Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[Yobo Ahoy]

I reckon he'll go lhw and fight Rampage. Zzz.

A lot of UFC recent signings seem really desperate, a lot of signing up has beens so Bellator can't. Are they really that much of a threat?

[angel]

Dana flexing his muscles, making sure Bellator don't get any draws. He saw how much those no hopers Ortiz and Bonner did in buys and he's just starving them of oxygen, IMO anyway. As long as he keeps them in the middle of cards I dont mind.

[V3zna]

UFC needs stars sharpish. Re-signing Rampage and Cro Cop smacks of desperation but they appear to be willing to do anything to get ppv numbers up.

I await Hughes, Liddell and Penn's returns.

[Corrogate]

Just watched unibet's breakdown of Gus v Rumble and realised... Diaz vs Silva will be a week after. The idea of Diaz pulling it off is so damned exciting but I might have to put some money down on Silva.

Gotta say I really like Dan Hardy as an analyst.

[angel]

Ive liked him for ages, check him out on joe rogans podcast, hes a really good guy, he hates matt hughes for his fucking hunting, and he's into a lot of good stuff (positive thinking, buddhist type stuff)

[Doomguy]

Apparently Dan Hardy wants to return as a light weight which is mad as he was massive at 170lbs.

Agree with the commentary comments. Hardy is brill, but the standard set by Goldie is so low I actually think I could do better shit hammered viewing a 56k feed.

God knows why the UFC haven't got rid of him yet and given the job to Bas or Hardy.

[Corrogate]

I couldn't hack all the DMT gushing on Rogans podcast but I may sift through it again. Jamie Thompson on there... Man does that guy sound like he's been hit too much!

But yeah I think Goldies alright, just as a goof, rogan completely offsets him. There's a video of his bloopers on YouTube, it's hilarious. Had to upload the BJ Penn one myself it was so bloody ridiculous .

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah I don't mind Goldberg. He's pretty inoffensive as far as sports presenters go.

Anyway, this weekend! Gonna be well good. Gus/Rumble and Hendo/Mousasi should be great.

I think even Davis/Bader might be more entertaining than it looks on paper. Davis must know he needs a finish or two (maybe if he wins this then he can fight the loser of Gus/Rumble? [Edit: again]) and then he'll pretty much be impossible to overlook as a real contender. He can be a bit of a dick but I wouldn't mind seeing him have a crack at Jones at some point.

[schmojo]

Unless it's a late replacement, they don't usually pair winners with losers. I think Davis might well end up in a title fight within a year. If Rumble batters Gus, and I think he could, then Davis may even get the next shot after him.

[angel]

I dont think they'll let davis stink up a title fight.

[Don Rosco]

http://mmajunkie.com/2014/12/nate-diaz-slams-ufcs-cm-punk-signing-f-ck-him-f-ck-the-whole-situation

Nearly 7 minutes of nate diaz going off on one.

[angel]

Oh mr wonderful, what a shame. Will take jones down he says. Cant take bader down once.

UK commentary so much better than US one.

[angel]

What a main event. BOOOM.

AJ is a beast, had a feeling he might do this.

[Doomguy]

Scary guy. Rumble walked through Gus just like he did little nog.

Can't wait to see him take on jones.

Hendo needs to hang it up. Not the same fighter without his TRT. God knows what Vitor is going to be like.

[Gotters]

that was a scary performance from Rumble, to walk through Gus like that doesn't mean he automatically beats Jones but makes him look very credible and deserving of the next shot - that kind of power is just fight changing, not many can take a clean shot and stay upright.

thank god Phil Davis lost, he reminds me of those Brendan Ingle fighters that stunk up boxing so much ITV cancelled it from their schedule (in particular Johnny Nelson) - Bader is usually an exciting fighter but got dragged into a stink fest, glad he got the decision solely on my dislike of Davis.

can see why the ref stopped Hendo, he went floppy after that second strike landed against the cage and that's when the ref jumped in, it was only momentary and he recovered straight away. Don't think it altered the result as Mousasi would have continued smacking him without the ref intervention.

I don't like the UK commentary, don't know who the main guy is but he's like somebody who has read this months UFC magazine and wants to shoehorn in the bits he's highlighted.

[GODZOOKI]

I don't like the UK commentary, don't know who the main guy is but he's like somebody who has read this months UFC magazine and whats to shoehorn in the bits he's highlighted.

John Gooden - he's alright I suppose, he will get better with time. I know from my own conversations with him last March he's been a fan of the sport for a while. Both him & Dan have gelled well, they just need time and things will feel more natural.

[Tofu]

Wow, he got mauled.

[V3zna]

Henderson is well and truly down the Chuck Liddell path of not being able to take a punch anymore. I'd presume the UFC will keep him on though. Another big name leaving would probably be not ideal.

[Kingpin]

Compared to other stoppages, goes to show what a great ref Marc Goddard is - he gave Gus every chance to improve his position, was verbally warning him and only intervened when he truly had to (those big uppercuts from behind were brutal).

I think the Hendo stoppage was fair enough, maybe 5 seconds too early but I thought he was done as soon as he flopped against the cage.

Ogle wasn't given a chance to even attempt to improve his position, though I doubt the outcome of the fight was affected - he ate a huge knee and uppercut.

[Corrogate]

Lol, watching Gus take a beating I was recalling the damage he took in the Jones fight, though he could make it out, but damn Rampage cut through Gus.

[Tofu]

Compared to other stoppages, goes to show what a great ref Marc Goddard is - he gave Gus every chance to improve his position, was verbally warning him and only intervened when he truly had to (those big uppercuts from behind were brutal).

Really?

I thought Mac Goddard wanted Gus to have brain damage.

[Corrogate]

Nah, I was praying that he wouldnt stop it when he first went to inspect. Gus ate loads of damage before in that Jones fight; he didnt take a lot of big punches until he started getting hammered under the arm, when his head was getting jacked up.

[ckny]

Agree with Tofu, Gus was done 10-15 seconds before the fight was stopped. He wasn't defending himself at all.

[angel]

disagree, it was a perfect stoppage

[Corrogate]

I think you have to give seasoned fighters a bit of leeway. Fighters we've seen recover before. There was a fight recently and I prayed it wouldn't be stopped when a grounded opponent was in a tough spot. May have been Dillashaw Vs Barao or Mendes and Aldo.

What about Hendo? I believe he would've been mincemeat after Mousasi floored him.

Team Alpha Males sprigs aren't looking too hot. That English fella last night and Danny Castillo taking that elbow on the Cormier - Jones card.

[schmojo]

Gus/Rumble was a hell of an impressive showing, but a garbage late stoppage. So many clean, undefended shots landed. It was literally a demonstration of favouring a hometown boy in order to artificially prolong a fight and boost interest, which is incredibly unsafe. It happens all the time though. For all the talk of refs and judges being independent, they appear to be influenced greatly by location and a fight's marketability.

If Jones can handle Rumble, he's definitely ready for HW, as there are no more credible threats.

It was a pretty active showing from Davis for the first two rounds, but I can't really hold it against Bader for taking the split dec. He defended Davis's takedowns very well, and landed his own, taking the third round convincingly. Landed some good punches, too. Back to the drawing board for Davis.

Seemed an early finish in the Mousasi fight (Hendo seems surprised and disorientated, but not out, and Mousasi wasn't landing on the way down) but, as a Mousasi fan, I was just glad that he wasn't subject to the H-Bomb for longer than he needed to be. I can't stand watching better fighters work rings around Hendo, only for him to finally land one punch and undo it all.

Pretty interesting event.

[angel]

I still think it was a perfect stop and a lot of pros agree, he gave gus every chance, it was only when the hands dropped and the head snapped back a few times he jumped in. He basically saved the ufc an unnessecary rematch, and all of the fighters say let us fight, dont stop us. Hendo being the perfect example, it was reasonably just a stoppage but left a lot of people unsatisfied.

Mousasi pulled his shots too, he pulled back 2 punches when hendo was on thr floor out of respect.

[schmojo]

A lot of pros are exactly the people who will end up brain damaged from bad reffing. There are pros who say that any fight they lost by TKO was too early.

No point letting em bang, bro, if they can't even write their own names in 5 years, dude.

The Hendo stoppage is no real comparison - he wasn't definitely out, and was already working a single when Mousasi 'pulled' those punches. I like Mousasi a lot, but none of his last 3 landed properly. Gus got utterly beasted for far too long.

[angel]

Im just going off what a lot of them said on twitter, they prefer a chance to retaliate. Gus was blocking and eventually rolled to his side, he was active. He didnt complain at all after. I know what youre saying, but theres not many in the mma world complaining about the stoppage.

I think mousasi had that done, i agree it was early but i dont see much change in the outcome. Hendos eye was cut bad, mousasi was pointing him to it, and he wore an eyepatch in the presser.

[schmojo]

No idea what's next for Mousasi. Jacare clowned him in their last match, and he doesn't seem to be able to find the fire that the top 5 guys have.

That being said, he's acknowledged his own seeming lack of enthusiasm, and must know that this is his last chance to make the most of his prime. They should give him Bisping as a freebie to build him some attention, but Bisping's tied up with Dollaway. Maybe give him Tim Kennedy - that's a tough stylistic match for him.