HUNTO!!
SEXYAMA!!
HAPPY DAY!!
HUNTO!!
SEXYAMA!!
HAPPY DAY!!
Nah, he broke his hand or some shit. He's out for 6 months I believe.Originally Posted by percussion13
HUNTO! HUNTO! HUNTO!
So Mark wants to turn around and be on the FN 55 card in Sydney. Most of the top 10 HW's are tied up though. Arlovski dispatched of Bigfoot rather cleanly it appeared.
Maybe Barnett? Old school PRIDE tussle right there. Pretty bad stylistic fight for Hunt though.
Bummer that.
Hunt/Barnett does have the revenge angle from PRIDE. Maybe Josh would be so distracted with thinking about his LEGENDARY metamoris title he'll want to display his standup in MMA and get Super-Samoan'ed for it. Looks glorious in my head.
It's an intriguing fight for sure.. Next to Cain I feel Barnett is Hunt's worst opponent stylistically though.
And wtf was up with Sexyama? He looked brilliant.
Either he spent the last two and a half years in a Japanese Lazarus Pit or there's something to be said for fighting a Sadollah-level opponent in one's proper weight class. Somewhere between the two I'd imagine.
He was clearly stronger than Amir and seemed very ready for his kicks. The first two takedowns he used the same bear-paw technique after catching a kick. The third was countering a kick as well but he just rushed Amir with a straight. Was great to see Sexy in form in Saitama.
Fucking love Hunt. Walk off knockout of Roy Nelson of all people. Hardest chin in mma no more. Shame hunt's next fight will likely be Barnett who is a stylistic nightmare for him. Still hunt has made the last couple of years his quest to prove people wrong.
Couldn't help but lol at the Rin Nakai supporters. She got worked, "we need a new contender" my buttocks.
Zingano and Rousey were capable of offering Tate resisistence. Nakai was in well over her head, good on Miesha for a deserved 30-27 and silencing her critics.at Rousey vs Nakai.
I'll never get over brits saying "good job" instead of "good thing", it sounds so weird.
Does sound kind of strange. First time seeing that.
And I usually love british vernacular.
So, Rick Story's still a relevant fighter guys. Just beat Gunner Nelson quite comfortably. Story's a guy who has probably been written off a little too early due to a bit of tough luck, he's the skin of his bollocks away from being on another six fight win streak since he lost to Maia. The Gastelum and Pyle fights were the definition of razor thin. Shame Nelson lost because he's an interesting fighter but hopefully he'll learn from it and make a run at lightweight, a much more suited division for his technique-over-strength style.
Elsewhere, Swedish people got beat the fuck up. Can we get a health update on OD50 because all his compatriots got whooped. Max Holloway is starting to look the real deal.
Two quasi-contender fights tonight in Canada. You'd feel Rory will get a title shot if he beats Saffiedine. Three fight win streak over top 10 opponents, only lost to Condit and Lawler. Tarec would probably have to nuke Rory to make a contender statement, but he can put himself in the mix. For Canada's sake, you feel this is a must win as Rory is their guy now that GSP is shelved and they could do with a big fight returning there. Raphael Assuncao will surely choose to wait if he beats Caraway, it'll be a seven fight win streak and undefeated at the weight. Give him a seat for Cruz/Dillashaw and let him scout. If Caraway wins, there's Urijah Faber's next fight.
Rory with a nice win. Assuncao could probably afford to sit out 6-8 months and challenge for the belt. Have they announced when Cruz-Dillashaw is expected to go down? A guy with a 7 fight winning streak at 135 is pretty damn impressive, and he's beaten the champion. Caraway just looked like he couldn't get his rhythm going after the first round, it was kind of a boring fight tbh, maybe Assuncao was playing it safe knowing full well he's the guy after Cruz to get a shot.
I'm ok. Almost felt like I was the only Swede not getting KTFO on Saturday..
Holloway merking Akira was great, nobody likes that fucker. The stoppage was insanely shit though, and the ref was actually Swedish.. Wtf.
The co-main slot and postfight interview helped Assuncao's case for a title shot imo. It was the first time I had ever personally heard him talk but he speaks good English. That goes a long way with regards to Brazilian fighters' careers fought predominantly in the US.
Rory MacDonald is a machine. I think he had on off night vs Lawler.
Lawler's just that good, no shame in losing to him these days. 5 years ago, that might've been a bad loss for Rory. WW is such a stacked diviision, love it.
Tarec's not that well known to casuals, but finishing Sponge is really impressive. He's one of those guys that just doesn't get finished.
And Rory's not really a guy that you see finish people. But he's also fought some really tough dudes like Nate Diaz, BJ Penn, Jake Ellenberger. So it was definitely an impressive win.
Rory is talented enough to finish all of those guys. Frankie Edgar stopped BJ. Josh Thomson stopped Nate Diaz. He just doesn't throw with a lot of power, very light on his feet and therefore doesn't generate the pop in his shots a lot of the time to put people down. His ground and pound is nasty too, if he drops somebody they're going out, but it's just a rare thing as the welterweight division is A: full of good beards (look at that top 10 and count the knockout losses) and B: full of heavy hitters who Rory can outpace by staying on the outside and at range. But the way he stopped Tarec was excellent and really made him a title contender in my eyes, he needed a finish to get interest in the title fight, and he got it.
Assauncao didn't. He's kind of chugged along to his #1 Contender role this year really, he was ready on a 5 fight streak and his 2 fights this year haven't really added any luster to his eventual challenge. I think he's an excellent fighter who will give Dillashaw or Cruz all they can handle, but he won't do anything spectacular. Particularly after Cruz's 60 second nuking of Mizugaki, Rafa fell off the pace. His challenge is surely July FOX bound.
Yeah I was just basically backing up that even though Rory doesn't finish a lot of guys he's fighting really tough dudes who rarely get finished. Took almost 15 years for someone to finish BJ Penn (towel thrown in doesn't count as a finish in my book GSP). And Rory was actually close to doing so but it felt like he was holding back. Gotta be that Tri Star gym, GSP, Rory, that big roided up looking dude Francis Carmont, they just seem to be content with doing enough on the scorecards and if they get a finish sweet if not oh well they've done enough. Rory did finish Che Mills, not exactly IMPRESSIVE, but shit he almost finished Condit a couple times in their fight if I remember correctly.
7 wins via KO
6 wins via Submission
5 wins via Decision
I think Rory Mac's finishing ability is fine.
Again, just backing up what OD50 originally said about how Tarec doesnt get finished and Im saying how impressive it was that Rory, a guy with 11 fights in the UFC, 7 decisions, 4 finishes over 4 years and 10+ months...that says alot about that win for Rory. A decision heavy fighter in the UFC getting a tko win against a top 10 WW is something to applaud.
But he isn't decision-heavy. 13 finishes out of 18 wins is a 72% finishing rate.
I'm specifically talking about the UFC Mark. He's had 11 fights, 7 out of 11 were decisions. That's a decision heavy fighter. What he did prior in those bush leagues, doesn't really matter to me.
Nope, not decision heavy. He's shown plenty of finishing ability throughout his career, you are simply wrong here.
In terms of his UFC career, yes he is lol. How do you figure he's not if 7 out of 11 fights are decisions? That's almost double his finishing victories. 4 finishes in 5 years doesn't scream "finisher". We're talking more than half of his fights in the UFC went the distance, less than half were finishes=decision heavy UFC fighter. Again, taking into consideration his entire career, yes you are correct. But that's out of context son.
You continue to argue that Rory is not a proven finisher. Laughable.
Ok Mark. You're right.
I'm not arguing one way or the other, but Rory's finishing rate is actually 4 in 9 in the UFC. He can't finish opponents in fights that he loses.
In the interests of equality though, I would say that Rory's UFC finishing rate is not hugely dissimilar to aldo's with the difference being that Aldo was a lot more lethal finisher before the UFC than Rory and Aldo has arguably fought tougher competition by taking on the number one contenders in almost all of his fights. Would mark hammer argue that Aldo is a proven finisher?
Probably, because Aldo is from Brazil and apparently if you're a Chris Weidman fan, you have to shit on everything from that country.
Of course I wouldn't.
Nash Diesel is dumb. When he hates he fucking hates.
You wouldnt say that Aldo is a proven finisher, or you wouldnt argue with me if I said he was?
.
Show me where I hated on Rory and I'll show the previous 5 posts where I praise his work.
The case with Rory is that he's clearly a capable finisher, despite not having overwhelmingly positive statistics. No doubt he could have stopped BJ Penn if he wanted to, and against Ellenberger he took the path of least resistance and refused to commit to his shots to limit Jake's chances of landing the knockout shot. Likewise against Woodley. If you have a crisp jab and can beat those guys on the outside, you don't stand in the pocket and generate power with your shots. Out of all the top flight opposition he's faced, the only person I think he absolutely should have stopped is Maia, who was flagging in the third and vastly inferior stand up. But who knows, maybe if Rory had committed more he'd have been taken down and grinded out? He didn't take the risk, and that's fair enough. It doesn't win fans but it's smart and he won.
MacDonald would probably have a Condit-esque finishing rate if he ramped up the aggression like Carlos does. He'd also probably lose more. It's not like he's Bruno Santos and has little ability to finish a fight, he can, but won't risk victory for a finish.
The New Breed.
Yeah he does have the ability, most fighters do, but Rory seems to hold back and there were a few fights like Maia and Penn where had he gone for it, he wouldve finished them. What happened against Tarec is pretty amazing for 2 reasons: 1. Tarec doesnt get finished and 2. Rory isnt a guy who is koing top dudes, usuaully the tougher the fighter the more reserved he is. Hes definitely more like GSP than Condit, and sure maybe thats why hes rarely lost and is next in line for a title shot.
I'd definitely factor Firas Zahabi as one of the reasons for Rory's "lack'' of killer instinct, definitely a safety first kind of coach. Look at GSP's dramatic change after the Serra fight.
Plenty of fighters like that over the years, it's hardly a new mentality.
Dana has actively encouraged fighters via bonuses but has now removed distinct incentives like KO/Sub of the night so if people try for exciting full-length fights it has more or less the same result as it did before, only now less focus has been put on the KO and sub artists. It's all about performance if you want a bonus now.
That's not really true, it's just that the old award titles weren't very PR friendly. The lads who get the best knockouts usually still get the bonus money, it just doesn't celebrate the act of causing somebody concussive damage by name now.
It is true
Thats exactly right. It was very much a PR exercise in wanting to sell the sport as a discipline rather than 'knock this guy out and get a bonus'.
Weak. Next thing you know they will be required to wear a uniform and it will look like the MMA version of American Gladiators.
Cub Swanson or Frank Edgar? Im honestly seeing Edgar getting capped and within 2 rounds. You gotta put that boy out early and it is possible. Maynard almost did and whos he knocked out? Himself and some nobody. Swanson is brutal and looks real good, relaxed, def not the turd who got smoked by Jens of all people (RIP Jens).
Also, heard Brock might come back. Would the UFC ever put a fight of his on Fight Pass to get subscribers? Air it on Fight Pass for half the ppv price? Who would he even fight?? Meathead? Schaub? Big Nog? Mir 3? Arlovski? Any of those seem possible. I always wanted Cro Cop v Lesnar.
IFthat was to happen, maybe the Frank Mir trilogy would be an easy sell.
Yeah last time the fan backlash was brutal, never seen anything like it before or since when it comes to a fight that was PROPOSED and the fans quickly shit on it enough to take both men on a different route. Against the lesser talent at HW, I think Lesnar could still be a threat. He'll never improve his striking, but if he could clean up his ability to take a punch and just pray his beast power crushes the opponent, he could be entertaining. I would just hate to see him come back and get rinsed by a top guy because you know Lesnar wouldn't want to fight a guy in the bottom 20. He'd probably come back and fight Roy Nelson and get cracked within a minute and be out cold.
Before his retirement I would have called Brock over Nelson all day long.
I'd say 50/50. Nelson hits hard and has a very good ground game, Lesnar has the size, power, and wrestling. Would've been a really good fight to see.
Yeah I'd watch that. Roy was one of my favourites purely because of his heart but over the last while I have fallen out of love with him. No work ethic, no desire to improve.
Lesnar would win.
All finishes last night with a big win for Rockhold. I def see him and Jacare as the next challengers, I bet we see them have a rematch for the next shot.
Rooting for one of my faves Shogun Rua and Des Moines Iowa native Tim Goman is about to throw down. This dude fought my close friend Al Ichelson back in the day and we thought Al died it was one the most brutal ko finishes Ive seen. Hit my boy so hard that he bounced his head off the cage and split him open looking like Marvin after Vitor split him haha.
Am I reading wrongly or did OSP fucking smash Shogun in 34 seconds last night?
yep....sad but he caught dude coming in and Shogun got hit with 6 or 7 big shots on the ground. OSP silenced that crowd.
Shogun needs to hang 'em up.
I said the same about Arlovski years ago and look at him now but for real Shogun has taken bigger shots and hefty beatings.
Idk....he got caught and thats not taking anything away from OSP or what youre saying but I think hes got a few more left. Maybe not in the UFC though idk....i dont see them cutting him but he may step away for awhile and then return in Japan.
Shogun seems to be going the way of Chuck Liddell. The OSP left that put him down would probably not even had rattled him in 2005. The crowd reaction was hilarious though, reminded me of when Gus submitted Te Huna. Went from soccer game frenzy to graveyard silence in an instant.
Why not do Shogun/Diet Nog 2 now? Neither is relevant but it's still a rematch many would like to see I guess.
So, how about that Luke Rockhold and his manly beard? I'd pay to see Rockhold/Weidman for the title.
How would you guys fantasy book the top guys at 185?
Weidman/Belfort winner//loser
Luke Rockhold
Jacare
Yoel Romero
CB/Machida winner/loser
185 is pretty damn exciting right now.
Last edited by OD50; November 10th, 2014 at 5:07 AM.
I've never thought of Bisping as a small MW before (remember he came down from 205). but he looked damn tiny next to Rockhold.
One inch lower and Bisping would have been KTFO instead of subbed. Wonder what he would have preferred? The damage of getting kicked in the head or the embarrassment of the one-arm guillotine?
Luke Rockhold is ace. Bisping is certainly on the downswing of a good career but no version of Bisping would beat that Rockhold. He's a big lad with good variety in his striking and awesome BJJ. Rockhold vs. Jacare 2 makes a lot of sense, but maybe they go the Rockhold vs. Romero route and have Jacare wait for the shot? It's the money division next year no doubt. There's certainly a level of intrigue to Weidman vs. Belfort still, then Weidman against either Jacare, Rockhold, Romero or Machida 2 are fights I'm well into. The dream would be Weidman rolling through 3-4 opponents (let's say 3 considering rate of injuries), then challenging for the light heavyweight title at UFC 200. Book it Dana.
Bisping isn't a small middleweight, rockhold is just a huge one.
Bisping said after that headbutt he doesnt remember anything. Excuse or not, good work by Rockhold. I agree, either do a rematch with Jacare or maybe do Rockhold v winner of CB/Machida. Jesus I never thought Id be looking at CB as a title contender but if he beats Machida he has to be in the mix. But we still have to see if Weidman even makes it to the vitor fight let alone win....
Great card on Saturday, one of the best non-PPV line-ups of the year with a (probable) #1 Contender's bout at featherweight, big fight between borderline top 10's at lightweight and the consensus top 3 flyweight fighting a decent up and comer.
Cub Swanson vs. Frankie Edgar could be fight of the year. Frankie Edgar does not have boring fights. He's a warrior. Cub Swanson has come into his own and has been knocking people out spectacularly during this 6 fight win streak. He's been promised a title shot with a win. Edgar is never far away from a title shot as long as he keeps winning. Frankie pushes the higher pace but Swanson is more clinical with his output and probably has more power. Edgar has the better wrestling and more experience in five rounders. His chin has come through many wars but is waiting to be cracked considering the damage he has sustained throughout his career. Close, close fight. I'm leaning towards either Swanson catching Edgar cold early and putting him away with better timing and patience than Maynard showed, or Swanson not really pulling the trigger, keeping it close for three rounds before Edgar takes over for a close but decisive decision. Swanson at this point is probably the more talented fighter, but Edgar has heart for days and you really have to go after him to beat him and I'm not sure Swanson can sustain that for five if he doesn't catch him early. I'm hoping for a Maynard/Edgar level fight and think we could get it, these guys match up that well together. Edgar UD.
Barboza vs. Green. Bobby Green is a bit of a strange dude, with a very different background. He hasn't had that massive UFC performance yet (though his sub win over Volkmann was great), even though he's beaten good fighters in his 4 fight run. Good grappling and possibly the most improved hands in the sport. His head movement is great to watch to go along with his trash talking. Edson is the killer with the fragile chin, can beat anybody in the division as long as he doesn't get hit hard. He genuinely matches up well with anybody, excellent striking at all ranges and with all 8 weapons, solid enough TDD, he just doesn't react well to getting hit. I'm not so sure if Bobby Green has that power though, especially if he's focusing around the jab and not throwing hooks. If Green gets Barboza's respect early and tags him, Barboza should back up a bit and break. If Barboza starts to build a lead early though I think he'll finish in grand fashion, maybe by headkick. Leaning towards Green because of chin and ability to go hard for three rounds, but Barboza has a great chance of jumping up the rankings. Green SD in a close one.
Brad Pickett is back against Chico Camus, who was a solid, gatekeeper bantamweight really. Pickett is on the decline but is still one of the best action fighters in the sport, in fact his decline will probably help fights like this be more dramatic and back-and-forth than they would have been three years ago. He's very slow for 125 but that won't matter against Camus. I'm envisioning a lot of in fighting, blood, guts, and a Brad Pickett decision victory. His power has been overrated by his nickname and the finish of Jabouin, he's not really a big puncher.
Benavidez vs. Ortiz. Benavidez for me is probably the #3 flyweight in the world at this point, and the gap between 3 and 4 is huge. I think John Dodson and obviously Mighty Mouse beat him, but other than that his skills are above everybody else's. It's not necessarily all about skill though, a big part of the sport is desire and you wonder whether being stuck in title purgatory will play on Benavidez's mind and make him less hungry than the up and comers. Ortiz will definitely come to fight and push a pace, and it's up to Benavidez to be at the top of his game to stop it. The smart money is Joe clipping Ortiz and getting him in the guillotine inside two rounds, but it really would not shock me if Ortiz keeps up a high workrate and earns a contentious decision. Depends how Benavidez is mentally.
Rosholt vs. Oliynyk. Rosholt is one dull bastard. The O Man is primarily a grappler but I don't see how he gets top position, and I don't see Rosholt giving much away when he's on top himself. Rosholt by DEC in a dull un, but hopefully he gets the message and actually comes to fight rather than lie on somebody.
Wiman vs. Vallie-Flaag. Both push a hard pace in the stand up game. Vallie Flag has some chin, he took some great shots his last 2 fights and wasn't stopped. He's remarkably un-athletic though. Wiman should force a higher pace and will have a considerable advantage if it hits the deck. Wiman by submission in 2 after an entertaining first round.
Magomedev vs. Copeland. Finally some heavyweight prospects! Copeland has a terrible physique but has built an unbeaten record and won the RFA heavyweight title. Finished his last 2 fights in a round by TKO. Magomedev has built a resume on faded former champions Rodriguez and Sylvia. Worryingly he finished neither, considering how shit both are nowadays. I see Magomedev having the advantage in later rounds and winning on points.
Barnett vs. Navarez. Squash match for Barnett. Navarez looked clueless against Cummins. Barnett is a decent fighter, high output and good muay thai. Expecting a TKO within 2 rounds.
Vick vs. Hein. Vick is unbeaten and has a win over Ramsey Nijem, who is a solid fighter. He got a fortunate decision last time though and was taken down 4 times. Hein is a great judo player. Hein takedown rinse repeat, maybe fetching a submission late on but probably points.
Edwards vs. Arreola. Squash match for Yves, providing he's got something left. Arreola, in fairness, does only lose to borderline UFC fighters. Yves should still be that, he knocked out Jeremy Stephens not that long ago. Arreola has been stopped with strikes before too. Yves KO1.
VanZant vs. Curran. VanZant is cute as. That's all I've got on this, I know neither but expect a good fight as WSW has delivered thus far with high energy fights. Lean towards VanZant by decision. Coin flip.
Doo Ho Choi is ranked one of the biggest prospects out of Asia. Juan Manuel Puig is on this card because Texas is near Mexico. Choi by KO round 1.
Excellent card.
I read last night Green was saying that win, lose, or draw, this could be his last fight. Younger brother killed, older brother shot, too much shit in his "real life" going on that I assume it's taking away his focus on training and fighting.
If I remember correctly, he had problems going into the Thomson fight as well. Dude has had it tough. I don't think it will hinder him though. Josh Thomson probably sits at home crying every night, most fighters I think leave everything they have in the cage, but Thomson has taken his foot off the gas in recent fights and lost close decisions - by all rights he should have been the Strikeforce champion coming over into the UFC if he'd just edged one of the close rounds against Melendez, then he showed how well he matched against Henderson in their fight. He knows in his heart he was good enough to beat Melendez and Henderson (never mind Green), he just didn't go that extra mile and he'll go down as a good lightweight forgotten over time rather than arguably the best of his era. He was that close to being that good.
Yep, Punk is a good fighter, always has been, I just think injuries and like you said, not being able to go that extra mile losing really close fights might hinder him from being properly recognized as one of the best Lightweights of all time. I mean I would put him in my personal top 10 but those not as familiar with his work prior to the UFC might not agree.
Edgar was robbed of GOAT status in the division too. Obviously he lost to Henderson the first time and that may not have warranted the rematch, but if I recall he won 4 rounds that night and didn't walk away with the belt. Gutted. At that point he'd have been a 2 time champion, avenged both defeats and beaten every champion since the division's rebirth. I'm glad it happened in a way because his involvement in this golden era of featherweights will provide classic fights (and maybe another title run), but that man deserves more respect from everybody. He's not even in the P4P rankings - Gustafsson's best win is Shogun, and he's fought in one weight class. Edgar's been champion at 155 and ranked top 3 at 145 but not ranked P4P? It's all hypothetical and nonsense, but he's one of the planet's best fighters and deserves the notoriety.
Plus he could even drop down a division and probably be even better.
Frankie Edgar definitely deserves more respect on a more mainstream level. He had a lot close fights that he won and lost, the first two Penn fights, the Maynard fights, Benson, some of the best 155 stuff. Doing well at 145 and def will be a top guy for a few more years. Champ? Guess it depends on who is champ and when and if he gets there again. Cub has a huge task ahead of him.
Win, lose, or draw tonight this is one of the best fight tees I've ever seen and I'm about to order one ...
Don't know why people still continue to underestimate Edgar.
Frankie Edgar is a machine. What a performance. Such a confidence building one too. He just wasn't able to work that gameplan on the bigger lightweights, but now that he's had a year of taking down 145lb men and easily clubbing the shit out of them, he knows his capabilities. To finish that fight was just a beautiful statement as well. He didn't need to, it was absolutely a comprehensive performance, yet he went for it. I'd put Edgar vs. Aldo 2 on FOX in New Jersey, which would surely do the biggest rating in the company's history. If not, bang it on UFC 185 in March and do a whopping double shot with that and Dillashaw vs. Cruz. Then McGregor, should he win against Siver, sticks the winner in Dublin on August 1st, UFC 190. It might be a bit risky to fit Aldo in for a defence prior to the McGregor shot considering he (or Edgar, should he win) could get an injury that would squash any chance of a stadium show. The FOX show would be leaving it tight so I'd lean towards putting that on March 15th, which leaves a good 4 and a half months to get ready for the stadium show. Imagine a card with Aldo/Edgar AND Cruz/Dillashaw, Jesus Christ. Either way, I really like Frankie to run Aldo close again, he's an awesome fighter. IF he were to beat Aldo, and of course it's a big if, that takes him up to behind just Anderson as the greatest of all time.
Elsewhere, Barboza looked great. If he tightens up his defence he honestly has title potential. It looked much improved here too. Benavidez wrapped up his 2014 with another win against tough but overmatched competition. Rosholt got knocked out by a submission artist. Nobody covered themselves in glory on the televised prelims. Brad Pickett is a snail at 125. Paige VanZant looked excellent for a 20 year old. Doo Ho Choi has big potential, between him and Horiguchi Asian MMA looks good for the future.
Frankie straight up dominated that dude and it was scary. I know we had all talked a few weeks ago about how the last thing the UFC probably wants is for Edgar, Lamas, and Siver to win their fights as both Edgar and Lamas had relatively recent title shots and that having Cub, Bermudez, and McGregor would be the fresh title shots. But damn Edgar just showed pure dominance in that fight and then to top it off gets a submission with 4 seconds left setting a record for latest finish in a fight. It's hard to not want to give him the next title shot after a performance like that. I mean shit did the UFC ever mention anything about giving him one if he won? I heard Cub's name, I heard McGregor if he beats Siver, but nothing about Frankie. He's on a 3 fight win streak, aside from Penn he had 2 very good wins against Oliveira and Cub so yeah he doesn't have a big streak (3-3 in his last 6) but again, that performance against Cub, that was scary how dominant it was.
I think the assumption for Edgar was that if he were to win it would be by a tight-ish 48-47 victory where he came on strong late. There was no talk on Edgar getting the shot because nobody saw him winning every round, with (arguably) 2 10-8's thrown in, as well as finishing the fight late in a round that was destined to end 10-8 too. He flipped the script and think he's got a genuine shout at getting a shot, only if he wants a quick turnaround though. I think it's affirmative that McGregor will challenge for the title in a stadium in Ireland should he beat Siver, and there's obviously a short shelf life for that as it'd have to be in the Summer. What Edgar and Lamas have done is make Aldo's path to 155 shorter - nobody's coming up with any great streak outside of McGregor, so Aldo's work at 145 should be done by next year if he keeps winning, unless he wants to break Anderson's consecutive title defence record. Ideal title scenarios would be:
184: Belfort vs. Weidman // Rousey vs. Zingano
185: Aldo vs. Edgar 2 // Dillashaw vs. Cruz
186/187: lightweight and welterweight title fights, maybe with Mighty Mouse chucked in as a co-main if the lightweight fight is a tough sell.
188: Mexico, so Velasquez vs. Werdum
189: Vegas, Fight Week, so the light heavyweight title fight. Rousey co-main too. Maybe Anderson or St-Pierre instead of Rousey
190: McGregor's title challenge, and maybe a WSW co-main if Calderwood or Daly win TUF.
191: Middleweight title, if it's Jacare then double it up with a bantamweight title shot for Barao if he can put 2 wins together, in Brazil
192: lightweight, flyweight double bill
193: welterweight title, could be GSP 2 years after he gave the belt up, or Lombard or Gastelum
194: heavyweight title. Presumably dos Santos getting another shot
Fucking hell 2015 should be comfortably the best year in UFC history.
Edgar wont get the next title shot unless McGregor loses to Siver.
Which is unfortunate but understandable. Edgar might have beaten the #1 ranked guy (or #2 depending on if you consider Edgar the #1 ranked guy under Aldo), but I think the UFC are wanting to bank on the hype train with McGregor and if he gets to Aldo and wins, oh shit. I'm not buying into this dude's hype as I rarely ever do with any fighter, but he's someone who hasn't been in the UFC for awhile that's climbing the ranks. Does a title shot=beating Denis Siver? Idk. But Edgar's been in a lot of title fights and came into the 145 division on a 2 fight losing streak and was given a title shot right off the bat and lost a close fight. Maybe we get that young blood in there and give the winner Frankie Edgar.
It might not make sense and all, but damn I'd love to see McGregor/Aldo and Edgar/Mendes. Great stylistic fights.
A couple cats think the UFC are having Conor avoid wrasslers. On one hand I guess I could see that, but on the other, has he shown a weakness in wrestling? I do think that if he had to fight Edgar, Lamas, or Mendes before Aldo it'd put a stamp on his #1 contender status but it's not like Aldo is a great wrestler or anything, their fight would be 95% on the feet.
He's never fought any legit wrestlers has he? Brimage, Holloway, Brandao and Poirier are all more or less strikers I guess.
There's 2 months between now and that fight. If Aldo is good to go, why could he not defend it in the interim? Or do you think the UFC are of the opinion that Conor vs. unbeatable champion Jose Aldo is the draw and not just Conor vs. champ? Considering dates and venues already set apparently (June Mexico, July Vegas), I'd find it pretty frustrating that Aldo would take another 9 months between fights to get that fight with Conor in a stadium.
I think Dana is dying to have McGregor as his FW champ, dude is the "needle mover" he's been looking for since GSP/Brock. Aldo is awesome in the cage but he's about as charismatic as an Imperial Stormtrooper.
I think McGregor could very well get wrestle fucked by an Edgar, Mendes or even Lamas.
It's a good job Aldo was so young when he broke through. I was cursing that his prime years are being taken away by inactivity, but the dude's still only a young 28. I still think a fight against Edgar before he fights McGregor would actually benefit the Conor fight, and if Edgar beat him it would arguably be even bigger as he'd have that whole 2 division, best P4P thing going on for him in to a fight with McGregor. If time permits, it's a win-win scenario, but from the UFC's perspective it would be dreadful if Aldo broke his foot on his first leg kick against Edgar and dreams of football stadiums and 70,000 Irish nutcases go up in smoke, this year at least,
I just don't think Edgar is the draw that he should be. He's not charismatic at all and while I respect his ability and consider him one of the best 155ers of all time, I just don't know if people bend over backwards to order his ppvs.
I dont think that Edgar is more or less of a PPV draw than Aldo, but Aldo is undoubtedly more of a crowd draw. You could put him in a Brazilian soccer stadium and he'll fill it. Would Edgar in an American football stadium?
True. That's the one negative about Aldo is like OD50 says, he's not really a charismatic promoter. In the cage he's very exciting to watch, almost like watching a smaller Anderson Silva or Jon Jones, someone that just does things and you're in awe of how flawless they do it. For some reason there are just a lot of fans who like to hear people yap and then there's people who like to see the fighters who talk a lot get smacked around and silenced.
I think that Aldo is a charismatic promoter, he's surprisingly well spoken and intelligent and when he says something disparaging it carries actual weight with it. The big problem is simply the fact that he doesnt speak English.
lol, well it's good you understand him then. But the thing is, he's not one to really talk any shit and it seems his opponents rarely have anything negative or disrespectfully rude toward him. That whole Mendes shit felt so forced and honestly I don't think it did good OR bad for the interest of the fight, maybe just a little bad because of how dumb and fake it came across like they felt they HAD to shove each other and ramble about one or the other doing PEDs because that was the cool thing to do because that's what Chael and Wandy were doing, that's what Bones and Cormier were doing around that time.
Going back to Edgar, even if he beat Aldo and became a 2 division champion, I still think he's lacking the proper respect to make him a BJ Penn or Randy Couture type of fighter.
I think a lot of that is because of the order in which he did it. He fought above his natural weight too early. If he had started off at his current weight, won the title and then moved up a weight and won the title people would see it as a bigger achievement. At the moment if he were to win the title people would think 'well of course, he should've been fighting at that weight all along'.
Idk, when you look at Couture and Penn, who won their first titles at the heavier weight class, then dropped down and won the smaller weight class title, why would it matter if he won the 155 title first?
Depends on the champion. If Edgar were to beat Aldo he would get respect because nobody beats Aldo. It's a Silva-esque scalp at this point. The fact that it would be his second title would be secondary to beating a legendary champion.
Everybody favouring dos Santos then? I think Miocic has a lot of talent but probably doesn't have the gas tank to post a perfect five rounds, and Junior should catch him with something and put him out.
Bit of a strange card really. Some good stuff but feels secondary after such a good card last week.
2-2 going into the fifth. Wild fight.
I think that the fight proves beyond a shadow of an doubt that dos santos has absolutely no business clamouring for a Cain rematch any time soon. Werdum, Travis Browne and then hope that jones has moved up and is ready to challenge.
I suspected JDS wouldn't really be peak JDS after the two shellackings by Velasquez, and it showed. For all the talk of him going to Nova Uniao, the big technical flaws he showed against Cain (poor lateral movement, keeping his hands down on the break etc.) were as prevalent as ever here, and he'd have paid for it against a more concussive puncher. Miocic faded, probably due to JDS putting money in the bank with the body shots, but would have won had he been able to sustain that pace. You can't say he's a lesser fighter than dos Santos based off that fight, just that Junior has that special quality that champions have, that reserve tank and that refusal to give up. It was a tough fight, enthralling at points, but certainly showed that JDS isn't far and away the #2 heavyweight in the world. It was very Shogun vs. Brandon Vera really.
Elsewhere, dos Anjos looked a beast. He's really turned an average career around with an amazing stretch of 8 wins in 9, over tough guys as well. Dunham, Bocek and Njokouani were the quintessential borderline top 20 fighters of the time when he fought them, G-Sot had put together a long run and had only lost 1 in I believe 8 UFC fights prior to RDA, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone are class and always hovering around the top 10, and Benson is one of the best lightweights of all time. Great leg kicks, much improved boxing, his takedowns and ground and pound look on point and his BJJ is world class. If he can avoid getting stifled he's got a chance against everyone. Looking forward to him and Pettis, I think RDA can give him a run for his money by limiting his movement with the leg kicks and he'll certainly get the takedown at some point. Pettis might just be a special fighter that will always find an opening in 25 minutes to win though.
Mitrione and Overeem both knocked out decent but weak chinned opposition. They'll falter when their opponent doesn't crumble, like always. Mitrione posted a great year though, finishing 3 reasonable heavyweights in a combined 7:39.
Undercard was weird. Varner pretty much Matt Linlanding himself on a takedown attempt then retiring. The punch after the bell by Claudia. Joe Riggs submission due to injury. Moraga whingeing and getting decked ("It is what it is" though guys, "it is what it is"). Taylor Swift getting a bit of airplay too. A mad one. Loved the Jones/Cormier build throughout too.
JDS definitely looked like he had some serious ring rust after being gone for 14 months. He took some big shots and gave some in return. I'm hearing less about how good Stipe looked against the #2 HW in the world and more about how 30 year old JDS is "washed up". Not around here, just on Facebook mainly. I didn't expect JDS to steamroll Stipe but I also didn't expect him to look like he went 100 rounds with Tong Po.
RDA, dude leg kicked the shit out of Nate, those are tough fights to watch.
I think that JDS is carrying WAY too much muscle. He looked cumbersome in there and his movement was very poor, particularly his footwork. I'd knock a good 10lbs off him and he'd look much less plodding.
I have no idea why Overeem doesnt use the tactics he used against Struve more often. He is as strong as an ox, has good ground and pound, good top control and good BJJ. He should be looking to drag the fight to the floor and finish it off. Great way to minimise the opportunities of getting big shots to his chin.
RDA looked fantastic, but I cant see how he chops down Pettis' legs without taking a headkick himself.
I agree about JDS. Overeem actually impressed me with his fight IQ even if I kept waiting for Struve to lock in a triangle because that's what happens with both of these guys, think about it:
Overeem is usually winning at the start, then out of nowhere gets caught and it's over. Struve, the reverse, usually LOSING the fight and then out of nowhere snatches up a submission or knockout. So again, I was totally waiting for Struve to snatch a neck or an arm and end the fight from the bottom but it wasn't meant to be.
RDA will probably fight a totally different fight against Pettis. For the reason you just gave lol.
That Shogun/Vera comparison is why Fanny Batter is the best MMA forum poster
Ok, Machida or Dolloway, who do you mugs have winning this fight?
Common sense says Machida I guess.
This Sunday (you heard me right), McGregor v. Siver and Cerrone v. Ben Henderson 3. Pretty excited for those 2 fights.
McGregor winning in 2 minutes or less would be massive for his marketability. He's called it. If he does what he says he's going to do, again, who are the fans to doubt him when he faces Aldo. This fight is probably the biggest non-title fight in memory really, since it's all about getting the most talked about fighter in years into that title shot. It's huge. If he wins this, the roof comes off, he tells the fans he's taking Jose Aldo's head clean off and will display it to 90,000 of his own in Dublin, and Aldo comes in and gives him evils... massive. This could rule. Of course I'm going for McGregor within 2 minutes, because he's class.
Henderson vs. Cerrone III is a mad fight on 2 weeks notice. Unfortunately I think Henderson might be able to grind on Cowboy, but if Cerrone gets it done he's absolutely deserving of a title shot. He's the type of bloke you can put on that Pettis/RDA card as well, if RDA pulls out he'll be ready to step in. I'd keep him and Khabib separate if he wins here, no point killing a contender, especially how they match up - absolutely no one wants to see Cowboy get blanketted. If it happens in a title fight, fair enough, but would be a waste before. If Henderson wins him and Khabib in a title eliminator makes sense, if Cerrone wins I'd put together Cerrone and Nate Diaz to be honest, so Nate can get squashed and Cerrone can get another loss back. Match Khabib with the eventual Barboza/Johnson winner for the shot after that.
The UFC are rolling out the red carpet for this kid so he has to live up to each time he shows his face. I was checking out Fox Sports 1's programming for the week leading up to the fights on Sunday, and there are 3-4 shows focused solely on Conor McGregor that I set up on DVR. 1 where they follow the first 6 months of his UFC career, another where he's training for the DP fight, another about new fighters but they only mentioned McG in the info. I've never seen someone so over hyped in my life when it comes to MMA. It'd be one thing if this kid was making hella noise all over the world, like an Eddie Alvarez type of a guy who's resume prior to the UFC was extremely impressive and everyone was like "when is this dude coming to the UFC??" or Brock Lesnar, I mean Anderson Silva didn't even get this kind of treatment.....so for me it's a little overwhelming and you do have to wonder, are they protecting this kid? Why is he getting a title shot for beating Denis Siver? Why isn't he fighting people like Mendes, Edgar, Lamas, these great wrestlers at 145 who McGregor has talked shit about yet the UFC stick him in a fight with Siver who's not exactly known for his grappling? So again, everytime this kid shows his face, he has to live up to the UFC's hype because that is how invested they are in this dude. It's insane. But as long as he brings it in the cage, that's all I care about. Talk all you want, dress how you want, but when that ref says "let's get it on" you better live up to that shit because hype trains can only take you so far in this game, eventually you gotta work.
Then again, look at fucking Tito. Dude sucks yet still gets paid, always on ppv, always on the main card.
Just re-watched Vera v. Shogun on UFC Unleashed, that was a really good fight.
So I'm calling it, Conor McGregor finishes Siver earlier than he predicts and Smooth gets the nod going 3-0 over Cerrone in their trilogy.
And I read an interview with Gilbert Milendez saying that he would love to fight Eddie Alvarez. That would be amazing.
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