The General MMA Thread

[Chris Chelios]

There's an interview with Shogun, he says he'll be ready to fight in December. I hope he's not rushing himself again.

[Ave]

Originally Posted by Chris Chelios

There's an interview with Shogun, he says he'll be ready to fight in December. I hope he's not rushing himself again.

He took 6 weeks off for a ruptured appendix and won the championship. If he takes more than 7 months off for a knee, he's liable to grow wings.

[Chris Chelios]

Didn't he rush before Forrest though? Or Mark Coleman? I just don't want Rashad beating him. I don't think I'll be able to take it.

Now for a twitter question.
RT @ESPN_MMALIVE:
Today's Fan Poll Question: Exactly one year from now, who will be your @UFC and @Strikeforce heavyweight champions?

Who do y'all think?

I think it'll be Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum. Why? For the halibut.

[Ave]

Hmm...by one year from today, I think Fedor will have beaten Fabricio in a rematch, since I expect Werdum to beat Overeem this fall or next winter, setting up the rematch. Only way I see Werdum staying champ is if Fedor beats Silva and goes to UFC or DREAM.

JDS? That's really interesting. It's TOTALLY feasible, but we just don't know ANYTHING about his ground game. I mean...if his ground game is as good as Noguiera's was at JDS' age, then yes, I agree 100%. If not?

Man...the UFC heavyweight division is SO exciting right now. I literally COULD NOT choose between JDS, Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar, or Fedor being the champ on 7/31/2011. Equally feasible. If I had to bet: I would bet on Brock.

Really interesting question, Chris. I can't remember a time when the UFC heavyweight division was this good. I've been going through Fedor's fightography with my girlfriend recently and we just got through Fedor/Noguiera I - I remarked that I can't remember another time that the #1 and #2 heavyweights were matched against one another since like....the mid 90s. I think we'll get that in the UFC in the next year or so.

Can't wait.

[Chris Chelios]

So who's next for Johnny Bones, y'all?

I think it's Rich. He's the only one coming off a win and not doing anything (aside from healing his arm of course).

[Ave]

WHAT! A! KNOCKOUT, GOMI!!!!!!!!!!

That aside, I think it's Rich or Forrest. That said, I'd hate to see what Jon Jones does to Rich Franklin

EDIT: Actually, I think there's a SLIGHT chance they'd book him against Randy Couture, but that depends how 118 goes

EDIT EDIT: Considering his recent injury and top 10 ranking, I'd think Thiago Silva is a possibility too. Not good for his career, but a possibiity

[bill]

I agree on that Ave, I think Thiago Silva could very easily be the next guy, or like you both have said, it could be Rich Franklin. If somehow Toney beats Couture, I think it's automatic that Dana throws Toney in there with Bones Jones though.

Fucking Gomi. I loved watching that, I literally yelled on that one. Interesting to see what they do with him next, if Penn loses to Edgar I think that match is obvious. If not maybe he fights Edgar.

EDIT: What about the of Bader vs. Nog? Depending on health of course as Jones could probably fight right away other than letting his body recover from that weight cut.

[bill]

So I just started season 4 of is the last The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback on DVD. I think this is the only season left that I haven't seen completely.

It makes me wish they would do another season like this one, cause the concept really is awesome and it worked out fantastic for UFC the first time in my opinion with Serra winning and Lutter not getting embarassed by Anderson Silva.

I'm currently going through some old results from the last couple years and picking out some guys I think would fit this kind of a thing, whenever I get bored at work or something.

Anyone else have some guys you'd like to see in this kind of thing? Or maybe I'm the only one this seems appealing to.

[bill]

Odds for Sonnen to beat Anderson Silva. What do you all think?

I'll say 2.5%

I'm excited about the card though. Two number one contendership matches and Clay Guida on the main card. Hughes/Almeida could be a snoozer though.

Some of my favorite undercard guys too though...Ben Saunders, Stefan Struve, Phil Davis and Dustin Hazelett all in action.

[Chris Chelios]

Yeah, man, I'm excited. I love me some Junior, some Roy, and some Clay. Agreed that Hughes/Almeida is gonna be boring.

What are y'alls predictions/hopes?

I know Chael has no chance, but I'm still gonna root for him cause I love his trash talking. It's beautiful.

Also, I can't decide between Junior and Roy. I like both of them and don't really wanna see either lose.

Don't really care about Fitch/Alves. Whoever wins will just get dry humped by GSP later on.

[bill]

Yeah, I can see where Fitch/Alves are deserving of another shot, because they can beat virtually anyone in the welterweight division other than GSP, but I'd rather see Shields/Kampmann winner get GSP, just for some fresh blood.

I think Nelson stands more of a chance against JDS than some think, but in the end I think Junior will be to much.

My predictions go like this...

Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen: 1st Round KO. Anderson is pissed.
Jon Fitch over Thiago Alves: I think Thiago is going to be gassed from the weight cut and he hasn't fought in quite some time. If Fitch can withstand the storm he can hold Thiago down for two rounds and pound out a decision.
Rafeal dos Anjos over Clay Guida: This is my upset pick. Dos Anjos has some slick subs and I think Guida will get him down, but dos Anjos catches him with a sub.
Ricardo Almeida over Matt Hughes: I think Almeida's stand up might be a little underrated and while dominating Renzo, Hughes still looked old and nowhere near as explosive with those takedowns as he used to. I think Almeida wins a boring decision.
JDS over Big Country: I have taken a liking to Roy as of late, but JDS is going to be much I think. I think it'll be a great first round and than JDS will score the KO in the second.

In non-UFC 117 news, Dana said at the press confrence today that Jon Jones may get the Lil Nog vs Bader winner. That could be an interesting one.

[bill]

Just watched the countdown show. Anderson told Chael he was ugly and smelled like a bear. Anderson is gonna kill him, but he could take a lesson from Chael on trash talking.

[Javi]

lols

I am praying for an Anderson Silva KO. Sonnen, decent trash-talking, hypes and gets attention for the fight. But it doesn't win you a fight. Period. Silva via muay thai rape.

I wish JDS and Roy would KO each other at the same time, because both rule. Neither man is going to look bad, as both are great fighters. I pick JDS, he has great hands.

Fitch by decision. Alves weight cut and ring rust will be the factor here.

Hughes by decision.

Guida by TKO.

[ChrisCrashMarx]

Roy Nelson ftw. with Weird Al as an entrance.

[Javi]

HOLY SHIT!

HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT!

SILLLLVVVAAAA!!!

DOWN 4-0!

I almost shat my heart!

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by ChrisCrashMarx

Roy Nelson ftw. with Weird Al as an entrance.

The hell? Did he use "Fat"? Or "Eat It"? Or "Grapefruit Diet"? Or one of his 57 other food songs?

[bill]

OHHHHMYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that happened. I can't believe Sonnen beat the hell out of Anderson Silva for four rounds and got caught in a triangle with 2 minutes left. I can't even begin to comprehend the gutting feeling that has to have left. I can't believe he was able to dominate like that though.

It's now clear though that Anderson Silva isn't unbeatable anymore, against the right guy. Silva vs. Sonnen II has got to come sooner or later.

EDIT: In the first three rounds Sonnen outstruck Silva 218 - 11!

[Crowe]

I don't know. After the fight Sonnen said if he wasn't the best, he needed to move on. I hope we do see another fight, but he made one mistake and Silva capitalized, which is what he does best. This is the fight that exposed Silva. I have to admit, I like Silva, but I was hoping he would lose.

[Javi]

Exposed him? You people are talking like Silva is doomed. Please.

The only thing that was "exposed" was his takedown defense and his wrestling, which most MMA fans already know is not his strong suit.

Sonnen "outstruck" Silva, because 95% of it was GNP. On the feet, it was a whole other story, which is why Sonnen stuck to takedowns.

Sonnen has very minimal standup. Nowhere near Silva.

Sonnen has NO BJJ.

Sonnen cannot finish, which is why he stuck to getting the decision. Seriously, Anderson looked brand new at the post-fight. Sonnen looked worse. Sonnen has no power in his strikes.

But I will say, I respect Sonnen's wrestling ability. Heck of a wrestler. But in MMA, he sucks. Sorry. If last night were a wrestling match, Sonnen would have looked beast. But its MMA.

The fight was a bore, and the finish is what will make that fight be looked back on as great.

JDS and Roy ruled. Roy is made of iron. What a CHIN. Because he got battered in that first round. Solid fight.

[bill]

I don't know that Sonnen exposed Anderson, but he made him look beatable. Until last night no one has ever even threatened Anderson Silva, Sonnen beat him four rounds to none and was winning the fifth before he got caught.

I watched the fight, I am aware that Sonnen's strikes were ground strikes, but some of those shots on the ground, especially in the first round, were big shots. I didn't say he Sonnen outstruck him, though he did rock him on the feet early in the first.

Obviously Anderson Silva has better stand up, he has better stand up than anyone else in MMA. But I think it's safe to say after watching that fight Sonnen has better wrestling than nearly anyone except maybe GSP.

Wrestling may be boring, but it's a part of mixed martial arts just as much as Muay Thai and BJJ, and last night Sonnen's superior wrestling ability almost had the upset pulled off. So I would have to disagree that Sonnen sucks at MMA cause all he has is wrestling. That's his bread and butter and he used it last night, and he used it well.

And there is a difference between Sonnen's wrestling and Fitch's wrestling. Fitch is largely about holding his opponent down. Sonnen has a very active ground game and is constantly throwing strikes, and he threw some massive ones last night.

They'll fight again I am sure, and my money will still be on Anderson Silva, but I just don't think you can dismiss the fact that Sonnen was two minutes away from the biggest upset in UFC history last night and than say he sucks at MMA.