#98QBKiller

Fabricio Werdum's striking is catching up with his BJJ and he's one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC right now IMO. There seem to be a few guys with world class BJJ that are reaching a certain proficiency with their striking and they seem to be the guys rising to the top right now. Rafael Dos Anjos is another. Also, Jacare's striking is getting a lot better but if he could get his striking to the same level he could take the title from Weidman pretty easily IMO. 

The UFC is stacking 187:

 

Jones vs. Rumble

Weidman vs. Belfort

Dagestan vs. Cerrone

They also have:

Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski

and

Joseph Benavidez  vs John Moraga 

Very strong card if everyone stays healthy, which I'm obviously not too optimistic about. 

That was a great fight the other night. I like Stephen Thompson but there's no way that fight would've been as exciting as the one with Bendo. I think he'll hang at 155 for another fight or two then drop back down. He's definitely a 155er. Nice to see him move up and get a win though. 

Congrats 98, do you have a favorite submission hold?

Thanks man!

I do depending on position. I have long arms so if I have someone in mount or side control my top submission is an arm triangle. From closed guard it's the kimura, and I usually go for sweeps from open guard/half guard. From the back it's the RNC even in the gi. 

1. Congrats, 98!!

 

2. What fights has it taken away from us? My complaint is that no matter what they test positive for, Dana says "Ssshhhhhhh..." and still ushers them into the cage so he doesn't lose a dime.  

 

I wish it would take some fights away so that fighters would have something to fear. 

Thanks man, I guess more than anything it takes the validity of fights/fighters away. Once the fight is over it leaves a blemish on the bout. It's also delayed a lot of fights because of suspensions and caused things like Wanderlei to get banned for life, people to get fired, etc. A friend of mine used to say that they should allow PED use in baseball/NFL/MMA/etc and I always thought it was a crazy idea, but seeing as how so many people being popped it doesn't sound as crazy to me anymore. 

QBKilla.....congrats on the promotion.  I know it took a lot of hardwork and effort to get that purple belt.  You'll get that brown belt in no time.

 

Question, did you still have to compete in open tournaments (NAGA) to get promoted to purple?  How's the colliflower ear coming along?

Thanks dude! I definitely took a lot of beatings on the way to purple and I'm sure there are still many to come. 

Yeah I did compete in a decent amount of tournaments as a blue. I'm not sure if it's actually required but I do know that our instructors prefer that we compete and most people do end up competing even if it's just 1 or 2 competitions a year. I've competed in NAGA, US Grappling, IBJJF, and a local DC area tournament called Copa Nova.I actually like NAGA the best rule-wise because they're more lenient, mainly because they let you do a lot more leg locks than the others. 

I have a little bit of cauliflower ear but nothing terrible. And it's mainly on one side because I primarily use that side of my head when pushing for takedowns and passing the guard. Some guys get it worse than others though. I've seen 3-month white belts get full cauliflower ear that needed drained several times and others (like myself) who have been doing if for several years now only get it a little bit.

Thanks man!

I'm almost ok with them doing away with testing. It's getting to the point where so many fighters are using PEDs that testing is ruining the sport for the fans because it keeps taking fights away from us. Pride never tested and we got some of the greatest fights of all time over there. 

Also, on a different note, I got promoted to purple belt in BJJ this weekend. When I first started out I couldn't imagine getting to purple. Still a long way to go though:

Damn I'm actually surprised. I don't even care really, IMO if fighters want to party with weed and coke when they're not fighting that's up to them, I just wouldn't suspect Jones as a guy that would be into doing coke. 

There are only 4 names in the running for GOAT status: Anderson, Fedor, GSP, & now Bones.

Very true. 

Watching the TUF Finale now. Tecia Torres looks like a beast in the opening fight. Not sure I've seen anyone use side kicks so effectively before. 

Also Palhares fights Jon Fitch tomorrow on WSOF 16. 

Even though I hate Ben Askren, I would much rather see him in the UFC than CM Punk. Dana is clearly trying to grab some dollars from WWE fans buying CM Punk PPVs. 

Anyway, that was a great ****ing card last night other than the main event. I knew when the opening fight on the prelims ended with a bulldog choke putting someone to sleep that it was going to be a good night.  Anthony Pettis is one of my favorite fighters right now. I don't know if he's ever had a boring fight. And I would've rather had Pettis/Melendez as the main event than Hendricks/Lawler. Lawler took rounds off and Hendricks was clearly stalling to the point that I'm glad they gave Lawler the fight whether it was the right thing to do or not. I've had it with guys that stall and try to win fights by points. 

Gif of it:

Great finish by Werdum, holy ****. 

That was the first card to have all finishes, not a single decision last night. 

lol @ Phil Davis winning a three-round snoozefest then calling out Anderson Silva

 

*slips back into Nationals related depression*

Seriously, watching that game for 18 innings and seeing them lose felt like watching a Redskins primetime game. 

Cung Le tests positive for HGH:

http://www.mmafighting.com/2014/9/30/6876375/cung-le-tests-positive-for-hgh-at-ufc-fight-night-macao

Not that we needed a test to know that he was juiced out of his mind. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dana-white-conor-mcgregor-bigger-200002202.html

 

 

Dana just can't help himself......

He loves stretching the truth, that's for sure. 

One thing I can say though is that McGregor gives the 145lb division a much-needed boost of excitement. Featherweight's had its moments but Aldo isn't the most exciting champ to represent the weight class. 

Kennedy was bending the rules himself with that flurry to end the 2nd round:

 

I saw that too, must be why Big John decided to give Yoel the benefit of the doubt. 

Apparently Kennedy got into it with Romero backstage about not answering the bell, there's a Vine of it here:

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/447606/Very-slim-chance-NAC-will-overturn-Romero-win/

Article also says that there's very little chance it gets overturned. 

I think they should just do an immediate rematch. 

DJ looking dominating as usual

Cerrone definitely could've gotten a TKO leg-kick finish if he kept it standing. Great performance nonetheless. 

From Reddit /r/mma:

Transcript of the incident states, "the arresting officer wasn't sure if he was drunk, however the arrest was made after 10 minutes of questioning the suspect when the officer still had no idea what he was saying."

The only area that was suspect was his cardio. He was starting to fade in that 3rd round, his hands dropped lower and lower, but Mousasi couldn't take advantage. Jacare did a great job of using aggression to close the distance, Mousasi was virtually lost with his back against the cage. 

 

I don't think Jacare can beat Weidman, but he has earned the opportunity to try.

I think he can fix the cardio issue. He's been the 5-round distance a few times now so I would hope that he works on that. I actually think he can beat Weidman. Don't think he will, but I think he has a better chance than most of the division. 

 

Jacare Souza is a bad man, give him a title shot. Very impressive performance tonight

This. 

He looked beastly in all facets of the game. His striking and wrestling are now top level and of course his jiu jitsu is top 1 percent. Give him the winner of Weidman/Belfort (presumably Weidman). 

Also Chael Sonnen got his purple belt lol: