Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 10, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 10, 2016 The fact you can't remember anything probably says something. There were some good fights, obviously. Lawler vs Hendricks 1 and 2, Aldo vs Mendes 2, Weidman vs Machida, JDS vs Miocic etc. But overall that year, more than any other I remember, just seemed devoid of fun. Outside of McGregor and Rousey's fights, the big fight feel wasn't there. It was the first year without GSP and Anderson. Injury and PED problems were as rife as ever. There was the whole Sonnen vs Wanderlei debacle, which was a bit of a black eye for the UFC and definitely for those two. UFC 176 got cancelled and 177 got ravaged to the point Joe 'Straight Outta Fight Pass' Soto had to be put in the main event 24 hours before show time. The expansion and increase in shows was shit that year as well. They improved a lot to make the overall quality of the shows higher/more enjoyable from 2015 on, but 2014 was pretty dire for it. You had Costas Philippou in TV main event. Arlovski vs Schaub shitting things up at 174. More than anything though, for me, was the lack of big fight atmosphere. There never seemed to be any huge fight on the horizon to look forward to. And when there finally was, Jones vs Cormier, it got delayed until 2015. 2014 was a write off. And the UFC knew it as well. That was obvious with Dana looking into the camera on the December PPV and saying "WE'RE BACK!" after him and Rogan pink faced and excitedly ran down what was coming up in 2015. They knew 2014 was a bit of a washout and the whole 'Go Big' thing seemed like a conscious effort to put the fun back into the UFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted August 11, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted August 11, 2016 I'm not bothered or annoyed by the situation, I'm just at the point where I'm not that arsed anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm more arsed about this than I usually am about most prelims these days. But I've never been into Punk anyway and I think he seems a dick as a person, so he's not even someone I find it easy to root for. I just can't get massively excited about it. It's better than 2014 but piles are better than 2014 was. Spot on. WWE fans getting excited by a WWE guy isn't ever going to be a surprise, doesn't mean shit to me. There's the obvious freakshow appeal of a non-fighter having a pro-fight which would be the same if it were any other celebrity. The UFC were always going to squeeze as much juice out of this as possible given it could very well be a 1 time thing & I'd wager he's getting a fair whack more than other complete noobs. If this piques interest in the UFC from wrestling fans then fair play but it's still likely going to be an abortion of a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted August 11, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted August 11, 2016 Rothwell is out injured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 11, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 11, 2016 Shit. They've still got time to get a replacement in though. Wonder if JDS would be up for it. JDS vs Werdum 2 would be an excellent save, better than the original Rothwell fight IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 12, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 12, 2016 Travis Browne has stepped in to rematch Werdum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcf1997 Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Does anyone know if or when BT sport will be airing the CM Punk documentary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Does anyone know if or when BT sport will be airing the CM Punk documentary Yeah,its on the sky planner. 4 episodes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcf1997 Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Does anyone know if or when BT sport will be airing the CM Punk documentaryYeah,its on the sky planner. 4 episodes what day and time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 First ep seems to be Tue at 10.30. The title is 'UFC: The Evolution of Punk' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted August 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted August 15, 2016 Anyone know when the Punk doc will be on Fight Pass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted August 16, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted August 16, 2016 First ep seems to be Tue at 10.30. The title is 'UFC: The Evolution of Punk' Not on my planner. What channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 First ep seems to be Tue at 10.30. The title is 'UFC: The Evolution of Punk' Not on my planner. What channel?I think it's been moved to Thursday now, Herb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted August 16, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted August 16, 2016 First ep seems to be Tue at 10.30. The title is 'UFC: The Evolution of Punk'Not on my planner. What channel?I think it's been moved to Thursday now, Herb. Bastids!! Airs on Fight Pass at 12:30am tonight. Can't find a torrent anywhere. Tomorrow morning it is then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Just watched Part 1 on The Evolution of Punk on Fight Pass. Very interesting watch. They're displaying everything, from his first time hitting the pads to his first time sparring. This is part of a longer story detailing his whole almost 2 year development. Even in the footage from his first time hitting pads with Duke to his pre-sparring warm up 2 months into his training, there's definite striking improvement, some nice snap to his strikes the second time around. His sparring is interesting, he faces a 6-2 fighter who has a background as a college wrestler. For a jujitsu guy, he struggles a lot to get off the bottom and out of subs, tapped in two out of three simulation rounds. It's hard to put much stock in this, because it seems like week by week they'll unveil more of Punk's ability. While the footage is real, I'm sure it's edited to fit a narrative. Based on this first ep, I'd give Punk a better chance of catching Gall with a nice punch or knee to end things rather than a sub, but let's see where things go in this doco series. Very well put together, I thought, can't wait to see the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 His sparring is interesting, he faces a 6-2 fighter who has a background as a college wrestler. For a jujitsu guy, he struggles a lot to get off the bottom and out of subs, tapped in two out of three simulation rounds. But, he's not a jiu-jitsu guy in the traditional sense. He's a white belt hobbyist, as opposed to a lifelong Master. He's a jiu-jitsu guy in only so much as it eclipses his experiences in anything else. And, I imagine someone who's grown up wrestling through the High School and collegiate system should be able to hold down a guy at Punk's level, then, with limited effort. It amazes me how low rent his striking is/was. I know they've got an ex-MMA fighter down at the WWE performance centre now, but it baffles me that someone at Punk's level could have got through without even understanding basic shapes and combinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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