The new MMA general news, events and thoughts thread

[jimufctna24]

9 hours ago, ColinBollocks said:

Anyone go on Sherdog? What's that like?

Pretty much as Ebb said. 

Their articles are usually pretty good. Their play by plays for live shows and fight record archives are great. I haven't listened to their podcasts in a while, but they were quality last time I checked. The forum is a shithole though. 

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, it's like most of the sites. MMA Junkie and MMA Fighting for example. Great sites for news and articles and if it's on there it's reliable. I visit both those sites every day. But the comment sections on any article are full of utter bollocks. At least they were last time I looked. Sherdog is a really good site with a shite forum section. Doesn't make the site any less useful. Just like I still go on YouTube every day but never read the comments on any video, ever. No big deal. Obviously there are some good posters on Sherdog but there's just so many members and the good - crap ratio is skewed heavily onto the crap side so the good ones get drowned out by the trolls, thickos and dickheads. 

[David]

13 hours ago, lambyUK said:

To answer your question regarding being interested in buy rates etc, its an easy one for me. If the sport isnt making money then that could have a long term impact on the sport. The more money thats generated the more it safeguards the future of the sport.

See, I don't buy that. The guys running the company are making money, and will continue to make money. Cunts like that don't lose money. Can they make even more money by creating fights based entirely on what would sell? Absolutely, but you'll forgive me if I don't shed any tears over a bunch of rich cunts making slightly less than the shitload that they already make?

The "sport" is in absolutely no danger of going under, you're being ridiculous there Lamby. It's a bit like those fools who accept 'Tory tax breaks for the wealthy because they fear the corporations fucking off to Ireland or something. You go down that road and it's a race to the bottom.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I think I agree with whoever made the point that it's not about the business side of things, it's just about liking big fights between big characters. 

I'm still a huge UFC fan, and watch every event, but I feel like we're gradually being starved of big, flagship, 'Lord Mayors Show' type events.

I want to see McGregor/Diaz 3 not because Diaz deserves the next shot at Conor, nor do I want to see it because Dana will make out like a bandit: I want to see it because it'll be really, really fun.

[Egg Shen]

On 29/09/2017 at 8:01 AM, ColinBollocks said:

Dana isn't having that, surely?

No Time is great, but he could do with another fight/win to boost his profile.

why not?

Cormier being re-instated changes things up a little. Oezdemier is ranked #2, Gustaffsson is #1 but DC already has the victory over Gusty so they may go down the Oezdemier route. He has buzz about him too. In an ideal situation id try let him fight once more (Oezdemier/Gustaffsson would be tremendous), but the top of 205 is stagnant.

The UFC needs to match the the top 10 ranked guys with some of the newer 205lber's who have entered the promotion, try and get some fresh blood in the rankings. The same guys just seem to be revolving around each other...Oezdemeir being the exception.

[David]

18 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I think I agree with whoever made the point that it's not about the business side of things, it's just about liking big fights between big characters. 

I'm still a huge UFC fan, and watch every event, but I feel like we're gradually being starved of big, flagship, 'Lord Mayors Show' type events.

I want to see McGregor/Diaz 3 not because Diaz deserves the next shot at Conor, nor do I want to see it because Dana will make out like a bandit: I want to see it because it'll be really, really fun.

Diaz/McGregor 3 would be fun (although I think Conor finally tapped into the well known blueprint of how you beat a Diaz brother in their last fight, and would no doubt decision him. Again. And Diaz would cry about not really losing the fight. Again), but you'd not want to see how McGregor would do against one of the actual top talents in the division? He is the champion, so surely seeing how he'd fare against Khabib or Ferguson should be "fun" for any fan of the sport?

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, titles aside I really want to see Gustafsson vs Oezdemir. More than either of them vs DC right now, to be honest. But it's probably unlikely seeing as Gus/Oezdemir just eliminates one of the only 2 interesting challengers left for Cormier. It's a weird division, 205. 

I can see Gus getting the next shot for some reason. I wouldn't be against Oezdemir getting the shot but I've got a feeling we'll be getting DC vs Gus 2 for the title. And maybe they'll feed Shogun to Oezdemir or something to keep No Time ticking over for the winner of DC-Gus.

Oezdemir deserves a crack as much as anyone but I'm guessing the UFC might feel like it's too soon. He's burst on the scene so fast they haven't really even had time to hype him up. His debut with the OSP fight was a last minute thing. Then the quick Cirkunov KO, while good, just felt like a random result that could've been a one-off. It wasn't until the Manuwa KO where everyone went 'OK, what have we got here?' That's all happened in a 5 or 6 month spell.

It pains me to say it but maybe the next logical step is to give him a legend like Shogun to bash up. Then if he wins he's 4-0 in the UFC with wins over a legend in Shogun, the next top contender at the time in Manuwa, a guy people were saying was on the rise in Cirkunov and OSP on short notice who's gone 5 rounds with Jones and has looked good recently with the old Von Flues and stuff. That's about as strong a resume as you're getting in the current 205 division.

[wandshogun09]

8 hours ago, David said:

Diaz/McGregor 3 would be fun (although I think Conor finally tapped into the well known blueprint of how you beat a Diaz brother in their last fight, and would no doubt decision him. Again. And Diaz would cry about not really losing the fight. Again), but you'd not want to see how McGregor would do against one of the actual top talents in the division? He is the champion, so surely seeing how he'd fare against Khabib or Ferguson should be "fun" for any fan of the sport?

I'm with you on that. I'd actually like to see McGregor vs the winner of Ferguson vs Lee next. I mean, it is for the interim title so that should be next anyway IMO. When a champ returns to a division where there's been an interim champ crowned in his absence, that's always the fight that needs making. If it was any other champ they'd get crucified for taking a different fight. I know Conor's a bit of a unique case but he still should have to play by the same rules to some extent. 

Nate's not going anywhere either. I don't know why the Diaz rubber match has to be right now anyway. Everything has to be fucking NOW all the time. If Conor comes back and defends/unifies whatever against the Ferguson/Lee winner, the Nate Diaz fight is still going to be there. Even if McGregor lost the title to Ferguson/Lee. Who gives a fuck? McGregor vs Diaz 3 doesn't need a title on the line anyway. The first 2 fights were 2 of the biggest selling fights the UFC has done and headlined PPVs without any belt up for grabs. The Diaz fight would actually make more sense if Conor lost to Ferguson or Lee. And even people  going 'yeah but McGregor makes more money against Diaz'...I mean, yeah, but the cunt just made close to $100 fucking million!! I'd say he's had a decent enough year financially. Now it's time to get back from the circus and go to work. And I'd have thought reclaiming throne at 155 would be the first order of business. Get that settled then see what's happening with Nate or Khabib or fucking GSP or whoever. 

[ColinBollocks]

1 hour ago, Egg Shen said:

why not?

Cormier being re-instated changes things up a little. Oezdemier is ranked #2, Gustaffsson is #1 but DC already has the victory over Gusty so they may go down the Oezdemier route. He has buzz about him too. In an ideal situation id try let him fight once more (Oezdemier/Gustaffsson would be tremendous), but the top of 205 is stagnant.

The UFC needs to match the the top 10 ranked guys with some of the newer 205lber's who have entered the promotion, try and get some fresh blood in the rankings. The same guys just seem to be revolving around each other...Oezdemeir being the exception.

Wand pretty much summed it up, but it's to do with No Time being a bit of a no one, right now. I think the guy is brilliant, but if Dana has the choice he's picking Gus because he's a bigger star. It also means they can give No Time another fight to boost his profile; it's classic prizefighting match making.

Personally, I'm happy with either Gus or No Time getting the match.

[Carbomb]

1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said:

I'm with you on that. I'd actually like to see McGregor vs the winner of Ferguson vs Lee next. I mean, it is for the interim title so that should be next anyway IMO. When a champ returns to a division where there's been an interim champ crowned in his absence, that's always the fight that needs making. If it was any other champ they'd get crucified for taking a different fight. I know Conor's a bit of a unique case but he still should have to play by the same rules to some extent. 

Nate's not going anywhere either. I don't know why the Diaz rubber match has to be right now anyway. Everything has to be fucking NOW all the time. If Conor comes back and defends/unifies whatever against the Ferguson/Lee winner, the Nate Diaz fight is still going to be there. Even if McGregor lost the title to Ferguson/Lee. Who gives a fuck? McGregor vs Diaz 3 doesn't need a title on the line anyway. The first 2 fights were 2 of the biggest selling fights the UFC has done and headlined PPVs without any belt up for grabs. The Diaz fight would actually make more sense if Conor lost to Ferguson or Lee. And even people  going 'yeah but McGregor makes more money against Diaz'...I mean, yeah, but the cunt just made close to $100 fucking million!! I'd say he's had a decent enough year financially. Now it's time to get back from the circus and go to work. And I'd have thought reclaiming throne at 155 would be the first order of business. Get that settled then see what's happening with Nate or Khabib or fucking GSP or whoever. 

This is all true, but it doesn't just make more sense, it's how it must be if McGregor is to face Diaz again. Sure, we had Bisping/Henderson recently, but as interesting as that was it really was pushing the limits of plausibility as far as worthiness went; if such matches happen too often it would be ridiculous. Bisping/Hendo is probably a match that the UFC can afford to put on maybe once a year.

Diaz isn't a contender, plain and simple. He has neither won enough matches to make it into contention, nor is he fighting (or displaying the inclination to fight) enough matches to even try and put enough victories together to win. As far as I'm concerned (and many other than David are concerned), Bisping's had the "implausible-but-fun" title defence for the year. Diaz shouldn't get a title shot completely against the run of his record, just because he's got a mouth on him. In the case of Bisping/Hendo, there was the circumstance that Hendo had beaten Bisping quite brutally, and they hadn't fought since. Diaz and McGregor have fought twice and are at one apiece, and it wasn't that long ago.

[D@mm]

Does anyone know of any good MMA torrents websites please, not XWT or PWT please as I use that already, I mean websites that focus solely on MMA.

[lambyUK]

3 hours ago, David said:

See, I don't buy that. The guys running the company are making money, and will continue to make money. Cunts like that don't lose money. Can they make even more money by creating fights based entirely on what would sell? Absolutely, but you'll forgive me if I don't shed any tears over a bunch of rich cunts making slightly less than the shitload that they already make?

The "sport" is in absolutely no danger of going under, you're being ridiculous there Lamby. It's a bit like those fools who accept 'Tory tax breaks for the wealthy because they fear the corporations fucking off to Ireland or something. You go down that road and it's a race to the bottom.

I think you're going off on a weird tangent there David. I didnt mention anything about the people behind the scenes making money, nor caring about what they make.

However, you're naive thinking poor business year after year wont have an impact on the sport in the long term. 

Of course the sport wont go under, but that doesnt mean i want to see it slump in a wcw like mess either. 

I want big revenues to come in, i want to see big crowds, as that does safeguard the future of the sport, and not from the perspective of owners, but from the perspective of the wellbeing of the fighters.

The better the sport does, the more opportunities comes for the fighters. The bigger the possible payouts, the more attractive the sport becomes for future prospects to enter the sport.

 

 

[David]

Some promising words from Conor that he may actually face a worthy challenger and defend a title;

Quote

 

“Look, I’ve got the UFC title to defend and that means something to me. I will defend that world title,” McGregor declared, speaking to Caroline Pearce at An Evening with Conor McGregor at the SEC Armadillo.

“Nathan (Nate Diaz) is there. He’s trying to come in here and make all of these demands. If he starts pricing himself out of an event, I probably will defend against the person who wins this interim belt…or someone along that line to legitimize it again.

“I’ve already gone from the highest of the high in terms of a money fight. Now the question I always get is about defending the belt and legitimizing the sport and the rankings.

“Maybe now it would be a good time for me to go and do that and shut that side up.”

“In my head now, I’m very interested in seeing this fight this weekend and to see how the lightweight title picture pans out and to go in and correct that whole situation. That’s where my thoughts are.

“I also have history with Nate. It’s 1-1 and that has to happen. It will happen. The more I spend time away from it, I think I’ve already done all of the money fights. Now, to legitimize a title and to bring it back, I could potentially bring it back.

“That’s a little bit exciting for me. I’ll see how this whole title picture plays out and we’ll go from there.”

 

 

[David]

Just now, lambyUK said:

I think you're going off on a weird tangent there David. I didnt mention anything about the people behind the scenes making money, nor caring about what they make.

However, you're naive thinking poor business year after year wont have an impact on the sport in the long term. 

Of course the sport wont go under, but that doesnt mean i want to see it slump in a wcw like mess either. 

I want big revenues to come in, i want to see big crowds, as that does safeguard the future of the sport, and not from the perspective of owners, but from the perspective of the wellbeing of the fighters.

The better the sport does, the more opportunities comes for the fighters. The bigger the possible payouts, the more attractive the sport becomes for future prospects to enter the sport.

Nope, no "weird tangents" here mate, I've been pretty consistent in my views regarding titles in MMA.

If McGregor isn't wanting to face the top challengers, for whatever reason, be it because they aren't "money fights" then that's cool. Drop the belt, and make the money fights your priority. Leave the actual championships for the guys who want to compete against the very best the divisions have to offer.

There's always going to be "money fights" out there for the promotion, which should hopefully ensure the likes of Dana has enough money to buy food and pay his bills, but those money fights shouldn't be allowed to fuck with entire divisions and the titles.

This shite with Conor lately has essentially put two divisions in flux because he's not interested in defending his titles. Either defend the fuckers, or drop them. It should be that simple. Germaine De Randamie made it clear she wasn't interested in facing the top contender, so she got stripped of the belt. As it should be.

If McG wants to face Nate then cool, have at it. But drop the strap and let the guys who are out there winning fights and competing against the best in the top 3 fight among themselves for it.

[wandshogun09]

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

This is all true, but it doesn't just make more sense, it's how it must be if McGregor is to face Diaz again. Sure, we had Bisping/Henderson recently, but as interesting as that was it really was pushing the limits of plausibility as far as worthiness went; if such matches happen too often it would be ridiculous. Bisping/Hendo is probably a match that the UFC can afford to put on maybe once a year.

I was fine with Bisping vs Hendo 2 and not just because it had the cool backstory and the history between them and all that good stuff. 

People shat all over that matchmaking and accused Bisping of all sorts but it's easy to say he handpicked an easier defence now. But when you look at the division at the time, after Bisping won the title in June 2016 and people were talking about his first defence, the top contenders weren't realistic. The guys people like to say Bisping ducked for his first defence - Romero, Weidman, Rockhold, Jacare etc. Romero was coming back of a USADA suspension. Weidman was coming off losses. Rockhold had just lost to Bisping in a round, that didn't warrant an immediate rematch, plus he had a knee injury. And Jacare was also injured. Then you had Whittaker but he wasn't quite ready back then and hadn't had those signature wins he's since gotten. And there was Mousasi. 

So you basically only had Hendo or Mousasi as realistic challengers when they were matchmaking with the UFC 104 Manchester card in mind. That coupled with the Bisping vs Hendo backstory and Hendo retiring imminently and being a legend and bigger name than Mousasi, that was the fight to make given what was available. 

I guess Bisping could've sat out and waited for one of the legit contenders to come back but I'm glad he didn't. Because not only was the Hendo fight incredible, Bisping's injured now and only just coming back. If he had sat and waited for Romero or for Rockhold to rebound or whatever, he'd have still ended up out injured like he has and would've got even more shit for not defending his title at all. He was damned if he did or didn't.