UFC on FOX 6: 'Johnson vs Dodson'

[deathrey]

On a slightly irrelevant note, Chuck has just finished filming for Kickass, no idea how big his part is though.

[jimufctna24]

fair play to Chuck, he looks to have stayed in decent shape.

Are you serious? Look at his mid-section in the 2nd photo!

To be fair there were points in his prime where he had a gut the size of that, look at his fight with Sobral in 2006, he is a right tubby git.

 

So he is in decent shape for what you would expect.

[wandshogun09]

Donald Cerrone;

 

"I'm super stoked and excited for the fight. I cannot wait. The dude's been running scared for two years. He doesn't fight. You can't just not take fights. Three fights in two years.

 

He's really flashy in his strikes and I'm more power - so it's power against flash. He's going to try to jump off the cage, and hopefully I can grab his little ankle. Have you seen 'The Avengers', when the Hulk grabs that guy and slams him on the ground? That's what I'm going to try to do.

 

He's got a real creative style, and it's something I've got to be aware of. That's all. I've seen a lot, and I don't need to worry about what he's going to do. He's got to worry about what I'm going to do. I'm going to come in there hard to fight my ass off. That's what everyone wants to see - just knuckle down and go."

 

Can't wait for this.

 

Not one of us has voted for Rampage in the poll. Are we underestimating him?

[Egg Shen]

fair play to Chuck, he looks to have stayed in decent shape.

Are you serious? Look at his mid-section in the 2nd photo!

yeh he looks alright, Chuck always struck me as the kind of guy that might let himself go once he stepped away from the game (see Ricky Hatton), being a party animal and whatever, but he doesn't look far from him fighting weight.

[jimufctna24]

Not one of us has voted for Rampage in the poll. Are we underestimating him?

Maybe

 

Other than Jones, no one has outright beaten Rampage in a striking battle since his Pride days. Glover can get a bit sloppy, and if Rampage lands it is usually game over.

 

Machida put on a clinic against him in the 3rd round of their fight, but a lot of that was done on the ground. Rashad who is a decent boxer got caught by him and he won down to wrestling, Bader of course had to lay n prey also.

 

Forrest some think was lucky did get the verdict as well.

 

If it was a wrestling/bjj match-up you would pick Glover every time, and I am still picking Glover here as I think he will be cautious and takedown Rampage to put on a GnP clinic.

 

But if it stays standing, Rampage stands a decent chance.

[wandshogun09]

That's how I see it. Glover's the logical pick, if he fights smart he should win based on him having a more diverse box of tricks. Rampage seems distracted and unfocused and Glover seems hungry and it's his time to sink or swim. All added up you almost have to pick Glover.

 

But as you say Rampage is always dangerous. He looked shit his last two fights but in fairness, one he was injured and heavy, the other he was fighting Jon Jones. Enough said. Its important not to totally sleep on a guy like Rampage. If Glover loses focus or gets sloppy, even for a second, like he did with Maldonado, Rampage has the capability to fuck his night up.

 

Even the point about Rampage seeming distracted and unfocused might be overblown. He had way more bad shit going on before the 3rd Wandy fight and look what happened there. For most fighters I'd say it's a mistake to fight angry. For Rampage, I think he often fights best when he's pissed off with something to prove.

 

All that said, I'm going Glover on points or a late TKO.

[wandshogun09]

Speaking of Rampage, his latest gripe is that the UFC won't let him wear Reebok as a sponsor. The UFC are denying they've even been approached by Reebok.

 

Have to say if this is true it's a bit cunty. You have Anderson, Jones and JDS running around plastered in Nike ticks but Rampage can't wear Reebok as a sponsor? I know he's been a grumpy twat and he's probably leaving but would it really hurt Zuffa if he wore it? All it's doing is preventing Rampage from making some money.

 

Who are people predicting for Cerrone vs Pettis. I'm seriously amped for that one. I'm looking forward to that fight as much, if not more, than any other fight currently scheduled.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Yeah, thought the Reebok thing was odd, I guess they're competitors with Nike, but I was under the impression that Nike sponsored individual fighters, not the UFC, so why would they give a fuck what Rampage wears?

 

On the point of sponsors as well, I've always been a bit curious about Mighty Mouse's Xbox 360 sponsorship. As far as I know, he's the only MMA fighter to be sponsored by them, how the hell did he manage that? He's only just now becoming a big enough name to put on Fox, and Xbox 360's deal has been there for a while. Very interesting.

 

About the flyweight fight, it's still the fight I'm looking forward to least, but Dodson could make it very interesting. A lot's been made about the speed of both guys, but Dodson's power could be a serious difference maker. That little fucker has both the power and speed to catch Johnson with a serious shot, though MM is pretty resilient, but it could make for a more intriguing fight than I originally thought.

 

Picking Pettis as I think he's more likely to surprise Cowboy with some crazy flashy offense, but really it's such a pick 'em, Cerrone could just as easily overwhelm Pettis and not give him a chance to get his shit in.

[wandshogun09]

I'm picking Pettis but like you say anything can happen. On paper they're really evenly matched in all areas. I think Cerrone might be underestimating Pettis' power though with the "he's all flash" talk. Ask Joe Lauzon about Pettis' power.

 

I don't buy Cerrone's claim that Pettis was ducking him either. Pettis was injured for most of 2012. He couldn't take the fight. I love Cowboy but he's mental about other fighters ducking him. He's fucking obsessed with it. He's accused Sam Stout and Mac Danzig of ducking as well.

 

I'm sure he genuinely believes Anderson Silva is a natural 155er but eats a load of Big Macs to avoid him

[jimufctna24]

I see the weaknesses of the two as, Cerrone suffers on the back foot if you pressure him with Boxing. Pettis can be taken down and detained.

 

Style match up favors Pettis, Cerrone is a decent but not outstanding wrestler who fights with his heart not his mind, the fight will take place standing which puts Pettis at a advantage as he is more clinical with how he fights. Cerrone will end up fighting Pettis's fight.

 

Pettis on points.

[wandshogun09]

Mike Goldberg will be back in the booth for this show.

 

And Rampage says he will be done with the UFC regardless of the result against Glover...

 

"I don't want to renegotiate with them. I think the UFC don't know how to treat the athletes, in my opinion. I feel like the fighters do a lot for the sport and I feel like we're not taken care of well enough. I feel like they're getting rich off all of us."

 

"I

[The Natural]

Said it before and it's early days but I'm not a fan of the UFC Flyweight Division. I prefer how things were with Bantamweight the lightest men's class in the UFC.

 

Same here. We could have had a strong bantamweight division, but with the introduction of flyweight we have two fairly weak divisions. Not to say that all flyweight fights have been bad, the first Johnson/McCall and Gaudinot/Lineker were great encounters, but the two most recent significant fights which set this FOX main event up (Johnson/Benavidez and Dodson/Formiga) were a clinic in footwork and feints for over half an hour combined.

 

We're in full agreement. The Flyweight division might improve with time but the division is weak and hurt Bantamweight with fighters leaving the division to drop down to Flyweight. The depth isn't there for Flyweight.

 

Re: pyrko and Ebb, nice to see you on Team Cerrone.

 

I can't see Cerrone/Pettis disappointing. I'll predict it's the first Fight of the Year candidate of 2013. I see the fight either as a one round war or a three round war. My most anticipated fight of the show by far.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Oh, I think with time, the flyweight division will definitely improve. Featherweight and bantamweight were pretty thin divisions when they were first introduced (no pun intended), but with the influx of fighters from WEC combined with UFC lightweights dropping weight, and prospects scouted from the smaller shows, featherweight especially has become one of the stronger divisions in the UFC today.

 

The flyweights are being given a hell of a spot to showcase too, the main event of a FOX show, above Rampage and Cerrone/Pettis, that's big time. I can't see the flyweights catching on quite as well though, for one thing the audience is conditioned to favour the larger fighters (look at HW title fights), and the laws of physics dictate less finishes in the division, which will turn off the 'Just Bleed' crowd.

[lambyUK]

Brilliant ep of "The road to the octagon"

 

http://www.ufc.com/media/UFC-on-FOX-6-Road-to-the-Octagon

 

Watching the Cerrone/Pettis part I'm sat there thinking "God I want Pettis to win, with his Dad dieing and his Mum crying I want him to win", then it moves onto Cerrone and you see both him and his Gran breaking down describing losing his Grandad as he was walking out to the Octagon for his first fight.

 

Now, I'm just almost in tears wanting to give them both a hug!

 

Edit: Jesus, now onto Dodson, and his mother is in tears. It's like I'm watching 'Ghost' all over again.

[METAL ON METAL]

Agreed, what a fantastic episode!

 

All the guys came off really great on there apart from Rampage, he just seemed bitter and said his usual pre-fight patter. I definitely like Pettis a lot more after watching that, ditto with Mighty Mouse - though I still want Cerrone & Dodson to win. Dodson is a pretty polarising figure among fans, but I fucking love him.

 

Watching Dodson's mam crying was absolutely heartbreaking as was Cerrone's Gran.

 

 

Mighty Mouse did alright for himself didn't he? His missus is lovely!