Any UFC or MMA fans here?

[chroniciousfox]

Love MMA, been watching for many years now. Practiced jiu jitsu back in the day for a good while along with some boxing, nothing serious though. I'm a big fan of George St Pierre. Really like his attitude and his wrestling and technical skills are top notch. I enjoyed watching Rousey get straight up smashed by Holms lmao. That was the best fight I've seen recently.

 

[Ceewan]

George St Pierre was really great, not sure I consider myself a big fan though but in part that is just the fault of the way Dana White/Joe Silva run the UFC (I am not positive which one of them is actually the "Capo di tutti capi" though one would assume it is Dana). The beltholders don't fight often enough in the UFC and they tend to buy into their own hype because of it. Defending the belt once every 4-5 months should be mandatory, IMO, or they should be forced to give up the belt...regardless of circumstances. Dana White is one of the greatest fight promoters of alltime though and with him the bottom line is cashing in on each and every fight. That is part of what makes the UFC great and part of what makes it hated by some fighters and rivals alike.

Rousey grew too big for her shoes and a lot of people were weary of her attitude and hype so they cheered when she lost (especially since she lost big). I have seen Holm fight before though and Rousey is "capable" of beating her but it is hard to see with such a disparity in coaching staffs. Greg Jackson is one of the best MMA coaches ever and he has coached more than one opponent to Rousey...he knows her style very well. If you watch the UFC 184 Co-Main event Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington you will see that Holly had her share of trouble in this split decision win which easily could have gone the other way (Rousey was the main event....Dana thinks ahead huh?).

Personally I think some of the best fights are the ones with the lower purses ($20K for the winner $10k for the loser)....those guys are just hungrier. However that 5th round of Robbie Lawlers fight, the only fighter I ever have known to excel consistently in the 5th round, was just something to behold. St. Pierre was a master and usually dominated his opponents but near the end of his career he was plagued by injuries and had to retire (Conduit came close to beating him by the way but George came back and won). He has been trying to train for a comeback but even if his heart is in it his body might not be up to the challenge. He was fun to watch but I would have liked to see him defend his belt more than he did. Jose Aldo is a perfect example of a UFC titleholder with an average of less than two titlefights a year until he lost the belt to Conor. Up and coming fighters would starve on two fights a year or less. Hats off to Holly Holm though, she is pitching a fit about having to wait for Rousey and wants to fight sooner.

 

[chroniciousfox]

Oh yeah. I had forgotten about the Jose fight. I did see that as well. Was a bit short lol.

I am pretty much in agreement with everything you said Ceewan.
The next time Holm and Rousey fight it could easily be different. I really just don't like Roysey's personality. Especially with the way she acted on the ultimate fighter.

Her perfect record is gone now. Hopefully she's been humbled, probably not though.

And I like to watch the lower purse fights too. It's just like you said, they're hungrier and don't play it safe every fight.

 

[Ceewan]

UFC Fight Night 81 is on Fox the 17th with the bantam weight title on the line. Even though Dillashaw has been looking outstanding lately, especially in his last fight, I will be rooting for Cruz to take the belt. Dominick Cruz just has more experience and to be honest I am a feeling a little petty anger towards Dillashaw for backstabbing Faber and changing camps right after he got the belt. Faber took that kid under his wing and has coached him since him since he came out of college. I know money-is-money but loyalty has to count for something. There are a couple of decent fights on the card but they don't have any of the womens fights so I am only so excited by the whole thing.

Invicta FC 15 however is on UFC fight pass the 16th and I do not intend to miss a bout. Chris Cyborg is defending her title and any bout with two females looking to kick each others ass in a steel cage sounds worth watching in my book. The UFC didn't buy-out Invicta but instead have made a money deal with them that should be beneficial for both parties (knowing Dana, it is more beneficial for the UFC). Invicta is a small organization and raising money to attract fighters or just giving female fighters a place to perform (which as I understand it is the reason Invicta was formed) isn't an easy task.

Invicta FC 15 has 9 bouts featured and two title fights. I really don't know a lot of the fighters but who cares? Don't expect Cyborg to lose though.


main CARD
UFC Fight Pass, 9 p.m. ET

Cristiane Justino vs. Daria Ibragimova
for featherweight title
Livia Renata Souza vs. DeAnna Bennett
for strawweight title
Raquel Pa'aluhi vs. Colleen Schneider
Amber Brown vs. Lisa Ellis
Jodie Esquibel vs. Angela Hill
Mizuki Inoue vs. Lacey Schuckman
Amanda Bell vs. Ediane Gomes
Christine Stanley vs. Shannon Sinn
Megan Anderson vs. Amber Leibrock​

 

[Ceewan]

Invicta FC 15 was pretty good, getting to see "Cyborg" demolish another poor contender to her crown is always a treat. Chris Cyborg is just too big to physically make a weight cut to 135 but she is probably the main reason why women wish to stay away from 145lb division...she is a beast.

Japan was well represented with two young ladies; Mizuki Inoue and Shino VanHoose who won and lost respectively. Shino took her fight on short notice and got caught in a guillitine choke in a fight she might have very well been winning until that point. At just 20 years old she looks to have a nice future as she put up a good fight against a high ranked contender Amber Brown. Mizuki Inoue just looked fantastic and beat her opponents brains out stopping her in the third round due to armbar.

Of other note: it was nice to see Angela Hill in the ring again after the UFC let her go. She won via TKO and looked very smooth on her feet. Colleen Schneider looked very good against Raquel Pa'aluhi hitting her with enough shots to leave her a bloody mess. Colleen won by split descision however but anyone looking at the two women could tell who had won the fight. Raquel is extremely tough as she somehow remained on her feet and coming forward after taking strike after strike constantly retaliating with strikes of her own. It was some fight, maybe the best one of the night.

Cris Cyborg def. Daria Ibragimova by KO (Punches), R1
Livia Renata Souza def. DeAnna Bennett by TKO (Strikes), R1
Colleen Schneider def. Raquel Pa'aluhi by Decision (Split)
Amber Brown def. Shino VanHoose by Submission (Guillotine), R1
Mizuki Inoue def. Lacey Schuckman by Submission (Armbar), R3
Angela Hill def. Alida Gray by TKO (Strikes), R1
Megan Anderson def. Amber Leibrock by TKO (Strikes), R3

Invicta FC is still a young promotion and that was evident in more than a few instances. They actually had to wait for their one ambulance to return so they could start a bout....hey, ya gotta cut costs somewhere right? The people in attendance for the fight was a mass of 1504. It was nice to see former UFC cutman Stitch Duran working for Invicta, he has often been referred to as the best cutman in MMA (the UFC released him after he spoke up against the Reebok deal that UFC forced on their fighters).

 

[Ceewan]

UFC Fight night 81 was pretty good. Dominick Cruz stole the belt from Dillashaw, ( I called that one), but that doesn't mean he earned it. After a fight is over the best way to tell who won is by looking at the two contestants, it might not tell the whole story but it tells you who got the better of who. Cruz was limping and bloodied as he accepted the belt after a split decision by the judges. Let us hope Faber gets his title fight next but Dillashaw earned a rematch against the sippery Cruz easily. I watched the fight and I think Dillashaw won it even though I wasn't rooting for him. Besides the Dillashaw/Cruz fight the next best fight would have to go to Paul Felder against Daron Cruickshank (with a name like that you just know this guy fought at an early age). Felder got beat the first two rounds fighting back gamely and got the finish he needed in the third by rear naked choke. Pretty good card afterall, considering it wasn't a pay-per-view.

The rest of the card was pretty fun to watch. The co-main event with Alvarez and Pettis was pretty good but Alvarez won't get his deserved title shot because it went Conor McGregor who has never fought at lightweight in the UFC before. Money still is king in the fight business. I was surprised to see the re-emergence of Patrick Cote who looked outstanding against Ben Saunders.

 

[WillEater]

 

[WillEater]

For a change of pace, this link: http://www.pornhub.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1499054424

 

[Ceewan]

I had to look Road FC up, it is a South Korean mma promotion. Looks like pretty raw stuff but intriguing, hard to watch in Korean though. I don't think they allow elbows to downed opponents, (ONE FC doesn't). That bout was from 2014, they are actually having an event in China this year.


As far as porn goes, well....that really isn't about mixed martial arts at all. There are plenty of porn threads though.

 

[Ceewan]

I thought I would check out ONE FC 38 as I was unfamilar with ONE FC. Dangerous stuff. You are allowed to kick and knee downed opponents in the head (but no footstomps to the head). Someone is going to get killed that way. I do like the new weight rules (although a bit on the strict side) and one of the heads of ONE FC is an old favorite of mine, ex UFC champion Rich Franklin (of course he wasn't there). I might have to watch it again, saw my first attempt at a Peruvian-necktie submission and like I said....very violent sport compared to the UFC. The referees are more akin to lifeguards on the beach....just there to keep people from dying.

 

[Ceewan]

I have been keeping up with the UFC Fight Nights, they show them of FOX Sports (I think, I get them off the web). The last three were okay but only Fight night 83 had any catfights and that was on UFC Fight Pass only. If you are a fan and can afford it, UFC Fight Pass is probably worth it. I don't know for sure but I hear it is reasonable and you also get access to their archive which includes some of the best fights in history.

Unfortunatley the UFC hasn't really done much to promote womens mma, they just seem to not have a lot of faith in it but at least they do retain a passing interest. The fight between Lauren Murphy and Kelly Fazholz was a real winner. The UFC "called up" Kelly Fazholz with just 8 days notice as a replacement fighter....the girl had just put in an 80hour workweek before she got the call and still went out there and put on a fucking show against a former Invicta FC Bantnamweight champion who has fought Sara Mcmann and Linda Carmouche in the UFC (those are some badass bitches). In her first ever UFC bout she looked like far from the underdog and was actually winning the fight the first round, maybe even much of the second round. In the third round she just was beaten down and gratefully the ref called the fight.

Kelly is the bloody girl against the cage.

​

The other womens fight was just one of those instances where you wonder what the fuck the judges were watching. Ashlee Evans-Smith won via split decision but I was rooting for her and I would not have given her a single round. She was outclassed by Marion Reneau whose only previous loss in the UFC had been to no other than Holly Holm....and she put up a dencent fight against her too. I will admit that Ashlee is the cuter of the two but that isn't supposed to influence the judges.

Ashlee is the one getting hit....which happened quite a lot

​

Nothing I feel like talking about with the guys fights. Like I said, they were okay, some fights better than others, a lot of ass kicking going on. I am looking forward to next week when Michael Bisping takes on Anderson Silva. I don't really like either one of them that much but I dislike Silva more and I think Bisping matches up well against him. I prefer fighters that are a little more humble and examples of good sportsmanship, which these two guys aren't. However there are no girls fighting in UFC Fight Night 84...again. Those bastards. Give the girls some air time!

 

[Ceewan]

So Bisping won a unanimous decision over Silva at Fight Night 84. It probably wouldn't have been so close but in true Silva fashion he scored a pair of cheap shots when Bisping was obviously asking the referee for his mouthpiece with the last shot a huge flying knee that was a near fight ender. True, you should keep your eye on your opponent at all times but there is such thing as sportsmanship. Bisping doesn't have much out of the ring but in the ring he has always been a professional. He proved he is still a tough out after coming back from such a tough blow to not only keep the fight close but to clearly win one the the last two rounds to take the decision. My hats off to him. If you get a chance to watch that fight do yourself a favor and see it.

 

[Ceewan]

UFC 196 is actually shaping up to be interesting. Only two womens mma fights but INVICTA FC 16 is right around the corner so I have that to look forward to.

Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz at 170lbs....interesting. I can't see how Conor can take on Diaz at that weight class unless someone is paying Diaz to take a dive...which, this being in Vegas, is always a possiblity. As far as I know Conor has only fought at 155 and 145 and Diaz outfought a real welterweight contender in Michael Johnson last outing (and to be honest I don't think Conor could beat Johnson). When a lot of money starts to get thrown around on a fight...it can be hard to not think that someone is going to take advantage of that. Looking at the fight purse for Conor vs Diaz it looks pretty reasonable but in the press conference (yeah, I watched it) Conor referred to Diaz making a million on the fight when Diaz's fight purse is only 120k (Conors' purse is 540k). They sold the fight really well, Diaz and McGregor exchanging insults and things got out of hand after the press conference with Conor slapping Nates' fist away from his face during the photoshoot and everyone going crazy stopping the fight from happening right then and there. Loved the showmanship....if that is what it was. I will be picking Nate for this fight as he should be, by all rights, too big for Conor to bully like he does fighters at lighter weight classes but the UFC has a lot of money invested in Conor so I wouldn't place a bet either way.

Holly Holm against Miesha Tate however is another matter. This is a great stylistic matchup and considering Holm asked for the fight I would assume that her camp (her manager specifically went to Dana to request the fight a month before it was announced) must believe she can win. Meisha has faced some brawlers before and other opponents that were well rounded but Holly will be the best striker she has faced (considering Holly Holm is considered the most technical striker in womens mma at the moment). I have seen Meisha in some very bloody contests and her last fight with Rousey went to the third round. Because Tate is the more experienced mma fighter (not the more experienced overall fighter though, Holm has been in more boxing and kickboxing fights) I would think that Miesha is worth putting a few dollars on here. Miesha has a decent takedown and can seriously take a punch, plus she has had a long layoff and is in great physical shape. And Miesha Tate is hungry.

About the only other fight I will comment on is Amanda Nunes vs Valentina Shevchenko. Valentina is a good striker but I sort of expect a knockout here. She led with her head in the last fight and if she does that against Nunes she will get it knocked off her neck. There is no doubt Valintina is a tough girl and built like a brick wall but I don't think she has the experience yet in the UFC at this level to be taking on Nunes, who is a contender for the belt. Valentina might have the edge on the ground....might. Put your money on Nunes.


Main Card (10 PM ET, PPV)

Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor
Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate
Ilir Latifi vs. Gian Villante
Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor
Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko

Preliminary Card (8 PM ET, FS1)

Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Brandon Thatch
Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb
Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Vitor Miranda
Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly

Preliminary Card (6:30 PM ET, Fight Pass)

Jim Miller vs. Diego Sanchez
Jason Saggo vs. Justin Salas
Julian Erosa vs. Teruto Ishihara

 

[Ceewan]

Conor vs Diaz. I picked it but didn't expect it. Great fucking fight. Give Diaz the title shot!


Holm vs Tate. I called it. Maybe not a great fight but a great finish. Congrats to the new champ Meisha Tate.



I was wrong about the Nunnes vs. Shevchenko fight. Nunnes did win but Shevchenko deserved to be there and had an oppurtunity to win that fight in the third round which she dominated. Worthy of note, Shevchenko once again took this fight on short noitce. Nunnes won the first two rounds and got the decision but she was staggered almost the whole third round...she got away with one. Hats off to both girls.

Nunnes on the left Shevchenko on the right



Update: I don't usually watch post-fight press conferences but I thought this one might be interesting. Conor McGregor earned my respect, finally. I always thought he was a great fighter but he always came off as cocky, not something that always sits well with me in a Champion. Conor had a ton of class in defeat though and that takes a large amount of character. Diaz, never a diplomat barely gave Conor any credit at all, even though it was Nate and not Conor that looked like he had lost a fight. Conor hit Nate a few good ones during the fight but Nate could always take a good shot.

Holly Holm was obviously still in shock but Meisha had a lot of class in victory. No surprise there either.

 

[Ceewan]

INVICTA FC 16 is tonight, 8:30pm EST and I am pretty excited about it. Love to watch the girls go at it. Japan is represented here in the main event by Hamasaki Ayaka (浜崎朱加) as she defends her Atomweight title against Amber Brown. Having seen both fighters in action I think this is pretty tough to call, although I would lean to Hamasaki getting the win, Amber is no slouch. However it is worthy of note that Ambers one loss is to an opponent that Hamasaki scored a unanimous decision over...for whatever that is worth.


Invicta FC is a much more relaxed arena, smaller crowds than UFC events and less pressure. A lot of the girls like to have fun and cosplay for the crowd. Of the other fights on the card, and in my opinion they are all worth watching, another to note is Roxanne Modafferi vs. DeAnna Bennett. Roxanna doesn't look like much but she is very experienced, was on "The Ultimate Fighter" and she wins. DeAnna is a toughout and while she might look the better fighter here....she might not be. Should be a good match.

Here is the weigh-in video, take a gander:

The fight is on UFC fight pass, which is a decent deal if you can afford it. I will likely be seeing this fight from a different source myself.

 

[Ceewan]

Invicta FC 16 was out-fucking-standing! Every fight was exciting from the first one on the undercard to the main and co-main events. One of, the best mma events I have ever had the privledge to watch.

Hamasaki Ayaka defended her atomweight belt against a very game Amber Brown.

I found a great photo of her finish:

I hate to bang my own drum but to be honest, I have been on a role lately. So while it lasts let me mention: Roxanne Modafferi upset favorite DeAnna Bennett in a split decision. To be honest, Roxanne looked the best I had ever seen her. This was her 31st professional fight and with a rather deceptive record of 19-12 I think maybe she just made some people stand up and take notice despite her bubbly cosplay attitude outside of the ring, inside the cage she is no pushover.

Some great photos from that fight (DeAnna is the one with the blood on her face):





but seriously, every fight at the event kicked ass!

 

[Ceewan]

So I watched UFC Fight Night 85....the fights were pretty good but the judging and referee work was pretty horrible in general. Seo Hee Ham, from South Korea, got robbed in her bout, with the ref allowing unanimous decision winner Bec Rawlings, who was clearly rocked and dead on her feet, to clinch her opponent against the cage for the final two minutes with almost no action. Disappointing. It was a good fight but Seo Hee Ham clearly outscored her opponent yet only one judge even gave her so much as a round. The only other female bout was Japans Rin Nakai vs Leslie Smith and the judging was questionable in that one as well. While I believe Leslie Smith should have and deserved to win that fight she was on her back almost the whole second round and with no shade of doubt lost it, yet one judge scored it for her anyway. Rin Nakai carries too much muscle into the ring and is not a great striker, which is a shame because she is a very good grappler.

The mens fights were pretty entertaining, I didn't feel like watching the Fight Pass Early prelims (sorry Ross Pearson...still a fan). The one fight of note was the Magny vs Lombard fight. Lombard almost finished the fight in the first round but punched himself out against Magny. The second round was all Magny and the ref should have stopped the fight but instead let time run out while Magny wailed on a prone and defenseless Lombard, Magny even looked up at the ref wondering why the fight was allowed to continue.

I love Australia but they clearly need to upgrade both their judges and refs if they want to appear professional and attract more mma bouts. If it wasn't for the fighters saving the day with a lot of finishes this would likely have been more of an embarassment to a great country than it actually was. When you are talking about holding international competetion events in your country, you need to have your best foot forward because the world is watching.

 

[Ceewan]

UFC Fight Night 86 is coming up in the next 24 hours. As usual I am only somewhat familar with the combatants. Only one female fight on the card (unfucking believable) but I am kinda stoked about it.

Maryna Moroz has looked great so far and is going up against undefeated newcomer Cristina Stanciu who, although the smaller fighter, is actually dropping down in weight class to join the UFC ranks. Both girls are hotties, always a plus, and I have no idea who will come out on top. It is easier however, to bet on a fighter you have never seen then bet on the favorite you are familar with. So a bet on Cristina might be interesting here but just keep in mind you are betting in the dark.

As far as the main event goes I would think Ben Rothwell is a safe bet against Junior Dos Santos. A few years ago no way I would have bet against Santos but heavyweights hit with serious power and he has just taken too many shots, I think he might be past his prime and Rothwell is coming into his prime. Betting on heavyweights is pretty risky though because even though Rothwell outweighs Santos by 20+ pounds heavyweight bouts tend to end pretty quickly and violently. Still, given what I have seen of both opponents in their last few bouts Ben is the man to beat here and not the higher ranked Santos.

 

[Ceewan]

Well I sure called that fight wrong. My hats off to Junior, he hasn't looked that good in years. It is rare to see a heavyweight dance around for five rounds, throwing a ton of leather to the body and head, all the time being chased after by a plodding lumbering opponent. Junior looked like Dominick Cruz out there.

Moroz won her fight as well. Cristina gassed after threatening early, she just was underconditioned from the weightcut and was outclassed because of it by a game Maryna. Good fight.

 

[Ceewan]

UFC 197 was disappointing overall. Another argument for Fight Pass, (which I don't have atm), the Early Prelims (only 3 of them? usually 4), were some of the best action packed fights of the whole card.

Jon Jones won, no big surprise against an opponent who not only has trouble making the weight but who only took the fight on 3 weeks notice. I think it would have been a different fight if both fighters had more time to prepare for their opponent. Not a big fan of either Jones or Saint Preux, at 6' 4" and large framed both fighters are big for their weight class which to me means they don't have the skills or ability to win fights at their walking around weight. It wasn't an exciting fight.

Demitrious schooled Cejudo quickly, which was okay but to be honest...it was expected. Cejudo just hadn't fought enough top contenders to be in the ring for the title and likely couldn't win against them either. The UFC has a real problem with giving fighters who have lost against an beltholder another chance at the title even if they have earned it. I hate that and it makes for some poor match ups.

The Pettis vs. Barboza fight was fun to watch, with Barboza really showing why he is one of the best strikers in the lightweight division and that is one of the toughest divisions in the UFC.

My favorite fight on the preliminary card was the the womens bout but I can't say it was exciting. Carla Esparza was coming off of injury and a brutal beating against the now Straweight beltholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk and hadn't fought in 11 months. It was a severe shoulder injury to boot so she couldn't train at contact sports at all for 6 months or more. Clearly the better grappler she outfought her opponent Juliana Lima who was a better striker but mostly it was Carla taking the fight to the ground and wearing her opponent down, which although successful is not very exiting to watch.

Carla is the one on top


Lima showcasing her striking




One more photo because once again, this was the only womens match on the card: