A Brand New MMA Thread

[Analu]

[quote name='Barryiah Faber' post='1497902' date='Aug 28 2008, 04.28']Nog is the interim champion. Randy is still the official champion. Unless UFC are about to announce signing Fedor I seriously doubt this story.[/quote]
I doubted the story when I first heard it too, but the rumors are flying hot and heavy on this right now and it looks like it could be legit.

I could see it being a real possibility. Randy didn't realize how knee-deep in legal shit he'd get trying to get out of his UFC contract and still owes them two fights. A compromise between the two parties where the UFC matches him up with Lesnar could make a lot of sense for both sides. The UFC would get crazy, maybe record-breaking PPV numbers, and if Lesnar beats him, then that's double the bonus for them. Couture can finally get out of his UFC contract and pursue the mega-fight against Fedor. The UFC holds most of the marbles here, since everyone knows time isn't on Randy's side.

I'd be excited to see Couture teach Lesnar a lesson, but I'd much rather see BJ vs GSP 2, for obvious reasons.

[benderschweiz]

Here's more:

[url="http://mmajunkie.com/news/5158/sources-randy-couture-willing-to-fight-in-the-ufc-once-more.mma"]http://mmajunkie.com/news/5158/sources-ran...c-once-more.mma[/url]

Penn vs GSP 2 for me as well.

[childe roland]

[quote name='Statler/Waldorf' post='1497918' date='Aug 28 2008, 09.37']GSP vs. BJ, hands down.[/quote]


yup

[Ser Barry]

[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1498580' date='Aug 29 2008, 02.03']I'd be excited to see Couture teach Lesnar a lesson, but I'd much rather see BJ vs GSP 2, for obvious reasons.[/quote]

I meant Couture vs Fedor not Lesnar. Jeez, I would obviously have picked Ultimate Warrior if I was going down that road.

Ok, so taking one fight in UFC to clear his path and to warm up for Fedor would make sense. What is strange is that I am actually thinking that he might not beat Lesnar if that fight happens. Also, as he is champion, will he get tied up in the clause which means no champion can walk away? I know you guys pointed out that clause can be broken but it would be back to the courts again.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='Barryiah Faber' post='1498811' date='Aug 29 2008, 04.54']Ok, so taking one fight in UFC to clear his path and to warm up for Fedor would make sense. What is strange is that I am actually thinking that he might not beat Lesnar if that fight happens. Also, as he is champion, will he get tied up in the clause which means no champion can walk away? I know you guys pointed out that clause can be broken but it would be back to the courts again.[/quote]

I don't like the Lesnar match up for Couture. Lesnar is a much bigger wrestler then him whose main weakness seems to be subs. I know Couture has training in subs but it is by no way his strength. I could easily see Lesnar overpowering and grinding out a decision victory over Couture. Any loss (with the exception of an eyepokeish fluke loss) would take a lot of luster off of the Fedor fight.

[benderschweiz]

Lesnar would have a decent shot in this fight. His wrestling is on par with Couture's and he has about 60 lbs and 15 years on him, still don't know about his heart though as he's never been tested and might fold like Gonzaga.

[b]MMARated.com has learned that Randy Couture is on the verge of agreeing to this new contract with the UFC that will see him make his return to the Octagon at UFC 91 on November 15th against Brock Lesnar. As part of this new agreement, Couture has been offered a new three-fight deal with the UFC, thus terminating his old contract that had two fights remaining on it.

If all goes well over the weekend, multiple sources have informed us that the UFC is hoping to make this announcement on Tuesday.

Believe it or not, the UFC is also considering a proposal from M-1 Global to co-promote a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko bout following the Lesnar fight in November. The third proposed fight would be a bout against either current interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Chuck Liddell - depending on where both fighters are in their respective careers. However, given the nature of the fight game and the fighters involved, it's hard to predict what will happen that far in advance.[/b]

[Horus Ex Machina]

[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1498580' date='Aug 28 2008, 20.03']I doubted the story when I first heard it too, but the rumors are flying hot and heavy on this right now and it looks like it could be legit.[/quote]If there's one thing that MMA is full of it's rumors.
[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1498580' date='Aug 28 2008, 20.03']I could see it being a real possibility. Randy didn't realize how knee-deep in legal shit he'd get trying to get out of his UFC contract and still owes them two fights. A compromise between the two parties where the UFC matches him up with Lesnar could make a lot of sense for both sides. The UFC would get crazy, maybe record-breaking PPV numbers, and if Lesnar beats him, then that's double the bonus for them. Couture can finally get out of his UFC contract and pursue the mega-fight against Fedor. The UFC holds most of the marbles here, since everyone knows time isn't on Randy's side.[/quote]Good point. This is the one thing that separates him from the Penn case or even the Lesnar/WWE case is that he is so old. If he'd been younger he obviously could afford to fight it out given earlier precedent, but since he's turning 45 he has to get moving quickly. I can't see why the UFC wouldn't take such a settlement if they think that they can put him in a match that he stood a good chance of losing.
[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1498580' date='Aug 28 2008, 20.03']I'd be excited to see Couture teach Lesnar a lesson, but I'd much rather see BJ vs GSP 2, for obvious reasons.[/quote]


This would be a stellar way for the UFC to build up Lesnar if he can take out the champ. I can easily see Lesnar grinding out a decision since Randy has had trouble in the past with bigger, stronger grapplers. It will be interesting to see if this fight goes down. The way that I hear it, Couture wants his next fight in the UFC to be his last one as part of an out of court settlement. The UFC probably still won't be able to sign Fedor since M1 would have to be a part of that deal, plus he wants freedom, so Couture will be looking to take on Fedor after this. This is obviously a risk for Couture and a probable big win for the UFC if it happens.

[url="http://www.fightticker.com/story_0829081715_affliction_to_sponsor_nascar_car"]Take a look at the Affliction NASCAR.[/url]

[Ken Stone]

Is anyone familiar with this website [url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/index.html"]MMABay[/url] ?

The reason I am wondering is because they have a ton of really compelling UFC stories that I haven't seen any where else. For instance:

[url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/Story%20CBSnegotiatewithUFC.html"]CBS Negotiates with UFC for EliteXC slot[/url] :stunned:

and:

[url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/randyfedor.html"]UFC to co-promote Couture/Fedor fight[/url] :wideeyed:

I'm hoping so much that these articles are true, but the news is so big that it seems like it would have been reported in other more established outlets too. Until I read it on Sherdog or MMAJunkie I just can't bring myself to believe it.

[Horus Ex Machina]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1501159' date='Aug 31 2008, 14.09'][url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/randyfedor.html"]UFC to co-promote Couture/Fedor fight[/url] :wideeyed:[/quote]
It doesn't say anything about them co-promoting, it just says that they're in negotiations with Randy's people to make the fight happen. Now I realize that in order to sign Fedor it will have to be a co-promotion, but nothing there says that the UFC is willing to negotiate along those terms.

[benderschweiz]

The UFC is having a media call today according to MMAJunkie.com at 3 ET. Apparently Randy is back to actually give the UFC HW division some interesting match-ups. I hope Couture shows up at UFC 88 as I always enjoyed his commentary of the main events.

Rashad Evans vs. [b]Chuck Liddell[/b]- Liddell by KO, though I'm curious as to what Greg Jackson and Evans have planned.

Rich Franklin vs. [b]Matt Hamill[/b]- Hamill wins by decision

[b]Karo Parisyan[/b] vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

[b]Dan Henderson[/b] vs. Rousimar Palhares- Hendo by TKO by the 2nd round. Dan will catch Palhares eventually.

[b]Martin Kampmann[/b] vs. Nate Marquardt- always liked Kampann's style and hope he wins, though Marquardt's good and has just as good a shot of taking this one

[Ken Stone]

Rashad Evans vs. [b]Chuck Liddell[/b] - This is not a good match up for Evans. His strength is his wrestling but Liddell has shown to be very good against wrestlers. To beat Liddell you have to out strike him, and I don't see Evans having a shot in hell of doing that.

[b]Rich Franklin[/b] vs. Matt Hamill - My heart says Hamill but my mind says Franklin. Franklin has too much experience for him.

[b]Karo Parisyan[/b] vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida - I don't know much about Yoshida, and Karo is one of my boys, so I have to go with him.

[b]Dan Henderson[/b] vs. Rousimar Palhares - I don't see Hendo losing 3 in a row. It's unfathomable.

Martin Kampmann vs. [b]Nate Marquardt[/b]

[Ser Barry]

[quote name='benderschweiz' post='1503030' date='Sep 2 2008, 16.13']The UFC is having a media call today according to MMAJunkie.com at 3 ET. Apparently Randy is back to actually give the UFC HW division some interesting match-ups. I hope Couture shows up at UFC 88 as I always enjoyed his commentary of the main events.

Rashad Evans vs. [b]Chuck Liddell[/b]- Liddell by KO, though I'm curious as to what Greg Jackson and Evans have planned.

Rich Franklin vs. [b]Matt Hamill[/b]- Hamill wins by decision

[b]Karo Parisyan[/b] vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

[b]Dan Henderson[/b] vs. Rousimar Palhares- Hendo by TKO by the 2nd round. Dan will catch Palhares eventually.

[b]Martin Kampmann[/b] vs. Nate Marquardt- always liked Kampann's style and hope he wins, though Marquardt's good and has just as good a shot of taking this one[/quote]

I agree with you apart from Yoshida. He will dominate Parisian.

[Ken Stone]

[url="http://mmajunkie.com/news/5190/its-official-randy-couture-returning-to-ufc-fights-brock-lesnar-at-ufc-91.mma"]Couture v Lesner for UFC 91[/url]

As a match up I think this will be a good fight. However how the hell does Lesner deserve a title shot? He is 1-1 in the UFC. How can they pass over Frank Mir in good conscience?

The next fight for Couture should be Nogueira, with the winner of a Verdum/Mir fight as the #1 contender. Lesner should need to string together at least a few wins before getting a title shot.

[Analu]

So Couture signed a 3-fight deal and is returning to the UFC? Great. I missed him. But Randy clearly lost. He basically wasted a year of his life and who knows how much in legal fees, and he's right back to where he started: in the UFC with no possible Fedor fight in sight.

Lesnar may be a bad matchup stylistically for Couture, but I'm surprised so many people favor Brock. Randy will come in with a great gameplan, and will have Lesnar in trouble at some point. I'm still not sold on Lesnar and would like to see how he handles a little adversity in the Octagon. Last time he was in any trouble, he tapped to a kneebar that even Mir admitted wasn't very tight.

[Analu]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1503464' date='Sep 2 2008, 10.32']As a match up I think this will be a good fight. However how the hell does Lesner deserve a title shot? He is 1-1 in the UFC. How can they pass over Frank Mir in good conscience?

The next fight for Couture should be Nogueira, with the winner of a Verdum/Mir fight as the #1 contender. Lesner should need to string together at least a few wins before getting a title shot.[/quote]
It's not like Mir was exactly blowing things up and deserves a title shot unconditionally. He beat Hardonk and a very green Lesnar.

I imagine the TUF season with Mir and Big Nog has already been signed, sealed and filmed, so they can't really break out of that and make a Couture vs Nog fight. The Couture/Lesnar fight makes a lot of sense, IMO. It's not just about who deserves it, but what kind of potential draw a fight is going to have, and you can't get much more hype than Couture vs Lesnar.


ETA: The more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense what DW is doing in the HW division. It's basically a mini-Grand Prix tournament with Mir, Big Nog, Lesnar and Couture. Only one who maybe gets screwed is Werdum, who probably has better wins his last two fights than any of the above 4.

Also, I was looking at the Affliction 2 card coming up in October, and it's pretty underwhelming. If they fold before the end of the year, the UFC'll have a direct line to Fedor. As much as I hate to say it, Dana may have been right all along on the best way to handle the HW division.

[GSP]

Hey all,

Was on a farm with only dial up for two months so I am way out of the loop on MMA. A quick scan of the thread seems to have caught me back up though.

Can't wait to finally see Evans get KTFO. I think he's custom made to fall for Liddell.

BJ/GSP II, oooh yes!!!!

I was on the fence about Lesnar and wasn't going to write him off. He's proven a viable contender and a beast to me, but after that Herring fight, I'm gonna look for him to loose every time. I don't like the unsportsmanish oaf and wish he'd leave that 'Can you smell what the Rock is cookin' kind of bullshit back in the WWE, where people seem to like that kind of lameness. I hate him.

I can't believe Couture is returning. Wow. Should be interesting.

[Ser Barry]

Well fuck a duck until it quacks. I am shocked. Imagine the reception he is going to get on November 15th. Which is my wife's birthday, do you reckon she would appreciate a trip to Vegas to celebrate? :)

[Analu]

[quote name='GSP' post='1504047' date='Sep 2 2008, 19.37']Hey all,

Was on a farm with only dial up for two months so I am way out of the loop on MMA. A quick scan of the thread seems to have caught me back up though.[/quote]
Was wondering where you were when GSP fought Fitch. Good to see you made it back here.


[quote name='Barryiah Faber' post='1504122' date='Sep 3 2008, 00.05']Well fuck a duck until it quacks. I am shocked. Imagine the reception he is going to get on November 15th. Which is my wife's birthday, do you reckon she would appreciate a trip to Vegas to celebrate? :)[/quote]
I'm in very serious negotiations with my wife to make it to Vegas on Nov. 15 as well. Deadly serious negotiations. Almost every year, all my family makes it out to Vegas for Thanksgiving anyways (yeah, I know, we're kinda a weird family). So after hearing the Randy news yesterday, me and my cousins have been trying to convince everyone else that we should celebrate Thanksgiving a couple weeks earlier. It'd be my first live UFC event. Had been planning to save it for BJ vs GSP 2, but maybe I can make both.

Give me a holler if you make it out to Vegas for the fight. We could meet up and exchange peruvian neckties :P

[Oorag]

I don't like Couture's chances against Lesnar. I think there is a very good possibility that Lesnar will steamroller right over the older and smaller wrestler. I don't think Lesnar has much of a shot against Nog, whom I expect to win the interim fight.

As far as Lesnar getting a short-track to the title shot, he did beat Herring, who was up there in contention, while Mir and Nog are already tied up in the interim fight. The only fighter I can see being screwed is Werdum. The UFC's HW division is pretty shallow again.

As far as UFC 88 goes, I'm picking Liddell, Franklin, Yoshida, Henderson, Marquardt, Tavares, Kim, MacDonald, Boetsch, and Chonan.

[Cuellar]

You can't count Coutour out. One thing he is great at is training, and he has a massive amount of experience. There are plenty of areas where he might run into trouble, but the problem is Lesner is too one sided, whereas Randy can come in the with a gameplan, and easily switch it up between rounds if he is getting beat down too hard.

The only problem I could see for Randy is that Lesner gets him down then pounds him out in the first round... but even that, I wasn't impressed with Lesner's ground and pound, and Randy is damn experienced with getting punched in the face.