Paid Members Carbomb Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 I was going to say - judging from the successes of the likes of Saku and Josh Barnett, perhaps it's not so much a case of wrestlers not having much chance against MMA fighters as the talent being put up to fight just wasn't there? The vast majority of pro-wrestlers are pretty much untested when it comes to competitive combat sports, because that isn't their field - what got them to the dance in combat sports was that they were already working for a pro-wrestling company, for whom fighting ability isn't really a pre-requisite. As a result, given that elite-level fighting talent is a comparatively rare thing, chances are that most of the pro-wrestlers who competed in MMA were only lower or mid-level talent. It doesn't necessarily mean that wrestling is an inferior fighting style, just that it wasn't being represented by its best exponents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I was going to say - judging from the successes of the likes of Saku and Josh Barnett, perhaps it's not so much a case of wrestlers not having much chance against MMA fighters as the talent being put up to fight just wasn't there? True.  But there's also the preparation variable. Nagata might have matured into being a respectable MMA talent. But putting him against Cro Cop and Fedor for his first two fights was insane. Barnett and Sakuraba were grizzled veterans when they mixed with other respectable fighters. They knew the ins and outs of the game. What worked and what didn't.  Nagata and others didn't have that experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
METAL ON METAL Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Starting from UFC 200, Reebok/UFC are finally allowing fighters to deviate from the boring white/black fight gear. Â Â Still the same old shitty design but it's a start, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Excellent red isn't as good as mediocre red in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 Personally i loved seeing the pro wrestlers step up and fight MMA. It rarely ended in anything other than disaster but it always made for some entertaining freakshow viewing, pretty much all of them went out on their shields too, crazy brave bastards. In fact, any kind of non-MMA fighter moving into MMA had my attention. Sumo's, actors, baseball players, comedians, manga characters they chucked em all in there. Â Â only in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Excellent red isn't as good as mediocre red in my opinion. Pfff  Below-average red blows them both out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 I like how for the "Champ" gear, they make very sure to hint that "McGregor" is written on the shorts. They're really trying to get him to wear that T-shirt, aren't they? Â Fuck Reebok, anyway. Over-priced, over-rated bollocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 That's a massive step in the right direction! To be honest, I never had a massive problem with the design, although it is a bit shit, my issue was always the lack of colour. Never was it more evident how boring everyone wearing the same the black and white gear was than at UFC 194 when McGregor came out in green shorts. The reaction to that online and even from proper MMA figures like Rogan and Schaub was 100% positive. I'm surprised it's taken this long to throw a splash of colour in there, it wasn't asking much was it? You wouldn't think it would matter but it makes a big difference seeing a bit of colour in there for me.  Barnett and Sakuraba were grizzled veterans when they mixed with other respectable fighters. They knew the ins and outs of the game. What worked and what didn't. You say that but Sakuraba was straight in there with either much bigger opponents or respected fighters, or both, right from day one. Look at Saku's first ten fights...  - Kimo - Conan Silveira - Conan Silveira rematch - Vernon White - Carlos Newton - Allen Goes - Vitor Belfort - Ebenezer Fontes Braga - Anthony Macias - Royler Gracie  His first two opponents, Kimo and Conan, outweighed him significantly and were name opponents. Conan in particular was a beast with a good record and had only lost to Maurice Smith previously. Then you've got the likes of Belfort, Newton, Goes, Royler etc. Saku didn't get to test out the shallow end, he was straight in the deep water and not an armband in fucking sight.  I mean, look at it like this. Two well known pro wrestlers made their MMA debuts against Kimo. Both in 1996.    Both lost to Kimo. But looking at the two of them there, purely on appearances, you'd never pick Sakuraba to be the one to go on to be a legendary fighter and Bigelow to never go near a sanctioned fight again, would you? Shows you can't judge a book by its cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 The lack of Cabbage Green and Paradoxical Pink is sickening. Fucking Reebok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 Nick Diaz's ears just perked up at 'Blaze' Yellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016  Barnett and Sakuraba were grizzled veterans when they mixed with other respectable fighters. They knew the ins and outs of the game. What worked and what didn't. You say that but Sakuraba was straight in there with either much bigger opponents or respected fighters, or both, right from day one. Look at Saku's first ten fights...  - Kimo - Conan Silveira - Conan Silveira rematch - Vernon White - Carlos Newton - Allen Goes - Vitor Belfort - Ebenezer Fontes Braga - Anthony Macias - Royler Gracie  His first two opponents, Kimo and Conan, outweighed him significantly and were name opponents Fair enough, Sakuraba was thrown in at the deep end. However, he did get beaten quite handily by Kimo (understandbly so). He wasn't the fighter he turned out to be later on. By 1999, he was a different beast.  It's different times. There was more of an unknown to MMA in 1996 when they put Sakuraba in with Kimo. By 2003, it should have been understood that you can't throw a novice pro wrestler in with a Cro Cop or Fedor and expect a reasonable showing. There was enough information to show that.  Sakuraba was an exceptional talent though. It wasn't all work ethic I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 25, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted April 25, 2016 what was the story behind Bigelow fighting MMA? im sure i've read into it before but i've forgotten the details, sure Bigelow claims he threw the fight on purpose. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 He took a hell of a beating for someone who "threw" a fight, that's for sure. Â I think Bigelow simply ran into a jacked up motherfucker who knew how to fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Bigelow claimed in a shoot interview that he was paid a hefty amount to throw the fight.  I agree with David. It's probable that he was trying to save face. Nothing about the fight appeared dodgy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Yeah, I'd believe my eyes over a wrestler too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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