Official UFC Thread

[Tobiaswins]

About UFC 79, I have to admit that I've never really seen Wanderlei Compete but after watching his fight against liddell and seeing his heart and class afterwards I am definitly excited about seeing him fight again. Here are some fights I REALLY want to see in the future.

Wanderlei v.s Jardine.................BJ PENN v.s Takanori Gomi

Liddell v.s Machita.....................Ganzaga v.s Check Congo

Cro Cop v.s Arlovski...................Housten Alexander v.s Soukodju

Shogun v.s Ortiz.......................Vitor Belfort v.s Thiago Silva

Hughes v.s Fitch.......................Rich Franklin v.s Travis Lutter

and of course the obvious ones

Forrest v.s Rampage and Silva v.s Henderson.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Well, you're getting your wish with Silva Vs Henderson.

But the lack of Fedor and Big Nog makes baby Jesus cry.

 

[XFanTim]

Well, you're getting your wish with Silva Vs Henderson.

But the lack of Fedor and Big Nog makes baby Jesus cry.

Won't see Fedor in the UFC any time soon . . . but how do you feel about Big Nog vs. Tim Sylvia at UFC 81? That strikes me as about the best heavyweight match the UFC can put together assuming they don't resolve their contract dispute with Couture. I'd like to see Gozaga against the winner if he gets by Werdum.

 

[XFanTim]

Silva is going to beat Hendo so bad the ref will have to stop it.

Well, unless Hendo can learn how to do flying scissor to inverted heel hook (best submission ever )

Seriously though, I think Hendo has a chance. He's never been knocked out, and only been submitted by the Nog brothers. Plus Silva's never had to go five rounds -- so if Hendo survives until late maybe he can turn the tide.

Still, I've gotta to favor the Spider. Hendo likes to stand up and trade punches, and Silva is going to be landing a lot more of them.

 

[ROOR]

UFC 80: Rapid Fire this Saturday live from Newcastle, England

BJ Penn (12-4-1) v Joe Stevenson (33-7-0)
Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2-0) v Fabricio Werdum (9-3-1)
Jess Liaudin (12-8-0) v Marucs Davis (18-4-0)
Wilson Gouveia (9-4-0) v Jason Lambert (23-6-0)
Jorge Rivera (14-6-0) v Kendall Grove (10-4-0)
Antoni Hardonk (5-4-0) v Colin Robinson (9-3-0)
Paul Kelly (7-0-0) v Paul Taylor (8-2-1)
James Lee (22-2-0) v Alessio Sakara (15-6-1)
Per Eklund (14-2-1) v Sam Stout (13-3-1)

I'll got with Penn, Gonzaga, Davis, Lambert, Grove, Robinson, Kelly, Sakara and Stout.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Won't see Fedor in the UFC any time soon . . . but how do you feel about Big Nog vs. Tim Sylvia at UFC 81? That strikes me as about the best heavyweight match the UFC can put together assuming they don't resolve their contract dispute with Couture. I'd like to see Gozaga against the winner if he gets by Werdum.

First off...hey, Tim! How's it going man? Haven't BSed with you since the DTL.

As for Fedor, I mentioned him since I'm a big Fedor fan, and Tobiaswins didn't say it was strictly UFC for his matches (he did have Gomi in one of his dream matches after all).
As for Nog and Sylvia, being a Big Nog fan I'm picking him to beat Tim in the 3rd via submission. But I've learned never to count out the Maine-iac, so I wouldn't be surprised if Tim pulled off a split.
In fact, the only way I see Tim winning is by decision. I don't see him being able to knock Minotauro out or come close to submitting him.

As for Gonzaga, I think he's overrated. The UFC hyped him up so much just to make him seem like a credible threat to Couture, but he never has proved himself against an elite opponent.
Hell, Werdum, though having the potential to be a solid heavyweight, is not proven either. Until Napao fights somebody credible and wins, I'm not going to take him seriously as a threat in the heavyweight division.
But, that's just me.

 

[zanos]

Well, unless Hendo can learn how to do flying scissor to inverted heel hook (best submission ever )

Seriously though, I think Hendo has a chance. He's never been knocked out, and only been submitted by the Nog brothers. Plus Silva's never had to go five rounds -- so if Hendo survives until late maybe he can turn the tide.

Still, I've gotta to favor the Spider. Hendo likes to stand up and trade punches, and Silva is going to be landing a lot more of them.

Silva has absolutely no takedown defense. Why would Henderson stand up with him? All he needs to do is lockup with him and take him down on first move and it's all over. Henderson can do this all day long.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Silva has absolutely no takedown defense. Why would Henderson stand up with him? All he needs to do is lockup with him and take him down on first move and it's all over. Henderson can do this all day long.

Granted I think Hendo has the advantage over Silva on the ground, The Spider is no slouch. He is a BJJ BB and does have a very underrated ground game.
But I still think Henderson will shock the world and out-strike Anderson Silva and take the title.

 

[zanos]

First off...hey, Tim! How's it going man? Haven't BSed with you since the DTL.

As for Fedor, I mentioned him since I'm a big Fedor fan, and Tobiaswins didn't say it was strictly UFC for his matches (he did have Gomi in one of his dream matches after all).
As for Nog and Sylvia, being a Big Nog fan I'm picking him to beat Tim in the 3rd via submission. But I've learned never to count out the Maine-iac, so I wouldn't be surprised if Tim pulled off a split.
In fact, the only way I see Tim winning is by decision. I don't see him being able to knock Minotauro out or come close to submitting him.

As for Gonzaga, I think he's overrated. The UFC hyped him up so much just to make him seem like a credible threat to Couture, but he never has proved himself against an elite opponent.
Hell, Werdum, though having the potential to be a solid heavyweight, is not proven either. Until Napao fights somebody credible and wins, I'm not going to take him seriously as a threat in the heavyweight division.
But, that's just me.

He almost kill Cro Cop. Cmon.

 

[XFanTim]

Hey JB, it's good to talk to you. I've been mostly hanging around the DTL forum, but recently I've been reacquainting myself with the other forums.

You might be right about Gonzaga. If one win over Cro-Cop is enough to make Gonzaga an elite heavyweight, then you could say the same about Cheick Kongo, and I'm not ready to make that leap. That said, I'm not really sure who else would make sense for a championship match. The UFC heavyweight division seems a bit shallow without Couture.

 

[XFanTim]

Silva has absolutely no takedown defense. Why would Henderson stand up with him? All he needs to do is lockup with him and take him down on first move and it's all over. Henderson can do this all day long.

I expect that Hendo can score takedowns against Silva, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll dominate him once he gets him to the ground. As JB mentioned, Silva is a BJJ blackbelt -- and what's more, he was trained in BJJ by the Nog brothers, who are the only ones to submit Henderson.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

He almost kill Cro Cop. Cmon.

He did kill Cro Cop.
But that seems to not be a hard thing to do in the UFC. I don't know what it is, but Mirko has not even been half of what he once was since coming over from PRIDE. Even in his victory he looked somewhat sluggish.

Until Gonzaga beats a top tier heavyweight who's career is not in a decline I'm not seeing him as a credible contender to the belt.

Dana White really needs to put his ego aside and try and sign Barnett. The UFC HW division could use somebody of his caliber now that Randy's gone. Provided Barnett can stay off the 'roids.

 

[brainchild81]

Well, unless Hendo can learn how to do flying scissor to inverted heel hook (best submission ever )

It was def. top 10. Silva'd kill him now though.

Seriously though, I think Hendo has a chance.

I do too. That's why I gotta see it. He's even become a pretty good striker. Beat the hell outta Wandy. This'll be the hardest test Silva's had since he got here. Wanna see Hendo/Franklin someday too.

He's never been knocked out, and only been submitted by the Nog brothers.

Yep. The guys who gave Silva his BJJ black belt.(F.Shamrock subbed him in a grappling only match)

Plus Silva's never had to go five rounds -- so if Hendo survives until late maybe he can turn the tide.

It's a possibility

Still, I've gotta to favor the Spider. Hendo likes to stand up and trade punches, and Silva is going to be landing a lot more of them.

Yep.

Silva has absolutely no takedown defense. Why would Henderson stand up with him? All he needs to do is lockup with him and take him down on first move and it's all over. Henderson can do this all day long.

I've seen Silva get taken down sometimes since he got to the UFC, but few can keep him there & those who have paid a horrible price for it.


Anybody else hyped about Lesnar/Mir on 2-2-08?

 

[Tobiaswins]

Is M-1 going to be cage fighting, or ring fighting? Because if it is ring fighting then Randy might not do as well against Fedor if they do fight, since he's used to the cage and you can't really press someone up against the ropes. However, I still want to see that fight badly. Also with all the talk of Floyd Mayweather crossing over, it would be interesting to see who he would fight. I personally would like to see him battle GSP. By the end of the year I fully expect the title holders to be as follows...

Heavyweight: MIRKO CRO COP "yes I know he's had a rocky start in the UFC, but, given what I've heard him say in recent interviews combined with his track record in PRIDE, I truely believe he will take some heads off (literally) in 2008."

Light Heavyweight: QUINTON RAMPAGE JACKSON " It won't be easy, due to the fact that there is so much good competition in the division right now. But with Rampage at the top of his game and Juanito in his corner I don't see him loosing the title anytime soon."

Middleweight: ANDERSON SILVA "I don't even see Hendo beating him, and that's saying a lot."

Welterweight: GEORGES ST PIERRE "He's constantly improving and I don't see anyone in the Welterweight divison beating him. Not Hughes, Not Serra, Not Fitch, Not koscheck, or even Sanchez."

Lightweight: BJ PENN "Not much to say here, he's BJ FREAKEN PENN."

 

[Johnny Blaze]

I'm with you on all but Cro Cop. I see Big Nog becoming the UFC HW Champ and keeping the title for a while.

 

[The FallenAngel]

UFC 80 Results from Wrestling Observer:

Spoiler

Sam Stout b Per Eklund via unanimous decision after three rounds of a dull fight

Alessio Sakara b James Lee with punches and a ref stoppage 90 seconds into round one

Paul Kelly b Paul Taylor via unanimous three round decision. Mostly on the ground. Kelly controlled the wrestling and positioning most of the way. Taylor worked from the bottom to make it competitive, but didn't do enough to win any rounds. Some great early standing exchanges. Both worked bell-to-bell and they got a standing ovation when it was over. Really good match. 30-27 across the board for Kelly.

Antoni Hardonk b Colin Robinson, stunning him with a punch and it was called off in 17 seconds

PPV show starts in a few minutes

Kendall Grove vs. Jorge Rivera starts the PPV portion of the show.

Rivera took Grove down and just unloaded with punches from the top and then the back. Grove was stunned and a straight left put Grove down and out very quickly.

Jason Lambert vs. Wilson Gouveia is up next.

First round was Lambert on top with a lot of punches and elbows. Gouveia tried a triangle and an armbar from the bottom but Lambert escaped. Lambert looks huge for a light hevy, looking 225-230 and he pushed the pace hard. Easily Lambert's round.

Lambert came out tired, but was dirty boxing in the corner and then Gouveia countered with a left hook to the jaw that put Lambert out. Stunning reversal but you could see Lambert breathing heavy between rounds.

Jess Liaudin vs. Marcus Davis is up next in a battle of guys with lengthy win streaks.

Davis with a left to the temple for a one punch knockout and a few more on the ground for a one minute win.


45 minutes into the show and we only have two matches left. So looks like we're getting a lot of the prelims.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum is up now.

Gonzaga started with a takedown but didn't do much. He voluntarily stood up and started taking Werdum apart with low kicks, knocking him down twice. He threw another kick and Werdum used it for a takedown and threw some elbows. Gonzaga 10-9.

Gonzaga tired in the second round and Werdum caught him on the ground with about a dozen punches and ref Dan Mirigliota stopped the fight. Gonzaga could take Wedrum down at will but didn't want to go to the ground with him, but Werdum was outboxing him and throwing knees from the Thai clinch. Very important win for Werdum. A good heavyweight fight, but the British crowd wasn't really into Brazilian vs. Brazilian.

B.J. Penn vs. Joe Stevenson in the main event for the lightweight title is next.

Penn knocked him down with a punch and controlled him on the ground the entire round. Penn connected with an elbow late in the round near the hairline and Stevenson is bleeding really bad. Stevenson did as good a job as possible given he was being dominated position wise. He punched from the bottom, although easily Penn's round.

Penn was outboxing him standing, threw a flurry that put Stevenson down. Stevenson was just defending on the ground with his own blood drowning him. Stevenson took punishment on the ground and Penn got his back and choked him out late in the round to win the title. Penn becomes only the second fighter (Couture the first) to win UFC titles in two different weight classes.

Penn told Sean Sherk, "You're dead." Sherk came out and he was mad, and the Newcastle crowd booed the hell out of Sherk. Penn came back and shook his hand. Good job of getting the next match over.

 

[Badger]

Watched it last night, overall very dry/quick night. The Taylor fight was good. The opening exchange in that fight was awesome, wish it would have stayed standing. The Gonzaga/Wedrum fight was disappointing. Gonzaga should have dominated that fight, but his conditioning was ****. The Penn/Stevenson fight basically went the way I though it would, though Stevenson has a ton of heart. I loved how he came out in the second round after that nasty cut.

BTW Sean Sherk is a fool and I loved that the crowd booed him. Telling Penn he hadn't earned the belt yet. It was his dumb ass that took performance enhancing drugs, who's to say you would have won the belt without them.

Anywho, can't wait for the Mir/Lesner fight in UFC 81. Either way I don't think this fight will leave the first round. Should be a intense quick fight.

 

[zanos]

Gonzaga is such a *****. I don't think we'll be seeing him again anytime soon.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Gonzaga is such a *****. I don't think we'll be seeing him again anytime soon.

Told you he was overrated.

 

[Warhammer]

I'm glad that Penn beat Stevenson.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

So am I. Not a big Stevenson fan, though the man does have skills.

 

[Warhammer]

I agree. I think Stevenson has skills, but I think Penn is superior to him.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

To be fair, when he's got his mind right, Penn's superior to pretty much every LW out there, and good number of the WWs of MMA.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Bob Sapp Fedor's Next Opponent?

 

[The FallenAngel]

Poor Sapp.