MMA/UFC thread

[TRF_Olyy]

Would definitely be undersized, but I'd watch it.
Rockhold is a big MW (him and Werdum have the same reach with Werdum being an inch taller). Apparently luke walks around at about 210, and lean. Spend a couple of months packing on a bit and he wouldn't look too out of place against the 220-230lb Werdum.

Always thought Rockhold could make a run at LHW, if it weren't for another AKA teammate situation (i.e. Cormier dropping to LHW because of Cain fighting at HW)

 

[TheSaffycen]

On ability Werdum takes it for me. His striking has come on leaps and bounds, and BJJ is obviously world class. Stil; fun to watch though.

If stipe wins he equals the HW ***le defence streak with 2!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

It's crazy no one's defended it more than twice, though I guess at heavyweight it's more accurate than any other division that "it only takes one".
I reckon JDS wins, as well, so the record could well stand.
Either way it's the P4P nicest ***le fight ever, I love stipe and JDS. The embedded's they're in are great.

 

[TheSaffycen]

JDS is my favourite HW of all time. Even over Fedor. Not sure why but i just love the way he avoids hits and moves, instead of just taking the punches like most other bigguns.

I think the fight goes 4 rounds and Stipe wins. Not sure what the betting is but that's what I'm going for.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Rumours of McGregor vs Woodley for the WW strap in July.

I know everyone says it before every McGregor fight but I can't see it going well for him. Woodley has shown he'll happily stick to a gameplan to eke out a win no matter how boring and non-crowd friendly it is.
He also hits way way harder than anything McGregor will have ever faced. He's got scary KO power.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Haskell doing the in cage interviews for BAMMA in Brum tonight,
He's not too bad at it tbf

 

[Larksea]

JDS is/was a great fighter but he took massive beatings in two fights vs Cain and the first Stipe fight (he won but took a heck of a lot of shots to the head).

werdum went on a tear for a while just before strict testing for PED's came and hasn't looked as good since.

That French guy has been epic, I think he is fighting Cain... Those two stand as the biggest threats to Stipe.

 

[munstermuffin]

Honestly, because it looks like a low hanging fruit. Khabib, stylewise, is the worst possible opponent for mcg.

Mcg has had a few stellar moments, credit were credit is due, but he's been quite lucky too.

I cant think of another fighter that cherry picked opponents the way he did in mma.

I do not get what is so complicated about this: you are the champion of a division in an organization. The organization, within reason, tells you who, when and where to fight. If you do not, you should lose the belt, end off. This is not rocket science.

But again I haven't said McGregor is avoiding defending his ***le. More as you have pointed out too and I've stated from start.
McGregor wants money fights. The belts aren't important as the belts. The UFC are of the same belief and possibly believe keeping belts on them earns more revenue too. It's not that hard to work out. There is a big difference between McGregor not seeking a fight and avoiding a fight. He has said he would fight Khabib on numerous occasions. But it's more on the lines of where is the most money. And I'd disagree on the luck bit as he has just mastered his strengths (yes he has weakness) and delivered on back of them.
So I'd counter with I don't get what you can't see: I've stated from start it may not be right but it's simply
McGregor wants to maximise $$, UFC want to maximise $$ and belts don't matter much in that. It not rocket science either that what you describe is what should happen and what I'm describing is reality.
I wouldn't say he has cherry picked as he has fought all styles and top guys that were there.

@Olly he kept calling out but equally want the big names. And if UFC believed that much in his reliability and marketability they wouldn't have pulled him from the Alvarez fight at 205. Let him beat Eddie and have it set up for a Conor vs Khabib for ***le. Again it is all about the $$$. As in lets remember Conor walked in with 2 UFC World ***le belts vs Mayweather but he was stripped of Featherweight. So obviously he has been stripped. Also held that ***le despite having a few times he went well over a year without defending. So Conor isn't 1st

 

[TRF_Olyy]

@Olly he kept calling out but equally want the big names. And if UFC believed that much in his reliability and marketability they wouldn't have pulled him from the Alvarez fight at 205. Let him beat Eddie and have it set up for a Conor vs Khabib for ***le. Again it is all about the $$$. As in lets remember Conor walked in with 2 UFC World ***le belts vs Mayweather but he was stripped of Featherweight. So obviously he has been stripped. Also held that ***le despite having a few times he went well over a year without defending. So Conor isn't 1st

I'm sorry but you're just wrong.
He's called out the champion each time because he wants to fight for the belt.
If he wanted to fight a name he wouldn't have turned down the Aldo fight or the non-***le Pettis fight in favour of an interim ***le shot against Ferguson (a much smaller name/draw). He'd also be chasing GSP for a money fight.


You simply cannot compare Aldo's reign to McGregor. Aldo defended his belt 9 times. The times there were big breaks were because of injury. Conor fought three times outside of the division before being stripped of his FW ***le, He's now fought once outside of his division(/sport) since winning the LW. Conor himself said if you're fit and healthy and not defending you should be stripped.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I've no doubt McGregor is abusing the system but it's a system that is right to be abused. The UFC make it incredibly difficult for their fighters to make money from the top down, and for what is a short career where you can go from one of the best of all time to a nobody in your division in a very short space of time (see Jose Aldo) I can't blame McGregor for doing it his own way now that he alone probably has as many fans as there are hardcore UFC fans. The control over fighter's pay as well as the fact that many Fairweather fans (those that bring in the extra money to make a big event hugely profitable) don't find the wrestling aspect of UFC appealing at all so unless your stylish striker or have a mouth to get people interested your potential earnings and attractiveness to a guy like McGregor are limited. As far as I understand Khabib is a true MMA fans wet dream but they're not the fans who make the UFC big bucks.

 

[munstermuffin]

I'm sorry but you're just wrong.
He's called out the champion each time because he wants to fight for the belt.
If he wanted to fight a name he wouldn't have turned down the Aldo fight or the non-***le Pettis fight in favour of an interim ***le shot against Ferguson (a much smaller name/draw). He'd also be chasing GSP for a money fight.


You simply cannot compare Aldo's reign to McGregor. Aldo defended his belt 9 times. The times there were big breaks were because of injury. Conor fought three times outside of the division before being stripped of his FW ***le, He's now fought once outside of his division(/sport) since winning the LW. Conor himself said if you're fit and healthy and not defending you should be stripped.

Bit that is my point. If it's enforced correct he would be stripped but like back then with Aldo the marketing dosh with McGregor as a champion is too much to strip him. I may be wrong on Khabib but my point is more of it's not marketable it's not on. As I said Diaz is the lead candidate as it's the money spinner. As Alpha pointed out anyone's stock can drop fast so it's key to cash in when you can

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Aldo has nothing to do with it, he defended the belt when he was fit, Conor doesn't. They couldn't be more dissimilar.


If all Conor cares about is the money he should **** off to boxing - He could probably rinse another, maybe even 2, 8 figure pay day out of them before they realise he can't hang with people who have been training all their lives in the sport.

 

[munstermuffin]

Aldo has nothing to do with it, he defended the belt when he was fit, Conor doesn't. They couldn't be more dissimilar.


If all Conor cares about is the money he should **** off to boxing - He could probably rinse another, maybe even 2, 8 figure pay day out of them before they realise he can't hang with people who have been training all their lives in the sport.

But he is top name in UFC, he wouldn't get that in boxing. And the marketability pie in USA wouldn't be as high.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

McGregor wants to maximise $$, UFC want to maximise $$ and belts don't matter much in that. It not rocket science either that what you describe is what should happen and what I'm describing is reality.

Well, i guess it was so obvious i thought i didn't have to point it out, my bad. The problem with their approach to maximize $$ is that it is incredibly shortsighted. They will increase $$ short term, but the way this is going, they are turning the UFC into a XXI century WWE. The will lose fans in the long run.

It's more lucrative to be a charlatan than a good fighter, or close enough. McG's press conferences have more hits than his fights, that's the state of the sport. But hey, I am sure a lot of people enjoy that. I am also sure that a lot, myself included, do not. It will come a time when they will need to pick a side.

I miss pride.

 

[munstermuffin]

Well, i guess it was so obvious i thought i didn't have to point it out, my bad. The problem with their approach to maximize $$ is that it is incredibly shortsighted. They will increase $$ short term, but the way this is going, they are turning the UFC into a XXI century WWE. The will lose fans in the long run.

It's more lucrative to be a charlatan than a good fighter, or close enough. McG's press conferences have more hits than his fights, that's the state of the sport. But hey, I am sure a lot of people enjoy that. I am also sure that a lot, myself included, do not. It will come a time when they will need to pick a side.

I miss pride.

But that is my point from McGregor's POV. It is short sighted but a fighters career is short so fair play to him for maximizing his pay. On the belts, if McGregor knows he can take advantage of UFC not wanting to upset him then fair play to him. That is Dana White and Co's problem not McGregors. On the last bit about the circus scene. I understand alot don't enjoy it, and argubally majority of core fans, but fact is the 'casual or event junkie' fan probably buys in to the antics and they are more lucrative than the core fans. Maybe a time will come when sides will need to be picked BUT McGregor will be long gone before that. And to be fair to McGregor he has transformed a UFC event from being a 1 night fight to a weekend event really.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I understand what you say, and probably agree with most of it, the problem is that, as you phrase it, it's as if people like you and me have to sit down, take our time, and instead of enjoying the sport, we need to think, reflect and empathize with Floyd, McG and the likes of Dana white to understand whatthe hell is going on with the sport.
All sports have some sort of pre established mechanism to determine a pecking order. MMA and boxing do not have that anymore. You've got people who can get to the top (luckily in McG's case) bable their way around the media, and hijack the belt. It's ludicrous.
As a fan, i do not give a flying turd about how much money they make. None, zero, nada, caput. I find it mindblowing not only that those fans exist, but that they are so many. I just can't see what's the appeal.

Again, think about it for a minute: it's the fans who, instead of watching the sport, need to "understand" McG, Floyd's or Dana white's priorities. That is mental.
I wish it'd be the other way around.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

thoughts on Bisping fighting Gastelum so soon after UFC 217?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Injury/damage wise I think he's fine - getting choked out, as bad as it sounds, is actually not that bad at all. Happens all the time in BJJ training, you're fine a few minutes after, whereas with a KO from strikes you're on the bench for weeks. He also took very little damage from GSPs shots (bar the hook that wobbled him), and he avoided the vast majority of the shots GSP threw after the knockdown and was aware enough to almost get back to his feet.
I think the thing that could screw him, and is the most dangerous, is having to do another weight cut so soon after. Tim Kennedy had his fight at 205 cancelled two days beforehand and they put it on 206, he said that the 2nd weight cut absolutely slayed him and he just had zero energy and ended up seeing him get TKOd, ironically, by Gastelum.
Bisping is game as f**k, though, fair play to him. I really hope he wins, but I've got no idea. Gastelum is a very very crisp boxer and will be noticeably quicker than Mike. Mike will have considerably size, experience and probably strength advantage, though.




Also: Anyone seen Conor's brain slowly start melting from cocaine abuse?
Bollocked by the referee at a UFC event the other week, for walking around the edge of the cage shouting at the fighters.
He jumped into the cage at the end of a Bellator fight on Friday, when the referee tried to get him ejected Conor went for him and had to be restrained, and ended up knocking over a recently KOd fighter in the process. After being escorted out he tried to climb back in and a guy from the comission stopped him so Conor slapped him in the face.
There's a video of him outside the event afterwards chewing his jaw off and calling the referee and rat and all this.

 

[munstermuffin]

Injury/damage wise I think he's fine - getting choked out, as bad as it sounds, is actually not that bad at all. Happens all the time in BJJ training, you're fine a few minutes after, whereas with a KO from strikes you're on the bench for weeks. He also took very little damage from GSPs shots (bar the hook that wobbled him), and he avoided the vast majority of the shots GSP threw after the knockdown and was aware enough to almost get back to his feet.
I think the thing that could screw him, and is the most dangerous, is having to do another weight cut so soon after. Tim Kennedy had his fight at 205 cancelled two days beforehand and they put it on 206, he said that the 2nd weight cut absolutely slayed him and he just had zero energy and ended up seeing him get TKOd, ironically, by Gastelum.
Bisping is game as f**k, though, fair play to him. I really hope he wins, but I've got no idea. Gastelum is a very very crisp boxer and will be noticeably quicker than Mike. Mike will have considerably size, experience and probably strength advantage, though.




Also: Anyone seen Conor's brain slowly start melting from cocaine abuse?
Bollocked by the referee at a UFC event the other week, for walking around the edge of the cage shouting at the fighters.
He jumped into the cage at the end of a Bellator fight on Friday, when the referee tried to get him ejected Conor went for him and had to be restrained, and ended up knocking over a recently KOd fighter in the process. After being escorted out he tried to climb back in and a guy from the comission stopped him so Conor slapped him in the face.
There's a video of him outside the event afterwards chewing his jaw off and calling the referee and rat and all this.

Seen the vid. Supposedly there history between Conor and ref.
I admire what he's achieved but in a way he is setting himself up for a huge fall and a fast undoing of all good work

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Seen the vid. Supposedly there history between Conor and ref.

That's the way he's selling it. Conor said, in the video of him outside, that Goddard was the "ref I lost me head at at UFC Gdansk" whereas in reality Goddard told him to go back to his seat and Conor held his hands up and "My bad, my bad", went back to his seat and didn't get back up.
The extent of their history is that Goddard coached a guy that Conor fought back in his amateur days. Goddard said Conor was classless for trying to start a fight at the weighins, and then after Conor won the fight he shouted some **** at Goddard and the rest of the corner. If Conor is really still feeling heat from something that happened a decade ago then he needs to pop a xanax or something.

Goddard is probably the best, and most respected, referee in MMA, possibly 2nd to Big John McCarthy. He really picked a bad guy to try and start beef with.
Even when Conor punched Diaz's hand before UFC196 he still had people saying how great it was, I've never seen the entire MMA community be against him before as they are in this.


Edit: Apparently Goddard is also a licensed boxing referee and John Kavanagh put his name forward as a potential referee for the Mayweather fight, so seems any historical bad blood between them is just an excuse from the Conor fanboys for his actions.