[quote]fnf wrote:
So Sherks gameplan was to use his reach disadvantage and out-jab Penn? Brilliant!
[/quote]
Truly mind boggling. I cant recall one takedown attempt. Totally justified stoppage also. It didn’t look like sherk complained other than the obligatory ‘wtf ref’ look after his flash ko from the knee. Interesting to see BJ call out GSP. I remember their last fight was a suspect decision, with GSP getting tooled on his feet similar to Sherk. Overall a great night.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
If the fight would have went to 4 or 5 rounds, I think Sherk might have won, due to his ridick conditioning, and he would have worn down BJ.[/quote]
BJ swept the first three rounds, might have gotten a 10-8 on the last one, so there basically wasn’t much hope at that point. Sherk can’t finish anyone.
[quote]Donut62 wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
If the fight would have went to 4 or 5 rounds, I think Sherk might have won, due to his ridick conditioning, and he would have worn down BJ.
BJ swept the first three rounds, might have gotten a 10-8 on the last one, so there basically wasn’t much hope at that point. Sherk can’t finish anyone.
[/quote]
That’s what I can’t understand with Sherk’s (and his corner’s) game plan.
I can understand Sherk willing to stand with BJ for a round, but as soon as Sherk decided to stand in round 3 the fight was over.
Even if Sherk took him down and pounded him in rounds 4 & 5, he still loses 3-2. What was his corner thinking?
So, has BJ gassed yet?
Penn was awesome. His striking is top-notch. Great jab, used his reach well. That flying knee was on point. Loved how he called the fight over, too.
Not sure why Sherk continued to try and stand when he was clearly getting picked apart.
BJ vs. GSP II will be an outstanding fight.
Great to see Wand back to his old ways. I was worried about Jardine, though. Glad to hear he’s OK.
Machida did what he always does, and that’s frustrate his opponent. Tito didn’t do much of anything, but man, the guy gets a huge reaction and that triangle/armbar at the end was a nice surprise and almost caught Machida.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Tito stays in the UFC. Guy has way too much star power for the UFC to let walk, even if he isn’t a top-level fighter. Fans will pay to watch him fight, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
That’s what I can’t understand with Sherk’s (and his corner’s) game plan.
I can understand Sherk willing to stand with BJ for a round, but as soon as Sherk decided to stand in round 3 the fight was over.
Even if Sherk took him down and pounded him in rounds 4 & 5, he still loses 3-2. What was his corner thinking? [/quote]
Agreed. Not only that, but Sherk pretty much tried to fight Penn exactly how you DON’T fight someone who is taller/has a reach advantage. I heard his corner telling him to double up his jab (which is good advice) between rounds, but it wasn’t necessarily the techniques that he was throwing that was causing him to be on the losing end of that match-up.
Sherk pretty much stood right in BJ’s line of fire at the exact distance that BJ wanted, allowing BJ to land numerous solid jabs to Sherk’s face. No angles, no broken rhythm, basically just giving BJ exactly what he wanted.
Not only that, but Sherk continued to try to hit Penn in the head, when clearly his punches were not hurting Penn, not to mention that the head is a much more elusive target and Penn was often able to lean away and make Sherk miss. Sherk never seemed to pick up on this and start going to BJ’s body (because it’s an easier target to hit, it takes away a person’s wind, and because it makes hitting the head that much easier).
Those are basically the two cardinal sins when striking against a taller opponent; standing in their line of fire at their distance of choice, and trying to hit the head, instead of going to the body first to set up the head shot.
I know that Greg Jackson is a good boxing coach, but to be honest, his understanding of strategy seems to be lacking. Either that or Sherk simply didn’t listen to his coaching (which is possible seeing how fired up he was at how much shit Penn was talking).
[quote]Dirty Tiger wrote:
analog_kid wrote:
If BJ comes in shape, I think he will kill Sherk. But that’s always the question with BJ.
BJ by second round TKO.
I really hope Wandy gets his shit together and beats the ugly off Jardine like I know he can. Keith’s style just begs for Wandy murder.
Axe Murderer by round one KO.
Tito and Machida I kind of expect to be a snore fest, just a gut feeling.
Machida by UD?
Wow! Good calls.[/quote]
Yeah, I did pretty good! First and last time no doubt.
Yves Lavinge goes down!
AS someone said, this was, top to bottom, the best ufc ppv I’ve seen since Chuck vs Tito II in Dec 06, and this one was probably better.
I enjoyed machida-ortiz. the triangle at teh end made for hellacious excitement. I really think that Lyoto deserves a shot at anyone in line for a shot at the belt. He may not be the #1 contender, but he beats everyone you put in front of him
The Reljic fight was great, never heard of the guy til a week ago, but he lived up to the hype.
Wandy-Jardine was scary. It was good to see Jardine up and about after teh fight.
BJ’s knee to Sherk brought me up out of my seat.
Too bad I couldnt hear a lot of hte interviews, I was awatching it with people, so there was talking in between fights. If BJ fights GSP I hope its at a catch weight, not sure that gsp coudl get down to 163, but BJs conditioning at the higher weight classes was horrible.
Not too bad, aside from the Ortiz prediction:
[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:
BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
BJ wins by a 3rd round TKO.
As for the 2 other big fights:
Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine
This is do-or-die territory for Wand. He needs to win to stay credible in the division. A loss would be his 4th straight and would knock him well down the list of contenders. Jardine is coming off a big win over Liddell, but hasn’t fought in a while.
Jardine likes to engage, which always makes for an exciting fight. We’re unsure of how good his ground skills are, though, and that’s where Wand has a slight edge. This will be an all-out brawl and should be great to watch.
Prediction: Silva by KO.
Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida
Everyone seems to like Machida in this one. I can see why. Guy has an unorthodox style for MMA, but he gets his opponents to fight his kind of fight, and ultimately wins every time. Tito’s future is up in the air.
Will it be his last fight in the UFC? I think we’ll see a very-motivated Tito Ortiz in this fight. He’d like nothing better than to beat Machida, then stick it to Dana White and co. and bolt the company - or do what he did last time and hold out for 6 months until they pay him what he wants. We all know Tito’s gameplan…takedown and ground-and-pound.
Prediction: Ortiz by UD.[/quote]
God, I hope Lyoto doesn’t get a title shot, I don’t want to have him as the main event for UFC events…if you thought 3 rounds was boring, think about 5 rounds.
I’m into the whole cutting angles and being “elusive” (how many times did you hear that last night,) but damn dude, at some point you’ve got to commit to some offense. If he and Chuck were to fight, I’d bet they’d stand there looking at each other for 3 rounds straight.
I can understand people being frusterated by Machida’s style (fans I mean), but c’mon people!!! The point is to win. The guy is brilliant defensively. He defended Tito clinching him, he defended Tito putting him against the cage.
He was plenty offensive when he needed to be. Tito’s face was cut up. That knee was nearly vomit-inducing I’m sure. When Tito taunted Machida popped him. I respect his patience, defense, and accuracy. The point is to hit your opponent and not get hit. Good work!
Wandy was vicious. The man is simply violent when he has someone hurt. I’m glad Jardine ended up being ok, cuz it looked scary. I’ll also say that in Pride that would’ve been much worse…instead of a couple punches it would’ve been soccer kicks and stomps…sick.
BJ is only getting better. Instead of blowing his load in round 1 and 2, he picked his spots, was patient and stuck with the jab, and exploded in spots. Great mental performance and (as usual) ability to finish.
Only problem with the stoppage was the indecisivness. I hate that. Make a call, go with what you see, and move on. Don’t start to stop it, stop, hear bell, then stop it. Most of the fights were good.
[quote]slimjim wrote:
God, I hope Lyoto doesn’t get a title shot, I don’t want to have him as the main event for UFC events…if you thought 3 rounds was boring, think about 5 rounds.
I’m into the whole cutting angles and being “elusive” (how many times did you hear that last night,) but damn dude, at some point you’ve got to commit to some offense. If he and Chuck were to fight, I’d bet they’d stand there looking at each other for 3 rounds straight.[/quote]
From the looks of it, I don’t know if Machida could go a full 5 rounds. He seemed considerably more gassed than Tito in that fight, and like you said that was only 3 rounds.
Personally, although it wasn’t the most exciting fight (though Machida’s takedown at the end of round 1 and Tito’s triangle/arm bar attempt at the end of round 3 definitely kicked up the excitement a notch), I think that Machida fought a smart fight.
He knew that Tito was bigger and stronger than him and as a result used angles, feints/fakes, and distance to never really let Tito get “set” to attack him, which is exactly what you’re supposed to do in that situation.
Had there been more time in round 1, perhaps the fight would have been over quicker.
I like excitement as much as the next guy, but these guys are fighting to win, not necessarily to have the most highlights at the end of the night. Lyoto must have felt that this was his best chance to win this fight, and it clearly worked pretty well for him.
Just my opinion.
Machida’s style just isn’t my cup of tea, for that matter I’m no Chuck fan either because I hate when he sits there waiting to counter. It’s just my preference as I prefer to keep moving forward rather than waiting.
I’m not knocking Machida’s skill or ability, he’s obviously proven again and again that he is very good at what he does…I’m just hoping that whoever he is fighting at the time drops a few bombs on his head.
On a somewhat unrelated note, after watching Machida’s successes on coming over to America, it makes BJ’s ability to stand and trade with him in their fight all that more impressive.
[quote]slimjim wrote:
Machida’s style just isn’t my cup of tea, for that matter I’m no Chuck fan either because I hate when he sits there waiting to counter. It’s just my preference as I prefer to keep moving forward rather than waiting.
[/quote]
Fair enough, and personally I also am no Chuck fan.
[quote]
On a somewhat unrelated note, after watching Machida’s successes on coming over to America, it makes BJ’s ability to stand and trade with him in their fight all that more impressive. [/quote]
Yeah, BJ is definitely one of the best strikers in MMA, and has a granite chin. By far one of the most talented and well rounded fighters in MMA history.
[quote]slimjim wrote:
God, I hope Lyoto doesn’t get a title shot, I don’t want to have him as the main event for UFC events…if you thought 3 rounds was boring, think about 5 rounds.
I’m into the whole cutting angles and being “elusive” (how many times did you hear that last night,) but damn dude, at some point you’ve got to commit to some offense. If he and Chuck were to fight, I’d bet they’d stand there looking at each other for 3 rounds straight.[/quote]
This phrase gets overused a lot on the internet, but I did laugh out loud at the thought of machida and chuck each waiting for hte other to do soemthing that they could counter
This was one of the best UFC cards in years.
Machida has all the tools to be the next Fedor. He’s very poised and relaxed, but explosive and lightning fast. He’s one of the few guys who can close the distance and strike in the time it takes his opponent to load up a kick. And he’s incredibly skilled at creating leverage.
If he gets rid of some of his flamboyant moves, there’s no limit to what Machida can accomplish.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Ruggerlife wrote:
That’s what I can’t understand with Sherk’s (and his corner’s) game plan.
I can understand Sherk willing to stand with BJ for a round, but as soon as Sherk decided to stand in round 3 the fight was over.
Even if Sherk took him down and pounded him in rounds 4 & 5, he still loses 3-2. What was his corner thinking?
Agreed. Not only that, but Sherk pretty much tried to fight Penn exactly how you DON’T fight someone who is taller/has a reach advantage. I heard his corner telling him to double up his jab (which is good advice) between rounds, but it wasn’t necessarily the techniques that he was throwing that was causing him to be on the losing end of that match-up.
Sherk pretty much stood right in BJ’s line of fire at the exact distance that BJ wanted, allowing BJ to land numerous solid jabs to Sherk’s face. No angles, no broken rhythm, basically just giving BJ exactly what he wanted.
Not only that, but Sherk continued to try to hit Penn in the head, when clearly his punches were not hurting Penn, not to mention that the head is a much more elusive target and Penn was often able to lean away and make Sherk miss. Sherk never seemed to pick up on this and start going to BJ’s body (because it’s an easier target to hit, it takes away a person’s wind, and because it makes hitting the head that much easier).
Those are basically the two cardinal sins when striking against a taller opponent; standing in their line of fire at their distance of choice, and trying to hit the head, instead of going to the body first to set up the head shot.
I know that Greg Jackson is a good boxing coach, but to be honest, his understanding of strategy seems to be lacking. Either that or Sherk simply didn’t listen to his coaching (which is possible seeing how fired up he was at how much shit Penn was talking). [/quote]
Good post.
I don’t know why Sherk kept throwing left hooks when he was way too far out and all Penn had to do was lean back or drift to his left.
I agree with you about going to the body. But while going to the body Sherk would still lose rounds I think, and whether it would have had enough effect later for Sherk to take advantage of it I don’t know.
Thinking about it Sherk had to strike with Penn if he wanted any chance to get a takedown. He just douldn’t get much done.
Penn has a really straight right hand. Great right straight. Don’t really see that much in mma.
The only reason I can think of why Sherk would not attempt to take BJ down was his own fear of being in BJ’s world, the ground game. I know Sherk has a great ground and pound game, but there’s no one who has BJ’s jits skill combined with freaky flexibility.
Also, I was wondering where was the Sherk I’ve seen in numerous training videos throwing a good combination followed by an explosive takedown?