MMA News and Discussion Thread

[IJS]

PRIDE 32 : The Real Deal was my first MMA DVD. It was class - top to bottom. You had pretty much everything - KO's, Submissions, Drama, etc. A must buy in my opinion.

[ACCBiggz]

I'm not going to watch whole old shows for the sake of catching up.

It's not about catching up really, or else I'd have just said catch the last shows from the previous 5 years. It's more about getting a sense of history, watching the evolution, getting to know important fighters, and seeing important cards. But if you aren't that vested in MMA, so be it.

Everyone else. Watch those.

ZJ - PRIDE GP 2000 is the absolute most required viewing of all-time.

[ZJ Penn]

That is a close second for me. I remember pulling for Sakuraba to beat Vovchanchyn so much in the semi-final, especially when he nearly pulled out that armbar.

The world needs more openweight GP's.

[bill_da_bill]

Just filled out my predictions...

Am I the only one who thinks Hardonk has a chance Saturday? I have him pulling off the upset. I just think he is better than people realize and I don't buy the Kongo hype. I think Hardonk can go toe to toe with Kongo on the feet and if it goes to the ground I wouldn't be shocked to se Hardonk catch Kongo with a sub.

Also picked a couple lesser upsets with Kang losing, he was very underwhelming against Belcher and Xavier may make some noise in the UFC, he's got a pretty impressive track record coming in, far from your typical rookie.

[Gabriel]

I think Hardonk gets a little bit overlooked due to some of the other prospects in the Heavyweight division... but I don't see him beating Kongo this weekend. Cheick Kongo got some premature hype and fan love, from me even, but he's visibly been working on his all around game.

Even Biggzy's got him winning by submission. Kongo's been working so hard to get better, that as long as he's not being thrust into fights he has no chance in, that he'll go on a tear. If he doesn't submit Hardonk this weekend, look for it to happen in his next 2 or 3 fights, because he's been working hard. Should be a good fight to watch, and as overlooked as Hardonk is sometimes, I still see Kongo coming out of this with a fairly impressive victory.

I don't think Denis Kang is going to lose this weekend. He's got the hometown crowd in his favor, and that's going to add some fuel to his fire. I'm looking for a fairly impressive performance from him. For the record though, Alan Belcher isn't any kind of slouch. That's going to be a hard fight for anyone who isn't a top echelon fighter.

[ACCBiggz]

In the thread I stated Kongo/Hardonk is one of the tougher fights to predict. However, I went with the more imposing fighter. I picked by submission due to how he did against Herring. He actually took him down and seemed to at least try to facilitate his ground game a bit. You have to remember for the past two years he was with Rampage and then even followed Rampage over to the Wolf's Lair in England where he continues work on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

I see Kongo forcing Hardonk into the cage making his legkicks useless, and then dropping for a takedown, Hardonk gives up his back --- RNC. Write it down.

Hardonk winning by leg kick TKO would not surprise me either.

[bill_da_bill]

I agree about Belcher. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite guys to watch. But Kang got a lot of hype coming in and I just don't see it. Even going back and watching some of his older fights, I don't know, just not impressed.

[I Love Pokemon]

The only thing about Hardonk that is overlooked is his ground game. Everyone acts as if it is some kind of horrible and that he doesn't know anything on the ground. People seem to forget that Hardonk is a Purple Belt in BJJ and a legit one at that. His instructor is none other then Rickson Gracie.

[ACCBiggz]

The other day I remarked to MPH how odd it was to see Jay Glazer on Countdown to 97 as he has been with about every other promotion than the UFC and so forth.... anyway, watched Dana's vlog... who appears... Glazer. Safe to say we won't be seeing him on others' broadcasts for awhile.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

I actually wouldn't mind that, I like Glazer.

How many people are going to be on EWB during tonight's show? Is it worth its own spoiler-free thread?

[ZJ Penn]

I was, but I'm really tired, don't think I'll make it. Shame really, the potential is definitely there for a real quality event.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Thoughts on the two big matches:

Liddell/Shogun:

Spoiler: Click here to view

Fuck. When Liddell lost to Evans, he at least looked sort of competitive and was felled by a big punch. Tonight wasn't that. Chuck just doesn't have it left. When Shogun hit him on the left shoulder with a kick and Chuck backed off, that's when you could tell it was over - any good fighter would have been able to press on through that. Thanks for everything you did Chuck, now please get the fuck out of the octagon.

Silva/Leites:

Spoiler: Click here to view

Ugh. The book is out on Silva as a counter-fighter, so now everybody knows that as long as you wait for him to make the first move, he won't hit you. That's what was happening with Cote, and it's what happened tonight. Do absolutely nothing and hope for a miracle.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Spoiler: Click here to view

So one minute the entire world is claiming Silva to be the greatest fighter on the planet, then about two fights later he's apparently awful, boring and overrated? Seriously, fuck off. I honestly cant believe how people just turn on a guy like that. I stick to what I've said since day one, fantastic fighter. Boring fight or not. Hopefully he returns and destroys his next opponent, then we can all see those same people turn and say 'OMGZ BEST FIGHTER EVER'...fucking hypocrites.

I actually forgot all about the show on the actual night and I felt like crying nearly when I heard about Liddell. Just guttering really, easily my favourite fighter of all time alongside Forrest Griffin. Fantastic fighter and I think everything has just quickly crept up on him. I'm hearing this is his last fight or whatever, but I'm really hoping to see him step into the octagon one last time.

[Ananas]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Maybe I'm missing something, but I haven't heard anyone say this reflects poorly on Silva's ability as a fighter. I think most of the criticism leveled at him is just frustration at his unwillingness to push forward and end the fight. Which, to a degree, is accurate. The failure of this fight to entertain lays at the feet of both men. Leites didn't want to stand with arguably the best striker in MMA and so he tried takedowns and went down easily trying to lure Silva into his guard. Silva didn't want to go to the ground with one of the few fighters he might be outpointed by on the ground and so he just kind of stood there and wore down Leites' legs everytime he went down. He also avoided pushing in too much with his offense lest he end up in a clinch and risk getting taken down. I still think that Anderson Silva is the best PFP fighter in the world and I think very few people who were of that sensibility before the fight changed their mind after it. He still utterly dominated Leites. It's just that as a main eventer, his ability to draw is based on his ability to motivate the fans to lay down 45 dollars to see him fight. He didn't do himself any favours on Saturday, nor did he do UFC any favours in the Montreal market. And I think what may have made the situation worse was his "Hey, they can't all be great" reaction in the post-fight interview. Well no Anderson, they can't, but the last two have been really fucking awful. And if this trend continues, he's going to be perpetually the 250-300,000 buy champion who can't pop a big number unless there's a name as the semi-main.

[Toe]

Spoiler: Click here to view

I just hope they don't throw Maia at him, since it could play out just like this fight did.

[Guest Mr. Pringles Head]

Hasn't Okami been next in line for a few milennia now? I could see that fight being just as bad.

[Thrilla]

Meltzer reported in his audio update earlier today that Bobby Lashley should be signing a contract to fight Bob Sapp in a start up promotion's first show today to be held on June 27th. He also stated that Sapp had signed a contract to fight in Japan again and Lashley was close to a deal with Strikeforce.

[bolleje]

Spoiler: Click here to view

I just hope they don't throw Maia at him, since it could play out just like this fight did.

Pff... I was thinking after the Silva-Leites match: damn, now Maia probably won't get his shot. It just seems kind of unfair... just because Leites and Silva didn't set up a show shouldn't be a reason to get Maia out of his title shot.

I think if Silva goes on to face 205 competition, he should vacate the middleweight title and Okami (if he defeats Miller), Marquardt, winner of Bisping Vs Henderson and Maia could have some kind of minitournament for the title.

Also, I wonder what will happen to the loser of Couture Vs Nog. Randy Couture is almost 6 years older then Liddell. If he would lose by KO, shouldn't he retire too (like Liddell). It would be his fourth KO in his last seven fights (twice Liddell, once Lesnar, once Nog)...

The same thing with Coleman... The way he looked against Rua was not good. If he would've faced the Rua of past Saturday, he probably would've been KO'd

[Gabriel]

Spoiler: Click here to view

There are a handful of logical contenders at 185. If Maia doesn't get his shot because Joe Silva feels the style match-up would produce another similar Anderson fight, then the title shot will still go to someone who deserves it.

I'm not overly bothered by it. Let Maia continue to work on the other aspects of his game, which are already visually improving, and in a year or so, he should be able to face Silva without having to resort to Leites' "roll on my back when I get hit" tactics. Maia, from what I've seen, is also more aggressive than Leites is when it comes to trying to impose his will... so even if we get the fight sooner than later, I don't think he'll give Anderson the time and space that he had in this last fight, and I think we'll be forced to see Anderson's ground game and Jiu-Jitsu defense.


In regards to the old guard "having to retire", I think it's crap. If they want to keep fighting, let them keep fighting, but be smart about who you match them with. Ideally, I'd say match them up against each other, and sometimes maybe and up and coming guy, who could use a win over a big name, but isn't guaranteed one. These guys still draw, and they still make money. They probably shouldn't be fighting the top echelon of guys in their divisions, but hey, that's Joe Silva's call... not mine.

[Guest Mr. Pringles Head]

Keeping in mind spoiler tags aren't necessary because it's been over 48 hours...

Gabe, you think the "old guys" should be allowed to fight as long as it's against each other and thus still competitive? Personally, I applaud UFC for basically forcing Chuck to retire - better he retire now and enjoy the rest of his life than risk permanent damage in a fight that doesn't really mean anything. Every fight should have one purpose - to move the winner further towards the top. A legends fight wouldn't do that.