Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others)

[thesloppy]

It's a felony charge for someone that already has a record, what the UFC wants may not figure into it.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Really? You really think if they think he can sell a PPV that they are cutting him over this? This company will book anyone they think they can pop a buy rate from. They have no behavioral standard at this point. They basically encourage controversy.

He has lost his last 3, all poor to marginal performances and he is potentially going to be charged with a felony, which would likely bring jail time. So yeah, I think they let that ship sail. It's not like Dana and him are close anyway.

[PilotMan]

Man, judges never change. Not sure how they saw this Pitbull/McKee fight unanimously. It was really an incredible failure imo, and I have nothing but respect for Pitbull, and it's a great storyline, but damn, McKee simply outworked him in the 4th and the 5th. I had it 1/4/5 for McKee.

[BYU 14]

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano put on an absolute classic, that was easily the most significant fight in women's boxing history, like Ali / Frazier, Hearns / Hagler significant.

One of the most entertaining fights, regardless of gender or combat sport I have ever watched. At two points the crowd was so loud as they closed out rounds going toe to toe, he didn't hear the bell and let them fight well after it rang. Props to both ladies, can't wait to see the 2nd and 3rd fights between them down the road.

[AlexB]

Watching Bellator 280 Paris…

Spoiler

I’ve never seen Yoel Romero fight before, but wow. I looked to see why he was in Bellator and not UFC, and was amazed to see he fought at middleweight in the UFC - he looked like he was a good 20 pounds over the 205 by the time the fight took place, but is a specimen. I have no idea how good Alex Polizzi is, but Romero looked awesome

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Watching Bellator 280 Paris…

Spoiler

I’ve never seen Yoel Romero fight before, but wow. I looked to see why he was in Bellator and not UFC, and was amazed to see he fought at middleweight in the UFC - he looked like he was a good 20 pounds over the 205 by the time the fight took place, but is a specimen. I have no idea how good Alex Polizzi is, but Romero looked awesome

Quick reading reveals that weight cutting was an issue for Romero at time in UFC. Plus (as to why he's in Bellator), Romero is 45 years old and hadn't won a fight before this one since 2018.

[molson]

He was a killer in his prime in UFC, tons of brutal knockouts.

Wasn't the same after they started drug testing though.

[AlexB]

Wow. One judge of the main event of Bellator tonight needs to be fired.

Spoiler

added for clarity, the judge that thought MVP won needs to be fired - it was at least 49-46, if not 50-45

[BYU 14]

Holy Shit on the Texeira / Prochazka main event for the UFC 205 strap. One of the most vicious, grueling MMA fights I have ever seen, back and forth war the entire time. Imagine prime Glay Guida fighting himself and that is about what you got.

[thesloppy]

Yeah, that was a good fight.

[PilotMan]

Pretty solid slate of fights tonight. Every single one brought it.

[thesloppy]

Yeah, a great card. I think they set the record for finishes tonight, with 9.

[Edward64]

Been reading up on BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting), caught my interest because it signed a couple serious Muay Thai hitters. Rules are below.

These guys are MT "legends" so I am interested in seeing how this translates to BKF. Seems like they are fighting with 6 out of 8 limbs "tied behind their backs" and risking more (reputation) than they will gain (money, fame).

Check out below video clip for some highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVCB731kopY

Fighters are permitted to wrap and tape the wrist, thumb, and mid-hand. No gauze or tape can be within 1 inch of the knuckles.

Fighters will “Toe The Line” There are two lines, three feet apart, in the center of the ring where the fighters will start each round. The front foot will be on the line, and then the referee will instruct the fighters to “Knuckle Up” this means the beginning of the round/bout.

Punches are the only strike allowed and must be a closed fist. (No kicks, elbows, knees, or grappling)

In a clinch, the fighter may punch his way out with the open hand. If there is a three-second lull in action while clinching, the referee will break the fighters.

If a fighter gets knocked down, he will have 10 seconds to return to his feet, or the referee will stop the fight. You are NOT permitted to hit a downed fighter. If you do you will be disqualified, and your purse may be withheld. While a fighter is downed, the other fighter will be instructed to report to a neutral area.

If a fighter is cut, and the blood is impairing the fighter’s vision, the referee may call a timeout a give the cutman 30 seconds to stop the bleeding. If the cut cannot be controlled and the blood inhibits the fighter’s vision, the referee will stop the fight and award victory to the other fighter.

Fights are 2 minutes per round and each bout will be 5 rounds in length.

Attire: All fighters must have a groin protector with a cup, a mouthpiece, boxing trunks, and boxing/wrestling shoes.

[cartman]

Holy crap that was an incredible finish to the Usman-Edwards fight

[bhlloy]

Leon Edwards has a crazy backstory… couldn’t be happier for the kid. Never would have seen Usman get caught like that, but great to have another British champ finally.

[miami_fan]

Dana White's Power Slap League gets approval from NSAC

For those who are not familiar with the sport of slapping, here is a quick clip. Evidently, we are going to get a sanitized version of this in the PSL.

[PilotMan]

RIP to a man who helped put the Ultimate Fighter on the map, Stephen Bonnar. 45 freaking years old, presumed heart issues.

[thesloppy]

Damn, that's young.

[miami_fan]

Unfortunate given my last post about Dana White.

UFC's Dana White apologizes for physical altercation with wife

[molson]

You can't make this stuff up - Dana White's Power Slap League is premiering soon on TBS. But it's being delayed a week now. It's just two guys slapping each other.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by molson

You can't make this stuff up - Dana White's Power Slap League is premiering soon on TBS. But it's being delayed a week now. It's just two guys slapping each other.

You have clearly never heard of Vasily. He is known by many nicknames including the Russian Slap God. Here are five minutes you will probably enjoy.

hxxps://youtu.be/jPW3dUmyEjE

[Atocep]

So I watched the Paul/Fury fight.

First, Paul has improved a great deal but he's still low level professional level as a fighter. Fury has talent, but has a rep for not taking fighting very seriously. I think he took this fight pretty seriously and it showed. He was the better fighter, but Paul does have good power with his right. The problem is he spends the entire fight hunting a knockout with that right. He's one dimensional.

Because of Paul's popularity there's probably going to be controversy because of the point deductions, announcers leaning Paul's way on the decision, and Paul losing despite landing the knockdown in the 8th, but I had Fury winning a close fight.

All in all it was a solid fight and an entertaining card overall. Both guys in the undercard fight (Makabu and Jack) wipe the floor with Fury and Paul.

[Edward64]

I'm glad he lost.

As a pugilist, I had my doubts when he first started but he is a legit bad ass. I would not mess with him.

[BYU 14]

I thought it was an entertaining fight as well, and if Paul is as serious as he seems, it will be a great learning experience for him. Both these guys are nothing more than journeyman types right now, though Fury has at least developed the muscle memory a true fighter has and it was that advantage that won him the fight.

Paul has legit high level power, but he fights too robotically still and has not learned how to relax in the ring yet, which is why he gasses so fast. Those are things that experience will eventually help with. Still, his power kept me engaged in the fight, as Fury made some mistakes that left him open for the right hand, Paul just couldn't capitalize on them. Having formerly Boxed and being around the sport, I can say, Paul has improved at an impressive rate in a short period of time, but he really needs to re-think his path if he really wants this life IMO.

If I was handling him, I would tell him to forget about these big PPV spectacles right now. Since you are partnered with ESPN and PBC, work with them to get on the undercard of some upcoming big fights, and be more traditional in your career trajectory. Fight actual boxers, that don't have a name or drawing power that you can beat and grind for a year or so. The holes in Paul's game are all things that will improve through actual in ring experience, not in the gym and those will make the difference for him. If he continues to take fights like this last one, he is going to lose more and the novelty will wear off real quick. Pay your dues, then go for more events like this one.

On a side note, that referee, who I have never seen before, was absolutely crap. Imposed way too much of himself onto the fight and neither of the two times he took points away were worthy of point deductions. In fact it seemed the second time against Fury was almost a make up call.

[molson]

I didn't know a thing about the Paul brothers until they started boxing/pro wrestling, so maybe I just didn't have a chance to develop any dislike for them, but I think it's pretty awesome that two kids from Ohio got rich from Youtube nonsense and then parlayed that into living out fantasies on the big stage of pro boxing PPVs against big-name MMA fighters and wrestling at Wrestlemania and in WWE title matches. And both are actually pretty good at it!

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by molson

I didn't know a thing about the Paul brothers until they started boxing/pro wrestling, so maybe I just didn't have a chance to develop any dislike for them

Welllll, if you ever do want to develop a dislike for them just combine "Paul brothers" with the search terms "sexual assault", "suicide exploitation" or "crypto scam".

I relish the day those morons stop bleeding over into MMA 'news'.

[thesloppy]

Speaking of MMA and shitty people, this weekend marks the return of Jon Jones to the UFC.I can talk all sorts of shit about Jones but I'll certainly also be watching. The rest of this card is absolutely stacked (on paper), anybody else looking forward to it?

[molson]

Feels like a classic famous older guy v. less-famous younger guy fight where the better betting value is the younger guy, who usually wins these kinds of fights. And Jones is the favorite, though not overwhelmingly (-165).

Jones hasn't looked dominating for a while (and not since he last popped for PEDs). Moving up to heavyweight, that has to be considered too, he may have his compound pharmacies working overtime. Though - he actually looks kind of chubby.

I'll be in Oregon over the weekend with their legal betting (one of several things banned in my state but not over the border), and I'll probably lose some money in ill-advised parlays up and down this card.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I relish the day those morons stop bleeding over into MMA 'news'.

Sooooo, when they retire?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by molson

Feels like a classic famous older guy v. less-famous younger guy fight where the better betting value is the younger guy, who usually wins these kinds of fights. And Jones is the favorite, though not overwhelmingly (-165).

Jones hasn't looked dominating for a while (and not since he last popped for PEDs). Moving up to heavyweight, that has to be considered too, he may have his compound pharmacies working overtime. Though - he actually looks kind of chubby.

I'll be in Oregon over the weekend with their legal betting (one of several things banned in my state but not over the border), and I'll probably lose some money in ill-advised parlays up and down this card.

Gonna agree with you here. Great chance for Gane. Jones has been chin checked many times at LHW and his advantages at 205 are going to be minimized in HW. I think with him having fewer fights on his body gives him some bonuses, and his overall talent is still there, but the HW division has undergone some changes as well since he was dreaming of moving up. I think I'd bet Gane and take the money. If you're going to catch Jones it's going to be in his first fight back in the cage with all the rust and speed coming at him all at once. Gane is only 3 years younger. Both guys have gone the distance enough that it they should know how to get there if they need to. I'm just not sure Jones will have as easy of a time at HW as we thought back in the day when he was cleaning out LHW.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Sooooo, when they retire?

Sad but true.

[thesloppy]

I really don't know what to think about Jones. It's been sooo long since he fought & who the hell knows where his mind is at, especially after all the talk for literal years I am kind of surprised at how fast this fight came up on us & it'll be fascinating to see if he's immediately ready for top-level competition at HW. He's impossible to read because he's a calculating sociopath but even in the midst of previous issues/controversies he's never really exhibited any issues with the mental/motivation game once the fight starts, so maybe all of that's just my wishful thinking.



I absolutely want to see Gane piece him up early and often, but it will also be kind of great if he wins. Everybody loves a good heel.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by molson

I'll be in Oregon over the weekend with their legal betting (one of several things banned in my state but not over the border), and I'll probably lose some money in ill-advised parlays up and down this card.

I might do this too, but I am theee worst at betting MMA.

[thesloppy]

"I always wanted one of these" ~Joe Rogan

[molson]

Fortunately never got around to betting!

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

He has lost his last 3, all poor to marginal performances and he is potentially going to be charged with a felony, which would likely bring jail time. So yeah, I think they let that ship sail. It's not like Dana and him are close anyway.

UFC 287 co-main event on April 8th.

If this company will book Jon Jones in a title fight after his long line of criminal offenses, they will book anyone. ANYONE. I know most people tend to forget, but we should all remember that Jon Jones was convicted of winning a fight against a female waitress that was just trying to do her job. Maybe we can book a re-match for his first title defense.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Welllll, if you ever do want to develop a dislike for them just combine "Paul brothers" with the search terms "sexual assault", "suicide exploitation" or "crypto scam".

I relish the day those morons stop bleeding over into MMA 'news'.

Let's get ready to scaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmm

Round 1!

Exposing Logan Paul v. Dillon Danis - YouTube

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Let's get ready to scaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmm

Round 1!

Exposing Logan Paul v. Dillon Danis - YouTube

God, that's a vortex of buttholes. Dillion Dannis is like a case of MMA herpes that Conor McGregor left us all with, how/why is he still here?

[dubb93]

What happens if Tyson Fury loses this fight? Through 7 Ngannou has a real chance. He’s knocked Fury down and cut him. ESPN live play by play has it tied with Fury fading faster than Ngannou.

[dubb93]

Two rounds left and Fury needs both of them.

[dubb93]

ESPN gave them both to Fury but called the last one close. Final scorecards incoming.

[SirFozzie]

split decision for Fury.

Buster Douglas still has the record for biggest upset of a Tyson (Mike instead of Fury)

[dubb93]

Split decision has to be a home run for Ngannou. Wonder if these two rematch it up after Fury-Usyk.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wouldn't this result be a strong indication that Fury is pretty much cooked?

[dubb93]

Depends on how good Ngannou really is a I guess.

[dubb93]

If he’s the 2nd best heavyweight in the world but was just playing the wrong sport this whole time then no. I mean Fury didn’t look cooked in his last fight before this.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Depends on how good Ngannou really is a I guess.

He's an aging MMA fighter. Might be a tough guy but there's zero planets where he should be taking an alleged legit top boxer to the limit (and by most accounts beating him except for sketchy judging)

Maybe Fury is a top 2 heavyweight ... and it's really boxing that's completely cooked.

[Atocep]

I think the most likely thing is Fury didn't take this fight seriously since it wasn't a title fight and wanted to get through training and this fight healthy for the Osyk fight.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

He's an aging MMA fighter. Might be a tough guy but there's zero planets where he should be taking an alleged legit top boxer to the limit (and by most accounts beating him except for sketchy judging)

Maybe Fury is a top 2 heavyweight ... and it's really boxing that's completely cooked.

Quite honestly I was surprised how good Ngannou looked, considering his lack of experience. He looked natural, athletic and showed good timing. Quite honestly there are guys in the top 10-15 he beats right now and if he stays in boxing he could become a contender. The big hole I saw in his game is not putting punches together consistently and looking for the big punch instead. Beyond that his defense was not terrible and he has a chin.

That said, I don't think Fury took him seriously and most likely viewed this as a hard sparring session he would make bank on, without disrupting his date with Usyk.

After tonight though, I say there is absolutely no way we see Fury / Usyk this year, as Fury was an embarrasment.

[dubb93]

There is a real argument that the heavyweight division is just terrible right now. The champs are Fury and a Cruiserweight. The Heavyweight kingpin before Fury was a sloppy power puncher without much in the way of actual boxing skills.

I honestly don’t see why a guy like Ngannou couldn’t be competitive in this division.