Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[luckypierre]

Re: Kennedy fight

 

It was Bisping's first fight back after his detached retina wasn't it? I'm sure it was and he was very cagey in that fight iirc. Not that I'd choose Bisping over Romero but I wouldn't put too much stock in his performance vs Kennedy and I've always had him beating Hammill in that fight

[schmojo]

Including the judges that night, that's gotta be 4 people who believe Bisping won that fight

 

He got handled by Kennedy at will, and hasn't had to deal with a wrestler of that calibre since. Or, really, any wrestler outside of Dollaway. And Kennedy has never shown the kind of wrestling that Romero showed against Weidman. 

 

'Gas tank'/5 round sprint is definitely his best way to win, but Romero's is: punch, knee, wrestle, GnP, cage control and, if all else fails, cheating. Bisping's got great TDD, but did you see that spinning transition where Romero took (All-American wrestler) Weidman's back? Crikey.

 

Mike's smart though. He'll make a ton of money off that fight, and retire if he loses. Then, a year down the line he has the option of big money comeback fights against Rockhold, Weidman, Nick Diaz, Silva, whoever.

 

[Yobo Ahoy]

Watched both of Saturday's events. Belfast was much the better card than Brazil, to be honest (although Almeida was great as always, I think he'll be fighting for the title by the end of next year) . Not sure I'd say the main was an anti climax, Mousasi was understandably cagey given the how he lost the first fight, and Hall was just looking for a repeat with the spinning counters. Decent fight I thought. 

 

As for Bisping, unfortunately I'm in the camp that thinks Yoel dominates him. 

[Kebabilicious]

I just meant anti-climatic in comparison to the Pearson v Ray fight which i thought was an excellent battle.

 

I agree that itnis absolutely possible  Romero could dominate Bisping  but for me, i think Bisping's experience lets him ride out the storm.

 

Romero's cardio over 3 round bouts has been questionable (despite some wins in the 3rd) but i think that if bisping can drag it to the championship rounds, he could drag romero in to deep water and scrape a decision

[schmojo]

Some wins in the third? I think he's got 5 Rd 3 T/KOs in his UFC stint alone!

[Doomguy]

I think I am now a Romero fan. Brilliant. 

 

 

[Yobo Ahoy]

DC is out of 206. I am fucking sick of AKA. And people wonder why they are reluctant to give Khabib a shot at LW - say what you want about McGregor but he trains smart. 

[ckny]

[Tofu]

American Kickboxing Academy. Just standard stuff really, not surprised

[Doomguy]

Number of fights over a 3 year span:

 

Donald Cerrone on his own

 

= 13 fights.

 

Cain

Cormier

Rockhold

Khabib

 

Combined

 

= 18 fights.

 

That is absolutely pathetic. 

 

 

 

 

 

[angel]

5 hours ago, Yobo Ahoy said:

DC is out of 206. I am fucking sick of AKA. And people wonder why they are reluctant to give Khabib a shot at LW - say what you want about McGregor but he trains smart. 

 

took the post right outta my mouth.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Terribly boring card last night (Whittaker vs Brunson) saved by an absolute  banger of a one-round main event. Sloppy as hell but great fun. Very much like Diaz vs Daley or Arlovski/Browne. 

 

Oh also Dan Hardy called the former 'Forrest Whittaker' haha.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Also this FW stuff is daft. Ok, Conor was never gonna fight again at this weight, I think we all knew that. So it's fine to promote Aldo to de facto champ. But why does Holloway/Pettis need to be for an interim title? Surely a good old-fashioned title eliminator would serve the same purpose? 

[Kingpin]

Yeah, it's a weird decision, a desperate attempt to push some interest in the next PPV?

 

Still, I'm glad it means that they'll have to give Holloway his shot against Aldo (I can't see Max losing to Pettis). 

[angel]

Conor likes confounding people, i think hes waiting til theres a new champ he fancies beating at 145.  Theres no reward in beating aldo again which is his toughest fight there by far. I think he wants pettis or holloway, sellable and winnable.

[angel]

Ah I've just seen the report. Ah well, fine, he did have very little to gain really back there, and fantastic trolling of aldo.....that 13 second loss will never be avenged (unless in Bellator in 20 years time both aged 50 odd).

[Corrogate]

Lol, are you mad? I say he definitely goes back down to 145. Realistically what does he have going? A rematch with Nate is what most people are postulating, then he'll have to defend the 155lb belt - say he beats Khabib or Ferguson, maybe does two fights there, is he going to hang around to be the 155lb champ for a while? I doubt it.

 

If he goes up to Welterweight, he faces the real competition; I say he gets muscled out of 170, if he fights there at all.

 

Edit: And I think he has to go to 170, he has to keep pushing the envelope. I don't mean to sound negative though, 170 would be fookin' quality division to see Conor at.

 

Featherweight is his fail-safe, he can flirt with the other decisions and spend sometime at Lightweight, but in eighteen month's time, after a fight with Nate, a couple at 155 or a move into the big boy's division (as a measure against prior weight classes) he goes back to FW for the belt before retirement, which I hope he doesn't go for early.

[schmojo]

Nah, he's not mad at all. Conor's got no reason to make the cut to 145 again. Too much risk. It was the right division to come up in though - less treacherous than 155 at the time.

 

155 seems like a good home for him now, and if he wants them, there are plenty of great fights there. He'd be murdered by a host of legit 170lbers, but if he's promised a title shot there, I can see him going for it.

 

That said, with one belt gone, there's no '3 belts at once' narrative, so maybe it loses some of the point. Although I can't think of another 3 division champ (simultaneous or otherwise) off the top of my head.

 

[angel]

51 minutes ago, Corrogate said:

Lol, are you mad? I say he definitely goes back down to 145. Realistically what does he have going? A rematch with Nate is what most people are postulating, then he'll have to defend the 155lb belt - say he beats Khabib or Ferguson, maybe does two fights there, is he going to hang around to be the 155lb champ for a while? I doubt it.

 

If he goes up to Welterweight, he faces the real competition; I say he gets muscled out of 170, if he fights there at all.

 

Edit: And I think he has to go to 170, he has to keep pushing the envelope. I don't mean to sound negative though, 170 would be fookin' quality division to see Conor at.

 

Featherweight is his fail-safe, he can flirt with the other decisions and spend sometime at Lightweight, but in eighteen month's time, after a fight with Nate, a couple at 155 or a move into the big boy's division (as a measure against prior weight classes) he goes back to FW for the belt before retirement, which I hope he doesn't go for early.

 

Haven't you seen, hes apparantly relinquished the 145 belt, he's done there.

 

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/11/26/13755344/conor-mcgregor-relinquishes-ufc-featherweight-title

[Doomguy]

5 hours ago, Yobo Ahoy said:

Also this FW stuff is daft. Ok, Conor was never gonna fight again at this weight, I think we all knew that. So it's fine to promote Aldo to de facto champ. But why does Holloway/Pettis need to be for an interim title? Surely a good old-fashioned title eliminator would serve the same purpose? 

 

The interim belts piss me off. There's only been two times ever when they made sense and that was when Mir had his bike crash (so Sylvia vs Arlovski ) and when Tito refused to fight Liddell for 12 months. THAT'S IT. 

 

This is also why Conors 'two weight champ' accomplishment is hollow as fuck as he never defended either belt. 

[schmojo]

Nor did he even earn a 155lb title shot.

 

But he's built a formula in Cage Warriors and it's working incredibly well in the UFC.

[angel]

14 minutes ago, Stevedave said:

 

The interim belts piss me off. There's only been two times ever when they made sense and that was when Mir had his bike crash (so Sylvia vs Arlovski ) and when Tito refused to fight Liddell for 12 months. THAT'S IT. 

 

This is also why Conors 'two weight champ' accomplishment is hollow as fuck as he never defended either belt. 

 

To be fair to Dana he has always said that if any of his champions think they can challenge another belt, they get an instant shot. Sure its marketing, but it wasn't invented just for Conor. He's just been the 1st to pull it off. I mean, he beat the guy who beat RDA. He's beaten Aldo, Poirier, Holloway, Mendez...we all know the list. I say fair play to him.

 

As for interim belts, they're just doing what any promoter would to save a poor card. If we want to see these fights with a reasonable audience size and good coverage, we have to accept it's sports entertainment, with all the promotional silliness that entails. At least the fights are real, and still fun. And who doesn't enjoy seeing Dana squirm in the face of Conor's increasing power.

[angel]

Chuck Mindenhall on usual form in regards 145

 

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/11/27/13757042/the-problem-is-conor-mcgregor-was-the-life-of-the-party-at

[Corrogate]

Just to add a thought , Holloway Vs. Pettis... bloody good bit of competition!

[ckny]

Conor would annihilate either of them.

[skittles]

It should be Holloway vs Aldo for the belt.

 

Gifting to Aldo is ridiculous and Petis certainly doesn't deserve it as much as Holloway.

[Yobo Ahoy]

13 hours ago, ckny said:

Conor would annihilate either of them.

 

Holloway is the real deal and has improved a lot since their first fight. Also both men claimed they were injured for that fight so I'd definitely like to see it again... In theory anyway, but I doubt it will happen.

 

I don't know why some people are so adamant that Conor will fight again at FW. He clearly hated the cut and even his coach said pretty much straight after he beat Aldo that he thought he was done at that weight.

 

[angel]

Conor says it though when asked, he always says "I can make that cut", and he's right, he always makes it.  But still, I think the real full honest truthful reason is that there is nothing left there. Holloway, Aldo, even Pettis at 145...no real money in it. Only Holloway out of that lot who can really sell the fight. He knows this, he wants to see how close to being a legit 170lber he can get, he's planted the promotional seed with Woodley, so that's the aim. Its ingenious, because he takes 6 months off as double champ, now removed by the UFC so he's the "victim" without defending it, no pressure to defend 155 as he only just won it, enjoy his life for 6 months and test out his body in training.  Now he's abandoned 145 he can push further upwards, have that crack at Woodley, and no one will blame him if he loses - because he's challenging himself above his weight.

And if he wins....stop the presses, just make him president of the UFC by that point.

[Corrogate]

He doesn't beat Woodley though. Do you really think that left hand, against the negation of the reach advantage, has any where near the advantage it does below anything other than 170?

 

Woodley would fuck Conor up like a gorilla. The most intriguing fights at 170 for Conor, in my opinion, are Wonderboy, for their abilities to use their wide stances to dip in and out, Lawler, BIG time, and Cerrone, but I see him beasting Cerrone with relative ease.

 

Lawler Vs Conor is the one I feel, that's the firework factory set alight.

[Doomguy]

Conor gets smashed against the elite at 170lbs. The top ten of welterweights are mostly former 185lbers. He fought Nate at 170 but Nates a lightweight.