Anything MMA, except thumb wrestling

[Chachie]

What a ****ty ending, Weidman with 2* wins over Anderson, what a shame. Silva looked focused that fight. Would have handled business

 

 

 

This is silly. 

 

In the first fight, that punch did land and knock Silva out. No early stoppage either. No asterisk.

 

In the 2nd fight, Weidman won the first round solidly and he checked a kick that broke Silva's leg. No asterisk.

 

 

I thought Silva was going to win the rematch but after that 1st round I was a Weidman believer.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

What a crazy ass ending. Makes you wonder about Jones' toothpick legs. Weidman is a beast, I think he has a decent shot at running the daunting table that awaits him. Vitor has a puncher's and kicker's chance. I think Weidman will beat him though.

Ronda, the perrenial champ now, still needs some more tune ups if she is to defeat Cyborg. A real damn shame they ain't fighting, but Cyborg busts her up as of now. Think Rousey will beat McMann and Zingano.

Travis Browne is a beast. If he can stay off the ground, I can see him blasting Cain. Huge, huge man, and very athletic. He's matured and looks very comfortable in the octagon. If they faught tomorrow I'd pick Cain, but it will be interesting if Browne keeps making strides.

[NoCalMike]

I can't buy Cyborg until we see her fight more females that are naturally 145. She has made a career out of fighting women who put on 10 extra pounds just to fight her when they don't belong fighting there.

 

She is a beast, I will giver her that, but I don't ever see these awesome technical skills people claim she has. What I see mostly is her just using her muscles mass to over power her opponents and smother them .

 

Do I think she has the potential to smash Rousey? Sure, but people get caught up in Cyborg's hype because of her style, but I think Rousey's Judo could take Cyborg if she tries to close the distance to strike. 

 

The thing about Rousey is she improves every single fight, her striking against Tate alone looked 10x as good as any of her previous fights.  Tate was destroyed in every element of the fight. She caught Rousey with maybe 2-3 solid punches, but was otherwise thrashed on every level.

 

I don't think that fight is going to happen anyway, Cyborg says she can't move to 135, but Ronda is the 135 champion. She shouldn't have to move up to 145 to fight for the 135 belt.  Maybe a catch-weight non-title fight could be arranged for a super fight, but Cyborg would also have to agree to be tested, which has yet to happen. We'll see.

 

 

 

I don't want to overrate Rousey in the grand scheme of things because I have a feeling she is only going to be around for another year or so, but on the off chance she is in this for the long haul, I could see it being another Gracie-like situation where her Judo is too good for the current crop of female MMA stars and it will take the "next" brand of fighter to beat her. It's not that her skillset is new and revolutionary but I think for female MMA specifically, it is rare to have someone that has been doing it since childhood, and being taught by a master on top of that.

Most females in MMA currently, have the similar "well, I went to the gym to workout, saw some guys punching a heavy bag, and thought it looked fun, so I joined in and have been training ever since" story.  That isn't to knock them, because honestly this is how it all begins.  The interest has to be born somewhere, and it will give birth to a better crop of fighters in the next generation, but for now, it's basically 1 female who has been training since birth versus a bunch of females who just took this up 3-5 years ago and are the next best options.

You get a similar feeling watching a Rousey fight as you did the early Royce Gracie fights, as if their opponents had no idea what they were walking into. They might have some idea on tape of what to look out for, but a training camp isn't going to combat life long training.  "Just don't get arm-barred" is not a real strategy.  Their opponents act like they don't buy the "hype" but they really should. Tate's strategy in the fight reeked of "screw her Judo, I can just punch her a bunch" which probably shows how clueless her corner was to begin with.

 

As far as Silva v. Weidman II, tough break for Silva (No pun intended). It happens, rarely, but it happens.  The fight itself? Weirdman proved in the first round that the first fight was no fluke, but i also think Silva recovered pretty well from a close stoppage earlier in the round, and actually did a good job roughing Weidman up from the bottom position.  One of the most underrated aspects of Silva's game is the damage he can do from his guard on the bottom. Often times in fights where Silva was on the bottom, you will still end up seeing his opponent's face puffed up and cut and damaged because of how well Silva fights from his guard. 

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

^ ^ ^

(In Mark Hunt voice) Yeah.

Lol, no I hear ya loud and clear NCM, Cyborg can't cut the weight, so she misses out. I think if she leaned out enough to make 135, she'd still hurt Rousey. However, Rousey is getting stronger, she's still growing, I think she can keep going and beat the next girls in line. She was rushed to the top ranks and to the title shot, I think Cyborg should get her now, before Rousey becomes even better. Could be wrong, but McMann is still green and Zingano is coming of knee surgery.

Is Cyborg's legacy being hurt? I think she's still remembered for a long time. She's put her stamp on the sport, and beat the first Women's MMA superstar...but imagine her beating Ronda. That'd vault her in to the stratosphere. Stop eating polar bear meat, you're a good enough fighter. I like Cyborg's technique, you underrate it perhaps. She fights smart, her physical strength is so astounding that it takes away from how skilled she is. Go after Ronda now, before Ronda can make it a fight. Shoulda gone a year ago. I think Ronda can hang in there, maybe pull off the armbar, but skinny Cyborg gets momentum on Rousey in the 2nd Round and gets her turtled up Gina style.

[NoCalMike]

In theory McMann has the skillset on paper to give Rousey a good challenge, but I've seen McMann's fights and even with her wrestling pedigree, she doesn't come off as dominant in the way Rousey does. Doesn't mean she can't elevate her game for a big fight, but I think "tale of the tape" isn't always the complete picture.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Cruz with a groin tear, finally vacates title. Barao vs. Faber for the belt. The fragility of Cruz's legs surpasses Shogun's as worst in MMA history.

[StillUnknown]

Cruz with a groin tear, finally vacates title. Barao vs. Faber for the belt. The fragility of Cruz's legs surpasses Shogun's as worst in MMA history.

 

I saw someone on twitter say Cruz is the Derrick Rose of MMA. I know his style was frowned on by some, but I enjoyed Cruz's fights. If you know you don't have power, you have to work a gameplan that maximizes the things you do well. Cruz did that, his resume is as good as anyone's 135 & below. He's young enough to continue fighting, but its hard to imagine he'll be as effective.

 

I'm tired of Faber in title fights, but he's earned it and you don't really have any other legit options right now. I think Barao decisions him once again.

[Dr. Do Itch Big]

I want Faber to win a title sooo much.

[method man]

With the UFC losing stars so quickly, they really need to find a way to bring Nick Diaz aboard. If you are Nick, who would you be willing to come back to the UFC to fight?

 

I think Kampmann, Alves, Sanchez, Marquardt and Dan Hardy should all be options. All four fighters have names in their own right so Nick can't argue that these guys will be making their names off him. I think all these fights could co-headline a card, especially one with a weak main event like a flyweight title fight

Edited January 7, 2014 by method man

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Diaz will want Weidman or Anderson for 7 figures, lol. Boy smokes the real good ****.

[NoCalMike]

This will be Faber's first title bout with Duane Ludwig at Alpha Male.  IMO, Ludwig has made a huge difference for the better in Faber's striking, and overall confidence/aggressiveness in his stand up game.

 

Faber could always bang before, but his bread & butter was primarily wrestling/submissions, but his last handful of fights since Ludwig has been in camp, he has looked like a killer on his feet too.

 

Will be interesting to see how this translates.

 

Both his fight with Barao and his 2nd w/Cruz were extremely close decision losses.

[lovetoaster]

This will be Faber's first title bout with Duane Ludwig at Alpha Male.  IMO, Ludwig has made a huge difference for the better in Faber's striking, and overall confidence/aggressiveness in his stand up game.

 

Faber could always bang before, but his bread & butter was primarily wrestling/submissions, but his last handful of fights since Ludwig has been in camp, he has looked like a killer on his feet too.

 

Were you trying to make a pun?

Edited January 7, 2014 by lovetoaster

[StillUnknown]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/georges-st-pierre-says-departure-ufc-hastened-stance-234656309--mma.html

 

 

Georges St-Pierre is the former UFC welterweight champion and not the reigning champion, in part he says because of the promotion's stance toward testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

 

In a story by Julien Arsensault of the Canadian Press published almost exactly a month after St-Pierre vacated his title and announced he'd take a sabbatical, St-Pierre said that a lack of strenuous drug testing led in part to his decision to walk away on Dec. 13.

 

It bothered me greatly, [and] it was one of the reasons I decided to step aside

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Rockhold lands a left kick LLLLiver shot, followed up with a good ole soccer kick to the body, finishing "Bob" Costas Phillipou late in the first round. Really enjoy Luke's offense. Naturally, he wants a Vitor rematch. I can see that happening, and if Vitor starts showing age soon, who knows? Right now Vitoranasourus Rex would probably still dispatch him early.

Edited January 16, 2014 by d0ublestr0ker0ll

[lovetoaster]

Rockhold lands a left kick LLLLiver shot, followed up with a good ole soccer kick to the body, finishing "Bob" Costas Phillipou late in the first round. Really enjoy Luke's offense. Naturally, he wants a Vitor rematch. I can see that happening, and if Vitor starts showing age soon, who knows? Right now Vitoranasourus Rex would probably still dispatch him early.

 

That liver kick was nasty. I felt Bas Rutten nod in approval. 

 

I feel like I underestimate Rockhold for some reason, but outside of the first Belfort fight, all he has done for the last six years is win impressively. He has a very diverse skillset and he seems to exploit whatever opening his opponent gives him. Phillipou left his body open and Rockhold took advantage with a vengeance. 

[NoCalMike]

I want Faber to win a title one last time, for the mere fact that most of his "glory" was during the WEC and he lost the belt right before UFC absorbed WEC, and hasn't got it back.  

I think the level of competition increased when that took place, and it took Faber and his team Alpha Male some time to adjust by bringing in higher quality trainers, and if you look at his last few fights, he seems to have that spark back, that aggressiveness that made him a beast in the first place. 

[Dr. Do Itch Big]

Alpha males are monsters. TJ was impressive last night, unlucky Nova Uniao are even bigger monsters.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Quick scrap from TUF last night:

Edited January 16, 2014 by d0ublestr0ker0ll

[#98QBKiller]

Now, seemingly all of a sudden, the middleweight division is the most exciting division in the UFC. Weidman, Belfort, Rockhold, Jacare, Machida, Bisping, Tim Kennedy, Alan Belcher...and likely Anderson Silva again one day. It seems like just yesterday the division was stale with Anderson sitting at the top and no real threats to him.

The only other division I would put above it right now is 170. 

[lovetoaster]

Now, seemingly all of a sudden, the middleweight division is the most exciting division in the UFC. Weidman, Belfort, Rockhold, Jacare, Machida, Bisping, Tim Kennedy, Alan Belcher...and likely Anderson Silva again one day. It seems like just yesterday the division was stale with Anderson sitting at the top and no real threats to him.

The only other division I would put above it right now is 170. 

 

And maybe this guy too, depending on what weight class he decides to reside in:

 

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Wish Shogun would move down in weight. He's got a lot of mileage at this point. Division is stacked, but what awesome matchups he'd be in. Body frame is right for 185, think he'd woop some serious ass, be a threat to the title again.

[lovetoaster]

Wish Shogun would move down in weight. He's got a lot of mileage at this point. Division is stacked, but what awesome matchups he'd be in. Body frame is right for 185, think he'd woop some serious ass, be a threat to the title again.

 

No kidding, that would be awesome. He is always at a size disadvantage at 205, and, as you say, there are some amazing matchups for him at 185.

[#98QBKiller]

And maybe this guy too, depending on what weight class he decides to reside in:

 

 

 

Almost forgot about him. Definitely and exciting addition to 185 if that's where he decides to stay.

[lovetoaster]

Almost forgot about him. Definitely and exciting addition to 185 if that's where he decides to stay.

 

Yeah, I am looking forward to that Mousasi-Machida fight in a few weeks. It is a very interesting matchup. A nice headliner on a free card.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

That fight is absolutely huge, one of those dream fights you'd ponder off a whim a few years back. Let's hope it's not a snoozer via respect for each others' abilities.