The new MMA general news, events and thoughts thread

[CleetusVanDamme]

Will it be televised? I'm well up for seeing that. Hopefully he fucks the guy up, Big Dave's the man!

[TildeGuy~!]

Donald Cerrone Vs. Melvin Guillard has been announced as co-main for UFC 150

[The Natural]

Donald Cerrone Vs. Melvin Guillard has been announced as co-main for UFC 150

 

As soon as I read that, my prediction is a Donald Cerrone victory. Can't see Cerrone losing that. Jump for Guillard after a prelim fight at UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II.

 

The first ever UFC Flyweight Champion will be decided between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson at UFC 152 on the 22nd of Spetember. Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann will be the co main event on the show.

[Daniel Edler]

Ariel Helwani is predicting that if Hector Lombard wins, he'll face Silva at a later date and Weidman will face Belcher in another co-main on 152. I'd settle for that.

 

Edit: That's the card with BJ/Rory too. Blimey.

[wandshogun09]

Cowboy vs Melvin. Bisping vs Stann. Benevidez vs Mouse. Weidman vs Belcher.

 

Love all these. I'm expecting them to announce Cung Le vs Rich Franklin for Macau in Nov any day now aswell.

 

I was hoping for Cerrone vs Pettis but Melvin is a good choice. Wonder who Pettis fights now though? Maynard maybe? Pettis vs Nate Diaz would be fantastic but I think Nate's sitting out for his title shot.

[TildeGuy~!]

Ian McCall Vs. Louis Gaudinot expected to be announced for UFC on Fox 4

[David]

Cowboy vs Melvin. Bisping vs Stann. Benevidez vs Mouse. Weidman vs Belcher.

A win for Bisping in this fight will surely see him on track for a titleshot. If not, I'm not quite sure what the guy has to do to get one.

[Gooner]

Bisping needs to win a actual big fight I would think to get a title shot. He has always fallen short and I don't think a win against Stann should get him a title shot.

[hbk4life]

I hope they do make Weidman vs. Belcher, as impressive as the win over Munoz was he needs another impressive win and Belcher looked great in his last fight as well, that's the perfect fight to make.

 

I really want Bisping to get a shot, but I'd love to see Silva vs. Lombard, so I'd be happy with that as well. I'd like to see Weidman vs. Belcher, Bisping vs. Belfort and Silva vs. Lombard. All of those fights could be amazing.

 

I kinda forgot how good a run Belcher was on before that lay off he had and he's continued it since his return. He's won 6 of his last 7 fights with 5 of them finishes and the loss was that fight against Akiyama. He really is due a fight against a Weidman, Belfort or Bisping.

[Herne's Son]

All these announced fights look great but I'm trying not to get excited as I don't doubt someone will pull out with injury at some point.

[jimufctna24]

Provided these fights happen here are my thoughts.

 

Cowboy vs Melvin.

 

Melvin has a decent chance here if he goes against form stays calm and keeps it standing, as he seems to have still not grasped the ground game after all these years and how he rushes in and leaves openings, I will pick Cowboy by Submission.

 

Bisping vs Stann.

 

I pick Bisping, Stann has more power but Bisping has more technical and well rounded striking. Bisping is also a better grappler and maybe a bit stronger than Stann, if Bisping has a chance to work his underated GnP, he could stop Stann. As it stands I will go with Bisping on points.

 

Benevidez vs Mouse.

 

I will go for Benevidez, unless Mighty Mouse can stick and move for 5 rounds he has little hope. Benevidez is too strong, if they grapple Benevidez could cause some serious damage. Striking he could catch Mouse as well. I see Benevidez winning a clearly on points after bullying Mouse on the floor.

 

Weidman vs Belcher.

 

This would test Weidman further if made. I think Weidman could take Belcher down, but could he cause damage. Belcher will have better submission/ground defense than Munoz did, so he would be wise to cause damage with GnP. Striking, Weidman loooked good with Munoz, but Belcher may prove more difficult. I will pick Weidman on the strength of his grappling, but it should be a big test for him.

[wandshogun09]

Benevidez vs Mouse.

 

I will go for Benevidez, unless Mighty Mouse can stick and move for 5 rounds he has little hope. Benevidez is too strong, if they grapple Benevidez could cause some serious damage. Striking he could catch Mouse as well. I see Benevidez winning a clearly on points after bullying Mouse on the floor.

 

Yeah I'm convinced Benevidez is really going to make some noise at 125. It's the perfect weight class for him and he was a fucking good bantamweight, going the distance with Cruz twice and all. Very good wrestling, BJJ, good striking, and at 125 seems to pack some nice power. He's also not at such a reach disadvantage now he's fighting at flyweight. I really think he could be the top dog in the division for a while. Mighty Mouse is great though, I just think Benavidez is a bit better at everything than him.

 

Cowboy vs Melvin.

 

Melvin has a decent chance here if he goes against form stays calm and keeps it standing, as he seems to have still not grasped the ground game after all these years and how he rushes in and leaves openings, I will pick Cowboy by Submission.

 

Cowboy vs Melvin will be a fun fight. Could be interesting in the buildup aswell with them being former teammates at Jackson's. It's a welcome addition to UFC 150 because that card needed beefing up. It's only a month away and there's only 9 fights listed for it. I'm having a Cerrone sub aswell.

 

Bisping vs Stann.

 

I pick Bisping, Stann has more power but Bisping has more technical and well rounded striking. Bisping is also a better grappler and maybe a bit stronger than Stann, if Bisping has a chance to work his underated GnP, he could stop Stann. As it stands I will go with Bisping on points.

 

I'd also fancy Bisping over Stann but you never know. Bisping would be wise to go for takedowns I think. He'll probably stand with him though and anyone standing with Action Man Stann is running a risk. He's ridiculously heavy handed and I could see him catching Bisping. I don't think Stann will ever reach the top at 185 but stylistically I think Bisping's his best matchup out of the top 5. A guy who is primarily a striker, and will likely stand with him, but who he outmatches in power.

 

I'd expect Bisping will recognize the advantage he should have in grappling over Stann though and try to exploit it. Then again I also expected him to circle away from Hendo's H-Bomb. Fuck knows.

[jimufctna24]

Yeah one mistake and Bisping could be in trouble, I as well expect Bisping to win and he should win but one lapse of concentration and it could be curtains. He left openings with Riveria and Dennis Kang when he should not have, those fights are quite recent so it is not unfathomable that he will make mistakes again.

 

I am more confident in him than Guillard though, Melvin if disiplined would beat Cowboy, he is a better athlete and more powerful a boxer, he could use this to keep it standing and cause damage when it is safe, but he wont, he will rush in get countered or more than likely throw caution to the wind and get taken down and subbed. Its a shame but Guillard has burnt me too many times.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah I've got a lot of time for Melvin, I've liked him since TUF 2. He's cocky but in a likeable way I think, like Rashad. It's frustrating as a fan of his that he can't seem to put it all together. He's had a respectable run and beat some really good fighters but for his skills, athleticism, explosiveness etc it seems like he should be a world beater.

 

BJJ always been his weakness but I think he has trouble with the mental side of MMA more than anything. Seems to let the pressure get to him just when he's looking like he's finding his groove and he drops fights then. I still think he should have beat guys like Clementi and Joe Daddy, even Lauzon who I really like I think he should have beat. And he had Nate Diaz in all kinds of bother and then mentally switched off and shot in for a takedown he didn't need and got guillotined. That one always baffled me. Love to see Melvin properly get on track though.

 

On a completely different topic, just read a really interesting article on MMAJunkie on a female MMA fighter called Jordan Nicole Gaza;

 

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29705/let-her-ea...nicole-gaza.mma

 

 

I'd copy and paste it but it's a pretty long read and easier to just link to it. Now, admittedly I only clicked the article originally because the girl's looks caught my eye but I actually really enjoyed the article.

 

Basically the guy who wrote the piece followed her around in the run up to a fight and was backstage on fight night and gets into all the stuff that goes on with a fighter's mindset in the final days and hours before a fight. Really good read. Even if you're not at all into women's MMA it's worth a read just for the content and understanding what fighters go through on a typical fight week. And the emotions after a fight.

 

Gaza seems like she has some personality too. Not the best of records at the moment (4-3 amateur, 0-1 pro) but women's MMA needs more marketable girls like this I think. Not so much looks wise, although it obviously doesn't hurt, but more that they actually have a clue on promoting themselves. Ronda Rousey has done a great job of that so far. Gaza seems to get that side of it, and she's only 19 so she's got time to improve on everything else. Good read though.

 

I saw a good one on Sergio Pettis (little brother of Anthony) a while back aswell but can't find it at the minute.

[Egg Shen]

Got announced on Boxnation last night that from September the channel will also feature MMA. The first promotion on there will be UK based UWC (Ultimate Warrior Challenge), im guessing their September show will be shown live, it has Sokoudjou in the co-main event.

 

Good news