UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[Rey_Piste]

I thought I didn't record this, then realised it's actually on tonight. So I won't be watching it until Monday evening if not Tuesday, since that's a day off.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah it's weird it being on Sunday. They've done it before but it's rare. Easy to forget.

 

Early one tonight as well. I've got work tomorrow and got to be up at 6am, so I was going to record this and watch it after work tomorrow. But fuck it, I'm watching it. It's not on too late anyway.

 

Prelims are 9pm

Main card at 11pm

 

It's on BT Sport 2, should finish around 2-ish. Sod it, I'm watching live. I'll still have nearly 4 hours sleep. Unless the main event is like their first fight. Then I'll still be buzzing at 4am and scouring the sites for post-fight stuff.

 

Everyone made weight except for Ronny Markes who came in at 190lbs, so four over. Nova Uniao are an amazing team but they need to sort out their weight cutting.

 

Hendo came in at 202, Shogun was 205 on the nose.

 

 

I've seen people going, 'Shogun looks soft'. When doesn't he? He's never ripped. He's a weird one though. Most fighters look more ripped at the weigh in as you'd expect with them not carrying around a bunch of water weight. But Shogun sometimes looks flabbier at the weigh ins than he does on fight night. The Te Huna fight for example, Shogun looked soft at the weigh in, but looked in the best shape he's looked in years in the cage.

[wandshogun09]

Looking at tonight's card again, I think this might be a better overall show than expected. I've kind of overlooked a few fights like Rony Jason vs Steven Siler, Diego Brandao vs Will Chope, Scott Jorgensen vs Jussier Formiga, Fabio Maldonado vs Gian Villante. These are potentially really exciting fights. Norman Parke vs Leonardo Santos could be the sleeper as well. And I'm very interested to see how Mutante does with the step up against Dollaway. Dollaway's had some really fun fights recently as well.

 

So yeah, my excitement for the main event has kind of distracted me, but it's not a bad little card all in all.

 

Just seen this awesome Shogun highlight;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&a...p;v=TvQpC8D8R8M

 

I've seen some of this Flywin's highlights before and he does some cracking videos. Not far off NickTheFace's stuff, for me. Got goosebumps watching this Shogun one and seeing all the old clips again from Pride, the UFC title win, the first Hendo fight, the Te Huna KO etc.

[Egg Shen]

Chope's off the show and has been cut, something to do with beating his wife up 5 years ago.

[wandshogun09]

Fuck, just read about that. Sounds really grim. The mental bit was that he appealed his discharge from the military saying something to the effect of - 'me and my wife are divorced now, so it won't happen again'. So not because what he did was wrong or that he'd change his ways, but that she wouldn't be around to beat up anymore because they're divorced.

 

The UFC have obviously done the right thing releasing him but it kind of makes you wonder about their background checks when things like this come to light. There was that racist Instagram photo with one of the Aussies of the Cote vs Noke TUF recently as well. And some twat with Neo Nazi tattoos a while back.

 

Brandao's getting his show and win money, and the UFC are trying to get him a fight in April.

[Egg Shen]

guessing we'll here more about the Chope incidents in the next few days but some people are thinking he's been hard done by.

[wandshogun09]

If the stuff I read is true then I think they were right to cut him. It wasn't like it was a one off incident either (not that that would be OK), he repeatedly assaulted his wife, held a knife to her, threatened her, held a pillow over her to silence her. Could've ended very tragically. I don't know how anyone could argue that he's the hard done by one in this story. Even the argument of 'well there's two sides to every story' doesn't cut it here, because there's nothing he can say that could justify what he did.

 

It was five years ago but you can see why they'd rather just cut ties and have nothing to do with him. Some promoter will book him.

[jimufctna24]

It was five years ago but you can see why they'd rather just cut ties and have nothing to do with him. Some promoter will book him.

Why was he discharged in 2011, if the incident happened in 2009?. Did the process take that long? I am oblivious to these sorts of procedures.

 

Also, he must have been married very young, he is still only 23 now. Was he married at 18?

[wandshogun09]

Fuck knows. My cousin was in the army for years, but I've got very little knowledge on how a case like this would work in regards to the timescale of the discharge. This might be common.

 

Here's a statement from Chope before the fight got canceled;

 

I fight today. But I just want to make a small post about what has been brought up last night. I made some mistakes in my past. The incidents happened 5 years ago and I will live with them for the rest of my life. But I just want everyone to know the articles are being sensationalized right now and me and my ex wife have spoken about this and we would like everyone to know that we are friends now and have moved on and are different people and are just trying to be good parents to our daughter. She also made a post on her personal page she is allowing me to share. I will make a formal address to this issue after the fight, but I hope this is suffice until then.

 

And then this after the fight was binned;

 

My fight has been canceled for a 5 year old mistake I made. I am truly sorry to all the fans and will do everything I can to make this right. I have spoken with my ex-wife on the phone and she supports what I am doing and together we will make a formal press release as soon as I get back to the USA on Wednesday.

 

Fair play if he's really tried to sort himself out and if him and his ex are putting it behind them for the sake of the kid. I still don't think he's that hard done by here though. You can see why the biggest MMA promotion in the world wouldn't want to be promoting a guy who battered his wife and held a knife to her and stuff. His wife forgiving him doesn't mean the UFC should employ him.

 

Sucks for him and hopefully he's a different person now, but I can totally see why the UFC cut him. Saying that, they're hypocrites really. If this was someone who was a big PPV draw, I bet they'd overlook this and say he's a changed man etc.

 

Fuck, the prelims start in 2 and a half hours!

[METAL ON METAL]

As said before, UFC really need to sack whoever is in charge of background checks. There have been quite a few instances like this as of late that just makes UFC look like idiots, plus Chope has already had one fight in the UFC - considering an initial social security check would've brought all this up in the first place.

 

Not defending Chope, but its massively hypocritical of UFC considering his opponent was going to be Diego Brandao - a man who just in his last fight threatened to stab his opponent. Dana many times said after the incident that Brandao needs to take some time away from MMA to sort his life out because he has such severe anger issues, yet here he was scheduled to fight less than 3 months later.

[wandshogun09]

Luke Thomas tweeted this about the Chope situation;

 

Luke Thomas @SBNLukeThomas

 

As a veteran, I can say confidently you have to do some fairly pathological things to get a bad conduct discharge, re: Will Chope.

 

I believe in the power of rehabilitation & not having permanent road blocks to upward mobility, but you have to be a giant f-up to get a BCD.

[Pier Six Brawler]

UFC is sponsored by the US army aren't they? That probably has a lot to do with it.

[CurryAngel]

I still don't think he's that hard done by here though. You can see why the biggest MMA promotion in the world wouldn't want to be promoting a guy who battered his wife and held a knife to her and stuff. His wife forgiving him doesn't mean the UFC should employ him.

 

Sucks for him and hopefully he's a different person now, but I can totally see why the UFC cut him. Saying that, they're hypocrites really. If this was someone who was a big PPV draw, I bet they'd overlook this and say he's a changed man etc.

 

 

I do think he has been hard done by if I'm honest. The incident, as serious as it is, happened a long time ago and everybody deserves a chance at rehabilitation. If the UFC shouldn't hire him then why should Bellator or WSOF give him fights? Should a guys livelihood be completely ruined due to something that happened a long time ago? I can't say I'm too familiar with his career but is he a danger to his opponents like, say, Palhares?

 

Everybody deserves a second chance in life I believe and his has been taken away from him. Unless of course something big has happened behind the scenes. (hopefully he knocked Dana out or something!)

[wandshogun09]

Maybe, I don't know. I generally do believe people deserve a second chance but we don't know the whole story. It might be even worse than the info we know now. I'm not necessarily saying companies shouldn't book him, but I can absolutely see why a company like the UFC, that's had a lot of bad press in the past and has spent well over a decade trying to dispel the image many have that MMA is full of thugs, I can see why they'd want to distance themselves from someone like Chope. If it's as bad as it sounds, he's lucky he didn't do serious jail time. Can't say I've got much sympathy for him to be honest.

 

With that fight off, this is the lineup now;

 

 

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD

Dan Henderson vs Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua

Cezar Ferreira vs CB Dollaway

Norman Parke vs Leonardo Santos

Fabio Maldonado vs Gian Villante

Michel Prazeres vs Mairbek Taisumov

Rony Jason vs Steven Siler

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Ronny Markes vs Thiago Santos

Scott Jorgensen vs Jussier Formiga

Thiago Perpetuo vs Kenny Robertson

Francimar Barroso vs Hans Stringer

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Godofredo Castro vs Noad Lahat

 

Prelims are halfway though now on BT Sport 2.

[wandshogun09]

Conor McGregor @TheNotoriousMMA

Henderson gave Shogun his nose. Crazy #UFCFightNight

 

 

It wasn't as good as the first one but that was never likely. Still a pretty fucking fun fight though. Hendo just saved his UFC career with that. Four losses in a row would've probably seen him having the Chuck Liddell talk with Dana. He needed that. I wouldn't declare him 'back' or anything based off this though. It was a hell of a finish but he didn't look good at all before that. Really, as much as this win probably saved his career, I think it'd be cooler if he retired now on this win. At this stage this is probably about as good as it gets for him. He'll carry on though.

 

As for Shogun, fucking hell. He won his last fight so I suppose he had to lose this. It's been the story of his UFC run. He looked good as well. He was patient, he fought a more tactical fight, his jab was working, his leg kicks were working. I thought he had Hendo done for twice as well. Hendo just toughed it out after that big right, left combo in the first. But that uppercut, fuck me. With hindsight Shogun will really regret not going for some follow up shots there. He decked Hendo and then just lay in his guard. Baffling. I understand it was a five rounder and he didn't want to blow his wad, but he's going to regret that when he watches it back. Hendo looked there for the taking.

 

Can't take away from Hendo's win though. That right hand to the nose was fucking brutal to watch. Jesus. Then Hendo's next punch on the ground found nothing but nose as well.

 

Shit that Shogun's 0-2 though. Would've been great to see a rubber match with them 1-1. Imagine Shogun vs Hendo 3 in Japan? Obviously thats out now.

 

Really exciting show all in all as well. With how the first few shows this year started with all the decisions, this one was the total opposite.

 

Some shitty points though. The reffing was all to cock tonight. Early stoppages, harsh point deductions. That one ref, the shaven headed jacked up one, was terrible all night. He seemed more concerned with trying to look menacing than reffing the fights. Yamasaki was a bit trigger happy with the point deductions as well in the Prazeres/Taisumov fight.

 

Big night for the underdogs as well. Anyone here put a bet on? Thiago Santos breezing through Ronny Markes was a shocker. Same with Formiga making quick work of Jorgensen. I really thought Jorgensen would do well at 125. The Jason/Siler stoppage was shite. Siler went down and looked hurt but he was throwing upkicks and clearly still had his wits about him. Kenny Robertson looked great, Perpetuo is probably getting pink slipped now.

 

Dollaway knocking out Mutante might be seen as an upset but I don't really agree. Mutante had looked good but he mostly faced questionable opposition until the Sarafian fight. And he never really looked that durable, he got rocked by Sergio Moraes who's got no real striking to speak of and is almost solely a BJJ guy. Plus Dollaway has just been more battle tested against proven guys. Kind of surprised me how quick it ended but not that CB won.

 

I love watching Maldonado! His grappling is still awful, watching him clamber around trying to get back to his feet and not even protecting his neck and stuff, he needs a ton of work on his ground game. But as far as one dimensional fighters go, he's about as fun to watch as one can be. His body punching is fantastic. It just shows when a guy really knows how to work the body, how effective it can be. Villante was fucked after just 3-4 of them. The heat would've played a part but those body shots fucked him right up. His jabs quality, his combos are quality. He seems to lack that one punch power a bit but his accuracy is really high.

 

Really enjoyed this show.

 

EDIT - fuck me, totally forgot Pepey's flying knee. That was nuts. Might be KO of the year by year's end.

 

The $50K awards go to;

 

FOTN: Hendo vs Shogun.

POTN: Hendo and Pepey.