The MMA thread (mk1)

[weemadando]

And Cain Velasquez v Cheick Kongo is awesome. I predict a KO.

How many groin shots do you think there will be in this fight?
Kongo's become a low blow artist ever since his fight with Cro Cop.

Not nearly as many as in the Al-Turk v Cro-Cop fight. And I don't think anyone's been training with Keith Hackney.

[weemadando]

It's the Anderson Silva show.

[Edward Yee]

Worst part is that the Lyoto impression is only half-true now.

[weemadando]

OK, the UFC99 card went off pretty well.

Marcus Davis goes down (hurrah) after getting emotionally invested.

Caol Uno looked good, but Fisher and him were like Matter and Matter colliding. They just kinda hit each other and stopped.

Mick Swick and Ben Saunders - both those guys are awesome and we need to see more of them.

Cro-Cop v Al-Turk was finished by an eye-poke (well it was finished BECAUSE of an eye-poke) so we might see that again. Except Cro-Cop is heading back to Dream. Presumably to fight the winner of Shaq v Hong Man Choi

Cheick Kongo once again shows that he needs to learn some wrestling or BJJ and Cain Velasquez shows a so-so chin and no finishing power on the ground. Neither really showed why they should get contender status.

Wanderlei v Franklin was fun, but both guys gassed (Wanderlei badly) and there were more slips and falls and tumbles than knockdowns/takedowns.... But Franklin takes a well earned win and Wanderlei will no doubt now demand to fight Anderson.

For a main card it wasn't great an event - lots of decisions (and fairly stale ones too) and of the two finishes only one was "legitimate". Not a great outcome really.

That said - the highlight of Terry Etim getting hte Darce Choke was great, especially when you saw his broken nose.

[weemadando]

Tim Sylvia get's KO'd inside of 10 seconds in a MMA match with Ray Mercer (originally meant to be boxing, but the boxing commission wouldn't let it happen as boxing so they ran it as MMA as there's no commission coverage for MMA in Alabama).



Does anyone thing that Tim Sylvia might need to find a new career path? I don't want to be rude, but he's had three nasty losses in a row now. Maybe drop down and fight in some even lower tier stuff? I just don't know.

[Zadius]

Tim simply fought stupidly. There's no reason he should have even been standing within punching range of Mercer. He should have shot in from beyond punching range and taken him down.

Does anyone thing that Tim Sylvia might need to find a new career path? I don't want to be rude, but he's had three nasty losses in a row now. Maybe drop down and fight in some even lower tier stuff? I just don't know.

He's scheduled to fight Buentello in August. If he loses that too, he definitely needs to take a step down in competition for a while.

[aerius]

Cheick Kongo once again shows that he needs to learn some wrestling or BJJ and Cain Velasquez shows a so-so chin and no finishing power on the ground. Neither really showed why they should get contender status.

Kongo was just like he was in his fight against Carmelo Marrero way back when, no takedown defence at all and even less ground skills. Even worse is he kept making the same mistake over & over again, here, let me back myself into a fence or try to clinch with the guy so he can take me down and work me for 4 minutes or so every round, yeah, that's the ticket to victory! If Kongo had learned how to circle and keep distance he could've punched Cain senseless and gotten an easy KO.

edit: Maybe Kongo would've done a bit better if he'd kneed Cain in the balls a couple times.

Wanderlei v Franklin was fun, but both guys gassed (Wanderlei badly) and there were more slips and falls and tumbles than knockdowns/takedowns.... But Franklin takes a well earned win and Wanderlei will no doubt now demand to fight Anderson.

Franklin got him on points fighting but I think Silva won based on aggression and Octagon control, plus he did more damage. I think Silva's trying to be a bit too tactical in the UFC, he needed to turn the fight into an all out brawl to decisively beat Franklin, he didn't do that enough and Franklin was able to edge him out on points.

For a main card it wasn't great an event - lots of decisions (and fairly stale ones too) and of the two finishes only one was "legitimate". Not a great outcome really.

Yeah, the card showed a lot of promise but half the fighters either showed up with dumbass gameplans or fought not to lose.

[Edward Yee]

I don't know if any other fighter's basically gone down to this level, but in addition to the upcoming Fedor-Barnett fight, you have Takanori Gomi fighting at that show, and of course there's UFC 100 (SEXYAMA)...

... around the same time, though, Kazuo Misaki will be fighting Kazuhiro Nakamura in Sengoku, but win or lose he WON'T be getting the 183-pound title shot (against Jorge Santiago), his fight purse will be confiscated (instead being donated to the Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention and other Charities), and he'll be indefinitely suspended after the fight.

P.S. Could a mod please explain the necro policy when it comes to the MMA thread?

[aerius]

P.S. Could a mod please explain the necro policy when it comes to the MMA thread?

I don't think there is one, it gets added to every time there's an MMA event or a some kind of important MMA related news comes up.


Anyway, while this thread is here, I present MMA 101 with aerius.

This is the liver shot, as popularized by Bas Rutten. After you hit the guy like this he's going to go down after every body hit to the body.





And this is the Cheick Kongo special. Guaranteed to drop the guy in pain.

[weemadando]

P.S. Could a mod please explain the necro policy when it comes to the MMA thread?

I don't think there is one, it gets added to every time there's an MMA event or a some kind of important MMA related news comes up.

Yeah, it's never more than a month or so old, so it just keeps on keepign on.

Anyway, while this thread is here, I present MMA 101 with aerius.

This is the liver shot, as popularized by Bas Rutten. After you hit the guy like this he's going to go down after every body hit to the body.

That's not a liver shot - you're hitting the wrong side.


Anyhow - UFC100, my picks.

GSP takes Alves in the 4th by TKO. He's just a machine and barring some lucky stuff early on from Alves I just can't see him losing this one. I reckon we'll see GSPs amazing wrestling a lot as he just grinds Alves' cardio out of him.

Bisping over Henderson, KO in the 2nd. Henderson hasn't shown anything really since the Pride days and even his much touted: "big right" has been hanging like a little-league curveball. Bisping keeps growing and I think that Hendo will do his usual thing of forgetting he's an Olympic Wrestler and try to stand up with someone who outclasses him on the feet.

Mir v Lesnar? I'm saying Mir via sub in the 2nd. The initial "Brock-rush" will be brutal and painful and this is when Mir is likely to lose if he's going to. If he survives that, then I can see him imposing his will on the fight successfully. If it goes long however - it's anybody's game.

Bonnar KO's Coleman. Rnd 1. There will be a thai clinch. There will be knees to the head. There will be a head-kick finisher. People will gasp. That is my guess. Against anyone else I wouldn't be so bold. And even if Coleman does wrassle it to the floor Bonnar can sub him easily.

Jon Jones will decapitate Jake O'Brien. It will be an Anderson Silva-esque highlight reel fight as he gets a can thrown to him on the maincard of UFC100 to build his status.

Jon Fitch will take a brutally fought decision over Paulo Thiago.

Akiyama will outpoint Belcher for a round or two before grabbing the submission.

Shannon Gugerty sub's "The Wolverine" in the first. Probably early in the first.

CB Dollaway is getting thrown a bone. Here's to hoping that it armbars him in the first. AGAIN.

Mac Danzing v Jim Miller - crazy grapple fest is my hope. This'll go to a split decision for Miller.

Dong Hyun Kim will create some buzz after a sturdy, technical, but not amazing KO in hte 2nd over TJ Grant.

[aerius]

GSP takes Alves in the 4th by TKO. He's just a machine and barring some lucky stuff early on from Alves I just can't see him losing this one. I reckon we'll see GSPs amazing wrestling a lot as he just grinds Alves' cardio out of him.

Thiago's only hope is to Matt Serra him, and I seriously doubt that's going to happen. People keep going on about how Alves is the better striker with the best takedown defence ever and I'm thinking "are you people fucking retarded?". Hughes, a washed up Hughes who didn't throw a single punch to setup his takedowns got Alves down, what do you think GSP's going to do to him? And striking? Thiago might have the edge in power but GSP has more and better techniques, plus he puts together better combos. I bet they're the same morons who said BJ has better striking than GSP. Plus GSP is always improving, with the possible of exception of Forrest Griffin after his loss to Jardine, I haven't seen anyone improve that much with each fight.

Bisping over Henderson, KO in the 2nd. Henderson hasn't shown anything really since the Pride days and even his much touted: "big right" has been hanging like a little-league curveball. Bisping keeps growing and I think that Hendo will do his usual thing of forgetting he's an Olympic Wrestler and try to stand up with someone who outclasses him on the feet.

I don't know man, I seriously doubt Bisping's got the power to KO Hendo. Bisping's fast & pretty technical so I can see him easily outpointing Hendo if he fights smart, but I just don't think a KO's happening.

Mir v Lesnar? I'm saying Mir via sub in the 2nd. The initial "Brock-rush" will be brutal and painful and this is when Mir is likely to lose if he's going to. If he survives that, then I can see him imposing his will on the fight successfully. If it goes long however - it's anybody's game.

I'm not sold on Mir yet. At best it'll be a repeat of the Lesnar/Couture fight, more likely, it'll be a repeat of the first fight with Mir except this time Brock will cleanly pound him out. Brock has the power to drop anyone with one hit, Mir might get lucky for a while but it's only a matter of time before he eats a big shot and gets donkey kong'd.

Jon Jones will decapitate Jake O'Brien. It will be an Anderson Silva-esque highlight reel fight as he gets a can thrown to him on the maincard of UFC100 to build his status.

Yup, this one should be fun.

Jon Fitch will take a brutally fought decision over Paulo Thiago.

Nah, Jon Fitch with an easy decision. Paulo Thiago is not that good at all, his standup was the stiffest most awkward crap I've seen in a long time and I have no fucking clue how he managed to tag Koscheck and drop him.

[Edward Yee]

Anyone else 'hoping' that Herb Dean doesn't stand up Lesnar and Mir, or at least is slower to? Not "Gilbert Yvel vs. Pedro Rizzo slow," but still...

[Zadius]

OK my picks:

-GSP by 4th rd TKO via GnP. Alves has good takedown defense, but I just have trouble seeing him stuff GSP's takedowns.

-Henderson by decision. He needs to not let Bisping use his footwork and outstrike him, so Hendo should utilize the clinch in this fight.

-Lesnar 1st rd TKO. Lesnar has more tools than taking people down and wildly trying to smash them. If he fights smart, he shouldn't lose.

-Bonnar 2nd rd KO. Coleman will outwrestle Bonnar until he gets tired, then he'll crumble.

-Grice by Dec. Should be a close one.

-Jones by decision. O'Brien is nothing but a wrestler as far as I've seen. Jon Jones is a better one.

-Fitch by decision. We'll see if Paulo Thiago is a fluke or not. I say he'll hold his own a bit, but Fitch will grind him down.

-Akiyama 1st rd submission. Akiyama should find a way to get the sub early.

-Dolloway 1st rd TKO.

-Miller by decision.

-Kim by 1st rd sub.

[weemadando]

When I say Fitch wins by brutal decision - I don't think it's going to be a fair fight, I just think that Paulo is probably going to prove hard to finish again and Fitch is going to brutalise him and make him look ugly by the end of the fight.

[Edward Yee]

Akiyama will outpoint Belcher for a round or two before grabbing the submission.

-Akiyama 1st rd submission. Akiyama should find a way to get the sub early.

So... all aboard the Sexyama wagon?

It's way better for the UFC if he does it than if Belcher upsets, so in that sense I'm rooting for him too... that's about though, I swear!

[Edward Yee]

Results for UFC 100:
Prelims:
LW: Matt Grice def. Shannon Gugery by R1 guillotine choke
MW: Tom Lawlor (with Seth Petruzelli on a leash... seriously) def. C. B. Dollaway by R1 guillotine choke
WW: Dong Hyun Kim def. TJ Grant by UD
LHW: Jon Jones vs. Jake O'Brien by R2 guillotine choke (yes, three guillotine chokes in four fights)
LW: Mac Danzig def. Jim Miller
LHW: Mark Coleman def. Stephan Bonnar by UD

Main:
MW: Yoshihiro Akiyama (coming out to "Time to Say Goodbye" but without holding hands with his team) def. Alan Belcher by SD
MW: Dan Henderson def. Michael Bisping by R2 punch KTFO
WW: Georges Saint-Pierre def. Thiago Alves by UD, retains Welterweight
Championship with a whopping 9 takedowns, one of them even after pulling his groin (Greg Jackson's reaction: "I don't care. ... HIT HIM WITH YOUR GROIN!")
HW: Brock Lesnar def. Frank Mir by R2 TKO to unify the Heavyweight Championship
WW: Jon Fitch def. Paulo Thiago by UD (with Thiago spamming guillotine attempts and Fitch spending much time on Thiago's back)

[aerius]

I am a happy man.

Bisping got knocked the fuck out and then some. After his corner tells him NOT to circle to the left and right into Hendo's big right hand, he goes ahead and circles to the left and gets absolutely drilled with a brutal right by Hendo, who then nails him again with a diving superman punch for good measure. I don't think he woke up till Hendo had finished his interview and left the octagon.

GSP Alves went pretty much as expected, GSP is just better at everything. End of story. Alves was better at standing back up after getting taken down than recent GSP victims, but he still got put flat on his ass a whole bunch of times, and he got beaten in the standup as well just like I said he would. As for Thiago's specialty, the legkick, GSP schooled him good on that one and showed him how a real pro does it.

Also, fuck Mir, he was clearly pounded senseless and he still talks shit and tries to get in Brock's face like it was some kind of unfair early stoppage. He's been insufferable after beating a crippled Big Nog and now he thinks he's some kind of bigshot, even after Brock beat the shit out of him for 2 rounds for a TKO. If he keeps this up he'll be up there next to Bisping & Leben on my fighters I want to see get beaten senseless list. And Brock busts out the WWE style interviews.

[Edward Yee]

USA Today's report has Lesnar apologizing at the press conference, though.

[weemadando]

I honestly thought that Mir had it for a second with those two knees, but Brock recovered quickly. Mir and Brock then both demonstrate their class post-fight. The lack of the Fedor chant disappoints me.

GSP v Alves - anyone who has the capacity to rewatch it, watch the look on Alves' face when he lands on his back after the first takedown. It was a great: "Oh fuck - that happened way too easily." moment. And GSP just shows his skills - as for Kampmann v Swick for the contender status - WHAT THE FUCK? When did those guys suddenly become top contenders? If Alves can channel his strength properly, he'll be nigh undefeatable in the future, give him GSPs wrestling coaches and there's a legacy in the making.

Bisping getting KTFO - yeah, listen to your corner next time. But damnit, that Hendo was one that we haven't seen for about 4 years. Welcome back. Now stay that way. I'm still keen to see more of Bisping, but he needs to just work on . . . something . . . because it's definitely lacking.

And Goldberg, Rogan and whoever else wants to say that Belcher won that fight can go and fuck right off. Akiyama CLEARLY took that decision home. If someone scored that fight for Belcher I'd love to know why. Also, anyone who comes out to Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli gets my vote - definitely the best intro music of the telecast.

[weemadando]

Also - for those who care:

Top 5% (Rank 315) on MMA Playground for my picks. Despite picking 4 fights wrong, my method and rounds were just about spot-on.

[Zadius]

I hate to admit it, but Lesnar is going to be very hard to beat.

as for Kampmann v Swick for the contender status - WHAT THE FUCK? When did those guys suddenly become top contenders?

Well, I have them at #7 and #6 respectively, with Alves, Fitch, Shields and Koscheck ranked above them. But GSP has already beaten 3 of those guys, and Shields isn't with the UFC. Both guys were top 10 middleweights before dropping weight, so I'd say the winner of that fight should fight for the title next. Who else is there? A rematch with Fitch perhaps?

And Goldberg, Rogan and whoever else wants to say that Belcher won that fight can go and fuck right off. Akiyama CLEARLY took that decision home.

Depends on how much you value low kicks. Belcher had him limping from those, but Akiyama clearly landed more effective punches to the head and had takedowns in every round. I'm not that surprised it was a split decision.

[aerius]

I don't think it was on the PPV last night, but we got a Buffer 360!

[Zadius]

That's so fucking funny. I wonder why they never get it on the PPV, it's like they're ashamed.

[Sriad]

I was disappointed Brock was playing the Pro Wrestling heel, but I'm glad to hear Dana went after him for it, also that once Fedor's contract is up the UFC will be after him "with an open wallet."

Overall the event lived up to my expectations. I was disappointed we didn't get to see whichever undercard match painted the card red though.

[aerius]

I don't think Fedor & his management team care about money, their problem in their negotiations with the UFC so far is the exclusivity clause that the UFC puts in all their contracts. Fedor wants the freedom to fight wherever he wants and do his Sambo thing every year, Dana White wants to lock him into an exclusive contract and get all the fighter rights and promotions crap as well, Fedor isn't gonna go for that.