[quote]rundymc wrote:
I will never understand why a man with the height, reach and arm-length of Sherk would choose to stand with anyone, let alone the Penns and Edgars of the world.[/quote]
It’s mostly about ego. It’s not intelligent from a tactical/strategic standpoint, but it’s also not isolated to just Sherk. For whatever reason there are some fighters who’s strength is clearly their grappling ability who once they learn a little striking all of the sudden think that they’re strikers and have to go out and prove that they can beat everyone at striking.
Jorge Gurgel is a prime example. Dude is an excellent grappler, yet you never see him use it. Instead he chooses to stand (and lose) to guys who he could probably easily beat on the ground. Henderson was the same way for a while there (just trying to KO people with one big right hand rather than to use his Olympic caliber wrestling). [/quote]
Frank Shamrock said Gurgel is just tired of bjj, he’s done it his whole life, now he just wants to stand and trade. It makes him happy I guess.
[quote]rundymc wrote:
I will never understand why a man with the height, reach and arm-length of Sherk would choose to stand with anyone, let alone the Penns and Edgars of the world.[/quote]
It’s mostly about ego. It’s not intelligent from a tactical/strategic standpoint, but it’s also not isolated to just Sherk. For whatever reason there are some fighters who’s strength is clearly their grappling ability who once they learn a little striking all of the sudden think that they’re strikers and have to go out and prove that they can beat everyone at striking.
Jorge Gurgel is a prime example. Dude is an excellent grappler, yet you never see him use it. Instead he chooses to stand (and lose) to guys who he could probably easily beat on the ground. Henderson was the same way for a while there (just trying to KO people with one big right hand rather than to use his Olympic caliber wrestling). [/quote]
Frank Shamrock said Gurgel is just tired of bjj, he’s done it his whole life, now he just wants to stand and trade. It makes him happy I guess.[/quote]
Well, ok good for him. If that’s the case though, why even fight in the UFC? Why not try to go into K-1 or boxing? That way he basically would have to strike and have his opponents strike as well.
A. He is not K1 level
B. Noons got knocked out by Krazy horse. Sometimes I see him and go damn he looks promising and other times he looks really, meh. I think the Diaz fight will be telling of his potential.
[quote]sardines12 wrote:
A. He is not K1 level
B. Noons got knocked out by Krazy horse. Sometimes I see him and go damn he looks promising and other times he looks really, meh. I think the Diaz fight will be telling of his potential.[/quote]
I know he isn’t. But, if he truly is that bored with JJ, and is more interested in striking, wouldn’t it make sense for him to go train purely striking (with a legitimate high caliber striking coach) and try to get to the point where he was K1 level?
Why continue to train with MMA coaches, who generally are not the same caliber of striking coaches (or at least, the striking somewhat differs from that found in pure striking combat sports) if striking is his primary goal?
My mind says Mir, as CroCop hasn’t looked great nowadays – apart from looking damn good against Pat Berry, but it turns out Berry had a broken hand and foot suffered in the first round, so I don’t know if that’s an accurate vision of how good CroCop really is at present. But he did show glimpses of greatness.
However, it seems that a lot of the UFC fighters have figured out that if you bully CroCop from the get-go, he never really gets anything going (at least not the recent-day CroCop).
I hope I’m wrong though. Would love to see CroCop put a serious stomping on Mir.
i just looked at the weigh-in pics on the UFC homepage…looks like Mir dropped some mass, but CroCop looked a little smaller, and softer, as well. weird.
Dunham looks shredded…hopefully that translates into increased performance.
Guillard looks a lot less like a bodybuilder and much more like a fighter…i think that’s gonna be bad news for Stephens. i suppose it depends on whihc one of them learned submissions…
I just hope Cro Cop retires after the beating he takes tonight. It’s odd, not unlike boxing, these guys never know when to stop, Cro Cop, Shamrock, Coleman, Liddell ehh there’s a bunch of them isn’t there? I think they hang on not just for money, but that is who they are. It becomes their identity. I really hate seeing the once great get slapped around by guys that they’d have taken apart even 5 years earlier.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
I just hope Cro Cop retires after the beating he takes tonight. It’s odd, not unlike boxing, these guys never know when to stop, Cro Cop, Shamrock, Coleman, Liddell ehh there’s a bunch of them isn’t there? I think they hang on not just for money, but that is who they are. It becomes their identity. I really hate seeing the once great get slapped around by guys that they’d have taken apart even 5 years earlier.[/quote]
i wonder if it has mainly to do with money…they still have star appeal and will get decent money. most of these guys prolly make more in their twilight, due to the increase in popularity of MMA, than they ever did in their prime
[quote]ZEB wrote:
I just hope Cro Cop retires after the beating he takes tonight. It’s odd, not unlike boxing, these guys never know when to stop, Cro Cop, Shamrock, Coleman, Liddell ehh there’s a bunch of them isn’t there? I think they hang on not just for money, but that is who they are. It becomes their identity. I really hate seeing the once great get slapped around by guys that they’d have taken apart even 5 years earlier.[/quote]
i wonder if it has mainly to do with money…they still have star appeal and will get decent money. most of these guys prolly make more in their twilight, due to the increase in popularity of MMA, than they ever did in their prime[/quote]
Ah, very good analysis. That could be a good part of it. You sure as heck don’t have a lot of money tucked away if you fought for Dana White and company. Hanging on for just one more big fight is probably attractive.
But again once you devote your life to fighting, other than coaching, what else is there for you? You have identified your prime years with a sport that has just passed you by. It’s fun being a fan, but I honestly think there are some pretty sad outcomes for these guys. Don’t get me wrong they’ve chosen this field of endeavor of their own free will. But, still.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
I just hope Cro Cop retires after the beating he takes tonight. It’s odd, not unlike boxing, these guys never know when to stop, Cro Cop, Shamrock, Coleman, Liddell ehh there’s a bunch of them isn’t there? I think they hang on not just for money, but that is who they are. It becomes their identity. I really hate seeing the once great get slapped around by guys that they’d have taken apart even 5 years earlier.[/quote]
i wonder if it has mainly to do with money…they still have star appeal and will get decent money. most of these guys prolly make more in their twilight, due to the increase in popularity of MMA, than they ever did in their prime[/quote]
Ah, very good analysis. That could be a good part of it. You sure as heck don’t have a lot of money tucked away if you fought for Dana White and company. Hanging on for just one more big fight is probably attractive.
But again once you devote your life to fighting, other than coaching, what else is there for you? You have identified your prime years with a sport that has just passed you by. It’s fun being a fan, but I honestly think there are some pretty sad outcomes for these guys. Don’t get me wrong they’ve chosen this field of endeavor of their own free will. But, still.[/quote]
Cro cop does fairly well for himself outside of fighting as well doesn’t he? I thought he was a member of parliament etc…
[quote]ZEB wrote:
I just hope Cro Cop retires after the beating he takes tonight. It’s odd, not unlike boxing, these guys never know when to stop, Cro Cop, Shamrock, Coleman, Liddell ehh there’s a bunch of them isn’t there? I think they hang on not just for money, but that is who they are. It becomes their identity. I really hate seeing the once great get slapped around by guys that they’d have taken apart even 5 years earlier.[/quote]
i wonder if it has mainly to do with money…they still have star appeal and will get decent money. most of these guys prolly make more in their twilight, due to the increase in popularity of MMA, than they ever did in their prime[/quote]
Ah, very good analysis. That could be a good part of it. You sure as heck don’t have a lot of money tucked away if you fought for Dana White and company. Hanging on for just one more big fight is probably attractive.
But again once you devote your life to fighting, other than coaching, what else is there for you? You have identified your prime years with a sport that has just passed you by. It’s fun being a fan, but I honestly think there are some pretty sad outcomes for these guys. Don’t get me wrong they’ve chosen this field of endeavor of their own free will. But, still.[/quote]
Cro cop does fairly well for himself outside of fighting as well doesn’t he? I thought he was a member of parliament etc… [/quote]
He was until 2007.