MMA February Discussion is Disarming a "Girl-Rilla"

[Turd Ferguson]

Calendar
Literally Something UFC Related Everyday on FuelTV if you have it.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen every Tuesday night at 9:00 on FX.

2/2 - UFC 156 - Aldo vs. Edgar
2/7 - Bellator 88 - Schlemenko vs. Falcao
2/14 - Bellator 89 - Dantas vs. Galvao
2/16 - UFC on Fuel - Barao vs. McDonald
2/21 - Bellator 90 - Martinez vs. Shamhalaev
2/23 - UFC 157 - Rousey vs. Carmouche
2/28 - Bellator 91 -M'Pumbu vs. Vegh


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Useful Links:
Sherdog Fight Finder
Unified rules of MMA
http://www.fightmetric.com

Noteworthy/Discussion Topics:

• If/When Rashad Evans defeats Lil Nog, he could very well be the next contender to Anderson Silva.
• With Vitor fighting Rockhold next, where does that leave Weidman? Fighting Cung Le?
• TUF 17 is good so far!
• UFC will be releasing OFFICIAL RANKINGS
• Randy Couture will now work for Bellator.
• Should John McCarthy have taken a point from Mighty Mouse for that illegal knee?
• What happens to Rampage from here?
• What happens when Glover fights a good wrestler?
• Is Donald Cerrone destined to end up similar to Joe Lauzon? How good would that fight be?
• Cyborg says she lowest she could cut down to is 140. I'm sure if she stopped roiding she could get to 135.
• Will the UFC ever sign any other flyweights to flesh out that division?
• What are the odds Aldo/Edgar is controversial and there's a rematch?

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I wonder if the UFC will make mention of Carmouche being the first openly gay fighter in the company? I know they will play up her military role, they love to push that angle. It kind of bugs me, with the exception of Brian Stann who is a certified war hero.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Holy shit, the weigh-ins are off to a GREAT start. Both dudes fighting in the first fight of the night on Facebook came in overweight. Or the scale is off.

Edit: HOLY SHIT now one of the other guys in the next fight is 3 lbs overweight.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Anyone want to place bets on what colors Frankie's leg is after Aldo is finished tonight?

I can't really see how the fight won't just be Aldo wearing him out with leg kicks. I doubt Frankie will be doing much walking tomorrow. My leg already hurts just thinking about it. I'm preparing to do alot of grimacing as I watch.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I just want to send a fuck you to Lil Nog and Rashad Evans as that fight literally put me to sleep and I struggled to stay awake for Aldo/Frankie. I need to re-watch the main event but I think Frankie may have gotten screwed as I scored the last three rounds for him.

I think Frankie looked great at Featherweight and he'll be back. There are a lot of interesting fights for him at this weight class and it might take him only one or two fights to get back.

By the way - the next fight for Aldo, per Dana, is likely to be Anthony Pettis. He told Dana he wants to drop down to Featherweight and he wants Aldo. As much as I want to see Bendo/Pettis II - Holy shit, that is going to be an insanely awesome fight.

Anyway, Rashad losing is for the best as Weidman is getting his shot at Silva now.

And I seriously don't know where the fuck Rashad and The Reem go from here. Both of them severely underestimated their opponents, and their camp might literally be the WORST in all of MMA. I'm dead serious. Look at their roster. The only fighter who has been remotely successful lately is Belfort and rumors are circling that he failed his drug test against Bisping.

They had to have built their camp on Seminole Burial Ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Athletics#Notable_Fighters

That KO of Overeem - I was in absolute shock over it... although it seemed inevitable after the second round. Seeing it unfold was unbelievable.

Bigfoot had the best burn on the camp too.

Reporter: Will you go back to The Blackzillians?
Bigfoot: No, I only train with the best teams.

Not much else to say about the card. Fitch showed what it was like to have good back defense for 15 minutes and Benevidez/McCall was a good fight. I think Maia could be fighting for the title by the end of the year.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I couldn't believe how visibly frustrated Fitch was getting with Maia's ground control late in that fight... Hypocritical much??

I actually thought the judges made the right call in the main event, I thought Aldo took the first three rounds. Frankie definitely got the better of the last 11-12 minutes of the fight though. He just wasn't doing any damage.

Frankie fights are becoming such a formula though(as if they weren't before). They go five rounds, he very clearly loses one or two of those, pretty clearly wins about one round, the rest are toss-ups, and the decision is an absolute crap shoot. I'm just glad he's not stealing these close decisions anymore the way he did in the first BJ fight.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I don't think Edgar got screwed at all, I believe Aldo won three rounds.. A lot of people gave Aldo the fight 49-46(including two of the ringside judges) which I didn't really agree with, but Aldo won nonetheless. Aldo got off to a better start and Edgar came back with his cardio and endurance, but I think Aldo did enough to win the last round. Edgar looked good at featherweight and gave Aldo his hardest challenge thus far. I was really surprised to see Edgar trade legkicks with him and it arguably kept him in the fight because I don't think Jose was prepared for that.

Little Nog and Rashad is one of the most boring main attraction fights I've seen in sometime. Rogerio is normally more aggressive, but both men seemed more happy to pitter-patter around and dance. I was getting kind of pissed off when Nog was bicycling to a decision in the third round.

I still don't put a ton of stock in Bigfoot but that KO sequence he put on Overeem was the greatest thing I've seen since Chuck socked him in the face with the overhand in PRIDE. Big props to Bigfoot for that because it was easily the biggest moment of the night. The issue with Bigfoot is always going to be his takedown defense and defensive BJJ.

Maia impressed me. He's looking like a beast at 170. I haven't seen Fitch get controlled like that in a while. I didn't expect Maia to win the fight, honestly. I knew he wouldn't be able to sub Fitch because Jon has made that look damn near impossible in all of his fights. I expected Fitch to lay-and-pray him to a decision so I was definitely taken by surprise when Maia not only won a decision but did so in dominant fashion.

McCall and Benavidez was a good fight from what I saw, I missed half of it getting home late. I was rooting for McCall just to see him rematch DJ but alas.

--

I don't see Bigfoot winning against Cain in a rematch. I think his Achilles's heel is always going to be wrestlers due to his size and speed. He just begs to be taken down. That being said I would like to see him fight Junior dos Santos next and if he can beat JDS I wouldn't be opposed to a rematch with Cain.

Aldo's next fight should be Ricardo Lamas hands down. Dude has wins over the two guys who were set to fight Aldo. He's had 4 fights in the UFC, 2 of which had violent and spectacular finishes. Let's see what he can do with Aldo.

Rashad has looked like hot garbage in his last two fights. I didn't take too much away from him when he lost to Jones because Jones has made everyone look bad in his fights... But I really thought Rashad would beat an aging and battle-worn Rogerio. Especially when you consider Little Nog barely beat Jason Brilz(and arguably lost the fight imo), got beaten by Bader and Davis' wrestling.. I would have thought if Rashad was going to play it safe for a win he would have just wrestlefucked Rogerio to a decision.

 

[jmt225]

I just want to send a fuck you to Lil Nog and Rashad Evans as that fight literally put me to sleep and I struggled to stay awake for Aldo/Frankie.

It was an awful fight, though I think the blame lies with Rashad. He did absolutely nothing, while you can't blame Nog for being apprehensive out of the fear of being taken down.

Rashad needs to look at Cain Velasquez and model his style after that. He has the cardio for it.

I need to re-watch the main event but I think Frankie may have gotten screwed as I scored the last three rounds for him.

That's how I scored it but rounds 3 and 5 were both extremely close and arguments could be made in favor of Aldo for those rounds, so I don't think Edgar got screwed in the least bit, especially since Aldo dominated rounds 1 and 2 more so than any round Edgar was able to steal.

I think Frankie looked great at Featherweight and he'll be back. There are a lot of interesting fights for him at this weight class and it might take him only one or two fights to get back.

I'm not sure about that. The size difference at 155 doesn't bother Frankie... he's still able to lift Gray Maynard (perhaps the biggest LW in the division) up over his head and slam him down. However, at 155... he has a speed advantage over everyone, and that's simply not the case at 145, which could cause him a lot of trouble. So I'm not sure staying at 145 is the best move for his career.

I just hope Frankie changes his style up a bit. It's the same fight every single time for him. Getting his ass kicked the first two rounds, and then pat pat pat run his way to stealing the next 3 rounds when his opponent has slowed down a bit. I wish Frankie would just take more chances in the later rounds when he knows his opponent is worn down and he still has a full tank of gas.

By the way - the next fight for Aldo, per Dana, is likely to be Anthony Pettis. He told Dana he wants to drop down to Featherweight and he wants Aldo. As much as I want to see Bendo/Pettis II - Holy shit, that is going to be an insanely awesome fight.

I would love to see Pettis vs. Aldo as well, but at 155. I think that cut would be too much for Pettis.

I'd rather see KZ/Aldo and Pettis vs. the winner of Bendo/Gil, with Pettis and Aldo meeting sometime in the future. No need to rush that fight.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I would love to see Pettis vs. Aldo as well, but at 155. I think that cut would be too much for Pettis.

I'd rather see KZ/Aldo and Pettis vs. the winner of Bendo/Gil, with Pettis and Aldo meeting sometime in the future. No need to rush that fight.

As AhSpicy said, I would rather see Aldo face Lamas right now. I think he is the most deserving challenger.

And Pettis should definitley get his title shot against either Bendo or Melendez, its ridiculous that he hasn't gotten the shot he was promised for beating Hendo in their final WEC fight(Fuck Guida).

You're right JMT, Aldo/Pettis needs to happen eventually, but at 155. Once Aldo has had time to properly make the transition to the lightweight class this could be a future world title fight at that level. Both guys are only 26 years old; there is no rush.

 

[Fizzy]

I just hope Frankie changes his style up a bit. It's the same fight every single time for him. Getting his ass kicked the first two rounds, and then pat pat pat run his way to stealing the next 3 rounds when his opponent has slowed down a bit. I wish Frankie would just take more chances in the later rounds when he knows his opponent is worn down and he still has a full tank of gas.
.

The problem is that Frankie never does anything to win the fight. He does just enough to potentially squeak out a decision, then after the fight, he complains his way to an immediate rematch. Then the forums blow up about how Frankie got screwed, and Dana decides to just go with it. He'll never change. I think he's worse than a guy like Guida. At least Guida is in a dominant position for most of his fights. Frankie is content with pitter pattering his opponents for five rounds. He never shows a sense of urgency, he never tries to take a round. I don't think i've ever seen a Frankie fight where he's decidedly won a round to the point there was absolutely no argument to be made for his opponent.

Yes, I am in fact very mad over the outcry of "poor Frankie, he got screwed again! I know nothing about MMA, but Frankie deserves another immediate rematch!" I'm sick and fucking tired of reading that shit after every single fight, and i'm sick and tired of him hogging up the title picture with his annoying ass style.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I like Fizzy's passion. Even when I don't agree with him he makes me respect his opinion.

I have never been a big fan of BJ Penn the man, so when Frankie beat him I was pumped. No one gave him a chance and he pulled it off, twice. I am getting kind of tired of him lately though. The Bendo fight was the worst. Dude it was a good fight, but you lost. There is no shame in losing to Ben, but you bitched and got a rematch and lost again, then you dropped weight and got a title shot. You have lost three straight, most guys would be fearful of losing their job in the UFC right now, you are going to be co main eventing a card in your next fight more than likely.

I would love to see Aldo/KZ. That fight will end in a vicious KO I guarantee. Neither of those guys have the best gas tank and both guys will throw down.

The HW title picture is very cloudy right now. I would say Bigfoot's name deserves to be mentioned, but the champ is a guy who starched you in 3 minutes, and the likely #1 contender is a guy who did the same. Struve has won four straight, so if he can get past Hunt I would consider him, but he has a poor chin, and a guy with the hands of Cain may kill him. The fanboy in me would die to see Hunt for for the title with a win though. Nelson's name may come up if he gets past Kongo. He has the fanbase to help sell a PPV.

 

[Fizzy]

Pettis/Aldo on August 3rd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[The Crock]

Pettis/Aldo should be a really fun fight. Sucks for Lamas, though. That title shot could have easily been his, had Pettis stayed at 155. Regardless, I'm pretty freaking excited for Pettis/Aldo. I can't see any way that fight goes beyond -- maybe -- three rounds. Someone's getting knocked out.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Thiago Tavares failed his drug test at UFC on FX 7. Is it just me or does there seem to be a disproportionate number of Brazilians failing their tests recently?

 

[BaconBits]

The problem is that Frankie never does anything to win the fight. He does just enough to potentially squeak out a decision, then after the fight, he complains his way to an immediate rematch. Then the forums blow up about how Frankie got screwed, and Dana decides to just go with it. He'll never change. I think he's worse than a guy like Guida. At least Guida is in a dominant position for most of his fights. Frankie is content with pitter pattering his opponents for five rounds. He never shows a sense of urgency, he never tries to take a round. I don't think i've ever seen a Frankie fight where he's decidedly won a round to the point there was absolutely no argument to be made for his opponent.

Yes, I am in fact very mad over the outcry of "poor Frankie, he got screwed again! I know nothing about MMA, but Frankie deserves another immediate rematch!" I'm sick and fucking tired of reading that shit after every single fight, and i'm sick and tired of him hogging up the title picture with his annoying ass style.

Frankie simply doesn't have the pop to put anyone away. It's unlikely he'll ever develop it, either. You can't really teach somebody how to have power, either. He does what he can with the tools he's been given.

 

[Fizzy]

Frankie simply doesn't have the pop to put anyone away. It's unlikely he'll ever develop it, either. You can't really teach somebody how to have power, either. He does what he can with the tools he's been given.

Don't give me that. Show me a situation where Frankie showed even a slight sense of urgency where he sat on his punches and attempted to throw some of his body into them. Show me where Frankie actually tried to make something happen. He put out Maynard so he obviously has the necessary skill set to do some damage. He never fucking tries though, he does his absolute best to barely squeak out every round no matter what. No sense of urgency, he just doesn't try to finish these fights or even do some damage.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I'm happy that we're going to see a guaranteed exciting FW fight between Aldo and Pettis, but at the same time I can't help but feel sorry for Ricardo Lamas. He looked just as impressive in his win over Erik Koch, and he's strung together four impressive wins; including one over Hioki who was considered by many to be the #1/#2 FW in the world.

I would have rather Pettis stayed at Lightweight, and waited on the winner of Henderson/Melendez... Makes more sense to try and win the title at your own weight-class first before dropping down. I really want to see Pettis/Bendo II, and I think it would have been a likely match as I don't think Gilbert can dethrone Henderson.

But I can't complain too much, Pettis is exciting as hell. However I don't think his stand up has really been tested like it will be against someone like Aldo, and I think if he tries too much of the fancy kicks and knees he'll end up getting his face knocked off. Stylistically I favor Aldo in this one, and doubt it goes to a decision.

That being said... Looking to the near future, who's ready for another Rousey first-round Armbar?

I'm more looking forward to Dan Henderson/Lyoto Machida and what I think will be fight of the night: Robbie Lawler vs. Josh Koscheck.

 

[BaconBits]

Don't give me that. Show me a situation where Frankie showed even a slight sense of urgency where he sat on his punches and attempted to throw some of his body into them. Show me where Frankie actually tried to make something happen. He put out Maynard so he obviously has the necessary skill set to do some damage. He never fucking tries though, he does his absolute best to barely squeak out every round no matter what. No sense of urgency, he just doesn't try to finish these fights or even do some damage.

Even when Frankie sits on his punches (and he does, you're clearly a hater so you won't admit it) he doesn't do a whole lot of damage. He just doesn't have pop. He's got pillows on his hands. Lots of fighters have this problem.

It's really one of those things where you have to have trained to understand. Some dudes have power, others don't, and there's not much you can do about it.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Even when Frankie sits on his punches (and he does, you're clearly a hater so you won't admit it) he doesn't do a whole lot of damage. He just doesn't have pop. He's got pillows on his hands. Lots of fighters have this problem.

It's really one of those things where you have to have trained to understand. Some dudes have power, others don't, and there's not much you can do about it.

He could change that if he wanted to but he would have to sacrifice in other areas to make it possible. Anybody can have power. But Edgar doesn't like cutting weight. I don't think he's ever had to cut weight for a fight, which means he's not putting muscle on in the areas he needs. Power comes from resistance training, which builds muscles in the shoulders and core.

Also with Edgar's style which is completely angle movement based he rarely plants his feet to put his body behind his punches. And that's fine, it works for him... But it also makes him a boring fighter to watch. The only way he generates any power with his current training regiment is if he catches someone coming forward and he's in a forward movement throwing.

There's plenty of fighters who have had "pillow punches" and changed up their training habits for power over movement... The most notable that comes to mind is Rashad Evans.

It all amounts to the fact that Frankie doesn't like to cut weight, so he's not going to put forth the effort to put on the muscle required to have the power everyone bitches about him lacking.

 

[Fizzy]

Show me some examples then. I mean legitimate examples where Frankie shows some sense of desperation and attempts to cause some sort of damage. It's not about pillow hands, it's about his complete lack of urgency. He CHOOSES to squeak rounds out. Even when he knew he needed a huge 5th round against Aldo, he had the same exact gameplan he employs in every single round of every single fight. He never even tries to do something drastic.

Please don't criticize me like I don't know what i'm talking about, I know damn well what pillow hands are. Frankie goes beyond that. He doesn't try to win fights, he tries to do enough which is why we always get the same fight whenever he is involved. He gets a takedown and pops right back up continuing to pitter pater. All Frankie does is attempt to score points. He never tries to take a fight, he tries to do enough. I don't know how else to explain this. It isn't a coincidence that every fight Frankie fight is controversial to some, and i'm not blaming him for not having Carwin-esque power. I am blaming him for point fighting to the largest extent.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Show me some examples then. I mean legitimate examples where Frankie shows some sense of desperation and attempts to cause some sort of damage. It's not about pillow hands, it's about his complete lack of urgency. He CHOOSES to squeak rounds out. Even when he knew he needed a huge 5th round against Aldo, he had the same exact gameplan he employs in every single round of every single fight. He never even tries to do something drastic.

Please don't criticize me like I don't know what i'm talking about, I know damn well what pillow hands are. Frankie goes beyond that. He doesn't try to win fights, he tries to do enough which is why we always get the same fight whenever he is involved. He gets a takedown and pops right back up continuing to pitter pater. All Frankie does is attempt to score points. He never tries to take a fight, he tries to do enough. I don't know how else to explain this. It isn't a coincidence that every fight Frankie fight is controversial to some, and i'm not blaming him for not having Carwin-esque power. I am blaming him for point fighting to the largest extent.

You can't really fault Frankie though, as boring as it is. It worked for him through six fights successfully. It's one of those "if it's not broke don't fix it" things. But now that he's lost three in a row, and he's in limbo I would imagine we'll see a change in his style. People that are fighting him have started focusing more on cardio in preparation for the fight against him, which nullifies his advantages.

He's going to have to bring something different to the table if he wants to get back to the top. He's definitely got the ability to finish fights or at the very least make them more entertaining; but again when something is working your coach isn't going to change it up until it fails decisvely. I'd say losing back to back to Henderson and then Aldo is enough to make them go back to the drawing board.

Frankie certainly wasn't this boring when he first emerged in the UFC with his upset over Tyson Griffin. I'd like to see that fighter again.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Even when he knew he needed a huge 5th round against Aldo, he had the same exact gameplan he employs in every single round of every single fight.

I think the biggest issue is that if you were to ask Frankie and he were honest, I gaurantee you he didn't think he needed a big fifth round in that fight. I would wager the house that Frankie, and probably his corner too, thought that they had won every round but the second. And its tough to blame him when the guy has been gifted more rounds during major fights than any other fighter in the promotion's history.

Frankie legitmiately thinks his style is going to pay off in him winning every round where he's not legitimately hurt or dropped mulitple times. It's going to take him continually losing decisions like these last three before he realizes that many judges may have caught on and are going to demand that he does more.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

That type of thinking is one of the biggest issues in MMA. You can't assume you won a round, ever. Leonard Garcia fights have proved that. You should always be looking for a finish, especially in a close fight.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Memorial Day Weekend is rumored to have these matches:

1.) Velasquez vs. Bigfoot
2.) Dos Santos vs. Overeem

While I'm psyched for JDS/Overeem, a fight that should be awesome, I really don't have too much interest in watching Velasquez murder Bigfoot again.

Overeem is probably going to get knocked into next week as long as JDS doesn't gas out again and has his head straight.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I think Bigfoot will last more than three minutes against Cain this time, but there are guys you could build as contenders outside of those four right now.