damonster Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Well my source was half right, lol. I'm told the plan *was* for him to fight in the UFC, but the contractual need to keep Strikeforce going led to him being slotted in there instead. He'll fight Tyron Woodley for the strap in a few months time. The winner will likely fight Paul Daley (assuming he beats Mizaki) later in the year. I entered a predictions contest on that post, and lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoutureLegend Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'd disagree there - I've seen Joe Rogan take issue with fans booing anything that isn't the opening 60 seconds of Diego Sanchez/Clay Guida, and rightly so - I don't watch MMA just so I can see two guys stand in front of each other and take turns to punch the other dude in the face. I can get that outside any bar you care to name - I want to see a variety of skills on show, but there are fans out there who will start to shout and boo the second a fight goes to the ground. Take a fight from a while back (think it was on the Silva-Belfort card) - Demetrious Johnson vs Miguel Angel Torres - fascinating fight, with most of it taking place on the ground, and Mighty Mouse won the decision despite spending most of the fight on his back. But there are plenty of 'fans' out there that would have been booing that, simply because they weren't standing in a phonebooth throwing leather. Those are the 'uneducated' guys. I've got no problem with fans booing a guy like Jon Fitch, who just lays on his opponents, or Anthony Johnson when he fought like he did against Dan Hardy, where he made no attempt to finish the fight at all. I really can't stand the mentality of the average North American/British MMA fan. The booing of fighters when they not active for more than 30 seconds & the booing of fighters post-fight because there favourite just lost really bothers me! I also can't stand referee's who pander to these people by standing up fighters or separating them from the cage just because of the idiots booing. The Japanese fans epitomize how an MMA fan should be. So respectful of the fighters & they really understand & appreciate the technical aspects of the various martial arts. Hopefully the tradition UFC fans were so used to hearing are nowhere to be seen or heard on saturday night. I do however disagree with you on the Johnson/Hardy fight. Brashley mentioned in a post above about how a striking matchup between Hardy & Ludwig is a toss up, & thats exactly what Rumble/Hardy would've been as well but instead Johnson found a way to dominate that fight & get the win without being in any danger whatsoever. I don't see how anyone can complain about that. The critisicm he received after that fight for not striking with Hardy like he said he would was pathetic (same people who are doing it with Condit no doubt)! Those are the kind of MMA fans i'm talking about! We really could be doing without them to be honest but i guess thats the kind of people you attract if you want to take the sport into the mainstream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 I entered a predictions contest on that post, and lost. Lol, well if you're ever in my neck of the woods I'll buy you an adult beverage to make up for it. Couldn't you have got by with 'Zuffa' on a technicality? :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I do however disagree with you on the Johnson/Hardy fight. Brashley mentioned in a post above about how a striking matchup between Hardy & Ludwig is a toss up, & thats exactly what Rumble/Hardy would've been as well but instead Johnson found a way to dominate that fight & get the win without being in any danger whatsoever. I don't see how anyone can complain about that. I think we're at crossed wires there - my dislike of Rumble's tactics in that fight wasn't so much his approach (as you say, standing and striking with a guy that hits like Dan Hardy is a bad idea if you're anyone, let alone a seriously talented wrestler like Johnson with the size advantage he had) as the way he went about it. Let's not mince words here - I like Dan Hardy as a guy and as a fighter, but his ground game isn't going to win him too many fights - it's not like you're laying on top of Demian Maia there. Yet Johnson made NO attempt (bar a very late and utterly half-hearted arm triangle, if I recall) to win the fight once he had Hardy down. He just laid on top of him in side control and did just enough to avoid getting stood up. I'm all for fighting a smart fight, after all, there's a name for a wrestler that stands and trades with a pure striker - the loser. However, on the other hand, I've no time for a fighter that doesn't make an effort to finish a fight when in a solid position to do so, and more importantly, at no real risk to their own chances of winning. Crazy thought that someone threw at me on twitter today - Hardy could lose via a controversial split decision, or lose and absolute war and get fight of the night and NOT get cut. Very possible! :-p I'd be quite surprised - Dan's first three losses were excusable - there's no shame in losing to GSP, and he got caught with a hellacious shot from Condit, who right now is the #1.5 guy in the division. The Johnson loss was unfortunate, but understandable. The only one he really should have won in my book was the Lytle fight, where he looked excellent for the first round, and then stopped throwing his kicks and got out-blasted by Lytle before going for a death-or-glory takedown at the end and getting choked out. Ludwig looked pretty handy against Neer in January before he got taken down and tapped pretty quickly, and he beat Amir "most average fighter in MMA" Sadollah fairly comfortably, but before that, he was extremely lucky to get a pretty ropey decision against Nick Osipczak, who nearly one-punched him at one point early on, and rocked him a couple of other times. I don't know all that much about Osipczak, but I don't recall too many folks talking about his fearsome power. Should be an excellent fight, but I'm going to go with a Hardy KO - he's still got holes in his game, but I don't think Ludwig can expose them. Hardy only needs to land one left hook on Ludwig and I reckon that'll be all, folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonster Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Lol, well if you're ever in my neck of the woods I'll buy you an adult beverage to make up for it. Couldn't you have got by with 'Zuffa' on a technicality? :-p well I knew I was going to lose when my first predictions was that Tito and Forrest will fight each for the third and final time, both ending their hall of fame career during that fight, which they get inductided into sometime before the fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Cage Warriors 46 is LIVE on MMAJunkie now guys. Great card so far and a cracking main/co-main event to come!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shape Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 A lot of fights this weekend that I can only really see going one way - Rampage, Okami, Pettis and Kongo especially. May have to get a fair amount of money on it, will help me stay awake through the 7 fights as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 A lot of fights this weekend that I can only really see going one way - Rampage, Okami, Pettis and Kongo especially. May have to get a fair amount of money on it, will help me stay awake through the 7 fights as well... This event is reeking of potential upsets. Someone who is the "favorite" might lose with this many "dark horse" match-ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Asaemon Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I watched Fight Club on Eurosport yesterday, they showed some decent fights and knockouts from Super Kombat. But also some awful ones like Lungu vs Sapp and Lungu vs some other guy (don't remember his name). They also showed a decent tournament before the Super Kombat stuff. I think it was from Bielorussia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 A lot of fights this weekend that I can only really see going one way - Rampage, Okami, Pettis and Kongo especially. May have to get a fair amount of money on it, will help me stay awake through the 7 fights as well... See, I'd go the other way - many of the fights look like they're coin tosses for me. Bader's got very heavy hands (watch that KO of Brilz - he barely clipped him), and he's a very good wrestler. Rampage has looked... well, nowhere near his best recently. There's no shame in losing to Jon Jones, but the Rampage of old would have murdered Matt Hamill (although Jackson did claim to have a broken hand). He looked awful against Rashad, and was very lucky to get a decision win over Machida. Hopefully, the fact he's back in Japan will motivate him this time, but don't write off Bader, he's a better fighter than he gets credit for. Also, I've got Hunt winning against Kongo - Kongo clearly hits hard, and has a decent smothering game, but he's got a suspect chin, and if there's one thing Mark Hunt does, it's hit guys hard. If he lands (which you have to suspect he will at some point), there's a very good chance he'll hurt Chieck. As for Pettis/Lauzon, don't write Lauzon off just yet - the guy's got a history of upsets, and he hits hard enough to ruin anyone's night. Either way, I certainly wouldn't be confident enough in any of the fights to put more than a token sum of money on it. Out of interest, do any of you guys play on Kountermove? We should get a game set up. Plenty of bragging rights on offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Although this event reeks of upset potentials, I would say Bader has the smallest chance out of anyone at this event, mostly because his weaknesses are much more well known. For all his "heavy hands" talk, he doesn't have the technique or hand speed to back up the power. And Rampage has only been KOed in the clinch. Plus, Bader's chin is suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Hmm. Good points, although I'm not sure how fair it would be to say that Bader has a 'suspect' chin - he got caught by one short, hard hook from Tito and his legs went - from there, he had Tito smelling blood and on top of him... that's a bad place to be for anyone. Apart from that, I don't think I've even seen Bader rocked (I'd stand to be corrected there, but nothing springs to mind). Having said that, if Tito's dropping you, Rampage will have no problem. I still think Rampage is a pretty clear favourite, if only because of the extra motivation Japan provides. However, it's been a long while since we saw a Rampage Jackson at anywhere near his best, and it'd be foolish to completely write off Bader, who's shown that he's definitely no joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantabulous Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I expect Jackson to win but Bader winning would not be much of an upset. Jackson has been talking of retirement and of not being at his best anymore and if his mind isn't in this fully, he could find himself taken out. Edgar/Henderson will probably go to a decision. I don't see either guy having enough to finish the other and while Henderson has been stopped, that was five years and over a dozen fight ago. It should be a great fight and I think it's a toss-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 If you're a regular gambler, Bader at +215 is a really good bet. Like others have said, Page is at the end of his career...his heart doesn't seem in it and he has a weakness against wrestlers, despite decent TDD. If you're the type that bets little and often on favourable odds in order to offset the odd underdog pick on each card - this is your underdog pick. What are people's thoughts on Bartimus vs Hioki? A year or two ago I wouldn't have looked twice at Palaszewski in this one...but he's looked great recently and Hioki bombed hard last time out. Still gonna go with Hioki, but I'll be watching from behind the sofa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I think Bart may be more competive than his record indicates. He's won some fights against people he shouldn't have won against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I expect Jackson to win but Bader winning would not be much of an upset. Jackson has been talking of retirement and of not being at his best anymore and if his mind isn't in this fully, he could find himself taken out. Edgar/Henderson will probably go to a decision. I don't see either guy having enough to finish the other and while Henderson has been stopped, that was five years and over a dozen fight ago. It should be a great fight and I think it's a toss-up. To say I've been looking forward to Edgar/Henderson would be like saying Anthony Johnson sometimes has a bit of trouble cutting weight - a massive, massive understatement. I've been waiting for this since about five seconds after the final bell of Henderson/Guida. I love the way Frankie Edgar fights - I've always preferred smaller and faster fighters to bigger and stronger ones, and when you couple that with the sheer will and desire that Edgar displays, it's difficult for me not to mark out hugely for him. Having said that, I think Henderson is going to be his toughest fight yet - he's got a very solid all-round game, and there's no obvious advantage Frankie can bank on like he did with Maynard, who hit hard, but was ultimately picked off by the in-and-out movement of Edgar. I reckon this match is won in the scramble - both guys are exceptionally good at it, but I think whoever has the edge there will go on to claim the decision. I'm not convinced Henderson has the chops to finish Edgar, but on the other hand, I don't think Edgar hits hard enough to stop Henderson. If I had to call it, I'd probably pick Edgar - speed kills, and Edgar has it to burn. But I certainly wouldn't be surprised (or disappointed - I like Benson) if Henderson won it. Other picks: Bader Hunt Shields Okami Hioki Lauzon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I really don't uderstand people are picking Bader (unless you are actually BETTING, which then makes sense). If you aren't betting on Bader, picking him is like picking Hatt Hamill to win against Rampage. The thing with Rampage is, you HAVE to set up the takedown, do the takedown QUICKLY, and then EXPLODE with power to drive him to the ground, which is what Rashad did. Because being merely strong doesn't cut it. Hamill was strong, but he could barely set up his takedowns and they were slow as turtles.You give time for Rampage to defend, he'll do it. Bader is a bit faster (though not by much) and bigger version of Matt Hamill, except his chin is weaker, and has less cardio due to his huge weight cut (dude looks bigger than Cain Velasquez in normal pics). So if you aren't actually putting any money down on Bader, it's baffling. Beating Brilz doesn't mean much. Brilz's was always a smaller 205er, and his striking wasn't on par. That's not to say I don't think Bader can't beat him, but it's not a very likely scenario, considering where it's taking place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 See, I don't see what you're basing this criticism of Bader on - apart from one flash knockdown against Tito (and let's not forget that he was choked out there, not knocked out), he's never displayed any issues with his chin, and as for the cardio point, I stand to be corrected here, but I've never seen any evidence he has gas tank problems whatsoever. Personally, I'm picking Bader because I feel that Rampage is on a big downward slide, and Bader is the hungrier fighter. He hits hard (although he'd be foolish to think he's got any more than a puncher's chance in the standup), he's a better wrestler, and he's probably got a bit of a size advantage too. I can understand why others would pick Rampage, he's still an excellent fighter, he has one-punch KO power and the fact he's back in Japan might well be the kick up the backside he needs to get his head in the game, but personally, I feel Bader's got enough to win it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantabulous Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Bader is a far better fighter than Hamill and I think has way more of a heart as well. Bader got knocked silly by Ortiz but a lot of that was Bader simply not being careful (he left himself wide open for an upppercut) and a short and powerful punch getting through. I don't think Bader makes that same mistake this time. As for Rampage, the guy has been slowly slipping for quite some time. He couldn't even finish Hamill, who really wasn't a good fighter and seemed to have no idea what to do after he failed to get Rampage down the first few times. Whether that was because he had no Plan B or because he simply lost his heart doesn't really matter, because he offered absolutely nothing for most of the fight and Rampage still couldn't beat a subpar fighter who wasn't even trying. I think Bader knows enough not to leave his chin open against Rampage and stay inside the wild punches of Rampage, which are about the only thing he has going for him now. I think Bader outwrestles Rampage for three rounds and takes the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Bader is a far better fighter than Hamill and I think has way more of a heart as well. Bader got knocked silly by Ortiz but a lot of that was Bader simply not being careful (he left himself wide open for an upppercut) and a short and powerful punch getting through. I don't think Bader makes that same mistake this time. As for Rampage, the guy has been slowly slipping for quite some time. He couldn't even finish Hamill, who really wasn't a good fighter and seemed to have no idea what to do after he failed to get Rampage down the first few times. Whether that was because he had no Plan B or because he simply lost his heart doesn't really matter, because he offered absolutely nothing for most of the fight and Rampage still couldn't beat a subpar fighter who wasn't even trying. I think Bader knows enough not to leave his chin open against Rampage and stay inside the wild punches of Rampage, which are about the only thing he has going for him now. I think Bader outwrestles Rampage for three rounds and takes the decision. Are you putting on money on Bader? Because you just explain why its' good idea... if you are actually putting on money. If he can't take down Rampage, or if he loses cardio (because of his weight cut), we will see how good he really is. He might be one of those guys that needs to move up to be more competitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Where's this 'gas tank' thing coming from, dude? Bader's never shown any issues with gassing - he beat Little Nog over three rounds comfortably, and I'm pretty sure he's won decisions before that as well. I've yet to see any indication that he's struggling to be competitive in the LHW division - if he hadn't had the misfortune to bump into some dude by the name of Jon Jones, he was one win away from fighting for the title, if I recall. Did Bader dump your sister or something? You do seem to have something against him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesterx7769 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm doing Bader, Boetsch, Bart, and Akiyama as my betting parlay, we shall see. $20 to win $1800 on partybets.com seems worth the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Where's this 'gas tank' thing coming from, dude? Bader's never shown any issues with gassing - he beat Little Nog over three rounds comfortably Wooooaaah, nelly. Two issues with that statement. Firstly, I gave Nog that fight. Very close, could have gone either way to be fair - maybe that's just me and my Nogueira tinted glasses though :-p But seriously, Bader has has cardio issues in previous fights. He didn't look good in the later stages of the Marrerro fight or the Schafer fight, or the only other decision he went to before the UFC against a guy called Brad Peterson (who thankfully was an appalling fighter). He does a big cut, so it's to be expected. It's not like He's puffing and blowing after two minutes, but if he goes into the third after being made to work, he struggles to maintain output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm doing Bader, Boetsch, Bart, and Akiyama as my betting parlay, we shall see. $20 to win $1800 on partybets.com seems worth the risk. Big risk there dude...Sheilds and Okami are gonna be nightmares for Akiyama and Boetsch. When I do parlay, or accumulators as we call them, I pick 8+ favs...MAYBE a great value dog if I see one. For me, parlays are all about taking as few risks as possible, three significant underdogs is just too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Wooooaaah, nelly. Two issues with that statement. Firstly, I gave Nog that fight. Very close, could have gone either way to be fair - maybe that's just me and my Nogueira tinted glasses though :-p But seriously, Bader has has cardio issues in previous fights. He didn't look good in the later stages of the Marrerro fight or the Schafer fight, or the only other decision he went to before the UFC against a guy called Brad Peterson (who thankfully was an appalling fighter). He does a big cut, so it's to be expected. It's not like He's puffing and blowing after two minutes, but if he goes into the third after being made to work, he struggles to maintain output. I'm going on a very hazy memory here, so please accept my apologies if I'm wrong, but didn't he get a clean sweep on the cards against Nog? (Also, I'm not suggesting that just because the judges saw it that way that that's the way it happened - I hear rumours that sometimes on very rare occasions the judges don't have a farking clue what they're doing. ) I'll take take your (and ampulator's) word for it on the gassing thing, though - I suppose it's just something I never spotted, and my memory isn't clear enough to go against two guys who both seem to know what they're talking about, even if this is the internet, and standard procedure dictates that we should be making derogatory statements about one another's parentage and/or sexual preferences by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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