UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

[ManiacMatt1782]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

It doesn't matter if it was done by noon, they went against Pac.

I am not going to argue about it....agree to disagree.

They used themselves as a lead in to Pac. Not compete against him.

[jeremym480]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Great card. From the prelims to the main event, there wasn't a dull moment.

Some quick notes:

- Siver looked awesome against Phan. I've always been a fan of his and I think that he's going to be a force to be reckoned with a FW.

- Cruickshank also looked great. I know that they're not in the same division right now, but him against Wonder Boy would be a fun fight to watch.

- I don't know if there's been a fighter that has made me go from liking someone to disliking them as much as Rory did tonight. He's no GSP that's for sure. Like other's have said, I wouldn't mind seeing him go against Ellenburger or Fitch next.

BJ needs to go to 155 and be motivated or stay retired, these fights he keeps taking at 170 look horrid. At this point hes done, although Id argue that he wasnt done after the *** kicking he took from Diaz but I guess he wanted to get his *** kicked one more time for good measure.

I completely agree. BJ is my favorite LW ever. It's disappointing to see him try to fight bigger guys at WW. What's even more disappointing is seeing the look on his face during the fights. The fire that was in champion BJ's eyes just isn't there anymore. Like you said, he needs to either put in the work and go back down to LW or retire.

- Gustafsson showed that he deserves to be in the conversation with the big dogs tonight. I still think he's behind the Henderson/Machida winner though. I would like to see him step up and take a rematch with Phil Davis. If he won that, then that may propel him above the other winner. Well, in my eyes at least.

Agree to disagree. UFC should never go against Pac or Floyd.

If this were a PPV, then you may have a point. However this was a free card. Boxing fans are going to be in front of the TV anyway. You might as well give them a warmup. This is a great way to score some new fans for the UFC.

[Sandman42]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Well if it means anything, the bar I was at last night relegated the UFC fight to the TV's on the side and in the corners. The main screens were all focused in on either the Knicks game, Heisman presentation, and the boxing PPV. Even the undercard for the boxing PPV had more peoples attention than Henderson/Diaz fight did.

[alestfu]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

You guys are totally going to disagree with me, but in my opinion ( yes my opinion ) , Henderson did have amazing leg kicks , techniques , and so.
But when it came to Diaz, Henderson would run away.
Like Condit vs Nick , Henderson repelled Diaz's punches.
I know it is way of blocking but it all came to me like deja vu.
Diaz tries to punch , Henderson backs away , then Henderson goes for the "powerful" leg kick which indeed made Nate a little stumbled .
If Henderson werent to always back away , it would have been a much more emotional fight.


By the way , its my opinion .
Not everyone is going to agree with it.

[DJ]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

You guys are totally going to disagree with me, but in my opinion ( yes my opinion ) , Henderson did have amazing leg kicks , techniques , and so.
But when it came to Diaz, Henderson would run away.
Like Condit vs Nick , Henderson repelled Diaz's punches.
I know it is way of blocking but it all came to me like deja vu.
Diaz tries to punch , Henderson backs away , then Henderson goes for the "powerful" leg kick which indeed made Nate a little stumbled .
If Henderson werent to always back away , it would have been a much more emotional fight.


By the way , its my opinion .
Not everyone is going to agree with it.

Diaz, when he had the distance, didn't throw punches like he usually does. Likely due to the combination of the leg kicks and the fact that Henderson was taking him down at will.

And, why would Henderson just stand there like a punching bag? The whole point is to avoid strikes, which he did a great job of.

[aholbert32]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Diaz, when he had the distance, didn't throw punches like he usually does. Likely due to the combination of the leg kicks and the fact that Henderson was taking him down at will.

And, why would Henderson just stand there like a punching bag? The whole point is to avoid strikes, which he did a great job of.

Exactly. The Diaz technique only works well when the person is willing to stand in front of them and throw punches. That approach is ****ing stupid. The Diazs are perhaps the best boxers in MMA so a person would have to be stupid to stand and trade with them.

Also, this was NOTHING like the Condit fight. Hendo was constantly pressuring Nate. He used his wrestling to ragdoll Nate and was constantly striking with him on the ground. I'll never understand the position by the Diaz camp and their fans that if you use any strategy to fight them you arent a "real fighter" or "you were running".

[The Chef]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Diaz, when he had the distance, didn't throw punches like he usually does. Likely due to the combination of the leg kicks and the fact that Henderson was taking him down at will.

And, why would Henderson just stand there like a punching bag? The whole point is to avoid strikes, which he did a great job of.

Exactly. The Diaz technique only works well when the person is willing to stand in front of them and throw punches. That approach is ****ing stupid. The Diazs are perhaps the best boxers in MMA so a person would have to be stupid to stand and trade with them.

Also, this was NOTHING like the Condit fight. Hendo was constantly pressuring Nate. He used his wrestling to ragdoll Nate and was constantly striking with him on the ground. I'll never understand the position by the Diaz camp and their fans that if you use any strategy to fight them you arent a "real fighter" or "you were running".

Both of these posts are spot on and I couldnt "like" them enough. Its the entire reason why Nick and Nate sit there and jaw at their opponents all fight and drop their hands in hopes of coaxing them into a brawl and when it works they look masterful but when it doesnt then we get them and/or their fans bitching about their opponent running from them and not engaging.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Nate himself knew he was not the better fighter at the end when he congratulated Bendo and gave him his props and raised Bendo's arm.

The Diaz brother's techniques aren't exactly that stupid, their styles have won them many fights against top tier talent and gotten them into title fights. So I don't know how that's stupid. It's simply that they cannot defend wrestlers, especially when they're powerful ones like Benson. Their styles have baited many fighters into stand up battles which is obviously what the Diaz brothers want, it's more smart than stupid. Their inability to deal with wrestlers have been their obvious shortcomings.

I imagine the GSP/Diaz fight to go sort of the way of last night. GSP will simply close the range and wrestle Diaz to the mat or pin him to the cage and hold him.

[alestfu]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Exactly. The Diaz technique only works well when the person is willing to stand in front of them and throw punches. That approach is ****ing stupid. The Diazs are perhaps the best boxers in MMA so a person would have to be stupid to stand and trade with them.

Also, this was NOTHING like the Condit fight. Hendo was constantly pressuring Nate. He used his wrestling to ragdoll Nate and was constantly striking with him on the ground. I'll never understand the position by the Diaz camp and their fans that if you use any strategy to fight them you arent a "real fighter" or "you were running".

I have nothing against your opinions, wisley enough I didnt mean that Henderson would just stand there, but at the same time im not controlling Henderson.
Yes , i agree Nate could have done better and he did get out of those punches very well.
And I used a wrong example , my apolagies.
My only problem was , Henderson just through tiny little powerful kicks and at time though some actual good punches .
Henderson is also better than that.
Point blank is , whats next for these two?
I know it isnt going to happen but a rematch would be good.
This fight was very confusing,

[alestfu]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

[EDIT] I have nothing against your opinions, wisley enough I didnt mean that Henderson would just stand there, but at the same time im not controlling Henderson.
Yes , i agree Nate could have done better and he did get out of those punches very well.
And I used a wrong example , my apolagies.
My only problem was , Henderson just through tiny little powerful kicks and at times through some actual good punches .
Henderson is also better than that.
Point blank is , whats next for these two?
I know it isnt going to happen but a rematch would be good.
This fight was very confusing.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

I don't see what was so confusing about the fight. Diaz brothers like to stand and bang. They turn MMA fights into boxing matches, which is what they are good at. This isn't boxing, this is MMA. Henderson mixed up his strikes, Nate didn't. You will very rarely see a Diaz brother throw leg kicks, that is just something they don't do and they very rarely check leg kicks as well.

So if you are a MMA fighter and your background is taekwondo would you not throw leg kicks against a fighter that you know will never check them ? Henderson just had the better game plan. He attacked the lead leg, took Nate down repeatedly, passed his guard quickly and dropped bombs on his face. Very sound game plan.

Diaz brothers don't ever adapt. Their whole way of fighting is to bait you into a boxing slugfest. That is their style and if you so happen to take them down but remain in their guard, they will try to submit you. Those 2 things are their only threat to any fighter. If you avoid those 2 things, you can beat them all day everyday because they are way too predictable.

So what is next ????

Henderson vs the winner of Cowboy vs Pettis more then likely sometime around the spring or early summer.

Nate Diaz climbs his way back to the top. Let him win 3 fights in a row, then get another title shot.

[ubernoob]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

I know it isnt going to happen but a rematch would be good.
This fight was very confusing,

It wasn't confusing at all. Henderson showed he is in a different class than Diaz and completely and utterly destroyed him.

Henderson has no shortage of challengers to the belt. Lightweights are absolutely stacked, and is probably the UFCs deepest division. I can't wait to see a couple of the young guys in this division (Trujillo, Cruickshank) get a bit more experience. Cruickshank had an excellent fight against Martinez knocking out a guy with a hell of a chin, and Trujillo out-wrestled one of two undefeated NCAA wrestlers in history en route to kneeing his way to victory.

Melendez, Pettis/Cerrone winner, hell even someone like the winner of Miller/Lauzon deserves a shot before Diaz gets his rematch. We'd just see the same fight again, with Diaz having no shot at a victory. They could even bring in Alvarez to fight him if they manage to sign him to a contract.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Gotmadskillz makes it sound like Nate and Nick are easy to beat.. All I'll say is they have gotten very far and accomplished great things with their "predictable styles". It isn't exactly a piece of cake to get inside and stop them from boxing you. It isn't exactly easy to avoid their subs once the fight hit the mat.

Bendo is simply a great champion and a smart one. He has all the tools and mental fortitude to be champ in what is the best division for a long long time. How about giving him the credit for taking Nate out of his element [something that many have been unsuccessful at] and stop making it sound like Nate is some slouch, lol.

Going back to my other post, people can call out the Diaz' all they want for not adapting, but it isn't exactly the easiest thing to do when you've sort of peaked already. Not everyone can be exceptional in every area either, everyone has their weaknesses. These other younger guys are still learning the game, learning themselves and can change/evolve a lot easier than guys like the Diaz' who are who they are by now.

With how easy it is to gameplan for the Diaz as some make it out to be, they sure have beaten some talented fighters.

[aholbert32]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

Nate himself knew he was not the better fighter at the end when he congratulated Bendo and gave him his props and raised Bendo's arm.

The Diaz brother's techniques aren't exactly that stupid, their styles have won them many fights against top tier talent and gotten them into title fights. So I don't know how that's stupid. It's simply that they cannot defend wrestlers, especially when they're powerful ones like Benson. Their styles have baited many fighters into stand up battles which is obviously what the Diaz brothers want, it's more smart than stupid. Their inability to deal with wrestlers have been their obvious shortcomings.

I imagine the GSP/Diaz fight to go sort of the way of last night. GSP will simply close the range and wrestle Diaz to the mat or pin him to the cage and hold him.

My bad. I wasnt calling the Diaz's approach stupid, I was calling fighting against them and playing into that approach stupid. I will say I'm dissapointed in both of them because they have made no attempt to improve and its capped their ability to succeed at the top level of MMA. I love Nick Diaz but anyone being honest will see that SF fed him NOTHING but strikers who will stand and bang with him (Shamrock, Smith, Noons x2, Cyborg Santos, Zaromskis, Daley). Not one wrestler in the bunch. Also, his and Nate's fighting style uses zero side to side movement and only moves forward which wrestlers love to see. That equals easy takedowns and easy to pin against the cage. Nick faces the first guy not willing to walk forward and backwrads against him in almost 5 yrs and Condit wins that fight.

Same for Nate. He lost to Maynard, Kim and Mcdonald..all wrestlers. The UFC then puts him in against Gomi (stagnant striker) Cerrone (who is well rounded but fought perhaps the dumbest fight of his career) and Miller (a solid grappler but not a high level wrestler). He fights another high level wrestler and gets dominated just like he did against Kim and McDonald.

I blame Cesar Gracie and his camp. They have failed to bring in high level wrestlers into the camp. Melendez is the only good wrestler their and he has become more of a striker in recent years. I was working out and was watching Nick fight Josh Neer at UFC 62 and it was pretty much the same Diaz we see now. No stance to protect against wrestlers and no side to side movement. If he brings that gameplan against GSP...he loses.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: UFC on Fox 5 - Bendo vs. Diaz, Gustafsson vs. Rua, Penn vs, MacDonald - Dec 8

My fault, actually I should have knew what you were saying there.

Anyway, below is Diaz flipping off Bendo, something that I didn't see because they would censor it by cutting to a blank screen on Fox. I'm OK with the taunting and trash talking but this was uncalled for.

NSFW

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