UFC

[The Unknown Poster]

Brock Lesnar informed UFC he's retiring (per MMAfighting).  Some speculation its because he had to maintain testing to maintain eligibility and it's WrestleMania season (ie. doesnt want piss testers knocking on his door all hours while he's trying to bulk up).  Some speculation he might return later in the year.  He'd be required to test clean for 5 months.

[bigg jay]

A lot of people are concerned with the new direction of the UFC.  Even Rogan has said he'd be out if he wasn't so loyal to Dana. 

The last PPV was mediocre on paper and lived up to the expectations (Poirier vs Miller being the lone exception).  It was not a good night all around for the fighters, refs, or judges.  A draw with a point deduction would have been warranted.  A warning after the 1st infraction (which was borderline late) and a point taken away after the 2nd (which was clearly late).  It was the 1st UFC title fight for Anderson (he's done a ton of Bellator shows) and he didn't do himself any favors... especially when he jumped in early after the 1st two late punches.

[The Unknown Poster]

UFC is big business now.  And they have massive debt financing.

[Brandon]

The UFC really could use a new matchmaker or a strategy for building stars and keeping older legends relevant for the casual fans.

For example why in the world would they put BJ Penn who has looked terrible for years against a young guy who clearly is light years ahead of him at this point in time.   BJ Penn has a following and can be an entertaining fighter and a nice draw for a co main event to complement a card.  By him being completely destroyed in the cage it kills his legacy and really does nothing for Yair Rodríguez's ascension.       To me it would of made more sense having BJ fight against someone that he could at least have a chance of beating while making it entertaining. 

I also don't understand why they put Jared Cannonier against Glover Texeiria?    Glover is nearing the end of his career and is/was ranked #3...  so instead of having him fight in a title eliminator they put him against an unranked opponent who barely got by a D level fighter in his last fight?    It looked so bad on PPV when Glover kept taking him down... it made the product look really weak on screen.     Cirkunov would of looked much better in that fight and yet they let him go to Bellator because they don't want to spend a few extra dollars?

It's bizarre that Fox cards can be much higher quality then PPV's that they expect people to put money down on.    Same goes with prelims on fox having more star power then the ppv cards...   

I almost miss the days of Spike TV where the free cards would be entertaining with only one or two stars while the ppv cards were loaded top to bottom.

 

 

[sweep the leg]

GSP has apparently reached an agreement for a new deal with the UFC and it should be finalized soon. I'm a big GSP fan, but I'm not sure how I feel about him coming back. I liked the idea of him going out on top, but I suppose it's not up to me.

[Brandon]

47 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

GSP has apparently reached an agreement for a new deal with the UFC and it should be finalized soon. I'm a big GSP fan, but I'm not sure how I feel about him coming back. I liked the idea of him going out on top, but I suppose it's not up to me.

He can finally have his fight with a now faded Anderson Silva...

[wbbfan]

12 hours ago, bigg jay said:

I don't see Floyd agreeing to anything but a straight up boxing match which would mean the 8 or 10oz gloves and a ring.  Apparently the Nevada commission is involved in the negotiations somehow so it would be a sanctioned fight and rules would have to be followed. 

yeah i dont either. And i cant see it being much of a fight because of it. 

11 hours ago, Brandon said:

I am concerned of the direction the new UFC is going... the previous PPV was a stinker and some of the main events announced for the future are really mediocre.    

I assume Mike Goldberg was canned because aside from reading the ads he really did not elevate the action with his PBP.   I wasn't a fan of the 3 man booth for the last event... Cormier talks way to much.   It was much better back in the old days when Randy Couture would sit in on the main events and chime in occasionally.  

Did anyone else watch the last ppv?    I thought Anderson should of lost and the main event the ref should of deducted a point with the fight being a draw.

yeah they really over booked the super cards last year and now this year has been poor because of it.  But atleast 209 is ppv worthy. Woodley wonder boy 2 and ferguson nurmagomedov. even if stripping the lw and having an interim bout allready is more of the same problem.

Yeah the refing was awful. I had anderson losing too and while those 2 late punches were close and started before the bell you cant let that keep happening. What we get for not having mma refs.

[bigg jay]

The ref in question is 100% an mma referee.  He's from Ontario & was trained by Big John McCarthy.  I'very seen him work 1st hand many times and is normally much better.  Horrible timing to have an off night.

[wbbfan]

3 hours ago, bigg jay said:

The ref in question is 100% an mma referee.  He's from Ontario & was trained by Big John McCarthy.  I'very seen him work 1st hand many times and is normally much better.  Horrible timing to have an off night.

was he? I thought he was an out sider and heard he was too. If thats true itll make him better. Its a tough job, especially in mma. But those really bad moments are what make  you better. Big john and herb do a bunch of stuff with grass roots stuff with refs. tons and tons. 

GSP and the ufc have agreed to terms apparently. 

[bigg jay]

Yeah he took Big John's reffing course in early 2010 so he's been at it for a while now, not sure how many fights he's got under his belt now though.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://themaclife.com/featured-posts/georges-st-pierre-resigns-ufc/

[wbbfan]

7 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

https://themaclife.com/featured-posts/georges-st-pierre-resigns-ufc/

rumor is the long awaited anderson silva fight is on deck .

[bigg jay]

Not UFC but still in the fight world - former Eskimo Adam Braidwood picked up a minor world boxing title tonight in Montreal.

Herb Zurkowski had a good article about him the other day.

http://montrealgazette.com/sports/former-top-cfl-pick-adam-braidwood-vies-for-redemption-in-boxing-ring

[wbbfan]

On 2/24/2017 at 10:11 PM, bigg jay said:

Not UFC but still in the fight world - former Eskimo Adam Braidwood picked up a minor world boxing title tonight in Montreal.

Herb Zurkowski had a good article about him the other day.

http://montrealgazette.com/sports/former-top-cfl-pick-adam-braidwood-vies-for-redemption-in-boxing-ring

wow that ref LOL.

Braidwood looked a lot better then most football players turned fighters good for him. A guy with his size sporting background and good boxing skills I wonder if he is gonna try mma at some point. Id rather watch some one like him fight at a sub ufc level event then punk. 

Woodley wonderboy 2, ferguson nurmy, Hunt and reem this next card gonna actually be worth paying for on paper. A nice change of pace from the junk weve been getting from ppvs.

[bigg jay]

Braidwood actually had an mma fight before he went into boxing.  He tko'd future UFC fighter Ryan Jimmo in his only mma fight back in 2007.  It was the 1st fight for both guys and the only time Jimmo was ever finished by strikes (injury stoppage excluded).  

The Canadian MMA scene is pretty dead right now so he's definitely going to make more money in boxing.  The funny thing is that 4 of his 8 boxing matches have been against MMA fighters. 

[sweep the leg]

No date set yet, but GSP vs. Bisping at 185 for the title was confirmed by White this morning.

Not sure how I feel about this one. GSP can probably beat Bisping, but I don't give him much chance against the giant middleweights like Romero or Rockhold. He'll be tiny at that weight class. I'd rather see him go to lightweight and fight guys like Khabib & McGregor.

[wbbfan]

32 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

No date set yet, but GSP vs. Bisping at 185 for the title was confirmed by White this morning.

Not sure how I feel about this one. GSP can probably beat Bisping, but I don't give him much chance against the giant middleweights like Romero or Rockhold. He'll be tiny at that weight class. I'd rather see him go to lightweight and fight guys like Khabib & McGregor.

Yeah just saw this. 

The fact hes going up for a super fight when he could have had woodley is the last nail in the coffin of i dont think he can make lw. 

I like gsp and all. But man this is another zero integrity cash grab fight. I hate it. Especially with gsps lay off, and having not fought at this weight before going straight into a  title match is BS. He will probably have a couple gym heater matches to tune up but still. 

Idk what would be worse. GSP winning and either being stripped of that belt, or having to defend it. Or bisping beating gsp. The match making is getting harder and harder to stomach in the ufc. 

[bigg jay]

Khabib vs Ferguson has been cancelled due to medical issues for Khabib.

http://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-tony-ferguson-UFC-209-bout-cancelled

[wbbfan]

7 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Khabib vs Ferguson has been cancelled due to medical issues for Khabib.

http://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-tony-ferguson-UFC-209-bout-cancelled

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Guy has never been able to stay healthy, i hated that this was an interim match but loved the match up of these two. this could really crush the ppv sales.

[bigg jay]

It was by far the best fight of the card.  Even though there are other good fights, it's definitely changed my plans for ordering the ppv.

 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, bigg jay said:

It was by far the best fight of the card.  Even though there are other good fights, it's definitely changed my plans for ordering the ppv.

 

yep. same here. Im still excited for woodley wonderboy but that was the real main event. 

[sweep the leg]

Bisping went full villain yesterday and GSP can't trash talk to save his life. That was my takeaway from their presser.

Also of note; GSP said his walk around weight is between 185-190 and he could easily make lightweight, as he's smaller than some current lightweights. Sets up a fight with McGregor, a huge pay day, and a belt in a 3rd weight class if he wins.

[Brandon]

Anyone else find it fishy that  Daniel Cormier somehow magically lost 1.2 lbs in a matter of 2 minutes and then Rumble Johnson is then weighed in at 1.2 lbs below the 205 weight limit?  

 

[wbbfan]

21 hours ago, Brandon said:

Anyone else find it fishy that  Daniel Cormier somehow magically lost 1.2 lbs in a matter of 2 minutes and then Rumble Johnson is then weighed in at 1.2 lbs below the 205 weight limit?  

 

That fights weigh in couldnt have been more fishy if they did them at a fish market. DCs camp said he had excessive sweat and weighed in up stairs on the money. Only he wasnt sweaty when he weighed in. The towel lean has been known about for decades in the wrestling community, where DC happens to come from. (doesnt seem like it would work but it does.) Rumble coming in under? I heard in the lead up that hes leaner then ever so im not surprised. Once upon a time he did make 171. The fact he was down by the same amount dc was up? did they happen to use a 7 dollar scale from walmart? Digital scales are notoriously bad. One thing is for sure, dc looked every bit of 58 when he hit to scales. Despite only being 38. ("only")

The boobgate event, how is it a problem now but not when tate fought in ny hmmmmm.

Over all its a weak card for a fox event. for ppv this is laughable. 

[Brandon]

A terrible card as to be expected.     The only really interesting thing that I read was the transcript of Anthony Johnson corner giving up on him and being completely defeated after he ignored their wishes and kept trying to wrestle with Daniel Cormier. 

I'm not an MMA coach or expert....  but it really does puzzle me when a guy like Rumble has great success throwing hooks and high kicks which were connecting and hurting Cormier.... only for him to clinch and then try to go for a takedown and then lose that battle.    He didn't look tired and clearly it was working for him when he kept distance and landed bombs.   Super weird that he would go to the one area in which he was greatly outmatched in.

The Mousasi fight was disappointing in how it ended...  looked like the end was going to be great only for Mirgliotta to blow the call (again).  

Why is Pearl Gonzalez on a main card for a PPV?  It blows my mind that they have two nobodies fighting on the ppv portion?? 

It's cards like these that make me yearn for the old days of Pride where at least you would be entertained if the star power wasn't holding up the card...