MMA 2009

[GSP]

Oh. Anybody see the Affliction weigh ins with Tito as a commentator tonight on HDNet? Wow, is he ever kissing ass for a job. Pretty hilarious stuff.

[Horus Ex Machina]

4-1 on the night, (minus my pick on the Margarito-Mosley fight) so I did pretty good. Arlovski really fucked up. He had Fedor in a place we rarely see him. Fedor clearly tried to go to the ground with this early but strength and leverage were on Andrei's side. Then he staggered him with the kick and followed that up with one of the dumbest hands-down flying knees in MMA history. It was unnecessary. It was a sign of overconfidence on Arlovski's part and a prelude to a KO.

Coming from anyone else but Fedor it could almost be called a fluke of a flask knockout, but Fedor always seems to find ways to win in the unlikeliest of situations. Remember the Randleman fight? Congrats to Fedor, I had him winning, but I thought it would be on the ground by sub. Arlovski is probably kicking himself tonight bc he was winning that fight.

I'll have more on the other fights later.

[GSP]

Yeah. Cudos to AA for having Fedor in trouble. That body kick had him rattled.

Wonder if Lindland knows who he is yet?

I got to watch the undercard live too at a buddies place who had HDNet. Good fights there too. We're pretty sure that we saw Trump's party girl of the night and a dealer in a transaction right on camera during the second undercard fight, lol!

[Young Wolf]

[quote name='GSP' post='1661607' date='Jan 25 2009, 03.42']Yeah. Cudos to AA for having Fedor in trouble. That body kick had him rattled.

Wonder if Lindland knows who he is yet?

I got to watch the undercard live too at a buddies place who had HDNet. Good fights there too. We're pretty sure that we saw Trump's party girl of the night and a dealer in a transaction right on camera during the second undercard fight, lol![/quote]

I was thinking while watching the undercards, Trump has got to be a bit pissed. He shows up to his event he's promoting and he's one of the first hundred or so in the crowd. The Nog/Mat fight had a few more people in the crowd, but there were still a lot of empty seats.

How was it during the "main event" cards?

YW

[GSP]

Affliction's reporting a gate of over 13,000. By the time Fedor was up the arena looked pretty full.

I was surprised to see Trump at the undercard. Usually the big cheese types don't show up till near the main event. Maybe he's actually a fight fan?

[Oorag]

Pretty crap in my picks. I think I went 50-50, might as well have been picking at random. Arlovski was looking good until his mistake, though, so I guess I was a little vindicated. Still, Fedor has always, in my somewhat limited experience, seemed like a fighter who does well not because of overwhelmingly superior technique or speed or power, but simply because he makes very few mistakes and can always capitalize on his opponents'. Also, he's got an Orthodox priest in his corner, so maybe he's doing an extra 1d6 of holy damage with each punch.

The Affliction presentation was sloppy again, but a little better than last time. It's a little sad that the free HDNet undercard had better commentating and interviews than the actual PPV. Some fighters like Couture, Florian, Mir, Lennox Lewis, and George Foreman are well-spoken. Tito isn't. And apparently the crowd hates him, which really surprised me given the love he received at UFC 84. Also, I don't think we needed Chuck Zito and that coked out guy rambling nonsense backstage. That time could have been used to, I don't know, actually show the Jay Hieron fight.

I didn't catch much of the WEC fight on Sunday, but I did catch the Faber/Pulver fight. It kind of sucked because I like Pulver and I didn't want to see him lose 3 times in a row, but there was no way he was getting past Faber. Of course, Versus screwed up the airing time of the fight, like it does every single time, so my DVR didn't record the main event. Usually I record an hour before and after the event to compensate for Versus' idiocy, but I forgot this time around.

[Ser Barry]

If AA lands that knee, an looked like it was on target, does it end the fight? I think it was that close to having Arlovski as King of the HWs. He looked like he had done everything he could, the bad news for him is that you can't train a chin. I was actually more impressed with how Fedor avoided the takedown from a seemingly impossible position in the clinch than with AA's work. After Barnett there doesn't seem to be much left for Fedor, bets on him fighting Lashley in Affliction by this time next year?

Barnett looked ok, strange how he couldn't seem to finish the fight. There were subs there screaming to be gone for but I guess Yvel looked strong from his back and he was worried about giving up position. Which again is strange because Yvel didn't look close to defending a takedown.

Vitor, wow! Matt Lindland's left leg twitching on the floor says it all. That doctor had a sweet defence against the double leg.

Sokodjou seems to have run out of ideas. A lot of people are saying that he needs to go to a smaller promotion and hold a belt for a little while to get used to different fightstyles and learns how to gameplan. The problem being that I think he it too strong and explosive for that to be of any use. He will blow away midlevel opposition and it is only while fighting top level opponents that he will improve. Of course at 5-5 and on big money I doubt that even Affliction fancy keeping hold of him for much longer.

Sidelnikov looked lost in there. Stop eating doughnuts and get down to 185 where you can be a decent fighter dude. It is bad news being the shorter fighter. It is pretty awful news being the shorter fighter and having the slower hands. It is a catastrophe if you are the shorter fighter, have no hands and refuse to use any movement. I wonder why you got out of bed if you are the shorter fighter, have slower hands, refuse to use movement and then can't take the fight to the floor.

I really enjoyed the card, I thought it was one of the more entertaining for a while. Now can someone keep Tito out of the ring and who the hell were the two clowns reporting from backstage? Sort out the production values and stop marketing this like pro-wrestling and they might be on to something. A lot of people keep telling em that Affliction can't keep pouring money down the drain on this. Really? I can see a whole bunch of people talkling about Affliction, I can see websites buzzing all weekend, I can see it being shown on TV in several countries for three hours. I wonder how much that sort of advertising would cost in another form?

[Oorag]

[quote name='Barry J Penn' post='1662806' date='Jan 26 2009, 09.31']Sidelnikov looked lost in there. Stop eating doughnuts and get down to 185 where you can be a decent fighter dude. It is bad news being the shorter fighter. It is pretty awful news being the shorter fighter and having the slower hands. It is a catastrophe if you are the shorter fighter, have no hands and refuse to use any movement. I wonder why you got out of bed if you are the shorter fighter, have slower hands, refuse to use movement and then can't take the fight to the floor.[/quote]
Seriously, the guy looked downright chunky and had nothing to offer. It's not doing Fedor any favors either to have someone of that caliber as his chief sparring partner.

[quote]and who the hell were the two clowns reporting from backstage?[/quote] The greasy guy with the raspy voice was apparently a radio personality. The other guy was Chuck Zito, a bit actor/professional tough guy whose claim to fame is beating up JCVD in a bar brawl about ten years ago.

[GSP]

Seems to me Yvel was able to survive being mounted by Barnett by employing effective, I don't know what to call it, 'back-and-pound'? A lot of the time Barnett spent in the mount he was not launching heavy fists and elbows because he was being clubbed in the chin by hammerfists. While there was no way that technique was going to end, or even win, the fight for Yvel it seemed to be a pretty good way of surviving while mounted by keeping your foe annoyingly distracted with strikes from the bottom and perhaps assisting him in making a mistake or become distracted enough to escape the position. Just a thought.

[Young Wolf]

[quote]The other guy was Chuck Zito, a bit actor/professional tough guy whose claim to fame is beating up JCVD in a bar brawl about ten years ago.[/quote]

[url="http://www.chuckzito.com/default2.htm"]And he has his own fighting system![/url]

YW

[Arakasi]

[quote name='Barry J Penn' post='1662806' date='Jan 26 2009, 11.31']If AA lands that knee, an looked like it was on target, does it end the fight? I think it was that close to having Arlovski as King of the HWs. He looked like he had done everything he could, the bad news for him is that you can't train a chin. I was actually more impressed with how Fedor avoided the takedown from a seemingly impossible position in the clinch than with AA's work. After Barnett there doesn't seem to be much left for Fedor, bets on him fighting Lashley in Affliction by this time next year?[/quote]

Why would you think that one knee from AA would bring Fedor down? It's not like Fedor has never been rocked before. Fujita and Randleman had Fedor in a way worse position than Andrei did in this match. Hell didn't Randleman suplex Fedor [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtFvR7QRmow"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtFvR7QRmow[/url] and yet Fedor still beat him. I think people are just taking for granted how great Fedor is, thinking he just has to dominate all the time. He certainly dominates more often than not, but he's gone the distance in fights before and has lost rounds or had setbacks in fights and came back and won them. Fedor's two biggest strengths are grappling and absorbing punishment. Considering striking isn't his main strength, he has put some good fighters on their backs with punches.

[Ken Stone]

Sorry BJ fans, but The Natural has weighed in on the fight and it doesn't look good for your boy.

[url="http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7964&zoneid=13"]Randy Couture weighs in on GSP/Penn[/url]

[quote]"B.J. is one of the most talented guys that I've ever been around. He has amazing balance and flexibility. He's got naturally heavy hands. His submission skills are top notch," commented Couture. "But I still think we've seen him at 155 fight the best that he has. Although he beat Matt Hughes back in the day at 170, it was more of a style match-up than anything. Conditioning, the body, mindset, everything, it was the best it's ever been at 155."

"I just don't see it going well for (Penn) going up to 170, dealing with a guy like Georges who is cutting down a good 15 pounds, probably more, to make the 170-pound limit, who is as dynamic and has the skill sets that Georges has,"[/quote]

Maybe Couture is over-estimating the importance of size after his recent bout with Lesner?

[Stego]

GSP will win.

[GSP]

When your talking pound for pound bests going at it, the weight class differences can really be the factor that makes the difference. These guys are all gonna be neck in neck in skill. Generally I don't see it going well for the pound for pounder who steps up in weight.

For instance, in each of the fights below, I'd have to put my money on the larger fighter:

BJ v. GSP

GSP v. Silva

Silva v. Fedor

[Oorag]

[b]Georges St-Pierre [/b]vs. BJ Penn - Size does matter. GSPs size, athleticism, and wrestling ability will overpower and smother Penn as long as he can avoid Penn's heavy hands.
[b]Lyoto Machida [/b]vs. Thiago Silva - I don't see how anyone, let alone Silva, can take down Machida.
[b]Stephan Bonnar[/b] vs. Jon Jones - Bonnar's solid, and I think he'll be too much for newbie Jones.
Karo Parisyan vs. [b]Dong Hyun Kim[/b] - I'm hoping that the Kim from 84 will show up again.
[b]Nate Diaz [/b]vs. Clay Guida - Diaz is a human garrote. Once he gets Guida in his guard, it's over.
[b]Jon Fitch [/b]vs. Akihiro Gono - Ridiculous that this is a prelim. Fitch is a powerhouse.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='GSP' post='1665939' date='Jan 28 2009, 15.23']When your talking pound for pound bests going at it, the weight class differences can really be the factor that makes the difference. These guys are all gonna be neck in neck in skill. Generally I don't see it going well for the pound for pounder who steps up in weight.

For instance, in each of the fights below, I'd have to put my money on the larger fighter:

BJ v. GSP

GSP v. Silva

Silva v. Fedor[/quote]

I would tend to take GSP over Silva, based on the wrestling.

[Young Wolf]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1666055' date='Jan 28 2009, 17.31']I would tend to take GSP over Silva, based on the wrestling.[/quote]

:o

[Horus Ex Machina]

[quote name='Young Wolf' post='1666116' date='Jan 28 2009, 17.10']:o[/quote]
I know, it wouldn't even make it to the ground.

[GSP]

As big a GSP fan as I am the smart money would not be on him in a fight with Silva. Not saying he could never win, just that more often than not I see him having problems. I feel that way for the same reason I'm confident GSP is going to handle BJ. When skill goes neck and neck, size and strength are often the difference. Same reason I wouldn't feel so confident to see Anderson Silva victorious against Fedor.

It could have been the editing but the footage of GSP sparring with Evans on UFC Primetime tonight just seems to reinforce what a powerhouse he is. He appeared to be the dominant of the two. That's crazy. Rashad's a powerhouse at LHW. Honestly he just didn't even look too much bigger than GSP.

I have no idea who to throw my name behind in Silva/Machida. Alway's interesting when someone's O's got to go.

I'm gonna say [b]Diaz[/b] over Guida - I'll bet Guida has Diaz in all kinds of trouble before he get's snared in something funky though

[b]Stephan Bonnar[/b] over Jon Jones - I know nothing of Jon Jones, so I could easily prove uninformed. Hoping Bonnar gets back in their and shows improvement.

[b]Karo Parisyan[/b] vs. Dong Hyun Kim - Parisyan's back is kind of against the wall and he's just moved to Greg Jackson's camp. I'm betting he shows up in shape and with a great gameplan.

[b]Jon Fitch[/b] vs. Akihiro Gono - Gono's good, but he's not GSP good.

[Cuellar]

I hope Guida beats Diaz. He's scrappy and can take some punishment, whereas Diaz seems to just capitalize on mistakes. Guida's too experienced to make any early mistakes, and will just punish Diaz... it's hard to put someone in a triangle when your face is smashed.