The MMA Thread

[Johnny Blaze]

No, you weren't the only one. LOL! I am not impressed with Kimbo, personally. I know he's popular and he seems like a nice guy from the interviews I've seen with him, and I sure wouldn't want him pissed off at me, but he's got a limited range and I don't see him really working to overcome that. He's not going to go very far in MMA and I wonder if his fan base will dwindle once he starts taking on real fighters and getting his clock cleaned.

Personally, I think it's going to take a big time loss to a BJJ or wrestling expert to possibly wake Kimbo up so he will work on a ground game.
If he doesn't, then he'll just be another overhyped bar-room brawker, ala Tank Abbott, as you mentioned earlier.

Yeah, I could see Ken getting clocked with a lucky punch, too. He's definitely past his prime. I think Ken would definitely try to get Kimbo on the ground. I've never cared for Ken much, either. Or his brother Frank. Couple of a-holes. The only time I've ever rooted for them is when they were feuding with Tito and that's only because I hate Tito more. Actually, feed Kimbo to Frank. That could be interesting.

jag

Hell, with Tito on the outs with the UFC, maybe they could set him up with Kimbo when he's a FA?

Or give him Matt Lindland, who's still out there unsigned. Granted Lindland would take him down in less then a minute, but it would be a better challenger than that tool Shamrock.

 

[Badger]

They'll keep feeding Kimbo meat untill fans (by fans I mean casual fans that just want to see a face get broken) lose interest, which probably won't happen since most of his fights will take place in Maimi.

As Goldberg said, probably at least 20 times, "He puts asses in seats!!!"

 

[Bubonic]

He's a tough guy, but he's just a brawler with no real discipline behind him. Those types of guys tend to get picked apart when they start fighting guys with some serious training and formal discipline of some variety, be it ground or striking. He's been beating up jobbers, burnouts and older guys. Put him in the ring with someone like Cro-Cop or Shogun and he'll get picked apart. And Tank has ALWAYS been pretty pathetic. So many people talk him up but the dude's got a 9-14 record now. He's just another brawler. Take a good look, Kimbo. Tank is you in 10 years.

jag

Yet, from what I can tell it does seem like Kimbo is willing to really work hard in order to develop the crucial aspects of the fighting game, whereas Tank seemed to almost pride himself in his laziness and brawler appeal.
The guy just kept getting fatter, never learned to block or do anything worthwhile...
At least Kimbo is trying submissions, definitely lost a lot of weight, and is training intensively with Bas Rutten, he himself who started late in the MMA game.
He just needs a bit more time and we might have a well rounded fighter out of him yet.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

They'll keep feeding Kimbo meat untill fans (by fans I mean casual fans that just want to see a face get broken) lose interest, which probably won't happen since most of his fights will take place in Maimi.

As Goldberg said, probably at least 20 times, "He puts asses in seats!!!"

God, I forgot about Goldberg. One of the things I hate about EXC. They should feed him to Kimbo. It would be fun to watch him put into IC.

 

[jaguarr]

Yet, from what I can tell it does seem like Kimbo is willing to really work hard in order to develop the crucial aspects of the fighting game, whereas Tank seemed to almost pride himself in his laziness and brawler appeal.
The guy just kept getting fatter, never learned to block or do anything worthwhile...
At least Kimbo is trying submissions, definitely lost a lot of weight, and is training intensively with Bas Rutten, he himself who started late in the MMA game.
He just needs a bit more time and we might have a well rounded fighter out of him yet.

Mmmm....yeah, I'm not seeing it, really. At least Kimbo is working out and trying to be in good shape which is more than Tank ever did, really. I just don't see him ever being well-rounded enough to really take on the advanced guys. He's fierce and tough, but he's a bit of a one-trick pony.

And, yes, Goldberg was annoying last night. ****, washout.

jag

 

[Dr. Evil]

Kimbo vs. Tank Abbott was very mediocre. Probably because Abbott isn't the guy he used to be.

Hopefully, Silva vs. Henderson at UFC 82 does not dissapoint.

 

[Bubonic]

Mmmm....yeah, I'm not seeing it, really. At least Kimbo is working out and trying to be in good shape which is more than Tank ever did, really. I just don't see him ever being well-rounded enough to really take on the advanced guys. He's fierce and tough, but he's a bit of a one-trick pony.

And, yes, Goldberg was annoying last night. ****, washout.

jag

Well, he's got a lot to prove. In a post fight interview Bas Rutten basically said we can expect a couple more practise fights before he is put up against a real contender.

I'd like to see him fight Brock Lesnar, who I'd qualify as an intermediate type of MMA fighter. I think Kimbo could throw down with him.

I definitely want to see a rematch against Sean Gannon, that guy can take a hell of a beating and is the only guy he beat Kimbo.

What we are in for next is rumoured to be a showdown between Shamrock and Slice... So another guy past his prime who stands a chance to be humiliated.

 

[Norman Osborn]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-cubanufc021808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Not sure if this has been posted yet.......

The likely promoter of a potential Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko match was revealed last week when Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Dallas against Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The suit is an attempt to get a court ruling on when Couture's contract expires and when he can fight for Cuban, who is best known as the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, or another non-UFC promoter.

 

[0neDisturbedSOB]

The Kimbo vs. Tank "fight" was a complete joke. I mean Tank Abbott has a record of like 9-15, and he hasn't won a fight in the past 5 years so pitting him against Kimbo Slice isn't saying much. Kimbo isn't an MMA star, he's a fighter...there's a difference. The people that line up to see him aren't MMA fans, they're fight fans - they're the same people that watched his YouTube videos and want Kimbo to kick someone in the face after he knocks them down. Yes he does put asses in seats, but it's not really the type of fan that's going to understand that Kimbo Slice is purely hype and would more than likely get his ass handed to him by any of the current UFC heavyweights.

Putting him against Ken Shamrock is a joke. It's like they're watching WWE tapes and trying to rip off Randy Orton's "Legend Killer" gimmick or something. They're making a mistake by feeding him cans, and building up his record because when they finally do match him up against someone legit and he loses all of his wins over the likes of Abbott, Shamrock, etc are going to look all the more like a joke.

 

[ROOR]

yeah so, I thought the kimbo/tank fight was a joke too. I mean does it even matter who you put up against tank? Did anyone think he had a shot? I thought the most interesting fight was how the Yves Edwards fight ended, which was pretty cool in my book, but hardly enough to make the rest of that watchable. And seriously, I fast forwarded through most of the announching junk because, who really wants to listen to Goldberg, but I did find it hilarious that he kept prouncing Yves as EEEs.

 

[Dr. Evil]

EliteXC is probably hoping that Tito Ortiz does not re-sign with the UFC so that they can sign him and have him fight Kimbo at the end of the year.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

EliteXC is probably hoping that Tito Ortiz does not re-sign with the UFC so that they can sign him and have him fight Kimbo at the end of the year.

It would be the first time ever that I went for Tito.

 

[Bubonic]

Tito could maybe be someone to fight Kimbo later on, I look at his wins, and they've basically all been KO, not submission reliant.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

But, as much as I dislike him, Tito is a good wrestler. Unless Kimbo actually learns some semblence of a ground game, Tito would **** him raw dog up the ass with no lube.

 

[Bubonic]

But, as much as I dislike him, Tito is a good wrestler. Unless Kimbo actually learns some semblence of a ground game, Tito would **** him raw dog up the ass with no lube.

Poor lil Kimbo... He'll show you... He'll show all of you...

 

[Johnny Blaze]

I hope he does. I'd like to see him actually learn what to do on the ground and be a good MMA figher. Lord know EXC is banking on that as their next biggest star is...yep, exactly.

 

[Bubonic]

That's why they are nervous to match him up against anyone decent, so soon as he gets wrecked, and I mean completely owned, the interest is going to fade away fast, if it already hasn't considering the matchups we've seen.

The people he fought bare knuckle were tougher then the MMA fighters he went up against... That I can't get over.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Eh, as much of a washed-up loser Shamrock is, he'd beat the ever living crap out of Sean Gannon as far as quality of opponents goes.
If Kimbo does fight the World's Most Dangerous Man, it will be his first real test, even though it's a half-assed one.

 

[Bubonic]

That's the thing, whereas Tito embarrassed Shamrock, Shamrock is still good enough to put out Kimbo's flame, or last more then a round against him.
Everything in increments!

 

[0neDisturbedSOB]

I think it's interesting that they're trying to match up Kimbo, who fights at Heavyweight against two fighters who both fight at Light-Heavyweight. Both Ortiz and Shamrock would have to move up a weight class in order for them to fight, that or they'd have to have a catch weight fight.

I heard Paul Buentello wants to fight Kimbo BAD, and to be honest with you I wouldn't be surprised to see Buentello be the one to KO Slice.

 

[jaguarr]

I think it's interesting that they're trying to match up Kimbo, who fights at Heavyweight against two fighters who both fight at Light-Heavyweight. Both Ortiz and Shamrock would have to move up a weight class in order for them to fight, that or they'd have to have a catch weight fight.

I heard Paul Buentello wants to fight Kimbo BAD, and to be honest with you I wouldn't be surprised to see Buentello be the one to KO Slice.

I could see that. They've both knocked Tank out, so there's your link.

jag

 

[Bubonic]

Both knocked out Tank and Cantrell!
I see the fight going down, guys got 10 losses, if he is eager for a fight with Kimbo, why not?

 

[WeeZiTe]

There's no way that Tito is going to fight Kimbo. EliteXC is trying to build their promotion around their posterboy and they're not going to throw him to the wolves just yet. He's supposed to fight Buentello next, which I think should be a decent step up for him. Then he'll probably fight a rematch against Sean Gannon, which should be an easy win. After that, they'll hope to go to PPV and Kimbo will have to fight the best competition that they can offer. I don't know why so many people count Kimbo out.. It's not like he's Tank and just relying on being a brawler. He's training with Bas Rutten and according to Rutten, he's a quick learner who has an incredible work ethic. If he keeps working hard, who knows? I'm not saying he's going to be the No.1 HW in the world... or even a top 10 HW, but I'm not going to call the guy a freakshow when he's trying to become a legit MMA fighter.

Goldberg ruins everything. Seriously, I don't know what they're thinking about putting someone illiterate on a microphone. I also think that the EliteXC girls are a bit much, as well. I like seeing the fighters corners in between rounds and hearing what their trainers are telling them.

Seriously though, how good is it to be an MMA fan right now? How many awesome matchups are just around the corner? Lets look at a rundown of intriguing matchups JUST in the UFC:

Hendo vs. Silva
Kongo vs. Herring
Okami vs. Tanner
Lauzon vs. Florian
Serra vs. St. Pierre 2
Franklin vs. Lutter
Penn vs. Sherk
Wand vs. Jardine
Machida vs. Ortiz
Rashad vs. Thiago
Shogun vs. Liddell
Werdum vs. Vera
Davis vs. Swick

And plus, a bunch of awesome style matchups with lower tier fighters. UFC 84 looks to be the best UFC ever on paper.. It looks like a PRIDE card, with that many amazing matches. Plus, Shogun vs. Liddell is a matchup I've dreamed about since the '05 Grand Prix. I hope my boy Shogun can pull through a terrible style matchup in Liddell and go on to dominate '08.

What do you guys think about Hendo vs. Silva?

 

[Johnny Blaze]

UFC 84 does look good, but this weekend's card is just insane. One of the few times I wish I could see the entire card on PPV.

As for the main event, it's a tough call, but I'm going with Hendo via decision. I think he'll press the action and utilize his dirty boxing and G-R wrestling skills to put the often-attacking Silva off balance enough and pull out a hard-fought victory.

 

[WeeZiTe]

UFC 84 does look good, but this weekend's card is just insane. One of the few times I wish I could see the entire card on PPV.

As for the main event, it's a tough call, but I'm going with Hendo via decision. I think he'll press the action and utilize his dirty boxing and G-R wrestling skills to put the often-attacking Silva off balance enough and pull out a hard-fought victory.

UFC 84>>>>>>UFC 82. 82's card looks real good, but it's nothing compared to 84. Let's look at the cards:

82
MAIN CARD

* Champ Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson (for middleweight title)
* Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
* Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
* Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner
* Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O’Brien
* Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
* Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck
* David Bielkheden vs. Diego Sanchez
* Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson


84
* Champ B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk (for lightweight title)
* Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva
* Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz
* Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
* Terry Etim vs. Jeremy Stephens
* John Koppenhaver vs. TBA
* Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic
* Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry
* Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan


84 has five great fights and four of them are going to go a long way to clear up who's the real deal in the weight classes. 82 has some big names, but generally, they're fighting cans. Fitch, Sanchez, Arlovski, and Koscheck won't improve their stocks with wins against their opponents because their skill levels are way above.

I really hope Hendo pulls it off. I love his fighting style and personality, and I believe he has the skills to pull it off. I really hope Silva doesn't win, because there's really no other competition for him in the division if he wins.