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[Boogie]

Okay, as the interest in MMA grows, the discussion on GAF has become increasingly fragmented, as threads about certain events or fights have become sidetracked with other discussion and news.

So I thought I’d try my hand at a general MMA thread, where we can discuss news, rumours, and past fights, and share fight clips and highlight vids. We can also link to the specific event threads so that they don’t get lost in the GAF shuffle.

First, for those who might wander in here and not know what on earth we’re talking about, here’s an “FAQ” primer.

What is MMA?

MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts a limited rules combat sport in which a combatant can win by knocking out their opponent standing, or by taking someone to the ground and beating them by TKO, or by putting them into a choke, armlock, or leglock, and forcing them to tap out (give up).

What are these different organizations I hear about? Pride? K-1? UFC?

MMA doesn’t have sanctioning bodies like boxing does that give out championship titles. Rather, there are separate promotions that each crown their own champions. The biggest organization in North America is the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC. Their fights take place in a large octagonal cage. Rounds are 5 minutes long. Regular bouts are 3 rounds, championship bouts are 5 rounds.

In Japan, MMA is far more popular than in North America, as it get more mainstream press, events sell out huge stadiums, and the fighters are generally paid much more than in North America. The two largest organizations in Japan are K-1 and Pride.

K-1 is mainly a kickboxing organization, but which has been increasingly holding MMA bouts and events. They currently have no championship system set up. Although K-1 is more popular than Pride, they have very few top MMA fighters in their organization.

Pride is generally recognized as the top dog in the MMA world. Their fights are in a ring, and consist of a ten minute opening round, followed by 2 five minute rounds. Pride has traditionally focussed on the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions, but their Bushido series has been developing their lower weight divisions.

What sorts of martial arts styles are used in MMA?

Fighters come from any number of disciplines, and some even claim to represent self-named styles. Among the most common styles used in MMA competition are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling, Muay Thai kickboxing, Judo, Sambo, karate, kenpo, and boxing.

What are some of those submission holds used?

Arm bar: The arm bar hyper-extends the arm at the elbow. It can be performed when the fighter is on top, or underneath his opponent.

Triangle choke: The triangle choke uses your legs and the opponents own arm to restrict the flow of blood to the head. It is usually performed when the fighter is underneath his opponent, in the guard position.

Rear Naked Choke: This choke restricts the flow of blood to the head, causing unconsciousness after a short period of time.

Kimura: the kimura can be applied from on top, or underneath your opponent. It dislocates the shoulder.



Who are the top fighters in the MMA world?

The UFC and Pride champions are generally regarded as the best in the world, though
determining which between them are superior is usually open to debate. Current opinion hold that Pride has the better champions in the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions, but UFC’s champions in the Middleweight and Welterweight divisions can hold claim to being the best in those areas.

So here are the champions:

Pride Heavyweight Champion: Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor is a Russian sambo/Judo stylist with a 17-1 record. He is known for his devastating ground and pound attacks, and impenetrable submission defence.

Pride Light-Heavyweight Champion: Wanderlei Silva (29-4-1). Nicknamed “The Axe Murderer”, Silva is one of the most vicious and relentless fighters in the sport. A devastating striker, he is also very skilled with his jiu-jitsu. But he mostly prefers to be violent.

UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir (8-1). Mir is a jiu-jitsu fighter who is very aggressive in pursuing submissions. Mir was injured in a motorcycle accident nearly two years ago, and thus the UFC has set up an interim belt until he is capable of returning to the ring.

UFC interim Heavyweight Champion: Andrei “the Pitbull”Arlovski (8-3). Arlovski still hasn’t
had that much experience, but in his last 5 fights he has emerged as a devastating force. He has developed into a devastating and technical striker, and has shown glimpses of a very slick ground game from his Sambo background.

UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion: Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell.(16-3). Liddell is a kenpo
stylist and a wrestler. He uses his wrestling skills to keep the fight standing, where his heavy hands more often then not are able to deliver a KO.

UFC Middleweight Champion: Rich “Ace” Franklin (18-1). Franklin is one of the new breed of fighters who is great at every area of the game. Also, not a single one of his 18 wins have gone to a decision.

UFC Welterweight Champion: Matt Hughes (37-4). Hughes is the most dominant champion in UFC history. He is an 8-time UFC champion, having defended his belt 6 times, although losing it to BJ Penn at one point in January of 2004.

August is going to be a huge month for MMA. Here are some threads that have already been created for specific events happening this month.

Spike TV is starting to air UFC fights:
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=56683

Culminating in a live event on August 6th. Then on August 20th, there will be UFC 54, on PPV:
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=56341

Finally, on August 28th, Pride will be putting on the most anticipated match in MMA history:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko Filipovic:
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=53888


Also, look for the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter, season 2, August 22 on SpikeTV.

 

[Boogie]

In this weekend's news (avoid if you don't want this weekend K-1 PPV spoiled):

BJ Penn won what most observors are calling a lackluster decision win over unranked Renzo Gracie last night in Hawaii.

Hey BJ, thanks for going to K-1, where they can provide you with all these compelling, exciting matchups you couldn't find in the UFC.

Also in the event, Gary Goodridge had three knockout victories in winning the K-1 tournament, and freakshow Hong Man Choi beat fellow freakshow, sumo wrestler Akebono, and proceeded to call out the doubtlessly amused Mike Tyson, who was in attendance.

 

[Asbel]

Wow, now that's how you start a thread.

I too would like to see Penn back down to 170. I like what Rich Franklin said, "Good fighters get the title. Great fighters defend them."

A bit of news, Tim Sylvia opens as -200 underdog against Tra. So much for Sylvia being overated.

 

[EviLore]

BJ Penn vs Renzo: Supposedly Renzo won the first round with ground control from the top, BJ won the second round standing with strikes, and BJ took the third round with a takedown and a move to the mount right at the bell. Each round was mostly stalled and the ground game for either fighter didn't really take off (yay for 5 minute rounds). Hardly an amazing performance for the man who wants to continue to be known as the pound-for-pound best in the world, though.


In other news, supposedly Aleksander broke his finger in training and was (tentatively) scheduled to fight Werdum; any chance of that is out.

 

[Boogie]

Wow, now that's how you start a thread.

Thank you

I too would like to see Penn back down to 170. I like what Rich Franklin said, "Good fighters get the title. Great fighters defend them."

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I've been on Penn's case for quite a while now, but it's just because I know he's such a great fighter, and I'd like to see him fight the best.

And Rich was quoting Matt Hughes there, I believe. And I agree completely.

A bit of news, Tim Sylvia opens as -200 underdog against Tra. So much for Sylvia being overated.

You mean +200, right?

 

[Boogie]

In other news, supposedly Aleksander broke his finger in training and was (tentatively) scheduled to fight Werdum; any chance of that is out.

Well, fuck. I was really pumped for that matchup.

 

[EviLore]

May as well contribute to your little write-up ;b. Let's take a look at some of the stars of Pride's lightweight division, since the tournament should start in september:



Takanori Gomi ("The Fireball Kid")
20-2-0

Undefeated for the first five years of his MMA career & long-time former Shooto welterweight champion, with his first loss coming at the hands of Joachim Hansen by majority decision (could've very easily gone in favor of gomi). Two months later he lost to BJ Penn, where he was dominated convincingly and choked out late in the match. Going five years undefeated and then losing two consecutive matches was a wake-up call for Gomi, who started working on his strength and body mass as well as refining his stand-up striking. Gomi has always specialized in ground and pound with good wrestling and heavy hands, but with the addition of A-class standup skills he's gone from a dominant force in the 155 pound world to a monster who is likened to having the KO power of a light heavyweight. No longer does he sometimes rely on ground control to take fights to a decision, and as such he's become one of the most exciting fighters in MMA.

Fights to watch: vs Rumina Sato, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, BJ Penn (L), Ralph Gracie, Jens Pulver, Luiz Azeredo, Jean Silva.


Tatsuya Kawajiri ("The Crusher")
15-2-2

Current Shooto welterweight champion. His only loss since his debut fight has been against Vitor Ribeiro, avenged recently in *very* convincing fashion. Kawajiri is physically very strong, almost always in a dominant position on the ground, and has a devastating ground & pound attack. Inevitably set to clash with Takanori Gomi during the upcoming lightweight tournament, and strong contender for Pride LW champion.

Fights to watch: vs Vitor Ribeiro 2, Luiz Firmino.


Yves Edwards
28-8-1

An excellent all-around MMAist, Edwards has long been the unsung hero of the UFC lightweight division (as it has not had a championship to give to him for years, despite his 6 consecutive UFC wins). His only weakness may be his inability to finish a fight convincingly when it goes the distance.

Fights to watch: vs Josh Thomson, Dokonjonosuke Mishima.


Joachim Hansen
11-2-1

Joachim Hansen's biggest claim to fame is his victory over Takanori Gomi to win the Shooto welterweight championship. Though he lost the title in his next fight to Vitor Ribeiro, Hansen has a number of impressive ko victories. He wants to rematch Gomi in the finals of the upcoming Pride lightweight tournament for a more convincing win this time, and to solidify the #1 lightweight rank worldwide.

Fights to watch: vs Rumina Sato, Takanori Gomi, Caol Uno, Masakazu Imanari.

 

[Boogie]

Ah, well done.

Didn't mean to leave out the lightweights, just that there's no clear cut #1 at the moment (though Gomi would get my vote). Hopefully, the Pride tourny will change that

And in other, lower-level news, (and shameless name-dropping ), Sam Stout of Team Tompkins (where I'm currently training for the summer) won the TKO lightweight championship two weeks ago in Montreal. TKO is Canada's biggest MMA organization.

 

[Deleted member 4784]

Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba
Pride Record: 15-6-1

Sakuraba is an MMA legend for being a 180 pound Middleweight fighter that dominated the 205 pound Heavyweight class for several years. Saku's fighting style is as entertaining to watch in action as it is effective, consisting of powerful strikes and skillfully timed submission attempts that have provided fans with some of the best KOs in MMA history. Whereas most of my favorite grapplers are lacking as strikers or at stand-up, Saku has at his disposal some very powerful kicks, knees and jabs (as well as a rather noteworthy jumping punch). There are probably a bunch of fancy names for his moves that would better describe his style, but if you're still pretty new to MMA like I am, then you'd probably be better off seeing him in action for yourself to award the proper respect.

What makes Sakuraba most endearing to me as a fighter is his personality. Sakuraba has a rather bizarre sense of humor that is evident in some of his fights and weigh-in pictures. I would say that he is second only to Genki Sudo in having the best entrances; my favorite of which is a cameo to the Mario Brothers games, where Sakuraba appeared in a red cap and fake moustache.

The name "Gracie Hunter" was earned as a result of Sakuraba's defeat of the four Gracie brothers: Royler, Royce, Renzo, and Ryan Gracie. The Gracie family are the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and each of them are exceptional fighters in their own right. One of the most noteworthy if not acclaimed of Saku's Gracie fights was that against Royce Gracie, which lasted over an hour and a half. Royce embarassingly had his own Gi used against him and even sustained a broken leg by the time the fight was over. Another equally as violent fight was that of Sakuraba and Renzo Gracie, in which Sakuraba spinned around while he had Renzo in top wrist lock; breaking his arm in a very sickening display that brought the fight to an abrupt end.

Unfortunately, following his defeat at the hands of Wanderlai Silva three times in a row, Sakuraba has been on a slow rate of decline. Whereas Sakuraba would once aggressively dominate his opponents with lots of kicks and punches, he has become little more than a punching bag to some; as was the case in his fight with Arona during PRIDE's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament. Although it would appear that time and Sakuraba's old injuries have finally cought up to him, I believe that there are still some great fights left in him if he were to step down from competing in the Heavyweight class. Regardless of the kind of fighter that he is today though, I still believe that his contributions to MMA make him just as noteworthy as any of the heavyweight champions mentioned in this thread.

I <3 Saku. =D

 

[Asbel]

You mean +200, right?

Tra Telligman -200
Tim Sylvia +170
Nope, Tim's the underdog.

(If I remember right, -200 means for every $200 put in, better gets back +$100 for a win. And +170 means for every $100 put in, better gets back +$170 for a win.)

Also, the weight classes

Pride
Heavyweight no max limit
Middleweight under 204.5 lbs
Welterweight under 183 lbs
Lightweight under 160 lbs

UFC
Heavyweight under 265 lbs
Light-Heavy under 205 lbs
Middleweight under 185 lbs
Welterweight under 170 lbs
Lightweight under 155 lbs

And just in, Lutter replaces Terrell, so it's Lutter vs Prangley at UFC 54.

 

[Future Trunks]

Yves Edwards
28-8-1

An excellent all-around MMAist, Edwards has long been the unsung hero of the UFC lightweight division (as it has not had a championship to give to him for years, despite his 6 consecutive UFC wins). His only weakness may be his inability to finish a fight convincingly when it goes the distance.

Fights to watch: vs Josh Thomson, Dokonjonosuke Mishima.

.

Woo!

 

[Boogie]

Tra Telligman -200
Tim Sylvia +170
Nope, Tim's the underdog.

(If I remember right, -200 means for every $200 put in, better gets back +$100 for a win. And +170 means for every $100 put in, better gets back +$170 for a win.)

And just in, Lutter replaces Terrell, so it's Lutter vs Prangley at UFC 54.

Err, that's what I meant. I thought you were saying that it was Sylvia who was at -200, not +170.


And yeah, this UFC event is starting to look cursed. First, the matchup was supposed to involve Babalu vs. Couture, but Babalu got injured. Then Joe Riggs got injured, so he pulled out against Lindland, and now Terrell has to pull out.

Just as long as both Trigg and GSP stay healthy!! *crosses fingers*

Woo!

Are you still going to the Revolution Dojo, FT?

 

[SpectreRT]

Awesome thread, glad this was started Boogie!

There are a lot of great events coming up, as noted above.

CroCop vs Fedor! = Gold

 

[Minotauro]

Tra Telligman -200
Tim Sylvia +170
Nope, Tim's the underdog.

Jesus, that's just insane. I've never been incredibly impressed by Sylvia but he was heavyweight champion prior to his last two defeats. Shit, he was undefeated before them too. Tra's always been tough but seeing him favored over Sylvia is a little surprising.

I too would like to see Penn back down to 170. I like what Rich Franklin said, "Good fighters get the title. Great fighters defend them."

To further solidy my position as resident BJ Penn defender, I want to address this. Ignoring the complications of the situation, BJ did want to defend the title. It was the UFC who stripped him of it. Granted, he's somewhat to blame but it's not like he left to avoid defending it.

I read an interview with him recently where he said that they were very close to having something worked out. Supposedly, though, before he'd be allowed to return to the UFC, Dana White wanted him to publically apologize to the fans. Since BJ didn't think he did anything wrong, he refused. Eventually, they're going to have to work something out. If there isn't a Penn/Hughes rematch (which I'll go on record here as predicting a second Penn win), it will be absolutely criminal.

Also, here's an interesting movie for you guys to check out:

http://rapidshare.de/files/2737315/fedor_emelianenko_training.avi.html

It's a short clip showing some of Fedor's training techniques. Apparently, hitting tires with sledgehammers and stretching rubberbands leads to being the best fighter in the world. That guy is just so intruiging as a character. What I find most interesting about him is how unimpressive he is appearance-wise. I mean, he's a chubby Russian who seems to have two emotions: steely-eyed nothingness and cherubic smirking glee. At the same time, he's a complete wrecking machine. It's just such an interesting dichotomy.

Depending on how bored I get today, I might do a rundown of some other division contenders like Evilore did earlier. Either way, I think this is a great idea for a thread and Boogie should be commended for starting it.

 

[Boogie]

To further solidy my position as resident BJ Penn defender, I want to address this. Ignoring the complications of the situation, BJ did want to defend the title. It was the UFC who stripped him of it. Granted, he's somewhat to blame but it's not like he left to avoid defending it.

I read an interview with him recently where he said that they were very close to having something worked out. Supposedly, though, before he'd be allowed to return to the UFC, Dana White wanted him to publically apologize to the fans. Since BJ didn't think he did anything wrong, he refused. Eventually, they're going to have to work something out. If there isn't a Penn/Hughes rematch (which I'll go on record here as predicting a second Penn win), it will be absolutely criminal.

Yeah, I'm not going to say that all of the blame rests with BJ in this whole situation. The UFC definitely should have handled things better.

I'm just not sure what to think of the whole "apology" thing, either. I have trouble believing it because it just sounds so bizarre and absurd.

Depending on how bored I get today, I might do a rundown of some other division contenders like Evilore did earlier. Either way, I think this is a great idea for a thread and Boogie should be commended for starting it.

Aw, stop it, it'll go to my head ;P

 

[SpectreRT]

I dont think this was posted.....

Its a great write-up of the upcoming fight night on Spike tv.

http://kakutougi.info/content/view/186/2/

 

[Asbel]

To further solidy my position as resident BJ Penn defender, I want to address this. Ignoring the complications of the situation, BJ did want to defend the title. It was the UFC who stripped him of it. Granted, he's somewhat to blame but it's not like he left to avoid defending it.

I read an interview with him recently where he said that they were very close to having something worked out. Supposedly, though, before he'd be allowed to return to the UFC, Dana White wanted him to publically apologize to the fans. Since BJ didn't think he did anything wrong, he refused. Eventually, they're going to have to work something out. If there isn't a Penn/Hughes rematch (which I'll go on record here as predicting a second Penn win), it will be absolutely criminal.

I know BJ wanted to defend the title but he also wants to do everything. Penn sounds like he lost his fire after getting the title. I think that his first priority should have been to clean out the WW division. Or some tangible goal that will bring back the drive.

Gross: So if it’s not fun for you, there’s no point. What are you current goals? What keeps you fighting?

Penn: My only goal was to get the UFC belt. After that happened, I don’t know, I just fight for fun now.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

I mostly just want to subscribe to this thread...

but a big thanks to Boogie and the other contributors. Lurking in your MMA threads has made me a more knowledgeable fan.

 

[Future Trunks]

Are you still going to the Revolution Dojo, FT?

Yes, sir!

 

[Boogie]

Yes, sir!

Excellent. How are you finding it thus far?

 

[Future Trunks]

Excellent. How are you finding it thus far?

Not bad! Good cardio! And I've learned a lot. I don't do much stuff from guard, cause of my size - try to stay out of it cause being heavy and on your back is a bad position.

Side mounts are my thing....I've tapped guys from just side mounting without a submission move.

I'm learning to use my weight to tire out and crushing opponents. I just need to get quicker.

 

[Boogie]

Not bad! Good cardio! And I've learned a lot. I don't do much stuff from guard, cause of my size - try to stay out of it cause being heavy and on your back is a bad position.

Side mounts are my thing....I've tapped guys from just side mounting without a submission move.

I'm learning to use my weight to tire out and crushing opponents. I just need to get quicker.

Yeah, that's kinda the habits I was expecting you'd develop. A flexible guard game isn't really feasible (or necessary) with your hulking mass

 

[SpectreRT]

Not sure if this was posted.... so just in case.....

Pride GP Final Conflict FULL CARD

- Wanderlei Silva vs Ricardo Arona
- Alistar Overeem vs Mauricio "Shogun"
- (Winner of Silva vs Arona) vs (Winner of Overeem vs "Shogun")
- Vitor Belfort vs Yuki Kondo
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko 'Cro Cop'
- Mark Hunt vs. Sergei Kharitonov
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksander Emilianenko
- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Tank Abbott
- Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

If this was already posted, im sorry.....

Credit to Sherdog.com Forums

source: www.portaldovt.com.br ( Portal do Vale Tudo)

 

[Minotauro]

And, here's the poster:

I've been considering putting down a small bet on Arona to win the whole thing. His odds right now are at +500. Generally, I would think it's stupid to ever bet against Wanderlei Silva but I really think Arona has the style to beat him. He's arguably a better grappler than Yoshida who took Silva to decision twice and his takedowns are probably superior. Plus, the semis being limited to two rounds definitely favors him. In a three round match, Silva would probably catch him eventually but I really think he has a good chance of edging out a decision win. If he's able to get by Silva, he should be able to beat guillotine man or mini Silva.

EDIT: Also, I can't even express how excited I am for this show. On paper, I think it's one of the strongest lineups of all time. Let's just hope there aren't any injuries in the weeks leading up to it...

 

[Timen]

 

[Minotauro]

Did you see his fight with Ray Mercer? It was too funny...Mercer eats on kick and you can just see his expression change. He's just like "fuck this" and calmly gets out of the ring. I'm not the biggest kickboxing fan but I found that very amusing.

 

[Asbel]

This just in from Sherdog.com (not the forums)

List of consider Lightweights for Pride GP:

Takanori Gomi (officially included)
Hayato Sakurai (pictures)
Tatsuya Kawajiri (pictures)
Naoyuki Kotani (pictures)
Dokonjonosuke Mishima (pictures)
Jens Pulver (pictures)
Yves Edwards (pictures)
Ralph Gracie (pictures)
Luiz Azeredo (pictures)
Luiz Firmino (pictures)
Charles Bennett (pictures)
Joachim Hansen (pictures)

I'd rather have Josh Thomson then Bennett.

List of consider Welterweights for Pride GP:

Ryo Chonan (pictures)
Ikuhisa Minowa (pictures)
Akihiro Gono (pictures)
Kazuo Misaki (pictures)
Ryuta Sakurai (pictures)
Yasuhito Namekawa (pictures)
Akira Shoji (pictures)
Daniel Acacio (pictures)
Murilo Bustamante (pictures)
Phil Baroni (pictures)
Denis Kang (pictures)
Paulo Filho (pictures)
Yuki Kondo (pictures)

I'm going for Kondo all the way. But I don't know about his fight with Vitor. No Sak too.

Rest of article here: http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=3202

To finish Takada also included this terrific statement:“Gomi's new Bushido fight starts toward the achievement of the aspired Wanderlei Silva (pictures) war later next year.”

:lol I'm laughing now but if this really happens, it won't be funny.

 

[Minotauro]

Supposedly, Thomson says he isn't interested in the GP because it would tie him for a couple months. Instead, he wants to fight in the co-mainevent to the show featuring Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie.

Also, from another board I go to:

Hayato Sakurai and Joachim Hansen are both fighting for Shooto on 8/20 and if Hansen wins that fight (against Koutetsu Boku I think) then he will fight Kawajiri for the title in December. Semingly that would then preclude Kawajiri from competing in this GP as well.

As far as the WW tourney goes, I'm disappointed in the lack of Anderson Silva. Supposedly, he's supposed to be fighting in a Cage Rage event against Curtis Stout (Kansas City, represent!...or something) around the same time.

 

[Asbel]

Damn, A. Silva slipped my mind. I guess Pride didn't resign him.

Also, just found a great Karo interview off the sherdog forums

http://mma-fighter.com/interviews/Karo_Parisyan_Interview/

Karo: I fought Jason Miller, Antonio McKee, and Fernando Vasconcelos in 3 ½ months.

The Miller fight isn't on Fight Finder as it was underground. If I remember hearing from Miller correctly, he lost a 2 round decision. (off the mmaevolution interview)

 

[Boogie]

Not sure if this was posted.... so just in case.....

Pride GP Final Conflict FULL CARD

- Wanderlei Silva vs Ricardo Arona
- Alistar Overeem vs Mauricio "Shogun"
- (Winner of Silva vs Arona) vs (Winner of Overeem vs "Shogun")
- Vitor Belfort vs Yuki Kondo
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko 'Cro Cop'
- Mark Hunt vs. Sergei Kharitonov
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksander Emilianenko
- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Tank Abbott
- Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

If this was already posted, im sorry.....

Credit to Sherdog.com Forums

source: www.portaldovt.com.br ( Portal do Vale Tudo)

Damn, that's an awesome card. So Aleksander's hand isn't broken? EviLore, are you getting your rumours from Fightsport? ;P

I know we say this practically every third Pride event, but: BEST CARD EVER!!!

The Pride "welterweight" GP list looks kinda average there to me, though great to see Bustamante and Kondo as possibles. I really think that as far as the 185lbs division goes, the UFC has Pride beat.

 

[EviLore]

Damn, that's an awesome card. So Aleksander's hand isn't broken? EviLore, are you getting your rumours from Fightsport? ;P

Nah, rumor on sherdog according to some russian posters. The above card has been circulating around unconfirmed for quite a while now, and AFAIK dse/pride hasn't confirmed it as 100%, so it's still possible (but hopefully the match will still happen).

But yeah, best card evar either way.



For the record, I'm not really a fan of Bonjasky compared to most of the other K-1 names (le banner, hunt, sefo, kaoklai, mirko, etc.). Some cool KOs, but he doesn't seem to have that necessary will to finish (or the desire to trade, maybe) that some of the other guys have. I guess Mirko was similar to that in his K-1 days too, since he's pretty defensive, but Mirko has a more well-rounded arsenal and seemed more willing to get close-up. Remy I've often seen just keep his distance and throw the occasional kick or knee, and just put his guard up and wait through punching flurries. I wish Le Banner could get a WGP championship before he retires, but that probably won't happen. Really exciting fighter (think he has the highest % of first round KO victories out of anyone in K-1's history).

 

[Boogie]

For the record, I'm not really a fan of Bonjasky compared to most of the other K-1 names (le banner, hunt, sefo, kaoklai, mirko, etc.). Some cool KOs, but he doesn't seem to have that necessary will to finish (or the desire to trade, maybe) that some of the other guys have. I guess Mirko was similar to that in his K-1 days too, since he's pretty defensive, but Mirko has a more well-rounded arsenal and seemed more willing to get close-up. Remy I've often seen just keep his distance and throw the occasional kick or knee, and just put his guard up and wait through punching flurries. I wish Le Banner could get a WGP championship before he retires, but that probably won't happen. Really exciting fighter (think he has the highest % of first round KO victories out of anyone in K-1's history).

Agreed completely. I really think that Remy has mostly benefitted the abysmal state K-1 has been in these last few years.

 

[Minotauro]

The Pride "welterweight" GP list looks kinda average there to me, though great to see Bustamante and Kondo as possibles. I really think that as far as the 185lbs division goes, the UFC has Pride beat.

Yeah, agreed. Sakuraba and Dan Henderson should both drop down though...they're both undersized light-heavy/middleweights.

 

[EviLore]

Sakuraba is apparently going to be bulking up, probably at sakikabara's encouragement/orders. There's an interview/roundtable on pridefc.com with the relevant info. According to the pres, he thinks the only reason sakuraba lost his fight with arona was because of the size/strength difference, and if saku bulks up that difference won't be a factor.

So much for the 183 pound tournament...

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

whoops, nvm. Cool

 

[Templar Wizard]

are there any clips floating on the interweb for the novice to view and become more accustomed to this brutal savagry?

i await, in foaming mouth, for your reply.

 

[EviLore]

http://www.pridefc.com/pride2004/news/news_05/news_05_0802_a.htm

"The only way to beat a brawler is to brawl," claimed Hidehiko Yoshida

Abbot's style is as if a street fighter just climbed into the ring and throws punch after punch until the other man falls. Asked what his defense against this brawler is, Yoshida cut right to the point, "Brawling."

"I think this is going to be an interesting match. He's not so much a professional striker as he is a brawler. My striking looks like it came out of a street fight, too, so I think we will tie up and this will be an exciting fight. I definitely want to tie-up with him once," Yoshida continued, the excitement obvious in his comments about a match that will be like nothing he has done before.

Templar:

Here's a great 20 fight highlight of what are considered to be some of the greatest comebacks. It's here:

https://schizoplegic.org/wampage-neversaydie.wmv

 

[Boogie]

"The only way to beat a brawler is to brawl," claimed Hidehiko Yoshida

umm, okay, whatever you say Yoshida. I'd rather think that the way to beat a brawler is to sub him inside of a minute with pure technical, skillful wizardry.

 

[Boogie]

Contestants for Season 2 of The Ultimate fighter have been announced:

http://www.mmaringreport.com/content/view/476/77/

Rob MacDonald is a Team Tompkins fighter

 

[Bishman]

 

[Deleted member 4784]

Some of my favorite fights from Pride 8. Try right clicking on the file and choosing "Save As" instead of streaming. If you're still having problems getting the entire file, then try using GetRight or Download Accelerator.

Denis Kang vs Andrei Semenov
One of my favorite fights in the whole show.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Luis Buscape
What a way for Kawajiri to turn things around! That knee to the ribs and then those stomps at the end were just brutal. Awesome fight!

Ryo Chonan vs Phil Baroni
I don't see how he can be on the ropes like that yelling "I'M THE MAN! I'M THE FUCKING BEST!" when he just lost like... 3 different UFC fights? Chonan was stupid not to keep his hands up.

Takanori Gomi vs Jean Silva
I like how in the beginning Jean grabs Gomi, but Gomi turns the momentum around and gets the advantage over Jean while bringing him to the ground. =D Then Silva locks onto Gomi's arm, so Gomi starts stomping on his face.

LOL

Fedor and Crocop on the 28th! Only a few weeks away. T__T

 

[Tea Master]

Takanori Gomi vs Jean Silva
I like how in the beginning Jean grabs Gomi, but Gomi turns the momentum around and gets the advantage over Jean while bringing him to the ground. =D Then Silva locks onto Gomi's arm, so Gomi starts stomping on his face.

I feel sorry for Gomi, he looked really disappointed after the match, he would have gotten the submission win if he had a couple more seconds.

 

[3kuSaS]

Isnt he the guy who went nuts after KO'ing his opponent?. and proceeded to ignore the bell and continue pummeling his opponent? His team is lucky he didnt start wailing on them too. Man that little dude is crazy!

And am I the only one who cant stand that group of American fighters..the group with Coleman, Randleman, Baroni ect...They talk so much shit and its annoying, especially given the fact that anything can happen in a fight. I was so glad to see Cro Cop shut Colemans mouth by knocking him out with minimal effort. Oh...and I can't wait to see Baroni lose. He's a piece of shit. He's got a good punch, but that's about it, and his ownage will come sooner than later.

 

[Deleted member 4784]

Isnt he the guy who went nuts after KO'ing his opponent?. and proceeded to ignore the bell and continue pummeling his opponent? His team is lucky he didnt start wailing on them too. Man that little dude is crazy!

And am I the only one who cant stand that group of American fighters..the group with Coleman, Randleman, Baroni ect...They talk so much shit and its annoying, especially given the fact that anything can happen in a fight. I was so glad to see Cro Cop shut Colemans mouth by knocking him out with minimal effort. Oh...and I can't wait to see Baroni lose. He's a piece of shit. He's got a good punch, but that's about it, and his ownage will come sooner than later.

Yeah, that was Luiz who Gomi went berserk on after getting a KO. Lots of rumors floating around about why he did that, but he apologized afterwards. Kind of unprofessional, but I still thought it was funny. :lol

I totally agree. I don't know who the hell Baroni thought he was jumping on the ropes yelling, "I'M THE MAN! FUCK YEAH!" or talking all of the shit that he does. I mean, I understand he won, but geez. IIRC, he got his ass kicked in UFC too; so you'd expect him to be humbled by now. The guy is a capable boxer of course and I do not mean to discredit him as a fighter, but as you said, anything can happen in a fight and I think that if given the chance, Chonan could just as easily win against him in a rematch. I'm still new to this stuff and I am not nearly as educated as most in evaluating the abilities of these guys, but those are just my impressions from what I have seen.

 

[Boogie]

And am I the only one who cant stand that group of American fighters..the group with Coleman, Randleman, Baroni ect...They talk so much shit and its annoying, especially given the fact that anything can happen in a fight. I was so glad to see Cro Cop shut Colemans mouth by knocking him out with minimal effort. Oh...and I can't wait to see Baroni lose. He's a piece of shit. He's got a good punch, but that's about it, and his ownage will come sooner than later.

haha, yeah, it's remarkable how most of the tools in MMA managed to come together as a fight team. :lol

But seriously, that's one of the least impressive fight stables you're going to find these days, I think.

And Baroni's ownage has already come, in the form of a four-fight losing streak in the UFC.

 

[SpectreRT]

The style of PRIDE seems to fit the way that Baroni fights better. In the fights I watched of him, he was usually owned near a cage.

I think his fights are fun to watch - but we will see how he does in the new GP's they are starting. I dont see him getting past a second match.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Boogie alerted me about this thread before, and I'm just now getting to it. Not much for me to say, its an excellent thread with allot of good info. I'm glad to see it. Nice job.

 

[Asbel]

Date: 8/12/2005
Article Type: Other

Summary:
Statement from Dana White, President, Ultimate Fighting Championship®

“Zuffa, LLC is pleased to announce Andrei Arlovski has been named the new UFC® heavyweight champion. Andrei will fight Paul Buentello as the main event for the upcoming UFC 55: FURY event Friday, October 7, 2005 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. We congratulate Andrei and look forward to his first championship defense bout. We also extend our admiration and respect to our former heavyweight champion Frank Mir who is still rehabilitating himself from the injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in September 2004. We are hopeful that Frank will eventually recover from those injuries and look forward to the day he is medically cleared to return to the Octagon.”

FINALLY.

But now that he's champ, will the HW title curse strike or will Andrei break it?

 

[Boogie]

FINALLY.

But now that he's champ, will the HW title curse strike or will Andrei break it?

Woah. Wasn't expecting that.

I'm glad to see it because it greatly simplifies the UFC's heavyweight division to have one clear champion, and it will allow Mir to have a couple tune-up fights before he has to take on Arlovski (err, that is, I hope Mir will be coming back, since some have speculated that it could be a career-ending injury that he won't be coming back from).

It sucks for Mir, but it really is necessary to get things back on track.

*crosses fingers that the HW title curse is broken*

edit: So the question now is: Who can possibly beat Arlovski in the UFC heavyweight division?

 

[Asbel]

No one really. Not a good chance at least.

Now could Chuck or Randy move up? I think that'd be some very exciting matches but Andrei would have little to gain and a lot to lose. It'd just be a great match for the fans.