n8 we can only hope a band of the big money draws will some day say "You know, we should unionize for the sake of these preliminary guys busting their ass for a pittance".

Originally Posted by Maklershed http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/2/21...ased-jon-fitch Dana says UFC roster is 100 fighters too heavy and more cuts are on the way.

I actually agree with what Dana said in most of that interview. I just have a hard time believing that they're that "roster heavy" when they had to cancel one event last year, and had a few others with some sub-par main events. I guess if you wanted to argue that over 50% of that 475 fighter roster is complete garbage, that might be a fair case...but what does that say for the skill level of the fighters you're developing. Like I said before, The Ultimate Fighter really isn't bringing in top contenders like they thought it would.

Really, if you think about it...there are 8 divisions in the UFC (well, 9 if you count the new women's division). If you said there are, on average, 10 top fighters in each division (and some don't even have that many)...you've got 80 fighters. If you compare that to other individual sports...that's actually a lot of top athletes. In team sports, you can afford to have these lower level guys who just do their part and contribute. They're necessary. But realistically speaking, the UFC probably doesn't need more than 10-15 guys per division. The problem comes when they want to have a PPV every 3 weeks...and other events in between. I don't see how you scale back your roster without also scaling back your events. If you want to have that many events...you need those "lesser fighters" too. You're not going to have 300 amazing fighters. That's never going to happen.

Honestly, Dana did a terrible job explaining the Fitch situation. It felt like the point he was trying to get at but didn't just come right out and say is that Jon Fitch was a bad contract and made way too much money for what he brought to the table. Now, that IS something you see in many other sports (especially football). I'm not really sure why Dana didn't feel comfortable just saying that he was cut because his contract was too expensive. Maybe the UFC thinks that makes them sound like they're having financial problems...but to me, that's an explanation that makes a lot more sense. If he's the damn Alex Rodriguez of the UFC, just say so, lol. I wish the Yankees could cut A-Rod without having to eat any of that terrible contract, haha.

I wonder how pissed Dana White is gonna be if Ronda losses on Sat

Outside of Rousey's current marketability, I don't think Dana could give an honest about women's MMA. I imagine he'd be pissed while hiding a sly shit-eating grin.

Weigh-ins are starting

Huge night of great fights tonight, if anyone wants to watch the show send me a PM.

Tonight's Card
Main Card
Rousey vs Carmouche
Machida vs Henderson
Faber vs Menjivar
McGee vs Neer
Koscheck vs Lawler
Prelims
Schaub vs Johnson
Chiesa vs Kuivanen
Bermudez vs Grice
Stout vs Fodor
Robertson vs Jardine
Manley vs Magny
Burrell vs Villefort

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Almost forgot Hendo and Machida were on this card x_X the hell was I doing?! Excited to see a flying armbar and a crane kick tonight! wooo

Im waiting for the womens divisions to actually have good proven fighters before I make a decision

Being #1 out of 2 fighters doesnt mean a whole lot

The best fight on the card turns out to be females. Another boring fight from Machida.

Machida/Henderson was awful. 2nd straight bigtime LHW bout that went absolutely nowhere. The chick fight was pretty intense, but I didn't really care about the fight (and it didn't help that I was watching with a godawful crowd at a local bar, they were hooting and hollering for every jab and every slight transition). Faber's fight was my favorite of the main card. I didn't catch all the prelims but the 3rd round of Bermudez/Grice was awesome, better than anything on the main card. I didn't have a problem with the Lawler/Koestchek stoppage, but I understand how others may have thought it was early.

Pretty average overall, from what I saw.

I enjoyed the card...was great seeing lawler finishing Koscheck..I don't even mind that I predicted wrong.


Went 8-12 overall on my picks. 5 of 6 on my boosts. Only ones I got wrong was Koscheck-Lawler...which I didn't mind. Others were Yuri Villefort - Nah-Shon Burrell, Jon Manley - Neil Mangy, and Lavar Johnson - Brendan Schaub.

Overall 8-12 with 1,230 points...how did everyone else do?

Ronda is my hero!

All right, now that that's out of the way, lol, this is one of the better fight cards I've enjoyed in a while. Hendo/Machida was easily the worst fight on it (which is pretty pathetic). I really blame Machida more than Henderson because he just wouldn't engage. Henderson had to chase him and lunge at him, only to get countered with a little peppering here and there before Machida danced away again. Machida seriously fights like he's in a fencing match...and it just doesn't impress me. If he thinks he can do that shit against Jon Jones, he's going to get prison choked standing up again.

Pretty much all of my picks won. Nice to see Faber get a convincing win again. Nice to see Court McGee and Michael Chiesa get wins. And AWESOME to see Josh Koscheck get KTFO. People can complain that the stoppage was early, but he didn't have his hands up. If you're not out of it enough to continue fighting, then cover your damn head and stop eating punches.

And the main event really couldn't have gone better for the UFC (especially after the snoozer that was Hendo/Machida). Ronda had to earn this one and actually overcome some adversity. I think this fight should really show people she's actually a fighter. It's not some gimmick. It's not some publicity stunt. She's a legit fighter. We've seen plenty of male fighters show less heart than she showed tonight. I also think it was really awesome that they had Big John reffing the first ever women's fight in the UFC. That's how it should be.

Originally Posted by n8rockerasu Ronda is my hero! All right, now that that's out of the way, lol, this is one of the better fight cards I've enjoyed in a while. Hendo/Machida was easily the worst fight on it (which is pretty pathetic). I really blame Machida more than Henderson because he just wouldn't engage. Henderson had to chase him and lunge at him, only to get countered with a little peppering here and there before Machida danced away again. Machida seriously fights like he's in a fencing match...and it just doesn't impress me. If he thinks he can do that shit against Jon Jones, he's going to get prison choked standing up again. Pretty much all of my picks won. Nice to see Faber get a convincing win again. Nice to see Court McGee and Michael Chiesa get wins. And AWESOME to see Josh Koscheck get KTFO. People can complain that the stoppage was early, but he didn't have his hands up. If you're not out of it enough to continue fighting, then cover your damn head and stop eating punches. And the main event really couldn't have gone better for the UFC (especially after the snoozer that was Hendo/Machida). Ronda had to earn this one and actually overcome some adversity. I think this fight should really show people she's actually a fighter. It's not some gimmick. It's not some publicity stunt. She's a legit fighter. We've seen plenty of male fighters show less heart than she showed tonight. I also think it was really awesome that they had Big John reffing the first ever women's fight in the UFC. That's how it should be.

Pretty much my exact thoughts except I actually liked Machida-Henderson.. I guess because I was highly intoxicated.

Its not that he won't engage its that it's his karate method! you know where he runs away a lot.

Wow...so Jose Aldo is refusing to fight Anthony Pettis because he "doesn't deserve it". I get that it's weird to have guys dropping from 155 and getting immediate title shots...but these are top guys. Otherwise, you throw Ricardo Lamas or Cub Swanson in there with Aldo...and I don't think either of them is ready for that. 155 is so crowded right now, I don't blame guys for dropping down. I think Aldo is just used to always being the bigger fighter, and now that other guys are catching on, he's pissed. Love Dana's quote on it though. "The Fight is on. He's either going to fight Pettis or he's not going to like how this turns out."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jose-al...9039--mma.html

When did MMA fighters become such divas? Dana threatening to pull diaz because he refuses to do press as well.

^Huge divas. It's one reason I'm happy there's not a powerful UFC fighter's union. How can a champ come out and refuse to fight someone? That's garbage.

Originally Posted by n8rockerasu Wow...so Jose Aldo is refusing to fight Anthony Pettis because he "doesn't deserve it". I get that it's weird to have guys dropping from 155 and getting immediate title shots...but these are top guys. Otherwise, you throw Ricardo Lamas or Cub Swanson in there with Aldo...and I don't think either of them is ready for that. 155 is so crowded right now, I don't blame guys for dropping down. I think Aldo is just used to always being the bigger fighter, and now that other guys are catching on, he's pissed. Love Dana's quote on it though. "The Fight is on. He's either going to fight Pettis or he's not going to like how this turns out." http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jose-al...9039--mma.html

pettis is a great striker, i think he matchs up realy well with aldo and i dont think aldo likes that. really disappointing for a champ. he should fight whoever is put in front of him, how is it his place to decide who "deserves" the right to fight him? crazy.

Explaining why Jose Aldo is an idiot.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mma--fe...174742490.html

I like it. Tell him he takes the fight or gets stripped of his belt. And in case any crazy person wants to compare this to the Jon Jones/Chael Sonnen incident from last year, there's a big difference between refusing to fight a replacement fighter with one weeks notice and refusing to an arranged opponent 6 months in advance. The champion has no business turning down a fight with that much notice. Jose Aldo needs the UFC way more than the UFC needs Jose Aldo. If he wants to go to Bellator to fight for peanuts with hardly any exposure, tell him to go for it.

^Agreed completely. Aldo and his crew saying Pettis "doesn't deserve it" is a total cop-out and it doesn't even make sense. It's Aldo's job to fight and win, it's the UFC brass' job to determine who the best and most deserving fighters all.

Pettis can be a scary guy, but I don't know why Aldo is so freaked by him. I think Aldo can take him easily if he fights a smart fight.