The Ultimate Fighting Championship (MMA) Thread

[sachmoney]

I didn't catch the rest of the card, but I did catch the main event. Really disappointing. I look forward to every single Anderson Silva fight, and it's just extremely disappointing to see a fight end with someone getting hurt. To those of you who didn't see it, Cote's knee blew out in the third round. He was hoping on his right leg, and when he landed on it, the knee just popped.

Silva looked good. He was constantly moving around...he's the most relaxed fighter I've ever seen. He picked his shots and landed some nice strikes whenever he chose to strike. Cote hung in tough, but I don't think he really mounted any offense at all whatsoever.

It's just unfortunate. My hope is that since Okami is fighting in December, and Cote is going to be out for a while, that they give Anderson a fight in December at LHW (that would make that card EVEN better) or that they give him a fight in January (The Superbowl Saturday Card?). It would suck if we had to wait so long to see him fight again. I hate when guys get hurt. It's the worst thing in MMA.

The next card is Randy-Brock. I am so looking forward to seeing that fight, and I hope that Couture can prevail. Silva and Couture are my two favorite fighters.

 

[redsox13]

Silva did nothing to impress me at all on Saturday. To says that Cote did not mount an offence is just I can't spell simple words, as Cote may have actually taken the first round due to Silva's unwillingness to actually engage his opponent. In all seriousness, I blame Silva for the myraid of boos that were heard throughout the fight. He wanted to dick around and get Cote's timing while he put on some little shit-show by slapping at Cote's hands. people came to see one of the most electric fighters in the UFC destroy another guy in the first round, but Silva come with absolutely nothing.

Had either fighter ended the fight with one fluke strike, I would have been incredibly dissapointed because absolutely NOTHING happened up to that point.

 

[sachmoney]

Silva did nothing to impress me at all on Saturday. To says that Cote did not mount an offence is just I can't spell simple words, as Cote may have actually taken the first round due to Silva's unwillingness to actually engage his opponent. In all seriousness, I blame Silva for the myraid of boos that were heard throughout the fight. He wanted to dick around and get Cote's timing while he put on some little shit-show by slapping at Cote's hands. people came to see one of the most electric fighters in the UFC destroy another guy in the first round, but Silva come with absolutely nothing.

Had either fighter ended the fight with one fluke strike, I would have been incredibly dissapointed because absolutely NOTHING happened up to that point.

I vehemently disagree and wonder if you watched the same fight. If you've watched any Anderson Silva fight, you will see that he is the epitome of a counterstriker. He waits and sits back, stalking his opponent (much like Crocop used to do). Once he figures his opponent out, that's when things start to go down hill for his opponent and usually lights out. Silva was dancing around and waiting for Cote to attack, but Cote did nothing. He did absolutely nothing. He didn't even land that many leg kicks. Anderson had at least one flurry in each round where he landed some solid punches/kicks/knees. He opened up a cut in the first round. He was very efficient when he attacked. Cote threw punches and Anderson eluded them. Watch the first round again, I don't know how anyone can say Cote won that round. All the offense that was mounted was mounted by Anderson. That's not to say there was a lot of offense. But there was enough to see who was winning.

I do agree that a lot of the boos were because of Silva. However, people don't understand that that has been Silva's fighting style for forever now. He is a counter fighter. That's what he does. He counters his opponent's attacks. He wasn't dicking around. This was a match up made for a disappointing fight. Cote is one of the most conservative fighters I know. His fights have been booed on multiple occasions because of inactivity and lack of excitement. Anderson still is the most exciting fighter in the world. It was just a bad fight for him to be Mr. Incredible. When he did attack, it was electrifying. You cannot deny that. Watch the fight again, tell me what you think. If it helps, turn the volume off. Don't listen to the bias that is Rogan and Goldberg.

 

[redsox13]

So just because Silva's style is to counter strike you can justify his inactivity? Bullshit

If you are a Silva fanboy just come out and say it, but the fight was absolute shit. You sound like Tim McCarver describing Jeter for Christ's sake. Electrifying was hardly the term to describe the fight or Silva on Saturday night.

Silva even went as far as apologizing to White off camera after the fight.

 

[sachmoney]

So just because Silva's style is to counter strike you can justify his inactivity? Bullshit

If you are a Silva fanboy just come out and say it, but the fight was absolute shit. You sound like Tim McCarver describing Jeter for Christ's sake. Electrifying was hardly the term to describe the fight or Silva on Saturday night.

Silva even went as far as apologizing to White off camera after the fight.

So you're saying he should've went after Cote with the risk of being knocked out? That makes sense.

His responsibility is to win the fight. When he did attack, he was exciting and he landed with great efficiency. As I said before, it was a bad match up for him to be exciting. Could he have been more aggressive? I think he certainly could have been. However, he didn't need to rush in to risk being knocked out. He was very conservative with his attacking.

Still, when a fighter lands virtually everything he throws, how are you not impressed? Has it become so expected of Anderson now?

After the fight, Dana said something along the lines of "That was not the Anderson Silva I know." And yeah, I heard about Silva apologizing. I just don't think it was a match up where being aggressive was a good strategy. Both fighters were extremely patient and nothing really happened.

I will admit though, I do enjoy watching Anderson Silva fight, so I was more tolerant in waiting for action than I would be for pretty much every other fighter..."Inactivity" didn't affect me as it would someone else. When there was action, Silva was awesome. That's all I'm gonna say.

 

[redsox13]

You are the only person who has actually tried to defend Silva's performace in the fight. There is pretty much universal agreement that Silva did nothing, especially against a guy who he could have dominated. He has a 4-4 record in UFC and was the heavy, heavy underdog.

Yes he landed his punches, but the spent the first 4 minutes of the fight doing absolutely nothing. I'm not saying that he shoudl have gone after Cote recklessly, but he hit Cote with such ease when he actually tried that he should have kept the pressure on. Silva as waiting for Cote t tire himslef out and then he was going to move in for the kill. Plain and simple, it was a boring fight. Watch the fight again and listen to his corner swearing at him. I don't think you'll find anybody else who will say that Silva looked like a champ on Saturday

 

[Ahriman]

Silva looked the caliber of a champion insofar as he appeared to be utterly bored with such an inferior opponent.

If you think that Cote actually won the first round, then I don't know what to tell you. He landed two solid leg kicks in the first round and that was pretty much it, 2nd round included. At the end of the 1st round, when Silva did strike, he caught Cote flush. You can trumpet Cote's two leg kicks and refusal to take the extra step in order to get within punching range as evidence that Cote should be commended for 'trying to make a fight of it', or some other shallow platitude, but the reality is that Cote did even less than Silva (who only landed about a dozen strikes, not all them cleanly).

Dana White needs to stop screwing around and get Silva some higher quality opponents. You can make the case that there were legitimate questions for Silva to answer in every one of his UFC fights until this past Saturday. Leben's iron chin and general craziness; Franklin's greatness (at the time); Lutter and his ground game; Marquardt's chin; Henderson; Irvin and size advantage. Cote brought nothing to the table and only had the proverbial "puncher's chance". Sure, Cote has never been knocked out, but Silva had already crossed that road with two other fighters.

So, there are some reasonable explanations for what happened. Regardless, Silva should have taken care of business.

 

[redsox13]

but the reality is that Cote did even less than Silva (who only landed about a dozen strikes, not all them cleanly).

Which is exactly what I'm talking about, as I didn't expect anything at all from Cote. In fact, I expected him to get his ass handed to him in round one or two, but nothing happened. If you saw Silva land a dozen and Cote land only two leg kicks then you might have to watch the replay. I just watched the first round over again and Silva landed 4-5 leg kicks, one knee, and some bullshit punches. Cote had 3 leg kicks, and the rest bullshit punches just to let him know that he was there similar to Silva's. Silva took the round, but it was fucking atrocious. He should have decimated Cote, but pussied out big time.

 

[Ahriman]

I meant about a dozen solid strikes in the entire fight, not the first round. Should have made that clearer.

To say Silva "pussied out big time" is off-base. I seriously doubt Silva was afraid of, or overwhelmed by, anything, be it the crowd or expectations. He just looked bored. The bowing at the end of rounds, offering to help Cote up, etc. All of it just signals that Silva knew he could ended the fight whenever he wanted and decided to prolong the inevitable for whatever silly reason he may have had at the time.

On a different note, I kinda hope this whole mess vaults Fedor back into 1st on everyone's p4p lists.

 

[redsox13]

To say Silva "pussied out big time" is off-base. I seriously doubt Silva was afraid of, or overwhelmed by, anything, be it the crowd or expectations. He just looked bored. The bowing at the end of rounds, offering to help Cote up, etc. All of it just signals that Silva knew he could ended the fight whenever he wanted and decided to prolong the inevitable for whatever silly reason he may have had at the time.

I never said that he was overwhealmed or afraid, just that he would not initiate contact when he was obviously had no problem doing on the few instances he tried in the first round. If he is bored then it definately showed. I don't think anybody wanted to watch a fight like that or witness the bowing and offering helping hands. It really soured me and made my desire to see a George St. Pierre vs Silva fight come to light. I don't think Silva would be willing to drop that much more weight, but I can see St. Pierre throwing on 5-8 pounds in order to make it happen

 

[sachmoney]

On a different note, I kinda hope this whole mess vaults Fedor back into 1st on everyone's p4p lists.

It's too bad that Fedor doesn't have a fight coming up to capitalize on this. Heck, if they get Anderson on a card in January to fight at LHW (his next probable contender, Okami, fights in December, so he might take a fight at LHW prior to that title fight), Anderson might have gotten the momentum back.

I never said that he was overwhealmed or afraid, just that he would not initiate contact when he was obviously had no problem doing on the few instances he tried in the first round. If he is bored then it definately showed. I don't think anybody wanted to watch a fight like that or witness the bowing and offering helping hands. It really soured me and made my desire to see a George St. Pierre vs Silva fight come to light. I don't think Silva would be willing to drop that much more weight, but I can see St. Pierre throwing on 5-8 pounds in order to make it happen

The Silva-GSP fight would most likely happen at MW. Wait...do you want to see it happen or not? I don't really want to see it happen because we haven't seen GSP fight at MW and hold his ground (whereas BJ is a former WW champion making that fight worthwhile). I don't think it would be a good fight and a waste of an Anderson Silva fight. I think when he isn't fighting at MW against legitimate contenders (GSP has a long way to go in title defenses, I do love watching him fight though), Anderson should be fighting at LHW. He needs to be challenged and pushed.

 

[redsox13]

Yeah, I want to see it. I don't think that GSP would be willing to add the full 15 lbs, but 8 lbs wouldn't really affect his overall performance in terms of speed and agility. I'm really anxious to see the BJ v. GSP fight in January, and I'm hoping that St Pierre throttles him

 

[tulse_luper]

Silva should move up to LHW before GSP should move up to MW IMO. Isn't that what is expected, with the prospect of a Penn vs GSP rematch?

All the Silva bitching (not just here) seems a little off base to me. It was hardly his greatest performance, but if the injury hadn't happened and he'd gone on to stop Cote I suspect we'd all be talking about how much of a genius he was for suckering a durable opponent into becoming a sitting duck etc. Silva landed a big kick and a big knee and seemed to realise that Cote wasn't going to wilt and would require a little bit more that some of his other recent opponents, and decided to avoid getting KO'd. I don't see too much wrong with that.

Silva seems to have 2 opponents left at MW as things stand: Bisping (who he'd most likely kill), and Okami (UFCs worst nightmare as a champ). They might bring Lawler in, but he's tailor made for Silva also. Matches against any of the top LHWs are a lot more appealing to me, but I'm not ZUFFA I guess.

 

[sachmoney]

Holy Crap! Mike Brown just TKO'd Urijah Faber. Ugh. Urijah is one of my favorite fighters to watch.

Randy-Brock in a week and a half guys. Get Pumped!

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Holy Crap! Mike Brown just TKO'd Urijah Faber. Ugh. Urijah is one of my favorite fighters to watch.

Randy-Brock in a week and a half guys. Get Pumped!

Filho/Sonnen was a disgrace Filho should be stripped of his belt after all the shit he's pulled.

 

[sachmoney]

Filho/Sonnen was a disgrace Filho should be stripped of his belt after all the shit he's pulled.

He looked terrible. He doesn't look like a top fighter anymore. He had nothing. He was totally overmatched by a fighter I don't consider to be an elite fighter. I don't know what it is. It seems like mentally, he just isn't there. He was depressed and then decides he's well enough to come back...he doesn't make weight...he doesn't show up for the fight. I'm sympathetic to his mental state, but he shouldn't have taken the fight. It's totally disrespectful to not make weight and then to not even show up for the fight? That's just ridiculous.

There are people speculating that he used diuretics in PRIDE to get down to weight...I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm not going to make accusations. A lot of PRIDE fighters who struggle have been accused of not having been clean.

 

[Ahriman]

Filho has had prior mental and substance abuse problems, which were unrelated to possible steroid/diuretic use. I'm convinced that Filho was under the influence of something. He wasn't even paying attention to Sonnen and appeared to be having a conversation with no one throughout the 3rd round.

As for Faber... What a dumbass. That's what you get for trying to be a ninja - knocked out.

 

[sachmoney]

Filho has had prior mental and substance abuse problems, which were unrelated to possible steroid/diuretic use. I'm convinced that Filho was under the influence of something. He wasn't even paying attention to Sonnen and appeared to be having a conversation with no one throughout the 3rd round.

As for Faber... What a dumbass. That's what you get for trying to be a ninja - knocked out.

I wasn't suggesting that the steroid/diuretic usage resulted in his depression just to clarify. I was just saying people were thinking he was using diuretics in PRIDE to get down to weight. He did look lost in the second and third rounds. Frank Mir kept saying "WHO IS HE TALKING TO?"

Faber was a little overconfident. I think he needed this. He has been pretty much invincible thus far, so I look forward to see him coming back strong.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13197/reports-pa...-205-pounds.mma

Reports: Paulo Filho to give belt to Sonnen, move to 205 pounds

"Flying back to Los Angeles from Florida the day after what was supposed to be a five-round championship fight, Filho's manager, Ed Soares, said he planned on shipping the belt to Sonnen as soon as he could," Gross reported.

We'll see if it happens..

Can't wait for tomorrow..sucks that Sadollah is out.

 

[sachmoney]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13197/reports-pa...-205-pounds.mma

Reports: Paulo Filho to give belt to Sonnen, move to 205 pounds

"Flying back to Los Angeles from Florida the day after what was supposed to be a five-round championship fight, Filho's manager, Ed Soares, said he planned on shipping the belt to Sonnen as soon as he could," Gross reported.

We'll see if it happens..

Can't wait for tomorrow..sucks that Sadollah is out.

Good for him. And Yes, I totally agree about Sadollah.

I am really excited for this card and pray to god that Randy shocks the world again. He weighed in at 220, which says to me he really trained quickness instead of strength. Randy was 8.5 lbs heavier for his fight against Gonzaga. It should be really interesting. David vs Goliath.

OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN RESULTS:
-Randy Couture (220) vs. Brock Lesnar (265)
-Joe Stevenson (156) vs. Kenny Florian (156)
-Gabriel Gonzaga (256) vs. Josh Hendricks (238)
-Demian Maia (185) vs. Nathan Quarry (185)
-Dustin Hazelett (170) vs. Tamdan McCrory (170)
-Jorge Gurgel (155) vs. Aaron Riley (156)
-Jeremy Stephens (155) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (155)
-Alvin Robinson (155) vs. Mark Bocek (155)
-Ryan Thomas (170) vs. Matt Brown (171)

Lesner:

The Natural:

The stare down, you know Dana White is seeing $$$$$$$:

Only one will survive!

 

[Montana Fan]

Lesner:

If they ever do make a Thor movie this guy should have the lead role.

 

[sachmoney]

I needed to give myself some time after last night's fights.

First off all, I want to say I'm not making an excuse for Couture or trying to stir up controversy. I just want to make an observation and talk about it a little bit.

If you saw the replays, you will notice that the big shot that dropped Couture hit him in the back of the head. Under UFC Rules, it stipulates under fouls:

9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.

Now, this is a very loosely defined rule. What is the back of the head? Who is to interpret it? Why isn't it clearly defined? Usually, it's left to the referees intention. This became a big issue at least amongst fans after the GSP-Serra I fight where GSP also caught a punch to the back of the head. It seems like nothing has really changed since then in defining the rule further. We saw in The Ultimate Fighter 5 when Joe Lauzon accidently elbowed Cole Miller in the back of the head what kind of effect it can have on a fighter. It's a crippling blow that can severely limit a fighter's ability to react and recover. There's a reason that it is a rule. However, like many rules in the UFC, they are not enforced as well as they should be (grabbing the fence is a big pet peave of mine.

Getting back to this fight, I'm not going to say whether the fight should've been stopped to let Couture recover or not, nor am I going to say that Brock intended to hit him in the back of the head (Couture tried to slip the punch...so obviously it was unintentional). I am just saying that there is a rule in place stipulating that the blow is illegal and that the fact that that rule is not taken seriously enough is why the fight ended as it did. I really don't think there's a case either way because of the looseness of the rule.

I'm just disappointed the fight didn't go longer because I was hoping for a real war. I think Brock proved that he was worthy of being a challenger, but I wish it went longer. I either like fights in which guys put on clinics (I'll get to that in a second) or when it's a war in which both fighters show tremendous skill (See Rampage-Henderson).

I thought despite the fact that Lesnar won (which ruined the night personally for me, I haven't felt this bad about a UFC card since the Rampage-Griffin fight), it was a fantastic night of fights.

Demian Meia v. Nate Quarry-Let me say this first, I'm a sucker for good jiu jitsu. I absolutely love the technicality of it. Nate Quarry is a solid fighter, but with that said, Meia put on an absolute clinic. He dominated Quarry. It was just so impressive. I'm glad he called out Bisping because that would be an amazing test for both fighters.

Gonzaga v. Hendricks-I was surprised when both fighters just started throwing as heavily as they could to start with and I was impressed with Hendricks's chin. Unfortunately, glancing blows like the one that dropped him are the ones that usually do the most damage. I hope that Gonzaga moves back to the upper echelon of the HW division. A rematch with Randy could be really intriguing if Randy stays at HW/continues to fight.

Hazelett v. McCroy-Hazelett is quickly becoming one of my favorite fighters. First of all, he comes out to CCR, then he has a very nice submission. Not many people are committed to submissions like Hazelett (see Shinya Aoki). Very impressive showing.

Florian v. Stevenson-Kenny is a product of Newton, MA and went to BC (he played soccer there). He is a Gracie Barra BJJ Black Belt plus he trains at Sityodtong with Mark Delagrotte. It's part of the reason I'm a fan, and I've loved seeing how he's progressed since being on TUF 1. It was nice to see him take out another very good fighter, and I hope he gets another title shot.

I don't really have much commentary on the prelims except for the fact that Jeremy Stephens's KO was one of the most vicious blows I've ever seen in MMA. I've watched A LOT of fights, but that was just really incredible.

 

[Ahriman]

I needed to give myself some time after last night's fights.

First off all, I want to say I'm not making an excuse for Couture or trying to stir up controversy. I just want to make an observation and talk about it a little bit.

Wrong, that's exactly what you're trying to do. I've noticed this type of reaction in a few corners of the MMA-interwebz.

People who said this sort of thing:

I am really excited for this card and pray to god that Randy shocks the world again.

...before the fight are going to the ends of the Earth to rationalize what happened. I don't understand why people were so put off at the prospect of Lesnar becoming champion.

If you saw the replays, you will notice that the big shot that dropped Couture hit him in the back of the head.

The punch hit on the side of Randy's head, behind the ear. It may have only even been a graze. Regardless, it's a perfectly legal punch. It ends fights in boxing and MMA all the time. The equilibrium gets thrown off; all sense of balance is lost causing the fighter to collapse.

Visual evidence:

How you saw anything different is beyond me. Drunk, maybe? :c070:

Anyway, I was happy with the card. Didn't really care who won the main event, as I don't particularly care for either fighter. Neither of them were/are going to win the HW tourney.

 

[sachmoney]

Wrong, that's exactly what you're trying to do. I've noticed this type of reaction in a few corners of the MMA-interwebz.

People who said this sort of thing:
...before the fight are going to the ends of the Earth to rationalize what happened. I don't understand why people were so put off at the prospect of Lesnar becoming champion.
The punch hit on the side of Randy's, behind the ear. It may have only even been a graze. Regardless, it's a perfectly legal punch. It ends fights in boxing and MMA all the time. The equilibrium gets thrown off; all sense of balance is lost causing the fighter to collapse.

Visual evidence:

How you saw anything different is beyond me. Drunk, maybe? :c070:

No, it isn't. I'm actually happy for Brock. He is a deserving champion. Seeing him on E:60 and seeing how hard he works plus his humbleness really showed that to me. I'm not put off by it at all. I'm just, if anything, upset that Randy lost.

About the rule, like I said I was making an observation. The back of the head is not defined either. Obviously, you see it as the area directly next to the spine. Herb Dean has said the following:

"Ears back is considered the back of the head," said Dean. "Like if you're wearing headphones and they're going up over the top of the head, so anything that's behind the ears would be the foul area... It can be on the side of the head, but if it's behind the ears it's considered the back of the head."

So under that interpretation, that was a blow to the back of the head. Now I was saying that this has happened before, and both times the same thing has happened. Stand up fighting really hasn't been as carefully watched in this sense as ground fighting, and the two instances that I've pointed out (this one and the GSP fight), the refs have been consistent. I was just saying that I would like some consistency in both the stand up and the ground. That's all.

PS: Sober.

 

[Ahriman]

Obviously, you see it as the area directly next to the spine.

Place your hand across the back of your head. There's still plenty of room to hit up and behind the ear. And no, my head isn't shaped like Stewie's from Family Guy.

I understand that each ref has a slightly different interpretation, but I'm drawing a blank when it comes to a shot, in that exact spot, being ruled illegal in the cage/ring.

Did you notice when Randy tried to take Brock's back? I thought the fight might end there, as did Joe Rogan (who couldn't have been any more biased), but Brock showed some real nice submission defense. Word out of Lesnar's camp is that he's up to a purple belt in BJJ. Not sure if that's legit, though.

Looks a bit like a judo trip.


On a different note: Kenny Florian is on some kind of roll right now, eh? Total domination of Joe Stevenson for the guaranteed title shot. Though, it stinks that Kenny will have to wait 6 months or so.

 

[sachmoney]

Place your hand across the back of your head. There's still plenty of room to hit up and behind the ear. And no, my head isn't shaped like Stewie's from Family Guy.

I understand that each ref has a slightly different interpretation, but I'm drawing a blank when it comes to a shot, in that exact spot, that being ruled illegal in the cage/ring.

Did you notice when Randy tried to take Brock's back? I thought the fight might end there, as did Joe Rogan (who couldn't have been any more biased), but Brock showed some real nice submission defense. Word out of Lesnar's camp is that he's up to a purple belt in BJJ. Not sure if that's legit, though.

Looks a bit like a judo trip.
On a different note: Kenny Florian is on some kind of roll right now, eh? Total domination of Joe Stevenson for the guaranteed title shot. Though, it stinks that Kenny will have to wait 6 months or so.

Yeah sorry, I didn't mean to be so absolute in your interpretation of the back of the head.

Brock has improved with each and every fight, and it's because he has the drive to be the best. His natural gifts of size strength and athleticism make him a threat to anyone, but his drive to become better at what he does is what is making the difference. I'm sure a lot of what he works on is his jiu jitsu and getting out trick situations. His size makes him a difficult opponent for anyone, and his quickness helps him get takedowns. His weakness as was exposed by Mir is his jiu jitsu. That's what he has had to/needs to work on and that's what he's done.

Greco and Judo have some similar throws.

Kenny is doing very well right now. In the beginning, he was a pure jiu jitsu fighter. He had some nice elbows, but that's what he fell back on. Despite that, he was dominated by wrestlers. Sean Sherk for example absolutely dominated him. He's worked really hard on his stand up, his wrestling, and his strength so he can take on these guys. The last two guys going in, you would think had better wrestling that him, but he took them both down, and at the same time he showed just how comfortable he's becoming on his feet. I think he can be more of a threat to BJ than people think.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Just to play into Sachmoney's pet peeves, I'm pretty sure I remember Brock grabbing the fence and stopping a Randy takedown late in the first. I dont think there is anything you can do about either of those fouls though, randy dodged into a side of the heard punch, and anyone getting taken down is going to spread their arms to brace the fall, if the cage is there they'll instinctively grab it.

Randy vs any of the HW contenders is a fun fight to see.. Kongo, loser of the Mir/Nogueira fight, Gonzaga rematch

Florian definately gets a shot at Penn now, but might have to wait a bit while Penn moved up to take on GSP.

 

[therondc]

Any word on the PPV $?

 

[sachmoney]

Just to play into Sachmoney's pet peeves, I'm pretty sure I remember Brock grabbing the fence and stopping a Randy takedown late in the first. I dont think there is anything you can do about either of those fouls though, randy dodged into a side of the heard punch, and anyone getting taken down is going to spread their arms to brace the fall, if the cage is there they'll instinctively grab it.

Randy vs any of the HW contenders is a fun fight to see.. Kongo, loser of the Mir/Nogueira fight, Gonzaga rematch

Florian definately gets a shot at Penn now, but might have to wait a bit while Penn moved up to take on GSP.

Right, it's a natural reaction. I think both fighters did it once actually.

In terms of doing anything, I don't know what they'd do. I believe it was Herb Dean who took a point from Tito after he repeatedly grabbed the fence (it cost him a win). Other than that, I really don't remember a time when something like that has happened. Refs are very apprehensive to take points away for fouls because they don't want to influence the outcome of the fight. However, sometimes the decisions are influenced by the fighters getting an advantage from the foul.

It's stupid that Florian has to wait. I don't like how the UFC says "you have a title shot" when the fighter isn't going to fight the champion for another six months. Yeah, it saves the title contender from getting beaten, but it creates other issues (ring rust etc.). I love BJ Penn, but I'm thinking I might be rooting for Kenny in that fight.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

It's stupid that Florian has to wait. I don't like how the UFC says "you have a title shot" when the fighter isn't going to fight the champion for another six months. Yeah, it saves the title contender from getting beaten, but it creates other issues (ring rust etc.). I love BJ Penn, but I'm thinking I might be rooting for Kenny in that fight.

On the plus side, he'll get to main event with Penn which should pay bigger than his title fight with Sherk- and is an opportunity to make himself into a headliner. Waiting six months for that is a small price, IMO.

 

[sachmoney]

On the plus side, he'll get to main event with Penn which should pay bigger than his title fight with Sherk- and is an opportunity to make himself into a headliner. Waiting six months for that is a small price, IMO.

I'm sure it'll take him to the next level in terms of salary and sponsorships, but I don't think he's doing too bad right now. I mean he's been on the main card or headlining UFN cards. His UFC salary has been in the $20-30K range, which isn't that great considering he fights three times a year. However, he probably makes a lot more in sponsorship, he has his own MMA school, plus I'm sure he gets some appearance fees (for seminars and such). Some of this goes back in training expenses etc. However, I'm sure he's doing well. The fight with BJ (especially if he wins) can make him a solid headliner for future events that will bring him the real money. A good showing can win over fans (BJ is a love/hate guy) and make him more popular than ever. In that regard, you are correct. The rewards of doing that are far greater than the risk of fighting another time before the title shot.

 

[sachmoney]

Jon Fitch canned

Jon Fitch, who last competed at UFC 87 in August against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, has been released from his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by members of Fitch's camp.

According to sources close to the situation, Fitch was in negotiations with the UFC about a lifetime contract for likeness rights for their upcoming video game release and future video games. An agreement could not be reached and the Indiana native was subsequently released from his fight contract.

Some Reaction from Fitch (good read)

This is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

“We’re looking for guys who want to work with us and not against us, and frankly I’m just so [expletive]sick of this [expletive] it’s not even funny,” White told Yahoo Sports. “Affliction is still out there trying to build its company. Let [Fitch] go work with them. Let him see what he thinks of those [expletives]. [Expletive] him. These guys aren’t partners with us. [Expletive] them. All of them, every last [expletive] one of them.”

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-cuts-...ld-follow-15235

Koscheck may follow..

“They cut him from the organization first, I think as kind of a scare for me and [Josh]Koscheck and Cain [Velasquez],” said Fitch. “I guess Cain Velasquez wouldn’t sign under his contract and they we’re saying that after his fight he was done and they weren’t going to re-up his contract. I think the same thing goes for Koscheck. I think they would drop him right now too, if he wasn’t fighting on the 10th, if he wasn’t headlining that show –- so they can’t drop him.”

Dont these figthers have some tupe of union or agents that will stand up together? White seems way off base here.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/fitch-bac...-ufc-fold-15249

Jon Fitch's exile from the Ultimate Fighting Championship lasted less than 24 hours. Bob Cook, Fitch’s representative from Zinkin Entertainment, has informed Sherdog.com that the welterweight contender is back in the good graces of the world’s top MMA promoter.

“We just spent an hour on the phone with Lorenzo [Fertitta],” said Cook, “and cooler heads have prevailed.”

 

[Tony the Pony]

To me UFC is comparable to NASCAR and in other news:

Bonjaski won K1 for the third time. He beat fellow Dutchman Hari in the fucked up final. Hari knocked out Aerts who beat my old buddy Semmy Schilt (who won the last 3 K1s).

Sushi and kickboxing, life can be so easy

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Some gruesome bouts last night.. check out the Corey Hill fight on ufc.com – broke his leg in half on a kick. Razaak Al-Hassan was a moron for not tapping and got his elbow broken in half.

Very entertaining night - looking forward to the TUF finale and 92

 

[Ahriman]

UFC 92 is coming up. Lots to look forward to with this huge card.

Main card (Televised):
205 lbs.: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0-1)
265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
205 lbs.: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
265 lbs.: Cheick Kongo (12-4-1) vs. Mustafa Al-Turk (6-3)
185 lbs.: C.B. Dollaway (7-1) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)

Under card (May not be broadcast):
185 lbs.: Yushin Okami (21-4-1) vs. Dean Lister (11-5)
265 lbs.: Antoni Hardonk (7-4) vs. Mike Wessel (6-0)
205 lbs.: Matt Hamill (4-2) Vs. Reese Andy (7-2)
170 lbs.: Ryo Chonan (15-8) vs. Brad Blackburn (12-9-1)
265 lbs.: Dan Evensen (10-3) vs. Pat Barry (3-0)

 

[Eagle3]

UFC 92 is coming up. Lots to look forward to with this huge card.

I guess I'm what you'd call a casual MMA fan. I've never paid to watch a fight, but I watch quite a bit on free tv.
This card has me seriously thinking about spending the money.

One thing I never did quite understand is the upper limit for the heavyweights in the UFC.
I think they should have a Cruiserweight division that goes to 220, and then unlimited for heavyweight like it is in every other
organization I've seen in both MMA and boxing. I realize that Bob Sapp isn't a good fighter, but pretend for a second he was a worthy contender just as an example. He wouldn't be able to fight in the UFC because there's no way he gets to 265. If there was a legit fighter his size, why exclude him?

 

[Infield Infidel]

Hell of a KO by Rampage. Wanderlei was out cold, in a scary way

if anyone wants to watch http://www.ustream.tv/videoplayerpopup/channel/398822

edit - changed link

 

[Infield Infidel]

Some gruesome bouts last night.. check out the Corey Hill fight on ufc.com – broke his leg in half on a kick. Razaak Al-Hassan was a moron for not tapping and got his elbow broken in half.

Very entertaining night - looking forward to the TUF finale and 92

I went to high school with that asshole Hill. Let's just say it couldn't have happened to a better guy

 

[sachmoney]

I went absolutely crazy when Rampage connected and knocked out Wanderlei. I like Wanderlei, but Quinton is probably one of my favorite fighters, and probably my favorite Light Heavyweight. That was a really emotional win for him considering he lost his belt a few months ago, the whole mental issues, and the fact that he'd already lost to Wanderlei twice in devastating fashion. I'm really happy for him, and I think a title shot should definitely be in order for Rampage.

Nogueira seemed extremely sluggish. I don't know what was wrong with him. He's got great boxing skills, and Mir absolutely outclassed him. I'm happy for Mir. Mir versus Lesnar in a rematch will be a very interesting fight. How much has Brock improved? That's just one of the answers we'll see.

I can't say I'm surprised that Forest was beaten by Rashad. Rashad's power in his some of latest fights has been very impressive. I thought Forest had a great game plan that he was executing perfectly, although I would've like to see him get more clinch/MT knees in to wear Rashad down. Rashad got his one opportunity to capitalize and he took full advantage of it. That's MMA.

I was disappointed that they didn't show the Okami-Lister fight. I hope Okami vs Silva is soon on the bill.

It was a good night of fights.

 

[JohnMal]

I went absolutely crazy when Rampage connected and knocked out Wanderlei. I like Wanderlei, but Quinton is probably one of my favorite fighters, and probably my favorite Light Heavyweight. That was a really emotional win for him considering he lost his belt a few months ago, the whole mental issues, and the fact that he'd already lost to Wanderlei twice in devastating fashion. I'm really happy for him, and I think a title shot should definitely be in order for Rampage.

Nogueira seemed extremely sluggish. I don't know what was wrong with him. He's got great boxing skills, and Mir absolutely outclassed him. I'm happy for Mir. Mir versus Lesnar in a rematch will be a very interesting fight. How much has Brock improved? That's just one of the answers we'll see.

I can't say I'm surprised that Forest was beaten by Rashad. Rashad's power in his some of latest fights has been very impressive. I thought Forest had a great game plan that he was executing perfectly, although I would've like to see him get more clinch/MT knees in to wear Rashad down. Rashad got his one opportunity to capitalize and he took full advantage of it. That's MMA.

I was disappointed that they didn't show the Okami-Lister fight. I hope Okami vs Silva is soon on the bill.

It was a good night of fights.

Kudos to Mir. He looks great and I think he has a shot against Brock. I thought Rampage looked in phenomenal shape. Rashad fought a really good fight. I think the rematch will be even better.
I love Wanderlei, but I think he has really lost a step. I could literally say the same thing about Nog. They were great fighters, but it appears mileage has caught up with them. It was a good night of fights, but it was a little sad to see those two guys look old.

 

[JohnMal]

AA had a great two minutes against Fedor. You just can't make a mistake against him.
I am looking forward to Penn vs. GSP.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

That was an awesome KO by Fedor. It will be replayed to death in a couple of weeks on CSN.

 

[JohnMal]

RIP Helio Gracie.
Men like him do not come along very often.

 

[Infield Infidel]

I can't get over Jon "Bones" Jones tonight. He must of had 10 pure clean throws of Bonnar, from all kinds of angles, hip, side, two perfect suplexes, and a scissor trip takedown. His takedowns were at will and came from absolutely nowhere. He also started a takedown, moving Bonnar's head down, then let up, only to have Bonnar move his head back up while Jones spun a reverse elbow that knocked Bonnar down. I'm sure someone will post that on youtube tomorrow.

The guy is completely unpredictable, and he's only 21. Only knock was he was gassed at the in the 3rd round.

Looking forward to Penn v GSP

 

[SoxFanInCali]

St-Pierre is just dominating Penn. BJ looks completely outclassed tonight.

EDIT: And that's it, Penn's corner stops it after the 4th round.

 

[Infield Infidel]

that 4th round was an absolute beatdown. w/ about 2 minutes left, I just felt bad for BJ. he's a good guy and a legend in Hawaii, but GSP just bigger and stronger. BJ's defense was good in the first round, but it took too much energy from him, and he never had a chance to let his hands fly. A six inch reach advantage was tough to overcome. He should take a long time off to recover, because he's still the best 155 out there

 

[sachmoney]

It's not that BJ isn't a great fighter, it's that GSP was just that good. A couple years ago, we wouldn't even think about anyone surviving multiple rounds on the ground against an in shape BJ Penn. GSP just completely outclassed him, taking him down (another hard task), and passing his guard. GSP completely negated anything BJ wanted to do (the "jail break" comes to mind). GSP continues to improve and impress each time he enters the ring.

I haven't really had a chance to watch Machida once (not that I didn't want to), and I've been a long admirer of him (because he's very much about technique). He was absolutely awesome (two knockdowns and the KO). He should definitely be inline for the title.

Okay Infield, I totally agree. Jonny "Bones" Jones was very impressive. I love greco guys, and Bones with his athleticism and his youth looks like he could be a very good fighter. His striking needs to improve, although that spinning elbow was absolutely devastating. He's just 21, and he has a long way to go. Bonnar is a good fighter, and Bones just dismantled him. If he improves his conditioning, his striking, and his submissions, he could the future of the LHW division.

How the hell did Karo get that decision?

Glad to see Guida got the win.

 

[JohnMal]

that 4th round was an absolute beatdown. w/ about 2 minutes left, I just felt bad for BJ. he's a good guy and a legend in Hawaii, but GSP just bigger and stronger. BJ's defense was good in the first round, but it took too much energy from him, and he never had a chance to let his hands fly. A six inch reach advantage was tough to overcome. He should take a long time off to recover, because he's still the best 155 out there

What an absolute mauling. Jesus. It looked like my 6 year old rolling with my 4 year old. I hope this is BJ's last foray out of 155.