UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[David]

I presume it was this. The doctor not too happy in the video.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28323357

What are the chances that he's never even watched a fight?

[Egg Shen]

it blows my mind that stuff like this still gets reported.

[wandshogun09]

What are the chances that he's never even watched a fight?

 

It's always the way, isn't it. The people who know the least are the harshest critics. And even if they have watched any of it, how old is the footage they've seen? Are they watching Gerard Gordeau kicking Teila Tuli's teeth out and Gary Goodridge's elbows of doom against Paul Herrera from 20 years ago? Five minutes of research would teach them that MMA, and the UFC especially, is regulated these days. Medicals, health insurance, drug testing etc. Never been a death or permanent injury and all that stuff Dana brings up. Fuck, even John McCain who wanted it banned in the 90s has shut up now, and even appeared on the UFC's 20th anniversary documentary. It's no less safe than boxing, which is fine with them apparently as they cover it when a big British name is fighting and none of this 'it's barbaric, hide the kids' stuff comes up then (despite boxing having a history of deaths, brain damage etc). And half the disciplines in MMA are in the Olympics. Yet the cage and use of kicks, knees, elbows etc has them trotting out this stupid, out of date 'human cockfighting' shit. This is a country where Jeremy Kyle is on ITV every fucking day, that'll do more harm to our countries innocent little children than combat sports ever will.

 

It won't happen but I'd love to see a proper mainstream debate on this with intelligent MMA people actually given the chance to talk. Not someone like Dana or Joe Rogan, who are passionate but liable to call the host a cunt on air. Dan Hardy, Brian Stann and Rosi Sexton would be perfect. Well spoken, smart etc. Instead of these rushed agenda-driven five minute segments with outdated and uneducated soundbites like "human cockfighting" have a proper two-way discussion about it. Like I say, won't happen and I don't even know who'd air it. But it'd be interesting to see some of these critics try to back up their arguments with facts and have their side picked apart.

 

I'll always remember when the UFC came over in 2002, I wasn't even watching at that point but I was a fan of combat sports like boxing and kickboxing. Fucking Richard & Judy had some MMA people on to talk about this horrible sport coming over to our little island. They were UK MMA people, I think Dave O'Donnell was one of them (looking back probably not a wise choice). And Richard was being his usual unbearably cunty self. He hit all the "barbaric", "human cockfighting" and "not a real sport" notes. And took the piss out of the grappling and tapping out, implying it was the wimps way out. Like Richard bastard Madeley would know. I wish Palhares would've been there to demonstrate the heel hook on the smug prick, under the understanding that since tapping out is for pussies Palhares would ignore his tapping (second nature for Palhares) until Richard found his own way out of it.

[David]

Palhares vs Madeley, WSOF. Make it happen man!

[Egg Shen]

 

OOOOOOOHHHHHH

[wandshogun09]

They had to be separated apparently. And that's just the open workout. Still got the press conference tomorrow and Friday's weigh in yet. Hopefully nothing stupid happens like when Diego Sanchez tried to shove Koscheck off the stage.

 

Eddie Alvarez tweeted that he'll be at tonight's Cerrone vs Miller card as well. There's no Blackzilians on the card is there? Meeting with Dana? He's still got a Bellator fight left but, nah, probably nothing.

[jimufctna24]

I'll always remember when the UFC came over in 2002, I wasn't even watching at that point but I was a fan of combat sports like boxing and kickboxing. Fucking Richard & Judy had some MMA people on to talk about this horrible sport coming over to our little island. They were UK MMA people, I think Dave O'Donnell was one of them (looking back probably not a wise choice).

I can just picture this

 

[wandshogun09]

 

There's some similarities yeah.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

The annoying thing is, when most of these critics show negativity towards MMA, it's something that a lot of them don't seem willing to learn about. The fact that they use a term like "human cockfighting" in 2014 shows that. They're set in their ways and damn anyone who tries to teach them differently.

 

I have a mate who up until recently didn't know much of anything about MMA, although he knew I was a big UFC fan. After playing the new EA Sports UFC with me, he asked if I could show him some good fights. He had reservations about it though, thinking that the fighters would be really barbaric and that limbs were broken in every other fight. So I picked out entertaining fights like Miller vs. Lauzon, Silva vs. Stann and Condit vs. Hendricks (working from the newest Ultimate Fight Collection), and as the fights took place I explained the different rules and regulations, such as having doctors check severe cuts, and time out for a low blow. He asked at one point, "Do the fighters ever just ignore the buzzer and keep swinging at each other?", but he was chuffed with the level of sportsmanship shown. After that afternoon, he had a new appreciation for MMA. He was willing to sit down and actually learn about the sport, and I don't think many in the media actually have that kind of open mind.

[wandshogun09]

Cracking show last night.

 

Cerrone vs Miller was fun while it lasted. Cerrone looked pretty awesome. If he fought like this consistently he'd have at least had a shot at UFC gold by now. First round was pretty fucking close and I was surprised at how often Miller was catching him, given the reach. Cerrone did a great job, better than I expected, of defending Miller's takedown attempts as well. Then the second round he went into beast mode.

 

That front kick to the body was vicious. That should've been left to play out and it would very likely have led to the TKO right there. The replays clearly showed it was a clean strike. I've seen people online giving Miller shit for 'pretending' it was a low blow but I disagree. According to MMAJunkie's and Sherdog's play-by-play it was Dan Miragliotta who fucked up there. Miller actually told him it wasn't low and that's why he didn't get the five minutes to recover. If anything Miller should be praised. He could've taken advantage of the ref's mistake and got five minutes recovery time. After that he was noticeably favouring the body and Cerrone played a blinder getting him thinking body then going upstairs with the big headkick. Textbook.

 

3-0 in 2014 for Cowboy, and there's still nearly half the year to go. He was saying at the start of the year he wanted to fight six times in 2014. He's on track to do just that. I could actually see him squeezing three more fights in between Aug-Dec.

 

Anik was pushing for Cerrone vs Khabib and that makes sense now. That'll be the end of Cerrone's current little streak though, I'm thinking. I really think Khabib is going to end up fighting the Pettis vs Melendez winner by mid 2015.

 

Barboza looked good. Short and sweet. Not really much else to say. I'd love to see Barboza vs Abel Trujillo sometime. Lineker vs Ozkilic was a really exciting slugfest. I love watching Lineker fight. Been a fan since I first saw him in the Gaudinot fight. And he was pushing the pace still in round three here. Whatever he did to make weight this time, I hope he sticks with it. I really hope he's turned the corner on the weight issues. He's the type of fighter the 125 division is crying out for. Imagine Lineker vs Pickett? Lineker vs Dodson could be fireworks as well. This was a great fight. They deserved the $50K each. Ozkilic is tough as fuck to last as long as he did.

 

What else? Aljamain Sterling was impressive. I thought he looked a lot better than his last fight. He's still developing but he's looking like one to watch. Viana's no pushover either. Martins vs White was a good one. I thought Martins was going to blow through him early, especially after the way White reacted to the first few exchanges. But White showed a lot of toughness. The women brought it as well. I like Leslie Smith. Her style is pretty crude but she's likable and I like the aggression and constant effort. She's got Jake Shields' face and Diego Sanchez's fighting style. The finish was good as well. Non-stop and a decent variety of strikes. I think Jessamyn Duke might be heading back to Invicta.

 

And I didn't see it but apparently Claudia Gadelha was really impressive in the Strawweight debut. I've seen nothing but praise for how good she looked, from media to fans. She was one of the favourites to win TUF 20 (I was thinking we'd get a Gadelha vs Calderwood final originally), BJJ black-belt from Nova Uniao etc. Assuming she gets another fight or two in before TUF 20 finishes, I could see her being the first challenger for the winner of TUF.

 

Good show. Now roll on Dublin.

[wandshogun09]

Someone made this alternate UFC Dublin poster Also, Ariel Helwani interviews Conor McGregorGood stuff. Helwani's also got interviews up with all the other main carders. The Brad Pickett and Ian McCall ones are worth a watch. And I thought Diego Brandao came across surprisingly likeable for someone who threatened to stab 'Pea Head' Poirier at the weigh ins not long ago. And I haven't watched yet but this should be good. Remember those two special interviews Helwani did with Rampage where they went around New York City and Tokyo? He's done one with McGregor in Dublin. A Day In Dublin With Conor McGregorThis show has the buzz for me. It feels way bigger than a Fight Pass card. And I'm more excited than I'll probably feel for some PPVs like UFC 177, which has two title fights on it. I can't wait for this one. Not just for McGregor either, although mostly for him admittedly. I'm really looking forward to Gunnar Nelson's fight and Pickett vs Creepy could be a war. After seeing their interviews I'm even more excited for that one now.

[Supremo]

We leave early tomorrow morning for Dublin. I'm about ready to burst with excitement. Ariel being there and interviewing everyone just makes the buzz feel even bigger. I can't wait.I would also recommend the interviews with Pickett and McCall, if only because they completely confirmed who I'll be rooting for on Saturday night; it's the moustachioed man. I know he was cutting weight and freely admitted he was in a grump, but fucking hell, Brad Pickett comes across as such a crybaby, whereas McCall seems proper cool and totally humble.The way he spoke about being in line for a title shot you'd think Brad had been on some massive undefeated tear over the last few years, ranked in the top three or something. Listening to him you'd never guess he's only ranked number ten, has been inconsistent for years and only has one win at 125. And I don't care that Brad's got a previous win over Demetrious. In their current forms Demetrious Johnson would absolutely murder Brad Pickett. Hopefully McCall beats him and makes him wake up to reality.Another thing Ariel mentioned during his interviews was the weird Fedor vibe he gets from Gunnar Nelson, which I've never thought about before, but he's spot on. Bizarrely calm at all times, yet a beast in the cage, Gunnar definitely has that same demeanour. I'm excited to see him move up in competition but I'm not sure these calls for Rory McDonald are realistic just yet.Conor has been spectacular all week too. He's a megastar in the making. It's not a stretch to say that a huge amount of the UFC's success in the upcoming years rests on his shoulders. If he keeps winning he's got the potential to be bigger than any of the stars they currently have, bar perhaps Rousey.Money.

[Ross18]

Yeah. With Countdown, 'On The Fly', Ariel being there with interviews and that 'A Day In Dublin With Conor McGregor' interview is making this event feel really huge and special. That interview really is fantastic. I think I could listen to McGregor speak all day. I certainly am a believer and I really hope he backs up everything he says and goes straight to the top.This event is feel huge and special for another reason as I head off really early tomorrow for Dublin. My first UFC event. Weigh in's tomorrow and then fights on Saturday. Going to be a great experience and when McGregor comes out it's just going to be insane. Can't wait.

[jimufctna24]

Pisser that this is not on Channel 5Regardless as to whether you like McGregor, you really should hope he wins, and going forward hope he is the real deal. McGregor as said above is something a bit special. Unless you are a boring sod who hates everything that is popular, I see no upside to McGregor losingCould be a cracking brawl, and the atmosphere should be top notch.

[David]

Regardless as to whether you like McGregor, you really should hope he wins, and going forward hope he is the real deal. McGregor as said above is something a bit special. Unless you are a boring sod who hates everything that is popular, I see no upside to McGregor losing

There are instances where a prospect can lose and still look strong, but Brandao isn't even close to being a top 15 fighter, let alone a top 10 one. McGregor has to win this, and do so in quite decent fashion.