Sebowski

Crop Cop can have great fights with: Tim Sylvia Brandon Vera Big Nog Thats a year worth of fights I really want to see right there. Especially the Sylvia fight, but especially the Vera fight.

That fight was in California. They don't release the drug test info like Nevada does. It is public record, but they don't send out press releases. Obviously the UFC knew, but you can't expect them to volunteer that info.

The goal is is to unify the rules. That is the priority, and it makes sense. Dana White is on record as saying he likes knees on the ground. However he and the UFC are bound by whatever the Nevada Athletic State Commission asks, and they don;t like knees on the ground because they are a boxing association that does MMA on the side and they don't know what they are doing. Until these athletic commissions start getting educated on MMA there won't be knees to the head in the US which means that in order to maintain a consistency in rules, Pride can't allow them either. It sucks, but I think it will eventually change. Just a pet peeve of mine: It is an AP report, not an ESPN report. They are just putting it on their site (which is good news).

Sale is official. Looks like the rules will be unified to match the UFC (NSAC approved) rules, but everything else will stay the same. Pride will keep their ring and their scoring system when fighting in Japan.

Looks like this is going to happen! Sherdog: PRIDE CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara informed staff inside the Japanese promoter's Los Angeles office Wednesday that he was stepping down as part of an agreement to sell the company to Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who own the UFC. According to a report by Dave Meltzer at wrestlingobserver.com, Sakakibara suggested only minor points separate the deal, which Sherdog.com first rumored on Monday, from reaching its conclusion. No contract has been signed, the report said. While Sakakibara appears to be leaving a company he's been a part of since its inception in 1997, the man who stepped in as PRIDE CEO after Naoto Mori****a committed suicide told his staff that the company would remain intact and autonomous from the UFC, but that hurdles no longer remain between UFC versus PRIDE cards, Meltzer reported. ----------- This is unbelievable news and I am very excited. Heavyweight implications: Hopefully this does not soil a Fedor Barnett fight that I have been waiting a long time for. Love to see Nog-Randy Love to see Hunt-Sylvia. Both Super Heavywieghts. Tim wouldn;t have to worry about cutting weight. Love to see Sylvia got killed by Barnett and Nog. Aleks-Arlovski would be great. Light Heavyweights: Chuck vs any of these guys: Shogun, Silva, Henderson, Arona Middleweights: Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin against: Kang, Filhio, Baroni Edit: This is also great news for Pride GP fans. The talent pool for thise tournaments just doubled

looks like Liddell-Rampage is on!!! http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=7015 May 16th. If anyone hasn;t seen their last fight (Chuck's last loss) here it is: Edited with English commentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoMzRLGukxA Full fight in Japanese http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/liddell%2Brampage/video/x68cu_chuck-liddell-vs-quinton-jackson I think it will be a good fight, but I have Chuck winning by KO. He is just too good right now. The only guy I see beating him is Shogun.

I don't know. I have the Arlovski fight pretty even. Werdum is very good. Forrest is going to lose to Machida. Machida has beaten Bonar, Franklin, and Penn. He is also undefeated. Bisping and Cro Cop have easy ones. After Forrest losses to Machida I don;t know what is next for him. Maybe he can cut to 185? He doesn't look bigger than Franklin.

No problem. One of the better interviews with a fighter I have seen, and it was conducted by fans. This is one sport where the fans no more than the media at this point, though I no most of us know more abot football than some of those ESPN and SI guys too. :soapbox: How They keep Monk out of the...... I'll save that for another thread. Here is a really good interview with Dana "its good to be" White. He talks about Pride, Vera, Tito, TV deals, ect... I like White. He never backs down from questions. http://cbs.sportsline.com/boxing/story/10050453 One highlight of the interview: Q: What's the latest with HBO, and will UFC 70 be televised on HBO or PPV? DW: I don't have the deal done yet, but UFC 70 will be on free television. It's going to be a free TV deal for the fans here in the U.S. Q: Is it going to be on Spike? DW: Let's see, yup. I'm the one that's always chirping about how all these guys that destroyed boxing. Everything was f------ you've got to pay for this, you've got to pay for that. I don't like to make the fans pay for every fight we have. I like to have a lot of good fights for free, and this is a great fight that we'd be giving to the fans for free. Q: Is UFC 70 definitely going to be on Spike, or might it be on a different network? DW: It's probably going to be on Spike. :point2sky BTW, here is the card for UFC 70 so far: -Mirko Cro Cop (#2 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Gabriel Gonzaga -Andrei Arlovski (#7 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Fabricio Werdum (#8 Heavyweight in the World)* -Ryoto Machida vs. Forrest Griffin -Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic -Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo -Dennis Siver vs. Jess Liaudin -Alessio Sakara vs. Victor Valimaki -David Lee vs. TBA :point2sky :point2sky :point2sky :point2sky

ESPN did an excellent chat with Coutre. You have to be an insider so I'll post th whole thing even though it is long. Maybe I'll edit it out in a week or so. Complete ESPN Chat Transcript with Randy Couture Christina, NY: Congratulations! The fight was incredible. How much of an impact do you think Tim's supposed "injury" made on his fight, if any? And how do you feel about him making a remark like that? Randy Couture: (1:38 PM ET ) Well I don't know anything about his injury, and I don't know about any athlete who doesn't always have to deal with injuries. I think it was hard for Tim, and I don't think he helped himself with the fans with what looked like an excuse. Dan- Omaha, NE: In your opinion who would be a tougher opponent Mirko CroCop or Fedor? Randy Couture: (1:38 PM ET ) Both are very tough, Fedor is a much more well-rounded fighter so he would be a tougher fight. Eric (Charlotte): Randy, how do you continue to stay in such great shape? What is your eating/training routine that allows you to continue to beat guys younger than you? Randy Couture: (1:40 PM ET ) I think I have been very fortunate as far as not getting major injuries. I don't know if there is any explanation . As far as diet I stay away from dairy and eat a lot of raw greens. Diego, CA: Do you think the UFC has more talent than Pride FC at this moment now? Randy Couture: (1:41 PM ET ) Well it is hard top say. Everyone is asking this question. And it is a little bit like comparing the NFL and CFL so it is hard to estimate. We won't be able to tell until we get some crossovers, but there are great fighters on both sides. Christian - Los Angeles: Hey Champ, I understand you signed a 4 fight deal with UFC. Will you call it quits after the deal is played out or are you leaning towards signing another deal? And on the scoring of the fight...Why wasn't the first round considered a 10 - 8 round after you landed the big right hand and knocked Sylvia down to start the onslaught? Thanks Randy, that was one sweet PPV special. WOW! Randy Couture: (1:43 PM ET ) I don't know , it is way too early to make that call right now. I may not even finish all four fights I have on the contract right now. As far a the 10-8, I think there was a case there, but it is different from boxing so there is room for debate there, but it is hard to say what the judges think. Scott Edmonotn Alberta: Why is there no talk of a rematch with Tim Sylvia? Randy Couture: (1:44 PM ET ) Well the fight just happened, and it was a dominating performance, so I think Tim would have to go fight someone else and reach contender status again. Chuck (Burbank, IL): Do you ever think you'll move down a class again to challenge Liddell for a fourth time? Randy Couture: (1:45 PM ET ) I mean it is more likely that Chuck will move up to heavyweight to challenge me and I am not opposed to it as long as people want to see it. Matt Roswell NM: What is the most difficult part of your training? Great win Sat night against the Maineiac..... Randy Couture: (1:46 PM ET ) Thank you very much Matt. I don't know what is harder, because all of it is hard. But you get used to it, and I actually love it. The hardest part I guess was having to go up against all those heavyweights at the start of training who came into to help me prepare for this fight. dave - Montreal : tito is fighting UFC president dana white in a boxing match, would you also love the opportunity to punch dana white ? Randy Couture: (1:47 PM ET ) No I am not really interested in fighting Dana. I think this whole thing stems from a rumor that Dana and Tito had boxed and Dana had beat Tito, so I think this is a chance for Tito to set the record straight. I think it is pretty interesting I hope I get the chance to attend. JAMES NY: hey randy big fan. just wondering which fight was a more satisfying win for you...beating tito for the lightheavy belt or this win against sylvia to regain the heavyweight belt? Randy Couture: (1:49 PM ET ) well both were very satisfying. Obviously Tito with the persona that he has and the whole spanking thing, was definetaly one of the top performqances of my life. But this was special too, being a three to one underdog and coming back and all. David Kuepper : Long Beach, CA: You said that at your age, everytime you come into a bout now you're looked at as an underdog. Does it bother you and does if fuel you more mentally than if you weren't looked at as an underdog? Randy Couture: (1:50 PM ET ) It does not bother me at all. I have come to expect it at this point. So this situation is no different, and I seem to thrive in that underdog spot. Pete Nelson (Irvine, CA.): First off congratulations on Saturday's win. Simply amazing. During your fight with Tim you wore a black knee protector, with your stance leaving your left leg as your lead. How will you change that style against Mirko Cro Cop, since he will undoubtedly be kicking more to your legs than Tim did? Randy Couture: (1:52 PM ET ) Well I wore the knee protector because I have a very sore left knee, I'm not sure if anything is torn or sprained. I won't change my stance for CroCop, but I will change my footwork. It will be interesting to see how this plays out since he knows I have good take down skills, and if he will be willing to pick his feet up. Samantha (Cobourg, ON, Canada): What made you want to come out of retirement and go straight for the championship? Randy Couture: (1:53 PM ET ) It wasn't so much about the championship as much as it was the match-up. The championship was somethign extra. I liked the match-up with Tim, and thought it was an interesting challenge and that is what it came down to. bill simmons (IL): Let's say you're in charge of the fight card. What two fighters would be in your main event? Who would win? Randy Couture: (1:55 PM ET ) Well I think the thing that makes our events interesting is you are not sure who would win. I don't know who I would pick, or what weight class, there are a lot of great fighters out there...that is a tough question. I can't really say right now. Ty Demaree Versailles, Indiana: Randy, I know you were in great shape for your comeback fight against Tim silvia, How can you compare the training now, in comparison to when you were, say, 25 years old? Is it alot harder to get into fighting shape at your current age? thanks. Randy Couture: (1:57 PM ET ) Well it was this time because I had been out for a year, not that I was not doing anything, but I usually keep my fitness regiment pretty high so it is not too hard. But at 43 I am afraid that if I stopped training it could be a big problem. It also helps being a little older in that I am wiser. Nathan Chatsworth, Georgia: Randy, Fedor says you are his hero, is there any chance that Fedor and yourself will ever face off? I know the fans would love to see that. Randy Couture: (1:58 PM ET ) I don't know if that will ever happen, since he has a contract with Pride, and that would keep him from coming to UFC. But I am pretty excited to see him fight in April. Jeremy R Ohio: Randy - First off its great to see ESPN finally begin to recognize the UFC. I've always said that the UFC could take over boxing as American's new "sweet science." Also congrats on the title, I was there and loved it! Onto my question, are you worried at all that this stint as champ may be shorter than your other reigns considering that this one was won after you had retired? In other words, do you think you will be able to remain as focused as you were for the Sylvia match (total butt kicking) for the rest of your upcoming Title Defenses? Randy Couture: (2:00 PM ET ) I treat every fight the same, so I don't think my mental preparation will change. Mark (Des Moines, IA): First of all, congrats on a great performance! I really enjoy you as a commentator, will you be commentating again? Randy Couture: (2:01 PM ET ) Yes, as long as I am not fighting on the card I will be commentating, so I will be commentating in Houston and all the other PPV I am not in, and Thanks! Mark ((New Brunswick, NJ)): Do you think Matt Lindland has a chance to beat Fedor? I think it's awesome that you, Matt, and Dan Henderson all are having great success moving up in weight. Greco guys! Randy Couture: (2:02 PM ET ) Well I absolutely think Matt has a chance. So people may count him out, but not me. He is a junk yard dog and has no fear. He brings it everytime he fights. Randy Couture: (2:05 PM ET ) That is all the time I have for today. But thank you for all your support and I look forward to getting back into the Octagon this summer.

:applause: Not to mention fighters that have been found guilty of other crimes. Lee Murray just got a jail sentence for robbery, but it has nothing to do with fighting, so he won't be suspended or fined for it from an MMA standpoint. Marijuana has zero to do with MMA. Funny that an athlete (fighter or football player) can can take Novocaine or Vicodin to null a pain so they can perform, but they can't smoke weed after practice.

Cro Cop has never been pinned against a cage before. Randy will pin him against the cage at some point. Cro Cop better be training for a clinch against the cage, and be ready for elbows. Two things he is not used to. I still see Cro Cop knocking Randy out, but Randy can win that fight if he can use the cage to his advantage and take Cro Cop down.

Watching it online. Do you guys want updates?

UFC 68 card with odds, picks, and link to sherdog's review: Matt Hamill -274 Rex Holman +244 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6861&my_page=4 -I'm not a fan of Hamill and hope he losses. I don;t know Holman at al. Sherdog says he is 4-1, has a wrestling background and has stopped 3 opponents with strikes. That, and the odds tell me he has a shot to beat Hamill. Gleison Tibau -247 Jason Dent +227 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6861&my_page=3 -Tibau is 19 years old, and 11-4 in MMA. That is nuts. Most even fight of the night odds-wise. Jamie Varner -378 Jason Gilliam +338 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6861&my_page=2 -Don't know much about either fighter. Varner did alright against Hermes Franca, and Dent is undefeated. Should could be a good fight. Jon Fitch -321 Luigi Fioravanti +291 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6861&my_page=5 Fitch is the most underrated 170 fighter in the UFC. He hasn't lost since 2002Expect to see him on the main cards after he destroys Luigi. Martin Kampmann -260 Drew McFedries +240 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6871&my_page=2 This should be a stand-up war. I think Kampmann's Muai Thai will be too much. Renato Sobral -437 Jason Lambert +397 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6871&my_page=3 Babalu is back! And it is about time. Babalu is great fighter who has been the victim of two highlight reel KO's by Chuck Lidell. Other than Liddell, Babalu has beaten everyone he has faced since January 2002 with wins over Hron and Shogun. Tito talked mad smack about him being overreated ater the last Chuck fight. I am hoping the UFC hasn't told Ortiz his next opponent yet because they are waiting to see how this fight turns out. If Babalu wins he should get Tito. Lambert is a decent fighter, but he will be no match for Babalu. Rich Franklin -404 Jason MacDonald +374 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6871&my_page=4 Franklin's comeback fight in his hometown. Anderson Silva made Rich Franklin look as bad Nate Quarry looked against Franklin. But Rich Franklin is no Nate Quarry. This guy was unstoppable until the UFC signed Silva. I like MacDonald, but I seee Franklin making a statement here. Matt Hughes -626 Chris Lytle +576 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6871&my_page=5 Fight is a joke. With so many talented 170lb fighters, and Hughes talking retirement(hasn't since the loss to GSP though) the UFC is really wasting Hughes here Tim Sylvia -275 Randy Couture +255 http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=6871&my_page=6 I think Coutre is a very smart fighter and didn't come out of retirement unless he thought he could really exploit Tim. I think Randy will make the fight very interesting. I don;t expect a boring fight. I don't like Sylvia, but I love the idea of Cro-Cop vs. Sylvia. That has me leaning a little toward wanting Sylvia to win (although even with a loss the matchup would likely happen sooner or later). I'm on the fence with who I really think is going to win. For the record I'll go ahead and pick Randy.

Well, for one more fight anyway. It looks like Vera is gone after his next fight, the last on his deal. He has already turned down a contract extension that included a title fight. Unfortunately, I fear he is headed to one of the lower orgs that will pay him what he is looking for, i.e. Elite XC. Pride doesn't have a 170 division. You are right that the UFC 170 group is the best thing going in MMA right now. I just wish they would showcase them more. Hughes-Lytle is a complete joke. Karo needs to be on more main cards. He always makes a fight exciting. It makes me wonder if he is being punished for backing out of the Hughes fight because he was injured. How awesome would a UFC welterweight GP be? Too bad Dana is completely soured on any type of tournament format.

I think you mean Marc Coleman. I believe Shogun still wants the rematch, but I don't see th point. Coleman is done. Baroni-Silva would be great. Silva would knock his block off. But Baroni is fighting for Strikeforce next, and Dana said that if he beats Frank Shamrock in that fight He would be invited to the UFC.

There is an interview with Silva up on sherdog. Near the end Silva says it is Shogun's time to make a run for the title. He is very humble in the interview. The other main points were: He thinks he'll be fighting for 5 more years, but you never know. He would like a rematch, but will fight anyone Pride wants him to. It is his job. They asked him if his strep throat was a factor in the loss; he said it wasn't. Silva is still very young at 30. huck and Hendo are in their primes right now at 37. Silva can easily recover from this, and I hope he does. It will probably be too late for a Chuck fight though. Maybe we'll get to see Chuck-Hendo and/or Chuck-Shogun. After Rampage Chuck has nothing left in the UFC to add to his legacy at 205. He needs the likes of Shogun, Arona, and now maybe Hendo to build on his legacy. He gains nothing from beating the Evans', Jardine's, or Bisping's of the UFC.

:troll: Save your federation wars for sherdog.

Anyone watching the Pride fights tonight? I will probably try to watch them on the internet. A lot of mismatches. Silva-Hendo should be great. I hoping Silva wins so he can get back to being dominant so Chuck or Dana don;t have an excuse not to make the fight. Gomi-Diaz should be a war. Both guys like to stand toe-to-toe and bang. They are wasting Lil Nog against a nobody. Trigg-Misaki might be good. I will be pulling for Trigg. And Shogun should roll right through Overeem.

UFC 70 is looking awesome -Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga -Andrei Arlovski vs. Fabricio Werdum -Ryoto Machida vs. Forrest Griffin -Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic -Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo -Dennis Siver vs. Jess Liaudin -Alessio Sakara vs. Victor Valimaki And Tito vs. TBA (maybe Jardine or Evans?) Crop Cop gets one more showcase fight which I do not have a problem with. Arlovski draws Werdum's UFC debut. That might be the fight of the night. Machida-Griffin will be a war. I have Machida staying undefeated here and making his mark on the 205 division. That will make 3 losses in a row for Forrest who will have to work his way back up.

Funny thing about the old school comment that Renzo brought up in an interview: Renzo could have ended the fight anytime he wanted if he was allowed to knee Shammy's head from side control where he was the whole fight.

Doesn't even matter about Lutter. He didn't make weight so the fight won't be for the title

O'Brien is a perfect example of why UFC should steal Pride's yellow card rule. Franca rules. i think he'll beat Sherk. How about Evans Cro-Copping Salmon? That was sick. Here is a good article on UFC going mainstream: http://sports.bostonherald.com/ufc/view.bg?articleid=179549 Best part of article: “Over the next couple of months, you’re going to see us starting to grab up everybody,” White said. “We’re aggressive anyway. But as this thing becomes more successful, we want the power and leverage to take over different parts of the world.” Imagine getting Shogun, Big Nog, Arona, and/or others in the UFC? It would suck for Pride, but what matches do those guys have left over there? Besides, Pride is really dropping the ball lately with their match-making. What does Barnett have to do to get a shot at Fedor? Not that the UFC is always great. Hughes-Lytle is a complete joke with all the welter weights they have.

Like you just said. There are enough to focus on both. One has nothing to do with the other, so how is saying that "they should just focus on fielding a winning team" a fair thing to say in a thread like this? It is a pointless stab, and the reason the thread has strayed away from its' intended topic. If someone attacks, someone will defend. The blame doesn't lie with the defender. I just hope the new uni's are cool.

I could see that happening too, but I think Coutre will win this one. I think he is too smart a fighter to do this if he doesn't really think he can dominate him. He knows who he can beat, and who he can't. I just can't wait for Cro Cop to knock Sylvia's block off.

Me too. Alves showed a lot of promise. He is really young and can bounce back though. Especialy if his suspension is only in Nevada. UFC will be running more and more shows outside of Nevada, so he can still fight for them.