Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others) - Page 19

Matthean · 07-22-2009, 11:44 AM

Surprised this didn't get talked about.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son/index.html

Since this seems to be the 2nd incident, I wonder when Rampage gets talked to from the higher ups. I can't imagine you want a guy going around and dry humping female reporters.

MikeVic · 07-22-2009, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthean

Surprised this didn't get talked about.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son/index.html

Since this seems to be the 2nd incident, I wonder when Rampage gets talked to from the higher ups. I can't imagine you want a guy going around and dry humping female reporters.

She used shenanigans in a sentence, my kind of woman.

Dutch · 07-22-2009, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthean

Surprised this didn't get talked about.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son/index.html

Since this seems to be the 2nd incident, I wonder when Rampage gets talked to from the higher ups. I can't imagine you want a guy going around and dry humping female reporters.

Traina: Will you be at UFC 100 this weekend?
Nichols: I won't be. But I still want to do things with UFC and work with CagePotato.com and Break.com. It's been a good experience and I hope to continue working with both Web sites.

Where there ya go. If it was a big deal to her, she would ask for immediate reassignment to horseracing and golf. So I'm guessing it's a non-issue.

JonInMiddleGA · 07-22-2009, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthean

Surprised this didn't get talked about.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son/index.html

Since this seems to be the 2nd incident, I wonder when Rampage gets talked to from the higher ups. I can't imagine you want a guy going around and dry humping female reporters.

I actually saw this clip some time over the weekend, either on Spike or G4 or somewhere and wondered what in the hell it was supposed to be. But in the clip I saw I would have sworn they even joked about it after the camera stopped rolling (that was one of the reasons it stood out to me at the time, they showed some a little bit of footage after the segment was clearly ended) and I definitely didn't get the impression she wasn't in on the joke.
I was about half paying attention so maybe I got the wrong idea but she definitely didn't strike me as having any problem with it at all.

Calis · 07-22-2009, 03:23 PM

Agree with Jon. It sure didn't look to be an awkward situation from what I saw.

Seems like she is probably enjoying the extra attention this is bringing.

That said Rampage does have a history of this stuff. He usually gets away with it because he's so goofy and I think that stuff went over better in Japan. He's bound to get himself in trouble one of these days.

Don't think much of anything will come of this.

DeToxRox · 07-22-2009, 03:29 PM

Vitor vs Fedor confirmed. Vitor is gonna fight around 195 I'd assume since he had a 185 fight scheduled for 3 as it is. This is probably going to wind up as Affliction's last show if you ask me, too much damage to overcome.

Calis · 07-22-2009, 03:38 PM

This is when they would have hoped that Cro Cop hadn't signed with UFC.
As far as fights that mean almost nothing that one at least has some history. Although I guess here that's not a seller either.

Been nice if they could have moved Werdum up since it sounds like Overeem is out of their match.

Yeah I think this is probably it for Affliction. Vitor is in the UFC after this and it sure seems like Fedor will be also but you never know with his management.

Sucks about Barnett. Would have liked to see him at least do well and maybe get back to the UFC. I actually though Brock/Barnett is a pretty interesting matchup. Moreso than anyone else currently in the UFC at least.

I will probably still get Affliction because I'm very interested in Babalu/Mousasi, and I have a hard time missing a Fedor fight.

DeToxRox · 07-22-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calis

This is when they would have hoped that Cro Cop hadn't signed with UFC.
As far as fights that mean almost nothing that one at least has some history. Although I guess here that's not a seller either.

Been nice if they could have moved Werdum up since it sounds like Overeem is out of their match.

Yeah I think this is probably it for Affliction. Vitor is in the UFC after this and it sure seems like Fedor will be also but you never know with his management.

Sucks about Barnett. Would have liked to see him at least do well and maybe get back to the UFC. I actually though Brock/Barnett is a pretty interesting matchup. Moreso than anyone else currently in the UFC at least.

I will probably still get Affliction because I'm very interested in Babalu/Mousasi, and I have a hard time missing a Fedor fight.

I agree, I'll be watching.

Barnett won't ever be in UFC I don't think because he is such a flake it's impossible to trust him with a big fight.

Overeem is officially out of the Strikeforce show also. Rumor is they might strip him of the title but who knows. I wish Rogers would take the fight, as his camp offered to fight Fedor but Fedor wouldn't have any of it, but he turned down the initial Strikeforce offer to fight Overeem.

Heavyweight divisions in MMA are all f'd up at this point with so much uncertainty after Fedor and Brock.

JonInMiddleGA · 07-22-2009, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Heavyweight divisions in MMA are all f'd up at this point with so much uncertainty after Fedor and Brock.

I dunno, Hassan Fezzik is still pretty much money

Travis · 07-22-2009, 04:05 PM

I know the current cry is for a Brock/Fedor match, but I *really* am hoping Carwin dispatches Velasquez so we get to see him fight Lesnar. That could be a freaking epic clash imho.

PilotMan · 07-22-2009, 04:16 PM

After what Velasquez did to Kongo, I don't know. That was an impressive, well rounded, ass whipping. It's nice to be talking about relevant Heavyweights again though.

Affliction is sure to be done after this. A Fedor-Belfort fight really doesn't interest me at all. I know that Belfort is on his way back up, but coming up 3 classes, against Fedor? And Fedor has nothing to gain in this fight either. A loss here kills a potential huge payday, he'll get money, but not as much. A win here gains what? A win over a possible top ten middleweight? Oooooh.

Of course, if Belfort wins, then he gets a big kick. But that's it.

Travis · 07-22-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PilotMan

After what Velasquez did to Kongo, I don't know. That was an impressive, well rounded, ass whipping. It's nice to be talking about relevant Heavyweights again though.

Affliction is sure to be done after this. A Fedor-Belfort fight really doesn't interest me at all. I know that Belfort is on his way back up, but coming up 3 classes, against Fedor? And Fedor has nothing to gain in this fight either. A loss here kills a potential huge payday, he'll get money, but not as much. A win here gains what? A win over a possible top ten middleweight? Oooooh.

Of course, if Belfort wins, then he gets a big kick. But that's it.

Fair enough and if Velasquez handles Carwin then he's already proven that he can take down a fighter who is about as similar in stature to Brock as you'll get right now (that I can think of offhand anyway), so that'd set up a pretty nice tilt as well.

No matter what though, I really hope Fedor has to put up or shut up soon. Looking at his opponents over the last couple years, well, more than a bit underwhelming, especially considering he was taking a pretty decent beating from Arlovski until he decided to go for the highlight finish (full marks to Fedor for having that scouted out and using it to his advantage, but the bigger point is that this wasn't Arlovski at his prime).

It'll be a win/win for MMA fans as Fedor either backs up the legend that has been created or we see a new breed of HW step up and take over the division. This is of course assuming that the UFC can get him under contract.

That said, if, and I know it could be a big if, Fedor comes into the UFC and is every bit as good as advertised, takes the belt from Brock, then who is the weakest champion?

Fedor, Machida, Silva, GSP, Penn

Hell, if Brock beats Fedor and retains, I'm guessing you'd still have to see Penn as the weakest link there?

PilotMan · 07-22-2009, 05:04 PM

I think that Fedor's a lot tougher than he gets credit for. He is a whole league better than Mir. He hits harder, takes more punishment, and can remain cool in the worst of predicaments. He not only hits hard, but is dangerous in subs as well. I really like Lesnar, but he would need a very solid gameplan against an MMA master like Fedor.

Travis · 07-22-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I think that Fedor's a lot tougher than he gets credit for. He is a whole league better than Mir. He hits harder, takes more punishment, and can remain cool in the worst of predicaments. He not only hits hard, but is dangerous in subs as well. I really like Lesnar, but he would need a very solid gameplan against an MMA master like Fedor.

Fair enough, but recently, who's faced better competition (going since 2007 to keep it comparable)?

Brock has had Mir, Couture, Herring, Mir and Kim

Fedor has had Arlovski, Sylvia, Choi and Lindland (plus Hunt in very late '06)

Arlovski (in his prime which it'd be hard to argue he was by the time he faced Fedor) *maybe* being the only one you could even come close to comparing to Brock, but even then it'd be an awful stretch. Obviously Brock hasn't faced anybody of Fedor's ilk to this point either, but he certainly hasn't been cherry picking opponents so it's hard to fault him on that front.

Three things that could work in Brock's favor:

1: He's getting better every fight out
2: He's (arguably) been facing tougher competition over the last two years
3: He's gone deeper into fights (as Fedor hasn't been taken out of the first round since October of '06)

For Fedor?

1: Vastly more experienced
2: Not as much recent film for Brock to really study

Fedor has what, 8:42 worth of fight time (not including the '06 new years eve match) over his last 4 fights, so if you're Lesnar and trying to do advance scouting, there's just a very limited amount of tape to work from, especially given that not many matches featured how Fedor would react to being in a bad position. That said, in the 11:25ish Brock has fought he certainly hasn't been on the defensive all that often, so this might end up being a relatively moot point which could make the first round of any initial matchup between these two very interesting indeed.

At some point Fedor will be under rated because of all the talk about how he's facing second rate opponents, etc, etc, but also, at some point, going up against has beens or never weres is bound to cut into your edge. Against a guy like Brock, it may only take that bit of rust to be his undoing.

From the UFC's perspective though, I'm sure they wouldn't mind seeing Brock take down Fedor, have Fedor win a rematch to build towards a third and final matchup between the two while some of the newer HW guys build a name for themselves. Lots of money in a back and forth fued there.

Personally, I just really enjoy discussing potential matchups like this, and pressed, I certainly wouldn't want to have to pick between them right now. I just really want to see the fight and watch it unfold.

dervack · 07-22-2009, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Vitor vs Fedor confirmed. Vitor is gonna fight around 195 I'd assume since he had a 185 fight scheduled for 3 as it is. This is probably going to wind up as Affliction's last show if you ask me, too much damage to overcome.

Apparently, he's walking around at 205 right now and could be up to 215, if this fight happens.

k0ruptr · 07-22-2009, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travis

Fair enough and if Velasquez handles Carwin then he's already proven that he can take down a fighter who is about as similar in stature to Brock as you'll get right now (that I can think of offhand anyway), so that'd set up a pretty nice tilt as well.

No matter what though, I really hope Fedor has to put up or shut up soon. Looking at his opponents over the last couple years, well, more than a bit underwhelming, especially considering he was taking a pretty decent beating from Arlovski until he decided to go for the highlight finish (full marks to Fedor for having that scouted out and using it to his advantage, but the bigger point is that this wasn't Arlovski at his prime).

It'll be a win/win for MMA fans as Fedor either backs up the legend that has been created or we see a new breed of HW step up and take over the division. This is of course assuming that the UFC can get him under contract.

That said, if, and I know it could be a big if, Fedor comes into the UFC and is every bit as good as advertised, takes the belt from Brock, then who is the weakest champion?

Fedor, Machida, Silva, GSP, Penn

Hell, if Brock beats Fedor and retains, I'm guessing you'd still have to see Penn as the weakest link there?

I'm agreeing it would be Penn, but damn thats hella impressive if he's the weakest link, since he has only 1 lightweight loss in his entire career.

Calis · 07-22-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travis

Fair enough, but recently, who's faced better competition (going since 2007 to keep it comparable)?

Brock has had Mir, Couture, Herring, Mir and Kim

Fedor has had Arlovski, Sylvia, Choi and Lindland (plus Hunt in very late '06)

Arlovski (in his prime which it'd be hard to argue he was by the time he faced Fedor) *maybe* being the only one you could even come close to comparing to Brock, but even then it'd be an awful stretch. Obviously Brock hasn't faced anybody of Fedor's ilk to this point either, but he certainly hasn't been cherry picking opponents so it's hard to fault him on that front.

Three things that could work in Brock's favor:

1: He's getting better every fight out
2: He's (arguably) been facing tougher competition over the last two years
3: He's gone deeper into fights (as Fedor hasn't been taken out of the first round since October of '06)

For Fedor?

1: Vastly more experienced
2: Not as much recent film for Brock to really study

Fedor has what, 8:42 worth of fight time (not including the '06 new years eve match) over his last 4 fights, so if you're Lesnar and trying to do advance scouting, there's just a very limited amount of tape to work from, especially given that not many matches featured how Fedor would react to being in a bad position. That said, in the 11:25ish Brock has fought he certainly hasn't been on the defensive all that often, so this might end up being a relatively moot point which could make the first round of any initial matchup between these two very interesting indeed.

At some point Fedor will be under rated because of all the talk about how he's facing second rate opponents, etc, etc, but also, at some point, going up against has beens or never weres is bound to cut into your edge. Against a guy like Brock, it may only take that bit of rust to be his undoing.

From the UFC's perspective though, I'm sure they wouldn't mind seeing Brock take down Fedor, have Fedor win a rematch to build towards a third and final matchup between the two while some of the newer HW guys build a name for themselves. Lots of money in a back and forth fued there.

Personally, I just really enjoy discussing potential matchups like this, and pressed, I certainly wouldn't want to have to pick between them right now. I just really want to see the fight and watch it unfold.

I like discussing this also. It's an interesting scenario if Fedor signs there. For starters if it's Fedor/Brock we have this whole reverse Rocky deal where the American is the mammoth bad guy, and the Russian is the good guy. That's the interesting thing from a marketing standpoint. I'm not sure how they push Fedor to the general UFC public. If anyone deserves an immediate title shot it's him, and I can't see them risking him in another fight, but they have to make sure they build him properly. I guess Brock is going to sell PPV's at this point regardless of the opponent so maybe they don't care. I'd sure like to see something like this get the hype it deserves. Remember Fedor vs. Cro Cop and the buildup to that? That was epic, and the one major fight I can remember where the buildup and excitement was like a huge boxing match. It was a long time in the making though, so not quite the same. If Randy had stayed winning, a Randy vs. Fedor match would have been perfect for this.

It's win/win for the UFC with the fight. If Fedor wins they continue building him as this unflinching, robotic, unbeatable champion..and if he loses, well Brock beat the best and I'm sure Dana would be giddy over that.

As for the fight itself, I couldn't decide. Fedor obviously has the more well-rounded game. Brock has the obvious advantage physically, and with wrestling. I really think it would come down to the standup. The thing Brock did so impressively against Mir was his patience. The time he let Mir up for instance. He wasn't going on the ground unless he was in side control. He was having nothing to do with Mir's guard. He could let Mir up there because he wasn't overly concerned with his standup. Fedor has some awkward standup and at times defends a bit poorly(i.e. Arlovski) but he has power unlike Mir or Couture did.

Mir has a tendency to panic when he gets hurt or in a bad position, and seems to lose his head. Fedor will not do that. I think Lesnar was at times open for sweeps and the like, but of course that's hard to try when someone that strong and big is on top of you and beating the piss out of you. I think Randy did some nice work on Brock in close, and I would think Fedor could do similiar things and possibly use his Sambo to good effect.

With that, can you imagine what Fedor would look like after this fight win or lose? The guy seems to look wrecked half the time when he barely gets touched. I've always been most concerned he'll lose via a cut or stoppage, and with the way Brock's opponents look I can only imagine.

I'd definitely pull for Fedor to win, but I sure as hell wouldn't put money on it. I really wanted to see this Fedor/Barnett fight to get a better feel for where he was right now, because that Arlovski fight raised some questions.

Now that it's Fedor/Vitor it's a risky one. If he loses, he'll lose a huge chunk of credibility. All the talk about lackluster opponents then rings very true. He doesn't gain anything by winning. It's like when he fought Lindland. No one thought any higher of him, and he got a lot of flack for grabbing the ropes, people saying he'd have been in trouble if not. There's nothing to gain.

Vitor is the exact opposite. He's going to the UFC middleweight division, and this is actually safer for him. He was fighting Jorge Santiago which he should have won, but was a high caliber opponent. Now a loss means nothing to him, it's up a couple weight classes against the best in the world. A win and he's skyrocketed to being the #2 middleweight in the world.

I remember he was asked to fight Mousasi at 205, but said he wouldn't move up from Middleweight. He wanted to stay at the division. He might have had a little more bulk if he'd gone that route.

Be interesting to see what happens to Affliction. It's certainly not looking good for them now. Hopefully they can call up Megadeth to save the show.

DeToxRox · 07-22-2009, 07:31 PM

Honestly, in a year or so, I think we might see an instance where Machida moves up to Heavyweight. He is just so good I have a hard time seeing him lose, even with how loaded 205 is. If Machida dispatches Shogun, which he will, then beats whoever is even next leading to Rampage (if he beats Rashad) and he handles Rampage, I can see Machida taking time off, gaining weight, and taking on Brock.

If Machida got up to 230 - 235, I think he could become the dominant HW in MMA.

Carman Bulldog · 07-22-2009, 09:21 PM

Put me in the "Fedor is extremely overrated until he proves something recent" camp. As far as I see it, there is a generation of fighters that has debuted in the last five years (along with a few others that have developed) that have boldly surpassed the old generation of fighters.

As far as Fedor goes, going back the last five years since these guys have debuted, I have him holding victories over two credible opponents in Nogueira and Cro Cop.

First off, some might argue the Arlovski and Sylvia fights as further testament of his "strong" recent performances. Let's debunk the two glass chins.

Tim Sylvia, he of the 1-4 record in his last five fights, including a 0:09 loss to a 48 year old boxer, has zero credibility in my book. Only win in that span is against Vera when he held him against the cage the whole fight. Throw out the Arlovski fights and Sylvia has ZERO wins against decent competition in the last five years and his only single decent CAREER victory is over Ricco.

Let's not forget that Sylvia was probably an inch away from being knocked out by 43 year old Randy Couture IN 10 SECONDS! I don't think Randy's ever finished a bout by KO.

Credible wins in the last five years as far as Arlovski goes? I guess Werdum counts. Big Country and Ben Rothwell? What have they proved against anyone. And when you've got two losses to go against your win over Sylvia, that one doesn't count either. Fedor KO in just over three minutes? Impressive? What does that say about Brett Rogers then?

Now, let's take a look at how Fedor's two quality opponents, Nogueira and Cro Cop have done recently.

While he has the win over Sylvia (which we've already established doesn't really count) and the split with Barnett, Nogueira also has a win over Werdum but a loss to Mir. Decent, but hardly impressive.

Cro Cop has the win over Barnett (and on the subject of Barnett, he's another vastly overrated fighter who's proved nothing against the new generation). He also however has losses to Gabe Gonzaga and Cheik Kongo with no quality wins. Ask Gonzaga and Kongo what they think of Carwin and Velasquez respectively?

So I'm saying, not only does Fedor not have very few quality wins, his opponents that he's defeated have even fewer quality wins.

I'm not going to argue that Fedor was once the top heavyweight and pound for pound fighter in the world. However, he has not done a single thing to validate that since beating Cro Cop in 2005.

You know who else was considered the top pound for pound guys 4-5 years ago? Matt Hughes and Wanderlei Silva. If Matt Hughes had faced has beens and never-weres the past few years instead of facing the new generation such as GSP and Alves, would it be fair to still rank Hughes at the top of the welterweight division and the pound for pound rankings?

sovereignstar · 07-24-2009, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Also, Dream 10 today was outstanding. Some BRUTAL KO's today and a huge upset. For sure check it out if you can.

Finally got to watch Dream.10. Zaromskis is awesome. From entering the ring to 'The Final Countdown' dressed as a Street Fighter character to doing backflips on grounded opponents. Paul Filho got his shit together and submitted the one dimensional but dangerous Melvin Manhoef. Pretty meh card all around though.

Calis · 07-24-2009, 01:26 PM

And now word is Fedor will be fighting....no one.

Multiple reports are saying the show is cancelled. This looks legit.

Goodbye Affliction.

sovereignstar · 07-24-2009, 04:45 PM

Thank you, Babyfaced Assassin.

Travis · 07-24-2009, 05:04 PM

So, out of curiosity, assuming this doesn't kill Affliction, how would this affect Fedor's contract? Does he still have to actually fight to fulfill it or will this count as finishing off the contract (I'm assuming he'll be compensated given that it wasn't his fault Barnett had to be removed)?

Obviously if Affliction folds then not a big deal, but if not and he still has to have an actual fight with them before his contract concludes, there's another how many months of waiting and wondering?

k0ruptr · 07-24-2009, 07:48 PM

AS per Yahoo, Affliction has now folded there fight division and is keeping the clothing line as a sponsor to UFC. so Fedor + others are basically free agents now.

k0ruptr · 07-24-2009, 07:48 PM

dola

hxxp://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AsSi0kTiZ5SFW5Cc1LM6iJc9Eo14?slug=ki-afflictiondone072409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

DaddyTorgo · 07-24-2009, 10:07 PM

yikes...well that didn't take long

sovereignstar · 07-24-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tweet from dana white 4 hours ago

I am going on espn 1100 in vegas at 6pm. I will be talking anything mma. Call in number is 702 364 1100! Oh yea and welcome back tito

.

DeToxRox · 07-25-2009, 01:27 AM

So a few things.

Someone on ESPNRadio told Dana how fans don't like the 103 Main Event and Dana agreed and said big things are coming.

Affliction is gonna sponsor UFC apparently.

At Strikeforce it'll be Diaz vs Hieron or Daley, and potentially Werdum vs Yzel or Rothwell.

And Dana's twitter also says Welcome Back TIto.

BYU 14 · 07-25-2009, 09:39 AM

Watched Dream 10 finally on HDnet last night and it was a very solid card. Marius Zaromskis has some sick kicks and reminds me a bit of Sakuraba with his unorthodox attacks, wouldn't mind seeing him move up a class and fight Jason Miller, that could turn into a crazy brawl.

PilotMan · 07-25-2009, 12:08 PM

I post a question for you. Does this look like the baddest man on the planet?

sovereignstar · 07-25-2009, 12:27 PM

No, but this guy does:

Calis · 07-26-2009, 12:09 AM

As for the UFC 103 main event being beefed up, there's been a couple places reporting that the Henderson/Franklin fight might get canned. So this makes me wonder if one of those guys will be involved in the Main Event replacement.

Vitor vs. Henderson II possibly? That seems like a pretty solid matchup. I don't know how much of a PPV seller that would be, so I wonder if that's it. As for shaping up the division I think it's a much more interesting fight. I'd definitely be much more interested in that one.

If they could snap up Mousasi as well, having hiim fight Franklin at 205 is another fight that's actually interesting for the division.

The Affliction guys if they're available now and the fact that they've been training starts adding a fair amount of options.

Ryche · 07-26-2009, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

No, but this guy does:

To be honest though, I was surprised how much trouble Choi gave him in that fight. If Lesnar gets on Fedor like Choi did, he can cause some serious damage.

sovereignstar · 07-27-2009, 07:43 PM

Strikeforce picks up Babalu vs. Mousasi. Yesh!

Flasch186 · 07-27-2009, 08:28 PM

gonna be a damn good show IMO

dervack · 07-27-2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flasch186

gonna be a damn good show IMO

Was going to be. Now with Alistair out, Joe Riggs out and reports that the Thompson/Melendez fight might be off, the card is just ok.

sovereignstar · 07-28-2009, 06:33 PM

Fedor Emelianenko, UFC finalizing deal | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times

Quote:

A long-awaited agreement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the man considered the world's best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is expected to be announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday, a source with information about the negotiations told The Times today.
The source, who asked not to be identified because he's not authorized to speak publicly about the dealings, called negotiations between the UFC and Fedor "very civil" just days after Fedor's scheduled Affliction Trilogy fight Saturday against Josh Barnett was canceled.

Travis · 07-28-2009, 06:39 PM

I'm very curious to see how this turns out. Seemed like there was a lot of buzz that all the Pride guys would come in and just mop the floor with the existing UFC roster and while a few did well, it certainly wasn't to the extent that a lot of people were speculating.

Now I've heard/read reports that could have been due in large part to performance enhancers they were getting away with in Pride that they couldn't in the UFC, but as we've discussed, it'll be interesting to see how the opponents Fedor has been facing in the last two years prepares him for stepping in against a surging HW division in the UFC. Had he come over and taken out Sylvia (instead of Couture doing the deed) I think the timing would have been much more in his favor.

Now though, well, going to be a hell of a first match assuming they do put him in against Brock. I'll definitely be watching.

dervack · 07-28-2009, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Fedor Emelianenko, UFC finalizing deal | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times

[/indent]

As much as I'd like to see it, I'm going to take the same approach with the Fedor talk as with the Brett Favre saga. When Fedor gets into the cage with someone under the UFC banner, then I'll believe it.

sovereignstar · 07-28-2009, 07:08 PM

As I mentioned before, my dear friend Suicane put the first 100 UFC shows on an external drive for me. Just started watching them this past weekend and have made it through UFC 4. Some thoughts:

-omg
-wtf
-lol

It's pretty amazing how far the UFC has evolved. Everything was just terrible. The announcers were terrible, the fighters were terrible, and the rules (or lack thereof) were terrible. It's hard to watch at times. I don't know how they even got this thing off of the ground. Ball punching, kicks to grounded opponents, punches to the back of the head - the list of things goes on and on. On the positive, I can only see this making me appreciate the current state of MMA that much more. You watch these one-dimensional joe schmoes and you can't help but be amazed by guys like GSP and Anderson Silva.

sovereignstar · 07-28-2009, 07:13 PM

Suicane wrote this UFC 1 review for some other website. It was enjoyable to read after I watched UFC 1. Might be fun to read if you have some extra time. Hope he doesn't mind me sharing... (spoiler tags to save thread space)

Spoiler

Calis · 07-28-2009, 08:58 PM

Yeah, the first UFC is epic to watch. Wallace belching on air and getting the name of the organization wrong to start the show really told where it was at that point.

I recently started going back through the UFC's from the beginning again as well. I'd been reading Inside MMA by Jonathan Snowden to go along with it, and I highly recommend this book if you want a pretty great overview of MMA from Pancrase up to nearly present day. He also has some great behind the scenes stories, and the chapter on Ken Shamrock's idiocy and the Lion's Den in general is worth the price of the book.

DeToxRox · 07-29-2009, 12:15 AM

A source close to Fedor Emelianenko's camp has confirmed exclusively to FiveKnuckles.com, rumors that UFC President Dana White will announce the signing of Emelianenko at a press conference scheduled for this Friday.

The information was first broken by the LA Times.

Our source tells us that a fight between Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar is in preliminary discussions for UFC 103, which is set for Dallas, TX on Sept. 19 and would be for Lesnar's UFC heavyweight title.

Emelianenko (30-1) is currently considered by most MMA insiders to be the world's greatest heavyweight fighter. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion is virtually unbeaten, his only loss coming via controversial TKO against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in a fight that was later avenged in brutal fashion. He's defeated a who's who of MMA stars and champions including former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (2x), Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Emelianenko was originally scheduled to face his third former UFC heavyweight champion in a row at Affliction: "Trilogy", before opponent Josh Barnett tested positive for steroids which essentially canceled the fight, the show, and Affliction's promotion aspirations.

We'll have more word on the possible UFC 103 matchup as the situation progresses. Please keep in mind that the situation is fluid and fight contracts have yet to be signed.

In the mean time, click here to head over to our comprehensive events section for a peak at the entire UFC 103 fight card as it currently stands.

dervack · 07-29-2009, 07:47 AM

A better venue would be somewhere in Vegas. If you're putting this thing together with Fedor vs Lesnar, why not the Super Bowl show, in Vegas at the Thomas and Mack center. Almost 20,000 can pack that place.

TLK · 07-29-2009, 07:53 AM

I'd like to see Fedor get a fight in the octagon before Brock. A fight against a can could headline 103 and I'd be fine with it. That would setup Brock/Fedor for the year-end show with 6 months of hype.

Calis · 07-29-2009, 07:56 AM

That's quick if true. I really thought they'd set it up for end of the year.

Do hate to see Fedor get so little time for adjusting to a cage. Almost no one has looked good in their first fight in the UFC after moving over as it is.

I'm still of the mind I'll believe in it when I see it. Curious what kind of concessions the UFC made to make it happen if it did.

SirFozzie · 07-29-2009, 08:06 AM

M-1, the folks behind Fedor are saying that there is no truth behind it.

http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/07/28/f...page_fanhouse2

dervack · 07-29-2009, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLK

I'd like to see Fedor get a fight in the octagon before Brock. A fight against a can could headline 103 and I'd be fine with it. That would setup Brock/Fedor for the year-end show with 6 months of hype.

I dunno if it's smart to feed Fedor a can if the asking price is a million a fight.

Calis · 07-29-2009, 10:31 AM

Yeah I think you have to do Fedor/Brock first. You can't risk anything else, and it works out either way for the UFC. I don't think a loss hurts either guy much and a win is huge.

I still doubt it happens though. Fedor's people are adamant in what they want and UFC won't go for that. Fedor can also make at least the same amount and probably more going elsewhere. He's obviously a bigger draw in Japan than here anyway.

I wouldn't be too surprised if we still see Fedor/Barnett in Japan.

Hope I'm wrong though and he does sign for the UFC but we've heard this too many times already.

DaddyTorgo · 07-29-2009, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLK

I'd like to see Fedor get a fight in the octagon before Brock. A fight against a can could headline 103 and I'd be fine with it. That would setup Brock/Fedor for the year-end show with 6 months of hype.

I agree. You need more hype on Fedor-Brock, and Fedor also needs a "game speed" fight in the cage (AT LEAST ONE) before taking on Brock.

07-22-2009, 11:44 AM	#901
Matthean Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Aug 2008	Surprised this didn't get talked about. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son/index.html Since this seems to be the 2nd incident, I wonder when Rampage gets talked to from the higher ups. I can't imagine you want a guy going around and dry humping female reporters. __________________ Board games: Bringing people back to the original social network, the table.

07-22-2009, 04:05 PM	#910
Travis Pro Rookie Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Canada eh	I know the current cry is for a Brock/Fedor match, but I really am hoping Carwin dispatches Velasquez so we get to see him fight Lesnar. That could be a freaking epic clash imho. __________________ "I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it." - Rogers Hornsby

07-22-2009, 04:16 PM	#911
PilotMan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seven miles up	After what Velasquez did to Kongo, I don't know. That was an impressive, well rounded, ass whipping. It's nice to be talking about relevant Heavyweights again though. Affliction is sure to be done after this. A Fedor-Belfort fight really doesn't interest me at all. I know that Belfort is on his way back up, but coming up 3 classes, against Fedor? And Fedor has nothing to gain in this fight either. A loss here kills a potential huge payday, he'll get money, but not as much. A win here gains what? A win over a possible top ten middleweight? Oooooh. Of course, if Belfort wins, then he gets a big kick. But that's it. __________________ He's just like if Snow White was competitive, horny, and capable of beating the shit out of anyone that called her Pops. Like Steam? Join the FOFC Steam group here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FOFConSteam

07-22-2009, 05:04 PM	#913
PilotMan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seven miles up	I think that Fedor's a lot tougher than he gets credit for. He is a whole league better than Mir. He hits harder, takes more punishment, and can remain cool in the worst of predicaments. He not only hits hard, but is dangerous in subs as well. I really like Lesnar, but he would need a very solid gameplan against an MMA master like Fedor. __________________ He's just like if Snow White was competitive, horny, and capable of beating the shit out of anyone that called her Pops. Like Steam? Join the FOFC Steam group here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FOFConSteam

07-24-2009, 05:04 PM	#923
Travis Pro Rookie Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Canada eh	So, out of curiosity, assuming this doesn't kill Affliction, how would this affect Fedor's contract? Does he still have to actually fight to fulfill it or will this count as finishing off the contract (I'm assuming he'll be compensated given that it wasn't his fault Barnett had to be removed)? Obviously if Affliction folds then not a big deal, but if not and he still has to have an actual fight with them before his contract concludes, there's another how many months of waiting and wondering? __________________ "I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it." - Rogers Hornsby

07-22-2009, 03:23 PM	#905
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	Agree with Jon. It sure didn't look to be an awkward situation from what I saw. Seems like she is probably enjoying the extra attention this is bringing. That said Rampage does have a history of this stuff. He usually gets away with it because he's so goofy and I think that stuff went over better in Japan. He's bound to get himself in trouble one of these days. Don't think much of anything will come of this.

07-22-2009, 03:29 PM	#906
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	Vitor vs Fedor confirmed. Vitor is gonna fight around 195 I'd assume since he had a 185 fight scheduled for 3 as it is. This is probably going to wind up as Affliction's last show if you ask me, too much damage to overcome.

07-22-2009, 03:38 PM	#907
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	This is when they would have hoped that Cro Cop hadn't signed with UFC. As far as fights that mean almost nothing that one at least has some history. Although I guess here that's not a seller either. Been nice if they could have moved Werdum up since it sounds like Overeem is out of their match. Yeah I think this is probably it for Affliction. Vitor is in the UFC after this and it sure seems like Fedor will be also but you never know with his management. Sucks about Barnett. Would have liked to see him at least do well and maybe get back to the UFC. I actually though Brock/Barnett is a pretty interesting matchup. Moreso than anyone else currently in the UFC at least. I will probably still get Affliction because I'm very interested in Babalu/Mousasi, and I have a hard time missing a Fedor fight.

07-22-2009, 07:31 PM	#918
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	Honestly, in a year or so, I think we might see an instance where Machida moves up to Heavyweight. He is just so good I have a hard time seeing him lose, even with how loaded 205 is. If Machida dispatches Shogun, which he will, then beats whoever is even next leading to Rampage (if he beats Rashad) and he handles Rampage, I can see Machida taking time off, gaining weight, and taking on Brock. If Machida got up to 230 - 235, I think he could become the dominant HW in MMA.

07-22-2009, 09:21 PM	#919
Carman Bulldog College Benchwarmer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Canada	Put me in the "Fedor is extremely overrated until he proves something recent" camp. As far as I see it, there is a generation of fighters that has debuted in the last five years (along with a few others that have developed) that have boldly surpassed the old generation of fighters. As far as Fedor goes, going back the last five years since these guys have debuted, I have him holding victories over two credible opponents in Nogueira and Cro Cop. First off, some might argue the Arlovski and Sylvia fights as further testament of his "strong" recent performances. Let's debunk the two glass chins. Tim Sylvia, he of the 1-4 record in his last five fights, including a 0:09 loss to a 48 year old boxer, has zero credibility in my book. Only win in that span is against Vera when he held him against the cage the whole fight. Throw out the Arlovski fights and Sylvia has ZERO wins against decent competition in the last five years and his only single decent CAREER victory is over Ricco. Let's not forget that Sylvia was probably an inch away from being knocked out by 43 year old Randy Couture IN 10 SECONDS! I don't think Randy's ever finished a bout by KO. Credible wins in the last five years as far as Arlovski goes? I guess Werdum counts. Big Country and Ben Rothwell? What have they proved against anyone. And when you've got two losses to go against your win over Sylvia, that one doesn't count either. Fedor KO in just over three minutes? Impressive? What does that say about Brett Rogers then? Now, let's take a look at how Fedor's two quality opponents, Nogueira and Cro Cop have done recently. While he has the win over Sylvia (which we've already established doesn't really count) and the split with Barnett, Nogueira also has a win over Werdum but a loss to Mir. Decent, but hardly impressive. Cro Cop has the win over Barnett (and on the subject of Barnett, he's another vastly overrated fighter who's proved nothing against the new generation). He also however has losses to Gabe Gonzaga and Cheik Kongo with no quality wins. Ask Gonzaga and Kongo what they think of Carwin and Velasquez respectively? So I'm saying, not only does Fedor not have very few quality wins, his opponents that he's defeated have even fewer quality wins. I'm not going to argue that Fedor was once the top heavyweight and pound for pound fighter in the world. However, he has not done a single thing to validate that since beating Cro Cop in 2005. You know who else was considered the top pound for pound guys 4-5 years ago? Matt Hughes and Wanderlei Silva. If Matt Hughes had faced has beens and never-weres the past few years instead of facing the new generation such as GSP and Alves, would it be fair to still rank Hughes at the top of the welterweight division and the pound for pound rankings?

07-24-2009, 01:26 PM	#921
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	And now word is Fedor will be fighting....no one. Multiple reports are saying the show is cancelled. This looks legit. Goodbye Affliction.

07-24-2009, 04:45 PM	#922
sovereignstar Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004	Thank you, Babyfaced Assassin.

07-24-2009, 07:48 PM	#924
k0ruptr Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Las Vegas	AS per Yahoo, Affliction has now folded there fight division and is keeping the clothing line as a sponsor to UFC. so Fedor + others are basically free agents now.

07-24-2009, 07:48 PM	#925
k0ruptr Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Las Vegas	dola hxxp://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AsSi0kTiZ5SFW5Cc1LM6iJc9Eo14?slug=ki-afflictiondone072409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

07-24-2009, 10:07 PM	#926
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	yikes...well that didn't take long __________________ Get bent whoever hacked my pw and changed my signature.

07-25-2009, 01:27 AM	#928
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	So a few things. Someone on ESPNRadio told Dana how fans don't like the 103 Main Event and Dana agreed and said big things are coming. Affliction is gonna sponsor UFC apparently. At Strikeforce it'll be Diaz vs Hieron or Daley, and potentially Werdum vs Yzel or Rothwell. And Dana's twitter also says Welcome Back TIto.

07-25-2009, 09:39 AM	#929
BYU 14 Coordinator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The scorched Desert	Watched Dream 10 finally on HDnet last night and it was a very solid card. Marius Zaromskis has some sick kicks and reminds me a bit of Sakuraba with his unorthodox attacks, wouldn't mind seeing him move up a class and fight Jason Miller, that could turn into a crazy brawl.

07-25-2009, 12:08 PM	#930
PilotMan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seven miles up	I post a question for you. Does this look like the baddest man on the planet? __________________ He's just like if Snow White was competitive, horny, and capable of beating the shit out of anyone that called her Pops. Like Steam? Join the FOFC Steam group here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FOFConSteam

07-25-2009, 12:27 PM	#931
sovereignstar Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004	No, but this guy does: Last edited by sovereignstar : 07-25-2009 at 12:29 PM.

07-26-2009, 12:09 AM	#932
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	As for the UFC 103 main event being beefed up, there's been a couple places reporting that the Henderson/Franklin fight might get canned. So this makes me wonder if one of those guys will be involved in the Main Event replacement. Vitor vs. Henderson II possibly? That seems like a pretty solid matchup. I don't know how much of a PPV seller that would be, so I wonder if that's it. As for shaping up the division I think it's a much more interesting fight. I'd definitely be much more interested in that one. If they could snap up Mousasi as well, having hiim fight Franklin at 205 is another fight that's actually interesting for the division. The Affliction guys if they're available now and the fact that they've been training starts adding a fair amount of options.

07-27-2009, 07:43 PM	#934
sovereignstar Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004	Strikeforce picks up Babalu vs. Mousasi. Yesh!

07-27-2009, 08:28 PM	#935
Flasch186 Coordinator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Jacksonville, FL	gonna be a damn good show IMO __________________ Jacksonville-florida-homes-for-sale Putting a New Spin on Real Estate! ----------------------------------------------------------- Commissioner of the USFL USFL

07-28-2009, 06:39 PM	#938
Travis Pro Rookie Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Canada eh	I'm very curious to see how this turns out. Seemed like there was a lot of buzz that all the Pride guys would come in and just mop the floor with the existing UFC roster and while a few did well, it certainly wasn't to the extent that a lot of people were speculating. Now I've heard/read reports that could have been due in large part to performance enhancers they were getting away with in Pride that they couldn't in the UFC, but as we've discussed, it'll be interesting to see how the opponents Fedor has been facing in the last two years prepares him for stepping in against a surging HW division in the UFC. Had he come over and taken out Sylvia (instead of Couture doing the deed) I think the timing would have been much more in his favor. Now though, well, going to be a hell of a first match assuming they do put him in against Brock. I'll definitely be watching. __________________ "I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it." - Rogers Hornsby

07-28-2009, 07:08 PM	#940
sovereignstar Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004	As I mentioned before, my dear friend Suicane put the first 100 UFC shows on an external drive for me. Just started watching them this past weekend and have made it through UFC 4. Some thoughts: -omg -wtf -lol It's pretty amazing how far the UFC has evolved. Everything was just terrible. The announcers were terrible, the fighters were terrible, and the rules (or lack thereof) were terrible. It's hard to watch at times. I don't know how they even got this thing off of the ground. Ball punching, kicks to grounded opponents, punches to the back of the head - the list of things goes on and on. On the positive, I can only see this making me appreciate the current state of MMA that much more. You watch these one-dimensional joe schmoes and you can't help but be amazed by guys like GSP and Anderson Silva. Last edited by sovereignstar : 07-28-2009 at 07:09 PM.

07-28-2009, 07:13 PM	#941
sovereignstar Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004	Suicane wrote this UFC 1 review for some other website. It was enjoyable to read after I watched UFC 1. Might be fun to read if you have some extra time. Hope he doesn't mind me sharing... (spoiler tags to save thread space) Spoiler So I saw that someone ripped and posted ALL the UFC DVD's in alt.binaries.tvseries and I of course downloaded them to watch and after intialy just giving some quick thoughts on the forums, decided i'd do as comprenhensive a review of these early as shows as my brain will allow. I'm coming into these pretty blind as I only recall seeing 2 UFC shows prior to a few years ago, one was on tape and the other I watched on scramblevision, so this should be fun. The opening promo proclaims that 8 of the deadliest fighters in the world will compete tonight. Lies! There are no rules, no judges and no time limits! We're introduced to Royce Gracie and a bunch of WORLD CHAMPIONS in various fighting styles. 10 seconds into the innagural broadcast the lead announcer, Bill Wallace, gets the name of the company wrong and then BURPS!! LOL. AWESOME. They have 3 people announcing, Burper Bill Wallace, Jim Brown and some Karate chick named Kathy Long are at the main table and theres a guy in the crowd and a guy in the ring. Overkill. Poor Bill Wallace is trippin all over his words and it's clear he has no idea what is going on here. Fantastic. Wallace asks Brown if he would dare to fight in this event, Brown says no way and Wallace retorts by saying "all you have to do is climb over the ropes." He then, when asking the Karate lady how she would cope with fighting in this event, says that she is "not very big", she replies by saying she would rely on her speed if she were a guy and much bigger. Whattttt? She's kind of hot though. Wallace keeps talking about ropes. ROPES. Rod Machado is our man in the crowd doing analysis, he thinks alot of the fights will go to the ground. Brian Kilmeade is in the ring, Wallace calls him Brian Killmore. He shows us the cage and stumbles over his words alot. All these dudes are mush mouthed and nervous. Wallace, while running down the brackets just called one of the fighters a Savate PLAYER and another one a boxing person. A boxing person. First fight is between a sumo guy named Teila Tuli whom the Burper Bill is calling Taylor Tyler, lol. Oh this is fuckin great. Tuli says the strongest part of his body is his heart. I doubt that. Tuli is fighting Gerard Gordeau, the savate player, he hopes to win the tournament and not make mistakes. 2 good goals I suppose. Tuli rushes Gordeau and then falls down, likely from the weight of his tits dragging him down, and then Gordeau KICKS HIM SQUARE IN THE FACE AND. The fat dude is busted open and on dream street but the ref doesnt know what to do so he CALLS TIMEOUT. This is so awesome, no commision, no rules, NO IDEA HOW THE FIGHTS ARE SUPPOSED TO END! "doctors" work on fatty for like 5 minutes before someone decides he can't continue and they stop it. lololol. Fight #2 is between Kevin Rozier, a world kickboxing champion and he's a tubby fuck. he's shaped like an egg. He looks like he's wearing a diaper for fuck sakes. Burper Bill says that the kickboxer uses boxing and kicking techniques. Yes I bet he does. His opponent is Zane Frazier, a 4 time Karate champ who says god is on his side, we'll see. Bill makes the deep observation that "pain hurts". Yip. The fight starts and it's pretty damn fun as they each take turns beating on each other, both men landing some strong shots. About a minute in they both appear gassed though as the shots arn't quite as strong and they're doing alot of clinching with the odd shot thrown in. Frazier appears to have a sick open wound on his shoulder but he's landing the majority of the shots as fatty just leans on him. Frazier gets tubbys back and delivers a knee to the head but fatty gets up and they're standing again. Rozier throws an exhausted punch that misses by about 2 feet, heh. Frazier does some taunting as Rozier seems to be winded but then suddenly Rozier just starts nailing him with punches and sends Frazier to his knees. Shots to the back of the head and then TWO FUCKIN CURBSTOMPS and Fraziers corner throws in the towel. The karate chick says that when you get kicked in the back of the head it can knock you out. Yeah, i'd assume. Burper Bill then adds his 2 cents "It can discomboberate you", it sure can Bill, it sure can. For what I believe is the first time tonight they announce that rounds are 5 minutes each. They interview Rozier and apparently he's retired, that would explain the giant egg shape I suppose. He also says "i'm not a great interview". Karate chick says that "his strategy of let him hit me till he tires out seemed to work well", she said this in total seriousness. Fight #3 is between Royce Gracie and Art Jimmerson. Royce can't speak english well and is also the definition of anit-charisma. Jimmerson is the IBF North American Cruiserweight champion, good for him. Bill refers to him as a boxing person, a boxing person. I should note that Jimmerson is wearing a single boxing glove. Christ. It appears they've added one of the outside guys to the announce table as he explains Ju Jitsu and the Gracie style, so it's pretty clear that this was setup to feature Royce. They do nothing alot as the announcer talks about the clinch alot. Royce takes the dude down and gets on top and smothers him. Jimmerson fuckin taps out of boredom, WTF. A total abortion of a "fight". The announcers try and say that he was smothered. Yeah, smothered by boredom. The final first round fight is between Ken Shamrock and Patrick Smith. Ken is a shootfighter, Smith is a Tae Kwon Do dude. Smith, while riding a stationary bike says that he is the most strongest and most powerfullest, okie dokie. Smith is from Denver, where the event is taking place, so he gets a nice hometown pop. His record in whatever the fuck he's supposed to do is 250-0. LOL. They might as well have said he shits gold bars and pisses champagne. Shamrock just looks like a total badass. Bill reiterates that "pain hurts". Ken gets him down quickly and gets in Smiths guard. They each get a few shots in before Ken drops back and grabs the leg, Smith is fighting like hell to get out of it but Shamrock makes him tap to an ankle lock. He's now 250-1. Ken seems to want to beat on him some more and Smith starts yapping before being led out of the cage by his cornerman, what a bitch. The announcer asks Ken, "I see you have a cut on your head, is that cause your opponent was using eye gouges?" lol, what? Ken totaly no sells the entire concept by saying that this is easier than fighting in Japan cause these goofs don't know any submissions. Fuck, I had no idea how good a character Shamrock was. He has tons of charisma. The lady chick called Royce, Moyce, LOL. Ok, I can't even begin to describe the conversation the announcers are having. Burper Bill is trying to say that Ken was winded and Royce was able to just go right back to the locker room without breaking a sweat, obviously intimating the Ken is the more tired of the 2. The lady then says that yes, Royce went back to his locker room to try and rest, which is smart. She totaly misses the point. Ok, then they show the brackets, Royce and Shamrock will face in one semi while Gordeau and Rozier will fight in the other. Bill asks Jim Brown about the Gordeau/Rozier fight and Jim says "I think two of these guys will end up fighting, and it's not either one of these." So despite the brackets being on the screen, and just being told that Gordeau/Rozier is a semi final fight, he still somehow thinks Royce and Shamrock will meet in the final. The good announcer brings up the fact that the ground game might not seem as exciting, to which Bill replies that the people just can't see what's going on as good as they can at the announce table, apparently having no idea how TV works. Jim Brown mentions that Rozier might not be in great shape. Oh he's in great shape, egg shape, hahahaha. We're set for the semi finals now and the first fight will be Gordeau vs Rozier. Fuckin fattass Rozier just looks so awesome as he walks around with his arms wide and whenever he kicks it takes him like 10 seconds to get his chubby stump in the air. He just looks awesome. Gordeau fuckin decimates him, knocking him down at which point fatty covers up in a "please don't hit me" stance. Gordeau keeps backing off slightly and Rozier keeps half assed trying to get up but he's too fat and finaly Gordeau stomps him in his ribs and beaches him as Rozier lays on the mat and taps. Gordeau seems like a pretty legitimate fighter. I need to take a moment and mention that Burper Bill Wallace, despite having no idea what's going on, continues to talk down to the viewer by saying "what the people don't understand is that......" Normaly it'd be annoying, but he's so fucking cheerfull in his complete lack of knowledge that it's just great. They interview Fatty Rozier and he challenges all those so called Super Heavyweight Kickboxing champions to a fight, as soon as he gets his weight down. I guess he's coming out of retirement. He blames his weight and the altitude on his being winded. He seems kind of like a dick but he's also having fun, so yeah, ok. They ask him why he didn't attack Gordeaus apparently broken hand, to which he says he had no idea it was broken, lol. He claims he lost 45 pounds in 3 weeks and says that if they do another UFC he'll be there. He also mentions at the end of his interview that Gordeau is a great guy and he hopes he wins it all because this is his last fight. Gee, it would of been nice if the announcers had covered that aspect, I wonder why they didn't try and build up that storyline. COUGHsuckroycegraicesballsCOUGH. In disecting the Shamrock/Gracie semi final fight, Bill says that we may see alot of fainting and posturing to set up the "kaboomer". I wish more people used the "kaboomer". Shamrock just fuckin marches to the cage like he's on a mission. They start and Ken gets on top but appears to go for a leg and as he drops back Royce just rides him back and pops up on top of him. Royce then gets the back and gets the choke forcing Ken to tap. So Ken taps and Royce lets go and then holds his body as he talks to him for like 10 seconds while the ref doesn't know what's going on, lol. Finaly Gracie gets up and they shake and jaw and it's all very weird. Jim Brown wants to know what happened, heh. They interview Ken who suddenly isn't so charasmatic, lol. Ken: I went for the leg and he got my neck. Announcer: And you couldn't breathe? Brilliant. Ken then explains what went down as apparently Royce was willing to let the fight continue cause the ref didn't see any of Kens FOUR taps, but Ken says that that wouldn't have been fair and Royce had already broken the hold. Helio Gracie is in the ring for some sort of ceremony. The karate chick says that it's rare when you see the founder of a fighting system still alive. The crowd is shitting all over the ceremony as the MC goes Helios legacy in broken english. Poor Helio is old and doesn't seem to understand english so he's got some lady translating to him, the MC presents him with a plaque and the crowd sort of pops but doesn't really know what the fuck is going. This is a total Gracie wankfest as it seems the MC is Rorion Gracie, whom they finaly put a chyron up for right as his speech ends. Helio then gives a speech thru the translator and whatever he's saying it doesn't make much sense. With that over it's time for the finals of Gerard Gordeau vs Royce Gracie. Remember that Gordeau has a broken hand. Burper Bill points out that Gordeaus foot is wrapped and wonders aloud if Roziers tooth didn't cut it when Gordeau kicked him in the face earlier in the night, he then says that the mouth is the dirtiest part of the human body to which the karate chick says "you would know more about that than we do Bill". The bell rings, Royce shoots in, the clinch for awhile and then Royce gets on top and then gets his back and then he slips in the choke and Gordeau taps a few times on the mat with his left hand, then he taps Royces shoulder, then the ref comes in to try and get Royce off as Gordeau is now tapping the mat with his right hand and Royce STILL WONT LET GO. He finaly lets go, what a fuckin cock. Burper Bill says "what the public does not understand......", like 3 more times when disecting the fight. They announce Royce as the winner and interview him in the ring. Theres like 30 Gracies in the ring. Pretty boring interview till at the end Royce cracks a big smile and says he's going to Disneyland, pretty funny. Jim Brown is talking to Bill, Bill is talking to the karate chick, lol. They present Royce a check for $50,000 as Bill signs off. I hope he's back for UFC 2. All in all it's a fun show for all the wrong reasons. Gordeau, Shamrock and Gracie seemed to be the only competent fighters when it came to anything other than wildly flailing your arms and the announcing was a train wreck of monumental proportions. Worth a look for historical and comedy purposes but in general the fights arn't all that great. Last edited by sovereignstar : 07-28-2009 at 07:14 PM.

07-28-2009, 08:58 PM	#942
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	Yeah, the first UFC is epic to watch. Wallace belching on air and getting the name of the organization wrong to start the show really told where it was at that point. I recently started going back through the UFC's from the beginning again as well. I'd been reading Inside MMA by Jonathan Snowden to go along with it, and I highly recommend this book if you want a pretty great overview of MMA from Pancrase up to nearly present day. He also has some great behind the scenes stories, and the chapter on Ken Shamrock's idiocy and the Lion's Den in general is worth the price of the book.

07-29-2009, 12:15 AM	#943
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	A source close to Fedor Emelianenko's camp has confirmed exclusively to FiveKnuckles.com, rumors that UFC President Dana White will announce the signing of Emelianenko at a press conference scheduled for this Friday. The information was first broken by the LA Times. Our source tells us that a fight between Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar is in preliminary discussions for UFC 103, which is set for Dallas, TX on Sept. 19 and would be for Lesnar's UFC heavyweight title. Emelianenko (30-1) is currently considered by most MMA insiders to be the world's greatest heavyweight fighter. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion is virtually unbeaten, his only loss coming via controversial TKO against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in a fight that was later avenged in brutal fashion. He's defeated a who's who of MMA stars and champions including former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (2x), Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Emelianenko was originally scheduled to face his third former UFC heavyweight champion in a row at Affliction: "Trilogy", before opponent Josh Barnett tested positive for steroids which essentially canceled the fight, the show, and Affliction's promotion aspirations. We'll have more word on the possible UFC 103 matchup as the situation progresses. Please keep in mind that the situation is fluid and fight contracts have yet to be signed. In the mean time, click here to head over to our comprehensive events section for a peak at the entire UFC 103 fight card as it currently stands.

07-29-2009, 07:47 AM	#944
dervack College Prospect Join Date: Jun 2005	A better venue would be somewhere in Vegas. If you're putting this thing together with Fedor vs Lesnar, why not the Super Bowl show, in Vegas at the Thomas and Mack center. Almost 20,000 can pack that place. __________________ Semi-updated with my ramblings. Semi. But more recently, updated lots. Please check it out and let me know what you think The Year That Wasn't: My Chicago Cubs 2003 Replay Blog

07-29-2009, 07:53 AM	#945
TLK Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Allen Park, MI	I'd like to see Fedor get a fight in the octagon before Brock. A fight against a can could headline 103 and I'd be fine with it. That would setup Brock/Fedor for the year-end show with 6 months of hype.

07-29-2009, 07:56 AM	#946
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	That's quick if true. I really thought they'd set it up for end of the year. Do hate to see Fedor get so little time for adjusting to a cage. Almost no one has looked good in their first fight in the UFC after moving over as it is. I'm still of the mind I'll believe in it when I see it. Curious what kind of concessions the UFC made to make it happen if it did.

07-29-2009, 08:06 AM	#947
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	M-1, the folks behind Fedor are saying that there is no truth behind it. http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/07/28/f...page_fanhouse2 __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com Last edited by SirFozzie : 07-29-2009 at 08:06 AM.

07-29-2009, 10:31 AM	#949
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	Yeah I think you have to do Fedor/Brock first. You can't risk anything else, and it works out either way for the UFC. I don't think a loss hurts either guy much and a win is huge. I still doubt it happens though. Fedor's people are adamant in what they want and UFC won't go for that. Fedor can also make at least the same amount and probably more going elsewhere. He's obviously a bigger draw in Japan than here anyway. I wouldn't be too surprised if we still see Fedor/Barnett in Japan. Hope I'm wrong though and he does sign for the UFC but we've heard this too many times already.

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