Yeah but if Randy and Tito couldn't take down Chuck and keep him there, I doubt Rashad can. Although Rashad has better credentials as a wrestler, he is much smaller and weaker.
Lurknomore: I still stand by earlier opinion of boxing being more lethal. A bloody nose is no match for actual head trauma.
I still stand by earlier opinion of boxing being more lethal. A bloody nose is no match for actual head trauma.
Well when your head gets punched and bounces off of a hard mat like it does very often in MMA, its much more damaging than when you get punched while standing up with nothing for your head to bounce off of, so I disagree here.
Catastrophic: I'm a big fan of Brock Lesnar's. I was in WWE and I am in MMA but you can't argue the fact that he had many, many opportunities to end his fight with Heath Herring and he just didn't know how to capitalize. I read an interview he did where he stated he didn't finish the fight due to a fight plan he had going into the match, I don't think anyone is that dumb. He's just too inexperienced at the moment. You cannot doubt his physical strength and athletic ability, however. Given time and proper training, Lesnar is going to be a real force to be reckoned with in MMA, but until then he is going to be someone heavily relying on just strength and a wrestling background and we all know that will only take you so far.
I'm a big fan of Brock Lesnar's. I was in WWE and I am in MMA but you can't argue the fact that he had many, many opportunities to end his fight with Heath Herring and he just didn't know how to capitalize. I read an interview he did where he stated he didn't finish the fight due to a fight plan he had going into the match, I don't think anyone is that dumb. He's just too inexperienced at the moment. You cannot doubt his physical strength and athletic ability, however. Given time and proper training, Lesnar is going to be a real force to be reckoned with in MMA, but until then he is going to be someone heavily relying on just strength and a wrestling background and we all know that will only take you so far.
The only problem is that as long as Big Nog holds that belt, he will not be a champion. Big Nog has faced much bigger and stronger people than Brock (Bob Sapp anyone?) and still come out on top. Although Brock is a great wrestler, I don't know if he can develop the submission defense anytime soon to beat Big Nog.
Brock would get destroyed in a match against Nogueira. He's got lots to learn before he goes there. Hopefully they realize this and keep him in lower level matches until he is ready. Otherwise he'll end up looking like an idiot.
UFC!
Count me in guys. I've been so stoked for UFC:88.
I have my doubts that Rashad can stand up to the punishment that Chuck's punches are known to inflict. He hasn't faced a fighter with Chuck's punching power before, and I think it's going to rock his world. If that wasn't enough, Chuck's ability to lay on the hurt while retreating seems like a tailor-made strategy to Rashad (in my mind anyways). He's (Rashad is) going to have to do something unexpected in order to win this one. He's got to beat a well-known name in order to become one though, so this is the most important fight he's had in the UFC. I think the timing is right as well, with Chuck losing 2 of his last 3 fights and recovering from a serious injury. The winner of this fight is likely to go on to a title shot with Forrest Griffin. Imagine Liddell vs. Griffin. Long story short, I'm super excited for this fight.
Rich Franklin versus Matt Hamill? Obviously Rich is "easing" his way into the heavier weight class. This fight doesn't exactly push him to the limits of his abilities. Rich dominates the middleweight division, with the exception of Anderson Silva, a freak of nature. He can't take the belt, so what's he to do but to start climbing the light heavyweight ladder? This fight is simply a courtesy in my mind, he's going to plow Matt. Hard. Any arguments to the contrary?
I've been waiting patiently to see Yoshiyuki Yoshida again, ever since UFC:84. I was laughing so hard after that fight that he instantly became a fighter I want to see more of. The post-fight commentary was icing. This is a man of action, he doesn't mess around. He flew from Japan, ran up and choked a guy out in the first minute of the fight, when asked, he commented that it had gone exactly as he thought it would, then flew back to Japan. I certainly hope this was the first of a series of dominating fights featuring Yoshiyuki in the UFC.
There are several other interesting fights happening as well. Dan Brown is about to be forgotten when he loses to the Stun Gun. Anyone think otherwise?
I also think (hope?) Dan Henderson will finally get his stuff together and beat Rousimar Palhares.
I have a tough time picking a favorite for Martin Kampmann vs Nate Marquardt. Anyone have some insight on this one?
I'm told that Michael Patt has an impressive fight history, although I can't find video of him anywhere. I wish him the best on his debut to the UFC.
Catastrophic:Hopefully they realize this and keep him in lower level matches until he is ready. Otherwise he'll end up looking like an idiot.
Well I guess they didn't hear me. In case you haven't heard it's confirmed for UFC 91 that Brock Lesnar will face the newly reinstated champion Randy Couture for the Heavyweight Championship. Apparently the lawsuit issue with Couture and the UFC has been resolved and he's back in action. Then at UFC 92 Frank Mir will take on Noguiera for the interim title and then at a later date the winners of this matches will face each other for a "title unification match".
As much as I like Brock Lesnar, he doens't deserve this level of a match yet and I'm not sure how they can offer something like that to him when his dues have most definitely not been paid. I can see this creating some kind of backlash with other heavyweights in the UFC. Sure, he's a big name and can put asses in seats (the reason he's got the shot), but if I were one of these guys whose been busting their ass for years in this sport and got overlooked for this other guy, I'd be pretty pissed.
Chalkbot:If that wasn't enough, Chuck's ability to lay on the hurt while retreating seems like a tailor-made strategy to Rashad
Yeah, my family always joke that it seems like Chuck Lidell fights while in the matrix. When watching his knockout wins in slow motion replays, he's always backing away and dodging punches while landing a crippling punch that lands cleanly on the jaw of his opponents. It's quite amazing. The follow up finishing punches land with deadly precision as well.
Chalkbot: Rich Franklin versus Matt Hamill? Obviously Rich is "easing" his way into the heavier weight class. This fight doesn't exactly push him to the limits of his abilities. This fight is simply a courtesy in my mind, he's going to plow Matt. Hard. Any arguments to the contrary?
Rich Franklin versus Matt Hamill? Obviously Rich is "easing" his way into the heavier weight class. This fight doesn't exactly push him to the limits of his abilities. This fight is simply a courtesy in my mind, he's going to plow Matt. Hard. Any arguments to the contrary?
Matt Hamill is a surprisingly great fighter who has amazing potential, but he needs the right kind of trainer. Since the end of his run in TUF he's had a few matches and the wins that he has had weren't all exactly pretty, technical or with great gameplans (he needs to stick with his wrestling which should be his bread and butter and stop trying to prove his striking power) but you have to realize that he also goes into those fights completely alone. He can't use his wrestling ability to take a guy down in his corner and have his coaches tell him what to do to gain position or if he's on his back, he's got no one to tell him how to get out, that alone is noteworthy. Rich Franklin as an opponent will be interesting because it's always different for the fighters outside of their original weight class. Hamill can't bang with Franklin, but if he can utilize his wrestling to his fullest ability, he will be a major problem for Franklin.
Chalkbot:I've been waiting patiently to see Yoshiyuki Yoshida again, ever since UFC:84.
Honestly I don't remember this guy, I checked out the official page and seen he's fighting Karo Parisyan and that's no joke. I'm sure I'll remember him when I see his pre-fight videos.
Chalkbot: There are several other interesting fights happening as well. Dan Brown is about to be forgotten when he loses to the Stun Gun. Anyone think otherwise?
I'm pretty sure you've already forgotten this guy since his name is Matt Brown, lol. Yeah, they talked him up a big game on TUF but he didn't deliver anything impressive in his fights. I don't really care who wins the match.
Chalkbot: I also think (hope?) Dan Henderson will finally get his stuff together and beat Rousimar Palhares.
Dan Henderson is one of the real deal guys you find in MMA. I think he will have his act together after his loss to Silva and Rampage (ouch that combo sucks) and be ready to take it to the next level.
Chalkbot:I have a tough time picking a favorite for Martin Kampmann vs Nate Marquardt. Anyone have some insight on this one?
This is another match where I can't pick a winner because I really don't care who wins. I don't remember Kampmann's last fight and while Marquardt is good, he always seems to crack under pressure when placed in any kind of big match.
Chalkbot: I'm told that Michael Patt has an impressive fight history, although I can't find video of him anywhere. I wish him the best on his debut to the UFC.
I've never heard of that guy. I like Boetsch though. I remember his first match in UFC a few events ago, I was making fun of him because his fight name is "The Barbarian" and then he completely kicked Heath's ass. It made me a fan.
All in all it can be a pretty good PPV. It's an event that I feel can end with a really bad note if Chuck does lose to Rashad. As I said, I don't believe Rashad is in the same league as Lidell and I hope that point is made in the match. I hated how sloppy and dumb Rashad was in TUF and I've not been impressed with his victories sine the show. I wish Tito hadn't been holding on to the fence in their match so he would have got the win over Rashad instead of the draw.
Ok, I'm done, you can wake up now.
i'm a big judo fan after seeing those 2 cousins karo and mani flip people onto people's heads.
I'm going to enroll my kids into a judo class and maybe myself.
So now you see what I'm getting at. Brock gets a huge page check, hasn't done much and not fighing the Champ? OH well. I like it but still he's not worthy yet. I want him to be the first person to throw a person out of the ring.
Where did mac danzig go? the TUF 6 winner. the vegitarian guy. figured he would be on a free show by now
Follow me on Twitter/spooon
spooon: i'm a big judo fan after seeing those 2 brother flip people onto people's heads. I'm going to enroll my kids into a judo class and maybe myself. So now you see what I'm getting at. Brock gets a huge page check, hasn't done much and not fighing the Champ? OH well. I like it but still he's not worthy yet. I want him to be the first person to throw a person out of the ring. Where did mac danzig go? the TUF 6 winner. the vegitarian guy. figured he would be on a free show by now
i'm a big judo fan after seeing those 2 brother flip people onto people's heads.
Judo is my favorite Martial Art as well. I love the technique. Takedowns and submissions. When I worked with my father I also worked with a guy who was a Judo instructor, he showed me a lot of cool things and was actually the person who introduced me into MMA.
As far as Brock is concerned. Am I glad he's getting a title shot. Yeah, from a fans standpoint I love to watch him, but I think he's in way over his head on this one. I wish him the best of luck.
It's funny you mention Mac Danzig because, for no apparent reason, I had a dream with him in it last night. Wasn't anything major, but I remember seeing him in with a crowd of people...perhaps it's a sign of sorts? Hmmm...
i really hope your dream with danzig was *cough* about fighting.
never a good sign to dream about guys who generally don't wear shirts.
Catastrophic:Honestly I don't remember this guy, I checked out the official page and seen he's fighting Karo Parisyan and that's no joke. I'm sure I'll remember him when I see his pre-fight videos.
Hehe, well if his videos are a compilation of his fights in UFC, it will be a 5 second clip of him running up and grabbing his opponent by the neck, taking him down and getting the tap. That's it.
Catastrophic:I'm pretty sure you've already forgotten this guy since his name is Matt Brown, lol. Yeah, they talked him up a big game on TUF but he didn't deliver anything impressive in his fights. I don't really care who wins the match.
lol, That was entirely unintentional. I watched Stun Gun fight before. He neutralizes and then slowly picks his opponents apart. I anticipate Matt being curled up on the mat for the majority of the fight, recieving a healthy dose of vitamin elbow to the face.
Catastrophic:This is another match where I can't pick a winner because I really don't care who wins. I don't remember Kampmann's last fight and while Marquardt is good, he always seems to crack under pressure when placed in any kind of big match.
Yeah, you are right. He does tend to freeze up under pressure, although he has proven to be able to take quite a bit of punishment. If he actually developed his technique more he could be a solid guy.
As far as Lesnar vs Couture, I'm a little upset on multiple points here. Up until now I felt like the powers that be in the UFC had made nothing but good decisions. The fight cards have been fantastic recently, we're seeing the fights we want to see, and title shots have been given to the most worthy of the contenders. Then Lesnar jumps in, and I'm okay with that. I understand he comes with a lot of new fans. Obviously he's very mediocre in the octagon and certainly not very exciting to watch. If he didn't already have a fan base, I would expect him to be fighting in one of the matches before the main events, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't bother airing it on PPV. What is there to see? But he's the co-main event? (last UFC) What a stinker that was. I let it go, figuring that was the climax of his UFC career and simply a stunt to pull in the fans. This new announcement though... way over the top. First of all, Dana already said UFC:91 was to be held in Portland, Oregon. Oh, but Couture is back, move it to Las Vegas! What? No! You had all the Oregonians hyped up for UFC 91, then you tell them that the BEST fighter in Oregon will be in it.... Our main guy! ...and that it's no longer going to be in Oregon. WTF? Oh, and btw, he'll be fighting Brock Lesnar for the belt. This is insanity, what did Brock do to deserve the first crack at the belt? Not only is he boring to watch, there are a half a dozen guys that deserve it more than he does. I feel like this decision has let down the dedicated fans and the fighters in order to cater to this new audience of people. Feels dirty to me, and I don't like it.
Chalkbot:Feels dirty to me, and I don't like it.
Yeah, I was analyzing my own emotions on this fight. It's odd that normally if I were to hear Brock Lesnar was going for the title I would be very happy, but his last fight left a real bad taste in my mouth. I was glad he won but his performance was very sloppy and inexperienced. If he dominated Herring for a round or two and finished him off then I think I would be more happy for this forthcoming fight, but I'm just worried. If we loses no one will really be that surprised. He shouldn't have been there in the first place. If he manages to pull off a win, that would be something. It's almost like Dana wants Brock to win the title.Which he very well may want that, but as you said, it doesn't seem to be the right business decision with plenty of people who could have taken a shot first. Cheick Kongo comes to mind.
All in all, when the time comes for the fight, I will be cheering for Brock to win. Do I think he will win? Probably not. Randy Couture is one of the smartest fighters there is and he will definitely exploit Brocks weakness, submissions. Can Brock win? Sure. We've seen that Randy can be knocked out and Brock has the power to do it, but I believe that if he is to knock out Randy he will have to do it in the first round. The longer the match goes, the more in favor of Couture it will be.
Chalkbot: Rich Franklin versus Matt Hamill? Obviously Rich is "easing" his way into the heavier weight class. This fight doesn't exactly push him to the limits of his abilities. Rich dominates the middleweight division, with the exception of Anderson Silva, a freak of nature. He can't take the belt, so what's he to do but to start climbing the light heavyweight ladder? This fight is simply a courtesy in my mind, he's going to plow Matt. Hard. Any arguments to the contrary?
I think Matt Hamill will suprise alot of people with a win. Matt has just as powerful striking as rich and hamill will be the bigger fighter
jasecw:I think Matt Hamill will suprise alot of people with a win. Matt has just as powerful striking as rich and hamill will be the bigger fighter
I'm relieved to hear that there are people of the opinion that Matt will hold his own. Being in mixed company makes a fight so much more exciting! :)
The theater pub here has started showing the UFC fights and selling tickets. We love watching the fights with a crowd. At UFC:79, my wife and I felt like we were the only GSP fans in the whole place. It made the victory that much more exciting.