MMA News and Discussion Thread

[Toe]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Brock Lesner was very impressive. That punch was amazing, and there was not one point in the fight when Brock was in trouble. Two more fights against good opponents and we might be talking title shot.

GSP dominated Fitch. He is totally recovered from the Serra loss and is now being the fighter we all knew he could be. I think BJ Penn will lose.

[IAceI]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Damian Maia looked very good and very in control against Jason MacDonald and pulled off a nice submission victory. One of the few people with any type of game that might even trouble Anderson Silva, phenomenal BJJ but you'd fully expect Silva to be able to counter that and beat him should they fight.

The Manny and Rob match was epically quick. I was so close to picking Emerson just on the fact I though Manny might be a bit rash, like he was, but Rob caught him with two lovely shots. No way could that fight have been continued.

Ken Flo looked good against Huerta. I though Huerta was very competitive in the first round but then began to fall away. He's going to have to consider what he's wanting now with his contract after that big loss. Although I would just have to say if he stays with the company, he could very well be a massive star in it. Keep clean shaven and he is one sexy mofo

Brock Lesnar dominated Heath Herring was epic and something I totally expected. I don't mind the little 'riding the horse' thing he did near the end sorta gimmick. I don't think Heath was particularly pissed off and Lesnar put in a great performance, shutting up those "he's not committed" people. This guy has countless wrestling accolades to his name, he's good enough to be one of the best. Loved Rogan's comments "he was successful as a wrestler, he was successful as an actor, now he wants to make it in real competition" You imagine Rogan isn't a WWE fan Also how scary must it have been for Herring, immediately Lesnar flies at him with a knee, then knocks him over with a right and by the time he rolled over and looked up 280lbs of solid muscle was charing at him. I'd have shit my pants.

And GSP dominates Fitch. I thought GSP would have had it in him to stop Fitch but he just grinded and grinded and kept himself in the match. He never looked close to winning, although you can never be totally sure in MMA, but he hung in there. First round was a right off, he got some decent offence in the second but was rocked early in the third. GSP was just better in every department of the match.

[Toe]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Damian Maia looked very good and very in control against Jason MacDonald and pulled off a nice submission victory. One of the few people with any type of game that might even trouble Anderson Silva, phenomenal BJJ but you'd fully expect Silva to be able to counter that and beat him should they fight.

The Manny and Rob match was epically quick. I was so close to picking Emerson just on the fact I though Manny might be a bit rash, like he was, but Rob caught him with two lovely shots. No way could that fight have been continued.

Ken Flo looked good against Huerta. I though Huerta was very competitive in the first round but then began to fall away. He's going to have to consider what he's wanting now with his contract after that big loss. Although I would just have to say if he stays with the company, he could very well be a massive star in it. Keep clean shaven and he is one sexy mofo

Brock Lesnar dominated Heath Herring was epic and something I totally expected. I don't mind the little 'riding the horse' thing he did near the end sorta gimmick. I don't think Heath was particularly pissed off and Lesnar put in a great performance, shutting up those "he's not committed" people. This guy has countless wrestling accolades to his name, he's good enough to be one of the best. Loved Rogan's comments "he was successful as a wrestler, he was successful as an actor, now he wants to make it in real competition" You imagine Rogan isn't a WWE fan Also how scary must it have been for Herring, immediately Lesnar flies at him with a knee, then knocks him over with a right and by the time he rolled over and looked up 280lbs of solid muscle was charing at him. I'd have shit my pants.

And GSP dominates Fitch. I thought GSP would have had it in him to stop Fitch but he just grinded and grinded and kept himself in the match. He never looked close to winning, although you can never be totally sure in MMA, but he hung in there. First round was a right off, he got some decent offence in the second but was rocked early in the third. GSP was just better in every department of the match.

Spoiler: Click here to view

For me, Huerta looked the best in the third round when he knew he had to try and hurt Florian. Kenny still got the best of the exchanges, but I think if Huerta had fought at that pace from the start they he could have landed some heavy blows when fatigue set in.

[Fitzy]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Maia vs. MacDonald was a very good fight, especially round one. Submission and escape after submission and escape. Very technical match.

Florian vs. Huerta was a another good fight. I loved that Florian got the victory. I don't think he is ready for the title shot though. I think the winner of Tyson Griffin/Sean Sherk should face Florian and then we get the number one contender from that.

Excellent knockout by Rob Emerson. Probably will end up knockout of the night.

Wow Brock dominated Heath in round one. Excellent first punch that he knocked him down with. Also, Dan poking Heath in the eye and going "whoops" without even checking to make sure he was okay was stupid. Great knees by Lesnar towards the end of round two. Great job by Lesnar through the fight. He just controlled it and dominated Heath, clearly putting so much effort into making himself into a fighter.

GSP is awesome. There is no beating this guy. Fitch showed his toughness by lasting a full five rounds with him, but he was just overwhelmed throughout the fight by GSP.

Can't wait for GSP vs. Penn II. It's going to be great.

Looking at the bonuses, Maia and Emerson got what they deserved in submission and knockout of the night respectively, but I think Maia/MacDonald was the best fight tonight. Just a great first round. Fitch/GSP got that award, though.

[Gabriel]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Awesome fights on the night. I enjoyed them all, and Jon Fitch proved that he's a legit top guy by hanging in there with St. Pierre for 25 minutes.

I'm a little confused as to why Maia/MacDonald weren't stood up though when Maia used a fish hook on Jason's nose to secure his Rear Naked Choke in the first round... that sort of caught me off guard.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Oh Jim Ross. You make some decent points which give you a bit of credibility, and then this...

Yeah, I want to see B.J. Noons vs. St. Pierre as there is the smell of serious money in this matchup.

[Gabriel]

Actually, MPH... the plan is to fuse BJ Penn and KJ Noons at a cellular level for the fight against St. Pierre. GSP was quoted as saying something along the lines of "Guys from 155... yeah, I could beat any two of them fused at a genetic level, no problem."... which is why in December we'll have BJ Noons, or KJ Penn, whichever they decide to run with... as the main event.

[IAceI]

It seems a bit bizarre. You'd expect him to say "KJ Penn" or something when referring to KJ Noons. You'd expect him to confuse KJ Noons for BJ Penn.

[Gabriel]

UFC 87 spoilers...

Spoiler: Click here to view

To go along with my questioning of Yves Lavigne's decision not to stand up Maia/MacDonald in the first when Demian used a fish hook on the nose to secure his Rear Naked Choke, I just remembered two other questionable things I wanted to address.

First, did Brock Lesnar shove Heath Herring after the first round ended? I only sort of caught what happened, and it looked to me like he shoved him away. Kind of related here, but Heath Herring powered Brock off of him in the dying seconds of the fight... was anyone else frustrated that he showed he could do it with no time left, but didn't do it when he still could have turned things around? Seriously, if you have the energy to do that after being battered for fifteen minutes, where the fuck was that when you could have won the fight?

Second... I saw GSP hit some knees in the early rounds of the main event, and it looked like Fitch's knees were both on the mat at the time. Was I seeing things, or did St. Pierre strike to the shoulders instead of the head?

[Fitzy]

UFC 87 spoilers...

Spoiler: Click here to view

To go along with my questioning of Yves Lavigne's decision not to stand up Maia/MacDonald in the first when Demian used a fish hook on the nose to secure his Rear Naked Choke, I just remembered two other questionable things I wanted to address.

First, did Brock Lesnar shove Heath Herring after the first round ended? I only sort of caught what happened, and it looked to me like he shoved him away. Kind of related here, but Heath Herring powered Brock off of him in the dying seconds of the fight... was anyone else frustrated that he showed he could do it with no time left, but didn't do it when he still could have turned things around? Seriously, if you have the energy to do that after being battered for fifteen minutes, where the fuck was that when you could have won the fight?

Second... I saw GSP hit some knees in the early rounds of the main event, and it looked like Fitch's knees were both on the mat at the time. Was I seeing things, or did St. Pierre strike to the shoulders instead of the head?

Spoiler: Click here to view

GSP was hitting knees to the shoulders while Fitch had both knees on the ground throughout the fight. I don't know if those are legal or not, though.

Edited August 11, 2008 by Fitzy

[Gabriel]

The only knees that are illegal are knees to the head of a downed opponent. I'm fairly certain the knees to any other part of the body, save for the groin, are legal when the opponent is grounded.

[Toe]

I want to see someone knee the bottom of someones foot.

[Gene Kiniski]

I want to see someone knee the bottom of someones foot.

I do to. After I read that I was thinking about someone doing it and if I was in the position I would knee someone on the bottom of the foot to try and ruin their balance. A good bruise or bone splinter or foot sprain from a knee to the bottom of the foot would put a fighter in perfect position to control the pace of the fight.

[Gene Kiniski]

After watching Frank Shamrock/Cung Le from EliteXC I was wondering, has UFC ever shown any interest in Cung Le? Has Frank ever shown any interest in returning to UFC?

Also, what is the connection between Strikeforce and Elite? Are they not two separate promotions?

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

UFC is interested in Cung Le, but the belief is that he'd be in trouble against guys several inches taller than him. And I don't think they want Frank back.

[ROC]

Some news on the "Bobby Lashley is in MMA" front:

This coming from MMAJunkie:

Tara LaRosa and Bobby Lashley booked for American Fight League's PPV debut

by Dann Stupp on Aug 12, 2008 at 6:05 pm ET

Bobby LashleyWithin the next couple months, the American Fight League will attempt to find a success in a place most MMA organizations haven't: pay per view.

The Kentucky-based organization, which garnered some headlines earlier this summer with the signings of notable free agents such as top female fighter Tara LaRosa and former World Wrestling Entertainment star Bobby Lashley, will makes it PPV debut this fall, and the fight card is starting to take shape.

AFL Director of Public Relations Sean McClure today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the organization is close to an official event announcement.

"We've determined a date, and a location is being finalized," McClure said. "We'll announce the details very soon."

AFL officials previously stated an October date was likely, but with the UFC, EliteXC, Affliction and Adrenaline MMA booking major shows that month, the AFL event may be bumped back till November.

McClure said the PPV fight card will feature many of the organization's biggest names, including LaRosa, Lashley, UFC veteran and AFL lightweight champ Diego Saraiva, welterweight champ Brent Weedman, middleweight champ George Lockhardt and possibly former UFC fighter Dan Christison.

Free agents such as John Alessio and Mike Van Arsdale are also rumored options, assuming deals can be worked out with the AFL, though McClure would not confirm any ongoing negotiations with the UFC veterans.

To date the AFL has hosted two major events: one at the University of Kentucky's Rupp Arena in March and one at Atlanta's Phillips Arena in May. The organization will also host its "A Salute to the Troops" event in Columbus, Ga., on Sept. 26.

The AFL has not yet revealed the fee for the PPV event.

I...can't see this turning out well for AFL at all. I understand them going for the UFC effect with Lesnar's buyrate success and them thinking Lashley could be a draw, but Lashley doesn't have that appeal to me. And all of these promotions are struggling like hell, what makes AFL think that people are going to want to see "that black guy who challenged John Cena that one time" on the card when there's not even a challenger announced for one thing, and he'll be a tomato can for a second thing. I guess you can't knock them for trying, though. It just seems like a money pit for a company who has run roughly two big shows to suddenly try PPV solely because of Lashley.

[Gene Kiniski]

Well, you do have to admit, Lashley does have the background to fight up there so if the training is going well then you never know.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

-- We will have more tomorrow as this has not yet been made official, but it appears the December 5th UFC will be taking place at the Bell Center in Montreal with George St. Pierre headlining.

...against Penn presumably. Should be another awesome atmosphere.

[Gabriel]

-- We will have more tomorrow as this has not yet been made official, but it appears the December 5th UFC will be taking place at the Bell Center in Montreal with George St. Pierre headlining.

...against Penn presumably. Should be another awesome atmosphere.

I don't know. I heard Penn/GSP was put off until next year by Dana, who made that a promise to one of them, who wasn't ready for that fight in December.

Biggz is also telling me that it's likely we'll see BJ Penn defend his 155 pound Championship against KenFlo, provided they scrap the idea of a planned Florian/Stevenson bout in November.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

But who does GSP go against then? Sanchez?