UFC Ongoing Thread (1 Viewer)

[Casey Trowbridg]

Here's the thing with Silva/GSP. Even if you agree that they'll fight at say 180 pounds making silva cut 5 more for the fight. It really won't matter because by the time of the fight Silva will be back at 215 and GSP will probably only be at just a little over 185 (though he says if he fights Silva, he'll put on weight). Tying up belts is a valid point, although I have argued in the past that tying up belts can be a good thing if you've got a division that is either void of top contenders or has too many. It can give you some time to establish a pecking order. BTW, B.J. is set to defend his title against Florian in June.

I wanted to come in here to make mention of something, I wish I had done this earlier in the week but I've been busy.

Tonight, I'll be interviewing Mike Swick of the UFC starting at 9:00 PM ET. You can listen live at: blogtalkradio.com/psp/ and there's a chat room as well. If you want to call and ask Swick a question, you can do so at: 347-324-5735.

An archive of the show will be available later tonight and I can post an interview. If you have a question you want asked but can't listen, email me at [email protected] and I'll see what I can do.

Mike Swick is probably the biggest name in MMA we've spoken with so far and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

The interview with Swick went pretty well. We actually touched on something discussed in this thread. We talked about guys who cut 30 pounds to make a certain wait, like Thiago Alves walks around at 199 and cuts to 170 for his fights. Swick doesn't see the sense in cutting 30 pounds, he thinks at that point you should just fight at middleweight.

Details on the show are here

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I might have heard it wrong, but I thought Thiago said on Inside MMA this past weekend that he walks around at 205.


If you can do it without too much damage to your body, the point is when you walk into the cage, you'll be the bigger (and hopefully stronger) fighter.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Oh wow, I didn't know Thiago walked around at such a high weight. In that case, yes, Swick is completely right, why not fight at a higher weight division so he doesn't have to lose so much. That's gotta take a toll on your body sooner or later right?

But that explains why Thiago looks so thick and strong for his division. Now I'm even more interested in seeing what he can do against GSP.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Yes, I know that the point is to have a size advantage when you're in the cage. But, Swick's mentality is screw it, I'll fight guys who are bigger than me, I don't care...that's why he doesn't see the sense in cutting so much weight when he himself is just willing to go in against the bigger guy.

If I remember, he said in our interview that he was currently at 180 and that's his walking around weight. So even when he was fighting at 185 he was giving up size to most...and it worked pretty well for him his only loss at 185 in the UFC was to Yushin Okami, who's a pretty big dude.

Hoping to finally have Rich Clementi on the show this week, third time the charm, recently cut by the UFC and signed by Strikeforce the same day.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Yowza. Kimbo Slice to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights.

"Kimbo Slice" scores slot on "The Ultimate Fighter 10" cast | MMAjunkie.com

 

[Andres Munoz]

Awesome!

 

[Andres Munoz]

BTW, does anyone know if it's possible to watch the UFC PPVs legally on the internet? I know that some soccer games that are usually $30 on PPV can be found for $10 on the internet and it's all legal.

Anyone know of anything similar for these UFC events?

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

The UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship site would be the place to look, but from what I've been able to see, they only stream past fights.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Looks like this wasn't reported here, so I'll post a link just in case anyone doesn't already know...

Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos fight for Strikeforce's 145-pound title on Aug. 15 | MMAjunkie.com

It's also been announced the bout is scheduled for 5 5-minute rounds, which is pretty much a first for women's mma. That puts it right on par with a men's championship bout. Personally, I'm glad. I like fights to end decisively.

In other news, don't epxect to see Cro Cop back in the UFC anytime soon.

Notebook: Cro Cop leaves UFC - MMA - Yahoo! Sports

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic leaves UFC after one-fight return at UFC 99 in Germany | MMAjunkie.com

After seeing a fighter behave this way, I feel more sympathy for how restrictive UFC contracts normally are. It seems to me Cro Cop knew he couldn't compete in the UFC and had no intentions whatsoever in really returning, other than to fight a tomato can in his home area. Shame, and good riddance.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I was finally able to watch the Evans vs. Machida fight. A friend had recorded it in his DVR. Man, what a knock-out that was. Machida doesn't look like he has a lot of power in his hands but it seems he actually does. Evans just dropped like a sack of potatoes.

So who's next for Machida now? Rampage?

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I believe Rampage and Evans are the coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. That is somewhat strange to me since the upcoming season is for heavyweights. But then, I never paid attention in the past as to whether the coaches came from the same weight class as the contestants.

Anyway, Machida will likely fight someone else before taking on Rampage if Rampage can get past Evans in December. Shogun Rua has been mentioned as an opponent for Machinda in the Fall.

I've seen some riff raff around the 'net about it being a bad decision for Rampage to put off a title shot in favor of coaching TUF. I can't comment either way. I think the Rampage/Evans fight has been built up and I'll enjoy watching it. I also think Rampage has relied far too much on his physical skills in the past and as he faces stronger well-rounded fighters, he's going to have to up his game if he wants to stay relevant. Age diminishes strength, but you can become more seasoned and skilled if you work at it. They say Rampage has a wrestling background, but it's hard for me to see that in the fighter I've seen. He claims he now his jui-jitsu, but I don't see anything more than token evidence of that. On the other hand, it's sometimes difficult to know if Machida is Karate, Jui-Jitsu, or wrestling as he's strong in all areas.

As for deceptive power in the hands, my favorite in that category is Nick Diaz. If I were in a bar, and I was sizing him up, I wouldn't think he could open a pinata with his swing. Of course when he throws 50 of them spaced 2 seconds apart with 35-40 of them landing, you gain a different appreciation. Not the same type of power as Machida, but they're both deceptive.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Rampage coaching again? And with Evans so that's not even going to be a title match? I believe he should be the next in line but oh well...

I think Lidell vs. Machida would be an interesting fight but unfortunately poor Chuck hasn't been his good old self lately.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Chuck is done as a top Light Heavyweight. He'd always have a puncher's chance, but others have passed him by. Speaking of people with nothing left...

Report: Tim Sylvia knocked out by Ray Mercer in 10 seconds at Adrenaline MMA III | MMAjunkie.com

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Good, I hated that bum (Sylvia).

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I've been out of this thread for awhile due to being very busy...a computer crash, some illness and just a whole bunch going on.

I want to hit on a few things.

1. You can watch PPV's legally online via Yahoo and I think even UFC.com. In fact, UFC had a deal where if you ordered the PPV by Friday night on the website, you'd get the unaired prelims for no extra charge as soon as they were posted to the net after the end of the show.

2. Kimbo on TUF is brilliant.

3. Rampage coaching on TUF rather than taking a title shot is a good move. The buyrate for Rampage Vs. Evans will be bigger than Rampage Vs. Machida and that means more money for Rampage, plus a win and he gets the shot anyway.

The coaches on TUF often don't match the weight classes of the fighters competing. Jackson and Griffin coached Middleweights, Henderson and Bisping coached lightweights and Welterweights. Pulver and Penn did coach fighters in their class and so did Hughes/Serra.

4. Brock Lesnar is going to kill Frank Mir.

Everyone enjoy the show tomorrow/today, whatever you prefer.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Kimbo being on TUF and the move away from showing so much "in-the-house" garbage are the 2 best decisions that Dana White and the UFC have made. If they do USA or England vs. Brazil that will be cool too.

I think Kimbo will do really well on TUF, he is usually very humble about his shortcomings and is anxious to earn his ground game. He is one of the few people that seem genuinely appreciative of the opportunity not to mention how many new viewers he will bring in.

Edited by Raasean Asaad - 7/11/2009 at 11:40 pm GMT

 

[RyanAn]

Please do not send me a link to watch the Lesnar/Mir fight. I do not want a link to it. So, please - do not send it to me. I appreciate your understanding.


KIIIIMBO!

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

The TUF 10 heavyweight cast is actually a pretty decent group. My pick to win it all is Roy Nelson, the former IFL heavyweight champion...you may have seen him fight and lose to Andrei Arlovski on CBS last year. There are guys with NFL backgrounds including Marcus Jones who's turned in to a decent prospect, a kickboxer (James McSweeney) from the U.K. and a couple of guys who have had a cup of coffee or two with the UFC already.

I don't see Kimbo winning it all, I predict though that his first fight will be set up to be the last of the first round fights shown. That way, even if he exits after just one fight, they've gotten good ratings out of all the episodes before that, it would be a waste if his first fight was on show #1 and he lost. I'm not saying, because I don't know, that Kimbo only lasts one round.

 

[James_Kiang]

So, Cro Cop is signed to fight at UFC 103. Didn't he screw Dana over after his last fight and sign with some other promotion? I guess that didn't work out but I am still surprised to see Dana take him back.