Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[Oracle]

Tru dat

[Yobo Ahoy]

Kato vs Manhoef. Woof.

https://youtu.be/hHt1be25Z6A

[Doomguy]

Man alive!

Was like watching his Robbie Lawler fight in reverse ha

[Yobo Ahoy]

Sanchez/Lamas was decent, went entirely as expected (I.e. very similar to the Melendez fight). Cejudo/Formiga nothing special but needed to be done to get a new legit (undefeated!) challenger for MM.

Basically shit loads of decisions. Again. You have to tip your hat to Magny, has knocked off two prospects in his last 2 fights but I just can't get behind him. He's just so uninspiring. I watched a 25 minute fight yesterday and barely remember it.

[Gotters]

not watched much of this rehabilitation puff piece but suspect that Jon Jones hasn't seen a lot of Kenny Powers in Eastbound & Down

[Doomguy]

+ for the Kenny Powers reference.

'My first time doing coke and I got caught'

*hints at setup*

Excellent excuse if it wasn't for the fact we now know he was a coke head long before his UFC days.

[Gotters]

the big Kenny Powers moment for me was when he was talking at the kids (not to them, at them) and saying something like 'so I've got all these awesome fighting skills'

I love him as a fighter but didn't detect an ounce of sincerity in the whole thing, the only stuff I believed was when he was talking about fighting and wanting his title back, this was a pure management team play to try and rehabilitate him and get those juicy fat sponsorships back

[Yobo Ahoy]

Some media call with McGregor and Aldo yesterday (and Rockhold/Weidman, but both of them are so bland nobody cares). Anyway Connor dominates with his usual one liners then Aldo kills it right at the end:

'The guy is working for me. He's basically making me money. How can I be angry at him?'

But seriously, I can't wait. 9 days guys!

[Gotters]

Fight should be amazing, I really hope Conor smashes Aldo, it's a close fight but I've bought into the Conor hype train

[Couch Corpse]

Conor is a -140 favourite.

https://www.bestfightodds.com/

[Gotters]

odds reflect as much where the money is going as the likely outcome - a ton of irish money on Conor moves the market massively.

if the smart fight judges really think Aldo is the fave they'll pile in.

[Tofu]

I be betting on Aldo.

[Tofu]

'The guy is working for me. He's basically making me money. How can I be angry at him?'

Aldo is a real G.

[Doomguy]

I'm not a betting man usually, but I think I'll put some money on Aldo.

Facts:

Conor has never been 5 rounds.

He hasn't got a massive size advantage like he tries to make out - they'll be the same-ish weight on fight night.

Aldo beat the best Frankie Edgar we've seen and Edgar would man handle Conor; the UFC know this which is why they've actively avoided that matchup for Conor since day 1.

[Tofu]

The whole 5 rounds thing is ridiculous, no doubt he has trained for such an eventual outcome.

Conor does look bigger though than Aldo, not surprised he's going up a weight class because the cut is huge for him.

Also Rockwell fight is going to be amazing.

[Yobo Ahoy]

I'm with Aldo too. Gonna be a great fight either way.

[Gotters]

I think Aldo is going to fight stupid and will come out for a punch up with Conor, which will play right into Conor's hands. I'm sure his corner will tell him to fight calm and sensible but I don't think he'll be able to control the rage from the 6 months plus of windups, you can see Aldo is massively irritated and annoyed by all the hype, press and trash talk. He's just no good at it and clearly has lost the pre-fight psychological battle.

A calm in control Aldo is a very interesting fight, if he's fighting angry I think he'll get starched.

[Rocafella]

Aldo isn't going to fight stupid. The guy is far too good for that. I don't think he's phased by Conor's antics.

It would be incredible if McGregor won, but I just don't see it. It wouldn't surprise me if Aldo destroyed him on the ground. I'm backing him to win within the 5 rounds.

[Gotters]

I know its cliche but I never really take notice of what people say, you look at their eyes and body language whilst saying it - I'm not saying Aldo is scared but i definitely think he's rattled by the whole circus around this fight

[schmojo]

Anyone picking Conor is a bit ignorant, and getting swept up. He may well be the next champ, but Aldo has been dominating his opposition for nearly a decade.

Even if Conor ended up winning, it would still be insane to pitch him as the favourite at this point. He doesn't have the credibility.

[disperse and recoagulate]

Hard not to like McGregor but honestly don't see Aldo losing to him. Or to anyone in fact, but stranger things have happened. Anderson Silva, Barao, Klitschko, etc.

[Fargo]

Anyone got a link to the one hour 194 embedded that was on Fox last night? or will it be on youtube at some stage?

[Fargo]

Anyone got a link to the one hour 194 embedded that was on Fox last night? or will it be on youtube at some stage?

http://www.punditarena.com/mmaufc/bbarry/video-ufc-194-embedded-is-out-and-its-fantastic/

[Doomguy]

Allegations that Sage Northcut (most idiotic name ever) has been roiding after it surfaced his dad was one of the biggest steroid distributors in the 90's. Not surprising tbh his physique doesn't look natural.

[Kingpin]

On the embedded show, Sage showed a picture of himself as a kid. He was pretty shredded at 11 from the look of it. Dad must have put him on the juice early. This is the pic actually: http://imacusa.net/images/spotlight/junior/sage.jpg

[Doomguy]

Seems to be Vitor Belfort all over again - roided out guy with god-like physique at 19. They've drug tested him five times which says to me they're already massively suspicious.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Northcutt looks like Scott Steiner, there is no way that's natural. He's posting videos of him bending frying pans with his bare hands for fuck's sake.

[schmojo]

I am going for Conor knockout and Rockhold submission.

Who is favourite to win the middleweight fight?

Weidman is the bookies' favourite across the board. It's a really interesting fight, because nobody has been able to show any control over an ever-improving Weidman, but Rockhold has been incredibly impressive too. Hard to pick, but probably Weidman just by virtue of him having shown less vulnerability than Rockhold over his career. We could easily witness something special from Rockhold though.

Everything that Conor has said about Aldo's 'square-on, old-fashioned' muay thai movement is pretty accurate, and his own fluid, capoeira-influenced style should be a bad match for it. However, nobody really hurts Aldo, so it's very hard to pick against him. For the sake of the business, I hope MacGregor puts on a good showing, but for the sake of the sport, and the previous generation, I hope Aldo makes himself a star in casual eyes by demolishing Mac.

Edgar/Mendes the day before, too. I fully expect the winner to be in the cage the next night to set up a future FW title match. I'm picking Edgar, because he's earned it before now, but either is a worthy man. Ferguson/Barbosa should be fireworks too.

[Tofu]

The factor is if Aldo can stop Conor's pressure, if he can chop his legs and circle around his left hand then the chances of him winning are extremely high.

[Tofu]

Plus Cody Pfister, like a lamb to the slaughter.