The Official MMA Discussion Thread

[Gabbo]

added to

 

 

Agreed. 49-46/48-47 Edgar.

 

Lol at ACCBiggz though, after every event he comes in here to contest the decision. Regardless of whether it was close or not, usually just to showcase the fact he think he knows better than everyone else. I really don't think Penn won that fight, he had no answer to Edgar's speed, head movement, hands etc. He even took Penn down, which wasn't to encourage ground game, it was just to show that he could and to mix it up. Penn probably refused to go to ground afraid it would show he conceded defeat in the stand-up. Well it backfired, and as much as I like BJ, Edgar won that fight. I might rewatch it later though.

 

Main event... Silva is just blergh. He acted like a dick to Maia, encouraging him to attack and do something when from the mid way point of R3, roles reversed, Silva gassed and did nothing until the end of the fight.

 

Silva acted like Maia wasn't worthy of a match yet had no intentions of getting into the ground game. If you're not afraid then go for it - show he's got nothing on you in any area, but he did very little in the entire fight. Maia just wasn't good enough but I think/hope someone with GSP's takedowns (or hopefully even Sonnen's, coupled with his aggression and battling spirit) will be able to take him down at will and control him. Especially with GSP's cardio and Silva's apparent lack of.

 

Silva was poor at the end of the day. Too afraid to get close in case Maia pulled guard, yet acting like he was head and shoulders above Demian. Didn't understand it, a champ's job is to represent the division, entertain the fans and draw money. Silva's performance reeked of contempt for his opposition, his employers, his fans and the viewers. If you're so good as he seems to think he is, finish the fight R1. Otherwise STFU and get on with it.

[brashleyholland]

 

It's nice having a debate about the fight without resulting to name calling like they do on other forums.

 

OMGZ wat a N00b!!!1!

 

Heh...I was really enjoying the event up until the Silva fight, which killed it for me. Absolutely disgraceful performance, which isn't something I say lightly about a professional fighter. Showboat if you want, talk trash if you must...but please, make a determined effort to finish the fight afterwards. I really don't know what kind of point Anderson was trying to prove against a late replacement, but he's put the UFC in a very awkward position in terms of promoting him in the future.

 

He was already the worst drawing champion of the modern era, then you had the Cote and Leites fights that killed Anderson as a viable card-carrying main event attraction. The UFC wasn't expecting decent numbers for the Abu Dhabi PPV, yet they still had to put BJ Penn (who did 700,000 for his last PPV) in a co-feature.

 

I'm interested to see how the relationship between Silva's management and the UFC goes after this. They've not been on the best of terms recently, but Soares had an army of top-shelf talent under his wing. There was a time last year when Little Nog was about to debut, Silva was comming off an incredible performance at 205, Machida was still the untouchable champ and Big Nog was a fight away from the heavyweight championship.

 

Now you have Silva coming off a universally derided performance (again), Nogueira getting iced by Velasquez and a very real possibility that the Karate Kid won't hold the 205 title in a few weeks time...should be interesting to see how much leverage they have over Silva's next opponent now that Dana has officially (and publicly) put him in the dog house.

[brashleyholland]

Agreed. 49-46/48-47 Edgar.

 

Lol at ACCBiggz though, after every event he comes in here to contest the decision. Regardless of whether it was close or not, usually just to showcase the fact he think he knows better than everyone else. I really don't think Penn won that fight, he had no answer to Edgar's speed, head movement, hands etc. He even took Penn down, which wasn't to encourage ground game, it was just to show that he could and to mix it up. Penn probably refused to go to ground afraid it would show he conceded defeat in the stand-up. Well it backfired, and as much as I like BJ, Edgar won that fight. I might rewatch it later though.

 

 

I thought it could have gone either way to be honest. As this card was on at 5pm UK time, I weaselled my way out of doing any work around it, so for the first time in a long time, I was watching a fight at home without a computer and phone infront of me. I had a house full of people over to watch, so the only 49-46 I saw was a rough estimate of the beers per hour exiting my kitchen.

 

One thing that stood out for me though was this...of all the people watching with me (mostly amateur/professional fighters/martial artists of some description with a few casuals thrown in), the overriding feeling in the room at the start of the 5th round was this: Penn hadn't done enough to coast the last round.

 

There wasn't a whole lot of grappling, although Frankie did score one-and-a-half takedowns. I'd give Frankie the nod on on aggressiveness and ever so slightly on Octagon control. Penn landed more and better strikes...but then the only visible damage was on his face. It was a close fight, whichever way you saw it. I raised an eyebrow when the result was announced, but in all honesty I probably would have done the same had it gone the other way. I'm going to watch it again with my 'work' hat on tonight and properly score it though.

[Acidburned]

You're thinking of my good buddy Tom 'Kong' Watson. He's training at Jackson's now with GSP and co. and fighting in MFC, where he won his last fight with a sick head-kick KO. His next fight is back in the UK though against psudo-celeb Alex Reid, A.K.A. Jordan's boyfriend.

 

Thanks for the answer dude, I thought nobody knew, cared or had missed my post all together. I am praying that he beats Alex Reid he hasn't fought for years according to Wiki and lost his last 6 or 7. I saw the Kong name and thought it might be him but wasn't sure. I saw Reid's fight being advertised on Bravo and thought they might just be putting him against some one that he could beat easily, doesn't look like that now thought lol.

[RingofHonorGuard]

Anyone whining about the Silva fight and calling it an embarassment should be pointing the finger at Damien Maia and Dana White more-so than Anderson Silva. Why, you ask? Because he didn't do anything but stare at Anderson like a kid outside a toy store. Anderson kept actively moving forward and landing a wide array of strikes, and Maia would do nothing but shoot ridiculous double-legs.

 

I'm sorry, but I thought you were there to -challenge- the champion... Hmm... So why not challenge him? Part of beating a champion is taking risks, and TRYING to win... You can't blame the champion if the challenger is hesitant to even engage in the opening frames. And by the time Anderson was done yelling and screaming at Maia to fight, he tired himself out and then just decided "screw it, seems stupid to lose after this guy showed me no heart... so here's to you Dana." Anderson should be punished for clowning around the last couple of rounds, but he did TRY to fight early on.

 

I would have been upset if I bought the pay per view, but after hearing the early results I decided against it. I did watch it though, and to be quite honest I felt like Edgar did enough to win, but thought it should have been a split decision at least. BJ seemed kinda unwilling to engage at times, not sure why. But he looked damn good with his boxing, and after watching the fight I thought he won with that alone, but definitely saw where Edgar's endurance, cardio, and pressure won it for him as well.

[brashleyholland]

Thanks for the answer dude, I thought nobody knew, cared or had missed my post all together. I am praying that he beats Alex Reid he hasn't fought for years according to Wiki and lost his last 6 or 7. I saw the Kong name and thought it might be him but wasn't sure. I saw Reid's fight being advertised on Bravo and thought they might just be putting him against some one that he could beat easily, doesn't look like that now thought lol.

 

Reid's been keeping fighting in 'caged-kickboxing' bouts for the last few years (and telling people that he fights for K-1...lol)...his last one was quite plainly fixed and sparked a riot when the decision was announced in his favour after he was beaten from pillar to post for 2 out of the 3 rounds. It was a horrible scene, people the bar area and cageside were warzones and someone even managed to punch Reid as he was being ushered out.

 

It's good to know that in preparation for the fight against Kong, easily the toughest fight of his career, he's been busy filming a reality show for Bravo. Way to go Reidy ...and to think, at one point he was being touted as a potential British prospect...

[Gabbo]

Anyone whining about the Silva fight and calling it an embarassment should be pointing the finger at Damien Maia and Dana White more-so than Anderson Silva. Why, you ask? Because he didn't do anything but stare at Anderson like a kid outside a toy store. Anderson kept actively moving forward and landing a wide array of strikes, and Maia would do nothing but shoot ridiculous double-legs.

 

I'm sorry, but I thought you were there to -challenge- the champion... Hmm... So why not challenge him? Part of beating a champion is taking risks, and TRYING to win... You can't blame the champion if the challenger is hesitant to even engage in the opening frames. And by the time Anderson was done yelling and screaming at Maia to fight, he tired himself out and then just decided "screw it, seems stupid to lose after this guy showed me no heart... so here's to you Dana." Anderson should be punished for clowning around the last couple of rounds, but he did TRY to fight early on.

 

 

I'm sorry for that's insane logic. What did you want Maia to do? Silva is one of, if not the best striker in the UFC. Griffin showed how ridiculous it is to charge into Silva all guns blazing. Maia was understandably cautious, especially since his own striking game is only decent at best. Maia though, pushed the pace in the last 3 rounds, numerous times he threw himself at Silva's feet, he chased Silva across the octagon on his back, he even let his hands go a few times. Fact is, he just wasn't good enough, but he gave it his best and no-one can argue otherwise.

 

Silva on the other hand, when did he let his hands go, when did he try to dominate the fight or end it? He was content to sit back, try to humiliate his opponent and gave a big FU to the crowd and Dana White. You make a point about a challenger has to challenge a champion, well the champion should show why he's the champion too, not effectively coast by for a draw to maintain his title. If Anderson wanted a fight like he was screaming for, he should have pursued it, he has no right to bully any challenger into fighting the way he wants them to fight.

[d_w_w]

Regarding the two main events:

 

IMO, Fighters should work towards finishing fights. Not every fight or every fighter is always going to be finishable, but every fighter should also try to finish in every fight.

 

I'd like to see the pay scales revamped to reflect this. Something like: 10k to fight, 10k to win, 10k to finish.

[brashleyholland]

I'd like to see the pay scales revamped to reflect this. Something like: 10k to fight, 10k to win, 10k to finish.

 

Already happens...the mysterious 'locker room bonuses'

[ACCBiggz]

Lol at ACCBiggz though, after every event he comes in here to contest the decision. Regardless of whether it was close or not, usually just to showcase the fact he think he knows better than everyone else. I really don't think Penn won that fight, he had no answer to Edgar's speed, head movement, hands etc. He even took Penn down, which wasn't to encourage ground game, it was just to show that he could and to mix it up. Penn probably refused to go to ground afraid it would show he conceded defeat in the stand-up. Well it backfired, and as much as I like BJ, Edgar won that fight. I might rewatch it later though.

 

So, by scoring the fight myself and offering why I scored a fight as such, AND asking someone else WHY they scored it their way is contesting a decision and showcasing the fact I know better than others?

 

I simply asked him WHY he scored it as such, and a per round basis would be sufficient considering we are in a 10-point must scoring system. Saying, "Frankie worked more" as some has said doesn't offer sufficient answers because it seems as if you are judging the fight as a whole and not on a per round basis as fights are judged by. LoNdOn did offer his opinion because I asked, and yet you chime in with unecessary hostile posts. Do I disagree with his assessment? Yes, but I merely wanted to know why he scored it as such.

 

The undeniable statistics even back me up on the fact for the first three rounds, with round three being close. I really have ZERO quams with Frankie winning, because as I have said elsewhere that you could see it in Penn's eyes from the late third that he simply had given up and I would rather have a bad decision go to someone who didn't give up on the fight. However, the textbook boxing and landing that Penn did prior to that won him the first three rounds.

 

Also, I stated that a lot of the reason that it seems like Edgar was the winner of the fight, as a whole, is from the perception of what he was doing. He looked fresh, had a lot of energy and movement, and Penn had a few bumps and bruises. However, that is not a way to judge by any stretch of the word. A lot are likening this to Machida/Shogun in regards to scoring and controversey. My stance on that fight was that it simply wasn't a robbery and I backed up my argument. And I feel I've also provided enough proof for this fight as well. I think it's a mix of not scoring BJ's boxing correctly and the perception of how Edgar looked without regard to what he actually did.

[Gabbo]

I was merely observing that whenever I come in here you seem to contest a major decision in the latest UFC PPV. In a lot of fights that go the distance you can probably make a case for each guy winning, doesn't mean each guy actually deserved to win. I dunno if on occasion you're actually right and most other people are wrong but it seems like that occasion is every 3 weeks.

 

 

Firstly, can I just say I don't pretend to know everything about this sport, I've only been watching it for less than a year, but I like to think I learn quickly and I enjoy it, that's what matters. You may well understand it more than me, but these are my thoughts anyway.

 

Penn knew he lost. Judge it that way, when the horn rung, Penn knew he lost and Edgar knew he won. That's all you need to look at. Going into the 5th, I had it 2-2, possibly 3-1 to Edgar. Penn just didn't have it in him, he knew he lost the earlier rounds and just gave up. You can look at stats as much as you want, but there's no stat for momentum, Penn gassing, Penn's damaged face, Edgar finishing strong etc.

 

Fight's aren't judged on who lands the hook or a leg kick or superman punch, they're based on Effective Striking, Grappling, Aggression and Octagon Control. You can't begin to tell me Penn had any of the last 3.

 

As I say I'd like to watch the fight again, (especially with fight metric's stats in mind...) and would be interested if your opinion changed upon a second viewing.

 

 

Lastly, apologies for the deemed hostility.

[Daffanka]

Fight Metric is a terrible way to judge fights because apart from actually not doing their job correctly there's too many other factors involved than strikes landed and takedowns scored. According to Fight Metric Couture won the first round of his fight with Nog.

[ACCBiggz]

Fight Metric is a terrible way to judge fights because apart from actually not doing their job correctly there's too many other factors involved than strikes landed and takedowns scored. According to Fight Metric Couture won the first round of his fight with Nog.

 

FightMetric is a good way to back up reasoning to a point. For instance, I've seen countless Round Two's for Edgar when Penn lands 110 to 28. Scoring simply on the basis of FightMetric will have flaws.

 

Penn knew he lost. Judge it that way, when the horn rung, Penn knew he lost and Edgar knew he won. That's all you need to look at.

So we should not score rounds if a fighter thinks he lost? That's a very fallacious argument. You should score rounds based on just the fight per round, nothing else. As I said, you could see it in Penn's eyes from late 3rd on that he quit, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't score the fight on what had been done.

 

but there's no stat for momentum, Penn gassing, Penn's damaged face, Edgar finishing strong etc.

Because those should have ABSOLUTELY ZERO barring on judging.

 

Fight's aren't judged on who lands the hook or a leg kick or superman punch

That's exactly what the fight is judged on... if it lands, it's effective, hence effective striking.

 

Effective Striking, Grappling, Aggression and Octagon Control. You can't begin to tell me Penn had any of the last 3.

The last two aren't weighted the same as the first two. Striking and grappling are MMA and are thus weighted much higher. If Penn lands more clean, effective strikes than Frankie he shouldn't lose the round because Frankie seemed more aggressive. I find that asinine.

 

And Octagon Control could be debated actually. Penn took control of the center of the Octagon and Frankie was using movement to evade and find ways to attack Penn who established himself. I mean, that's just one counter argument for that particular stat. But as I mentioned above it should not be weighted evenly with Effective Striking or Grappling.

 

As I say I'd like to watch the fight again, (especially with fight metric's stats in mind...) and would be interested if your opinion changed upon a second viewing.

It wouldn't. Because my opinion is correct in my eyes. Penn had clean, effective boxing while Edgar had... nothing really, early on. Again, I believe the perception of his movement and energy really swayed the fight. And you can't judge on that. But, as I said on Twitter, if you are scoring on a PRIDE based system of a total fight then I agree Frankie won the fight, but you can't do that with a 10-point must system. And those early rounds were fairly definitive for Penn with the third round being closer.

[Daffanka]

FightMetric is a good way to back up reasoning to a point. For instance, I've seen countless Round Two's for Edgar when Penn lands 110 to 28. Scoring simply on the basis of FightMetric will have flaws.

 

It's absolutely not because it does such a shoddy job at actually judging whether or not strikes landed. According to Compu Strike Edgar won so someone's lying!

 

I don't know what your argument is really. Penn definitely took one round and Edgar definitely took another but those three in the middle are very much up in the air and judges giving them to either guy isn't outrageous.

 

That 50-45 was outrageous, yeah, but it didn't change the result and even if that particular judge wasn't an idiot we would've seen a split decision win for Edgar at best.

[LoNdOn]

To go over your initial question Biggz, I can't fully remember what happened in each round now, but from what I recall I gave the rounds as follows

 

Round1: Penn

Round2: Edgar

Round3: Edgar

Round4: Edgar

Round5: Edgar

 

I also watched the fight on mute, as the commentaters have a tendancy to sway the audience.

[Gabbo]

It's absolutely not because it does such a shoddy job at actually judging whether or not strikes landed. According to Compu Strike Edgar won so someone's lying!

 

Absolutely, they appear to just make up the stats at FightMetric anyway.

 

So we should not score rounds if a fighter thinks he lost? That's a very fallacious argument. You should score rounds based on just the fight per round, nothing else. As I said, you could see it in Penn's eyes from late 3rd on that he quit, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't score the fight on what had been done.

 

Not judge the fight. The fight was judged correctly, but you're arguing against the majority, against the professional judges and against both fighters and teams in the octagon on that night. Everyone knew it, most tellingly, the two fighters involved. You only have to look at Penn and Edgar's face to realise that was judged correctly.

 

Because those should have ABSOLUTELY ZERO barring on judging.

 

Not really. How do you judge effective striking, crawling into someone's brain and seeing how much they're hurt or looking at someone's damaged face? I know it's not as black and white as that, but it plays a part in the judging whether you like it or not.

 

That's exactly what the fight is judged on... if it lands, it's effective, hence effective striking.

 

I was speaking in isolation, hence the qualifier that Penn didn't have any of the last three judging categories. How effective was Penn's striking? Edgar wasn't busted up, he wasn't rocked, he didn't have welts under his eyes, his legs didn't give way.

 

50-45 was ridiculous, but it doesn't change the result in anyway.

[ACCBiggz]

The fight was judged correctly, but you're arguing against the majority, against the professional judges and against both fighters and teams in the octagon on that night. Everyone knew it, most tellingly, the two fighters involved. You only have to look at Penn and Edgar's face to realise that was judged correctly.

 

Not really. How do you judge effective striking, crawling into someone's brain and seeing how much they're hurt or looking at someone's damaged face? I know it's not as black and white as that, but it plays a part in the judging whether you like it or not.

 

I was speaking in isolation, hence the qualifier that Penn didn't have any of the last three judging categories. How effective was Penn's striking? Edgar wasn't busted up, he wasn't rocked, he didn't have welts under his eyes, his legs didn't give way.

 

Reply if you will, but this will be my last post on the matter. I'm sorry, but I can't sit here and have an intelligent debate on judging the fight and so forth when you have these inherit fallacious filled arguments. It's an entirely backwards viewpoint that totally misses the point of the rules of judging a fight and makes up an entirely different rulebook on how to judge a fight. Because, according to how you have stated it here numerous times in numerous posts, the only effective strikes are those that leave marks. Which is so far beyond the truth it's amazing. I don't even know how to respond to the first part of arguing against the majority... I mean... what? The majority of people drank the kool-aid as well.

 

At the very least I urge you to pick up some boxing dvd's, perhaps a judging DVD (Doc Hamilton's are fine, but maybe you could find one on just boxing or striking in general) and use that to enhance your acumen. As mentioned above, I'm done with this so a reply will fall upon deaf ears but do so at your own discretion.

 

Round2: Edgar

So, the most definitive round in the entire fight you scored for the other guy? I don't have an issue with rounds 3-5 but did feel the third went to Penn, but go back and at least watch Round Two. It's the single most definitive round in the fight for either fighter.

[LoNdOn]

 

So, the most definitive round in the entire fight you scored for the other guy? I don't have an issue with rounds 3-5 but did feel the third went to Penn, but go back and at least watch Round Two. It's the single most definitive round in the fight for either fighter.

 

As I said, I cannot fully remember now what happened in each round at this time. I know that I gave either round 1 or round 2 to Penn but I'm uncertain of which. I must say Biggz, you are persistant on the issue and I have to admire that. Anyway, hope this post clarified my position.

 

I would also like to say that I did not drink any kool-aid and was not influenced by anybody elses opinion. I also understand what you are saying about effective striking. You are indeed correct and I think Gabbo is taking a more literal definition of "effective". I remember that during the fight, Penn caught Edgar with some crisp punches (most of which were counter punches). But for every 1 clean punch that Penn landed, Edgar landed 3/4. So while I agree that Penn used his boxing ability well, it appeared that on that night Edgar used his better.

[Nedew]

Biggz' persistence amuses me.

 

For what it's worth, i'm another who scored it for Edgar. Only barely though - First two rounds were Penn's, last 3 for Edgar. I can see logic in it going either way.

 

I think the problem here is that it was a close fight - and close fights that go to the judges will be controversial no matter what. If they're not controversial, it wasn't close enough.

[Gabbo]

The first point about 'looking at their faces' was clearly in terms of reaction and anticipation to the result. Hence why I said the two fighters knew who had won. I'm sorry if anything above utterly basic reading comprehension is beyond you, but the fact you missed that renders the rest of your post completely invalid.

 

I'll leave it there too now, it's gone from a decent debate into one person intentionally or ignorantly misreading posts, whilst masquerading as a know-it-all.

[Daffanka]

Are they only showing Mousasi/Mo, Aoki/Melendez and Shields/Hendo on the televised part of their card? Or are they putting in prelim fights as space becomes available (read: when Hendo's right hand hits Shields in the face)?

 

There's a definite risk of Mousasi/Mo going the distance courtesy of Mo's rasslin but Melendez - Aoki and Shields - Hendo going five rounds?

 

If the entire televised card turns out to be three 25 minute fight for meaningless titles that'll be pretty funny.

[Tag01]

Are they only showing Mousasi/Mo, Aoki/Melendez and Shields/Hendo on the televised part of their card? Or are they putting in prelim fights as space becomes available (read: when Hendo's right hand hits Shields in the face)?

 

There's a definite risk of Mousasi/Mo going the distance courtesy of Mo's rasslin but Melendez - Aoki and Shields - Hendo going five rounds?

 

If the entire televised card turns out to be three 25 minute fight for meaningless titles that'll be pretty funny.

 

Mo/Mousasi is probably the least likely of the three to go to decision IMHO, but I think any of them could end quit or go all the way. According to Strikeforce they're going to show Mayhem's fight either in its entirety or highlights.

[Daffanka]

Wrestle, Mo, wrestle!

[brashleyholland]

Really not sure what to make of this Strikeforce card as a whole.

 

- Hendo-Shields could be great, or we could see the return of 'Decision Dan'. It's one of those fights where neither guy gains a whole lot from winning, yet both stand to lose a lot by notching up an 'L'. Shields will likely see his UFC deal go up in smoke (or at the very least lose a chunk of cash on the deal) and Dan would come off as considerably low-rent losing to a relative nobody like Jake.

 

Could very easily turn into a snooze-fest if both guys are there not to lose...Shields has already said he's going for a late submission and Dan hasn't looked like he's taking the whole thing seriously....on the flipside, could be a great back-and-forth two/three rounder.

 

 

- Lawal vs Mousasi is the fight I'm most looking forward too. We had King Mo on our radio show a few weeks back and he made an excellent point. The term 'world class' is thrown around waaaay too much in MMA these days...Mousasi is not world class at anything...not striking, not submissions and certainly not wrestling. He, on the other hand, was considered the best wrestler in the states not two years ago...possibly one of the best of his generation.

 

Still, Mo has yet to fight ANYONE of substance...I have a really hard time picking an unproven guy over an experienced fighter (especially someone on the level of Mousasi) no matter how good they are. Can't see this going the distance at all.

 

- Aoki vs Melendez is a really bad match-up for the Japanese fighter. He's just not built to last against American powerhouse wrestlers with heavy hands. His striking is mediocre, he lacks power, he won't have his grappling tights...the list goes on.

 

I see Melendez keeping this one on the feet as long as possible; Aoki's only chance is a slick submission so it behoves Melendez to use his wrestling in reverse.

 

 

As for the rest of the card...they'll only need about a minute to show Mayhem's fight in it's entirety. I've had the misfortune of seeing his opponent fight a few times and he's awful - taps like it's going out of fashion. There's nothing else even remotely interesting on the prelims...they've filled it up with a bunch of amateur fighters...I'm not sure if they are making their pro débuts or not.

 

I'd be very interested to know if they went down the amateur route for financial reasons or not...

[Dustin]

Really not sure what to make of this Strikeforce card as a whole.

 

- Hendo-Shields could be great, or we could see the return of 'Decision Dan'. It's one of those fights where neither guy gains a whole lot from winning, yet both stand to lose a lot by notching up an 'L'. Shields will likely see his UFC deal go up in smoke (or at the very least lose a chunk of cash on the deal) and Dan would come off as considerably low-rent losing to a relative nobody like Jake.

 

Could very easily turn into a snooze-fest if both guys are there not to lose...Shields has already said he's going for a late submission and Dan hasn't looked like he's taking the whole thing seriously....on the flipside, could be a great back-and-forth two/three rounder.

 

 

- Lawal vs Mousasi is the fight I'm most looking forward too. We had King Mo on our radio show a few weeks back and he made an excellent point. The term 'world class' is thrown around waaaay too much in MMA these days...Mousasi is not world class at anything...not striking, not submissions and certainly not wrestling. He, on the other hand, was considered the best wrestler in the states not two years ago...possibly one of the best of his generation.

 

Still, Mo has yet to fight ANYONE of substance...I have a really hard time picking an unproven guy over an experienced fighter (especially someone on the level of Mousasi) no matter how good they are. Can't see this going the distance at all.

 

- Aoki vs Melendez is a really bad match-up for the Japanese fighter. He's just not built to last against American powerhouse wrestlers with heavy hands. His striking is mediocre, he lacks power, he won't have his grappling tights...the list goes on.

 

I see Melendez keeping this one on the feet as long as possible; Aoki's only chance is a slick submission so it behoves Melendez to use his wrestling in reverse.

 

 

As for the rest of the card...they'll only need about a minute to show Mayhem's fight in it's entirety. I've had the misfortune of seeing his opponent fight a few times and he's awful - taps like it's going out of fashion. There's nothing else even remotely interesting on the prelims...they've filled it up with a bunch of amateur fighters...I'm not sure if they are making their pro débuts or not.

 

I'd be very interested to know if they went down the amateur route for financial reasons or not...

 

I'm pretty sure Mousasi is world class with his...MMA!