MMA (UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Invicta, etc.) Discussion Thread -- Version II

Really good night of fights, even though nothing went the way I wanted it to.

I ordered and watched it on PS4 with some friends. $45 with PS+ and the stream was solid all night and really good video quality. 

 
JP said:
It's not fair, I didn't get a real shot! I wasn't ready! Do-over!
Click to expand...
Seriously...I'm sure it'll get blamed on the language barrier or something stupid. But if you're going to completely discredit your opponent like that, just don't do an interview. That's probably part of the reason Ronda left the octagon after she lost. If you're that upset, just don't say anything.

You finally met your match. It is what it is. People give Conor so much shit for being "Dana's Golden Boy", but if you listen to him talk, he actually does understand fighting. He has an appreciation for the little things and knows how to apply them. He dropped Aldo the same way Weidman dropped Anderson. Press the button and the lights go out. Aldo's chin doesn't care how long his winning streak is. He's human just like the rest of us.

 
Well that was an interesting finale. I can't sleep now hah.

McGregor just sped up his hype train to Warp 8. I don't know if Aldo had ring rust, got caught, or McGregor is just that good but wow.

I don't like the talk of him moving up though. He should stay and fight Frankie. Even with everything that just happened, I think Frankie would have his number. UFC wants to make that big money though. Have him skip the rightful #1 contender and just move up to fight RDA/Cowboy. That would be a huge champion vs champion money fight. Frankie could throw a huge wrench into that.

The only way it could go better would be Frankie ends up with FW and Connor gets LW and then they fight. Both of them would be 2 of only 4 guys to hold belts in two divisions then.

As awesome as it is to watch McGregor, he really should fight Frankie first. The division isn't cleaned out until at least then.

Rogan was super snarky tonight.

"Well, it was a fight. Just a short one" when Aldo was trying to push for a rematch.

And then when talking to Chris, it was something along the lines of "how do you feel about that spinning kick that you messed up on and cost you the fight?"

 
I really liked that cute Polish chick, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, who debuted in the opener and defeated Randa Markos via unanimous decision. The whole show was pretty entertaining. I don't often watch UFC these days, but last night's show made me want to watch more.
 
The Overeem vs. JDS fight was pretty good but went differently than I thought. I don't know why JDS didn't work more when he had Overeem cornered and against the cage. Overeem is kind of "chinny" these days, so I really thought JDS would finish him but JDS seemed tentative. He has seemed kind of off since the two Cain fights. Even when he beat Stipe, it was super close and only after Stop slowed down in rounds 3 - 5.

The new Econoreem seems like a good fit for Overeem, but sadly not as exciting. Overeem is fun when he is putting a beating on people, but it can so quickly turn for him like in the Big Foot and Browne fight. I still can't believe Big Ben got him.

I'm hoping Arlovski gets next HW shot, and then maybe Reem depedning on how he does vs a Big Ben rematch or Stipe.

Dos Anjos ran over Cerrone like I thought would happen, but was hoping it wouldn't. I think UFC will definitely back off from a RDA vs McGregor fight now. If McGregor gets smashed in one round it would cause his stock to sink like a rock. Give McGregor a Diaz fight (who looked surprisingly decent).

The whole McGregor shtick though may be bad overall. I'm afraid we are gonna see alot more Diaz and McGregors out there now. Swearing, talking big, and being just giant douches. I do like Humble Overeem though. He always comes off nice in the post fights and interviews, but i still bet he would kick sand in your face at the beach.

One final though - Overeem should go back to being the Demolition Man. Alistair 'the Reem" Overeem is just plain stupid.

 
As a tribute to the late great Dusty Rhodes, Overeem should come out dressed in black with large yellow polka dots using the moniker "The American Reem". Yes, I know Overeem isn't American, and I don't care. This needs to happen.
 
I want to see him dress up in an Apple polo and call himself "Reem Jobs".

"Once you've been licked by Reem Jobs, you'll never be the same."  :lol:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fedor is BACK!!! joking

I still watched as he crushed that can. Maybe he can fight Bob Sapp next.

Speaking of Bob - I can't believe he won. That was crazy.

At least Japan showed they can still put on a show. Tons of washed up fighters, prowrestlers, cans, freakshows, losing records and first time fighters. Then a few relevant ones here and there.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
HOLY SHIT! Lawler vs Condit was one of the best fights I've ever seen. So back and forth...and felt like either of them could end it at any time. DAMN!

 
Great fight. Wish Lawler had been a bit more aggressive earlier but his strategy was pretty clearly to counter punch to try and neutralize Condit's length. And he executed it pretty much perfectly. I think both fighters fought the fight exactly as they planned. 

Lots and lots of complaining and "robbery" bullshit floating around the net already. I had it 3-2 Condit but 3-2 Lawler is totally understandable to me.

Rounds 1 and 4 clearly went to Condit

Round 2 was Robbie's for sure. Round 5 was kinda close but I give it to Robbie without much question.

I don't remember Round 3. At the time I scored it for Condit.

People are throwing out Condit's crazy striking stats (and admittedly they were very impressive) but a lot of his strikes probably wouldn't have nudged a fly off of Robbie, let alone hurt him.

Anyways, I'm not one for instant rematches but I would actually like to see one here. And god Condit was classy in defeat. Not salty at all, just disappointed and grateful.

 
Here's the judges scorecard for Lawler vs Condit.

Lawler-vs-Condit-UFC-195-Scorecard.jpg


As I figured, it was all about the 3rd round. I still need to see it again, but for me, the fight had that Frankie Edgar vs Benson Henderson feel...where Condit (Edgar) was so active, you'd swear that he won it. But Lawler (Henderson) probably landed the heavier shots...so if you're a judge weighing it from a "who is closer to finishing the fight" standpoint, it probably was Lawler more than it was Condit...especially when you consider how Condit was leaving his head straight up (which I think was commented on in the 3rd round), I don't think giving the 3rd round to Lawler is unreasonable.

The other point that Joe Rogan raises a lot on his podcast is the idea of "winning a fight" when you're basically saved by the bell at the end of it. It wasn't as egregious in this one as in some fights. But from a real world "battle" standpoint, it does feel weird declaring a guy the winner when he's on the verge of being finished at the end. Either way, it was a super close fight, and I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it again.

I do think this is the type of situation they should reserve immediate rematches for. If judges are going to operate on a "you have to take the belt decisively" to win it...and Condit's going to be told "you didn't do enough", then give him another chance to improve upon his performance. That makes more sense than giving somebody a rematch who didn't take their opponent seriously and got smashed...whether that be Anderson, Barao, Cain, Ronda, or Aldo.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I thought Condit clearly won three rounds, but I do not mind too much since I really like Lawler. I don't understand why Lawler seems to save everything up for the final round. It makes the final rounds always super exciting with him and you know it is coming, but I don't know why he doesn't add a little more aggression earlier. If he came out like that in the 4th and 5th I think he would've eventually finished Condit.

I feel bet for Arlovski and I think the UFC wasted their chance for a big HW title shot. Arlovski was hot and deserved a title shot more than Stipe, but now it looks like Stipe or maybe Overeem.

The HW addition is being ruined by Cain. The UFC everything up so much because they want him to be a star so badly. They are trying to make him into Fedor, but it isn't going to happen. I understand the JDS rematch because of the quick knock out, but this no way needed an instant rematch. He was completely beaten from start until when Werdum finally finished him.  He should have had to take 2 or 3 fights before getting another title shot. Now what if he wins this time? Does Werdum get an instant rematch? Seems only fair.

This would've been the perfect time for an Arlovski title shot. Big name from the past on an awesome resurgence.

I'm starting to get a sinking feeling that Ronda may be out for good or at least never the same. Dana seems to back back pedaling on UFC 200 with Ronda vv Holly. Dana saying that he has to talk to Ronda and see how she feels and maybe Holly will fight someone else first.

UFC definitely doesn't want Holly to fight someone else. If she lost to Miesha then the whole division would be derailed.

The recent pictures of Ronda floating around look like she is not even close to her fighting weight (not as bad as Hendricks though), the video of her hiding her face, and her whiney instagram about people not loving her anymore all make me think she might be out of the game. She was happy with all the best ever athlete nonsense, but adversity doesn't seem to be sitting well with her.

 
Dokstarr said:
I'm starting to get a sinking feeling that Ronda may be out for good or at least never the same. Dana seems to back back pedaling on UFC 200 with Ronda vv Holly. Dana saying that he has to talk to Ronda and see how she feels and maybe Holly will fight someone else first.

UFC definitely doesn't want Holly to fight someone else. If she lost to Miesha then the whole division would be derailed.

The recent pictures of Ronda floating around look like she is not even close to her fighting weight (not as bad as Hendricks though), the video of her hiding her face, and her whiney instagram about people not loving her anymore all make me think she might be out of the game. She was happy with all the best ever athlete nonsense, but adversity doesn't seem to be sitting well with her.
Click to expand...
Call me crazy, but I actually get the opposite impression. Ronda taking the fight at UFC 200 would be the worst possible thing for her, both personally and professionally. She has so many HollyWOOD commitments between now and then, she would never be ready for Holly (see what I did there? lol).

And most everything I've seen from her since Thanksgiving has looked almost like relief. The family photos, the Marine Ball, the PDA with Travis Browne, etc. And yeah, she's probably enjoying actually being able to eat food too. I wouldn't be surprised if this has taken on almost a GSP type of vibe for her...like a weight off her shoulders.

And in that way...you could be right. She might be done. Even fighting at UFC 200, she could have been looking at that as her last fight...win or lose. I think that's also the reason she's not going to turn her back on Edmond now. Why run off to another camp when you only have one fight left anyway?

I do think she wants to avenge her loss though. But that probably is it. It might not even be about the title. If something crazy happened and Miesha beat Holly, I still think Ronda would want to beat Holly more than she would want to get her belt back. I could be wrong. But I think she knows it's mostly over...and she's probably surprised how little it's actually bothering her.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
n8rockerasu said:
Call me crazy, but I actually get the opposite impression.
Click to expand...
I think it is bothering her though. I think she really believed the hype. Greatest athlete ever (hah), could beat Floyd Mayweather, greatest fighter of all time, etc. etc. etc. I do agree that UFC 200 is a rush for her but everyone just sees $$$ when they think about her and a Holly rematch. I thought Holly was the worst match up for her a year ago (why didn't I bet on her? I posted a year ago that she had a great chance against Ronda) and after seeing the actual fight, I don't know how she can develop the skills she needs in 6-7 months (she could still get a takedown and armbar of course since she is a former Olympian).

In terms of the actual eating - there is always a difference between walk around weight and fight weight but she seems to be crossing that line to that just not caring. That is never good and even the best fighters suffer when they do that to themselves. Hendricks is the biggest example who just gets plan fat between fights, has to diet/cut tons of weight, and then fades. It is why he lost to GSP and Lawler, and why he bailed on his last fight because he got sick while making weight.

Ronda has also been talking about quitting MMA for a while, and I do think it is a little evident in how she looked physically in this fight and last few fights. Nothing wrong with it, but she hasn't in as good of fighting shape recently and has looked worse in the weigh ins because she has to cut more water. Nobody really noticed because the people she was fighting.

RR has also never had to adapt or have a game plan. Every other girl just ran into uchi-mata or o-goshi (hip tosses). She never had to set it up, she never had to try a different take down, cut off angles, or anything. Zigano is the biggest example of that. She thought she could surprise RR by running at here and trying to hip toss her. None of them had any idea on what to do on the ground except for Miesha, but she couldn't stop herself from shooting takendowns into hip tosses (which is pretty much the first counter you learn in competitive judo to stop wrestler) and eventually got arm barred.

I'm not knocking RR. As a fellow judoka I'm happy she has done so well, but almost any high-level judoka at that weight class probably could've come in and dominated. Girl's judo is by far the most competitive of female combat sports and most of her opponents have had a few years of training in MMA along with some boxing, BJJ, etc. Ronda appeared at just he right time and made her money/fame and it is probably time to get out. If she loses a few or looks crappy she will lose the mystique that works for movies. Gina Carano quit after get smashed by Cyborg. A few more losses and nobody would've cared about her anymore.

 
Yeah I'm surprises they aren't using this card for UFC 200. This is pretty much what I expected to happen (especially with Ronda seemingly out of the picture).

Werdum or Cain won't be ready (especially Cain - he would need a good 14 months before his next title defense)

There hasn't been any Jon Jones/Rumble talk recently

Cruz and TJ are fighting next week

Rumble, Mark Hunt, Frank Mir, Barnett, Pettis, Browne, Roy Nelson, Hendricks, Anderson Silva, and Bisping are all scheduled for the next few months so most likely none of them would be ready (unless it is an easy win with no damage)

That doesn't leave to many big fights left for what is supposed to be the biggest card ever.

Stipe vs Overeem (unless the champ is ready maybe)

Lawler vs Tyron

That is all I can think of normally happening. They could have some crazy stuff happen though with some of the above guys not taking any damage in their fight or they could pull out some big name fighters.

GSP vs Lawler

There were rumors of BJ Penn wanting to maybe return (I hope not after that Frankie fight)

Fedor vs Overeem (or Cain or rematch Werdum)

Bring back Big Tim and do Sylvia vs Arlovski 5!

 
I'm more surprised by the card because if things go against what the UFC would like to happen from a promotion aspect it will really damage two of the most interesting people they have right now.  If Conor and Holly both lose that is the two people that non-core fans know about right now (that are winning, of course RR is well known still but for the wrong reasons as of now).

If nobody was interested in another Rousey-Tate fight before, they certainly wouldn't be if Tate beats Holly.  I know Conor would still have his belt if he lost to RDA but it still takes a lot of hype off of Conor if he loses that match for the casual fan.

It seems like an awfully large gamble.  The upside if Conor and Holly both win is of course huge, but it could certainly get a bit sideways on them if they both lose.

 
I don't think Miesha winning would be a bad thing. She's very well liked and really only fell out of fashion because Ronda came around. When Miesha beat Marloes Coenen to win the Strikeforce title, SHE was all the rage and the one getting big time press. If Ronda hadn't come along and Miesha had stayed champ, she probably would have been in a situation similar to Ronda. Not as meteoric, mind you...but similar.

And as Joe Rogan says, she has the best ass in MMA, lol. ;)

As for Conor trying to hold two belts...that's what he did in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship before he came to the UFC. Obviously, a different level of competition, but he claims he'll be active enough to defend both.

It's kind of funny, I remember Jose Aldo wanting to do the same thing when there was all that talk about him fighting Anthony Pettis when Pettis was champ. But Dana White vetoed it telling Aldo that if he wanted to move up, he'd have to vacate the Featherweight belt. All I can say to that is that's the difference marketing yourself makes.

People can say that Conor and Dana are BFFs, but Conor talked his way into it and made it a lucrative venture for the UFC. That's all they care about. If Jose didn't constantly pull out of fights or would learn a little English, he probably could have held both belts at the same time. Conor is just the first person to make it a good story. He'll have his freaking hands full with RDA though. He's either going to need to catch him coming in like he did Aldo, or really use his movement to keep him at a distance. Keeping Dos-Anjos off of him will be no small task.

 
I do not think Miesha winning is bad for people that are real MMA fans.  My point was it is bad for the UFC with fringe fans.  How many fringe fans do you think know who Holly is versus who Miesha is?  I guarantee you the number is way higher for Holly since she knocked off Rousey who was all over everything before that.  Holly then made the rounds after that fight.

Growing the sport from the UFC perspective is about getting more fringe people to buy the PPV.  I think that is much less likely going forward if Miesha beats Holly unless it happens to be some sort of Bonnar and Griffin type of war.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
GatorBeerGeek said:
I do not think Miesha winning is bad for people that are real MMA fans. My point was it is bad for the UFC with fringe fans. How many fringe fans do you think know who Holly is versus who Miesha is? I guarantee you the number is way higher for Holly since she knocked off Rousey who was all over everything before that. Holly then made the rounds after that fight.

Growing the sport from the UFC perspective is about getting more fringe people to buy the PPV. I think that is much less likely going forward if Miesha beats Holly unless it happens to be some sort of Bonnar and Griffin type of war.
Click to expand...
I disagree. Miesha is very attractive and has a great comeback/underdog story. If the UFC promo team can't find a way to spin that, they should look for new jobs.

Besides, it's not like Holly is a media dynamo. She basically just did all the interviews that were SUPPOSED to be for Ronda. That's mostly cooled off now, and everybody is generally talking about Ronda again (SNL, SI Swimsuit Issue, etc).

To me, Miesha would be more comfortable in the spotlight than Holly. I just don't know if she can beat her.
 
Dana has $$'s in his eyes. He's always said nobody can have two titles. The last really serious time this was being talked about was way back when BJ Penn was the big champ and undefeatable - but Dana wouldn't do it then. This fight with RDA has the ability to make Connor absolutely the biggest star the sport has seen (if he is already it) but like Gator said, if he gets steamrolled by RDA it will hurt for the long term.

If it is a close decision then not so much, but if RDA comes out there and power doubles Connor into the floor by the cage and unloads on him or if he just bullies him against the cage then it will be a big blow do the Connor mystique. Right now he is coming off his Chad win with the live intro and then stopping Aldo. I really think UFC might be pushing to far with him. Connor has two big wins - Chad and Aldo. Chad had 10 days notice, and Aldo was coming back from 18 months out and got flash ko'd by the first punch.

Connor has done amazing things, but he definitely had an easier road, Not completely by the UFC doing. Aldo got injured so they had to fill in quick with Chad, and then Aldo being out for that long. UFC favoritism is a factor now though. Rousey and Cain both get instant rematches after they were straight up dominated, but Aldo gets a flash ko'd and he is back of the line. 

As for Holly v Miesha - I like Miesha. In terms of girl fighters I believe she is the most complete female fighter. She has good wrestling, good jiu-jitsu, and good striking. Holly is definitely the favorite, but I think Miesha is a live underdog. She brings much better striking than Ronda and much better wrestling. Holly did not have to worry about any type of single legs, double legs, ankle picks, or any thing else from Ronda. The threat of Miesha's wrestling may be enough to make Holly uncomfortable and put her in a bad position. What happens if Holly is on the mat with Miesha on top?

In terms of marketability - UFC absolutely does not want Miesha to win. She is attractive and good on the mic, but she does not have a sliver of the Ronda hyper behind her. Now that Holly is undefeated and dethroned Ronda, they are putting their eggs in her basket (at least until Her Holiness RR returns to us). People who know nothing about UFC know all about Holly vs Ronda. It was on a bunch of the year in reviews on New Year's Eve and even on the New Year's Eve Google commercial had Holly entering the cage. If Ronda is out (or maybe done), Holly is the one to continue the banner. She can be the new unstoppable female fighter that everyone/everything gets behind. Joe will be calling her the greatest athlete of all time next week.

Holly winning though will just help cement how good she is and make the Ronda rematch even bigger money. If Miesha wins - it is all well in good, but it just seems anti-climatic. Lost to Zigano, lost to Ronda twice (once in the first round) and then lost to Kaufman back in Strikeforce. Miesha has nothing to really market her except decent skills and is attractive. There is no "it". For Jon Jones it is steam rolling everyone since Shogun, GSP was just how perfect he was in not losing a single round, Fedor was the unstoppable Russian machine, Connor is Connor, Ronda has a highlight reel of armbars and quick wins, Anderson Silva had his matrix style KOs. If Miesha wins it is is like if Ryan Bader beats Rumble and then finally gets his title shot and beats Cormier. 100% deserving of the title, but a much harder sell to the casual fans.

Casual fans are what make the big money. The same dedicated fans will always watch to see who is most deserving, but it is the casuals he make the difference between a 300,000 PPV featuring Mighty Mouse or 1.1 million PPV with Connor or Ronda. It is why UFC does what they do. Rankings only count for so much.

 
Maybe I just don't see it with Holm then. Her interviews after the fight were super awkward to me. When she was on Good Morning with Michael and Kelly, and she's trying to show them the head kick, she talked to them like they knew MMA terms and was trying to tell them how to stand and they didn't know what to do, and it got super weird and uncomfortable, haha. There were practically crickets. All she has is the Buster Douglas effect. People know her because of who she beat. That will only last so long...and I doubt it will carry women's MMA.

Obviously, neither of them are as marketable as Ronda...but unless we see some WWE shit, I don't think Ronda can win a fight between Miesha and Holly, lol ;)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Still got a bad taste in my mouth with the Lawler v Condit decision. Didn't get to watch it live but went back and watched it twice after the fact. Both times I scored it the same way, 1, 3 , 4 Condit, 2 and 5 Lawler. I really have come to like Lawler but to me he shouldn't have got the decision over Hendricks in the first place. He was behind in the Rory fight until the finish and he also lost the Condit fight in my eyes.

The dude is humble as hell and comes to fight every time. He's got the potential to land bombs and end fights but he's not someone I can see holding the belt as long as a GSP. I will say this though, ever since GSP has been gone 170 has been a lot more exciting. I really, really hope they do an instant rematch and that steers Condit away from retiring. Condit is a phenomenal technical striker and I understand that people say his strikes are not lethal but in his 30 wins he has 15 ko/tko, 13 submissions and 2 decisions. People say the same thing about Cain throwing weak punches but in 13 victories he has 11 ko/tko's.

RDA vs McGregor. I see RDA mauling Mcgregor. Mcgregors stock definitely goes down after a loss but at the same time he can sort of get away with it. He won't lose his belt, and can go back down to 145 and fight again. If they put him against Frankie I also think it's a very bad matchup for him. If Aldo gets a rematch, I can see him winning the fight again but not as quickly as the first. The reason I liked the Aldo Mcgregor matchup to begin with was because of Mcgregors stance with his leg out there in the open. I thought, and still think Aldos kicks could and would play a big role in a rematch. Then again, Mcgregors striking and angles have been proven to be legit in my eyes.

I got Dominator taking his belt back and I can definitely see Tate beating Holm. 2016 is going to be a fun year for fights and I forsee another switch up in belts. 2015 was crazy in that we saw pretty much a change over in just about every weight class. Super excited and looking forward to what the year brings.

 
It has finally been confirmed that Ronda Rousey won't be ready to fight at UFC 200 (part of me wondered if the UFC was going to pull some shenanigans of letting Ronda upstage Holm by having her fight somebody else at UFC 200). But I guess her "movie shooting schedule got pushed back".

I really don't even care if that's true. She needs a break. She fought 3 times in 9 months this past year. She needs to clear her head and actually figure out if this is something she even wants to do anymore. If the hunger isn't there, it's time to hang it up.

I do think it's really shitty that as soon as the Holm-Tate fight was announced, Holly's camp started talking shit about Ronda saying she "might not have the guts for a rematch". Ronda talks plenty of shit. Talking shit is fair game. But don't call somebody out AFTER you already have another fight booked. That's weak as hell. That would be like Conor ripping on Aldo now. Makes no sense.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
n8rockerasu said:
It has finally been confirmed that Ronda Rousey won't be ready to fight at UFC 200 (part of me wondered if the UFC was going to pull some shenanigans of letting Ronda upstage Holm by having her fight somebody else at UFC 200). But I guess her "movie shooting schedule got pushed back".

I really don't even care if that's true. She needs a break. She fought 3 times in 9 months this past year. She needs to clear her head and actually figure out if this is something she even wants to do anymore. If the hunger isn't there, it's time to hang it up.

I do think it's really shitty that as soon as the Holm-Tate fight was announced, Holly's camp started talking shit about Ronda saying she "might not have the guts for a rematch". Ronda talks plenty of shit. Talking shit is fair game. But don't call somebody out AFTER you already have another fight booked. That's weak as hell. That would be like Conor ripping on Aldo now. Makes no sense.
Click to expand...
I think it would be more like if Aldo smashed Connor and then Aldo talked shit about him after having to listen to him for months (of course it didn't happen that way). I see that one commment from the striking coach, but they were very respectful leading up to the fight and after. During all this time Ronda was talking trash and being a massive bitch and even since she lost she hasn't said anything about her being the better fighter that night, or anything along those lines.

From right before the fight - "Fake ass cheap shotting fake respect fake humility bitch - "preachers daughter" my ass" to the freak out at the weigh in and everything else. Ronda likes to play herself as a jerk (or is a jerk) so now she has to take it. She'll refuse to shake hands or touch gloves, say random stuff like above, and then after she wins she'll make fun of her opponents like telling Bethe "don't cry" (after that whole made up think about Ronda's camp being angry because they said Bethe was making fun of her father's suicide).

Also - not having the guts is pretty tame. Just trying to drum up that big money. You want that Anderson Silva, Connor and the rest money you gotta get the hype going. Ronda was making huge money (well over a million dollars), but Holly definitely wasn't. With Holly's 25/25 contract (she made her money at 193 with her two bonuses) she needs to talk herself into the some big money matches.

There is also a good chance they are kind of right. I wouldn't be surprised if Ronda is done. Dana said yesterday that Ronda is taking an extended leave from fighting. Ronda kind of feels like Brock. She can dish it out, but she can't take it. It is easy to have that "hunger" when you are crushing cans in under 30 seconds for millions of dollars.

In other news, it looks like Yoel Romero might be done. Being investigated for a questionable drug test. Would he come back after his suspension?

 
Well, I guess there's two ways to look at it.

1. Holly SHOULD be beyond Ronda at this point. She beat her. She's the new champ. Ronda should be in the rearview mirror. But if, as the champ, she still needs to pander to Ronda to make money, then Ronda basically STILL holds all the cards and should give her the Conor McGregor "line them up on their knees with their hands out" response.

2. Holly decides that she's the new center of the women's MMA universe, builds her own legacy, and lets the money come naturally. Now, maybe her age and not having a ton of time left is putting a bit of pressure on that. I don't know. But if it's all about the money, then the belt changing hands really doesn't make any difference in the situation.

The comment just felt very "It's a good thing my friends are here holding me back!" Granted, it wasn't Holly that directly said it, but still...the entire aura of Holly is that she's "above those things". As for what gets said before and building up to a fight...I basically take none of it seriously because it's promo. Ronda definitely took it too far this past time...not that any particular thing she said was out of line...but she bought into it and was emotional. It's one thing if it's strategy and trying to get in your opponent's head. It's another thing if it makes you a psycho bitch, lol.

You do seem to have some of your information mixed up though. Ronda told Bethe "don't cry" because that's what Bethe said to her at the weigh ins. Was it rubbing it in? Sure. But it was in the moment...not months after the fight. And the stuff Bethe said about Ronda's father wasn't made up...Bethe said that in an interview. And I would guess it actually did piss Ronda off a bit. I don't think anything there was unjustified. Now, not shaking Miesha's hand...I don't know. That's her prerogative. She didn't want to be friends with Miesha...that's girl shit. Not going to pretend that I can understand it, haha.

 
Also, I just figured out UFC 200. It's the CM Punk show...

Think about it. UFC 100 was all about Brock Lesnar. It just makes sense. That's why UFC 197 can be a big card. The UFC can do huge PPV buys at 200 without even using any of their real fighters, lol. :lol:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Even if Holly goes on an awesome streak she will never be the star Ronda is. Ronda was the first. Kind of like how Royce Gracie will always be remembered over tons of other better fighters. It just shows in how that they are dragging Royce to fight in a week or two. If Holly showed up first and cleaned house it would've been different.

Bethe didn't know about Ronda's father. She then apologized right after. That was just Ronda and Dana using it as something to get people excited. Dana may claim that Bethe knew, but then Dana is a liar (that is in his job description as a promoter). Was it a little stupid - yeah. But it was like when Frank said he would kill Brock at UFC 100 (didn't quite work out for Frank).

Either way it will be interesting to see how UFC rides this out with one of heir golden gooses on the sidelines. Maybe Silva will destroy Bisping and challenge Rockhold for the belt.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
On Sunday I'm most interested in how Brown vs  Mitrione goes.  All of Brown's big wins came very quickly in kind of weird ways. He elbowed Gonzaga and Barnett when they were going for takedowns. Up until that point I don't think I had ever seen someone use elbows there. They are very close to being illegal so I don't think many ever go for them, but with his lanky frame he is able to get an angle on them. Then with Overeem, he was battered so badly that it was almost stopped. Overeem then hands down walked into the front kick.

People now are going to know to watch out with takedowns with head placement.

 
Just confirmed that Joanna Jedrezjczyk vs Claudia Gadelha will be at the Ultimate Fighter finale...the day BEFORE UFC 200. Seriously, what the hell does the UFC have up its sleeve for 200? Maybe they'll just cancel it, lol. No big deal.

No, really though...I think they're clearing the way for CM Punk. Maybe you also have Rockhold - Weidman 2 on the card...but I'll be shocked if it's not basically just a big celebration for Punk's first fight.

 
Wow...the judge that scored it 29-28 Pettis must have just completely discredited takedowns. What did Pettis even do in that fight? He hit Alvarez with one good shot...and that was at the beginning of the 3rd round...after which, Alvarez took him down 3 more times.

I wouldn't say that was an exciting fight, but Alvarez did exactly what Clay Guida and RDA before him did to Pettis. It should be pretty obvious at this point that Pettis has some Ronda Rousey like holes in his game...and anybody who doesn't exploit them is just being stupid.

Sorry, Showtime...but unless you want to go compete in kickboxing, you're not the #1 contender.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
HO-LEE SHIT, the scoring of that Dillashaw - Cruz fight. One judge goes 49-46 Dillashaw...and another goes 49-46 Cruz. Jesus H. Christ. That's ridiculous, man.

Here we are...immediate rematch time. But if ever a fight deserved one, it has to be a fight where a champion's belt got taken away when one judge thought he won 4 out of 5 rounds. You could see when TJ heard 49-46 again...he thought he had it.

Damn, man...why do we even have contenders anymore? lol. Immediate rematches for everyone!

 
Man I don't see what Cruz did to win that fight. Does he get points for dodging punches? They landed about the same and Dillishaw landed the harder blows.

 
Had the fight 48-47 Cruz. No way in hell did I think TJ won 4 of 5 rounds. The takedowns in the beginning of the fight were a definite deciding factor for Cruz. The leg kicks for TJ in the later rounds. Once again the whole "more damaging" punches thing is not something I feel should win you rounds.

If a guy lands 15 clean shots versus the opponent landing 3 or 4 power shots, is that really reason to give the round to the power puncher? That was my biggest gripe with the Lawler x Condit fight.

It's not like Cruz was throwing jabs, he was landing some good shots. Yes, TJs punches had more pop but I felt Cruz was landing and evading more at will than TJ.

The whole immediate rematch stuff does suck ass because if Dom wins again then that basically kills any excitement in TJ working towards a title shot again. Exactly like I have no interest in seeing Faber fight for a title again.
 
The bigger issue for me is when is Cruz even going to be able to fight again? He was trying to say that the leg kicks didn't bother him at all and that it was his foot hurting from a previous injury. But it coincidentally just started affecting him at the exact moment TJ landed that brutal leg kick.

Honestly, if Dom's injury is serious, he should just retire with the damn belt and take his seat at the commentator's desk permanently. No more 2+ year rehabs. If his body won't hold up enough to defend the title regularly, then just be grateful that this opportunity came along and retire as a champion.

I don't know about the scoring. I can see an argument for both guys winning it...which for me, goes back to the Lawler - Condit decision, and not taking the champion's belt away...but justifying a rematch. I feel like so much stuff has been botched lately in terms of policies. Even the damn Browne - Mitrione eye poke handling was horrible...with Mitrione basically having to yell for his own timeout.

I feel like we're at a point in the sport where the line between victory and defeat is so razer thin, you have to have concrete absolutes. There's no "booth review" in MMA, but we sure as hell could have a second referee watching the TV feed, and an ear piece on the in cage referee, so he can be told "eye poke" in case he misses it. And the number of warnings a person gets about pokes/grabbing cage/etc. needs to be consistent. These things shouldn't be getting botched as badly as they do.

 
bigpimpin24 said:
No way in hell did I think TJ won 4 of 5 rounds.
Click to expand...
And I feel the same way about Cruz winning 4 of 5 rounds. So, basically...we have 2 out of 3 score cards that are retarded bullshit, lol.

This is another problem. Realistically, we need to see more 10-10s and more draws. Call the fucking fight a draw, and then the rematch makes sense without damaging anybody's reputation.

 
n8rockerasu said:
The bigger issue for me is when is Cruz even going to be able to fight again? He was trying to say that the leg kicks didn't bother him at all and that it was his foot hurting from a previous injury. But it coincidentally just started affecting him at the exact moment TJ landed that brutal leg kick.

Honestly, if Dom's injury is serious, he should just retire with the damn belt and take his seat at the commentator's desk permanently. No more 2+ year rehabs. If his body won't hold up enough to defend the title regularly, then just be grateful that this opportunity came along and retire as a champion.
Click to expand...
This was exactly what was going through my head when I saw him limping after the bell. We will see in the coming weeks and I really hope it's nothing major but if he goes out on injury again what the hell are they going to do? Interim belt again? I agree with you and hope he would just have the decency to retire and call it quits. I don't think anyone will fault him for it and it would be the better thing to do. Hopefully that is not the case but I feel pretty iffy about it. He says in the interview with Rogan that he doesn't want to talk about injuries leading up to the fight and then says he came in with a torn foot. Very very uneasy about the whole thing.

 
Dom/TJ fight was close. I could see it going either way so I don't feel too bad about it, except that Dom will probably be out on recovery again at some point. I saw later it was reported he had plantar fasciitis but I don't know if I believe him. It looked like he only started having problems after TJ chopped into the leg a few times. If the leg did hurt I'm sure he didn't want to say anything after being about for pretty much 5 years.

Browne/Mitrione fight sucked. I'm not saying Mitrione would've won, but he dropped Browne and was winning until he was eye poked twice. Then the whole pace and flow of the fight changed.

Ref should've taken a point away definitely the second time. In my opinion they need to really crack down. Start taking points and maybe throw a DQ in there to get people to stop pawing at faces. The tall lanky fighters like Browne don't care because they know they can get two eye pokes in before there are any problems. Even if they get called out for doing it, they don't care because the damage done by the eye poke outweighs any repercussions.

Browne also seemed like a big douche when he charged in both times after poking the eyes looking to land damage. First time he poked him and the ref saw it and stopped Browne when he ran in there to land some shots as Mitrione tried to cover his eye and recover.

Second time ref didn't see it and Browne start coming on strong until the ref finally called time.

Made Browne look like a dirty fighter.

Browne's popularity and career have taken a downward turn.

Cheats on his wife with Ronda, accused of domestic abuse (ex-wife pressing charges supposedly), and leaves Greg Jackson for Edmond (stupid stupid move).

 
*sigh*

BJ Penn is officially out of retirement...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2609209-bj-penn-officially-ends-ufc-retirement-latest-details-comments-and-reaction

It's crazy that NOW is when he figures out he needed a real camp. If he had gone to Greg Jackson 8 years ago, his skills probably wouldn't have dropped off the face of the earth like they did. But it's going to be too late now, man.

He must really need money if he's trying to talk his way into a Conor fight. Have to say, letting McGregor destroy him would be perfect for the UFC though. Big money and easy win for The Notorious.

 
https://twitter.com/Toucherandrich/status/687980058800205826?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

I give up. Punk is fighting at UFC 199. UFC 200 is a lie. It doesn't exist, lol.

 
Will Penn come out and get destroyed and say he should've stayed retired again?

Maybe, just maybe, with Jackson he will do well.

He definitely doesn't need the money since his family is rich, but I'm guessing when you spent your whole life competing it must be hard to hang it up. Maybe he should've gone back to BJJ (though the sport is much different than it was), but it doesn't have the fanfare. BJ probably can't live without the rush of having fans, cheering, and people talking about him.

 
Cain Velasquez out...Stipe Miocic in. What a shocker, lol.

I really hope all the Cain hype dies down now. He COULD be great...but has never been healthy enough to show it. Winning a couple fights here and there over the course of several years doesn't do it for me. Until he has a Dominick Cruz like comeback (including AT LEAST one tune up fight where he looks sensational), the UFC needs to just forget about him. But that's something he's gotta do for himself. The UFC can't just hold his hand and try to force it to happen.

 
And now Werdum is out. That event PPV is in deep poop. Unless they pull something out of their hat it may end up being one of the lowest selling PPVs in a long time.

You also can't trust Hendricks since he got sick cutting weight last time. If that happens we could be down to Roy Nelson vs Rosholt for a PPV main event hah

 
Here's what doesn't make any sense to me. Did they really not talk to Werdum at all about fighting Miocic? Because that's what it looks like. If they had, why wouldn't he just say he's injured then? But with the way it played out, Werdum kind of fucked the UFC because they offered Miocic a title shot. But now what happens? Do they reschedule Cain and Werdum? (might as well fold the heavyweight division if you're going to do that) Or does this immediate rematch bullshit get scrapped and just let Miocic fight Werdum?

The immediate rematch/injury bullshit is really out of hand though. You've got fighters waiting like 2+ years to get a title shot...who have to keep fighting and maybe take a loss (probably when they fought injured)...and then miss their shot. This system isn't working and it needs to go.

I did find Werdum's response amusing though.

"I was already injured," Werdum told the Brazilian media (h/t MMA Fighting's Cruz). "I have a foot injury, and haven’t been able to throw kicks in training for two weeks. I would still fight Cain because I was injured the last time, but I also hurt my back last Friday. I went to the doctor, tried to continue training, but couldn’t spar as I should spar."
Click to expand...
"Well...uh...I was already hurt. Sooo...fuck you and fuck you!" lol.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top