The Official MMA Discussion Thread

[brashleyholland]

So Escudero is gone...bit of a head-scratcher, considering they're trying to crack Mexico and he's a good, cheap fighter.

 

I've heard that there was some ill will towards him with regards to how he handled his weight following the change in opponent.

 

Also, Karaev is out of the Final 16, so Ray Sefo will step in against Tyrone Spong. One last run for Sefo then!

[The Shape]

From Sherdog.com's latest on Sonnen-gate...

 

 

 

...VERY interesting.

 

Now I'm reading that be apparently told one of the commission guys what he had done before he took the test. Strange, and this is just making me like him more lol.

[Self]

Just looked at the 119 card. Wow. There's nothing on it that I have any interest in seeing. Not even Mir/Cro Cop. Is there a Countdown special about?

[Daffanka]

So Escudero is gone...bit of a head-scratcher, considering they're trying to crack Mexico and he's a good, cheap fighter.

 

I've heard that there was some ill will towards him with regards to how he handled his weight following the change in opponent.

 

Yeah Dana hates guys missing weight and he hasn't exactly had any dynamite performances except for knocking out Cole Miller.

 

Just looked at the 119 card. Wow. There's nothing on it that I have any interest in seeing. Not even Mir/Cro Cop. Is there a Countdown special about?

 

Dunham/Sherk is going to be interesting and determine if Dunham really is an A level fighter. He dealt with Griffin well but he's just a worse version of Sherk.

 

We'll get to see how Bader handles a properly dangerous guard and how well Rogerio looks against someone who has big KO power and above average stand up. Rogerio has a very active guard so if Bader gasses he's probably gonna get swept and tapped. On the other hand if Bader can go to town on Lil' Nog standing it's going to be a pretty short fight.

 

Also Mark Hunt is fighting. How can that not excite you?

[The Bus]

Bader has a tough task, Lil' Nog is a good boxer and dangerous on the ground. Bader has more power, but I believe when it eventually goes to the ground Bader will end up on the losing side of that battle. He's not "Brock Lesnar strong", is prone to gassing and faces a good experienced BJJ artist. But Bader stands a chance to rock Lil' Nog and he has to capitalize on it by pounding swiftly to (T)KO victory.

 

I hope Cro Cop will KO Mir brutally, I just can't stand that guy. But realistically I think Mir will win this, if his mindset is right after being owned by Lesnar and Carwin. Cro Cop is one of my favorites, but he's kind of lost his edge as years have passed.

 

Lytle often has entertaining fights, so it doesn't who he's facing. Otherwise I wouldn't so much mind to see Matt Serra on my tv. Melvin Guillard has also some exciting fights. Please Evan Dunham, submit Sean *steroids* Sherk.

[ampulator]

The problem with Cro Cop is that he's lost his heart and killer instinct. He's still tough as hell, but he doesn't seem "in" to it anymore. I also heard he's got weird physical issues.

 

As For Bader/Lil' Nog, this isn't so much of a test for Ryan Bader as much as for Lil' Nog. If Little Nog doesn't win convincingly, they are going to give him ANOTHER little known, yet difficult, opponent to fight. Little Nog has more to lose than Ryan Bader. If Bader can avoid submissions, and knock outs, he'll probably come out looking pretty good. Little Nog knows he needs something more than Split Decision.

[Zoloftjunkie]

I can't stand mir either. What really sucks is his win over Nog and his prob. win over Crocop comes at a time when they are way past their exp. date. I kinda hope Crocops eye doesn't check out so mir doesn't get the chance. I mean he looked horrible in his last fight until the guy broke his hand and foot on him.

 

Looks like sonnen will appeal. Sure we will get more over the top bs from him about it. I bet he goes the over the counter route actually. This makes his comment about Lance Armstrong giving himself cancer from roids even more stupid. Speaking of roids whatever came about Shane Carwins name being on that docs list that got busted?

 

Welp looks like Crocop was cleared to fight.

Also found this article interesting.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/20727/ask-the-fight-doc-what-couldve-caused-elevated-testosterone-levels-in-sonnens-test.mma

[brashleyholland]

 

Looks like sonnen will appeal. Sure we will get more over the top bs from him about it. I bet he goes the over the counter route actually. This makes his comment about Lance Armstrong giving himself cancer from roids even more stupid.

 

 

Just to play both sides...what's wrong with him going 'the over the counter route' if that's exactly what happened?

 

Most of this is just speculation at the moment. All we know as facts are that A)He tested positive, B) It was for elevated Testosterone and C)He told an official that he took something before the fight.

 

As far as we know, he had the flu/a skin rash/whatever before the bout, took an over-the counter-product that contained a steroid and told the official that he would pop for a performance enhancer. This could be just as true as the idea that he's been injecting some kind of Testosterone every day for the past six months.

 

Saying that he got something over the counter isn't any kind of excuse and won't get him any leniency. It's the fighters responsibility to know what's in their body and ignorance isn't an excuse.

 

What I will say though is now that we know that Chael is appealing, it's less likely that he said to the official that he had taken something which could only have been in his system for performance enhancing purposes...otherwise what is he appealing?

[Daffanka]

Vitor out, Marquardt in.

 

Doesn't matter because Okami gonna wrestle either one .

[brashleyholland]

Vitor out, Marquardt in.

 

Doesn't matter because Okami gonna wrestle either one .

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Belfort thrown straight into a title match with Anderson Silva in Jan now.

[brashleyholland]

Ikuhisa Minowa (Minowaman) vs Satoshi Ishii will cap-off DREAM 16 this weekend.

 

I don't know if that's the best or saddest thing I've heard all week :-D

[Daffanka]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Belfort thrown straight into a title match with Anderson Silva in Jan now.

 

Even the tepid middleweight division has more depth to it than to allow a guy who hasn't fought in 18 months and never at MW to get a title shot. They're gonna go with Okami once he beats Marquardt. I hope.

 

Also I'm really not feeling it with DREAM.16. There's plenty of good fighters but the match ups are pretty bad. Ishida vs. one dimensional striker? Omigawa vs. one dimensional grappler? Aoki vs. guy who's worse at everything than him?

 

I like Hansen - Tokoro though.

[brashleyholland]

BetUS have posted the line for the Hunt/McCorkle fight...

 

Hunt: -260

McCorkle: +200

 

...now that has got to be worth a punt.

[brashleyholland]

 

I like Hansen - Tokoro though.

 

Hansen's been training at my local (gym, not pub..ok, that too) with Team Tsunami. He looks massively out of place walking the streets of Cambridge :-p

[Daffanka]

BetUS have posted the line for the Hunt/McCorkle fight...

 

Hunt: -260

McCorkle: +200

 

...now that has got to be worth a punt.

 

HEY MAN I SAW PICTURES OF MARK HUNT HE'S IN SHAPE OKAY LALALALALALA CAN'T HEAR YOU

 

Hansen's been training at my local (gym, not pub..ok, that too) with Team Tsunami. He looks massively out of place walking the streets of Cambridge :-p

 

I'm actually gonna see him live in like a month. He's fighting a greco roman olympian in a local Swedish organization called Superior Challenge which is the worst name of all time. The fight card is really solid for small time MMA though.

[The Shape]

Vitor isn't injured it's him first then Nate or okami. Chael is officially out of the mix but he'll still be the division's biggest draw once silva moves up.

[ampulator]

IF he moves up. Silva doesn't have a lot of time left. Once hits the big 40, it might be a long hard road to decline. It's not like he's got a grappling to make up for it ala Couture.

 

Personally speaking, I don't think Anderson Silva deserves the #1 top contender spot, GSP does. Silva hasn't faced elite grapplers enough, and when he has, he's weaknesses has always been exposed.

 

GSP is about to clear out his division... for a second time. Does he straight wins like Silva does? No. But he's also faced tougher opponents, all of which he has revenged at some point, and some he even beaten so badly they don't deserve a second match-up, no matter how good they are against everyone else in the division (Jon Fitch).

 

As a note, I'm not against or for either Silva or GSP. It's just, look at who they fought AND won against, GSP takes the cake.

[Daffanka]

I agree that GSP should be #1 p4p simply because he's faced a higher level of competition.

 

ANYWAY here are some kickin' rad picks for 119:

 

Mark Hunt over whoever by KO.

 

Mir over Cro Cop by submission, armbar, round 1 at 2 minutes 49 seconds.

 

Bader over Nogueira by decision. After Rogerio's performance against Brilz I just can't pick him, especially since he's going up against a guy who hits harder and rassles better. There's a lot of pitfalls for Bader as well pertaining to cardio and top control but I think he'll take a fairly convincing decision.

 

Serra over Lytle by TKO. Lytle is a bad striker with lousy power and not enough of a grappler or a wrestler to threaten Serra. He'll jump into a right hand and die.

 

Evan Dunham over Sherk by submission. Dunham is a guy with reach who throws good straight punches. He's a guy who is able to deal very well with a power double. Sherk will wing hooks and maybe shoot once before getting blasted by a straight and later submitted.

 

jeremy stephens is going to miss a lot of punches. thats my prediction for his fight.

[brashleyholland]

I agree that GSP should be #1 p4p simply because he's faced a higher level of competition.

 

I literally can't pick between the two. When I do our P4P rankings, I usually interchange them based on who won most recently/in the most impressive fashion.

 

In my mind, GSP has beaten tougher competition (which I think is the consensus), however the KO loss to Serra sort of balances things out.

 

I hate P4P rankings. Just saying.

 

ANYWAY here are some kickin' rad picks for 119:

 

Mark Hunt over whoever by KO.

 

I'd love to agree here, but he's looked beyond poor recently and has had a massive lay-off. What is it now, three MMA fights in nearly four years, without a win.

 

Words cannot express how much I'd love to see him stand there eating this fat dude's punches while grinning at him, before launching a hellacious left-right hook combo to put him out though.

 

Mir over Cro Cop by submission, armbar, round 1 at 2 minutes 49 seconds.

 

2 minutes 50.

 

Bader over Nogueira by decision. After Rogerio's performance against Brilz I just can't pick him, especially since he's going up against a guy who hits harder and rassles better. There's a lot of pitfalls for Bader as well pertaining to cardio and top control but I think he'll take a fairly convincing decision.

 

My instinct (and common sense) is that you're bang on the money with this one....I had a dream where Nog finished him with strikes on the feet in the third round though, which has confused me.

 

Serra over Lytle by TKO. Lytle is a bad striker with lousy power and not enough of a grappler or a wrestler to threaten Serra. He'll jump into a right hand and die.

 

Lytle hasn't been knocked out or even stopped by strikes in 51 fights (aside from a couple of cuts)...Serra has anvil-fists, but they're on the end of midget arms and Lytle can box. I think his grappling is good enough to keep him alive against Serra (who hasn't submitted anyone since 2002:eek:)...so I dunno. Lytle by decision?

 

Evan Dunham over Sherk by submission. Dunham is a guy with reach who throws good straight punches. He's a guy who is able to deal very well with a power double. Sherk will wing hooks and maybe shoot once before getting blasted by a straight and later submitted.

 

Spot on. This will be Dunhams 'coming of age' party.

 

For some bizzare, bizzare reason I'm also looking forward to the train-wreck of a fight that Beltran/Meathead will turn into. Although I suppose I'll be out at a pub/club before the fights start anyway, so I could just stir up some s**t between a couple of fat guys and watch that instead.

[Daffanka]

Hunt made weight. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.

[Daffanka]

Well 119 wasn't very good.

 

Mir - Cro Cop was awful. Shades of Gonzaga - Jordan.

 

Lil' Nog - Bader was all right but either guy would get pasted by the top of the division and neither are ready for Jones.

 

Lytle - Serra was what it was. Lytle seems to have found some semblance of actual boxing technique though he's still got lousy power.

 

Dunham - Sherk was easily FOTN and a pretty blatant robbery. Hopefully it won't derail Dunham's inevitable title shot too much.

 

For Guillard - Stephens I'm just going to quote myself.

 

jeremy stephens is going to miss a lot of punches. thats my prediction for his fight.

[ampulator]

Man, Cro Cop sucked. Mir made tons of mistakes that Cro Cop could capitalized on, but didn't.

[The Shape]

Was weird watching parts of this with people who'e never seen any of UFC before. They got a great fight in Sherk/Dunham marred by ridiculous judging (even they knew that lol), a solid one in Lyttle/Serra...and didn't stick around for the main event, lest they have been put off it for life, thank god, lol.

[SaySo]

I stumbled upon an article in MMA Torch titled "Why I Choosen To Stop Watching Mixed Martial Arts, my favorite sport - the mounting evidence of CTE from head trauma". Click here to be directed to the article.

 

Just one guy's viewpoint. But he seems to be sacrificing a sport he loves due to this growing concern in competitive sports called CTE as it relates to impact to the head. I probably wouldn't give up on wrestling (WWE), football, MMA, etc. over it. But what you guys think of the article?

[brashleyholland]

I stumbled upon an article in MMA Torch titled "Why I Choosen To Stop Watching Mixed Martial Arts, my favorite sport - the mounting evidence of CTE from head trauma". Click here to be directed to the article.

 

Just one guy's viewpoint. But he seems to be sacrificing a sport he loves due to this growing concern in competitive sports called CTE as it relates to impact to the head. I probably wouldn't give up on wrestling (WWE), football, MMA, etc. over it. But what you guys think of the article?

 

I think that Ivan Trembow is a self-righteous t*t that has done nothing but moan about everything on his blog for years. Nobody takes him seriously.

 

So he's been watching MMA/wrestling/football since way back and NOW he realises that getting smacked in the head etc. is bad for you? Hmm, seems like he must have taken a few heavy blows over the years himself, because you'd have to be intellectually simple not to realise that as an educated adult.

 

Presumably he's going to stop listening to music as well, for fear of facilitating drug and drink-addled musicians.

 

My honest, honest belief is that he is a very bitter man who has put a lot of effort into being recognised as a journalistic 'authority' on MMA, only to see the likes of Josh Gross, Kevin Iole etc breeze past him into well-paid/solid jobs covering MMA for big outlets. I've been talking to a lot of MMA writers about this since it dropped earlier in the week, and the consensus is that Ivan is taking his ball and going home. But not before having one last good, loud cry about the whole dirty business of MMA :-p