Thread: The Official MMA Thread

Recap of the UFC 75 conference call with some comments from me.

- Sept. 5 is open workouts for UFC 75, the press conference is Sept. 6 at noon, the weigh-ins are Sept. 7, and the event is Sept. 8. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. local time. The undercard starts at 6 p.m., and the main card starts at 8 p.m.

- White said that he’s been meeting with Fedor’s people for months and that he hopes to have an announcement soon, but he seemed to downplay a report that said a deal could be reached today.

.

I'll be honest, my expectations for the UFC signing Fedor are pretty low. Word is they've offered him by far the most lucrative contract and the deal is being held up because Fedor wants deals for other Red Devil Sport Club guys, he wants to fight Sambo in Russia, and always wants to promote MMA stuff in Russia. Just sign already man....

- Henderson said that he needs to watch out for Jackson’s knockout power and that fans should expect a war.

Yea, I think it'll be a great fight, possible fight of the year candidate. Hendo is an Olympic wrestler but for whatever reason loves to keep the fight standing. I wonder if he'll employ that same exact strategy.

Bisping said that there’s not really bad blood between him and Hamill, but that he’s not definitely “not keen on the guy.” Hamill is participating in the call through an interpreter.

I'm really glad this fight is going down since it was pretty much going to happen on the show. I liked TUF 3, thought it was a solid season, the only problem was the amount of replacements.

White said that UFC 75 is on cable TV because he doesn’t want to be like boxing where only the good fights are available at a cost on pay-per-view. He specifically mentioned ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as a model to showcase some top UFC talent.

Cool, but I expect to see about 400 commercials in between rounds. But we can't really complain about free MMA can we!

- White said he “fu*ked up” by showing UFC 72 live on pay-per-view during the afternoon because people tuned in later that night expecting to see the event. (The event took place in Northern Ireland.)

DUH

- Henderson said that Jackson is going to be tough all-around and that he expects to go the full 25 minutes for the fight. He said he understand Jackson is explosive and a little bit bigger than him. Someone talked over Jackson, but I think he said he’s a whole lot “prettier” than Henderson too.

I kinda doubt that the fight will go 5 rounds. Hendo pushes the pace and both guys have too much power for the fight to last that long. If the fight goes to the ground, I don't think it'll last that long for whoever is on the bottom. Rampage isn't great off his back and Hendo has good top game. Meanwhile if Hendo is on his back then something went really really wrong for him! Either 'Page slammed him or knocked him down. Hendo's wrestling background will help him get to his feet but Rampage is so big, wouldn't want to be on the bottom with that guy raining down punches and elbows.

- Henderson said he hasn’t thought much about what weight class to fight in after this fight. He said he’s only thought about his upcoming fight but that he doesn’t like fighting bigger guys.

Whatever happens to Hendo, I hope his next fight is the winner of Silva-Franklin. I'm not to thrilled about Terry Martin possibly being the #1 contender at MW. If Anderson wins, I think Dana HAS to make a Silva-Hendo fight. If Franklin wins, they could sell a rematch I think since each guy will have won one.

- White said that Babalu has been cut from his contract because of the episode this past weekend at UFC 74. He said if Babalu had held onto a leg or arm — rather than a choke — extra long that the results could have been a lot worse.

Dana has a point here. What if Babalu had Heath in an arm bar and he held it long enough to break his arm. Not smart Babalu...

- White said that win or lose, Henderson will be considered one of the top one or two contenders in the middleweight division. He said that he won’t know if he’ll get an immediate title shot with Anderson Silva or Rich Franklin until they have a better idea of the landscape of the division.

Good, I explained my scenario up top. I'm a big Franklin fan so I hope he wins and we just see a rubber match, but I'm going to be honest. I don't like Ace's chances.

- White said that he has “no clue” what he’s going to do with the lightweight division if Sherk’s appeal is denied.

Sign Gomi... Seems pretty simple! Who wouldn't want to see Penn-Gomi II in the UFC! That could headline a PPV card for me.

- Jackson said his life hasn’t changed much since winning the title because he’s been so wrapped up in training. He said training in Big Bear was excellent and that he and Bisping were “whoopin’ some ass up there.” He said he was in good shape after the Liddell fight so he was able to start full training immediately.

Ever since Rampage has hooked up with Juanito, it seems like he's a better prepared fighter and he's not just raw talent. He's got some solid technique.

- Jackson said the time difference in London won’t be a big problem because he’s already been in England for two weeks. He said he’s taking the fight more seriously than any other one of his career.

Hmmmm, smart move going to England and adjusting to the time. You also have to adjust to the food and stuff as well.

- Bisping said there’s a benefit fighting in his home country because he has his whole support system there with him.

The other side is it could be a huge distraction. Anyways he's already fought on the big stage in England for the UFC so it shoudn't be a big deal.

- Hamill said he doesn’t have too much concern for Bisping other than his kicks.

Hmmm, don't know about that. Bisping has shown some pretty solid JJ from his back. I'd be worried about that, Bisping also has excellent top game. Not sure if he'll be able to control Hamill on the ground though.

- White said he doesn’t know what the future of PRIDE will be and that it’s far more complicated than anyone realizes. He called it a “nightmare” and said it went out of business for a reason. He said he’s trying to get the PRIDE fighters fights now until they get the company all figured out. As far as the future of PRIDE coming back someday, White said Japan is a complicated place to do business and that he now knows that better than ever.

Kinda sucks that there will most likely be no more Grand Prix tournament type things. Oh well though.

- White said that the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter” is just as good, if not better, than last year’s.

Doesn't he always say this **** about every season?

- Couture’s next opponent is not yet known. White said there’s a lot of competition, and since he doesn’t fight until early 2008, there’s always a chance that Fedor gets the fight. He said Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will probably fight before the end of the year, and that he or his opponent could fight Couture.

This is what I've been kinda speculating about. I would love to see Cro-Cop Nog II. Hope it happens on that December card.

- White said he doesn’t “give a *****” what Josh Barnett says about anything, including his recent comments about Couture being a paper champion.

lol

- White said he doesn’t know who the winner of Jackson/Henderson will fight next.

Shogun, especially if he destroys Forrest like I think he will.

- White said he’s spoken to Denis Kang but that he’s not one of the biggest fighters to come out of PRIDE.

I like Kang, he would bring a much needed talent boost to 185.

http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/08/30/ufc-...-live-updates/

Saw this interesting piece over on ESPN. A little fluff, but kinda good to hear it too. It's an interview with Rampage and Zab Judah about the MMA vs. Boxing debate.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/box...t&lid=tab7pos2

Some choice comments:

ESPN: What's more fun to watch?
Judah: I would say MMA. There is a lot of blood and excitement.
ESPN: So you love to watch MMA fights?
Judah: Yeah. I go to a lot of fights.

ESPN: Zab, how would you do in the octagon?
Judah: Give me about 30 seconds. As soon as I go down, it's over. I quit.
ESPN: Would you ever entertain the idea of training for a year and trying it?
Judah: I actually trained in MMA before, and it's not me. As soon as you kick me and knee me, it's over. We could punch it out. But knees and all that? I'm done.

Rampage: Yeah, give me somebody who is like half dead who retired 10 years ago. Pay me like $10-20 million and I'll put on a good show.
ESPN: If somebody offered you $20 million tomorrow to do it, would you do it?
Rampage: Tomorrow? Hell, yeah, I'd cancel my fight I got right now.
ESPN: You honestly would?
Rampage: For $20 million? What's wrong with you? I'm from the streets of Memphis. $20 million to cancel my fight I got? Man, hell yeah.
ESPN: You would drop your UFC belt and go fight a boxing match?
Rampage: I can go buy another belt that looks just like that. That's a good payday for a mixed martial artist. We're not making the big money like the boxers.

About Babalu, I think that's VERY harsh. I have a feeling that this is more of a "we don't need him" type move more than anything else. BJ held on just as long to Pulver and NOTHING happened to him.

Originally Posted by SmytheKing

About Babalu, I think that's VERY harsh. I have a feeling that this is more of a "we don't need him" type move more than anything else. BJ held on just as long to Pulver and NOTHING happened to him.

I think there's a big difference between what BJ did and what Babalu did. First off all, Babalu did hold on to the choke longer than BJ.

And when the ref stepped in and pulled BJ off, he let go of the choke. Some fighters don't pull the choke or hold off until a ref pulls them off, mostly because of what Matt Lindland did.

Anyways, it's 2 totally different situations. BJ's was in the heat of the moment and when the ref pulled him off, he went off. Babalu went into the fight with a premeditated notion. He was going to teach David Heath a lesson as he said. He applied the choke and when Mazzagahti steped in he held on and he held on for a few more seconds than what BJ did.

Originally Posted by ASUcruz

Since, Serra-Hughes isn't until the December card, GSP won't get his title shot until, February at the earliest.

That pushes the next guy in line for a title shot way back till late spring early summer.

If Fitch beats Diego, he'll probably get a shot at the loser of Serra/Hughes on that February card. If Fitch wins that he'll get his title shot.

Regarding Diego, I think if he wins or loses he'll get his rematch with Koscheck. Dana likes Diego a ton, and Diego had Staph going into that fight. I think that's the fight Dana will make, especially since Koscheck won't fight the other AKA guys.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but I actually meant have Fitch fight GSP 1st with the winner getting the Serra/Hughes winner next year.

I would love for Kang to come over. Huge boost for the division. I'll also disagree that Shogun deserves a title fight after one win. Needs at least one more

Babalu is an ass. He deserved getting dropped. You don't hold on to teach a guy a lesson.. and if you do, YOU DON'T TELL THE WHOLE WORLD ABOUT IT. What a retart.

Shogun is the best LHW on the planet. He deserves a shot against the winner of Rampage and Hendo. His only recent loss was to Coleman due to a freak injury (broken arm) resulting from a takedown. The guy is DOMINATION. Sure he doesn't have his stomps and soccer kicks, but he has that wicked superman punch.

I believe Gomi has said he is close to signing with K-1 Heroes as he wants to stay in Japan. I would like to see UFC bring over Shinya Aoki or Joachim Hansen. Both can bring it.

I heard that Denis Kang is going to fight the wonderful man in my avatar sometime in the near future. That would be a decent fight, but I think Kang is going to murder Saku. Saku needs to retire a national hero, party like the olden days and train fighters. Hell, I learned a lot from him by watching his training video, and I don't even understand Japanese!

Originally Posted by ASUcruz

I think there's a big difference between what BJ did and what Babalu did. First off all, Babalu did hold on to the choke longer than BJ.

And when the ref stepped in and pulled BJ off, he let go of the choke. Some fighters don't pull the choke or hold off until a ref pulls them off, mostly because of what Matt Lindland did.

Anyways, it's 2 totally different situations. BJ's was in the heat of the moment and when the ref pulled him off, he went off. Babalu went into the fight with a premeditated notion. He was going to teach David Heath a lesson as he said. He applied the choke and when Mazzagahti steped in he held on and he held on for a few more seconds than what BJ did.

I don't know man. I've watched them both and BJ is being told to let go and then the ref pulls on him too. Just like Babalu. Regardless of Babalu saying he was going to "teach him a lesson", he doesn't know what's going to happen in the fight. Also, it's not like BJ and Pulver didn't have some serious heat going on before that fight. We watched a whole season of it. Watch BJ's face as he's applying that RNC and you tell me he didn't want to break his neck. Hell, he almost looks pissed that he didn't put him out after he won. Pulver just tapped quicker than Heath did. That's the main difference. I give you that Babalu held on longer than Penn, but it wasn't by much.

You want to fine or suspend or whatever, I'm ok with that. If the ref says let go, you let go. Neither guy did, but Babalu certainly didn't hold on for a couple more seconds than BJ did. Both guys overdid it. BJ gets nothing, Babalu gets dropped. I think we both know why. It doesn't make it any less BS though. Bottom line, BJ and Babalu should have both been fined for what they did.

Watch 'em both here:

Penn/Pulver:
[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=GRSxJj_dx10"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=GRSxJj_dx10[/ame]

Babalu/Heath:
[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=vvbVU9RWmq4"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=vvbVU9RWmq4[/ame]

I'm counting about a 1 second difference.

Smythe, I agree, there isn't much of a difference, but BJ wasn't a **** about it afterwards. He immediately makes sure Jens is okay, and like ASU said, I think that one was more in the heat of the moment. Babalu WAS a **** about it. He said he went out there to teach him a lesson. He was truly trying to hurt Heath. Plus there was a LOT more history and bad blood between Jens and BJ.

Now I'm not saying that what either one of them did was right, nor am I saying that Babalu's was all that much worse than BJ's. But when you go out with the intention of hurting someone more than just the normal fight stuff, there has to be repercussions. Especially when you announce to the world that yes, you had every intention of possibly causing serious injury to a person above and beyond any injury that would come about in a clean fight.

Somewhere in the middle of all this Pride nuthuggery are some good points

Originally Posted by Roody

Babalu is an ass. He deserved getting dropped. You don't hold on to teach a guy a lesson.. and if you do, YOU DON'T TELL THE WHOLE WORLD ABOUT IT. What a retart.

Yea, honestly, if Babalu didn't say he was teaching David Heath a lesson then he wouldn't have gotten cut. Pretty simple.

Originally Posted by Roody

Shogun is the best LHW on the planet. He deserves a shot against the winner of Rampage and Hendo. His only recent loss was to Coleman due to a freak injury (broken arm) resulting from a takedown. The guy is DOMINATION. Sure he doesn't have his stomps and soccer kicks, but he has that wicked superman punch.

I like Shogun a lot and I'm glad he signed with the UFC fairly quickly. He never got to fight for the Pride middleweight(LHW) strap because him and Wandy are boys so I'm glad he'll get a shot at the UFC belt soon. He's beaten Rampage before, in pretty brutal fashion but I wouldn't mind seeing them fight again in the cage. Rampage is better now than he was back then as well.

Originally Posted by Roody

I believe Gomi has said he is close to signing with K-1 Heroes as he wants to stay in Japan. I would like to see UFC bring over Shinya Aoki or Joachim Hansen. Both can bring it.

One thing I forgot about Gomi was his weight. PRIDE made their LW limit 160 lbs mainly because Gomi couldn't get down to 155. 5 pounds doesn't sound like a lot, but it does make difference, especially since Gomi was barely making it at 160.

If he were to come to the UFC, he would probably have to do what Mach Sakurai is doing and fight at 170. I'm sure that's not something he's keen on so he's going to stay in Japan.

Regarding Pride LWs, both those guys you mentioned are good fighters. Aoki might be the best one dimensional fighter in all of MMA. Definitely the best guard in MMA. And Hansen although small(he could probably fight at 145) is a good fighter as well.

The one LW the UFC needs to sign is Gilbert Melendez. That guy is a beast.

Originally Posted by Roody

I heard that Denis Kang is going to fight the wonderful man in my avatar sometime in the near future. That would be a decent fight, but I think Kang is going to murder Saku. Saku needs to retire a national hero, party like the olden days and train fighters. Hell, I learned a lot from him by watching his training video, and I don't even understand Japanese!

Nope, Sakuraba is slated to fight some pro wrestler at the next K-1 Heroes.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=8765