MMA News and Discussion Thread

[ACCBiggz]

Alright, UFC Fight Night is underway. I'm not going to bother waiting because it's only a 2 hour show and 3 of the 4 matches seem legit to go the distance and/or at least deep. With the UFC taking thier time to promote everything I'd suspect we don't see any prelims and if we do it'll only be one, so I'm reading the play-by-play, but here they come in spoiler tags.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Before we go on...

Ok.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Jonathan Goulet

The two exchanged punches briefly before Goulet took Hazelett down with double underhooks. Goulet, from side-control, tried to defend as Hazelett swung his legs over his head and went for what at first seemed to be an omaplata. Hazelett then transitioned into a beautiful armbar which forced Goulet to verbally submit at 1:14 of the first. The Canadian appeared to injure his left elbow during the final moments of the bout.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Thiago Alves

Round 1

The first four minutes of the bout played out much like a kickboxing affair, with Alves doing lots of damage with low kicks. With 30 seconds remaining in the frame, Alves threw a crisp right cross that sent the Japanese fighter crashing to the canvas. Alves pounded away and nearly got a stoppage from referee Herb Dean but Hironaka was able to wrap Alves up into his guard. 10-9 for Thiago Alves.

Round 2

More of the same to start the second. Alves got busy with low kicks and looked to let loose with his hands. Alves dropped the Japanese fighter with a left, right combo, but Hironaka survived and scored a gutsy single-leg takedown. Alves worked back to his feet, where he landed several crushing kicks to Hironaka's leg, the last of which prompted the Japanese fighter signal to Herb Dean that he wanted no more. For good measure, Alves unloaded with a few punches before Dean could step in. The official time was 4:04 of the second.

Joe Veres vs. Gray Maynard

Round 1

The two circled before Maynard threw a leaping left hook that crushed into Veres' chin. Maynard added a right hand as referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in at just nine seconds of the opening period.

Leonard Garcia vs. Cole Miller

Round 1

Very entertaining round. Garcia comes out with a few hard lefts. Miller, with his back to the cage, hit a nice suplex after a quick scramble. Miller then looked for an Americana, an arm-triangle and an armbar, all of which were deep. Garcia escaped all of Miller's attempts and landed a brutal right hand to his downed opponent's jaw near the end of the round. Miller was hurt but survived to hear the bell. Very close round, but Sherdog.com scored it 10-9 for Garcia.

Round 3

Leonard rocked Miller with a punch and bullied him to the ground in the opening seconds of the ound, but Miller locked up a tight guillotine. Garcia escaped and tried to passs guard, but Miller swept and took the mount. Miller again went for an arm-triangle before moving to Garcia's back. The rest of the fight saw Miller on Garcia's back with a body-triangle, looking for a rear-naked choke. 10-9 for Miller. The judges score the contest, 29-28 and 30-27 (twice) for Cole Miller.

Edilberto de Oliveira vs. Luke Cummo

Round 1

Cummo throwing leather early, while the Brazilian taunts. Cummo landed a right hand that sent Oliveira stumbling. A right hand followed by another force Herb Dean to save the Brazilian at 1:45 of the first.

Main Card:

Pete Sell vs. Nathan Quarry

Round 1

Quarry opens with a low kick while Sell cracks Quarry with a one-two. Sell clinches with Quarry against the cage, throwing short elbows and knee strikes to the mid-section. Sell drops levels and takes Quarry to the canvas, but he quickly works to his feet. Referee Mario Yamasaki steps in to separate the fighters. Both athletes step back and throw leather, but Quarry gets the best of the exchange. Right hand from sell connects, while Quarry answers with a right of his own. Both fighters are bleeding. Sell finds his range on more heavy left and rights before the round closes. Quarry looked very frustrated at the end of the frame. 10-9 for Pete Sell.

Round 2

Sell picks up where he left off, landing lefts and rights. Quarry looks sloppy with his striking. Flush right hand puts Quarry on the canvas, but he bounces back up. Another right hand snaps Quarry's head back. Quarry charges forward but sell takes him to the mat ad attacks his neck with a guillotine. Quarry gets to his feet and eats another right hand. Sell lunges in with a superman punch that lands. Quarry tastes more of Sell's right hand before the round ends. Another round for Sell, 10-9.

Round 3

Sell continues to tee off, and then out of nowhere Quarry knocks Sell out cold with a right hand on the chin. Incredible come from behind victory. Quarry set the punch up perfectly and then executed with the straight right. He added one more shot before the referee stepped in.

Junior Assuncao vs. Nathan Diaz

Round 1

Assuncao opens with two leg kicks that nearly knock Diaz off his feet. Diaz lands a short right hook before the fighters clinch. Diaz looks for a standing Kimura, but Assuncao rolls with it and momentarily takes Diaz's back. Diaz, now on the bottom in half-guard, works for another Kimura. Assuncao stands up and is dropped by a right hand. Diaz swoops in and locks up a ten-finger guillotine that forces Assuncao to tapout.

Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin

Round 1

Leben kicks at the legs while Martin rushes in with a jab and right hands. Martin drops down a level and takes Leben to the canvas with a double-leg takedown. Now back on their feet, Martin lands with a left and a right. Leben answers with two knees to the chin. Leben looks to be the more refined striker but Martin has an obvious power advantage. Herb Dean takes a point from Leben for gripping the fence while Martin attempted to throw him to the floor. Leben gets busy with strikes and briefly lights Martin up with a right hand. Leben stomps the feet before the horn sounds. Close round. 9-9 for Leben (point deduction).

Round 2

Martin looks fatigued in the second. Leben attacks the legs and goes back to foot stomps from the clinch. Just when it looked as if Leben was close to putting it together, Martin scored with a takedown. Leben fires elbows to the head from the bottom. Triangle is applied from Leben, but he runs out of time. 10-9 for Leben.

Round 3

Martin starts to score in the third. He clinches and delivers some knees to the head. Martin crushes the body and follows with a right hand to the chin. Leben answers. Martin is completely gassed but he musters enough energy to sloppily tackle the TUF veteran. Lebe, now equally tired, eats two left hands. Leben tries to trip Martin but the Chicagoan stuffs it and takes the top position. Martin stands. Left hand staggers Leben. Unbelievable ... Leben digs deep and knocks Martin out with a left hand.

Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas

Round 1

Florian fires Head kicks that miss. Din looks to counter but he can't connect. Florian kicks Thomas right on the cup. Thomas falls and is given time to recover. After the fight restarts, Florian slips while throwing a kick, but Thomas can't capitalize. Thomas taunts Florian and pays for it as the New Englander shoots in and scores a takedown. Thomas kicks Florian off and gets to his feet. After a failed shot, Thomas turns his back and eats a torrent of leather as Florian pounds away. Florian now has both hooks in and looks for the rear-naked choke. Thomas taps out quickly.

Notes from Biggz:

Pete Sell and Terry Martin... what in the world were you guys thinking. Martin especially.

As for the main event, Yamasaki needs a lesson in rules. Hammerfist to the back of the head goes unwarned, and more importantly Kenny "I like to win by cuts" Florian uses the 12-6 elbow to come down with the point to cut goes by without any warning. That was just ridiculous. Din paid for his taunt and it sucks he blew out his knee, I am curious to know how different the end would have been with a healthy leg.

Edited September 20, 2007 by ACCBiggz

[crazedfan]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Florian looked great, even though Thomas blew out his knee most likely. Fight definitely ended there since he couldn't get up and was just taking all those shots and got subbed. I'd be down for a rematch. I really want to see the Leonard/Miller fight. And I hate Chris Leben.

Edited September 20, 2007 by crazedfan

[Fitzy]

Seeing Nate Quarry come back in the last round to knock out Sell was great. Nate Diaz picking up the win was also good to see. And a pretty bad performance by Terry Martin this time out. I thought for sure he'd come out strong and knock out Chris Leben due to those bad performances of his own the last few times out. But Leben came back much better in this fight. he last few seconds of the fight were very good with Martin rocking Leben only to see Leben come out throwing and knocking Martin down. Should be interesting to see who gets knockout of the night as Quarry and Leben both had nice knockouts. Also, is this Leben's last fight in UFC or did he sign a new contract recently? I remember reading that he had one left on his contract which I assume was this but in the time between the fights he could've signed a new one. And lastly, Kenny Florian submitting Din Thomas was great. I want to see Florian vs. Stevenson or Florian vs. Guida now. I don't think we will see Florian vs. Stevenson as Stevenson will most likely be the one to face B.J. Penn if Sherk is stripped of the belt. So Guida vs. Florian would be interesting.

I just watched three prelims and Cummo's and Maynard's knockouts were great. And an excellent armbar submission win for Hazelett.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Fitzy

[Enter Blue Guy]

Really fun show to watch last night, very action packed.

Seeing Florian explode after he felt he was being taunted by Din was awesome. Sucks that Din got injured and you can complain that Florian was coming very close to fouling him with hammerfists and elbows to the back of the head, but Din was done and either way Kermit the Flo still looked impressive. He's got a nice fluid, high round, though Din blocked it each time. I thought if the fight was going longer he'd start to throw leg and body kicks, after trying to get Din to think he was headhunting. Or he could have just been looking the jackpot.

Chris Leben looked good, but then again, Terry Martin wasn't looking so hot. Props to Terry for taking some solid shots and shrugging them off, he just kept coming, even if he didn't have much of a gameplan. I mean, Leben took some solid ones toom but Terry was unfazed by almost everything until he got KTFO. Terry was aiming for the fences all night and it got to the point where he was pushing a lot of his punches and missing his heaviest shots badly. Leben on the other hand looked good, was much more technical, which wasn't hard seeing how Martin was throwing. Leben looked good for the first two rounds, moving around very well, picking smart shots, as opposed to Martin, who was just stalking and slugging. Chris put everything into trying to synch the triangle choke in and looked like he was spent in the third. Lucky for him Terry Martin proves to be a dumbass by having Leben wobbled, up against the fence in a very bad way, only to stand back and taunt him instead of following up. Then Leben was all "fuck that" and two seconds later, Martin is staring at the ceiling. Nice finish.

Speaking of triangles, on the TUF fight last night, Serra wasn't kidding when he said Joe was looking for a way out. A BJJ blackbelt, pretty much sunk the triangle in for Mac. He didn't even try to posture up on it, he dug his head into Danzig's stomach and waited to tap.

EDIT: Sucks about Roman getting injury, the UFC needs more hotheaded Armenians.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Enter Blue Guy

[Fitzy]

Roman was great and easily the highlight of the night. I think people put too much hype into this first show though as it wasn't awesome by any means. It was okay, but nothing really stood out aside from Roman at the doctors and Hughes playing with Serra's head by saying he'd pick Joe first so Serra wastes his first pick on a guy who looked so unimpressive. But I am sure it'll get much better judging by the previews for the entire season.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Yeah, Roman at the doctors was about it. Who cares if everybody was eating Mac Danzig's humus? They should have showed more of the Matt Hughes' fighter evaluation, because he probably put guys through hell. Or more of Serra sharing his feeling about Hughes.

I loved after Roman goes nuts in the hospital or where ever he was, he goes outside, across the street, sits down next to a flower garden, rips a flower off it's steam... and smells the pretty flower.

[Fitzy]

It was to show that all bad ass fighters have a soft and sensitive side. But yeah that was pretty funny.

[Gabriel]

Honestly, aside from putting Danzig through to the next round (he's my pick for the show. he's already a good fighter, but by the time the show is done, with Hughes coaching him, he should be a great fighter.), the one thing that the first episode really did was put over how entertaining Roman is. I really hope we get to see him fight at some point. Perhaps if someone gets injured, or decides to be a pussy and leave, if Roman's healed up, he could come back. If not, I'd definately like to see him get a spot on the Finale in a fight against someone.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Not news or anything, but I just saw some pictures of Chuck and Shogun on Sherdog from a workout in front of the media held yesterday. Chuck looks like he's lost his gut, so he must have worked his ass off for this fight. Which is good, because as lame as it sounds now that he's been so overexposed as the UFC posterboy and just got beat by Page again, I'm a huge Chuck Liddell fan.

A few pics here.

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/rua-ufc-s...8903-fight-font

[Fitzy]

We really should change the thread title to just the MMA News and Discussion Thread as we pretty much have more discussion or whatever than news going on here lately.

Anyways, I was reading this and it is interesting to learn that John Fitch was originally scheduled to be on the Ultimate Fighter 1 but got a call just as he was boarding the plane to go to the first day of filming telling him he was cut. It would have been quite interesting to see how that would've turned out had he been actually on it.

I was just checking out the fighter salaries for last night and it still surprises me to see the pay. Someone like Luke Cummo who rarely makes it on TV or PPV is making $32,000 ($16,000 normal, $16,000 win bonus) while a guy like Kenny Florian who is on PPV and main events the TV shows makes $22,000 ($11,000 normal, $11,000 win bonus) and Din Thomas makes $16,000. I never quite understood how guys who make TV can make less than guys who don't.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Fitzy

[JoeMimic]

We really should change the thread title to just the MMA News and Discussion Thread as we pretty much have more discussion or whatever than news going on here lately.

Anyways, I was reading this and it is interesting to learn that John Fitch was originally scheduled to be on the Ultimate Fighter 1 but got a call just as he was boarding the plane to go to the first day of filming telling him he was cut. It would have been quite interesting to see how that would've turned out had he been actually on it.

I was just checking out the fighter salaries for last night and it still surprises me to see the pay. Someone like Luke Cummo who rarely makes it on TV or PPV is making $32,000 ($16,000 normal, $16,000 win bonus) while a guy like Kenny Florian who is on PPV and main events the TV shows makes $22,000 ($11,000 normal, $11,000 win bonus) and Din Thomas makes $16,000. I never quite understood how guys who make TV can make less than guys who don't.

[GhostMachine]

I don't really know why, but for some reason I can't stand Chris Leben.

[crazedfan]

I don't really know why, but for some reason I can't stand Chris Leben.

[GhostMachine]

I don't really know why, but for some reason I can't stand Chris Leben.

Probably those pussy foot-stomps. And how he grabbed the fence about, 5 times.

[Fitzy]

I am pretty sure that I lost $5,000+ of my secondary league money on the IFL last night. :@ I thought those were easy picks.

[Enter Blue Guy]

I don't really know why, but for some reason I can't stand Chris Leben.

Probably those pussy foot-stomps. And how he grabbed the fence about, 5 times.

Edited September 21, 2007 by Enter Blue Guy

[Enter Blue Guy]

Knockout Weigh-in results, credit: MMANews.com

The following are the official numbers from the UFC 76 "Knockout" weigh-ins held today for tomorrow night's show emanating from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California:

-Chuck Liddell (205.5 lbs.) vs. Keith Jardine (204.5 lbs.)

-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (205 lbs.) vs. Forrest Griffin (205 lbs.)

-Diego Sanchez (170 lbs.) vs. Jon Fitch (172 lbs.)

-"Lyoto" Ryoto Machida (205.5 lbs.) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (205 lbs.)

-Tyson Griffin (155.5 lbs.) vs. Thiago Tavares (154.5 lbs.)

-Rich Clementi (169 lbs.) vs. Anthony Johnson (177.5 lbs.)

-Diego Saraiva (155.5 lbs.) vs. Jeremy Stephens (155 lbs.)

-Christian Wellisch (230.5 lbs.) vs. Scott Junk (257.5 lbs.)

-Matt Wiman (156 lbs.) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (152.5 lbs.)

NOTES:

-Clementi-Johnson is an agreed upon catch-weight fight of 177 lbs.

-Jon Fitch failed to make weight. You're allowed 1 lb. over by the CSAC regulations, Fitch came in 2 lbs. over. He has one hour to drop that pound. We'll let you know once he weighs-in again later.

[Fitzy]

MMAweekly says "Fitch did make weight a short time later, not needing the one hour he was given to lose the necessary pound."

Loretta Hunt of The Fight Network reports that if Sean Sherk’s 1-year suspension is held up on October 31st that the Lightweight Title will be decided on December 29th with a fight between B.J Penn and Joe Stevenson.

Edited September 22, 2007 by Fitzy

[Enter Blue Guy]

MAH PICKS for the big three fights.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: First thing is first, I don't think Forrest is as much of the underdog as the everybody thinks. Or thought, actually. A lot of people have suddenly jumped on the Forrest bandwagon since this fight was announced. The key for Forrest to win this fight, IMO, is to strike smart, to not get caught in exchanges with Shogun and to avoid being stuck in the clinch (which is easier said than done). If he fights a modified version of the Ramirez fight (modified as in he knows he is fighting Mauricio Rua, not Hector Ramirez), make Shogun stalk him, pick the smart shots that will score, and back off. And most importantly, stay away from the fence, because getting pinned up against the cage in the clinch will more than likely signal the beginning of the end for Forrest Griffin. Perhaps the one thing that Shogun has been susceptible to more than anything else is technical striking, which is what Forrest brings. His aggressive style causes him to leave himself open to get tagged. Both Lil' Nog and Nakamura outboxed Shogun in their losses to the young, Brazilian stud. If Forrest can do that for three rounds and avoid the explosive power of Shogun for the whole fight, he is going to win this. Now, my prediction is that Shogun is way to savvy for that. Shogun doesn't stalk or chase an opponent as much he turns his motor on and sticks on him like glue, leaving no opportunity wasted, which can be more than a little overwhelming. And he can do it for a whole fight nonstop if he has to. Which is scary. Like I said, he can get caught on the receiving end of more technical strikers, but at the same time Shogun is not one to keep fighting a fight he is losing. If he feels he is getting beat by Griffin standing up, you better believe he is going to go for the takedown and try to beat Griffin on his back. Everybody has seen the clips of Shogun looking like a human war machine, throwing knees, kicks, stomps, everything. Fact is, he is a tremendous grappler with strong takedowns and great BJJ. If Shogun thinks it's time to finish this on the ground, he is not going to hesitate going there. And yes, Shogun's arsenal on the ground includes more than soccer kicks and flying stomps. He throws bombs in the guard, very dangerous ground n' pound, which should be even more dangerous now with inclusion of elbows.

I think that Forrest's gameplan is to do exactly what I said he should. Pick smart shots, avoid any long exchanges, and back away, hoping Shogun becomes over aggressive, chases Forrest, making it easier for Forrest to fight his fight. I personally think Shogun is too smart of a fighter to fall into that trap. Look for him to keep a more methodical pace to start, striking intelligently until he feels like he's got Forrest in a position where he can explode, go full force until Forrest goes down and he follows with more devastating striking.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, TKO via strikes on the ground in the 1st round

Keith Jardine vs. Chuck Liddell: Chuck matches up perfectly in this fight. Jardine is going to want to keep his distance, throw his leg kicks, follow the leg kicks with a jab or something more if he sees fit, then back away. Which I don't think Chuck minds at all. Chuck is THE definitive counter fighter, he wants you to stand back and strike at a methodical pace, because if you do that, eventually Chuck is going to catch coming in and for the next week, your jaw is going to be very sore. Don't expect Chucky to turn it on unless he thinks he has Jardine hurt. Until then, I expect him stand back and let Jardine come in, throw his leg kicks or his jabs, and Liddell will try to sting him countering those. And if Keith follows up, that's when Chucky is going to launch a heat seeking hook or uppercut.

One thing I like about Jardine is how fierce he fights, he comes in hard, throws his punches and kicks hard, generally just moves around hard and quick. However, I don't see him keeping such a hard and quick pace in this fight where he can get burned with a single shot out of nowhere at anytime from a guy who is very hard to telegraph. Chuck is always moving around at strange angles and directions, keeping unorthodox stances. It really throws guys that are planning to fight in a similar way to Jardine should off their game. I can Jardine having some success with his strategy early on, but as his confidence grows in the fight, the more he tries to move in for more than just jabs and leg kicks. And that is were Chuck is going to make him pay.

Chuck Liddell by KO via SCUD missile in the 2nd round

Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez: Definitely the hardest pick of the night for me. First I was set on picking Fitch, because he is my boy. But then I remember the key for success in all of Diego's fights. How hard will his opponent push him?? The harder Diego's opponents have pushed him, the better he has looked. Even when on paper he is weaker striker, the weaker grappler, or overall just the weaker fighter. Well, not weaker physically, Diego moves weight like a tank. Jon Fitch is probably one of the more underrated fighters in the world. He brings a great grappling game with strong wrestling and submissions and his striking is nothing to scoff at either. On top of that, he is very hard to control. In fact, I don't think anybody has controlled him in the UFC. He's a true warrior and may very well beat Diego. Diego shouldn't even be much of a favorite if is he. But Diego turns it on for the biggest fights of his life. Sans the Koscheck fight, where Kos fought a "smart" fight and just did enough so that the fight didn't up a default draw AND Diego was fighting was a staph infection that he didn't even know he had. Truth is, when Diego brings it, he is an unstoppable bull. He wants to take you down hard and most times he will. Once you are on your back, he wants to pound your face in, which he can do and at a tremendous pace. What he lacks in technical abilities, he more than makes up for in his overpowering, nonstop, bulldozer-like offense. Which should be interesting, seeing as Fitch is generally unflappable and has never been dominated.

You may only be good as your last fight, but Diego as beaten Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan, pound for pound two of the toughest and most talented fighters on the planet. To beat guys like that is a testament of how skilled of a fighter he truly is when he is on. I don't think people give Diego enough credit. He isn't the most refined fighter, but he brings such an intensity that his opponents just get overwhelmed, frustrated and can't do much but defend. He doesn't stop for 3 rounds, he's going at a ridiculous pace through the whole thing and leaves the opponents that were so confident they were going "expose" him, speechless. I still laugh at Nick's post fight interview, after Diego just outclassed him. Diaz, who was talking tons of shit before the fight, was at a loss for words, which is a rare occurrence. Not that Fitch is as cocky or brash as Diaz, but if he thinks he is going to control Diego like he has others, he's got another thing coming, IMO. Even if Fitch does win, it's going to a very close, very competitive battle and both guys should come out with a ton of respect earned from the fans. I see Fitch looking the better on his feet, but Diego silencing him with goring takedowns and ground n' pound enroute to a decision victory.

Diego Sachez by Split Decision

Edited September 22, 2007 by Enter Blue Guy

[Fitzy]

I was just watching the Cole Miller vs. Leonard Garcia fight from this past Wednesday's UFN 11 (if you haven't seen it, track it down as it is pretty good fight) and I found this exchange pretty funny. Miller is trying for a rear naked choke in the final few minutes of the round and while he and Garcia throw punches at each other Miller says to Garcia "Dude you're tough." And Garcia thanks him and says that Miller is also tough. They started talking to each other again in the final seconds as well. But yeah, if you want to see a good fight check it out.