UFC 157: 'Rousey vs Carmouche'

[Heatseeker]

Lawler 3/1 good bet aye?

 

fuck sake didn't go with it.

[Bus Surfer]

Kos fucked up my 5 fight accumulator. What a bastard.

 

Solid show over all. The main event really had that big time feel to it, and it delivered. Great showing from both of them. A tough fight for Ronda, which was the best result they could have hoped for.

 

Grice/Bermudez was electric on the prelims, what a fight.

[lambyUK]

Well, there's only one place to start, Bermudez/Grice. I've loved Bermudez since TUF and still believe he could turn out to be one of the very best in the world. Plus, he looks like a fucking rock star.

 

Anyway, FOTY so far, no doubt. I was in bed watching the prelims next to my other half whilst she was sleeping (watching on my nexus 7). I was freaking out during this fight, and it's been a long time time since I was on the edge of my..erm, bed, like that.

 

What was beautiful about this fight was that it wasn't just a "leonard Garcia" swinging fight. The striking for the most part was extremely technical and the whole fight had a mix of takedowns and striking.

 

Mermudez right now is my second favourite fighter.

 

Onto the rest of the card.

 

The Lawlor stoppage was a tad early, but Dean got it right still. Lawlor landed an absolute bomb and you could see Koscheck go out for a couple of seconds as his eyes roll back into his head. The fight was over right there and then and Dean was ony saving serious damage on Koscheck's part. Lawlor is back and I can't wait for more!

 

Mcgee was, well, Mcgee, nothing new really.

 

Faber was utterly superb and you sit there thinking why the hell doesn't he do this type of shit when it really matters? I don't think Barao or Cruz are beyond beating, but he doesn't seem to take the risks that he needs to take in the big fights.

 

Machida/Hendo was how i thought it was going to go, but I thought Hendo looked terrible for the most part. He looked slower than normal and dare I say age has FINALLY caught up to him. Neither stand a chance against Chae...I mean Jones.

 

Women's title fight was absolutely gripping as well and was a perfect start for the women's divison. I honestly thought Carmouche had Ronda with the neck crank but Rousey's proved how tough she is. Fantastic fight in the end and I can't wait for more.

 

Now, forget Cyborg, I want Gina to come out of retirement and fight Ronda. Now there's some episodes of Primetime I would watch!

[David]

The Lawlor stoppage was a tad early, but Dean got it right still. Lawlor landed an absolute bomb and you could see Koscheck go out for a couple of seconds as his eyes roll back into his head. The fight was over right there and then and Dean was ony saving serious damage on Koscheck's part. Lawlor is back and I can't wait for more!

I don't really get where the early stoppage talk is coming from. If Koscheck was in a position where he could have moved to avoid strikes then fair enough, but he was trapped up against the cage, with his head stuck. The only difference a later stoppage would have made is to the difference in the amount of damage Koscheck takes from more punches.

 

He wasn't going anywhere.

 

Machida/Hendo was how i thought it was going to go, but I thought Hendo looked terrible for the most part. He looked slower than normal and dare I say age has FINALLY caught up to him.

Nah, I think it's simply a case of styles making fights. Machida was always going to be a tough bout for Hendo because of the contrast in styles, and he was always going to be made to look slow. His only real hope was connecting with a big punch, and he simply couldn't do it. Machida knew he would try, and he planned accordingly.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Machida didn't get the title shot based off this fight though. This is the kind of fight Dana doesn't usually like.

Me neither. I've heard too many times from Dana that 'the winner of this fight will get the next title shot' only for it to never happen to actually put any stock into him ever saying that. I'll wait and see who they choose once Jones beats Sonnen (a result that I strangely don't actually want anymore).

 

Maybe Gustafsson will get the next crack if he beats Mousasi. I'd like to see Machida vs Jones 2 though. I still think Machida has a better shot than anyone else at 205.

Gustafsson would be a good shout. Saying that, if he beats Mousasi he'll only have went on a seven fight winning streak, which isn't the criteria of a title contender in the UFC.

 

Time will tell I guess.

 

No doubt there will be a 7 page debate that it was 'Just Bleed' and 'mongs swinging' etc but I don't give a flying fuck personally. It entertained me massively which is all I want when I'm watching MMA.

I don't think this fight came from the Leonard Garcia handbook of MMA fighting. Far from it. There was plenty of technical striking involved and it was a superb bout in my opinion. Two skilled strikers going at it beats two gassed swingers any day of the week.

 

And twice on Sunday, obviously.

[lambyUK]

David, you don't see where the early stoppage talk comes from? Did you not listen to the commentary? It was Joe Rogan himself who said it straight away. That's exactly where the talk comes from and if UFC's main colour commentator you can guarantee it will influence the paying audience.

 

The only reason why I say it MAY have been a tad early was simply how some people may see it. Koscheck got up instantly after it was called and looked fine and he looked pissed off.

 

Then you even had Helwani asking Lawlor if he thought it was early.

 

Now i need to stress, I personally believe that the call was perfect but at the same time I wouldn't have said that Dean got it wrong if he let Lawlor land 1 or 2 more shots either.

 

Regarding Hendo, I thought he looked incredibly slow and Rampage put up a far better fight than he did. The one time he got Machida down he wasn't moving too well. I personally believe that the knee has caused more issues than Hendo is letting on.

[David]

David, you don't see where the early stoppage talk comes from? Did you not listen to the commentary? It was Joe Rogan himself who said it straight away. That's exactly where the talk comes from and if UFC's main colour commentator you can guarantee it will influence the paying audience.

Yeah, I don't understand where Rogan was coming from either to be honest. He's getting more & more confusing with a lot of his analysis these days.

 

Regarding Hendo, I thought he looked incredibly slow and Rampage put up a far better fight than he did. The one time he got Machida down he wasn't moving too well. I personally believe that the knee has caused more issues than Hendo is letting on.

Hendo and Rampage are two different types of fighter though. Machida was always going to be a really touch fight for Dan (possibly the toughest in the division outside Jones). maybe the knee is still troubling him, but even so, he loses to Machida eight times out of ten in my opinion.

[lambyUK]

David, you don't see where the early stoppage talk comes from? Did you not listen to the commentary? It was Joe Rogan himself who said it straight away. That's exactly where the talk comes from and if UFC's main colour commentator you can guarantee it will influence the paying audience.

Yeah, I don't understand where Rogan was coming from either to be honest. He's getting more & more confusing with a lot of his analysis these days.

 

Regarding Hendo, I thought he looked incredibly slow and Rampage put up a far better fight than he did. The one time he got Machida down he wasn't moving too well. I personally believe that the knee has caused more issues than Hendo is letting on.

Hendo and Rampage are two different types of fighter though. Machida was always going to be a really touch fight for Dan (possibly the toughest in the division outside Jones). maybe the knee is still troubling him, but even so, he loses to Machida eight times out of ten in my opinion.

 

Rampage and Hendo are two different fighters? You really think they are that different? Both possess knockout power, both like working fighters in the clinch, and whilst Hendo has a better wrestling background, both are proficient is wrestling but neither show it that much. Both like to keep the fight standing too.

 

So, they both faced the same problem and that was closing the gap. Rampage achieved this a lot better than Hendo did and I simply believe this may be linked to Rampage being in better condition at the time.

 

But I agree, after watching that last night Hendo loses as you say 8 out 10.

[jimufctna24]

Chael licks Rashad's shoe after losing bet on Machida/Hendo

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1THM6JP4jI

[wandshogun09]

Ha, Chael's a man of his word. Fair play.

 

Plus, he looks like a fucking rock star.

 

Better than a rockstar, he looks like the young Roberto Duran. Way cooler than any rockstar.

[dopper]

It was another off-night for Rogan I thought.

 

As well as the early finish bollocks in the Koscheck fight he was critisizing McGee for not attacking Neer's liver when Neer was laid curled up on his side so that McGee couldn't get anywhere near the liver.

 

He took the opportunity to lay numerous shots in to the exposed other side and face while Rogan's banging on "why isn't he attacking the liver?"

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Got around to seeing this show finally after going to the Soundwave music festival yesterday. For those wondering, Metallica was fucking awesome, Linkin Park did a great set comprised mostly of Hybrid Theory/Meteora tracks, and Fozzy are a really great act live. I was about 5 metres away from Chris Jericho, if I was a chick I'm pretty sure I would have thrown my bra at him, I was ecstatic to be that close to one of my favourite wrestlers, and he's definitely progressing as a rock star.

 

Anyway, about UFC 157... great card all around I thought. Stout/Fodor was tedious, but from there there wasn't a fight I didn't like.

 

Bermudez vs. Grice was definitely super wild, I don't know about the FOTY talk, but I'd definitely grade it above 3 snowflakes. Chiesa's fight was interesting in that he seems to be really effective once he gets it to the ground, but he's very rudimentary on the feet, I can see some better lightweight strikers (Edwards, Stout, Fisher, Stephens etc) disposing of him with ease.

 

Schaub vs. Johnson wasn't a thrilling heavyweight slugfest, and I'm in the camp disappointed that Schaub wasn't left looking at the lights, but I appreciated the gameplan. If I was facing Lavar Johnson, I'd be looking to get it to the floor instantly as well. Schaub was constantly trying to advance position and briefly attempted an arm triangle, so it wasn't like he was using the ground game simply to eat up the clock.

 

Onto the main card... Koscheck was stopped, and I think it was the right call. Lawler was correct, Kos wasn't going anywhere, he would have just eaten more bombs. Good return for Lawler, taking out a big name. At only 31, he could do well if he finds consistency at 170. I believe it's a mindset for him.

 

McGee vs. Neer was really good. I seem to remember not enjoying McGee's fights in the past, but the Philippou, Ring and now the Neer fight were all highly action packed. His striking was as good as I remember it being... did I hear them right in saying he set some kind of welterweight record? Impressive, WW really suits him. Neer did well too, he was never out of the fight. I kind of question McGee's decision to take it down, he was doing so well striking and Neer has a very dangerous guard.

 

Urijah Faber is a beast. I don't know if it was the Cali crowd spurring him on, but that's got to be the best he's looked in the UFC. Menjivar was on a great run at BW, and Faber dominated that whole fight. Crazy way to finish too. The thing with Faber's standing in the division is that people on MMA forums, including here sometimes I think, like to talk about Faber losing 5 title fights, but the worldwide audience for WEC was nothing compared to UFC. To the MMA casual, Faber's lost 2 by decision and wrecked everyone else. Faber's exciting, popular and is beating all the other contenders. Have to think Faber fights the winner of Cruz vs. Barao for the title.

 

I enjoyed Hendo vs. Machida more than most I think. I enjoyed the clashes they had when Hendo came forward and Machida countered, it wasn't anywhere near as dull as reports made out. There was about a minute in the third where nothing really happened, but apart from that I thought it was a decent co-main. With both men having great highlight reels, I think some see anything less as a disappointment. Another thing that caught my attention was the physical appearance of both fighters. Machida normally has a little belly, but he had defined abs there. Really hoping he tries 185 soon enough. As for Hendo, wow he looked tiny. He seemed to lack most of the muscle definition he had in the Shogun fight. I wonder if it's a coincidence with Dana adopting the anti-TRT stance?

 

The main event was brilliant. Rousey needed to look like a star, Carmouche needed to be competitive so the women's division didn't look like the Rousey show. Mission accomplished. excellent main event.

[Snake Plissken]

The thing with the Kos fight for me, it my view it was the correct stoppage. But then with all the various eye pokes and whatever that Kos has got away with over time, maybe an early stoppage if it was one is just Karma?

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Proper karma would be a late stoppage, the cheating shite. Forgot about all that, plus the faked downed knees.

[wandshogun09]

Bermudez vs. Grice was definitely super wild, I don't know about the FOTY talk

 

To be fair it's only February. People just mean FOTY "so far", so really at the moment it's basically just the Fight Of The Last 2 Months. I think it will pop up on most people's lists come December though. And rightly so, it was awesome. If that was 2 big names, like say Machida and Hendo, everyone would be going nuts over it. The fight's lower status shouldn't detract from its tremendousness.

 

So far Bermudez vs Grice and Watson vs Nedkov are my top 2 FOTY.

 

Grice has form as well. Check his crazy one rounder with Matt Veach from one of the Fight Nights. And defo his criminally underrated fight with Jason Black from the UFC 77 prelims.

 

Schaub vs. Johnson wasn't a thrilling heavyweight slugfest, and I'm in the camp disappointed that Schaub wasn't left looking at the lights

 

Is there an opposing camp?

[jimufctna24]

Schaub vs. Johnson wasn't a thrilling heavyweight slugfest, and I'm in the camp disappointed that Schaub wasn't left looking at the lights

 

Is there an opposing camp?

Me!

 

I bet on Schaub on MMA Playground.

 

I still dislike him though, and I would love to slap Trevor Whitman and his gormless smirk