MMA: Past Fight Discussion

[Egg Shen]

Bellator's reality show is starting early next year, it's gonna be a tournament format similar to TUF but Bellator are promising a different approach to it, they've also had a sly dig at the quality of the UFC's competitors in recent years. Bellator are saying they are bringing fighters that are good enough to be in their regular tournaments for the reality show so it's gonna be interesting.

[jimufctna24]

Underachiever - Lyoto Machida

 

 

The best thing to happen to Lyoto Machida right now, would be for him to be caught making out with Anderson Silva's wife.

 

He is currently stuck in a weightclass he should not be in, at 185lbs Lyoto could and probably should be champion if Anderson was not about. Their friendship means they will never fight, which is really a bit of a shame.

 

Machida is one of the most technically gifted fighters in MMA history. Steven Seagal said he was more talented than Jon Jones and that only size prevented Machida beating him, on the surface that is laughable but it is not beyond reason. Only Lyoto has knocked out Rashad Evans, who has some of the slickest boxing in MMA.

 

Forget the mystique and hype, Lyoto is very good at basic things, speed, quickness and not getting hit. He usually knows when to counter as well when he is confident. His confidence was shaken by the come forward Chute Boxe style of Shogun, a fighter I felt Machida could pick of and use his aggression against with countering.

 

Shogun used leg kicks in the first fight and really should have won, in the second fight he just walked through Lyoto to finish, all the respect was gone and Machida I think was lacking in confidence. This carried over for two rounds in the Rampage fight, watch the third round to tell the proper story, Machida lose on points but won the fight against a guy he should have won all 3 rounds against.

 

I think the leg kicks by Shogun opened doubt in Machida's head, which lead to Shogun being able to win that second fight. It remains to be seen if Machida can deal with leg kicks though.

 

Amazingly due to being massively overhyped over the years, some people thought Randy Couture would beat Machida, I am not sure why other than some mystical illusion that Randy overcomes logic more often than he actually does. Machida schooled him like he should have done and make no mistake Randy at his peak would have been schooled as well. I do like Randy believe it or not, he is okay for a Republican.

 

Then came Jones, that first round was Lyoto's no doubt. Only the takedown and GnP set up that strike that dropped him as well, from there the smaller man was easy prey for a man could be a HW against a man who should be a MW. That first round given the circumstance is still amazing, Vitor, Rashad and Rampage combined did not give Jones that much trouble standing.

 

The schooling of Bader was fun, it was no less skillful that Anderson tooling Bonnar. Two skilled fighters making average fighters look like shit, and I loved it. What impressed me was unlike after Shogun, Machida did not let the Jones loss effect him. He went out and played his game to a tee. He looked great that night.

 

So what could he be/have been well............

 

If he moved down to 185lbs, he could school most if not all of the guys MW has seen in the past 5 years. Franklin he beat, Sonnen he should give nightmares to. Bisping is nowhere near as consistent to not fall into Machida's counters and the size advantage others have at 205lbs would be rendered null and void. Weidman may be the only one with potential to give him trouble.

 

Machdia vs Anderson? It will never happen like I said, but if it did. It could end with a 25 mins of not much happening, both are too crafty to fall for the other ones traps. Their is a chance Anderson would try the Shogun methods of walking through or landing leg kicks. I would probably go with Anderson with him being the more consistent performer but I could see a boring 5 rounds and Lyoto winning by default.

 

Machida is a more skilled 205er in my view than GSP, Condit and Diaz are 170lbs, Edgar, Bendo are 155lbs and Cruz is a 135lbs. His skills and technique warrant a belt and a long reign, he is just trapped by the bigger man in Jones and his good friends and marvel Anderson. Its a shame really and that loss to Rampage still annoys me to this day!!!!

Edited November 29, 2012 by jimufctna24

[Egg Shen]

interesting read...i don't think id label him an underachiever though, id put it more under a 'what if?', Machida's been one of the more succesful 205'ers of recent years.

[jimufctna24]

He has indeed.

 

But like I said he could be more if he moved down to 185lbs. Its more circumstance rather than being lazy why he is not enjoying a long title reign his talented warrants.

 

Its the same as BJ Penn struggling to find a weight class that suits him for years until he settled at 155lbs for a while. Just Machida is not a lazy fat knacker. I guess it depends on how you look at it.

 

Btw EBB when are you doing a bit on Todd Duffee, think that would be a good read

Edited November 29, 2012 by jimufctna24

[Egg Shen]

depends on when ive got the time/effort

[The Cum Doctor]

WEC 6: Return of a Legend

 

This show marks the return of Frank Shamrock. Hence the title of the show.

 

Erik Husbands vs. Poppies Martinez

 

Fuck me sideways. THAT is a knockout mofos! Husbands walks right into a big combo from Martinez, and then Martinez lands an absolutely vicious and hellaciously quick combo of rights and lefts and Husbands hits the canvas like a ton of bricks. That is a QUICK KO. That combo doesn't get any older with replays. Superb stuff there.

 

Jack Cardenas vs. Chris Sanford

 

Middleweight tussle on the way! Sanford is wearing a top here. You don't see that often! This doesn't last long, but fuck me, this is a terrific war. Sanford is in BIG trouble early from the Cardenas combo but then Sanford recovers out of nowhere, and what follows that is both men reversing the position and both guys having chances to win the fight, but it winds up being Sanford getting an Armbar after some brutal ground and pound. The MC lets us know how impressive this was as well, and rightly so. Short but incredibly sweet.

 

Ed Wedding vs. Doug Evans

 

This is a fun round of action. Doug Evans actually looks very good here and looks dominant, almost taking down Wedding at will. But he couldn't take advantage of it, and that got punished. Wedding manages to escape the bottom position and spins into an Armbar and forces Evans to tap out. Evans did have a lot of control, but it really enough, and that allowed Wedding the chance to take the fight. Fun stuff. Incidentally, that finish came 20 seconds before the end of the first round.

 

Bret Bergmark vs. Brodie Farber

 

Bret Bergmark looks just a wee bit like Kid Fite. I'm not sure how impressive Farber looked in the first round. I do know that Bergmark looked absolutely rotten. He started with some horrendously slow leg kicks and Farber just flung a right hand and down went Bergmark. And then Farber found it easy as you'd like to find a better position down there. Guillotine choke, and then to the mount, and he never looked in danger from there. He eventually just laid into Bergmark, but you got the impression Bergmark couldn't have stopped him doing this earlier.

 

Mike Swick vs. Kengo Ura

 

I've seen more exciting fights. Kengo Ura looked decent enough, but he kept finding himself in good positions, and all of a sudden would find himself in a lot of bother. Mike Swick is obviously very dangerous, but Ura did his part as well, as there was a couple of occaisions where it could have been avoided. Mike Swick landed a couple of big knees in the fight before that third big one that basically ended the fight for him as well. Basically, Kengo Ura was asking for trouble from the word go and wound up walking right into it.

 

Bill Goldberg is here to talk MMA, and then Tito Ortiz is in the cage to talk about the fight coming with Chuck Liddell.

 

Gilbert Melendez vs. Jeff Houghland

 

OOFT!!! Melendez! This is a pleasant surprise right here. Melendez is sporting some horrendous flowery shorts here. Gilbert Melendez looked good here. He completely controlled round one. He couldn't do much damage as Houghland did a decent job of limiting what Melendez could do. In the second round, it seemed like Houghland was getting some joy with the takedown and some control, but out of nowhere, Melendez gets the mount, unloads with ground and pound, and then takes the back and does more of the same and the referee steps in. You can see why Melendez would go on and have a good career.

 

Joe Hurley vs. Nick Diaz

 

Hurley has an absolutely ridiculous hairdo. He has horns. HORNS!!! Ugh. Hurley could only really keep Diaz at bay, but not for long. Diaz came out of the traps big time, and then got the tapout in short order, breaking the arm of Hurley in the process. Nice sportsmanship at the end when as soon as it's done, he makes sure Hurley is alright. Is this Nick Diaz I'm watching? Anyways, great showing from Nick Diaz.

 

Levi Thornbrue vs. Brian Stromberg

 

Time for a heavyweight clash now. Stromberg had Thornbrue in trouble right from the word go, landing a couple of combos flush. After that it was the takedown, and after some work to improve position, he got the half guard and then forced Thornbrue to tap after strikes. The theme for this show appears to be impressive performances from one of the guys in each fight.

 

Jeremy Jackson vs. Shonie Carter

 

In the first round, Jackson seemed very apprehensive. He had Carter in a lot of bother when he had him in all sorts of bother, but later in the fight we find out why, as when he gets put into bother then, he just throws them big Spinning Backfists around willy nilly and Jackson just stands away from him and lets him throw them. Carter is a bit dangerous at times. Jackson is the better man on the feet, which is where the majority of the fight is spent, and he rocks Carter a good few times. Whenever Carter comes into the fight big, Jackson seems to show him that HE'S the boss on the feet. Carter got a few takedowns in the second two rounds though and that might have the judges liking it. Whatever the decision, that was a damn fun fight. Jeremy Jackson gets the deserved win from this.

 

Chris Williams vs. Gil Castillo

 

This is the first "superfight" on this show. There seems to confusion as the referee stops the fight to check the cut of Chris Williams, and they seem to think the fight is over. The commentators seem to think the fight should have been stopped in the first round, but I thought Chris Williams was doing well to defend himself. The corner decides the fight is over when the round ends though, and Gil Castillo winds up getting the win. Probably the smart move as he clearly wasn't in the same league as Castillo, and he'd only have taken more brutality.

 

Bryan Pardoe vs. Frank Shamrock

 

And this is the reason that people would have been watching this show. You don't rule out great fighters. I was thinking early "ooft, this isn't looking good for Shamrock" and Pardoe has him in trouble. But Shamrock is great, and he catches Pardoe with the Triangle Choke and then into the Armbar and that's the end of the fight via tapout. Was good to see that tapout there.

 

That show was all sorts of fun to watch.

[wandshogun09]

So there's a fighter named Wedding and a fighter named Husbands and they didn't book them against each other? Missed a bit of a trick there I'd say.

 

Sounds like a great show. I reviewed Diaz vs Hurley in my Diaz career review, he had a brutal angle on that kimura. He tapped Josh Neer with the same technique in the UFC.

 

Didn't know Hougland fough Melendez. Sounds good. Chris Sanford was on TUF 1 as well. I'll really have to get watching these old WECs. My regular following of WEC didn't start until WEC 34. I've seen earlier stuff since but mostly just selected fights. What I like about these early shows is that almost every fight there's a familiar face is involved.

Edited November 29, 2012 by wandshogun09

[The Cum Doctor]

Sounds like a great show. I reviewed Diaz vs Hurley in my Diaz career review, he had a brutal angle on that kimura. He tapped Josh Neer with the same technique in the UFC.

 

The thing I liked the most about it was that Hurley seemed to completely not realise that Diaz can tap you out fairly quickly. Diaz had him so worried about the rights and lefts coming flying that he practically gifted him that Kimura. Diaz was brilliant in the fight.

[jimufctna24]

depends on when ive got the time/effort

 

Luckily being a student I have plenty of both.

 

That WEC show looks top-draw.

Edited November 29, 2012 by jimufctna24

[wandshogun09]

This is probably the place for this. Chuck Norris talking about getting schooled by the Gracies...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...p;v=U7t1RjFqRsw

 

Nice story. Seems a good guy as well. None of that Steven Seagal-like "I taught him everything he knows before he was even born" bollocks here.

 

He's been doing BJJ for 28 years he said at the end. 28 fucking years. This fucker was throwing triangles and omaplatas before I was even a micro sperm in my Dad's ballbag.

[Egg Shen]

Chuck looks great for 72.

[wandshogun09]

Just been watching GSP vs Koscheck 2 from UFC 124. Not a classic or anything by any means but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. The crowd made it feel huge as well which always helps. Better fight than I remembered.

 

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is this....after 3 rounds of GSP battering Kos' eye shut with jabs and left hooks, the doctor takes a good look at the eye before round 4. Joe Rogan goes "Get that dude out of there, he's fine", the doc does the old fingers test and Rogan says "Oh no, get out of there dude". Despite Koscheck clearly being unable to see from the eye they let him continue to which Rogan says "Yeah, Herb Dean knows what's up".

 

Forward no more than a minute later...GSP has Koscheck on the fence and knees him in the swollen shut eye. Rogan goes "He kneed him in that eye. That eye is JACKED. He can't see those knees coming".

 

Ridiculous.

[The Natural]

Just been watching GSP vs Koscheck 2 from UFC 124. Not a classic or anything by any means but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. The crowd made it feel huge as well which always helps. Better fight than I remembered.

 

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is this....after 3 rounds of GSP battering Kos' eye shut with jabs and left hooks, the doctor takes a good look at the eye before round 4. Joe Rogan goes "Get that dude out of there, he's fine", the doc does the old fingers test and Rogan says "Oh no, get out of there dude". Despite Koscheck clearly being unable to see from the eye they let him continue to which Rogan says "Yeah, Herb Dean knows what's up".

 

Forward no more than a minute later...GSP has Koscheck on the fence and knees him in the swollen shut eye. Rogan goes "He kneed him in that eye. That eye is JACKED. He can't see those knees coming".

 

Ridiculous.

 

Fight needed to be stopped earlier but I haven't watched it since it occured.

Edited December 7, 2012 by The Natural

[jimufctna24]

Rogan has a history of bloodlust. He want knees to the head legal and ground stand ups due to inactivity to be stopped.

 

Not just in MMA but in life, he hates authority or the state having a hand in anything. But, yes in this case he was being a bit silly, sometimes these fighters need to be saved from themselves.

[The Natural]

Rogan has a history of bloodlust. He want knees to the head legal and ground stand ups due to inactivity to be stopped.

 

Not just in MMA but in life, he hates authority or the state having a hand in anything. But, yes in this case he was being a bit silly, sometimes these fighters need to be saved from themselves.

 

Yep. Joe Rogan justified Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153 carrying on before the doctors stoppage even though Maldonado was taking a brutal beating and was on wobbly legs in the first round.

Edited December 7, 2012 by The Natural