Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others)

[Calis]

Yeah right now I have a hard time picturing Carwin beating Mir. I'd like to see him win because I despise Mir, but I don't see a way he does it.

The Cain/Big Nog winner is obviously meeting the winner of that match unless Lesnar is back by then, but I'm guessing he won't be. If he is then I think you see maybe Cain vs. Dos Santos or something similiar if they win.

Good fights lined up though for an overall weak division.

[PilotMan]

Good fights and young enough fighters that they could go round and round and back and forth for a couple of years at least.

[Travis]

Carwin is very similar to Brock, I'd imagine he's going to use a similar game plan and try to out physical Mir. Mir has bulked up, but given that his cardio has been in question before, it'd probably be an area Carwin would want to push the fight as obviously he was not exposed in that way during his (Mir's) domination of Kongo.

Get Mir on his back, try and get to side control to negate his submission attempts somewhat, then work the GnP. Get Mir expelling energy from a defensive stand point and Carwin's wrestling background should give him enough to keep Mir in a defensive posture *if* he can get him there in the first place. I don't buy Mir bulking up as enough of a strategy changer when he's dealing with guys that are that much better wrestlers than he is and that extra bulk may cost Mir some quickness/fluidity in his BJJ.

[Calis]

Yeah I guess the concerns I have with Carwin are more dealing with how little we actually know about him. Apart from Gonzaga he hasn't had anything approaching a test of his skills and he was in quite a bit of danger that fight.

If he can do well in the standup and not get trapped in Mir's guard he has a shot. I think the standup will be very telling in this fight. Mir can't take him down, and Carwin should want no part of Mir's guard.

Guess I'm giving Mir the advantage solely from past fights and not being sold on Carwin yet. I hope I'm wrong and a solid win for him here would do a lot for me being interested in Carwin/Lesnar.

[Travis]

I'm mostly going off reputation and the few fights I've seen of Carwin's, but I'd be amazed if he wants to do too much standup with Mir. That's one area where Mir's added size should help him and he displayed a pretty good stand up game against Nog (albeit a very sick Nog). Carwin will have a size, (I believe) speed and wrestling advantage so I'm assuming we're going to see some good bull rushes from Carwin to try and over power Mir, get an unconventional style take down (could see Mir trying to pull guard on take downs while Carwin tries to out muscle him and work in a throw of some sort) so that he can try and get into side control instead of guard.

That's where I really think this fight is won or lost. I'd give it to Mir if it stays standing or if Carwin spends much time in his guard (though I am curious to see if his increased bulk, and it may be even more by the time these two fight, affects his BJJ game). It's Carwin's fight if he can get to side control.

That said, it'll be interesting to see how much more rounded Carwin's game is, and if Brock has shown us one thing, it's that when you're that big, your stand up doesn't have to be great, you just need to connect once to change a fight.

Just hope that one is early on or Mir might pick him apart before he gets a chance to land it.

And I really want Carwin to win this fight as I really, REALLY want to see him and Brock go toe to toe.

[DeToxRox]

Carwin has an iron chin. He's taking some huge blows and kept right on going. He also has some legit KO power, perhaps as good as any HW in the UFC. I really don't think he'll take it to the ground. He's a good wrestler but Mir is so much bigger now and so deadly with his subs I think it'd be suicide.

[Travis]

Aw come on. Can't we see Carwin get Mir in side control like Lesnar did and raspberry the other side of his face to get things evened back out for the pretty boy?

Yes, I know I'm a bit (okay, a lot) petty, but wow was that fun to watch.

[TLK]

Tons of MMA on tonight.

STRIKEFORCE: DECEMBER 19, 2009
venue: HP Pavilion in San Jose, California

Main Bouts (On Showtime):
-Cung Le (6-0) vs. Scott Smith (16-6)
-Josh Thompson (16-2) vs. Gilbert Melendez (16-2)
-Matt Lindland (21-6) vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2)
-Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (5-0) vs. Mike Whitehead (24-6)

WEC 45: DECEMBER 19, 2009
venue: The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas

Main Bouts (on Versus):
-Donald Cerrone (10-2) vs. Ed Ratcliff (7-1)
-Chris Horodecki (13-1) vs. Anthony Njokuani (11-2)
-Joseph Benavidez (10-1; #9 Bantamweight) vs. Rani Yahya (14-3; #10 Bantamweight)
-Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2; #4 Bantamweight) vs. Scott Jorgensen (7-3)

I'm looking forward to the Strikeforce card. I wish Lawler didn't get pulled, but the rest of the card looks good.

[CU Tiger]

I cant wait for WEC...I think Mizugaki will own Jorgensen, Ive really been waiting for a breakout from him since he seemed to own Torres but couldn't put him away.

Cerrone v. Ratcliffe will be an interesting match up.

[sovereignstar]

I can't wait to see King Mo against some better competition. He could beat Whitehead with a blindfold on.

[Recoil]

Cung Lee goes down!

[DeToxRox]

I hate Cung Le, that was awesome to watch.

That Melendez fight was fucking awesome, can't wait for another one between them.

King Mo is gonna be a star.

[PilotMan]

I didn't get to see the WEC fights tonight, as I watched the Strikeforce card instead. King Mo had a nice fight. Whitehead wasn't in the fight from the moment he signed the contract. Jacare looked as good as any 185er out there. He's probably top 5 in the world at that weight.

Thompson/Melendez was the fight of the year in my impression. A fantastic fight where both guys came to put on a show and fight to win, not fight not to get beat, which is what we see sometimes.

Scott Smith really had no chance in this fight IMO. Le should have finished him in the first, but his punches sucked, and even though Smith wasn't defending himself that well, he wasn't taking that many shots either. A case could be made that it went too long. We know that Yves Lavinge would have stopped it for sure. Quite a comeback. My buddy and I were both standing and cheering at the end.

A really strong card for Strikeforce, and I hope they can keep up the momentum. It would be nice to see them keep growing.

There's a lot of talk about Dan Henderson and Fedor matching up next year. I really don't know what to think about that. Fantasic fight for sure, just worried about what weight they will choose. I would hate to see Hendo have to come in at heavyweight. Especially when he knows that 185 is where he should be at.

[sovereignstar]

Just got done watching. I thought it was pretty hideous that Cung Le-Scott Smith was the headlining fight, but it was a fun one to watch. An above average MMA fighter should beat Smith every time. Cung Le played it very stupid in the 3rd Round.

[PilotMan]

So now the April Strikeforce card will be Fedor v. Werdum, which they may as well make an interim title, and the other is Hendo v. Shields for the Middleweight title, which should be fantastic. Now we can see where Shields will fit, now that he is fighting one of the best pound for pound in the world.

[DaddyTorgo]

Dana White thrilled to be bringing UFC to his adopted hometown of Boston - ESPN Boston

August 28th 2010 - UFC @ the New Garden -- who's up for it?

Dana also goes on record in the article as saying in the summer of 2011 he plans to hold the UFC's first outdoor show in Fenway Park!

[PilotMan]

Did anyone get to see DYNAMITE! this morning? I am just reading about the incident with Aoki. Otherwise the show sounded really good. Shocking that Minowaman won the super hulk tournament. Mousasi would have killed him if he had stayed in, but for Minowa to beat Soukajou, Hong Man Choi, and Bob Sapp, that's pretty good for a little guy, only 5'9" and 196 according to wiki.

[Stokes36]

LET'S GO THIAGO SILVA!!!!!

[PilotMan]

If you get to see it, that finish in the Aoki fight was disgusting. Just painful to watch.

[Flasch186]

whew, a search and a click on a site and a animated GIF....blech.

[PilotMan]

So, I guess nobody watched the fights tonight. My boy Hazlett got knocked silly, and the main event was alright. Some good fights on the undercard, but nothing that stood out as being earth-shattering or unexpected. with the exception of perhaps the Lauzon-Stout fight.

[Calis]

I watched them but agree it was pretty uneventful. A weak card due to injuries, but the fights that did happen were decent, but not thrilling. Not much to add.

I was glad to see Daley win, I love watching that guy strike. I'm not sure his takedown defense is good enough for the upper echelon guys in the division but he is a threat to anyone standing, and puts on fun fights.

Main event was a bit dull but was highlighted by Silva mocking Rashad in the 3rd after being manhandled the first two rounds, and almost getting the finish in the process. Just too gassed. Rashad used the Couture special of getting the decision. He never did much but he dictated the fight.

Surprised by the Lauzon fight(Joe). He got worked over badly.

A couple of nice looking subs also tonight.

[BYU 14]

Very disappointed in the main event, Evan's takedowns were nice, but his striking was very sloppy. Daly is explosive and a tremendous striker, but I think GSP would mandhandle him. Couple of pretty good undercard fights, but they are out of talent for the next card. Couture V Coleman does not exicte me.

I would really love to see any combination of Mir/Velasquez/Carwin for the interim HW title.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I would really love to see any combination of Mir/Velasquez/Carwin for the interim HW title.

It's Carwin/Mir for the Interim Title at 111

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

It's Carwin/Mir for the Interim Title at 111

That will be a good fight, with Cain in line for the winner I assume.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

That will be a good fight, with Cain in line for the winner I assume.

Cain is fighting Nog, not sure what event now but it is happening. The winner of that will be next up for sure.

I'm not sure what they do with Dos Santos now but he deserves to be in the mix.

[DeToxRox]

I cannot wait to see Rampage tool Rashad.

That is all.

Oh wait, no it's not. JDS is a monster. Really can't wait to see him get a crack at someone big, probably the loser of Nog/Cain.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I cannot wait to see Rampage tool Rashad.

That is all.

Oh wait, no it's not. JDS is a monster. Really can't wait to see him get a crack at someone big, probably the loser of Nog/Cain.

Unless Nog is the loser, I'd be pretty shocked if those two would fight each other especially when there are other options.

I think the loser of one of those fights is a good bet though, because unfortunately there is no one worthy coming off some wins, and Brock is obviously going to be out at least long enough that the winners of the two up coming Heavyweight fights will meet before he returns.

[AlexB]

Decent card - Semtex is a fighter people will enjoy watching - not too many decisions!

It shouldn't bother me, but I find it bizarre that the UFC ban Condom Depot from advertising on fighters' shorts, but Martin Kampmann is allowed to have gunsamerica.com plastered on his??? Not a comment on gun law as such, more than the UFC appear to be against safe sex but are happy to hawk 2nd hand firearms?

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Calis

Unless Nog is the loser, I'd be pretty shocked if those two would fight each other especially when there are other options.

Nog and JDS train together fyi. I would doubt that fight would be happening, most likely ever.

[PilotMan]

Alright, here is a link that has a link to the video of the whole Aoki/Hirota fight from New Year's Eve. Keep in mind that both of these guys are the lightweight champs for their respective promotions. Think BJ Penn v. Gilbert Melendez of the US.

hxxp://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=10431&zoneid=13

[CU Tiger]

WEC tonight....first fight a snoozer, but Mike Brown in the 2nd fight....
so far so good

[Recoil]

Good card tonight. Brown looked good bouncing back after his loss.

[CU Tiger]

yep lets see id Faber can come back from the 2 hand injuries....if he breaks the left again, its pretty much career game over

[Recoil]

Faber/Aldo should be interesting

[CU Tiger]

Faber stops him in round 3

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Recoil

Faber/Aldo should be interesting

Agreed, as long as Faber doesnt try to stand and shoot with him

[DeToxRox]

Brock and Dana were on Sportscenter today where they announced Brock had a medical miracle, and will be looking to fight again this Summer.

[DaddyTorgo]

Faber's such a fun fighter to watch.

[JS19]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Brock and Dana were on Sportscenter today where they announced Brock had a medical miracle, and will be looking to fight again this Summer.

Saw this too.

"I was facing a colostomy bag," said Lesnar. "What they wanted to do was go in and remove the bad section of my colon. If the perforation wouldn't have healed itself, I was facing removing my colon.Then they can't reattach right away because of all the inflammation. So then I would've been wearing a colostomy bag for 6-8 weeks. Then they go in and reattach my intestines back together".

[TLK]

STRIKEFORCE: JANUARY 30, 2010
venue: BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida

Main Card (On Showtime):
-Nick Diaz (20-7) vs. Marius Zaromskis (13-3)
-Cris "Cyborg" Santos (8-1) vs. Marloes Coenen (17-3)
-Robbie Lawler (16-5; #6 Middleweight)* vs. Melvin Manhoef (24-6-1)
-Herschel Walker (0-0) vs. Greg Nagy (1-1)
-Bobby Lashley (4-0) vs. Wes Sims (22-12-1)

Preliminary Card (Live on EASports.com):
-Jay Hieron (18-4) vs. Joe Riggs (32-10)

A little bit of everything on this card. Three good fights, two enhancement fights and the Walker fight. I'm such a shill for Strikeforce these days.

[Calis]

Will Lawler actually try to take Manhoef down? I seem him getting obliterated if he tries to keep it standing, but I can't remember him ever trying to get a fight to the ground.

Diaz hasn't been in a bad fight for years, so can't wait for that also. I haven't seen too much of Marius Zaromskis yet, but he looks like a solid fighter so it should be fun.

[DeToxRox]

All I know is I will be praying Wes Sims kills Lashley.

[PilotMan]

I watched the fights last night. The only one I missed was Lawler/Manhoef. Which was pretty good apparently. I thought that the Cyborg fight was better than I was expecting, and had lots of action. Walker looked pretty good for an 47-year old, but he also looked really green. Actually he looked like a 35-year old, his body was incredible. Don't know where he thinks this is going though. The fight was hard to watch. The main event was action packed but Zaromiskis(sp?) should be embarrassed that he gassed out that quickly. Lashley's fight was expected. Overall though a good show I thought. Especially for a free card.

[BYU 14]

Just watched the Walker fight and yeah he is green, but he looked better than I thought he would. He is in amazing shape and extremely strong. Have to say I was impressed given his age and experience.

I don't think he has any misconceptions about his future in the sport, just a guy doing what he loves and is able to compete. Plus he donated his purse to charity. All around good guy, showing out for all of us in the over 40 crowd.

[dervack]

Man that Lawler fight was vicious. Crazy KO.

[Flasch186]

I thought the show was meh honestly and Im a MMA mark.

[PilotMan]

I guess last nights show was the non-event that it appeared. I don't think it was really a PPV caliber show tbh.

I understand that there were huge injuries that affected the the booking, but the main event pretty much summed it up. Nothing really gained by the outcome. Some guys got their momentum swung around a bit, but otherwise there really wasn't anything on the line last night. No titles, no grudge fights, no rematches.

Outside of the Sonnen/Marquard fight no real upsets. And it was a big upset. I didn't think that he really had a chance, and that his biggest win was tainted because his opponent was a headcase. Phil Davis is still a complete monster in the making.

I like the card that is coming up in two weeks a bit better, but that March 6 card in WEC, that is free, looks like a great card for a free show.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I guess last nights show was the non-event that it appeared. I don't think it was really a PPV caliber show tbh.

I understand that there were huge injuries that affected the the booking, but the main event pretty much summed it up. Nothing really gained by the outcome. Some guys got their momentum swung around a bit, but otherwise there really wasn't anything on the line last night. No titles, no grudge fights, no rematches.

Outside of the Sonnen/Marquard fight no real upsets. And it was a big upset. I didn't think that he really had a chance, and that his biggest win was tainted because his opponent was a headcase. Phil Davis is still a complete monster in the making.

I like the card that is coming up in two weeks a bit better, but that March 6 card in WEC, that is free, looks like a great card for a free show.

Couture gained a spot in title contention, which is a joke. I talked about it on my blog, but really this card's outcomes were horrible for the UFC. Koscheck was supposed to fight Thiago, avenge his loss and get ready for a rematch with St. Pierre. Koscheck gets hurt, so the UFC figures Swick will come in, get back in title contention with a win. Whoops. Marquardt/Sonnen possibly gets a title shot, mainly cause Henderson jumped ship. UFC hopes Marquardt wins so that he can look like the right guy to face Belfort/Silva. Whoops. Nightmare for the UFC.

[PilotMan]

The only reason Couture supposedly is in title contention at 205 is because he sell PPV shows. He's the hero to the underdog, and that's the card that the UFC will play with him every time. I still can't see how beating Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman puts you there in one of the thickest divisions in MMA.