Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[Doomguy]

The main event was bizarre but the sort of bizarre you can't not watch.

I was a massive Shamrock fan until I saw him in the ultimate fighter show. He seemed stuck in 1996 even then.

Unsure if it was staged or not but the guy has looked frail ever since the first tito fight. I'd put this down to shit training and steroid abuse. If he started in todays era he'd be a welterweight or middleweight.

[tec1122]

Huge amount of rumours that Aldo is injured an out of July 11th.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Injured but not yet pulled out apparently. Eep!

Also:

[Gotters]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/6/24/8837137/heartbroken-jose-aldo-likely-out-until-october-if-not-cleared-to

its not looking good, unless it's a marketing ruse to hype things up even further

[Doomguy]

Dana White is full of shit. Aldo is definitely out there's no way he can fight with an injury like that.

Edgar has thrown his hat in the ring saying he'd step in but he'd walked through Conor imo. I'm thinking they'll pull the fight entirely now to keep conor safe and the hype train going.

[Kingpin]

That's what they did when Jones/DC was called off due to Jones leg injury last year. It's the only thing that makes sense.

I'm going over to it but sod it, still getting a good card including a goddamn title fight in the MGM. It'll still be great.

[tec1122]

Yeah Roary vs Lawler is flying under the radar which is understandable with the hype surrounding Connor.

[Doomguy]

Great fight that. Heart says lawler, head says Rory.

Nate Diaz is claiming he's fighting Conor now which would actually be an awesome matchup. If Conor wins that I'd be impressed!

[Gotters]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/6/24/8842787/jose-aldo-plans-to-face-conor-mcgregor-at-ufc-189-chad-mendes-on

this looks more hopeful with the claims being its a bruised, not a broken, rib

[Don Rosco]

Nate Diaz is claiming he's fighting Conor now which would actually be an awesome matchup. If Conor wins that I'd be impressed!

Depends which Nate Diaz turns up. Didn't he completely stink out his last fight? Unlikely to happen either way at this stage. Would be pretty entertaining though!

[schmojo]

I'd picture Mendes ragdolling Macgregor if he got the chance. The original Aldo/Conor matchup is the best one, stylistically.

I still have no idea why UFC can put out so many cards with minimal interest, and then stack multiple championship matches on the same card. It's insane. Rory/Lawler can sell on its own, they just haven't promoted it at all. New Breed vs Old School, Rory's much better on paper, but has a loss to Lawler.

[Doomguy]

Depends which Nate Diaz turns up. Didn't he completely stink out his last fight? Unlikely to happen either way at this stage. Would be pretty entertaining though!

He did you're right. I do think the Diaz brothers are fun to watch but they need to stop talking and get some fights under their belt.

Looks like the fight is still on from what Gotters posted but a bruised rib is still a game changer I assume.

[Don Rosco]

Good column here on the whole brouhaha from Conor's coach, the on the way to being legendary John Kavanagh:

http://www.the42.ie/john-kavanagh-column-25-june-2180769-Jun2015/

Ultimately, a man with two arms and two legs will be standing across the octagon from Conor on 11 July. Whether that man’s name is Jose or Chad, nothing changes for us. I’m confident that Conor has the solution to both problems. At this level of mixed martial arts, I believe a fighter should be ready for any opponent at the drop of a hat.

It was UFC president Dana White who called me and asked how we felt about Chad Mendes stepping in to fight Conor for the belt. Conor was sleeping at the time so I walked into his room and told him it could be Mendes instead. He opened one eye, said ‘They’re all the same’ and then went back to sleep. That’s as far as any negotiation went.

[Yobo Ahoy]

I still have no idea why UFC can put out so many cards with minimal interest, and then stack multiple championship matches on the same card. It's insane. Rory/Lawler can sell on its own, they just haven't promoted it at all. New Breed vs Old School, Rory's much better on paper, but has a loss to Lawler.

I reckon they were covering their arses in case Conor/Aldo fell through (given Jose's recent injury history). Still doesn't explain the chronic lack of promotion for Rory/Lawler though.

(Robbie to win hopefully!)

[angel]

i think conor has a better chance than people are giving him, he's huge for the weight class, but i do think he;ll be fighting aldo. its a bruised rib not cracked, mendez is on standby but i think aldo has been told in no uncertain terms how much money he stands to lose.

[Gotters]

not heard of most of the fighters on tonights card but the main event could be good - Romero has looked very good in the UFC so far, lots of weird angles and odd techniques, but in his last fight he was in real trouble and some dodgy tactics saved the day for him

Machida isn't shot by any means but needs a win to not slip into 'gatekeeper' territory, whereby up and comers use him as a stepping stone to a title shot

[angel]

aldo has a fracture. gnnngh, he's useless. caveman training, injures himself before literally every fight.

[Stig]

This fight has been promoted for so long and on such a scale, Dana White is gonna be furious if it 100% doesn't got ahead. The fight now should be for the intrim title until Mr.Glass can fight for them for the undisputed title.

[angel]

if conor can beat mendez then that sets up the perfect late 2015 unification bout, but its a hell of a big 'if'. i think he could do it though, mendes is tiny and conor does have TD defence, ive seen bigger upsets.

[Kingpin]

I think the hype clouds how capable Conor is. It's definitely a tough fight against Mendes, but I wouldn't be surprised if he takes it. If he beats Mendes, I imagine he would be a favourite against a fully healed Aldo down the line.

In other UFC 189 news, I'm really excited about Nelson vs. Thatch now that Hathaway is out. In their last bouts, Nelson got out-struck and Thatch was out-grappled. Good match making here as both try to redeem themselves.

Worried for Machida this evening - very quick turnaround after the brutalising he took against Rockhold.

[Gotters]

couple of entertaining fights on that card, a spectacular kick ko and an idiotic post main event interview.

do fear for Machida now if he carries on - he's looking a bit of a relic and will pick up the odd win but get battered by anybody making a serious run at a title shot

[Orion]

Yep sad to see Machida might be turning into a gatekeeper after how special he was a few years back. Fighting Rockhold then Romero with a quick 8 week turn around was abit daft though.

No idea with Romero's post fight interview. He has said since he was not being homophobic and was trying to give a speech about living the American dream and how thankful he was. Well if that was the aim he missed the mark pretty wildly with the excecution imo.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yeah unfortunate but Machida is clearly on the wane now. Sad times.

Two KO of the year contenders at the weekend!

https://youtu.be/NQnfuVxCChY

[Doomguy]

Lyoto is one of my fav fighters ever so that was rough to watch... . Hate seeing him get smashed by a steroid junkie like that.

think he should call it a day or have one or two fights at 205 before calling it quits.

[schmojo]

It's hard to see him decline. Up until he got Rockholded, I thought he was still a viable contender in either division.

Romero was great in the fight though, and (like most) I wasn't convinced by him yet. Mixed things up well with awkward striking, variation and good pressure. Machida didn't have the control of distance that he's used to, and paid for it on the very first takedown. Rockhold, Jacare and Romero are all impressive at this point. I wish Mousasi was still sharp enough to be in the mix, but there are some great fights amongst them to look forward to.

[bobontheway]

Lyoto is one of my fav fighters ever so that was rough to watch... . Hate seeing him get smashed by a steroid junkie like that.

think he should call it a day or have one or two fights at 205 before calling it quits.

Steroid junkie? Romero?

[angel]

umm..steroid junkie? he's a stocky wrestler, why say that?

[AnimeExpert2003]

McGregor vs Mendes confirmed.

[Doomguy]

umm..steroid junkie? he's a stocky wrestler, why say that?

Can't tell if you're being sarcy but half his camp have been busted for roids - he's the only one in the below pic who hasn't been caught yet. He's nearly 39 and has the corded muscle of bodybuilder.

[tec1122]

I was going with Connor against Jose and I'm

Sticking with him against Mendes. Dynamite in those hands and huge at the weight.