UFC 168: Weidman vs Silva 2

[IANdrewDiceClay]

That fatherless bastard seems to have been around forever. Surely he's in his late 60s now?

[jimufctna24]

That fatherless bastard seems to have been around forever. Surely he's in his late 60s now?

He is 33.

 

He was only 23/24 at the time of TUF 1 shooting I believe.

[cleslie92]

Speaking of Leben, I spoke to him yesterday for a piece - he wants to fight for another three years and then retire, but knows he needs to win on Saturday.

 

Link.

[wandshogun09]

I really like Leben. I hope he batters Uriah Hall.

 

He was good fun on TUF. He'd have been hell to live with but he was a huge part of what made that first TUF so good. Aside from the "fatherless bastard" episode which was brilliant telly, I liked the way he only ever referred to Jason Thacker as 'Strangebrew' and when he declared himself the best fighter there on day one and that "there's some people here who suck shit."

 

Just read this ridiculous article on the Rousey vs Tate fight;

 

It

[jimufctna24]

I am starting to see why people like Tate

 

[Egg Shen]

Leben is shot to shit. Im a big Leben fan but sometimes you can just see when i fighter doesn't have it anymore and Leben's in that category right now. He needs to do a Phil Baroni and drop down a few levels and pick ups wins there if he continues wanting to fight.

 

Leben's always been kind of slow but now he's like stuck in the mud when he fights, if Urijah Hall goes in and lets his hands/feet go he's going to destroy Leben.

 

When was the last time Leben looked any good? not counting his only win in the last 3 and half years against Wanderlei because he caught Wand cold and early...a guy with Leben's power can always do that.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah I think my hoping for Leben to come good tomorrow night is pretty much hoping against hope. I've been saying for ages he's looked done. It's a similar feeling I had watching pretty much any Scott Smith fight after he KO'd Cung Le. He just looked shot. And there's the same vibe with Leben these days. He's not old in years but in miles on the clock as a fighter he's an OAP. Loads of hard fights, some bad KO losses and not to mention the abuse he's put his body through with the drink and drug issues. I'm just hoping he's turned it around enough that he can rekindle something.

 

I'd say the last time he looked really good would be around the summer of 2010 where he stopped Aaron Simpson then stepped in with Akiyama about two weeks later on short notice and submitted him in a FOTY contender. That was the best little patch he's had post-getting mauled by Anderson Silva anyway. The Wand KO is undoubtedly his career defining moment.

[Egg Shen]

im not sure how Leben looked in the Aaron Simpson fight (can't remember it) but Leben was pretty much getting his ass handed to him by Akiyama wasn't he before the comeback in round 3. It was only Leben's ridiculous toughness that got him through that fight, the sad thing now is that his toughness seems to be his only asset, and when that's the only thing you've got going for you at the top level of MMA, you've got problems.

[wandshogun09]

It's been a while since I watched it but from what I recall Leben vs Akiyama was back and forth. I think Leben dropped Akiyama, and I remember Akiyama rocking Leben and Leben going into zombie mode as usual. I think they were a round a piece going into the third and Akiyama was edging it when Leben came back and submitted him with seconds to go. I'll have to watch it again. I remember loving that fight.

 

I recall Leben having a rough night with Simpson as well until Simpson faded and Leben bashed him around. He's always been the same though hasn't he. Even 6/7 years ago he was getting battered by Terry Martin before he pulled a big left hook KO out of his arse. He's always been known more for being tough than being a skilled fighter. Not that he doesn't have skills, just his ability to absorb punishment and come back was kind of his calling card. Bit like Gatti in boxing. But yeah, there's always an earlier expiry date on guys like that and lately it's seemed like his ability to bounce back has diminished. Leben's had a pretty long run considering. Nearly 12 years he's been fighting.

 

Just seen this in an article on MMAJunkie, has stingersplash been tweeting Miesha? ...

 

While she

[Carbomb]

Just read this ridiculous article on the Rousey vs Tate fight;

 

Stupid stuff

 

The bold bits are particularly stupid. Why would she fuck with a winning formula? And who exactly is this "growing portion of the fan demographic" that's moaning about Ronda's armbar streak? For all the recent criticism against Ronda, I haven't seen any of it focus on her fighting style. Yeah, it would be interesting to see someone test her standup, but this pillock seems to be suggesting she should voluntarily forfeit her biggest advantage, abandon her Olympic medal winning calibre Judo, her bread and butter which has brought her all her success so far, and just stand there giving Tate her only chance to win. Should Anderson Silva just wrestle Weidman as well?

 

It's one thing if Tate manages to somehow defend Ronda's clinch game and force a standup fight. Then Ronda will have to prove what she's capable of on the feet. But to suggest Ronda should neglect her biggest weapon just because a handful of armchair Greg Jacksons want to see something different, is ludicrous to me.

 

I doubt Kevin Rooney and Teddy Atlas were advising Tyson - "forget that head movement and inside fighting Mike. People are getting bored of seeing you get on the inside and rip heads off with your hooks and uppercuts. What you should do is jab more and dance around. That'll show everyone how good you really are."

 

If Ronda went 20-0 with 20 first round armbar finishes and then retired, that would be hilarious. Working everything in the gym is hugely important, the striking and cardio and all that, sure. But until someone has an answer for Ronda's Judo throw/armbar 1-2 combo, then she shouldn't change anything about her actual fight tactics. Why would she? It's the MMA equivolent of Goldberg's spear/Jackhammer.

 

Absolutely agree. It's not on her to "dumb down", nor is it good for the sport/business. She could perhaps fight a more risky or flashy style to be more entertaining, but all fighters could theoretically do that, and it's her prerogative not to. It's on the challengers to rise to the challenge of beating her, no more than that. Besides, one could argue that Rousey's still at the stage where she needs to consolidate her position as a dominant champion and therefore a draw; losing now would affect her momentum and UFC's campaign to push her as the emergent face of women's MMA. The cons of risking defeat for the sake of being more entertaining are more numerous right now than the pros.

 

Also, that article misses one, very salient point: people are still being entertained by the armbar. Rousey's armbar is "the grappler's equivalent of the one-punch KO" (which, for GSP/Shields, many of the talking heads insisted Shields had - and he disappointed horribly) - people will always be impressed at that level of skill, and they'll also be entertained as they continue to watch for the opponent who can finally beat it. If ever and when this happens, Rousey can afford to vary up her game, because, well, she'll need to.

 

(I was just doing some reading on Anderson Silva - I was shocked to see how many times he's lost. I thought he'd only ever lost once or twice prior to Weidman.)

[wandshogun09]

Yeah Anderson was a late bloomer. Things didn't really start to click for him until he joined forces with the Nogueiras. He was good in his Chute Boxe days but there were apparently some issues there between him and some of the team and once he defected to Brazilian Top Team and left Pride, business really picked up for him. Between his Pride and UFC runs something seemed to light a match under his arse. Maybe it was just a better fit for him with BTT and the Nogs but it started showing in his results. And he went virtually unbeaten from 2005-2013 (the Okami DQ aside).

 

A lot is made of his UFC highlight reel of knockouts but his standing elbow KO on Tony Fryklund in Cage Rage is still one of the most visually incredible knockouts I've ever seen.

 

 

Ninja Anderson pre-dates his UFC run, which is often forgotten.

 

Anyone know when the weigh in is, UK time?

[icke83]

Just finished, not sure if the replays available yet though.. http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/12/27/5247...-weigh-in-video

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

All fighters made weight save for Diego Brandao, who weighed in at a ridiculous 153. Did he think it was a LW fight? I've never seen a miss that bad at weigh-ins, I'm wondering if they can even sanction it.

 

And Ronda Rousey wore a Dragonball Z hoodie over a Bruce Lee t-shirt. A woman after my own heart. Team Rousey all the way just based on that.

[wandshogun09]

Without even checking I think Anthony Johnson may have topped that weight miss. Pretty sure he was more than that over for one fight at least. I'm thinking the Belfort fight but might be wrong.

 

And Lew Polley (the dickhead wrestling coach on TUF 13 who even JDS lost his temper with) once missed weight in a LHW fight for a smaller promotion, and he was something insane like 25lbs over or something! That's got to be the record.

 

I've just watched the Weidman-Silva countdown bit. I quite enjoyed it. It wasn't what a Primetime would've been obviously but it was a good watch. I liked how they showed clips of everyone losing their shit watching the first fight. Bit of Serra and Longo in there as well. And John Danaher is awesome. Like some mad professor. I love the way he calmly breaks down a fight and what he was saying about Weidman's tactics made a lot of sense when put with the fight footage. I love the way he said something like "that's what he programmed Chris to do." Programmed.

 

I was surprised they didn't really touch on Weidman seeming to gas though. That could be pivotal in this rematch if Weidman hasn't addressed that properly. He was huffing and puffing after one round last time.

 

Still got the Rousey-Tate and Barnett-Browne bits to watch yet.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Ah yeah, 12 pounds over to Diego's 8. I think I was just so used to seeing Johnson have weight issues I blocked him out mentally. He's had some HW fights outside of UFC, right?

 

Going out for lunch and then back home to watch the Countdown and press conference. UFC mania has hit, baby!