Chachie

My predictions for UFC 77: Hostile Territory

(I do this so everyone else will know to pick the exact opposites)

1. Silva over Franklin- KO 2 (Too much Silva last time.)

2. Vera over Sylvia- Dec. (Randy exposed Tim's ground game.)

3. Petz over Burkman- Dec. (Yawn...)

4. Schafer over Bonnar- Dec. (Stephon is declining steadily.)

So there you have it. My honest appraisals. Bet the other way and you'll be rich.

Drunk Fedor rules.

Wow.

So with Vera fighting Sylvia and Nog fighting Kongo they will probably have the two winners fight for the vacant title.

Looks like Nog will be the next UFC heavyweight champion.

Not Vera? Nog may have beaten Herring but he certainly didn't impress vs. a guy who many think is well beyond his best days. Brandon, however, seems to dominate all comers. I'd like to see this matchup for the vacant title.

They agreed to pay him more than any heavyweight has ever been offered in MMA but they refused to let him fight in his combat Sambo tournaments with his Red Devil team.

Fedor and his camp said that he's doing fine financially and that his participation in combat Sambo is more important to him than big money right now. I'm not sure why UFC are being so stubborn, I guess they don't want him to get hurt but in Sambo they use heavy padding and it's a lot like Judo, where if it's used on the streets someone can get hurt but in tournaments the safety aspect is so great that people do not get injured a lot in it.

If I were Dana White I'd stop being so damn stubborn and sign Fedor. He's one half of possible the biggest selling PPV ever and possibly the most anticipated fight ever, and if you haven't guessed I'm talking about Randy Couture.

Thank you, #53

I'm not a very big "behind the scenes" expert. Can anyone tell me why Fedor would not want to come fight in the UFC?

Did I miss something?

Yeah I saw that post also and wondered, "Should I go back and read the whole thread?

Then it's settled. Anderson Silva is such an overwhelming favorite that he cannot possibly win this fight. :laugh:

Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben was pretty one sided as well :laugh:

Touche, Still.

So do YOU think Rich even has a remote chance?

In response to the recent comments here about Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva:

I'm struggling to remember a more one-sided MMA bout in the last 5 years than Franklin-Silva 1. I actually felt pity for Franklin. I cannot in any way see him faring much better in the upcoming rematch. The only way I can imagine him lasting longer this time is by literally running from Silva for as long as he can. Does anyone here think Franklin can win this fight?

I was happy to see Sanchez get beat again, but I do respect his skills. That was a technically very sound fight. Props to Fitch for his escapes.

Forrest "I ain't that great but I'll fight ANYBODY" Griffin!!! What grit and determination! He's my favorite MMA personality and now I can take him seriously as a contender. He just whipped and choked out a BAD man.

So would anyone like to start the "Jardine vs. Ali" thread? I hope last night's fight put to rest any ideas that Chuck Liddell would beat the Greatest of All Time. Clearly Liddell was suffering from a touch of what Forrest Griffin and Andre Arlovski did after they were KOed. Their first fights coming off those losses they were timid about committing to heavy strikes and I think Chuck was too. By the 3rd round he was too numb and sore from those kicks and befuddled by the fact that he hadn't knocked Keith out.

Fight of the Night had to be Tyson Griffin and Thiago Tavares. What a brilliant chess match. TG is a bull dog.

i wanna pick an upset this weekend but i have no idea where

So true.

I so badly want to see Forrest come through in a shocker but I just don't think he has the technical prowess to beat Rua.

Jardine has a puncher's chance and anything can happen in the octagon, but Chuck's so fast with his strikes, I can't see Keith getting out of the first round.

The most even matchup seems to be Sanchez and Fitch. I'm not a fan of Diego Sanchez. I hope jon Fitch submits him.

quarry only proved he's a better fighter than Sell, their first fight was still a BS stoppage. Quarry most likely would've still won the first fight, but the stoppage was BS nevertheless.

Probably true, as I did see the first one and Sell was trying to get up and defend himself. In the rematch last night, Sell dropped Quarry (in the 1st rd?) with a beautiful shot (just like the punch he took from Nate) and Nate got up as quickly as Pete tried to in their first fight. If I were Pete I'd be pissed that the ref didn't step in then.

GREAT night of fights. The free ones are always better than the PPVs.

Leben vs. Martin was awesome. Chris fought smarter because he found out right away how hard Martin hits. In the 3rd round, Terry had Leben ready to fall with 2 mean shots. All of a sudden, Chris just said "F it, I'm going out swinging." He FLATTENED Terry with a desperation left hook! Hilarious.

Quarry vs. Sell was a very similar stand up brawl and eneded very much the same way. 3rd round, Sell was starting to land a LOT of hard shots. Nate dug in, swung away and dropped Pete like a bag of hammers. Quarry definitely proved the first KO was no bad stoppage. He even invited Pete to get up, just to make sure Sell would have no complaining to do afterword.

nothin special in my opinion. she gets credit because she looks better when compared to her competition :laugh:

my predictions for tonight Ultimate Fight Night Card:

Din Thomas vs. Kenny Florian:

Din Thomas by SD.

Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin:

Terry Martin by 1st Round KO

Nate Diaz vs. Junior Assunaco: Diaz by submission 2nd round.

Pete Sell vs. Nate Quarry: Pete Sell by ref stoppage due to strikes 2nd round

Still-

I respectfully disagree with every one of your predictions except Diaz over Annuncio.

(Keep in mind though that I was a big 0 for 3 on UFC 75. LOL!)

Why stop at calling for a decision when I'm already picking an upset of all upsets? Forrest by KO at 0:20 of round 1.

That's some bold talk, Stroker.

I'm awful at predictions. I went 0-3 on this last card. We're gonna hold you to this one.

I didn't particularly like them on the late 60's-early 70s Redskin teams.

Madden '08 gives this helmet as a uniform option. I don't know how they look in modern day life, but in Madden they look HORRIBLE.

My calls for saturday night:

Hamill over Bisping - "upset" submission

The Count is a real good stand-up fighter. If he does win, it'll be on a kick. Matt is already known to be an amazing grappler with freakish strength but he also has heavy hands. (Bisping seems to not handle the home crowd pressure well. Elvis almost submitted him in London.)

Cro Cop over Kongo - KO

If Mirko doesn't get right after Kongo, he'll regret it. I'm expecting Kongo to surprise us and take this fight to the ground where his size will rule and Cro Cop's kicks won't. I have to believe CC is desperate enough to win this one.

Henderson over Jackson - late KO

Rampage looks unbeatable right now, but in Pride he was indeed beatable. Hendo must overcome the Pride-to-UFC jinx but I think he's all about business.

I have no clue who's going to win any of these fights but I figure we'll have some fun with predictions. Got any?

Jesse Forbes just keeps underachieving. TUF palooka.

Extra choke is NOT COOL..

If someone gets hurt because of something similar down the line it will have nothing to do with Babalu, Penn, Gracie, or anyone else that held on after a tap. It will be strictly the responsibility of the fighter who inflicted the damage.

Babalu does not deserve a fine or suspension.

I suppose it's time to let this issue drop and I am closer to understanding Sebowski's side of this, but.. Does anyone else see the major contradiction in these two statements?

I'm not a "what if", or a slippery slope guy.These fighters know more than you do what it takes to really hurt someone. 2 seconds isn't it.

Wow. They also know better than you what it takes to kill a man.

No disrespect intended, Sebowski. I just feel that this kind of thinking will get a man killed. Apparently Bush and Cheney weren't "what if" or slippery slope guys before 9/11. VERY odd comparison, I concede, but an octagon death could change everything for that sport.

I will give you this- If Renato hadn't openly admitted his intent on the choke while being interviewed in the octagon, this wouldn't be such an issue with everyone. He did though, and now people are taking notice. The "in the heat of the moment" excuse can be handed to Penn or someone else because they didn't reveal their intentions after, but Babalu spilled his beans. I hope a severe crackdown of this type of thing comes into play.

It shouldn't hurt the sport until someone gest hurt because of it.

Um... what? So a guy has to go veggie before Zuffa regulates?

The media and the masses might try to jump all over it, but the fact is that Heath was not hurt. Babalu has been putting on chokes for over ten years in practices and in matches. He held on for 2 seconds after a tap. No big deal.

That ref was tugging on Sobral's arms and hollering to let go for what seemed like a LONG time.

I disagree with those here who say GSP was fighting "timid." I'm sure there was a part of him that didn't want to get caught by an early shot like he did against Serra, so he was being careful. Kos was throwing early haymakers (and then backing off) afterall.

I kept in mind while watching this bout that Josh is not a fighter who likes to get hit. He is actually a very timid fighter while standing. He may have been hard to hit but I certainly did see GSP being timid. His leg kicks were sweet and he fought very similarly to the way he did vs. Hughes, at least while standing.

I almost want a poll on this. Is Randy that good, or was Gonzaga that overrated?

I think it was both. Gonzaga withstood a ferocious Cro-Cop body kick just long enough to get Mirko on the ground. He knew he only had to fight 3 rounds and he was PUMPED. Once he got the elbows on CC's face, that fight was destined to end the way it did but if it had remained a standing fight for the first 5 minutes, Mirko would probably have set him up for something.

BUT- Gonzaga showed some nice handskills last night. Randy was simply in the zone. Gabriel knew the fight was a 5-rounder so he didn't come in looking to end it. Randy did, knowing he had the stamina if he didn't get GG early just like against Sylvia.

(IMHO)

I don't think Couture can beat Felopivic, and I'm sure I'll be called out for it. My personal opinion is that CC trained lazily, and got what he deserved when he fought GG.

I didn't think Randy could possibly win his last two fights. Now I'm baffled.

Couture is a god. :notworthy