UFC thread

[Abertawe]

Wasn't he ill? He also got destroyed by a roided Overeem.

 

[mchilds]

Lesnars a one trick pony, but it's forgotten he beat a few legimately good and very good fighters in his initial burst.

Of course he was found out and barely could last a round before gassing, but he wasn't as bad as he's now made out to be. From what his reputation seems to be, you think he never won a fight let alone getting wins against a few good fighters.

Yeah. I remember him smashing the teeth out of Randy Couture. But his wins were mostly because of is strength, size and weight, not skill and technique that's why, even with his strength and size, Mir easily submitted him. But who knows maybe he's better now. I heard he just earned his blue belt in BJJ.

 

[Anon]

Mir was getting a pasting until he caught Lesnar though, he wasn't going to last much longer. I remember watching and thinking a defeat that looked good, as he clearly could cut it in mma yet also clearly had a lot to learn.

 

[mchilds]

he clearly could cut it in mma yet also clearly had a lot to learn.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

It's interesting to ponder a parallel universe in which Lesnar got into MMA early doors, stuck with it (in the UFC rather than Pride, anyways), and didn't get diverticulitis.

From ~2002 to ~2008 the UFC HW division was a wasteland. The champs with a pulse were a juiced up Josh Barnett, the gascan version of Frank Mir, and an ageing Big Nog. (we all love Randy Couture, but he obviously mopping up some very sloppy seconds at that point).

With a bit of judicious matchmaking Lesnar could've cut his teeth in a pretty shallow pool and had the better part a decade to develop his game before the new wave of stateside-Cro Cop and then Carwin/Velasquez/Dos Santos/Werdum MK II turned up and gave him something to worry about.

The fact that he could skip all that, jump in at the top end and still give a respectable journey man like Heath Herring a slapping is not to be underestimated.

(I think Mark Hunt gives him what for easily enough though, in this universe )

 

[CharlieAdamno1Fan]

What the easiest way to watch ufc 200

 

[Stagat]

Jon Jones

 

[Anon]

Jon Jones

Oh FFS.

What an ass.

 

[Abertawe]

Not surprised, Jones is a dick.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

He done gone did it.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

yup he definitely done gone did it.

 

[Humongous Fungus]

And now Brock to! Is this a strictly UFC thread I guess so from the title but can we discuss general MMA news here to?

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

 

[Anon]

Crazy - I saw a few Michael Page fights a few months ago, pretty unique and fascinating to watch. I think the above victory was his first of a 5 fight Bellator deal.

 

[shane]

Apologies for my MMA based ignorance but why isn't Page being signed up for UFC? From what I understand, he has a large following and even Dana White was tweeting about his victory last week...

 

[Renegade]

I think he will honour his Bellator contract, which I believe has one more fight before he becomes a free agent. He can start a bidding war between Bellator and the UFC. He's safe in Bellator taking care of nobodies and makes money from sponsorship, a lot of which is banned in the UFC. Bellator will offer him a lot of money to stay, though I hope he comes across. Phil Davis and Benson Henderson have shown that if the UFC are offering less, then fighters can be tempted to fight for a lesser organisation.

 

[Stagat]

No expert but I couldn't call that. Couldn't split them.

Not surprising he got the nod though. Hard to make millions on a third fight when it's 2-0 innit.

 

[G.B]

Diaz won 2, 3 and 5 imo. They wanted a 3rd fight for obvious reasons though, so connor got the nod.

What about that Anthony Johnson ko though

 

[Captain Scumbag]

Great fight. Was very impressed by Connor's stamina and resolve (thought he was gassed out and basically fucked in the third round). His strategy was much better. His patience was impeccable. His take-down defence was surprisingy awesome.

I was rooting for Diaz, but I think the judges got it right. No debate about round 1 (Connor), round 3 (Diaz) and round 4 (Connor). I think Diaz won round 5, so the tough call is the second. The first 3.30 of that round was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, with McGregor kicking the bejesus out of Diaz's left leg and tagging him with some really well-timed left hands. He knocked him down twice and was winning the round at a canter, but Diaz suddenly turned it round and dominated the last 1.30. He didn't have Connor down, but rocked him a few times and landed a load of strikes. Connor dominated a much larger portion of the round, but Diaz appeared to do more damage in his period of dominance at the end. So how do you call that? Me? I gave it to Connor because of the two knock-downs.

A decent counter case could be made (Diaz 10-8 in the third, maybe?), and there'll always be suspicion that UFC will favour their cash cow, but IMO there's no scandal in Connor winning the decision. I hope they fight again. The two they've had so far have been compelling.

Full fight here.

 

[G.B]

Oh yeah, not suggesting it was a blatantly fixed fight, it could have gone either way, but if it was going to be close, and it was, then that third money fight just makes sense to all involved. Great fight anyway, and Connor's take down defence was a lot better than I thought it'd be. Excellent performance from him considering how knackered he looked after the second. Will be interesting to see them go at it at 155.

 

[Nath]

It was a tight fight, but McGregor won it.

Diaz did his good work in the third (his best) and fifth round. McGregor won 1,2 and 4. A lot of Diaz's punches were in the clinch and not really effective. I was worried for McGregor after the third round, but he dug deep and found second wind. He knocked Diaz down a few times, had the more significant strikes and his takedown defence was superb. When both men were fresh McGregor was destroying him and clearly the superior fighter. There is no doubt he will put any doubt to rest at a 155lbs fight. That's the perfect weight for him. He will have his speed back and his cardio will be much better.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

Diaz has the IQ of a potato, but even he knows the big money fight is a decider against Connor. UFC initiated some discussion about him fighting an alternate when Connor hissy-fitted his way out of UFC 200, but he was having none of it. He was happy to wait. He'll happily wait again. He probably won't fight again in the interim. He doesn't seem to give a shit about titles. He's just looking to make as much green as possible, which is fair enough.

I'm guessing Connor will deign to defend his featherweight title in his next fight. If so, that means going from 170 lbs down to 145 lbs (and another weight in at which he looks like someone just freed from Treblinka) to fight Aldo, who will probably put up a much a better fight this time. That's going to be a tough adjustment. To go from that back up to 170 lbs for a third fight with Diaz would be silly, so he's right to insist on the decider being at 155 lbs.

Don't agree that Connor would have his way with Diaz at lightweight, though. Think it would be very close again.

 

[Nath]

Diaz has the IQ of a potato, but even he knows the big money fight is a decider against Connor. UFC initiated some discussion about him fighting an alternate when Connor hissy-fitted his way out of UFC 200, but he was having none of it. He was happy to wait. He'll happily wait again. He probably won't fight again in the interim. He doesn't seem to give a shit about titles. He's just looking to make as much green as possible, which is fair enough.

I'm guessing Connor will deign to defend his featherweight title in his next fight. If so, that means going from 170 lbs down to 145 lbs (and another weight in at which he looks like someone just freed from Treblinka) to fight Aldo, who will probably put up a much a better fight this time. That's going to be a tough adjustment. To go from that back up to 170 lbs for a third fight with Diaz would be silly, so he's right to insist on the decider being at 155 lbs.

Don't agree that Connor would have his way with Diaz at flyweight, though. Think it would be very close again.

Yeah. Diaz has made more money fighting Conor than he could ever imagine. He's made over a million dollars, so has no reason to fight anyone else. He deserves his payday.

Diaz hasn't exactly blown everyone away at 155lbs. I just think Conor has struggled with his cardio at 170lbs and we won't see his best work at that weight. He's technically much better than he's shown. For me, at 155lbs he gets the stoppage or wins by a bigger margin. He wouldn't be blowing out of his arse after 1 or 2 rounds.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

I agree Connor should fare better at lightweight. It's a no brainer. He could make much better use of his superior speed and movement if he were carrying less weight.

Still, I think Diaz is just a nasty match-up for Connor regardless of the weight class. A lighter Diaz would still be taller and possess superior reach. A lighter Diaz would still dominate him in the clinch and kill him on the ground. A lighter Diaz would still walk throught the sort of shots that would floor most fighters. A lighter Diaz still wouldn't be afraid of Connor. And so on.

 

[Nath]

I agree Connor should fare better at lightweight. It's a no brainer. He could make much better use of his superior speed and movement if he were carrying less weight.

Still, I think Diaz is just a nasty match-up for Connor regardless of the weight class. A lighter Diaz would still be taller and possess superior reach. A lighter Diaz would still dominate him in the clinch and kill him on the ground. A lighter Diaz would still walk throught the sort of shots that would floor most fighters. A lighter Diaz still wouldn't be afraid of Connor. And so on.

Fair enough. I don't think Diaz would dominate in the clinch, Conor proved to be just as effective at times in the fight. Conor out-boxed Diaz also, which is pretty impressive considering Diaz is one of the best boxers in the UFC. Diaz's greatest qualities are his chin and ju-jitsu. There are very few fighters who could take that left hand and still come forward like he did.

John Kavanagh was on MMA hour tonight. Basically doesn't feel Conor will go back to 145lbs as there are no fights of real interest. He's cleaned the division out. 155lbs looks the likely destination with a possible title fight against Eddie Alvarez.

 

[Stevencc]

CM Punk

 

[Captain Scumbag]

Yeah… his first significant act was to throw an atrocious right hand, wildly miss and get taken down in the process. The fight was basically lost from that point on, i.e. 3 seconds in. Got mauled on the ground, gave up his back and was promptly choked out. It was a bad match-up for him and a fight he was always going to lose, but that was a truly pitiful showing.

Still waking up next to AJ Lee every morning, though.

CM Punk = winning.

 

[RavenBish]

I thought I'd be alright with watching Punk get a pasting but that was all a bit uncomfortable. A mis-matched dangerous freak show - MMA really isn't the sport where an un-trained celebrity should be able to walk in and get a fight in the UFC because they think they fancy it.

So what for him now, do they just try and find a complete bum instead and make it even more of a farce?

 

[JustinQPR]

Gall's post fight swearing and shouting seemed so forced and fake. Made himself look a twat.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

MMA really isn't the sport where an un-trained celebrity should be able to walk in and get a fight in the UFC because they think they fancy it. So what for him now, do they just try and find a complete bum instead and make it even more of a farce?

TBF he trained for the fight for about two years. Problem is, he started 10-15 years too late (with a body already battered from 15+ years in pro-wrestling) and was in there with a decent young fighter who's been training since his teens. He ought to have started out against a much weaker opponent on a much smaller stage, but that made zero sense from a financial point of view. UFC understood the draw was the curiosity surrounding his first MMA fight, so Punk was thrown in the deep end.

Punk is a smart guy with no delusions of grandeur (not in MMA anyway), so he knew what he was being thrown into. His wrestling fame allowed him to short-cut his way to a position most fighters have to earn by training for years and winning multiple fights. The downside was the high probability of him being embarrassed, so much so that there would be virtually no interest in a second fight. Sadly, I think that's the position he's in now. Dana commented last night that if Punk fights again it should probably be outside UFC, so we could be looking at a one and done.