yeah they had to nearly be out of fights, a lot of finishes tonight indeed.

I wouldn't call Roy Nelson a gatekeeper at all. He's firmly top 10, probably close to top 5 but not quite. His losses were battles and I'd say he has a chance at beating just about anyone in the division.

Roy Nelson is a savvy veteran but by no means a top ten heavyweight. He could be considered top 15, but the only way he ever makes top 10 is if enough real title contenders completely fall off the map and he slips in by default. He's no joke, but at best, he's just a punching bag for the elite.

Velasquez, Dos Santos, Overeem, Werdum, Cormier, Barnett, Mir, Nogueira, Fedor, Silva, Carwin and Lesnar (if he comes back) are better than Nelson and are more deserving of the claim.

Personally, I'd group Nelson in with guys like Kharitonov, Hunt, Rothwell, Kongo etc; good but not so deserving of being recognized as top 10.

agree with sangrev, roy is kind of like the top 10 gatekeeper.

Also, I was a bit surprised to hear so many people (especially Goldbeg and Rogan) praising Mir for his jiu-jitsu, saying that he's got the best jiu-jitsu for a heavyweight in MMA. When he broke Tim Sylvia's arm a few years back, people made such a huge deal out of that, and since he broke Nog's arm, again the flame seemed to have been re-ignited. I'm sorry but I wasn't aware that breaking arms really meant any more than a regular submission win, and besides, someone like Werdum would absolutely tool Mir or Nog in jiu-jitsu.

And I brought up Kharitonov earlier; I would love to see him fight Dos Santos. Not that he is deserving of a title shot, but perhaps if UFC picks him up and Dos Santos loses the belt, I think it would make a fantastic boxing match down the line. Kharitonov has great boxing and hits hard and I love seeing him throw uppercuts; they are just plain nasty. I think stylistically, it makes a great fight!

I'd probably bet money on Nelson over a lot of those names. Not all, but several, especially toward the end of the list.

loved watching kharitonov walk down overeem before ending him lol.

Wow, I'd like to hear your thoughts on that because honestly, I don't think he beats any of those guys aside from perhaps Silva if he lands a KO punch? I've got nothing against Nelson but I just don't understand how so many people see him as a legitimate contender. I mean, I don't really think much of Frank Mir but Mir dominated their fight, and of the names listed, I think that was probably one of the better style match-ups for him. Roy was also outstruck and dominated by Werdum, and Werdum's ever-improving striking is only decent at best. I found it hilarious that he thought he actually beat Werdum.

Roy Nelson is better than his looks would suggest, but I think people almost overcompensate with that in mind by thinking he's a lot better he really is. He's got some good power, he can definitely take some shots, and he's above average in most facets of the game but his most notable wins have come against a long-finished Cro Cop, and two KO wins against Struve and Schaub, both known for not having good chins and not being even close to title contention. And the recent win against Dave Herman was great but it's only Dave Herman. Also, consider that his stint on TUF was full of pretty awful performances too. I know you can poke holes in anyone's record but I just cannot fathom how he could compete for the title with far better fighters out there.

i think he may be able to be competitive with big nog too, considering he's taken WAY too much damage in the past...probably only if he lands that overhand right though.

Next weekend is the Silva Sonnen rematch. Just read this on wikipedia; it's a quotation from Anderson Silva a few weeks back, sourced from a Canadian newspaper:

"Chael Sonnen's going to get his ass kicked like he's never gotten his ass kicked before. What I'm going to do inside the Octagon is something that's going to change the image of the sport. This is going to be violent and I am sorry. I'm going to make sure that every one of his teeth are broken, that his arms are broken and his legs are broken. He's not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself. I can guarantee that. He will need a plastic surgeon afterwards. And I know that he’s listening, so the game’s over. No more shit talking. It’s on now."

This fight should be amazing. I don't want to hype myself up too much, but I'm definitely quite hyped. My money's on Silva; I just don't see Chael Sonnen repeating what he did last time. We'll see though.

I expect the Silva/Sonnen rematch to be excellent, but unfortunately a personal engagement will prevent me from watching it live.

But to be honest with you, I am fuckin' sick to death of hearing about this fight . Not so much here, but at MMA boards (i.e. Sherdog), this fight and its myriad of scenarios is all anyone's talking about, and have been for almost 2 years now. At this point I just want this fight to be over with already.

It was definitely cool to hear Silva speak "out of character", as it were, and of course Sonnen is always "in character", but man, the hype surrounding this fight is simply too much.

A quick browse through my previous posts here should clearly indicate who I'm rooting for.

I'm definitely rooting for Sonnen on this one (just like the previous one). Well, I'm rooting against Silva to be honest, and Sonnen is the one that's the closest to ever making it.

Well, there it is. Anderson Silva: The Greatest mixed martial artist Of All Time.

Not much more needs to be said, really.

Then watch the fight again.

With no means of disrespecting and discrediting Silva and his accomplishment, last night it wasn't Silva who won. It was Chael who lost. AGAIN.

the other guy had plenty of opportunities to get out during that fight, silva reacted kind of slow i thought

he mentally folded and got rocked when silva was hanging on to his shorts, was the beginning of the end. didn't matter regardless, sonnen was mentally beat after he failed those first takedowns in the 2nd.

Anyone else sad to see Tito leave? I'm not. =)

Late stoppage. It was horrendous.
And Rosenthal is one of the better referees.

This is true. However, it's only a marginally negligible difference, as Weidman thoroughly dominated Munoz throughout this fight. More of a safety concern for Munoz than a chance for him to get back in the game at that point.



I have no strong feelings about Tito Ortiz whatsoever. My disdain for his shit talking/unsportsmanlike conduct is counterbalanced by my respect for his (admittedly significant) role during the dark ages of MMA and the UFC. Also this. Retiring on a 1-7-1 record since his last significant win (in 2006 against Shamrock) is kind of a drag, but whatever.

So yeah, UFC 149 is tonight. I'll probably order it as I have some excess cash, and this card is not nearly as bad as some are making it put to be.

My picks:

Riddle v. Clements: Don't know much about either fighter, TBH. Simply going by records, give me Clements due to a presumed "finish or be finished" mentality, outside of one fight. Too bad the previously scheduled Alves v. Akiyama or Bahadurzada isn't happening here.

Ebersole v. Head: I'll take Ebersole he to extend his UFC win streak to 5.

Kongo v. Jordan: Jordan apparently comes in with a ton of hype. Kongo is Kongo; a HW gatekeeper. Kongo will do what he does best against lower ranked fighters here.

Lombard v. Boetsch: Tough one for me to call. On one hand, you have the way hyped Lombard making his UFC debut off of a 20 something win streak, but carrying a reputation as a can crusher. On the other, Boetsch comes across as somewhat mediocre, yet is durable under pressure. I think Boetsch wins the upset here.

Fabre v. Barao: I think Barao has looked incredible, and Faber is hungry to finally get his hands on UFC gold. Should be a good fight. I think Barao extends his win streak here and goes on to beat Cruz.

And holy shit, Amoussou at Bellator 72. Excellent flying heel hook. Nice knockout by Daley, too.

And Invicta FC 2, next week. Nice.

So, Anderson completely embarrassed and annihilated Stephen Bonnar over the weekend. I didn't think Bonnar would win, but damnit I had a little hope. I haven't been following this season of The Ultimate Fighter, can anyone tell me if it's any good? I'm super stoked to see Nelson and Carwin fight.

Also, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen have been named as the coaches for next season....THAT is going to be fun.

TUF has been bad for a long time. The next one will be worth watching at least. Not sure why Jones would agree to do it. The casual side of the fanbase aren't totally clued into how awful of a herb he is and his habit of stumbling about his own insufferable ego. Chael constantly digging on him and reality tv editing are going to a-bomb his image. He's going to find himself in the company of Matt Hughes and Tim Sylvia competing for most jackass ufc champ. It'll be beautiful. On the side there's Yoda and Dana in the same room, that always goes well. Chael will very likely lose (and it's a little weak to shove him into the title shot), but with his workrate and the ole double (not Jones' variety of wrestling), who knows (who doesn't? Chael will choke.). Gives soke tike for the rest of the division to sort itself out, and there'll be other fun fights for Chael after. Hopefully the Andy/Machida connection makes something happen. Andy gives Machida the master plan to beat Jones (I don't care who beats Jones, but I'd prefer him barring a mw, trashy hw, or lower teir lhw), or Andy finally gives up on mw altogether and tools lhw, leaving Machida to clown 85ers (Machida/Bisping would be just as hilarious as Andy would) until they both retire.

Fighting a guy with no chance stylistically to beat him, in a realistic sense. Also had a truck full of money driven to his house to do it.



Chael is gonna be out there doing his usual schtick of redoing old wrestling promos and looking ridiculous, and I think Jones will basically come across way more laid back. I'm guessing he'll fake caring a couple times to do some ridiculous fake scraps in the gym with Chael to give the thing more "heat" and make people believe he's getting into it. A month or so ago with that twitter exchange he went and told everyone on twitter the next day that he was basically working them then. The guy is hugely self confident and knows the deal here. I'm sure he'll do what "needs to be done for the show". Mind you, I couldn't care less about "the show" because I think the fight is a crock and TUF will still suck and lose ratings like crazy around the one or two short Sonnen promos dropped each week, but that's just my call.



You're out in fantasy land right now, bro.

No doubt, I started to lose interest with the Brock/JDS season.

Money, money, money. Everyone knows the guy just wants to bring in as much money as he can in as quick a time as he can. It's also a part of why so many fans dislike him, imo.


They need to quit being little bitches and fight each other. I'm so tired of guys in the UFC ding the whole "boo hoo, I like this guy, I won't fight him" bullshit. Anderson and Jones not fighting is EXTREME bullshit, considering JJ is considered by most to be one of the few fighters on earth who stands a chance at disposing of Anderson's title reign. Lol...sorry, sort of went on a tangeant with that one...


I *wish* Anderson would kick it in lhw, but he's already said numerous times that he won't do it, as he doesn't want to run the risk of running up against Machida at some point. That blows for the fans, I know a lot of us would like to see Anderson tear through lhw the same way he has mw.

You do not know JBJ. He can't go five minutes without tripping over his own ego. Each episode is going to ruin all his special nights.

Watch the Vitor fight again.

And you do know him? If you want to fantasize about Jones becoming frustrated and angry with Sonnen because of words on TV, that's fine. I'm just telling you that won't happen.



Which one? The one with Jones? Jones had a short camp, escaped an armbar, and Vitor did what he always does; Gas and give up. Anderson is a markedly different sort of fighter than Vitor. He himself realizes that Jones is a difficult fight and openly states in public he doesn't want it. If anyone was going to be so certain that he'd walk through Jones with little difficulty, it would be the guy who knocked out a legitimate middleweight with a rising elbow straight out of Ong Bak and starts popping in the middle of the ring when people won't walk forward at him.

it would be interesting to see. MMA has so many rules that rule out the ruthless use of some arts.

no grabbing hair or clothing, and no attacking eyes, throat, back of the head, or groin; no piledrivers, no kicks to compromised opponents... if you do judo or tae kwon do, considering MMA must be like being a muay thai fighter who thinks about doing boxing -- they want to prevent you from using your most effective techniques.

any stories worth hearing about? (cautionary tales about good and bad decisions/techniques, I mean, not 'let me enjoy tales of someone's misery')

There is a far reaching and readily observable history that indicates you are the one out of touch with reality. Not unlike JBJ, in fact.

So Jones never trained for Hendo, or just stopped entirely when he claimed the duckweight title? That's hilarious. Otherwise, you missed the point. Jones is vincible enough, and while he is (very) good, he's a black-belt in douche-jitsu and deserves to be embarrassed as such. Which at this point is far more likely than him suddenly realizing he's a terrible herb and ought to cut it out. At any rate, there's much more interesting and fruitful things to pick apart than JBJ, so I'll leave it at that. Feel free to take the last word.

Drop the mic? Really, son? We both know how the fight will go. You'll invest time or money to see it and the hype. That's what it is.

In other news, Mr. Wonderful (non-Orndorff edition) is replacing Chael opposite Forrest, Miesha Tate says guys can fight women that swing first, Maia wants Fitch or Diaz.


VV

Meh, I think MMA is over-rated. It's just the new fad. In the 70s and 80s it was Karate or Kung Fu, in a few years it will be something new. Any MA is going to help you fight better, if you're willing to put in the work to get better at it and on top of that to work out and get lots of exercise so you're in the best shape. So considering that 95% of people don't train in any martial arts, if your'e at least training in some style I would argue that you're already ahead of the other 95%. But if you aren't willing to put in the time, then you aren't going to be a great fighter.

Not really... No one was watching karate or kung fu on TV in the 70s and 80s; those were boxing's glory days. No combat sport ever overtook boxing, until MMA. I really don't think it's a fad. It's been developing for over 20 years now.

No one was watching kata competitions but they were fads within the martial arts industry and led to lots of mcdojoing. Ninjitsu played a similar role in the 1980s. There's no question that MMA has accepted that part of the market. ATT sells "memberships" to karate dojos and shit now. I haven't been on Bullshido in years but I imagine there's a lot of sad dudes there crying about the state of martial arts and how the MMA boom changed nothing.