Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others)

[saldana]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

He was a few inches shorter than Minatauro and if I remember correctly he gave up 2 inches in the reach category.

I was completely impressed by him in the fight.

i dont know if impressed is a good enough word for it....i would go with amazed...i wasnt really a fan of his going in (didnt really like minatauro much either), but coming out i can totally see why they talk about couture the way they do, that fight was incredible.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by saldana

i dont know if impressed is a good enough word for it....i would go with amazed...i wasnt really a fan of his going in (didnt really like minatauro much either), but coming out i can totally see why they talk about couture the way they do, that fight was incredible.

Well, impressed was the word I used because I am still excited from the fight and If I go off on it, I will ruin it for those who haven't watched it yet...

[Flasch186]

I just watched the Leben - Roscholdt fight and once again Yves Lavigne has blown another one. Leben tapped and Lavigne missed it allowing Leben to go completely out. Luckily Lavigne saw Leben go to sleep otherwise Leben could be dead. That guy might be the worst Ref in MMA that I have seen.

[saldana]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

I just watched the Leben - Roscholdt fight and once again Yves Lavigne has blown another one. Leben tapped and Lavigne missed it allowing Leben to go completely out. Luckily Lavigne saw Leben go to sleep otherwise Leben could be dead. That guy might be the worst Ref in MMA that I have seen.

we said the same thing at the place i was watching it...one of the guys thinks leben never actually completed the tap, so lavigne may have thought leben was still going to be trying to get out (which was never going to happen)...i thought lavinge sucked.

[DaddyTorgo]

interesting. Could be a fustercluck in the making.

EA signs Emelianenko for MMA game - Video Games - ESPN

[DeToxRox]

November 7th, on CBS, Fedor vs Brett Rogers.

Yes, Fedor will win, but damnit, I am going to root my ass off for Rogers to Do's Work.

[Travis]

Fight Night last night was awfully impressive. The Quarry/Credeur and Maynard/Huerta fights were the two I was really wanting to watch (big fan of Quarry and Maynard) and both those fights lived up to my hopes (the Quarry/Credeur fight exceeding them by quite a bit).

Still not sure how Huerta didn't tap to the kimura or how each of Quarry and Credeur were still standing at the end, but hell of a couple fights and a pretty nice card all the way through even with the late removal of Nover/Stout.

[Schmidty]

Does anyone still watch the Ultimate Fighter anymore? Just curious.

I do, but then again, I never buy the outrageously priced pay-per-views, so it's pretty much the only time I can watch the UFC.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Does anyone still watch the Ultimate Fighter anymore? Just curious.

I do, but then again, I never buy the outrageously priced pay-per-views, so it's pretty much the only time I can watch the UFC.

I LUV the Ultimate Fighter. Has another one already started? I can't keep track of the schedule, it's not like there's anything else I'm even remotely close to watching on Spike.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I LUV the Ultimate Fighter. Has another one already started? I can't keep track of the schedule, it's not like there's anything else I'm even remotely close to watching on Spike.

Last night. All heavyweights with Rampage and Rashad as coaches.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Last night. All heavyweights with Rampage and Rashad as coaches.

And Kimbo Slice. *snicker*

[Travis]

Personally I'm pulling for Kimbo. Obviously can't feel that bad for him given the money he's made but the guy hasn't done much other than take the opportunities presented to him. Stepping up for this chance is obviously still capitalizing on his "fame" but full marks for him to step into the house with a huge bulls eye on his back for a chance to fight in the UFC. He'll earn his way or not from this point on, but if nothing else his past is working directly against him now but I think in a large way he's proving that he loves the sport and wants to become a true fighter rather than going the Bob Sapp route.

And don't get me wrong, worst case for him is that he craps out and ends up going the Sapp route, but I do like seeing him put his ego aside to try and make a real go of it.

Just too bad he didn't end up on Rashad's team. Learning under Greg Jackson for the duration of the show would have been nothing but a good thing for him.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Travis

Personally I'm pulling for Kimbo. Obviously can't feel that bad for him given the money he's made but the guy hasn't done much other than take the opportunities presented to him. Stepping up for this chance is obviously still capitalizing on his "fame" but full marks for him to step into the house with a huge bulls eye on his back for a chance to fight in the UFC. He'll earn his way or not from this point on, but if nothing else his past is working directly against him now but I think in a large way he's proving that he loves the sport and wants to become a true fighter rather than going the Bob Sapp route.

And don't get me wrong, worst case for him is that he craps out and ends up going the Sapp route, but I do like seeing him put his ego aside to try and make a real go of it.

Just too bad he didn't end up on Rashad's team. Learning under Greg Jackson for the duration of the show would have been nothing but a good thing for him.

Don't get me wrong, it would be epic if he were to win, and I would love it; however, he has zero chance to even win a MATCH, so this is obviously just a PR thing. Which is fine, but I think it's funny and almost sleazy for the UFC to put him on the show knowing he's going to get destroyed.

[Travis]

Had Team Rampage held serve for the first two fights and been able to push him back until later in the show for his first fight (ie: more time to train before having to fight) I'd have liked his chances a lot better. Now if I'm Rashad that's fight #3 and if it's not I can only assume Dana told Rashad not to make Kimbo fight until later in the show.

He needs the right matchup to make it past his first fight (the guy that lost last night, ironically enough, would have made the perfect opponent for him likely).

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Travis

(the guy that lost last night, ironically enough, would have made the perfect opponent for him likely).

The best part was when Rampage was yelling "He's gonna do it again! Don't let him do it again", in reference to getting taken to the mat, and sure enough, the dude walks right into it. Rampage then just walked off in disgust.

Rampage also seems like he'd be the worst coach in the world.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

The best part was when Rampage was yelling "He's gonna do it again! Don't let him do it again", in reference to getting taken to the mat, and sure enough, the dude walks right into it. Rampage then just walked off in disgust.

Rampage also seems like he'd be the worst coach in the world.

And his assistants don't seem much better given their matchup recommendations (from what Rampage was saying). It's too bad they're having him coach again really, he was brutal the first time through too. Would be much better as a guest trainer/sparring partner than a full time coach.

Good for ratings mind you, but oye, just a shame these guys won't be getting better instruction.

[PilotMan]

Cung Le vacates his title, and Strikeforce makes Shields V. Mayhem the Middleweight title fight.

hxxp://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=9607&zoneid=13

[Calis]

Yeah Rampage is a terrible coach, and he's made it apparent how much he hates training, and never seemed like someone who gave a crap about training others. He was terrible the first go round and will be again. He's there for some publicity and to raise a bigger payday, hence his picking Kimbo first off. Really surprised with how late Roy Nelson went, he was my pre-pick to win but now I'm wondering how bad a shape he was coming in. It'll be interesting to see.

I'd be surprised if we see Kimbo fight anytime soon, unless it's a match tailored for him.

What a mess this is going to be also, they've obviously cut this to REALLY hype up the Rampage/Rashad fight in December which is now not happening because Rampage cancelled it to go and make the A-Team movie. Who knows when it'll happen now.

Dana is taking that about as well as you'd expect.

Wes Simms has issues. I can only imagine the shenanigans he will cause. Guy is an idiot.

[Schmidty]

I think he's funny though. I loved in the first episode when he kept calling that guy "Titties". And then he did the bouncing thing. I almost lost it.

[JS19]

That first fight was pathetic. Forgot that dude's name, but he just got manhandled, don't blame Rampage for walking out on him, the guy was a fucking idiot. And that was one hell of a blood bath, I don't remember any devastating blow, but that was the nastiest cut i've ever seen.

[DeToxRox]

Wes Simms is for sure Rampage's best shot at winning this thing. Simms can fight, he's just an idiot but I love him dearly.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Cung Le vacates his title, and Strikeforce makes Shields V. Mayhem the Middleweight title fight.

hxxp://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=9607&zoneid=13

And that might be in the Chicago area on Nov. 7th. woo hoo.

[Rich1033]

Originally Posted by Travis

Had Team Rampage held serve for the first two fights and been able to push him back until later in the show for his first fight (ie: more time to train before having to fight) I'd have liked his chances a lot better. Now if I'm Rashad that's fight #3 and if it's not I can only assume Dana told Rashad not to make Kimbo fight until later in the show.

He needs the right matchup to make it past his first fight (the guy that lost last night, ironically enough, would have made the perfect opponent for him likely).

I dont know, he had already been trained by Bas when he was fighting for EliteXC. I dont think an extra few weeks with Rampage is really going to help him out much.

[sovereignstar]

I love watching MMA, but I just don't find The Ultimate Fighter entertaining at all (am I the only one?). Bowing out one episode into this season.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

I love watching MMA, but I just don't find The Ultimate Fighter entertaining at all (am I the only one?). Bowing out one episode into this season.

no i agree. it's too much about the interpersonal fighting and the trashing the house and the drinking and not enough training or in-ring action.

[Calis]

Completely agree on TUF. I still watch it, usually in spurts where I can fast forward to the fights or what little training they have. It's too much about drunken antics though.

I'm not sure it ever aired here but I was able to watch a series of the Contender that was Muay Thai fighters that took place I believe in Australia. It was a fantastic show, and did a combat sports reality show right imo. It had challenges still which I was iffy on, but hey that's better than drunks putting bodily fluids in food. It really focused on training and on the fighters personalities and histories. It was really well done and actually showed the fighters in a positive light.

Would love to see TUF go more that route, but with even more of a focus on the training.

I think this season will be even more over the top with antics, because they're going to be messing with Kimbo as much as possible, and they're going to love showing any altercations he has. Heavy drama.

[Schmidty]

Meh, maybe I'm just an idiot, but I still think the show is fun. If they didn't have a fight at the end of every show, I wouldn't watch of course, but since they do, I don't mind the extra shenanigans.

[thesloppy]

I love TUF, but I will gladly admit to being a casual MMA fan, and I can totally see how it might bother "real" fans.

[darkenigma510]

Looks like Cro-cop's career is just about done.

[JS19]

Didn't get the fight, how bad did Franklin look? He was one of my favorites back in the day, probably wishful thinking, but I was really hoping he could make a solid comeback.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by JS19

Didn't get the fight, how bad did Franklin look? He was one of my favorites back in the day, probably wishful thinking, but I was really hoping he could make a solid comeback.

Belfort is arguably the #2 Middleweight in the world so it's not an embarrassment. Belfort figured his timing and took him down without much effort, but this wasn't a Silva/Forrest level of fight. To be honest I've never been really sold on Franklin. He was champ of an incredibly weak division, and hasn't done much since he lost it. He's a nice guy, extremely likeable, but I think he'll be a mid tier guy. Them talking of him making a run at 205 is pretty asinine imo.

Sounds like Dana is hellbent on Vitor getting the next shot at the title, so he'll jump over both Henderson and Marquardt. I guess it's good to get a new face in there, but I'd like to see Vitor get another match in first. Henderson vs. Marquardt would be a pretty awesome fight to see though, so I wouldn't be too unhappy. I wonder if Dana has thoughts of doing Brazil and that's why he's pushing Vitor? I'm not sure Vitor is much more of a draw than the other two yet, but maybe last night pushed him forward.

Cro Cop was embarrassing. There's a number of things going on here, for one he's too small. He looked tiny in there against Dos Santos and was scared from the beginning. He had nothing to offer him. Once people learned to push him rather than sit back Cro Cop became extremely beatable. He looks old and passive now. I think his best bet is to hit Strikeforce or go back to Japan and fight some mid tier guys or Pro Wrestlers so he can get some more highlight reel KO's. He's not going to cut it in the UFC.

I actually wasn't overly impressed with Dos Santos either. He's got a long ways to go still. Definitely has potential though.

[sovereignstar]

Why is the UFC pushing Chuck Lidell and Dancing w/ the Stars during a PPV event? Fricking annoying.

And I'd much rather see Belfort against Spider than Henderson or Marquardt. The only thing Cro Cop had going for him was his old school Pride FC tee.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Why is the UFC pushing Chuck Lidell and Dancing w/ the Stars during a PPV event? Fricking annoying.

Because DwTS is seen as the best opportunity ever to show the general public that, in his own words, "that we're not a bunch of meatheads".

At first blush I thought "well why would they care to convince people buying UFC PPV's about that" and then I realized that the existing fan base probably wouldn't mind pushing the Liddel appearance on non-MMA friends one bit, so reminding them about it ain't a half bad idea & is in fact pretty smart.

[DeToxRox]

Dan Henderson is still a Free Agent and wants Silva, but Silva had or is having surgery on his elbow so Hendo is gonna have to settle with Marquardt or go to Strikeforce and stay at 185 and fight the Shields/Mayhem winner, or go up to 205 and absolutely get killed by Mousasi.

The worst thing for him now though is going up to 205 in UFC though. He'll get lost in that shuffle fast.

[DeToxRox]

Herchel Walker has signed a deal with Strikeforce. No word yet on how they plan to convince his opponents to fight 3 guys at once.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Dan Henderson is still a Free Agent and wants Silva, but Silva had or is having surgery on his elbow so Hendo is gonna have to settle with Marquardt or go to Strikeforce and stay at 185 and fight the Shields/Mayhem winner, or go up to 205 and absolutely get killed by Mousasi.

The worst thing for him now though is going up to 205 in UFC though. He'll get lost in that shuffle fast.

Yeah, saying Vitor is Spider's next opponent is the easiet way to get Hendo to jump to Strikeforce.

[DeToxRox]

Rampage Jackson to retire. From his blog:

The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddel even when I clearly stated I wasn't ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn't know me but I took the fight and didn't complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.

Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.

Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn't want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn't have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn't even worth it to me financially).

Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn't make it to but I couldn't fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That's why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.

Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I'm hanging it up. I'm gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they'll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!

I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn't respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!

http://mmajunkie.com/news/16277/quin...e-fighting.mma

[JS19]

I've always liked Dana White and his no nonsense attitude, but there's a fine line with being a no nonsense leader type, and an asshole. Whatever he's doing, it's obviously working, but as MMA goes more mainstream, keeps evolving and more competition comes about, I wonder if his antics will catch up with him and the UFC.

[dervack]

You also have to remember who was there for Rampage when he went apeshit on the California freeways last summer.

[JS19]

I'm starting to think that for this season of TUF, Dana White just tried to find the biggest goons he could and threw them in the cage. Last week's fight was pathetic, for that one dude anyway, and these two guys tonight were totally gassed, and I mean gassed, after just the first round. That monster on Rampage's team has no technique at all, had no ground game and from what I saw, looked like he didn't have the first clue on how to perform a simple choke.

[Oilers9911]

That was the worst display of cardio I have ever seen. Neither guy should have won that fight. Shivers was gassed half way through round one and McSweeney not long after.

Kimbo vs Big Country will be interesting. If Kimbo loses this early watch the ratings nosedive. I would be surprised if Kimbo beats a guy with that much experience but he does have knockout power.

[heybrad]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

That was the worst display of cardio I have ever seen. Neither guy should have won that fight. Shivers was gassed half way through round one and McSweeney not long after.

Both guys should have been eliminated after that fight. Not only did they have no cardio, they didn't have much technique either.

[dubb93]

About a minute and a half into the fight last night all I could think was, wow, I can't believe Rampage didn't match up Kimbo against McSweeney. McSweeney seemed to be tailor made to be knocked out by Kimbo. The guy was small for a heavy, had no ground game, no stamina, and really no standup other than leg kicks that when he threw them he stuck his chin up in the air. Big mistake there by Rampage on this one I would say.

[JS19]

I love Rampage as a fighter, but he doesn't seem to have a clue as a coach, when it comes to strategy, anyway. I know it's only two weeks in, but I'm starting to wonder, based on the pathetic performances thus far, is it possible that this season was set up for Kimbo to win it, or at least put the ball in his court?

[DeToxRox]

No way Kimbo beats Nelson. Nelson is too well rounded. It'd be such a huge upset if he did win. I like Brandon Schuab to win the whole deal, but my dark horse is Wes Simms who is just a headcase. He is the guy I think will keep people watching TUF once Kimbo is out.

[JS19]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

No way Kimbo beats Nelson. Nelson is too well rounded. It'd be such a huge upset if he did win. I like Brandon Schuab to win the whole deal, but my dark horse is Wes Simms who is just a headcase. He is the guy I think will keep people watching TUF once Kimbo is out.

I would classify myself as a step above a casual fan, so I really have no clue who this Nelson guy is, or pretty much any of the rest. Based on watching the first two fights, it looked to me like Kimbo would have had just as good a chance as anyone to win those. Apparently this Nelson guy has been around the block a time or two, so I would have to assume he's got a leg up on Kimbo, but I'm not gonna lie, and I know, this really has nothing to do with the outcome of a fight whatsoever, but I still can't help it, just looking at the two from a physical standpoint, you gotta think Kimbo has a chance.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JS19

I would classify myself as a step above a casual fan, so I really have no clue who this Nelson guy is, or pretty much any of the rest. Based on watching the first two fights, it looked to me like Kimbo would have had just as good a chance as anyone to win those. Apparently this Nelson guy has been around the block a time or two, so I would have to assume he's got a leg up on Kimbo, but I'm not gonna lie, and I know, this really has nothing to do with the outcome of a fight whatsoever, but I still can't help it, just looking at the two from a physical standpoint, you gotta think Kimbo has a chance.

I think Kimbo can win but I just don't see it mainly because reading stuff post TUF, his trainers on TUF said Kimbo had literally no training in MMA and Nelson is a vet. If Kimbo goes to the ground he is going to be GNP'd to death which is why I think Kimbo loses, though he has pretty good takedown defense.

We'll see though.

[PilotMan]

Nelson has a pretty solid ground game. He was in side control on Arlovski but for some reason the ref stood them up, and Arlovski was able to land a solid punch, and finish the fight standing, but Nelson was in the fight the whole way. Nelson has also been in with Rothwell, and held the IFL Heavyweight title a couple years ago. He will be a tough test for Kimbo, but I think it's also what we want to see. I mean, don't you really want to see Kimbo in there with a real MMA fighter? Nelson certainly is that at this level.

Even if Nelson wins the whole thing, he is never going to turn into a huge UFC challenger. At this point he is a known quantity. He isnt' going to suddenly light the world on fire. Kimbo wins here, win again and again, and I think that people might start to think differently about him. Of course, when he gets taken down and owned by Nelson's ground game we are going to need Dennis Green for the post fight interview.

[JS19]

One thing I didn't like about Kimbo, and I could have just taken it the wrong way, but IRC, at the end of the episode, Kimbo said something like "I'm gonna fight him, I'm not a mixed martial artist, but I'm gonna straight fight this guy". Just based upon his physical appearance and knockout power, and the fact that he seems much more agile and athletic than most heavyweights, I feel like Kimbo has a a bunch of potential, but saying stuff like that limits his credibility of becoming a true fighter.

[PilotMan]

Well the fight is going to go like this.

Fighters stalk, Kimbo throws a punch, Nelson shoots, gets the takedown, Nelson works to side control, and lays across Kimbo smothering him, while working some GNP or subs.

Round 2, rinse and repeat.