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UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th


wandshogun09

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FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs Chael Sonnen

Alistair Overeem vs Travis Browne

Urijah Faber vs Yuri Alcantara

Matt Brown vs Mike Pyle

Uriah Hall vs John Howard

Joe Lauzon vs Michael Johnson

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Brad Pickett vs Michael McDonald

Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway

Mike Brown vs Steven Siler

Diego Brandao vs Daniel Pineda

 

FACEBOOK PRELIMS

Manny Gamburyan vs Cole Miller

Ovince St Preux vs Cody Donovan

Ramsey Nijem vs James Vick

 

This rivals, and maybe even surpasses UFC 160 as far as loaded cards go IMO. There's some beefy PPVs coming up to close out the year, 166 and 168 especially, but as far as free TV shows go, I think this might be the most stacked ever. FOX 5 last December was great but it was more top heavy than this. This looks choc-full top to bottom. A fight like Gamburyan vs Miller would have made the main card in the Spike 'Fight Night' days, it's relegated to curtain jerking on Facebook here.

 

Shogun vs Chael should be an action packed main event. Say what you want about Chael but he is always aggressive. Even if he shuts down this fight with wrestling, he's aggressive enough that I can't see it being boring. And when are Shogun fights ever boring? It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Shogun's got the striking and power advantage. And he attacks a lot off his back which Chael has been Chael's career-long kryptonite. But then Shogun has struggled with wrestlers and cardio - Chael's main strengths.

 

Despite this fight not having happened yet, there's already been talk of what's next for both. Chael's planning to go back to 185 after this and has already became involved in a back and forth with Vitor Belfort about possibly fighting in December. Shogun was linked to possibly coaching TUF Brazil 3 opposite Little Nog after this fight as well.

 

Whatever happens, I hope Chael wears this again...

 

UFC159_Event_14_Jones_Sonnen_003.jpg

 

Overeem vs Travis Browne can't possibly go the distance, can it? Two of the biggest, heaviest hitters in the heavyweight division. Overeem needs to look spectacular here. After this;

 

085_alistair_overeem_vs_antonio_silva_ga

 

He needs to win and win impressively. If he loses this one, especially if he's knocked out again, you'd have to consider him one of the biggest busts in MMA history. He came in with such buzz around him and after the Brock fight he seemed destined to become a huge star in the US. It's all gone to shit with the drug test failures, how crap he looked against Bigfoot, then getting KO'd viciously by Bigfoot. Another loss here could be the final nail. And Travis Browne could well do it. He's nowhere near as decorated as Overeem in striking but he has big power, he's aggressive and he's huge. And considering Overeem never had the best chin or cardio, and looks to be physically and mentally not the same fighter now he's being tested regularly - he might be ripe for the taking.

 

The rest of the main card rounds out nicely. Faber vs Alcantara will probably be another Faber showcase, as seems to be the case whenever Faber fights anyone below title level. Uriah Hall could pull off something Tekken-like, but he has a tough test in the returning John Howard. Brown vs Pyle might be the sleeper. Matt Brown's on a hell of a streak and Pyle's a crafty veteran. Should be exciting wherever the fight goes. And Boston's own Joe Lauzon, I shouldn't need to say anymore. He's always worth tuning in for.

 

Prelims look fantastic as well. Not a bad fight in the bunch, but two that stand out are Pickett vs McDonald, which I'm pegging as the frontrunner for FOTN honours. That should be a cracking fight.

 

Also Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway. I can't wait for this. Two of my favourite 'ones to watch'. It was originally meant to be McGregor vs Andy Ogle but this is way better I reckon. I really like them both and I can see them both having bright futures. I'm struggling to pick a winner. I'd like to see McGregor win though. I want to see how far he can go and I think there's star potential there. He should get a good reaction in Boston.

 

Dana loves him as well. Here's Conor going for a spin with the boss;

 

Conor-McGregor-and-Dana-White-video-110x

 

Feet well under the table.

 

I've put McGregor vs Holloway in the poll instead of Faber vs Alcantara, because everyone would have picked Faber anyway. This is a tougher call and I'll be interested to see how the votes go.

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To say I can't fucking wait for this entire event is an understatement. What a card this is.

 

I've gone for Sonnen via decision, McGregor via TKO, and my surprise prick, Browne via TKO. For some reason I'm seeing an Overeem obliteration.

 

The Sonnen/Shogun is so tough to call as a Shogun flurry can end it so quickly. However, I see Sonnen grinding out a win. August 17th can't come soon enough! Quite literally, 16th is my pay day I'm skint till then!

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I've gone for Shogun by KO. I'm 50/50 on the fight so I just picked Shogun because I'd rather he wins. I don't want either to lose though.

 

Couple of quotes. Shogun was expecting trash talk from Chael. This is what he said in June;

 

"He disrespected [Antonio] Nogueira, Wanderlei [silva]. About me, he still said nothing. But disrespecting Wanderlei is enough. He is a controversial guy that really likes to talk a lot, but I'm cool. Sonnen will surely want to say something to me, but it does not effect me at all."

 

There's been none though. Chael recent quote on Shogun;

 

"You know what, Rua seems like a really great guy. He's one of the few legends that are still fighting, and anytime you get old and you retire from the sport there's been an instant assignment of legend status. He truly is a legend; I admire him, I admire what he's done in the ring. He's good, he's not me, but he's very good.

 

It's funny, back when Chael was insulting everyone and their Nan, from Anderson to Wandy to Nog to Cro Cop, even Arianny felt the wrath - but I don't think I ever heard him take a dig at Shogun. He blasted pretty much every Brazilian fighter bar Shogun and the Gracies.

 

I picked Overeem by KO (although I could see Browne chinning him) and McGregor on points (I'm really not sure on this though). When you've got fights like this that almost guarantee excitement and they're tough to pick a winner in, that's the recipe for a tremendous show. Can't wait for this.

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i will be clearing my schedule for August 18th, i can't wait for this.

 

Any kind of build-up to Sonnen/Shogun has been seriously muted until now, i expect it to pick up in the next few weeks.

 

I'm pumped for this thing top to bottom. It's just a card packed with the kind of fighters who always put on great fights, if i were to bet on a FOTN for this card there's legit about 5/6 i could see winning it.

 

August is going to be insane.

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if i were to bet on a FOTN for this card there's legit about 5/6 i could see winning it.

 

Yeah, there's a bunch of fights that have 'bonus' written all over them. McGregor/Holloway and Pickett/McDonald back-to-back right before the main card is going to be insane. I hope it doesn't burn the crowd out for the main card. Then again, Joe Lauzon is opening the main show so there's little chance of a dead crowd there.

 

August is going to be insane.

 

It is. This card is ridiculous, plus we've got Aldo vs Zombie on Saturday, then later in the month there's Bendo vs Pettis 2, Mir vs Barnett, Condit vs Kampmann 2. It's probably the most loaded month in UFC history.

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i will be clearing my schedule for August 18th, i can't wait for this.

 

Any kind of build-up to Sonnen/Shogun has been seriously muted until now, i expect it to pick up in the next few weeks.

 

I'm pumped for this thing top to bottom. It's just a card packed with the kind of fighters who always put on great fights, if i were to bet on a FOTN for this card there's legit about 5/6 i could see winning it.

 

August is going to be insane.

 

I can't wait for the whole damn weekend!!

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I don't really know enough about the TRT stuff to add any useful comments of my own, but I just saw this and didn't notice it mentioned already..

 

'Chael Sonnen still not granted TUE for fight with 'Shogun' Rua in Boston'

 

Chael Sonnen may be scheduled to face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on FoxSports 1, but he still hasn't been granted a license or a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy.'

 

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/8/3/4585212/c...ports-1-TRT-TUE

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I've gone for Shogun by KO. I'm 50/50 on the fight so I just picked Shogun because I'd rather he wins. I don't want either to lose though.

I am not sure either

 

I think it will either be Chael by UD, or Shogun by KO fairly early. It all depends on if Chael can shut down Shogun early on and control the Brazilian. I am leaning towards Shogun as of now. Shogun when he wants can get guys out there early before they can get going, see the 2nd Forrest Griffin fight, and when he knows he has to score a early stoppage he can force guys to slip up and leave openings, see Lyoto Machida.

 

Prime for Prime I would like Rua all day, but even though Chael is older he has a lot more mileage and enough of a game to beat Rua. If I was a betting man I would not like to wager on this one at all.

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Yeah, same here. The thing with Shogun as well, people might say 'well if Chael tires him out with wrestling, he's fucked', but Shogun's a rare case of a guy who's still dangerous when gassed. You're never quite out of the woods with him. He rocked Hendo badly with an uppercut in the 4th round of their epic, after being on the wrong end of three rounds of GBH. He was gassed against Vera and still put him away as well. It's no given that a tired Shogun can't still stop Chael, although chances diminish obviously.

 

It's about a dead-on 50/50 for me. Only thing that would shock me is if Chael won stoppage. I could defo see Chael grinding out a points win or Shogun catching him with a big shot or even a submission.

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I know what you mean.

 

But, if Shogun is as far gone as say the Gusty or the first Forrest fight late on, it would not shock me if Sonnen secured an arm-triangle. It would be a submission win achieved not by technique, but by pure cardio. It very unlikely though.

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Could happen but it's quite a long shot IMO. There's a big difference in submitting Brian Stann and submitting Shogun. Stann was the perfect opponent for Chael, I couldn't believe it when people were acting like Chael was going to get battered and that Stann was the man who would KO Anderson. I like Stann but he was being hugely overrated after the Leben and Santiago fights. He was made for Chael in that he never really developed a ground game to speak of. If Chael was ever going to finish someone with a submission, it'd be Stann. Shogun might not be subbing people but he knows what he's doing. People question the Chute Boxe black-belts but if there's one thing they're good at it's BJJ defence. I just don't see Chael on the same threat level as the guys who've subbed Shogun before. Babalu especially, but Forrest's BJJ was underrated as well.

 

I'm in the minority who thought Shogun didn't look that bad against Gustafsson. Gusty defo won and got the better of it as the fight wore on, but it wasn't the domination it's made out to be. I thought Shogun won round 1 and even when he faded he was still landing some bombs. That fight made a believer out of me on Gusty's chin because he took some heavy shots.

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I'm in the minority who thought Shogun didn't look that bad against Gustafsson. Gusty defo won and got the better of it as the fight wore on, but it wasn't the domination it's made out to be. I thought Shogun won round 1 and even when he faded he was still landing some bombs. That fight made a believer out of me on Gusty's chin because he took some heavy shots.

It was a ugly fight, neither could look good due to how the fight went, it was very sloppy. Some fighters bring out the best in one another, for some reason Shogun and Gusty both made each other look bad. One was seemingly overhyped and the other shop worn and past it.

 

However, it is possible it was the styles and how the fight was fought that made them look bad.

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Lovely, cheers. The prelims alone would make a decent Fight Night level main card.

 

I don't really know enough about the TRT stuff to add any useful comments of my own, but I just saw this and didn't notice it mentioned already..

 

'Chael Sonnen still not granted TUE for fight with 'Shogun' Rua in Boston'

 

Chael Sonnen may be scheduled to face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on FoxSports 1, but he still hasn't been granted a license or a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy.'

 

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/8/3/4585212/c...ports-1-TRT-TUE

 

Latest on this is it will be decided one way or the other tomorrow. The Massachussetts Commission are having a meeting to decide whether to grant Chael his license for this fight. Hopefully it all gets resolved. And hopefully the UFC have a back-up opponent for Shogun just incase, although I've heard nothing to suggest they do which is slightly worrying. They must be confident it will all get worked out. When there were doubts that Mark Hunt would be able to fight JDS, they reportedly had Roy Nelson on standby, what would they do here if Chael is denied? Hopefully it won't come to that. We'll know tomorrow either way.

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