UFC 71 Thread

Training Powerlifting
61

could chuck beat rampage even on his best day? i doubt it now, but we’ll never know. that was chuck far from his best in my opinion. that’s the fattest that belly of his has ever been. right from the start he seemed disoriented and apprehensive.

is there more to the story surrounding his odd behavior on that morning show interview? too much partying and time spent in the limelight? the guy has been a regular fixture on the club scene here in vegas. somehow, i doubt the same could be said for rampage. the guy was primed and he seemed to be taking the whole thing alot more seriously than chuck.

62

You know, I like both fighters a lot. I really wish, for MMA’s sake more than anything else, that the fight had gone into at least the 2nd round. I wanted to see a war. And at least then Rampage might not have gotten booed so badly. My man Rampage did a great job. I always figured Chuck’s style of holding his hands so wide and low was going to bite him one of these days.

I almost feel bad for Chuck though. Finally getting some (well deserved) recognition on the media, then getting KTFO’ed after a minute of dancing around. It would have been nice to see a good fight. Not that I’m complaining, I love Jackson, but I almost feared for my safety on the way home–hundreds of angry drunk college guys out yelling and throwing things all over the place. :slight_smile: Besides, it would have been better for the fans who’d had this hyped up for so long.

Btw, Houston Alexander’s KO was one of the greatest combinations I’ve seen in a long time. That was awesome to watch.

63

[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Btw, Houston Alexander’s KO was one of the greatest combinations I’ve seen in a long time. That was awesome to watch.[/quote]

Jardine got one of the most savage beatdowns I can recall in a long time. Too bad, it was a showcase fight to set him up for an eventual title shot.

64

[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Aragorn wrote:
Btw, Houston Alexander’s KO was one of the greatest combinations I’ve seen in a long time. That was awesome to watch.

Jardine got one of the most savage beatdowns I can recall in a long time. Too bad, it was a showcase fight to set him up for an eventual title shot.[/quote]

I don’t think it’s “too bad” at all. The guy went into a professional fight thinking he was better than his opponent. “I am pissed off that I have to fight this guy.” Well, fuck you, Jardine.

I am so happy he lost. I don’t know Jardine; nor have I followed his career. But you don’t go into a professional fight (or any fight, for that matter) convinced that you are so much better than your opponent that your opponent is unworthy. When you have that attitude, you deserve to lose.

What’s funny is that Jardine is better. You can see that in the first 15 seconds of the fight. But then Jardine goes in on the guy trying to bully him. (Notice Jardine didn’t even have a half-assed clinch on Alexander before Jardine starts banging.) Jardine showed him no respect. He didn’t even set up his punches or get a clinch. He thought he was so great that he could just use no skill to beat the guy.

The fight gods showed, once again, that when you think you can’t be beaten, you will be beaten.

65

I just heard maybe the dumbest thing I have ever heard regarding MMA.

Saw my friend I said “so Chuck got knocked the fuck out ha?” He says “It’s bullshit, it was rigged.” me “how?” “They wanted Rampage to win” I than explained how they set up the fight for Chuck avenging a loss not Rampage proving something, etc and how Chuck is the UFC’s golden boy and more marketable at this point he says “It was fucking rigged, its dirty chuck took a dive”

I said did you watch the fight? “no but it was rigged, If Chuck would have won Id have more respect for the UFC, but they are obviously all rigged sense Chuck lost.”

LMAO! this dude beleives it was rigged and he hasn’t even seen the fight just becuase Chuck got beat, like he is somehow invincable.

66

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Donut62 wrote:
Aragorn wrote:
Btw, Houston Alexander’s KO was one of the greatest combinations I’ve seen in a long time. That was awesome to watch.

Jardine got one of the most savage beatdowns I can recall in a long time. Too bad, it was a showcase fight to set him up for an eventual title shot.

I don’t think it’s “too bad” at all. The guy went into a professional fight thinking he was better than his opponent. “I am pissed off that I have to fight this guy.” Well, fuck you, Jardine.

I am so happy he lost. I don’t know Jardine; nor have I followed his career. But you don’t go into a professional fight (or any fight, for that matter) convinced that you are so much better than your opponent that your opponent is unworthy. When you have that attitude, you deserve to lose.

What’s funny is that Jardine is better. You can see that in the first 15 seconds of the fight. But then Jardine goes in on the guy trying to bully him. (Notice Jardine didn’t even have a half-assed clinch on Alexander before Jardine starts banging.) Jardine showed him no respect. He didn’t even set up his punches or get a clinch. He thought he was so great that he could just use no skill to beat the guy.

The fight gods showed, once again, that when you think you can’t be beaten, you will be beaten. [/quote]

Yeah, I agree with all that. I seem to recall Jardine making some snide remarks that Houston didn’t deserve to be in there with him. I hope he learned a lesson.

67

[quote]KO421 wrote:
I just heard maybe the dumbest thing I have ever heard regarding MMA.

Saw my friend [/quote]

Stop right there. Why is this person your friend?

68

Yeah, Jardine forgot that he isn’t the kind of puncher to rush into things. If he had softened him up with those famous leg kicks instead of thinking that the guy must have been a scrub, I think he might’ve had an easy night.

I had a feeling jardine was in for a rough ride at the weigh ins, he didn’t give his Alexander the slightest amount of respect, he even spoke about him as if he wasn’t there.

69

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
KO421 wrote:
I just heard maybe the dumbest thing I have ever heard regarding MMA.

Saw my friend

Stop right there. Why is this person your friend? [/quote]

While I was listening to this crap I was asking myself the same question.

I really am not sure.

70

[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:

Still, I think UFC needs 2-3 fighters (doesn’t matter the weight class) to go on a good 3-4 year run like Liddell where they are unbeatable. That way when they lose it’s a much bigger deal than when guys lose every 2nd or 3rd fight.

For example: Matt Hughes’ loss to GSP was a big deal b/c up to that point, Hughes had been tearing through everyone and built up his reputation. Then, along comes GSP who dismantles him and GSP becomes a big star. Not that GSP wasn’t already a star, but the win just added to his star power. Unfortunately for GSP, the loss to Serra drops him down a bit and he’ll have to build himself back up.[/quote]

With all the former Pride guys fighting(or will be fighting) in the UFC I don’t think we will see any stability immediately.

The problem with Chuck Liddell’s reign was that there were plenty of people who had good reasons to dispute his “best fighter in the world” label given to him by the UFC’s marketing machine. The LHW division was split for the past several years between the UFC and Pride, with Pride having the deeper talent pool between 2003 and 2005, maybe even 2006.

Of course Chuck was an elite fighter but it was hard to consider him unquestionably the best LHW in the world. Not like Fedor who ruled the best(and deepest)HW division in the sport for several years.
Bad timing for Chuck.

71

[quote]WolBarret wrote:
Is Dan Henderson any good? Serious question.[/quote]

Serious answer coming up.

Henderson is the reigning 185 and 205 Pride champion.
He just knocked out the most feared 205 pounder on the planet (Wanderlei Silva) in his last fight.

He has routinely gone up 1, even 2 weight classes to fight. As an 185 pounder, he fought heavyweights like Nogeira (one of the top 3 heavyweights IN THE WORLD, and a BJJ master) - and escaped numerous submission attempts before finally being trapped late in the fight. That is just INSANE.

You could make a strong case for Henderson being the top “pound for pound” MMA fighter in the world. But, nobody - NOBODY - in the 185 or 205 pound divisions can take on Henderson and be considered the favourite to win.

For most MMA experts, Henderson is the worlds leading 185 AND 205 pounder, by a country mile.

In a nutshell:
Henderson v Rampage (Hendo is the favourite)
Henderson v Lidell (Hendo is the favourite)

PS: Pride called their 205 pound division “middleweight”, and their 185 pound division “welterweight”.

72

[quote]isr wrote:
WolBarret wrote:
Is Dan Henderson any good? Serious question.

Serious answer coming up.

Henderson is the reigning 185 and 205 Pride champion.
He just knocked out the most feared 205 pounder on the planet (Wanderlei Silva) in his last fight.

He has routinely gone up 1, even 2 weight classes to fight. As an 185 pounder, he fought heavyweights like Nogeira (one of the top 3 heavyweights IN THE WORLD, and a BJJ master) - and escaped numerous submission attempts before finally being trapped late in the fight. That is just INSANE.

You could make a strong case for Henderson being the top “pound for pound” MMA fighter in the world. But, nobody - NOBODY - in the 185 or 205 pound divisions can take on Henderson and be considered the favourite to win.

For most MMA experts, Henderson is the worlds leading 185 AND 205 pounder, by a country mile.

In a nutshell:
Henderson v Rampage (Hendo is the favourite)
Henderson v Lidell (Hendo is the favourite)

PS: Pride called their 205 pound division “middleweight”, and their 185 pound division “welterweight”.[/quote]

I Like Dan a lot too but he is far from perfect. He has a loss against Kazuo Misaki ( a good counterstriker, but not fantastic) and Nogs little brother rogerio (who also submitted him.)

Dan Henderson has strong hands and his stand up has gotten a lot better. His takedowns are also good.

Henderson probably is the favorite in this fight but it’s not that great a gap of skill. I think of Henderson as a stronger Matt Lindland with better stand up but weaker submission skills. Hell, they both went to the olympics too.

By the way, I’d still consider Rogerio a favorite to win against Henderson.

73

Also, Hendo hasn’t had to defend his 185 belt in a while (like most pride champions) and there’s numerous challengers who pose real trouble for him, such as Paulo Filho (who many think could beat him) and Dennis Kang,

74

Dan is a tough fighter. Dan fought big Nog twice. Once was in Rings where he won a decision. Lost in Pride. I guess really big BJJ guys can gice Dan problems. No shame since Dan walks around at like 195, and fought at 183 for a couple of years.

As far as Misaki is concerned, Misaki is extremely slick standing up. He can be taken down though which Dan didn’t really try to do. Filho and Trigg went for takedowns in their fights with Misaki and they won. Misaki is just very hard to hit standing up, much harder to hit than Silva.

75

[quote]Naphta wrote:
isr wrote:
WolBarret wrote:
Is Dan Henderson any good? Serious question.

Serious answer coming up.

Henderson is the reigning 185 and 205 Pride champion.
He just knocked out the most feared 205 pounder on the planet (Wanderlei Silva) in his last fight.

He has routinely gone up 1, even 2 weight classes to fight. As an 185 pounder, he fought heavyweights like Nogeira (one of the top 3 heavyweights IN THE WORLD, and a BJJ master) - and escaped numerous submission attempts before finally being trapped late in the fight. That is just INSANE.

You could make a strong case for Henderson being the top “pound for pound” MMA fighter in the world. But, nobody - NOBODY - in the 185 or 205 pound divisions can take on Henderson and be considered the favourite to win.

For most MMA experts, Henderson is the worlds leading 185 AND 205 pounder, by a country mile.

In a nutshell:
Henderson v Rampage (Hendo is the favourite)
Henderson v Lidell (Hendo is the favourite)

PS: Pride called their 205 pound division “middleweight”, and their 185 pound division “welterweight”.

I Like Dan a lot too but he is far from perfect. He has a loss against Kazuo Misaki ( a good counterstriker, but not fantastic) and Nogs little brother rogerio (who also submitted him.)

Dan Henderson has strong hands and his stand up has gotten a lot better. His takedowns are also good.

Henderson probably is the favorite in this fight but it’s not that great a gap of skill. I think of Henderson as a stronger Matt Lindland with better stand up but weaker submission skills. Hell, they both went to the olympics too.

By the way, I’d still consider Rogerio a favorite to win against Henderson.[/quote]

Didn’t mean to imply that Hendo is perfect. Far from it. In any weight division, from 170 pounds up - anyone in the top 5 has a serious chance of beating anyone else (with the honourable exception of Fedor, who isn’t human anyway - so he doesn’t count!).

What has really impressed me about Hendo is his improvement over the years, and his willingness to challenge the big guys.

76

[quote]otoko wrote:
Dan is a tough fighter. Dan fought big Nog twice. Once was in Rings where he won a decision. Lost in Pride. I guess really big BJJ guys can gice Dan problems. No shame since Dan walks around at like 195, and fought at 183 for a couple of years.

As far as Misaki is concerned, Misaki is extremely slick standing up. He can be taken down though which Dan didn’t really try to do. Filho and Trigg went for takedowns in their fights with Misaki and they won. Misaki is just very hard to hit standing up, much harder to hit than Silva.
[/quote]

Yeah. I was really surprised that Hedo didn’t really try to take Misaki to the ground in that fight. Misaki is as tough as they come as well as slick on his feet. Dan must have known this from their first fight in bushido 10, so why an olympic wrestler would not go for some GnP i don’t know.

77

[quote]gotaknife wrote:
otoko wrote:
Dan is a tough fighter. Dan fought big Nog twice. Once was in Rings where he won a decision. Lost in Pride. I guess really big BJJ guys can gice Dan problems. No shame since Dan walks around at like 195, and fought at 183 for a couple of years.

As far as Misaki is concerned, Misaki is extremely slick standing up. He can be taken down though which Dan didn’t really try to do. Filho and Trigg went for takedowns in their fights with Misaki and they won. Misaki is just very hard to hit standing up, much harder to hit than Silva.

Yeah. I was really surprised that Hedo didn’t really try to take Misaki to the ground in that fight. Misaki is as tough as they come as well as slick on his feet. Dan must have known this from their first fight in bushido 10, so why an olympic wrestler would not go for some GnP i don’t know.
[/quote]

Dan has said that he was quite upset he was not put in the Open Weight Grand Prix instead of the MW tournament. He has been asserting that he really has no desire to fight at 185 for awhile now. He had no desire to be there for that tournament and no motivation to fight in that weight class anymore. Dana tried to bring him in as a 185 pounders, and Hendo shot him down again. I think Dan is sick of cutting weight and wants to pack some size onto his frame.

78

[quote]Donut62 wrote:
gotaknife wrote:
otoko wrote:
Dan is a tough fighter. Dan fought big Nog twice. Once was in Rings where he won a decision. Lost in Pride. I guess really big BJJ guys can gice Dan problems. No shame since Dan walks around at like 195, and fought at 183 for a couple of years.

As far as Misaki is concerned, Misaki is extremely slick standing up. He can be taken down though which Dan didn’t really try to do. Filho and Trigg went for takedowns in their fights with Misaki and they won. Misaki is just very hard to hit standing up, much harder to hit than Silva.

Yeah. I was really surprised that Hedo didn’t really try to take Misaki to the ground in that fight. Misaki is as tough as they come as well as slick on his feet. Dan must have known this from their first fight in bushido 10, so why an olympic wrestler would not go for some GnP i don’t know.

Dan has said that he was quite upset he was not put in the Open Weight Grand Prix instead of the MW tournament. He has been asserting that he really has no desire to fight at 185 for awhile now. He had no desire to be there for that tournament and no motivation to fight in that weight class anymore. Dana tried to bring him in as a 185 pounders, and Hendo shot him down again. I think Dan is sick of cutting weight and wants to pack some size onto his frame.[/quote]

It was too bad they didn’t put Dan in the OWGP, that would have been interesting. I guess Dan was just trying to get Misaki out of there with one of his right hands, just couldn’t land it.