A Brand New MMA Thread

[Oorag]

Randy Couture vs. [b]Brock Lesnar [/b] - Brock is a terrible matchup for Coutue. He's too big, strong, and fast. Couture is a small HW, he's too old, and he relies too much on superior wrestling, which he won't have. I think Couture's only chance will be to land a big shot standing, and then capitalize on it.

[b]Kenny Florian [/b]vs. Joe Stevenson - Florian's looked very good lately, but Stevenson is no joke. I think this will be a good fight.

[b]Amir Sadollah [/b]vs. Nick Catone - Catone is an unknown, so it's kind of stupid to make a pick, but Amir has looked impressive and I don't think the UFC is going to plunge him in over his head right out of the gate.

[b]Gabriel Gonzaga [/b]vs. Josh Hendricks - I hope Hendricks is a new discovery, but I'm guessing Gonzaga will consolidate his gatekeeper status here.

[b]Demian Maia[/b] vs. Nate Quarry - Maia is a future superstar and will submit Quarry with ease.

[benderschweiz]

Randy Couture vs. [b]Brock Lesnar[/b]- I've picked against Randy in his last two fights as well. Guess I don't learn, but I think Lesnar will come in with a good gas tank and end up with a TKO.

[b]Kenny Florian[/b] vs. Joe Stevenson- If BJ opened up Stevenson that bad imagine what Florians elbows will do. I think this will end up being very close.

[b]Demian Maia[/b] vs. Nate Quarry- A good striker is going to pick apart Maia someday, but don't think Quarry is the one to do it.

I think in the next few years MMA is going to be dominated by wrestlers like Lesnar who are at a NCAA national championship level. Starting out they'll already be great at cutting weight and have some Judo knowledge to go along with elite wrestling. They've been talking about a lot of these prospects on MMA Live and it'll be interesting to see how fast they pick up striking and BJJ.

[GSP]

I want Stevenson and Quarry to win, but also believe that Florian and Maia will come out on top. Maia is scary on the ground and always seems to manage to bring it there. I'm tired of seeing Ben Stiller win, but he always does. Florian/Stevenson is definitaly the closer fight to pick in my mind though, and Stevenson could upset 'Kenflo'.

[Oorag]

D'oh! Amir is out! Too bad. The Hazelett/McCrory fight will be bumped up. Hazelett is coming off his Submission of the Night / Fight of the Night win from the last TUF finale. Here's hoping that we'll see more of the same.

[benderschweiz]

The Hazelett vs. McCrory fight will be getting fight or submission of the night so I'm glad it's on the main card now. I like every fight on the main card except for the Gonzaga fight, though I said that about the Werdum fight last month too...

[GSP]

Just watched TUF 8. I hope Krystoff wins it, and he obviously hits with power. Muir seems to think the world of his standup game. I can't help but think he's going to pay and pay badly, sooner than latter, for the way he holds his hands though. Anyone see what I'm talking about.

Good sub from the bottom when it hit the mat though.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='GSP' post='1587493' date='Nov 13 2008, 00.45']Just watched TUF 8. I hope Krystoff wins it, and he obviously hits with power. Muir seems to think the world of his standup game. I can't help but think he's going to pay and pay badly, sooner than latter, for the way he holds his hands though. Anyone see what I'm talking about.

Good sub from the bottom when it hit the mat though.[/quote]

Krystoff and Bader are both really good. I expect them to put on an epic battle in the finals.

[Oorag]

According to his [url="http://sherdog.com/news/articles/tuf-8-sherblog-two-boys-and-a-glass-15139"]blog[/url], he was trying out a new boxing style by holding his hands like that:

[quote]Don’s style is very different from what I was used to. He made me keep my hands wide apart and lower than normal. We would also work really hard on my head movement. The theory behind this style is that you will be able to see things more clearly and your opponent will not know when your punches are coming because your hands are not at the chin. The punches are coming from various angles.[/quote]

["Blackfyre"]

[b]Couture[/b] - Brock has weaknesses. he relies too much on strength and size and for someone that is a wrestler looks confused when his opponent is on the ground.

[b]Florian[/b] - this will be a good fight, but Florian's game is on right now.

[b]Amir[/b] - i doubt the UFC is going to pit him against someone that will beat him. not yet at least.

[b]Gonzaga[/b] - Gonzaga is going to be focued after losing his last 2.

edit: AMIR OUT???!!! dang... i really wanted to see that kid fight.

[GSP]

Was wondering about that Oorag. Thanks. Glad to hear there is method behind the madness, but I still have reservations about it. Guess I'm too hung up on orthodoxy - keep your hands covering that chin. Hope it works out for him.

[dits]

Watching this now. I have to admit that I'm not a huge MMA fan but I was really impressed with the undercard so far. Some great KO and submission endings.

[benderschweiz]

This turned out to be a fun card. Brock is going to be the HW champ for while...Neither Mir or Nog will be able to take him down and he has to much power standing for either to last 5 rounds with him. Now I'm really looking forward to the Florian vs. Penn fight, as Florian looked top last night. Praying for Maia vs. Palharas and Hazelett vs. anyone.

[Analu]

[quote name='benderschweiz' post='1590833' date='Nov 16 2008, 09.38']Brock is going to be the HW champ for while...Neither Mir or Nog will be able to take him down and he has to much power standing for either to last 5 rounds with him.[/quote]
I could see Nog just pulling guard on Lesnar, letting Brock beat on him a little, then go for a sweep and try to catch him in some kind of leg lock or knee bar during the scramble, like Mir did last time. I just don't see how anyone's gonna lock in a triangle or RNC on that big fat head and neck of his. Maybe an arm bar, but his arms are about the size of my legs. Actually, they're probably bigger.

A reluctant congrats to Lesnar. I thought Randy was going to beat him this whole time, but have to admit, started getting doubts during the prefight staredown. It was insane how much bigger he looked than Couture - like a good 4-5 inches and 50-60 pounds bigger. Anyways, that's a scary fucking dude.

Very good card last night. Kenny looked terrific, and I really hope Joe Silva does what Maia asked for when he said he'd like to fight Bisping next. Think I know how that fight would go....

[Pathetic]

[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1590947' date='Nov 17 2008, 00.00']Maybe an arm bar, but his arms are about the size of my legs.[/quote]
Sapp's arms are a tad bigger than Lesnar's, and that didn't seem to help him too much.

Admittedly the size of his arms was about the only advantage Sapp had. Lesnar seems to have some skills too, and doesn't exhaust himself completely in 3 minutes.

[GSP]

Wicked fight card. Felt bad for Randy, but it was not a shameful showing. It's not like he was dominated start to finish. I was shocked he stuffed a takedown or two and managed to force Brock into clinches against the fence. I expected that if Randy would loose, he'd have been steam rolled in the first minute.

Sweet uppercut by Stephens. Glad to see a father to be that probably needed it got a nice knockout of the night bonus.

Glad to see Bocek able to show off his slick ground game. Damn, all in all, it was a night of some stiff competition for submission of the night. Can't disagree with Hazelett getting it though.

Word is they are thinking of having Maia coach against Bisping in the next TUF season, thus the callout. I like Bisping, but after seeing what Maia's been up to, I think he'd get eaten.

If Mir beats Nog, I don't see him surprising Lesnar again and pulling out the V. I think Nog is the guy to beat Lesnar though, as per the proceeding Sapp discussion. I think it would go down similarly. Nog, the concrete headed freak, is just the guy to take a head drubbing from the guard by Lesnar, and catch him in something slick. Hard to think who else could give Lesnar a real good run for it in the HW division. Gonzaga? Carwin? Thoughts?

Oh, talk is Anderson Silva/Chuck Liddel at 205's a go. Good night Chuck.

[benderschweiz]

[quote name='GSP' post='1591017' date='Nov 16 2008, 18.34']Oh, talk is Anderson Silva/Chuck Liddel at 205's a go. Good night Chuck.[/quote]

Please let this be the London show and not Columbus...Chuck has nothing for Silva. I'm going to 96 and am hoping for a Lesnar vs. Nog headliner. The UFC is really going to end watering down the quality of their cards by putting on 5 shows between the end of December and early March. Both the LW and WW belts will be tied up until summer with BJ vs. GSP and both the LHW and interim HW champs are fighting in the Ultimate card in December. Dana White's going to have to work some magic to find headliner draws in at least a couple of these cards after UFC 94.

[Ken Stone]

I don't know if you guys ever catch Dana Whites video blogs leading up to UFC's but if you don't you should. They are filled with awesome behind the scenes footage. In his latest they have GSP and BJ chilling before UFC 91, and it is real obvious they are uncomfortable around each other. It's fun to watch them make small talk about the weather. Yes GSP, it stays warm in Hawaii all year around. :lol

[url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/Dana%20white%2091%20blog%20part%207.html"]Dana Whites Video Blog[/url]

ETA: Also like 50 Cent telling Joe Daddy "F##k him up! You're tough man. I would have tried you in the street because you don't look tough, but you are man!"

[Oorag]

What a great night of fights. We saw every bout and there wasn't a single snoozer. I had picked Lesnar, but I must admit being surprised by how strong Randy looked against him at times. I think it would be pretty amazing if Lesnar successfully rounded himself out and became a truly skilled mixed martial artist on top of a physical specimen. However, I agree that Nog is just the guy to beat Lesnar.

As far as Maia/Bisping, I'm pretty sure that TUF 9 is supposed to be UK vs US, and that the American coach was going to be the winner of Henderson/Franklin. Maia has abot one fight to go before he gets a title shot, I think, and he'll probably be a stiff test for Silva. Lutter did pretty well against Silva with his jiu-jitsu even though he was a physical wreck.

[GSP]

Word is niether Henderson or Franklin are particularly enthusiastic about coaching for TUF 9, and they have thought of bringing in Maia and scrapping the entire U.S. v. U.K. theme altogether. Wonder how it will go down. I wasn't overly fond of the country v. country format anyhow.

[Ken Stone]

So what does everyone think the next step should be for Randy? Personally I think there are a lot more interesting fights for him at LHW than at HW. My two top choices would be Randy v Anderson Silva, or Randy v Machida. I wouldn't expect him to win either of them but it's Randy, so who knows.