The MMA/UFC Thread

[King Pietersen]

I do really like the LW division as well, Guida vs Sanchez was an incredible fight, and I'm sure BJ vs K'Flo will be another epic battle. But my favourite division is the LHW division. You've got Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua, Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, Chuck Liddell (if he returns of course), and the possible return of Vitor Belfort. That's one hell of a stacked division right there. My 3 favourite fighters are all in this division, in the form of Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson. So I'm biased

[S Chanderpaul]

Originally Posted by King Pietersen

I do really like the LW division as well, Guida vs Sanchez was an incredible fight, and I'm sure BJ vs K'Flo will be another epic battle. But my favourite division is the LHW division. You've got Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua, Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, Chuck Liddell (if he returns of course), and the possible return of Vitor Belfort. That's one hell of a stacked division right there. My 3 favourite fighters are all in this division, in the form of Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson. So I'm biased

Easily the best fight in recent times imo.



Any fight that starts like that is guaranteed to be great.

[Majin]

I wanted the bastard child of Rafa Nadal and Carlos Tevez to win was a sick fight though

[BoyBrumby]

Don't pretend to be a big fan, but you're never to old to enjoy a good fight.

The main problem I have, and this might make me sound old and wussy, is the twatting of a defenceless bloke on the ground. In the clip KP posted in the first post the guy is clearly sparko before he hits the canvass, yet the other fighter still gets another punch in on the prone fighter.

Mabe it's weak refereeing or maybe it's because I've been raised on boxing, but that doesn't sit well with me.

[King Pietersen]

It is weak reffing. The ref's position was very poor, but it happens quite frequently in MMA fights. Personally I don't like watching a guy get knocked down and then have to listen to a ref count and wait for him to get up. I find boxing quite one dimensional and dull since I got into MMA. The big fights are worth watching, but if I had to choose, then I'd go for watching a guy get ground and pounded out over the conventional 10 count anyday.

[duffer]

UFC has been trying to shake off their "bloodsport" image ever since John McCain called it human cockfighting and they were banned from PPV and cable. There's been a whole heap of emphasis about the strategy, commitment and respect the fighters have so Henderson's cheap shot and Brock's antics were I guess not the greatest thing to happen to the sport.

However, the overall vibe from the weekend was positive. Even just from people I know here in Melbourne they seem to have lot of new fans. In a way UFC 101 is their most important show, if they can build on this one and put together another brilliant night then you can solidify the support of many people.

[masterblaster]

I'm not the greatest fan of MMA/UFC because of the level of violence that there is in the sport. I can appreciate the strategy, the conditioning and the athleticism of the fighters but sometimes it's really tough to watch.

Pro wrestling is a bit different I guess as the goal there is to put on a show and to not hurt or injure your opponent, which certainly makes it a bit easier to watch. Boxing as well with it's rules that protect the fighters makes it good to watch as well. MMA just seems like anything goes sometimes and the blows to a guy when he's down and out of it seem a bit over the top. It must take a huge toll on the fighters from a health standpoint.

[duffer]

Nah it's very heavily policed now. Almost unrecognisable from UFC 1 in a lot of respects. UFC athletes goal isn't to inflict punishment for the sake of it, it's just competitive instinct and desire to win apart from the odd indiscretion which I believe is equatable to a pro wrestler working sitff.

[Majin]

I don't find UFC to be all that violent really. The most dangerous thing they allow in comparison to other MMA organisations are the elbows to the head. Other than that they are pretty safe. PRIDE for instance allows the jumping stomps to the head of a downed opponent and soccer kicks to the head of downed opponents. Those are extremely brutal, and on the line between good sporting competition and unnecessary violence for me. On one hand if the fighters are willing to fight under those rules then there shouldn't really be a problem, but the moves are so dangerous and stuff, I don't know if I like it or not. (then again i have to question the sanity of people who are willing to fight under those rules against people like Mirko Cro Cop. Must be ****ing mad.)

[duffer]

Just saw the Mac Danzig v Jim Miller prelim match.

I was wondering why the Octagon floor looked like someone performed emergency surgery on it for the Akiyama bout. Wow, just wow.

Three losses on the bounce for Danzig. A spell in the minor leagues beckoning now. Shame, hope to see him back some day.

[King Pietersen]

Originally Posted by masterblaster

I'm not the greatest fan of MMA/UFC because of the level of violence that there is in the sport. I can appreciate the strategy, the conditioning and the athleticism of the fighters but sometimes it's really tough to watch.

Pro wrestling is a bit different I guess as the goal there is to put on a show and to not hurt or injure your opponent, which certainly makes it a bit easier to watch. Boxing as well with it's rules that protect the fighters makes it good to watch as well. MMA just seems like anything goes sometimes and the blows to a guy when he's down and out of it seem a bit over the top. It must take a huge toll on the fighters from a health standpoint.

MMA may seem more dangerous, but it's actually far safer than boxing. Ther'es not been 1 death or serious injury in the 16 year history of the UFC, whereas boxing averages between 10 and 11 deaths a year. The main reason for this is that in boxing, the sole purpose is trying to hit the other bloke in the head more times than they hit you, or before one of you is knocked clean out/unable to continue. MMA is far more than boxing + hitting eachother when they're on the ground. There are submissions, leg attacks and far less focus on just punching eachother in the head. MMA is surprisingly safe as far as sports go, and although it can look quite graphic at times, even American Football has more deaths per year than MMA.

Then there's the matter of the gloves, which this site describes perfectly:

The gloves in ultimate fighting are designed to protect the hand. In boxing the gloves are designed to protect the opponent from serious injury. Oddly enough this seems to have the counter effect. The gloves in ultimate fighting allow for quick knockouts and superficial injuries thereby decreasing overall strikes to the head. The gloves in boxing tend to allow for more “jarring of the brain” over time thereby producing a greater amount of strikes to the head. This can of course, lead to a great many long term repercussions

The rules in MMA protect the fighters far more than in Boxing, and although MMA looks notably more dangerous, it's actually far, far safer.

[duffer]

Must say, UFC 104 is shaping up as a stacked card. So far we have:

Machida - Rua
Carwin - Velasquez
Okami - Chael
Bader - Schafer
Yoshida - Johnson
Hardonk - Pat Barry.

Looking forward to seeing Efrain Escudero fight at 103 too. Easily my favourite TUF 8 guy. Griffin, Koscheck, Swick and Kampmann on that card too.

[duffer]

Oh dear, Josh Barnett with a positive drugs test. So much for Affliction's battle of the heavyweights. Fedor, come on down to the big leagues....

[Marcuss]

Just thought I'd say I've never seen Fedor fight so was doing a bit of scouting on Youtube.
YouTube - Fedor Emelianenko vs Hong Man Choi
They guy he's up against there is huge!

[David]

Haha, he made Fedor look tiny... Crazy.