UFC Ongoing Thread (1 Viewer)

[Casey Trowbridg]

Mikah, that is perhaps the greatest irony of the whole thing. I'm just as much of a newcomer to UFC as anyone else here, getting interested and watching my first PPV broadcast earlier this year.
The point is that people have helped me get up to speed quickly and I try to do my best to help others. I'm glad I found a small group of people on the HTF (my favorite forum) to talk about this stuff with.

Show was good. My friend and I argued about the outcome of Tito and Chuck for awhile after the fight but it was all in good fun.
He thought the ref stopped the fight too soon, I thought it wouldn't have mattered Tito was done.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

BTW, aside from being in HD the best news of the night was the debuts of Cro Cop and Rampage.

 

[Ryan Peddle]

Man, I have been on HTF for 7 years, and been watching the UFC and others for a very long time and I just noticed this thread now. Man!

OK...first thing it first...UFC in HD...thank you! Brand new Optoma HD70, 92" Screen, and now UFC going HD...I'm all warm and fuzzy inside.

Ok, to anyone who thinks they are a noob to UFC...trust me you are in the majority. I have followed the UFC from day one with sporadic times of disinterest. But the MMA scene has exploded and there are many more new fans to the sport than there are old loyal fans. Regardless it will take time to understand the sport, to understand the rules, and to understand who the stars are.

The Ultimate Fighter really was the catalyst of the UFC's popularity. But it is not what will take it to the next level. What you saw tonight at UFC66 is what will. That was the best overall card they put on this year. With the exception of last months defeat of Matt Hughes by GSP this would have easily been the most entertaining event of the year.

The UFC is really starting to show their depth of talent. And it has taken some serious time. A lot of the cards earlier in the year were filled with TUF fighters who shouldn't be on the card at all. Tonight was a different story.

And the next card in February will be even better. Two championship fights and the debut of Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic is too much for me to handle. And in HD...over the top. But to the "noobs" learn who these guys are, especially Cro Cop. Nuff said.

Spoilers on my thoughts on the card:
Bisping vs Schafer - I am glad Schafer put Bisping to the test. Many of my friends wanted Bisping to come out and destroy. But it is the mark of a great fighter to be one that can weather the storm, escape submission attempts, regain control of the fight, and finish with a victory.

Arlovski vs Cruz - Just glad to see the Pitbull back. The sound of his strikes were unreal. Poor Cruz was not smart enough to prepare for that devastating punch.

Leben vs MacDonald - Big fan Jason "don't call me Rob" MacDonald. Lebens got a chin, good take down defense, bricks for hands, and guts...but Jason MacDonald has pure skill. Swick vs Macdonald please.

Jardine vs Griffin - No major comments..,my eyes were opened to Jardine tonight. Didn't pick a winner in this one as I thought it would be a slugfest and the guy to catch the best strike would win.

Liddell vs Ortiz - Liddell is a beast and he can't be beat. And it's to bad because Ortiz has the heart of a Lion.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Chuck Liddell suffered a torn ACL 3 weeks before the fight.

He also injured his hand during the fight.

Tito Ortiz will have to have surgery on a shattered ankle as a result of a kick from the fight.

 

[DwightK]

I thought the UFC was drug tested? Will that impact Cro cop and Rampage (since PRIDE is not)?

I am so looking forward to seeing the PRIDE folks fight UFC folks in the UFC rules. See who is better. I wonder how Tim Silvia would do against that NASTY russian in PRIDE that seems to destroy everyone.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Quenton Jackson's last fight was in the United States in California so he knows the game. Chances are if they're on something or were that they're working it out of their systems. Keep in mind that by my saying this I'm not saying either of these guys are doing anything illegal its just that different countries have different laws and so while something might be banned in the U.S. it may not be in other parts of the world.

The Russian you refer to is Fedor Emelianenko and my goal is for him to come to UFC either when his Pride deal expires or that company folds which ever comes first and then he can come to UFC and eat Tim Sylvia for lunch on PPV so I don't have to put up with watching Sylvia coast in late rounds anymore. If Fedor doesn't do it, Cro Cop is also more than capable. But having said that Fedor is my preference but Merko is more likely.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Don't feel bad Ryan. I started this thread pretty recently. I was also surprised nobody was discussing UFC around here.

Man, this PPV rocked. I agree that this was arguably the best booked PPV for the UFC.

Griffin is such a professional. He took that loss pretty hard. But the good thing about that fight is that now we know Jardine means business. It'll be interesting to see what he does from here on.

The main event...well...I wish Tito would have put up more of a fight. I mean, he was a trooper after surviving that knockdown during the first round but overall, Liddell easily dominated.

Speaking of Liddell, that dude seems unbeatable. Who's left in his weight division that can give him a run for his money?

So what's the story behind the latest UFC acquisitions? Rampage and Merko? Joe Rogan kept talking wonders about Merko, saying he's a human highlight reel. Is it true? Are these guys that good?

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Rampage is Liddell's next challenger in all likelihood. Rampage is the only person to whom Chuck Liddell has lost who he hasn't beaten in a rematch. The fight was in Pride a few years ago and things have changed since then.

Merko is as good as advertised, he won the Pride Open-weight Grand Pre earlier this year which is a tournament where you have heavyweights and light heavyweights in the same field.

Merko can fight at heavyweight and probably will but he could also jump down to 205 to fight Liddell. If Fedor comes to UFC I hope Merko drops down to fight Liddell...if not, I hope Merko ends Sylvia's reign as champ of the heavyweights.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I gotta see Merko in action soon. I'll swing over to youtube to see if they have any of his fights.

BTW, I came across Chuck Liddell's myspace page and I noticed one of his "friends" is Daniel Puder. Isn't Puder the guy that won WWE Tough Enough recently?

From looking at the videos on his myspace page, it seems he's been doing some MMA. How come the WWE never used him?

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I saw Cro Cop fight and win, but I didn't realize he was all the rage as I don't really follow PRIDE and K-1 that much. I think I saw him beat Bob Sapp (The Beast). I think I also saw him beat Josh Barnett (Babyfaced Assassin).

I find it really beneficial to read up on the fighters I find out about here on Wikipedia. For instance... Mirko 'Cro Cop Filipovic

 

[Andres Munoz]

You're right Mikah. I've been reading up on some of the UFC fighters on Wikipedia for the past few months. Very good background info for those of you who want to get to know what these guys have been up to.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Talk about looking at videos on YouTube... Check this out Its a great Heath Herring video. Herring will be fighting on the 1/25 Fight Night Live show.

As for your question on Puter, its a long story and wikipedia could probably expand on this but Puter made some enemies in WWE and there was an incident with Kurt Angle on Smackdown that kind of was the beginning of the end in reality.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Lol, Heath Herring goes "he tried to kiss me in the mouth like a homosexual. I'm not gay!". What a sucker punch. But the other dude asked for it, lol.

BTW Casey, I read Puter's story with the WWE. I do remember Kurt Angle putting Puter in the Angle lock but I don't recall Puter putting Kurt Angle on a submission hold. Did the WWE air that part?

 

[Brent T]

I couldnt agree more. I am so sick of Sylvia and his fight not to lose approach. The guy has become a total bore and I cant wait to see him lose to... well anyone !!

I am not very familiar with any of the guys coming to UFC since I have never seen them fight (I have only read about them) but I really hope they can put a beating on the King of Sprawl.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Georges St. Pierre is out of UFC 67 with a knee injury

Also Pride has announced its 2007 line-up of shows and the formation of a new weight class

Andres, the WWE kind of aired the footage. They aired it but it was as such that you couldn't really tell what was happening unless you knew and they got lucky in that Puter's shoulders were on the mat for a good 2 count before he lifted for a 3...but he was very close to tapping Angle out legit. Once people started to realize what actually happened, the WWE yanked all footage off of WWE.com. They wasted a lot of potential money by not doing anything with this real-life incident.

To this day, Puter and Angle both cut promos on 1-another online to hype up a fight held under MMA rules. The promos are great but this will never happen.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

As this has become more of an MMA thread than anything else: WEC to make Vegas debut on 1/20

This does actually relate to the UFC though as the WEC was recently purchased by that group.

A Featherweight division could be something to see.

 

[Andres Munoz]

That's too bad to hear about GSP. I was looking forward to seeing him in action against Serra.

Casey, what I meant was that I don't recall seeing footage of Puter almost making Angle submit. Angle must have been pissed.

Speaking of Angle, he still wants to fight in the UFC. That'd be very interesting to see what he can do in a real fight.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

This is because it only aired on the original Smackdown episode and was yanked off line when people realized what had happened. For the record Angle didn't actually ever tap out but had that gone maybe 30 seconds more it'd be a different story perhaps.

Mark this down, Kurt Angle will never fight in UFC while under TNA contract. UFC has no interest in using someone who is doing pro wrestling at the same time as MMA and the reasons should be obvious.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Yup, you're right. Angle did say that TNA was trying to negotiate with UFC but UFC wants an exclusive contract and we know that's not happening any time soon.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

UFC 68 Press Release

Its loaded up on star power with Sylvia (who I hope loses bad) Hughes and Rich Franklin set to fight on the show.