The Ultimate Fighting Championship (MMA) Thread

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Wow, Mir just broke Big Nog's arm, what a sick finish

Good for Frank. I like Big Nog just as much as the next guy, but if you don't tap your basically daring the guy who has the sub locked in to hurt you. With a guy like Mir hanging off you, who already has a track record of keeping neglected limbs as nick nacks, you have about a 2% chance of escaping and a 98% chance of being an overnight Youtube star and needing a ER copay. I have no problem with what Mir did.

Where I do have an issue is when a guy has been basically KO'd and the aggressor continues to pound away despite the obvious. James Irvin probably could have followed Terry Martin to the mat and landed a few more shots but after he smoked him with a highlight flying knee, just raising his hands and walking away looks far more badass. I know its the referee's job to protect the fighters in the ring at this point but when a guy is stone cold out a fighter should still have the wherewithal not to drop more bombs.

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Amazing, great strategy by Jones. The original plan was clearly to exploit the 10" reach advantage, but he wasn't landing and Machida hit him with a couple strong flurries. Mid-round, he throws the plan out and goes ground. A minute later, the fight is over. Such a complete package it's scary.

All the tools and the attitude to be the best for a while.

Aside from the slim chance of a Matt Serra/GSP type upset, which would most likey come from a Dan Henderson bomb, Jones should be a title holder for some time. He should be able to beat Henderson, is going to absolutely maim Evans (and I will cherish the lamantation of his harpy wife as it goes down) and would crush Thiago Silva. Who else is left aside from a Anderson superfight?

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

The UFC is adding a 125lbs divison and having a four fighter tournament to crown the champ. Ian McCall vs. Demetrious Johnson, and Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani. This starts March 3rd.

Exciting news. I'm also gald to see McCall in the mix. I remember seeing him pummell Ox Wheeler back in the WEC and came away impressed.

 

[hunter05]

Anderson basically gets to pick his own fights at this point, and I doubt very seriously that moving up to LHW and fighting Bones is something he'd agree to do. I don't even know that the UFC would want that. I'm confident that Jones would win that fight, his reach, size, and strength advantage would be just too much for Silva. He's a freak and I don't know that anyone, at least right now, in the LHW division can beat him. I love Hendo, he's my favorite fighter, but he's going to get finished by Jones and be just another name on his list as well. We'll see what happens when he moves up to HW.

 

[JimBoSox9]

On topic: http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/7005/jonessilva-superfight-would-need-stars-to-align

 

[NickEsasky]

Where I do have an issue is when a guy has been basically KO'd and the aggressor continues to pound away despite the obvious. James Irvin probably could have followed Terry Martin to the mat and landed a few more shots but after he smoked him with a highlight flying knee, just raising his hands and walking away looks far more badass. I know its the referee's job to protect the fighters in the ring at this point but when a guy is stone cold out a fighter should still have the wherewithal not to drop more bombs.

Except in the case of Michael Bisping. Dan Henderson getting in a few extra shots after the sick right knocked him out was one of the most enjoyable things I have ever witnessed in the UFC.

 

[hunter05]

Always worth viewing again.

 

[Daubach for HOF]

UFC Champions By The Numbers
-a pretty good graphical comparison of the champs- it would be even cooler if they did the same thing within weight classes, though. Fun to note: Jon Jones does not get taken down. At all. And hitting machine Dos Santos lands about twice as many strikes per minute as any other champion.

 

[beezer]

With Gilbert Melendez winning again last Saturday I'm thinking its definitely time to start sending some of the UFC guys out of the title hunt over to Strikeforce for a shot at the gold. I'd like to see them send over Maynard, Florian, and Guida to give Melendez a little more competition since he's essentially cleaned out the Strikeforce lightweight division.

Also, its being reported that the Heavyweight division in Strikeforce is done as soon as the tourney ends. Some very good fighters could make their way over and create some great battles in the UFC. I'd love to see Barnett/Mir, Silva/Cain, and Cormier/Nelson.

 

[NickEsasky]

With Gilbert Melendez winning again last Saturday I'm thinking its definitely time to start sending some of the UFC guys out of the title hunt over to Strikeforce for a shot at the gold. I'd like to see them send over Maynard, Florian, and Guida to give Melendez a little more competition since he's essentially cleaned out the Strikeforce lightweight division.

Also, its being reported that the Heavyweight division in Strikeforce is done as soon as the tourney ends. Some very good fighters could make their way over and create some great battles in the UFC. I'd love to see Barnett/Mir, Silva/Cain, and Cormier/Nelson.

Speaking of Heavyweights, how is Overeem going to pass a pee test in the UFC? I feel like the guy was a bantamweight like 4 years ago.

 

[Snowplow]

Speaking of Heavyweights, how is Overeem going to pass a pee test in the UFC? I feel like the guy was a bantamweight like 4 years ago.

I'm sure he has a highly funded masking agent if there is one. IIRC he was pretty blunt about the fact that he does steroids and picked some of his fights based on the testing protocol.(wish I had a link)
Maybe he went back to Holland to train was for this reason. It was said that his Mother is ill though.

 

[drtooth]

Looks like Overeem has driven Lesner back to the WWE, as Lesner announces his retirement after getting destroyed by Overeem.

 

[MikeM]

Looks like Overeem has driven Lesner back to the WWE, as Lesner announces his retirement after getting destroyed by Overeem.

When is Wrestlemania again, April?

Pretty sure the Undertaker still needs an opponent.

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Looks like Overeem has driven Lesner back to the WWE, as Lesner announces his retirement after getting destroyed by Overeem.

Lesnar might have been the softest 300lb guy to ever win the title. If you just touched his chin he would cover up. The textbook definition of a bully. If Carwin had better cardio this charade would have been over a year ago. Glad to see him gone.

What are the odds that Overeem passes the post fight drugtest? Slim? None?

And to me the story of the night was Nate Diaz running a boxing clinic on the Cowboy. I love the Diaz family. If Dana really wants to rake it in they get their own reality show tomorrow.

 

[Snowplow]

Lesnar might have been the softest 300lb guy to ever win the title. If you just touched his chin he would cover up. The textbook definition of a bully. If Carwin had better cardio this charade would have been over a year ago. Glad to see him gone.

What are the odds that Overeem passes the post fight drugtest? Slim? None?

And to me the story of the night was Nate Diaz running a boxing clinic on the Cowboy. I love the Diaz family. If Dana really wants to rake it in they get their own reality show tomorrow.

Nate Diaz may end up being better than his brother within the next few years. His boxing has improved so much because of hard work.

As far as reality show, count me in for wanting this. I hate reality shows but would cross over for the Diaz bros.

 

[rembrat]

I think Jardine actually used meth to cut down to 85.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Reading the tea leaves (Hendo turning down a fight against Lil' Nog; Evans getting the next shot at Jones; Jones wanting to fight sooner rather than later; no headliner for UFC 145 Mar 24 in Montreal or UFC 146 April 21 in Atlanta), here's my guess at how this shakes out

Evans beats Davis--->Evans fights Jones at UFC 146, potentially a big draw for the black community in the ATL, Hendo then gets the winner (or Silva) in the fall

Davis beats Evans, or Evans wins but is injured-->Hendo fights Jones at UFC 145 in Montreal, Davis (or the healed up Evans) gets the winner in the fall

 

[Infield Infidel]

Rousimar Palhares, what an absolute beast. Everyone at 185 should be terrified to fight him.

He got the leglock on before he even finished the takedown

 

[mikeford]

Jose Aldo with the celebration of the century

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

 

[Infield Infidel]

“So, Mr. Palhares, who’s next for you in the UFC?”
“When I fight, I like to go for the heel hook.”
I love this guy. I could watch him do heel hooks all day

 

[Snowplow]

Sonnen has been absolute gold with his pre- fight interviews. Really looking forward to the fights tomorrow night on Fox.

I think the UFC is rushing Phil Davis though. Not quite sure if he's ready for Rashad Evans. His wrestling may be better but his stand-up isn't even close imo. I'll be pleasantly surprised if he wins.
Also a heads up, The prelims will start at 5 p.m on Fuel T.V.

 

[Mr Weebles]

Also, Maximum Fighting Companionship is on HDNet tonight at 10. Antonio McKee is in the comain event vs. Brian Cobb.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Davis completely outclassed. He really doesn't know how to use his reach advantage yet. He did survive some solid shots from Evans. There's such a gap in quality between the top five in LHW and everyone else. Evans hardly broke a sweat

I'm greatly looking forward to Jones/Evans at UFC 145 in the ATL. Hopefully neither of them gets hurt in training.

 

[mikeford]

The judge who gave every round to Sonnen should be fired on the spot.

 

[kelpapa]

First fight I have watched since July. Rashad knew everything Davis was going to throw before he Davis threw it.

 

[kelpapa]

Holy shit, is this Barboza and Etim? I need to watch this fight.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Condit with a decision win over Diaz. It was certainly a tough fight to judge, I had them splitting the first two rounds, Condit getting rounds 3 and 4 and then round 5 was probably for Diaz. But I think while Diaz controlled the ring and pace, Condit hung with the pace easily and made way more contact on his strikes and especially kicks. Diaz didn't check or grab any of Condit's kicks, and so Condit kicked away with no regard for Diaz's defense. Stick and more was Condit's gameplan and Diaz never adjusted. His corner kept telling him he was ahead, and never gave him advice as to what to do to get Condit to stay in one place.

I think they make too much out of ring control or ring generalship or whatever you call it. Condit landed a lot more strikes, something like 140 kicks to Diaz's 19. Diaz I believe landed 10-15 more punches.

I don't think Condit's style will do much to stop GSP if and when that happens. Not likely until November (good god 9 months away)

 

[Big Papa Smurph]

Condit with a decision win over Diaz. It was certainly a tough fight to judge, I had them splitting the first two rounds, Condit getting rounds 3 and 4 and then round 5 was probably for Diaz. But I think while Diaz controlled the ring and pace, Condit hung with the pace easily and made way more contact on his strikes and especially kicks. Diaz didn't check or grab any of Condit's kicks, and so Condit kicked away with no regard for Diaz's defense. Stick and more was Condit's gameplan and Diaz never adjusted. His corner kept telling him he was ahead, and never gave him advice as to what to do to get Condit to stay in one place.

I think they make too much out of ring control or ring generalship or whatever you call it. Condit landed a lot more strikes, something like 140 kicks to Diaz's 19. Diaz I believe landed 10-15 more punches.

I don't think Condit's style will do much to stop GSP if and when that happens. Not likely until November (good god 9 months away)

I agree it was definately a tough fight to judge (and as a Diaz fan, who thought he won) either guy winning seems justifiable. One interesting thing is that two judges gave Condit 49 points, meaning they thought Condit won four rounds. Diaz definatley won the fifth (nothing really happened until he took Condit down). Condit definately won rounds 3 and 4. The first two rounds were probably split for them, mostly because Condit hadn't really gotten comfortable outside of leg kicks at that point and Diaz had a few fluries but did not do significant dammage. Is does not really matter because even if they gave Condit 48 points, it would not have changed the outcome, but that just stood out.

I don't know if you saw the prelims, But Stephen Thompson knocked out Stittgen with an absurd head kick. His whole repertoire was really unique and intersting to watch. I could see him having trouble with better fighters in the future, but that was very fun to watch.

 

[Snowplow]

I agree it was definately a tough fight to judge (and as a Diaz fan, who thought he won) either guy winning seems justifiable. One interesting thing is that two judges gave Condit 49 points, meaning they thought Condit won four rounds. Diaz definatley won the fifth (nothing really happened until he took Condit down). Condit definately won rounds 3 and 4. The first two rounds were probably split for them, mostly because Condit hadn't really gotten comfortable outside of leg kicks at that point and Diaz had a few fluries but did not do significant dammage. Is does not really matter because even if they gave Condit 48 points, it would not have changed the outcome, but that just stood out.

I don't know if you saw the prelims, But Stephen Thompson knocked out Stittgen with an absurd head kick. His whole repertoire was really unique and intersting to watch. I could see him having trouble with better fighters in the future, but that was very fun to watch.

Agree on both Points. I'm not so sure that it's because I'm a die hard Diaz fan though. I'm afraid that Condit really showed Nicks weakness. He stayed on the outside and was still able to land some good kicks. We were cheated out of seeing the Nick Diaz that just loves to brawl, that's the shittiest part. He's usually a fight of the night winner every time. As much as I hated it, Condits game plan was technically perfect.

Stephen Thompson's leg kick was brutal. I agree that once he gets in the cage with a wrestler/jjs guy he wont last long.

 

[Infield Infidel]

I don't know if you saw the prelims, But Stephen Thompson knocked out Stittgen with an absurd head kick. His whole repertoire was really unique and intersting to watch. I could see him having trouble with better fighters in the future, but that was very fun to watch.

Missed the prelims, so I just watched that fight, thanks for the tip! That was a hell of a kick, right below the ear.

He's got an awkward style for future challengers to prep for, which will certainly give him a shelf-life to get more acclimated in mma

 

[Infield Infidel]

Looks like Diaz-Condit II for sometime this summer. I don't really see why Condit would do this, probably because the UFC a) wants Diaz-GSP bad, and b) are bringing a wheelbarrow full of money to him. I hope he at least gets paid more than Diaz this time.

Not really sure why Diaz would do this either. A loss, and he has no chance at a title if Condit beats GSP. Fight Koshchek (a fight totally in his wheelhouse) and sit back and fight the Condit-GSP winner.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Crazy, Nick Diaz tests positive for marijuana, and his coach says there's no rematch

http://espn.go.com/mma/story/_/id/7559816/nick-diaz-tests-positive-marijuana-loss-carlos-condit

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Crazy, Nick Diaz tests positive for marijuana, and his coach says there's no rematch

http://espn.go.com/mma/story/_/id/7559816/nick-diaz-tests-positive-marijuana-loss-carlos-condit

Does this shock anyone? Diaz is nuts, which is a major reason why he's as good a fighter as he is. You can't have one without the other. And the crazy dude still doesn't get that he's going to piss hot if he smokes weed, even after getting caught already. According to his piss test after the Gomi fight he had smoked Cheech and Chong's entire van during warm ups.

(BTW I still think that he should have been awarded the win for that fight as pot is only performance enhancing for eating large amounts of awful food and willfully remaining in a prone position.)

While it's Diaz's own fault for getting busted for this a second time, It's still moronic that MMA fighters are tested and sactioned for something that makes them mellow and hungry.

 

[sachmoney]

I was really impressed with Condit's performance, based on his discipline. Condit is a fighter that finishes fights. Of his 28 wins, he has finished 26 of them. That wasn't a Condit fight. That was a "this is how I'm going to beat Nick Diaz" fight. Diaz wins fights by getting in guys' heads and getting them out of their game. Condit had a game plan and stuck to it. Even when Diaz taunted him, Condit kept doing what he was doing.

I think GSP-Condit can be a very exciting fight. It doesn't have the cache of GSP-Diaz, but I think Condit is a better fighter than Diaz. It will be interesting. GSP is a huge step up in talent over anyone else in that division as far as opponents go. Condit is going to have to do a lot of work to prepare for him. It'll be interesting to see how the two arrange their training since they are from the same camp.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Rampage with some sharp words for Joe Rogan

"If you win then Joe Rogan's got to do an interview with you," Jackson said. "And most likely he has been talking some crap about you and how you don't throw leg kicks. 'I don't know why he don't throw leg kicks' - because Joe, I am fighting a wrestler who wants to take me down really bad, that's why I'm not throwing leg kicks.
'He's so one-dimensional, he's so one-dimensional' - he's going on about jiu-jitsu the whole time. That's why [when it's time to talk to him] I'm like, 'Oh here comes Joe Rogan' and he's all fake in his face like he's not just picked apart your whole game like he's the best fighter in the world and he knows every decision you're gonna make while he is just sitting there watching you."
Asked by Fighters Only how a fight between Jackson and Rogan would go, Rampage replied: "I would beat the sh*t out of Joe Rogan - as long as he don't get me to the ground, because his jiu-jitsu is really good. I know he's got good jiu-jitsu because he's so biased towards jiu-jitsu guys. Every time a guy is a jiu-jitsu fighter Rogan might as well be playing the rusty trombone.
"I don't give a f***, I am sick of people putting their [opinions]. Sometimes [I can hear him], because Joe Rogan has one of those girly high-ass voices that you can hear. I just want to tell him to shut the f*** up. Let's see you do it. Let's see you come in here and kick this mother-f***er who wants to take you down. Shut the f*** up.

 

[Snowplow]

A good sign from Rampage. He was crazy like this around the time he beat Lidell. I want to see the the pre-hollywood Rampage against Bader.

 

[beezer]

Just a phenomenal card from top to bottom last night. Between the Pettis high kick, the Boetsch comeback, the Rampage slam, and the great back and forth main event that had to be the best card beginning to end in a while. Personally, I'm torn between wanting to see Henderson/Pettis 2 or Henderson/Edgar 2.

 

[jmm57]

Tons of quick finishes tonight. It feels a bit flat without some commentary though.

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Tons of quick finishes tonight. It feels a bit flat without some commentary though.

I thought the live fights were a good idea but you are right about the commentary. It was like you were watching a youtube clip with really solid production and camera work. I will say that Marcello looked sick. Guys that trained with Chute Boxe are usually pretty legit. Guys that trained fighters FOR Chute Boxe? You saw the results. He made a mockery of that Eddie Bravo blackbelt.

That Cruckshank guy looked dangerous and really unconventional and I'm sure he'll give people fits. And Justin Lawrence blitzkreig of Krause also impressed the hell out of me.

The other thing that might effect ratings is that there didn't seem to be any heat between Faber and Cruz during the fights. They will need to crank that up for the show to sell the conflict. Also might be a result of not alot of editing.

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Well the first team based episode of TUF was interesting. First of all I was really disapointed that Cruikshank got caught with that fluke knee. Brutal KO and even more deflating considering that he was dominating that fight and is clearly a better skilled fighter. But that's MMA. All it takes is one shot.

The stunt that Cruz pulled at the end of the episode was pretty interesting. Calling out Faber's entire team, daring them to fight Lawrence and then, when nobody stepped up, picked Marcello.

Huge Balls there. This could be the finale. I still like Marcello but if Lawrence wins the season is basically over.

 

[NickEsasky]

Well the first team based episode of TUF was interesting. First of all I was really disapointed that Cruikshank got caught with that fluke knee. Brutal KO and even more deflating considering that he was dominating that fight and is clearly a better skilled fighter. But that's MMA. All it takes is one shot.

The stunt that Cruz pulled at the end of the episode was pretty interesting. Calling out Faber's entire team, daring them to fight Lawrence and then, when nobody stepped up, picked Marcello.

Huge Balls there. This could be the finale. I still like Marcello but if Lawrence wins the season is basically over.

Agree 100%. All of Faber's team had their nuts removed on live TV by no one stepping up to take on Lawrence. If Marcello catches Lawrence in a submission though it could blow up right in Cruz's face.

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Agree 100%. All of Faber's team had their nuts removed on live TV by no one stepping up to take on Lawrence. If Marcello catches Lawrence in a submission though it could blow up right in Cruz's face.

And whoever wins that fight is the prohibative favorite for the season, barring the loser getting back in the mix somehow.

But it also sends a message to Cruz's team that Lawrence is the guy their "coach" thinks will win. On a show where the teams are largely a fabrication nessecitated by show design, it could lead to protracted infighting and strife.

BTW, Vick has not impressed me at all. Big kid. I thought he was lucky to get the decision in his first fight and the smaller Cruikshank was landing almost at will despite his reach advantage.

 

[NickEsasky]

And whoever wins that fight is the prohibative favorite for the season, barring the loser getting back in the mix somehow.

But it also sends a message to Cruz's team that Lawrence is the guy their "coach" thinks will win. On a show where the teams are largely a fabrication nessecitated by show design, it could lead to protracted infighting and strife.

BTW, Vick has not impressed me at all. Big kid. I thought he was lucky to get the decision in his first fight and the smaller Cruikshank was landing almost at will despite his reach advantage.

Agreed on Vick. His take down defense is probably the best part of his game I have seen so far. He got really lucky with that knee and even admitted it was supposed to be a kick. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Cruickshank was doing pretty much whatever he wanted leading up to knocking himself out throwing his face into Vick's knee.

 

[Curtis_Lesspanic]

Why was the best groundfighter in the TUF house trying to stand with a guy as explosive as Lawrence? Seriously, Faber needs to coach these guys and not just Shamrock his way through the show.

Marcello should have been trying to take Lawrence down the entire fight and Lawrence was clearly not letting his hands go completely because he was wary of Marcello's shot. A wasted opportunity for Marcello but now we know why he was training guys at Chute Boxe and not fighting for them.

BTW, given the way that Chute Boxe trains, I wasn't surprised that Marcello was fearlessly chosing to stand. Those guys are legitimately psychos.

But now I think this show is Lawrences to win.

 

[NickEsasky]

That strategy made absolutely zero sense at all. What the hell was Faber thinking? Or did he just let one of his assistants develop the game plan while he dicked around?

You would think that once Lawrence started scoring he would have scrapped the game plan and started shooting for take down; but nope, he just stood there trying to trade with a better striker.

My DVR cut off, what was the next announced fight?

 

[MikeM]

A tad OT at this point, but anybody catch Brock Lesnar in his WWE return last night?

Guess he's taking that "retirement" quite seriously. Looking like he hasn't even touched a weight since getting pummeled by Overeem.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Gustafsson looked really good last night, controlling range and very quick on his feet. Silva couldn't get comfortable, but how much of it was rust and how much was Gustafsson. I think all of the Jon Jones talk with Gustafsson needs to wait a bit. I'd be interested in seeing him fight Machida or Rampage