UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[jimufctna24]

I am torn who to route for in the Main Event.

 

Shogun despite his last fight being a clunker, is responsible for some of the most exciting fights in UFC history. Like Wanderlai his aggressive fighting style may not be breath longevity but it is very energetic and easy to admire. At his best I would suggest only Jones could beat him at 205lbs. He comes across as a nice enough guy as well, very likable and has a certain amount of charm to him. I would suggest he has a "cool" factor to him at times as well, something most fighters can only dream of.

 

Chael is Chael. In 2010 he was responsible for some of the most fun I have had as a UFC viewer. I would suggest in retrospect his antics got a bit too animated by 2012, but the hype to the first Anderson fight provided some of the best self-promotion I have ever seen. I have no admiration for his fighting style as such, but he was a really good Middleweight. Despite his shortcomings, I think he was number 2 behind Anderson until Weidman showed up. I admire his take any fight mentality as well.

 

Both I believe have peaked as stars and fighters, but both remain relevant enough that I care about them (in contrast to say Tito/Rampage) It will be a tough fight as a fan of both, but I am really looking forward to it.

[CurryAngel]

Shogun will win. Since the Coleman and Liddell fights Shogun has gone loss-win-loss-win-loss-win-loss so he's due a win. It's simple MMAths!!

[jimufctna24]

That sums up Shogun for me, you never know what you are going to get. The supernova who knocked out Machida or the cardio stripped fighter he was against Coleman. I would suggest two of those losses to Machida and Hendo were bad verdicts, on his best day he creams Hendo. He probably beats Gusty when everything clicks for him as well.

 

I think this fight depends on which Rua turns up, we pretty much know what Chael has to offer, its all in Shogun's hands.

[wandshogun09]

Shogun will win. Since the Coleman and Liddell fights Shogun has gone loss-win-loss-win-loss-win-loss so he's due a win. It's simple MMAths!!

 

Ha, yeah I noticed that recently. I'm a fan of both but I can't root against Shogun.

 

Long as fuck Conor McGregor interview. Worth a read though;

 

Fighting in Boston & Irish Americans

The event being in Boston adds to it, 100%. This is as close as it gets to fighting at home. All those crazy Irish-American motherf***ers, you know what I mean? They're just as nuts as us, and they're just as proud of their Irish heritage as I am. For these Americans to be proud of my nation, that fills me with pride. To be honest, pride isn't even a word that cuts it. There is no word that explains how I feel. It just motivates me to put on a show for these people, and show them what they have been waiting on; this true Irishman in the purest form of combat there is. It's going to be a special night and honestly, I cannot wait.

 

I'm not really thinking about my opponent, I'm not thinking about anything else, I'm just thinking about the event. Boston as a city, with 20,000 screaming Irish-Americans, is going to be a special night. A night I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life.

 

My last fight was my first time in America, and when I was in Vegas every second person I was talking to was like, 'My great granny's name was O'Flaherty.' They all have some sort of Irish link, and to me that's brilliant. To have the American people so proud of my nation. Honestly, it is a special thing.

 

Over here in Ireland, we love America. America is the f**king shit. America is number one. So to have these loving my little nation over here, that's freezing cold all the time, to have people so proud to carry that Irish heritage, it really is great. Words can't describe what I'm feeling right now, or the amount of pride I'm going to be carrying into that octagon when I raise that tri-color high in the long lost city of Ireland that is Boston.

 

PR

I treat it like an art, I treat it like a discipline, like I'm learning how to box, how to grapple, how to wrestle. I'm learning how to deal with the media. I approach it with a learning mind, and every day I get better. I understand that this is what needs to be done. This is a business. We are selling this game. To be truly successful at this game, you have to master this side of it. I see it as an art that I'm looking to improve on every time.

 

Financial Planning

I'm going to introduce you to my plan. I call it the fool proof plan. It's a plan where I go out and spend every single cent I have in my bank. I take it all out and blow it all on clothes, cars and nice food. You want to see the food I've been eating lately, I've been eating like a king. I'm going to spend it until I'm broke. Then when I'm broke as f**k, I'm hungry again. You're not going to catch me slacking off. I stay ready. I stay in shape. I stay hungry.

 

I'm just going to blow all that money quick, then I'm hungry again. That's my financial plan.

 

Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse?

Oh yeah. In a custom three piece, and maybe a top hat. [Everyone laughs]

 

Fickle Fans

Whatever you do on this earth, there are going to be people criticizing you, and people wishing you failed. It's part and parcel of the game, and I'm not going to lose sleep over it. It is what it is. I try not to focus on it too much. I'm only young, I'm still learning this side of things as I go, and I understand that this is what happens; people are going to jump on the bandwagon, and if I lose, they'll jump off. I don't focus on that. I just focus on the people that are around me, my team, my coach, my training partners, my family and my girlfriend, and that's all I'm in there for. I'm fighting for a better life. I'm fighting for security.

 

Honestly, whatever people say, good or bad, I'm emotionless to it. Like even an opponent could say whatever he wants to me, about my gym or about me, anything, and I feel nothing about it. I just focus on the people who are with me day in and day out, and that's it. As long as I go in there and fight with all of my heart, and they see all the work I've put in, and that I've done everything I could do, honestly, I cannot lose. I can only win doing that.

 

Striking & Fighting Philosophy

I'll train in any style. I always love to learn. I always look at everything. I spend all day looking at videos, or in the gym working on the things that I've seen. I started out doing some kickboxing and boxing, then a little Capoeira, Tae Kwon Do and Karate. The human body can move in many ways, and that's what I'm trying to do. I'm looking for my body to move in all ways, to attack and defend. That's translated into my fighting style. Looking back at the way I used to fight, and the way I fight now, it seems to always change, so I don't know, I just keep trying to learn new shit.

 

Approach everything with an open mind, with a learning mind. You will never stop learning as long as you keep the mind-set that everything works, because everything does work. There's a time and a place for every single move. If you work on it enough, it will work. Everything works, and that's the mind frame my coach instils in me. Everything works, and every movement can be effective.

 

I'm just trying to learn it all. There's not enough hours in the day for me, that's why I'm up half the night twitching, and shadowboxing. I don't sleep, I wait.

 

To me, the most important thing is to be creative, to be spontaneous, to be fearless and to approach it without a plan. Approach the contest with no plan, with no set movement and just let it flow. Do shit that has not been done before, and trust me, I have shots that have not been shown before. I have shots in my book that have not been seen before, and I look forward to showing them.

 

I'm a martial artist, and I'm open to all styles of combat. If someone wants to wrestle, then let's wrestle. Wherever the contest takes place, the contest takes place. I'm prepared for it all. I fear no man. If you breathe oxygen, I do not fear you.

 

People think I'm just a stand-up guy, well that's great. Let's see, you know? From what I've seen, I'm not impressed. I don't fear any of these guys. You can put me in with any one of them tomorrow, and it's going to be a contest. I'm trouble for anyone in the 145 division, and even the 155 division. I've got skills in my locker that have not been seen.

 

I'm athletic and fit. I stay in shape. I do sweet f**k-all else. You won't catch me doing anything else. Come over here and you'll only catch me in one place, and that's the gym. I fear no one. Bring it on.

 

Asking for Lamas Matchup & Potential Fights

Well the circumstances that happened with Andy Ogle is he got a staph infection 8 weeks out. A staph infection is a bit of cream and an antibiotic for 5 days, but whatever, it is what it is. I just knew that I needed American opponent because of all the visa stuff.

 

I had to travel around from Dublin to London, to Washington, to Calgary, to Vegas and back for my visa. I knew there were problems going on with the visas, so I knew I needed an American opponent.

 

So, I narrowed it down with my coach. Who is due a fight that is American? Lamas is the one that came to mind, and he's up there in the rankings. It wasn't that I was looking to fight this guy, it was just circumstance. It was him by process of elimination.

 

Aldo & The Korean Zombie

I watched the Aldo vs the Korean Zombie fight, and I think you could put me in there tomorrow with either of them. If you think I wouldn't trouble either of them, then you're highly mistaken. Look, put me in there next time. I'll bring a whole nation of people behind me. I'll sell. I know I've only had one fight in there, but guess what? I'm bringing more hype than everyone else combined.

 

I feel confident, I don't fear either of those guys. I wasn't impressed. It was basic. It wasn't spontaneous, it wasn't creative, it was one shot, one shot. It was something I looked at and I didn't think, 'these guys are ahead of me', you know? I'm confident. I'm confident that my time is here. My time is now.

 

Cub Swanson

Someone wrote, 'I'd love to see Cub and Conor fight down the line.' And Cub wrote back 'yeah, I think that fight will happen.' It escalated a little bit from there. I get these kind of tweets every day, 'I want to see Conor fight this guy, or that guy.' I'm sure all the guys on the roster get the same tweets. He wrote back to it, and I responded, 'Yeah well, we'll see' blah blah blah. I don't give a shit. I don't give a shit about Cub, you know what I mean?

 

Am I in his head? Is that what it is? Is that why he's writing back to those tweets? I don't give a shit. Whatever, it is what it is. Put me in with Cub and I'll take him out as well. It's just another body to me.

 

It's a fight at the end of the day. I'm an Irishman. We are tough. There's something in us that makes us fight to the end, and I'm no different. You're going to have trouble with me no matter what. Plus, I work my ass off. You won't catch me out of shape. I looked at Cub over in Sweden and Cub looked about 15% body fat.

 

Come over and pinch me. Come over and find me on Christmas day and try to pinch me and see what weight I am. I don't get out of shape. You won't catch me over 10% body fat. Never in your life. I'm always in shape, 24/7. I'm ready for them all. Bring it on. Bring the f**kers on.

 

Dana & The Ferrari

That was a special night. When I used to drive to the gym, it was in a little Peugeot 206. A little small car, an old arse car with smoke coming out of the engine, and it shook when I drove it. It used to shake down the road and make all these noises, but in my head I was driving a soft top Ferrari, cruising down the Las Vegas strip. Then four or five years later, where am I? Floating down the Las Vegas strip in a Ferrari soft top.

 

It's all kind of happening right before my eyes, and it's a weird sensation. I'll tell you what I'm going to do right now, I'm going to look up the dictionary, and look for a word that explains the feeling that I feel when these things are happening before my eyes. Right now, I don't know a word that can explain it correctly.

 

Final Thoughts

August 17th, you're going to see what it's all about. You're going to see I'm not talking shit. You know I'm not talking shit. You can hear in my voice I'm not talking shit, and I know I'm not talking shit. I know I'm talking the truth, and on August 17th on Fox Sports 1 you will see for yourself.

 

And...exhale. Fuck me he can talk the hind legs off a leprechaun can't he?

 

I love it though. He's exactly what the lower weight divisions are crying out for. A bit of spice or colour, just some fucking personality. And he's got personality by the bucket-load. I hope he can keep backing it up in the cage because if he can, I think he's going to be a big star in MMA. The 'Financial Planning' bit sounds a bit worrying but I think he's hyping that up for the media. Especially when he later said "I'm fighting for a better life. For security." Hardly the words of someone reckless. The 'PR' bit shows he's not stupid either, he seems like he really gets it that promoting yourself is probably just as vital as what goes on bell-to-bell if you want to make a good living in MMA.

 

I now have to see that Swanson fight as well. Him and his 15% body fat vs Conor McGregor would be fantastic. Especially if they come back to Ireland like they've been promising.

 

You can tell McGregor's been hanging around with Dana though. I counted at least three "it is what it is's" in there.

[jimufctna24]

I love it though. He's exactly what the lower weight divisions are crying out for. A bit of spice or colour, just some fucking personality. And he's got personality by the bucket-load. I hope he can keep backing it up in the cage because if he can, I think he's going to be a big star in MMA.

100% agree, he reminds me of Dan Hardy a few years back, but with more potential to be big in America, they love the Irish. Mcgregor has a swagger and mouth to him that can only benefit the interest starved 145lbs weightclass. If Aldo moves up 145lbs may become as anonymous as 135lbs and 125lbs if Mcgregor does not break out as a star. The upshot to Aldo moving up is that Mcgregor may have more of a chance to get into title contention.

 

Of course this all is dependent on just how good Mcgregor is. I may be more sold on him if he beats the talented Max Hollaway. Despite Hollway and Mcgregor being unknown I would have put their fight on the Main bill, both are very young and could be future stars and the fight itself should be entertaining. McGregor's natural charisma should translate and keep the viewer watching. Mcgregor may/probably will come unstuck when faces with wrestlers the calibre of Mendes and Edgar if he gets that far into contention, but who knows.

 

UFC is a better place for fighter like Mcgregor.

 

Edit: Uriah Hall's fight I would be tempted to knock back to the prelims, and maybe even Pyle vs Brown.

[wandshogun09]

It shouldn't matter really that it's not on the main card because the prelims and main card will all air on FOX Sports 1 in one big 5 hour block. It's pretty much a 5 hour, 10 fight main card.

 

I think this fight will tell us a bit about where McGregor stands in the division because I really rate Holloway. I think it's a much harder fight for McGregor than a lot of the MMA media would have people believe. Everyone is caught up with the Irish charm and overlooking Holloway, who is a very real test IMO. It's almost a shame either has to lose at this point because they're both gaining momentum and showing potential. I'm about 50/50, but rooting for Conor.

 

Oh yeah, there's a Road To The Octagon listed for BT Sport on Wednesday night. I'm assuming that's for this show, right? Didn't know they were doing one, thought it was just for the FOX main channel shows. Should be good with Chael, Overeem, Faber featured, and possibly touching on McGregor for the Irish-Boston connection.

[jimufctna24]

It shouldn't matter really that it's not on the main card because the prelims and main card will all air on FOX Sports 1 in one big 5 hour block. It's pretty much a 5 hour, 10 fight main card.

Ah right this is the card where they move to the re-branded channel. I may watch in two sittings if time permits, 5 hours in a row of MMA is too much for me even with quality being solid, like this card offers.

 

Hollaway looked fantastic when I saw him take on another prospect in Justin Lawerence. I have not seen his last two fights, but read that the majority thought he beat Dennis Bermudez (a decent fighter in his own right) despite Hollaway not getting the verdict. I am wary that the limited Leonard Garcia took him to a split verdict, but again I did not see the fight to judge it.

 

Marcus Brimage is no bum who Mcgregor beat though, Brimage upset the highly touted Jimmy Hettes who I earmarked as the potential next big thing at 145lbs. So Mcgregor has proven he is legit to a degree, he just needs to prove himself against a variety of fighters.

 

145lbs is full of young prodigies looking at my last two paragraphs. Mcgregor, Hettes, Hollaway and Bermudez are all well under 30, on the that basis 145lbs is a healthy one long term with the talent coming through.

[lambyUK]

Just set the road to the octogan to record. What's happening with that weekly ufc show on BT hosted by twatty bollocks?

[wandshogun09]

Yeah I was wondering that. Every week I'm looking and nothing. They keep repeating that UFC The Story So Far documentary instead.

 

I forgot about Holloway fighting Garcia, Jim. I think Holloway had an off-night there. Actually, I'm sure I had Garcia edging that fight actually.

[pryko]

Didn't Holloway take that fight with Garcia on short notice?

[wandshogun09]

Didn't Holloway take that fight with Garcia on short notice?

 

You're right. Just checked and Garcia was originally slated to fight Cody McKenzie at UFC 155. Cody pulled out and Holloway stepped in, on about 10 days notice. That'll be why he looked off I suppose.

 

Plus, for all the shit he gets for his style, Garcia is no pushover. Yeah, he's limited, but he's very experienced, tough and dangerous. And he's fought high level guys for years. You'd fancy Holloway to beat him with a full camp but with his relative lack of experience and only 10 days prep time, going to a split with Leonard isn't that bad going. I remember it being a good fight as well.

[jimufctna24]

Plus, for all the shit he gets for his style, Garcia is no pushover. Yeah, he's limited, but he's very experienced, tough and dangerous. And he's fought high level guys for years.

I would have agreed a year ago, but Cody Mckenzie grapplefucking Garcia hardly speaks volumes for Garcia not being a pushover for UFC mid-level talent. You could argue that striking wise he is not a pushover, but I always felt he pushed forward with bombs and that distorted the judges who felt he was actually achieving something with his aggression, when instead he was landing very little.

 

But yeah, short notice would have have not helped Max.

[wandshogun09]

I think that's the only way Leonard knows how to fight. It's not really his fault if the judges are inept. But I agree, his style isn't cutting it in this generation of MMA super athletes who are training everything from day one, as opposed to starting with one discipline.

 

What's the feeling on Pickett vs McDonald? I think I said before I've got a feeling that fight is getting FOTN. And on a card like this, that tells you how high my expectations are. Just had a good feeling about this one ever since it was announced.

 

Can't go wrong with Pickett, it's very rare his fights aren't a highlight of any card he's on. And McDonald might be the perfect opponent to make this a real scorcher. McDonald is insanely promising for his age. He came up short against Barao but I thought he did better than anyone else has against him, including Faber. Yeah, he got finished and Faber didn't, but Faber pretty much fought to survive. McDonald brought the fight to Barao like no other and even rocked him. I can't wait for this.

[jimufctna24]

Can't go wrong with Pickett, it's very rare his fights aren't a highlight of any card he's on. And McDonald might be the perfect opponent to make this a real scorcher. McDonald is insanely promising for his age. He came up short against Barao but I thought he did better than anyone else has against him, including Faber. Yeah, he got finished and Faber didn't, but Faber pretty much fought to survive. McDonald brought the fight to Barao like no other and even rocked him. I can't wait for this.

I like Pickett, and hope he wins.

 

However, I see McDonald being just too good, and the rate in which he improves is impressive. I remember him being touted in 2010 time when he was cutting his teeth in Taichi Fights, they moved him along very quick back then from what I read, and he mostly succeeded.

 

I will go with McDonald by a modest points verdict.

[Egg Shen]

What's the feeling on Pickett vs McDonald? I think I said before I've got a feeling that fight is getting FOTN. And on a card like this, that tells you how high my expectations are. Just had a good feeling about this one ever since it was announced.

 

Can't go wrong with Pickett, it's very rare his fights aren't a highlight of any card he's on. And McDonald might be the perfect opponent to make this a real scorcher. McDonald is insanely promising for his age. He came up short against Barao but I thought he did better than anyone else has against him, including Faber. Yeah, he got finished and Faber didn't, but Faber pretty much fought to survive. McDonald brought the fight to Barao like no other and even rocked him. I can't wait for this.

yeh, that could be a special fight. Before next saturday i need to rewatch McDonald/Barao, i haven't seen it since i saw it live. Be interesting to see how McDonald comes in coming off a title loss, guess that's the kind of thing that either makes or breaks a fighter. It can't not be a great fight though, Brad Pickett's involved.