brashleyholland Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Strictly from a personal point of view, I don't see where the advantage is to resigning Jackson right now. Love him or hate him, the guy sells tickets/PPV's and generates buzz. He's got crossover appeal. I think his fight with Rashad is the only non-title UFC PPV to do over 800k buys. The UFC will keep him around, but they'll pay him what he's worth, which is a lot less now that it was five fights ago. If they make a 3-4 fight investment, they'll probably give him a couple of favourable match ups...loser of Nog/Gustafsson, Bonnar, Franklin. Couple of KO's/exciting fights and all will be forgotten :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Thing is, how long before a guy loses that aura that gets us paying fans excited about seeing him? Because without wishing to be too harsh on the guy, in the past 2+ years, he's been less of a guy that wins with thrilling KOs and more of a guy that loses boring decisions. The Machida 'win' aside, he hasn't beaten anyone you could really call 'top class' since that 2008 win over a Wandy who's gone 4-6 since 2006. If Rampage does get the Shogun fight and loses it, that's three straight losses for him, and the UFC will probably have a much, much bigger draw in Jon Jones by then. I still think they'll probably offer him another contract for the reasons you stated, but I imagine they'd be much less willing to put up with his antics than they seem to have been in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucien Sanchez Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Thing is, how long before a guy loses that aura that gets us paying fans excited about seeing him? How long's a piece of string? Wanderlei Silva? Probably never. Fedor? I'd argue his Werdum loss severely hurt his drawing power (particularly in the West) but there'll be others who disagree for sure. Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture? Probably never. Nick Diaz? Has lost a few fights but his personality and exciting style mean there'll always be people who want to watch him. I guess my point is that it's tough to nail down. There's in-ring ability, personality, fighting style, length of career and so on, so many different factors that affect a fighters drawing power. With regards to Rampage, you might doubt his current ability, but his legendary career and out the cage personality mean that people will want to watch him for probably as long as he goes out there. I personally never put him in the very top echelon of fighters, but still like to see him compete, and will do till he retires or outstays his welcome. Another point is that MMA is still young and it has a small but very hardcore fanbase at its core who'll 'mark' for the pre-Zuffa UFC guys and PRIDE fighters till the day they die. They have an aura and a reputation that I don't think will ever be replicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Well, looks like the picture in the LW division just got a little clearer: Frankie Edgar on Twitter Interesting news, especially as Dana was so vocal in trying to get Frankie to drop to 145. I guess from here the winner of Diaz/Miller fights Pettis, with the winner of that one getting the title shot probably sometime near the end of the year. Not sure how I feel about this as a fan - on one hand I'm pleased for Frankie, as I feel he deserved a rematch - I'm also immediately looking forward to the fight, because it'll be two genuinely top-class fighters going at it again. On the other, I'm a little disappointed, as I really don't see how Frankie can win against Bendo - when the fight went to the floor, Henderson nearly finished the fight twice. Edgar looked good in the first round with his standup, but apart from that, Henderson matched him blow for blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucien Sanchez Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 It's a bad move in my eyes to go for the rematch. I'd heavily favour Henderson to win again, possibly by a finish. And if that's the way it goes, Edgar is a ways away from the lightweight belt and no longer the featherweight fit either. To me it just doesn't seem like a good career decision for Edgar, nor a good business decision for the UFC, but what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 It's a roll of the dice from Edgar's camp for sure. If they lose this one, 145 seems inevitable, and they wont get a title shot coming off two losses. With that said, Edgar is a step above a lot of the guys in the 145 title picture. But what's the alternative? Take the 145lbs title fight? What happens if he loses to Aldo? Then he's 2-3 fights away from a title shot in two divisions. If he loses the rematch against Hendo, he'll probably only need one win at 145 to get a crack at the gold. Not too sure why some people are saying that they can't see how Edgar beats Henderson...that was a very close fight that could have gone either way. It wasn't like Hendo steam rolled him or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Target Practice Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Oh yeah, it was a close fight, and that upkick in the second was probably the deciding factor, as up until that point, I'd have had Frankie up two rounds to none. However, I just think Henderson is too big and strong for Frankie - he can hurt Edgar, whereas I can't see Edgar being able to hurt Henderson. Obviously that doesn't mean he can't win at all, but it's going to be a huge ask. The one area I'll be watching with interest is the clinch game - a couple of times Frankie was quick enough to get behind Bendo, but every time he did, Henderson went for a standing Kimura, and Frankie didn't seem to know how to deal with it, meaning he was having to give up a pretty advantageous position. I'd assume Frankie will be working on a gameplan to counter that this time. EDIT: Didn't fancy yet another doublepost, so figured I'll edit this in: http://youtu.be/gDIb_BxYCI8 See, it's stuff like this that make me quite like Chael Sonnen - he's genuinely funny when he actually puts his mind to it and actually thinks about what he's saying rather than just letting his mouth run away with him. And then you can guarantee that next week he'll be picking a fight with a ring girl again or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantabulous Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I'm not that jazzed about Henderson/Edgar 2. I liked their first fight and I'm not against them rematching at some point, but I'd much prefer to see someone who isn't Frankie Edgar in the Lightweight title picture. Frankie Edgar is a great fighter and he might be one of the mythical pound-for-pound best, but he has the personality of a tree. Edgar doesn't make me tune out but he doesn't make me tune in, either. He may as well be one of the nameless undercard fighters as far as interest goes. He doesn't capture my attention like Henderson or Pettis or Guida. I'd much rather see Henderson/Pettis 2, and I think that would probably do better business than Henderson/Edgar 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 THE BEST NEWS YOU'VE HEARD ALL YEAR!!!! Those of you in the UK will be able to catch myself and Bret Freeman on Sky's Active Channel every Friday night at 11 from now on, as Sky have picked up our MMA talk show 'The Cage'. We're gonna be making some big changes to the show in the next few weeks, so fingers crossed it all goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackman Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 This UK fighter's got some guts. Now for some glory, if he does get signed by a major organisation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Ryland Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 THE BEST NEWS YOU'VE HEARD ALL YEAR!!!! Those of you in the UK will be able to catch myself and Bret Freeman on Sky's Active Channel every Friday night at 11 from now on, as Sky have picked up our MMA talk show 'The Cage'. We're gonna be making some big changes to the show in the next few weeks, so fingers crossed it all goes well. Congratulations Brad, excellent stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonster Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 TUF: Live starts tonight, who does everyone think will win? I think Jeff Smith will win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurphy1014 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 THE BEST NEWS YOU'VE HEARD ALL YEAR!!!! Those of you in the UK will be able to catch myself and Bret Freeman on Sky's Active Channel every Friday night at 11 from now on, as Sky have picked up our MMA talk show 'The Cage'. We're gonna be making some big changes to the show in the next few weeks, so fingers crossed it all goes well. Congrats! Best of luck with the show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoutureLegend Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 TUF: Live starts tonight, who does everyone think will win? I think Jeff Smith will win. Theres alot of really good guys in TUF this year. I'm thinking Al Iaquinta, Myles Jury, Jon Tuck & believe it or not, Dakota Cochrane will do really well but i believe Jordan Rinaldi will win the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantabulous Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 It turns out Tyson Griffin failed a pot test way back at UFC 123 but for some reason the news never got out until now. Strange. And TUF is on ESPN, at least the live show, for those of us in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonster Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Dakota Cochrane. so hope he is not a grappler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoutureLegend Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 i believe Jordan Rinaldi will win the show. Wow that pick didn't work out well at all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonster Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Wtf is with the quick kos? Did the UFC tell the refs once a fighter is dropped, the fight is done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonster Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 So these fights are pro and not exhibition, like last 14 seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantabulous Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Steve Mazzagatti should thank Jeff Malott, as he is no longer the worst referee in MMA. Malott's performance in the Warren/Curran fight was one of the absolute worst jobs ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedsRule Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 So these fights are pro and not exhibition, like last 14 seasons. Where does it say that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Steve Mazzagatti should thank Jeff Malott, as he is no longer the worst referee in MMA. Malott's performance in the Warren/Curran fight was one of the absolute worst jobs ever. http://ironforgesiron.com/2012/03/video-one-of-the-wost-ref-ever/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 http://ironforgesiron.com/2012/03/video-one-of-the-wost-ref-ever/ God damn. Can't say much to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackman Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Wow. What an idiot. The fighter was even checking with him like: "dude, it's over, right?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonster Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Where does it say that? Their pro records were updated after their fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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