UFC 138: 'Leben vs Munoz' Discussion Thread

[TildeGuy~!]

I wouldn't mind seeing Etim vs. Cerrone myself.

 

Cerrone's taking on Nate Diaz at UFC 141

[Pier Six Brawler]

Cerrone is beyond fighting Etim at this point IMO. He's on the verge of title contention. Etim should fight someone like Guillard, Pettis or Siver.

[David]

Cerrone is beyond fighting Etim at this point IMO. He's on the verge of title contention. Etim should fight someone like Guillard, Pettis or Siver.

Siver would be a good shout.

[TildeGuy~!]

edit: double post

[wandshogun09]

I wouldn't mind seeing Etim vs. Cerrone myself.

 

Cerrone's taking on Nate Diaz at UFC 141

 

I'm pretty sure we'll get Etim vs Njokuani myself. Makes sense as Etim breezed through without getting hit and Njokuani is coming off a training camp and ready to go. They could stick that on any of the upcoming cards. Would be a fuckin cracking fight too.

[David]

The sooner we see both Che Mills & Terry Etim again on a UFC card, the better.

[wandshogun09]

The sooner we see both Che Mills & Terry Etim again on a UFC card, the better.

 

Yeah man Che Mills has been one of the better UK fighters for a long time. Going into TUF 9 he was being predicted as one of Team UK's favourites to win the whole thing but he was upset by James Wilks in the qualifiers. His UFC debut was a long time coming, glad to see him off to a promising start.

[wandshogun09]

Also, did anyone see Mark Goddard toss out that crazy fan who hopped the barricade and rushed the Octagon?

No, when did that happen?

 

Didn't notice that either. Any more info?

 

Haha yeah like jim said the lad basically just jumped the cage during Buffer's intro. He started to run up to Leben waving his arms about in support and Marc Goddard scooped him up and threw him out the cage door into the waiting arms of the security guards. I was hoping it made the air. We were pissing ourselves.

 

Found this video of it (Sorry it's so far away it's the only one i can find. Around 2:48 is where it happens)

!

 

and a pic

[John Galt]

What is it with dickheads trying to get involved with US events coming the the UK? First it was at the NFL show in Wembley and now here.

[mikey]

The main event annoyed me. It's like nobody scouts Munoz.

[wandshogun09]

OK a few thoughts on last night's show

 

Main card was a blast. As was seeing Goldberg and Rogan trying to dance before the show went live It's something I noticed when I went to my first UFC (UFC 80) and we look out for it every time now. You see them getting mic'd up and looking at their notes and shit and then they'll start their 'uncle at a wedding' dancing. Look out for it next time you go to a show. It happens almost every time.

 

Leben vs Munoz first round was pretty mental. The crowd reaction to Leben was nuts, it was almost like he'd been adpoted as a UK fighter. Everyone loved him, which is why Munoz got some undeserved boos. Great fight, shame about the ending.

 

I read today that Leben had a bad weight cut which was why he gassed so quick. Apparently he cut 21 pounds in 24 hours to make the weight. Dunno what fucked up there but that's terrible prep for a 5 rounder with a wrestler like Munoz who will wear on you. The crowd was genuinly gutted for Leben.

 

Pickett vs Barao was a fantastic round of action. They came out swinging but I thought Pickett got a bit too wild and Barao was fucking awesome. I'd seen bits online and some of his fights and highlights but I reserved judgment because he fought a lot of nobodys. He really put himself on the map doing that to someone of Pickett's calibre in under a round.

 

 

I can't wait to see more of him, got a feeling he's gonna be my favourite bantamweight. He looked very Aldo-like.

 

Alves vs Abedi was another nice little one rounder. Agreed with Metal that Abedi could be good. He was thrown straight in the deep end and despite being finished in a round he looked decent, and brought the fight to Alves. He might be one to watch if they bring him up slowly against some of the lower level guys. His entrance should have got an Entrance of the Night bonus. It was fantastic.

 

Etim's quick sub was the perfect way to kick off the main card. When he won that was probably the loudest the crowd got all night. It was deafening and the whole fucking place was shaking. Chuffed for Terry Etim, just what he needed. Hope he can now regain some of the momentum he lost the last year or so.

 

Prelims were good for the most part.

 

Maguire vs Edwards was my FOTN. Maguire looked great coming back from that near KO. Really fun back and forth fight and some excellent grappling on display from Gypsy John.

 

Shame Vaughan Lee lost the opener. It was a good little fight. Cariaso deffo won though, I only gave Lee round 1. Was a tad surprised one judge scored the fight to Lee but the right man won in the end.

 

Omigawa/Young wasn't that good but it had it's moments. Omigawa's grappling was just too good for Shotgun though.

 

Che Mills KO of Chris Cope was tremendous. Everyone seems to love Cope but I don't see it myself. Just find him and his Wooing fucking irritating. He took the loss well though in fairness, he was still smiling after the fight so fair play for that.

 

De Fries vs Broughton was the only lacklustre fight to me. De Fries showed some great grappling and control and also showed heart surviving round 2 and that crucifix. It's worth remembering that the fight was changed due to Oli Thompson pulling out and this was actually a tougher match for De Fries on short notice so it's actually a better win than Thompson would have been. I think there's better to come from De Fries and I'll be interested to see who they put him in with next.

 

All in all, a really exciting night of fights. Really enjoyed it, hope it came off as good on TV as it did live.

[jimufctna24]

Two lads sat next to me mentioned Leben having problems with the weight cut, having talked to someone from his camp.

 

I agree the only fight that was lacklustre was the heavyweights. The crowd were at its most hot for Leben, Etim and Pickett, when Barao dropped Pickett you could hear a pin drop, then a few boo's when he subbed him.

 

I will say that as this was my first MMA show live, the crowd where very well behaved bar the guy who jumped in, everyone was very friendly and having a laugh and a good time. It was a million miles away from horror stories I have heard about MMA crowds in the past.

 

It is funny that I read today most gave Munoz the first round, me and my friend gave it to Leben. Now this could be because of us getting caught up in the atmosphere, but it felt he got the best of it. I felt due to the atmosphere and back and forth action of the two rounds, it was my fight of the night.

 

The Maguire fight was very good, I thought it was over when Mini Couture dropped him, but he dominated the rest of the fight after recovering. Alves looked at his very best as well, fucking hell that was brutal.

 

As for entrance of the night, well Abedi, Etim and Leben come in second to Pickett with Chas and Dave, I was pissing myself.

 

I honestly enjoyed it more than any wrestling event I have seen, bar maybe Survivor Series 2000 when I was on holiday in Tampa.

[KingOfMetal]

just downloaded this, and only runs for 1hr 29mins. With this being on tape delay in the states, would you say this was accurate, or am I missing a load of fights that broadcast?

[Egg Shen]

UFC 138 was excellent. I think it had something to do with me going in and really hoping it would because i hate the fucking detractors, i agree that the show's card was substandard, but i just appreciate MMA in general, im happy the UFC put a show on over here, and im happy that the crowd that turned up to see it seemed to have a f'n great time, the atmosphere was electric.

 

The fact that it was without doubt a Fight Night level card but what i loved about it was it gave so many fighters a chance to shine on a big stage, and it 100% created a few new stars in the UFC, and that's what you had to hope for from this card, a few of the guys on this card have just solidified main card billing based on the performances they gave.

 

* Terry Etim, what a fucking comeback. He's basically the forgotten man of British MMA but what a re-introduction, this was a Joe Lauzon-esque destruction. Im expecting Etim to fight again before the end of the year now, cant wait to see him again.

 

* You gotta love Anthony Perosh! he reminds me of a guy like Matt Horwich or Jacob Volkmann, he's not a particularly gifted guy athletically, and he lacks any real skills in the standup department, but he's just a tough guy with one very good skill and if he get utilise it he's very good with it. It really did feel like watching an old school MMA fight, i think that's why i enjoyed it so much. Perosh is never going to be a contender, but for a guy who pretty much got a job for taking a beating, he's doing alright for himself.

 

* Alves/Abedi was shaping up to be something pretty spectucular until Alves dropped the hammer on Papy. I instantly became a fan of Papy as soon as he came out in the hat with the cigar, quality entrance. The guy's confidence and bravery basically cost him the fight, he had little respect for Alves and ended up paying for it. This fight reminded of the Feijao/Romero fight over in Strikeforce, you had one hungry up and comer taking on the veteran, giving the veteran little respect, then getting flattened for their disrespect. Great stuff, nice to see the aggression from Alves, he hasn't put on a great performance in years but he had a perfect dance partner on Saturday. I definitly wanna see Papy fight again though.

 

* Pickett/Barao was also shaping up to be a classic but Barao pulled one of the great MMA finishes, that transition to the back was amazing, crazy performance. But again it's a fight in which Brad Pickett doesn't really lose much stock, he's going to be a fan favourite for sure. Barao looks the real deal.

 

* Leben/Munoz, what a war this was. I think it was clearly going to end badly for Leben had it continued, he looked fucked and Munoz was just smashing him. It's a shame that Leben came in unprepared for what would have been a five round fight, i do not think for one second that Leben quit (anyone who does clearly has never seen him fight before) but he was not enjoying it in there. Joe Rogan was right when he said that Munoz has that kind of power that you can't help but wince when he hits people, scary power. I think Munoz is probably one win away from a shot against Anderson, and Munoz is a guy i give a great shot against Anderson, i'd love to see it.

 

I think the fight lived up to it's main event billing to, i had a feeling that the crowd might not react for it, but they were going crazy. It put the Penn/Diaz crowd to shame!

 

The prelims aired were all quality too, Che Mills & John Maguire are two new British stars, people shit on the UK MMA scene but these guys are proving that the quality on these shows (including the dastardly UCMMA) is very good. I picked Mills to potentially win the TUF he was on because i remember seeing fuck a few folks up back in Cage Rage, but it wasn't to be...glad he got his shot though, he looked awesome.

 

I know people will continue to say 'it might have delivered but it was still substandard', but does it matter? really? it was a super fun night of fights, everyone was entertained, job done...and it's only 5 days till Fox, how can you not love the UFC?

[mikey]

Ebb, the problem with British guys is that they can't transition from promising to actually good. I like Che Mills and have done for years but he has flaws in his game. There are probably better British fighters on BAMMA.