Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 17, 2011 Gutted King Mo wasn't given a fight against Evans or Franklin, it would've been great to see either of them happen. Â I think Rashad and Mo are mates. King Mo/Franklin would've been nice though. Â It's amazing how this card still looks so good despite all the injuries. Watch Belfort or Tito get injured now, it's bound to happen you just know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbk4life Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I think Rashad and Mo are mates. King Mo/Franklin would've been nice though. It's amazing how this card still looks so good despite all the injuries. Watch Belfort or Tito get injured now, it's bound to happen you just know it. Don't say that, if we lost Belfort vs. Akiyama I would be very very sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritFan Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Really looking forward to the main event of this fight and the whole card in general really! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Losing Lil Nog is whatever, it improves the card if anything. Would have liked to see Franklin again, he could have had a nice showcase after getting stifled by Griffin. Honestly thought Franklin would get bigger opportunities after retiring Liddell, but it is what it is. Will probably see him on a November card now. It will be a good card, but I'm really on the fence about my method of viewing. My system is: stream= worth watching. pub= interested. home= must watch. Hovering between stream and pub here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 18, 2011 Losing Lil Nog is whatever, it improves the card if anything. Would have liked to see Franklin again, he could have had a nice showcase after getting stifled by Griffin. Â Man, I know I'm coming across like I'm toungueing out Little Nog's crack in this thread but how any MMA fan can say a card is 'improved' by him not being on it I can't understand it. Â Sure Nog hasn't looked his best but what's Franklin done lately to make you think Nog would be a showcase? Little Nog's a showcase for no fucker in pink and brown shorts mate. And I like Franklin, he's a good fighter but he's always had trouble with southpaws with good boxing. I doubt he'd be running through someone the calibre of Nogueira. Â It would've been a close fight imo. Could've gone either way and both badly needed a win which usually makes for an exciting fight, I hope they make the fight for a later date cos I was really looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Man, I know I'm coming across like I'm toungueing out Little Nog's crack in this thread but how any MMA fan can say a card is 'improved' by him not being on it I can't understand it. Â Sure Nog hasn't looked his best but what's Franklin done lately to make you think Nog would be a showcase? Little Nog's a showcase for no fucker in pink and brown shorts mate. And I like Franklin, he's a good fighter but he's always had trouble with southpaws with good boxing. I doubt he'd be running through someone the calibre of Nogueira. Â It would've been a close fight imo. Could've gone either way and both badly needed a win which usually makes for an exciting fight, I hope they make the fight for a later date cos I was really looking forward to it. I think I would agree with you before the Briltz fight. Â Even though Franklin suffered against Belfort who is a southpaw, I still think he would win comfy against Lil Nog at this junction. Franklin has more than boxing and would use leg kicks and would have the option of taking Lil Nog down to score points as well. Â Lil Nog stand up hasnt looked great since the Cane fight, he got dropped by Bader who is very basic with his stand up and Britlz did well agaisnt him as well, Franklin is on another level to these two. Even Phil Davis a relative rookie at stand up didnt do too badly. Â I think Lil Nog has a few too many miles on the clock am afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 18, 2011 Maybe. I'm not saying he's in his prime but I think he'd do fine against most of the strikers at LHW currently. It's wrestlers he has trouble with most. Â All them fights you mentioned him having trouble in them guys were primarily grapplers and I think Nog was so worried about being taken down he didn't apply his boxing effectively. I don't think Franklin would be shooting. I can't recall many fights where Franklin really went for takedowns. The Loiseau fight is the only one that springs to mind. Â Little Nog is a dangerous boxer when he's not worrying about takedowns. I think people seriously underrate him after watching his last few fights. He's won medals in the Pan-Am games for boxing, he was the first man to drop Shogun in MMA, first man to stop Luiz Cane who was being touted as a serious contender. He's no joke and I fully believe if you put him in with any striker at 205 he'll look a lot better than he has recently. Â Franklin was the first guy since Cane who Nog could've really let loose with his hands with. I'm not even saying Nog would win but I'm pretty sure he would look a lot better than his last few outings. Â Man, I'm derailing the thread with this now so I'll stop. My main point was that I can't understand how Shane O can say the card is improved by Nog being taken off it. Even if you're not a fan of his I don't get that thinking. I mean there's guys I don't like. Mir, Koscheck etc but when fights are announced for them I'm still interested to watch. Â It's amazing to me how quick fans seem to forget a good fighter just cos he has a few losses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Maybe. I'm not saying he's in his prime but I think he'd do fine against most of the strikers at LHW currently. It's wrestlers he has trouble with most. All them fights you mentioned him having trouble in them guys were primarily grapplers and I think Nog was so worried about being taken down he didn't apply his boxing effectively. I don't think Franklin would be shooting. I can't recall many fights where Franklin really went for takedowns. The Loiseau fight is the only one that springs to mind.  Little Nog is a dangerous boxer when he's not worrying about takedowns. I think people seriously underrate him after watching his last few fights. He's won medals in the Pan-Am games for boxing, he was the first man to drop Shogun in MMA, first man to stop Luiz Cane who was being touted as a serious contender. He's no joke and I fully believe if you put him in with any striker at 205 he'll look a lot better than he has recently.  Franklin was the first guy since Cane who Nog could've really let loose with his hands with. I'm not even saying Nog would win but I'm pretty sure he would look a lot better than his last few outings.  Man, I'm derailing the thread with this now so I'll stop. My main point was that I can't understand how Shane O can say the card is improved by Nog being taken off it. Even if you're not a fan of his I don't get that thinking. I mean there's guys I don't like. Mir, Koscheck etc but when fights are announced for them I'm still interested to watch.  It's amazing to me how quick fans seem to forget a good fighter just cos he has a few losses. I agree that Lil Nog being of the card hurts it, I was looking forward to seeing him fight Franklin.  Lil Nog is/was a good boxer no doubt I just think he has slowed down to the point where he is a shell f his former self. You say he has trouble with wrestlers and I would agree that is a gap in his game despite having improved TDD, but he also got dropped standing against Bader who I believe to be very basic and stiff standing up.  Maybe you have a point that with Franklin he would not be scared of takedowns so he could let his hands go but unfortunatly we may never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 18, 2011 Lil Nog is/was a good boxer no doubt I just think he has slowed down to the point where he is a shell f his former self. You say he has trouble with wrestlers and I would agree that is a gap in his game despite having improved TDD, but he also got dropped standing against Bader who I believe to be very basic and stiff standing up. Â Fair point forgot about that. Â Even then though, the threat of the takedown not only fucks with your offensive boxing but it hinders your defence too cos you have to keep your hands in a lower position than usual to sprawl or get underhooks to fend off the takedowns. GSP uses that perfectly to outstrike better strikers like Alves and Penn. Â In a straight boxing match Nog would school Bader but that's the beauty of MMA, one discipline effects another and it's how you put it all together. Tito had the wrestling background that meant he wasn't worried about the takedown and he was able to land on Bader and drop him. Â Nog deffo needs to work on putting his boxing and grappling together better. Someone with his credentials in both boxing and jiu-jitsu is a rare thing in MMA. I'd love to see him go on a good run but with the likes of Jon Jones at the top and his problems with wrestlers in such a wrestler heavy division means he'll probably stay at the mid level. Franklin's in the same position. Too good for the lower guys but not quite up there with the top guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 18, 2011 Anyway I'll leave that now  What's everyone expect from Belfort/Akiyama? Should be a really fun fight. I'd favour Belfort myself, I think his boxing's too good and Akiyama gets hit a fair bit. He has a good chin and heavy hands but I can't see him coping with Vitor's speed and power.  It would probably be wise for Akiyama to try and use his Judo in this one. If he stands and tries to land a bomb he'll probably get picked apart. Belfort's too fast and accurate imo. Hope it doesn't go the distance cos neither guy is a cardio machine, could be ugly if it goes past round 2.  I'm calling Belfort by TKO round 2. Hopefully setting up Belfort vs Leben and Akiyama vs Wanderlei  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Man, I'm derailing the thread with this now so I'll stop. My main point was that I can't understand how Shane O can say the card is improved by Nog being taken off it. Even if you're not a fan of his I don't get that thinking. I mean there's guys I don't like. Mir, Koscheck etc but when fights are announced for them I'm still interested to watch. It's amazing to me how quick fans seem to forget a good fighter just cos he has a few losses. I suppose the thing for me is not having the bias of seeing his earlier form in Pride. Judging him solely on his UFC run, I can't understand the quasi-legend billing he gets, I haven't been impressed by anything apart from his debut against Cane, and he got defeated without a great deal of trouble by rookies Bader and Davis. Even Cro Cop has looked better in the Octagon. As for Mir and Koscheck, I think they're both overrated fighters, but they're pricks who I want to see get destroyed. I don't particularly dislike Nog, but he hasn't shown much of anything present-day to get excited over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
METAL ON METAL Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Good blog from Tito Ortiz about the whole situation and why he accepted the fight. He comes across very well in it and makes you wanna root for him: Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 19, 2011 I suppose the thing for me is not having the bias of seeing his earlier form in Pride. Judging him solely on his UFC run, I can't understand the quasi-legend billing he gets, I haven't been impressed by anything apart from his debut against Cane, and he got defeated without a great deal of trouble by rookies Bader and Davis. Even Cro Cop has looked better in the Octagon. As for Mir and Koscheck, I think they're both overrated fighters, but they're pricks who I want to see get destroyed. I don't particularly dislike Nog, but he hasn't shown much of anything present-day to get excited over. Â Yeah thats fair enough. I think I am sometimes a bit guilty of a bit of heart over head thinking when it comes to the likes of the Nogs, Wand, Shogun and Cro Cop. But I still think Nog has something left. Â I deffo don't think he's looked worse than Cro Cop in the UFC. Cro Cop has looked fucking abysmal as sad as I am to admit it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Yeah thats fair enough. I think I am sometimes a bit guilty of a bit of heart over head thinking when it comes to the likes of the Nogs, Wand, Shogun and Cro Cop. But I still think Nog has something left. I deffo don't think he's looked worse than Cro Cop in the UFC. Cro Cop has looked fucking abysmal as sad as I am to admit it To be fair, the only fighters out of the Pride cornerstones that have served anything resembling their primes in the UFC are Rampage, Henderson and Shogun, all the others have either lost a big step like Silva, Big Nog Gomi, Lil Nog and Herring or been complete busts like Cro Cop.  Dont let the fact that Big Nog won that interm title fool you, he is nowhere near as in shape as he was in 2004 where he was at his physical peak when he fought Fedor for the second time (even though he lost)  One thing you can notice is espically with Big Nog, Silva and Cro Cop is how their physiues have changed, from being ripped and toned to being more flabby. Maybe it is their age or the fact they cant use PED as much like they did in Pride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 19, 2011 Deffo PEDs yeah but I think a lot of it is just down to ware and tear aswell. Them 3 have been fighting in some form or another for like a combined 30 years or something. It's gonna take a toll. Â I'm certainly not in denial about it. None of them are what they were, especially Big Nog and Cro Cop. Wand doesn't have long left in the game and Shogun is so injury prone it's hard to see how he will ever reach a consistent run of good form like he had years ago. Â I honestly think Little Nog, Shogun and Rampage have some good fights left. Not saying Lil Nog's gonna be a contender or anything like that but I genuinely think he has some good performances left in him. I don't see why he'd suddenly go shit between the Cane and Brilz fights. He just needs a fight like a Franklin or Bonnar. Someone like that to show he can still go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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