Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others)

[INDalltheway]

Garbrandt is electric. Needed to jump on Cruz though after he stunned him those several times.

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by molson

Ya, Holm punched Rousey repeatedly in the face for about 6 minutes before knocking her out. Obviously Rousey can't do that again and survive against Nunes. But hopefully she'll fight smarter. And Nunes isn't the boxer that can do what Holm did. She can knock Rousey out in an instant, but otherwise, there's bound to be some clinch stuff up against the cage, takedown opportunities, and those will only increase the longer the fight goes, and that all favors Rousey. I don't think Nunes can handle Rousey in a longer fight, but it will be damn impressive if she can.

I think it's the opposite, but could easily be wrong. I think it's either quick Rousey armbar or 2-3 round Nunes KO.

[CrescentMoonie]

Great performance by Gabrandt. Last time I was that off about the challenger not yet being ready was Dillashaw.

[kingfc22]

Rousey is done.

[CrescentMoonie]

Ronda who? Go back and watch the Tate fights. Rousey got caught flush on the chin in both. Her stand-up isn't even amateur level. +200 for the win and +250 for the KO both fell in my favor tonight.

[PilotMan]

I see how this went down. Rousey didn't want to look like she was going to have a repeat by rushing in and chasing, so she thought she would wait for her spot and show that she could handle being patient.

She clearly overestimated her ability to handle the brutal strikes that Nunes brings in the cage. She really needed to aggressively close in this one more than ever.

Kudos to Nunes for earning a ton of cred in this fight. Rousey is probably done. She should've walked away when she'd cleaned out the division and let the next gen take over rather than having her legacy tarnished with these 2 brutal KO's.

[BigPapi]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Rousey is done.

No doubt. What was that? After the Holm fight I thought she'd learned her lesson about her glass chin.... But she didn't have the hands or quickness to get out of the way. Confidence looks shot as well.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a fighter of her caliber look that bad in back to back fights. U.G.L.Y.

[molson]

Garbrandt is a beast. If you look at Cruz's career, he's really one of the greatest of all time, and Garbrandt just dominated him.

The Rousey fight was just sad. Barely shows up and runs like a coward out of the cage afterwards. Just a shocking downward trajectory in her career, perhaps caused by her stupid loyalty to the the guy who recently claimed his annual income was $0 in a bankruptcy filing. Her and Travis Browne have both fought like garbage the last two years and ZERO other fighters other than those two weirdos have trusted Tarverdyan with their careers. (Looking forward to Derrick Lewis smashing Browne soon). I don't know how great Nunes is, but she delivered, and there's no obvious contenders in the division now. She's definitely the best of that mediocre bunch now, especially with the bigger and stronger women moving up to the new 145 division.

Bring on Baruto!!!!

[JonInMiddleGA]

And the 30th entrant in this year's Wrestlemania is ...

[CU Tiger]

Can't belive a Ronda stepped in and out and never tried to circle. This after we heard how she worked on boxing techniques primarily for a year.

I love Rowdy, but it's over. Hang em up, make movies and live a happen life.

Unfortunately that's notbher. If she never fights again, she will be a celebrity tragedy story within 3 years.

[molson]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

make movies

Her movie stardom has dropped the last year and it will drop even further now.

Ronda Rousey movie project on hold amid studio questions about her acting chops - Bloody Elbow

But, from all accounts, she doesn't really need the money. She's kind of a nerd who lives frugally, so she can probably just be a beach bum frover with the money she's already made.

[Calis]

Fantastic performance from Garbrandt I didn't expect. Apart from a couple showboating moments where he could've finished the fight and taking the last round off he fight phenomenally. I thought he had a chance to KO Cruz of course but never expected him to dominate like that.

Likewise to a much lesser extent with Dillashaw. I expected TJ to win but that was a hell of a showing.

The main event I don't even know what to say.. That was an embarrassing performance and I really have no idea what they spent the last year working on. Rousey definitely has a career that's fallen to her own ego.. since I blame her ego for her coach and her refusal to adapt. She started at such a higher skill level than anyone else in the division and just did nothing to grow while everyone else evolved.

[CrescentMoonie]

Nobody in the division had any kind of legit standup when Rousey was running roughshod. The moment she ran into fighters who could strike, she was exposed for the one trick pony she is (granted, it may be the greatest one trick in MMA).

[molson]

Originally Posted by molson

Bring on Baruto!!!!

Damn it Baruto

Crocop-baruto - Streamable

[molson]

Here's the fight with corner audio from Edmund. It's somehow even sadder this way.

edmund audio ronda - Streamable

(the instructions weren't bad, Rousey just couldn't do either thing - head movement or clinch).

[BigPapi]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Nobody in the division had any kind of legit standup when Rousey was running roughshod. The moment she ran into fighters who could strike, she was exposed for the one trick pony she is (granted, it may be the greatest one trick in MMA).

This.

[CrescentMoonie]

I don't care what his instructions were, he's the worst coach in MMA (at least at the UFC level).

[Calis]

Originally Posted by molson

Here's the fight with corner audio from Edmund. It's somehow even sadder this way.

edmund audio ronda - Streamable

(the instructions weren't bad, Rousey just couldn't do either thing - head movement or clinch).

I'm not sure what to make of this. I agree the instructions were good but you really have to wonder what the hell they've been training on for years if this is the advice necessary(and ignored). There's some major failures all around.
P
I just get this feeling her entire camp is focused around making her look/feel good and she's not actually doing any real sparring or being put in bad situations. Seems to go along with the way she acted with media and everyone else after the Holm loss also.

What a bizarre rise and fall.

[CrescentMoonie]

Tarverdyan is the guy who killed Jake Ellenberger's career and is doing the same to Travis Browne. Browne was 16-2-1 (7-2-1 in UFC), coming off a decision loss to Werdum in a title contender fight, and has gone 2-3 under Tarverdyan with the wins against Schaub (retired) and Mitrione (out of UFC).

He is legitimately in the discussion for the worst coach of UFC fighters.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Nobody in the division had any kind of legit standup when Rousey was running roughshod. The moment she ran into fighters who could strike, she was exposed for the one trick pony she is (granted, it may be the greatest one trick in MMA).

Well, most trailblazers in their divisions are. You've got a great dominance in one area until the rest of the world trains up and becomes true MMA fighters, then you need to evolve too. Royce Gracie, in his prime, would get his ass kicked at 185 today.

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Tarverdyan is the guy who killed Jake Ellenberger's career and is doing the same to Travis Browne. Browne was 16-2-1 (7-2-1 in UFC), coming off a decision loss to Werdum in a title contender fight, and has gone 2-3 under Tarverdyan with the wins against Schaub (retired) and Mitrione (out of UFC).

He is legitimately in the discussion for the worst coach of UFC fighters.

2-4 according to USA Today.

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

2-4 according toUSA Today.

USA Today got it wrong. Browne didn't make the switch until after the first Werdum fight. He's had 5 fights since then with only Schaub and Mitrione as wins while losing to Arlovski, Cain, and Werdum again.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And the 30th entrant in this year's Wrestlemania is ...

Mickey Gall?

[PilotMan]

You know, fuck Rousey. She made a living off of one sided beat downs and she talked a shit ton of smack along the way. This is karma coming back to bite her in the ass. Whatever she chooses, to go out like this, or try and recuperate what's left of her career this seems like the personality reset that she genuinely needed.

[booradley]

Definitely has not handled herself like a champion.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

You know, fuck Rousey. She made a living off of one sided beat downs and she talked a shit ton of smack along the way. This is karma coming back to bite her in the ass. Whatever she chooses, to go out like this, or try and recuperate what's left of her career this seems like the personality reset that she genuinely needed.

Agree with this post 1000%. Shake hands? Nope, not gonna do it. What's so crazy is that the #1 tenant of most martial arts teachings is respect. Two kinds of respect. Respect the other person as a figher and respect the other person as a person.

Rousey does neither. I'm sick of reading the "I feel so sorry for Rousey" crap that I have seen today. No, I don't feel sorry for a person with horrific sportsmanship. I don't cheer for them to get injured, but I'm damned well not going to shed a tear when they get destroyed in competition either. I'm not only glad she lost, I'm glad she can go back into a hole and I'll never have to what she calls sportsmanship again. (I don't watch wrestling, so if she goes into that arena, I'll be clueless)

[molson]

At least she touched gloves before the fight this time - I'm not sure she's ever done that. I thought, "hey, maybe this is a new Ronda". Nope.

Such a contrast with how Cruz handled his loss. He talked to the media for a long time, discussing where the fight when wrong for him, complementing his opponent, talking about the next steps in his career, etc.

[PilotMan]

Cruz v. Team Alpha Male just feels like a rougelike game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

Such a contrast with how Cruz handled his loss. He talked to the media for a long time, discussing where the fight when wrong for him, complementing his opponent, talking about the next steps in his career, etc.

What he said.

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by molson

At least she touched gloves before the fight this time - I'm not sure she's ever done that. I thought, "hey, maybe this is a new Ronda". Nope.

Such a contrast with how Cruz handled his loss. He talked to the media for a long time, discussing where the fight when wrong for him, complementing his opponent, talking about the next steps in his career, etc.

Did she touch gloves? I seem to remember that she didn't, but I think that is a moot point to be honest. With that said, I'm not too sure I would have wanted to stick around the way Nunes was jumping around and screaming right before the decision was announced.

The other thing that stood out to me was that Nunes had a chance to market herself and her brand after the W, but instead made the whole thing about Ronda. There is a reason she made 30x less than her opponent in that fight..

[molson]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

Did she touch gloves?

She did touch gloves at the end of the ring announcer/ref instruction bit, where Herb Dean says "if you want to touch gloves, do it now." Which was definitely a new thing for her. She didn't touch gloves as the fight was starting, but a lot of fighters don't like to do that, when the bell rings, they want to be in fight mode, and I get that. By ya, with Rousey, it's a moot point, there's so many more actions and inactions from which to evaluate her poor sportsmanship.

[Suicane75]

Nailed it.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by molson

She did touch gloves at the end of the ring announcer/ref instruction bit, where Herb Dean says "if you want to touch gloves, do it now." Which was definitely a new thing for her. She didn't touch gloves as the fight was starting, but a lot of fighters don't like to do that, when the bell rings, they want to be in fight mode, and I get that. By ya, with Rousey, it's a moot point, there's so many more actions and inactions from which to evaluate her poor sportsmanship.

Agree totally and it speaks volumes on her character, or lack thereof. It's easy to be a front rumor, but adversity never let's you lie.

As an aside, this fight also finally let's us see what would have happened against Cyborg.

[PilotMan]

Speaking of Cyborg. I see her abandoning this effort to drop weight and set up a fight with Rousey. A fight with Nunes would be interesting, but it'll never have the same $$$$ as the Rousey fight would have.

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Speaking of Cyborg. I see her abandoning this effort to drop weight and set up a fight with Rousey. A fight with Nunes would be interesting, but it'll never have the same $$$$ as the Rousey fight would have.

First she has to avoid her latest expected drug suspension.

[Suicane75]

Cyborg can fuck right off. Roided up con artist who complains about weight cuts while fucking powelifting. She can eat a dick.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Cyborg can fuck right off. Roided up con artist who complains about weight cuts while fucking powelifting. She can eat a dick.

Her own or someone elses?

[CrescentMoonie]

Todd Grisham is the replacement for Mike Goldberg?

[molson]

He was hired, but I don't think he's the Goldberg replacement. It looks like he's joining the FS1 team. I wonder if we'll see Anik with Rogan on PPV for a while, with Grisham doing some of the FS1 and Fight Pass shows with Brian Stann and Dan Hardy. Dana White said something about wanting to have Goldberg's permanent replacement by July.

[molson]

I hate conspiracy theories with a passion but I think there's a strong chance that the Kimbo/Shamrock and Sonnen/Ortiz fights were fixed. Not by Bellator, but by "gentleman's agreement" between the fighters. They wanted to make money without taking damage and took Bellator for a ride. Both fights followed a similar pattern. The loser gets to save face and look strong early, and then the winner turns the table and loses in a strange manner. You just don't see fights like that anywhere else - not in UFC, not in smaller regional promotions, they both looked like scripted fights. Sonnen didn't even try to get out of what was not even a locked in choke. Either he has reached late-state dementia already or he wanted to go home early.

[CrescentMoonie]

Non-TRT Sonnen is a terrible fighter.

[Flasch186]

I thought it was fixed live.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by molson

I hate conspiracy theories with a passion but I think there's a strong chance that the Kimbo/Shamrock and Sonnen/Ortiz fights were fixed. Not by Bellator, but by "gentleman's agreement" between the fighters. They wanted to make money without taking damage and took Bellator for a ride. Both fights followed a similar pattern. The loser gets to save face and look strong early, and then the winner turns the table and loses in a strange manner. You just don't see fights like that anywhere else - not in UFC, not in smaller regional promotions, they both looked like scripted fights. Sonnen didn't even try to get out of what was not even a locked in choke. Either he has reached late-state dementia already or he wanted to go home early.

While I agree that this and the Slice/Shamrock fight both looked suspicious, it is possible to finish from the position Ortiz had him in, it is not likely. I have been in a similar position a few times, and while it hurts like hell, it is not a position that would normally put you out, because more of the arm is over the jaw than the carotid.

That said, Tito is a strong guy and it could have been painful enough to cause Sonnen to say F it, since he was not going to escape and Tito would probably have worked it under his chin eventually. But still, even a BJJ scrub like me has not tapped from that position before, so to see a world class MMA fighter do it, no matter how strong Tito is. Yeah, I am very skeptical.

Contrast this RNC to the one the Shamrock had Slice in. He was full under the chin and a fighter with his skills should have been able to finish it, especially when you look at Slice's lack of competence in BJJ. Hooks in, choke locked and it seemed like he just relaxed and let Slice out. In that position he could have held the choke a lot longer without his arms gassing.

It really is crazy to think this shit is going on in Bellator because they have some talented guys on the roster and shouldn't even be wasting time with these seniors and freak show performers.

[CrescentMoonie]

I'll argue against Sonnen ever being a world class MMA fighter. He's a very good wrestler who couldn't even win a WEC belt, in a weak division, until Paulho Filho lost his mind. Even then, it took TRT to make him competitive.

[molson]

I'm open to the idea that it wasn't fixed and that Chael just really sucks when, as he put it, he's "basically clean."

I've also heard speculation that Bellator now wants to setup Ortiz v. Liddell, now that Chuck has been fired from his comfy office job by the new UFC owners. I think that's just speculation for now, but, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

I'll argue against Sonnen ever being a world class MMA fighter. He's a very good wrestler who couldn't even win a WEC belt, in a weak division, until Paulho Filho lost his mind. Even then, it took TRT to make him competitive.

I am just looking at UFC itself as the pinnacle of the sport, therefore anyone making it there is legitimately world class in the way a soccer player in the EPL is world class. Guess it just depends how you define world class, but I train with guys that have some sick BJJ skills and the layers you see in that sport alone are amazing. Then you look at the gap between high level amateurs and professionals and it gives you a different perspective I guess. Sonnen is world class based on my definition, but far from elite in that group.

BTW, if you really like BJJ, check out Leandro Lo, this dude is out of this world.

Leandro Lo - Can't Hold me down (Highlight) - YouTube

[thesloppy]

Seems worth mentioning that the Ralek Gracie match was a shitshow that smelled like a greaseball hunting for a paycheck as well. What a joke that promotion is. Is Bjorn Rebney crying or laughing?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Seems worth mentioning that the Ralek Gracie match was a shitshow that smelled like a greaseball hunting for a paycheck as well. What a joke that promotion is. Is Bjorn Rebney crying or laughing?

That was a horrible bout, he landed more foot stomps to the mat than total legit strikes even attempted.

The Daly bout and the other undercard bouts were all fun though. The sad thing is King Mo and Rampage shape up like another in a long line of shitty main events.

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I am just looking at UFC itself as the pinnacle of the sport, therefore anyone making it there is legitimately world class in the way a soccer player in the EPL is world class. Guess it just depends how you define world class, but I train with guys that have some sick BJJ skills and the layers you see in that sport alone are amazing. Then you look at the gap between high level amateurs and professionals and it gives you a different perspective I guess. Sonnen is world class based on my definition, but far from elite in that group.

BTW, if you really like BJJ, check out Leandro Lo, this dude is out of this world.

Leandro Lo - Can't Hold me down (Highlight) - YouTube

Who did he beat before TRT? He made it to UFC because they bought WEC while he was still under contract and lost his first fight after the purchase. I don't buy him as anything more than a really good wrestler who lost 3 fights to Jeremy Horn.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Who did he beat before TRT? He made it to UFC because they bought WEC while he was still under contract and lost his first fight after the purchase. I don't buy him as anything more than a really good wrestler who lost 3 fights to Jeremy Horn.

In UFC? Sobral, Dan Miller, Nate Marquardt, all pretty good fighters and he led Silva on all cards before he got stupid. You forget he was in UFC twice, earning his way there the first time, and the Miller and Marquardt wins came after he came back when they absorbed WEC. Don't confuse world class for elite, earning your way to UFC and beating the guys he beat to get a shot at Silva qualify him as the former.

Beating Silva and making a couple of defenses would have solidified that, but again, winning against good fighters in the top organization put you in the argument. I am not saying he was a complete MMA fighter, but he earned his stripes in the UFC.

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

In UFC? Sobral, Dan Miller, Nate Marquardt, all pretty good fighters and he led Silva on all cards before he got stupid.

Before TRT. Those were fights after he was juiced to the gills. He got a 6 month ban after the Silva fight because his T-to-E ratio was 16.9-1 when 1-1 is normal and 4-1 was the max allowable. That level means you were using to cover steroid use. He then claimed that the 5 illegal substances that led to his recent two year suspension were to help transition off TRT. He also recently admitted that he was taking TRT to get an edge despite years of denying it.