The Official MMA Discussion Thread

[brashleyholland]

For the lolz...

 

One of the guys at Team Gracie (Cecar Gracie's team) has put up a website in a pathetic attempt to drum up support for the Hershal Walker/Jose Canceco fight that as of right now, as many as 84 people want to see.

 

How do I know it's 84? Well they have a link to a petition on the site. They're aiming to present it when it hits 50,000 sigs...so yeah, only 4,916 to go!

 

The other great part is the poll on the front page that asks if you want to see Walker and Canceco fight. Of 1,234 votes cast so far, 763 (62%) have voted "NO WAY!!"

 

Awsome.

 

Here's the site, but you're only allowed to visit it if you promise to vote "NO WAY!!" in the poll and not sign the petition :-D

[brashleyholland]

Massachusetts has approved a temporary mandate for fighters to weigh in not once, but twice before a fight in order to controll harmfull fluctuations in weight.

 

In short, fighters will have to hit the scales twice to make sure they arent putting on 30lbs after the weigh-ins.

 

The methodology is this; fighter weighs in no later than 36 hours before the fight as normal. They then face a second weigh-in before the bout. At the second weigh in, they are allowed to weigh no more than 1.0625 times their innitial weight from the first weigh in.

 

That means a Bantamweight (135lbs) could come in no higher than 143.4lbs, a welterweight (170) would be capped at 180.6 and a light heavyweight (205lbs) would be allowed up to 217.8lbs.

 

Thoughts?

 

Personally I don't like it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not too keen on the 'cut as low as you can' ideology amongst fighters (probably something to do with having done it three times myself), but as with everything in US MMA, unless every state does it, all it will do is put young fighters in Mass. at a disadvantage.

 

Also, I'm sceptical of how much this method actually protects fighters at all. It won't stopp people cutting down, but it will mean that fighters have to maintain something close to that unnatural weight for longer. That means they won't be propperly rehydrated come fight time, which for me is just as dangerous.

[jesterx7769]

I dont like it either, pretty much for the same reasons you mentioned, not regulated across the board, does it really help health, etc. I've read articles on it before and I cant really agree with any of the proposed logic. If they are doing a second weigh in the day of the fight, why not just make the 135 division the 143.4 division? (for example)

 

I think a better way, which of course we dont live in a perfect world, would be to have a National Boxing/MMA commitee (i know i know big dreams) and the doctors would follow workers and their weight loss/gain to see if they are endangering their health since a 1.0625% obviously isnt the same health risk for everyone. If there were doctors actually monitoring workers long term (or even short term) standard percentile walking around weight they could say things like no you shouldnt fight at 170 b/c you weigh 220 two weeks before the fight and that weight cut is unhealthy for you b/c the last three times you needed iv fluids. I think something like that would be better for the actual health of the fighter at hand instead of just throwing out limits that dont apply to the specific fighter.

[jesterx7769]

Figured I'd throw this in here, way to sound like a bad ass (sarcastic) could have left out the violence part (coming from someone who has punched people thousands of times in the head)

 

“It's too violent for me but it's a sport that should be recognized,” Pacquiao said during an ESPN.com chat to promote the bout. “It's a great sport but not the sport for me.”

[brashleyholland]

Figured I'd throw this in here, way to sound like a bad ass (sarcastic) could have left out the violence part (coming from someone who has punched people thousands of times in the head)

 

“It's too violent for me but it's a sport that should be recognized,” Pacquiao said during an ESPN.com chat to promote the bout. “It's a great sport but not the sport for me.”

 

It's a good indicator as to how far away MMA is from being recognised and accepted as a mainstream sport.

 

People are conditioned to seeing boxing; it's been part of the norm for decades, nearly a century. Seeing guys rolling around on the floor, getting their faces and heads split open with elbows and knees...it's savage. People can't stomach it.

[jesterx7769]

def. agree. I just felt he kinda worded it wrong. Do I expect him to say MMA is great and over taking boxing? Hell no that would be stupid of him. but for being such a bad man, and who some argue the best boxer of all time (more titles in diff weight classes than anyone) its funny to hear him sound like a wuss "thats too violent for me i dont want to bleed I have to stay pretty for my singing and congress (is it congress or statesman?) career!" although he is obviously far from a wuss (clearly could kick my ass! and could def. compete in MMA after some basic training), hence the wording it wrong.

[brashleyholland]

def. agree. I just felt he kinda worded it wrong. Do I expect him to say MMA is great and over taking boxing? Hell no that would be stupid of him. but for being such a bad man, and who some argue the best boxer of all time (more titles in diff weight classes than anyone) its funny to hear him sound like a wuss "thats too violent for me i dont want to bleed I have to stay pretty for my singing and congress (is it congress or statesman?) career!" although he is obviously far from a wuss (clearly could kick my ass! and could def. compete in MMA after some basic training), hence the wording it wrong.

 

Lol, it's funny, I know loads of boxers who think MMA is 'too rough' for them. A couple of guys at my local boxing club regularly fight at unlicenced boxing events where it's not uncommon to get headbutted, punched when you're down, etc...When I try and talk MMA to these guys they think it's for animals :-p

[brashleyholland]

Roger Gracie is going to be making his Strikeforce debut on the televised portion of the May 15th Showtime card. Roger was the legit p4p best grappler in the world a couple of years back. He's been taking time off due to the birth of his kid, but is now back at it and ready to commit to MMA full time.

 

Also, this is the best (MMA) GIF ever.

 

http://i28.tinypic.com/2rwm9hz.gif

 

...or maybe this.

 

http://i43.tinypic.com/289bn6u.gif

[Dustin]

Agree about the boxers. They should listen to themselves talk more often then go listen to an MMA fighter with the same amount of fights before saying MMA is too violent.

[Daffanka]

What's that? Why that's some predictions for UFC on Versus!

 

Jon Jones over Vera. If the same Jon Jones who threw around Hammill shows up and Vera remains as motivated and intelligent as he's been in his past seven fights I think that's a lock. One of Jones' slick takedowns from the clinch to set up a GnP victory. Jon Jones by TKO.

 

Junior dos Santos over Gonzaga. If JDS' wrestling and ground game are up to par he's going to mess Gonzaga up. If they're awful and Gonzaga actually tries for the takedown I can see a sub victory. Still going with dos Santos by knockout.

 

Cheick Kongo over Buentello. No idea how Buentello is supposed to win this.

 

James Irvin over Alessio Sakara. Thanks UFC this is a fight I wanted to see.

[brashleyholland]

What's that? Why that's some predictions for UFC on Versus!

 

Jon Jones over Vera. If the same Jon Jones who threw around Hammill shows up and Vera remains as motivated and intelligent as he's been in his past seven fights I think that's a lock. One of Jones' slick takedowns from the clinch to set up a GnP victory. Jon Jones by TKO.

 

Absolutely. If Vera tries the clinch he's going to get rag-dolled. If he tries to pick him off with leg kicks Jones is going to blast him with a straight right down the pipe and swarm him in a corner.

 

Junior dos Santos over Gonzaga. If JDS' wrestling and ground game are up to par he's going to mess Gonzaga up. If they're awful and Gonzaga actually tries for the takedown I can see a sub victory. Still going with dos Santos by knockout.

 

Agree again. Gonzaga's BJJ is insane, but he's always going after a stand up fight. I don't even think that JDS will need to use his wrestling to keep it on the feet. Gonzaga will oblige him and get knocked out for his trouble.

 

Cheick Kongo over Buentello. No idea how Buentello is supposed to win this.

 

Can you keep a secret? Kongo has only trained for two weeks for this fight. Gassed HARD in the first round of sparring at the Wolfslair. Still, I don't see him needing the gas tank for this one. I'm thinking that he cracks Buentello hard and early, before finishing him with some of that sick G'n'P.

 

James Irvin over Alessio Sakara. Thanks UFC this is a fight I wanted to see.

 

The only one I'm going to disagree on. Both guys are chinny, but Irvin is coming off two serious knee injuries, a near 20-month lay-off AND cutting to 185 for the first time. I think Sakara makes it three in a row.

 

Man...the UFC have really gone out of their way to get some 'guaranteed excitement' style fights on the main card of this one..

[MrSelfDestruct]

Roger Gracie is going to be making his Strikeforce debut on the televised portion of the May 15th Showtime card. Roger was the legit p4p best grappler in the world a couple of years back. He's been taking time off due to the birth of his kid, but is now back at it and ready to commit to MMA full time.

 

Also, this is the best (MMA) GIF ever.

 

http://i28.tinypic.com/2rwm9hz.gif

 

...or maybe this.

 

http://i43.tinypic.com/289bn6u.gif

 

what the eff, why is he beating on girls?

[brashleyholland]

what the eff, why is he beating on girls?

 

She hit him first!

 

Lol, the chick in the top GIF is from a Dutch show...she did all sorts of stuff during a 'hands on' interview with him...she got him to hit her in the stomach and choke her out a couple of different ways as well. Talk about suffering for your craft. That said, the same woman spent some time in a window in Amsterdam's Red Light District as part of a report on the 'oldest profession in the world'...so I imagine being play-tapped by AA is no big deal!!

 

The little girl is called Larizza, she was part of a kickboxing class that Overeem dropped in on. The first time he kicked the pad she laughed at him and told him to do it properly

[Daffanka]

The only one I'm going to disagree on. Both guys are chinny, but Irvin is coming off two serious knee injuries, a near 20-month lay-off AND cutting to 185 for the first time. I think Sakara makes it three in a row.

 

Man...the UFC have really gone out of their way to get some 'guaranteed excitement' style fights on the main card of this one..

 

... wow, yeah, Irvin's last fight was when he got smoked by Anderson in that ridiculously cool way.

 

And the last two undercard fights are Matyushenko and Guida. They'll probably want a guaranteed knockout to warm up the crowd.

 

I actually like Kongo('s accent) so I'm a bit worried though.

[jesterx7769]

It's actually a REALLY solid card, it just lacks that big star appeal main event to be a PPV but I would love to be there.

 

I agree on all the picks, BH has a point about Irvin but I loved that knee that dropped fat Martin so I'm a fan,if he is actually healthy his injuries shouldn't be a problem of course but most guys seem to rush back then a few fights later admit they weren't 100%

 

Matyushenko and Guida are def. good and I hope they make it on TV. Guida isn't a KO artist though so I dont know about the KO part which could hurt the fight from being on TV. I actually met his brother (yes that one) at a bar/restaurant outside Chicago where I guess Clay is also known to have gone to for the fights before.

 

I will also be pulling for Ludwig, Howard, and Schaub, this is probably one of the best prelims I have seen in a long time from the UFC IMO, 111 also has a very solid prelim (including the Spike bouts)

[Daffanka]

Don't get me wrong I like both Guida and Matyushenko but the only way that could be a worse undercard to get the crowd going for the televised part is if they stuck an Okami fight in there right before the main card (I love Okami but he's not really a crowd pleaser, is he?)

[brashleyholland]

It's actually a REALLY solid card, it just lacks that big star appeal main event to be a PPV but I would love to be there.

 

I agree on all the picks, BH has a point about Irvin but I loved that knee that dropped fat Martin so I'm a fan,if he is actually healthy his injuries shouldn't be a problem of course but most guys seem to rush back then a few fights later admit they weren't 100%

 

Matyushenko and Guida are def. good and I hope they make it on TV. Guida isn't a KO artist though so I dont know about the KO part which could hurt the fight from being on TV. I actually met his brother (yes that one) at a bar/restaurant outside Chicago where I guess Clay is also known to have gone to for the fights before.

 

I will also be pulling for Ludwig, Howard, and Schaub, this is probably one of the best prelims I have seen in a long time from the UFC IMO, 111 also has a very solid prelim (including the Spike bouts)

 

To be honest, I'm looking forward to this card more than I was UFC 108 and 109, Couture-Coleman aside.

 

I knew there was something else I'd forgot about Irvin as well...he's also coming of a methadone addiction. Yikes. He seemed like a broken man in a recent interview I saw...so who knows where his head is. Hopefully he can come through it all, because at the end of the day he's a great fighter to watch.

 

I love watching Guida; but Matyushenko's been too much of a snoozer lately. It's crazy to think that a guy in his prime 7 years ago is still competitive at some level though, and he makes a good gatekeeper.

 

I'm guessing they'd love to get Schaub on the card, I see a lot of promise in him and Joe Silva has a serious man-crush on the guy.

 

I'm proud to say that Duane Ludwig kicked the bejeezus out of me at a seminar in Amsterdam a few years back. Aside from turning my legs purple, I've never been punched so hard by a guy so small. Always pulling for that guy.

[brashleyholland]

<p>Duane Ludwig just snapped his ankle really badly in the 1st round. Tried to brace after a double leg and his ankle snapped underneath him. Possibly a career ender, depending on how bad the break is. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p>

On the plus side, couple of short, exciting prelims that we should get to see on the main broadcast, time allowing!</p><p> </p><p>

EDIT: To save repeated posts :-p </p><p> </p><p>

-Absolutely top notch call from Josh Rosenthal in the first fight. I had nightmares of Irvin being allowed time to recover and coming back to win the fight. Not sure if instant replay was used, but it was 100% a punch that landed. Irvin looked shocking at the weigh-ins and didn't look like he wanted to fight all that much on the night.</p><p> </p><p>

- Kongo-Buentello wasn't great...Cheick stuck to the gameplan well and didn't get drawn into a brawl on the feet. His rolling defence looked really good in the couple of exchanges near the fence; it's becoming a real trademark of the Wolfslair guys. </p><p> </p><p>

Thoughts on the show so far: It's turning into a real stinker of a début on Versus. When you put brawlers together you take a chance. 75% of the time you'll get the slugfest you want, but there's always the chance you'll get one of the guys taking the methodical and logical route to win...exactly what we saw from Kongo. </p><p> </p><p>

Also (and this isn't the UFC's) fault; the first two fights have been VERY stop and start with injuries, illegal moves etc, along with two very anti-climatic finishes. Certainly not what the UFC expected when matching up two heavyweight brawlers and two chinny strikers. </p><p> </p><p>

Ah well, JDS vs Gonzaga is about to start; hopefully business will pick up!! <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p>

...and how! Dos Santos looked great again. I really, really hope that the winner of Carwin/Mir is fit to face Brock, because I want to see JDS vs Cain Velasquez more than any other fight right now.</p>

[Daffanka]

<p>Agreeing on all points basically. Bones looked good with the takedown and I think that elbow crushed Vera's orbital bone. If it hadn't ended like that we might've seen a submission from Vera.</p><p> </p><p>

Dos Santos' striking is really, really good. He always takes a few minutes in each fight to get the distance and then delivers one of those shots. Wanted Gonzaga to really test Dos Santos' wrestling before Cain but I'll take what I can get. That fight is going to be really good.</p><p> </p><p>

JDS and Bones saved the card. Far as injuries go this was almost on par with UFC: Fight for the troops.</p>

[jesterx7769]

<p>cant wait to see a picture of Vera's eye/head. At the end of the fight before the official decision he had a massive lump poppin out so wanna see what actually is goin on there.</p><p> </p><p>

JDS def strong performance as everyone keeps saying, Gonzaga isn't really impressive as the only thing he seems to have going is the Cro Cop KO. Has the same problem as Gurgel wanting to stand and KO people out, look where that got him.</p><p> </p><p>

Was Howard the only prelim shown or did I miss one? If that was the only one I am shocked they showed that one instead of hyping Schaub.</p>

[brashleyholland]

cant wait to see a picture of Vera's eye/head. At the end of the fight before the official decision he had a massive lump poppin out so wanna see what actually is goin on there.

 

JDS def strong performance as everyone keeps saying, Gonzaga isn't really impressive as the only thing he seems to have going is the Cro Cop KO. Has the same problem as Gurgel wanting to stand and KO people out, look where that got him.

 

Was Howard the only prelim shown or did I miss one? If that was the only one I am shocked they showed that one instead of hyping Schaub.

 

On the UK broadcast we only got the Howard prelim; I'm pretty sure that the US one was the same. I don't know how it was on Versus, but on ESPN in the UK the number of commercials was absolutely mind boggling. Bare in mind that in the UK we're only used to one commercial break per half hour...I counted two in the first 13 mins; before the first fight had even started. Usually ESPN are great with only minimal commercial breaks - so I don't know if it was just a case of a lot of commercial time on the US broadcast.

 

But yeah, you'd think they'd have managed 47 seconds to squeeze in the Schaub fight.

 

Just watching DREAM 13...decent opener with Escovedo scoring a big head kick KO and a plodding but watch-able back and fourth effort between Andrews Nakahara and Ryo Chonan. Which as I type this turned into an all-out slugfest!

 

Looking forward to the main event and seeing if Josh Barnett can submit Mighty Mo quicker than the time it takes me to type out "Winner: Barnett, Submission, 1st Round"

[jesterx7769]

Ha ha ha at the post fight revenge crotch strike at the 2:30 mark

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WX3zaMkMA0

 

Wonder if Mo was remotley in fighting shape after coming back from his crotch taking the kick since it said DREAM officials were urging him to continue.

[brashleyholland]

 

Wonder if Mo was remotley in fighting shape after coming back from his crotch taking the kick since it said DREAM officials were urging him to continue.

 

He didn't look in any fit state to continue. There were 12 guys in the ring at one point, including Tanigawa (FEG's Dana White) all hassling him to continue, even though he was repeatedly saying "I can't fight like this". Pretty disgraceful, but then Barnett can't have come cheap and there's nothing like geting you're money's worth! :-p

[brashleyholland]

If anyone was confused as to why they didn't show the great Clay Guida/Shannon Gugerty fight or the quick Schaub/Gormley KO on Versus, it turns out that they are showing a special UFC Unleashed in the US on Wednesday night on Spike. Those two fights will feature, as well as Jeremy Stephens vs Justin Buchholz from last September and the very entertaining Paul Kelly vs Dennis Siver fight from the UFC 105 prelims. It's the first time that any of these fights have been shown on TV.

[jesterx7769]

Yeah saw that and while it stinks we didnt get to see them during the actual show I really like the idea of putting a shows prelims as a new Unleashed the following week.