A Brand New MMA Thread

[Ken Stone]

Attending a live UFC is quite an event. A few things I noticed:

-The fighters look a lot smaller in person then they do on TV.
-The speed of the fighters is much more apparent in person then on TV.
-The ring girl isn't as nearly as attractive IRL.
-The loudness of the crowd really doesn't translate across TV. It was so loud you couldn't hear Bruce Buffer announce Alexander.
-The cameramen were walking around filming people all the time but they really didn't use much of that footage. It made me sad because there was a camera guy in front of me a bunch so I thought I would be on TV, but it didn't happen.
-Mike Goldberg looks exactly the same IRL as he does on TV. That was sorta creepy. Also him and Joe did a strange little "secret handshake" with all the camera guys before they started taping. Kinda gay.
-I shook hands with Joe Silva. Kinda a squirrely car-salesmanish looking guy. I was expecting more of a bulky tough guy.

About the fights:

-I have officially disowned Huston Alexander. First off he throws two massive illegal knees, but for some reason (I'm thinking it was a hometown crowd advantage) he didn't get called on it. I'm okay with that, but then he isn't able to capitalize. Also the dude cannot fight off his back. It is unreal. He doesn't have a guard. The guys legs are like tree trunks. He should have a solid guard. It's like he doesn't even try. You are dead to me Alexander.

-The Prelim fights were awesome and I wish they would have been shown on the broadcast. Allessio Sacara was supporting a beard, and KTFO this guy with a crazy head kick. The guy blocked the head kick but it didn't matter. Still caught him behind the ear and dropped him stiff. It was the only KO of the night.

-The Lauzon fight was a lot of fun. Joe pulled out this super slick move where he jumped up and wrapped his legs around Bradleys legs and took him down for a kneebar. The kneebar failed but it allowed him to get on top and finish the fight.

-The Gouveia/Jensen fight was a disappointment. Jensen is an Omaha guy and he dominated the first round. However I noticed Gouveia sneaking his legs up and such and it seemed like he was getting close on some subs. I kept yelling at Jensen to let him up because Jensen was so dominate on the feet. He didn't listen to me though. In the second round it started off the same way with Jensen dominating Gouveia, but then Gouveia finally slipped an armbar in and that was it. He should have listened to me. I saw it coming a mile away.

-The Guida fight was a disappointment to me. It seemed like Guida basically just held onto Danzig for the entire 3rd round. I really wish the ref would have separated them. I think he knew that he had the first 2 rounds in the bag and was playing it safe.

-I was glad Nate Diaz got another win and it was fun to see him call out KJ Noons. Them there Diaz boys always getting into mischief.

[Oorag]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1523263' date='Sep 18 2008, 10.03']-I shook hands with Joe Silva. Kinda a squirrely car-salesmanish looking guy. I was expecting more of a bulky tough guy.[/quote]
Hehe, yeah. It took a long time for me to identify Silva as the chubby little guy who rushes the cage to shake hands with the fighters. For some reason I always pictured him looking like Eddie Bravo.

[Analu]

[quote name='GSP' post='1522177' date='Sep 17 2008, 12.24']BJ, what did Danzig say about Rampage that got your riled? I hadn't heard about that.[/quote]
Something about how Rampage should've spent more time training for his fight than wearing chains and trying to act all gangster or something. I'm not that riled up about it, I just thought it was a stupid thing to say.


Nice recap, Ken. I've met some fighters and have always been struck with how much smaller they appear in person, too. I met my board namesake a few months ago, and he was about 2-3 inches shorter than what I expected.


[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1523263' date='Sep 18 2008, 07.03']-I have officially disowned Huston Alexander. First off he throws two massive illegal knees, but for some reason (I'm thinking it was a hometown crowd advantage) he didn't get called on it.[/quote]
What illegal knees are you talking about? IIRC, the only time knees are illegal is on the ground or if your opponents knee is touching the ground, and I don't recall seeing that happen.

I was disappointed in Houston's ground game as well. I think he has too much of a weighlifter's physique and it affects his mobility on the ground. Not sure what he can do about that, other than not end up on the ground. Maybe some stretching exercises?

My lone observation of the opening TUF ep: Big Nog's english is pretty good.

[GSP]

Yeah, Big Nog definitaly don't need the translations at the bottom of the screen, but it seems to me most American television does that to anybody with an accent anymore.

Didn't hear Danzig rippin on Rampage like that. Not cool. I like Rampage, and I'm sure he's got plenty of time to train between changing bling. You should be happy he got his then. I mean, he didn't get stopped but he sure was frustrated.

TUF 9: Team USA v. Team UK? Oooh fuck, let the xenophobia begin!

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='GSP' post='1524149' date='Sep 19 2008, 02.03']Yeah, Big Nog definitaly don't need the translations at the bottom of the screen, but it seems to me most American television does that to anybody with an accent anymore.[/quote]

It'll probably give him a complex about his English when he watches the show and sees the subtitles.

[BLU-RAY]

Only caught the Diaz-Neer fight, but man, that was an entertaining fight. As a casual MMA fan, I generally go in more for the standup, but this fight was just really, really interesting to watch, and both guys were hustling the whole way.

[GSP]

If you're a casual MMA fan seems the undercard of Wednesday's event probably would have fitted your tastes more. I haven't seen it yet, but Sakara's head kick KO was evidently something of beauty to behold. Glad to see even a self professed casual fan could appretiate the ground work in the Neer/Diaz outing though. Good for the sport.

Hope poor Big Nog doesn't get that complex Ken. I certainly wouldn't need a translator to talk to the guy.

[Ser Barry]

Not sure why he would get a complex, they put up subtitles for Ross Pointon and he is, you know, from England.

In fairness to Danzig, Rampage himself said he should have spent way more time training and that he was too lazy.

Guida is now on my hate list. Boring prick. Diaz is growing on me.

In other news;
[url="http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/09/21/report-mustafa-al-turk-signs-four-fight-deal-with-ufc-could-face-cain-velasquez-in-december/"]http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/09/21/rep...ez-in-december/[/url]

That fella is from our gym and Ser Sean from the boards has even rolled with him. Or was that rolled on him? Not sure. He is the best UK HW around but Velasquez is a scary prospect.

[GSP]

Damn, that dude sounds like a beast.

Your Ross Pointon comment underscored my observation. They give subtitles to anybody with an accent. Why?

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='GSP' post='1526719' date='Sep 22 2008, 05.23']Your Ross Pointon comment underscored my observation. They give subtitles to anybody with an accent. Why?[/quote]

Ross was hard to understand. They don't give Bisping subtitles.

In other news:

[url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/Story%20Silvasettoretire.html"]WTF??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO![/url]

[quote]UFC middleweight champion and the man considered to be the best “pound for pound” fighter on the planet, Anderson “The Spider” Silva is set to retire next year, stating he has nothing left to prove.

Speaking to intheguard.tv, the middleweight champion said:

“I’ll retire next year, I already gave my all. I don’t need to prove anything for anyone and within one year I’ll put my gloves aside.”

This would be a devastating blow for the UFC after Silva blew through their middleweight roster upon joining the promotion. As a current champion and with the clauses written into UFC fighters contracts, it is unclear what will happen if he is still champion when he makes this decision.[/quote]

I highly doubt Spider is planning on actually retiring. This all seems a little suspicious in light of the Roy Jones Junior talk of late.

In a completely non-related discussion topic what is everyone's opinions on what would be the outcomes of the following fights:

BJ vs GSP
GSP vs Spider
Spider vs Fedor

[Tormund Ukrainesbane]

BJ vs GSP - GSP
GSP vs Spider - Spider
Spider vs Fedor - Fedor

[Oorag]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1526960' date='Sep 22 2008, 07.48']I highly doubt Spider is planning on actually retiring. This all seems a little suspicious in light of the Roy Jones Junior talk of late.[/quote]
I hope he doesn't retire too early, but I could definitely see him following through with his promise. Of course, it could all be a ploy to get more money from the UFC. He still doesn't get close to what Liddell makes.

In other news, anyone going to watch Dream 6 tomorrow? I finally get HDNet again so I can watch these Japanese shows. Looks there's going to be the Championships for their Middleweight Grand Prix as well as a Crop Cop vs. Overeem fight. Aoki and Akiyama will also be fighting people I don't know.

[Ser Barry]

BJ
Spider
Fedor

We can't get Dream in the UK :(

[Analu]

[quote name='Barryiah Faber' post='1526293' date='Sep 21 2008, 11.10']In other news;
[url="http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/09/21/report-mustafa-al-turk-signs-four-fight-deal-with-ufc-could-face-cain-velasquez-in-december/"]http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/09/21/rep...ez-in-december/[/url]

That fella is from our gym and Ser Sean from the boards has even rolled with him. Or was that rolled on him? Not sure. He is the best UK HW around but Velasquez is a scary prospect.[/quote]
That's pretty cool that get to train with him. Just his name sounds scary.

I recently started rolling again, after recovering from some injuries. Guy I rolled with this morning goes to the ICON gym where Leben trains at, and said that Leben's looking great and is going to hand it to Bisping. Obviously take that with a grain of salt. I half-jokingly told him that he should tell Leben to work on his head movement and slipping angles and he said Chris was working hard on exactly that. We'll see.


[quote name='Oorag' post='1527337' date='Sep 22 2008, 09.08']In other news, anyone going to watch Dream 6 tomorrow? I finally get HDNet again so I can watch these Japanese shows. Looks there's going to be the Championships for their Middleweight Grand Prix as well as a Crop Cop vs. Overeem fight. Aoki and Akiyama will also be fighting people I don't know.[/quote]
I'll be watching it. It starts at 9pm where I'm at, so it's perfect. Really looking forward to the Manhoef/Mousasi fight and seeing Cro Cop back in action.

[Ser Barry]

I for got to say, Jacare to beat Manhoeff in the final. Overeem to finish off Cro Cop's career as a top HW for him.

Bisping will own Leben.*


*No homer bias was used in the making of this prediction.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='Oorag' post='1527337' date='Sep 22 2008, 14.08']I hope he doesn't retire too early, but I could definitely see him following through with his promise. Of course, it could all be a ploy to get more money from the UFC. He still doesn't get close to what Liddell makes.[/quote]

I also read that he wants to be fighting 6 times a year and is frustrated that the UFC isn't doing that for him. I guess when you win almost every fight and barely take any damage it is easy to want to fight more. At 205 there are so many good fights for him they should have him on every other PPV.

[quote name='Oorag' post='1527337' date='Sep 22 2008, 14.08']In other news, anyone going to watch Dream 6 tomorrow? I finally get HDNet again so I can watch these Japanese shows. Looks there's going to be the Championships for their Middleweight Grand Prix as well as a Crop Cop vs. Overeem fight. Aoki and Akiyama will also be fighting people I don't know.[/quote]

I'm excited about this! I've watched the whole DREAM tourney from the beginning and there have been some amazing fights. This card is really looking good with Cro Cop and Aoki on it.

My prediction is that Manhoef takes it all.

[Ser Barry]

Well done Mousassi but any KO by an upkick has an element of luck in it.

Cro Cop was getting pwnd. Retire with grace dude.

[Ser Sean]

I do one training session with Al Turk and he goes on to win the British Heavyweight Title and secure a UFC contract.
Coincidence? I think not.

[Analu]

[quote name='Ser Sean' post='1528409' date='Sep 23 2008, 05.43']I do one training session with Al Turk and he goes on to win the British Heavyweight Title and secure a UFC contract.
Coincidence? I think not.[/quote]
Obviously it's all you.

Looks like he's facing Kongo in his first UFC fight since Cain got hurt, so he'll have a shot right off the bat to either show he's a force or that he's being fed to the wolves.


Re. Dream 6
Missed the Mousasi vs Jacare fight because my stoopid DVR recording cut off, but the other fights were good.

Really surprised Manhoef got himself caught by that triangle. Usually fighters that are as dynamic and athletic as he is can explode out of submission attempts and keep themselves out of harms way. Or so I thought. When he had Mousasi up in the air like that, I expected him to get a running start and powerbomb him ala Rampage. Must've been tighter than I thought.

Nice armbar by Jacare on Zelg. It happened so quickly I didn't spot it, first time around. To me, it looked like a failed triangle attempt by Souza, then all of a sudden Galesic was tapping. Sweet.

That fight between Kharitonov and the bodybuilder with the gut was hilarious and I thought I was watching MMA circa 1997 again.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1528869' date='Sep 23 2008, 17.39']Obviously it's all you.

Looks like he's facing Kongo in his first UFC fight since Cain got hurt, so he'll have a shot right off the bat to either show he's a force or that he's being fed to the wolves.


Re. Dream 6
Missed the Mousasi vs Jacare fight because my stoopid DVR recording cut off, but the other fights were good.

Really surprised Manhoef got himself caught by that triangle. Usually fighters that are as dynamic and athletic as he is can explode out of submission attempts and keep themselves out of harms way. Or so I thought. When he had Mousasi up in the air like that, I expected him to get a running start and powerbomb him ala Rampage. Must've been tighter than I thought.

Nice armbar by Jacare on Zelg. It happened so quickly I didn't spot it, first time around. To me, it looked like a failed triangle attempt by Souza, then all of a sudden Galesic was tapping. Sweet.

That fight between Kharitonov and the bodybuilder with the gut was hilarious and I thought I was watching MMA circa 1997 again.[/quote]

I was surprised with the Manhoef fight also. It looked like what happened was he tried to powerbomb him but misjudged it and the ropes softened the blow. I think if he would have smashed him hard in the center of the ring he would have been able to escape.

Agree on the Jacare armbar. I also thought it was a choke and was surprised to see him tap until they showed it again in slow-mo. Amazing stuff there.

You don't often see a guy tap to strikes. Really makes you question his heart.