MMA February Discussion is Disarming a "Girl-Rilla"

[Turd Ferguson]

Ray Sefo announced Fitch hss been signed to World Series of Fighting.

That is a huge coup for the company... he'll probably get the winner of Aaron Simpson/Josh Burkman.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I wonder if the UFC will make mention of Carmouche being the first openly gay fighter in the company?

I know that this hasn't been talked about alot by the mainstream media(but to be fair Liz hasn't gotten much coverage at all, I'd guess most people who don't closely follow the sport could tell you Rousey is making her debut but would have no idea of her opponent's name even) but the UFC is seemingly doing their part to not gloss over this fact.

The Primetime specials, when focusing on Carmouche, were heavily centered around the hardships she has had to endure as a lesbian woman especially during her time as a marine during the "don't ask, don't tell" policy era. She is very outspoken about her sexuality and her commitments to the GLBT community. The UFC allowed that to be a major focal point in the way that they presented her.

It is clear that the UFC has no desire to use the fact that Liz is it's first openly homosexual roster member as any type of publicity stunt, but rather have fully respected the fact that Carmouche strongly identifies herself through her homo-sexuality and have let her use the platform she has been given however she sees fit.

As a former marine who saw combat, and now a professional athlete with a big stage, Carmouche seems to be a very positive and potentially important spokesperson for the GLBT acceptance movement. Props to the UFC for letting her be herself and giving her the platform they have, and for neither exploiting nor shying away from the issue of her sexuality.

 

[wrestlingfan]

Rarely shown? Did you completely miss his fights with Carwin, Nelson, and Mir, who all made attempts to take him down but failed so they gave up and tried to stand with him? Cain couldn't even keep dos Santos on the mat once he got him there until Junior gassed out. Josh Barnett doesn't have the gas tank that Cain has.



I can almost guarantee you one thing about a Mir/Barnett fight, and that's Barnett wouldn't be able to pass Mir's guard. The only person Barnett has KO'd standing on the feet in recent history is Pedro Rizzo and that's not really much of a feat these days considering Pedro is fighting for the money, doesn't really care about being competitive, and is essentially living off of what he's done, not what he can do.

Also don't really understand where all this "bad chin" shit is coming from either... Almost every fighter at heavyweight is at risk of being knocked out if they get hit... It's the principle that there's 200+ lbs of force riding behind a punch that makes it possible. Does Cain also have a weak chin because he was dropped by Cheick Kongo several times, or KO'd by Junior dos Santos? Mir took several hard shots from dos Santos before he was TKO'd... Hardly a sign of a weak chin considering dos Santos is considered to the be the most technical striker in the heavyweight division.

By your same theory then Barnett must also have a weak chin because Mirko and Pedro KO or TKO'd him. I think a better choice of words would be "Mir has poor striking defense" instead of calling out his chin.



Almost every fighter, even if they have no wrestling backbround, use double and single leg takedowns... That doesn't make them effective. And I would wager that the majority of those you seen in a highlight video were from his younger years. Highlight videos never tell a clear story, they just show the triumphs. For every one of those double legs he succeeded at there was probably 4-5 that he failed. And for the record, I made mention of Barnett using double legs, but he does so out of desperation usually when he's gassed out(which happens quite often).

Again, Mir, Carwin, Nelson. Not exactly the most elite of wrestlers.

I'll still go with Barnett able to pass Mir's guard.

You just said before Barnett didn't use double & single legs.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Again, Mir, Carwin, Nelson. Not exactly the most elite of wrestlers.

Just because the guy has so much power in his hands that he has been able to use big clubbing shots to control and finish off most of his fights quickly, doesn't mean he's not an elite wrestler.

Carwin was a two-time Division II National Runner-up, and won a National Championship his senior year. What kind of wrestling credentials are you looking for a heavyweight to have to consider him amongst the elite??

 

[Da Prophet]

Aldo is ducking Pettis because Pettis doesn't deserve the title fight. Ariel Helwani is saying that Dana told him after the press conference that Aldo is flat out refusing the fight. Well Aldo is playing with fire at this point. What type of champion refuses to fight? You're the champion, fight whoever they set you up with. I seriously don't understand how a champion can refuse to fight someone. It's not like he's fighting on eight days notice.

Basically Aldo is an idiot.

 

[jmt225]

To me, this has to be nothing more than a ploy by Aldo to get as much $$$ as he can for this fight.

Aldo has to know this will be his biggest money fight to date and if he does realize that, then he should want to be able to squeeze every penny out of the UFC he can for it. No way is he "scared" of Pettis. This has to be about money and money only. Not about someone deserving a fight or fear... it's all about $$$$$$.

If I'm wrong, then Aldo is the biggest pussy champion the UFC has ever had. However, I sincerely doubt that to be the case, and if it is the case, then it's up to Dana to wash away Aldo's fear with an offer he can't refuse. Simple as that.

 

[Remix]

Well Rousey's armbar looks a heck of a lot more painful in still than it did when I watched, and it didn't exactly look comfy there. Really looking forward to both girls' next fights.

 

[Fizzy]

Aldo is ducking Pettis because Pettis doesn't deserve the title fight. Ariel Helwani is saying that Dana told him after the press conference that Aldo is flat out refusing the fight. Well Aldo is playing with fire at this point. What type of champion refuses to fight? You're the champion, fight whoever they set you up with. I seriously don't understand how a champion can refuse to fight someone. It's not like he's fighting on eight days notice.

Basically Aldo is an idiot.

You mad, bro?

 

[Papa Pillman]

Really looking forward to both girls' next fights.

Amen to this. She may have eventually suffered the same fate as all of Rousey's previous opponents, but I still think Carmouche did herself a ton of favors with her gutsy performance last night. I know I for one am looking forward to watching and rooting for her in her next outing.

I found it quite funny that my wife and her friend were convinced that Liz looked like a female version of Faber when she was heading to the cage last night, and then she almost pulled off the same standing RNC.

As for a couple other notes on the card...

I like Lawler, and hate Kos, but that stoppage was too early. Premature stoppages seem to be the only real issue with Herb Dean as a referee.

Does anyone else think Urijah seemed even a little more motivated than usual? Perhaps a result of Dana indicating he would be at possible risk of release with a bad performance?

And speaking of Urijah's, I found it wierd that they temporarily focused on Urijah Hall being in the crowd. I can never remember a current TUF contestant getting that kind of brief television exposure during a PPV that happened mid-season. We don't even know how far the guy will advance for sure, yet that was the kind of notice that only a veteran fighter or celebrity would typically recieve. It appears the UFC is well aware of the potential they may have with him post-TUF.

 

[Fizzy]

I like Lawler, and hate Kos, but that stoppage was too early. Premature stoppages seem to be the only real issue with Herb Dean as a referee.

Yea, Kos wasn't out yet, but he was doing nothing to defend himself. His hands were on the mat, and his face was wide open for punches. Lawler hits fucking hard and one more hit, who knows what would have happened. If Kos was truly ok, he would have been doing something to defend himself. Not sitting in the same position after taking 4-5 hard shots.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Again, Mir, Carwin, Nelson. Not exactly the most elite of wrestlers.

I'll still go with Barnett able to pass Mir's guard.

You just said before Barnett didn't use double & single legs.

Over a week later, you're still trying to keep this argument going and THAT is your rebuttal?

Amen to this. She may have eventually suffered the same fate as all of Rousey's previous opponents, but I still think Carmouche did herself a ton of favors with her gutsy performance last night. I know I for one am looking forward to watching and rooting for her in her next outing.

Carmouche was the perfect person to put in this spot all the way through. She's an incredibly nice person and was extremely humble all the way through, continued to make herself look good at the press conference, and she gave Rousey her toughest challenge. I really, really, want to see a rematch.

I like Lawler, and hate Kos, but that stoppage was too early. Premature stoppages seem to be the only real issue with Herb Dean as a referee.

Ehhh, he took 4 or 5 unanswered shots and looked to be on his way to being out. I had no problem with the stoppage at all early or not... if it was early, it's the universe's way of balancing out all the cheap, underhanded crap he's known for doing during fights.

Does anyone else think Urijah seemed even a little more motivated than usual? Perhaps a result of Dana indicating he would be at possible risk of release with a bad performance?

Faber was downplaying it before the fight, but at the same time, Faber needed a dominant performance to get himself back into title consideration. I don't think he would have been cut with a bad performance, but at the same time, everyone that MIGHT have been at risk of being cut with the exception of Brendan Schaub went out there and put on entertaining fights last night. I was entertained the entire night.

And speaking of Urijah's, I found it wierd that they temporarily focused on Urijah Hall being in the crowd. I can never remember a current TUF contestant getting that kind of brief television exposure during a PPV that happened mid-season. We don't even know how far the guy will advance for sure, yet that was the kind of notice that only a veteran fighter or celebrity would typically recieve. It appears the UFC is well aware of the potential they may have with him post-TUF.

Hall is a definite star in the making and I think it was pretty much spoiled by Dana before the start of the season he was going real far where he kept on talking about one guy who kept brutally KO'ing people and sending them to the hospital. Regardless, Hall is a definite star in the making and I cannot wait to see how he winds up faring.

 

[Remix]

Carmouche was the perfect person to put in this spot all the way through. She's an incredibly nice person and was extremely humble all the way through, continued to make herself look good at the press conference, and she gave Rousey her toughest challenge. I really, really, want to see a rematch.

I absolutely agree. The story of it was simply perfect. Ronda, the unbeaten in MMA, Olympic medallist who's the only reason WMMA is in the UFC. 6 professional fights, 6 first round victories with the same hold. Liz, the underdog who nobody gave much of a chance to. But she's an ex-marine who got the shot be being the first woman with the balls ovaries to step into the octagon with Rousey. Both girls had to go out and show they belong in UFC, and they did it.

I'm also hoping Liz earns another shot. Even if she doesn't going 4:49 with Rousey gives her the legitimacy to be a gatekeeper in the division for quite a while. Especially if she keeps putting on entertaining fights like last night.

Ehhh, he took 4 or 5 unanswered shots and looked to be on his way to being out. I had no problem with the stoppage at all early or not... if it was early, it's the universe's way of balancing out all the cheap, underhanded crap he's known for doing during fights.

He was getting hit hard enough to make his head bounce off the floor and doing nothing. If he wasn't out, it wouldn't be long before he was. The fight was over, the ref just stepped in to stop it before lasting damage could be done.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Despite being dead wrong on the majority of fight picks last night, and losing a little bit of coin in the betting department, I enjoyed the card. Nothing really that surprising happened, as a lot of the fights could have gone either way.

I probably had a little bit too much confidence in Hendo coming off his knee surgery and layoff, but when you're on a kind of streak like Dan was it's hard to bet against him. That was sadly the fight I lost the most money on; the second time in my life that I've been burned betting against Lyoto =/ The only real surprise was that somehow one judge saw the fight for Henderson.

I was expecting more of a war out of Menjivar/Faber; but Urijah is always amazing when he's motivated. And if the bullshit Dana was spewing about him potentially being on the chopping block if he didn't perform he certainly used it as motivation. Does anyone have more standing RNC finishes than Urijah? That seems to be his go-to. I swear that's got the be the fourth time I've seen him finish that way, though most of them have been leaping to the back and then taking them down with it to finish.

Was awesome to see someone finally put Rousey in trouble. She looked completely comfortable through it, which is the mark of a good champion. Liz attacked with WAY more submissions than I expected her to. Rousey's got some pretty sick ground and pound. I'm ready to see Cat Zingano roll through her first opponent and challenge Rousey for the belt... I think that fight is going to be sick as hell. Zingano is easily the strongest woman in the division, and easily one of the most well rounded. She probably has the best chance of beating Rousey without Cyborg in the mix.

 

[INDYjon22]

It's been a while but I felt compelled to make a post. Not about anything that has happened recently, but for an upcoming momentous moment in March, which I am sure I will say more about when the day nears. I am so ridiculously excited about Andrei Arlovski's fight with Rumble. Both like to bang. Both have suspect chins. This fight is going to be explosive, and I cannot contain my enthusiasm for it.

Also, fuck Dana for dropping Fitch, and likely Kos next

 

[Da Prophet]

With a win over Pettis on Aug. 3, 2013, Aldo won't just keep his Featherweight title, but he'll also emerge as the No. 1 Lightweight contender, which is a position that Pettis currently holds. Indeed, Aldo will win exactly what Pettis would have won, a world title and a 155-pound title shot next, making the outcome even for both sides.

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/2/25/4030278/report-jose-aldo-lightweight-title-shot-anthony-pettis-win-ufc

Holy shit.

If this is accurate then Aldo just pulled off a super badass move. He looked like a coward for refusing to fight but this is an awesome reason outcome for Aldo. I'm so pumped for this fight now.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Does anyone know if this Aldo stipulation extends to Pettis as well?

If Pettis defeats Aldo does he still maintain his #1 contender status at 155 and get the shot to become a double champ himself??

 

[Remix]

Yes it does, it seems that was a sticking point for Aldo, in that he had nothing to gain from the fight but everything to lose.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

The whole thing just seems a little bit stupid to me. Don't get me wrong, I want to see Pettis and Aldo fight... But I don't want to see the Featherweight division's title picture held up so one or the other can go challenge for the Lightweight belt.

This whole scenario is almost on the same level of ignorance as having Anderson Silva move up to Light Heavyweight for fights with Irvin, Griffin, and Bonnar.

 

[Fizzy]

Pretty sure if Aldo wins, he'll vacate the title and move to 155 permanently. Pettis complicates things, but I highly doubt he'd be allowed to challenge for the LW title with a win

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Bendo said that if he beats Melendez, he wants GSP.

Dana came on UFC Tonight and said if Aldo goes to 155, he stays there if he wins the title. Pettis will have to stay at 145 for awhile if he beats Aldo. He emphatically stated Bendo is not going anywhere if he beats Melendez.

Also, Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga is off as Johnson is hurt.

And Matt Riddle pissed hot again and is now cut. LOL.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Bendo said that if he beats Melendez, he wants GSP.

As much as I like Benson I really think he's buying way too much into his hype. Melendez isn't somebody to be daydreaming on, Gil's going to come to fight and try and take that belt. I think it's a 50/50 fight definitely. Melendez isn't going to be out of his element like most guys, as he's been through plenty of five-round fights and has cardio for days.

Dana came on UFC Tonight and said if Aldo goes to 155, he stays there if he wins the title. Pettis will have to stay at 145 for awhile if he beats Aldo. He emphatically stated Bendo is not going anywhere if he beats Melendez.

Yeah, if Aldo beats Pettis then moving to the Lightweight division would ultimately be the best decision for him at this point. He's battered pretty much a who's who at the weight class and there's not exactly any money fights for him there anymore. I was more angry at the idea that Pettis would win the featherweight title and then immediately go back up and fight for the lightweight so he could put some "feather in his cap". Now that it's been explained a little more fluidly I'm definitely not opposed. I still think Aldo would trash the vast majority of the lightweight division though.

Also, Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga is off as Johnson is hurt.

I'm not upset by this at all. It gives the Flyweight division a little bit more time to get its legs underneath it. I like Moraga quite a bit and he's looked pretty sharp so far in the UFC, but I think with another win or two he'd be more marketable as a challenger. Hell, let him fight Joseph Benavidez and give the winner a title shot.

And Matt Riddle pissed hot again and is now cut. LOL.

I still think it's dumb that they fine and suspend fighters the same way for weed as they would steroids. I can see fining them, for sure. But the whole idea that these commissions have that it's performance enhancing is completely ridiculous.

I remember the arguments from both sides when Nick Diaz was really the first one to get popped for it, because he was apparently high before the fight... If that's what they're worried about then why the hell not perform sobriety tests before the fighters go out? I know that sounds ridiculous but if they're concerned about it enhancing the performance of the actual fight then do it.

But looking at it realistically I would say his release was just helped by his hot piss test. He had been preaching a lot of pro-weed propaganda in interviews, and at one point said something along the lines of "I would probably beat my kids if I didn't smoke weed" which he later said was a joke, but that's still negative press for the UFC to have one of its fighters saying that. Not to mention his style of fighting wasn't exactly entertaining, a big reason for a lot of the cuts the other day.

------------------

I'm really stoked for this Fuel card in Japan. To me it definitely has a PRIDE feel to it.

-You've got Wanderlei headlining in a sure slugfest against Stann. If that one goes to a decision I would be absolutely shocked.

-You've got the "freak show" fight in Hunt vs. Stann that I'm sure the Japanese crowd is going to eat up.

-You've got your lightweight balls to the wall war with home crowd favorite Takanori Gomi taking on Diego Sanchez.

-Okami and Lombard should be a solid showing. I really like Okami, but I'm rooting for Lombard because I want to see Anderson knock him out with superior striking... Other than that I'd be rooting for Yushin.


The rest of the card is extremely solid, even the prelims. I just wish this fight was an FX or FOX card, because I don't have Fuel TV which means I'm gonna have to find other methods of seeing it.

 

[Fizzy]

Matt Riddle is a dumb fucking idiot who deserved to be cut regardless of his record. How many fucking times has he been popped now? It doesn't matter what your views on weed are, I don't care whether you think it should be legalized or not. It's against the rules to smoke weed before a fight. Those are the rules and they are stated pretty fucking clearly. Matt Riddle has shown a blatant disregard for the rules multiple times, and he was released. It's his fault he's to stupid to stop smoking for a few months. As for the bullshit "what if it was medical" excuse, I sincerely doubt Riddle has some kind of disease or abnormality that can only be treated by smoking weed. Seriously, if you can't stop smoking for a few months leading up to the fight, you have some serious problems that need addressing.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Matt Riddle is a dumb fucking idiot who deserved to be cut regardless of his record. How many fucking times has he been popped now? It doesn't matter what your views on weed are, I don't care whether you think it should be legalized or not. It's against the rules to smoke weed before a fight. Those are the rules and they are stated pretty fucking clearly. Matt Riddle has shown a blatant disregard for the rules multiple times, and he was released. It's his fault he's to stupid to stop smoking for a few months. As for the bullshit "what if it was medical" excuse, I sincerely doubt Riddle has some kind of disease or abnormality that can only be treated by smoking weed. Seriously, if you can't stop smoking for a few months leading up to the fight, you have some serious problems that need addressing.

I agree with you. The thing is he didn't even have to quit smoking a few months before. With the level of activity that a pro-fighter has and minimal amount of fat he carries, he would only have had to quit for at most 3-4 weeks before the fight. He's definitely a moron. A lot of the shit he was saying going into this fight just screamed "Fire me, Joe Silva." Almost every day there was some news story about him either getting into a verbal sparring match with another fighter, or spouting his views and griefs to any news site that would publish him.

I could care less about Riddle, or anyone else that fails a drug test under the current rules. They've been in place for a long while now, and they know the rules. My argument is the governing bodies need to get together and discuss modifying the penalties for marijuana use for future incidents. They're already fairly lenient, allowing more to be in the system than what a pisser would for a job interview. But I feel like it's a little bit out there to put steroids and marijuana on the same level of punishment. Most major sports are simply levying fines for marijuana these days.