MMA 2009

[Analu]

Personally, I thought Diego looked kinda shitty: awkwardly stiff, with odd footwork and an old-fashioned boxing stance that I've never seen him use before. With his obvious height and reach advantage at LW, he should really be working on his jab to set up his power punches.

Koscheck got caught. It happens, but seems to happen too often with him. He's a great fighter and recovers as well as anyone, but he gets rocked far too often. By guys like Alves and Lytle, I can understand, but Hazellet and now this Paulo dude? Think it's gonna keep him from ever reaching the next level. It was a good stoppage, IMO. Paulo didn't jump on him because he knew right away that Kos was out.

Marquardt looked good. Loved seeing that Street Fighter-esque power combo sequence he used to end the fight.

Also very happy that Maia won. Met him at a seminar held at my gym a couple months back, and he's a super cool guy. Pretty hot wife too, IIRC...

[Ser Barry]

Funny atmosphere in the arena. It was about 80% sold but no real electricity and the booing idiots really let us down. Rampage dancing between fights got some of the biggest cheers.

Sanchez kept on throwing bent arm punches which negated his reach advantage. Apparently it looked very one sided on TV but from the stands it looked like a close fight. That is why the 30 - 27 scores got booed.

Hardy hit a fighter who is easy to hit. Maia did his thing. Koscheck's boxing was awful, if you look at the ground while swinging like a rusty gate you deserve to get KO'd. Nate's finish rocked. Cobb should have drawn a picture for Etim he was inviting that left kick so badly. Struve looked like a lost lamb. Grove is an idiot.

[Andhaira]

Anyone have a youtube link to the part about the street fighter combo? I have been hearing about it all over the net...

At the least, describe it in words pleae, if you could. :)

Alos, how many months before Mir vs Lesnar II?

[Analu]

[quote name='Barryoto Machida' post='1697696' date='Feb 23 2009, 23.01']Funny atmosphere in the arena. It was about 80% sold but no real electricity and the booing idiots really let us down.[/quote]
That's interesting to me, because that's how it felt when I was at the Affliction show: half-empty arena all the way up to the Fedor-Arlovski fight, where it magically filled up. Was curious as to whether that was how it was for all UFC events or not. At the EliteXC and Rumble on the Rock events I've been to in the past, it was always pretty packed from start to finish.


[quote name='Andhaira' post='1697704' date='Feb 23 2009, 23.20']Anyone have a youtube link to the part about the street fighter combo? I have been hearing about it all over the net...

At the least, describe it in words pleae, if you could. :)[/quote]
Not sure if this will work, but [url="http://i40.tinypic.com/2zgf8ra.gif"]check this out.[/url]

Started with a flying knee, then there was like a 8-combo sequence with head kicks, a flying backfist, knee, etc. Ended with Gouveia on the ground. Keep in mind this was deep in the third round, when both fighters were pretty much exhausted.

[Ken Stone]

[url="http://www.mmabay.co.uk/Story%2000659.html"]Goldberg setting himself up to look like an idiot[/url]

[quote]“But if you were sitting there in a betting line I think you would say 'can anybody beat Anderson Silva' and you'd go 'hmm, I don't know'. But if you could pick a couple of guys who could, it would be the guy that comes out of the Bisping and Henderson fight. “

“The winner of that fight would have the best chance out of anybody in the world right now.”[/quote]

ummm, doesn't Silva already have a fight in the works? Every seems to be looking past Leites. It smells like an upset brewing to me. Regardless looking at the MW division and neither Bisping nor Henderson seem like the guy to beat Silva. I like Marquardts or Maia's chances much better.

[GSP]

Agreed.

We've seen Henderson/Silva and how that went down. I don't suspect a second go would be too much different.

I'm so sure of Anderson mowing through Leites, much like the rest of the MMA world (he seems to be less esteemed as a contender than Cote was, and that guy got NO respect IMHO) that yeah, it's got upset potential all over it. Maia has stated that Leites is being heavily underestimated in this one. Evidently they rolled some years ago and Maia won the decision but it was a very close back and forth affair. For some reason, I've never witnessed Leites looking anywhere in Maia's BJJ league from an Octagon performance. Maybe the big event pushes his abilities to another level?

[benderschweiz]

Maia vs. Marquardt would be a nice fight and answer a lot of questions I have about both of them. Right now I do think that Henderson/Bisping is the best fight for Silva.

[Oorag]

[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1697723' date='Feb 24 2009, 01.49']That's interesting to me, because that's how it felt when I was at the Affliction show: half-empty arena all the way up to the Fedor-Arlovski fight, where it magically filled up. Was curious as to whether that was how it was for all UFC events or not. At the EliteXC and Rumble on the Rock events I've been to in the past, it was always pretty packed from start to finish.[/quote]
UFC 84 was a ghost-town for the first few fights, though I heard a rumor that this was because the prelim start time was being misreported somewhere. The tickets themselves had the correct time on them. People streamed in throughout the prelims and by the time of the main card it was about as packed as it ever got. Affliction: Banned was also pretty empty during some of the early prelims and filled out throughout the night, so I figured this was just par for the course at MMA shows.

[Analu]

Think Maia needs a little more fine-tuning before going against the Spider. Hendo still has the best chance of taking out Silva, IMO. I'd rather see those two rematch than any others mentioned.

And holy shit, the UFC just [url="http://mmajunkie.com/news/14093/middleweight-stand-out-yoshihiro-akiyama-signs-with-ufc.mma"]signed Akiyama[/url]! That's awesome. Now there's a dude that definitely won't mind getting booed. MW division is really shaping up in the UFC: Maia, Marquardt, Bisping, Hendo and now Akiyama.


[quote name='Oorag' post='1698648' date='Feb 24 2009, 13.47']UFC 84 was a ghost-town for the first few fights, though I heard a rumor that this was because the prelim start time was being misreported somewhere. The tickets themselves had the correct time on them. People streamed in throughout the prelims and by the time of the main card it was about as packed as it ever got. Affliction: Banned was also pretty empty during some of the early prelims and filled out throughout the night, so I figured this was just par for the course at MMA shows.[/quote]
For the first prelim fight at the last Affliction, there were literally about 30 people in the stands, including my brother-in-law, his dad, my sister, wife and me. ROTR and EliteXC both filled up when the main cards started, but the mid-tier levels at Affliction were completely empty all the way up until the end of the Barnett-Yvel fight. Seemed to me like a total waste of money to only show up to watch one or two of the fights, but that's just me.

[benderschweiz]

I was at the Hendo/Silva card in Columbus at it didn't fill all the way up until about 1 fight into the main card. It does seem strange to pay 100+ for a ticket and not watch all the fights offered especially when there are often one or two gems in the pre-lims.

There are some really exciting match-ups with this Akiyama signing. I'd love to see him fight any of the top 5 MWs in the UFC. Seems like Dana is going to be making a push into Japan and Korea. Recently they've added Akiyama, Kang, and Uno, with Yoshida, DHK, and Okami already on the roster. Dana was talking to Kid on one of his video blogs as well.

[Asjegar]

[quote name='BJ Penn' post='1698746' date='Feb 24 2009, 20.25']Think Maia needs a little more fine-tuning before going against the Spider. Hendo still has the best chance of taking out Silva, IMO. I'd rather see those two rematch than any others mentioned.

And holy shit, the UFC just [url="http://mmajunkie.com/news/14093/middleweight-stand-out-yoshihiro-akiyama-signs-with-ufc.mma"]signed Akiyama[/url]! That's awesome. Now there's a dude that definitely won't mind getting booed. MW division is really shaping up in the UFC: Maia, Marquardt, Bisping, Hendo and now Akiyama.[/quote]

Maia's needs a little more octagon experience before he's thrown to Silva, and I'd rather see more refined standup from him. (I'd rather not watch him strike wild and sloppy and get KO'd, Thiago Silva style) And I still think Henderson would lose, again. He has nothing for Silva. (And I highly doubt he can LNP Silva for 5 rounds. He's already failed once.)

I'd rather see Marquardt rematch Silva. He's looked mighty impressive lately.

[Cuellar]

[quote]I'm so sure of Anderson mowing through Leites, much like the rest of the MMA world (he seems to be less esteemed as a contender than Cote was, and that guy got NO respect IMHO) that yeah, it's got upset potential all over it. Maia has stated that Leites is being heavily underestimated in this one. Evidently they rolled some years ago and Maia won the decision but it was a very close back and forth affair. For some reason, I've never witnessed Leites looking anywhere in Maia's BJJ league from an Octagon performance. Maybe the big event pushes his abilities to another level?[/quote]


Yeah, while we seem to be looking at the next fight for the Spider, Silva himself doesn't do that. I'm sure he'll bust his ass to train for ANYONE he is fighting... and not pull some amature hour shit like Koshchek.

[benderschweiz]

I'm going to be in Columbus for this one and am pumped to see Rampage live.

* [b]Quinton Jackson[/b] vs. Keith Jardine- Rampage should win this one, but can't shake the thought that Jardine might manage a decision. He's a legitimate top 10 guy and doesn't get enough credit for beating Forrest, Chuck, and Vera.
* Matt Hamill vs. [b]Mark Munoz[/b]- Seems like Hamill has actually declined since the Bisping fight. Munoz may be the better wrestler of the two as well.
* [b]Matt Brown[/b] vs. Pete Sell- Random guess as to who knocks the other one out first.
* Shane Carwin vs. [b]Gabriel Gonzaga[/b]- Both these guys may gas if the fight goes past round one...I don't think it will and Gonzaga will get the sub. or tKO.
* [b]Gray Maynard[/b] vs. Jim Miller- Maynard looks like Sherk II and I think he'll be fighting for the belt soon enough. Miller has looked very good, but he may be lnp in this fight.

[GSP]

* [b]Quinton Jackson[/b] vs. Keith Jardine- By vicious ko at that.
* [b]Matt Hamill[/b] vs. Mark Munoz- One of those going with who I know picks, quite possibly to my detriment
* Matt Brown vs. [b]Pete Sell[/b]- Sell's due a win by stoppage for once in the UFC. Hasn't happened since Baroni IIRC, lol (Still can't get over the irony of Sell calling GSP a 'mental midget', lol)
* [b]Shane Carwin[/b] vs. Gabriel Gonzaga- Haven't personally seen a Carwin fight yet but hearing all the momentum behind him, my gut's saying to go that way. Gonzoga's no joke though. Should be an awesome heavyweight battle whichever way it goes
* [b]Gray Maynard[/b] vs. Jim Miller- Hopefully not by lnp snoozefest a la Clementi

[Oorag]

*Quinton Jackson vs. [b]Keith Jardine[/b] - Unless Rampage gets in Jardine's face and gets an early KO, I think Jardine will use a superior gameplan and striking to out-point Jackson. I'm not going to be betting against any Greg Jackson fighters for a little while.
*[b]Shane Carwin [/b]vs. Gabriel Gonzaga - This is heart over head bet, I'm just hoping that Carwin is the real deal. Carwin will probably want to use his wrestling to keep this on the feet and try for another big KO, but Gonzaga is a dangerous striker as well. Hopefully we'll get some fireworks here.
*[b]Matt Brown [/b]vs. Pete Sell - Yeesh, what a top-heavy card. I can't believe this is on the main card. Brown deserved the win against Stun Gun, while Sell has always been a dubious prospect.
*[b]Gray Maynard [/b]vs. Jim Miller - Maynard by sprawl and brawl decision. He looked pretty unstoppable doing the same against Edgar.

[Young Wolf]

Anyone else watch the WEC card? Mike Brown looked great against Garcia. Looks like we'll be getting that Faber vs Brown 2 card soon.

YW

[benderschweiz]

[quote name='Oorag' date='Mar 1 2009, 18.45']Matt Brown [/b]vs. Pete Sell - Yeesh, what a top-heavy card. I can't believe this is on the main card. Brown deserved the win against Stun Gun, while Sell has always been a dubious prospect.[/quote]

The UFC sure likes to make sure there is a least one "brawl" type of fight on the maincard. Last time I went to an event Leben vs. Sakara was on the main card after Tanner vs. Okami and Jon Fitch.

[Ken Stone]

* [b]Quinton Jackson[/b] vs. Keith Jardine - Jackson is the exact type of fighter that Jardine has problems with. IOW, he's black. I don't know why dark skinned fighters seem to have a lot of luck knockin' the hell out of him, but that has been the pattern that has emerged.
* [b]Matt Hamill[/b] vs. Mark Munoz- Hamill has a great story so he should win this one.
* [b]Matt Brown[/b] vs. Pete Sell- On TUF we were told over and over that Matt Brown is a beast sooooo I guess that means he will win.
* [b]Shane Carwin[/b] vs. Gabriel Gonzaga- This is the fight I am most interested in. It's like a coming out party for Carwin, only instead of announcing that he dates men, he's going to K Gonzaga TFO. Or take it to decision.
* Gray Maynard vs. [b]Jim Miller[/b]- I like Maynard but you just don't bet against the Miller boys.

[GSP]

Lol! I took Jackson, but never thought of the fact he was black. I also took Hamill, but never knew it was the fact he has a great story that would be determinative.

[Ser Barry]

[b]Rampage[/b] vs Jardine
Rampage looks good when countering counter punchers. Jardine will probably try to leg kick him out of it, he gets caught hard while doing so.

[b]Gonzaga[/b] vs Carwin
Gonzaga is better on the feet than Carwin. If Carwin takes him down I think he survives a round and waits for Carwin to start gassing and slow down. Gonzaga for the KO.

Brown vs [b]Sell[/b]
Matt Brown is easy to hit, Pete Sell hits hard.

Hamill vs [b]Munoz[/b]
Hamill has fallen in love with his stand-up which leaves him open to Munoz's power.

[b]Maynard[/b] vs Miller
Very tough to call. I think that people are forgetting how new to the game Maynard still is and I was impressed with his control in the Clementi fight. He controlled a very active fighter. I just hope he doesn't react to the backlash from that fight and try to do too much. I think he will decision it. He is the LW Koscheck, hopefully without the facedown uppercut.

[b]McCrory[/b] vs Madigan

Grove vs [b]Day[/b]
Day to KO Grove early doors.

Brilz vs [b]Boetsch[/b]
Boetsch to KO via Lightning Kick

[b]Vera[/b] vs Patt
Last chance saloon for Vera. Not even he can mess up against Patt.

[b]Riley[/b] vs Nelson
Preferably inflicting some sort of permanent ego injury to deflate the jumped up prick.