Oh, no doubt. Jones will absolutely fuck Rampage up. Hard. I call: I was more questioning Rampage's ability to train with a fractured hand, especially when he's known as a power-hitter. I don't know the specifics of the fracture, but if he can't train with any impact on it for a few months, that can fuck up his main offensive weapon. But I will say that Rampage was in PHENOMENAL shape this last weekend... none of that "cut 30 lbs" crap. Dude was ripped. And he made Hammil look (and sound) like a retarded school girl; totally ineffective.
Completely unrelated to anything relevant, but I recently watched Jorge Rivera's 'Jorge on ______" videos and found them hilarious. My favorites:
Finally I can say here what my friends absolutely refuse to believe Matt Hamill doesnt have what it takes to be a champion. Other than a few times in TUF did he ever clown anyone with his wrestling technique. The dude just has never connected the dots with his strengths. They say he's tried to keep the fight standing until this last match so that he can improve his standing game and prove that he can handle it. But to be honest his slow windmill like punches never seemed to get any better. Facing Rampage he got clowned while boxing and stuffed on EVERY SINGLE TAKE DOWN. O well at least he made a movie with the deaf Tucker Max look alike.
UFC 131 Spoiler JDS vs. Carwin. JDS won unanimous decision. I felt he got robbed of a 1st round stoppage though. Carwin took 30+ unanswered and unblocked punches but it wasn't called. Carwin was outclassed big time and really had no chance. Pure stand-up match aside from 2 late takedowns by JDS Kenflo vs. Nunes. Fenflo won unanimous decision Florian dropped another weight class. He was much bigger than Nunes yet showed no ill effects of a massive weight cut. Maia vs. Munoz. Munoz won unanimous decision. This was a pretty good fight. Maia learned some stand-up finally but it wasn't enough. I felt Maia got robbed of at least the first round as Munoz looked like he wasn't expecting Maias improved standup. Fight could have gone either way. Rest of the main card was pretty lame. I have always fucking hated "cowboy" Cerrone. Sam Stout had a sick knockout. Michihiro Omigawa got robbed big time, fucking horrible call by the judges. Not only did they give the win to the wrong guy, somehow they gave him a unanimous decision.
Anyone else watching the Strikeforce event? I decided to stay in, do some laundry, and order the fight. So far so good. I'm really excited for the Kennedy - Lawler fight, but then again I'm a TK fanboy. Spoiler Man did Smith get tooled in that first fight. Saffiedine really impressed me with his technical striking. Smith might just get cut after that performance. I like his never say die attitude, but let's face it, he has an A+ right hand and the rest of his arsenal is C+/B- at best
Tim Kennedy fight coming up! I'm as excited as a japanese schoolgirl in a Hello Kitty store. Spoiler Woodley over Daley in the last fight by stupid judges giving takedowns way more weight than they should. Daley almost pulled an omoplata out of his ass, which would've made my head explode. For goodness sakes, screw the unified rules and allow knees to a downed opponent already. It'll really put the onus on wrestlers not attempting takedown after takedown because if they get stuffed once the fight might be over.
Coenen - Tate fight coming up. I have to say, I get the feeling Coenen is losing her belt unless she pulls a sub from her back, which is very possible. Spoiler Kennedy decision win! Now my night isn't ruined. According to Ranallo (I think) he's like a mongoose, which pretty much sums up his fighting style. Lawler apparently forgot that dancing isn't criteria upon which fights are scored. He completely failed to pull the trigger in the third round.
Oh man, Fedor really needs to win this. Cmon Fedor, make it happen. I see this going the way of Fedor - Lindland. Spoiler Wow, didn't expect Tate to submit Coenen, although when you're a wrestler who can get dominant top positions, the arm triangle is one of the go to submissions. It looked like Coenen was expecting Tate to mount her and was getting ready to bridge, and Tate simply switched all the way to the opposite side to finish the choke. Coenen was so confused the grabbed the wrong leg in an attempt to defend, which is kind of a white-blue belt mistake.
Hendo/Shogun was the best fight of the last 5 years. If you're any fan of MMA find a way to watch the fight.
That was an amazing fight, huge respect to both fighters. I have a question: I'm looking to start betting on MMA seriously. Mostly UFC, although I'm not averse to Bellator or Strikeforce as well. What sites would people recommend for the most up to date information and best analyses / predictions for the fights? I used to be very well informed a couple of years ago, but my attention wandered and I struggle to keep on top of all the new fighters coming in. Any help would be much appreciated.
Dropped back in here after a very long time away. Good to see Hendo/Shogun revived some interest. Come over to InStrength dot com to see who some good bettors are picking. I'm over 60% for the last three years in my picks. If you go to BestFightOdds, you can usually see the odds from the better sites out there. Also, Bloody Elbow has very good primers before the fights that can help you make a decision. If anyone wants to enter a $10 a head fantasy mma contest, PM me and we'll get the ball rolling on Jan 1st. Six month season, winner either gets the money or two tickets and hotel for a UFC event.
Welp this PPV is off to a great start. Spoiler Pettis is a beast. It really looked like he wanted to make a statement since, as it was pointed out, he beat the man who is fighting for the belt later. I was always surprised that the loss to Guida dropped him as far as it did int he eyes of UFC brass.
I think if history has taught us anything, it's that an American's ability to turn innumerable blows to the head into a single explosion of rage and violence will trump Japanese skill and discipline every time.
Anyone watch the Rousey - Tate fight yesterday? Rousey has awesome transitions. Great back and forth round, although that armbar was absolutely gruesome. Thank you Showtime for showing it in super-slow motion. Argh.
UFC should go steel some of the monks and bring them over We'll see how effective kung fu is in a real fight. We know Thai Boxing works well in MMA So why don't we see more Thai fighters?