[Jakovasaurus]

UFC Fight Night - Boston
Man, that crazy mofo Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone fought again with only two weeks rest from his last fight, and won. That tough summbitch. Man, the fight was close, I thought maybe Benson Henderson won though. I guess Cerron's take down tipped the votes in his favor. Man, Cerrone is one tough bastard.

And wow, Conor McGregor systematically dismantled Dennis Siver. For all that mouth (which is his trademark), he sure did back it up. And what a spectacle when he jumped the cage to get into Jose Aldo's face.

[Jakovasaurus]

UFC Fight Night - Stockholm

Man, I feel bad for Alexander Gustafsson. He got caught by Anthony Johnson and then received a sound beat down (in front of his home town to boot). That upper cut Johnson slipped in while Gustafsson was on the mat was brutal. Johnson can pack a friggan wallop. And oh man, that was so uncomfortable when the camera was on a crying Gustafsson after the fight. Man, that must have sucked!

Some inconsistent refereeing too. The stoppage of Dan Henderson v. Gegard Mousasi was unfortunate for Henderson. He sure looked like he was aware and fighting back to me.

Onto UFC 183 next weekend. Not a fan of the Diaz brothers, so hoping Anderson Silva takes it.

[Jakovasaurus]

Did any of you MMA fans see the UFC Fight Night from last night? Overall it was unremarkable, but did you see the Benson Henderson v. Brandon Thatch fight? After Henderson submitted him (which was impressive) he got up off the mat and then a toothpick appeared in his mouth as he was celebrating! WTF?! A couple things: isn't that illegal? and before fighters go into the cage aren't they checked thoroughly for things like that? It's gotta be dangerous as hell to have a toothpick tucked away in your mouth somewhere while fighting at a high level in MMA. Is this something that the UFC will fine him for? Or do they shrug it off as schticky entertainment. I would certaintly hate to see the UFC accept something like this and swing more towards professional wrestling "sports entertainment" versus serious MMA.

[Binder of Demons]

Henderson has been doing that with the toothpick for ages. Ive always been amazed too that he gets away with it, since they check the fighters for concealed items before entering the cage. Weird. I haven't heard of him being fined thus far, so im guessing it won't happen this time either. It seems to be as much of his in-cage persona as the flicking of the hair. Considering the damage he was taking in the first 2 rounds, it was a really good win for Henderson

I thought the majority of the fights were boring, but the 2 headline fights were exciting enough. Was delighted that Holloway beat Miller, as I've been really impressed with his improvement since he lost to MacGregor. The crazy kicks and spins he tried at the end were fun. I'm sure it was disconcerting as hell to get a cut under the eyebrow, but I didn't like Miller complaining to the ref so much claiming Holloway headbutted him. Both times you had the fighters moving in at each other throwing strikes, and in fact Miller pulls Holloway into him causing the clash. But he still seemed to be accusing Holloway of doing it deliberately? The propsed bout of Holloway vs Cub Swanson is an intriguing one. Is Holloway powerful enough to push Swanson backwards? And can Holloway's chin take Swanson striking. Big test, but big opportunity for Max.

[Jakovasaurus]

UFC 184
What a foolish move by Cat Zingano, which led to Ronda Rousey getting the fastest submission in a UFC championship bout (14 seconds). Man, what an easy pay day for Rousey. Maybe the UFC should consider letting Rousey fight men.

[Shadow Knight]

I dont think she would beat any male in the top 20, wouldnt even be close fights, she only looks so good cause the other women in the division are so far behind

[Jakovasaurus]

Man, one of my favorites - Lyoto Machida - got a serious beat down handed to him, and then a submission to finish him. Lyoto Machida is no joke. Man sized respect to Luke Rockhold, nice work.

[Jakovasaurus]

Damn, just got caught up with the news about Jon Jones - he's been stripped of his title and suspended by the UFC. Damn, sounds like the guy has some personal demons he needs to handle in his personal life before he gets his career back on track. Man, what a bummer. I was looking forward to UFC 187 and seeing how he and Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson would match up.

I guess Jones has been replaced by Daniel Cormier now. Interesting I guess, but certainly no "Bones" Jones VS "Rumble" Johnson.

[Binder of Demons]

Anyone here watch UFC 189?

Awesome fights, great action, and some spectacular finishes. Some amazing back and forward brawls. And then the 2 headline fights lived up to the hype. Fantastic stuff.

[amphibian]

That was the greatest main card in the modern era.

Not the best top to bottom event ever, but wow.

Robbie/Rory was super super high level fighting. Half knocked out Robbie sprawls like he was born to do it. Rory had a great gameplan, although he couldn't convert the single leg.

Conor supposedly had a hurt knee coming into this fight, so I wasn't surprised to see him not fight the takedown hard or try for anything ambitious guard wise. His combination at the end was magnificent. The length calculations were perfect, and that weight transfer for the left straight was gorgeous.

Aldo still beats him, but it's a close fight.

Thomas Almeida really impressed me. Pickett actually figured out Almeida's favored head movement and was slowly countering it in exchanges. So Almeida went for a long range power shot and connected so beautifully that my jaw dropped.

Bermudez was doing some good head movement, throwing punches with all kinds of shifts to prevent Stephens from landing a big one. However, Bermudez has two preferred entries to the clinch against the fence and Stephens timed the knee to one he knew was coming. That cost Bermudez the fight - being predictable in entering the clinch.

I thought Ream would beat up Brown and I wasn't far off. That left was landing over and over again. Brown whipping those two elbows erased everything and he did a very nice job slipping on the guillotine.

That was an amazing main card.

[Binder of Demons]

I was a bit disappointed in how poor Conor's wrestling defence was in the middle of the ring. But in fairness it was against one of the very best wrestlers in the sport, and he was very opportunistic in escaping when given the chance. The result was probably the best we could have hoped for in that Conor showed he still has weaknesses in his game, for people to doubt him and complain about. Mendes was really competitive until fatigue and the toll of those punches caught up with him. And so a potential rematch between them could sell well, as you get the whole, "we'll see how he does with a full training camp" arguments.

I am really excited for the MacGregor-Aldo fight though, as it could be a great stand up battle, and Aldo will have a significant grappling advantage. But I don't see it going 5 rounds. In the featherweight division, I think you'll either have to finish Conor, or he will finish you.

@ Amph - What did you make of the stoppage? I thought it was a fair one considering how Mendes seemed to half turn away against the cage, and wilt as the last few punches put him on the ground, before he turtled up and took more unanswered shots on the ground. I know there was only 3 seconds left, and so people are crying fix, but considering how long it was before Mendes even moved after Herb Dean stopped it, I got no problem. What's funny is how similar the way MacGregor got the finish against Mendes is, compared to the final sequences against Brandao, and Siver (in how they half turn away with their back against the fence, and get rilled by the straight left, and then crumpled to a turtle position).


I was really delighted too with the Gunnar Nelson win as well after the poor performance against Story. His ground game is so slick. I've seen people proposing he fight Maia next should he win, which would be interesting for BJJ fans everywhere.

[amphibian]

Herb not only stopped that fight at the right time, he did it in a way that stopped Conor from throwing another punch.

That's very good referee position and timing. Turtled up fighters after being dropped and barely moving to follow up shots definitely have had enough.

Gunnar thumping Thatch silly with that one two was amazing. Conor did something similar to Mendes also.

I think Gunnar needs more development time (mostky to get bigger and stronger), so I'd give him someone less top tier than Maia. Neil Magny maybe.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Sickening.

The UFC in Glasgow and I couldn't get a damn ticket (except via scalping, and I refuse to pay that much extra for a card)

Ah well, guess the dream of seeing a card in Vegas some day will have to do.

[Binder of Demons]

hey there Amph, did you get to catch up on the last few UFC cards?

I was massively impressed by Joseph Duffy's quick submission of Ivan Jorge, especially considering Jorge's BJJ black belt. Since, he hasn't really faced any adversity in his two UFC wins, it's hard to say too much about Duffy, but again he showed some crisp boxing, and some beautifully timed (and disguised) knees to the face. And the speed with which he locked his legs together during the scramble to set up the triangle was really impressive. Tristar should be a good gym for him to train at as well.

What do you make of him?
Since they've announced that there is a Dublin card later this year, it's a certainty that Duffy will be on it (barring any injury), but I wonder who they'll give him since it will probably have to be a good step up. A name i've seen thrown out there already is Dustin Poirier which would be interesting, and give us an idea of whether Duffy can take a punch.

Also, what would you think of a Gunnar Nelson- Stephen Thompson co-headliner for the Dublin card, and who would you favour?
It'll be interesting to see what they choose to go with as the actual headliner for the Dublin card since you can't use Conor.

[amphibian]

I was at a wedding all weekend, but followed results on Twitter.

I'll watch UFN Glasgow and give more detailed takes as I get them.

The one before that, I watched the main card.

Duffee's intent to do a slow hook and then fast left straight was ok. However, he did it from too far out, when Mir was facing the wrong way (usually people duck by bending towards belly), and didn't take his own head off its trajectory or line.

What a disaster of a punch. Mir is also splendidly good at seizing opportunity and he didn't waste any time throwing that left.

Ferguson took Thomson right out of his usual style and that paid huge dividends when he landed the elbow that wobbled Josh. Big win for him and he should be ready to take on a top five guy in the next bout (maybe Alvarez).

Holly Holm looked very good when she got into gear in terms of slowly cracking open Reneau's defenses. It looks like she knows she doesn't have one punch or one kick ko power at the elite level, so she operates on accumulation of damage. By the end, Reneau was really helpless. But it took Holm a while to get going and that lack of early aggression will hurt her. Great prospects can brutally rip open defensive holes as well as skillfully select and widen them. Look at Thomas Almeida shifting gears to KO Pickett.

Jojo has problems with early aggression as well. She's not ready for a Joanna Champion fight. Maybe Waterson would be good for her.

[amphibian]

Jojo has alluded to camp instability for the last two fights (broke up with her bf/coach, can't really train at her home gym). I'd love, love, love for her to go to ATT, where they'd really give her the best of the best in terms of striking instruction, aggression ramping up, and women grappling partners (her weakness). She's still raw on the ground, but her greater technique there and superb offensive instincts let her beat the snot out of Casey.

Duffy cinched an absolute gift of an opportunity there. Jorge flat out gave that fight to Duffy for the taking with the boneheaded freezing in the middle of the triangle attempt. However, Duffy was winning on the feet handily before that.

There is one problem with Duffy: His good head movement disappears once he finishes a combination. Every single time he initiated offense, he ended things by leaving himself open for a left hook. Against a good fighter with a good coaching staff, that will get exploited ruthlessly. He's got ok size, good boxing technique, and probably a strong need to get his wrestling way, way up to survive and thrive in the 155 division. TriStar is perfect for him to fix those problems.

I'll watch the rest later.

I'd pick Gunnar over Thompson because Gunnar mostly likely can put Thompson down where he'll eat most people alive. Good fight for both tho. Each has something to prove by beating the other handily and they're in the right situations for it to happen.

I've no clue who I'd book for a UFC Dublin card headliner. Just no clue. I'd have to study that.

[Tsundoku]

Holm just knocked out Rousey in the second round. Well, I don't know about "knocked out" but the ref stopped the fight as Holm was on top of Rousey, pounding the hell out of her face after she kicked her in the head to knock her down. Is that a TKO?

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 15 November 2015 - 05:58 AM

[polishgenius]

Tsundoku, on 15 November 2015 - 05:57 AM, said:

Holm just knocked out Rousey in the second round. Well, I don't know about "knocked out" but the ref stopped the fight as Holm was on top of Rousey, pounding the hell out of her face after she kicked her in the head to knock her down. Is that a TKO?

She was very definitely out cold. Fencing response and everything, it was as clean as they come.

[Binder of Demons]

Whether you want to call it a tko, or straight KO, it was as devastating a finish as you could have. there are more expert opinions on this board, but I can't help but feel that coaching (or a failure to listen to coaching) had a huge amount to do with this result.

I don't mean to demean Holm's achievement, as she executed her gameplan to perfection. But, every preview of this fight that i heard basically explained how Holm was going to have to fight on the outside and pick of Rousey to win the fight. She was going to have to use excellent footwork to stay on the outside as well, as it would be even riskier than usual to use her kicking game to keep the range, as it leaves you open to a takedown. A big plus for Holm is that she is a smart fighter who is perfectly willing to control her ego and stick to a gameplan.

But Rousey was terrible in comparison, rushing in straight lines swinging wild punches, allowing Holm to consistently plant a stiff jab in the face, even as she was already circling out of harm's way. And once she had Rousey wobbled a few times, Holm then unleashed the head kick which brought about the finish. I know Rousey's judo is what sets her apart from the crowd, but to see such appalling boxing technique, namely footwork (both offensively and defensively) from someone who has been coached by a guy with a boxing background was fairly shocking. And to hear him tell her she was doing well at the break was poor as well, but not uncommon from a lot of cornermen.

But in comparison, you had Joanna champion facing some adversity in her fight, and she as savvy enough to take a step back, change her tactics, and gradually dismantle her opponent in the other title fight. Not flashy, but very professional.

But the headline result was a major surprise i must say.

[Binder of Demons]

Anyone here watch the ALDO-MCGREGOR fight. Pretty devastating finish. Can't believe I've seen people saying the result was 'Lucky'. I guess haters really gonna hate.