The MMA Thread

[Mendel]

Silva will win big time. The fight will go no longer than two rounds.

[honed]

It's hyped beoynd belief, bu I so hope it will be a great fight. It sure has potential.
I'd love it if Sonnen wins, but perhaps that is just beyond reach for him..

[TnutsShave]

Personally, I'm not a fan of either fighter, although I was rooting for Sonnen in the first fight. After watching Silva phone-in a couple of fights, I couldn't bring myself to pull for him. Sonnen, while a class A douche, is a great personality for the sport. The only thing I could see that may turn the favor toward Sonnen is if Silva tries to make an example out of him by prolonging the punishment...and makes a mistake. Not likely. No question, though, Sonnen has gotten in his head, so we'll have to see how Silva handles it.

[Monkeyboy]

This is the first UFC that I got tickets to, I think I picked a good one! I'm hoping sonnen wins this time. He obviously has a chance looking at their first fight, he just can't get careless and make mistakes.

[The Nid Hog]

This is the first UFC that I got tickets to, I think I picked a good one! I'm hoping sonnen wins this time. He obviously has a chance looking at their first fight, he just can't get careless and make mistakes.

That sounds like a lot of fun--have a great time.

[Walker]

This is the first UFC that I got tickets to, I think I picked a good one! I'm hoping sonnen wins this time. He obviously has a chance looking at their first fight, he just can't get careless and make mistakes.

Awesome, man!!! I would like to go to one of the UFC Expos in Vegas where you can meet the fighters. Maybe someday i'll go to that. Hope you have a great time.

[BingeAndPurge]

Personally, I'm not a fan of either fighter, although I was rooting for Sonnen in the first fight. After watching Silva phone-in a couple of fights, I couldn't bring myself to pull for him. Sonnen, while a class A douche, is a great personality for the sport. The only thing I could see that may turn the favor toward Sonnen is if Silva tries to make an example out of him by prolonging the punishment...and makes a mistake. Not likely. No question, though, Sonnen has gotten in his head, so we'll have to see how Silva handles it.

What personality is that? The one that commits fraud, launders money and then cuts a deal and snitches against his partners in crime? Or the one that fails drug tests? Or the WWE personality?

[Cochese2323]

I don't follow UFC really close, but I will make an effort to watch this fight tomorrow. I agree it is way over hyped and would just like to see a good fight.

[SmoovD]

What personality is that? The one that commits fraud, launders money and then cuts a deal and snitches against his partners in crime? Or the one that fails drug tests? Or the WWE personality?

So, you are not a Sonnen fan?

[The Nid Hog]

What personality is that? The one that commits fraud, launders money and then cuts a deal and snitches against his partners in crime? Or the one that fails drug tests? Or the WWE personality?

I have to agree. I haven't liked professional wrestling since I was a kid, and I hate to see someone like Sonnen in the position to become a champion. On top of the stupid heel performances, he's a scumbag criminal. I didn't like Lesnar much either, but Sonnen is an entirely different story. If Zuffa wanted a vile crook as champ, they should have just kept Joe Son around.

[jmorris]

I doubt any of us have many facts on what he was charged with, whether it be the "mortgage fraud" or the "TRT count." So why don't we keep this discussion centered around tonight's fight? :)

[The Nid Hog]

I doubt any of us have many facts on what he was charged with, whether it be the "mortgage fraud" or the "TRT count." So why don't we keep this discussion centered around tonight's fight? :)

I don't think it's any secret that he was convicted of a felony, is it? A federal money laundering charge.

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...o_wrestle.html

Regardless of any of this, I don't doubt that it's going to be a good fight. I just think Sonnen is a lousy guy to see in this position, and I'd hate to see him wearing the belt.

[jmorris]

I don't think it's any secret that he was convicted of a felony, is it? A federal money laundering charge.

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...o_wrestle.html

Regardless of any of this, I don't doubt that it's going to be a good fight. I just think Sonnen is a lousy guy to see in this position, and I'd hate to see him wearing the belt.

There are so many laws, you can be convicted of almost anything these days. You probably break 100 laws a day and don't even realize it. No one is judging you on it.

Stick to the topic, which is tonight's fight. Thanks.

[The Nid Hog]

There are so many laws, you can be convicted of almost anything these days. You probably break 100 laws a day and don't even realize it. No one is judging you on it.

Stick to the topic, which is tonight's fight. Thanks.

I think it's pretty clear that Sonnen's criminal activity is a bit part of tonight's fight. You can't miss it in reporting in the mainstream press or on any of the MMA sites. It's interesting that Zuffa has made a big effort to clean up UFC's image but they've set up this fight between Silva and Sonnen. Obviously they know that the fight is going to sell PPVs, and I think that they welcome that in light of a general perception that they aren't mounting the kind of stacked cards that they did before UFC's big expansion. When Sonnen popped positive and got his conviction, it was far from certain that this fight would ever take place.

I'm curious as to why you aren't interested in this part of his story. It's hard to ignore it, and it's far from unimportant. If you take all that stuff and roll back the clock to Sonnen's earlier persona, it's almost a Rocky story. The aging journeyman fighter gets a crack at the champ and almost pulls it off. He could have played up that angle if he didn't get arrested or caught for the TRT. But even before that, in the run up to the first fight, he broke out his loud, brash persona. He's the one who decided to be a loudmouth racist and even to brag about his criminal conviction. It's worked out for him, but there are other ways to have done it.

[jmorris]

Illegal knee.

[The Nid Hog]

Lot's of good fights tonight, from the Facebook broadcast on up to the PPV. It's been a while since I watched a card this deep. I was a little surprised at the outcome of the Tito/Forrest fight--I didn't think that Tito slowed down enough in the 3rd to lose it. Have to watch that again. Silva didn't get off to a very good start, but he certainly finished strong. I wonder who's next? Not looking forward to Silva v. Bisping.

[squatzilla801]

I was starting to get worried after the first round, looked like more of the same with Anderson unable to stop the take-down. In the second, the difference in their standup skills seemed dramatic, with the fight ending with a knee to the chest obviously taught to Anderson by Steven Seagal. Is anyone familiar with the Seagal nonsense? He claims to have taught Anderson and Machida this frontkick they used to knock out their opponents. He shows up in the corners and claims way more involvement in their training than I think he has. It's really a huge joke in MMA. Oddly, before this fight he was saying he taught Anderson a few moves that were previously taught to be illegal and I was reminded of that when I heard Rogan and Goldberg briefly question the legality of the knee lol. Sonnen has got to be near suicidal right now after everything he's said for the past three years. On the other hand, I read he's getting a cut of the PPV sales because he sold the hell out of the fight. Sonnen has got to be the most overrated fighter in the UFC right now. He has a pretty bad record and has never really done anything of note except almost beat an injured Anderson Silva with steroids. He's a great wrestler though, no doubt about it.

I felt pretty bad for Tito, I think he's won 1 fight in like 6 years. I thought it was a little disrespectful for Griffin to run away after the match, only to return. Why did he do that? Reminded me of when he took off after getting killed by Anderson Silva. Also thought it was weird that he conducted the post fight interview, being the guy that just handed Tito a loss in his final fight.

[inspiringK]

Yea i think Silva will win but it would be kind of funny if Sonnen won. He would NEVER shut up if he did

Silva...it's a lock

I think that Silva is going to win decisively. But it's going to be a good fight.

I think Silva has been bored for years and Sonnen's near upset in 2010 will not be repeated.

He'll win decisively and retire.

Sonnen looked like crap against Bisping. I actually started to think he was funny for about five minutes there, but that was a quick five minutes. He's also a crook. I think he loses in the second or third.

My prediction is that Anderson comes out looking for a quick KO. He doesn't get the KO but sets Sonnen up for a sub in Round 2.

The first fight was impressive and Silva's win when the fat lady was already singing for Sonnen was very unbelievable. Sonnen has great wrestling skills but his biggest weakness is his mouth. Silva will win again.

Silva will win big time. The fight will go no longer than two rounds.

Well, gentleman, I now know who to turn to for consultation before making my next bet

Every outright prediction made in this thread was correct (let's ignore Shaving_Chen's retirement prediction for now). That has to be counted as impressive. I watched the interviews with other UFC fighters giving their predictions - they weren't nearly as accurate as the B&B members

[The Nid Hog]

And we're clean-shaven too.

[SuperChris]

I am glad Cung Le finally got an UFC win, I think Tito got robbed, yea Forrest land more punches but Tito knocked him down twice and took him down five times, its a shame Ortiz couldn't go out with a victory. I don't know what Sonnen was thinking trying to throw a spinning back fist, he should have kept the fight on the mat, the only way he has a chance to win.