Official UFC Thread

[Thread Manager]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is 252799

[Warhammer]

I couldn't find the Ultimate fighter thread, so I will make an official UFC thread for everything UFC and such.

Is anyone gonna watch Shamrock/Ortiz 3 tonight?

:cool:

[TheVileOne]

Looks like Mike Brown avoided the latest UFC cuts. He got lucky. If he loses again I think he would get cut.

I'm a big fan of Mike Brown but unfortunately he has not been the same since he lost to Aldo. It is almost like Aldo stole his fighting spirit.

I'm hearing that DREAM and K-1 are about to go under in Japan.

[CrypticOne]

Someone should change the name of this thread. MMA.

Yeah, Mike Brown is lucky. The only reason he isn't being cut is because of the divison he is in. FW is already a shallow divison. If he was a LW, he would've got cut, guaranteed.

[Iron_Stark]

Yeah shouldn't this be renamed the MMA thread?

Anyway, Strikeforce looks to have a pretty good card tonight.

[E-Man]

Jacare! Jacare! Jacare!

[Warhammer]

Yeah, mods. Rename the thread to the MMA thread.

[Iron_Stark]

That was one hell of a fight! Sorry Wandy but Diaz is the new God of Violence!

WAR MF'n Diaz!!!

[E-Man]

**** Nick Diaz! He's full of **** by saying he'll fight anybody. He ducks Mayhem while calling ou GSP and Anderson in fights he know won't happen. I hate guys like that. "Yeah man I'll fight anybody. I'd take on GSP man. I would beat him." Yeah, but why won't you fight Mayhem who has been calling you out like crazy and is in the same damn company you are in?

[B]

I can't get Strikeforce events in the UK so I've only seen the Diaz/Cyborg Main Event on Youtube.

Cyborg absolutely kicked the **** out of Diaz, Diaz probably landed more strikes, but in comparison Cyborg did far more damage for the simple fact that he threw everything with conviction. Some of the leg kicks he landed were savage, Diaz won't be able to walk in the morning. Nice submission win though, but it looked very soft.. especally when you consider Cyborg's a black belt in BJJ.. he'll be disappointed he gave that submission up so easily.

**** Nick Diaz! He's full of **** by saying he'll fight anybody. He ducks Mayhem while calling ou GSP and Anderson in fights he know won't happen. I hate guys like that. "Yeah man I'll fight anybody. I'd take on GSP man. I would beat him." Yeah, but why won't you fight Mayhem who has been calling you out like crazy and is in the same damn company you are in?

:funny:

Nick Diaz cracks me up, winning that Strikeforce WW title has went to his head. He isn't even close to being anywhere near GSP or Anderson Silva's level... not even close. Infact he wouldn't even be able to earn a shot at GSP because he'd have had his ass kicked by several of the UFC WW contenders.

Or alternatively send Koscheck over to Strikeforce for 1 fight to take care of that chump, that would be 1 time that I would gladly support Koscheck & would love to see him beat Diaz down.

[CrypticOne]

Nick Diaz would slaughter Mayhem. And GSP would slaughter Diaz.

[E-Man]

I give Diaz 50/50 against Mayhem. Mayhem's got good grappling and he is pretty durable. I can't think of one time he was destroyed by someone because he always hangs in there no matter what. And if he can hang with Shields on the ground without being severely outclassed like most guys he can hang with Nick. Shields' grappling is light years away from Nick's and most people.

[Paroxysm]

The only time Diaz will ever fight Miller is when he has his brother and training partners holding him down. He's been drinking the bong water and believing in his own hype.

[TheVileOne]

Strikeforce puts on some decent shows with fun fights but they are mismatched as hell.

Diaz is good fighter and talent but the guy he beat had a record of 18-13. Cyborg is tough but he's not a world beater or worthy contender.

Diaz is full of **** saying OH I WANT TO FIGHT GSP AND ANDERSON SILVA and then says he fights for Strikeforce and Showtime. He's not a good company man. He's a phony bad boy.

[Iron_Stark]

Diaz would skull f*** Miller.

[El Bastardo]

I love both the Diaz brothers and their ****-talking ways, but Nick looked like trash in that fight, with the exception of the finish.

[CrypticOne]

Picks for this weekend?!

Anderson Silva via decision
Forrest Griffin via decision
Jon Jones via TKO
Jake Ellenberger via TKO
Miguel Torres via submission

Should be an all around great card. Hopefully they show Kid Yamamoto's fight. I expect great things from him at BW.

[E-Man]

I have Anderson, Rich, Jones, Ellenberger, and Torres. Mighty Mouse is going to spoil Kid's debut. He's the real treat there. Kid was the man a few years ago, but the injuries and age have slowed him up a bit. He's still got talent, but Mighty Mouse is a freaking...mighty mouse man! That guy is awesome.

[CrypticOne]

Yeah, I would've liked to see 'Kid' in the WEC two-three years ago. He's been losing recently, but hopefully he's hungry for the win.

[TheVileOne]

I think Silva destroys Belfort and will weather the early storm. Belfort just doesn't have the mental strength or gas tank to beat Silva.

Franklin beats Griffin.

I'm predicting Bader to make the upset happen against Jones.

I like Mendes over Omigawa.

This is one of the most stacked cards I've ever seen. A huge ton of top 10 and top 15 guys on this card. Awesome. Also Mighty Mouse will beat Kid Yamamoto!

[CrypticOne]

I actually hope Bader wins, I dislike Jones. I just don't see it happening. Jones is better in everything. Hopefully a big left lands for Bader though.

[Iron_Stark]

I'm rooting for Belfort all the way.

Also why hasn't this been changed to the MMA thread?

[Paroxysm]

Hey Mods, get on that!

[TheVileOne]

Eh, UFC is the only promotion that matters anyway :p .

FYI everyone, Kid Yamamoto/Demetrious Johnson fight at UFC 126 will be streamed live on Facebook this weekend. This is similar to what they did for the prelims of the Fight Night for The Troops event. Kid Yamamoto is a big name fighter from Japan. Should be interesting to see how he handles fighting in the cage in the US.

[Norman Osborn]

Belfort has fought less than 4 minutes in over 24 months......Anderson will destroy him.....

Not sure who to pick in the Franklin/Griffin bout but think Griffin may be a little too strong for Franklin.....

Picking the upset with Bader....and Ellenberger is an up and coming beast at WW

[Paroxysm]

My picks

Anderson Silva via submission
Rich Franklin via decision
Jon Jones via TKO
Jake Ellenberger via TKO
Miguel Torres via submission

Torres looks sharp, he's hooked up with Firas Zahabi and trains in Montreal.

[B]

Beast of a card tonight, Reeeeaaalllly looking forward to it.

Silva/Belfort staredown at weigh ins was amazing, Silva wore a white mask that kinda played along with something Belfort has said in the build up to the fight. Hopefully the fight matches the statedown. :up:

Jones/Bader & Griffin/Franklin are gonna be 2 great fights as well.. can't wait.

[El Bastardo]

Fyeah. Jones vs. Shogun!

[The Game]

Silva is P4P King, now can we end the discussion

[El Bastardo]

Yeah, talk about a wow.

[BlackLantern]

my thoughts

i7dbdZlsR3Y

[louiebling$]

Silva Wins Via SPARTA KICK :awesome:

[CrypticOne]

Simply amazing. Wow.

Shogun is gonna steamroll Jones. Can't wait.

[mrvlknight21]

Simply amazing. Wow.

Shogun is gonna steamroll Jones. Can't wait.

Man, youre nuts. Jones is ridiculously good. I believe Shogun will beat Rashad, but his reign will end after that.

Silva once again is left with no decent contenders.
I was glad to see my hometown boy Griffin win again, I hope this is a climb back to the top for him.

[B]

Anderson Silva is the P4P King, without question.

There are a handful of really top strikers in the UFC & I'd class Vitor as one of them, but Anderson Silva is above them all.. hes just so dynamic & throws outragous elbows, knees & kicks like the one last night. It looked like Leonidas's kick from 300! :awesome:

Really it's gonna take someone to get Anderson Silva to the ground & practically hold him there for 5 rounds in order to beat him.. and even there he is dangerous with his elbows & submission capabilities.

Oh yea & Jon Jones, what a domination of Ryan Bader.. Bader's wrestling.. or at least his shots don't transfer into MMA that well. Jon Jones vs Shogun.. this is gonna be an interesting fight.

[E-Man]

Jones has a really good shot against Shogun. Shogun's main weakness is getting taken down and his cardio, and at 205 you have some very strong wrestlers that can do that without getting swept by him. The key is how good Jones' control is to get in some ground and pound without getting reversed. I haven't seen him be on the defensive from the top, but at the same time he's so damn strong and long that he is a nightmare for anyone once he takes them down. Shogun goes down when someone wants to take him there. I think Jones could ragdoll Shogun and wear him out before getting the finish.

[Iron_Stark]

Silva is no doubt the greatest fighter in the world, and I don't see anyone beating him. That said he's still a ****ing B****.

Jones is going to get skull ****ed by Shogun. Beating Bader was good, but Shogun is on another level.

Miguel Torres looked like a timid fighter now.

[Paroxysm]

That fight was ****ing sick. I loved when Sliva looked low and then flicked his foot high. THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!! BAM! right on the Belforts chin. I heard Seagal helped Silva perfect that move a few months ago.




Jones is going to get skull ****ed by Shogun. Beating Bader was good, but Shogun is on another level.

We'll see. I can see thing going either way but more in the way of Jones. :woot:

[B]

Jon Jones has a very good chance against Shogun, that being said Shogun is a good solid class above anything that Jones has faced before. His striking is far superior to Bader's & Shogun has a solid ground game.

Shogun should try & do what he did against Machida to try & kill some of Jones spring/elusiveness... ie chop his legs down with those savage leg kicks.

[E-Man]

I will have my ass there if it happens!

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/06/cowboys-stadium-rogers-centre-possible-hosts-for-silva-gsp-supe/
LAS VEGAS -- Georges St. Pierre (http://www.mmafighting.com/tag/Georges+St+Pierre/) will main event the first stadium show in UFC history when he takes on Jake Shields in April.

If he wins, he'll likely get a second big stage immediately following it.

UFC president Dana White said that if St. Pierre defeats Shields, it will set up a long-awaited St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva (http://www.mmafighting.com/tag/Anderson+Silva/) superfight for the middleweight championship, and the event is a near-lock to take place at a stadium. Among the possible hosts? Texas' Cowboys Stadium, and Toronto's Rogers Centre.

"It makes sense that we'll do a stadium show," White said after Silva knocked out Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. "It totally makes sense. and you know, if there was ever a fight where we were going to do Dallas' [Cowboys] Stadium, this would be the fight."

Cowboys Stadium is the home of Sunday's Super Bowl, but White has met with its executives in the past about possibly holding an event there. He got his first taste of the showcase stadium when he attended a Manny Pacquiao fight, and became convinced that a UFC show would make sense there.

"When I saw that stadium I said, 'we can definitely do this,'" White said. "It's a great atmosphere for a fight."

Cowboys Stadium is no lock, though. White said a return trip to Rogers Centre in Toronto could be another possibility. Tickets to the UFC's first foray to the Toronto stadium go on sale this week, with about 42,000 tickets available. A sellout would nearly double the existing North American MMA attendance record.

A Silva-St. Pierre superfight would be an even hotter ticket, but Shields can cancel the party by playing spoiler at UFC 129 on April 30.

[Paroxysm]

I just re-watched the Jones/Bader fight and did anyone else notice Jones say something to Bader when he was choking him out? You can clearly see Jones saying something but in the post fight conference someone asked him if he said anyone and he claimed he didn't.

????

I wonder what it was?

[CrypticOne]

HAHA! Jones stand-up is sloppy as hell. I don't know what some of you guys are seeing. Jones is a good wrestler. His striking is flashy, but it sucks. He's only landed some of the stuff he has because of his reach. Shogun is a muay thai specialist. I expect Jones to either get knocked on the feet or leg-locked.

[zanos]

Sonnen is the only fighter who has any chance against Silva. I realize Silva has made a reputation for being a great striker, but opponents give him way too much respect. The second the fight starts they're already on the defensive and hanging back. This works out perfectly for Silva, because it allows him to set up his entire arsenal of kicking attacks, dance moves and cartwheels. I can imagine Anderson feels absolutely no pressure when he's in these types of situations.

[Paroxysm]

HAHA! Jones stand-up is sloppy as hell. I don't know what some of you guys are seeing. Jones is a good wrestler. His striking is flashy, but it sucks. He's only landed some of the stuff he has because of his reach. Shogun is a muay thai specialist. I expect Jones to either get knocked on the feet or leg-locked.

If Forrest Griffin can choke out Shogun than so can Jon Jones.

[E-Man]

HAHA! Jones stand-up is sloppy as hell. I don't know what some of you guys are seeing. Jones is a good wrestler. His striking is flashy, but it sucks. He's only landed some of the stuff he has because of his reach. Shogun is a muay thai specialist. I expect Jones to either get knocked on the feet or leg-locked.

But Shogun has terrible takedown defense, so it's going to go to the ground if Jones wants it there. Shogun's ground game is also highly overrated. He's great at reversing position and ground and pound, but he leaves himself too open to attacks when he's countering going for sweeps. He also has pathetic cardio. He's only been past the first round six times in his career, and in all six fights except the Machida one he gassed and looked bad. The Machida fight didn't have a lot of grappling, so Shogun not gassing is more indicative of the style of fight rather than Shogun having an improved gas tank.

Now you can say something similar about Jones, but if both gas he's in better position because he'll be the one making Shogun carry his weight. Forrest used his weight well against Shogun, and that was with a partially torn shoulder heading into the fight. If Jones is healthy he'll toss Shogun around while forcing him to carry 220-230 over and over again. For a guy with a history of bad cardio that's a huge problem he'll have to overcome.

[CrypticOne]

Why are people looking at the Forrest/Shogun fight?! If they fought again, Shogun would destroy him. He was coming off of knee surgery and messed his knee up again in that fight. I'm taking nothing from Forrest, I was actually rooting for him in that fight, but come on. If we get a 100% Shogun, no one is stopping him.

Shogun's TDD does suck, but I bet he's been working the hell out of it, even training for Evans.

Jones has lanky limbs too. He takes a powerful kick from Shogun, I wouldn't be surprised if his legs folded or arms got broken.

[Paroxysm]

I mainly brought it up because Shogun has been choked out twice in his career and that seems to be Jones best move. If Jones can score a TD it's bad news for Rua.

[E-Man]

For all the talk about Shogun's knee, Forrest had an injury just as bad. He needed shoulder surgery, and he still had problems with it up until last year. Forrest wasn't 100% either, but he beat Shogun. Shogun may beat him if they fought again, but I'd give Forrest a good shot to pull off the upset again. Shogun just isn't that good going past the first round, and that even goes back to the ZOMG mighty Pride days when Shogun was supposed to be an unstoppable monster.

[Iron_Stark]

I will have my ass there if it happens!

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/06/cowboys-stadium-rogers-centre-possible-hosts-for-silva-gsp-supe/

Holeeeeee s***!

If it does come to the Death Star, I'll save as much money as I can and make the short drive to it.

[B]

Sonnen is the only fighter who has any chance against Silva. I realize Silva has made a reputation for being a great striker, but opponents give him way too much respect. The second the fight starts they're already on the defensive and hanging back. This works out perfectly for Silva, because it allows him to set up his entire arsenal of kicking attacks, dance moves and cartwheels. I can imagine Anderson feels absolutely no pressure when he's in these types of situations.

I'm probably giving Anderson Silva way too much credit, but when you hear all the **** Chael Sonnen talked about Anderson Silva/Nogueira/BJJ.. I think Anderson Silva went into that fight to submit Chael Sonnen.

Put simply, I think Anderson wanted to fight from his back. I think he let Chael take him down easily.

He came out to the fight dressed in BJJ gear didn't he as well?

I'd love to see a rematch between those 2 & have Silva punish Sonnen on the feet with one of those Sparta kicks.

If Forrest Griffin can choke out Shogun than so can Jon Jones.

I agree with you but the Shogun that fought Forest Griffin wasn't the Shogun that dominated Pride & is the current UFC LHW Champion in my opinion. He genuinely looked a little ring rusty, gased out a little & probably underestimated what Forest Griffin had in his arsenal.

Shogun has a very solid ground game, but Jones is an absolute beast. It's a very intriguing matchup. I think Jon Jones is far more of a threat to Shogun than Rashad Evans is. That being said Jones will really need to bring his A-Game because Shogun is without question a far bigger threat than Ryan Bader or anyone else hes fought/destroyed.

[brainchild81]

Jones is the next LHW champ.

[CrypticOne]

Jones will be the next guy to have a spagetti'd leg.

[El Bastardo]

Doubtful.

[B]

Yeeessss!

This is still a very big rumour & could prove completely false.. however "word on the street" is that Thaigo Silva has had to withdraw from his fight at UFC130 with Rampage & apparently Rashad Evans is being lined up to fight him in a rematch.

Link (http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/73159.html)

I hope this is true because I wanna see that punk Rashad get beat down for all the absolute crap he talks & did talk about Rampage "Oh I'm gonna knock Rampage out!" etc.. what a crock of ****, he ****ing hugged his way to a decision win & went into that fight with no intention of trading punches with Rampage.

I was saddened we didn't get to see Shogun beat Rashad down, especally after during one of his usual **** talking sessions on TUF he made it seem like it was an embarassment to be KO'd under Pride rules by a beast like Shogun... that being said I'll gladly accept Rampage shutting that fools mouth with his fists instead. :up:

http://www.espn.co.uk/PICTURES/CMS/7900/7944.jpg

[El Bastardo]

I'd rather see Rampage vs. Thiago, to be honest.

[TheVileOne]

I'm guessing the issue has to do with Thiago Silva's pre-fight drug test from UFC 125. It hasn't come back yet so I'm assuming that means he tested positive for something.

So Thiago Silva isn't injured like he claims, but something might cause him to get suspended and keep him from fighting Rampage.

[B]

I'd rather see Rampage vs. Thiago, to be honest.

I'd love to see it as well, but someone needs to take Rashad down a peg or two. Hes not as good as he thinks he is, he is however an expert at hugging people to death.

[TheVileOne]

I also want to see the fight, but Thiago Silva is likely juicing, so what can you do?

[E-Man]

I'd love to see it as well, but someone needs to take Rashad down a peg or two. Hes not as good as he thinks he is, he is however an expert at hugging people to death.

As the resident Rashad fan I have to remind you that Rashad is elite. As a matter of fact I think Rashad would have soundly beat Shogun because he's a really bad matchup for him. He also does more than hugging. Check out round 3 after he got rocked in the Rampage fight. He held Rampage down for about a minute and just laid some serious punches on him.

Right now he'd beat any light-heavyweight on the planet. Him shutting down and outclassing Rampage should've shown how good he really is, but people keep talking about that fluke instance when he ran into Rampage's knee on the takedown. It's okay though. One day you'll all be doing the Rashad dance of happiness. Our empty bandwagon will be filled after he retires and people realize that he has one of the best resumes in MMA at his weight class.:o

[El Bastardo]

Rashad wouldn't beat Jones. Or Anderson. So no, he wouldn't beat any light-heavyweight on the planet. Not like either fight would happen, but it's a point.

[B]

As the resident Rashad fan I have to remind you that Rashad is elite. As a matter of fact I think Rashad would have soundly beat Shogun because he's a really bad matchup for him. He also does more than hugging. Check out round 3 after he got rocked in the Rampage fight. He held Rampage down for about a minute and just laid some serious punches on him.

To be fair, Shogun is just as much a bad match up for Rashad as Rashad is for Shogun. Rashad's standup is his biggest weakness & Shogun's biggest strength. Hes only fought 1 'elite/technically skilled' striker that uses everything in his tool bag & that is Machida and he struggled quite badly with his ability to counter Rashad feinting/throwing.. considering Shogun then outcountered Machida with savage leg & body kicks.. twice, it would be safe to assume he could cause Rashad alot of trouble.. moreso that Rashad would cause Shogun on the ground anyway.

I'm being a little facetious when he says all he does is hug people of course, but the truth is he does little to no damage when he gets fighters on the ground. He doesn't have the technique to be able to keep a fighter grounded so he can lay in some damaging punches or elbows like say Jon Jones has done or Randy Couture has done in the past. He concentrates more on trying to control the fighter than actually finishing the fight much like Jon Fitch does.. hense why both get the reputation of being not only boring, but being blankets.

Right now he'd beat any light-heavyweight on the planet. Him shutting down and outclassing Rampage should've shown how good he really is, but people keep talking about that fluke instance when he ran into Rampage's knee on the takedown. It's okay though. One day you'll all be doing the Rashad dance of happiness. Our empty bandwagon will be filled after he retires and people realize that he has one of the best resumes in MMA at his weight class.:o

I'd definatly disagree with the first line if your implying that Rashad is the best LHW going.

To be fair it would be quite interesting to see a rematch between Rashad/Rampage, Rashad I believe took Rampage down in all 3 rounds but he did struggle to do so, actually drawing out long clinches in which he failed takedowns if memory serves..
After the fight Rampage said that he underestimated Rashad's wrestling ability & probably neglected wrestling prep in his camp, which is his own fault of course as it is MMA after all. However I think Rampage was under the assumption that Rashad, after all the **** he talked, was gonna try & KO/hurt Rampage rather than just outpoint him by grinding out a win.

I know it sounds like an excuse, but this was an active fighter fighting someone coming back from a lay off & visibly had some ring rust in that fight.. it would be interesting now Rampage looked like he had shaken off the ring rust against Machida & now knows what Rashad is like. It would be amusing to see Rampage wrestle & grind out a win over Rashad in the same fashion. :D

[E-Man]

I do find it funny that Rampage pretty much did to Machida what Rashad did to him. I don't blame him though because Machida is a guy that's hard to catch. You gotta beat him somehow. If he's going to be better striking than you then clinch and try to beat him.

The difference between Rampage doing that to Rashad is that Rashad has some really great defensive wrestling. You can take him down, but it's hard to keep him in one spot. Rampage will have to clinch and use his superior size and strength to keep Rashad in the same spot because with his speed and scrambling Rashad will weave his way out and reverse position. Rashad is quicker than Rampage and better at scrambling, so Rampage is going to have to corner him before doing anything.

Either way it goes I'll be happy because they're two of my favorites. I've been fans of them since Rampage was in Pride and Rashad was on TUF. People can complain all they want, but I love them both. I just prefer that they fight other people because I'm a little sick of rematches so soon. The light-heavyweight division is so deep that there are other interesting matches I want to see.

[CrypticOne]

I'd rather see Rampage vs. Thiago, to be honest.

Agreed. Well, I hope Rampage wins this one....

[B]

I do find it funny that Rampage pretty much did to Machida what Rashad did to him. I don't blame him though because Machida is a guy that's hard to catch. You gotta beat him somehow. If he's going to be better striking than you then clinch and try to beat him.

The difference between Rampage doing that to Rashad is that Rashad has some really great defensive wrestling. You can take him down, but it's hard to keep him in one spot. Rampage will have to clinch and use his superior size and strength to keep Rashad in the same spot because with his speed and scrambling Rashad will weave his way out and reverse position. Rashad is quicker than Rampage and better at scrambling, so Rampage is going to have to corner him before doing anything.

It was completely different though in the sense that Rampage's clinches were not purposely initiated. Both he & Machida were trying to establish their striking game & they just so happenen to end up in a clinched position.

Due to the fact that Machida likes to fight to the full extent of his reach & is a hard guy to punch alone, it was inevitable that for Rampage to beat him he'd have to close the distance & land either a punch or do some damage in the clinch.. which he did do.

Whereas in Rashad/Rampage fight, Rashad's goal was to smother Rampage & either take him down or wear him out against the cage.. point scoring if you will.

Either way it goes I'll be happy because they're two of my favorites. I've been fans of them since Rampage was in Pride and Rashad was on TUF. People can complain all they want, but I love them both. I just prefer that they fight other people because I'm a little sick of rematches so soon. The light-heavyweight division is so deep that there are other interesting matches I want to see.

I agree about the rematches, but sadly with the amount of injuries & people with bouts already set up at LHW, there aren't alot of options in regards to people in title contention..

[E-Man]

Well it looks like Hamill will be fighting Rampage instead of Thiago or Rashad. I'm glad it's no rematch, but I think it's a mismatch. Hamill is a tough guy though. Rampage is the better fighter on paper, but he may come in and surprise everyone by outwrestling Rampage. That's a very tough task though. Rampage looks like he'll be a heavy favorite.

[B]

Just saw this myself, I don't really like this fight.

Rampage is basically in title contention & Matt Hamill isn't, hes only had wins over Tito & Jardine since he took a savage beating from Jon Jones before he (Jones) was harshly DQ'd considering the fight should have already been over.

On paper this looks like a mismatch.. and it should be. Hamill is a good wrestler, but really considering Rampage is a good wrestler & superior striker he should be KO'ing Hamill.. but regular as clockwork because I've said that & because Rampage is one of my favoured fighters.. watch as Hamill ends up ****ing pulling off a freak win.

[E-Man]

I wonder where this puts Phil Davis. Hamill was the perfect match for him to see how far he has really come. A young guy with a lot of promise like that needs a gatekeeper like Hamill to see if he is really good. Hamill also needs guys like Davis because he's a good fighter but not going to be higher than he is now. They were perfect for each other.

I wish they would have given Rampage another "top 10" guy since he is elite. Since Lil Nog is locked up against Tito they could have given him Bader or even Franklin.

[B]

Has the fight been confirmed?

Hamill should be fighting someone like Couture or Davis as you said, not a fighter who is basically in line for a title shot.

Rampage tweeted "I'm not interested in Fighting Matt,I rather fight Rashad,I have un finished business with him."

I hope this doesn't happen, I'd rather see Rampage not fight at UFC 130 than take on a fight against a guy who is arguably outside the divisions top 10.. if Hamill were to win, which he is more than capable of doing, what type of position does that put Rampage in.. and Hamill for that matter.

[E-Man]

MMA Junkie reported it yesterday. I think that they are hit or miss on some things like this, but Rampage's tweet makes it seem like the fight is at least set to happen.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/22435/matt-hamill-replaces-thiago-silva-faces-rampage-jackson-at-ufc-130.mma

[El Bastardo]

Strikeforce Heavyweight Tourney = hahahahahahahaha.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Doctor stops the fight after the second round.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2irat0.jpg


http://i54.tinypic.com/35ndhee.jpg



http://i54.tinypic.com/2n7kq39.jpg

[E-Man]

cBons6TRxic
:csad:

[CrypticOne]

I don't know how this tournament decides the #1 HW in the world. Maybe Top 5, but that's it.

This loss for Fedor was his fault. He never changes anything in this training. I'm not surprised he got destroyed. He should retire or go train in the States, where he can evolve. You have to continuously evolve in this sport or you will be left behind. As proven tonight.

[B]

I don't understand why the MMA community are so shocked Fedor got his ass whooped pretty badly last night. He hasn't been the 1# Heavyweight since the day Pride closed shop. He hasn't fought anyone that was actually at their peak or mattered since like 2005/2006.

Fair enough in his Pride days he beat everyone they could put in front of him, but comparing him to todays heavyweights, there is no comparison. Cain Velasquez's 9 wins count for 30 of Fedor's for the simple fact that todays heavyweights are far more skilled & advanced than they were 6/7 years ago due to MMA's popularity growth.. the heavyweights were also alot smaller for the most part.

It's over, now that Fedor has lost twice, his aura of invincibility is gone & thus is the real demand to see him fight. It's a good job that he didn't goto the UFC to fight Brock when he was the champion because if you watch the fight last night, with a fairly skilled guy putting him on his back, he hand no answers. Dispite what people may say, Brock is a skilled guy at getting people down & skilled enough to keep dangerous guys down. Brock would have raped him on the ground & in turn the internet would have imploded.

[Mace Bloodstone]

We will never know.. Brock panics though when he gets hit, and Fedor has fast hands. If this fight would have taken place before or instead of the Carwin when it was suppose to I think Brock would have been shocked..

[B]

We will never know.. Brock panics though when he gets hit, and Fedor has fast hands. If this fight would have taken place before or instead of the Carwin when it was suppose to I think Brock would have been shocked..

Brock instantly resorts to wrestling when hes hit hard... which I suppose is what most wrestlers would do they just look for an arm or leg to hold onto until they recover. He did well in the Carwin fight, he was badly rocked with that uppercut & covered up fairly well actually managing to fight his way back to the feet in the first round. In the Velasquez fight it was different because Velasquez hurt Lesnar with a knee I think that dropped him & unlike Carwin, Velasquez threw measured, accurate punches rather than aimless bombs.

It actually got to a point were Lesnar almost looked exhausted at one point when he pushed Velasquez away or tried to grab a leg or something.. when in fact he was just badly rocked because of the consistant barrage of punches.

Every fighter has some form of weakness, Brock's is his strike resistance I suppose you'd call it. He covers up well on his feet, but when one decent punch slips through he kinda panics & shoots in for highly visible takedowns or just doesn't maintain his blocking correctly.

As for Fedor, I don't know whats next for him. He took a really bad beating in that fight, he probably won the first round barely, but he took a pasting in it as well. The second round was all bigfoot, he instantly took him down easily passed Fedor's guard & gave him a vicious pounding.. he was just frailing his arms about at one point just taking the damage that Silva was more than willing to offer. The fight could have been stopped in the mount position, but due to how badly he'd been beat & the state of his eye the stoppage was fully justified.

He should probably think about dropping down to LHW or else retiring..

[Paroxysm]

Fedor and Brock have both been exposed.

Brock can't take a punch.

Fedor is getting too old.

[B]

Fedor and Brock have both been exposed.

Brock can't take a punch.

Fedor is getting too old.

Fedor is only like 33/34 so in my opinion saying he is getting too old isn't a valid excuse for his performances, Anderson Silva is 35 & is still dominating everyone in sight.

I think it's more a case that Fedor has been put against fighters that are actually a threat.. which in my opinion he hasn't been doing since his Pride days which was like 5/6 years ago & in turn he just can't cut it with the newer more skilled breed of heavyweights that have come in as a result of MMA's growth in popularity.

+ the size thing is an issue, when you look at Fedor & then at people like Carwin, Lesnar, Silva, Overeem etc Fedor looks an entier weight class below. As opposed to 5/6 years ago when he wasn't the biggest heavyweight, but the size/weight difference was always much, much less come fight night.

[Paroxysm]

I admit Fedor is too small for TODAY's giants. Back in the old days, guys Silva's size were unskilled or one dimensional. Silva is no joke. A black belt in BJJ and a decent striker, plus huge and long reach. Not good if you're 230 pounds.

[Mace Bloodstone]

But what are the smaller heavyweights suppose to do, starv themselves down to fight at 205 while the big heavyweights can come in at 280 at fight night? i think the light heavyweight limit needs to change.

[Paroxysm]

Bring back Super HW Division?

[BlackLantern]

are there enough fighters to sustain it in the future?

[E-Man]

No need for a new super heavyweight division. Historically the best heavyweights have been the smaller guys like Coleman, Couture, Fedor, Cro Cop, etc. with maybe one or two monster sized heavyweights like Mark Kerr every blue moon. Right now we're finally seeing bigger heavyweights with more skill than just being big, but even still it's only about four of them. Bigfoot is a big dude with some skill, but he pales in comparison to Brock and Carwin. Outside of those three there really aren't that many huge guys. Overeem is pretty big, but he's not mega huge anymore like Carwin. Hell Mir tried getting bigger, but that wasn't his issue at all.

A SHW division just wouldn't cut it because there aren't enough big guys to warrant it, and on top of that the smaller guys who can't beat them should just accept that the bigger guys are superior. Of course while I say this, Cain is the best heavyweight right now and he's a little small. At the end of the day it's all about how good you are, and Fedor just doesn't have it anymore. He's too wild, and he doesn't have that one forte that could just shut guys down. His legend is partially based on being good at everything, but now that he is older he's not going to have problems with people who can just shut him down in one major area.

[B]

I admit Fedor is too small for TODAY's giants. Back in the old days, guys Silva's size were unskilled or one dimensional. Silva is no joke. A black belt in BJJ and a decent striker, plus huge and long reach. Not good if you're 230 pounds.

Agree 100%.

5/6 years ago there were not that many big heavyweights, Tim Sylvia was probably one of the biggest.. well he probably is still one of the biggest given hes like 6'7 or something like that. However the guy is 1 dimensional & unlike todays heavyweights his 1 dimension wassn't really that strong at all looking back.

But what are the smaller heavyweights suppose to do, starv themselves down to fight at 205 while the big heavyweights can come in at 280 at fight night? i think the light heavyweight limit needs to change.

In Fedor's case he'd just need to hit a treadmill. If he lost even abit of the body fat on him he'd have absolutely no trouble hitting 205. What's he even weigh on fight nights? About 230? 25 pounds isn't that much to cut especally when you look at how Fedor looks.. he just looks like a fat guy truth be told.

Sure just a week ago Rampage Jackson was saying he turned down the Shogun fight because he has been on holiday since his last fight with Machida & currently weighs 250lbs, he didn't think he'd be able to cut 45lbs in 4 weeks of training AND be fully ready for a guy that will need his full attention given that Shogun gave him a beatdown the last time they fought.. but he will eventually cut the 45lbs for the Hamill fight. Fedor shouldn't have a problem making the cut.. and truth be told he'd probably be more of a danger to LHW's than HW's.

The 1 fight I'd actually want to see Fedor in at the moment is either a LHW or HW showdown with Randy Couture.

[B]

No need for a new super heavyweight division. Historically the best heavyweights have been the smaller guys like Coleman, Couture, Fedor, Cro Cop, etc. with maybe one or two monster sized heavyweights like Mark Kerr every blue moon. Right now we're finally seeing bigger heavyweights with more skill than just being big, but even still it's only about four of them. Bigfoot is a big dude with some skill, but he pales in comparison to Brock and Carwin. Outside of those three there really aren't that many huge guys. Overeem is pretty big, but he's not mega huge anymore like Carwin. Hell Mir tried getting bigger, but that wasn't his issue at all.

A SHW division just wouldn't cut it because there aren't enough big guys to warrant it, and on top of that the smaller guys who can't beat them should just accept that the bigger guys are superior. Of course while I say this, Cain is the best heavyweight right now and he's a little small. At the end of the day it's all about how good you are, and Fedor just doesn't have it anymore. He's too wild, and he doesn't have that one forte that could just shut guys down. His legend is partially based on being good at everything, but now that he is older he's not going to have problems with people who can just shut him down in one major area.

Cain's a pretty big dude to be honest, when he fought Lesnar wasn't he pushing like 250lbs or so at the weigh in? And Lesnar wasn't that much bigger given that because of his new diet for his stomach illness, basically 265/270lbs is his natural weight.. or was at the time.

In my view I think Cain's weight for that fight was 100% spot on, he was big enough so that Lesnar's size/weight didn't play that big a factor & yet still retained his speed & cardio.

[E-Man]

Cain was 244 for the Brock fight, and that's the biggest I've seen him at. Normally he's hovering at or under 240, but I can see why he wanted to put some weight on for that fight.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Lesnar-Velasquez-Official-for-UFC-121-27700

[B]

Brock should consider dropping a little more weight, he'd be even more explosive than he already is, his cardio would be better & he wouldn't drop that much power that it would be noticable.

That being said bringing your natural weight down enough so that 250/255 is achievable is easier said than done.

[Lots o lafs]

Fedor is only like 33/34 so in my opinion saying he is getting too old isn't a valid excuse for his performances, Anderson Silva is 35 & is still dominating everyone in sight.

I think it's more a case that Fedor has been put against fighters that are actually a threat.. which in my opinion he hasn't been doing since his Pride days which was like 5/6 years ago & in turn he just can't cut it with the newer more skilled breed of heavyweights that have come in as a result of MMA's growth in popularity.

+ the size thing is an issue, when you look at Fedor & then at people like Carwin, Lesnar, Silva, Overeem etc Fedor looks an entier weight class below. As opposed to 5/6 years ago when he wasn't the biggest heavyweight, but the size/weight difference was always much, much less come fight night.

what about chael sonnen, i wouldnt say dominating.
andersons weakness was showcased through wrestling, if someone can out wrestle anderson and not get caught in a submission, they can win.

but if chael comes back to fight anderson and he can still successfully take him down, paulo fihlo status.

[E-Man]

You have to consider the rib injury in the Sonnen fight. He was suspended after the fight because of it, and his speed looked way off. In the Vitor fight it's night and day because he plugged into the Matrix again before pulling off the Dhalsim kick.

[Lots o lafs]

Yeah but every fighter is injured, especially after an a** whooping.

He knew he was injured and chose to still fight, which is odd considering he withdrew from a fight with vitor twice due to injury, that is no excuse.

If you get taken down consistently, how can you really effectively strike.
I take nothing away from andersons striking, but I seriously doubt his ground game.

Who knows maybe Jake sheilds can hold him down better than chael. He did hold down an Olympian(hendo).

[B]

what about chael sonnen, i wouldnt say dominating.
andersons weakness was showcased through wrestling, if someone can out wrestle anderson and not get caught in a submission, they can win.

but if chael comes back to fight anderson and he can still successfully take him down, paulo fihlo status.

Take into consideration, Anderson Silva fought that fight with a cracked/broken rib & also take into consideration Anderson Silva went into that fight with the intention of submitting Chael Sonnen. When have you ever seen Anderson Silva, well firstly enter the octagon wearing BJJ gear & black belt and secondly taken down with little struggle.

Also take into consideration that Chael was winning mainly on his takedowns alone. Dispite him being on top for about 80% of the fight, Chael took by far the most damage as Silva was laying elbows into his face throughout his time in Silva's guard.. and Silva escaped the fight fairly unscratched.

I might be giving Anderson Silva too much credit, but in that Chael Sonnen fight I think he wanted to be on his back.. or at least fighting Chael on the ground in some capacity.

[El Bastardo]

Anderson was wearing the BJJ gear because of all the crap Chael was talking about BJJ and the Nogeuira brothers, one. I'm pretty sure Silva - rather, Soares - has even said this, just like Silva was wearing the pink shirt at the press conference because of Chael talking **** about that.

And I'm pretty sure I saw Anderson get taken down rather effortlessly by Dan Henderson, too. The difference is Anderson murdered him afterward.

I'm also fairly confident that mmajunkie reported the UFC stating Anderson had no rib damage prior to the fight with Chael. Take it at face value, though, because it's been half a year and I'm not going to see if I can find it.

[Lots o lafs]

Yeah, but winning is winning, a gsp win is just as good as a chuck Liddell win, it's just one is way more boring.

I'm saying that it doesn't matter if Anderson was injured, he had the option to withdraw, it is his choice to stay, hence it is not an excuse.

But what I am saying is, hendo could take down Anderson and is one of the best wrestlers to ever enter the octogan, he was taken down quite the bit by Shields.

I wonder if Shields could effectively hold Anderson, and win a fight.

If he can effectively wrestle gsp to the ground, who knows what's next?

That's a big if, Though.

[Kane52630]

Watching MMA helps man disarm an alleged murderer on the subway
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Watching-MMA-helps-man-disarm-an-alleged-murdere;_ylt=Ah_I6T3ox66cEspQx1oTnHI5nYcB?urn=mma-321197

On Saturday morning, Joseph Lozito was simply taking the subway to work. Today, he finds himself labeled a hero after taking down a whack job, who seemed intent on adding to a 28-hour stabbing and murder spree.

Lovito said he used an MMA technique to take down a knife-wielding attacker on the No. 3 train. From ABC News:

With a leg swipe, Lozito helped knock down [Maksim] Gelman, a grafitti vandal with at least 10 prior arrests. Lozito said that watching mixed martial arts on television helped him fight Gelman.

"I guess you watch it for 20 years, you just pick up some things through osmosis," he said.

He knew something was wrong when he first jumped on the No. 3:

"When I boarded the train at Penn Station, a good amount of people boarded and I noticed there were two police officers boarding with me. You could hear on their walkie talkies that something was going on...they were there for a reason," Lozito said.

Subway riders had spotted Gelman jumping off one train and onto another early Saturday morning.

When he boarded Lozito's subway car, he pounded on the conductor's door, demanding to be let in.

"When I first saw this man approach the motorman's quarters, he just looked off, he just looked like there was something about him. When he started knocking on the window, telling the police to let him in, it set up a red flag," he said.

Lozito said Gelman, 23, then turned his attention to him.

"Basically, he was about two or three feet away from me. He took out a giant knife and just looked at me and said, 'You're going to die, you're going to die,' and then he lunged at me," Lozito said.

Lozito lunged forward and took Gelman to the floor. From the New York Times:

Once on the ground, Mr. Lozito grabbed his attacker around the waist, and the officers from the motorman’s cab rushed to help. They handcuffed and arrested Mr. Gelman, who was awaiting arraignment Sunday night.

Mr. Lozito suffered four knife wounds to the head and a gash above his left eye. The tribal tattoo on his left triceps was slashed, and a wound on the back of his head required 20 stitches and 18 staples.

"It could have been a lot worse," he said. "I’m glad I wasn’t No. 5 — I’m glad he didn’t kill anyone else."

New York City police were on the lookout for Gelman:

...who killed his mother’s boyfriend, Alexander Kuznetsov; an unrequited love interest, Yelena Bulchenko; and Ms. Bulchenko's mother, Anna Bulchenko.

Gelman also ran over and killed a 62-year-old pedestrian with a car he stole from Kuznetsov. He crashed that Lexus into a Pontiac Bonneville, stabbed that driver and stole the Bonneville. Four hours later, Gelman emerged in Crown Heights and stabbed a livery cab driver.

[BlackLantern]

wow....that's f'd up, glad the guy is ok

[B]

I'm saying that it doesn't matter if Anderson was injured, he had the option to withdraw, it is his choice to stay, hence it is not an excuse.

It's a perfectly valid reason/excuse, an injured athlete wouldn't be able to perform to the same level he would if he were fully fit. He did choose to fight on, but obviously having a broken/cracked rib is going to effect his performance.

But what I am saying is, hendo could take down Anderson and is one of the best wrestlers to ever enter the octogan, he was taken down quite the bit by Shields.

If memory serves, Henderson took Anderson Silva down once in that fight in the first round & was more as a result of the 2 coming together in the clinch than Henderson actually looking for a takedown. They were then on the ground twice in the second from what I recall, both were Anderson Silva knockdowns followed by him entering Dan Henderson's guard to try & finish.. where Henderson was outgrappled.

Being taken down in MMA is completely different to taking someone down yourself. Just because you are a beast at taking guys down, doesn't mean you have a wicked takedown defense yourself when someone is trying to take you down.

Henderson isn't exactly known for using his wrestling ability to the full either, hes more a brawler than wrestler from what I've seen of him in the cage 90% of the time.

[B]

Dana White UFC 127 Video Blog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44nvn8RvYog)

Just happened to come accross this on youtube, hes on the set of TUF with Lesnar & Dos Santos. I'm actually surprised, Dos Santos speaks pretty good English..

EDIT - UFC 127 Tempers Flare (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoB8LoiyxXo&NR=1)

Holy ****, Bisping looks & sounds pretty pissed at all the mess that has come out of Rivera's mouth..

[Colossal Spoons]

Anytime Bisping tries to act tough, Henderson should appear out of nowhere and blow a kiss at him :D

[E-Man]

I wonder if Bisping is going to give in and slug it out with Rivera. He is a more refined striker than Jorge, and I'm picking him to win in his usual fashion of sticking and moving and staying out of trouble. On the other hand Rivera has comically pissed him off, so he might just get mad and try to "stand and trade" like an idiot and get knocked out by Rivera's superior power. I wouldn't mind if it happened. I respect Bisping's skills, but he is pretty annoying.

[El Bastardo]

It depresses me that I won't be seeing this event.

[Norman Osborn]

UFC 127 Picks

Pearson UD over Spencer Fisher. (Really like Fisher but really think he's on the downside of his career)

Lytle TKO over Ebersole (Not sure who he is but his last significant win was against Carlos Newton)

Noke UD over Camozzi (Gimmie for the Aussie crowd)

Sotiropolous Sub over Siver (Siver's looked good but I've seen nothing that indicates he can stop from going to the ground where Sots is a beast!)

Bisping UD over Rivera (Will back up scatter punch his way to a decision...unless he actually wants to try to make a statement in which case it could be interesting...can't see him risking that though)

Fitch UD over Penn (I can't see how a guy who has had questionable cardio at WW will stand the relentless attack of Fitch.......if Penn can't drop him standing it's going to be a long long night!)

[E-Man]

Fitch is such a machine that I would pick him over most guys except GSP and maybe Jake Shields. I think he'll do the same thing he always does. Considering how he manhandled one of the biggest guys at welterweight in Alves I think he can do the same to B.J. Alves also has really good takedown defense, so I see him eventually getting B.J. down to do his work. B.J. does have some of the best defensive wrestling in MMA though, so he just might keep Fitch from holding him down. Either way it goes, it's a pretty interesting fight.

[Norman Osborn]

Although many of the pseudo-mma fans may consider it a borefest, I would love to see Fitch/Shields for the title (Once GSP vacates of course :) )

[TheVileOne]

I think Penn has punchers chance but I think Fitch will beat Penn much the same way GSP did.

Also Penn is TERRIBLE off his back.

[E-Man]

Wow. I hated Bisping before, but I can't believe that I could hate him more. He is such a ***** man. Dirty knee that was obvious after getting tagged. Then takes advantage when the guy can barely stand. Seriously. Give him Anderson so he can get knocked the **** out. I need to see his ass sleep again.

[CrypticOne]

Wow. I hated Bisping before, but I can't believe that I could hate him more. He is such a ***** man. Dirty knee that was obvious after getting tagged. Then takes advantage when the guy can barely stand. Seriously. Give him Anderson so he can get knocked the **** out. I need to see his ass sleep again.

Agreed. Set-up Anderson/Bisping. I need a good laugh.

[Lots o lafs]

anyone see how penn could take down fitch.
Why would anyone say penn is terrible off his back either? He is the first non brazilian to ever win the brazilian jiu jitsu world championships and after only 3 years of training(that pretty much cements that he is one of the best practitioners of bjj in the sport). Why do you think they call him the prodigy? It is because he is literally a prodigy, he's only 32, he's held the lightweight and welterweight titles, and a BJJ WChamp, he's good in every aspect of the game.

He should train with some olympic wrestlers one summer, it could make him the most well rounded fighter ever.

I hate fitch, all his corner works on is taking people down, if someone can keep him off, he's not a well rounded fighter. It says something when you go to the corner and all they tell you to do is how to better take some one down.

If they ever gave out the stalling card, I am sure fitch would be a recipient rather frequently, sometimes he just doesnt even work, he does throw punches, but he never puts his all into them, he would rather keep throwing and just not get stood up, rather than throwing a few great shots(just ask jon jones).

Bisping has already had the H-Bomb hit his chin and put him to sleep, and just for show america dropped a second right down on top as well, I was certain he was in a coma after that fight. Cut the guy a break :)

[E-Man]

Who the hell said B.J. is bad off his back? I've heard nothing but praise about his guard, even from his biggest haters. If someone said that they need to have their head examined.

[CrypticOne]

I told my friend before the Penn/Fitch fight, "Watch Penn go in there and take Fitch down." Didn't expect it, but damn! Finally a game plan Penn follows. Awesome.

The Shogun/Jones promo was amazing. Glad to see Shogun get some shine.

[B]

Wow. I hated Bisping before, but I can't believe that I could hate him more. He is such a ***** man. Dirty knee that was obvious after getting tagged. Then takes advantage when the guy can barely stand. Seriously. Give him Anderson so he can get knocked the **** out. I need to see his ass sleep again.

I don't particularly care for Bisping, I don't hate him & I don't particularly like him.. but at the same time lets be fair & give credit where it is due. Had Rivera been in anyway wobbled or significantly hurt by the knee, the fight would have been over & Bisping would have been DQ'd.

In fact after they were restarted when Rivera has a 2 minute recovery period from the illegal knee, he looked even stronger than he did when he came out at the very begining.

Rivera lost because Bisping was far too much of a technical striker/fighter for him, he was quicker & because Bisping's cardio was far superior. Rivera's punches became laboured & the then got tagged with a punch that hurt him followed by an onslaught of strong uppercuts, hooks & strong close range elbows.
Bisping did overreact a little at the end, particularly the spitting just infront of Rivera's coaches.. however I think after enduring weeks of Rivera flapping his gums about Bisping, his family & his country.. well Bisping is entitled to rub every last bit of salt into the wound.

Rumour has it Vitor Belfort could be next for Bisping.. or he has been asking to fight Bisping. So your hope of seeing Bisping getting KO'd again could be sooner rather than later...

[hugekent]

Although many of the pseudo-mma fans may consider it a borefest, I would love to see Fitch/Shields for the title (Once GSP vacates of course :) )
So it takes a real fan to wanna see the world's two most boring fighters fight? I started watching Pride in 2003 and UFC in 2004 and have trained since late 2004. I consider myself a purist but there's no way that fight would be any good.

[brainchild81]

UFC live on Vs right now.So it takes a real fan to wanna see the world's two most boring fighters fight? I started watching Pride in 2003 and UFC in 2004 and have trained since late 2004. I consider myself a purist but there's no way that fight would be any good.Shields doesn't deserve a shot after his last horrible performance.

[E-Man]

So it takes a real fan to wanna see the world's two most boring fighters fight? I started watching Pride in 2003 and UFC in 2004 and have trained since late 2004. I consider myself a purist but there's no way that fight would be any good.

Shields and Fitch would be a great fight because both are really good grapplers. Anytime that happens you have some really good reversals and nice paced action. They're good at nullifying other opponents so it would be nice to see who is the superior grappler.

They get far too much hate than they deserve too. Before Shields' last two fights he was on a 9 fight finishing streak that had some sick subs. He has some slow motion punches, but the guy has some nice highlights of his grappling. Fitch's last fight is being incorrectly labeled as boring because it was a draw. He busted up BJ's face pretty good. He pounded on him in the last round around 150 punches with no answer, yet people are saying he layed and prayed when BJ's face looked worse than any loss he has ever had. It was also B.J. that initialized the grappling, and he didn't throw as many strikes as Fitch did.

Now I might not be rushing to see a Fitch or Shieds fight. They aren't the most entertaining fighters in MMA, but together they could really put on a show. If not those two then have one fight Dong Hyun Kim. Great grapplers put together can really be exciting because they don't just lay on their backs and whine about "real fighting" after they lose.

[El Bastardo]

Man, Kampmann got robbed by that fat cow. I can't believe Sanchez looked as fat and spongy as BJ does.

[Iron_Stark]

It was a close decision but there was no robbery.

[E-Man]

Diego looked off last night. He still had okay cardio, but normally he's going 100 miles a minute and bouncing around like an over hyper kid. Him looking chubby didn't help either. Hopefully it's just a one time thing and doesn't become a trend. Diego is usually in great shape and runs around doing cartwheels and stuff.

[B]

Something seriously needs to be done about the judges/judging & the general scoring of MMA fights because Diego Sanchez beating Martin Kampmann last night was (yet another) ****ing outrageous & controversial decision.. and as far as I am concerned it was wrong.

Diego Sanchez attempted (from what I understand 16 takedown attempts) & Kampmann stuffed 15 of them.. the one time Sanchez actually got him down, he was back up inside 30 seconds. You can't ****ing score a fight as if 1 takedown can make the difference between winning & losing a round if you've tried 5 others in the round & failed on them all... if going for a takedown counts big, then so should stuffing them.. or at least in the manner Kampmann did it.

Kampmann also outlanded Sanchez in every round with the far cleaner strikes... I mean you just need to look at Diego Sanchez's face & then look at Kampmann's & then try to argue that his punches were not far cleaner & more damaging.

The one round I actually gave Sanchez would have been the third & it was for the simple fact that it was the one round he had better success in the striking, grappling & worked harder..
This was definatly a 29-28 fight.. but that being said Kampmann should have been the winner.. this was a bad decision.

But this **** really needs clarified & sorted, with MMA's growth alot of people have bets & whatnot riding on fights & it seems like you can get absolutely pummelled and manage to win a fight.

Either fix the ****ing scoring system or make every fight 5 rounds..

It was an outstanding fight that I felt was kinda let down by the decision..

[B]

C.B. Dollaway needs to thank the referee by the way rather than complain as if he was fine, he saved him from eating another handful of hammerfists that probably would have left him with a concussion..

Diego looked off last night. He still had okay cardio, but normally he's going 100 miles a minute and bouncing around like an over hyper kid. Him looking chubby didn't help either. Hopefully it's just a one time thing and doesn't become a trend. Diego is usually in great shape and runs around doing cartwheels and stuff.

He needs to commit to being a welterweight & pack on some muscle that will stop him having the safety net of the lightweight division.. either that or else cut weight & drop to featherweight if he could make the cut..

Looked like the weight that is actually making him a welterweight was fat rather than muscle.. he needs to change this I feel.. especally when you have beasts like Thaigo Alves, John Fitch, GSP etc who are all 170lbs of solid muscle..

[El Bastardo]

Something seriously needs to be done about the judges/judging & the general scoring of MMA fights because Diego Sanchez beating Martin Kampmann last night was (yet another) ****ing outrageous & controversial decision.. and as far as I am concerned it was wrong.

Diego Sanchez attempted (from what I understand 16 takedown attempts) & Kampmann stuffed 15 of them.. the one time Sanchez actually got him down, he was back up inside 30 seconds. You can't ****ing score a fight as if 1 takedown can make the difference between winning & losing a round if you've tried 5 others in the round & failed on them all... if going for a takedown counts big, then so should stuffing them.. or at least in the manner Kampmann did it.

Kampmann also outlanded Sanchez in every round with the far cleaner strikes... I mean you just need to look at Diego Sanchez's face & then look at Kampmann's & then try to argue that his punches were not far cleaner & more damaging.

The one round I actually gave Sanchez would have been the third & it was for the simple fact that it was the one round he had better success in the striking, grappling & worked harder..
This was definatly a 29-28 fight.. but that being said Kampmann should have been the winner.. this was a bad decision.

But this **** really needs clarified & sorted, with MMA's growth alot of people have bets & whatnot riding on fights & it seems like you can get absolutely pummelled and manage to win a fight.

Either fix the ****ing scoring system or make every fight 5 rounds..

It was an outstanding fight that I felt was kinda let down by the decision..

Agreed on all counts. I don't know that it was necessarily the takedown, but if you look at the ends of both Rounds 2 and 3, Diego turned on the heat at both. He ended the last 40 or so seconds of Round 2 with a flurry that didn't land much of all - but oh, he was the aggressor! :whatever: Same thing with Round 3, with the added detriment to Kampmann that he had broken his hand, so he was backing up more than committing.

But I do have to blame Kampmann some, too. He doesn't ever fight his own fights. Rather, he lets his opponent dictate the fight. Or he at least decides he's going to fight his opponent at their strongest place. Look at him trying to box Paul Daley. Look at how close he had Shields beat, and then decided to roll around on the ground with him.

[B]

Agreed on all counts. I don't know that it was necessarily the takedown, but if you look at the ends of both Rounds 2 and 3, Diego turned on the heat at both. He ended the last 40 or so seconds of Round 2 with a flurry that didn't land much of all - but oh, he was the aggressor! :whatever: Same thing with Round 3, with the added detriment to Kampmann that he had broken his hand, so he was backing up more than committing.

In some cases, what Sanchez did at the end of the 2nd & 3rd rounds could just earn him that round.. infact I thought it did swing him the 3rd round, however it shouldn't have won him the 2nd round. You can't score a round based on the last 10 seconds, sure Sanchez let off a good flurry.. but he was eating punches & failing in takedown attempts for the rest of the round..

Being the aggressor is one thing, but if you are eating punches & end up with a face like Sanchez did.. I mean.. it just leaves me speachless how a judge could score a round in the favour of the person that ate the most punches & has a face like hamburger meat.

But I do have to blame Kampmann some, too. He doesn't ever fight his own fights. Rather, he lets his opponent dictate the fight. Or he at least decides he's going to fight his opponent at their strongest place. Look at him trying to box Paul Daley. Look at how close he had Shields beat, and then decided to roll around on the ground with him.

This is one of the reasons I like Martin Kampmann.. & it's also one of the reasons hes quite frustrating to watch.
He doesn't give a **** hes just in there to cause some pain & fight, if you wanna grapple, he'll grapple, if you wanna brawl, he'll brawl etc.

Hes got great takedown defense for a guy that is a) Non-American & b) Primarily a striker, his grappling ability I think is pretty darn decent as well.

If he could keep his head in fights & not get sucked into fighting his opponents match, he could definatly be a future WW Champion.. he gave Shields a very good fight & could very well have won, I'd have actually prefared to see Kampmann fight GSP as opposed to Shields as we are just gonna see a repeat of what happened against Koscheck IMO. Whereas Kampmann is more well rounded than Shields is & would have given GSP some more trouble.

[CrypticOne]

Just watched Sanchez/Kampmann. I personally thought Kampmann won.

[brainchild81]

Bellator 36 on MTV2 right now. Strikeforce: Hendo/Feijao on Showtime in an hour. Heavyweight GP will NOT be continuing 2nite. It's been pushed backIt was a close decision but there was no robbery.Ditto. I can see why Deigo won.

[B]

I can't get Showtime in the UK, I did see BAMMA 5 the other night.. all the fights were crap but Paul Daley looked sharp.

[WillardNation]

Am I the only one wondering why in the hell Lesnar is a coach on the new season of TUF? I mean, I'm a Lesnar fan but he himself is waaaay too new to the sport and still has so much to learn himself. I just don't see him being a good coach.

[B]

Am I the only one wondering why in the hell Lesnar is a coach on the new season of TUF? I mean, I'm a Lesnar fan but he himself is waaaay too new to the sport and still has so much to learn himself. I just don't see him being a good coach.

Even though the UFC fighters that are billed as coaches on TUF, they aren't actually coaches. They bring in whatever guys they use in their camps & they largely do most of the coaching.

Lesnar's got top level experience in wrestling though & can surely teach his team things that perhaps Dos Santos arguably won't be able to teach his team as well.. and vice versa with Dos Santos striking.

Last year GSP did very little coaching, he brought in a **** load of his own guys & really only seemed to serve as an advanced sparring partner.. won't work as well this year as Dos Santos & Lesnar both dwarf their teams :D

[Mace Bloodstone]

Am I the only one wondering why in the hell Lesnar is a coach on the new season of TUF? I mean, I'm a Lesnar fan but he himself is waaaay too new to the sport and still has so much to learn himself. I just don't see him being a good coach.


It's Dana's last chance to squeeze every last drop out of this cash cow before his popularity falls. If he gets beat (badly) again i think he's done and goes back to the wwe.

[CrypticOne]

Yeah, if Lesnar gets handled, as I think he will, he will leave MMA forever.

[B]

Yeah, if Lesnar gets handled, as I think he will, he will leave MMA forever.

I can't imagine Lesnar would want to stick around in the MMA game if he wasn't number 1.. or constantly in contention to be number 1.

Alot of people are writing Brock off for this one because of his performance against Velasquez, this however is just as much going to be a test for Lesnar as it is for Dos Santos.

Dos Santos still thus far is pretty much umproven in terms of his takedown defense & fighting off his back, these are 2 things that Brock is capable of testing him on. Lesnar of course has suspect striking ability which will no doubt be tested by Dos Santos.

The longer this fight goes on, the more I think I'd favour Lesnar. Dos Santos looks like he suffers from Shane Carwin syndrome.. or at least he did against Big Country. One round of Lesnar smoothering Dos Santos on the ground could put him in trouble, he has KO power.. but largely he seems only truly dangerous at the begining.. so Lesnar should be patient in the first rather than trying to charge at him like a bull.

Should be an interesting fight & an interesting serious of TUF, not alot is known about Dos Santos or Lesnar as men so hopefully it should be a good watch.

[CrypticOne]

If Lesnar can get this to the ground, he has a chance. But he's scared to get hit, which is gonna be a problem against Dos Santos.

[B]

If Lesnar can get this to the ground, he has a chance. But he's scared to get hit, which is gonna be a problem against Dos Santos.

I don't think it's so much him being 'scared' of being hit, more a case of he doesn't react to being hit hard very well. He lowers his head, doesn't keep an eye on the opponent & trys really obvious/desperate takedown/clinch attempts.

[CrypticOne]

Yeah, but he is also scared to hit. Everytime he throws a punch, he puts his head down and closes his eyes. Like when he hit Herring, and then open his eyes surprisingly and bull rushed him.

[B]

Yeah, but he is also scared to hit. Everytime he throws a punch, he puts his head down and closes his eyes. Like when he hit Herring, and then open his eyes surprisingly and bull rushed him.

I'm not too sure about that to be honest, are you sure he didn't just kinda squint his eyes as he throws more or less bracing himself for impact of a punch that is coming his way at the same time..?

I don't know to be honest I wasn't really watching his eyes at the time, I'd need to find a replay video & have a look.

[CrypticOne]

Yeah, even when he knocked Couture down, he was surprised cause his eyes were closed. And its too late for him to learn not to be afraid.

[CrypticOne]

UFC 128 PREDICTIONS

Shogun Rua VS Jon Jones

I have Shogun winning by KO or knee bar. But I can see Jones winning by decision or by some form of choke. This is going to be an awesome fight to watch. Maybe the greatest LHW fight of all time. Hopefully that little layoff didn't hurt Shogun too much. This will be a great challenge for both fighters.

Faber VS Wineland

I don't see Faber having much trouble with Wineland and expect Faber to end this one in the first round by some nice ground work.

Miller VS Shalorus

I expect Miller to just outclass this guy and ask for a title shot, even though I don't think he's deserved it yet.

Akiyama VS Marquardt

This may be Akiyama's exiting ticket from the UFC as he loses a decision to Nate. I don't expect Nate to take much chances and see him just counter-striking Akiyama. It should be an exciting fight, but I see Nate playing it safe.

Cro Cop VS Schaub

I think this will be FOTN. Don't know who will win. Should be a battle though.

[E-Man]

Oh wow. Looks like Zuffa bought Strikeforce. I guess there's no need to change this thread to the MMA thread now. Not like that was going to happen anyway...
http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/12/zuffa-purchases-strikeforce/

[Paroxysm]

So from what the interview said, SF and UFC will still be separate entities? I was hoping for merger.

[E-Man]

There will be a merger in time. They're just going to honor the contract that Strikeforce has with Showtime until it runs out. Once that happens it'll be like the WEC merger.

[Paroxysm]

I really hope so, that would be awesome.

[E-Man]

Jacare vs. Maia and/or Palhares is what I want most. He already had three grappling matches with Maia, and Palhares is such a beast with his subs that those fights would be pretty entertaining. Melendez is another one I'm excited about. The UFC's lightweight division is very deep, and throwing him in the mix would make it even more exciting since you can make an argument for him being in the top three of the division.

[CrypticOne]

Oh wow. Looks like Zuffa bought Strikeforce. I guess there's no need to change this thread to the MMA thread now. Not like that was going to happen anyway...
http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/12/zuffa-purchases-strikeforce/

Wow!

[B]

From the outside looking in, it seems like a really wierd deal that they'd buy Strikeforce & not merge it with the UFC instantly.. with the WEC you could understand because it was largely lighter weight classes that didn't exist in the UFC at the time.

But Strikeforce has guys that are in the same weightclass, that are/would be top contenders even in the UFC in those classes..

Maybe they are gonna promote Strikeforce during UFC events to get the Strikeforce name & fighters names out there even more (similar to WEC in some fighters cases) then go for some form of merger when even more people watch Strikeforce & thus the fighters become more recognised.

Might as well just start calling MMA, UFC I think..

[louiebling$]

So Yea being the Pro wrestling fan I am(flame me all you want apples and oranges) but could we see Lesnar vs Batista in the future? Seeing as that's if Batista actually sticks it through.

[B]

Well if your looking for 2 former pro-wrestlers to fight, you'd be more likely to see Bobby Lashley vs Dave Batista for the simple fact that they are both signed for Strikeforce & Brock Lesnar is signed for the UFC.

Bobby Lashley looked promising until his last fight which he lost, all his other fights were arguably low calibre.

Batista.. well hes no more a mixed martial artist than I am, hes got no backround in any sort of wrestling, judo, jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, mauy thai or anything like that bar that one class he maybe did back in the 80's.. his name from WWE is the only reason such an amateur will be thrown into the spotlight of a main event card.

Say what you will about Lesnar, but I feel (even though he was thrown into the top end of MMA because of his name made from WWE) that he has earned his right to be there by defeating credible opponents.. if Batista or Lashley want to get to his level they'll need to start taking on the top heavyweights in Strikeforce.

[BlackLantern]

agreed, B

[Dr. Evil]

I wonder what happens to the female fighters now that Strikeforce is a part of the UFC.

[Mace Bloodstone]

I wonder what happens to the female fighters now that Strikeforce is a part of the UFC.

They are still (for now) separate organizations. I don't think there will be any changes for awhile.

[B]

Anderson Silva ready to fight GSP at catchweight (http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/79549.html)

:up:

It's good to hear that Anderson Silva is more than prepared to meet GSP half way in a bid to try & get a superfight between these 2, made.

[E-Man]

A catchweight makes the most sense. No excuses for the loser. If Anderson wins it's not like he beat up a guy who is a newbie at the weight class he has been king for going on five years now. If GSP wins he still gets credit for beating the bigger man. They both have to give up something in that scenario because GSP fighting Anderson at middleweight gives Anderson more to lose while GSP is in a win-win.

180 makes the most sense. GSP just has to cut less while Anderson doesn't cut too much and drains himself. I doubt he can make 167 again, but 180 is a reasonable range. Either way it goes, I hope they both fight and here because I want to go to that so damn bad.

[Dr. Evil]

They are still (for now) separate organizations. I don't think there will be any changes for awhile.

All bets are off though if there is a merger. It basically means that Carano vs. Cyborg II could happen in Bellator.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Carano is fighting men now...

http://i55.tinypic.com/2dmcpz5.jpg

[B]

I've no clue how long it's been running for.. or even if it's still running because I've never seen it on UK TV, however I stumbled accross a show called Bully Beatdown on Youtube with Mayhem Miller has anyone seen it?

Highly amusing to see bullies be bullied in the cage to the point were they are nearly crying. :up:

[Paroxysm]

I've no clue how long it's been running for.. or even if it's still running because I've never seen it on UK TV, however I stumbled accross a show called Bully Beatdown on Youtube with Mayhem Miller has anyone seen it?

Highly amusing to see bullies be bullied in the cage to the point were they are nearly crying. :up:

I love that show, highly amusing.

[brainchild81]

Yep. Eddie Alvarez been on there @least 2 times already.

Bones, Shaub, Faber FTW tonight! Bellator on MTV2

[Paroxysm]

Picks!!!!!!!1

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub

Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Miller

Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus

Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Jon Jones*


* I'm rooting for Jones though. :woot:

[B]

I hope Cro Cop KO's that douchebag Shaub.. with a headkick.

I'm gonna go against the grain & take Shogun on the basis that Jones hasn't faced anyone in Shoguns league as of yet.. and on the fact Shogun's leg kicks are savage.

Faber FTW as well.

Should be a good event. :up:

[Mace Bloodstone]

tough call.... Bones Jones by ko.

[Paroxysm]

Crocop wins via entrance music.

[WalkingDeadMike]

Shogun
Urijah
Nate the Great
Schaub

[Paroxysm]

Crocop please stop fighting. The downfall is unbearable.

[B]

**** Schaub.. hate that mother ****er, why the heck would he hit a clearly defenseless Cro Cop after he dropped him.

Cro Cop was unlucky, I thought he was winning the fight even without the point deduction..

Gonna have to stick Schaub in the cage against a proper wrestler like Carwin, Lesnar or Velasquez... I wanna see that walking piece of monkey crap get his ass beat out cold from his back.

[Paroxysm]

The worst part is that Schaub will think he's some kind of elite striker now.

It wasn't a huge win, and it was a terrible performance on his part.

[Paroxysm]

My prediction:

-Jones probably won't want to stand.

-Shogun won't care about being taken down.

-Shogun probably won't be prepared to handle GnP from such an insane reach.

My gut picks Jones but I don't really know, Shogun's a beast.

[Paroxysm]

Holy ****!!!! Jones is mauling Shogun! Straight mauling!

[Paroxysm]

Welcome to a new era, welcome to.......THE BONES ZONE.

[brainchild81]

lol@ Bones Zone. All my picks were right. Shogun also tapped out at the end.

[Paroxysm]

lol@ Bones Zone. All my picks were right. Shogun also tapped out at the end.

He tapped???? ****, I thought Herb stopped it.

[brainchild81]

Look at the end as soon as Shogun goes down. Herb did stop it, but Shogun was giving up anyway.

[Marvin]

can anyone at LHW hold a belt for more than a few days

[Mister J]

Bones Jones was pretty damn dominant.

[El Bastardo]

Amazing. Fantastic. Destructive. :up:

[E-Man]

Jones is a fantastic fighter. He's that type of guy that you know is special when you see him fight. He's so young, but he's so good right now. He has all the looks of a legend in the making. He just has to keep his head straight and improve his weaknesses because in MMA all it takes is that one loss to send your career spiralling down. Don't anoint him as the GOAT yet, but damn he looks unstoppable.

[B]

Wow, just wow..

Bones put on an outstanding display, he is very well rounded for someone who is so young & so new to the sport, he seemed content that he was too quick & had too much of a reach advantage for Shogun & thus he was happy to stand with him..

Shogun didn't give a great account of himself, he looked exhausted about half way through the first round in particular after he fought his way back to his feet.. so much so that his punches became even slower, his movement became laboured & whatever gamepan he had went out the window because he effectively became a walking punching bag..

Really was sad to see Shogun perform like that, he is far, far better than he showed tonight, his cardio was horrific tonight & it's usually top notch.. or at least it was in his previous 2 fights with Machida.. didn't help considering Jones was in extremely good condition.
Really surprising he came out headhunting Jones & not trying to immediately chopping down Jones's legs like he did Machida in order to kill his speed/spring..

Jones is an absolute beast though.. if he can do this to Shogun, I expect him to give Rashad Evans the beatdown of a lifetime.. and I'll enjoy every second of it.

[Paroxysm]

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/oogiemaster2/JonRua04.gif
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/oogiemaster2/JonRua02.gif

also Shogun only threw 11 strikes the entire fight. Like WTF!

[Mace Bloodstone]

tough call.... Bones Jones by ko.

Hey good call... :oldrazz:

Not even close, His reach just killed Shogun. Rua also has a lot of ring wear and tear on his body, There's that boxing expression a fighter can "grow old overnight", well this might have been the night and his body just doesn't respond like it use to.

[B]

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/oogiemaster2/JonRua04.gif
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/oogiemaster2/JonRua02.gif

also Shogun only threw 11 strikes the entire fight. Like WTF!

Sounds so bad when you put it like that.. :D

But you can understand why when you watch how the fight unfolded, I mean they hit the mat quite early on & Jones had hurt Shogun with something as they got back to their feet in the first that Shogun never really fully recovered from.. I mean as the round ended he still looked wobbled walking back to his corner, combined with the fact his cardio was really horrific tonight..

Jones was just far too much for him tonight, too quick, too strong & far too big.. I mean at one point he was able to practically hold Shogun's head with his hand while Shogun swung.

Shogun needs to get a few fights under his belt & if he is to challenge Jones again he needs to do it off the back of a few other fights.. it's an excuse I know but there is no doubt in my mind, at least from a cardio standpoint, that having such a long lay-off effected his endurance.. now whether even a Shogun Rua with better cardio would be able to give Jones a tougher ride is another question.

Personally if I were Shogun, the first thing I'd have done after the bell rang would have been to kick Jones's lead leg so hard that he knows he can't leave it there & put abit of fear into him.

BTW that second gif looks like an amazing pimp backhander :D

[B]

Rashad Evans: "I'm done with Greg Jackson's" (http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/20/rashad-evans-im-done-with-greg-jacksons-gym/)

[WalkingDeadMike]

I'm glad Bones won and he really impressed me with his absolute dismantling of Shogun.

I was really disappointed in Faber's performance though. To not only not be able to finish the fight, but to lose a round to Eddie Wineland just goes to show that he's not the fighter he was before the Brown fights.

[E-Man]

Rashad Evans: "I'm done with Greg Jackson's" (http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/20/rashad-evans-im-done-with-greg-jacksons-gym/)

Their fight is going to be a study in why teammates don't fight. People get it mixed up and think it's just friends who hung out a few times not fighting, but being someone's training partner is a lot different. Now that Rashad has left the gym he has been a part of for about 6 years now we'll see how it affects him.
I'm glad Bones won and he really impressed me with his absolute dismantling of Shogun.

I was really disappointed in Faber's performance though. To not only not be able to finish the fight, but to lose a round to Eddie Wineland just goes to show that he's not the fighter he was before the Brown fights.

Losing a round is no big deal. It's not like Wineland is a scrub, and he's significantly bigger than Faber.

[WalkingDeadMike]

I know losing one round isn't a big deal. But when you were in the discussion for best P4P fighter in the world not that long ago and you lose 1 to a nobody like Eddie ****ing Wineland it says your game isn't where it once was. And I know Wineland is a former WEC Bantumweight champion, but he is a scrub. The biggest win of his career was against George Roop and conversely he has bad loses like the one where he lost his belt to Chase Beebe.

[Colossal Spoons]

Can't wait till Jones shows up on the Jason Ellis show soon

[B]

Their fight is going to be a study in why teammates don't fight. People get it mixed up and think it's just friends who hung out a few times not fighting, but being someone's training partner is a lot different. Now that Rashad has left the gym he has been a part of for about 6 years now we'll see how it affects him.

It's foolishness I feel, if your gonna be reluctant to fight people you train with should a time ever arise in which effectively you both are the top 2 guys in one weightclass then you need to be training on your own or at a different camp.

This is an individual sport not a team sport, having a training partner as champion isn't benifitial to your own individual glory.

It's an odd & interesting matchup between Evans/Jones.. I've been reading the comments on Sky Sports about Jon Jones & already we have his hype train coming declaring him the G.O.A.T. with no weaknesses.. hes not really been tested yet by a good grappler, Shogun gave brief glimpses of a gameplan in regards to grappling in the sense that he twice dove for Jones's legs after he gave him his back. His legs & arms give him a massive reach advantage over practically everyone in the UFC.. but because of their length they are also highly susceptible to be singled out for an armbar, leglock etc if hes matched up with someone who is adept in submissions.

[B]

Check out this epicness of a trailer for UFC 129: GSP vs Shields.

WbvpdWpqQw4&NR=1
This is another badass trailer for a GSP fight, the GSP vs Koscheck one was as good as this as well.

GSP vs Shields is gonna be a great fight, Shields is relentless in his takedown attempts.. he won't be prepared to stand with GSP like Koscheck seemingly was.

[WalkingDeadMike]

I think that fight is going to be boring. I hope I'm wrong.

I'm more looking forward to seeing Jose Aldo **** Mark Hominick's **** up.

[E-Man]

Yeah man that trailer was excellent. It's crazy how people aren't giving Shields credit when he's had one of the best records in MMA for about six years now. I've counted the guy out enough to just write him off. Do I think GSP has him beat in all areas? Hell yeah, but that's more of a testament to GSP's greatness than Jake's ability. I'd pick GSP against anyone besides maybe Anderson. Jake on the other hand has the skill to beat anyone, and has done it at two weight classes. I'm glad he's finally in the UFC so he can get some respect.

[Paroxysm]

I think GSP will grind out a UD.

I want Jones vs Silva!

[mrvlknight21]

Simply amazing. Wow.

Shogun is gonna steamroll Jones. Can't wait.

Jones is going to get skull ****ed by Shogun. Beating Bader was good, but Shogun is on another level.
.

HAHA! Jones stand-up is sloppy as hell. I don't know what some of you guys are seeing. Jones is a good wrestler. His striking is flashy, but it sucks. He's only landed some of the stuff he has because of his reach. Shogun is a muay thai specialist. I expect Jones to either get knocked on the feet or leg-locked.

You guys were way off. He won just as I expected. :woot:

[WalkingDeadMike]

I think GSP will grind out a UD.

Yup, by 'lay and pray'ing for 5 rounds.

I want Jones vs Silva!

Me too, but I want to see Silva/GSP in a catchweight fight first.

[B]

Jon Jones reminds me of Anderson Silva in the manner in which he moves & strikes.. he also has a similar'ish sort of frame in the sense he has long legs & arms like Silva does.

The chances of seeing Silva/Jones are very small, I believe Silva said after his last move up that he had no desire to fight at 205 anymore because Dana White apparently told him that the next time he moves up it would be permanent & that hes happier/better at 185.

Even though Jones & Silva have similar'ish body types & frames, Silva is far more natural & suited to fighting at 185 & Jones is far more suited to 205. During training Silva's weight naturally falls to about 190-195 I believe I've read, whereas Jones said I think about a week before the fight that he was 212 a week before the fight.

Size will make a difference in this fight in the same way that it would make a difference between Silva/GSP..

Catchweight for both would be the fairest way for either champion vs champion fight.

Getting abit ahead of things though, Jones is barely champion & hasn't even had a title defense yet whereas Silva has what 8(?) title defenses & cleaned out a division and GSP has 6(?) & has effectively cleaned out a divison as well bar Shields who I expect him to defeat.

[Paroxysm]

Jon Jones reminds me of Anderson Silva in the manner in which he moves & strikes.. he also has a similar'ish sort of frame in the sense he has long legs & arms like Silva does.

The chances of seeing Silva/Jones are very small, I believe Silva said after his last move up that he had no desire to fight at 205 anymore because Dana White apparently told him that the next time he moves up it would be permanent & that hes happier/better at 185.

Even though Jones & Silva have similar'ish body types & frames, Silva is far more natural & suited to fighting at 185 & Jones is far more suited to 205. During training Silva's weight naturally falls to about 190-195 I believe I've read, whereas Jones said I think about a week before the fight that he was 212 a week before the fight.

Size will make a difference in this fight in the same way that it would make a difference between Silva/GSP..

Catchweight for both would be the fairest way for either champion vs champion fight.

Getting abit ahead of things though, Jones is barely champion & hasn't even had a title defense yet whereas Silva has what 8(?) title defenses & cleaned out a division and GSP has 6(?) & has effectively cleaned out a divison as well bar Shields who I expect him to defeat.

We'll see Jones vs Silva down the road, it will happen. Heck even Lorenzo Fertitta wants it to happen.

"Bones vs. Silva? Who wants it?"
http://twitter.com/lorenzofertitta/status/49347969090203648

[E-Man]

Jon Jones shouldn't even think about Silva until he's defended his title a few times. LHW has changed hands six times in the last three years alone, and there hasn't been someone defend it successfully more than once since Chuck. I'm all for the Jones hype, and I'm a huge fan of the guy. Still, he's not on Anderson's level yet regardless of whether or not he matches up well with him. Let him get some title defenses under his belt then the super fight talk could happen. If Cain is as great as I think he'll be, and Bones naturally gets bigger I could see a fight there in a few years.

[zanos]

The Shogun Vs. Jones fight reminds me so much of the Franklin and Silva fight. Btw, Jones has the personality of a rock.

I think that fight is going to be boring. I hope I'm wrong.

I'm more looking forward to seeing Jose Aldo **** Mark Hominick's **** up.

GSP usually dismantles grapplers.

[TheVileOne]

Jones has a good test ahead of him in Rashad Evans. Evans knows Jones a lot better than Shogun does. Evans is also a better wrestler which could give him an advantage. I like Jones in the fight, but hey anything can happen in a fight. If Evans comes with the perfect gameplan he can win.

Shogun had a terrible gameplan because he underestimated Jones' takedowns and striking. Shogun at one point got Jones back and tried a leglock which I guess was a sound idea because Jones has those long legs and I imagine Shogun wanted to work over the legs in the fight but Jones was too defensive on the ground. Shogun should've just pushed forward and gotten Jones in the pocket and against the fence. Not saying that would've worked but it was a better strategy than what he went in with. Jones is just too big, strong, and athletic.

Shogun should not feel terrible because what Jones did to him he would do to most anyone else on a given night. Bader was undefeated and perfect in MMA and the UFC before their fight and Bader got a solid win over Lil Nog who once went to war with Shogun.

I think Shogun needs to just heal up and be a little more active. I hope his knee is really alright this time but he needs to be more active and get acclimated to the Octagon again. He also needs to work on building some more muscle and cust some of the body fat. He's looked a little soft in his last couple of fights. I think he needs to bring in guys like the Marinovich's to get his strength and conditioning back up.

I'd like to see a Shogun/Lil Nog rematch provided Lil Nog loses to Phil Davis.

[Colossal Spoons]

ecXpMWs9vWg

@1:38, what move is that?

[E-Man]

^Calf crusher maybe? It looks like one of those moves that catch wrestlers go for a lot.

[TheVileOne]

Yeah Jon Jones needs to think about Rashad Evans who will know him a lot better in a fight than Shogun. I don't think Evans will beat him but anything is possible in MMA. If Evans comes in with the perfect gameplan and avoids Jones' strength he could blanket or wall and stall Jones to the title.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Zombie vs Garcia was ok, the rest I could have gone without.

Glad tonights fights were not ppv...

[E-Man]

That Korean Zombie sub was wicked! I'm glad he got the finish because I had a feeling that Garcia would somehow get the nod again if it went to the judges.

People are going to rail on Davis, but for a prospect to beat a seasoned vet like Nog that was a good win. Sure he needs work in some areas, but he showed a nice chin, good defense on the feet, and a willingness to adapt. With time he can be a top fighter, but people need to take their time with anointing him as the future champ.

[CrypticOne]

I can't wait to see Jones get knocked. I don't know what the hell was wrong with Shogun, he looked slow as hell! We all know Evans is gonna lose. No way his chin can take what Shogun's did. It'll probably be a grapple-fest though. Jones by UD. Then, Rampage will probably get the next shot....and I don't think he'll be much against Jones.

The only person I see beating Jones is Machida. Boom.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Machida is fighting Couture. Hmmm :huh:

[CrypticOne]

Machida is fighting Couture. Hmmm :huh:

Yup. And I see Couture being finished by a knee to the body with followed up ground and pound.

[B]

Pretty poor event last night I thought. Alot of average/"meh I don't give a ****" fights.

Sung Jung/Garcia & Sadollah/DaMarques where the 2 best fights I saw & even those were hardly great.

I was pumped for Dan Hardy vs Anthony Johnson but it kinda let me down big time, I think once Johnson kinda thought to himself hey this guy has no answer to fighting a guy with my power off him from his back I'll just keep doing this.. it's no surprise either that Hardy looked even easier to take down than in his fight with GSP, probably for the fact that he thought Johnson was gonna stand & trade with him and didn't particularly focus on his wrestling defense. So instead it was more of a matured performance from Anthony Johnson, if he would try & mix things up like that more often he could climb the WW ranks far quicker.

Hardy would do well focusing on his takedown defense, work from his back & scrambles in the same way that Bisping ironed out his pretty well & he'd be a far more dangerous fighter.

I don't think Hardy is in danger of being cut unless he loses to someone way down the rankings in his next bout, Hardy/Kampmann I'm thinking would be a good fight.. but then again on paper it seems like a good fight at much as Hardy/Johnson did.

Nogueria/Davis was a snoozefest, very little action with neither really taking any risks. It was almost identical to Nogueria/Bader.

Ahh well, UFC129: GSP vs Shields should be a great event, I'm looking forward to GSP/Shields & the UFC debut of the man that is Jose Aldo :up:

[Mace Bloodstone]

GSP vs Shields.. I don't know, it might just look like two pythons trying to constrict each other for 5 rounds..:sleepy: hope i'm wrong.

[WalkingDeadMike]

GSP vs Shields.. I don't know, it might just look like two pythons trying to constrict each other for 5 rounds..:sleepy: hope i'm wrong.

Yup. That's why I'm more looking forward to the Aldo fight.

[B]

GSP vs Shields.. I don't know, it might just look like two pythons trying to constrict each other for 5 rounds..:sleepy: hope i'm wrong.

This could go the same way as the Koscheck fight in the sense that we could see Shields get jabbed silly.. but Shields is relentless in his takedown attempts & is without question one of the most dangerous grapplers GSP will have faced. Hes more dangerous than Koscheck, Fitch & BJ Penn.. Matt Hughes is probably, in my opinion, the most dangerous grappler GSP faced because he just had 'it' & by 'it', I mean whatever it is that means he can put it all together, wrestling, BJJ etc.

GSP taking Shields down will be playing right into his hands I feel, it will allow Shields to get hold of GSP & work for submissions or try to sweep him.

I like grappling matches for the most part, I just hate fights/fighters who employ their superior grappling with no will to end a fight. Fitch, Sonnen & Evans spring to mind. 3 fighters who look to grind out a win rather than trying to finish.

[B]

Brock Lesnar dicusses Undertaker confrontation coaching TUF 13 (http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/28/brock-lesnar-discusses-undertaker-confrontation-coaching-tuf-13/)

Seems as though hes finally coming around to what a number of fans said in regards to his camps & him being a coach, he was happy that he did TUF after originally saying no for the simple fact that it helped him to learn more about his own training, as well as that of the fighters that came for his help.

Will be good to get some insight on both Dos Santos & Lesnar in this years TUF, we don't really know alot about Brock Lesnar as a man as opposed to 2 minute snippits of him acting like a badass to promote fights, same for Dos Santos.

[Colossal Spoons]

Yeah, I'm expecting Shields/GSP to be a pretty boring fight. But hopefully one of them takes a risk and we get some striking in round 4 and/or 5.

[E-Man]

When GSP/Shields is a decent fight I'll be right again! Remember Edgar vs. Maynard 2. I said it was going to be Fight of the Year quality and it was fight of the decade! Muahahahaha

But yeah. You can't lay and pray someone who is great at staying off their backs. GSP won't go to the ground, and he'll tag Jake all night long like with Fitch and Kos. If it does go to the ground there will be great scrambles because neither guy is just going to lay there like Paul "I ***** Instead of Improving My Wrestling" Daley. Maybe there will be a fence stalemate like with Rashad and Rampage, but both guys are more active with subs than those two wrestlers. Mark my words people. I expect to be showered with big breast when the fight turns out well. Spoons, I know you got hookups.

[Colossal Spoons]

It'll rain down breasts on your head sir

[CrypticOne]

GSP/Shields is going to look like Anderson/Thales. Although I will give Shields a lucky punch advantage.

[Paroxysm]

Yes, UFC 131 will be held at Rogers Arena on June 11! Lets hope I can score tickets this time.

[Colossal Spoons]

GSP/Shields is going to look like Anderson/Thales. Although I will give Shields a lucky punch advantage.

There will never be another fight as boring as Anderson/Thales haha

[Mace Bloodstone]

TUF first episode not to exciting.

[TheVileOne]

Between the Facebook fights and Spike TV I had a great time watching Fight Night. C'mon first ever Twister submission at the UFC level.

I've got GSP, but you shouldn't understimate Shields. He's been successful at two weight classes. He also beat Dan Henderson one of the greatest and most decorated fighters of all time.

[Iron_Stark]

Wow that first fight in TUF was boring.

[E-Man]

On one hand I feel bad for Fitch for getting hurt. Poor guy always takes **** from idiots who can't spell lose right, then Dana hates him, and getting hurt just pushes any sort of title shot back for him because now Dana will be like, "Your last fight was a draw, and you've pulled out of a fight? Damn dude. I can't give you a title shot until you've won 30 straight fights in a row...against heavyweights. Good luck!"

On the other hand I didn't want to see Fitch against B.J. again. I'm tired of rematches. Let's see both against someone else.

[El Bastardo]

I wouldn't mind Condit fighting BJ.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Brock Lesnar on a local radio show a few days ago.

http://www.cowheadradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=43

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

GSP vs Shields.. I don't know, it might just look like two pythons trying to constrict each other for 5 rounds..:sleepy: hope i'm wrong.

I would have possibly agreed before the Koscek[sp] fight, but even before GSP has brought it hard to everyone. His tank is arguably the best, if not the best and as we have seen just wears you out.

But after the Koscek fight, he clearly can also adapt and even beat you at your own game but is smart enough not to just stand there and throw, since he isn't known for having heavy hands.

It still could be a boring ground battle, but we may be surprised.

[mrvlknight21]

brock lesnar dicusses undertaker confrontation coaching tuf 13 (http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/28/brock-lesnar-discusses-undertaker-confrontation-coaching-tuf-13/)
.

interesting!

[TheVileOne]

Lesnar seemed to be deflecting a bit there. I think he's just making a little stuff up. I think Undertaker was a dick for going after Lesnar right after he just got beat up like that.

Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132 in July in Vegas.

[E-Man]

UFC 132 looks great. Cruz vs. Fitch. Wand vs. Leben. And a fight I've been wanting for about a year in Dunham vs. Sotiropoulos.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Why show that whole fight on TUF??

[B]

Why show that whole fight on TUF??

I can't believe I'm gonna disagree with that comment but.. I actually liked that fight.

Javier Torres actually started the hugging with the intent that Chris Cope was actually quite bad & didn't react well to being under pressure or on his back according to Dos Santos's coach.. and the longer the fight went on the more Cope began to outwork, outland & basically grind out Torres.

I think the reason I liked the fight was more because it was the underdog that won, which is always nice to see. Lesnar actually looks like a decent coach as well, the aura he gives out & his words seem to be motivating his team better than Dos Santos's are... no doubt due to his lack of English. Dos Santos is actually kinda talking softly with his team in a way that he is acting like more of a friend than a coach.. while Brock is calling his team Chicken **** & unpolished turds. :funny:


On another note, I found out how to get Strikeforce in the UK. It's on channel 480 on Sky... however for Daley/Diaz it is £9.95, and considering UFC events aren't PPV & actually part of ESPN's channels, I'm not paying £9.95 for 1 Strikeforce event that only really has 2 fights that I wanna see... besides, it will be on Youtube by tomorrow morning. :D

[E-Man]

Good win by Diaz. The dude is like the welterweight Chris Leben. To hell with technique, he uses a great chin and throws rock em sock em strikes until the other guy gasses. I may dislike him, but I'm not going to be biased and not give him his props.

Bring Gil to the UFC please. I'd take Edgar and Maynard over him, but he's got a really great chance to beat them both. The 155 division in the UFC is already stacked, and I'd like to see him go for the title because he's elite.

[Iron_Stark]

Diaz and Melendez are the baddest MFers in all of MMA. Also Diaz is still the God of Violence.

[B]

Hmmm.. just watched Diaz/Daley & I didn't like the stoppage at all, it felt like it was at least 3 or 4 seconds too soon as Daley looked like he was in the process of trying to kick Diaz off him.

Even moreso when you think Daley caught Diaz with a left earlier in the fight & Diaz dropped like a ****ing stone & he allowed Diaz to recover even though it looked like he was as badly hurt as Daley seemed to be at the end.

Good little slugfest between the 2, however the stoppage kinda spoiled it.. this was a Championship fight, stoppages need to be definitive & in my opinion Daley should have been given a few more seconds at least.

Gilbert Melendez was on fire as well, he completely destroyed Kawajiri with ease. It would be nice to see him move to the UFC to fight in the already stacked lightweight division there to see what hes really made off.

[CrypticOne]

Hmmm.. just watched Diaz/Daley & I didn't like the stoppage at all, it felt like it was at least 3 or 4 seconds too soon as Daley looked like he was in the process of trying to kick Diaz off him.

Even moreso when you think Daley caught Diaz with a left earlier in the fight & Diaz dropped like a ****ing stone & he allowed Diaz to recover even though it looked like he was as badly hurt as Daley seemed to be at the end.

Good little slugfest between the 2, however the stoppage kinda spoiled it.. this was a Championship fight, stoppages need to be definitive & in my opinion Daley should have been given a few more seconds at least.

Gilbert Melendez was on fire as well, he completely destroyed Kawajiri with ease. It would be nice to see him move to the UFC to fight in the already stacked lightweight division there to see what hes really made off.

Yeah, Diaz/Daley was a early stoppage, in my opinion. And I think there was like a second left in the round.

[B]

Yeah, Diaz/Daley was a early stoppage, in my opinion. And I think there was like a second left in the round.

McCarthy probably wasn't concerned or aware of how long was left, but in my opinion he should have been aware & unless Daley had looked completely out of it he should have let it run to the bell. If Daley wasn't fit to continue the doctor would have stopped the fight in the corner.

[Colossal Spoons]

Good season of TUF so far. JDS might be the nicest guy on the planet...next to GSP

[Paroxysm]

Good season of TUF so far. JDS might be the nicest guy on the planet...next to GSP

Humble warriors. :woot:

[Mace Bloodstone]

For some reason I noticed Brock's scar more on this passed episode.

[Kane52630]

Best-paid fighter in mixed martial arts: Brock Lesnar

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/ESPN-the-Mag-story-tabs-Lesnar-at-highest-paid-f?urn=mma-wp1366

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/593/lesnarsalarychart.jpg

In the major sports, stories about athletes' salaries generally draw derision and jealous reactions. In the case of mixed martial arts, fans probably have a more supportive stance for the fighters. The combatants aren't making a killing relative to athletes from the NFL, NBA and MLB yet they're putting the safety on the line.

According to ESPN the Magazine, the highest paid MMA fighter in 2010 was Lesnar at ONLY $5.3 million. Boxer Manny Pacquiao led the way in the other major combat sport at $32 million.

On the surface, that makes MMA look pathetic. Should MMA stars like Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva be making $15 million-plus a year? Maybe, but the argument from MMA promoters is that the gap between boxing's haves and have-nots is massive while MMA can boast of dozens of fighters making in excess of $500,000 per year.

The Star Phoenix's Dave Deibert points out that Lesnar is actually a bigger draw than 99.9 percent of the fighters in the modern history of combat sports:

"Lesnar has recently become the biggest pay-per-view draw in the world. In 2010, he joined Mike Tyson as the only athletes to twice draw more than one million buys on pay-per-view in a single year — Tyson did it three times in 1996."

[E-Man]

That number isn't counting Brock's sponsors. It's been stated many times, sometimes by agents themselves, that sponsor money usually matches what the fighter makes for that night. Brock's probably making a killing in sponsors because his pay per views are always guaranteed to be some of the most watched. The dude is making some big time money.

I know some people always look at what boxers make and think MMA fighters are getting robbed, but it's a different scale. Boxing is so split up that it's top heavy with the money. With MMA you have basically one company in charge of everyone's contracts. Without those sponsors I doubt that the UFC could just pay guys $20 million a fight until pay per views or tv sponsors get so high that they can afford to do that.

[Mace Bloodstone]

Wait, you can make almost a million fishing?

[B]

Brock rightly should be the top paid MMA fighter, while he isn't the best pound for pound fighter in the sport, he is undoubtably the most famous & his involvement in the UFC has not only made them more money, it has drawn in a whole new market of fans that probably were not aware or cared for MMA.

I just saw last nights TUF & that guy who was fighting from Brock's team was an embarassment, he couldn't tap quick enough when he was caught in the rear naked choke.. the guy had barely even applied it & I doubt he had even put any proper pressure on & he was already tapping, he quit half way through that fight after an onslaught of pressure/grinding from the Team Dos Santos guy.. whatever their names are.

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

Wait, you can make almost a million fishing?

lol

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

Not to mention that in boxing, the majority of boxers are being robbed blind. Don King is reported to have stolen over $200 million from Tyson?

UFC seems to overall take much better care of it's fighters and no I don't feel sorry for anyone pulling in $500k a year.

[SuperSoldier985]

I cannot wait for this weekend.

I got a little bummed out because for a while there, I almost thought UFC129 was this last weekend... :(

[Norman Osborn]

Ellenberg Vs Pierson TKO Rd 3, impressive beatdown
Diaz vs Macdonald U/D (Potential FOTN)
Bocek vs Henderson Submission Rd 3 (FOTN)
Mayushenko Vs Brilz U/D
Machida Vs Couture U/D
Aldo Vs Hominick TKO Strikes Severe Beatdown
GSP Vs Shields TKO Rd 5 Shields gasses

[E-Man]

Phil Davis is stepping up to face Rashad at UFC 133 since Jon Jones is hurt. Here's the source.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Mr-Wonderful-Tapped-to-Replace-Injured-Jones-Against-Evans-31854
After much hullabaloo over Jon Jones (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Jon-Jones-27944) and Rashad Evans (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Rashad-Evans-10200)’ impending showdown, it appears the former Jackson’s MMA (http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder.php?search=yes&association=Jackson) teammates won’t square off inside the Octagon anytime soon after all.

The UFC announced via Twitter on Monday that unbeaten light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Phil-Davis-27802) has been tapped to replace Jones against Evans at UFC 133 (http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-133-TBA-16787) on Aug. 6. According to multiple reports, newly crowned UFC 205-pound champ Jones suffered a torn ligament in his right hand during his March 19 title win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Mauricio-Rua-5707) at UFC 128 (http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-128-Shogun-vs-Jones-15483) and is now set to undergo surgery.

The Canadian Press first reported news of Jones’ injury on Monday.

Evans, 31, is himself a former UFC light heavyweight titlist, having won the belt with a December 2008 stoppage of fellow “Ultimate Fighter” alum Forrest Griffin (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Forrest-Griffin-3526). The former Michigan State Spartan would lose the belt in his next outing, a vicious May 2009 knockout at the hands of Lyoto Machida (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Lyoto-Machida-7513) which also marked the first defeat of Evans’ career.

Since that time, “Suga” has recorded unanimous decisions against American Top Team (http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder.php?search=yes&association=American%20Top%20Team) standout Thiago Silva (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Thiago-Silva-14396) and, most recently, fellow ex-champ Quinton Jackson (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Quinton-Jackson-348). Following his May 2010 win over “Rampage,” Evans was once again declared No. 1 contender to the light heavyweight throne, but a knee injury to then-champion Rua postponed the bout until this past March. One month out from the match, Evans himself injured a knee, making way for Jones to step in and claim gold.

Davis, a four-time NCAA Div. I All-American wrestler at Penn State, comes off the most substantial win of his career. At March’s UFC Fight Night 24 (http://www.sherdog.com/events/UFC-Fight-Night-24-15559), Davis took another short-notice assignment, replacing the injured Tito Ortiz (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Tito-Ortiz-158) against Pride Fighting Championships (http://www.sherdog.com/organizations/PRIDE-Fighting-Championships-3) veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Antonio-Rogerio-Nogueira-2270). Davis ground out the highly regarded 205-pound stalwart over three rounds to take a unanimous decision and run his unblemished record to 9-0.

Since joining the UFC in February 2010, Davis has competed and won five times, submitting Alexander Gustafsson (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alexander-Gustafsson-26162) and Tim Boetsch (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Tim-Boetsch-19544), while notching decisions against Nogueira, Rodney Wallace (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Rodney-Wallace-33343) and onetime WEC (http://www.sherdog.com/organizations/World-Extreme-Cagefighting-48) light heavyweight titleholder Brian Stann (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Brian-Stann-14829).

UFC 133 is expected to take place at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and will also feature a light heavyweight tilt between Nogueira and former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Rich-Franklin-392), as well as a 185-pound affair pitting Vitor Belfort (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Vitor-Belfort-156) against Yoshihiro Akiyama (http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Yoshihiro-Akiyama-11895).


Very interesting matchup. Phil's striking is coming along nicely, and Rashad's defense is going to give him a good test. Can he keep Rashad on the ground? How does he react to being taken down for a change? This fight will be decided by whichever guy best mixes up his strikes and takedowns. I doubt either guy can keep the other down long, so it's going to be about winning the standup and takedowns. Both guys move pretty quick on their feet too. Too bad Jones is hurt. The lightweight title picture is filled with injuries and one and done champs. Chuck must've put a curse on it or something. lol

[B]

Dear o dear, further evidence that proves that the Rampage/Hamill fight should never have been made. Now that fight means next to nothing because the winner of Evans/Davis will more than likely get the next shot at the title.

Personally, I feel one way or another Davis should be taking on Hamill & Rampage/Evans 2 should happen to find a number 1 contender. Whether that means Evans replaces Hamill at UFC 130 (probably not) or Rampage & Davis trade places so Davis fights Hamill at 130 & Rampage/Evans 2 is at 133.

I think these are 2 risky fights both Rampage/Evans have taken, both of these guys are in a title picture & are both fighting good wrestlers who are more than capable of grinding out a win. Not thrilled about the LHW division at the moment..

[Paroxysm]

So stoked for tomorrow!!!! GSP!

[E-Man]

I think that Claude Patrick and "Ninja" Roberts are going to steal the show. It's a matchup between two guys who have good BJJ, but their styles could create some great scrambles like in the G-Sot and Stevenson match in Australia last year.

[El Bastardo]

So stoked for tomorrow!!!! GSP!
:up: :up:

[B]

Tomorrow nights card is gonna be awesome!

Can't wait to see Jose Aldo in a UFC cage, hope he puts on a beast of a show.

Also looking forward to Couture/Machida, surprisingly. I'd love to see Randy somewhat shock the MMA world again with a win, it seems like alot of pundits & fans have seemingly wrote him off. Hes got a shot at beating Machida if he can close the distance & get hold of him. If Rampage can smother Machida & take him down.. so can Couture. Might stick a few bob on him to win considering hes a heavy underdog from what I've seen.

Then of course Shields/GSP. Alot of people think this is gonna be 5 rounds of spooning, I think this is a fight that will be finished before the 5th round. I don't think Shields will do what Koscheck did & seemingly wait to try & land 1 big punch, I think he'll be relentless, I think he'll try to put pressure on GSP in the standup & try to force GSP to take him down. I think Shields wants this fight on the ground regardless of who takes it there. I think this is gonna be an excellent fight. Please don't disappoint.

[E-Man]

People who think that the Shields and GSP fight will be full of lay and pray don't pay attention to fights. GSP always fights to his opponent's weaknesses, and for Shields that is obviously on the feet. I highly doubt that Shields could keep GSP down. If he could I wouldn't even spend my time complaining about it. I'd just praise the hell out of Shields for doing something that no one has even come close to doing, and that it's hard to submit GSP so outgrappling him would be an amazing feat.

Of course there are many MMA fans who post on message boards that don't understand sports. They think fighters should do retarded stuff instead of admiring skill. Oh well, they're only the vocal minority anyway. PPV numbers show that the ones complaining after every takedown don't matter much to the bottom line. /rant

[Paroxysm]

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/226505_10150241603696276_46299886275_9337612_19717 70_n.jpg

[CrypticOne]

^ That's awesome.

[Paroxysm]

For Trevor Fitzgerald, the chance of a lifetime all started with a little luck and a ballsy request.

On Friday afternoon, the 35-year-old waited in line at a fan expo in Toronto's Direct Energy Centre with an unlikely question for UFC president, Dana White.
For 45 minutes, Fitzgerald listened as the folks in front of him graciously thanked White for bringing the UFC to Ontario - then promptly treated him like Santa Claus.

Some asked for better seats. Some begged for tickets. One pleaded for the shirt off Georges St-Pierre's back. Yet, most settled for a funny photo next to the top boss, who cleverly sported a Toronto Maple Leafs T-shirt.
But when Fitzgerald finally got his shot at the microphone, he offered up an idea that was perhaps the most outrageous.

He started with a playful jab, telling White that it always seems as though he has trouble putting championship belts on his fighters after events.
It's the belts, White explained. They just don't snap. So, they've switched to Velcro to make it easier on him.

Then, Fitzgerald went for all the marbles.

"When Georges St-Pierre takes down Jake Shields," Fitzgerald started, to immediate cheers. "Can I have the honour of putting the belt on GSP?"
The question seemed to daze White for a moment.

"That's a tough one," the president said quietly. "But ***** it, let's do it."
The place erupted. Disbelieving fans could be heard shouting, "Are you kidding me?" And moments later, Fitzgerald was near the stage sharing his cell number with White's bodyguard so that they can set this whole thing up.

For Fitzgerald, it's an absolute dream come true.

The father of two from Fort Frances, Ont. (population: 9,000 or so) had told his buddy, Jeff Wright, that this was his plan all along. He'd heard that the UFC president was prone to moments of bold generosity and always puts fans first.

"I just thought ‘what the hell?,'" said Fitzgerald. "He may just say yes."
The fact that Fitzgerald is even going to one of the biggest sporting events in North America is a testament to his good fortune.

When he considered buying tickets months ago, his wife, Corrina, reminded him that his five-year-old daughter Emily has a dance recital on Sunday. In short, she said he couldn't go.

But when his name was drawn in a raffle at his local Boston Pizza - two tickets, a hotel room and airfare - his better half was singing a different tune.
"My wife just said that I was obviously destined to go," he said.

And if GSP pulls off a victory, that destiny will include being the guy behind the guy, strapping that gold across his waist.

"It'll be the experience of a lifetime," he said.

But what happens if GSP doesn't win?

"I'm not doing it if it's Jake Shields," said Fitzgerald, adding that he'll just hand the belt back to White, stand back and hope he doesn't fumble.
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/top/blog/canada/post/Dana-White-makes-UFC-fan-s-dream-come-true?urn=top-349319

:awesome:

[CrypticOne]

Picks for tonight?

GSP via TKO
Aldo via TKO
Machida via TKO
Brilz via decision
Bendo via decision