Daffanka

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Shape" data-cite="The Shape" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I like the big numbered events getting 5 round main events for stuff that really matters, but doing it for 2 hour shows on Versus etc as well just seems ill-advised, fights won't always warrant it and it'll distort clarity in terms of who stands where in a division based on how many 5 rounders they've had etc.<p> </p><p> As for tonight, growing feeling as it nears that Carwin is gonna KTFO JDS in the first few minutes. I hope I'm wrong though as I really want to see JDS vs. Cain.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'd never discount anyone that has Carwin's power in an MMA fight but I honestly think JDS is a pretty dreadful match up for him. He's fighting a guy who's a hundred times quicker with much crisper technique who will kill him in a clean fight, and if he wants to fight gritty by doing what he did to Mir he's gotta close the distance which against JDS has gotten a lot of people smashed by uppercuts. I think JDS' ability to effectively fight off his back foot with power is probably his most underrated skill, it gave a lot of very good fighters fits when they fought Chuck and it's going to give Shane fits when he's closing the distance for a clinch or a takedown.</p><p> </p><p> Here's some picks because I feel like being wrong:</p><p> </p><p> <strong>dos Santos</strong> by KO. Probably late first or early second round.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Kenflo</strong> by unanimous decision. Unless he's really messed up his cut.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jon Olav Einemo</strong> by submission. Repping my fellow Scandinavian here even though he hasn't fought for about a century.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Demian Maia</strong> by submission. Unless he gets clocked first because MMA is stupid and makes no sense.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Donald Cerrone</strong> by whatever over that other guy.</p>

I think five round fights between what -should- be elite fighters are a great thing. When it's guys like Pettis and Guida it's one thing but BJ/Fitch and Rampage/Machida really could've done with another two rounds.

Guida's wrestling game isn't particularly good. He's completely fearless, hounds the takedown relentlessly and isn't put off when he's shut down but it's not like he's Ben Askren going from a double to a single to running the pipe in one motion. You don't have to be a dynamite wrestler to deal with Guida's game and I'm betting Miller (who took Oliveira down, not the other way around ) has the chops to do it.

Miller would beat up Guida really badly, I think. Might not finish him (at least not by TKO, if he does finish him it'll be by taking his back in a scramble or off a sloppy double) but he'll box him up and defend takedowns all night. And Melendez probably would finish him. He's really good when people are chasing him. Edgar would take every round off all three though.

So he's good enough to have blown through top competition, shouldn't move up and can't face the new crop of 170 some of whom have managed to beat up the old guard.

But the actual competitiveness of a fight is irrespective in whether or not it gets made. And for a guy like GSP who's made some absolutely stunning fighters look second rate is there any fight that's actually competitive other than Anderson Silva? A fight in which he'll have a serious disadvantage due to the size difference? I don't think any complaints should be levied towards him for fighting the best in the world even if he's talented enough to blow through them.

The UFC can rely on its hype machine and the desperate wishes of MMA fans everywhere that a fight is competitive to make any big name fight marketable. Even if everyone's disregarding Nick now let the fight stew for a few weeks and you'll see a lot more upset predictions. GSP against Dan Hardy, Englishman with one UFC knockout to his name, was apparently competitive because if Matt Serra could do it why couldn't he and he just needs one good left hook and he's training with Eddie Bravo so he might surprise GSP from his guard and Anyway can anyone tell me if this year's TUF cast was any good? I don't watch it and I don't usually watch the finale (live) but Pettis/Guida is bound to be good and Jorgensen's fighting on Facebook so I gotta peep that.

But everything is about marketability. GSP won't move up just out of competitive spirit if he's making millions of dollars per fight with comparatively little risk, nor will the UFC push him up if they're making millions of dollars per fight. I like Nick a lot and I think he's a pretty good fighter but his wrestling is god awful and his "MMA submission game" isn't actually that good. His guard finishes include all of Jeremy Jackson after he camped out in the guard for about ten minutes, fat Gomi who'd never seen a gogoplata before, Mach who decided the correct way to defend an armbar was to jump into the fence and Cyborg who's Cyborg. He cracked Noons but couldn't submit him or even hold side control. He's excellent at not taking any damage from within the guard but tapping people is a whole other thing.

They managed to promote Dan Hardy as a legitimate threat against GSP coming off a win over Mike Swick and a load of other geeks. I don't think they'll have to stretch far to promote someone like Ellenberger or Story who actually have some memorable knockouts against people that aren't Rory Markham. And at this point GSP's opponent is honestly pretty irrespective, people pay to see him fight because he's a huge star. As long as they can stick some of Ellenberger's knockouts in a loop with nu metal playing in the background and a Rogan voice over going "HE CAN DO THIS BUT HE CAN ALSO WRESTLE!!!!" and then GSP saying "this is my most dangerous opponent yet" they'll be fine.

Another lopsided win for GSP preceded by months of speculation that despite all the other far superior fighters GSP's defeated handily the guy with atrocious wrestling and defense of a wet paper bag is the guy to beat him. After all he tapped fat stupid Sakurai and Cyborg from guard, why couldn't he do the same to GSP!

My knee got busted rolling but if it heals up properly and my body doesn't fall apart I might be down for some GDS sparring. I'm even 1-0 in SHOOT FIGHTING against a total geek who tapped as soon as I touched his leg.

It's a brilliant example of a really good fighter who suffers terribly from having an awful, awful chin versus a really not so good fighter who hits hard. I don't think Santiago's getting knocked out from top half guard again but because of his chin deficiency and fighting style his fights are usually really good and unless he's fighting Misaki I'm rooting for him.

<p>I think Couture's very admirable inside the cage, his career and skill trajectories have been nothing short of amazing in a sport where you supposedly peak in your low 30s. I don't even really mind that he's a scumbag, criminals and the fighting business go hand in hand. It's just the CAPTAIN AMERICA persona that gets me sometimes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Fantabulous" data-cite="Fantabulous" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>UFC 130 falls squarely into category of a UFC I will be recording and then skimming through most of it in the morning. I'm only interested in the Mir/Nelson fight with the rest of the card doing nothing for me.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> The entire undercard is really solid and aside from the main event it's packed with fights that should be a lot of fun. I was really, really, really looking forward to Edgar/Maynard III but Alves/Story, Santiago/Stann and Torres/Mighty Mouse are more than enough to make me tune in.</p>

Couture's many wives and affairs, frequent financial misgivings with Zuffa where he purposely lied and scamming many of the Team Quest members, including Evan Tanner, out of their money puts him pretty firmly in the scumbag category. I don't really care about his persona or how he responds to journalists' questions, god knows that can get tiresome given the state of contemporary MMA media.

Randy's pretty much a scumbag with a created, calculated, fake CAPTAIN AMERICA persona. Zuffa told people to cheer him because he's old and so they did.

<p>Ninja's finally retired, even if it's temporarily. The man shouldn't be fighting what with the brain damage.</p><p> </p><p> He's really up there in terms of incompetent judging and stupid horrible booking ruining someone's career. If he'd never fought Sergei and actually gotten his well deserved wins over Hendo and Rampage his career would probably have turned out very differently.</p>

Rua getting beat down puts a slight damper on my otherwise cheery mood that Thompson/Pudzianowski brought on. Other than some of the old Sapp K-1 fights it was probably the most hilarious I've seen.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Craig Edwards" data-cite="Craig Edwards" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Are we ever going to see GSP vs Anderson Silva and if so when do you think we will see it, i'm hoping it will be around Christmas this year if they fight each other</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I really hope so but I don't expect it, especially from GSP's side. Anderson is a huge middleweight with enormous firepower that puts almost everyone at welterweight to shame. Not that I don't think GSP could beat him but it'd be by far the most difficult fight of his career.</p><p> </p><p> Tonight has It's Showtime with Gerges and van Roosmalen/Khamal, BAMMA with Ninja and some other people and then there's JAMES THOMPSON VERSUS PUDZIANOWSKI.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="LoNdOn" data-cite="LoNdOn" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Stylistically I think Sonnen is the worst match possible for Bisping. Chael would most likely take him down at will and keep him down. Bisping isn't useless in either the takedown defense department, nor is he incapable of defending himself off his back, but I feel Sonnen would be too much for The Count.<p> </p><p> As far as Bisping's next opponent, perhaps Vitor would be suitable.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I really dislike Bisping and I don't think he's at all deserving of the apparent stature he has in the UFC (gotta bring in the pounds somehow) but the one thing he does very well is defend off his back. He's got very smooth hips and is excellent at reestablishing guard and getting to his feet. It wouldn't help him against Chael because Chael's actually really good at stopping his opponents from getting up but it's still something worth mentioning.</p><p> </p><p> Vitor would kill him though. It'd be like the first fight with Wanderlei., over in 40 seconds.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="brashleyholland" data-cite="brashleyholland" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I hate this fight. The UFC have a policy of not doing 'gimmie' fights - You either fight the best, or you don't fight. With that said, I can't see any reason to put this bout on in Rio, other than to annoy the fans who have bought a ticket. <p> </p><p> Nog's health is a thorny issue with me. Personally I don't think he should be fighting - but who am I to tell the 2nd best heavyweight of all time to hang up his gloves?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Schaub is on the way up and Nogueira's coming back from a devastating knockout loss, I think they're roughly on equal footing. Schaub hits with power and is very quick for a heavyweight but considering he nearly got swept from guard by Mirko "wrist control and wait for stand up" Filipovic I'm liking Nog's chances a lot if he can be aggressive and not get clipped when he's closing to clinch.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="brashleyholland" data-cite="brashleyholland" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Paul Daley has been offered a fight with Jake Ellenberger. You heard it here first <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I don't think UFC brass has forgiven him yet <img alt=":(" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />. Ellenberger's probably the best welterweight no one's heard of right now and there's no way he won't just put Daley on his back and smash his head in.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Shape" data-cite="The Shape" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So what the hell is actually going on with this whole Jones situation? He's decided not to take time off, but isn't going to fight Rashad, so might end up fighting Rampage even if Rashad wins? All seems a bit much.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> His management is mishandling the situation badly. Sure makes it look like he's ducking Rashad.</p>

Whenever there's enough athletes to support it I think 195 and 230/235 weight classes should be introduced to gulf some of the bigger gaps but otherwise I quite like the lack of super and junior prefixes to every single weight class.

<p>GSP is a very, very good fighter but his work rate is pretty dismal. He makes a lot of money and is a big part of why the UFC is so successful in Canada, maybe the pressure gets to him or maybe he's resigned himself to fighting conservatively.</p><p> </p><p> There's really nothing wrong with fighting conservatively, but I do wish he'd commit more to his offense, especially when fighting someone like Shields.</p><p> </p><p> UFC 129 was a dynamite card second-from-the-top to bottom. Highlights included MacDonald slamming Diaz into the lightweight division, Machida crane kicking Couture out of MMA and basically the entire Aldo/Hominick fight. There's something deeply satisfying about two high level strikers beating the hell out of each other while still throwing and defending with good technique.</p><p> </p><p> e: Also Vladdy getting his second first round finish in a row.</p>

Hughes has been passed by as a top level fighter but he's still good, and more specifically he's still very good at wrestling, a big welterweight and has a violent top game. Sanchez is a lightweight and a fairly mediocre wrestler. He might take the last round if he's still got gas but I think Hughes picks up a pretty clear cut UD.

KenFlo will be the best guy Aldo's ever fought but I'm reserving judgement until I see how he looks after his cut against Diego Nunes. Speaking of Diegos, Sanchez is fighting Hughes at some event sometime. Hope Diego wins but realistically he's going to get taken down and beat up a bunch.