It is strange seeing Arlovski floating around Affliction and Strikeforce, guess he's a true free agent.
It's the same arrangement he had when he fought Nelson on the EliteXC card. Affliction fronts the bill and in exchange the fight is announced as an affliction bout and everyone wears their stupid T-shirts.
Interesting arrangement - not sure how much business sense it makes, I guess we'll see by the end of the year if Affliction can survive. I've been a big fan of Josh Barnett's and Arlovski's for quite a while and would enjoy seeing them fight more often....Fedor, too. It will be interesting to see what happens to those guys and Tito and Silvia who have burned bridges with UFC (or vice versa) if/when Affliction tanks.
Well Affliction 3 has been confirmed for August with Fedor vs. Barnett as the main event so I guess they aren't quite sunk yet, though it does seem inevitable at this point.
:shock:
That reminded me of that Matt Hughes VS. Carlos Newton Fight where Hughes was walking around with Newton wrapped around him for a bit of time. Hughes ended up passing out, falling, and knocking Newton out in the process. After watching the replays it was clearly a double KO, but they had already given Hughes the fight!
I can't seem to find the video of it anywhere 
Here's to hoping for a good fight between Fedor & Barnett. I think Barnett could shock some folks here - he's a HUGE dude and has a pretty solid chin.
Anyway, any predictions or thoughts on this weekend's card?
Personally, I hope Rashad gets the crap beat out of him - I can't stand his antics in the ring. I used to really like the guy and met him and his wife in Houston, but after seeing how he clowns durning and after fights, I just want to see him get his head knocked off. I'm not terribly interested Serra/Hughes as I don't think Serra has much of a chance beyond catching Hughes like he did against GSP, but expect to see Serra get dominated. This fight needed to happen about 2 years ago for it to really be interesting.
I'm hoping that Rashad can put an end to the mystique of Machida and the endless "elusive" comments.
I want Serra to beat on Hughes so much. Partly because of the size difference and partly because Hughes is such a d-bag.
And a big thumbs down for 3 or so changes to the card. I always pull for the last minute guys though.
You're 100% right on hughes vs Serra. At the event in Houston, Hughes was one of the few fighters there who didn't interact with fans at all. Serra on the other hand hung out in the hotel lobby for HOURS after beating GSP talking to people, buying drinks, etc - he was VERY cool. That being said, I just don't think Serra matches up very well with Hughes - at least the Hughes from 2-3 years ago (I think he's fought once on the past 18 months or longer). Serra is one of those guys who I think his physical stature is a severe limitation in what he can do - sure he's a BJJ blackbelt, but his arms and legs are too short to really be effective against bigger guys. That and I'm not sure what a black belt under him is worth - Drago has one and I've NEVER seen him pull guard - he's just a slugger. Same goes for Jorge Gurgel, you'll hear people talk about him being a black belt in BJJ, but I've never seen him on the ground - unless he's geing pounded on 
Hopefully this card will be more entertaining that the last one...I'm starting to think they need to cut back on the every month or so PPV event.
I'm really hoping Evans gets a KO on Machina so my much anticipated Evans/Rampage match can take place and Rampage can reclaim his title, which I still believe he should not have lost by decision to Griffin. I like Matt Hughes and am pulling for him to get a career finalizing victory so he can go out on top. The only other fight I remotely give a sh*t about is seeing Sean Sherk but I could care less who wins that one.
I like Matt Hughes and am pulling for him to get a career finalizing victory so he can go out on top.
I've never ran across this before so I feel compelled to ask. Have you read his book? What about him do you like?
93_confirmed wrote:I like Matt Hughes and am pulling for him to get a career finalizing victory so he can go out on top.
I've never ran across this before so I feel compelled to ask. Have you read his book? What about him do you like?
Just as a fighter - I don't know much about him otherwise. What did I miss in the book?
Hughes is an egotistical asshole. He is also an amazing fighter, picking Serra here is silly. Unless he lands one of his crazy haymakers he's done for.
What did I miss in the book?
Highlights: animal torture, sexual assault, bullying, cheating through college, and child abandonment.
93_confirmed wrote:What did I miss in the book?
Highlights: animal torture, sexual assault, bullying, cheating through college, and child abandonment.
Yikes! That's a pretty bad list. Now, I'm curious to read the book.
HOLY SH*T! Rashad got KTFO badly. I'm shocked!! Bring on Rampage...
I knew Machida would take the belt, I've been saying it for almost 2 years now, god damn this was a good night.
I can't imagine what Rashad's jaw feels like today.
Any early predictions for Machida/Jackson? Rampage is going to have a tough time with this unorthodox fighting style. I'm thinking it might end the same way as Evan's fight.
Serra got robbed. Even Hughes knew he lost that fight.
Serra got robbed. Even Hughes knew he lost that fight.
I agree. If they did not use a ten point must system. The fight would have been a tie. It was really close.
Round 1 Serra
Round 2 Hughes (for sitting on Serra)
Round 3 ? really close
Round 1 has to go to Hughes, Serra's "power strike" was an illegal headbutt followed up by an illegal punch to the back of the head, you can't count those. After landing them Hughes took him down and controlled the rest of the round.
Any early predictions for Machida/Jackson? Rampage is going to have a tough time with this unorthodox fighting style. I'm thinking it might end the same way as Evan's fight.
It will be similar but you'll see Machida land a lot more leg kicks on the way to finishing it, Rampage always has problems defending them.
UFC 99:
Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring
Velasquez looks very promising, and I have all the respect in the world for Wandy's career. But this stuff should be a Spike show.
It's actually Cain Velasquez vs. Cheik Kongo, Herring pulled out.
I think it's a pretty decent card. The problem with stacking UFC 100 is that it's going to pull talent that would have normally been dispersed among other cards.
It's actually Cain Velasquez vs. Cheik Kongo, Herring pulled out.
I think it's a pretty decent card. The problem with stacking UFC 100 is that it's going to pull talent that would have normally been dispersed among other cards.
![http://i39.tinypic.com/333ej4p.jpg[IMG]](http://i39.tinypic.com/333ej4p.jpg[IMG]){kind=link}
I knew about Kongo from Sherdog, and it totally slipped my mind.
What's strange is that Franklin's last fight was a headliner, too, against Hendo. I say strange because to me, he's mainly the guy who got his nose broken by Silva. Twice. Franklin vs. Silva, who seems to me to be well on his way to retirement, just seems like the top of a placeholder PPV at best.
Sinatar wrote:It's actually Cain Velasquez vs. Cheik Kongo, Herring pulled out.
I think it's a pretty decent card. The problem with stacking UFC 100 is that it's going to pull talent that would have normally been dispersed among other cards.
I knew about Kongo from Sherdog, and it totally slipped my mind.
What's strange is that Franklin's last fight was a headliner, too, against Hendo. I say strange because to me, he's mainly the guy who got his nose broken by Silva. Twice. Franklin vs. Silva, who seems to me to be well on his way to retirement, just seems like the top of a placeholder PPV at best.
Rich Franklin is an amazing fighter. He's far more then the guy who got his nose broken by Silvia, he was champion for good reason.
That's a wicked closeup of Rashad. DAMN....he got rocked.
I love Rampage, but I think he is the wrong fighter to take on Machida. Machida is a classic counterpuncher and seems to have brawlers nailed down. A chessmatch between someone like Machida and another tactician like Silva might be an interesting match, though they might also end up avoiding one another.
CptGlanton wrote:Sinatar wrote:It's actually Cain Velasquez vs. Cheik Kongo, Herring pulled out.
I think it's a pretty decent card. The problem with stacking UFC 100 is that it's going to pull talent that would have normally been dispersed among other cards.
I knew about Kongo from Sherdog, and it totally slipped my mind.
What's strange is that Franklin's last fight was a headliner, too, against Hendo. I say strange because to me, he's mainly the guy who got his nose broken by Silva. Twice. Franklin vs. Silva, who seems to me to be well on his way to retirement, just seems like the top of a placeholder PPV at best.
Rich Franklin is an amazing fighter. He's far more then the guy who got his nose broken by Silvia, he was champion for good reason.
Yea. Franklin has a great chin.
I love Rampage, but I think he is the wrong fighter to take on Machida. Machida is a classic counterpuncher and seems to have brawlers nailed down. A chessmatch between someone like Machida and another tactician like Silva might be an interesting match, though they might also end up avoiding one another.
I don't know. Rampage is a little bit more experienced with fighting then most. The only thing that he would really need to work on before the match is blocking the leg kick.
Sinatar wrote:CptGlanton wrote:Sinatar wrote:It's actually Cain Velasquez vs. Cheik Kongo, Herring pulled out.
I think it's a pretty decent card. The problem with stacking UFC 100 is that it's going to pull talent that would have normally been dispersed among other cards.
I knew about Kongo from Sherdog, and it totally slipped my mind.
What's strange is that Franklin's last fight was a headliner, too, against Hendo. I say strange because to me, he's mainly the guy who got his nose broken by Silva. Twice. Franklin vs. Silva, who seems to me to be well on his way to retirement, just seems like the top of a placeholder PPV at best.
Rich Franklin is an amazing fighter. He's far more then the guy who got his nose broken by Silvia, he was champion for good reason.
Yea. Franklin has a great chin.
Paleocon wrote:I love Rampage, but I think he is the wrong fighter to take on Machida. Machida is a classic counterpuncher and seems to have brawlers nailed down. A chessmatch between someone like Machida and another tactician like Silva might be an interesting match, though they might also end up avoiding one another.
I don't know. Rampage is a little bit more experienced with fighting then most. The only thing that he would really need to work on before the match is blocking the leg kick.
I think it will be an interesting fight, but I think what we're witnessing with Machida is another iteration of the evolution of MMA. Until folks figure out the game he's playing, it's going to continue to work. That isn't to say that it is "superior" to whatever game other folks are playing, but it does seem to have the number of forward/linear fighters.
This reminds me of the first time ground and pound showed up and how nearly instantly pure wrestlers became an endangered species. I've been telling folks that I thought that the next big innovation would be in judo since most folks had already gotten really good at the takedown avoidance and were spending a lot of time in the standup clinch. Horimitsu Miura proved it was a formidable tool in the toolbox in his yeoman performance against Carlos Condit in WEC 35, but no one has really used it much since.
Machida's karate and the crazy lean back stance is frustrating aggressive fighters. Clearly, he is setting up for the game-changing bomb punch and Rashad gave him that opening.
I love Rampage, but I think he is the wrong fighter to take on Machida. Machida is a classic counterpuncher and seems to have brawlers nailed down. A chessmatch between someone like Machida and another tactician like Silva might be an interesting match, though they might also end up avoiding one another.
He may be the "wrong" fighter but he's certainly owned another shot at the title. He was supposed to fight Evans at UFC 98 but Dana withdrew him because of a jaw injury. I would have loved to see Evans and Rampage slug it out for the title.
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