Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[pinholestar]

God, you weren't lying. What a crazy fight!

 

Rooting for Whittaker tonight. Seems a really decent guy & I can't stand Romero. Fairly neutral in the women's title fight. Nunes has been very impressive as champion but I hope Shevchenko gives her a real challenge. Can't help but feel that Amanda has improved more since their first bout though & I'm expecting the same result. Hoping Werdum beats Overeem too.

[bobontheway]

Nunes is out. Apparently Joanna is asking to be the replacement... doubt there's a chance in hell it'll happen though

[pinholestar]

I'd imagine everyone will be watching a torrent or something this morning so I'll spoiler my thoughts, just in case.

 

Spoiler

Main event was tense as fuck! Really pleased for Whittaker. He clearly won the last three rounds & did it all on a fucked knee too. Very intelligent fight by him. 

 

Despite that I'm pretty sure Bisping would rather face him than Romero. Considering the fact that Whittaker's just taken out the two boogie-men of the division in Jacare & Romero in consecutive fights though, it's a very brave man who'd bet against him winning the proper belt when they fight later this year.

 

[glb]

Average card, but very enjoyable main event. Was absorbing from the opening bell. Think both men showed equal class in victory and defeat, and Bisping did his heel shtick to help immediately promote the upcoming unification bout. Dana scrambling to pick up the discarded MW belt though

 

Disappointed by Nunes' withdrawal but even more so by the dickheads reacting to her most recent posts with taunts of cowardice etc Most of them would shit themselves in a heartbeat if they ever had a cage door closed behind them. Hopefully the murmurs of a reschedule for 215 are true. One positive, without even fighting Joanna elevated herself another few hero levels, offering to step in on a few hours notice

 

Great promo for DC v Jones 2 during the event, just hope both are safely wrapped up in cotton wool and nowhere near any parties, cars or dick pills...

[McFly]

Id no idea what had happened with Amanada, really disappointing but must be 1000x worse for her. Dana is now saying Amanda will never headline an event again as she was able to fight and chose not to. If Dana is good at one thing its grudge bearing so i believe him when he says it.

 

Awesome fight with Whittaker and Romero, not a barn burner but tense amd compelling. I fucking hate thosr oblique/knee stomp kicks, it might sound daft but theyve purely designed to injure people. I feel exactly the same with footlocks in jiu-jitsu part of the game but that doesnt make it right, i bloody hate them.

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Not sure about Bispings antics during and after the fight, he certainly knows how to make himself unpopular. Id rather see Romero fight Bisping than Whittaker but Robert is gonna be a tough fight.

[glb]

The same Dana that told Jon Jones he'd never headline?! He must have been furious about the late withdrawal but the public petulance he shows towards fighters is pretty disrespectful (albeit it generates PR for the UFC, and keeps interest in the story). Nunes explained chronic sinusitis was the cause but that she was only tested for issues relating to her weight cut. There's a myriad of issues there, such as why didn't Nunes speak out during tests about the sinusitis to get more thoroughly tested? And should the final medical clearance come from a completely independent physician?

 

I don't imagine many fighters are ever 100% injury / illness free going into the Octagon, but anything affecting breathing is going to be more debilitating than other 'wear and tear' knocks. Feels like Nunes should have flagged the issue earlier, but also that Dana, even if he's being a cartoon villain, should take a breath before throwing fighters under the bus.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Yesss Robbie. What a G. So smart yet tough as nails. Weird to think a year or so ago the trio of Jacare, Romero and Rockhold were pretty unstoppable, now it's Bisping, Whittaker and Mousasi (assuming he re-signs). So unpredictable, I love it. 

 

Romero's team was hilarious, they looked like a load of old Cuban gangsters who had their arms twisted into wearing the Reebok kits, I'm guessing they aren't from ATT? 

 

Werdum vs Overeem was weird, cagey as fuck. That probably shouldn't be surprising considering Werdum spent their last fight rolling around on the floor but I guess I was expecting more. I see people online are saying 'robbery', that word is starting to lose all meaning. It was close, as you'd expect when only about 30 punches were landed, but it could have gone either way. 

[skittles]

So happy for Whittaker. Thoroughly deserved and a real champion. Knocked our Jacare and looked class against Romero. I think he beats Bisping easily who is quickly becoming a complete KNOB. It's not even funny it's embarrassing.

 

Petis looked very good. Can't believe I backed Miller on fantasy. 

[skittles]

On 08/07/2017 at 15:30, McFly said:

Johnson v Gaethje is insane, one of the fights of the year for sure.

Fight of the year for sure.

[McFly]

2 hours ago, glb said:

The same Dana that told Jon Jones he'd never headline?! He must have been furious about the late withdrawal but the public petulance he shows towards fighters is pretty disrespectful (albeit it generates PR for the UFC, and keeps interest in the story). Nunes explained chronic sinusitis was the cause but that she was only tested for issues relating to her weight cut. There's a myriad of issues there, such as why didn't Nunes speak out during tests about the sinusitis to get more thoroughly tested? And should the final medical clearance come from a completely independent physician?

I think they use the same doctors for consistency of opinion/diagnosis. Thats what i'd do anyway. Surely the doctor would be ethical enough to be honest and not just a company man? But who knows.

 

Nunes should have said something, even just to cover herself

 

[glb]

57 minutes ago, Yobo Ahoy said:

Romero's team was hilarious, they looked like a load of old Cuban gangsters who had their arms twisted into wearing the Reebok kits, I'm guessing they aren't from ATT? 

 

Ray the Translator is an absolute don. Jacked af too, powerful mystique.

 

I think they use the same doctors for consistency of opinion/diagnosis. Thats what i'd do anyway. Surely the doctor would be ethical enough to be honest and not just a company man? But who knows.

 

Nunes should have said something, even just to cover herself

 

 

I'd hope that's the case on both counts; anything else is opening a can of conspiracy worms, which I'd rather not do because it would be hard to reconcile against a love for watching their events.

[Gotters]

Going back to Frank Bruno (and I'm sure before him) the Adonis muscle bound physique has never leant itself to the longer distances in sports like boxing, and now MMA. Romero is a freak athlete but if somebody is cute and shuts him down he's always going to slow down and gas.

 

2 very smart performances now by Whittaker clearing up 2 murderers at MW.

 

Funniest thing is knowing that total cock Rockhold is sat there crying into his protein shakes as this all unfolds.

 

Of all the top contenders around I give Bisping the most chance against Whittaker, not saying he's a favorite just very nice for him to have had Romero and Jacare taken out the picture.

[Corrogate]

Whittaker's great for the division, big guy, good range, great output. Agreed it's an easy win against Bisping I think; I'd like to see him fight Rockhold, think that's going to be a very interesting match.

 

Bisping ripping up the Cuban flag was funny, but he shat on Whittaker who seemed to take it pretty well.

[McFly]

Mir has been released by the UFC, i assume he'll go to Bellator, him vs Mitrione or Fedor or Nelson could be decent.

 

Id love to see Romero fight Rockhold or Mousasi (or eachother, assuming he is with the UFC) its a year since Luke fought and he needs to come back or fuck off.

 

I cant wait for UFC 214 its gonna be killer. Theres a card in Glasgow this weekend but the card isnt very inspiring, not enough for me to go anyway.

[Gotters]

Romero is 40 so time is very much against him, he needs to fight another top contender soon.

 

MW is a bit muddied as Bisping is waiting for GSP, and Whittaker is the interim belt holder now. Don't have a clue how that makes sense if Bisping fights GSP next as effectively means there are 2 belts, surely Bisping has to fight Whittaker next ?

 

Dana White says the GSP fight is dead, and logically it has to be, but logic doesn't come into things much nowadays.

 

At least Bisping is doing his comedy heel best to ensure every possible opponent is bad mouthed and wants an argument with him.

[glb]

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it yet:

 

 

When the UFC get their promos right, they really get them right. Just need to be smarter with the wealth of narratives they have elsewhere.

[V3zna]

1 hour ago, McFly said:

Mir has been released by the UFC, i assume he'll go to Bellator, him vs Mitrione or Fedor or Nelson could be decent.

 

 

 

Does he not have quite a bit of his ban remaining?

[Corrogate]

I thought that promo was pretty shit to be fair. The Aldo McGregor one was cool, I guess they've overused the kicking off at the press conference last time or don't want to portray that with the news owners... Just did nothing for me, looking forward to the fight though. Big time. Holy shit balls that's gon' be good.

 

I think if Dana says the GSP fight isn't happening it won't.

 

Ariel Helwani made a good point about Diaz coming back, or rather, not coming back, that he's taken too long and turned down way too many fights. GSP vs Diaz could be a sell at this point but tbh I got very little fucking interest in either of them.

 

[schmojo]

Outstanding work by Whittaker - overcame an early injury to fight smart and never show any fear. Romero went to his wrestling early, but it definitely doesn't do wonders for his gas tank. Whittaker's like a MW Robbie Lawler 2.0. Great TDD, smart footwork, and blazing fists.

 

Bisping's trying to generate money for their fight, but it's just poorly executed. Why would he throw his own belt down, and not Whittaker's? He needs to either try harder... or try less hard.

 

That said, I agree with everyone who says that RW is Bisping's best chance of victory in the top 5.

 

Overeem/Werdum was meh. I wish both could've lost the decision.

 

Gaetjhe did what he does. Amazing scenes, but you have to wonder how this style will take a toll on him in later years.

[McFly]

Apparently he's aware that brawling may cause brain damage but isnt concerned about it.

 

As for Mirs ban, im not sure how long he has left, tbh.

[V3zna]

3 minutes ago, McFly said:

Apparently he's aware that brawling may cause brain damage but isnt concerned about it.

 

As for Mirs ban, im not sure how long he has left, tbh.

 

It's up in April 2018 apparently 

[V3zna]

Mousasi to Bellator

 

This new UFC has no clue.

[McFly]

24 minutes ago, Black Cat Supremacist said:

 

It's up in April 2018 apparently 

Jeez, thats a fair while yet, he must be mid-30s now, i wish he'd never had that bike crash.

 

Was away to post about Mousasi, real shame but all tbe best to him. The UFC sign Justin Gaethje which is great then ket release Gegard which is lane as fuck.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Overeem will be next. No way WME are renewing his current contract, he got $800k at the weekend!

[schmojo]

It's almost a shame that Romero and Jacare both have recent losses. That'll stunt their negotiating power when trying to make WME and Dana not treat the division like shit.

 

They're basically all old SF guys, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Cooker take as many as he can afford.

[glb]

17 hours ago, Corrogate said:

I thought that promo was pretty shit to be fair. The Aldo McGregor one was cool, I guess they've overused the kicking off at the press conference last time or don't want to portray that with the news owners... Just did nothing for me, looking forward to the fight though. Big time. Holy shit balls that's gon' be good.

 

I think it captures the story between them without being too bombastic, which makes a change after a load of cookie-cutter trash-talking the UFC has defaulted too recently. Guess they can take a risk on doing something a bit different because Jones is a draw regardless.

 

Just hoping the fight happens. As brilliant as Jones is, I've never warmed to him. but have got a lot of respect for DC, and enjoy his pantomine villain role. Hope DC wins this one, so we get a trilogy, because if any two fighters warrant a trilogy, it's DC and Jones.

[skittles]

How do we feel about Nunes pulling out?

 

If medically cleared, I think she should be stripped. You can't just pull out of a fight.

[McFly]

If Amanda was as ill with sinusitis as she claimed she should have said something sooner than saturday, ive had and it built up i didnt just wake up with full on sinusitis. If she was cleared then said "no" then thats worse than being ill or a bad weigh cut. I dont like seeing people being stripped all the time but either way people have been stripped of their belts for similar things. 

[glb]

UFC has to be careful because with their influx of interim belts, and the logjamming of divisions, the belts are meaning less than they did. At the moment, stripping Nunes would be a power move and give UFC back some control over a belt, although Women's Bantamweight division is hardly a problematic one compared to others. However, with Dana having already thrown Nunes under the bus immediately after the withdrawal, stripping the title now would look like it's being done for the wrong reasons, even if the root cause is valid. Not to say they couldn't still do it, and Dana has the skin of a rhino so if he wants to strip her title he will regardless, but think they'd need some diplomacy to avoid a backlash.

 

Feeling is they won't, but if Nunes doesn't make 215, as is rumoured to be the rescheduled date, then Shevchenko will fight Holm for the Bantamweight belt in the autumn.

[McFly]

Im actually coming round to stripping her, assuming its accurate whats we've been told, i think its merited. Have Shevchenko fight Juliana Pèna or Cat Zingano, (or Joanna which would be fantastic! Basically somebody other than Holly Holm) for the belt at UFC215 then Nunes can fight for it back sometime after. I feel a bit harsh as im typing but if she doesnt fight at 215 or another event within a week or 2 of 215 then definetly strip her and arrange a fight asap for the full belt.