Official MMA Predictions Thread.
 

Since the UFC 79 thread went fairly decently and It would just be lame (and probably annoying to others) for all of the MMA fans to come on here and post a thread whenever there is an MMA event. Let's keep it short and sweet, and just do the main cards for the events (or main event if that's all you care for).

I will get us started on UFC 80.

BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson:

I've been very vocal on the fact that I see BJ Penn as the best natural fighter in the MMA world. His one weakness to date had been his cardio, which only really affected him in the GSP fight, as Hughes had to break his rib to beat him. Supposedly however BJ has rededicated himself and if the same BJ Penn we saw show up against Jens Pulver in his last outing shows up, I can't see Joe 'Daddy' winning. Bj has arguably the best Ju-Jitsu in MMA and is a top 5 BJJ in the game itself he was the fastest person ever to a BJJ black belt (4 years), and the first non-Brazilian to win Mundials. BJ is also a good boxer with heavy hands, great in the Muay Thai clinch (and defending against it), and has the best takedown defense in the business (besides Chuck Liddell of course).

Joe daddy is a great wrestler with decent stand-up and Ju-Jitsu, who has possibly the most technically sound guillotine in MMA. His skill set should match up well with BJs, and should provide an exciting fight. Again as I said, a motivated Penn is the most dangerous man alive. I just can't go against him.

BJ by Sub probably in the third round.

Gonzaga vs Werdum II:

This will be an interesting fight as I think Werdum is one of the most underrated HWs in the world because America saw him first in a horrible fight against Arlovski. The two met once before with Werdum getting a TKO victory. Gonzaga has vastly improved in that time as well into a deadly striker as well as an incredibly strong BJJ practitioner, maybe even too strong to submit in anything but a choke.

This fight all depends on which Werdum shows up. if the oen who fought Aleksander Emelianenko does, than Napao says hello to his third career loss against a Top 10 HW, and possibly goodbye to a top 10 ranking, coupled wiht a rematch against Cro-Cop. I'm not sure where this victory would put Werdum however.

to be on the safe side, I'm picking Gonzaga by either late 3rd KO or a decision. Like I said, I'm not too sure.

Marcus Davis v Jess Laudin:

Marcus Davis has thus far been the best Boxer turned Mixed Martial Artist to date. how did he do it? He spent 8 years before the jump training his grappling while Boxing. Jess Laudin doesn't have the BJJ skill (very mediocre) set to compete with him and will probably get submitted.

Kendal Grove vs. Jorge Rivera:

Rivera has never done anything to impress me and as long as Grove doesn't eat a stupid punch, he should win by decision.

I'm going to take Penn with a knockout in the second. The man just looks like he wants to rip someone apart right now, and like you said, a dedicated Penn is probably the most dangerous man alive (other than Wanderlei)

I'll also take Werdum via knockout in the 3rd. This fight could really go either way, and if it goes to the ground then Gonzaga will destroy quickly.

Davis vs Laudin.. this one can go either way. While Laudin can't compete on the ground, Davis has some bad habits that can be exploited. I'll be safe and take Davis in the 3rd via submission.

Grove vs Rivera.. who cares.

http://69.46.29.2:8080/absoluteig/ga...hin_%20161.jpg
ever seen Bj look like that? I haven't seen that since he started out.

BJ Penn has the shocking ability to go from a flabby ball of Buddah looking flub to a boneless flexible choking machine. I remember the last fight of his, he said wanted to break Pulvers arm, so catch-and-release toyed with Pulver until he got the arm bar.

I'm on the wagon with everyone else when it comes to Penn. Big Daddy Joe is a great talent, but I'm thinking Penn's experience is going to give him quite the edge.

I'm interested to see how Werdum will handle Gonzaga. His last fight with Arlovski was fairly uneventful, and had all of England booing them. From his past UFC fights Gonzaga has shown to be a very exciting fighter, so I'm hoping it'll be a better pace for both fighters to show off their skills.

Sadly I'm just not very interested in the other fights, except for Sam Stout's prelim fight. I'm just looking for a solid PPV.

...

BJ is going after GSP again after Sherk. Its going to be another War.

*sigh, Tyson Griffin's on the prelim card this Saturday.

God I hope Mir kicks Lesnar's ass this weekend. I can't stand Lesnar.

I'm hoping nog smashes Sylvia, but we all know the Sylvia routine. Stand and hug.
As for Mir and Lesnar. I want Mir back, but I also want Lesnar to become a serious prospect, because HW is suffering since Randy's departure... Andrei is laving fairly soon as well.


Wait till Fight Night 13:

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
Stephan Bonnar vs. Matt Hamill
Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan
Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher
Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer

That card is a title fight short of being card of the year.

I would kill to see Huerta vs Edgar. but thats jsut asking too much.

We may see the Tyson fight... I hope so anyways.

...

Thanks, man! That is fantastic.

...

Holy crap am I loving the finish of the Yves Edwards fight!

Next up. Hendo vs Anderson.


I can't call that fight.

It's a hard match to call, as Silva has shown flawless striking so far in the UFC. I haven't seen enough of Dan's fights to really say how strong his chin is (but if he can stand with Wanderlei I can assume it's solid). Silva looks like he can go 5 rounds easy, but I guess that hasn't really been tested yet. He's got that Thai Plum that he's used VERY effectively, but Dan's an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler. I'm hoping for a long tough battle, with Dan edging out the win.

...

...

...

That was fucking awesome. GSP just totally destroyed him.
Funny thing was they made a comment about Serra saying at worst he's 1 and 1 against GSP. So after this one think he is going to want the rubber-match anytime soon? lol
Only problem is who fights GSP now?

Great show overall, everything was super entertaining. Pretty much all the matches were due to ref stoppage. For me, the Danzig/ Bocek fight was definitely my fight of the night. The match went back and forth, but Danzig kept pushing the pace. Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes would have been a big thumbs down due to Starnes "defense," but Nate was awesome. I wish he would keep his hands up and not swing so wildly, but it does make for more entertaining fights. And the taunting! I didn't know Nate had it in him. (And the Rocky IV speech really won me over). The Franklin/Lutter fight seemed to move in slow motion, but at least we know Franklin hasn't lost the heart yet.

St-Pierre vs Serra was a bit unexpected, as I didn't think Georges would control Serra on the ground like that. Serra is a great BJJ fighter, but Georges had the game plan and stuck to it. Absolutely brutal knees!

It's hard to say who GSP's next opponent should be. For sure they'll probably have the Hughes/Serra match, but that doesn't necessarily benefit Hughes. I think they had mentioned Jon Fitch at the post fight conference, but then they also toyed with the idea of a superfight between GSP and Anderson Silva. Probably not going to happen, so I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'm too busy trying to pick the BJ/Sherk fight. If it's the same BJ that fought Joe Stevenson, then Sherk may have found an equal in conditioning and intensity.

One of the best PPV's I've seen. GSP is just so damn good. I really enjoyed the Danzig fight too. The crowd was awesome, really loud and a ton of electricity.

The Rocky IV speech was fan-fucking-tastic. I was sitting around with a bunch of people and when we all realized what he was starting to quote, we started yelling "if I can change... and you can change... everybody can change!" along with him. Absolute comedy.

That was a hell of a ppv. I won't spoil anything yet, but I'm happy with most of the results. Question now is what will BJ do.

I still think St Pierre lacks gameness.

A 22 year old Tyson would have laid him out on a platter in any fight, no matter what rules it was under.

Not that Im trying to start this same argument over again!

There arent enough great fighters out there right now, and where they are they arent fighting each other (ie Cotto and PBF) so I guess MMA is filling the void.

...

I agree, BJ really could go either way. Stay at 155 and defend against the Florian/Huerta winner after UFC 87, or go up and face the winner of Hughes/Alves, and then really build the super(re)match with St. Pierre.

I totally forgot about EliteXC on CBS this Saturday! Gina Carano FTW!

The Affliction PPV is coming up in July, and the card looks pretty good. Of course this is just teasin til they can get the Fedor/Randy match going (which I'm still excited for, but have been losing interest as time passes).

ah, youre probably right - I posted that when I was drunk. But I do think, from the limited fights I watched on youtube when I was arguing all this that St Pierre lacks gameness and heart. He struck me as a bully boy fighter... strong and powerful and destructive, but not prepared mentally to really come through a war.

Whatever the pro's and con's of MMA is, its a much faster and more high impact event than a boxing match. Either way most fights are done in three rounds (I searched on wiki and Pierre has never been longer than 3 rounds in a UFC match).

If someone takes a fighter like that into the late rounds in a real war, thats when they get found out often. (like Douglas vs Tyson... Tyson went on a run and knocked a lot of people down quickly and bullied them: Douglas didnt go down and Mike didnt have an answer)

That's pretty much how he was on his first rise to UFC champion. Everyone billing him as the perfect complete fighter, unstoppable, but then loses his new championship to an opponent nobody gave credit to (Serra). After the loss, he changed his fight camp, changed every aspect of his training and came back strong and regained his championship. During this time, he has to answer to everyone criticizing his mental toughness and gameness. Every fight was "will he crack under pressure," "is he the same fighter he used to be."

To some extent, BJ has been fighting the same kind of criticism. Questions of his cardio, of his devotion to the sport have always been popping up. Now both fighters are running up a streak, both showing how freakishly talented they are. If they rematch, I want to see the fight go to the 5th. I want to believe that they have surpassed their former selves and can defy critics. I honestly don't care who wins. What I want, is to be able to recognize that fight as one of the proudest in MMA history. As the pinnacle of what the sport is about, of what all athletes are capable of doing.

Anyone catch UFC 85 last night? Bisping was really impressive, as well as Mat Wiman. If Thiago can train proper and maintain weight, he is going to be an excellent fighter for years to come. The end to Vera/Werdum is questionable, definitely see a rematch coming.

Spoiler: I say it's too early to call Hughes finished. If Couture's taught us anything, talented fighters find a way to beat age. Someone had mentioned before that the Hughes/Gracie match from UFC 60 could potentially foreshadow Hughe's future, but I'm hoping he bows out when he's really done.

Unfortunately this was the first PPV in probably the last 18 months that I missed, we just couldnt get enough guys together, most of our usual gang were not around.

I just wanted to come in and say that I cannot wait for GSP/Jon Fitch. Fitch is one of my favorite welterweights and it seems like nobody is giving him the time of day. I think it's going to be a great fight, whoever wins.

Also, since I haven't posted in this thread before, what do you all think of Lyoto Machida? Most people say he is super boring (e.g. every casual ufc fan that had never heard of him before UFC 84 that I watched it with). I think he is one of the smartest fighters I have ever seen. He takes his opponent's game and makes them look terrible at it. Granted, he seems content in just scoring points and getting the decision and conserving energy, but if he put more into trying to finish people, he could be one of the greatest. I doubt the UFC will give him a title fight after the Jackson/Griffin fight because Dana White knows that most fans just want an exciting finish, and that's rare with Machida.

As far as St Pierre's heart goes, I think you are wrong. I really do think that losing that first fight against Serra has changed St Pierre and made him a much better fighter mentally. He came into a fight unprepared and got schooled. His fights since that one he has looked absolutely dominant. I think that getting beat (badly) knocked some sense into him and sometimes that's exactly what a fighter needs to become better.
As far as stamina goes, well for one the max number of rounds in the UFC is five in a championship fight and three in a non-title fight. So not going more than three rounds isn't surprising. Really a five round fight in the UFC is rare, and IMO often boring. It's usually someone like Tim Sylvia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Silvia) who really just tries to get the match to go to the judges knowing that the judges will likely award the champ the win (to be the champ, you gotta beat the champ mentality) rather than actually trying to win the fight.
Anyway I'm getting off topic here, basically when it comes to GSP and conditioning, when you consider the shape that he keeps himself in I doubt that stamina is a real issue for him. Remember he took the fight against Matt Hughes (when Matt Serra was injured in training) with less than a months notice when most fighters get three months and he looked in better shape than anyone else on the card because his day-to-day training schedule is crazy intense, much less when he's training for a fight.

I like Machida, though I agree that when he stays in strict karate mode it's easy to mistake it as him being coy. Though a few more finishes like the one against Soku will definitely change that.

Rampage vs Forrest on July 5th. I love both these guys, and this is a tough one to pick. Both guys have strong chins, but all it takes is one solid hit. For some reason I see it going to decision, much like the Rampage/Henderson fight. Hesitantly.....Rampage, split decision.

Dunno if anyone else caught EliteXC's first CBS show, but the second one is coming up July 26th, headlined by the Robbie Lawler/ Scott Smith rematch. To me that was the highlight of that show, despite the crappy ending. (Though it's never a bad night when you have to watch Gina Carano.) The recent Kim Couture fight on the other hand, eeeesh. That was way to hard for me to watch.

Also coming up this July 19th is the Affliction ppv, headlined by Fedor/Tim Sylvia. UFC is going to compete with a UFC event on cable (Spike), headlined by Anderson Silva fighting James Irvin at light heavyweight. Dunno which one to choose. I could tape the UFC fight and order the Affliction ppv, or watch the UFC fight and wait til I "happen across" the Affliction fight. Either way, it's a good month for MMA.

I think Page will overwhelm Forrest. I think he's the stronger guy and while Forrest has a ground game, I'm not sure it's THAT strong to sub from his back.

I'll probably watch UFC fight night on the 19th and see if my "buddy" BT can get me the Affliction PPV

So who's looking forward to seeing Fedor & Sylvia? Most people are expecting Fedor to destroy Tim but he really hasnt fought much in the last few years whereas Tim Sylvia has been pretty active. Tim also did a very good job of defending against Antonio Nogueira's BJJ which is also the strength of Fedor.

It should be a good one. We're taping the UFC Fight night and gonna order the PPV.

Yea, I don't know why I was apprehensive about the Affliction PPV at first, but I'm getting excited for it. Haven't seen a Barnett match in a while, so his rematch with Rizzo should be fun. Didn't get to see Arlovski's last UFC match, and the fact that Rothwell was Sylvia's training partner (playing the role of Arlovski) should make this a really interesting fight. Does Rothwell's research and knowledge of Arlovski's style, strengths and weaknesses give him the upperhand over him, or has Arlovski trained to counter this strategy?

And of course, Fedor vs Sylvia. I don't feel like anyone's going to get KO'd in this one, and a submission finish is more likely to happen. Tim's reach advantage may be effective to keep Fedor from clinching, where he can use his Sambo wrestling to topple him. I felt that Sylvia's takedown defense has been improving, but who knows really. Tough fight to call, I'm hoping it goes 3 rounds, probably Fedor with the armbar.

UFC Fight Night, Irvin has major KO power as does Silva. Silva's got crazy speed, though not sure how the move up to light heavy will effect him. I keep seeing the last round of Silva's fight with Henderson in my head, and how freaked out I got when Silva got his rhythm and went in for the kill. I'm afraid to go against Silva in this one.

Yeah...MMA needed THIS



Stupid doesn't begin to describe it.

What a night of fights! Awesome KO's and submissions all night long. great matches all around. I will say the Vera/Andy fight was probably my least favorite of the night, as well as the finish of Burns/Johnson. I didn't care too much for the Buentello fight, really wish Aleksander Emelianenko had been cleared. Loved the finish to Dollaway/Taylor, I've never seen a submission like that before. Arlovski/Rothwell was my favorite fight of the night, hands down.

I'm not even going to bother comparing the shows and matches, as I'm just glad I got to see them both. Fedor is the man. Anderson is the man. My mind is blown.

Both of those knock outs from the respective cards were amazing, but ultimately I am more impressed with Fedor's, guy is legitimately 5'10".

Silva fight should've been called about 5 punches sooner than it was.

Yea, Fedor not only knocked out a guy 8inches taller and about 10 lbs (walking weight) heavier, but knocked down and submitted him. That was awesome.

I think Silva's KO was called about right, as he needed a few more shots to prove that his opponent wasn't able to intelligently defend himself further.

Both PPV's were great. I'm not a big fan of the ring, but I can see how some people like it....however I wish the refs were consistant with their standups/reposistions.
I was really pissed off at the Anthony Johnson TKO, that should have been ruled a DQ or a no contest. Burns was warned MULTIPLE times to watch the eyepoke. It was obvious to me that when Johnson went down it wasn't a standard knockout, something was very wrong with the way he yelped. Mazzagatti really pissed me off their and I hope Johnson appeals to the athletic board. He was very classy in the interviews though, I woulda been fuming.

Fedor and Silva are both just freaking amazing. Arlovski's was one of my favourite fights of the night.

There is no one quite like Fedor. I had no doubt that he would take down Silvia. Fedor has fought bigger men.

When I saw the Affliction card I was very excited. I have not paid for a UFC PPV for awhile because they have been downright boring cards. Let's hope the competition improves MMA. Fedor has two more fights contracted with Affliction...let's hope a Fedor/Couture fight happens...soon.

And now what does Dana White have to say about Fedor? Can't really say too much negative about the greatest MMA heavy weight fighter of all time. Okay I am a Fedor nut hugger.

Word has it that Fedor gets Andrei Arlovski next......

I predict that any professional boxer who gets into the ring in MMA will get DESTROYED... end of prediction

Yea, White did comment on Fedor after the fight, although briefly.

"...upon learning that Emelianenko had submitted ex-UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif., in less than a minute, White unflinchingly admitted he was impressed.
“It does (change my opinion),” he conceded. “Tim Sylvia was a real opponent.”"
White stands by his man Silva - MMA - Yahoo! Sports

Elite XC's 2nd CBS show is this Saturday, with the Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith rematch. I'm not as excited for this show as I was for the first, though I have no doubt that their rematch will be awesome. I'm hoping for some crazy KO in the 3rd, courtesy of Lawler.

Ok.

I'm watching UFC right now, and all it is doing is reminding me of just how much I HATE Heath Herring. He has to be one of the cockiest uber-douches I've ever seen.

My prediction is that Brock Lesnar is going to annihilate Heath Herring, and I can't wait to see it.

I don't know about destroyed. It would depend on the oppenent. If he's facing a guy thats pretty much pure striking then he'd do okay. He'd need to learn takedown and ground defence pretty quickly though to not get beat by pretty much anyone else.

UFC 87 this Saturday, with 3 big matches I'm super excited for.

Georges St. Pierre (c) vs. Jon Fitch - St. Pierre has proven to be a great fighter, but so has Jon Fitch. Fitch is riding a crazy unbeaten streak (I think 15 according to Sherdog), with wins via TKO, submission and decision. Not sure if he's gone through 5 rounds before, but I'm thinking his cardio will be good enough to hold up. Whether it's good enough to hold up against St. Pierre is the better question. Pierre has proven to be practically unstoppable when he's focused, but will this fight go the same as St. Pierre/Serra 1? I'm going St. Pierre with ref stoppage, 3rd round.

Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian
2 very exciting fighters, I have very high expectations for this fight. From Huerta using the big screen to land reverse elbows, or to Florian's crazy razor elbows, I'm thinking this will be fight of the night. Florian via split decision.

Heath Herring vs Brock Lesnar
I used to be a big fan of Lesnar back in WWF, and am happy to see him pursuing MMA. That said, I think Herring may have too much experience for him. Fought in Pride between 2000-2004, facing practically all the popular fighters there. And still a year younger than Brock! With that said, I still have high hopes for Lesnar. If he's trained with the right coaches, I think he can really be a tough opponent for Herring. Aw hell, I love Lesnar, so I say 2nd round TKO.

The thing with Herring, is that he can struggle mightily against good wrestlers. I forget who it was he was fighting (it was in the UFC), but it was a virtual no-name with no standup whatsoever, and the guy turned it completely into a wrestling match. He beat Herring by decision, because Herring literally couldn't get a single hit in. Lesnar is powerful enough and a good enough wrestler to do the same if for some reason he felt the standup wasn't going his way.

Bwaaaahahaha, Lesnar wins 30-26!

That right hand to the face of Herring into the bull rush is probably one of the most ridiculous things I have ever witnessed in the UFC.

Good show overall, the title match was the fight of the night. Good on Fitch for sticking it out, I was really impressed with his heart (and especially his chin). I'm guessing they'll push for a St. Pierre/Penn rematch for the end of the year.

Good to see Lesnar get a win, you can tell he disciplined himself so he wouldn't get caught like last time. I'm excited to see how his skills grow as he gets more fights, and as long as his quickness and weight don't fail him he has a bright MMA future.

I was a bit disappointed in the Florian/Huerta match, as i was looking for a wild fight. Had it gone that way, Huerta probably would have won. It made sense for Florian to keep the pace going his way, as Huerta has good punching power that can take over in a brawl. Florian did a great job of preventing Huerta from getting a rhythm going, and generally frustrate him enough to throw off his game plan. I'm hoping Florian gets a title match soon.

Yeah I really enjoyed the card. I was disappointed that Fitch lost but the fight was really good. I would have also liked to see Huerta win.

Great fight by GSP and a good effort by Fitch. Fitch is really good but GSP is just better. Guess we get GSP/BJ two now. I hope GSP runs over him (I just don't like BJ Penn).

Was it just me, or did Lesnar looked totally gassed by the last round?

UFC 88 this Saturday, headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans, with the return of Dan Henderson as well as Rich Franklin facing Matt Hamill.

Liddell is returning after an injury prevented this matchup from happening at UFC 85, which was originally Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Rashad hasn't been active since his decision win over Michael Bisping last November. This should be interesting to see, as Liddell lost to Jardine back at UFC 76, who is a training partner with Rashad (over at Greg Jackson's camp). Keith did a good job of maneuvering out of Liddell's range and scoring points with low kicks, I'm guessing Rashad's going to work the same plan. Liddell always has that punching power and good takedown defense, as well as that "octagon control" they seem to talk about a lot.

Rich Franklin's experience and conditioning is up against Matt Hamill's strength and durability. I'm actually most excited for this fight, as Hamill continues to impress the hell out of me.

The biggest news is Randy Couture has signed a 3 fight contract with the UFC, and will defend his Heavyweight Title against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 in November. The winner of this match faces the winner of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir, for a Heavyweight Title Unification bout. I am definitely excited to see Couture fight again. I don't like that they're giving Lesnar a title shot already, however. I understand he's got a lot of buzz around him, but it's not really showing respect to the other fighters. With that said, I can't think of any alternative that they could have done, aside from making Couture wait until the outcome of Mir vs. Nog.

OK. I am a big fan of Brock Lesnar. I think he is exciting to watch, I think he has huge potential and for the size of the guy, I think his speed is just crazy. Saying that though I think the fact that he is getting a title shot with a 1-1 record in the UFC is an abomination. I don't care if he can (and may do) win against Couture. He needs to pay his dues first and climb the ladder like everyone else has. After a year or two of doing this and building him up - then give him his shot. This is a slap in the face to the heavyweight division and is being done for the big PPV buys that will happen. This will certainly be one of the highest buyrates for a PPV for sure - but in the long run it is hurting the heavyweight division.

Nog and Mir have been downgraded to a number one contenders match. That's bullshit.

I'm pissed of at Dana White for going for the big payday and not thinking about the division he should be respecting and building.

No way Brock has earned this fight. Either a) Dana White sees the dollar signs, b) Randy sees something in Brock and wanted to fight him before his career ends, or c) Randy thinks Brock is totally overrated and wants to beat him down.
The only thing is if you want Randy to fight someone and you take Mir and Nog out of the mix (due to the Ultimate Fighter already in production) who do you have Randy face?
Randy beat Gonzaga in his last fight so he's out, Brock just beat Herring, Brandon Vera and Keith Jardine are fighting in October although Werdum's an option coming off two wins this year against Gonzaga and Vera.

Of course one of the bigger Light heavyweights could move up too.

About Brock and Randy, it is a little rush, but I think there are a few things to consider. The biggest is that the UFC's HW division is a little "lite" right now, I thought Vera had moved down to LHW, which is the same division as Jardine. Brock should pay dues, but Dana made a good point about how picking Brock's next fight was supposed to be with Kongo, but nobody really seemed to be into it.

Of course its about the money, but who cares? Lesnar easily could have been 2-0 right now. He outright beat the shit out of Frank Mir, and nobody on the planet can deny that. If he doesn't deserve to be where he is, then Couture will walk all over him anyways. There aren't many heavyweights Randy hasn't beaten, why not put him up against the most powerful up and coming guy?

Because its a slap in the face to the rest of the heavyweight division that have been putting their bodies and careers on the line for Dana White.

Let's look at the heavyweights listed on UFC's own website (I left out Arlovski, Mir, Lesnar, Couture and Nogueira)

Carwin Shane 9-0-0 6' 4" (193 cm) 265 (120 kg)
Coleman Mark 15-8-0 6' 1" (185 cm) 255 (116 kg)
Eilers Justin 9-5-1 6' 1" (185 cm) 235 (107 kg)
Evensen Dan 10-3-0 6' 3" (191 cm) 250 (113 kg)
Gonzaga Gabriel 9-3-0 6' 1" (185 cm) 242 (110 kg)
Hardonk Antoni 7-4-0 6' 4" (193 cm) 245 (111 kg)
Kongo Cheick 22-4-1 6' 4" (193 cm) 240 (109 kg)
McCully Justin 8-4-2 6' 2" (188 cm) 240 (109 kg)
O'Brien Jake 10-2-0 6' 3" (191 cm) 230 (104 kg)
Sanchez Eddie 10-2-0 6' 2" (188 cm) 230 (104 kg)
Severn Dan 70-13-7 6' 2" (188 cm) 250 (113 kg)
Velasquez Cain 4-0-0 6' 1" (185 cm) 240 (109 kg)
Wain Neil 5-0-0 5' 10" (178 cm) 242 (110 kg)
Wellisch Christian 9-3-0 6' 3" (191 cm) 237 (108 kg)
Werdum Fabricio 11-3-1 6' 4" (193 cm) 231 (105 kg)

There is a lot of fighters on this list that are still active and have excellent records that could be more deserving of a title shot than Brock Lesnar. Brock should have to fight and beat 2 or 3 of these guys at the very least before he gets a chance at the title.

My God! For a PPV that was only allright on paper and didn't really have me excited going into it - Wow! Great fights all around!

Rashad's knockout of Chuck was one of the best knockouts I've seen in the UFC! We seriously thought his jaw must be broken, I wonder if he was hurt badly, although you could see him walking around backstage after the fight. I think this may cause Chuck to retire, he's lost 3 of the last 4 fights now. Rashad really impressed and it didnt go to the ground at all.

Dan Hendersons fight I thought deserved fight of the night awards, he fought it extremely smart by refusing to engage the guy on the ground. Every time he tried he would be nearly submitted. This was a chess match going back and forth and I found it really exciting to watch.

Why the hell was Matt Hammil doing not trying to take it to the ground. I really like him but I think he went into this fight with a really poor gameplan.

Rashad...puttin liddel on the other side of the highlight reel.
that was brutal, but he was completely schooling liddel on how to stick and move. His interview after the fight was perfect..you can't take liddel down, you'll get caught and you'll never keep him down, so why not just train to outstrike him...

and hammil left his A, B and C game at home. I don't know what he was thinking for that fight


and judging from GSP and Rashad..the nipple twist at the beginning of the match must work...i don't know what it does, but it is batting 1000 so far...

evan tanner found dead:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

I'm heartbroken, he was one of my favorites ;( i always loved his uniqueness and just openness about his demons and his life...

i'm speechless

Just hear the news a few minutes ago, still can't believe it. I know he's admitted to doing some crazy stuff before, so I'm not as shocked as I should be. Horrible way to go, but I guess he passed doing what he wanted to do. =\

The dude had a lot of personal demons, but he was almost entirely self-taught, and proved that with some hard work, we can all accomplish what we most desire, or at least be honorable in the attempt and not feel foolish. That's what I take from his life, and I hope he is able to appreciate that somehow.

Induct Evan Tanner to the UFC Hall of Fame

petition to induct tanner into the hall of fame posthumously.

I'm still very bummed about Evan.

Anybody catch Nate Diaz-Josh Neer?

great match, back and forth, there is a website that has the fightnight up if you missed it. it's something MMA that has a LINKER at a dotcom address :) great fight. alexander was entertaining as always

yeah I caught it, but no one was mentioning it so i was beginning to wonder. I marked out hard when Nate almsot scored that Triangle.

Houston needs Jits lessons. He also needs to be called on his illegal needs.

knees, right?

and yea, houston would be nowhere if he didn't just slaughter jardine. He is like a whitebelt on the ground and it's embarrassing. i was hoping nate would lose, but it was a pretty impressive back and forth match. There was some weird after fight altercation with the diaz brothers storming out of the conference flipping people off...hilarious.

yeah, knees. Don't know how that one has slipped by me.

He used one on Jardine, and hit two or three on Schaffer, yet he's never once been called on it.

I just recently found out about this freak show of a fight (it was on the radio) Ken Shamrock vs Kimbo Slice.

Seems it's airing on CBS today, Oct. 4th, at 9 p.m. ET. I've never heard of this company Elite XC before, is the company actually a respectable brand? Mostly I've heard of PRIDE, UFC, WEC and a few Japanese promotions I can't recall the names of.

About the fighters. Shamrock was a great fighter but is all but washed up and put out to pasture. I'm pretty sure Shamrock has dropped his last four or five fights. Kimbo on the other hand is nothing but a brawler that was made famous by the internet, however, it is my understanding he's taking MMA seriously and is trying to learn the game.

When all is said and done I still can't help but seeing a freak show & money grab. Sadly, I'm pretty sure I'll tune in for a little while just for the heck of it. Thoughts?

Elite XC is mma making its way into non-cable stations, I believe. No great fights yet, but it's a good sign of the mainstream appeal. Hopefully they can land some good fights sometime soon.

Kimbo is being trained by Bas Rutten..that's enough for me to say he's coachable, passionate, and going to be someone..someday. He's still a brawler and i can't quite tell the diff between now and when he was streetfighting, but there are a few minor tweaks i've seen. i think his last fight against bo cantrell was a complete gimme, especially with that Ear...that was nasty..but i think he'll be tested more than people give credit by shammyboy. It just depends on which shamrock comes.

Elitexc is a bit of a freakshow type organization at the moment, sadly. they have a good women's division, but they give curano a lot of scrubs/less than impressive fighters and she misses weight constantly. That said, she's highly entertaining and draws a great crowd. She's also fun to talk to on myspace, so add her :)

either way, it's good for the sport bc it's starting to get some mainstream appeal and they are showing how it's safer than most people realize. It's not up to ufc level in production terms, but it's very watchable. Check wikipedia on elitexc to see the newest fight card. Andrei aarlovski will be performing and i'm anticipating that match more than most

<-- Hearts Gina Carano, a.k.a Crush from the new American Gladiators.

who doesn't heart gina, though...she's so freaking cute and she can protect you from the big meanies...
hehe

And she's only an inch taller than me, so our wedding pictures wouldn't look that awkward!

That aside, I do look forward to the Kimbo fight tonight. One of two things will happen:

Shamrock will win, showing that Slice has a looooong way to go before being taken seriously, as Shamrock has been washed up for years

or

Slice will knock out Shamrock, who didn't look particularly in shape at weigh ins, which will just be funny to watch.


It's a win/win for me either way.

yea, this is win/win for me, too. Worst case ; they go to decision, but i don't see that happening. I honestly don't think either one can last 15 minutes and i think one will mess up long before that happens

Shamrock is out due to a cut above the eye in practice. Seth Petruzelli takes Shamrocks place. This ought to be interesting, as Petruzelli has a little more size than Shamrock does.

I was disappointed to here about Shamrock. Though, I was more amazed by Frank Shamrock's comments after the fact. :lol:

Now I'm mostly looking forward to seeing Arlovski fight.


I was surprised by the women's fight it was better than I thought it would have been. Kobold put up a good effort she just couldn't execute her game plan.

The women's fight was nowhere near as close as it seemed. I guess Kobold thought you can win a decision by clinching for nine straight minutes.

End of the Arlovski fight gave me a chuckle. He was in another dimensions by the time he hit the ground.
-----Added 4/10/2008 at 11 : 10 : 02-----
Oh my... nobody expected that to happen...

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

WOW
that was about like rashad decimating liddell like he did

Good god. That was a short main event. :lol:

Kimbo caught a short right and that was it. I'm betting Ken Shamrock & Petruzelli were the only happy men in that arena.

i imagine ken is pissed bc he could have been the guy to topple the slice machine...

Other than the main event, those were all really solid fights!

looks like he wasnt really caught with a short right. kinda slipped or fell because he was off balance, and the rest is history. could have been worse. kimbo could have been caught with the 15 off punches that were thrown. by the looks of it he was caught with maybe 2 or 3.

a loss is a loss at the end of the day. but good luck to petruzelli

from the angle they showed in the replays, it looks like the right caught him on the jawline, sent him to the ground, then there were the punches thrown on the ground. They didn't look like they were doing much damage, but kimbo was doing NOTHING to defend himself, so the ref had to step in.

don't forget, petruzelli lost to matt hamill and wilson gouvea *sp?*

Petruzelli's loss to Hamill & others proves Petruzelli isn't top tier yet. With that in mind, losing to a middle of the road fighter instead of a UFC Hall of Famer is a better reality check for Kimbo. Now after looking at that replay again it still looks like Kimbo dropped his hands to setup an uppercut/possible shoot and got caught with short right over the top. Also, as much as the color men were talking it up, I don't think the short kick did anything at all.

Quick jump from Petruzelli to Hamill to Franklin here. Does Rich Franklin's win setup possible third fight against Anderson Silva? The last time around the UFC gave Franklin a rematch after just two wins, Hamill is Franklin's second win since his loss to Silva at UFC 77.

I knew Kimbo needed a lot more work and I'm glad it was Petruzelli that beat him. 10-4 with 9 knockouts isn't a bad record. Maybe he can try working his way back up to the UFC.

About Gina Carano. Even though I like her, I feel she has been handed opponents who they know can't take her, just like they have been doing with Kimbo. They are EliteXC's biggest stars. I think EliteXC is going straight downhill after this. I really want them to put Gina Carano against Cris Cyborg but that won't happen for a long time (if EliteXC even lasts that long) because Cyborg has a very strong chance to beat Carano and if both of their superstars go down it won't be pretty for EliteXC's future.

yep...i've been saying that for a while. they tend to put on lopsided fights to 'build stars' Personally, i say roll with what you get. Petruzelli is now on the rise, kimbo on the comeback trail. You think UFC cared when liddell lost to rampage..when franklin lost to silva, ..twice...couture loses to liddell. even when liddell loses to rashad...

you just don't worry about it and move on, build what you have. That'st he main thing i have against elitexc. They think having 1-2 'names' and faces will make them. screw that. Build the people who win, match evenly, let the cream rise, let the others develop. i don't know why they are so intent on building a couple names. I'd rather see gina get in there and brawl with a good chance of losing than just to see her get in and have an easy time. Kobold looked really good in there and could have pulled off the upset. I say give cyborg a shot with gina, winner is new trophy girl, loser gets to comeback. nothing wrong with losing, mucho wrong with losing and fading away

I was so elated when Kimbo lost, good god I was going total ape shit. The thing is, I really do respect Kimbo as a fighter, and he isn't the problem. People even me to an extent knock the fights he's had... that Gabroni Cantrell who he "submitted" with punches in his first fight in 17 seconds, then there was Tank Abbott... James Thompson was supposed to be an easy victory having lost something like 7 of his previous eight fights before Kimbo, instead he arguably won the fight in two different instances, and had the fight called while he was still standing (I realize he was rocked, but he was still standing). The whole ear thing? Ridiculous. Some people think that was a fail-safe for Shaw and Elite-XC, if Kimbo was in trouble and could get at it if in trouble, which he did.

On his fight with Seth, did anyone notice how after he was initially dropped Seth managed to land 5 shots, and the ref touched him like he was about to stop the fight, at which point, he backed off. 10 punches later he looked really hesitant in stopping it then. It was a joke, as big of a joke as when the announcer proclaimed it "the greatest upset in MMA history". Side note, Seth weighed in as a light heavy weight, even a bigger joke that he was able to fight and beat Kimbo.

On Franklin and the UFC... that's a fair question Prophecy, but I thought that last Franklin fight was at 205, I understand the victory part of the equation, but I'm note sure the UFC wants a third lose to Silva at MW for him, a division he had otherwise cleaned out.

Looks like the Kimbo gravy train (and perhaps Elite XC as a whole) are done for. I was hoping to see Kimbo go "legit" and end up being a force to be reckoned with. Looks like all the nay-sayers that stated he'd get his ass kicked by any real fighter were correct.

I don't really follow the sport much, but if a big fight is on, I'll watch it. Glad I didn't have to pay to see that.

I`ve been waiting to see Kimbo get punked. Man is Elite XC in trouble now.

Nice KO by Arlovski though.

Elite xc has folded. Good Riddance to bad rubbish.


Let's see who ends up where when the dust settles.

WTF? gee, really? you mean when the heavyweight gets dropped in 10 seconds by the lighthw midcarder...

actually, i'm sad bc i just like fights

I like fights to, but I thoroughly disliked Elite XC, I would watch them because MMA needs fans, but the way they carried themselves was pathetic.

Giving Kimbo a main event against James Thompson (who had last 8 fights prior, including one to Brett Rogers who wanted a Kimbo fight) when your HW championship is being fought for by Antonio Silva and Justin Eilers on the undercard. Paying Seth Petruzelli not to take Kimbo down. Possible fight fixing. Letting KJ Noons duck Nick Diaz. Protecting and inflating fighter records. etc...

The company was really corrupt and now I'm glad it's over. It was bad for the sport.

It sucks for some of the low level fighters though.

With UFC, WEC, Affliction, Dream, Sengoku, AFL, and Strikeforce still willing to promote all kinds of fights, I think many of the fighters will be safe.

I'm thinking something like this:

UFC: Lawler, Shields, Faijao, Pertruzelli (clearly out of spite), Nick Diaz?*

Dream: Eddie Alvarez, Vilasenor, Ninja, Baroni

Afflction: Bigfoot, Brett Rogers, Benji Raadach

AFL: Kimbo, Carano*, Cyborg*

Strikeforce: Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, Yves Edwards

WEC: KJ Noons, Wilson Reis

* Nick Diaz is in a weird place. His stock is still fairly high with only one loss by cut in the past 2 years (All wins in big companies) but Gomi factor still hangs over his head. He beat Gomi with only the second gogoplata in MMA history but had the decision overturned because he was basically high when he fought. His marijuana advocacy is still a problem as well as his erratic behavior. He's almost a shoe-in for the UFC aside from that, so it's going to be hard to tell. I could still see Zuffa picking him up and putting him in the WEC if anything. I doubt he'd go back to Dream. They still owe him money.

* Carano and the rest of the women are in a weird place right now as well. Carano's celebrity will definitely be of some help to her though. Not many of the big shows have Women's MMA so one would think it's either back to Japan or back to the small shows. Considering AFL has a women's league and has been making power plays and going after names (Lashley, ortiz, and Tara Larossa) I can see them picking up Carano. Cyborg will follow. So will most of the women of Elite Xc, at least the ones with any exposure by fighting Carano or Cyborg. If not the AFL... Affliction does have a girl's line to: Sinful, they can easily throw some more money around and pick up 6 or 7 women to start a base for a division.

ps, there is also the possibility of Showtime/CBS trying to pick up the pieces.

i agree, completely against having 'the face of mma' being a streetfighter who was being fed scrubs...same for gina vs scrub of the week, although cyborg would have ben an interesting fight. I think ufc should pick up a women's division..or at least the WEC.

i see scott smith and robbie lawler, petruzelli going to ufc, diaz if dana allows it,...i'd love to see yves edwards as well as kj and reis....or wec as well.
i haven't really given much thought to where the fighters can go, but i'm sure they'll be fine. I just wish elitexc had a better execution...you can't 'make' someone the face of your company, they generally 'become' the face, ya know. Couture was a freaking replacement, liddel, silva, ortiz, shammy, hughes, the gracies, etc, just won fights, then became known and the 'face' soooooo, you can't just build a person up with just 2-3 fights...kinda like what ufc is trying with lesnar....although i'd put more money on lesnar than kimbo

Well the worst part of all this is that pro-elite also owned Rumble on the rock, king of the cage, Cage rage, Spirit FC, and a few other regional. While those companies have yet to fold

King of the cage in my opinion being the biggest loss if they don't pull it out. A LOT of UFC talent comes from Cage Rage; Joe Stevenson, Mac Danzig Tyson Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin, Clay Guida, Rashad Evan, Urijah Faber etc...

I would love for Zuffa to purchase them to, and see what a rational set of business men could do with it.