Anything MMA, except thumb wrestling

[PleaseBlitz]

3 seconds is a long freaking time when you are getting choked.

[#98QBKiller]

It shouldn't hurt the sport until someone gest hurt because of it. 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. It happens all the time in training. If you watched last season's TUF you can see BJ's grappling coach do it to the blond kid that got in the backyard fight during a training session, and he said the same thing about it. The kid wasn't being respectful.

The mma sky is not falling because of this.

Edit: And BJ admitted he held the choke a little long too. No one cared then. i don't know why anyone cares now.

What's your point? It's against the rules. When the ref says stop, you stop. He choked Heath out when he was told to let go and admitted that he did it on purpose after the fight.

Should all fighters just start disregarding the refs when they say stop?

[Sebowski]

What's your point? It's against the rules. When the ref says stop, you stop. He choked Heath out when he was told to let go and admitted that he did it on purpose after the fight.

Should all fighters just start disregarding the refs when they say stop?

My point is that everyone seems to be freaking out over this when no one ever freaked out about it before. I am wondering where some of you guys get your opinions. Is it a big deal now because you heard it on tv and read about it on the internet, or because you think it really is a big deal? If you think it is a big deal now, where were you a couple months ago when BJ did it on the main event of a cable broadcast? If your argument is that it makes the sport look bad then you should have been scraming about it back then. Babalu was on the undercard of a ppv. Not that many people saw it. A lot of people saw BJ vs. Pulver and no one cared about the extra time on the choke. Only Destino was upset about it in this thread back then. If Babalu gets punished for it is worse than hypocritical.

[Destino]

While others have held the choke too long (and they were wrong for doing so) as the UFC grows in popularity the number of critics grows and so does thier power. Can you imagine if someone were to get hurt because of something like this and it winds up on the front page of ESPN.com? Before a critic was buried behind every other sport or on some obscure MMA webpage. Now the mass media is watching and a slip up of this nature would set the sport back.

[cjcdaman]

What a ***** move! Also, was it Big Jon McCarthy reffing the fight? That's one dude I wouldn't wanna **** with!

[StillUnknown]

My point is that everyone seems to be freaking out over this when no one ever freaked out about it before. I am wondering where some of you guys get your opinions. Is it a big deal now because you heard it on tv and read about it on the internet, or because you think it really is a big deal? If you think it is a big deal now, where were you a couple months ago when BJ did it on the main event of a cable broadcast? If your argument is that it makes the sport look bad then you should have been scraming about it back then. Babalu was on the undercard of a ppv. Not that many people saw it. A lot of people saw BJ vs. Pulver and no one cared about the extra time on the choke. Only Destino was upset about it in this thread back then. If Babalu gets punished for it is worse than hypocritical.

two wrongs don't make a right, doesn't matter what the reactions were to BJ Penn's choke (and for the record i said he was wrong then), the fact is that its inexcusable and he should be punished for it point blank.

[PleaseBlitz]

What a ***** move! Also, was it Big Jon McCarthy reffing the fight? That's one dude I wouldn't wanna **** with!

:laugh: It definitely was NOT Big Jon.

[Raub]

I was at the Skins game Saturday, so obviously did not see the event live. Just got done watching it on DTV Replay. What a great event. I thought that every fight was well matched and well-fought. Joe Stevenson looked absolutely fantastic. He was clearly the stronger and quicker in his match. GSP blew me away with his domination of Koschek. Maybe Kos won't talk so much **** next time. The Coture fight was ok, but the broken nose decided that one too early.

Looking forward to UFC 75 Sounds like it's going to be free on Spike.

[Raub]

:laugh: It definitely was NOT Big Jon.

It was Steve Mazzagatti or whatever his name is.

[jeffskins66]

Didn't Frank Mir fight? Who won that?

Yeah Mir fought. He beat Antoni Hardonk via kimura in about a minute. Impressive for the former champ, but Hardonk has no ground game to speak of, jury is still out on Mir. We'll see when he gets pushed into the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Conditioning was never his strong point anyway.

[jeffskins66]

I don't know if anyone has brought this up here yet, but apparently Randy broke his arm when he blocked one of Gonzaga's high kicks.

http://thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=4673

Not only did he finish the fight, but he took Gonzaga down and pounded him out with a broken arm. What a badass! "That guy is my hero!"

[SUNSTONE]

Wandy is in, so all we need now is Fedor and this guy......

LESNAR APPROACHES COUTURE

Of the sea of admirers that flanked Couture’s side this Saturday as he exited the Octagon following his third round TKO stoppage of Gonzaga, budding mixed martial artist Brock Lesnar (1-0) might have been one of the more intriguing.

The former World Wrestling Entertainment pro wrestling star approached the UFC heavyweight champion for only a few seconds after viewing the night’s nine tilts that evening, where the two briefly exchanged cordial words.

“He said, ‘Congratulations, great fight,” said Couture. Couture says he ran into Lesnar again later that evening, where the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion again complimented him on his gripping performance.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Saturday he’d met with Lesnar, 30, earlier that evening, but would not divulge any more details regarding a potnetial signing with the heavyweight.

Lesnar made his MMA debut June 2, dominating an outmatched Min Soo Kim during K-1’s “Dynamite!! USA” event with a first round TKO stoppage.

[Sebowski]

Wandy is in, so all we need now is Fedor and this guy......

From ufcmania:

"I am pretty much going to guarantee you right here that the UFC will get him. Lesnar should have started with us, but we’ll be happy to have him. We are all booked up through 2007, but we would like to have him start after the new year.”

– UFC President Dana White tells 15Rounds.com that four-time wrestling All-American and professional wrestling star-turned mixed martial artist, Brock Lesnar, will soon join the UFC heavyweight ranks. Lesnar and White met up this past weekend at UFC 74: “Respect.”

-----

Suprised to hear Dana say he is "booked until '08". That is crazy. Lesnar must have demanded a top contender or they would find someone for him to fight. McCully or O'Brien would be great first fights for him if you ask me.

[Sebowski]

two wrongs don't make a right, doesn't matter what the reactions were to BJ Penn's choke (and for the record i said he was wrong then), the fact is that its inexcusable and he should be punished for it point blank.

I'll try to let this die after this.

I don't see it as two wrongs making a right. I don't see either as that big a deal. This goes on in fights. Anyone remember Royce Gracie doing it ten years ago? Fighting is a brutal sport and you have to be in a vicious mentallity when you are in the cage. I know Babalu held it on purpose, but how long do you think it took him to realize the guy tapped and the fight was over? He is in the middle of a FIGHT. It it doesn't happen as quickly for him as it does for the spectator. Lets say it only takes a full seconbd to realize the tap. That means he held it for an extra 1-2 seconds. Babalu (and all these veteran fighters) have been choked and choked others in training and in fights so many times that they know what they are doing. An extra squeeze afetr a tap is not a big deal if you know fighting. It even happens at your local gym among friends. Trust me there. You can get caught up in the moment.

[SkinsOrlando]

I don't know if anyone has brought this up here yet, but apparently Randy broke his arm when he blocked one of Gonzaga's high kicks.

http://thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=4673

Not only did he finish the fight, but he took Gonzaga down and pounded him out with a broken arm. What a badass! "That guy is my hero!"

That pic of the break tells the tale, Randy is a freakin beast.

[SUNSTONE]

The choke isn't that big of a deal, but they are stepping in and putting a stop to this before anyone else tries something like this and next time someone gets hurt.

Someone said that Gracie did it.

I only remember him putting someone in an arm bar and not letting go when the ref stepped in.

But that was a different story. The guy was still standing and that specific sub looked like Gracie was caught up in the moment and didn't realize the guy tapped.

[Chachie]

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.

[Sebowski]

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

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.

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

May have seemed like a long time, but it wasn't.

[Chachie]

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.

[Sebowski]

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.

Penn did admit to it. He admitted to it with a smile on his face and chuckled about it. My point is that they do know more than us, and Heath was never really in danger. 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.

And no disrespect taken or inteded here. Its all good. Its nice to have a place to discuss mma other than the mma boards that are flooded with trolls and pointless posts.

[StillUnknown]

Penn did admit to it. He admitted to it with a smile on his face and chuckled about it. My point is that they do know more than us, and Heath was never really in danger. 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.

And no disrespect taken or inteded here. Its all good. Its nice to have a place to discuss mma other than the mma boards that are flooded with trolls and pointless posts.

i see where you're coming from, but i'll simply agree to disagree with you :laugh:

i would however fine or suspend him if i was the UFC, although i would assum the athletic commission will beat them to the punch.

[Chachie]

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?

[#98QBKiller]

My point is that everyone seems to be freaking out over this when no one ever freaked out about it before. I am wondering where some of you guys get your opinions. Is it a big deal now because you heard it on tv and read about it on the internet, or because you think it really is a big deal? If you think it is a big deal now, where were you a couple months ago when BJ did it on the main event of a cable broadcast? If your argument is that it makes the sport look bad then you should have been scraming about it back then. Babalu was on the undercard of a ppv. Not that many people saw it. A lot of people saw BJ vs. Pulver and no one cared about the extra time on the choke. Only Destino was upset about it in this thread back then. If Babalu gets punished for it is worse than hypocritical.

What BJ Penn did was wrong too. Who cares if I never said anything about Penn's choke? That doesn't make it right. Who am I, Dana White?

The Babalu choke was wrong and it is against the rules, end of story. You can't argue that it's not against UFC rules or that the NSAC doesn't find it wrong because they obviously do.

As I mentioned earlier, Babalu has already lost half of his purse on that fight and the NSAC will allegedly be reviewing it again this Friday so he will likely face other punishment, not to mention what the UFC will do about it.

[#98QBKiller]

A Good open letter I found on the Sherdog forums about the Babalu choke out:

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=630389

[Sebowski]

A Good open letter I found on the Sherdog forums about the Babalu choke out:

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=630389

Thats a terrible letter.