Official UFC Thread - Part 4

[TheVileOne]

You can watch the whole even for free now on Ustream. A lot of technical issues and it was a big disaster. Everyone that bought it or tried to buy it and couldn't watch it got refunded.

 

[DaveMoral]

That's a shame. Invictus will fold, and their top fighters will end up in the UFC women's division.

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

 

[TheVileOne]

So that's it for Strikeforce. UFC announced a chunk more of the guys coming over from Strikeforce. Others were already confirmed for fights in the UFC.

Guys not signed to UFC deals are like Josh Barnett, Jorge Masvidal, and Ovince St. Preux. It's possible they could come over to the UFC but new deals might have to be made.

 

[CrypticOne]

Don't know why the UFC is giving Cormier a fight with Mir, if he isn't going to stay at HW. He probably destroys Mir and then drops weight?! I don't know.

Also don't like how Gilbert Melendez is getting an instant title fight with Bendo. Bendo is going to run through him. Easy. Should have at least given him a fight before a title shot. Who has Gilbert actually beat?! This is a fight I can see Bendo finishing.

 

[TheVileOne]

CrypticOne, Cormier has never made a light heavyweight cut before. Mir/Cormier is the fight that was supposed to happen last year. I think Cormier wants to wait a bit before he attempts a light heavyweight cut.

As for Melendez, he beat CLAY GUIDA. The guy Bendo got through in order to get a UFC title shot. Also beaten Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Aoki at the time was ranked top five in the world when Melendez beat him. He's also gotten wins back on his only two career losses.

You can say the same thing about any fighter. Who did Alexander Gustafsson really beat before he beat Shogun?

 

[CrypticOne]

Aoki?! That dude would get wrecked in the UFC. I never considered him Top 10 in the lightweight division. You seen what happens with these Japanese fighters that come into the UFC?! They aren't really that good. It made me laugh when people wanted to see Penn VS Aoki. Dude would have been smoked inside the first round.

And how long ago did Melendez beat Guida?! That fight isn't even relevant if it happened more than 5 years ago.

It doesn't matter who Gustafsson beat before Shogun. Dude has worked his way up the rankings. In the UFC. Which is a hard thing to do.

And no, I am not a UFC fanboy. But it is where the majority of the best fighters on this planet are fighting.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Aoki is one-dimensional but he's on par with Maia if the fight went to ground. His grappling was legitimately feared by his opposition. Hate it all you want, but he made Alvarez (who was viewed at the time as one of the best, if not the best, LW in the world) tap out instantly. Shinya definitely deserved to be ranked in the Top 5 just based on that win alone.

 

[CrypticOne]

Has anyone been watching the conflict brewing between Belfort and Bisping?! Its awesome. I think Belfort knocks him, but its funny, Bisping said at the weigh-ins, "THERE IS NO JESUS!" HAHA!

 

[Sakuraba]

Styles make fights. Aoki would look terrible in some fights but he would look like a genius in others. Kind of like he's been doing for the past eight years.

That Melendez fight on CBS was funny because Melendez was aggressive for about a minute and then he almost got triangled *almost* and then he fought one of the most conservative fights of his career.

 

[B]

Weigh in for the Bisping/Belfort fight has me pumped to see it. My gut feeling is telling me Belfort is gonna KO him inside the first, but if Bisping fights a smart fight & wrestles with him the first round I think Bisping will pick him apart if it goes beyond that opening round as Belfort's cardio looked somewhat suspect against Jones with him pulling guard against a guy that does the most damage from inside the guard... that was when Vitor didn't have to cut weight as well.

The first round will be key.

 

[TheVileOne]

I agree. If Belfort can't stop this in the first round, I think Bisping will win.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Bisping couldn't beat Hendo and Wanderlei, so there's no way he beats Belfort unless he forgets about striking with Vitor and goes to his wrestling instead.

Bisping being this close to a title shot just speaks volumes about the UFC's depth at MW.

 

[TheVileOne]

Not really. Bisping came really close to getting a win over Sonnen who fought for the title twice. Bisping has been in the UFC a long time and if he wins here I think it would be his 14th win in the UFC.

Also Chris Weidman is injured right now as well.

Plus the Strikeforce guys coming in: Jacare, Luke Rockhold, and Tim Kennedy. All solid prospects for the UFC.

 

[Project862006]

UFC has signed Gegard Mousasi vs Alexander Gustafsson For April Bout
http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/...-official-for-stockholm-tickets-on-sale-feb-9

 

[CrypticOne]

For tonight's main card I have: Belfort, Dollaway, Rothwell, and Nurmagomedov winning.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Oh please, Bisping has been protected by Dana White. Michael could have gone on a three fight losing streak and he wouldn't been cut. Instead of fighting guys like Belcher and Okami, he fought Leben, Day, Kane and Rivera. Michael has lost virtually every big fight (Hendo, Evans, Sonnen, and Silva), so why should he be considered for a title shot? Bisping doesn't deserve it.

In my opinion, Michael has to beat Belfort soundly in order for me to change my perception about him. We'll see how he does tonight but Bisping is a glorified journeyman or middle-of-the-pack fighter in the UFC.

 

[CrypticOne]

Oh please, Bisping has been protected by Dana White. Michael could have gone on a three fight losing streak and he wouldn't been cut. Instead of fighting guys like Belcher and Okami, he fought Leben, Day, Kane and Rivera. Michael has lost virtually every big fight (Hendo, Evans, Sonnen, and Silva), so why should he be considered for a title shot? Bisping doesn't deserve it. In my opinion, Michael has to beat Belfort soundly.

Couldn't agree more. And I don't know why people want to see Bisping taking on Anderson. Waste of a fight, in my opinion. If people want to see that, go and watch Anderson VS Forrest. The UFC just wants that big money fight to take place in the UK.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Couldn't agree more. And I don't know why people want to see Bisping taking on Anderson. Waste of a fight, in my opinion. If people want to see that, go and watch Anderson VS Forrest. The UFC just wants that big money fight to take place in the UK.

That's precisely how I feel about Bisping, and how the UFC is desperately trying to market and groom Bisping into their UK icon. Bisping vs Ando should never materialize... EVER. It's bad enough that the UFC has wasted half of Ando's career (with Cote, Leites, Maia, Bonnar, Lutter, Irvin, and Griffin).

 

[B]

Bisping couldn't beat Hendo and Wanderlei, so there's no way he beats Belfort unless he forgets about striking with Vitor and goes to his wrestling instead.

If Bisping does what he did against Wanderlei & fights a MMA fight & not just a kickboxing one, he has a far better chance of getting a victory. He only lost the Wanderlei fight because Wanderlei finished at least 2 of the rounds strong despite Bisping having been fairly comfortable in the rest of those 2 rounds.

Bisping being this close to a title shot just speaks volumes about the UFC's depth at MW.

It doesn't really mean that there is no competition in the MW division, half the problem is you have contenders losing to other contenders.

 

[TheVileOne]

Oh please, Bisping has been protected by Dana White. Michael could have gone on a three fight losing streak and he wouldn't been cut. Instead of fighting guys like Belcher and Okami, he fought Leben, Day, Kane and Rivera. Michael has lost virtually every big fight (Hendo, Evans, Sonnen, and Silva), so why should he be considered for a title shot? Bisping doesn't deserve it.

In my opinion, Michael has to beat Belfort soundly in order for me to change my perception about him. We'll see how he does tonight but Bisping is a glorified journeyman or middle-of-the-pack fighter in the UFC.

Bisping never fought Silva. The fights with Sonnen and Evans were both close decisions. Hendo's the only guy that ever stopped him.

He dominated Brian Stann too and Mayhem Miller too.

 

[Project862006]

if you cant be wand in this day and age you arent worthy for silva

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Bisping never fought Silva. The fights with Sonnen and Evans were both close decisions. Hendo's the only guy that ever stopped him.

He dominated Brian Stann too and Mayhem Miller too.

Wanderlei Silva? I'm 99.999999% sure he fought Wandy.

Close decisions don't mean squat. He lost those fights because Michael isn't good enough to pull them off.

I don't care if he beat Miller.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

If Bisping does what he did against Wanderlei & fights a MMA fight & not just a kickboxing one, he has a far better chance of getting a victory. He only lost the Wanderlei fight because Wanderlei finished at least 2 of the rounds strong despite Bisping having been fairly comfortable in the rest of those 2 rounds.

That's what cost him, I think. Bisping didn't do enough in the last two rounds. Wanderlei came out as the aggressor and nearly TKOed him in the final seconds. That cemented the decision victory for Silva.

It doesn't really mean that there is no competition in the MW division, half the problem is you have contenders losing to other contenders.

Eh, I'm not impressed with any of the MW prospects in the UFC. Hopefully the new signings from Strikeforce will add some much needed excitement.

 

[CrypticOne]

When looking back on Anderson Silva and his victories, 10 years from now, they won't be that massive of an accomplishment, in my opinion. He has had a lot of "give me" fights. Sure, he is the best. But I'd really like to see him vacate the middleweight division and move to light heavyweight permanently. He has nothing to prove at middleweight. After beating Hendo, he should have moved up.