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

[Heel Turn]

so, how many fights will it be before we see Mir/Lesnar III? It's bound to happen with the way Dana is and the series at two fights a piece.

Mir's going to have to rack up a couple impressive wins to get back there. Given that it's now apparent that Mir won by fluke during the first fight, I'd say that Mir/Lesnar III is far from a sure thing. Brock handled him about as decisively as he could in this match.

Regarding the future, I wouldn't be surprised if Nog is in the near future for Brock, maybe after Brock fights the winner of Velasquez v. Carwin. This is, of course, assuming that Nog beats Couture.

Edited July 12, 2009 by Heel Turn

[Gabriel]

I really don't think he's going to need THAT many wins. One or two might suffice.

Mir came out for that second round, and hurt Brock. That's the first time Lesnar's really been hit with anything decent, and it visibly hurt him. He got Mir to the ground, but you can tell that the first bit of that is him trying to regain his composure.

I picked Mir to win, because I figured that would be his game plan from the outset... and had he done that from the beginning, maybe Brock wouldn't have hit those Headlock Punches on the ground in round 1, and maybe we would have seen a completely different fight.

Did Lesnar win in dominating fashion? Yes. But I don't think it puts Mir out of the picture, because one thing done differently could have given us a completely different outcome.

Plus, Trilogies always sell well.

[Heel Turn]

Mir came out for that second round, and hurt Brock. That's the first time Lesnar's really been hit with anything decent, and it visibly hurt him. He got Mir to the ground, but you can tell that the first bit of that is him trying to regain his composure.

I picked Mir to win, because I figured that would be his game plan from the outset... and had he done that from the beginning, maybe Brock wouldn't have hit those Headlock Punches on the ground in round 1, and maybe we would have seen a completely different fight.

Mir only got that flying knee in the second round because Brock let Mir stand up after he took him down. Mir could have come out however he want, and Brock's ability to take him down at will would have led to the exact same result: Mir heading to the hospital.

Also, I don't know how you saw Brock being hurt by Mir. He recoiled slightly, and then took Mir down and punched his face off.

[ACCBiggz]

Given that it's now apparent that Mir won by fluke during the first fight

A kneebar isn't a fluke.

Brock will be the #2 heavyweight in the world after August 1st when Fedor dismantles Barnett. It's a fight I wish we would see as Brock will give Fedor everything and more. Brock may be retired by the time a heavyweight comes along that could effectively stop him, and maybe the divison will be that way by the time Brock is done as well. He isn't young. Couture's fight against Lesnar looks all the more impressive with each growing fight. He controlled Brock against the cage and even stuffed a takedown, amazing.

We'll see what Shane or Cain can do in less than a year against Brock, but I don't see them offering much of anything.

[Gabriel]

Mir came out for that second round, and hurt Brock. That's the first time Lesnar's really been hit with anything decent, and it visibly hurt him. He got Mir to the ground, but you can tell that the first bit of that is him trying to regain his composure.

I picked Mir to win, because I figured that would be his game plan from the outset... and had he done that from the beginning, maybe Brock wouldn't have hit those Headlock Punches on the ground in round 1, and maybe we would have seen a completely different fight.

Mir only got that flying knee in the second round because Brock let Mir stand up after he took him down. Mir could have come out however he want, and Brock's ability to take him down at will would have led to the exact same result: Mir heading to the hospital.

Also, I don't know how you saw Brock being hurt by Mir. He recoiled slightly, and then took Mir down and punched his face off.

Not the knee.

Brock came in, Mir caught him with a punch that visibly hurt Lesnar. Brock went in for the takedown... Mir gets up, small exchange, Brock grabs a leg, Frank hits the knee, they go down. Brock lays on top of Frank for a couple of seconds to shake loose the cobwebs, and then bashes his face in.

I think Mir, like Thiago Alves, would have done better to be more aggressive and try to tag their opponents early.

Now, because Lesnar actually has to cut weight to hit 265, and then is up to about 290 by fight time, I've begun to think... the 60 pound differential for Heavyweight has never really been an issue before, because no one's ever really come in at the limit and dominated, and the division has never been that strong to begin with... but now with Brock coming in and dominating his opponents so well because of his size advantage, is it time to maybe start talking about it? I'm not saying anything needs to, or should be changed... just, is it worth talking about?

You've got guys campaigning for 195 pound divisions and such, but the 20 pounds between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight aren't nearly as impactful as the 35-50 pounds that Lesnar carries on his opponents.

Edited July 12, 2009 by Gabriel

[Trey]

As a first time PPV buyer I have to say I am completely SOLD on purchasing a few more UFC events. For sure.

[ACCBiggz]

There was much more discussion for a 225 pound division than a 195 division. The only reason that even came up was because of Rich/Wanderlei doing a catch-weight bout. A 225 division would be excellent imho. Couture, Fedor, Cro Cop, Liddell, Vera and others could easily fight there and make a great divison. But first we need more athletic big guys to come in the heavyweight division. We have always had people cutting to 265, just not a freak athlete like Brock. Which is why the smaller guys usually won those fights.

[Pizza]

No new divisions, at least for now. There is little depth at the top as is. I doubt there is anyone who couldn't make a 265 cut who could really do much in MMA, and limiting the amount of fighters who can challenge Brock will only mean lesser opposition for him. I think Couture was more impressive against Lesnar than anyone else he has faced, and Couture is a very small heavyweight.

Right now we have five champions who I don't see losing anytime soon. Creating new divisions so there is even less competition for the champions as it would thin the talent in every weight class, would be a bad move.

[Gabriel]

No new divisions, at least for now. There is little depth at the top as is. I doubt there is anyone who couldn't make a 265 cut who could really do much in MMA, and limiting the amount of fighters who can challenge Brock will only mean lesser opposition for him. I think Couture was more impressive against Lesnar than anyone else he has faced, and Couture is a very small heavyweight.

Right now we have five champions who I don't see losing anytime soon. Creating new divisions so there is even less competition for the champions as it would thin the talent in every weight class, would be a bad move.

BJ Penn's reign as Lightweight Champion is in serious jeopardy on August 8. Kenny Florian has the tools necessary to defeat Penn.

Anderson Silva has to deal with a rejuvenated Dan Henderson, who CAN defeat him. Plus, there's still a guy by the name of Okami, waiting for a fucking fight with Anderson, and then Vitor Belfort. The Spider has three guys, right there, who are a danger to him.

Machida is really good, but the 205 division is stacked with guys who can knock you out on any given night. I see him having a long reign, but who knows really when it comes to the Light Heavyweights.

[buck...]

Don't count forrest out against Spider. Forrest will give it all he has and I think he's smart enough to sneak a vicotry. I hope at least as I'm a huge Forrest fan, but I can see it happening, but it is a long shot.

[ACCBiggz]

Forrest has nothing to do with the 185 title picture that Gabriel was talking about.

[buck...]

yea, that dawned on me when I reread what what he wrote, sorry bout that.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Good event, although it wasn't actually as great as I first expected.

Shocked at how poor Bisping looked. Henderson just looked miles better from the first second and Bisping seemingly had NO answer. Unbelievable knock out and I'm not sure how Bisping comes back from that one. Pretty gutted and I cant stand Henderson either, so that doesn't make this loss any better.

It's official that I hate GSP more than any other MMA fighter ever (bar Sylvia). Great fighter or not, I've got close to zero desire to watch any of his fights, because I cant kick the hatred I have for him. Haven't liked this guy from day one (although I can admit to the talent he has) and I continue to pray there's somebody out there that can actually put him in his fucking place, yet there seems to be nobody. Alves just got dominated in every single round and GSP made almost a mockery of him. GSP/Silva? Now that on the other hand would be awesome if it went down.

Lesnar/Mir was good. Just loved Lesnar going ape shit at the end towards Mir and then flipping off the crowd. He's different and he doesn't give a shit what people think. The fans booing him just makes him better, which is what I love about him. He's a bit of a dick, but what do you expect when the entire arena is booing you? Mir got dominated and didn't look threatening what so ever, apart from the desperation knee in the second round. I'm struggling to see this guy being beaten by anything other than submission right now, he's just a damn beast.

As I said, good show without a doubt, but I think I got my expectations up a little too high. I'm probably looking forward more to 101 with Silva/Griffin and Penn/Florian.

[ZJ Penn]

I don't see the need for splitting the HW division just yet. Until, like Biggz said, some more quality big guys come in, what's the point? The HW talent pool is already diluted and you'd basically just be doing it to exclude Brock Lesnar right now. Maybe in a few years time, but not right now.

As for the show, I felt Belcher won the fight against Akiyama but can see why you might give it to Akiyama, no way 30-27 though. That shit's Cecil Peoples bad. Henderson fucking crushing Bisping was pretty obvious from the start I felt. Bisping looked intimidated I thought, and I wanted him to win. At times you had to wonder who the kickboxing champ was and who the wrestler was. That said, Bisping did gain a bit of footing early in the second, but then just got obliterated. Not too fussed though, been a big Henderson fan since he fought Goes. I went for Alves by TKO but that was just for fun, predicting an upset. GSP was a machine in this one. Alves striking seemed sloppy and I was hoping every round he'd fly out aggressively but it never came. I wonder if a 30lb cut affected him, or if GSP was just that good?

The Lesnar fight went the way many of us thought it would, although it lasted a round longer than I thought. What now though? Mir is the biggest danger to Lesnar because of the subs, and now he's out the way who can beat him? Nog's obviously got slick submissions, but if his chin is going, then Brock is going to pound him into a stoppage. Carwin? No. Velasquez? No. Couture? Not likely. Guys like Cro Cop and Kongo probably wouldn't last a round. I think that belt's Lesnars as long as he wants it. As for Mir, I gained a hell of a lot of respect for him since the first Lesnar fight, so hopefully he gets a big return fight. Someone like Cro Cop or Randy would be a good choice.

[Thrilla]

I'm amazed that some people actually thought Bisping had any sort of chance against Hendo, granted I thought Henderson would ground and pound Bisping into oblivion and not knock him the hell out but the winner of that fight was the most obvious on the entire card in my eyes.

[buck...]

Brock said he was sorry in post fight interview for the way he acted. Which I think was a good thing to do.

[ACCBiggz]

I'm amazed that some people actually thought Bisping had any sort of chance against Hendo

I had it a pick em' fight and I was leaning Bisping because of speed. He's been lightning fast at this weight and I thought that could be a big difference - then I watched Bisping/Leben again because I totally forgot they fought, and once you watch that you realise that Bisping will lose. He couldn't stop Leben on any sort of strike or anything and Dan has a stronger chin and actual skills.

[Adam]

Great show, I really enjoyed it. I agree with the majority who thought Belcher should've got the win over Akiyama, I didn't see how Akiyama won that first round at all.

Hendo's KO on Bisping was awesome, the finishing punch was absolutely brutal, I don't think Bisping even remembered his own name for a while after that! It wasn't a great fight but the end made up for it, I expected it to be a bit closer than it was, but Bisping didn't really seem to have a chance.

Greg Jackson is awesome. He sounds more like a motivational coach than a trainer! "I don't care. Hit him with your groin!" was awesome. GSP is unstoppable, I thought Alves was gonna be dangerous for him but he was only on top once in the 4th round and even then he wasn't doing any damage. GSP schooled him tonight, and I'd love to see him move up and take on Spider, that'd be an awesome bout.

The main event was rubbish, but I expected it really. I didn't even think it'd go to the second round, and Lesnar just pummelled Mir, the power behind his fists is unbelievable. I was actually rooting for Mir as Lesnar comes across as a complete arse, but I'm glad he's proving to all the 'lol WWE is fake' crew that pro-wrestlers can do some real damage in the legitimate fighting ring. It helps that Lesnar is a BEAR, though. It doesn't help my dislike of him that he always enters to 'Enter Sandman' though

I noticed Joe Rogan referred to Rena Mero as Sable at the end too, I presume she doesn't actually call herself that? Though he did also call Brock a heel, so I guess he is pretty up on wrestling at least.

Overall, really good show, can't wait for UFC 101, Silva-Griffin is gonna be interesting, but I can't see Florian overhauling BJ Penn just now.

[ZJ Penn]

Oh, and I forgot to say. Go Coleman!

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Zack and Miri Make A Porno <<<<<< UFC.

I was lured to a party under the false assumption they'd be ordering UFC. Read the spoilers, and it looks like it's not worth my while to watch the show?

My two cents on the heavyweight division, there should definitely be a 225-235ish class as well. Yes, Brock will dominate everybody in the bigger class, but his freakish strength means he'll dominate everybody in the smaller class anyhow. Besides, this means another title and thus one more potential main event for the UFC poor-sense-of-timing booking committee.