Houston Alexander

Off Topic
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[quote]vbm537 wrote:

I am assuming you are asking the question in general and not specifically to me. If it is to me…for the same reason Rocky movies kick ass…that’s what people like…some guy making it against the odds. I don’t control the masses but we all know how it works. Maybe if there were more great fighters in UFC story lines wouldn’t be as important to promote a fighter. Basically, I agree with what you are saying…but it is what it is.
[/quote]

I was asking you directly b/c you seem energized by it. This is not a judging statement but rather a shallow, internet based observation.

The Rocky analogy only works for me in the context of him getting his ass beat for 8 rounds and coming back to knock them out in the 9th. Otherwise I am largely disinterested in all this character development.

However, it may be apt as it relates to the direction UFC is heading in that in order to attract a broader fan base they are developing fighters as characters.

It’s like they hired producers from the Real World for the last 2 seasons of TUF. The drama is exhausting.

22

[quote]apwsearch wrote:
vbm537 wrote:

I am assuming you are asking the question in general and not specifically to me. If it is to me…for the same reason Rocky movies kick ass…that’s what people like…some guy making it against the odds. I don’t control the masses but we all know how it works. Maybe if there were more great fighters in UFC story lines wouldn’t be as important to promote a fighter. Basically, I agree with what you are saying…but it is what it is.

I was asking you directly b/c you seem energized by it. This is not a judging statement but rather a shallow, internet based observation.

The Rocky analogy only works for me in the context of him getting his ass beat for 8 rounds and coming back to knock them out in the 9th. Otherwise I am largely disinterested in all this character development.

However, it may be apt as it relates to the direction UFC is heading in that in order to attract a broader fan base they are developing fighters as characters.

It’s like they hired producers from the Real World for the last 2 seasons of TUF. The drama is exhausting.
[/quote]

There are plenty of other fighters I like just because they kick ass. But if I hear a good story line…yeah, I root for them too…not a big deal. It’s all just a form of entertainment. I truly think if they had better fighters the story lines wouldn’t matter. With MMA so popular now, I imagine there should be many future fighters coming up the ranks.

23

[quote]Sonny S wrote:
He’s a single dad with 6 kids. On one hand, he’s irresponsible to have that many kids as a construction worker without being married to a solid woman, and at such a young age.

On the other hand, he’s incredibly responsible for taking care of 6 kids on his own. God bless him.[/quote]

Sure would like to know how responsible the mothers thought he was before he made it to UFC.

24

[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
Doug Adams wrote:

Yeah he’s going to fight Machida in December, which I seriously doubt will go to the score cards.

I disagree.

Lyoto isn’t going to sit in Sokoudjou’s range and get blasted like Rogerio & Ricardo did. He’s going to dance like he always does, staying in range just long enough to throw a combination and then darting back out of range.

Love him or hate him, Machida is a technical wizard and has the best striking defense of anyone in MMA. In 45 minutes of cage time, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone land a hard shot on him, and I don’t think Sokoudjou is technical enough to be the first. Lyoto is the Floyd Mayweather of MMA.

I see another flawless UD victory in his future.[/quote]

Steve, I like you. You understand the greatness of Machida. It is an elite club of purists, lol. I just posted on this very matter about 5 seconds, so I will copy and paste my thoughts for everyone:

Originally Posted by XXXXXXX
Soko is big and fast. He should have an answer to anything grappling wise Machida may have and more… Never under-estimate a judoka. This guy is something like a big Karo Parisyan with devastating knockout power and a fairly good standup defense + movement. He has huge potential to be at the very top.

Soko was never a “great” judoka. He won a lot simply because of his size, speed, strength, and athleticism. His technique was mediocre for black belt level judo. Karo couldn’t make the US Olympic team, not exactly the pinnacle of high level judo talent, and he ipponed Soko cleanly (while giving up about 40 pounds to the African). Machida himself has an excellent judo background, and has demonstrated some great grappling in his fights in the rare occassion that he gets bored from slickter-ing himself around the ring. Other than his flying one hop amazing takedown defense against Arona, Soko has yet to prove himself on the mat. Also remember, the very last time that Sokodjou got hit in the face, he was knocked out. He’s too much of an unproven quantity for my likings against a guy like Machida.

Should be a great fight, but I think Machida will do the same thing to him that he has done to everyone else up to this: make them look mediocre and get a wide UD.

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So did anyone here believe the man when he said he had a ground game?

26

There types of threads are always fun to revisit.

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I saw the post-fight press conference on the UFC’s website. Houston impressed me in that he was nothing but humble, giving credit to Silva and saying that he (himself) needs to improve and bounce back from this. I had previously thought he was a real cocky fucker (that’s just the vibe he seemed to give off), but he was very cool and very mature about it afterwards.

28

I like Houston, but I am glad his hype has been killed. Houston will probably never be a contender due to Grand Canyon sized hole in his ground game and the fact that he is already in his mid 30s.

That said, I think he still has a great future in the UFC as long as Joe Silva is careful about who he matches him up with. Fans will always tune in to see a brawler who will bring the fight to people.

I’d love to see him fight the loser of the Liddell-Wandy matchup.