UFC

[Root]

18 hours ago, wbbfan said:

If brock wants to have more in the tank after this the smart fight for him wouldnt be to charge in and try to go straight to the ground.

Brock has great stamina and incredible quickness. Hunt does not. The smartest fight would be to stay just out side of range. Wait for hunt to throw a lunging bomb, change angle and explode in for a counter strike. Then back out. Brock doesnt have the technical skill to throw elaborate combos. So just singles and wait for hunt to slow down. Once he's a beat roughed up and slowed down (maybe as soon as late first) push him against the fence grind on him, then take him down. Does that happen? Idk hes such a huge question mark. Has he been training a bunch since he left with this in mind? Is he here because he wants to be a champion now or step in and win now. Or trying to recapture past glory. Will have to wait and see i guess.

the JJ vs claudia fight was pretty bloody good last night. And great scoring. 

I guess Brock read your post cuz he did pretty much everything you said. For once he realized he was doomed if he allowed Hunt to hit him square - so he had a few evasive manoeuvres.

Miesha Tate getting herself squashed by Nunes was the biggest bomb on an otherwise fine card. Nunes broke thru Tate's usual "slow start" and busted up the American really severely in the first round - breaking Tate's nose - and then rather than continue to pound away at a virtually helpless Tate - she turned her over and choked her out.  Tate got thrashed by Ronda Rousey in the 1st round but put up more resistance than she did in succumbing to the Amanda.

 

Rousey;s head must be spinning at how vicious some of the women are - and how unstable the division is after Holm kicked her head off. Holm gets choked out by Tate - then Tate succumbs badly to Nunes.

 

And I really like how tough that Polish JJ was in her straw weight match - really dogged and ground it out to win a UDC.

 

Rousey is talking tough against Cyborg but talk is her best weapon - she'd be murdered if she entered the octagon vs. Cyborg and she knows it.

Holm discovered how to beat Rousey by punching her hard and bloodying her badly - also resisting Rousey's grappling and takedowns, showing Rousey that she's bigger and stronger.

 

If I could handpick the women's matches in the next 18 months I'd go as follows:

 

Cyborg vs. Holly Holm

Joanna J vs. Miesha Tate (Joanna would have to come up to at least 125/130 to fight 135 Tate)

If Ronda keeps running her yap off and doesn't get into the ring in the next 6 months she'll abdicate her position as being a top challenger and float into the sunset much the same as Gina Carrano did after Cyborg brutalized her (I think GIna went nearly the distance vs. Cyborg, something Ronda couldn't do)

 

Ronda vs. Tate or Ronda vs. Holm in re-matches doesn't have the sex appeal it did before last night.

 

Tate will no doubt re-train and focus on a comeback. Seems to do better as a challenger than a champion as witnessed by last night. She was also on the verge of losing a decision to Holm before Holm got lazy and allowed Tate to mount her and choke her out.

Nunes, after vanquishing Tate in such a vicious manner might be so full of hubris she'd actually take on Cyborg now. That fight would be interesting but don't think a fight between two south americans (both alleged to have used roids) would draw that well.

What do you think UP?

[The Unknown Poster]

Unfortunately I'm not a big enough UFC fan to be able to analyze it too closely. But before the women's fight last night I said to a buddy it would make sense to hbe Ronda vs Tate first since the marketing is that it's for the strap and Ronda likely wins then build up the Ronda/Holm rematch. After last night? Who knows. 

Probanly best interest of UFC is get the most money on the first fight. Whatever that is. Ronda/Holm I'd guess. 

Great fight by Brock. Thought he looked looser and more relaxed than ever even just entering the cage.  Looked to really enjoy the whole experience.  

He was very very aware of Hunt's punches and used his agility to dance away. Smart fight. Hunt had no answer for a guy that big and strong who was that fast and could take him down almost at will. 

Good for brock

back when Brock was in UFC before he was hated by mma fans. When I'd see UFC at bars he'd be boo'ed out of the place. Last night the was cheered wildly by everyone. Interesting.  And not just because he's now "Canadian" but cheered in arena too.  I think fans like the story. And see Brock as one of their guys now. Great story. 

[Brandon]

I just watched all 3 fight cards.... funny enough the free cards imo were more entertaining then the UFC 200 ppv.  

Brock did what he had to do and got the win.  If they match him up against certain guys he'll be able to win... but rematches with Cain or Overeem he will get absolutely destroyed.  

Tate looked like Tate.....  I was much more entertained with Joanna Jedrzejczyk and her performance that was an awesome fight.  

Why did they bother trotting out Silva... he apparently hasn't trained in months and looked completely out of shape... I would of much preferred a Mousasi fight then that crap.    Cormier also is boring as all mighty hell.  He'll never be a fan favorite.  

Aldo looked juiced ...  I'm amazed that he passed his drug tests.  

Overall a good 3 days of fights... the fight night and fox sports cards were super entertaining.   

 

[wbbfan]

3 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Unfortunately I'm not a big enough UFC fan to be able to analyze it too closely. But before the women's fight last night I said to a buddy it would make sense to hbe Ronda vs Tate first since the marketing is that it's for the strap and Ronda likely wins then build up the Ronda/Holm rematch. After last night? Who knows. 

Probanly best interest of UFC is get the most money on the first fight. Whatever that is. Ronda/Holm I'd guess. 

Great fight by Brock. Thought he looked looser and more relaxed than ever even just entering the cage.  Looked to really enjoy the whole experience.  

He was very very aware of Hunt's punches and used his agility to dance away. Smart fight. Hunt had no answer for a guy that big and strong who was that fast and could take him down almost at will. 

Good for brock

back when Brock was in UFC before he was hated by mma fans. When I'd see UFC at bars he'd be boo'ed out of the place. Last night the was cheered wildly by everyone. Interesting.  And not just because he's now "Canadian" but cheered in arena too.  I think fans like the story. And see Brock as one of their guys now. Great story. 

Tate had to weigh in naked with people holding a towel around her to make weight, and still barely made it. Again. As soon as ufc 200 ended new weight cutting rules came into effect. Not 1 fc strict but its gonna be enough to push a couple people out of weight brackets. Hendricks and tate the least of which.

 Imop the ufc will have to create another womens division. Tate and cybro will fight for that strap. The next fight for nunes is either holm, or very likely julianna pena. Holm fights schevchenko july 23. So all three would line up. tate imop will be on medical leave and not be up in time for a rematch, and she shouldnt get an instant rematch any way. if she could make weight. IF she is able to make weight or the ufc drags their heels on forming a new womens division, then tate fights the winner of holm vs shevchenko. Nunes fights pena. Winner v winner loser v loser. Of course RR could still factor in. If she comes back I think the ufc throws her right into a title match. I wouldnt, id throw her into a warm up fight first. That combo would also mean cybro doesnt have a big match up for a while. If the ufc does form another division then tate goes up, rr could take her place vs holm. 

[wbbfan]

38 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I just watched all 3 fight cards.... funny enough the free cards imo were more entertaining then the UFC 200 ppv.  

Brock did what he had to do and got the win.  If they match him up against certain guys he'll be able to win... but rematches with Cain or Overeem he will get absolutely destroyed.  

Tate looked like Tate.....  I was much more entertained with Joanna Jedrzejczyk and her performance that was an awesome fight.  

Why did they bother trotting out Silva... he apparently hasn't trained in months and looked completely out of shape... I would of much preferred a Mousasi fight then that crap.    Cormier also is boring as all mighty hell.  He'll never be a fan favorite.  

Aldo looked juiced ...  I'm amazed that he passed his drug tests.  

Overall a good 3 days of fights... the fight night and fox sports cards were super entertaining.   

 

Yeah the bottom half of the event was decidedly better then the top half. 

Brock looks like he could still beat any of the one tool HWs. Jds, roy nelson, arlovski, or browne. Jds is on the up swing. Big country would be interesting. he does have strong wrestling and bjj skills but he never uses them in mma. Doesnt matter what you can do in the gym. If they wanted to throw him a warm up fight this would be a good match up. Arlovski also wouldnt be a bad choice. 2 former champs, very high chance of a finish either way. Frank mir could be a possibility. Trying to create a draw but i dont think itd be a good fight. Josh barnett would be interesting. A tough match up for brock for sure. Stefan struve may finally be healthy and good to go now too. Id put browne against struve for the re match.  

JJ is a favorite of mine. Shes incredible and a lot of fun to watch.

Silva was bait for the crowd. It was sad. Though for a half second i saw a glimpse of the old confident and deadily silva. Then DC went LOLNO and took him down for the rest of the fight.  I would have cancelled that fight and pushed it back to NY or some thing. 2 days is a joke.

I was thinking the same. Aldo hasnt looked that lean and ripped maybe ever. Really looked like the aldo of old too. I was surprised how focused and balanced he was. Still plenty of time for his post test to come up dirty xD

[The Unknown Poster]

According to 8 News Now in Las Vegas, which will air portions of a sit-down interview with Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White on Monday morning, papers were signed on Saturday to transfer majority ownership to a group consisting of the William Morris Endeavor (WME), International Management Group (IMG), and private equity firm MSD.

The $4 billion dollar deal isn’t a 100% sale, with the Fertittas and Dana White retaining a small percentage of ownership. Additionally, White will remain in the role of UFC President under the new ownership group, while Lorenzo Fertitta will relinquish his position as chairman after a six to eight week transition period.

Read more at http://mmatorch.com/2016/07/11/ufc-sold-for-4-billion-fertittas-dana-white-retain-small-percentage-of-ownership-white-stays-on-as-president/#GwfOiWC40Eed1O4e.99

[Root]

Rumours of Dana White and Lorenzo cashing in their chips have hovered over UFC for months, if not the last couple years. White will retain a minor share and continue to lead the thing as President - but will probably get himself canned at the first sign of trouble or controversy.

As far as the WWE/UFC connection its my understanding that Vince McMahon agreed to let Brock Lesnar loop out of his WWE contract to fight that 42 yr old soupcan Mark Hunt - Hunt basically fetalled for the entire fight, allowing Lesnar to look good and dominate him for an unexpected Lesnar decision.

In return for Lesnar's services White agreed to lease out one of his pieces of cattle - Ronda Rousey. I expect Ronda will be doing her bit in a confrontation with Stephanie McMahon without actually doing much judo or fighting. Vince could also let Ronda run ramphshod over those Bella twins - they'd know how to do the necessary gymnastics and agonizing looks to make Rousey look good.

 

I'd also like to see Vince go further than that. Maybe bring in Alister Overeem, one of Lesnar's tormentors to scare the bejeebers out of Brock - but in the end just let Overeem work as a highly paid jobber - and put Lesnar over with an F5. Overeem would probably job for under $500,000 so its chump change.

[The Unknown Poster]

I dont know if the deal would be that in depth.  WWE got a promo video on UFC200 and if that was as much as they got, it wouldnt surprise me.  There was talk they wanted Van Zant but she didnt end up agreeing so who knows.  I would also not be surprised if there was a handshake agreement that they'd help each other out in the future.  There was also talk that WWE owed UFC one since Ronda appeared at Wrestlemania last year.

WWE continues to say stupid things about UFC so it seems to me they never feel really good about the deals or the relationship.  Low self esteem.  It will be interesting to see if WWE pushes the Brock win now, since they did nothing on TV for UFC200 going into it.

[Root]

I also heard Paige Van Zant was part of the trade. I think its in WWE's interests to keep a bit of interplay between the two leagues - even though one is choreographed fighting and the other isn't.

Paige is now known better as a finalist in the Dancing with the Stars show but the inactive (other than movies) Rousey would be the big fish to do another bit on WWE TV or PPV. Holly Holm and Cyborg would also be names to consider but Cyborg's poor English and Holm's boring persona might present obstacles.

I think there's now grave doubts about whether Rousey has the desire to do more than yap at potential opponents (Cyborg, Holm, Tate, Coenen, Pena, Nunes, etc.)

What a brilliant strategy by Dana White - even with Jon Jones subtracted from the 3 day fightfest in Vegas - he's set up a whole pile of talent as potential house show stars. Joanna J is certainly one, Nunes another and even Pena. In fact the only two diminished by this event were Ronda (by not participating) and Cat Zingano (who showed next to nothing in her dominating loss)

 

Mark Hunt would also be a good chip for WWE - as he has a threatening look and a vicious resume. Not as a full-time worker but some guest-spotting might be in order. Don't know if they could use Anderson Silva - guy looks kinda gassed out.... but anyone who can cut a hard promo should be considered. Obviously the top of the list would be Rousey, Lesnar & Chael Sonnen. I always wondered why Vince didn't make a play for Sonnen after he stopped fighting - as an announcer or in-ring personality that just does a lot of lipping. A natural. Miesha Tate is also a great talker - even though she's become a bit of a journeyman fighter.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Root

[The Unknown Poster]

Rousey will eventually be WWE-bound, whether with UFC's blessing or after her contract expires.  She loves it.  But such a shame they wasted her on Steph/Hunter.

Dana has said dealing with Vince is difficult but he respects him.  He doesnt seem to respect Hunter.  For what its worth, none of the family (Hunter, Vince, Steph) other than Shane, like or understand MMA.  Shane tried to buy UFC years ago but couldnt convince Vince, who had no vision for it. 

[Root]

Time is slipping away on Ronda Rousey. She's a natural actress (action movies obviously) and the combination of the occasional action flick and WWE appearance should fund her for life - if she's not set already!

I think Steph picked herself to confront Ronda - that's what Steph does and she's got the power. Obviously, its more words than actions cuz Steph & Hunter not only put down UFC/MMA but also 80% of their own roster - by virtue of being heel GMs/owners.

I can't imagine Ronda serving as Steph's lieutenant and turning heel. If Ronda don't fight by the the summer of '17 I'd say she's done with the sport (other than perhaps being an analyst or making paid appearances for the product)

Edited July 11, 2016 by Root

[The Unknown Poster]

I would definitely say WWE wants Ronda for WM next year...vs Steph.  Or a Ronda/Rock vs Steph/Hunter match.  On one hand, its the most marketable use of her since the only stars in WWE are Steph and Hunter but its a shame the rub would be wastes on people that dont need and cant use it.

[Brandon]

I'm guessing it's to late to have Gina Carano in the WWE....  she would of been a draw 5 years ago. 

I wonder how long Dana will last as leading the UFC.... I see them grooming someone else and replacing him in a year or so.   Dana is completely unprofessional and only got away with lots of his crap because his buddies were the owners.

[Root]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

I'm guessing it's to late to have Gina Carano in the WWE....  she would of been a draw 5 years ago. 

I wonder how long Dana will last as leading the UFC.... I see them grooming someone else and replacing him in a year or so.   Dana is completely unprofessional and only got away with lots of his crap because his buddies were the owners.

Dana never got caught snorting drugs or fixing fights. His UFC tenure was a bit rocky because he was legit confrontational when he started and hasn't really polished himself up that much over the years. Most of his cards went over to rabid fans and media hype - the odd cancelled fight due to injury marred his sheet. Gina Carrano hasn't exactly set the acting world on fire but she's been a serviceable worker in the film industry. She gave Cyborg quite a fight before Cyborg was able to turn and demolish her late in their fight. Ronda may fight Cyborg or even Carrano but it will be in a choreographed WWE ring or on film.

 

Rousey almost lost her cranium and jaw structure when Holm kicked it off - there's no way she wants anymore altered impairments in further outings vs. monsters like Cyborg, Nunes, Pena or even Holm.

Ronda would still do well against softer competitors like Miesha, Cat Zingano or the like where she knows the opponent can't hurt her or submit her.

If Carrano was still game - a Rousey vs. Carrano affair would be a strong draw but I don't know if Carrano would want to go much further than a 3 round dance with Ronda. What would be in it for either girl? Its obvious neither could stand up to monsters like Cyborg, Nunes, etc.

Carrano vs. Holm would be a decent draw but the only one who's still active is Holm.

[wbbfan]

9 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Rousey will eventually be WWE-bound, whether with UFC's blessing or after her contract expires.  She loves it.  But such a shame they wasted her on Steph/Hunter.

Dana has said dealing with Vince is difficult but he respects him.  He doesnt seem to respect Hunter.  For what its worth, none of the family (Hunter, Vince, Steph) other than Shane, like or understand MMA.  Shane tried to buy UFC years ago but couldnt convince Vince, who had no vision for it. 

they can have her. tired of the DNB moonlighting as a fighter and getting soo emo for 1 loss.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/7/11/12154004/ufc-200-and-tuf-23-finale-salaries-17-fighters-break-100k-mark

Salarys including win bonuses. 

If the fertitdas didnt stay on in a small capacity dana wouldnt, if dana didnt joe rogan wouldnt. The new owners want a turnkey business to start paying down on some of that gajillion dollars they paid.

Its gonna be interesting to see what new ownership does. Better rights and pay for fighters? end of reebok? less events with higher quality? More events with even less? Maybe finally push for a rule over haul, weigh in / weight cutting fix, or will they stay the course and milk the cow. 

[bigg jay]

Brock has failed a drug test. 

http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/story/brock-lesnar-ufc-flagged-for-potential-doping-violation-071516

[bustamente]

If he has failed a drug test would he lose the money made that night?

[The Unknown Poster]

Shocker. He has never failed before and was very angry at Jones. Seems out of character.  Will be interesting to hear the details 

[The Unknown Poster]

He passed five or six tests in the lead up to the fight. Could be suspended for two years and lose millions and millions. 

WWE issued a brief statement basically saying he hasn't been there since WM and won't be til SS. It complicates things for them too. Some states still regulate wrestling and if he's suspended he can't wrestle those states either. 

[wbbfan]

46 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Shocker. He has never failed before and was very angry at Jones. Seems out of character.  Will be interesting to hear the details 

very much so, but since it was pre event testing it was probably only a single test or he tested for some thing borderline/masking. Other wise he would have been pulled ala jon jones lyoto etc.

[The Unknown Poster]

33 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

very much so, but since it was pre event testing it was probably only a single test or he tested for some thing borderline/masking. Other wise he would have been pulled ala jon jones lyoto etc.

I don't think they got the result back until yesterday. Which is another issue altogether. Took too long. But man, had they got the result two days before the event?  Brutal. 

Maybe B sample tests clean. Unlikely but you never know. Wishful thinking maybe 

[wbbfan]

20 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I don't think they got the result back until yesterday. Which is another issue altogether. Took too long. But man, had they got the result two days before the event?  Brutal. 

Maybe B sample tests clean. Unlikely but you never know. Wishful thinking maybe 

thats what i imagine will happen.

[wbbfan]

also of interest hunt is demanding half brocks salary or hes gonna quit the ufc.

[The Unknown Poster]

Brock failed a second UFC drug test taken the night of the show for the same substance as his previous failure. Same drug as Jones, estrogen blocker commonly used when cycling off steroids.

incredibly stupid and disappointing. 

 

[bustamente]

Really is anyone surprised by this ,PED and masking agents are prevalent in all sports and very few get caught, risk reward i guess