Mancuerda

I'd say more like... Brawl: 78 Speed: 85 Tech: 95 Stiff: 80 Selling: 100 Over: 77 Charisma: 70 Attitude: 95 Behavior: 93

I don't suggest people use rapidshare to upload things. They delete the file after 90 days of no downloading, and with this place, you never know when somebody will want a file from three months, a year, or even three years ago... Anyway, I'm in the process of putting together a "project" on savefile, which is what Bill uses to upload his updates, and it seems very reliable. I'm in the process of uploading all of the pic packs that The Judas Factor put together by using TheWho87's photobuckets (since they were on rapidshare). I'm almost finished. Here is the project link; it should be permanent: http://savefile.com/projects/808717341 For some reason, savefile won't let me upload the last package (T-Z). I put all those pictures on megaupload.

That sounds pretty f'n cool. I am amped for GSP versus Penn II. I'm thinking Penn is gonna pull this win out, man. He's more focused, more determined, more conditioned than he was during the first fight, which was a pretty controversial split decision loss. I love GSP, but I think Penn is going to find a way to submit him. His jiujitsu is so crisp and he has excellent takedown defense to counter GSP's incredible takedown ability. Gonna be a real awesome fight.

Brock Lesnar is the most physically imposing fighter in the world today. The guy who looks like he's in the greatest shape to me is Georges St. Pierre. Faber would probably be #2 or #3. EDIT:

Yeah, I don't think Pulver could beat Faber in a rematch. Their first fight was awesome, very exciting and back and forth, but Faber won every round pretty decisively, if memory serves. EDIT: Still think Silva will be around long enough to fight the best of the best after they do all these gimmick fights?

Maybe I'm putting too much stock in Arlovski's performance on the last EliteXC against Ben Rothwell. I thought that fight showed that Arlovski is capable of getting wins, but he isn't on Fedor's level... That's what I saw in Andrei anyway. Andrei could win. I'm not going to take that away from him. But barring some mistake on Fedor's part, or a lucky shot from Andrei, it ain't happening... That's all I meant. It's going to be a very exciting fight to watch.

Well, I agree with about 75% of what you said, though some of the comments were a little over the top. First, Fedor doesn't want his whole family signed. I know, I know, hyperbole, whatever. M-1, which pretty much handles all his dealings and shit, wanted to co-promote it with UFC. I don't see why not. They did it with Affliction. They've done it elsewhere. Whatever, though, UFC doesn't want to work with other promotions. Second, the whole licking of the boots thing, yeah right... I'm sure you're joking, so I won't say much else, other than you're dreaming if you think Fedor is that desperate to get into UFC. And finally, I'll just say I don't want Fedor to go to UFC for a few reasons. I think for the industry to thrive, we need a top talent, an elite fighter who doesn't go to the number one promotion in the world of fighting. We need him to stay away for there to be any real chance of other companies establishing themselves. And as far as challenges go, there's also Josh Barnett. So you've got Arlovski (who Fedor will beat), Werdum (who Fedor will beat), and Barnett (who would pose the greatest challenge, before Fedor beats him). Other than that, I guess there's "Big" Ben Rothwell out there eating cheeseburgers or something... But yeah, I get as sick of that shit as you do. I don't like seeing the #1 Heavyweight in the World have to look desperate trying to get meaningful fights. The thing is, though, he doesn't have shit to prove. He beat the #2 fighter twice. That alone is enough of an accomplishment that he doesn't have shit left to do. Until somebody else rises up... say if Lesnar manages to beat Nogueira should they fight to unify the Heavyweight Titles, then maybe Fedor would have something to prove. But right now, he's sitting pretty. He has nothing to prove. He's beaten every conceivable type of opponent in every possible way. I don't think he'll ever fight Randy, though. Couture isn't as desirable a fight anymore, plus Fedor himself said he likes Randy and would rather not fight someone he has a connection with like that, where they're friends and like each other... I'd like to see Fedor versus Lesnar a year or so from now when Lesnar is about at the peak of his learning process, and Fedor will have disposed of a few more top level heavyweights and gained some name recognition. Oh, and one more thing, as far as you sort of implying nobody gives a shit about Fedor in the States, saying that a lot of people don't care about him, Fedor versus Sylvia did a fine job selling out for Affliction's first PPV. And uh, another thing... heh... I wouldn't really want Fedor to go to UFC for one more reason: The Octagon. Fedor fights in rings, not cages.

TIM SYLVIA... man. Tim Sylvia is the same guy Randy Couture defeated for his Heavyweight Title. Tim Sylvia is the same guy Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera defeated for his Heavyweight Title. And guess what? Randy could only beat him by decision. Antonio beat him in the third round. Fedor EMBARRASSED him and beat him in 36 seconds... I've been away for a couple a couple of days so I'm a little slow to this, but that may be one of the funniest things I've read on this board. Tim Sylvia an elite fighter? You must be having a laugh. I don't like him, but he beat Andrei Arlovski twice. People are saying, "Ooh, if Fedor beats Arlovski, then maybe that would prove something!" He beat Tim Sylvia. Tim Sylvia beat Arlovski twice. Besides Nogueira, Sylvia was probably the most legitimate heavyweight Fedor could fight at the time... He's still ranked #7 or #8 in Sherdog's rankings, and considering the three people he's lost to over the last couple years are Couture, Nogueira, and Fedor (three elite Heavyweights), I'd say that puts him on a pretty high pedestal. I still think he's an apeish looking motherfucker who doesn't know how to fight, but his record speaks for itself.

I'm hoping the book would also include, like a lot of these types of instructional books, some other things... like commentary from Silva, some cool insight into how he trains maybe, and some other things. Of course, it can't compare with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DghW3qL80Ig. EDIT: Fuck having them fight. We need a goddamn

I really really want this book. Considering getting it for Christmas... Anyway, I think I'd rather see Anderson Silva take on Keith Jardine than Chuck Liddell. Jardine has beaten Liddell (and is coming off a win over Brandon Vera, a former Heavyweight contender turned Light Heavyweight). Liddell is coming off a loss to Rashad Evans. Jardine has better striking that doesn't leave himself open for Silva's awesome striking skills, so he'd be a tougher challenge. But I understand Chuck Liddell is a much bigger money draw, and that's largely the reason they're doing it... But still, the principle of the thing. Also, I urge everyone to watch the Okami fight if they can. While Silva was controlling the standup, Okami successfully took Silva down. Silva delivered an illegal kick to the head when Okami was trying to pass his guard (Okami was on his knees, so a kick to the head is an illegal move), and that ended the match. This fight was more than two years ago, and I think if Okami does get his rightful shot soon, he could have a real chance at beating Silva if he can take him down to the ground. He has to know Silva's stand up game quite well now, and the announcers were bragging on Okami's great ground skills, so I think it'd be an awesome fight. I just want Silva to have a real challenge, not an opponent that is easy for him based on style who will be a money draw. I know it's a business, but I want the 'best fighter in the world' to have adequate challenges. Chuck Liddell, in this day and age, holding his hands wide, is not a big challenge for Silva.

How were the others obtained, or do you know? But anyway, this proves that Lesnar is a huge draw. While the event was spectacular, on paper none of the fights besides the main event were that significant. However, we know that Florian proved he's a top level Lightweight and we got to see some kickass fights... but you wouldn't have really known that beforehand. It's clear the fight at the top of the card drew in all the buys, in other words... And the fact it was only surpassed by three highly anticipated rematches (and even beat Rampage versus Liddell, which surprises me), is amazing...

Why the asterisk next to UFC 83? Papered? EDIT: Uh, alright. I already said I was done.

Why should Fedor have to go to the Octagon? Most other MMA promotions used the regular ring... And Cro Cop did fine in UFC before Gonzaga got a lucky head kick that knocked him out, and since then he's been pretty rattled. They threw guys like Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva up against top level talent right away, so of course there was a chance they could lose a couple fights in a row. I mean, Henderson was in two title unification fights in a row. He lost a back and forth decision victory to Jackson, and then I already talked about the fight against Silva to death. As for Wandy, I expect him to beat Jackson again on December 27th. Anyway, I'm just going to respectfully disagree and not bother arguing with you anymore. Think whatever you want regarding who the best pound for pound fighter is. I still don't think the arguments you've been using, regarding Fedor not fighting legitimate competition or his fights being too long ago, are too valid... EDIT: As far as Couture being the greatest of all time, I would disagree. He's definitely one of the greatest. My disagreement doesn't have much to do with his record, though. He only fights top level competition. I believe 13 of his last 14 fights were all for titles. EDIT: Ew, even Sherdog is calling Anderson Silva the best pound for pound fighter...

I know I said I'm done, but just one last thing... But the guy looked rather complacent in his fight against Patrick Cote, pretty laid back. He won the rounds, but didn't put in that trademark Silva effort. I think he's going to get rocked if he fights Bisping. Look at Urijah Faber at 145. Nobody thought he'd be beaten. They couldn't think of a soul to challenge him. They took a gamble on Mike Brown - and I admit that Bisping or Maia at this point would be a gamble - and Brown knocked Faber out and made him look like a ragdoll. Lawler, Maia, and Bisping are getting better and better, so I understand your desire to have them wait. But look at guys like GSP. GSP fought Matt Hughes to see if he could reach that next level. He lost, rebounded by winning several fights, and then beat Hughes in a rematch. More recently, Jon Fitch, another guy who many were wondering about (regarding that "elite class" ability) fought GSP. He lost, and he'll rebound and be better because of it. I don't think Maia or Bisping should be protected. They've got room to improve, but even Randy Couture has said that he is still learning more and more of the game and is improving everytime he trains... Silva is going to get complacent if he's being fed these guys. He needs to stay on the top of his game and continue to fight real challenges. I hope he doesn't go anywhere, though. I actually like Silva, despite my rage over his overrated (in my mind) reputation. Bisping is a better striker than Cote or Irvin, or about anybody in UFC (in terms of boxing, I mean), and could present a very, very difficult opponent. Silva would be a favorite against anybody at this stage. I just think he or Maia should get a crack at him... I guess having Bisping fight Maia for contendership wouldn't be the worst thing.

How did Travis Lutter, Patrick Cote, or Nate Marquardt earn a title shot against Silva? They were easy opponents compared to Bisping, Maia, and Lawler... And there wasn't any point to the James Irvin fight other than adding to the hype machine. They wanted to try to take buy rates away from Affliction's first PPV by running a free event on Spike TV the same night. They chose a guy who isn't even near a top 10 light heavyweight to give Silva an easy opponent. They aren't testing him at all. Part of my outrage is the overhype, but part of it is that he's not being challenged, and the dude is going to retire before we get to actually find out how great (or overrated) he is. If he doesn't get challenged now, we'll never find out. UFC needs to quit wasting time and dropping the ball, and they need to start having him defend that belt like Tito Ortiz did when he was Light Heavyweight Champion, or like Matt Hughes did when he was Welterweight Champion... Fedor is a better well rounded fighter. He can knock you out, win by submission, and has amazing defense against every discipline... I'm sorry for not giving you credit before, but I just disagree. I think Fedor is the better fighter. I'm going to quote what a friend of mine on another forum said, which I think sums it up: He goes on to provide a list of quotes from fighters who talk about Fedor: "Fedor is the best pound for pound fighter in the world" -Randy Couture "Fedor is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world aside from BJ Penn, those 2 are the best fighters in the world." -Rampage Jackson "NOBODY wants to fight Fedor" -Wanderlei Silva "Our great champion, he is the BEST in the world." -Josh Barnett "Fedor has no weakness! I have seen so many fights, and even the best fighters in the world have a flaw in their game but I have yet to find one in Fedor Emelianenko." – Bas Rutten "Probably the best ever lived….he’s a living legend right now and I don’t think there’s a man on this planet who can beat him; the man is unreal. Pound for pound the best in the world –Diego Sanchez, hooterandgreenway radio show "Fedor is my favorite" -BJ Penn, NWFS 7/9/06 "Fedor is just too dominant, too good at punching people in the face. The way he punches people man he's trying to kill people, with both hands. He's in a whole different class by himself." -Brandon Vera "He is the BEST" -Mark Coleman, former UFC HW Champion and Pride GP Champion "...and obviously Fedor" -Dana White, UFC President on who the best fighter is (EDIT: this happened of course when he still thought he was going to sign Fedor) "It's between Fedor and my wife" -Gary Shaw, Elite XC President on who the best fighter is "The best in the world, no doubt" -Phil Baroni "Look, I’ve fought many people from around the world, so I’ve seen many strong fighters. But like him, never" -Renato "Babalu" Sobral "Fedor would be absolutely great in K-1" -Ernesto Hoost, 4-time K-1 World Champion "Fedor is the most incredible fighter you'll ever see" -Frank Trigg "Fedor is pound-for-pound best in the world" -Shamada (Pride referee) "The best fighter to climb into ANY arena is Emelianenko Fedor. He is in his own league and you can't compare nobody." -Kevin randleman, former UFC HW Champion "He is the best and undefeated... His striking game and his ground game is the best, so that's why he is the best... He is the sh*t" -Mark Hunt, K-1 World Champion "I know I'm one of the best in the world, and I was amazed at him. I really don't think that he's human." - Tim Sylvia EDIT: And just to finish what I was saying about Anderson Silva fighting competition. When Matt Hughes was Welterweight Champion (during his two reigns), he fought Carlos Newton, Georges St. Pierre, Frank Trigg, Joe Riggs, Royce Gracie, BJ Penn, Sean Sherk... When Tito Ortiz was Light Heavyweight Champion (during his prolific reign), he fought Wanderlei Silva, Evan Tanner, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture... When Chuck Liddell was Light Heavyweight Champion, he fought Randy Couture, Renato Sobral, Tito Ortiz, Jeremy Horn, Quinton Jackson... They had way stiffer competition than Silva has had during his Middleweight Title reign. EDIT EDIT: I'm going to sleep for now, Gabe. Hopefully I didn't come across as too condescending. I was just astonished that you and others seem to believe this hype that Silva is, without any doubt, the best pound for pound fighter in the world, when you've got Fedor, GSP, and BJ Penn...

You're crazy if you don't think Bisping, Maia or Lawler "stand a chance." I see that UFC hype machine has brainwashed you into thinking Anderson Silva is indestructible. EAT THEM ALIVE LOLOLOL EDIT: Sorry for the "mark" comment. It's just that this double standard pisses me off to no end. Fedor beats the #2 ranked heavyweight in the world (Nog) twice, beats Mirko Cro Cop when he was still killing people (and before he lost all his confidence via earth shattering kick from Gonzaga), beat Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds (When Sylvia was a top 5 heavyweight), and he gets no credibility. People say he still has something to prove. Meanwhile, UFC won't put anybody who has a real shot up against Anderson Silva, forcing them to wait forever before they get a shot... Okami being the most prevalent case. It's just, as soon as Silva beat Dan Henderson (after Hendo won the first round and walked into some strikes in the second to set up a choke), they quit giving him legitimate competition. Don't tell me there aren't legitimate competitors out there. I just gave you a whole damn list. Silva beat Franklin to win the belt, then beat him to retain. He beat Hendo. That's two big name title defenses. Outside of that, not much...

Yushin Okami had a hand injury, so Patrick Cote stepped up to fight him. Cote got injured. Okami is well. What's Okami doing December 27th? He's fighting Dean Lister in a PRELIMINARY BOUT! He should be fighting Anderson Silva in January. Michael Bisping is virtually unstoppable in UFC. After dropping down to 185 following his loss to Rashad Evans, Bisping has wins over Chris Leben, Jason Day, and Charles McCarthy, the latter two by knockout, and Leben by picking him apart. Bisping has better boxing skills than anyone Silva has fought and would pose a threat in the striking department, unlike Chuck Liddell, who's loose, looping style will leave him open just like Leben was against Silva. Demian Maia is undefeated and has been on a tear since entering the UFC, with wins over Nate Quarry, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, and Ryan Jensen, all by submission. He is one of few people who could match Anderson Silva's jiujitsu skills and would pose a real threat. There are others who aren't in the UFC, like Paulo Filho (though he seems to have some serious personal issues and just had a loss that made him look like a huge retard), Robbie Lawler (who was Middleweight Champion in EliteXC), Frank Trigg (for a recognizable name he could beat who would pose a real threat and is a Middleweight), Thales Leites (who has only one loss in UFC and is 14-1 and is a fellow Brazilian with wins over Nate Marquardt and Drew McFedries), Gegard Mousasi (Undefeated in Dream and a serious threat), and other Light Heavyweight prospects like young Luis Arthur Cane (fellow Brazilian who's 9-1 with his only loss coming by DQ against James Irvin... he should've fought him again) and of course Rich Franklin or Dan Henderson at 205 would present a real challenge, though it'd be rather pointless, as I think they'd rather take his belt than a non-title win at 205... If none of those do anything for you, after GSP beats BJ Penn and fights Thiago Alves, have GSP go up to 185 and beat Anderson Silva.

Fedor has been undefeated for eight years, and he's won fights by submission and TKO... He's destroyed every heavyweight he's fought for the last eight years, with the exception of Cro Cop, who he still defeated but had a harder time doing so. Plus Cro Cop was in his prime then, and Fedor STILL beat him by unanimous decision. Sean Sherk "hasn't really challenged" him? Sherk has one of the best records ever in UFC. He's only lost to GSP, Matt Hughes, and BJ Penn, all of whom are elite fighters. 28-1, including wins over Mark Coleman (twice), Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, Tim Sylvia, Mirko Cro Cop, Nogueira TWICE... TIM SYLVIA... man. Tim Sylvia is the same guy Randy Couture defeated for his Heavyweight Title. Tim Sylvia is the same guy Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera defeated for his Heavyweight Title. And guess what? Randy could only beat him by decision. Antonio beat him in the third round. Fedor EMBARRASSED him and beat him in 36 seconds... Fedor himself doesn't give a shit about "match up". He'll fight anyone. Who is left for him to fight? He beat the #2 Heavyweight in the World twice very convincingly. He's beaten everyone. Just because he hasn't beaten everybody in the last three years like Anderson Silva has, it just shows Fedor has more longevity. He still hasn't shown any real weakness. And he beat Mark Coleman twice, not once. Why? Mark Coleman, Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland, Hong Man Choi, and Tim Sylvia were all within the last two years. And Sylvia may be an ape looking motherfucker, and I personally don't like the guy, but he defeated Andrei Arlovski twice. Sylvia's only losses have come to top level heavyweights. And Fedor beat him in fucking 36 seconds... It does matter who's dominating a fight when you talk about pound for pound. I disagree on that. If somebody loses a round but manages to come back and get a win, it's an upset in my books. It's not a very great performance compared to just picking apart a guy and dominating them, but even that aside... Silva has beaten Rich Franklin, but here's the thing. Franklin really doesn't like cutting weight to 185. I'm not going to make any excuses. He beat Franklin twice. Who else has Silva beaten? Travis Lutter was overweight and isn't a top ten Middleweight. James Irvin isn't a top ten light heavyweight, and that fight was completely pointless, and UFC just wanted to put Silva on free TV to take away buys from Affliction (but it didn't really work). Nate Marquardt, I personally feel, is overrated. He hasn't done shit. The guy is a very low top ten ranked middleweight at best... So I again ask, why is Anderson Silva considered, WITHOUT QUESTION, the best in the world? But I don't wanna clutter up this whole thread with Silva versus Fedor or whatever, so I'll also agree with Xandir... I mean, QuomQuat, and say that Silva is the best Middleweight. I'm not gonna even argue that. I just hate that UFC constantly calls him the best pound for pounder in the world when you've got GSP, BJ Penn, and Fedor, who are all on his level. And until his recent loss, I would've put Urijah Faber on Silva's level, but Mike Brown caught him with a lucky punch and stole his title... Well, I have no idea what the story is now. Maybe there's something more to it than just signing over rights and stuff.

Eh, I really disagree. I don't think Anderson Silva has proven he's the best fighter in the world at all. He's definitely a top five in the world, but to say confidently that he is the best fighter in the world, how is he better than Fedor Emelianenko? How is he better than GSP or BJ Penn? Fedor Emelianenko has convincingly beaten the #2 ranked Heavyweight in the World and current UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira on two occasions, and defeated in his last fight a #5 ranked Heavyweight in 36 seconds. He's been undefeated for eight years (really, I consider him undefeated period, but he had to withdraw from a tournament due to a cut and the guy who illegally cut him advanced, and the screwed up officials counted it as a loss since somebody had to advance). St. Pierre defeated Matt Hughes twice when Hughes was still in his prime. He rebounded from a fluke loss to Matt Serra and destroyed him. He defeated Jon Fitch when Fitch was ranked the #2 Heavyweight in the World, and defeated Josh Koscheck, another top 5 heavyweight. His only real challenge that lay ahead will be in either Thiago "Pitbull" Alves or BJ Penn, who isn't even in his weight class... BJ Penn has held championships in both the Welterweight and Lightweight division, and has even fought in the 205 pound weight division before (albeit in a losing effort, but only at 190 pounds against STILL undefeated 205 pound Lyoto Machida. The mere fact the 155-pound Penn was able to fight Machida for three rounds without being knocked out or submitted proves SOMETHING). On top of that, he decimated Sean Sherk and has victories over Matt Hughes, Renzo Gracie and Jens Pulver. Meanwhile, Silva hasn't fought Okami, Filho, or Lawler. He hasn't even fought Demian Maia or Michael Bisping yet, two top challengers in the Middleweight Division. He's proven he can beat some talented individuals, but hasn't had the challenges the caliber of GSP, Penn, or Fedor, and for that reason, he is NOT the best pound for pound fighter in the world. But that's not the only reason. You can also use Silva's record. He's been defeated four times. However, you can argue that he's a "different fighter now", and I would agree. Let's not forget that both Dan Henderson and Travis Lutter were able to control Anderson Silva for significant portions of his fight. He put himself in compromising positions and almost got defeated, but managed to catch them later for the win. GSP, Penn, and Fedor are known as being dominating fighters who rarely get in a position where they look weak or may lose the fight. Anderson has a ways to go before he's the pound for pound best, no matter what moniker UFC undeservedly gives him.

I've been using Sherdog and Gerweck for MMA and wrestling news, respectively, but if people feel Gerweck isn't reliable, I'd be willing to switch. I used to use 411, but I personally don't find their validity to be too comforting. I don't like WrestleZone (and it's not very reliable either). I guess I'll have to go with WrestleView or something... Anyway, what does everybody think of Anderson Silva's future? He only wants financial security at 35 and doesn't necessarily want to retire, and he wants to fight the best the world has to offer... yet he's getting spoon fed Chuck Liddell, a guy he'll wipe the floor with.

What about the sources they used, MMAMania and FightFinder? Are those credible? I'm new to the "MMA News" scene, so I'd like to know which sites are more credible than others. I've been an MMA fan for several years, but didn't get into the politics of it until this year. EDIT: Fightoption, rather. Not FightFinder. Anyway, it seems fishy, so I just wonder what's up...

It's the truth. Lesnar would be destroyed by Fedor. Some of you are probably thinking he wouldn't, but there's no way Lesnar will be able to defeat Fedor. Keep in mind, I don't think Lesnar could be Nogueira, and Fedor has beaten Nogueira twice rather handily. EDIT: Basically, UFC is an utter failure when it comes to challenging this guy. Yushin Okami, yes. Michael Bisping, yes. Demian Maia, yes. Dan Henderson or Rich Franklin at 205? Yes. Chuck Liddell? The Ice Man? The guy who's lost 3 of his last 4 fights and hasn't held a title in a year and a half? The guy whose wide stance and low hands are perfect for a Muay Thai expert for Anderson Silva, who decimated Chris Leben, who uses a similar style? Yeah right... UFC lets the #2 Welterweight in the World go over some licensing rights? Sounds fishy to me...

I agree that BJJ is likely the most dominant style right now, on the ground at least. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva are known for their jiujitsu. In the latter case, Anderson also has great Muay Thai (he uses the Muay Thai clinch with knees better than probably anybody). Wrestling is a great background, but there are different styles of that... there's the Greco-Roman style, which is more suited for stand-up. Randy Couture came from this background. Brock Lesnar uses the freestyle wrestling technique, and it's more suited for ground and pound. There are a ton of styles, though. It'd be hard to compress them, and I'd likely forget them. A guy like Georges St. Pierre or Fedor Emelianenko, as well as BJ Penn and Anderson Silva... these four are probably the best fighters in the world right now. I would say Fedor is the best pound for pound fighter, with the other three tied for second place, most likely. Anyway, all four are known as being very versatile. BJ Penn came from a jiujitsu background and is a legitimately world class blackbelt jiujitsu practitioner. However, his last fight was against Sean Sherk, a guy who came from a great wrestling background (ala Brock Lesnar). The fight was scheduled to go five five-minute rounds, like all championship fights in the UFC. The first three rounds of the fight were standup, and BJ Penn picked him apart. He just had better precision striking, and they really didn't go to the ground hardly at all. Penn uses his jiujitsu and his flexibility to have incredible takedown defense, which is one of the most important elements of MMA, because you don't want to spend a lot of time getting slammed on the mat, obviously... Uh, anyhow, BJ Penn is the current Lightweight Champion, and he destroyed Sean Sherk, who I'd consider to be a top 5 lightweight. Georges St. Pierre actually didn't have a major background before entering MMA. However, he had incredible conditioning and the guy was a sponge. He took on the freestyle wrestling technique and really learned a lot of striking and technique overall. He wound up beating Matt Hughes (one of the best wrestlers in MMA... ever) by taking him down and grounding and pounding him, which nobody really expected to happen. It just shows that the evolution of MMA is continuing, and fighters are getting better and better, more well rounded. GSP very much represents what a figher of today looks like. They are very well conditioned and know a lot of styles. GSP fought Jon Fitch recently, defending the Welterweight Title. Jon Fitch was the #2 Welterweight in the World according to Sherdog. GSP dominated him in five rounds, using a mixture of stand up and takedowns. Fitch was considered to have great takedown defense, but GSP took him down at will and decimated him. Fedor Emelianenko is the best today, I would say, and has never been defeated. He has beaten Antonio Nogueira (current UFC Heavyweight Champion) on two occasions in decisive fashion. He is ranked as the #1 Heavyweight in the World and has been for several years. The guy is probably never going to fight in the UFC (for a variety of reasons - one, Dana White is a dick - two, Fedor doesn't fight in the Octagon... he prefers a normal ring set up - three, Fedor can make more money working various fighting leagues outside of the UFC). And of course, Anderson Silva, who I think is overrated but still tremendously talented. Silva's background was Brazilian Jiujitsu. He picked up Muay Thai striking and has learned a lot of styles and techniques, and he's right now considered by UFC to be the best Pound for Pound fighter around, though that's greatly contested. So those are probably the top four fighters in the world today. They each know a variety of styles and techniques, and it just shows you can't really rely on one technique and one style... I would probably throw Forrest Griffin in as a great example of somebody who has been a real 'sponge' and absorbed all these styles and techniques from a variety of disciplines and has progressed as a fighter and become one of the best fighters in the sport today. Eh, that's enough for now... EDIT: Urijah Faber would've been mentioned if he hadn't just gotten his ass handed to him by Mike Brown. EDIT: Actually, yeah, Urijah Faber for honorable mention as one of the best fighters today and another guy known for his versatility and all around training.

Fortunately, nobody I talk to is like that, though. The people I talk to who are wrestling fans are more proud that Brock Lesnar was able to make the commitment and show that pro wrestlers are athletes, too. I haven't seen anybody who was pleased that MMA might be "weakened" by this event (though I disagree in that case. As mentioned above, if anything, this will make UFC more popular).

I'm really late to the thread, but if you're referring to when both fighters are on the mat and one gets past the other fighter, it's called "passing their guard". There are a lot of different types of guards... full guard, half guard, butterfly guard... There are a few positions considered to be dominant... full mount, side control, rear mount... Hope that helps. Anyway, Lesnar was my pick to win. I thought he would do it by TKO as well, so I'm not really surprised. Randy managed to neutralize some of his raw power during the first round, but I think Lesnar won round one. Couture just got caught with a big punch... and was promptly hammerfisted 20 times in the face. Lesnar is an animal, but he doesn't stand a chance against Minotauro. When Nog beats Mir on December 27th at UFC 92 (which also has Griffin versus Evans for the LHW title, and Rampage versus Wandy... easy candidate for card of the year) he'll submit Brock during their fight. Nog's jiujitsu is second to none. Speaking of jiujitsu, Demian Maia rules. Nuff said. Actually, he's a former NCAA Champion and went 106-5 in collegiate wrestling... EDIT: Sorry, didn't see the entirety of your full post. I now see what you were saying.