fighters fighting relevant competition. Kimbo will likely make the UFC more money for less investment than Fedor will.

I agree 100%! Fedor needs the UFC much more then they need him. I also agree that he as already beat half of the fighters in the UFC, but the remaining fighters will give him a start. More importantly though he will be facing the best new fighters that come along to continue his legacy. I am not totally convinced though that he can make it through the second half the UFC currently has to offer.



If he does not join the UFC I think the next big name that could come along is Chuck Lidell. I dont know what is going to happen with the UFC and Chuck, but if he still wants to fight I cant think of a better opponent. Other then that Bobbi Lashley is a big name that can get attention, even with his lack of experience. Former UFC contender Jeff Monson believes it is his destiny to beat Fedor and is campaigning publicly for a shot. I really dont see Overeem taking a fight with him before he takes a deal with another organization. I guess they could always get one of the newest MMA sensations Jose Canseco

I really do believe, if Affliction does not fold, that the Tim Sylvia / Paul Buentello fight is setting Buentello up with a big name, they are hoping he will beat, to be the "Top Contender".

Couple of things:

Sylvia/Buentello is off. They pulled Timmy from the card due to health concerns after Ray Mercer murderized him. I forget who Buentello is fighting now.

Chuck Liddell would get murderd by Fedor. Short of a Lucky Liddell Hail Mary punch landing, this would just be a matter of Fedor rocking Chuck (which anyone can do these days) and transitioning to the ground for some quality armbar time.

I'm really not convinced anyone else will give Fedor a hard time either. I certainly don't think the man is invincible, but like GSP and Anderson Silva, he's just heads-and-shoulders above the rest of his weight class. And unlike GSP and Silva, he has yet to show any sort of mental weakness or bad judgment in a fight.

[batjester]

Well we have UFC 100 this Saturday, and I have a wedding to go to. We (Groom, groomsmen, guests) have tried talking the bride into letting use have the feed at the reception, but alas it is a no go (we see who wears the pants in that relationship lol). Here's my predictions, bet at your own risk.

Bonner vs Coleman - If nothing else these two should be laying the lumber on each other for at least two rounds. I'll take the old man by decision.

Akiyama vs Belcher - Not really familiar with either one, but if Akiyama is as good as they are saying he should win.

Henderson vs Bisping - I'll go with the old man again via GNP.

Fitch vs Thiago - I'll take Fitch.

GSP vs Alves - IF Alves comes in on weight I think he could end up pulling the upset. I think Alves wins it, but I'll be rooting for GSP.

Lesner vs Mir - Can I hope for a double knock out? Don't like either guy but I think Lesner will win. He should have learned from their last fight and I'm still not sold on Mir's striking or cardio.


Edit 10:15 CT - I'm 3-0 so far, very scary.
Edit Sunday morning - 4-1 and the 1 I was rooting for GSP so not bad. GSP being so dominant was a big suprise. I would have figured Alves would have put up a better fight, maybe it is time for GSP to move up in weight. Lesner is a duffus. I hope he loses his next fight, don't care who it's against. When Silva gets done with Griffen he better watch out, Hendo looks like a man on a mission.

[Torpedo Vegas]

Its been a while :)

Chuck Liddell would get murderd by Fedor. Short of a Lucky Liddell Hail Mary punch landing, this would just be a matter of Fedor rocking Chuck (which anyone can do these days) and transitioning to the ground for some quality armbar time.

I agree, but Chuck Liddell still has one of the biggest names in MMA and if i remember correctly what we were talking about that is what matters.



So with Barnetts "random" positive test who do you want to see Fedor fight? Affliction has listed Lashley, Rogers, Belfort, and Arona as possible replacements. I think Lashley would be the best replacement for Affliction. He certainly is not the most qualified, but he does have the greatest name recognition among the group and would draw a greater percentage of the casual UFC fan base, as opposed to only the hard core group. Lashleys managment says they are not interested in the fight though.

I would personally like to see him fight Brett Rogers, but dont really know how his Strikeforce contract is set up to allow it. At 10-0 he really has a number one contender feel to me, and that is what a champ should be fighting instead of these big name retreads. I know that other then Arlovski he has not beat anyone, but the manner in witch he has beat the other nine, KO/TKO all in the 1st, is hard to ignore!

Looking back Im sure I have came off as anti Fedor, but that is not the case. I just feel that he made his name in pride fighting the best of his time, but by not joining the UFC he is not fighting the best young up an coming contenders MMA has to offer. He is basically sitting on the sideline protecting his legacy with the fights he is taking.

Look back at UFC 100. Im glad Hendo KO Bisbing. I did not like Bisbing to begin with, but really did not like him after TUF. I honestly did not think Bisbing was in the same class as a guy like Henderson and dont know how the UFC matched them up.

Alot can be said about Brock, but I will stick to his performance. If I was a heavy weight I would be afraid of this guy. Im sure he could KO a guy, but at this point of his carrier he is sticking to his wrestling roots and getting it to the ground ASAP. When it hits the ground he has not shown alot in the submission department so he will just hold you down and maul you like a bear until you can get up somehow or the ref stops it. Mir was pretty messed up at the end. The guy is improving every fight and as long as he sticks to his wrestling and does not fall in love with the KO, Henderson, he will be tough to beat. I always feel like the KO guys in the Heavyweight division are always 50/50 when their game plan is to just stand and throw until someone goes down.

Is it time for a super heavy weight division? When you have guys like Brock, Carwin, and Rogers cutting weight to make the 265 pound cut off and a lot of the other guys are walking around at a pudgy 230-250 pounds. You even have guys like Couture who only weighs 225 pounds and Fedor who weighs a pudgy 233 pounds who could reasonably fight at LHW like Couture use to. Brandon Verra fights at LHW now but when he came in as a HW he said it was because he liked to eat whatever he wanted to and not worry about cutting weight. I know that the other guys cut weight and may weigh 10+ pounds more then their opponent on fight night, but the HW division is the only one where you can literally be 60 pounds :eek: heavier then your opponent, and that does not even factor in the muscle/power advantage a guy like Brock has cutting to 265 over a guy that walks around at a pudgy 240.

[thebecoming]

Hey guys,

They had a good article on MSN about the need for a Super-HW division. I just see it as the evolution of the sport, guys like Lashley and Brock are the future of the HW division. You will see in the next few years alot of guys with their comparitive build and size entering the ranks. I dont agree with the need for a Super HW class. Fighters at the HW weight class know that its not weight and siz that wins these fights. Look at guys like Bob Sapp and the giant Chinaman that fought Fedor and Jose Canseco, if it was size and strength that won fights, and not training and skill (and a bit of luck!) they would have dominated.
The next Ultimate Fighter is devoted to the HW class. Its needed to restock the UFC HW division. Lesnar is a huge favorite over any remaining HW's in the UFC, and I am very interested to see what fighters come out of the talent pool. Lesnar is set to dominate for the next few years and unless a match-up against Fedor, Rodgers or Barnett comes available, I dont see him losing anytime soon.
Pesonally I would love to see him fight Lashley but thats prob a year or two away.
I heard on HDTV that Belfort wants to step in to fight Fedor. Even with Befort's resurgence in the last year, he is still way outmatched.

Some thoughts on UFC 100.
I always liked Bisping but it was nice to see him lose. I thought Matt Hamill originally beat him in the UF championship match, but Bisping has trained hard and deserves any accolades earned since. BUT DAMN WHAT A KO!!! Hendo now has a signature to his highlight reel, and I will be interested to see if this punch has ended Bispings career!
A little class-less move by Hendo to hit him after he was down and then to admit it on-air.

GSP dominated Alves taking him down almost at will, what a set back for Thiago. Great for GSP though, it has him back in contention for the best PFP fighter in the world.

What a suprise win for Akiyama! Belcher is a tough, tough kid! I honestly thought it was a draw or a little to Belchers side, but what fight. Looking forward to seeing both these guys in action again.

Would have been nice to see the Coleman-Bonner bloodfest.

Lesnar/Mir...is there anything really to say? I said on here two years ago that Brock would dominate the division and I was right. The only weakness I saw was in the brief stand-up in the 2nd round Mir landed a combo that made Brock comepletely abandon the stand-up and take it back to the ground. So is Lesnar vulnerable in the stand up game?
I really like Frank Mir and wish the guy all the best.

Well thats it for me. Ill check back in next week. Good to be back!

[Torpedo Vegas]

Well Affliction III is officially canceled :(

I just see it as the evolution of the sport, guys like Lashley and Brock are the future of the HW division. You will see in the next few years alot of guys with their comparitive build and size entering the ranks. I dont agree with the need for a Super HW class. Fighters at the HW weight class know that its not weight and siz that wins these fights. Look at guys like Bob Sapp and the giant Chinaman that fought Fedor and Jose Canseco, if it was size and strength that won fights, and not training and skill (and a bit of luck!) they would have dominated.

I use to not see the need for a SHW division, because some of these bigger guys were really just overweight standup guys, for the most part, who had one good round before they gassed out. This gave the smaller HW guys who were more skilled and had much better conditioning a great advantage to even the field. Now with the influx of the bigger, stronger, faster, and much more skilled 265 pound guys the smaller HW are at a real disadvantage. The HW division is really changing and catching up with the rest of the divisions by combining the size and strength with the training and skill we expect out of the lower divisions.





Lesnar is a huge favorite over any remaining HW's in the UFC, and I am very interested to see what fighters come out of the talent pool. Lesnar is set to dominate for the next few years and unless a match-up against Fedor, Rodgers or Barnett comes available, I dont see him losing anytime soon.

Lesnar is a real beast, but in the HW division you are always one punch away from a loss. After Barnetts latest incident I dont expect to see him in the UFC again and being a wrestler I dont think he matches up favorably against Lesnar anyways. I was really hoping for a Fedor/Rogers match up for Afflicion III, but it looks like that is not going to happen. One of those guys would have a much better chance of a one punch KO then any wrestler trying to go to the ground with him. As for the UFC they have Cain Velasquez/Shane Carwin matchup later this year to determine who will fight Brock next, unless they get Fedor first. If you have not seen Shane Carwin (http://sherdog.com/fighter/Shane-Carwin-14013) yet you should check him out. I really think he is the guy to beat Lesnar. He is just as big and strong so it will take away the size and strength advantage Brock has over most other guys. He also has a wrestling background so he can hold his own on the ground and negate Brocks main strategy. Where they really differ is in the standup. Carwin is alot like Rogers in their fights end in the first round with a KO.

[thebecoming]

Lesnar is a real beast, but in the HW division you are always one punch away from a loss. After Barnetts latest incident I dont expect to see him in the UFC again and being a wrestler I dont think he matches up favorably against Lesnar anyways. I was really hoping for a Fedor/Rogers match up for Afflicion III, but it looks like that is not going to happen. One of those guys would have a much better chance of a one punch KO then any wrestler trying to go to the ground with him. As for the UFC they have Cain Velasquez/Shane Carwin matchup later this year to determine who will fight Brock next, unless they get Fedor first. If you have not seen Shane Carwin (http://sherdog.com/fighter/Shane-Carwin-14013) yet you should check him out. I really think he is the guy to beat Lesnar. He is just as big and strong so it will take away the size and strength advantage Brock has over most other guys. He also has a wrestling background so he can hold his own on the ground and negate Brocks main strategy. Where they really differ is in the standup. Carwin is alot like Rogers in their fights end in the first round with a KO.

I agree with you that in the HW division you are only one big punch away from losing. Something that Brock realized in the flurry that Mir gave him in their brief stand-up. I wouldnt say he got rocked but he wasted no time taking Mir back to the ground to finish the fight.

I like Cain but he seems pretty limited with anything but the stand up. I think Fedor can out punch him and Brock can take him down for the ground and pound. Shane Carwin definitely has the tools and is much more of an interesting match-up.
If you guys have HDTV on your cable system, "Inside MMA" is the best show out there for the MMA fan. Great guests and its hosted by Bas Rutten.

[FoxInStocks]

The problem with a SHW division is that you need enough fighters in it to make it marketable. That's why White has gone on record saying he's a fan of Gina Carrano and would have made a 1-fight deal for Carrano/Cyborg himself, but he didn't want an all-out women's division because there's not enough depth there.

Same goes with SHW. You've got maybe 5 or 6 guys you could truly market there. It's unfortunate, because it's hurting the 265 division. Guys like Lesnar and Rogers seem to be winning more on their size and strength and less on their skill. Not that they don't have skill, but come on: Lesnar weighs in at 265, so he's got to be at least 270-something on fight-night. Mir is about 240-something. That's a HUGE weight difference.

Now, Affliction: RIP, I guess. Their first card was pretty good, but their second only really had the Arlovski/Fedor fight for me (may we never speak of that fight again). This third card was just as bad, I thought. I wanted to see Barnet/Fedor, and the Babalu fight, but that was it.

And therein lies the problem with these other orgs that aren't UFC/Strikeforce/WEC. Affliction lost ONE FIGHTER on a card and folded. Think about that. God bless 'em for finally getting Fedor some legit competion (I guess? Sylvia/Mercer makes me question Sylvia in general), but they were trying to compete with the UFC with a paper-thin roster.

The question now is Fedor. His management is dead-set on being a "co-promoter" with whomever they sign Fedor too. You know the UFC ain't gonna' co-promote with anyone, and rightly so.

On Lesnar/Carwin, I think that's a good fight, but I wouldn't bet on it one way or the other. Neither guy is experienced enough to know what they truly bring. If Carwin CAN'T beat Brock...the UFC HW division might be ruled by King Lesnar for awhile.

One final thought: the current UFC champ line up is

HW - Brock Lesnar
LHW - Lyoto "SHYORYUKEN!" Machida
MW - Anderson Silva
WW - GSP
LW - BJ "I quit!" Penn

That's a fairly dominant set of guys there. Who do you think loses their title first? I'm voting on BJ; other than his terrible cardio being an always-present weak point, I think he's about to get beat by Kenny Florion.

[Torpedo Vegas]

Same goes with SHW. You've got maybe 5 or 6 guys you could truly market there. It's unfortunate, because it's hurting the 265 division. Guys like Lesnar and Rogers seem to be winning more on their size and strength and less on their skill. Not that they don't have skill, but come on: Lesnar weighs in at 265, so he's got to be at least 270-something on fight-night. Mir is about 240-something. That's a HUGE weight difference.

I do agree with you on the depth, but for the sake of real competition something has to be done. It seems like it is just open weight fights right now. In all the other weight classes the fighters cut as much weight as they can to make a certain class, but everyone is doing that so it is somewhat even. In the HW division though you have had guys doing this in the past, but for the most part those guys were just fat. Now you have these guys who are great powerful athletes who are cutting down to a huge 265 and then packing another 10-20 pounds on that! You already mentioned the size difference between him and Mir, but his power, and possible conditioning are at a higher level. He really has all the advantages of a smaller fighter, without the disadvantages traditionally seen in fighters his size.

Now, Affliction: RIP, I guess. Their first card was pretty good, but their second only really had the Arlovski/Fedor fight for me (may we never speak of that fight again). This third card was just as bad, I thought. I wanted to see Barnet/Fedor, and the Babalu fight, but that was it.

Affliction is gone. They signed a deal with the UFC where they agreed to stop promoting fights so they could once again sponsor UFC fighters and have them wear their brand. I think this happend the same day they canceled the show.

It looks like StrikeForce has added the Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato 'Babalu' Sobral Title Fight (http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/07/27/strikeforce-adds-gegard-mousasi-vs-renato-babalu-sobral-title/) and could possible add some of the other guys from the Affliction card. I am really interested in seeing if Mousasi is for real. I have seen some of his fights with DREAM, but you never can really tell how good those guys are until they face a top fighter like Babalu.

The question now is Fedor. His management is dead-set on being a "co-promoter" with whomever they sign Fedor too. You know the UFC ain't gonna' co-promote with anyone, and rightly so.

Fedor has said publicly that he favors currently StrikeForce over the UFC. They will give him more "freedoms" in his contract like Sambo exhibition and who knows what else. It is even been suggested that Fedor could take Overeems place, injury, and fight Fabricio Werdum for the StrikeForce title. It is so far speculation and rumor, but I dont think they can work a deal out in time for the fight

On Lesnar/Carwin, I think that's a good fight, but I wouldn't bet on it one way or the other. Neither guy is experienced enough to know what they truly bring. If Carwin CAN'T beat Brock...the UFC HW division might be ruled by King Lesnar for awhile.

I agree here to. Carwin though brings a level of striking that Brock has not seen yet. Im not sure that Brock will have anymore respect for Carwin then he has shown for his other opponents and may pay for it on the feet.

One final thought: the current UFC champ line up is

HW - Brock Lesnar
LHW - Lyoto "SHYORYUKEN!" Machida
MW - Anderson Silva
WW - GSP
LW - BJ "I quit!" Penn

That's a fairly dominant set of guys there. Who do you think loses their title first? I'm voting on BJ; other than his terrible cardio being an always-present weak point, I think he's about to get beat by Kenny Florion.

Most likely to lose first

BJ Penn - I think Florian will beat him as well

Brock Lesnar - Only if he fights Carwin next

Anderson Silva - He just no longer seems interested, and someone will capitilize on this. Possibly Griffin :)

Brock Lesnar - If Carwin looses to Cain somehow or they get Fedor. A dedicated wrestler like Cain is not going to match up well against Brock unless they are the same size. Fedor could KO him, but if he does not he just does not have the size and strength on the ground.

Lyoto Machida - It will be a while before people figure out how to fight him.

GSP - He has cleaned out the division and dominated all challengers. He proved that the first Serra fight was a fluke, and he just got caught. He really is the pound for pound king as far as I am concerned.

[FoxInStocks]

Fedor has said publicly that he favors currently StrikeForce over the UFC. They will give him more "freedoms" in his contract like Sambo exhibition and who knows what else. It is even been suggested that Fedor could take Overeems place, injury, and fight Fabricio Werdum for the StrikeForce title. It is so far speculation and rumor, but I dont think they can work a deal out in time for the fight.

Actually, Lorenzo Fertitta has gone on record saying that the Sambo thing was never a real issue. They (the UFC) were willing to let him compete in sambo tournaments as long as he planned it out with them. They didn't want to have him getting injured in a tournament a month before a fight for the UFC.

Fedor's manager - whom many think may be the real issue here - Vladmir Finkelstien has gone on record saying that the UFC offered the most money out of anyone they've negotiated with.

Aleks Emelienanko recently called out Vladmir. Aleks said that he's seen the UFC contract, and that he didn't feel it was very restrictive at all. He then said that he felt Vladmir's decisions were being made for his own benefit, and not with Fedor's interests in mind.

I think we're at a point where if Fedor never fights in the UFC, it's because Fedor doesn't want to fight. However, there's supposed to be a big news conference by Fedor today and there's a big rumor going around as of yesterday that Dana is going to announce Fedor's acquirement on Friday, so...next few days should be interesting!

Oh, and the UFC picked up the Rothwell/Gormley fight from Affliction. If that means the UFC has a multi-fight deal with Rothwell, that's awesome. Add another solid heavyweight to the roster. Rothwell is 6'5" and 265lbs, so he's another dude who might give Brocko trouble.

[thebecoming]

Cool FoxInStocks...thanks for the info.

Also...it would be great if Alexsander came to the UFC as well.

[FoxInStocks]

Cool FoxInStocks...thanks for the info.

Also...it would be great if Alexsander came to the UFC as well.

Last I heard, he had hepititas and wasn't allowed to fight in the states. He was supposed to fight on one of the Affliction cards, but was denied a license when the diagnosis came out. I'd love to see him in the UFC. There's plenty of fights for him there.

[FoxInStocks]

So, the Fedor press conference. Here's the summary regarding Fedor and the UFC.

- M1 will not sign a deal with UFC unless UFC agrees to co-promote, split expenses, and split profits.
- M1 states that the UFC's current offer is quite generous, but that "they (M1) can extend the same offer to the UFC champion", i.e. four or five fights for a lot of money.

In other words, Fedor's management is crazy and we're never going to see Fedor in the UFC. :ermm:

[batjester]

So, the Fedor press conference. Here's the summary regarding Fedor and the UFC.

- M1 will not sign a deal with UFC unless UFC agrees to co-promote, split expenses, and split profits.
- M1 states that the UFC's current offer is quite generous, but that "they (M1) can extend the same offer to the UFC champion", i.e. four or five fights for a lot of money.

In other words, Fedor's management is crazy and we're never going to see Fedor in the UFC. :ermm:

Fedor needs to give his (mis)management some quality armbar time.

[FoxInStocks]

Fedor needs to give his (mis)management some quality armbar time.

Unfortunately, Fedor thinks his manager(s) can do no wrong. I guess the fact that Fedor is a part-owner of M1 doesn't help things.

I'm kind of over Fedor now. I think it's obvious he isn't interested in fighting the best; he just wants to fight every so often and do what he wants. If he wanted to fight only the best, he'd be in the UFC already. What's there for him in Strikeforce or in Japan? Overeem? A few more freak-fights with middleweights and super-heavyweights?

I honestly don't think Fedor is an 'in it for the money' guy, but I don't think he's in it for competition either. I think his management knows he's their only hope to build their brand up and Fedor is happy to help them do that as long as he's kept busy and his family is fed.

The thing that really bothers me here is that they seem to want the UFC to make all the compromises while they make none. UFC agreed to let Fedor fight in sambo tournaments - which is pretty big, since it means risk of him being injured and messing up their fights - and instead of making a compromise of thier own, M1's ceo said, "that's like telling us it's okay for him to eat".

The whole co-promotion thing is pure madness. UFC does not need Fedor that bad they they're going to go and pretend that another org is equal to them.

So let Fedor go to Strikeforce (though I don't think Scott Coker is dumb enough to kill his company over one fighter either, like Ancentennio was), or Japan, and bleed another company dry while he fights cans and has-beens.

[FoxInStocks]

News from Dana White's (ongoing) press conference today:

- The UFC "went above and beyond" in trying to sign Fedor and gave up "everything except co-promotion".

- Tito Ortiz is back. :rolleyes:
- They've signed Vitor Belfort and his first fight will be against Rich Franklin at UFC103. Great news there.

[Torpedo Vegas]

Here is a good article that explains the Fedor M-1 (http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/07/30/manager-promoter-conflict-put-into-spotlight-in-fedor-emelianenk/) thing a bit. I think it has become clear as well that it is not only his management, but it is Fedor as well blocking the deal. He is counting on M-1 taking off and paying for his post MMA life.

[FoxInStocks]

Well, surprise surprise: Fedor has signed with Strikeforce, who in turn will co-promote with Strikeforce on Fedor's fights.

So basically Fedor's next three fights are going to be Bret Rogers, Werdum, and Overeem. Not bad fights, but completely irrelevant to the sport. Werdum isn't ranked on any Top 10 lists I know of, and Rogers and Overeem aren't exactly big draws.

My curiosity comes mostly from wondering what sort of debacle will occur if Fedor gets KTFO by Rogers. I hope Fedor doesn't drag another promotion down like he did with Bodog and Affliction; I like Strikeforce. Nick Diaz gotta' get fights!

EDIT: Well, if you go by mixedmartialarts.com's aggregated rankings, Overeem and Werdum are ranked (10 and 7, respectively). However most individual lists I see have Overeem and Rogers ranked, with notable mentions for Werdum.

[Torpedo Vegas]

Check this out! Fedor is not number one contender! (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4377576&name=mma)

Before I read that I was sort of expecting Fedor to step in and fight Werdum and set him up to fight for the unification title against Overeem when he gets back from injury. That would then make Rogers number one contender, and delay the KTFO scenario until fight three. Werdum and Overeem are of course capable of a KO, but Rogers is the biggest threat to Fedor IMO. If Fedor makes it through those three guys Strikeforce had better get some guys for him to fight, or he will be back to square one as far as top competition.

[FoxInStocks]

Check this out! Fedor is not number one contender! (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4377576&name=mma)

Before I read that I was sort of expecting Fedor to step in and fight Werdum and set him up to fight for the unification title against Overeem when he gets back from injury. That would then make Rogers number one contender, and delay the KTFO scenario until fight three. Werdum and Overeem are of course capable of a KO, but Rogers is the biggest threat to Fedor IMO. If Fedor makes it through those three guys Strikeforce had better get some guys for him to fight, or he will be back to square one as far as top competition.

Yeah, I heard this. See, this is part of why Fedor/Strikeforce is a bad combo. He SHOULD fight Overeem first. You do not pay a guy millions for his marketability as "P4P greatest", and then say he's not worthy of fighting your champ yet.

If Fedor looses any fight in Strikeforce, his value is going to plummet. Let's face it: At this point, his ONLY draw is that he's undefeated and seems unbeatable. The moment he's defeated - and God help him if he's absolutely melted in a big upset - he's done, marketability-wise. On top of that, whoever beats him likely won't be as quick to turn down the UFC's offers.

Therein lies another reason that for purposes of competition Fedor was better off in the UFC: Aside from the HWs already there and established, I'm much more confident in the UFC's ability to market, nurture, and build up new HWs for Fedor to fight than I am in Strikeforce's. Win or loose, Fedor would never be lacking for a meaningful, competitive fight in the UFC.

[tmkac]

Therein lies another reason that for purposes of competition Fedor was better off in the UFC: Aside from the HWs already there and established, I'm much more confident in the UFC's ability to market, nurture, and build up new HWs for Fedor to fight than I am in Strikeforce's. Win or loose, Fedor would never be lacking for a meaningful, competitive fight in the UFC.

That's why I think Dana White might have thought of the new Ultimate Fighter season as killing two birds with one stone. Restocking the Heavyweight division with more talent (Which I think is the division with the least depth, IMO). If he eventually got Fedor in, you can't really just have him fight the same three guys over and over.

And second getting Kimbo. He might not be the best in any regard. But I believe he is dedicated to being a better MMA fighter and Dana knows he's gonna draw attention and money.

Just a thought.

[Torpedo Vegas]

If Fedor looses any fight in Strikeforce, his value is going to plummet. Let's face it: At this point, his ONLY draw is that he's undefeated and seems unbeatable. The moment he's defeated - and God help him if he's absolutely melted in a big upset - he's done, marketability-wise. On top of that, whoever beats him likely won't be as quick to turn down the UFC's offers.


It could be a Kimbo situation for Strikeforce if Fedor goes out and loses his first fight, or goes 1-2 against their top three. They should make anyone who fights Fedor sign a contract extension so they can not run straight to the UFC if they win :)

Does anyone know if they will show these fights on Showtime or if they will take it to Paper View?

[FoxInStocks]

That's why I think Dana White might have thought of the new Ultimate Fighter season as killing two birds with one stone. Restocking the Heavyweight division with more talent (Which I think is the division with the least depth, IMO). If he eventually got Fedor in, you can't really just have him fight the same three guys over and over.

And second getting Kimbo. He might not be the best in any regard. But I believe he is dedicated to being a better MMA fighter and Dana knows he's gonna draw attention and money.

Just a thought.

HW is the weakest weight class world-wide, but it's really strongest in the UFC...which is funny, because a year ago it was Affliction looking to have the best HW line-up.

Here's a thought, though: UFC got Kimbo and Strikeforce got Fedor. Sounds like Strikeforce got the better deal, no? Not really. Consider Kimbo's notoriety stateside as opposed to Fedor's. Fedor may be the better fighter, but he's got zero charisma and is almost completely unknown in the states. UFC - already a PR machine as it is - will likely make a mint off of Kimbo regardless of his W/L record. Fedor, meanwhile, will take a lot of work to promote and sell, and if he loses...well, it's all over.

Does anyone know if they will show these fights on Showtime or if they will take it to Paper View?

Coker says they expect to go to PPV in "6 to 9 months". I don't know if this is a wise move though as Dana has essentially ended the truce with Strikeforce (or Strikefarce as he now calls them), and I expect he's going to start counter-programming them.

[batjester]

Fights are tomorrow night and here are some predictions. Last card I went a very suprising 4-1.

Neer vs Pellegrino - I like Batman over the Dentist.

Grove vs Almeida - Lets see if Grove has it back together.

Sadollah vs Hendricks - Haven't seen either of these guys, but hear that Sadollah was pretty decent on Tuff. I'll take Sadollah.

Silva vs Griffen - How much punishment can Forrest take, I think we're going to find out. Silva wins in brutal fashion even though I love Forrest.

Penn vs Florian - Hate to say it but I think Penn takes this IF he comes in shape and motivated. Pretty big if. I want to see if Florian can open him up though.

Both 102 and 103 look like better cards. Just my opinion.

[joh-marko]

Both 102 and 103 look like better cards. Just my opinion.


103? all I have heard is the Koschek fight. Who else is on that card?

[batjester]

103? all I have heard is the Koschek fight. Who else is on that card?
Franklin vs Belfort - This is at 195, they should just make Ace the 195 champ at this point since that's all they let him fight at anymore.
Cro Cop vs Dos Santos
Swick vs Kampmann
Kos vs Trigg
T. Griffen vs Franca
Escudero vs C. Miller
J. Miller vs T. Tavares
Daley vs Foster
McFedries vs Drwal
Marshall vs Britz

The main card should be outstanding and the undercard has a few good fights also. I'll be interested to see if Escudero gets let go if he loses again.

[joh-marko]

Franklin vs Belfort - This is at 195, they should just make Ace the 195 champ at this point since that's all they let him fight at anymore.
Cro Cop vs Dos Santos
Swick vs Kampmann
Kos vs Trigg
T. Griffen vs Franca
Escudero vs C. Miller
J. Miller vs T. Tavares
Daley vs Foster
McFedries vs Drwal
Marshall vs Britz

The main card should be outstanding and the undercard has a few good fights also. I'll be interested to see if Escudero gets let go if he loses again.


That's a great line up. Im excited to see Trigg fight. Both him and Koschek are great wrestlers, though ill put $$$ on Koschek beating him via rear naked choke(Trigg?)......

[batjester]

That's a great line up. Im excited to see Trigg fight. Both him and Koschek are great wrestlers, though ill put $$$ on Koschek beating him via rear naked choke(Trigg?)......

I could probably RNC Trigg. :laugh:

[joh-marko]

I could probably RNC Trigg. :laugh:


haha, that guy will never live it down. Though i wonder whats going through his mind when someone has his back and sinks their hooks in: "oh ####, time to give up"

[batjester]

Fights are tomorrow night and here are some predictions. Last card I went a very suprising 4-1.

Neer vs Pellegrino - I like Batman over the Dentist.

Grove vs Almeida - Lets see if Grove has it back together.

Sadollah vs Hendricks - Haven't seen either of these guys, but hear that Sadollah was pretty decent on Tuff. I'll take Sadollah.

Silva vs Griffen - How much punishment can Forrest take, I think we're going to find out. Silva wins in brutal fashion even though I love Forrest.

Penn vs Florian - Hate to say it but I think Penn takes this IF he comes in shape and motivated. Pretty big if. I want to see if Florian can open him up though.

Both 102 and 103 look like better cards. Just my opinion.

I was 3/5 but what a disappointing card. The Florian/Penn fight was ok, barely. Sadollah/Hendricks was a quick stoppage, but I can see why (ref was in a bad spot). Neer/Pellegrino was ok, and Grove/Almeida was meh.

I can't even explain the Forrest/Silva fight. I don't think it was a fix, but something was just off about the whole thing...

[FoxInStocks]

Yeah, 101 was pretty dull. Should have gone with my gut and skipped it.

The Sodallah fight was GARBAGE. Mirgliotta has always been an awful ref, but that was terrible. The idiot didn't even circle around to make sure of the situation before he stopped it. It was just, "OH MAN HE FELL DOWN IT MUST BE A KO FIGHT IS OOOOOOVER lolpaycheckplease".

Silva is God. I've heard RUMORS that one of the early strikes dislocated Forrest's jaw and that's why he seemed to quit on that last punch. Regardless, Silva was incredible.

Penn/Florian was annoying. It was three rounds of Florian being stupid and then a round of Penn having enough of it and finishing it like he could have done so at any time.

[batjester]

Yeah, 101 was pretty dull. Should have gone with my gut and skipped it.

The Sodallah fight was GARBAGE. Mirgliotta has always been an awful ref, but that was terrible. The idiot didn't even circle around to make sure of the situation before he stopped it. It was just, "OH MAN HE FELL DOWN IT MUST BE A KO FIGHT IS OOOOOOVER lolpaycheckplease".

Silva is God. I've heard RUMORS that one of the early strikes dislocated Forrest's jaw and that's why he seemed to quit on that last punch. Regardless, Silva was incredible.

Penn/Florian was annoying. It was three rounds of Florian being stupid and then a round of Penn having enough of it and finishing it like he could have done so at any time.

Heard the same rumor, but the last shot hit him on the cheek, not the jaw, so if it was a dislocted jaw it had to have been from earlier in the fight.

Best (worst) part of the night was hearing BJ Penns corner telling him to "just keep touching him (Florian)" and something about "playing with him". Had us in stitches.

[KO Bossy]

Yea 101 was decent. Sodollah getting TKO'd in 30 seconds was surprising. My buddy was picking Silva to beat Forest, but in the 2nd round. The first round surprised us all. Silva knew he had Forest, too. He wasn't even guarding against Forest, he had his hands at his sides. And then when he knocked Forest down the 2nd time, he actually extended a hand and helped Forest back to his feet, which I just found to be such a funny, yet extremely arrogant, move. And then when Forest tried twice to punch Silva, Silva just moved out of the way, one innocent looking punch, and Forest was out. You could tell he was totally gassed from the fight, too, and I felt bad when he ran to the back.

Florian/Penn was pretty good, I thought, but Kenny was trying so hard to get BJ to the ground, and BJ was having none of it. After a while Kenny got tired, BJ took it to the ground and choked him out.


Biggest surprise of the night definitely Silva/Forest. I figured it'd be a good solid fight, since both are amazing athletes, but a first round stoppage...wasn't expecting that.

[batjester]

Yea 101 was decent. Sodollah getting TKO'd in 30 seconds was surprising. My buddy was picking Silva to beat Forest, but in the 2nd round. The first round surprised us all. Silva knew he had Forest, too. He wasn't even guarding against Forest, he had his hands at his sides. And then when he knocked Forest down the 2nd time, he actually extended a hand and helped Forest back to his feet, which I just found to be such a funny, yet extremely arrogant, move. And then when Forest tried twice to punch Silva, Silva just moved out of the way, one innocent looking punch, and Forest was out. You could tell he was totally gassed from the fight, too, and I felt bad when he ran to the back.

Florian/Penn was pretty good, I thought, but Kenny was trying so hard to get BJ to the ground, and BJ was having none of it. After a while Kenny got tired, BJ took it to the ground and choked him out.


Biggest surprise of the night definitely Silva/Forest. I figured it'd be a good solid fight, since both are amazing athletes, but a first round stoppage...wasn't expecting that.

Florian was trying to pull a GSP with Penn by trying to tire him out. Only problem with that idea is the fact that GSP is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay bigger. Bad move.

I knew Silva would win (although I was rooting for Forest) but how he did it still shocks me. I was expecting a bloodbath.

[KO Bossy]

I knew Silva would win (although I was rooting for Forest) but how he did it still shocks me. I was expecting a bloodbath.

You weren't the only one expecting a bloodbath. I thought that since Silva moved up in weight we'd at least see 3 rounds and that it'd go to the judges decision. But talk about surprises.

[FoxInStocks]

Silva's head movement and ability to parry is on an elite level. It's the kind of stuff you see from top-level boxers. He dodges punches in a manner that lets them slip by by about a half-inch. He knows how to get in close and stay there without getting hit.

I think what surprised me about how easily he beat Forrest is that he seemed to HURT Forrest easily. Forrest doesn't have a great chin, but he's tough. It makes me lean towards beliving the jaw rumors.

Anyhow, Silva just opened up the whole LHW division for potential fights. Should be fun, assuming he doesn't go through with his silly plan of retiring after his contract is up so he can box Roy Jones.

[joh-marko]

Silva's head movement and ability to parry is on an elite level. It's the kind of stuff you see from top-level boxers. He dodges punches in a manner that lets them slip by by about a half-inch. He knows how to get in close and stay there without getting hit.

I think what surprised me about how easily he beat Forrest is that he seemed to HURT Forrest easily. Forrest doesn't have a great chin, but he's tough. It makes me lean towards beliving the jaw rumors.

Anyhow, Silva just opened up the whole LHW division for potential fights. Should be fun, assuming he doesn't go through with his silly plan of retiring after his contract is up so he can box Roy Jones.

Watch his eyes when he fights, they never shut when he is about to be hit, his head never turns away. This is huge because you cannot dodge a punch if you cant see it. Hopefully he doesnt decide to retire when his contract is done.

[Torpedo Vegas]

I like Strikeforce. Nick Diaz gotta' get fights!

Well Diaz is now out. He failed to report to drug testing twice and will be replaced by Jessie "JT Money" Taylor. It will be a replacement fighter fighting a replacement fighter :) . It will no longer be a title fight though. This card has really fell apart. How many title fights do they have left on it now?


I don't know if this is a wise move though as Dana has essentially ended the truce with Strikeforce (or Strikefarce as he now calls them), and I expect he's going to start counter-programming them.

And it gets worse. UFC and Spike will air fights from UFC 100, including Brock vs Mir and some unaired fights from the undercard, on the same day as StrikeForce. I can see more people watching the UFC fights, for the simple reason that Spike is not a premier channel and is accessible to a larger number of people.

[FoxInStocks]

Well Diaz is now out. He failed to report to drug testing twice and will be replaced by Jessie "JT Money" Taylor. It will be a replacement fighter fighting a replacement fighter :) . It will no longer be a title fight though. This card has really fell apart. How many title fights do they have left on it now?

And it gets worse. UFC and Spike will air fights from UFC 100, including Brock vs Mir and some unaired fights from the undercard, on the same day as StrikeForce. I can see more people watching the UFC fights, for the simple reason that Spike is not a premier channel and is accessible to a larger number of people.

Yeah, the Diaz thing made me :rolleyes: big time. I like Nick a lot. I love his persona, I love his fights, and I love the carp that comes out of his mouth ("ninjas didn't bring their girlfriends to hide in trees with them while they were waiting to kill s###"; "don't be scared homey!"), but his affinity for weed is just silly. I mean, I guess the whole story of him having some deal with Armando Garcia to be given time to flush his legal, prescribed marijuana dosages out of his system before a scheduled test could be true, and I'd also understand why the new CSAC director wouldn't want to honor that. But the whole thing just stinks to the high heavens.

As for Strikeforce/UFC, it's going to be a slightly more competitive version of UFC/Pride or UFC/EliteXC, and only because I think Scott Coker is a better business guy than Gary Shaw or the Pride crew. Ultimately, though, it's always going to be like the XFL vs the NFL. UFC is synonymous with MMA like NFL is with football.

[batjester]

Well it's that time again. We have UFC 102 on our door step and it is looking like it's going to be a great card - on paper at least. Let's hope that the action lives up to the hype.

Vera vs Soszynski - The Truth will set you free, but not win this fight. I'll take Soszynski. KO.

Marquardt vs Maia - This should be a great, great fight. I'll take the "Great" fighter by TKO.

Leben vs Rosholt - I'll take Leben by TKO.

Silva vs Jardine - If Silva decides to trade with Jardine he'll end up like he did against Machida, and something tells me that's what will happen. Jardine by KO.

Couture vs Nogueira - Classic battle. Both guys look ripped and ready. Both coming off of defeats, but Randy looked better in his loss than Nog did. I think that Randy will win this by UD.



Edit: OOPPS. 1 for 5, back to the normal way I pick em.

[FoxInStocks]

Well it's that time again. We have UFC 102 on our door step and it is looking like it's going to be a great card - on paper at least. Let's hope that the action lives up to the hype.

Vera vs Soszynski - The Truth will set you free, but not win this fight. I'll take Soszynski. KO.

Marquardt vs Maia - This should be a great, great fight. I'll take the "Great" fighter by TKO.

Leben vs Rosholt - I'll take Leben by TKO.

Silva vs Jardine - If Silva decides to trade with Jardine he'll end up like he did against Machida, and something tells me that's what will happen. Jardine by KO.

Couture vs Nogueira - Classic battle. Both guys look ripped and ready. Both coming off of defeats, but Randy looked better in his loss than Nog did. I think that Randy will win this by UD.

Edit: OOPPS. 1 for 5, back to the normal way I pick em.

Haha, yeah, you were a bit off on this card. I think a lot of folks were though.

The Marquardt and Silva wins were the most shocking to me. Not that I didn't think that Jardine or Maia could be KO'd, I just expected the fights to be more competitive. Especially the Maia fight. I think he's going to be working hard on learning to defend his chin now.

[PaxZRake]

I haven't watched the Maia fight yet, but from what I've read it was a pretty textbook example of having a bad game plan.

Throwing headkicks is fun and all, but don't do it if you're not awesome at kicking people in the head. Especially when you're fighting a guy who is much better than you at striking.

[FoxInStocks]

I haven't watched the Maia fight yet, but from what I've read it was a pretty textbook example of having a bad game plan.

Throwing headkicks is fun and all, but don't do it if you're not awesome at kicking people in the head. Especially when you're fighting a guy who is much better than you at striking.

I've got a GIF of the Maia KO that's EPIC. The angle is from just behind Maia and right as Mardquart hits him, someone's camera flash goes off in the crowd RIGHT behind Maia's head. It looks like Nate hits him so hard that a spark of light goes off. And then Maia does a summersault and smashes face-first into the canvas.

If that's not a Mortal Kombat worthy KO, I don't know what is.

[Inbetweener]

Been a while since anyone's posted here (especially me). Some interesting news in MMA the last few days.

Mirko has retired.
Evidently, so has Rampage.
Ricardo Mayorga is going to fight with Shine Fights some time between now and the end of 2009.
Sengoku 10 happened at 3:00am this morning and it was really long. Some great knockouts. Judo silver medalist Izumi got beat up pretty bad.

[FoxInStocks]

There is a reason I never liked Roy Nelson and did not want to watch him fight. Last night was a very good example of that reason.

Listen, obviously Kimbo's ground game is non-existant. He's getting better at takedown defense but once down he's in hot water. With that said, Roy did not win a fight, he won a contest of attrition. Kimbo could not get up from the ground, and Roy was happy to smother him under his belly while patting his head. Herb had no choice but to stop the fight.

I hope Kimbo gets a second shot so that he can get some experience against someone who will FIGHT him, and not take him down and lay there.

[KO Bossy]

Just finished watching 104. It was a pretty good card and the fights were entertaining. I was expecting Yoshida to fair a bit better against Andrew Johnson, but Johnson (with an 8 inch reach advantage) scored a crushing punch and Yoshida was out like a light. Joe Stevenson and Spencer Fisher was pretty good as well, and like I thought Joe took the fight with a 2nd round submission with elbows. Gleison Tibau won in a unanimous decision over Josh Neer. Also a decent fight.

Onto the 2 main events. Rothwell vs Velasquez was a real slobberknocker. To clarify it further, it was Velasquez beating the slobber out of Rothwell. Rothwell got cut after a nasty punch midway through round 1, but despite getting repeatedly manhandled, managed to hold out until round 2. I was really surprised he could even stand up, since he was taking a ridiculous amount of punishment. Round 2, Velasquez gets Rothwell up against the fence and starts hammering him. Rothwell drops his guard and after 6 punches, the ref stopped it and declared a TKO. Rothwell, however, was pissed and insisted that he was fine, despite Velasquez hammering him in the face repeatedly.

Main event time. Lyoto Machida defending his Light Heavyweight title against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. This ended really sour for me. Since Shogun was considered to be the underdog, I really wanted him to win. And since they're both known as good strikers, I was expecting a bloodbath (a poll the UFC took even said that 80% of the audience watching on TV was expecting it to end with a KO). Machida danced around a lot, waiting to counter, like he usually does, except that Shogun was landing massive kicks. Granted, Machida did get his hits in and by the end of 5 rounds, while not a lot of damage had been taken by either side (they were practically never on the ground), it was pretty obvious that Shogun had won 4 of the 5 rounds and overall, the fight was about 60/40 in Shogun's favor. So when it went to the decision, I was appalled to hear the judges, in a unanimous decision, declare that Machida retained his belt. I know that some people will say "to beat the champ you literally have to beat the champ", but come on. If you lose the rounds, champ or not, you lose the fight. So even though neither did a tremendous amount of damage, Shogun had Machida on the move constantly, did more damage and was 80% of the time on the offensive (the only time it ever went near the ground was when Shogun tried to take Machida down). Shogun rightfully deserved to win that fight and therefore, that title. So for him to not only lose, but to be declared the loser UNANIMOUSLY, was just shocking. I have a lot of respect and admiration for Shogun now, after watching this fight, and I feel that he got shafted.

[gerad]

I agree 100% about everything you said (I also think Neer should have won his decision, but that's a whole different can of worms). The good news is they agreed to a rematch, but even so, I'm really displeased with what happened tonight. Shogun IS the UFC LHW Champion as far as I'm concerned, and I don't think I'll pay for another UFC event that is held in California.

I also went to the CSAC website and filed complaints on all 3 judges. I recommend everybody who was unhappy with the decision to do the same. Blatant favoritism in a fight during which Rua out-struck Machida 2 to 1 overall, and landed more strikes in EVERY SINGLE ROUND..... Not happy at all about this.

[Denim Demon]

I also thought Shogun might have won the fight.I had givin 1st and 3rd rounds to Lyoto,but the 1st 3 rounds were real close.Its correct you have to beat the champ and it couldnt of been much closer.I dont feel Shogun was ripped off royally or anything,but it was freakin cloise and on my own scorecard i had Rua winning the fight,but im no proffesional judge.......

[KO Bossy]

I also thought Shogun might have won the fight.I had givin 1st and 3rd rounds to Lyoto,but the 1st 3 rounds were real close.Its correct you have to beat the champ and it couldnt of been much closer.I dont feel Shogun was ripped off royally or anything,but it was freakin cloise and on my own scorecard i had Rua winning the fight,but im no proffesional judge.......

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I think Shogun got the royal screw job. If you win a fight, you win a fight, title on the line or not. Just because it went to a decision doesn't mean that the title should automatically revert back to the current champ. Yes, Shogun didn't submit or knock Machida out, but he still dominated the greater majority of the match. Therefore, he should have won. Look at Forrest Griffin and Quentin Jackson: that fight went to a decision, and Forrest, who'd been knocked down in round one, was declared the winner, and that fight was for the Light Heavyweight title as well (with Forrest winning the title). So the challenger can win by decision in a title fight, and that is exactly what should have happened in this match. Shogun had that match won hands down and the fact that he lost is criminal.

[FoxInStocks]

1) Anyone who thought Machida/Rua would be exciting: Have you ever watched Machida fight before? Did you hear Rua's strategy going in? Because that told you what sort of fight this would be. Machida is a counter-striker and Rua said he'd be "patient". That's a recipe for a dance, not a fight. Not that it was offensively boring, but that's the fight I expected.

2) Rua won that fight, and I'm not a Rua fan by any means. Unfortunately he won by points, and anytime you let the fight go to the judges you take a chance. ESPECIALLY in that sort of fight where he didn't outright dominate; MMA judges don't pick up on the technique and strategy as well as they do the "OMG HE KNOCKED HIM DOWN!" aspect.

3) Two of the judges scored the Bader/Schafer fight 30-27. That means two judges scored ALL THREE ROUNDS for Bader, even though Bader did nothing but EAT JABS in round 2. That right there told me we had one idiot judge in attendance, and Cecil Peoples.

[Denim Demon]

Like Bas Rutten alwats says-dont let the fight go to the Judges. I dont think it was criminal like Mr Bossy,but i do think Rua won.I guess im not that upset because ive seen way worse decisions in MMa and boxing.I feel bad for Rua and all the hard work he put into the fight - great gameplan.I didnt think the fight was boring,i was watching 2 masters at the top of their games looking for an opening.I just wish after Rua punished those legs of Lyoto he might of tried to finish him in the last 2 rounds

[FoxInStocks]

I just wish after Rua punished those legs of Lyoto he might of tried to finish him in the last 2 rounds

This is why I can't feel TOO bad for Rua. He didn't try to steal the rounds, nevermind actually finish the fight.

[KO Bossy]

The reason I think its criminal is because Shogun had that fight, in my opinion. From what I hear on the internet, most people think the same way. Even the people I was watching it with yelled a big "what the ####?!" when they heard Machida declared the winner unanimously.

I agree with FoxInStocks about the judging. I'm not sure who it was exactly, but at least one of them was an idiot. When there was anything close to a takedown, it was done by Rua. Most of the offense, initiated by Rua. Granted, there were no huge pummelings or anything, but Machida did very little, which while I know is his style, should end up counting against him at the end of the fight. Most of the time when Rua moved in to try and start something, Machida just backed away. So I can't fault Rua for not finishing the fight (as FoxInStocks put it): its pretty difficult to do so when Machida keeps running. And if the judges can't see that Rua won that fight, even though he didn't dominate it, and all that they can pick up on is the "HE KNOCKED HIM DOWN" aspect, then by now means should they be judging.

I, as well, feel really bad for Rua, considering all the work he put into training for this fight. And while I still think its BS that he lost by unanimous decision, at least Dana White has scheduled a rematch, which I'm definitely looking forward to.

[Hellfire117]

I'm just hoping for Forrest to KTFO of Tito, and I'm hoping Carwin dethrones Mr. Ham Hands.

[gerad]

I'm just hoping for Forrest to KTFO of Tito, and I'm hoping Carwin dethrones Mr. Ham Hands.

Not sure about this or not, but in Carwin's last fight (when he KTFO Gonzaga) Joe Rogan said he was the only guy with bigger gloves than Lesnar. If true, then I think Carwin would be our official Mr. Ham Hands.

However, Brock pulled out of the fight due to "illness" that caused him to miss "almost a month of training."

Can't really blame him, missing that much training for a fight seriously impairs you, and if it's a championship fight then I wouldn't want to see anything but a fighter at his best. No word yet on when it's been rescheduled, but Tito/Griffin has been bumped up to the main event.

[FoxInStocks]

Okay, Rampage has officially lost his mind (http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/rampage-backs-shogun-blames-ufc-20575).

Between his hit-and-run incident and now this, I think they guy is seriously cracked. I like how he uses the Shogun/Machida thing as a way to ##### and moan about his title loss. Oh, and can he mention that he's part of the A-Team cast a few more times?

[KO Bossy]

Okay, Rampage has officially lost his mind (http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/rampage-backs-shogun-blames-ufc-20575).

Between his hit-and-run incident and now this, I think they guy is seriously cracked. I like how he uses the Shogun/Machida thing as a way to ##### and moan about his title loss. Oh, and can he mention that he's part of the A-Team cast a few more times?

Thanks for the link.

Yeah it certainly does seem that way. Maybe he snapped after being overworked while filming the A-Team :P

[DarthDoom]

I loved rampage until he went all hollywood wacky. I'm gonna wait awhile before I write him off cause in the fight game people tend to make comebacks.

As for Tito vs Griffin, I think the winner of this fight should fight the winner of lil Nog vs Luis Cane.

Its hard to see the end of the year card for UFC being as good as it was last year. With many of the champs and contenders out on injurys, personal problems and illnesses, Its tough to get a good card together.

GSP- groin injury
Machida- hand injury
Anderson- elbow injury
Lesner- Intestinal problems
Big Nog- staph infection...again
Rampage- Hollywood seeing stars
Chuck- dancing with stars
Shane Carwin- (torn ACL I think, I'll research and edit later If I'm wrong)
Karo- pain killers
That's alot of people out and none of them are gonna fight till next year. I'm sure I've missed a few but that list alone is alot of sidelined talent.

[Denim Demon]

Not a big fan of BJ Penn , but man did he look good last night in whopping Diego Sanchez!

[DarthDoom]

BJ put on one heck of a show yesterday. The more Diego would make his "mean face", the harder I would laugh everytime BJ punched him. BJ stuffed 27 takedown attempts in total. I picked Penn to win but I also thought Diego would put up a better fight then that. UFC 107 was a great night of fights. On paper it may have not been the best looking fight card, but every fight was fun to watch.
BJ did us here in hawaii proud. LOOKing forward to the day they have a UFC event down here.

[Denim Demon]

The way Bj would beat Diego to the center of the ring every round was awesome.Also, Diego publically saying that BJ was known for having poor cardio and that he was gonna wear him out was a joke.BJ Penn stood up between all 5 rounds never sitting and before the final round was hoping around like he had a full tank of gas! If BJ has dedicated his training like they are saying he has,i dont know who can beat him in that weight class.


Cant stand Frank Mir,but he sure bulked up,i guess if you cant beat them,join em.

[DarthDoom]

UFC 109 looks like a decent fight card. I'll be ordering that card. To bad UFC 108 didn't have one more high profile fight.

Hendo signed with strikeforce. I would love to see him run a clinic on shields for their middleweight title. A fight between him and Mussasi would be cool to.

The next fight for Mir that makes sense Is a fight with Carwin. Its unclear when Lesner will be able to fight but the heavyweight division still need to keep busy. Maybe the winner of that fight should battle the winner of Big Nog/Velasquez for an interm title.

[Denim Demon]

I loved it when Hendo shut up the Count awhile back!! Hopefully Lesnar fights again because i really would like to see him fight Carwin,Fedor,Big Nog and the bigger Frank Mir again.

[DarthDoom]

I like you views on MMA Denim. I'm glad comic geeks can be into fighting also.

I can't stand GSP(he's to polite) but I hope he smacks Dan Hardy around. Never sense Silva/Cote has there been a less deserving title contender.

[Denim Demon]

I agree about Dan Hardy not deserving a title shot but he's a pretty cool guy.He is sponsered by Earache records and is a big metalhead like myself,so ill still be rooting for him.Does he have a chance?? No way! GSP will take him down whenever he wants to and beat him easily i bet.

Do you watch Inside MMA on HDNet?? Best show ever,unless a show about clix begins airing!

[DarthDoom]

I used to watch Inside MMA but my cable provider here let go of HDnet as one of our channels. I miss watching Sengoku and Dream on it. I catch clips of Inside MMA online here and there but majoraty of the time its not the whole show. HDnet's website don't let me watch full episodes anymore. I miss Bas and the way he interacts with the fighters and guest. I do however watch MMAlive on ESPN's website. They got full episodes online every Thursday. They hardly ever talk about what goes on outside of UFC and Strikeforce.

[UsagiYojimbo]

I hate UFC 108. Its a sad card. I hope its free on spike TV. Hopefully if it is on PPV, they make enough to at least pay the fighters who got stuck on this card thats gonna get bad ratings.

[Denim Demon]

So just how cursed has the UFC 108 card been? Consider that the following fighters were either announced or expected to compete on the card at one point in the past few months: Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Cain Velasquez, Rory Markham, Tyson Griffin, Sean Sherk, Carlos Condit and Gabriel Gonzaga!

[FoxInStocks]

108 is a shining example of why Strikeforce is really being stupid by trying to go primetime/PPV.

Look at Demon's list of fighters who have been injured or dropped out of 108. EVERY ONE of these fights has been replaced within days of the announcement of the injury.

Tell me Strikeforce could do that. Heck, Robbie Lawler didn't even get paid his show money when his fight fell though; meanwhile, UFC paid Dustin Hazelett his show (and win, IIRC) money when Karo had his 19th mental meltdown.

Love Strikeforce, but...they're really starting to follow the path that massacred EliteXC and Affliction.

[DarthDoom]

I hope Strikeforce doesn't fall through. I feel like the UFC needs the competition to make their higher ups provide us with Quality cards.

[FoxInStocks]

I hope Strikeforce doesn't fall through. I feel like the UFC needs the competition to make their higher ups provide us with Quality cards.

As long as they keep Showtime out of things and make their own business desicions, I think they'll be okay. Scott Coker isn't some fly-by-night promotoer like the Shaws who just wants a quick buck. Coker's been in MMA for a long time.

The problem is that they're doing...odd things since Showtime stepped in. Henderson and Fedor were two guys the UFC did not sign because they were asking for too much. You know the UFC had the money and power to give these guys if they wanted to; they didn't, because they didn't feel they'd get their money back in terms of promotion. Yet Strikeforce signs them in a week? Fedor and Dan are awesome, but if they don't put butts in seats consistently, they're bad investments. Affliction found this out the hard way by paying millions to guys who only brought in thousands.

[Denim Demon]

Koscheck is out now also- Mike Swick is taking his spot

[Denim Demon]

Just watched the movie Death Warrior starring Rampage,GSP,the dean of mean and rashad evans - it was pathetic!! Avoid at all costs!

[thebecoming]

The DenimDemon is correct about Death Warrior. Gods! what a train-wreck!! But admit it DD, the bad-guy was kinda cool. :)
SPOILER ALERT!! (I secretly think hes just pissed because Keith Jardine dies in it.)

Yes we are at a low point in MMA with all the injuries, but still alot of fighters to step-up in their spots.
I think the UFC should bring back tourneys ala Pride. Anyone else?

[DarthDoom]

K1 had an awesome night of fights on their new years eve card. I recomend you guys check it out if you get a chance.
UFC was a great night of fights also. The fighters delivered an exiting night. I'm wishing I would have watched it live now. We got to see every fight but one. Good finishes tonight. Cole Miller had one of the most amazing sub finishes I've every seen.

[Denim Demon]

Yeah,that Cole Miller inverted triangle/arm bar thingee was awesome!! Wasnt very impressed with Rashard, he managed to tale down Silva a lot but did no damage.Otherwise a great night of fights and interesting choices for the fighters entrance music all night!

[DarthDoom]

Frankie Edgar vs BJ Penn are being locked in for a title match. I'm looking forward to that. Any chance I get to watch BJ fight is always good for me.

[DarthDoom]

I just found out today I'm getting my BJJ purple belt next week. I'm exited that all my years of work is gonna pay off. So close to a black belt.

[darthdufus]

I just found out today I'm getting my BJJ purple belt next week. I'm exited that all my years of work is gonna pay off. So close to a black belt.

Congrats man, that's rad

[darthdufus]

Hey guys, what're your picks for 110 this weekend? I've got:
Big Nog
Wand
Joe "Daddy"
Bader
Cro Cop

[FoxInStocks]

Hey guys, what're your picks for 110 this weekend? I've got:
Big Nog
Wand
Joe "Daddy"
Bader
Cro Cop

About the same, but I think Vera will beat Bader. Well, Vera SHOULD beat Bader. He has the tools. Vera's a wild card these days, however. :confused:

Also, I don't EXPECT Wandy and Mirko to win. I just really, really want them to. :(

[FoxInStocks]

I just found out today I'm getting my BJJ purple belt next week. I'm exited that all my years of work is gonna pay off. So close to a black belt.

One of my favorite BJJ black belt stories is Frank Mir's: He was given his for his win over Timmy Sylvia. Mir's BJJ teacher threw him the belt after he broke Tim's arm and basically said, "Good job. Here you go." Always thought that was pretty badass.

Congrats on your achievement. Black belt ahoy!

[Denim Demon]

Heres my predictions:
main event: Big Nog
Wandy Silva
George Sotiropoulos
Ryan Bader
Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic
undercard:
Chris Haseman
Krzysztof Soszynski
Chris Lytle
Goran Reljic
Igor Pokrajac

[FoxInStocks]

Well, Rothwell is out of the fight. He pulled out last night due to illness. They got some Aussie I never heard of but apparently fought in the UFC back in 2006 to replace him, so Cro Cop will still be fighting.

Elvis Sinosic is out too with a shoulder injury; that fight has been scrapped altogether. I feel bad for the dude. I'm sure he was really excited to be fighting on a card in his home country.

[PaxZRake]

I'm hoping they bump the Cro Cop fight down and the Sozynski fight up.

Cro Cop fighting just doesn't interest me much any more.

[Denim Demon]

If they dont bump up the Sozynski fight,tune in to Spike TV where they have been showing the prelim fights live before the pay per view.

[Denim Demon]

Cain Velazquez looked relly good, and George Sotir.. looked good as well

[darthdufus]

What do you guys think about the UFC signing James Toney?

[DarthDoom]

UFC 112 was a huge let down for me. The main event fights seemed lackluster to me. I can't hate on Edger though, he did what he had to do and put on a great show. I was mostly upset with Anderson though. He disrespected Maia, the UFC and the fans with his stupid antics in the ring. It was funny at first but it got ######## after the 2nd round. If what he wanted was for Maia to attack him then he should have went about it in a different way. If what he wanted to do is dance then he should have went with Chuck on dancing with the stars.

[darthdufus]

UFC 113 predictions anyone?
I'm picking:
Shogun Rua vs Lyoto Machida - UD
Josh Koscheck vs Paul Daley - Sub
Kimbo Slice vs Matt Mitrione - KO
Sam Stout vs Jeremy Stephens - UD
Patrick Cote vs Alan Belcher - UD

[DarthDoom]

UFC 113 predictions anyone?
I'm picking:
Shogun Rua vs Lyoto Machida - UD
Josh Koscheck vs Paul Daley - Sub
Kimbo Slice vs Matt Mitrione - KO
Sam Stout vs Jeremy Stephens - UD
Patrick Cote vs Alan Belcher - UD
I'm picking all the same fighters as you except I got Kimbo winning over Mitrione. Regardless it should be an entertaining card.

[KO Bossy]

Well, Rua vs Machida 2 was a hell of a show! I thought the whole card was great. Exciting matches all around. Last time they fought, I was cheering for Rua and was disappointed that he didn't win. I thought for sure, like many others, that he had won that fight. So again, I was hoping for a Rua win, and I was not let down. What a victory for the new Light Heavyweight Champ!

[Hellfire117]

I was speechless when Rua knocked Machida out. Did not see that one coming at all. Reallky disappointed in Koscheck, he has really solidified the fact that he is a first class dou(c)hebag. Kimbo looked pathetic in his fight, soooo disappointed there. I was surprised that Stout didn't get the decision, he really was controlling the 2nd and 3rd rounds. The late hit by Daley was well deserved as well, chalk it up to Koscheck to play the ##### card and fake a knee to the face hit.

[DarthDoom]

Koscheck has done the knee thing two fights in a row. Regardless Daily showed such bad sportsmanship that his punch after the bell will cost him sponcerships, fans respect (if he had much before he has less now), and his career in the UFC.

Shogun proved hes returned and I have no doubt that he has what it takes to take on any contender the lightheavy weight division has to offer. A. Silva would be a good one to watch. He won't be dancing when Shogun's in front of him.

I was bummed to see stout loose the decission. I thought he did enough to pull out the victory. At least he got rewarded with a sweet 65k fight of the night bonus.

[KO Bossy]

I am definitely looking forward to seeing Koscheck get his ### handed to him by GSP. The knee thing, his comments after the fight...Daily probably smacked him because of a comment Koscheck made about his mother or something. I'd have done it too.

I actually totally called the Stout fight. While he did win round 3, I felt that Stephens really did win the first 2 rounds. So just before the decision, I turned to my friend and said "Split decision, 2-1 Stephens". Lo and behold, I was right.

[KO Bossy]

Just some info for you guys. Immediately after Paul Daley (I know I misspelled it before) suckerpunched Josh Koscheck, Dana White fired him.

"He's done," White said. "I don't care if he's the best 170-pounder in the world, he'll never fight in the UFC again."

[Hellfire117]

Just some info for you guys. Immediately after Paul Daley (I know I misspelled it before) suckerpunched Josh Koscheck, Dana White fired him.

"He's done," White said. "I don't care if he's the best 170-pounder in the world, he'll never fight in the UFC again."

He wasn't that memorable anyway...

[W.I.T]

Now we've got the 2 Vanilla gorillas fighting this week end for the HW crown. This will be a true test of Lesnar, whom IMO hasn't really been tested yet. A guy who is truly his size, can wrestle almost as well, and has KO power in both hands. It will be interesting to see if Brocks chin can hold up to the power of Carwin, or if Carwin can stop the takedowns of Lesnar.

[zyxba]

I'm calling it for Carwin.

[DaeRave]

Brock Lesnar is a machine.

[Hellfire117]

Brock Lesnar is a machine.

F#ck Brock Lesnar...

[KO Bossy]

Damn it, Carwin had him in the first round! Brock was down and hardly doing anything, I can't believe he couldn't finish him. And the choke that Lesnar won with looked really weak. I was shocked that Carwin tapped to it. I'm also surprised that the ref didn't stop the fight in round 1 when Carwin was hammering Lesnar. Lame finish in my opinion. Hopefully Velasquez can humble Brock in their fight.

On the plus side, the Bonnar/Soszynski fight was good, and Leban/Akiyama was a dynamite fight.

[LQBigCountry]

Damn it, Carwin had him in the first round! Brock was down and hardly doing anything, I can't believe he couldn't finish him. And the choke that Lesnar won with looked really weak. I was shocked that Carwin tapped to it. I'm also surprised that the ref didn't stop the fight in round 1 when Carwin was hammering Lesnar. Lame finish in my opinion. Hopefully Velasquez can humble Brock in their fight.

On the plus side, the Bonnar/Soszynski fight was good, and Leban/Akiyama was a dynamite fight.

I think in a title fight you have to let them go. If it was a obvious beating, ya, call it. But in my opinion most of the shots weren't connecting(the ones that did connect really connected though!) and Brock was defending himself. As for the choke, ya it looked weak, but if you looked at Carwin's head, he was turning beet red. Can't wait for a rematch that i think will definately happen.

[KO Bossy]

UFC 117 was a great show. Chael Sonnen put up a great fight against Anderson Silva (Silva's hardest fight in the UFC so far), but in the end fell just short of winning, submitting to a Triangle Choke in the 5th round. He dominated Silva the first 4 rounds and would have likely declared the winner, had it gone to decision, which made it even more heartbreaking.

[W.I.T]

Damn it, Carwin had him in the first round! Brock was down and hardly doing anything, I can't believe he couldn't finish him. And the choke that Lesnar won with looked really weak. I was shocked that Carwin tapped to it. I'm also surprised that the ref didn't stop the fight in round 1 when Carwin was hammering Lesnar. Lame finish in my opinion. Hopefully Velasquez can humble Brock in their fight.

On the plus side, the Bonnar/Soszynski fight was good, and Leban/Akiyama was a dynamite fight.

Ever been in an arm triangle before? It doesn't take much to choke a guy out.

Carwin looked like garbage though. Any white belt knows how to defend against an arm triangle. That was bush league. Learn some JJ Carwin.

Glad to see BJ get humbled again. I can't stand that guy. If you want to see some funny $%^& go to BJ Penn.com Some yahoo flapping about how BJ is actually 23-0 (instead of 15-7-1) because he only ever really loses by beating himself :tired:

I'm not too excited about the next card though. Mir VS Cro Cop? What's the point? Frank won't stand with Mirko, and Mirko can't even begin to hang with Frank on the ground. I'm calling a 1st round sub for Mir, and I can't stand that guy. I'd love to see the old Mirko come out with a LHK, sending Mirs head into the 5th row LOL.

December can't get here soon enough. GSP is going to shut Koscheck up for good this time out.

[Hellfire117]

I agree man, I miss old school Mirko. I can't wait for GSP to end Koschecks career.

[Mistico]

I'd love to see the old Mirko come out with a LHK, sending Mirs head into the 5th row LOL.

Thanks for putting this thought in my head. Now I am bound to be disappointed yet again in another lame Crocop performance.

[W.I.T]

Thanks for putting this thought in my head. Now I am bound to be disappointed yet again in another lame Crocop performance.

Yeah, it's too bad :ermm: Fedor lost, Big Nog looks like a frigin' Zombie every time he steps into the Octagon, and Cro Cop is on the decline too. *Sigh*

Did you see Mir in the interview that Rogan did with him on the last 'Ultimate Fight Night'? Mir looked huge. Man I hate that guy (well hate may be to strong a word, dislike strongly :p). I was so happy when Chesthair pounded his face into hamburger meat last time around, and when Carwin did the same.

I hope that Carwin and Mir rematch..........

[Mistico]

Yeah, it's too bad :ermm: Fedor lost, Big Nog looks like a frigin' Zombie every time he steps into the Octagon, and Cro Cop is on the decline too. *Sigh*

For real. I was a huge fan of PRIDE, so to see all their top stars stink it up in American MMA is depressing. Is it the rules differences, different eras/ages or what?

As for Brock/Carwin, I think the first one gave us everything it could have. Let them get some more experience (and maybe train some more cardio:cheeky:), and in a couple years that could be awesome.

[W.I.T]

For real. I was a huge fan of PRIDE, so to see all their top stars stink it up in American MMA is depressing. Is it the rules differences, different eras/ages or what?

As for Brock/Carwin, I think the first one gave us everything it could have. Let them get some more experience (and maybe train some more cardio:cheeky:), and in a couple years that could be awesome.

I think it's just time passing them by. They are the legends of the (young) sport. Not everyone can be a Randy Couture (just ask Chucks chin :devious:).

The young guys coming into the sport now are bigger, stronger, faster, and they are training a lot more than (most of) the guys of yesterday. Look at Marc Coleman now :confused: Kevin Randleman etc. The next generation of MMA stars (guys like GSP) are going to be the 'freak' athletes.

[Mistico]

The young guys coming into the sport now are bigger, stronger, faster, and they are training a lot more than (most of) the guys of yesterday. Look at Marc Coleman now :confused: Kevin Randleman etc. The next generation of MMA stars (guys like GSP) are going to be the 'freak' athletes.

I agree to some extent, as in Coleman's case. But Noguiera, Wanderlei, CroCop... these guys were all at the top of their game when PRIDE folded, and haven't been able to do jack since.

8 minute rounds must make a much different fight than three minute rounds. And there must be other adjustments, i.e. no grounded head kicks (which takes a lot away from Wanderlei). It can't just be coincidence that pretty much every PRIDE fighter has looked uncomfortable in the UFC cage.

[W.I.T]

I agree to some extent, as in Coleman's case. But Noguiera, Wanderlei, CroCop... these guys were all at the top of their game when PRIDE folded, and haven't been able to do jack since.

8 minute rounds must make a much different fight than three minute rounds. And there must be other adjustments, i.e. no grounded head kicks (which takes a lot away from Wanderlei). It can't just be coincidence that pretty much every PRIDE fighter has looked uncomfortable in the UFC cage.

10 minute first rounds to 5 minute rounds, but that aside:

Steroid testing in the US VS no steroid testing in Japan. Sad to say, but I believe this is the case :ermm:

I remember when Cro Cop first came to the UFC. I have a bunch of buddies whom would always get together to watch the UFC cards. They were UFC fans, not MMA fans. I hyped up Cro Cop so much to them 'he's gonna annihilate the UFC's Heavyweight division' I told them. After his first fight with Eddie Sanchez, I knew that something wasn't right. When he got head kick KO'd by Gonzaga, that was a sad day :disappointed:.

There have been a few guys that have come from PRIDE though, and performed very well in the UFC. Lil Nog is looking good so far (we'll see tonight against Bader), Rampage started off well, then became a movie star :rolleyes:, Hendo was doing great until his contract dispute with Dana (loved his KO of Bisping, highlight of the year last year :p), Shogun is LHW champion, though you wouldn't have thought that possible from his first few performances in the UFC (Forrest and Coleman). So not all is doom and gloom from the old PRIDE organization.

But yeah, overall, the old PRIDE guys haven't done nearly as well as a lot of people thought they'd do, myself included. Not that I was anti-UFC like a lot of PRIDE guys seemed to be. I knew that the UFC was just as good as PRIDE in the quality of fighters, I just thought that the top guys from PRIDE would fare a little better.

I do think it's almost time for Wandy to hang 'em up though. Much like Chuck, I think his best days are behind him. But he's a warrior, and I'm sure he'll go out on his shield...............

[Mistico]

Steroid testing in the US VS no steroid testing in Japan. Sad to say, but I believe this is the case

Quite possible. Do you think Crocop was on steroids in PRIDE? I'm not super clear on the differences in testing, but I saw that Mark Kerr documentary where he talks about fighting in Japan on so many painkillers he couldn't even feel it when someone hit him.

I hyped up Cro Cop so much to them 'he's gonna annihilate the UFC's Heavyweight division' I told them. After his first fight with Eddie Sanchez, I knew that something wasn't right. When he got head kick KO'd by Gonzaga, that was a sad day.

And thanks for THAT sad memory; I did the exact same thing, with pretty much every PRIDE fighter who made it to UFC. And I get sh** for it to this day. Mark Kerr is next in line to make me look like an idiot.

I missed UFC 119 this weekend, but after reading about it, I don't feel too bad. It seems like there were a lot of split decisions on the card, and a lot of complaining from people who did see it. It seems like people are split as to whether the card was "competitive" or "boring as hell".

Now, I'm off to watch a youtube of Sakuraba vs. Miller from Dream. And have a good cry :( .

[W.I.T]

Quite possible. Do you think Crocop was on steroids in PRIDE? I'm not super clear on the differences in testing, but I saw that Mark Kerr documentary where he talks about fighting in Japan on so many painkillers he couldn't even feel it when someone hit him.



And thanks for THAT sad memory; I did the exact same thing, with pretty much every PRIDE fighter who made it to UFC. And I get sh** for it to this day. Mark Kerr is next in line to make me look like an idiot.

I missed UFC 119 this weekend, but after reading about it, I don't feel too bad. It seems like there were a lot of split decisions on the card, and a lot of complaining from people who did see it. It seems like people are split as to whether the card was "competitive" or "boring as hell".

Now, I'm off to watch a youtube of Sakuraba vs. Miller from Dream. And have a good cry :( .

Hard to say who was on 'roids over there, but the difference between Japan and the US for testing is simple: in Japan no testing. At all. Ever. (Take a look at Ubereem for an example of no testing ;)) In the US (or all UFC shows, regardless of location now) they test. Every fighter. After every show. Win. Lose. Or Draw.

You didn't miss much. The best fight of the night, was probably Lytle VS Serra.

Poor Cro Cop looked bad :( Really bad. That fight was horrible. Even after Mir KO'd him, the crowd hardly made a sound. They were bored to death :ermm: Rogan kept making all these funny comments like:

'Well, at least there's only 2 minutes left'
'If I was watching this at home, I'd probably go get a bag of potato chips right now'
'Someone do something, anything.....'
'There must be a silent agreement to keep the aggression to a minimum.'

LOL, yeah the fight was that bad.

Lil Nog lost :disappointed: but it could have gone either way.

The 'robbery' of the night (IMO) was Sherk winning. He got dominated in the 2nd and 3rd round by Dunham, but managed to pull out the win. It was a head scratcher.

[Nordic Winter]

I just found the MMA thread. I was hoping there was one. I am a true hardcore MMA fan. I have an extreme hatred for Dana White and ZUFFA, I think they're ruining the sport.

My favorite fighters are Mirko Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko, Aleksandr Emelianenko, Sergei Kharitonov, Mauricio Rua, Murilo Rua, Takanori Gomi, Shinya Aoki, Wicky Akyio, Satoru Kitaoka, Katsunori Kikuno, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Chan Sung Jung, Tiequan Zheng, Mizuto Hirota, Rumina "Moonwolf" Sato, Hayato Sakurai, Yuri Ivlev, Mairbek Taisumov, Magomed Shikshabekov, Caol Uno, Wanderlei Silva, Maximo Blanco, Michihiro Omigawa, Marlon Sandro, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Rogerio Nogueria, Rodrigo Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Genki Sudo, Kid Yamamoto, Megumi Fujii, Karl Ammosou, Minowa, Marius Zaromskis, Jose Aldo, Hideo Tokoro, Kazushi Sakuraba, Mark Coleman, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Yoshihiro Aikiyama, Masakatsu Funaki, Masakazu Imanari, Hatsu Hioki, Lion Takeshi, Jens Pulver, Josh Barnett, Don Frye, Dan Severn, Kazuo Misaki, Igor Vovchanchyn, Quinton Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Hidehiko Yoshida, Kiyoshi Tamura, Cyrille Diabte, Paulo Thiago, Chris Lytle, Gary Myers, Yuki Kondo, Bas Rutten, Alessio Sakara, Taisuke Okuno, Daiju Takase, Ryo Chonan, Oleg Taktarov, Bao Li Gao, Ricco Rodriguez, Pedro Rizzo, Jeff Monson, Patricio Pitbull, Deividas Taurosevičius, Hector Lombard, Alexsander Shlemenko, Junior Dos Santos, Lyoto Machida, Rafael Cavalcante, Ronaldo Souza, Vladimir Matyushenko, Andre Dida, Alexey Oleinik, Remco Pardoel.

I am a HUGE Japanese MMA fan. I love all foreign MMA. Support foreign MMA.

[Nordic Winter]

I am the world's biggest Mirko Cro Cop fan. Don't try to top me in that category. It's not happening.:classic:

PRIDE FC, DREAM, Sengoku, Art of War, DEEP, M-1 Global, K-1 Kickboxing, It's Showtime for ever.

[W.I.T]

Brock takes a beating, and Jake Shields looks like garbage. Ah yes, the world of MMA is now starting to shift to it's balance point.

I told my buddy that Cain would beat Brock, he didn't believe me. I should have bet him on it :p

Shields, mehhh. He was so hyped coming to the UFC. I'm glad that the fans go to see what he's really about (meaning: not much). GSP is going to destroy him (as Shields gets the next title shot after Koscheck :ermm:) in short order. I can't wait for it :laugh: