The MMA Thread

**thunderball** · 09-08-2009, 03:54 AM

So I know that many of you here are into MMA in all its various forms so I thought it fitting that we have sort of a 'general MMA discussion' thread where we can discuss the subject in all its fistic glory. I know that the odd thread pops up concerning certain events but I wonder if would be better if we had sort of an ongoing discussion where we could banter about this stuff. Whether you watch UFC, WEC, Sengoku, Dream, Cage Rage, DEEP, Shooto, Strikeforce, Pride re-runs or are a practitioner yourself, this thread is for you!

Let's keep it cool and have a good time.

For a first topic of discussion (feel free to ignore mine and throw in others) I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the imminent return of one of the baddest dudes from the days of Pride: Ricardo Arona. Admittedly, he's up against an old journeyman, Marvin Eastman, but Ricardo says he's back in shape after a two-year layoff and is hoping to get back into one of the big organizations and make a title run. I was stunned at his knockout at the hands of Soukoudjou a few years back and have missed him ever since...though to be honest I usually was hoping for whomever he was facing ever since he pulled that nasty 'cut squeezing' crap on Sakuraba. What say ye MMA fans? Are Ricardo's best days far behind him or is the 'Brazilian Tiger' going to make a run? Should Machida and Shogun be at all concerned? One thing's for sure, he looks to be back in fighting shape:

**SRock** · 09-08-2009, 06:27 AM

He definitely looks game! I have mixed emotions about Arona. I think this is going to be the typical discussion about him. Some are anxious for his return some hate the idea. Me, I'm indifferent on Arona.

**JBLAZE725** · 09-08-2009, 10:06 AM

My first memory when I hear Ricardo Arona is when he had Rampage in a triangle choke and Rampage picked him up, slammed him down on the mat about as hard as you can slam a fellow, and knocked him the hell out. Aronas pretty good, but I don't see him beating the top UFC guys. I would love to see Gegard Mousassi come to the UFC though. He seems to have a very complete game and would be quite dangerous to the top guys.

**thunderball** · 09-08-2009, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by JBLAZE725

I would love to see Gegard Mousassi come to the UFC though. He seems to have a very complete game and would be quite dangerous to the top guys.

Mousasi is indeed a very confident and dangerous young man. To see him destroy Babalu like that was....wow.

**thunderball** · 09-08-2009, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by SlagleRock

I have mixed emotions about Arona. I think this is going to be the typical discussion about him. Some are anxious for his return some hate the idea. Me, I'm indifferent on Arona.

I know what you mean. For me he was never really a 'personal' favorite but he is one of those fighters that is always good to have around. Strong, fast, scary-looking, and definitely polarizes the fans. A bad man indeed. Hope he does well.

**The Nid Hog** · 09-08-2009, 04:46 PM

I'll be glad to see him back. It's hard to believe that his big run was in 2005--it seems like it was a decade ago. He looks big, but I'll wait to see how he does against Eastman before I get too excited about his return. Makes me miss Sakuraba and the Pride version of Wanderlei.

**JBLAZE725** · 09-08-2009, 06:14 PM

Supposedly Mariusz Pudzianowski, World's Strongest Man competitor is set to make his MMA debut soon. He is said to have some boxing and karate in his background along with unbelieveable strength and conditioning. That should be fun to watch.

**SRock** · 09-08-2009, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by JBLAZE725

My first memory when I hear Ricardo Arona is when he had Rampage in a triangle choke and Rampage picked him up, slammed him down on the mat about as hard as you can slam a fellow, and knocked him the hell out. Aronas pretty good, but I don't see him beating the top UFC guys. I would love to see Gegard Mousassi come to the UFC though. He seems to have a very complete game and would be quite dangerous to the top guys.

Probably THE most famous slam in all of MMA. The only other one that comes close was the suplex suffered by Fedor at the hands of Kevin Randleman, but unlike Arona, Fedor came back to win his bout. Personally I think Fedor is a cyborg.

Originally Posted by The Nid Hog

I'll be glad to see him back. It's hard to believe that his big run was in 2005--it seems like it was a decade ago. He looks big, but I'll wait to see how he does against Eastman before I get too excited about his return. Makes me miss Sakuraba and the Pride version of Wanderlei.

Oh man, if we could have the Sakuraba, Rua, Randleman, Coleman, and Arona from 5 years ago....

Wow!

That and I still really wish Fedor would wise up and join the UFC. His salary will probably bankrupt Strikeforce and then go to the UFC as his career is winding down.

**SRock** · 09-08-2009, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by JBLAZE725

Supposedly Mariusz Pudzianowski, World's Strongest Man competitor is set to make his MMA debut soon. He is said to have some boxing and karate in his background along with unbelieveable strength and conditioning. That should be fun to watch.

Super Mariusz is a beast to be sure. He won "The Worlds Strongest Man" competition five times. He has taken first place in over 40 strong man competitions. He is also fast for a man so muscular. He is a fourth kyu (green belt) in Kyokushin karate, an amateur boxer (near olympic level some claim), a tae kwon do and muay thai practitioner and he's also an avid rugby player "to keep up his stamina and agility."

All of that aside, I hadn't seen any real talk of him fighting in MMA since 2007 when there were rumors of him fighting in K-1.

At 6'1" and 290lbs ripped I think he'd have a hard time cutting down to the 265 maximum to fight in the states. Although he could go to K-1 or fight in other international promotions. It would be neat to see, but I'd be surprised if it happened.

**The Nid Hog** · 09-08-2009, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by SlagleRock

Super Mariusz is a beast to be sure. He won "The Worlds Strongest Man" competition five times. He has taken first place in over 40 strong man competitions. He is also fast for a man so muscular. He is a fourth kyu (green belt) in Kyokushin karate, an amateur boxer (near olympic level some claim), a tae kwon do and muay thai practitioner and he's also an avid rugby player "to keep up his stamina and agility."

All of that aside, I hadn't seen any real talk of him fighting in MMA since 2007 when there were rumors of him fighting in K-1.

At 6'1" and 290lbs ripped I think he'd have a hard time cutting down to the 265 maximum to fight in the states. Although he could go to K-1 or fight in other international promotions. It would be neat to see, but I'd be surprised if it happened.

This one has New Year's Eve in Japan written all over it!

Anybody psyched for ADCC 2009 later this month? I always enjoy seeing who they can put together for an ADCC event. I wonder if it's going to be broadcast anywhere?

**Kratos** · 09-08-2009, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by SlagleRock

At 6'1" and 290lbs ripped I think he'd have a hard time cutting down to the 265 maximum to fight in the states. Although he could go to K-1 or fight in other international promotions. It would be neat to see, but I'd be surprised if it happened.

Sure he could drop the weight. All he'd have to do is cut down to say, 1 gram of juice a week instead of 2.5-3. If he has any fighting ability at all he will be awesome. I'd take him over Lesnar. Seems much less, I dunno, white trash. That cop who almost beat him was huge, too, like 315. He pressed that 300+ log like it was a paperweight.

**SRock** · 09-09-2009, 05:10 AM

Originally Posted by Kratos

Sure he could drop the weight. All he'd have to do is cut down to say, 1 gram of juice a week instead of 2.5-3.

Yeah, that would be the only way!

**masonjarjar** · 09-09-2009, 05:44 AM

I watched the replay of the Lesnar/Mir II last night. Good lord what a vicious beating. I think the ref should have stopped it a little sooner even.

I don't often get squeamish watching these things, but that was a beat down. The thing is, Lesnar only had 20 pounds on Mir, but it seemed more like 50..

**SRock** · 09-09-2009, 05:59 AM

Originally Posted by masonjarjar

but it seemed more like 50..

or 100.

**JBLAZE725** · 09-09-2009, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by Kratos

Sure he could drop the weight. All he'd have to do is cut down to say, 1 gram of juice a week instead of 2.5-3. If he has any fighting ability at all he will be awesome. I'd take him over Lesnar. Seems much less, I dunno, white trash. That cop who almost beat him was huge, too, like 315. He pressed that 300+ log like it was a paperweight.

I don't see him competing in the UFC for obvious "supplement" issues, but he was reportedly going to sign with a Polish MMA organization. I think he could make the 265 limit, but even dehydrating as much as possible he would have to lose some muscle. He is a beast though and I think he would be the most athletic and powerful HW by far. He's powerful, but he moves extremely well and has great conditioning. I don't know if we'll ever get to see him fight, but it would be one hell of a show.

**The Nid Hog** · 09-09-2009, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by JBLAZE725

I don't see him competing in the UFC for obvious "supplement" issues, but he was reportedly going to sign with a Polish MMA organization. I think he could make the 265 limit, but even dehydrating as much as possible he would have to lose some muscle. He is a beast though and I think he would be the most athletic and powerful HW by far. He's powerful, but he moves extremely well and has great conditioning. I don't know if we'll ever get to see him fight, but it would be one hell of a show.

I guess that he would probably wind up in some M-1 related thing and then see how things go. If he winds up fighting in Japan--where they love freakishly large foreigners--he could keep on the juice and move around from promotion to promotion. Like the gigantic offspring of CroCop and Bob Sapp. Based on how he did, he'd have plenty of time to see if he wanted to clean up and fight in the US.

**JBLAZE725** · 09-09-2009, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by The Nid Hog

I guess that he would probably wind up in some M-1 related thing and then see how things go. If he winds up fighting in Japan--where they love freakishly large foreigners--he could keep on the juice and move around from promotion to promotion. Like the gigantic offspring of CroCop and Bob Sapp. Based on how he did, he'd have plenty of time to see if he wanted to clean up and fight in the US.

If he fights it will more than likely be for some odd foreign promotion that will, like you said, not be too strict on the juice. He would certainly be a huge attraction similar to Bob Sapp, but with more skill and conditioning. It's hard to say exactly where his skill level is at right now, but even if it were merely good he would probably be very dominant.

On another note, was anybody else as impressed with Randy Couture's shape for his last fight? I know he lost to Nogueira, but he is in tremendous shape for a man of any age let alone one coming up on 50. He even inked a new contract for 6 more fights. This guy is amazing.

**The Nid Hog** · 09-09-2009, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by JBLAZE725

On another note, was anybody else as impressed with Randy Couture's shape for his last fight? I know he lost to Nogueira, but he is in tremendous shape for a man of any age let alone one coming up on 50. He even inked a new contract for 6 more fights. This guy is amazing.

This is one of those I know a guy who knows a guy things, but I heard that his conditioning during training was phenomenal. Supposedly they were throwing young wrestlers at him one after another in the "shark tank" and he wore them all down. Pretty incredible.

**thunderball** · 09-09-2009, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by JBLAZE725

. On another note, was anybody else as impressed with Randy Couture's shape for his last fight? I know he lost to Nogueira, but he is in tremendous shape for a man of any age let alone one coming up on 50. He even inked a new contract for 6 more fights. This guy is amazing.

Yeah, I thought he did look pretty darn good. I don't think he can realistically beat most of the top guys anymore but he's still amazing and a huge draw for the UFC. It'll be interesting to see who they put him up against next.

**JBLAZE725** · 09-09-2009, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by thunderball

Yeah, I thought he did look pretty darn good. I don't think he can realistically beat most of the top guys anymore but he's still amazing and a huge draw for the UFC. It'll be interesting to see who they put him up against next.

I think the problem for Randy is that he only wants to fight in big fights that would bring huge crowds. This means either title fights against Lesnar at HW or dropping down to challenge Machida at LHW or fights like a catchweight fight with Anderson Silva or a big name like Tito Ortiz. Problem is he isn't a top contender to get those fights anymore and UFC would have to leapfrog the top contenders to give him these fights. Then in the end he really can't beat these guys at this point in his career. I understand him not wanting to retire or be relagated to a journeyman or gatekeeper status, but truthfully, that's where he needs to be right now. I won't take anything away from him though, he always comes ready to fight and it's hard to count him out.