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brashleyholland

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this is an awful night to be English..

 

Dan Hardy? I blame the beard.. if he'd shaved, his chin wouldve been stronger.. :rolleyes:

 

John Hathaway didnt look anything like the Hitman we saw beat on Diego.. and James Wilks has always been a tad awful.. Im a firm believer that his winning TUF was a fluke..

 

everything now rests on Michael Bisping.. lets hope hes as good as he thinks he is..

 

I'm not gonna lie, when I saw Hardy drop I nearly cried.

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BISPING saves the day...

 

even after his typical 'fast' start (he always has a shocking first round, yet still gets the 'fast starter' bullet point during his walkout)..

 

hes actually looking better.. I know that it was only Akiyama tonight.. (I dont mean any disrespect to Sexyama, but he was coming in off a loss to Leben) but its another step in the right direction..

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Bisping teed off on Akiyama the entire fight and barely dented him. Learn to sit on your punches instead of pitty pattering.

 

Condit's KO owned.

 

Watching Hathaway get plastered kinda bummed me out.

 

This was a weak event overall but it was free so I'm not going to complain too much. It was just a commercial for 121 really.

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Watching this live once again with guys who knew next to nothing about UFC was very interesting. I was surprised they actually sat through the first couple of fights after the ground based boredom and the shambolic draw, but the Hardy KO was exactly the sort of thing people need to see, even though Hardy's entrance and pre-match hype went down well. First time I've seen him fight too lol and he is damn entertaining. Was great to see Condit's interview turn the boos into cheers as well. Then we had Bisping/Akiyama with a Brit finally winning and a great finale (sexyama swinging in the last few seconds = epic). This show had some serious perfect show theory behind it lol.
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Hardy is my favourite fighter so it was hard watching the replays. You're right though, the perfect show theory was in full effect. I just hope that his chin hasn't gone the way of Liddell. Another thing, whenever I watch Bisping fight I'm always on edge. I keep thinking "If he gets hit, he's going down." (the Jardine syndrome).
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Can a fighter get cut from having a draw, especially a bad one? I thought both Kongo and Brown looked terrible. Brown gassed early in the first round. That's just sad. And Kongo had to resort to dirty tactics and LnP to beat a gassed fighter. Sure, it's EASY to takedown a gassed fighter, but, man... Kongo, you know kickboxing. USE IT.
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Here is an article entitled:

A Bad Night for British MMA: UFC 120 Delivers, Fighters Don't

 

By Jonathan Snowden

 

 

Michael Bisping saved the show for the live crowd, but make no mistake - tonight was a bad night for British MMA. The nation's top three martial artists competed this evening and one thing was abundantly clear - we may have to wait for the next generation of British fighters to finally crown an English UFC champion.

 

...

 

Welterweight Dan Hardy seemed poised to succeed Bisping as the king of the Brits. An interesting and colorful character outside the cage, Hardy was elevated quickly into a title match with Georges St. Pierre. He was outmatched against the champion, but being in the main event at all seemed to solidify his status as something special. That's going to change after a thunderous Carlos Condit left hook ended his night in a hurry.

 

...

 

While Hardy and Bisping are the "now" fighters in England, John Hathaway was supposed to be the future. An upset win over Diego Sanchez had many proclaiming the young Brit to be a future champion. I was at that fight and saw it differently. I saw a Diego Sanchez who looked disinterested and out of shape. Hathaway didn't wow me - he just took what Diego offered on a silver platter. After, it was confirmed to me that Sanchez had some issues. He's back at Greg Jackson's gym now and looking to put things back together.

 

...

 

There were some bright spots for Brits coming out of the card. More than 17,000 fans came out to see the fights. Prospect Paul Sass remained undefeated and took home submission of the night. And we all got to hear Akiyama's wondrous theme music class up the joint just a little. It was a good night of fights for the fans in the U.K. It just wasn't a good night for the U.K fighters.

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I love the fighting spirit of Akiyama, but he should veer away from the "Mr. Dumpling" defensive strategy. And anyone who knows what crappy mid-90s Jonathan Brandis movie I'm referencing is automatically my new best friend.

 

Not being British, I rather enjoyed the Condit KO. For a free card, I felt the show was solid. Any time I get my fiancee to watch with me, that's a decent indicator that there's enough action on the show.

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Akiyama always looks bad defensively. He's got big power because he fights extremely flat footed (this is also why he never checks leg kicks.) His chin is usually enough to withstand the strikes he takes as a result (except in some cases.)

 

The most mind boggling thing about the fight was that he never tried to Judo Bisping even once, or to exploit his -4 racial deficiency to big right hands after the first one he landed.

 

Is this where people finally understand that Greg Jackson is a bad game planner and that GSP isn't his product at all?

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Kongo vs. Browne is messed up. Does the UK really only use two judges? Did no one stop to think "hey we might need a tie breaker", is it that way for boxing as well over there since most places just use local boxing judges? I've never been a believer in Kongo and I dont really see how the judge had him winning that fight. He didn't land anything on Browne except for severely messing up his left leg. However Browne wasnt much better after round 1 which I was amazed he didnt go in and KO him. I dont think he gassed so much like someone said but rather it was his leg. Had a feeling Kongo would lose after the way he talked about Browne in his prefight interview. Also loved how they said his Buentello win was impressive when that was a sad win as well.

 

Hathaway dissapointed all, Pyle was really strong. Dissapointed he didnt finish in the second though.

 

Hardy and Condit, I know there are a lot of UK'ers on here so I am prepared for the hate but can we all please just step back and realize how over rated Hardy is and that he is not a top WW? I was a fan of his when he first started fighting for the UFC and was curious to see him grow then they just kicked on the hype machine and threw him into the title fight and haven't liked him since. Being charismatic while Buffer introduces doesn't make you a top fighter, especially when you've never beat a top 10 fighter.Can we also stop talking about him being a one hit KO artist as Rogan kept saying as he now only has 1 KO in his 6 UFC fights? Sure he has a lot of other KO's but that wasn't in the UFC and if he really is such a dangerous striker why has the power only come out once? Good KO highlight reel for Condit even though I don't have a whole lot of faith in him becoming champion.

 

Bisping clearly out struck Akiyama, I really do think the game plan was to use his judo but after Akiyama clipped him early on he just went into "I'm gonna KO him with my right" mode. And it looked really bad to me. He pretty much abandoned all combos or anything else and just started throwing the right out. He caught numerous kicks from Bisping only to try to throw that right instead of taking him down. Bisping was able to duck in and out quite easily and avoid most shots so good for him for getting a win. We'll see where Bisping goes from here and if he finally starts competing in the top 10, a Silva rematch might seem pleasing to him and another good brawl but I dont see it really helping him rise the ladder. Maybe Marquard/Okami loser or the winner if they arent getting the title shot like speculated.

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Some stuff from the Fan Expo you guys might be interested in, as relayed by yours truly...

 

Lorenzo confirmed that the UFC would be making it’s way to the UK, and away from the US, far more often – he mentioned the possibility of true UFC Fight Night cards being held from the UK in smaller arenas along with the bigger numbered events. When quizzed on locations, markets they were looking to visit included Liverpool and Scotland, and not Wales, with a return to Ireland very likely in the near future. This brought a charming visitor from Holland to ask whether the UFC was looking to make any further moves into mainland Europe – to which Fertitta also answered positively – there are no concrete plans at this time, but the long term plans for shows in Holland, Italy and Spain.

 

A brief interlude saw questions posed as to if the UFC would make the jump to PPV in the UK. Lorenzo answered non-committally, stating that there was a ‘year, year and a half’ left on the contract with ESPN, and they’d see where to go from there.

 

Finally, tantalisingly, in answer to a question on whether Britain would see the WEC on TV in the near future, Lorenzo stated ‘January. You’ll see those fighters in January.’ When pushed as to whether live shows would also make their way to England, he restated ‘You’ll see the fighters from January’.

 

All from http://www.total-mma.com/2010/10/17/jacobs-notes-from-the-ufc-fan-expo-in-london-fertitta-on-womens-division-a-return-to-brazil-and-more/#more-821 - head over there for more stuff including opinions on a potential women's division, UFC Champions in the UK and MMA as an Olympic sport.

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Some stuff from the Fan Expo you guys might be interested in, as relayed by yours truly...

 

Lorenzo confirmed that the UFC would be making it’s way to the UK, and away from the US, far more often – he mentioned the possibility of true UFC Fight Night cards being held from the UK in smaller arenas along with the bigger numbered events. When quizzed on locations, markets they were looking to visit included Liverpool and Scotland, and not Wales, with a return to Ireland very likely in the near future. This brought a charming visitor from Holland to ask whether the UFC was looking to make any further moves into mainland Europe – to which Fertitta also answered positively – there are no concrete plans at this time, but the long term plans for shows in Holland, Italy and Spain.

 

A brief interlude saw questions posed as to if the UFC would make the jump to PPV in the UK. Lorenzo answered non-committally, stating that there was a ‘year, year and a half’ left on the contract with ESPN, and they’d see where to go from there.

 

Finally, tantalisingly, in answer to a question on whether Britain would see the WEC on TV in the near future, Lorenzo stated ‘January. You’ll see those fighters in January.’ When pushed as to whether live shows would also make their way to England, he restated ‘You’ll see the fighters from January’.

 

All from http://www.total-mma.com/2010/10/17/jacobs-notes-from-the-ufc-fan-expo-in-london-fertitta-on-womens-division-a-return-to-brazil-and-more/#more-821 - head over there for more stuff including opinions on a potential women's division, UFC Champions in the UK and MMA as an Olympic sport.

 

Great stuff! Would love to see me some WEC on TV.

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Just watched 120. Decent show. Boring early, but picked up at the end.

 

I love Joe Rogan on commentary. I mentioned in the 'American Indy' thread how much I hated the DGUSA commentator for just naming moves with little consideration for story or emotion. Joe Rogan is the polar opposite. He gets excited. He explains the intricacies of the ground game. He tries to figure out gameplans. He makes strikes seem important. He is fantastic. I wish pro wrestling commentators would take a page out of his book.

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Dana has said he thinks Browne won and can't believe it was a draw. That cost me 160 quid as well (had 20 on him, Condit and Bisping). I knew it would be a draw though when they deducted the point. Kongo...what a twat. Would say I hope he gets cut but I will enjoy seeing him get KO'd next time he faces a decent fighter.

 

And Hardy's entrance antics for me make him a top fighter, having never seen him before I couldn't have cared less how the fight went after that as long as it was exciting. I'd say Bruce Buffer accounts for around 10% of the entertainment I gain from these shows, so getting involved with that really built my opinion of him right off the bat.

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Personally not sure I want to see them all in UFC. Definitely not more than one weight class. I guess they could make a big deal about featherweights, i.e. Aldo, but I'd kind of rather he just came in as a lightweight. I know smaller guys can be more entertaining but there's a point when they're so small that I doubt I'll really care.
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I love Joe Rogan on commentary. I mentioned in the 'American Indy' thread how much I hated the DGUSA commentator for just naming moves with little consideration for story or emotion. Joe Rogan is the polar opposite. He gets excited. He explains the intricacies of the ground game. He tries to figure out gameplans. He makes strikes seem important. He is fantastic. I wish pro wrestling commentators would take a page out of his book.

 

That enthusiasm can be to his detriment sometimes, like in Sherk vs. Dunham when he flipped out over all the guillotines even after Sherk had cleared the legs.

 

Rogan is still the best commentator just because he (usually) knows the set up and proper escapes of submissions. Someone like Schiavello who only knows what the submission looks like keeps YELLING VERY LOUDLY even when it's clear that there's not going to be a tapout - he just has no idea what's happening. Watch him try to figure out what's going on with Aoki's leg locks, it's hilarious.

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