The MMA/UFC Thread

[King Pietersen]

The UFC need to find a way to get Shinya Aoki and Eddie Alvarez into the UFC. From an MMA fight fans point of view an Aoki-Penn fight would be the pinnacle.

I don't think Shinya Aoki would have much more of a chance than Diego Sanchez did tbh. He's weaker on the feet than Sanchez, it's still unlikely that he'd be able to get BJ down and if he did I don't think his ground game is any stronger than BJ's, especially without his fancy pants on that would be banned in the UFC. I think it'd be an easier win for BJ than the Sanchez fight. Aoki's chin certainly wouldn't hold up as well as Diego's did.

Awesome event overall I thought. Am now a fan of BJ Penn after disliking him for quite a while. He was far less arrogant in the pre fight build up, didn't talk any trash and then was humble in victory, and he's one hell of a fighter. Best 155lber in the world easy, there's certainly no-one in the UFC worth fighting anymore really, same situation as GSP and Anderson Silva are in now, taking rematches or fighters new to the company. I certainly don't see Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin or Frankie Edgar challenging him. Aoki and Alvarez would be good fights though.

Frank Mir looked awesome. He's packed on the extra 20lbs very intelligently and looks genuinely massive now. He claimed in the build up he'd outbox Cheick Kongo and he proved it. He talks alot of trash, but I still like the guy alot, a very intelligent fighter who, like BJ is starting to realise that talent alone doesn't lead to greatness, you need to put the work in. If Frank Mir gets another win under his belt, against a top contender then he'd definitely deserve another shot at Lesnar. I'm quite excited about the HW division now, got some real talent building. Lesnar, Nog, Carwin, Velasquez, JDS, Mir and Kimbo......

K-Flo looked impressive also. He did look a little tentative in the 1st round, but once he got going he dominated Guida. I do like Clay Guida, he puts on a great fight but he's not a top contender in the division, and never will be, but I'm more than happy to see him on the main card if he keeps putting on exciting fights and continues to leave it all in the Octagon.

Gotta give props to DaMarques Johnson as well. Still think he's a douche, but man that was a good performance. Edgar Garcia's no mug, he deserved a decision over Brad Blackburn, but DaMarques outworked him on the ground. He really must have put the work in since the TUF Finale where he was dominated by James Wilks. His stand-up looked alot crisper and the Triangle choke to finish the fight was locked in fast. The way he set it up with the up kick was beautiful as well, awesome job by DaMarques! Was a really good fight.

Just a shame this event is followed by an event headlined by what is at best a Co-Main Event in Rashad-Silva. I'm sure it'll be an entertaining event though, any card featuring a fight between Paul Daley and Dustin Hazelett is going to be worth watching; that's going to be a seriously good fight. If Semtex keeps it standing then Hazelett's going to sleep, if Hazelett gets it to the ground then it's hard luck Semtex, his ground skills will not be able to cope with McLovin's sick submissions.

 

[duffer]

I don't think Shinya Aoki would have much more of a chance than Diego Sanchez did tbh. He's weaker on the feet than Sanchez, it's still unlikely that he'd be able to get BJ down and if he did I don't think his ground game is any stronger than BJ's, especially without his fancy pants on that would be banned in the UFC. I think it'd be an easier win for BJ than the Sanchez fight. Aoki's chin certainly wouldn't hold up as well as Diego's did.

Probably right. Tbh Eddie Alvarez or Kaewajiri would probably be more difficult matchups for BJ but neither could touch him. Maybe with the Marinovich's guiding him he can make that move back up to 170 and fight some of the top guys there. Maynard, Edgar, Griffin? Heh,heh,heh.

Also:

Damn.

 

[Johnners]

Yech

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Damn that's brutal.

Oh, and was the 107 crowd fickle or what? Booing half way through the first round in both Struve/Buentello and in Fitch/Pearce. Didn't get that at all. Struve/Buentello seemed to respond to it though, and I thought Struve ended up fighting a pretty stupid fight.

 

[duffer]

Takanori Gomi signing with the UFC is pretty big news for me. His stock has fallen since his loss to Golyaev but his last two fights have been very impressive and he is young enough to continue at a very high level. Exciting addition to the LW's for me.

There are still top guys like Alvarez, Kawajiri, Hansen, Aoki out there but it's encouraging seeing guys like Gomi and Akiyami making the move over to show they are serious about really adding to their divisions.

Other than that anyone watch Dynamite 2009? One of the most stacked cards I've seen and puts tomorrow's PPV to shame. Still looking forward to 108 though but it is one of those you'd stream as opposed to buying.

 

[King Pietersen]

I've seen a couple of the fights on the net, and it seems like it was a decent event. The Aoki victory was savage, just the way you could see Hirota's arm snap as Aoki continued to crank it. Suppose that's what you get when you don't tap, Aoki was within his rights to keep cranking, what he did after the fight wasn't quite as good though. Thought he acted like a complete idiot after the fight, giving both Hirota and the crowd the finger, showing no respect at all, and then laying on one of the least convincing apologies I've ever heard post-event. Complete knob, hoping he comes to the UFC and gets schooled by B.J. even more now.

I'm personally liking a few of the fights on the 108 card. Big fan of Semtex and Hazelett, JDS has been mega impressive in his last few fights and Rashad-Silva will be a good fight, just lacks that 1 big fight to make it a really good card. It's not a bad card really though considering the amount of injuries, think the UFC have done well to keep a good level of fighters on the card. Just hope the injury problems don't continue into 2010.

My predictions:

Main Card:

Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva - 2nd Round TKO
Dustin Hazelett vs Paul 'Semtex' Daley - 1st Round TKO
Gilbert Yvel vs Junior Dos Santos - Unanimous Decision
Joe Lauzon vs Sam Stout - 2nd Round Submission
Jim Miller vs Duane Ludwig - Unanimous Decision

Spike TV Prelims Live:

Martin Kampmann vs Jacob Volkmann - Decision
Cole Miller vs Dan Lauzon - 2nd/3rd Round TKO

I'm looking forward to the event, seems like it's been quite a while since the last UFC PPV so it'll be nice to have this and then an Ultimate Fight Night pretty close together. Should be a good night of fights, I'm hoping this card'll be like UFC 105 and be alot better than anyone expected it to be.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Takanori Gomi signing with the UFC is pretty big news for me. His stock has fallen since his loss to Golyaev but his last two fights have been very impressive and he is young enough to continue at a very high level. Exciting addition to the LW's for me.

Funnily enough I watched his fight with Diaz at PRIDE 33 today. Pretty awesome fight - he took some huge shots and then walked straight into the Gogoplata. Should make for some interesting fights at 155.

 

[King Pietersen]

I just hope he doesn't go the way of a series of other lighter-weight fighters that when they get to a certain stage of their careers they just start to rapidly decline. Names like Jens Pulver and "KID" Yamamoto spring to mind instantly, and I hope Gomi isn't another to add to that list. He was phenomenal in PRIDE, officially going 13-1-0-1 in his 3 year spell in the organisation. Hopefully he'll be able to build on his current 2 fight win streak in the UFC and get back to being the fighter he was in PRIDE.

If he doesn't, then he'll be just another PRIDE star that's failed to live up to his name in the Octagon. Wanderlei Silva, Denis Kang, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (although that was mainly down to injuries) and Mirko Cro Cop are probably the main ones; I'm just hoping Gomi has a good spell in the UFC. Would be nice to get the chance to see Penn vs Gomi II if Gomi gets a few wins under his belt. Could be used as a Unification bout of the PRIDE and UFC lightweight titles as well, as Gomi never actually lost the PRIDE Lightweight Title; if the UFC wanted to get some extra hype for the fight anyway.

 

[duffer]

Paul Daley is a classless douchebag. Taunting a nice guy like Dustin after putting his lights out. **** off bollocks, you're a ****, you're a ****.

Happy for Jds and for Sam Stout though. Sam was a gun tonight.

 

[duffer]

Funnily enough I watched his fight with Diaz at PRIDE 33 today. Pretty awesome fight - he took some huge shots and then walked straight into the Gogoplata. Should make for some interesting fights at 155.

If he's mentally focussed he'll be a handfull for all but Bj in the division. A truly great talent who hasn't been mentally in the game for a while, hopefully the step up is the change of scene he needs.

And now Daley apologises after hearing the boos. Well done dickhead.

EDIT: Too little too late for Thiago, Evans was impressive for the first 2 rounds but the ease in which Silva rocked him when he finally manned up doesn't bode well for when he goes at Rampage. Page by brutal KO imo.

 

[King Pietersen]

Loved the Thiago Silva showboating once he'd already been dominated for 2 rounds. Was pretty cool to watch though, loved the way I was just sticking his neck out and Rashad was just standing there. Really should have pulled the trigger and finished him, or even better, done that earlier in the fight before he was gassed. Good performance from Rashad in the first 2 rounds though tbf, implemented his gameplan nicely and used his wrestling well. Still hoping he gets KTFO by Rampage though.

Liked the whole card actually. Stout vs Lauzon was a war, and a great performance from Sam Stout. JDS looked good against Yvel as well. Was nice to see Semtex pick up the win against McLovin also. I do like Hazelett alot, but although Daley's a ****y SOB I still like the guy and am glad he's starting to run riot in the UFC. Think Rogan over-rated his striking ability massively though, don't think there's any chance he's the best technical striker in MMA.

Just really looking forward to UFC 111 now. The events leading upto that will be good, but 111 is looking stacked. GSP-Hardy, Mir-Carwin and Alves-Fitch has been talked about as well. Can't wait for that one. 110 looks really good as well with Velasquez-Nog and Bisping-Wandy. Just gotta get past the dull looking 109 headlined by Couture-Coleman which is set to be a yawnfest. Am looking forward to Maynard-Diaz at the next UFN though.

 

[duffer]

What pissed me off wrt Daley was him motioning to Dustin that "I shot the mofo" while he was lying on the ground toes curled up and eyes glazed over. Complete douche move but he got what he wanted, he's now gone up a level in people's consciousness.

Rumble v Semtex next please. Would be so so sick.

 

[Johnners]

Why's Rua getting a rematch against Machida before anyone else gets a crack at him? (Only started following UFC past 2 months) Was the decision to Machida really that controversial at 104?

 

[duffer]

D/l the match man. Complete farce of a decision and I'm a huge Lyoto fan but he didn't win that fight using American, Jap or whatever the **** scoring systems.

 

[Johnners]

Got a link? (or msn if needed?)

 

[King Pietersen]

What pissed me off wrt Daley was him motioning to Dustin that "I shot the mofo" while he was lying on the ground toes curled up and eyes glazed over. Complete douche move but he got what he wanted, he's now gone up a level in people's consciousness.

Rumble v Semtex next please. Would be so so sick.

Not sure myself, don't know what it'd do for Daley's career beating a guy who's coming off a loss to Koscheck. I'd much rather see Semtex vs Alves. That'd be a great match, a real stand-up war. Looking likely that it's going to be Semtex-Kos next though, which should be a real test of Daley's TDD. I'm just hoping that Kos tries to stand with him like he did against Paulo Thiago, because he would get KTFO.

Got a link? (or msn if needed?)

Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua UFC 104 HD Video - Fights MMA Video Details

There ya go. Awesome site for watching old matches.

 

[duffer]

Got a link? (or msn if needed?)

au underscore saik at hotmail dot com.

Not sure myself, don't know what it'd do for Daley's career beating a guy who's coming off a loss to Koscheck. I'd much rather see Semtex vs Alves. That'd be a great match, a real stand-up war. Looking likely that it's going to be Semtex-Kos next though, which should be a real test of Daley's TDD. I'm just hoping that Kos tries to stand with him like he did against Paulo Thiago, because he would get KTFO.
.

I just want to see the two of them go at it with no holds barred brainless sluggery. We'll see how much of a badman Daley is against a guy much bigger and who hits harder than him. Koscheck-Daley would be good too. Can't stand either of them (although Josh's heel promo's have been winning me over recently) so I can't lose.

 

[King Pietersen]

Johnson may hit slightly harder, but Daley's far more technical on his feet and I think would knock Rumble out. Daley vs Thiago Alves would be a far better war. Would love to see that fight, much more interesting than Alves vs Fitch AFAIC.

I like Semtex, don't like Koscheck, so I'm hoping for a Semtex KO if that fight happens.

Rumour going round that BJ's next defence will come against Frankie Edgar as well. Not a huge fan of that fight, just see BJ dominating him like he did Jens Pulver. Should Maynard get past Diaz convincingly I'd much rather see him take on BJ. Neither are going to challenge BJ, but Maynard would give him a better fight I think.

 

[King Pietersen]

Really looking forward to the fights tonight. Not the best card on paper, but I love any night of fights tbh, proves how much I'm loving MMA atm if I can get pumped for this card! Backing Maynard, Escudero, Simpson, Sadollah, Leben, Story, Tavares, MacDonald, Dos Anjos, Salter and Forbes tonight. Looking forward to all the Main Card fights, but I'll be especially interested to see how Leben, Tavares and Dos Anjos go in the Prelims, and I'm intrigued to see how much Forbes has improved and worked on his game since TUF 3.

 

[duffer]

Completely missed my intention regarding the Rumble-Daley fight. I just want to see one of them ktfo of the other. Couldn't be fussed about which matchup would be better or anything like that. it would sell and be crazy to watch.

Anyways, watched the Varner-Henderson card just then and was blown away by the two ME's. Faber is such a sick fighter to watch and he was in a proper war with Assuncao, sick finish to a banging fight, glad Urijah is back and the fight between him and Aldo is spine tingling stuff.

Varner won the first two rounds comfortably but what makes fight sports special is the ability to win or lose it all on one moment of brilliance and Henderson's transition to that sick sick choke is going to ebe in the conversation for sub of the year when all's said and done. Don't see many better than that. Was magnificent, although his GodZombie speech at the end of it was cringeworthy to say the least. "Can I get an amen?" Hahahahahahahaha, wow. Thankfully the crowd reacted with almost complete silence at that.