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UFC on FOX 7: 'Henderson vs Melendez'


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?  

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There is a boxer that proves my example point, he was a Gold Medalist and he got fed to the wolves but I cannot recall his name.

 

EDIT: Davey Moore

 

Do you mean the Davey Moore who fought Duran? Or the Davey Moore who died after a fight in the 60s? I don't think either won gold medals, but 60s Moore was part of a hugely succesful Olympic squad.

 

I'm guessing you mean 80s Davey Moore though. He was thought to be a future big star before Duran gave him a beating that left him a shell of himself.

 

I agree with your point though, a bad beating can derail a young fighter's career. I remember thinking the same about Rory after the Condit fight but he's bounced back in style. It depends on the individual I guess, I think Mein will come back from this.

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Ah right. Taylor is another actually who had all the potential in the world but never got back on track after the brutal (but controversial) first fight with Chavez.

 

Me and my brother were on about Mir last night. He took some big shots off Cormier and hung in. I was surprised a bit because he usually folds in those situations. Like Brock, I don't think his chin was ever the problem he'd just look for the door if he took a few digs. Dana's been saying Cormier lacks power at heavyweight but I disagree. Mir just looked a lot more comfortable taking the shots in my opinion.

 

My theory on this, could be bollocks, is that maybe Mir just didn't like sparring. He probably drilled the techniques, hit the pads and all that but maybe neglected actual live sparring. It would explain his history of reacting badly and 'quitting' under fire.

 

Now he's being pushed to spar beasts like Jon Jones and Travis Browne daily, and he goes the distance with a fireplug like Cormier? It's a positive sign for the twat.

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Cormier really dissapointed me last night. I expected a decent brawl, felt bad for Mir as said previously, he seemed in great shape and the kicks looked good. Very close main event and to my shock, I started cheering on Smooth for the first time ever. I called it Henderson and would love a rematch. Brown opening was great, 5-0 eh! I like Nate Diaz but it was quite satisfying seeing him get TKO'd.

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I think the top end of the division has past Mir by, and to be fair he struggled with the top end of the last era (Lesnar and Carwin)

 

He may be able to edge wins over Big Foot and Roy Nelson's of the world, but the Cain's, D.C and JDS of the world are at another level. I think he has peaked as a fighter and no matter what he does he will not be able to match those 3.

 

I agree going the distance with D.C is quite impressive, but that is all he did really. Barnett lasted the distance as well and he is very bread and butter in the striking department. D.C does have power in his hands, but his main weapons are pressure and control, make no mistake.

 

Depends on what Mir wants out of fighting from here, I doubt he can get another title shot. He can make a lot of money still in assuming a Cro Cop 2009-2011 role (just not as weathered and more competitive) The weightclass is thin, but he has lost too many times for me to take him seriously as a top contender in 2013. D.C at times had full control last night and Mir never had D.C in any real danger.

 

I think he is best served in commentary or something like that, he could/should take Brian Stann's role. Mir is very personable, well spoken and easy on the eye (well he is now, not in 2006) I think he should pursue that avenue if Dana allows him.

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Oh yeah, I'm not expecting him to make a title run or anything. Like I said before it's too late and the top heavyweights simply outmatch him. You're right that all he did was survive but considering the beatdown I was expecting, he did alright. I thought it was a step in the right direction in that the 2 main criticisms of him - cardio and quitting - didn't seem so much a factor. I do think Cormier's jitters might have played a part as well but he still hit Mir with some hurtful strikes and Mir didn't fold.

 

I think people are being harsh on Cormier. It was a massive fight for him, UFC debut, on FOX against a limb-breaking former champion. And he dominated. Just because he didn't finish doesn't make it a bad performance. He was kind of limited tactically because you don't want to take Mir down, but standing Mir was making it tricky keeping Cormier outside with the kicks. The clinch was smart but the crowd was quick to boo after being dazzled by KOs earlier. Cormier was working though.

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It was a dull fight, but the fans cannot blame D.C if they think about it

 

Why would D.C turn it into a brawl or a grappling match, that would give Mir a sniff of hope. No way was Mir going to get anything going in the clinch, D.C was stronger, had more of a sense of positioning and was the better wrestler.

 

It was a perfect way to get a win and lessen the chances of any trouble in the process. It will not win fans and bonuses, and I was bored rigid I will not lie, but I can see why he fought that way. I do agree Mir did show better cardio, plus he did try harder than he did against JDS.

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* i think Mein will be ok, for a dude that's fought pro since he was 16 years old you've got to know he's got some reserve, the dude's a young veteran of the sport, he's had nearly 40 fights, he'll come back better. I genuinely thought he was gonna smash Matt Brown though. Brown again just shows that he can drag guys into his kind of fight and certain people can't hang with him, it's a hell of a comeback. I'd like to see him rewarded with a top 10 opponent next, he's earned it.

 

* The main event as everyone said was razor close, tense stuff. They basically cancelled each other out in many positions (save for a couple of brief moments) and you simply have to score based on who you think got the better of the exchanges which were often but short and snappy. I scored it 48-73 Henderson giving him 2, 3 & 4, but every round could be argued. The old quip that you really need to beat the champion to take his belt won out for me, that's not how it's scored but in a razor close fight i think the champion takes it so maybe it was a justifiable result?

 

Quick mention on the shorts of Melendez, he wore like little skimpy half shorts, anything that was part of Melendez tactic, it felt like he was planning on using Henderson's kicking game against him, Melendez early on looked to counter of Henderson's kicks and did a good job of it...felt like he wore those shorts to expose a target for Henderson to aim at, anyone else got a take on that?

 

* Thomson/Diaz was wild. That KO was f'n harsh, it's gotta take a hell of a shot to rock a Diaz and that kick would have felled heavyweights, brutal. It's definitely not how Diaz will wanna bow out at 155lb but he can't have any complaints. Thomson fought a great fight, some may say he was running but you simply dont get into a punching exchange with Nate Diaz, Thomson fought smart and fought brilliantly. Nate Diaz needs a plan B. though, walking forward saying 'come on bitch' is all well and good if a guy decides to exchange but when he doesn't you need to try something else.

 

* Cormier/Mir wasn't the grand UFC debut of Cormier i think everyone expected. Strange little fight, i thought Mir looked alright, he was just out-speeded (is that a word?) and out muscled by Cormier. I thought DC found a comfortable place early on and stuck to it, he was doing good work from the clinch and was never in any danger but i would have liked to have seen him seperate and try to utilise his speed a little more.

 

Not sure where Mir goes from here?

 

Couple of quick thoughts on the prelims:

 

* Chad Mendes is just wrecking everyone at the moment, it's weird that the no.1 ranked guy is getting a ton of unranked guys to beat up though, injuries and bad luck are coming into play but Mendes is completely wrecking shop and 3 KO wins probably justifies another crack at Aldo despite him now beating a top 10 guy. Gutted for Elkins, he just got caught cold and was taken out.

 

* How the hell didn't Njokuani get a share of the KO of the night? that left hook was dynamite. Really hope they keep Bowling around for 1 more fight, he's always good to watch.

 

* Masvidal/Means was probably the pick of the prelims from a fight perspective, good scrap. Glad to see Masvidal win, been a fan of years.

 

Rogan Gripe of the Night: i got 2...

 

1. His erection for Duane Ludwig. Team Alpha male is on fire at the moment and you've gotta give Bang credit but Joe Rogan has a man crush on Ludwig, im sure of it.

 

2. The calling of the Larkin/Carmont fight. After the notably brilliant piece of takedown defence by Larkin in round 1, Rogan and Goldberg got hardons and basically bigged Larkin up for 3 rounds despite the fact that he did very little. I scored the fight 29-28 for Carmont based on Carmont simply doing more over the course of the rounds, Larkin just didnt pull the trigger. Rogan and Goldberg clearly thought Larkin cruised it but i had it the same as the judges.

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Mendes looks like a killer. Despite how it ended last time, he's someone I think has a skillset to trouble Aldo. He probably needs a biggish name win to get the rematch though. I think they'll most likely try to re-schedule the Guida fight, if Clay's not out too long.

 

Mendes is in a weird position, he's killing everyone but he's going to have to take probably two more fights before another crack at the title while Aldo vs Pettis plays out. Then you have Zombie/Lamas ahead of him and maybe Swanson as well. 145 has really become a deep division over the last year.

 

Speaking of Carmont, did anyone else clock that arena security/event staff bird ogling him something fierce, and copping a right old feel at the end of the fight?. She was very hands-on with Josh Thomson as well. Seems to enjoy her job quite a bit.

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