General MMA Discussion

[Kasey]

I'm completely with you... competition is always a good thing, and I really feel that it's a matter of time before Tito gets signed to Affliction because of his relationship with Donald Trump.

I like Dana a lot, he seems like he's a genuinely awesome guy and he's also from the New England area. The thing is, when he starts talking about the competition, he needs to bite his tongue a little bit. If Fedor is "just ok", then why did he try like hell to sign him, and backed out when negotiations went south not because of Fedor, but because of his manager? I think he also talked crap about the IFL and their fighters, saying something like he'd never sign their fighters due to them being bushleague. He just signed two IFL guys who were brothers.

If Dana does schedule another UFN, he does have one out that would make people tune in to watch, and that's the fact that Shogun Rua hasn't fought since the Griffin fight. People would watch if he got Shogun to main event the UFN, and filled the card up with guys like Dolloway, Sedollah, and Jesse Taylor.

Dana supports his brand and his brand alone...even if he looks like a dipshit doing it. That's why I love popping in my 2003 Gran Prix DVD and listen to him eat crow while Chuck Liddell takes a beating by Rampage.

UFC contracts are very restrictive and Fedor's was reported to be fucking terrible. At the first loss, the UFC could terminate him, but if he won they could keep renewing it. He's another one of the guys who thought that Fedor was overrated and not worth the money, when in reality you can find truckloads of quotes from other top fighters who think he's the shit. When you're B.J. Penn's favorite fighter...then you've got some serious clout. Fedor wanted to be able to defend his Combat Sambo title and Dana's crew wouldn't allow that (even though they let all their top talent compete in ADCC).

Plus, I understand that Fedor's manager Vadim wanted to get deals for Fedor's Red Devil stable mates. Honestly, I don't think it would've been a bad deal to sign some of them and have them paid scale with options to sign their own deals after two fights. Besides, it would've been cool to see Roman Zentsov make a debut in the UFC and see if he could pick up his winning ways again with a change of scenery. Those things combined to nix the deal. But seeing as Dana has had an exodus of his top heavyweights and the birth of Affliction, I bet he's thinking option A is now the lesser of two evils.

The deal with Shogun wasn't actually Dana's fault. He had Shogun pegged for a June return against Liddell in England, but Shogun ruptured his previously injured ACL and had to opt for surgery. Supposedly, they're looking for a December return for Shogun.

 

[Frank the Frowner]

Randy Couture is possibly coming back to the UFC, in time for UFC 91 in November. If it happens, UFC 91 is going to be the biggest PPV of the year, because he'll be facing Brock Lesnar. Kongo had to drop out because of the fact that he's having surgery. Lesnar/Couture would sell on so many levels, and also be awesome on so many levels. If this happens, then it would be under a new contract with the UFC. Here's where it gets better. The UFC could possibly be getting Randy vs. Fedor to finally take place as well.

I'm glad to see that Dana sees Affliction as a major threat, and is finally working things out with Randy.

Rumors regarding UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture's (16-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) possible return to the UFC, first reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), are continuing to build momentum.

Five Ounces of Pain recently reported that preliminary negotiations would have Couture return for UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Portland, Ore.

New reports from BloodyElbow.com confirm the previously reported negotiations between Couture and the UFC. Additionally, the reports claim that Couture's next fight would be the UFC 91 main event against Brock Lesnar (2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC).

It is unknown at this time whether the bout would be for Couture's UFC heavyweight title.

Couture has been inactive for over a year while waiting out the Oct. 11 end of his current UFC contract. BloodyElbow.com is reporting the bout with Lesnar would be under a new contract that would lock Couture into the UFC long-term, but the new deal would also likely pay more and offer additional benefits.

MMA Rated has also reported that the UFC is considering a departure from recent policy and may be open to co-promoting a bout with M-1 Global between Couture and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (28-1). M-1 Global currently holds Emelianenko's contract.

The UFC previously tried and failed to secure Emelianenko's services. It is unclear if the issues that previously prevented the bout between Couture and Emelianenko have now been solved.

Additional reports from the Wrestling Observer note that Couture's new deal would be for three fights. In addition to Lesnar and Emelianenko, possible future opponents discussed with Couture include UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and a fourth bout with former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.

MMAjunkie.com was unable to confirm the multiple reports with Couture.

 

[jmt225]

I love Couture and I do hope he makes a comeback, but Lesnar being his first opponent would be a huge mistake, in my opinion. They’re both probably the best wrestlers in MMA, but Lesnar is just so damn big that I see him completely dominating Couture when it comes to that aspect. Standing-up, Couture PROBABLY has the edge, and neither have submission skills, so wrestling is what the fight would come down to and I just don’t think Couture can hang with Lesnar in that aspect. If they were the same size, then okay, but Lesnar outweights Couture by more then 40 pounds. It’s a total mismatch.

 

[Kasey]

Couture definitely would have the experience edge in this one. While Brock has the athleticism of Sean Sherk, I don't think it'll help him any if Couture comes in with the same shape he had for his last fight against Gonzaga. Randy's Greco is nasty and he has a better ground game than Brock. As long as he can weather the initial storm and look out for one of Lesnar's right hands early on, he can get it up against the cage and wear him down. Because although Lesnar looked stellar against Heath Herring, he still couldn't finish him despite holding dominant top position throughout the majority of the contest. Couture is also a master gameplanner and I think that'll come into play. However, if age and inactivity has slowed any of Randy's reflexes, then Lesnar will pounce.

 

[mattitude2007]

Lesnar wasn't necessarily trying to finish. Lesnar said it was part of the gameplan to not try submissions on Heath in case he exposes himself. Herring probably would have had a counter and is good at rolling out, which is why Lesnar didn't bother trying to sink in his hooks either.

 

[Kasey]

Lesnar wasn't necessarily trying to finish. Lesnar said it was part of the gameplan to not try submissions on Heath in case he exposes himself. Herring probably would have had a counter and is good at rolling out, which is why Lesnar didn't bother trying to sink in his hooks either.

He also failed to use more than two of his brain cells when he landed a right hand that would've spelled the end for nearly any fighter around if the one who threw the punch didn't decide to bull-rush him like Bill fucking Goldberg. I know that Lesnar's corner staff were trying to get him to hold top position and he did just fine, but after a picture-perfect straight right like that, his inexperience was blatantly obvious. Instead of trying to hold top game from a postured position and rain down the heavy leather he ran right at him like he was a bison looking to mate at high-speed.