UFC 73: Stacked

Off Topic
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[quote]Steve4192 wrote:

knowledge
[/quote]

Im sold. I caught my first WEC by accident checking VS for an NHL playoff game. Since then Ive seen cards that were better than many PPV events. As a general rule they seem to have better fights than IFL also, which save a few matches, I haven’t been impressed at all with.

The IFL officiating policy seems to be really averse to any type of grappling or ground work. As a former wrestler and a fan of grappling sports I cant stand that shit no pun intended.

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[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
The guy who I think could give Anderson problems is Yoshihiro Akiyama. I wish Heros would either shit or get off the pot with him. Either let him fight or release him from his contract. The guy might a cheating bastard, but he is also a heck of a fighter.[/quote]

I don’t think Akiyama is ready for Silva. He’s fought mostly bums in fairness. Great grappler, but what’s he gonna do when Silva is smacking him about the head?

If Hendo has no interest in 185, Filho wont fight him, and Lindland wont be back in the UFC, i wont be betting against Silva in a long time. I feel sorry for Franklin.

83

[quote]Frank Castle wrote:
The IFL officiating policy seems to be really averse to any type of grappling or ground work. As a former wrestler and a fan of grappling sports I cant stand that shit no pun intended. [/quote]

I don’t think it is the IFL officiating that is the problem, it is their production team for IFL Battleground. They’ve had some pretty decent ground fights, but they are almost never show them on IFL Battleground. If you catch their FSN shows, you are much more likely to see some ground work.

Judging from their first show, where they repeatedly hyped up Ryan Shultz getting carted off on a stretcher, I think the Battleground producers have absolutely no clue of what the sport is about. I think they just figure everyone want’s to see knockouts and quick submissions, so you get a show filled with KO’s and guillotine chokes.

84

[quote]An interesting quote from Dana White regarding Tito Ortiz at the UFC 73 post fight press conference. “Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, these guys are much more respected fighters than Tito Ortiz,” “They’re better fighters.” “Tito isn’t that good anymore.”

Tito Ortiz accused Rashad Evans of “greasing up” and claimed he had Vaseline all over him. This is the 2nd TUF fighter in the state of California Tito has accused of this.[/quote]

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[quote]EmperialChina wrote:

Tito Ortiz accused Rashad Evans of “greasing up” and claimed he had Vaseline all over him. This is the 2nd TUF fighter in the state of California Tito has accused of this.[/quote]

The (Huntington Beach Bad) Boy who cried wolf.

Tito always has a bushel full of excuses at his disposal. The greasing claim is one of his favorites.

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[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
EmperialChina wrote:

Tito Ortiz accused Rashad Evans of “greasing up” and claimed he had Vaseline all over him. This is the 2nd TUF fighter in the state of California Tito has accused of this.

The (Huntington Beach Bad) Boy who cried wolf.

Tito always has a bushel full of excuses at his disposal. The greasing claim is one of his favorites.[/quote]

I believe he pulled the same claim on Forrest. Something about his greased arms prevented takedowns and slipped through his defense when punching or something. Tito will be Tito.

87

[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Steve4192 wrote:
EmperialChina wrote:

Tito Ortiz accused Rashad Evans of “greasing up” and claimed he had Vaseline all over him. This is the 2nd TUF fighter in the state of California Tito has accused of this.

The (Huntington Beach Bad) Boy who cried wolf.

Tito always has a bushel full of excuses at his disposal. The greasing claim is one of his favorites.

I believe he pulled the same claim on Forrest. Something about his greased arms prevented takedowns and slipped through his defense when punching or something. Tito will be Tito.
[/quote]

This also explains why the self proclaimed king of condtioning was GASED at the start of the 3rd round right?

maybe worrying less about when your week long post fight after partys are going to be would help?

I predict Evans vs Tito II will be on an Ultimate Fight Night Live

88

I’m so sick of hearing Dana bash Tito. It’s old and does nothing for business. Dana should be grateful he has a guy like Tito, who regardless of what you think of him as a fighter, is perhaps the sport’s biggest draw.

I don’t think it’s an accident that Ortiz was involved in 3 of the biggest PPV’s last year and also a part of the highest-rated MMA fight on free TV.

Like him or hate him, you have to respect the fact that Ortiz is well ahead of his time in terms of self-promotion. The guy knows how to make his money.

Personally, I enjoy watching Ortiz fight, even if he’s not as dominant as he once was. He’s still capable of being a contender in the LHW division, but I doubt he’ll ever hold the belt again.

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[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:
Like him or hate him, you have to respect the fact that Ortiz is well ahead of his time in terms of self-promotion. The guy knows how to make his money.

[/quote]

It actually is very impressive especially considering his last quasi impressive performance was the first round vs forrest. I remember thinking at the time, wow, classic tito. Forget about the shamrock fights.

I have a vague memory of feeling like he lost to vitor in spite of his win although details are foggy. I mean when was the last time hes actually FOUGHT, not hyped, as a true contender? 05? 04? Hes the quintessential gatekeeper at this point, and even that dosent look like its gonna last.

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[quote]Frank Castle wrote:
Djwlfpack wrote:
Like him or hate him, you have to respect the fact that Ortiz is well ahead of his time in terms of self-promotion. The guy knows how to make his money.

It actually is very impressive especially considering his last quasi impressive performance was the first round vs forrest. I remember thinking at the time, wow, classic tito. Forget about the shamrock fights.

I have a vague memory of feeling like he lost to vitor in spite of his win although details are foggy. I mean when was the last time hes actually FOUGHT, not hyped, as a true contender? 05? 04? Hes the quintessential gatekeeper at this point, and even that dosent look like its gonna last. [/quote]

I have that Vitor fight on DVD. I remember watching it live and definitely thought Tito won, but now that I’ve gone back and viewed it a few more times, I could easily see how someone could say Vitor won the fight. The first round is super-close and could go either way. Second round was pretty much all Vitor and Tito won the final round.

Very similar to the Forrest fight. Tito owned round 1 (almost a 10-8 round), Forrest took the second and the third was up in the air. Some say Forrest had it, while others say Tito took the round.

Either way, it’s been years since he’s been dominant in a fight. You’d have to go back to the first Shamrock fight, and that was late 2002.

He did look better in the second Liddell fight, although he got caught up in a slugfest in the 3rd round and eventually lost the fight.

I still think he’s a viable contender; I just don’t think he’s on the level of Liddell, Jackson and Shogun.

Gatekeeper is a perfect role for him. It allows him to still be in the big fights, keep his name out there, and to test the mettle of the up and comers trying to take his spot.

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I still believe Vitor won that fight till the day I die.

At the end of the day it’s a business, and guys are paid to fight based on what they earn for the company, not how good of a fighter they are. That’s why Tito is a millionaire even when he will probably never smell the belt again. Things are going to get real expensive for Zuffa when these 10 fight contracts are up for the TUF guys getting 8/8, but the reward is that you have hopefully farmed out a whole cluster of guys who can draw like Tito for very little investment.

As for Tito’s future, we have to take a look at where he stands. His rematch with Rashad is the last fight on his contract, and I imagine he will demand an exhorbant amount of money. Whether or not his star still shines bright enough to command it will be seen. I gaurantee EliteXC is going throw some fat stacks his way for that Frank Shamrock-Tito rematch.

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[quote]Donut62 wrote:
As for Tito’s future, we have to take a look at where he stands. His rematch with Rashad is the last fight on his contract, and I imagine he will demand an exhorbant amount of money. Whether or not his star still shines bright enough to command it will be seen. I gaurantee EliteXC is going throw some fat stacks his way for that Frank Shamrock-Tito rematch.[/quote]

I would love to see a Shamrock - Tito rematch.

And I think Tito’s days in the UFC are numbered, Dana doesn’t need him right now.

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[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
Donut62 wrote:
As for Tito’s future, we have to take a look at where he stands. His rematch with Rashad is the last fight on his contract, and I imagine he will demand an exhorbant amount of money. Whether or not his star still shines bright enough to command it will be seen. I gaurantee EliteXC is going throw some fat stacks his way for that Frank Shamrock-Tito rematch.

I would love to see a Shamrock - Tito rematch.

And I think Tito’s days in the UFC are numbered, Dana doesn’t need him right now.[/quote]

Frank Shamrock said a few years ago, when Tito was fighting Ken, that he would never fight him again because he was just too big. Frank is a middleweight and Tito is a huge Light Heavyweight. But he could change his mind I guess.

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[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
And I think Tito’s days in the UFC are numbered, Dana doesn’t need him right now.[/quote]

Most of the new fan base is comprised of douche bag pro wrestling fans. They know Ortiz. Put Ortiz’s name on a competitor’s poster (like EliteXC), and these pro wrestling fans will have their moms buy them this PPV.

So it’s not an issue of whether the UFC needs Ortiz to make interesting fights. The issue is whether it would be smart to let someone with a big name use that name to attract attention to a rival.

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[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Ruggerlife wrote:
And I think Tito’s days in the UFC are numbered, Dana doesn’t need him right now.

Most of the new fan base is comprised of douche bag pro wrestling fans. They know Ortiz. Put Ortiz’s name on a competitor’s poster (like EliteXC), and these pro wrestling fans will have their moms buy them this PPV.

So it’s not an issue of whether the UFC needs Ortiz to make interesting fights. The issue is whether it would be smart to let someone with a big name use that name to attract attention to a rival.[/quote]

Good point.

I guess it’ll come down to how much money someone else will offer and if the UFC will make a similar offer.