***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[Your Mom]

Why didn't JDS try and finish him when he had him down and clutching at his leg? He was pounding the hell out of him and he just pulled away instead

[Cole]

Great heavyweight fight. Was a great main event fight for fox but neither had just enough to finish it.

I think Miocic had a real shot early on but JDS has a monster chin, both really took a beating.

[Your Mom]

Miocic just wanted to get the hell out of there

[Gazz]

I don't agree with that.

1,2 and 5 for Stipe. 3 and 4 for JDS.

[Benjamin]

I always wonder how much of what fighters say is what they truly believe and how much is just hyperbole?

I was watching the countdown show last night and Stefan Struve was talking about beating Overeem, then making a run at the belt and proving that he is 'the greatest fighter in the world' and I'm like 'lol, nope'. I mean, he's a decent kickboxer with a decent submission game but he's got no jaw left, no wrestling, questionable cardio and every time he has faced top level competition, he's been smashed in minutes.

I mean, surely he must recognise that his ceiling is top ten at best and he is never going to fight for he UFC title, let alone win it. If anyone listened to Joe Rogan's assessment of Brendan Schaub's abilities this week, I'm making the same point.

When Joe asked Brendan how he'd do in a wrestling match with Cain and Brendan said "I think people would be surprised" I literally almost choked on my beer. Fighters are all the best they can possibly be in the gym because they're in a controlled environment where everything is done at 70%, so they think the same when they fight.

[Benjamin]

WSOF spoilers: https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/14D345889D1155771945460375552_2980e3b3dae.5.1.2432615392396135553.mp4?versionId=8kWSrWdhPWXi2syqZ2MC38COb91lQkzD

Edited December 14, 2014 by Benkid

[Chris2K]

I was kinda hoping Miocic would win so he could face Velasquez, hopefully they could have booked the fight for the one week in the year when Velasquez isn't injured.

Dos Anjos/Diaz was MMA poetry. "Missed weight? Have a leg kick! Missed a press day? Have a leg kick! Spend a year out bitching about money? Have a leg kick! Generally being a complete twat? Have a leg kick! And another! And another!". Dos Anjos should be given a title shot purely for the 20th leg kick.

I guess Gadelha is off the table for Esparza, apparently Dana isn't even punishing her after the post-match punch because she said sorry straight away.

[Ant]

Fucking hell. I thought Overeem was fighting one of the Espheni from Falling Skies

[Benjamin]

I still don't think booking Miocic and JDS against each other was the right move. Sure, his stock went up after this match, but they've still kind of stopped a nice winning streak he made for himself. The JDS versus Overeem fight was right there, they were bitching at each other since like 2012, and when JDS knocks him out, his stock would drop even more and they could try and get rid of that huge contract he's on.

Now JDS knocked off another Top 5 guy and who knows what they'll do with him next. I'm thinking Browne or Arlovski, and maybe Miocic faces whoever JDS doesn't.

[munky]

If anyone's interested and has lots of time on their hands, here's the lawsuit.

[Chris2K]

I'm not up with my legal knowledge but I'm struggling to see what their point is. They're angry that the UFC has bought out all the major competition for the last five years. A lot of those companies were poorly run and losing money because of it, in Affliction's case it was nothing short of a shambles. I believe in every case that I can think of, EliteXC, StrikeForce, Affliction and WFA, they all approached the UFC to buy them because they'd run out of money. Should the UFC have said no? Should UFC actively try to help their competition? Should they not be signing fighters because it's not fair to the companies they sign them from?

They're also saying there's no competition when Bellator are the strongest #2 organisation there has been for a long, long time, as well as WSOF which I believe is turning a profit. They even got asked about Melendez using Bellator as a bargaining tool to get a better deal with the UFC and just try to ignore it.

Someone may have to explain to me what they're actually trying to achieve with this because to me it looks like Fitch complaining that he got cut, Quarry I really don't understand as he owes UFC for TUF making him a star, and in Cung Le's case I'm guessing he's actively trying to get himself fired so he can go back to his buddy Scott Coker.

[Quom]

I doubt these top of the line firms would attach themselves to something they thought had no chance of winning.

[Benjamin]

They're just stating that as the UFC is constantly buying out and destroying their competition, the fighters have less and less market power as all of it is in the UFC's hands. They say that the UFC makes tons of money off of them while giving the fighters very little, and that every time a company rises up to try and challenge them (albeit all those times have been done poorly, the UFC is so big and such a monopoly that they crush the competition.

Basically they want a bigger piece of the pie.

I love that while all this is happening Dana is Instagramming pics of tuna he's caught.

[Gazz]

I can't see how that is going to stand up in court though, Zuffa purchased PRIDE because the parent company wanted out due to the whole Yakuza scandal, they purchased Afflicition and Strikeforce that were both hemorrhagging money and would have died anyway.

Now is probably the most competitive the MMA industry has been since PRIDE's demise, you've got Bellator who have the backing of a multibillion dollar company in Viacom and a large TV presence, WSOF are on TV and can pay Fitch $60,000 a fight, ONE FC is paying Ben Askren $250,000 a fight. Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez were both subjects of bidding wars that jacked up their salaries and got them guaranteed title shots.

I do believe that the guys at the bottom of the card making $6k/£6k need to be better paid though, you can't be a professional fighter when you're making less than $20k a year gross.

[EddieG]

Basically the fighters are saying UFC should stop making a profit and pay them more, so eventually the UFC can go bankrupt and they'll have nowhere to go to get the exposure they do with the UFC.

[Rich]

Its a bit ridiculous, but if it opens upsome of the inner workings of the UFC to the outside world I wil be very interested.

When you have the likes of ONE, Bellator, WSOF, etc... then it's hard to call it a monopoly, it's more the legal form, a monopsony.

The issue they will have is that you have had a number of individuals join the market and the UFC has not forced them out until the time is right (i.e they are going out of business anyway) at which point you can not punish the UFC for the failures of others as businesses (i'm looking at you Gary Shaw)

[tristy]

Hey guys, Rampage is back in UFC.

*crickets*

[EddieG]

So apparently the UFC have re-signed Rampage, but Coker is saying he's still under an exclusive contract with Bellator.. oh dear.

[EddieG]

And a knee injury strikes none other than knee injury specialist, Dominick Cruz.

[Cymbols]

genuinely gutted for him.