Official UFC Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm kind of glad Okami won even though I had Nate winning. Can't wait for this Saturday.
 
I think Rampage is going to lose badly. He's probably in the worst spot mentally because this fight is probably the hardest for him. Against most guys he's got a good chance, but Machida's style is just the wrong type of matchup for a guy like Rampage that depends on working his way into that big shot. Machida isn't really the type of guy that will talk **** to get Rampage motivated either. He's a quiet guy with a language barrier, so there won't be any extra motivation for Rampage to knock him out because he talks too much or they have beef.

The thing that really hurts Rampage the worst is that he's a really emotional guy that drowns a bit in his own excuses when things aren't going his way. In many ways he's like the 205 version of B.J. Penn because they both fade when things aren't going their way. When Rampage lost to Wand and Shogun back in PRIDE he pretty much blamed everyone but himself, then wasn't really the same beast anymore until he got in the UFC and was motivated by Ibarra and fighting for the title. Then when he got upset by Forrest he blamed everyone, cut ties with Ibarra who some say was stealing from Rampage, went on that rampage in the streets, and there were serious doubts about his return. After knocking out Wand and beating Jardine he was "back" again until the Rashad beef became long and worn out. When he finally fought Rashad he was supposed to be in the best shape ever, and motivated to knock Rashad out because he talks too much. After he lost he didn't blame anyone, but now he says that he just doesn't care about the title anymore. He just seems off, and frustrated about having to talk about his upcoming fight. I hate seeing him like that because it reminds me too much of him getting his head kicked by Shogun while in the corner of the ropes.
 
I like Rampage (including the barking lol) but it looks like he's going through a phase right now similar to his bad times in Pride. Hopefully he gets back on track, he's a good fighter, entertains when he fights, and can draw.
 
Rampage used to be so exciting, but these days he just stands around hoping to launch one giant counterpunch and get the KO. Problem is, his strategy is way too obvious and his opponents aren't giving him the chance.
 
I was hoping that Rampage would fight Thiago Silva instead of Lyoto. That fight would have been guaranteed to be exciting. Thiago is pretty much just a bigger version of Wand in his prime, and their two fights were some of the best of PRIDE.
 
His ape technique put people down.
 
I want Rampage to really get back into his groove, that Rashad fight was a poor one to return on because he basically returned against a guy that had been fighting regularly.

As a result his grappling ability wasn't as sharp as it normally would have been had he been maintaining his MMA training, as a result he basically lost that fight on takedowns alone.
Rashad essentially cage humped him & lay on top of him for 3 rounds.

I want Rampage to knock Machida out viciously.. but my head says he won't. Machida will back off him, pick his punches & kicks wisely when he can & decision Rampage.

Saying that though, Rampage's strength & aggression might trouble Machida, at least in theory anyway. It proven so with Shogun as he was very aggressive with his punches & kicks & it gave Machida a nightmare. Rampage will more than likely just walk directly into Machida's striking range prepared to take a blow if it means he can punch or kick Machida just as Shogun did.

Rashad failed with Machida because he tried to feint his way in to punch Machida & he didn't buy any of the feints.

I think Machida will decision him, but I want Rampage to viciously KO him & get back on track. A fight with Thaigo Silva or a rematch with Forest would have been nice instead of this fight for him.
IF he loses though I'd gladly pay money to see Rampage fight Tito so he can really beat the snot outta him.
 
Mike Johnson vs 'Bruce Leroy' was good last night.
 
Fun fact: Hughes-Penn will be the 6th trilogy fight in UFC history.

(previous trilogies were Hughes-St. Pierre, Couture-Liddell, Belfort-Couture, Ortiz-Shamrock, Arlovski-Sylvia)
 
It's funny that most of those trilogies aren't even worth it. Even Randy vs. Vitor was only a trilogy because of a freak cut from Vitor's glove. Hughes and St. Pierre make sense, same with Randy/Chuck.
 
Picks for tomorrow night?!

Machida via decision
Penn via TKO
J-Lau via TKO
Falcão via TKO
Davis via decision
 
I got Machida by decision, Penn by decision, G-Sot by sub in the 2nd, and Gerald Harris by KO in the third.
 
Picks!

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida
B.J. Penn vs. Matt Hughes
Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon
Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch
Aaron Simpson vs. Mark Munoz
Brian Foster vs. Matt Brown
Tyson Griffin vs. Nik Lentz
Edson Mendes Barboza Jr. vs. Mike Lullo
Karo Parisyan vs. Dennis Hallman
Paul Kelly vs. T.J. O'Brien
 
J-Lau TKO? Really? I'd go with a Sub personally. :woot:

Yeah, I'm confident that J-Lau has the better hands. I'd say if anyone wins by submission it's going to be George.

I'd actually like to change Machida winning by decision to knockout, after seeing the weigh-ins.
 
Odds and picks for tonight:

http://www.rantmma.com/2010/11/oddsmakers-for-tonight-ufc-123-rampage-vs-machida/

The line on Boetsch-Davis is ridiculous.

It's because Davis is a wrestler with a high pedigree. That alone makes it hard to stop his game plan. Boetsch also like to go for throws, and getting in and clinching would play right into Davis' strength. Davis is such a strong dude too. He's got great functional strength that gives him the edge against most guys.
 
Rampage vs Machida
BJ vs Hughes
Harris vs Falcao
Davis vs Boetsch
Sotiropoulos vs Lauzon
Brown vs Foster
Simpson vs Munoz
Parisyan vs Hallman
Barboza vs Lullo
Kelly vs O'Brien
Griffin vs Lentz

Even though I've taken Rampage I think Machida will win, I think he'll end up decisioning Rampage.. but I hope I'm wrong. I'm hoping the aggression Rampage usually displays will trouble Machida the same way that Shogun's did.

If there is gonna be a Rampage KO or TKO, I'm thinking it's gonna be early on.

LETS GO!
 
It's because Davis is a wrestler with a high pedigree. That alone makes it hard to stop his game plan. Boetsch also like to go for throws, and getting in and clinching would play right into Davis' strength. Davis is such a strong dude too. He's got great functional strength that gives him the edge against most guys.

I'm always on the lookout for value, so this influences picking fights as well. Since I started making fight picks public, I've been right around 60%-65% of the time.

Just think of me as Warren Buffett/Li Lu, except with no white hair or the condemnation of derivatives.

And a few less zeroes.

:rimshot:
 
Yeah I seen that, don't know how effective that will be during the fight though...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top
monitoring_string = "afb8e5d7348ab9e99f73cba908f10802"