Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[angel]

Man, Aldo/Mendes was so good. I originally wanted Aldo to win but he sorely tested my support during that post-bell shot, totally out of order although I guess the onus is on the ref to step in in those situations. Mendes looked surprisingly good, much more than I thought he would be. Probably one of the top 5 fights this year.

Davis/Glover was hideous. Glover looked tired and out of shape and on this form it's amazing to think he was considered the most dangerous guy in the division before the Jones fight. And Davis was just Davis. That Anderson Silva call out was bizarre... I would guess they will match him with Bader next but I can't see that being a match up for the ages.

I'm glad to see Maldonado back to winning ways, I think he's got a lot to offer the division. That temporary step up to HW to get beaten about by Miocic looks ever more bizarre.

Says he didnt hear it, goddard didnt hear it, dana didnt hear it, chad didnt mention it. They cant hear the horn in brazil for the crowd.

[Doomguy]

I'm glad to see Maldonado back to winning ways, I think he's got a lot to offer the division. That temporary step up to HW to get beaten about by Miocic looks ever more bizarre.

Like to see Maldonado at middleweight. He brings a bit of the old skool with his fighting style and that look he rocks makes me laugh.

Think he'd have a good run at middleweight.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Says he didnt hear it, goddard didnt hear it, dana didnt hear it, chad didnt mention it. They cant hear the horn in brazil for the crowd.

Well Goddard definitely heard it, you could see in his body language. He just didn't fully step across them early enough. As mentioned I think the bulk of the blame lays with him even though I appreciate it probably looked a LOT worse on TV... might have to have a second look later.

[The Bag]

I'm not entirely sure about the "didn't hear it line" when Goddard had heard the clapper for 10 seconds as he'd moved closer in preparation to end the round, and Chad appeared to stop on the buzzer. Think I'll have to watch it again, which isn't a chore since it's a great fight.

[schmojo]

Goddard should definitely have deducted a point for the punches, if only to reinforce the authority of MMA refs. Points get deducted so damn rarely that their role is a little compromised.

Davis, in all likelihood, just called out Silva to try and get a reaction out of the Brazilian fans. He knows that, even if he's top 5 (which he will be when new rankings come out), he's not going to get the big fights without making some noise. He made the #4 LHW look incredibly outmatched, but Jones arguably has the best 'MMA wrestling' in the sport, so that weapon could be nullified. I'd be interested in seeing the fight though.

[angel]

Well Goddard definitely heard it, you could see in his body language. He just didn't fully step across them early enough. As mentioned I think the bulk of the blame lays with him even though I appreciate it probably looked a LOT worse on TV... might have to have a second look later.

Im not sure, he said he didnt, he would have just been going off the clapper and counting in his head. I certainly dont blame aldo at all, fight to the ref if you cant hear the bell. Its an animalistic sport, youre in their fighting in the moment. Goddards a decent ref.

[Doomguy]

Goddard should definitely have deducted a point for the punches, if only to reinforce the authority of MMA refs. Points get deducted so damn rarely that their role is a little compromised.

Davis, in all likelihood, just called out Silva to try and get a reaction out of the Brazilian fans. He knows that, even if he's top 5 (which he will be when new rankings come out), he's not going to get the big fights without making some noise. He made the #4 LHW look incredibly outmatched, but Jones arguably has the best 'MMA wrestling' in the sport, so that weapon could be nullified. I'd be interested in seeing the fight though.

Same. Davis has nothing for Jones but I'd still want to see it given how much shit davis has talked.

I just read Shogun thinks he is two fights away from another title... makes me sad this.

Weight cutting is what killed 205 really, you've got some massive guys there now. The fact he still seems to think he isn't a middleweight is beyond me.

[McFly]

Agree with most of the sentiments in here, fabulous main event, following pretty tedious earlier fights. That first round showed the Aldo I absolutely love, he was awesome but so was Mendes, i didnt think he was going to bring as much to the table as he did, he was very good to and is the only guy to really threaten Aldo seriously i think with his striking. Compare his advancements in striking to Davis for example both elite wrestlers, Mendes looks very dangerous on his feet whereas Davis look kind of uncomfortable and ungainly.

I was pretty dissappointed with Davis/Glover, Tex didnt offer much at all and Phil smothered the will from him, with his grappling and long reach, though i dont recall him doing much of anything on the deck once he was there. Pretty much the tone of the whole card up to the main event, lots "embracing the grind" foloowed by no to very little sub attempts or ground and pound.

[Corrogate]

Aldo vs Mendes is fight of the year in my mind. No question. To me, for Aldo it was like another day at the office; but he had to overcome everything Mendes threw at him, and Mendes the same. My God did Mendes step up. Thought it was a sure thing for Aldo, but I was willing Chad to get the win.. Amazing fight. Truly.

[angel]

I'm not entirely sure about the "didn't hear it line" when Goddard had heard the clapper for 10 seconds as he'd moved closer in preparation to end the round, and Chad appeared to stop on the buzzer. Think I'll have to watch it again, which isn't a chore since it's a great fight.

from mmafighting.com

Most Uncomfortable Reminder Officiating Is a Work in Progress: Not Hearing the Round's Bell

UFC 179 was held overseas, but was overseen by Brazil's relatively competent athletic commission, CABMMA. Yet, CABMMA used a highly-experienced and respected referee in Marc Goddard to be the third man in the cage for the main event. What happened to him could've happened to anyone. It also could've happened anywhere.

At the end of the first round, Aldo was able to connect with two hard shots after the bell sounded. These weren't minor shots. The combination rocked Mendes and sent him to his rear end, collapsing against the cage.

As for the bell, it could be heard clearly on the pay-per-view broadcast, but as it turns out, not by the referee in the cage. The deafening noise made by the fans in the Maracanazinho drowned out anything but the steady din of screams. As such, there was no penalty for the two punches.

UFC President Dana White noted something needed to be done to give referees the help they need in situations where rabid fans impact their ability to do the job properly. I agree and I'm sure something can. These are solvable problems. My only point is to note how open the book on officiating and regulating MMA continues to be. We continue to break new ground or discover need for reformation. In Saturday's case, yes, the situation was unique. There won't always been arenas filled with that kind of enthusiasm. But we do need to have policies and resources in place to help those charged with regulation and fighter safety do their jobs effectively. That responsibility is enduring and Saturday night reinforced how far we were from keeping it.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah, watching it again last night it all does happen very quickly. Aldo punched Mendes literally as the buzzer went, then a short pause and followed up with two more. It's hard to know whether Mendes thought the round was over but his hands definitely dropped after the first hit. Goddard was there as if he was expecting the round to end but didn't move in between them until after the two latter punches. I guess they both have to be given the benefit of the doubt but it all seems very low-tech on the UFC's part, I always assumed there was some kind of secondary measure. Fingers crossed they do something about it soon.

[angel]

Brian stann confirmed on twitter that none of the corners could hear buzzers, and dana thinks they need to get refs earpieced up.

[schmojo]

I was pretty dissappointed with Davis/Glover, Tex didnt offer much at all and Phil smothered the will from him, with his grappling and long reach, though i dont recall him doing much of anything on the deck once he was there. Pretty much the tone of the whole card up to the main event, lots "embracing the grind" foloowed by no to very little sub attempts or ground and pound.

Davis didn't just smother him with top control - he had to come up with interesting ways to counter and control Glover (who has some solid BJJ). You could see him working to 'solve' Glover, and keeping his back while working trips seemed to be most effective. Keeping Glover down seems to be like keeping a dog in the bath. He worked for submissions all the while, trying to lace in anacdonas, and threw some hooks and uppercuts in. I think the commentary said that he's actually the most active ground fighter in the company! The real story here is how ineffective Glover looked.

I think that Bader's certainly a step down in competition for him, but the division isn't looking great at the moment. Henderson would have been a more interesting match to me - if anyone can test Phil's chin, it's him.

[The Bag]

A good breakdown of Chad's tactics here: http://fightland.vice.com/blog/chad-mendes-and-the-first-rule-of-fight-journalism

[angel]

There could very well be a third fight

[ckny]

I can't see a third. Hasn't Aldo been talking of going to lightweight?

[Nathan Wind]

Cage Warriors streaming live from 6pm on the Mail website -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2811245/Cage-Warriors-73-LIVE-Watch-action-Stevie-Ray-s-trilogy-clash-Curt-Warburton.html

I'm sure there's some level of ironing happening here because if you could pick any UK paper to want to BAN THIS SICK HUMAN COCK FIGHTING FILTH!!11!!1!1, it would be the Mail.

[Gotters]

listened over the weekend to the first 3 eps of Chael Sonnen's podcast, You're Welcome (free on itunes)

it was ok but depends really on how much you like his persona and in your face style. GSP was the guest for 30mins on one and Chris Leben on another. he's quite new to it so should get better, and if he can keep getting decent guests could be worth sticking with.

[schmojo]

Bisping/Rockhold this weekend.

It's that time again where I get carried away and think that Bisping might get that title shot before his career's out. Rockhold's a quality fighter, and has many more weapons than Bisping, but Bisping's workrate and stamina makes me think that he has a chance.

Also, I hate Rockhold.

[angel]

I hate rockhold too. Unfortunately I think he'll win a boring decision.

Better news is rumble is back to dethrone chicken legs jones.

[Doomguy]

That was like watching a family member get attacked in a pub car park...

Poor shogun.

He can't compete with these new 205lbers. OSP dwarfed Shogun fight night. Same with Gus, same with Jones. His only other losses are to two HGH abusers.

Hope he retires or goes down to 185. He has no other options at this point imo.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah that was grim. Apart from that the Brazil event was boring as fuck (admittedly not helped by the 11th hour McCall dropout, although I did laugh when I heard that Lineker finally made weight only for the fight to be scrapped. Serves him right), Sydney from Friday in comparison was incredible. Bisping lost as expected but didn't disgrace himself, Rockhold just looked too good. Has to be him vs Jacare for #1 contender status now. Shame about Pearson too, honestly thought he'd beat Iaquinta easily.

[schmojo]

Bisping didn't look good to me at all. He looked nervous and twitchy, and didn't control space with his movement like he usually does. Everything Rockhold did looked relaxed, and he made beating Bisping look easy.

I thought that Jacare would eat him up in a rematch, but he looked absolutely great. I guess Mousasi could be next for Bisping - I feel like he's probably got a deal with Dana to put over newer fighters (promotionally, not let them win), now that he's on a downturn. Rockhold tried an insincere sounding humble approach after the win, but the crowd gave him nothing. When Bisping paid him a compliment, the crowd responded and that is very valuable.

[Gotters]

Gus v Rumble in Stockholm with Musasi Hendo as main support on Fox 14 card, lets hope that they both happen and injury doesn't step in

[Kingpin]

Was just about to post the very same.

Just when I think I'm getting a bit jaded with the UFC, they announce Rumble vs Gus http://mmajunkie.com/2014/11/alexander-gustafsson-vs-anthony-johnson-slated-for-ufc-on-fox-14-in-sweden

Interested to hear what they come out with on November 17th for their big announcement including roster for the year ahead (but with injuries, who can take that seriously). I'm somewhat expecting to hear that they've sold a chunk of the organisation to Fox or similar. It'll probably be some TUF variant or similarly disappointing news like fighter uniforms.

[tec1122]

Thought I'd share this here seeing as there is a few mma fans knocking about that don't post in the fighting talk thread. My mma debut from a few weeks ago, I won on a decision although I would have liked the submission or tko I can't grumble with a dominant win. I broke my hand pretty badly 5 weeks out but was determined not to pull out. The gloves made grappling a fucking nightmare also as they were 8oz an were like wearing pillows.

I was told to delay my walkout btw, think some people thought I'd bottled it.

Anyway enjoy

[Tofu]

I really hope Hunt will win this weekend, but I think the short prep time and most importantly the altitude is really going to mess him up bad.

[Raoull duke]

I really hope Hunt will win this weekend, but I think the short prep time and most importantly the altitude is really going to mess him up bad.

I think I want Hunt to win more than I want world peace and an end to poverty.

But yeah your assessment seems about right.

But still, only takes one of them big Hunt bungalows to erase all that other shit.

[tec1122]

Think a lot of people are sleeping on Werdums stand up. He's really brought it all together in the last couple of years, I love both guys for different reasons. Werdums amazing ground game he made big nog look like a white belt, Hunts just an absolute fella an is a true Rocky story. How do people see Lamas vs Bermudez going?

[Yobo Ahoy]

Thought I'd share this here seeing as there is a few mma fans knocking about that don't post in the fighting talk thread. My mma debut from a few weeks ago, I won on a decision although I would have liked the submission or tko I can't grumble with a dominant win. I broke my hand pretty badly 5 weeks out but was determined not to pull out. The gloves made grappling a fucking nightmare also as they were 8oz an were like wearing pillows.

I was told to delay my walkout btw, think some people thought I'd bottled it.

Anyway enjoy

That's cool man, congrats. Love the delayed entrance, keep them waiting! When's your next fight? Also I love the matchup card from their website, your opponent has gone for the 'blood splattered savage' look.