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mma_discussion
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stork daddy
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As regards your predictions, usc, on the page which shall not herein be mentioned, I'd have to say it's hard to disagree with them. Gomi certainly has looked unstoppable lately, Yves is as well rounded a fighter as you'll find in mma, and Jens has the type of boxing skill combined with takedown defense that always makes him a knockout threat. That said, I'm very worried about the possibility that Kawajiri beats Gomi, and that Yves loses to Hansen. I think Jens will make through most likely
Kawajiri seems to be a slightly better wrestler than Gomi, has as wicked a chin, good striking, and usually comes in with a gameplan of sorts. Either way it's going to be a great fight. If Gomi wins I think it goes to a finish. If Kawajiri wins, I think a decision is more likely.
As for Hansen, I certainly haven't seen him fight as much as I have Yves, but I did catch his fight against Uno, and I have to say he looked as tough a fighter as i've seen. I give Yves that advantage standing, but if Yves can't put him away within the beginning of the fight, Hansen's endless aggression i think will take its toll.
Personally, I can't stand Baroni, but that is largely why I think he's good to have on any event. I also like when he wins, (especially when he was supposed to be an easy victory over a brash American for a Japanese "ace") because it further makes him arrogant which further infuriates me and makes me excited to see him fight. He truly has the pro-wrestling musclebound heel down (from the awkward mic skills to the flamboyant dressing and cocky strut).
As for the sad saga of Tank...i just think he's never been able to do well unless he felt the safety of being a big fish in a small pond. The moment his dominance is challenged it tends to recede rapidly. Give him a bar fight or a small show like rumble on the rock and i think he'll succeed as often as his tools allow him to, but put him in against world class competition on a world stage and he won't even win fights he quite possibly could.
i hope they give him a pro-wrestler for his next fight.
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050904
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42 usc 1983
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It is kind of strange that they have Gomi and Kawajiri fighting each other in the first round, since they are both ranked by many in the top two or three. That would kind of be like Fedor fighting Mirko in the first round of the heavyweight GP. I'd like to see Pulver win the whole thing, but my money is on Gomi to win if he gets past Kawajiri. Personally, although he is way too fat for this to be plausible, I would have liked to see BJ Penn in the lightweight tournament so Gomi could have another shot at him. There was something that really annoyed me about how right after he beat Gomi, Penn said something like, "This proves that Hawaii has the best fighters."
Actually, I would have liked to see Penn back in the UFC as the other TUF coach so they could set up a rematch between Hughes and Penn. Do you watch The Ultimate Fighter? Speaking of second shots, Josh Burkman is one of the welterweights, and if I'm not mistaken, he was the guy that Jeremy Horn recently choked out and spit on. It would be interesting to see Burkman make it through and get a shot at Horn in the UFC. Of course, this is unlikely because both fighters would likely have to meet at 185 and Horn's now fighting at 205. But it's fun to imagine scenarios where MMA can be as dramatic as pro wrestling. Funny that although the UFC promos slam the fakeness of WWE, Dana white likes to play the UFC's Vince McMahon on that show, what with the swearing and tough guy attitude.
Another funny thing about TUF 2, Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin were both having bible study with some of the fighters on episode 2. It's always amusing to me that a guy like Rich Franklin can square the pacifism of Christianity with, say, pounding Evan Tanner's face into a bloody pulp. Speaking of which, who do you think has the best shot at Franklin? I'd say Terrell, simply because I can't really think of anyone else at 185 who could beat him, because Terrell is probably better on the ground and about as good standing, and because he gave Tanner quite a run for his money before being overwhelmed and pounded out.
Oh, and Tank versus Takayama versus Ken Shamrock, three way dance.
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050905
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stork daddy
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terrel is a scary man. and yeah...i always dig the..."thank you lord for making my fists hard enough to smash mightily into his head in your name"
i would like to see gomi beat bj penn, as well as matt hughes...mainly because bj annoys me. unfortunately he probably is one of the most complete fighters of this generation.
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050905
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stork daddy
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and unfortunately i don't have cable up at school, so no TUF has been watched as of yet. am i missing out?
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050905
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42 usc 1983
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I wouldn't say you're missing out. The drama is kind of sub par for reality shows and the fighting is sub par for mma. Still, it's mma on tv, and you get to know a guy before he gets choked out, which is always nice. You could always use the mma-tracker to download it. Have you used the mma-tracker?
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050905
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stork daddy
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no. they're all quite secretive about that. i don't know who to ask i just don't know who to ask. but seriously, any info would be appreciated. do you train?
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050905
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42 usc 1983
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I trained when I was younger in traditional martial arts (Kenpo and Shotokan karate--I could do a full split over two chairs, just like Van Damme!). Now I just box and wrestle with friends for fun and weight train a bit, but no, I don't train in mma. I'd like to, of course, but for a while now my excuse has been that I don't have the time or money.
Give me an e-mail address and I'll send you the url for the new mma tracker.
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050905
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stork daddy
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jamesmcotter@comcast.net
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050906
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some days birdmad is a barbed rooster
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I dunno, personally, i've been watching some UFC lately and, while i take nothing away from the competitors or what they go through, I see too much "lay and pray" tactics to keep my attention as a casual viewer.
From a spectator standpoint, I find K-1 a bit more to my taste
from a tactical standpoint, i'm a street-fighter... not the type who belongs in a ring but instead belongs at the door of a pub or strip-bar
my preferred methods, not being able to rely so much on speed and agility as brute force are typically hard, efficent, dirty and with all intent to cause immediate stoppage of an opponent even if that means using available objects or injuring an opponent
as such, i occasionally have to go out and pick fights just to keep my skills at least semi-sharp
being a slightly broken-down old bastard, one of these days it'll get me killed or arrested, but when i'm in the right mood it's a sick thrill
Ive never had the chance to watch a Pride FC event, would either of you recommend it based on what i've rambled here
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050906
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42 usc 1983
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Definitely. They don't usually give guys the decision based on lay and pray tactics. Instead they give them a yellow card for stalling and take away 10% of their paycheck. The scoring system is different. Guys are giving more points for trying to finish the fight and it's not on a round point system. Plus, stomps to the head on the ground are legal, as are knees to the head from the north-south position. That and Pride pays their fighters more, so the talent pool is bigger, especially in the heavyweight division. Any top 5 heavyweight in Pride could probably defeat Arlovski or any other top UFC heavyweight. If you like k-1 you must be familiar with Bob Sapp. You have to see his fight with this BJJ guy Nogueira. Don't want to ruin it for you if you decide to see it.
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050906
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birdmad
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I've seen sapp... i saw a guy make the mistake of trying to get too close to him after cracking one of Sapp's ribs and severely impairing his ability to use his left leg
It wasn't Nogueira, it was a Dutch fighter (not Bonjasky, but another one very similar in style to him)
He got overconfident, got too close to Sapp and sapp leveled him with the last flurry of gas he had in his tank... (i could feel for him... i've found myself in a similar spot a couple of times)
of course thanks to the fact that sapp had a cracked rib and broke one of his own hands on the guy's face, the guy he beat advanced by default (and actually ended up beating McDonald to win that tourney)
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050906
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42 usc 1983
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Well Nogueira's all about the ground game. He actively works for submissions and more often than not he gets them. I hesitate to tell you about his history or that of any other Pride guys in terms of wins and losses because if you want, you can watch about a half a decade or longer of really great fights. Have you seen CroCop in K-1? He came to Pride and has some amazing, brutal knockouts. He fought Nogueira a while back. Another great match. Recently, CroCop also fought this Russian guy named Fedor. To many it was the most highly anticipated match in MMA history. Fedor is great because he has all around skill. He has great boxing, submissions, and ground and pound. Also, he's really humble and trains old school Russian style, beating tires with sledgehammers and such. Oh, and he has a kind of chubby face and a bit of a spare tire... yet he is one of the toughest men on the planet.
If you're not opposed to using bittorrent, you can check out some of this stuff at the mma tracker. Just give me an e-mail address. It's against the laws of the tracker to post the url in public fora.
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050906
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stork daddy
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poor exploited sapp. but hey...all that exploitation got him a role in the remake of the longest yard. mirko was a law enforcement agent in his previous lines of work and so may have utilized a lot of his tactics on the street. a head kick outside of a bar would be pretty surreal to witness. and fedor would be scary no matter where you bumped into him. if you're a big fan of a fast paced and open style, you should definetly check out fights by vanderlei silva or mauricio "shogun" rua. relentless striking and clinch worked followed by fight ending strikes to downed opponents. and they remember to thank jesus afterwards. personally, as a former wrestler turned bjj guy i've always preferred grappling in street confrontations simply because it allows you to control your opponent without doing too much damage. (i've only had to use it once in recent years on someone who wasn't a friend. that friend, however, is a super belligerent 6'2'' 320 lb. drunk who swings at anything moving like clockwork at 2:30a.m. every saturday...still it's largely just for show so i don't count that as a fight...although he did give me a black eye once. jerk.) however, against very dangerous people who might be armed, it's good to be able to take them out quick. and muay thai is pretty fun to spar in when you're learning from the right coach. i've already got a nice scar on the bridge of my nose and i'm working on those eyebrow scars. i definetly have been lucky not to be involved in a lot of confrontations in the street as i'm not an inspiring physical specimen by any stretch of the imagination. and jiu-jitsu delusions of grandeur aside, if i saw sapp on the street and he was angry i'd just thank the lord that i can probably outrun him. not to spoil the fight, but if that had taken place on concrete who knows what the results would have been.
the one fight i recently got in was when my girlfriend was working at a bar and this crazy lady with a biker boyfriend was giving her shit and trying to attack her. i restrained the woman only to have this guy start walking towards me after being so kind as to brandish a stabby thingy of some sort...luckily he wasn't a very aware person and so when he got close i was able to do a go-behind and pull him to the ground with a two-on-one where i held him until he saw my girlfriend was calling the cops, at which point he asked if they could just go. i usually think i'm pretty apathetic about life sometimes, but i have to say, and i guess it's something instinctive, but i was pretty scared for my life and my adrenaline was going crazy. it took like an hour afterwards to calm down. so if i can at all help it, i'll stick to the ring. on the street unless it's a corner and there's someone i love...i'm running for sure.
every year in mma shows you how much versatility there is in unrestricted combat. i mean i still can't believe how mirko broke someone's orbital bone from guard. and on the street there's of course even less rules, and so even more is possible that you may or may not know about, but training in mma does give you some confidence, at least as to unarmed combat, in that you've seen most of what can be done and what works.
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050906
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stork daddy
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and i think you're talking about hoost birdmad. indeed that was a shocker and went to show that being that strong can make a real difference even against a world class striker, as hoost is largely considered one of the greatest kickboxers in history. sapp has had more trouble though once people stopped discounting his unique capabilities.
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050906
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42 usc 1983
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Funny that Mirko never beat Hoost, Hoost couldn't beat Sapp, and Mirko broke Sapp's orbital in about 30 seconds.
Do you think that Sapp would give Fedor any trouble?
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050906
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stork daddy
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honestly...little to none. i don't think sapp is prepared for the kind of takedowns fedor would bring to the table. fedor is good at that whole kazushi thing in judo, or what in wrestling we don't have a fancy word for and just call setups. fujita was able to take sapp down fairly easily and i think fedor would do a very good job of getting the fight to the mat as soon as sapp committed. he would have to risk a haymaker or two. but i wouldn't be surprised if fedor scored a couple of dazing shots on sapp first, since his punches usually utilize good angles and come lunging in (at least against more inexperienced strikers...he had a different strategy entirely against cro-cop).
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050906
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stork daddy
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i think the fighter right now with the best chance of beating fedor is probably still cro-cop. although certainly hunt and barnett would be interesting fights for fedor stylistically. i do think fedor would submit hunt in short order, but if he didn't, it could spell trouble for fedor. barnett is too much of an unknown to really comment on, but he did show that he is a very well rounded fighter, and so would at least not give fedor the same basic strategy he's had in his last fights of slowly working the opponent into an area they are weak in.
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050906
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42 usc 1983
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I guess the reason I think he could give Fedor some trouble is that he's pretty dangerous for the minute or two during which he can swing those tree trunk arms before he tires. Mirko did a good job of backing up and pushing off of Sapp, but I can't remember ever seeing Fedor fight going backward. Of course, I could see Fedor taking Sapp down, mounting and subbing him at will, but I could also see Sapp slamming Fedor, a la Fedor/Randleman. Either way, I don't think Sapp would have a very good chance of finishing Fedor, but I could see him doing some damage.
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050906
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grendel
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Yeah, it was definitely Ernesto Hoost, come to think of it.
my e-mail is
poisonangel 72 @ hotmail.com
(eliminate the extraneous spaces)
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050907
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