Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[schmojo]

I'm fairly glad it's going to happen. If Bisping held out for the payday, it would continue the precedent of holding up the sport for money fights.

 

As good as Mike's TDD is, I'm not sure there's a more dynamic wrestler than Yoel in the sport (basing this off the brief glimpse we got vs Weidman). And he's also an incredibly muscular, powerful guy, but with some staying power despite that.

 

My biggest fear is that Romero finally gets the belt, and does the whole Werdum "I've waited so long for this moment that I deserve a holiday" thing.

 

On the other hand, if lightning strikes twice and Bisping wins without it being very fortunate, that pretty much vindicates him.

[V3zna]

This has to be first sensible decision the UFC has made in a while.

 

Now tell McGregor to line up a title defence somewhere down the line and we will really be going in the right direction.

[Gotters]

The wording from Dana isn't definitive, wonder if its a last attempt to goad GSP past some contractual impasse they have ?

 

Would love to see Romero fight Bisping, although I don't see it ending when for Bisping, Romero will flatten him. 

[Doomguy]

47 minutes ago, Gotters said:

The wording from Dana isn't definitive, wonder if its a last attempt to goad GSP past some contractual impasse they have ?

 

Would love to see Romero fight Bisping, although I don't see it ending when for Bisping, Romero will flatten him. 

 

I noticed that too. It reads more like they are pissed off with GSP playing games - and rightly so tbh. He's acting like the UFC came to him to fight and he needs more time to train. No. GSP wanted to return. USADA testing started with him 8 months before so he should be ready for july.

[Orion]

This hopefully gets a date, venue and all signed up now. I was never really looking forward to GSP-Bisping. GSP obviously had no intention of defending the belt if he won it, so we just would have a total mess. Plus Bisping and Yoel obviously can't stand each other. The build is going to be hilarious.

 

I like Romero and his creepy Bond villain manager. He is a total cheat but he is rarely in a dull fight. Some of his antics I find funny to like "stool-gate" against that knobhead Kennedy and the whole "gay jesus" stuff. I like Bisping to so just hoping for a decent fight and Bisping not dying really. 

 

GSP needs to get back to Welter. Forget this middleweight nonsense. I think he was trying to match Conor by winning the Middleweight belt then the Welterweight belt at the same time. Then setting up a huge fight with Conor. When tbh a fight between the two would be huge whatever. He should go to Welterweight, smash someone like Nick Diaz in a tune up in Canada, then go after the belt.

[schmojo]

I'm not sure Yoel and Bisping do hate each other. They're both trolls who want to get rich, and game recognises game.

 

You've got to imagine Bisping cracks a smile every time someone throws something out on social media that's actually worth working with. Ker-ching.

[Orion]

Whatever it is Bisping has shown he is very good at winding Yoel up and getting under his skin. The press conferences should be hilarious. 

[Doomguy]

My opinion is getting swayed on GSP's steroid use. 

 

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/gsp-hgh-gut.3461491/

 

The knot in his stomach is exactly where bodybuilders inject. 

[Corrogate]

Where they inject? I haven't read the article but I'm pretty sure the thinking behind it is HGH doesn't just make your muscles grow, it makes your organs grow, hence stomach swelling.

[Doomguy]

Yes, it makes your gut grow, but apparently the other sign of HGH use is the knot in the middle of the abs; like belfort, bodybuilders etc. 

 

 

[Corrogate]

Intredasting... It's actually something I've considered with GSP in the past. I did see those pictures in the thread.

[glb]

Embedded's for 211 are stacking up. Watched eps 1 - 3, really enjoyable watching fighters just getting on with preparing for their fights without too much drama for a change. Miocic and Dos Santos both look super relaxed, not at all like they're about to knock seven bells out of each other.

 

 

[Doomguy]

Think my new favourite fighter is Masvidal. Wasn't much of a fan at first but having seen him interviewed a few times now it's clear he's the realist fighter the UFC currently has. No other word for it. From street fighting on kimbo vids to getting looked past by the UFC, to title contention. He's got quite the story. 

[glb]

DC v Jones set for UFC 214.

 

No word from Dana on whether it will be a main event...

[Yobo Ahoy]

I read that it will be a main but Manuwa will be on the card as a backup. Knowing DC and Bones, they'll both drop out. 

[McFly]

So much to catch up on here....as im in GSPs homeland i cant fully get into the HGH stuff but i wouldnt be surprised sadly. Glad in a way that theres a real fight happening with Romero.

 

Crazy scenes at the UFC Summer Kick Off with Cormier/Jones and Chiesa/Lee going mad at eachother.

 

 

[Orion]

Kevin Lee keeping it classy as always. He is such a McGregor wannabe. When Conor says things like  "I'm going to send you back to the prelims". It works because he fights in the main event. When Kevin Lee says the same lines he sounds like a tool because his last five fucking fights were all on the prelims.

[Doomguy]

1 minute ago, Orion said:

Kevin Lee keeping it classy as always. He is such a McGregor wannabe. When Conor says things like  "I'm going to send you back to the prelims". It works because he fights in the main event. When Kevin Lee says the same lines he sounds like a tool because his last five fucking fights were all on the prelims.

 

haha that's what I thought.

 

Can't wait for DC Cormier. As much as it probably won't happen the lead up will be ace. 

 

DC: 'This'll be light work, junkie'.

 

haha

[skittles]

So much to catch up on here....as im in GSPs homeland i cant fully get into the HGH stuff but i wouldnt be surprised sadly. Glad in a way that theres a real fight happening with Romero.
 
Crazy scenes at the UFC Summer Kick Off with Cormier/Jones and Chiesa/Lee going mad at eachother.
 
 

Looking forward to watching that when home. What exactly is it? Is Conor on it?

[glb]

UFC 211 then...

 

Joanna lived up to her 'Champion' status and then some. Absolute dissection of Andrade, was just missing that finish for the highlight reel statement. Love watching her fight and she put on a show. Credit to Andrade for continue to walk forward but she was against one of the UFC's true elite.

 

Rest of the card was decent, bar the main card opener. If anyone's not watched the prelims, Rashad 'Daywalker' Coulter v Chase 'The Vanilla Gorilla' Sherman is worth a look.

[Doomguy]

Miocic might become the first heavyweight to ever defend the belt more than twice! Mad. I think that puts him at hall of fame status given how long it's been going. Great dude too, very humble. 

 

Dos Santos was very emotional in the post fight press conference. I feel bad as he has such a great attitude;. He's lost, rebuilt himself, lost, rebuilt himself, be nice to see him get one last title before he retires. 

 

Maia? well if he doesn't get a titleshot at this point then the UFC really has become a farce. 7 fight win streak beating Condit, Nelson, Masvidal, Magny. What else does he have to do? It's like with Jacare; he wins and wins, gets no titleshot, so dana throws more guys at him until he eventually loses then is like 'see, shouldn't have got a titleshot'. Fuck off dana they both earned it.  

 

[schmojo]

Stipe's a weird one. Excellent record, many great performances, multi-dimensional fighter, humble guy, and adds some legitimacy to a shallow division. 

 

But I still think of him as a caretaker champion. Like we're waiting for a true great in Velasquez to get his shit together.

 

I know that a small part of me has never forgiven him for ruining Shane Del Rosario's UFC debut, but I want to like the guy more. They need to make him more visible and market him better. At the moment I feel like he's a guy who does it in his spare time. 

[glb]

Think the Embedded's gave Miocic some good air time (and he lapped it up) but yeah, he needs a more prolonged push. Miocic Velasquez would be a fight for the ages if it ever happened. Was a weird main event wanting both to do well; bittersweet whatever the result.

 

Can't stop beaming about JJ. So damn good. Not a dig at Ronda, because she helped open the doors in UFC but great to see how quickly the female divisions are moving.

 

@Stevedave Maia did appear to get a thumbs up from Dana regarding a shot post-fight. Not sure how that ties in with Woodley's supposed upcoming fight, but more than well earned for Maia. Proper old school fighter, hard not to admire him but credit also to Masvidal who got out of some pretty bad spots.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah Dana said 'you got it'. Hard to ignore him really now, although I can't imagine the UFC bean counters are over the moon with that matchup.  

[schmojo]

With a few well placed promo videos the fight can sell.

 

It's the humble martial artist who's worked his entire life for the big money fight with the showy big mouth. Get it promoted.

[Gotters]

I can't see the levels of interest being high in Maia vs Woodley. Sure Maia has earned his shot, that goes without saying, but he's so technical (I avoided using the word dull but to a lot of the more casual viewers of the sport that's what he is) and so unwilling to enter the trash talking arena there isn't a lot to generate hype. Woodley isn't a loved champ so a lot of folks want to see him lose, just not sure they'll care much if its to Maia.

 

Thought JJ was amazing at the weekend, her striking and movement were superb and she managed 5 rounds of that without flagging at all - they said it a lot in commentary but I think her technique and stamina are as good, if not better, than pretty much everybody else in MMA (male or female)

 

Shame about Rodriguez - I love his flashy style but he got taught some very hard lessons there, hopefully he comes back stronger from that and plugs the gaps in his ground game, as he just got taken to the cleaners. 

[schmojo]

The problem with UFC's promotion is that they're clueless and lazy. People have been led to believe that the only kind of fighter hype is cocky, obnoxious and aggressive.

 

It's nonsense. Trash-talk is just something great to rely on when you don't have any other ideas.

 

Get that production team to show me footage of a 10 year old Demian Maia in a gi. Winning championships and teaching classes while basically being Ryo from Shenmue. Rehash the Karate Kid in 2 minutes.

 

Demian would rather die than trash talk? Then have him say that on camera, shortly before playing footage of Woodley being smug and awful.

 

Get creative. Embrace the fighters' stories. Stop blaming fighters for not being cookie-cutter, simpleton shouters.

 

 

[Orion]

Yeah the Summer Kick Off press conference didn't do much for me. Too many fighters acting like dickheads including some of the women. When Conor is on these they tend to be good because Conor is very funny and quick like when he deaded Jeremy Stephens with one line. When its just a stage of people and half are trying to be Conor its tiresome and embarrassing tbh.

 

But as you say the UFC have fostered this and the fighters have seen the shit talkers get more attention and money. 

[glb]

UFC's promotion is also guided by WME's client list, with the detriment that brings. Look at UFC 207 where anyone would have thought Ronda Rousey was fighting herself in some sort of existential Octagon experiment, rather than being a challenger to Amanda Nunes. No surprise Garbrandt is getting the push he currently is, as another name on WME's Rolodex.

 

I think they'd be wise to push the UFC brand and sport of MMA again, rather than individuals. Simply because mass-market stars that capture attention beyond their sport like McGregor, (and Jordan, Woods, Ali... etc) they rarely happen more than once in a generation and can't be relied upon or forced into public consciousness. Use the exposure Conor brings to really hype why MMA is so damn exciting and unpredictable to watch. I'm not sure they're able to at the minute though, the momentum from 205 pretty much stalled within a month.

[Doomguy]

8 hours ago, schmojo said:

The problem with UFC's promotion is that they're clueless and lazy. People have been led to believe that the only kind of fighter hype is cocky, obnoxious and aggressive.

 

It's nonsense. Trash-talk is just something great to rely on when you don't have any other ideas.

 

Get that production team to show me footage of a 10 year old Demian Maia in a gi. Winning championships and teaching classes while basically being Ryo from Shenmue. Rehash the Karate Kid in 2 minutes.

 

Demian would rather die than trash talk? Then have him say that on camera, shortly before playing footage of Woodley being smug and awful.

 

Get creative. Embrace the fighters' stories. Stop blaming fighters for not being cookie-cutter, simpleton shouters.

 

 

 

True. Couture never talked trash before a fight and he is one of the all time greats. Same with Liddell.

 

The conor thing is annoying. He's a copy cat himself and others are following. It's funny at first but now it's bloody irritating. Maia's attitude is a breath of fresh air in comparison to everything that's going on atm.