MMA Thread

[SoxFan562004]

I want Evans to win but I like Machida as well. I think he gets the TKO in the 4th though.

 

I like Serra to get the KO in the 3rd.

 

Same as you on the other 3.

the title fight I am completely split on, if I think about it at one point I lean towards Machida then a couple hours later I convince myself Evans... I am REALLY looking forward to this fight. This might be a "boring" fight to casual fans but an exciting technical fight.

 

I hope Serra, but would lean towards Hughes.

[Hawkfan]

what time is the first bout?

[SoxFan562004]

what time is the first bout?

PPV starts at 9:00 CT

[zenryan]

the title fight I am completely split on, if I think about it at one point I lean towards Machida then a couple hours later I convince myself Evans... I am REALLY looking forward to this fight. This might be a "boring" fight to casual fans but an exciting technical fight.

 

I hope Serra, but would lean towards Hughes.

 

 

I'm leaning Hughes after seeing him weigh in. He looks awesome. As long as he doesnt gasses then he should just have his way with him.

 

Still want to see Serra KO him though.

[JDsDirtySox]

Lyoto is a bad dude!

He could hold the belt for a long long time.

[MHizzle85]

Pretty entertaining night.

 

Note to Sherk: You can't box well. Stick to wrestling, that seems to work for you.

 

Dear Mr. Sonnen, thanks for delivering the worst fight of the night.

 

McFedries still has crazy KO power, poor Professor X's UFC career may be over before it even started

 

Matt Hughes didn't win that fight, but neither did Serra really. In my book it was a draw, but if I had to pick a winner it would of been Serra as he was more active in the 1st & 3rd rounds and looked like he was actually trying to finish the fight.

 

Wow Lyoto, just wow. I'll wait until he defends it at least once before I start running around saying he's gonna be unstoppable. But a great KO regardless.

[SoxFan562004]

OK PPV but Machida's performance totally made it worth it, simply incredible. The way Rashad's body jerks back when he is going down is insane. Machida hasn't shown one weakness.

 

If it wasn't for the 2nd round Hughes and Serra had a chance to be a great fight.

Edited May 24, 2009 by SoxFan562004

[GoodAsGould]

Anyone know where i can get a free stream of it to watch??

[SoxFanForever]

Anyone know where i can get a free stream of it to watch??

www.mmalinker.com

 

Just click on the fighters name on the left side and there's a listing of their fights to watch.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Pretty entertaining night.

 

Note to Sherk: You can't box well. Stick to wrestling, that seems to work for you.

 

Dear Mr. Sonnen, thanks for delivering the worst fight of the night.

 

McFedries still has crazy KO power, poor Professor X's UFC career may be over before it even started

 

Matt Hughes didn't win that fight, but neither did Serra really. In my book it was a draw, but if I had to pick a winner it would of been Serra as he was more active in the 1st & 3rd rounds and looked like he was actually trying to finish the fight.

 

Wow Lyoto, just wow. I'll wait until he defends it at least once before I start running around saying he's gonna be unstoppable. But a great KO regardless.

Why? Nobody is fast enough, accurate enough, or technical enough to stand with him. Nobody has an explosive enough shot to take him down. Nobody in the UFC is beating Lyoto for a long time. I can't believe how many picked Rashad and I can't believe how many people actually think Rampage is a test. Rampage is 10X easier for Lyoto than Rashad was. Shogun will get obliterated by Machida. Fedor is the only one who can test him right now since Anderson will not fight a training partner and friend.

 

The only guy I see as having a chance is Jonny Bones Jones down the road if he continues to develop. To beat Lyoto you have to either be able to take him down and beat him up a bit in order to slow him up on the feet enough to hurt him with kicks as he jumps in, or you have to take him down and keep him there. Jones is the only guy in the UFC and the only guy I've seen at LHW anywhere that has the athletic ability and the wrestling to possibly take Lyoto down, but it's going to be a while, because he'll need a complete game in order to beat Lyoto.

 

Edit: Also you could be right about Professor X, but I think he accepted this fight on short notice, so while they could cut him, because of that and because of his potential I think they'll give him one more shot. Hopefully Kaplan is gone though. Hopefully Junie follows suit. The UFC really needs to dump some of these TUF rejects and stop letting go of the Rich Clementi, Luigi Fioravanti, Jason MacDonald type of fighters.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Kenny Hates Prospects

[zenryan]

Why? Nobody is fast enough, accurate enough, or technical enough to stand with him. Nobody has an explosive enough shot to take him down. Nobody in the UFC is beating Lyoto for a long time. I can't believe how many picked Rashad and I can't believe how many people actually think Rampage is a test. Rampage is 10X easier for Lyoto than Rashad was. Shogun will get obliterated by Machida. Fedor is the only one who can test him right now since Anderson will not fight a training partner and friend.

 

The only guy I see as having a chance is Jonny Bones Jones down the road if he continues to develop. To beat Lyoto you have to either be able to take him down and beat him up a bit in order to slow him up on the feet enough to hurt him with kicks as he jumps in, or you have to take him down and keep him there. Jones is the only guy in the UFC and the only guy I've seen at LHW anywhere that has the athletic ability and the wrestling to possibly take Lyoto down, but it's going to be a while, because he'll need a complete game in order to beat Lyoto.

 

Edit: Also you could be right about Professor X, but I think he accepted this fight on short notice, so while they could cut him, because of that and because of his potential I think they'll give him one more shot. Hopefully Kaplan is gone though. Hopefully Junie follows suit. The UFC really needs to dump some of these TUF rejects and stop letting go of the Rich Clementi, Luigi Fioravanti, Jason MacDonald type of fighters.

 

 

Rampage is a test because he is smart enough not to trade with Machida and try to get it to the ground. Maybe he wont be able to but Rampage is a lot better than Evans is right now.

 

I think youre really selling Shogun short.

 

Jones is a nice prospect but lets not get carried away. He beat Bonnar who is a good but nothing great LHW. Plus Bonnar was coming off of a major layoff.

 

 

I dont know who is going to beat Machida right now but it seems like after every huge fight, people want to annoint the new champ as someone who is unbeatable. Then the guy loses his very next fight.

[MHizzle85]

Why? Nobody is fast enough, accurate enough, or technical enough to stand with him. Nobody has an explosive enough shot to take him down. Nobody in the UFC is beating Lyoto for a long time. I can't believe how many picked Rashad and I can't believe how many people actually think Rampage is a test. Rampage is 10X easier for Lyoto than Rashad was. Shogun will get obliterated by Machida. Fedor is the only one who can test him right now since Anderson will not fight a training partner and friend.

 

The only guy I see as having a chance is Jonny Bones Jones down the road if he continues to develop. To beat Lyoto you have to either be able to take him down and beat him up a bit in order to slow him up on the feet enough to hurt him with kicks as he jumps in, or you have to take him down and keep him there. Jones is the only guy in the UFC and the only guy I've seen at LHW anywhere that has the athletic ability and the wrestling to possibly take Lyoto down, but it's going to be a while, because he'll need a complete game in order to beat Lyoto.

 

Edit: Also you could be right about Professor X, but I think he accepted this fight on short notice, so while they could cut him, because of that and because of his potential I think they'll give him one more shot. Hopefully Kaplan is gone though. Hopefully Junie follows suit. The UFC really needs to dump some of these TUF rejects and stop letting go of the Rich Clementi, Luigi Fioravanti, Jason MacDonald type of fighters.

Why? Because this is his biggest win. And against Rashad, i'm not giving it that much significance. He's good, but he's a guy who was able to get by on being athletic & catching people on mistakes. Also, I laugh at how you not believing how many picked Rashad, since I knew NO ONE who picked Rashad. Rampage is a test because he's the 2nd best 205'er in the world. Really 10x easier? Rampage would of done work on Evans, easily.

 

Again, Lyoto's biggest win is against Rashad and now only Fedor is the only person who can test him? Come on Lyoto fans, let's pump the brakes a bit. Defend the title a couple of times and THEN we can talk about him being on a Fedor type level.

 

I'm just saying that Rampage is in a training camp now where he can be patient enough to wait Machida out and to wrestle him if he has to. If Lyoto were to beat him in decisive fashion, then i'll say he's great. Until then, he's very good to me.

[SoxFan562004]

Rampage is a test because he is smart enough not to trade with Machida and try to get it to the ground. Maybe he wont be able to but Rampage is a lot better than Evans is right now.

 

I think youre really selling Shogun short.

 

Jones is a nice prospect but lets not get carried away. He beat Bonnar who is a good but nothing great LHW. Plus Bonnar was coming off of a major layoff.

 

 

I dont know who is going to beat Machida right now but it seems like after every huge fight, people want to annoint the new champ as someone who is unbeatable. Then the guy loses his very next fight.

I also think many people are overselling Shogun right now too. Was he a great fighter and arguably the #1 at 205 when he was in PRIDE? Yes, but that was a few years ago now and Chuck isn't the greatest measuring bar right now. He'll probably fight Rashad next and that fight will tell me a lot more of where he's currently at than the Coleman or Chuck fight did. I'm a fan of Shogun, but I'm not ready to declare him "back" yet.

 

Rampage and Machida should be a great fight and a great test for both guys. We may have to wait until the Dec card because, while not official, there's strong rumors they will be coaches on TUF 10. I think Rampage would be better off going a little old school Rampage against Machida and be a little more physical. Standing there and striking with him won't work for very many, if any, 205'ers... although he has something like 87% takedown defense, so he's a tough match-up for anyone at this point.

 

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Why? Because this is his biggest win. And against Rashad, i'm not giving it that much significance. He's good, but he's a guy who was able to get by on being athletic & catching people on mistakes. Also, I laugh at how you not believing how many picked Rashad, since I knew NO ONE who picked Rashad. Rampage is a test because he's the 2nd best 205'er in the world. Really 10x easier? Rampage would of done work on Evans, easily.

 

Rashad is his biggest win and it's because Rashad is the best fighter he's ever fought. The Franklin fight was a long time ago, and I honestly think Rashad is better fighter than Franklin is now anyway.

 

Ah, just people on the internets gave Rashad too much a chance. Rashad is an awesome fighter but he doesn't have the skillset to beat Lyoto. If you have a hard time taking Tito down, you don't have a prayer of taking Lyoto down (even though Tito grabbed the fence a couple times in that fight Rashad still couldn't take him down very easily).

 

Being athletic is a HUGE advantage when you're talented, and capitalizing on your opponent's mistakes is how you win in any sport at the highest level. That's everyone's gameplan, and that's why gameplans are developed.

 

Rashad is quicker on his feet than Rampage and some of those early feints by Lyoto on Rashad end up landing on Rampage, plus Rashad throws kicks more than Rampage does as Rampage has basically turned into a boxer/brawler. I also think Rashad's quicker with his hands, harder to catch, and just a lot more explosive going forward and coming in for his shot. I think Rashad will end up fighting Rampage and I think Rashad beats him. The only drawback for Rashad in that fight would be that Rashad is an emotional fighter who will sometimes fight more on heart and balls than gameplan, and Rampage is the kind of guy who can easily get into someone's head. I'd still take Rashad though by better hands, kicks, speed, and quickness, and evasiveness, probably by decision in a 3 round fight, but I wouldn't be surprised if Rashad KTFO's Rampage.

 

Rampage is labeled the #2 LHW in the world because he KO'd Wanderlei and decisioned Jardine after losing his title to Forrest. If anyone is overrated it is Rampage. Rampage has beaten some very good fighters by drawing them into a brawl and beating them with tighter boxing, better handspeed, and more power, but stylisitically, he's not a threat to anyone with good TD defense at this point who he can't draw into a brawl. That's why he KO'd Chuck and Eastman in the UFC, then beat Hendo. It's also why he lost to Forrest, because Forrest kept his distance and exploited Rampage's 0% leg and body kick defense. Rampage decisioned Jardine because Jardine was smarter and harder to catch, but Rampage won in the exchages because Jardine's boxing is lacking and he doesn't move backward very well when he has to, leading him into brawl-or-die situations.

 

Again, Lyoto's biggest win is against Rashad and now only Fedor is the only person who can test him? Come on Lyoto fans, let's pump the brakes a bit. Defend the title a couple of times and THEN we can talk about him being on a Fedor type level.

 

I'm just saying that Rampage is in a training camp now where he can be patient enough to wait Machida out and to wrestle him if he has to. If Lyoto were to beat him in decisive fashion, then i'll say he's great. Until then, he's very good to me.

 

Yes, only Fedor can test him at this point because there are maybe only a couple guys out there right now that would be able to take Machida down, and those guys aren't well-rounded enough to keep him down and hurt him OR hurt him once he's down and then catch him on the feet once he's back up.

 

Fedor is extremely quick, has extremely fast hands with big power, is extremely hard to hit, and is in no way an emotional fighter. As a striker, that is as close to the perfect style to give Machida problems as there is in MMA. If Fedor could evade Lyoto almost as Lyoto evades everyone else, there's the chance that Fedor would be able to beat him to the punch in the clinch and hurt him. I don't think Fedor would be quick enough coming forward to really nail Machida, but once Machida commits to something or once the distance closes in general, Fedor is quick enough to hit him since he reads his opponents and reacts to them pretty much instantaneously. The interesting thing though is wondering who would be the aggressor in that fight, and who would take the center of the octagon, since both are counter fighters who can be very aggressive when they want to be.

 

Just being an overly aggressive, wide-open, forward-moving fighter like Shogun is not going to work in the least against Machida. I was calling Machida TKOing Thiago Silva when so many people were saying Thiago had a chance and that Machida didn't finish fights. Being aggressive and coming at Lyoto balls out is the stupidest thing you can do, because 1) it allows Machida to more easily evade the onslaught by hopping out of the way while the opponent's momentum carries him in another direction, 2) Machida's head his back in his stance, and his legs are forward, so you don't attack with punches, you attack with kicks, 3) it makes the opponent use much more energy while Lyoto uses very little evading, 4) it leaves the opponent open and usually off balance for a counter from arguably the best counter-striker in all of MMA, 5) Lyoto is a master of staying just out of range, and he's as quick moving backward as just about anyone else is moving forward.

 

Machida is so good that there's just not much anyone can do. They can't catch him on the feet. Only very special wrestlers even have a chance at taking him down, and if it gets there, you have to keep him down without him subbing you. Either a truly elite wrestler with very, very good striking, specifically leg kicks; or a truly elite wrestler with a Jake Shields-like sub game; or a truly elite striker who is just as elusive as Machida and either has a very good wrestling game or a very, very good submission game that is enough to keep the fight on the feet or finish it should it go to the ground. Even if you were to bring in some great karate master with a similar style standing, then Lyoto would either beat him there or he'd just take him down (probably via trip) and submit/TKO him.

[MHizzle85]

Rampage is not overrated. He lost his title on a weak decision, Forrest didn't decisively beat him & in a title fight I feel you have to prove you won the fight. At best, that fight should of been a draw.

 

Again with this Lyoto madness, ANYONE can be caught, ANYONE can be submitted. Again he's good, but I wanna see him face some elite competition before I crown him the best. People will adapt, a gameplan to beat him will soon be found.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Rampage is a test because he is smart enough not to trade with Machida and try to get it to the ground. Maybe he wont be able to but Rampage is a lot better than Evans is right now.

 

I think youre really selling Shogun short.

 

Jones is a nice prospect but lets not get carried away. He beat Bonnar who is a good but nothing great LHW. Plus Bonnar was coming off of a major layoff.

 

 

I dont know who is going to beat Machida right now but it seems like after every huge fight, people want to annoint the new champ as someone who is unbeatable. Then the guy loses his very next fight.

Jones' greco is awesome and he's got such an amazing package in terms of body type and athleticism that he can develop into a P4P type of fighter. He's long and lanky with a big reach from the outside and has incredible functional strength in close quarters. Plus he's very quick and his reactions are amazing for a fighter so young with so little training comparatively and so little experience. He's got it all. Fighting just seems to come natural to him and he appears to love it. He's a creative, wild, inventive kind of guy with killer instinct, and while those attributes will need to be held in check a lot better as he climbs the ladder and learns, it shows that he loves doing what he does. He seems to have a great attitude as well. Jones does need a lot of help with his cardio and picking his spots, deciding when to use his explosiveness and when to kind of drop back. He uses too much energy when he doesn't have to by being flashy and going for things he can't get, but that'll come with more training and experience.

 

Bonnar is a seasoned veteran, who although is "nothing great," is actually very underrated IMO. I know Bonnar missed a lot of time with injuries and suspensions and whatnot, but he was prepared coming into that fight and just ended up looking terrible because of what Jones did to him. Jones is going to make a lot of guys look that way.

 

I'm not annointing Machida as the best LHW in the world because he beat Rashad. I did it a long time ago because he's amazing. It's like, I have no idea who is going to win the AL Central or the AL West this year with the Dodgers being Manny-less for a long spell, but I could tell you that if the Red Sox were in either division they'd take it by 7+ games at least, more likely 10+. Machida is so far ahead of the curve right now that it's not even funny. Machida completely embarrassed Tito when he was sick with the flu. He's just the best there is in that division right now.

[zenryan]

Anyone watch the DREAM card?

 

It was more like a Nightmare.

[SoxFan562004]

Anyone watch the DREAM card?

 

It was more like a Nightmare.

the Super Hulk tournament was just stupid, JZ wasn't ready for that level of competition coming off his injury and Kid put up a stinker... not the greatest card ever

Edited May 27, 2009 by SoxFan562004

[zenryan]

the Super Hulk tournament was just stupid, JZ wasn't ready for that level of competition coming off his injury and Kid put up a stinker... not the greatest card ever

 

 

Mousasi had another great performance. Kinda excited to see him vs Belfort in August on the Affliction card.

 

Mayhem really screwed up the main event. I was looking forward to seeing him get worked.

 

Canseco actually tried to fight which was nice. It as long as everyone expected but atleast he tried.

 

That Sokodjuo ending was pretty wild. Thats why refs need to take the Big John approach and basically tackle the top fighter when ending a fight.

[MHizzle85]

the Super Hulk tournament was just stupid, JZ wasn't ready for that level of competition coming off his injury and Kid put up a stinker... not the greatest card ever

I wouldn't say a stinker exactly, maybe it's just ring rust.

 

I agree that Mayhem f***ed up though. It's a shame that fights stop like that due to cuts in Japan.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Mousasi had another great performance. Kinda excited to see him vs Belfort in August on the Affliction card.

 

Mayhem really screwed up the main event. I was looking forward to seeing him get worked.

 

Canseco actually tried to fight which was nice. It as long as everyone expected but atleast he tried.

 

That Sokodjuo ending was pretty wild. Thats why refs need to take the Big John approach and basically tackle the top fighter when ending a fight.

That fight is going to be awesome. Now Mousassi wants to have a catch weight though. I don't get it. If you can make MW and destroy people as a bigger guy, why do you want to move to LHW and HW?

 

Trigg is back in the UFC as well.

 

Haven't seen the good fighters' fights yet, but I saw Canseco and Soko. Canseco did a lot better than I thought he would, but HMC didn't seem all that intent on hurting him. And f*** Sokoudjou! I used to like him, but now I can't stand the guy. Always wants big fights, yet can't beat anyone in the top-20. The post-stoppage attack on Nortje is exactly what Hendo should be doing to Soko every f***ing day for embarrassing Team Quest. There's nothing more frustrating in sports than an uber-talented athlete who doesn't learn and doesn't care.

[SoxFan562004]

That fight is going to be awesome. Now Mousassi wants to have a catch weight though. I don't get it. If you can make MW and destroy people as a bigger guy, why do you want to move to LHW and HW?

 

Trigg is back in the UFC as well.

 

Haven't seen the good fighters' fights yet, but I saw Canseco and Soko. Canseco did a lot better than I thought he would, but HMC didn't seem all that intent on hurting him. And f*** Sokoudjou! I used to like him, but now I can't stand the guy. Always wants big fights, yet can't beat anyone in the top-20. The post-stoppage attack on Nortje is exactly what Hendo should be doing to Soko every f***ing day for embarrassing Team Quest. There's nothing more frustrating in sports than an uber-talented athlete who doesn't learn and doesn't care.

in his update today Meltzer says Belfort will only take it at 185 at Mossaui says he can't make the cut, so that is still up in the air.

[MHizzle85]

Haven't seen the good fighters' fights yet, but I saw Canseco and Soko. Canseco did a lot better than I thought he would, but HMC didn't seem all that intent on hurting him. And f*** Sokoudjou! I used to like him, but now I can't stand the guy. Always wants big fights, yet can't beat anyone in the top-20. The post-stoppage attack on Nortje is exactly what Hendo should be doing to Soko every f***ing day for embarrassing Team Quest. There's nothing more frustrating in sports than an uber-talented athlete who doesn't learn and doesn't care.

About this. It's half Soko's fault & half the ref. The ref's gotta make more of an effort to stop him if he's continuing to rain down punches.

 

So it's Rampage & Rashad as the TUF coaches. And it'll be Rampage fighting Rashad next due to this. Lyoto's camp believes they'll be fighting in September.

 

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

About this. It's half Soko's fault & half the ref. The ref's gotta make more of an effort to stop him if he's continuing to rain down punches.

 

So it's Rampage & Rashad as the TUF coaches. And it'll be Rampage fighting Rashad next due to this. Lyoto's camp believes they'll be fighting in September.

It's all Soko's fault. The ref was there. Soko saw the ref there, and he even tried working around the ref to get more strikes in.

 

Because this is Japan nothing will happen. Japan is a f***ing MMA legitimacy sinkhole. They hardly test, they'll work fights, they'll put on freakshows, and there's no oversight. f*** MMA in Japan. They've got a lot of great fighters over there, mainly at WW and below, and I'd love to see those guys all come over once WEC gets bigger. Good female fighters over there too, but I don't really get into that.

 

If this had happened in the US, Soko would be penalized no doubt. The guy deserves to be fined up the ass and suspended at least a year. That's complete bulls*** which does nothing but set the sport back. f*** Sokoudjou. This was worse than BJ-Pulver II and even Babalu's crap recently. Soko probably got in a good 10 shots at least after the fight was officially stopped. There's no need to have a ref big enough to manhandle the fighters; the fighters need to exhibit self-control and if they can't do that then they have no business whatsoever in the sport.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

in his update today Meltzer says Belfort will only take it at 185 at Mossaui says he can't make the cut, so that is still up in the air.

The fight will go down. Affliction needs it badly since so far it's the only interesting fight that's basically confirmed for the card. Jay Hieron-Semtex is interesting and is rumored by MMA Weekly, but I don't think that's a done deal yet.

 

Fedor-Barnett is a joke. Barnett's wrestling is ridiculously overrated as is his sub game, and he hasn't beaten a legit top-level HW since he roided up and beat Randy in 2002. He's got nothing for Fedor. Hopefully after this fight Fedor's entire management team dies in a horrific accident, because that's the only way he's going to the UFC - which really, really, really sucks because Fedor-Lesnar, Fedor-Lyoto, and Fedor-Anderson are all huge wet dream fights. Plus Fedor-Cigano, Fedor-Rashad, Fedor-Shogun, Fedor-Randy, etc. are all entertaining fights. Man I wish he'd come to the UFC... I bet he'll end up going back and forth between Dream and Strikeforce though. Ugh.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Kenny Hates Prospects