The MMA Thread

I've been feeling that for a while Bruce. I have missed more cards than i usually do. Been watching bellator and WSOF.

I feel like they've turned it less into a true competition and more into a show. Fighters have learned that manufactured "beefs" get more eyes on you than honesty and respect. I don't really watch a lot of preshows anymore unless it's a fighter I really care about. Rankings are arbitrary and meaningless, especially in the UFC. I still love MMA, and still watch when I can, but it's become a bit ridiculous.

Other than UFC 200, I haven't seen a card since Diaz fought Conor the first time. I still read the news and I like chatting with you guys about MMA but the UFC has lost a lot of luster.

Nope, I don't think Pettis was juiced. He just had to have his "Come to Jesus" moment. There are a ton of folks who are one dimensional and put together impressive records. Then someone counters that particular strength to the point of fully neutralizing it (his striking) and the losses pile up, you're figured out.
If Pretty Tony starts to get his ground game on par with his striking? Watch out!

His ground game is actually not bad. Subbed Bendo, Melendes and Oliveira. He just seems to hesitate to pull the trigger while striking. Specially since RDA broke him.

And yeah i agree with you both. Tim and Adrian.

Barnett/Arlovski, who you got?

Stipe/Overeem?

hoping Arlovski and Stipe win.

Man, that's a tough one. Barnett is a little more well-rounded, and his grappling is way ahead of Arlovski, but Arlovski can knock out anybody at any time. Barnett's striking isn't bad, and he can dirty box against the cage much better. Can't call it.

Stipe...I didn't see him beating the top guys and becoming champ. He did. Overeem's chin was never outstanding. Stipe's power is big, even for a heavyweight. Overeem's striking is amazing when he's on, and his power is also really big. Stipe may have better wrestling(potentially) but Overeem has a good submission game. Overeem needs to keep it at kickboxing range, because Stipe has a great chin and I think that in an in-the-pocket shootout the combination of good chin, power and accuracy will pull Stipe through.

Just saw this, this morning.

GSP vs Mcgregor rumored for ufc 205.

http://www.lowkickmma.com/UFC/rumor-conor-mcgregor-vs-gsp-to-headline-ufc-205/

MrLara said:

Just saw this, this morning.

GSP vs Mcgregor rumored for ufc 205.

http://www.lowkickmma.com/UFC/rumor-conor-mcgregor-vs-gsp-to-headline-ufc-205/

Click to expand...

They say 'sources' say the GSPvMcG fight was set for UFC200 but that got put on hold when Diaz beat McGregor at 196 ... anyone want to fire up the conspiracy machine for the judging of the Diaz-McGregor rematch?

So I think the better question re: McGregor is if his brand is valid without a Champs belt attached to it? Can he go forward just as a super fights attraction? There's more to the 145ers to be cleaned out, and if he's saying that 155 is his natural sweet spot, there's too many there for him to be all over the place.
I doubt that if GSP comes back that he'll be looking to do it @ 170, but I don't know. Seems he'd be more comfortable with a catch weight fight

Doc4 said:

They say 'sources' say the GSPvMcG fight was set for UFC200 but that got put on hold when Diaz beat McGregor at 196 ... anyone want to fire up the conspiracy machine for the judging of the Diaz-McGregor rematch?

Click to expand...

I'm tired of saying it and you guys are probably tired of reading it. Just look at the round by round breakdown i posted. I dont see how nate didn't win the split dec.

and then what his coach said about him going back to 145 being pointless... Then vacate the title and go get another one if he's so much better than the 145lb division. They are seriously holding on to that title for dear life.

MrLara said:

I'm tired of saying it and you guys are probably tired of reading it. Just look at the round by round breakdown i posted. I dont see how nate didn't win the split dec.

Click to expand...

I didn't see the fight, so don't have a personal opinion on the quality of the judging.

But I'll say this ... I'm far more likely to pay to watch GSP-McG instead of GSP-Diaz.

(I like the idea of having a "jumbotron" scorecard at the fight, with live scoring so you can see exactly when each judge gave or took a point to each fighter within the round. Just like basketball, football, soccer, hockey ... and basically every other sport other than boxing (which has the same "the judging is crappy/fixed" problem as MMA). Create as much transparency as possible to make the judges accountable for their decisions ... and give the fighters accurate info during and after each round so they can adjust their strategy for the rest of the fight.)

Agreed [MENTION=2453]Doc4[/MENTION]

Even Olympic wrestling, which is what MMA is based on, has live scoring. It allows the fighters to become more or less aggressive or take more or less chances, knowing where they stand in points.

Joe Silva is leaving the UFC. Things about to get worse.

Some boxing matches have open scoring. I would absolutely love that in MMA.

why did joe silva leave? Hilarious if he's going to bellator!

Only saw the headline, but my guess is that he's fed up with the fights being booked by trash talk over merit.

I'm feel the same way as most of you. MMA isn't as enticing as it used to be, I've missed a bunch of free fights this year, and I can't remember the last PPV I watched. Between the trash talk, manufactured beefs between fighters, PED use, crazy match making, and even crazier decisions it has lost much of it's luster.

I think i bought the werdum/Stipe card. But other than that, i go watch the fights at hooters. I have cable now, so i can watch bellator and the fights on Axis channel, plus the free FS1 cards. But i really dont buy any fights anymore.

i think the last card i bought before that, was chuck/franklin. I had a manager friend at humperdinks and he always got us a table when they showed the fights. So we always had a place to watch them. After he moved, we started going to buffalo wild wings. The manager there always gave me the event posters. And then after that, we started going to hooters. And we have been going there for about 3 years now.

back in 06 was probably when i noticed the popularity rise like crazy. After that, it was only when Anderson or GSP fought that the place got packed. Jones had a few packed cards that i noticed, but not as much. Lately it's been conor that draws crowds. His 1st nate fight had the placed very packed. The second fight, not so much.

regular fans that only watch big names are fickle i guess.

adrian jordan said:

Man, that's a tough one. Barnett is a little more well-rounded, and his grappling is way ahead of Arlovski, but Arlovski can knock out anybody at any time. Barnett's striking isn't bad, and he can dirty box against the cage much better. Can't call it.

Stipe...I didn't see him beating the top guys and becoming champ. He did. Overeem's chin was never outstanding. Stipe's power is big, even for a heavyweight. Overeem's striking is amazing when he's on, and his power is also really big. Stipe may have better wrestling(potentially) but Overeem has a good submission game. Overeem needs to keep it at kickboxing range, because Stipe has a great chin and I think that in an in-the-pocket shootout the combination of good chin, power and accuracy will pull Stipe through.

Click to expand...

i sort of thought the same, specially after stipe got tko'd by struve.

Was reading yesterday, that dana seems to be the one thats holding up the GSP negotiations. All gsp wants is to be compensated for the money that he would get from sponsors that he cant wear in the cage.

Not unreasonable in my opinion.