UFC 169: Barao vs Faber 2

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Selfishly, if Lesnar did come back, I'd want him in winnable fights. So, I'd make Mir III and keep him as far away from Overeem as humanly possible.

 

Overeem vs. JDS in July, maybe? I think Wand mentioned that they've made a habit of trying to book the fight in May the past couple of years, but this year the big May event has Weidman vs. Vitor and Sonnen vs. Wanderlei, no way they're adding Reem vs. JDS to that.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah they won't put those three fights together and spunk two big PPVs away in one go. Imagine this though;

 

May -

Weidman vs Belfort

Sonnen vs Wanderlei

 

July -

Pettis vs Aldo

JDS vs Overeem

 

Jizztastic.

 

Out of interest, is there a recent-ish example of a bloke taking two top fights in quick succession and winning both? Rogan always makes a point of saying how advantages it can be for a fighter to fight again quickly, if the first went well, but in my mind the bloke always hits a wall come the second fight.

 

Yeah, I get what Rogan means in that you stay sharp and all that but there's always the risk of overtraining and burning out as well. I can't recall a comparable situation where the guy took two big fights in succession and won both. The nearest I can think of is when Leben beat Aaron Simpson and Sexyama in a couple of weeks span, but yeah, that's not the same as doing it at title level and facing McDonald and Barao within what, five or six weeks?

 

I don't know how much of a factor it was last night though to be fair. Burnout would probably be more likely to rear its head later in a fight surely. But Barao was lighting a fresh Faber up from the off. And I know Faber took this on short notice but Barao also had his opponent switched on him a few weeks out as well. Yeah he'd have been in camp already but he was prepping for Cruz and then had to adjust for Faber. And despite the stoppage he looked better than ever while it lasted.

 

It's a shame. The way the fight ended kind of robs them both. Faber of his chance to fight through it or go out on his shield. And Barao of getting a more clear cut stoppage. Under the circumstances I could see Faber actually getting a third crack at Barao, but it'll be way down the line now. He'll have to climb through the division again. I think he'll go on another streak now and in a year or 18 months he'll be getting another title shot. Maybe sooner if someone else has the belt. It's just what he does. He's too good to stay out of the mix.

 

Will they try again for Barao vs Cruz now? I'd imagine that's the hope. If Cruz ever fights again. No-one else leaps out as a clear cut #1 contender at 135 do they? Dillashaw would probably be the backup if Cruz can't go.

 

Who the fuck does Faber fight though? He's pretty much beat everyone else already. Maybe he'll take a few fights at 145. He's not in the title picture for the forseeable so he might as well take some 'fan friendly' fights in the time being. Who wouldn't love to see Faber vs Edgar? Faber vs Penn? Faber vs Zombie? Swanson, Guida. There's loads of fun fights at 145 for him.

 

Faber vs Edgar or Penn would be my pick but they're obviously way off with them tied up with TUF. Faber vs Penn could be a big fight as well, proper dream fight with two of the best of all-time of the smaller weight classes.

 

And at 135, Faber vs Cruz 3 is a no brainer if Cruz can get back in there. Title or no title that trilogy needs settling.

 

Pettis vs Aldo is going to be mega! I still think Pettis will win, Aldo's striking defense is not strong enough. Whilst Lamas was not landing many meaningful blows he was still landing often against Aldo, showing there are plenty of windows for Pettis to gain from. At one stage the striking stats were around 61-37 in favor of Also in strikes landed.

 

I'd lean towards Pettis as well but it's a fascinating fight. I really think Aldo will be better at 155. Probably even more explosive and energetic. They're both excellent defensively as well. Pettis avoids shots like they're in slow motion. I can't remember anyone landing a really good punch on him once. Aldo gets hit but if you watch he seems to be really great at moving with the punches to take the power out of them. You never see Aldo or Pettis hurt with strikes. They're both so technical and defensively sharp and fast. I'd favour Pettis but not by a lot. And I think they'd both be each others hardest fight so far easily. I think they'll both test each other like never before. I just think Pettis has slightly more variety and he's got the option of being an effective lefty as well which could maybe confuse Aldo. It's a brilliant style fight though and I'm glad it looks like 155 will be where it happens.

[JNLister]

I can see the argument that the ref stopped the Faber fight too early because the punches weren't getting through. What I can't see is the argument "He told me to do something, so I gave a thumbs up." I really don't think that counts as intelligently defending yourself.

[lambyUK]

I can see the argument that the ref stopped the Faber fight too early because the punches weren't getting through. What I can't see is the argument "He told me to do something, so I gave a thumbs up." I really don't think that counts as intelligently defending yourself.

 

Blocking the shots is though. Those punches were hitting Faber's hands. He was actually using that time to recover.

 

Personally, in hindsight Faber made a massive mistake taking this fight on short notice. Barao is hard enough to fight with a full camp let alone one with only 3 weeks preparation.

 

Regarding the 2 fights on the bounce debate, it will have no doubt played a part. According to most fighters, you actually come into the actual fight carrying wear and tear from the training camp. Its not until after the fight you heal up properly. Faber never had that recovery period and would basically have continued into another camp accumulating more damage to his body.

 

I certainly hope this is taken into consideration as Faber really deserves a shot at the title with a full camp and recovery to prepare.

[Carbomb]

I know it's not likely to happen, but I would like Barao/Faber III to happen sooner rather than later. I don't feel Faber got a fair shake of the stick, and the match didn't feel particularly satisfying either. I don't think he'd win, but we'd at least get a valiant effort out of it.

[David]

Here's another one for the "Dana is a fucking idiot" record books;

 

During the UFC 169 post fight show, Dana White, stated that he believed Overeem

[JNLister]

I can see the argument that the ref stopped the Faber fight too early because the punches weren't getting through. What I can't see is the argument "He told me to do something, so I gave a thumbs up." I really don't think that counts as intelligently defending yourself.

 

Blocking the shots is though. Those punches were hitting Faber's hands. He was actually using that time to recover.

 

 

 

Yeah, that's true -- what I meant was that the "thumbs up" was a weird argument to make. All that really proves is that you're conscious and no worse than paraplegic.

[David]

I noticed a bit of a disturbance in the crowd during the event, but fucking hell...

 

Two people were stabbed inside the Prudential Center during an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Saturday night, police said.

 

The victims were identified as two men from Pennsylvania, but Newark police did not release their names.

 

They suffered non-life threatening injuries after they were stabbed in the stands just before 8 p.m., according to Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio and were treated at University Hospital.

 

Security officers recovered the knife used in the attack and arrested Angel Pereira, 36, of Lancaster, Pa., who is charged with several counts of aggravated assault and two weapons offenses, according to DeMaio.

[Carbomb]

I can see the argument that the ref stopped the Faber fight too early because the punches weren't getting through. What I can't see is the argument "He told me to do something, so I gave a thumbs up." I really don't think that counts as intelligently defending yourself.

 

Blocking the shots is though. Those punches were hitting Faber's hands. He was actually using that time to recover.

 

 

 

Yeah, that's true -- what I meant was that the "thumbs up" was a weird argument to make. All that really proves is that you're conscious and no worse than paraplegic.

 

So it's not an actual, established thing, then? I assumed it was some sort of "anti-tap", because he seemed to be confused that Dean didn't get it.

[David]

So it's not an actual, established thing, then? I assumed it was some sort of "anti-tap", because he seemed to be confused that Dean didn't get it.

It's usually used by fighters when they're caught in a submission, as a way of showing the referee that they aren't unconscious or in real trouble. I'll be honest, I've never seen it used as a reply to a referee telling someone to show them something when they're being hammered with strikes.

 

Saying that, those strikes weren't actually hitting Faber. It's a joke to be honest, and highly inconsistent when you consider what Overeem did to Travis Browne in their fight without Mario Yamasaki stopping it.

[lambyUK]

So it's not an actual, established thing, then? I assumed it was some sort of "anti-tap", because he seemed to be confused that Dean didn't get it.

It's usually used by fighters when they're caught in a submission, as a way of showing the referee that they aren't unconscious or in real trouble. I'll be honest, I've never seen it used as a reply to a referee telling someone to show them something when they're being hammered with strikes.

 

Saying that, those strikes weren't actually hitting Faber. It's a joke to be honest, and highly inconsistent when you consider what Overeem did to Travis Browne in their fight without Mario Yamasaki stopping it.

 

Couldn't agree more. What really pissed me off was Barao paying more attention to Herb Dean than the actual punches and where they were landing.

 

As mentioned, I found his dance to be twattish of the highest order.

[wandshogun09]

Here's another one for the "Dana is a fucking idiot" record books;

 

During the UFC 169 post fight show, Dana White, stated that he believed Overeem

[Egg Shen]

im abit behind cause i only just got to see the show, few quick thoughts:

 

* Trujillo/Varner was fantastic, i question why no one was talking about that one going in, it was always gonna be a good one. Trujillo is a dangerous muthafucker, i still say they set up the Bobby Green fight, that'll be some fight.

 

* Thought Herb absolutely made the wrong call in the main event, Faber was in a bad spot but come on?? it's horrible to see a main event ended like that...i know Herb's got a split second to act but it did seem like Barao's little look up made up his mind, crafty little tactic. Faber just can't get over that title hurdle. Anyone have Renan Barao above Jose Aldo on the P4P list now?

 

* Overeem had a decent night, it was safe and calculated but he still beat the fucking shit out Frank Mir. When a guy is coming off 2 KO losses you can't blame him for coming out like that, he got the job done...as for Frank Mir, i think it's time for him to retire, either that or just drop down a level. Mir's been fighting at the top for so long now and he still has that name value that he automatically gets high billing but its clear that he's nowhere near a top level heavyweight anymore. Sad to see.

 

* 125lb is in a strange spot now, im guessing Baugitinov is the no. 1 contender now but that's a kind of hard fight to sell with Mighty Mouse, he's an interesting kind of new challenge though. Linekar was a bit of an easier sell but i guess that's the way it goes. Linekar was clearly dangerous as fuck throughout but he was simply out MMA'd, Linekar's like a mini Chris Leben.

 

* Aldo/Lamas was alright but i just question Lamas' gameplan, i don't see how he expected to win by basically partaking in a kickboxing match with Jose Aldo for 4 rounds...Aldo seems to have that hypnotic kind of presence that just takes guys out of their game. Lamas held his own and never seemed hurt but he was clearly losing and didn't show any kind of urgency until round 5, it just felt like a wasted opportunity. The knock on Aldo these days is that he's just too clinical, again the risk taking of Barao is what is setting the two apart, im preferring Barao at the moment.

 

* Prelims (Fox ones) were a bad bunch, outside of Lee/Iaquinta which was quality there wasn't much to report.

[Egg Shen]

regarding the stabbings in the crowd, it happened during the Varner/Trujillo fight...at the beginning of round 2 you hear the crowd make a big noise and everyone stand up and look in the same direction, i guess that's when it went down.

[wandshogun09]

* Trujillo/Varner was fantastic, i question why no one was talking about that one going in, it was always gonna be a good one. Trujillo is a dangerous muthafucker, i still say they set up the Bobby Green fight, that'll be some fight.

 

I was pretty excited about it when I made the opening post but I'll be honest, with all the talk of the top three fights and Lineker's dieting, I actually forgot Varner vs Trujillo was even on the card until you mentioned it the other day. It was kind of the forgotten fight of the five on PPV going in, but it blew everything else on the show away.

 

I wonder what's next for Trujillo. The Green fight would be good but I would fucking love to see Trujillo vs Nate Diaz. Imagine that? People will say Nate is ahead of him but he shouldn't be too far ahead with one win in his last three. I'd be all over it.

 

* Prelims (Fox ones) were a bad bunch, outside of Lee/Iaquinta which was quality there wasn't much to report.

 

Yeah Lee vs Iaquinta was good. Anyone else think Kevin Lee has the face of a young Gerald McClellan?