Official UFC Thread - Part 3

[B]

Also just one other thing. In early 2011, UFC offered Rampage a fight with Shogun which Rampage had to turn down because he was too freaking fat and overweight to get ready in time. Who ended up getting the shot? Jon Jones after he beat Bader.

Your funny, that wasn't the UFC doing Rampage a favour.. that was the UFC asking Rampage to do them a favour by taking a 5 round Championship fight on 4 weeks notice even though he was on holiday, out of shape & about 240lbs.. didn't they ask Machida first as well or am I making that up? Didn't he want Anderson Silva money to fight on 4 weeks notice.

The only reason Jones took the fight was because he was already in shape & got past Bader without sustaining any major injury. If Jones had sustained a cut or even badly bruised ribs they'd have had to scrap the Rua bout given that there was nobody left to ask.

 

[TheVileOne]

You're funny, that wasn't the UFC doing Rampage a favour.. that was the UFC asking Rampage to do them a favour by taking a 5 round Championship fight on 4 weeks notice even though he was on holiday, out of shape & about 240lbs.. didn't they ask Machida first as well or am I making that up? Didn't he want Anderson Silva money to fight on 4 weeks notice.

So I guess Jon Jones getting a title shot after he beat Bader was doing the UFC a favor?

It would've been more than six weeks. UFC 126 was six weeks before UFC 128. They likely put the fight to Rampage six weeks before. Machida at that point was likely already training for the Randy Couture fight in Toronto. And honestly you are a pro fighter and that's your job. Fighters have taken big fights on less times notice. In Pride guys had to fight twice in one night and wouldn't even know who their final opponent was. Rampage said Pride used to give him as short as two week notice for some fights. If Rampage is mad about not getting "exciting" opponents there was an opportunity for him right there. For guys that like to train regularly and stay in shape, six weeks+ of prep time doesn't sound so bad.

But I guess that was Jon Jones doing a huge favor for the UFC.

And no on Machida. Machida was offered the Rashad Evans fight later in the year that Tito Ortiz ultimately accepted. Machida accepted the fight then turned around and asked for Anderson Silva money.

The only reason Jones took the fight was because he was already in shape & got past Bader without sustaining any major injury. If Jones had sustained a cut or even badly bruised ribs they'd have had to scrap the Rua bout given that there was nobody left to ask.

And that's the difference. Rampage is not as disciplined a fighter and athlete as he should be. That's why he is failing to make weight and cutting over 30 pounds two days before a fight.

 

[B]

So I guess Jon Jones getting a title shot after he beat Bader was doing the UFC a favor?

Well the UFC had a headline fight that they'd hyped up & already sold tickets on the back of that one fight alone & thus needed to fill that Main Event with a fighter on 43 days notice. They needed someone to take that fight otherwise the Main Event would have been ruined & they were running out of credible options. When an employer comes to you & says would you be able to work on xx/xx/xx as I'm really in abit of a pickle for getting someone else to do the work.. they are as much asking you for a favour as much as you would be for benifiting from that favour. In a normal 9 to 5 persons life they'd be getting an extra days wage, however in Jones case he got an extra wage + a 1/2 fight shortcut to a title shot.. maybe a crap analogy but the UFC giving him the title shot was as much a favour to him as it was from him to them.

Jones deserved it though don't get me wrong, he deserved it as much as Rampage did at the time anyway that's for sure. The only other LHW that I can think they could have turned to had Jones got some form of injury during fight would have been Phil Davis.

It would've been more than six weeks. UFC 126 was six weeks before UFC 128. They likely put the fight to Rampage six weeks before. Machida at that point was likely already training for the Randy Couture fight in Toronto. And honestly you are a pro fighter and that's your job. Fighters have taken big fights on less times notice. In Pride guys had to fight twice in one night and wouldn't even know who their final opponent was. Rampage said Pride used to give him as short as two week notice for some fights. If Rampage is mad about not getting "exciting" opponents there was an opportunity for him right there. For guys that like to train regularly and stay in shape, six weeks+ of prep time doesn't sound so bad.

But I guess that was Jon Jones doing a huge favor for the UFC.

I do agree with most of what you've wrote, the problem was Rampage wasn't in even bit part training because he was in the middle of a vacation before starting camp for I believe that Thiago Silva fight which ended up being Matt Hamill which is why he was heavier than usual. No fighter trains all year round & stays in close to fight shape all year round.. especally a guy like Rampage who loathes the training aspect of the fighting game.

The UFC didn't know about Evans injury for weeks, it was more than likely days from 128 as opposed to week(s).

So that would have been 6 weeks to cut any excess weight & at the same time get into shape for a 5 round fight against a dangerous guy that soccer kicked the crap out him the last time they fought. The only way that would have been an exciting chance for Rampage was if he planned to turn up too exhausted from a weight & crash course fitness camp to give a good account of himself. Weight cutting alone can take up to a 1 or 2 weeks of a camp if your doing it right.

And no on Machida. Machida was offered the Rashad Evans fight later in the year that Tito Ortiz ultimately accepted. Machida accepted the fight then turned around and asked for Anderson Silva money.

Yea I remembered that after I posted the message, for some reason I thought it was the Shogun fight.

And that's the difference. Rampage is not as disciplined a fighter and athlete as he should be. That's why he is failing to make weight and cutting over 30 pounds two days before a fight.

Talk about overreacting, he has missed weight once in 40+ fight career & the reason he missed weight was down to a knee injury he sustained in training.. that's the only reason he was trying to cut so much weight such a few days before the fight.

 

[TheVileOne]

Lots of fighters have all sorts of injuries sustained in training going into fights. But they are still able to make weight. They should be more disciplined about their weight cuts and not cutting 50 pounds the week of the fight. It is no wonder Anthony Johnson failed to make weight three times cutting down from 230 pounds.

According to Joey Varner, at night Rampage had women visiting him and bringing him junk food.

 

[CrypticOne]

I can't wait until Shogun wrecks Rampage into retirement.

 

[E-Man]

I give Rampage a great chance to beat Shogun. Shogun could tear him apart with a lot of kicks, but he could get tagged over and over the same way he did against Hendo. If that happens I think Rampage would continue the onslaught without gassing like Hendo. Rampage's cardio isn't that bad, and Hendo's is just turrible turrible.

 

[CrypticOne]

Looks like the fight isn't happening now. Rampage going into surgery. Hopefully the UFC just cuts him. He's just going to come back slower.

 

[TheVileOne]

I say have Rampage fight King Mo once both guys have recovered from their injuries.

Seeing Mo wrestle Rampage to death would be the icing on the cake.

 

[CrypticOne]

Yeah, but I don't want to hear Rampage crying after the fight. I'd rather someone knock him the hell out and have him in a coma for the next 6 months.

 

[TheVileOne]

I want Rampage to cry more and more.

 

[CrypticOne]

So he could go on another rampage, no pun intended, and kill another baby?!

 

[Paroxysm]

The cast of TUF Brazil looks pretty good, lots of talented fighters.

 

[CrypticOne]

The cast of TUF Brazil looks pretty good, lots of talented fighters.

Yeah, but once they hit American soil, prepare for them to get laid on. But still, WAR BRAZIL!

 

[Project862006]

UFC on FX 3: Gray Maynard vs Clay Guida 5 Round Main Event

Lightweight losers (in their most recent matches), Gray Maynard and Clay Guida, will each look to get back in the win column when the pair sling leather at UFC on FX 3 on June 22, 2012, In Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today made the 155-pound announcement via its website, revealing that the showdown will serve as a five-round main event.

Maynard, a former two-time number one division contender, spent the entire 2011 mixed martial arts (MMA) fight season attempting to wrest the belt from the resilient clutches of UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.

Despite his best efforts, including two brutal first rounds at UFC 125 and UFC 136, during which he beat "The Answer" from pillar to post, Edgar stormed back to earn a draw and then a come-from-behind technical knockout.

"The Bully," who now trains at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, Calif., will now have to fight his way back toward the top, starting with "The Carpenter."

Star-divide

Guida himself was in the 2011 lightweight number one contender "mix," submitting Takanori Gomi and decisioning the last man to hold the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) lightweight belt, Anthony Pettis.

In fact, he was riding a four-fight win streak inside the Octagon before Ben Henderson derailed his hairy hopes, taking a unanimous decision in a great back-and-forth battle at UFC on Fox 1 just last month to earn the next shot at Edgar.

So close, yet so far away, for both veterans.

No other bouts or a potential venue for UFC on FX 3 are known at this time. UFC 53: "Heavy Hitters" in June 2005 was the last time the organization held an event in South Jersey.

http://www.mmamania.com/2011/12/28/...nard-vs-clay-guida-fight-montreal-march24-mma

 

[TheVileOne]

Glad they are getting five rounds. Might not be the most exciting fight but should be interesting.

 

[E-Man]

Maynard and Guida is a very good matchup. Maynard is still elite, but he just got 2 title shots back to back, and that puts him a little bit behind the pack when it comes to the title ladder. Guida just lost to the current champ, but he's still good enough to beat a lot of guys. Right now it's the best matchup for both besides Melendez or Pettis for Maynard.

 

[TheVileOne]

I agree. The fight makes a lot of sense. Both guys like to use similar techniques to win. Though I think Maynard will have a slight edge due to his size and boxing technique.

 

[CrypticOne]

Man. I'm rooting for Guida. He's one of my favorite fighters, but I see Maynard tearing him up.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Question: Why hasn't the UFC signed guys like Hector Lombard (MW), Pat Curran (LW, FW), and Gegard Mousasi (LHW)?

 

[Paroxysm]

I'd love to see Gegard Mousasi test his mettle in the UFC.

 

[Project862006]

mousasi has no one to face in SF

King Mo - pissed hot and suspended for a year
Roger Gracie - moved down to MW
Mike Kyle - is hurt and reason why gegard/kyle was scratched from rousey/tate card
Calvacante - is injured he broke his arm in his last fight but he might be healed now

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I read somewhere that Gegard hired with a former Olympic-Wrestler to improve his TDD and takedowns. Unarguably, that's been his glaring weaknesses since he was exposed in the bout with King Mo.

He showed improvements in the wrestling department in his last fight, but the guy he faced was a nobody. Gegard has also stuffed O'Brien before, so it's difficult to say where he's at, in terms of wrestling.

Gegard has nobody to face at Strikeforce. Dana might as well sign him and throw him in the tank to see how he fares.

 

[E-Man]

Question: Why hasn't the UFC signed guys like Hector Lombard (MW), Pat Curran (LW, FW), and Gegard Mousasi (LHW)?

They signed Lombard a few years back, but he had a visa issue and they couldn't finalize it. Now the issue has been that in Bellator the champs have a clause like the UFC that keeps them signed on whenever they keep winning. His contract is supposed to be up next month, and Dana has already said he wants to sign him. Lombard supposedly wants to go to the UFC, so it looks like it will happen.

With Curran he still needs to improve on some things. His recent knockouts over Sandro and Warren show that he's starting to pull the trigger more like he should. That Alvarez fight was really bad for him. Not because he got outclassed, but because he seemed frozen and content to be good enough not to get knocked out. Same thing with the Imada fight. How he won that I have no idea. Anyways, he's just now coming into his own and I imagine that eventually he'll be in the UFC once the Bellator clause thing allows him.

With Mousasi who knows. I've always liked him as a prospect, but maybe it's a good thing he's not with the UFC yet. It's crazy how he has such a major glaring hole in his game. He may not fight the top guys off the bat, but I could imagine some of the lower level guys trying to exploit his lack of wrestling. It's a shame too because I was hoping that he and Jon Jones would progress to elite levels by this year back when they were coming up. Jones has done that in incredible fashion and has the looks of a potential guy to be known as the greatest of all time. Mousasi on the other hand is a guy with potential, but he is still the same fighter he was a few years back. He seems so lackadaisical too, and not in a Fedor way. Fedor seemed like he didn't give a **** about anything, but he fought with a ton of passion. Mousasi just seems to show up and have a meh feeling about everything.

 

[TheVileOne]

They didn't sign Pat Curran because before he won the lightweight tournament in Bellator he was a nobody. He was Jeff Curran's cousin and Jeff Curran was a wash in the WEC as a bantamweight contender. He upped his profile with his win over Roger Huerta and winning the Bellator lightweight tournament. He lost the title fight to Alvarez and then he won the Bellator tournament with a big knockout win over Marlon Sandro who was a featherweight champ in Sengoku and renowned featherweight. Then he won the featherweight title over Joe Warren which just happened. So he's definitely upped his profile now with his recent streak. But now he's a Bellator champ so he has to fulfill those obligations now.

However at the end of the day, Viacom or not, most of these games want to fight in the UFC now that they've established themselves and they've said as much.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I desperately want Hector Lombard in the UFC. He poses a great threat to Anderson Silva because of his blend of explosive Judo throws/sweeps, knockout power (knocked out Olympic Boxers from the Cuban National Team in sparring sessions) and granite chin (yet to be rocked in his career).

Yeah, I heard about his visa issues a couple years back but I'm surprised Dana didn't pursue him further when they were resolved.