Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others)

[moriarty]

For the 3rd time in as many shows, I was just speachless. Makes me look like an idiot when I'm telling my MMA newbie friends how great GSP or CroCop are and they instantly follow up by getting destroyed.

Ironically the only high kicks I've seen as good as the one thrown by Gonzaga were ones thrown by CroCop.

[Neuqua]

SPIKE TV is playing the encore of UFC 70 if anyone out there missed it live (like me.)

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...x_31.asp#11668

Ratings roundup:... Spike TV’s “UFC 70: Nations Collide” averaged 885,000 males 18-34 on Saturday night, drawing more viewers in the demo than NASCAR and Major League Baseball on Fox, including a game between the Yankees and Boston Red Sox, as well as the NBA playoffs on ESPN that day. Overall the telecast averaged 2.8 million total viewers, making the bout in which Gonzaga beat Mirko Cro Cop the second most-watched in UFC history.

[SirFozzie]

You have to be fucking shitting me.

The year of the upset continues three times over tonight.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

You have to be fucking shitting me.

The year of the upset continues three times over tonight.

Liddell Rampage? That wasn't an upset, anyone who has ever watched Rampage should of seen that coming. At the VERY least, it was a 50/50 fight anyone who thought otherwise was kidding themselves.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

Liddell Rampage? That wasn't an upset, anyone who has ever watched Rampage should of seen that coming. At the VERY least, it was a 50/50 fight anyone who thought otherwise was kidding themselves.

Yeah, no way this was a an upset on the level of any of the other ones this year, if it was one at all. This was one of the best 205'ers in the world beating one of the best 205'ers in the world, and a I loved it. It sucks that you can manhandle a guy like he did the first time and be given such little respect in a rematch. I guess he earned it tonight though.

Damn I'm happy. I think this is a good thing for the UFC as well if Rampage can stick around as champ. He's an incredibly funny and charismatic guy, which is exactly the opposite of Chuck. He could be a good poster boy.

That being said, I love Rampage..he's far and away my favorite fighter, but it's going to be a hell of a fight against Hendo. I think it's a bad matchup for him.

Great night tonight though, I still can't believe it happened so quick. I thought Rampage would wear him down and then get to him, I didn't expect it to end that quick.

[Ryche]

Get ahold of Rampage, drag him to the mat, take him apart. If you try trading blows with him, you don't stand a chance.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Ryche

Get ahold of Rampage, drag him to the mat, take him apart. If you try trading blows with him, you don't stand a chance.

I think the more effective method is to clinch and then knee him until he collapses, or the Chute Box method of annihilating him.

I think Hendo will give him all sorts of trouble.

This opens up a lot of opportunities though, you now have an opening to make Silva vs. Liddell happen since Chuck lost. You could make Liddell for Shogun for a title shot, but I don't think they want that.

Lots of interesting things that could happen, I'm curious to see what they do.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Was going to type this but Jeff beat me to it. Rampage is no joke and shouldn't be considered one. He has beaten Chuck once, Chuck is the one with something to prove.

QFT

[Hammer]

I don't think Rampage will keep the title long. Henderson has a good chance to beat him, as would Brandon Vera or Rashad Evans. At this point I think Shogan or Couture would be favourite against him.

I hope the Iceman isn't done, he is getting on in years for a striker. I'd love to see him get another shot at the title before he hangs up his boots.

I think people buy too much into one fight. Anyone can get caught when big punches are being thrown, especially with 4oz gloves. I would bet the house Matt Serra wouldn't beat GSP again. But in this instance, as Rampage had beaten Chuck before, you have to give this guy serious props.

[DaddyTorgo]

didn't get to keep up since I am out of town in nowheresville. rampage beat chuck?? SWEEETTTTTTTTT!!

finally all the iceman-nutlickers can stfu. not to take anything away from his ability but he prolly had more bandwagon fans than anyone else in MMA and it was just getting annoying listening to them all saying he was the greatest thing since sliced-bread

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Ryche

Get ahold of Rampage, drag him to the mat, take him apart. If you try trading blows with him, you don't stand a chance.

Problem is not many guys are strong enough to keep him there, even if his ground game is not the most technically sound.

[MikeVic]

I watched the K-1 thing today (Dynamite USA or something like that). Mainly interested in Lesnar's debut... but thought the entire show was entertaining (not always for good reasons though).

All 4 One sang the anthem, Rodman gave some speech, and Goldberg (the wrestler) was one of the commentators.

Johnnie Morton (the NFL WR!!) got knocked out FAST. Seems to have a glass jaw. The third or fourth fight was the best. A Korean guy looked to be losing and had his entire right eye swollen, but ended up getting a submission victory.

The Gracie fight was boring and made me sleepy. Lesnar actually won his first fight, but it wasn't against Hong Man Choi. The guy he faced did nothing gainst him, and tapped out to "strikes to the head."

Looking forward to seeing what Lesnar does from here though.

[moriarty]

Anyone catch the WEC Show on VS. channel Sunday night? Excellent show IMO. 2 hours of pretty good fighters and great action.

[Calis]

So in smaller-time MMA news. Kimbo Slice had his debut against Ray Mercer last night. I didn't see it, but reading about it made it seem like Kimbo handled him pretty easily and won it with a believe it or not. Submission! I guess he's been training with Bas Rutten quite a bit lately.

I did however watch the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni match. This one was pretty brutal. Baroni took a beating the first round. I mean, it wasn't close. It was brutal, and Shamrock just toyed with him. Laughing, taunting, giving him illegal hits to the back of the head..typical Shamrock stuff. One of the worst rounds I've ever seen where the fighter didn't actually lose the fight. Baroni looked like he hurt Shamrock in the 2nd round with a body shot, maybe broke a rib? He was done though from the earlier hits and his usual outstanding cardio. Shamrock looked very good standing though, I was impressed. I'd still like to see Frank settle things with UFC and come back sometime. He's the perfect villain for UFC, and still a pretty damn solid fighter. I don't think he wants to fight any top competition though, but maybe I'm wrong.

The next UFC card has me really excited. We get to see Big Nog finally make his debut which I'm excited about. I think Big Nog can really do well here. Without Fedor in his way he's the Champ. I think Evans vs. Ortiz will be a pretty good match-up as well. Franca and Sherk should be fun, and I wouldn't count out Marquardt against Silva. Some great fights lined up.

It's looking more and more now like Pride is dead all together which is sad. They haven't done anything about new cards and look like they don't plan to. That's too bad.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Calis

So in smaller-time MMA news. Kimbo Slice had his debut against Ray Mercer last night. I didn't see it, but reading about it made it seem like Kimbo handled him pretty easily and won it with a believe it or not. Submission! I guess he's been training with Bas Rutten quite a bit lately.

I did however watch the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni match. This one was pretty brutal. Baroni took a beating the first round. I mean, it wasn't close. It was brutal, and Shamrock just toyed with him. Laughing, taunting, giving him illegal hits to the back of the head..typical Shamrock stuff. One of the worst rounds I've ever seen where the fighter didn't actually lose the fight. Baroni looked like he hurt Shamrock in the 2nd round with a body shot, maybe broke a rib? He was done though from the earlier hits and his usual outstanding cardio. Shamrock looked very good standing though, I was impressed. I'd still like to see Frank settle things with UFC and come back sometime. He's the perfect villain for UFC, and still a pretty damn solid fighter. I don't think he wants to fight any top competition though, but maybe I'm wrong.

The next UFC card has me really excited. We get to see Big Nog finally make his debut which I'm excited about. I think Big Nog can really do well here. Without Fedor in his way he's the Champ. I think Evans vs. Ortiz will be a pretty good match-up as well. Franca and Sherk should be fun, and I wouldn't count out Marquardt against Silva. Some great fights lined up.

It's looking more and more now like Pride is dead all together which is sad. They haven't done anything about new cards and look like they don't plan to. That's too bad.

I would love to see Big Nog run roughshod over the UFC and show all the come-lately fans what a real MMA fighter can do.

I think UFC is stupid if they don't keep Pride going. Japan is a HUGE market for MMA. And they'd just be repeating the mistakes that Vince McMahon made when he bought WCW IMO.

[Hammer]

Like Cro Cop did

I know its popular to hate the UFC as a true MMA fan, but I think PRIDE was overrated (patch e). The UFC and PRIDE federations were very similar in quality IMO. The only guy who may come in and boss a division is Fedor. I don't think he will run through people, but I can't see anyone beating him.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Hammer

Like Cro Cop did

I know its popular to hate the UFC as a true MMA fan, but I think PRIDE was overrated (patch e). The UFC and PRIDE federations were very similar in quality IMO. The only guy who may come in and boss a division is Fedor. I don't think he will run through people, but I can't see anyone beating him.

Cro Cop is a one-trick pony. Big Nog can submit anyone from any position. His BJJ is beautiful.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Calis

I did however watch the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni match. This one was pretty brutal. Baroni took a beating the first round. I mean, it wasn't close. It was brutal, and Shamrock just toyed with him. Laughing, taunting, giving him illegal hits to the back of the head..typical Shamrock stuff. One of the worst rounds I've ever seen where the fighter didn't actually lose the fight. Baroni looked like he hurt Shamrock in the 2nd round with a body shot, maybe broke a rib? He was done though from the earlier hits and his usual outstanding cardio. Shamrock looked very good standing though, I was impressed. I'd still like to see Frank settle things with UFC and come back sometime. He's the perfect villain for UFC, and still a pretty damn solid fighter. I don't think he wants to fight any top competition though, but maybe I'm wrong.

From Dave Meltzer in regards to the Shamrock-Baroni fight:

--Some notes coming out of the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni fight. Both came out of it in a war. Shamrock's injuries were a completely blown ACL (not just torn, but it appears he no longer even had one) and a torn MCL from sparring with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou on 6/11. He had no business walking, let alone fighting and he could do no cardio training from that point on. He was shopping last week in one of those motorized carts that handicapped people use. I saw him train a few days earlier and his cardio was more than there, but two weeks on your back will take your cardio way down, and realistically, he had very little time to win and it completely destroyed his game plan of outlasting Baroni over 25:00. Baroni went into the fight with a hernia and probably had no business fighting. Both needed surgery before the fight. Baroni suffered a groin injury, he told me after he thought it was a pull, but it may have been a tear, during the first round, but he has all black and blue down there. Some of the biggest names in the sport would not have fought with either of the injuries both men came in with. Many others would have. Most top fighters who have mileage on them and are past 30 are coming in hurt to a degree but usually not to anywhere near that degree. The atmosphere live was incredible. It beat Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell for tension. I can't compare it with Couture vs. Sylvia live because I wasn't there, but it probably wasn't at that level.

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/....asp?aID=19975

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Hammer

Like Cro Cop did

I know its popular to hate the UFC as a true MMA fan, but I think PRIDE was overrated (patch e). The UFC and PRIDE federations were very similar in quality IMO. The only guy who may come in and boss a division is Fedor. I don't think he will run through people, but I can't see anyone beating him.

They were similiar qualities in some respects, and the UFC was better in some respects. Their welterweight division was just stacked. I do not think that UFC was of similiar quality in Heavyweights though. Sylvia and Arlovski were up there, and uhh..Mir maybe? Pride had Fedor who is unquestionably the top Heavy in the world, and Big Nog who I think is #2. Then when you go to the next tier you have guys like Cro Cop, Hunt, Aleks, Sergei, Werdum, and the list just goes on. They were stacked there.

I think they had the LHW/Middleweight class also. Who did UFC have other than Chuck? Tito? It just wasn't competitive.

With people like Hughes, St. Pierre, Penn, etc.. the UFC was far above there, but Pride at lightweight had a phenomenal roster. Those are the guys who aren't big draws but who I want to see get some air time. The Bushido events were some of the best MMA cards I had seen. Those guys get after it. I was really sad to see Zuffa cancel the planned Pride LW Grand Prix.

Oh well, doesn't matter who was better then now anyway. I'm glad to see some of them squaring off now. The argument of Cro Cop failing to dominate when he came over can be replied with look at Chuck. The best UFC fighter was beat by a guy who was probably what, at most the #3 guy in his weight class in Pride? Nog is a much better fighter than Cro Cop. Nog has grappling that is just amazing, and he's a very competent boxer now as well, not to mention the guy has a brick for a head. He should do very well for himself. I'm sure he'll get booed 95% of the time doing it as well.

[Hammer]

I think the UFC HW's were underrated. Arlovski and Sylvia you mention Calis, but if you include Couture, Gonzaga, Monson and Vera they arn't so bad. PRIDE had the better division though, sure. I'm not a huge fan of big nog. I don't question his BJJ skills obviously, but his takedowns arn't so hot. I could see Vera or Arlovski beating him possibly, although nog would be favourite. I'd fancy Cro Cop in a rematch.

If you look at genuine elite superstars in PRIDE I would mention Fedor and Shogan. In the UFC GSP, Hughes and Penn when at LW are the fighters that stick out to me. I think the MW (185) division is really up for grabs now. I can't see a dominant fighter.

For the coming year I'd love to see Penn fight Sherk for the title. Vera move down to 205lbs. Arlovski fight Cro Cop. Fedor to come to the UFC. Franklin fight Silva again.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Hammer

I think the UFC HW's were underrated. Arlovski and Sylvia you mention Calis, but if you include Couture, Gonzaga, Monson and Vera they arn't so bad. PRIDE had the better division though, sure. I'm not a huge fan of big nog. I don't question his BJJ skills obviously, but his takedowns arn't so hot. I could see Vera or Arlovski beating him possibly, although nog would be favourite. I'd fancy Cro Cop in a rematch.

If you look at genuine elite superstars in PRIDE I would mention Fedor and Shogan. In the UFC GSP, Hughes and Penn when at LW are the fighters that stick out to me. I think the MW (185) division is really up for grabs now. I can't see a dominant fighter.

For the coming year I'd love to see Penn fight Sherk for the title. Vera move down to 205lbs. Arlovski fight Cro Cop. Fedor to come to the UFC. Franklin fight Silva again.

Fair enough, I'd agree that they don't get enough respect. I just think at the time of the merger you had the top 5 in the world all fighting for Pride, and then the UFC guys started filling it in. I do like Vera a bunch, I'd like to see him actually fight a good veteran fighter to see how he does, but hell I'd be happy with him fighting at all now.

I'm all for Vera moving to 205, I think he'd be very good. I'd really like to see Gomi against Penn or Gomi against Sherk. Just bring Gomi back, sure he's overrated as well but the guy is fun to watch, and those would be good fights I think. I just saw that Mach Sakurai is supposedly signed to fight Diego at 74. I'm a big Sakurai fan as well, but that'll be a very tough fight for him style wise.

I think my top dream match for the year would be Fedor vs. Barnett. I don't think there's a HW out there with a better shot than Barnett at dethroning him. (That's a small shot also btw). I would enjoy seeing Shogun vs. that Sokoudju guy who Henderson is training and has won two pretty impressive fights. I'd like to see Lindland back in the UFC and fighting at 185. I just think 185 is really lacking right now. I just don't see Silva or Franklin as a true champion. I wonder if there's any chance of Hendo going staying down there if he loses to Rampage? Probably not, Hendo can do pretty well at 205. I'd like to see GSP beat Hughes again, or Penn beat Hughes again.

So many options now with the merger.

Oh I actually just read that Takada from Pride said there will be a Pride card in October I think. I wonder if it'll still have some of the top Pride stars or if it'll become a Japanese minor league for the UFC?

[moriarty]

Any mention of Pride's best fighters should include Dennis Kang. Just saying...

Unfortunately it looks like he's signing for either bodog or Elite and not the UFC. Too bad.

[Calis]

So UFC 74 was this past weekend, and overall I thought it was a pretty exciting card. I thought it was much better than the underwhelming "stacked" UFC 73.

Where to start? Randy was Randy once again. The broken nose from the headbutt obviously played a big part in how this fight turned out, but I think Randy controlled Gabe pretty well regardless of that. I was impressed as usually Randy has a tough time with guys bigger than him. He played it perfectly once again though. I thought Gabe was a bit overhyped after the Cro Cop win, and I still think he is somewhat, but man he throws some strikes with force. It wasn't a lucky shot against Cro Cop, his high kick is nasty and I believe one of them broke Randy's arm. Gabe also has the first instance I can remember seeing where a fighter called time in a fight, what the hell? That was such a weird moment. It worked though, so I give him credit for that.

GSP came back and also had an excellent gameplan for his fight. It wasn't super flashy but he out-wrestled MMA's supposed best wrestler quite easily. No one was ever in any real trouble, but GSP was in control the whole way. Koscheck did better on his back than I thought he would though, he didn't offer an offense from there, but he made it very tough for GSP to get any attacks in. Good movement. I don't like him, but Koscheck really has improved leaps and bounds over the last couple years.

Roger Huerta using the big screens to find where Alberto Crane was on his back and throw elbows was a classic MMA moment. That was good stuff.

Anyone see the Babalu/Heath preliminary fight? My God that was a blood bath. This is the fight that explains the huge blood stain on the mat from the beginning of the PPV, pretty nasty stuff. Babalu also was fined a decent chunk for holding his choke WAY after Heath tapped and the ref tried to pull him off. Crappy move by Babalu, but impressive fight.

Overall I'm just glad that this MMA drought is over. We had UFC 74 this last weekend, in two weeks we have the free PPV with Henderson vs. Rampage, and Cro Cop trying to bounce back, and then we get Shogun's UFC debut at the end of the month. I can't wait.

I'm really excited to see Henderson and Rampage. I keep changing my mind on who I think will take that one, but I can't see it being a bad fight either way. I'll be pulling for Rampage though.

[dervack]

Supposedly Randy also broke a bone in his arm during the fight too, which makes it more impressive.

I'm someone who got into the UFC because of The Ultimate Fighter and I'm not afraid to admit it, but the Griffin-Rua fight makes me think the UFC knows that Griffin isn't close to being ready to contend for a title. And I couldn't be happier Kendall Grove lost.

[Carman Bulldog]

Yes, Griffin will die against Rua. It will be interesting to see how many fights they will put Rua through until he gets a title shot. I think Ortiz could be a decent gatekeeper fight (from a marketing perspective) although I think Tito is smart enough not to take it. Rashad could be another option. I don't really see them throwing him against a guy like Liddell though.

[Neon_Chaos]

Brandon Vera's coming to the UFC this October. That makes it a must-see for me.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

Yes, Griffin will die against Rua. It will be interesting to see how many fights they will put Rua through until he gets a title shot. I think Ortiz could be a decent gatekeeper fight (from a marketing perspective) although I think Tito is smart enough not to take it. Rashad could be another option. I don't really see them throwing him against a guy like Liddell though.

I really think if(I'd say when, but God knows anymore with how things are going this year) Shogun beats Forrest he will get the shot next fight. He's pretty much widely acknowledged as the best LHW in the world, and if it's Jackson he's facing there's already the history there for a fight, with Hendo it'd be a little more difficult to draw with but still pretty easily doable. Then if we see for instance Chuck/Wandy or Chuck whoever that'll be for the next title shot.

I don't think it'd be a reach at all for Shogun to get the fight after his first if he looks comfortable in the octagon. I don't see a better fight option for him either.

Vera versus Sylvia will be a pretty interesting fight. It'll be Vera's toughest fight yet, but he will hopefully give Sylvia fits with his quickness. If Vera pushes the pace I think he can take this one easily, but if he gets stuck outside with that jab of Sylvia's he'll be in for a long night. It sure looks like the UFC is trying to push Sylvia down the pecking order, and I'm all for that. Terrible champ, and absolutely no drawing power.

I'd like to see Randy/Nog for the next HW title fight. I think that's a fight that'd be a war, and probably go the distance. That one interests me more than Cro Cop/Randy.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Calis

I'd like to see Randy/Nog for the next HW title fight. I think that's a fight that'd be a war, and probably go the distance. That one interests me more than Cro Cop/Randy.

I feel like Nog would handle Chuck quite easily. But that's why they fight the fights.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I feel like Nog would handle Chuck quite easily. But that's why they fight the fights.

I assume you meant Randy and not Chuck. I'm not sure though, I love Big Nog but I think he matches up badly with Randy. I think he'll have the advantage in the stand-up, but he won't stop Randy from taking him down, and I think he'd have a very hard time catching Randy in a submission. I'd love to see it happen though.

[DaddyTorgo]

yes yes. I meant randy.

you don't think big nog...the submission machine would have the advantage on the ground?

I don't know...maybe I just havn't watched enough Randy to ever be really all that impressed by him.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

yes yes. I meant randy.

you don't think big nog...the submission machine would have the advantage on the ground?

I don't know...maybe I just havn't watched enough Randy to ever be really all that impressed by him.

Yeah I don't really know for sure, more reason why I want to see it. Randy would definitely have the advantage in the clinch and in takedowns, and he appears to be pretty good at defending against subs, although he's never faced anyone near the level of Nog in that respect. We also did not see the Nog of old last fight, so it'll be interesting to see how he comes out next time. I'll definitely be rooting for him though.

I just see a lot more possibilities in that fight than in Randy/Cro Cop. The rumored Cro Cop/Big Nog rematch I'd be game for as well.

[SirFozzie]

Coming back to this thread after the seperate UFC75 thread

If you can catch one of the replays of last night's UFC Fight Night show... do so. Not a stinker of a fight in the bunch

[DaddyTorgo]

wow! spoiler from tonight's UFC 76

Spoiler

The controlling "TUF" champion dominated from the top and back with punches before sinking his arm under Rua's chin. Rua tapped due to a rear-naked choke at 4:45 of the third.

[SirFozzie]

Pride fans, your heroes are dead. DEAD I tell you.

[Calis]

Hey I figure the fights are over so if you don't want spoilers you shouldn't be opening a thread about MMA, so here goes.

Dissapointed by Shogun, but I can't really say I'm terribly surprised anymore. I've given up on guys looking good coming over, at least immediately. I think he was fine early, not dominant but he was doing quite well for himself the round or so. He just gassed badly, real bad. I don't know if it was nerves or training or what but it wasn't something I expected out of a Chutebox guy, they usually have cardio for days. I'm not too saddened by it though because Forrest is a genuinely likeable guy and I'm glad to see him notch up a huge win. He was in a no lose situation and made the most out of it.

Chuck and Jardine I can honestly say I wasn't surprised by. Chuck has showed no ability in his career to beat competent strikers. He was manhandled I thought, and I really don't see how it was a split decision. Jardine tooks round 2 and 3 pretty convincingly imo. Chuck should probably go back to fighting wrestlers. This threw a pretty big kink into the huge Wandy vs. Chuck showdown in December. I'm of the opinion you still do it, they're both coming off two losses and I think they're both approaching the end of their careers, there's not a big time line left for this fight to be interesting.

Diego and Fitch I thought Fitch would take, and he did an awesome job with positioning and control but I almost thought Diego would get the win for his sub attempts and really he was the only one close to finishing it. I had it a pretty close fight. Diego was actually cool after the fight also, so I lost a little hatred for him, could a couple losses in a row make him stop being such a prick?

You know one problem I'm having with UFC is you have Rampage as your champion now, probably the most charismatic guy in MMA, and what is UFC doing with him promotion-wise? Nothing. I think he could go a long ways into building the UFC up if they put some limelight on him, let him commentate on a fight or two or do something, but nothing. I just think it's a huge missed opportunity.

Anyway, not too many thoughts on the card tonight as I was in a house full of kids and was only able to half pay attention to it.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Pride fans, your heroes are dead. DEAD I tell you.

Man, now I think I'm firmly in the camp of hoping Fedor doesn't sign with the UFC. LEAVE US SOMETHING.

I'll make an early prediction, Stephan Bonner over Wandy in December. You heard it hear first, before the fight is even announced!

[TLK]

Originally Posted by Calis

Man, now I think I'm firmly in the camp of hoping Fedor doesn't sign with the UFC. LEAVE US SOMETHING.

I'll make an early prediction, Stephan Bonner over Wandy in December. You heard it hear first, before the fight is even announced!

I was thinking Houston Alexander over Wandy.

[DeToxRox]

Brock Lesnar signed with UFC per tonights show

[TLK]

Liddell vs. Wanderlei is on...

(Photo courtesy of Ultimate Fighting Championship)

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White on Tuesday made the official announcement that former light heavyweight champion Chuck "Iceman" Liddell and former Pride FC middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva will finally meet in the Octagon on Dec. 29 at UFC 79: Nemesis.

Liddell and Silva have wanted this fight for years, but many questioned if it would ever actually happen.

In White's statement, which came during the “Scream Awards 2007” on Spike TV, he said, "As you know, on Dec. 29 at UFC 79 this season's coaches of ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, will face off for the UFC welterweight title.

“But also, we're adding to that card the most anticipated fight in mixed martial arts history. The fight that I've been waiting for, the fans have been waiting for. Finally it's going to happen.

"The Iceman, Chuck Liddell, will face off against Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva. It's a perfect way to end 2007."

Liddell, who reigned as the UFC light heavyweight champion for more than three years, said of the fight, ““I’m excited this fight with Wanderlei is finally happening. I’ve been saying for a long time that, given the chance, I would knock Wanderlei Silva out. I think this will be a great fight for the fans, and one that lives up to their expectations, because I’m going to hit him until he falls down and stays down.”

Silva obviously feels differently, believing that a UFC title is in his future. “I’ve wanted to fight Chuck for a long time. I think about this fight a lot, our styles are very similar – we are both great strikers. I’m training very hard because I want to give my next victory to my fans. After I beat Chuck, then I want to fight the champion.”

When the UFC was finally able to sign Silva to a contract, White called it “the pinnacle of my seven year career in this company.” Now that he has finally been able to ink a deal for Silva to fight Liddell, there are many fight fans that are likely to feel the same way.

Link

[Neuqua]

This had to be the worst kept secret in MMA history.

[DaddyTorgo]

too bad chuck is no longer champ and wanderlei is looking over-the-hill

[BishopMVP]

Any ideas on the Russian/Fedor-led initiative? 6 fights a year and only signing high-profile guys could work out, rather than trying to go head to head with UFC.

[SirFozzie]

If you have yet to see TUF (west coasters) WATCH THE FIGHT. It's a war. They better be doing a rematch at the Finale if the winner isn't in the championship match. Great fight, and controversial as hell ending.

[dervack]

Today, the UFC is announcing a new TV partner. A couple of weeks back on a different board, I expected ESPN and the UFC to come together on a TV deal. Also, Randy has a press conference scheduled for 3:30 today in which he is supposed to give the reasons for his resignation. It will be carried on HDNET, one of the possible TV partners for the new M1 Global.

[Rich1033]

Originally Posted by dervack

Today, the UFC is announcing a new TV partner. A couple of weeks back on a different board, I expected ESPN and the UFC to come together on a TV deal. Also, Randy has a press conference scheduled for 3:30 today in which he is supposed to give the reasons for his resignation. It will be carried on HDNET, one of the possible TV partners for the new M1 Global.

I would be really suprised with ESPN. My pick would be HBO.

[JonInMiddleGA]

NEW YORK, NY, October 25, 2007 - Spike TV, a division of MTV Networks, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization have agreed to a new, three-year extension of their strategic partnership, it was announced jointly today by Kevin Kay, President, Spike TV and Dana White, President, Zuffa, LLC d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship. The deal maintains Spike TV as the basic cable home to the UFC, the premiere brand in mixed martial arts, the fastest growing sport in America, through 2011.

The main components of the deal are:

• Seasons 9 through 12 of the highly successful reality series, “The Ultimate Fighter®.” The first five seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV were seen by 93 million viewers. *

• 12 live fight cards, “UFC® Fight Nights™,” hosted by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg. Spike TV will telecast four per year.

• Two seasons of a new, weekly live fight series (details to be announced at a later date).

• 39 one-hour episodes of “UFC® Unleashed™,” hosted by Mike Goldberg, featuring the greatest fights in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, many of them never seen before on basic cable. Spike TV will run 13 per year in ‘09, ’10, and ’11.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8406

[JonInMiddleGA]

Meanwhile, just saw that dude's hand on TUF. That's gross.

And the guy who said "his hand looks like a 3rd grader drew it" had a solid one-liner.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by Rich1033

I would be really suprised with ESPN. My pick would be HBO.

A couple of weeks ago, Dana was confident that the HBO deal would still happen even after HBO pulled out of talks, but now he expects the deal to never happen. I would imagine that M1 Global will sign with HBO, since they are new and wouldn't mind givig HBO full control over the show.

[Calis]

Been a while since we've had any updates on here and there's been some big news and such lately.

We've got GSP versus Hughes now on the 29th of December since Serra has been injured. I didn't expect that to be the replacement, and I'm pretty excited. A much more interesting fight to me, but I just don't see Hughes winning it. I wouldn't be shocked though, but he'll have to bring in a much different gameplan than he did last time.

Sean Sherk lost his appeal today on the steroids deal, but he did get the sentence reduced to 6 months, which started from when he was suspended so he's off suspension in January. Worked out well for him, as even if it had got overturned he'd still be waiting for the winner of Penn/Stevenson.

Fedor is going to fight on New Year's Eve. Early rumors were Hong Man Choi, but now it's kind of wishy washy on who he is fighting. Good to see him back even if it is a can. I can handle a can and then have him face Barnett ASAP. That New Year's Eve card that's M-1 Global is having is pretty damn stacked overall. Shinya Aoki, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gilbert Melendez, Mach Sakurai, Hidehiko Hasegawa, Ricardo Arona, Kazuo Misaki, Joachim Hansen and Luiz Azeredo are some of the names I've heard mentioned for it. They've even signed the screaming announcer lady from Pride which I'm pumped about. She was awesome. This is the closest we'll get to an actual Pride show.

Lets see, Sokoudjou has signed with UFC and is fighting on the Dec 29th card against Machida, so this is a pretty big fight and will propel one of those guys to the top. This fight, the WW title fight, and The Silva/Liddell match shapes up the next UFC as one of the best in a while.

This weekend we have Guida vs. Huerta which should be a pretty good fight. Two high energy guys, and Huerta finally getting a real test. It'll be interesting to see how he handles it, Guida will be a handful.