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Getbig Misc Discussion Boards => Mixed Martial Arts (MMA/UFC) => Topic started by: gracie bjj on May 07, 2009, 06:50:08 PM
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Serra-Hughes, At Long Last
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Wednesday, May 06, 2009
by Jason Probst (jprobst@sherdog.com)
17342
Grudge matches in mixed martial arts rarely simmer as long as the Matt Serra-Matt Hughes tiff. And, if striking coach Ray Longo has anything to say about it, Serra will turn another opportunity into an upset come May 23.
But ever since the two locked verbal horns as coaches on the sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in Fall 2007, the dislike between the two has endured while the match to settle the affair has yet to materialize. But that changes as the two comprise the semi-main event of UFC 98, in a battle between two ex-champions.
Originally slated for Dec. 29, 2007, Serra, who’d pulled off a stunning upset of Georges St. Pierre to win the title, pulled out of the bout with a back injury five weeks before their much-hyped showdown.
St. Pierre beat Hughes and then Serra in a rematch in April 2008. The Long Island fighter hasn’t fought since. But now, coach Longo believes Serra, 9-5, is positioned to beat Hughes.
“The original injury was two herniated disks. The guy was literally crippled for a month. It is what it is,” said Longo of the injury that derailed the original bout. “I wouldn’t say he was impaired for the (St. Pierre) match, but in training there were things that we stayed away from. We didn’t do a risky training camp.”
As a relatively small 170-pounder, Serra, 9-5, has relied on conditioning, jiu-jitsu and an underrated standup game. Against Hughes, he’ll need to stay on his feet, and Longo says that’s exactly what they’ve been working on.
“We’ve been in training camp about two months now. At first, we just worked on conditioning. He feels great, and his back feels great,” Longo said. “That was (originally) a concern. Between that, he’s doing a lot of sparring and a lot of wrestling. He’s doing more wrestling than I’ve ever seen him do.”
Photo by Sherdog.com
Hughes has stated this
will be his last fight.The key to Serra’s game plan is no mystery -- he’ll have to keep Hughes from being Hughes, the grappling powerhouse that ruled the division through a menacing combination of takedowns and physical dominance.
“We’ve got some 200-pounders,” Longo added. “Strong guys that imitate Hughes.”
In the first St. Pierre match, Serra unleashed a series of big right hands that ended the Canadian’s reign in his first defense. It wasn’t quite Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, but the stunning one-sidedness of it was a sobering reminder of what a well-placed shot can do to level the mixed martial arts playing field.
“Even with the first GSP fight, I don’t think anybody remotely thought Matt would stand with him,” Longo said. “But he likes to bang. He’s got the power. To beat Hughes, he’s got to stuff a couple of takedowns. He’ll win if his takedown defense is where we think it’s gonna be.”
While MMA feuds often have a manufactured feel, the Serra-Hughes rivalry is no act, Longo added.
“At one point they (occasionally) talked at shows and were good. They had a good rapport with each other. On the show, when Hughes was insulting St. Pierre, offering to show him an armbar defense, I think that’s when you started to see Hughes’ true colors,” Longo said. “He’s also close with Din Thomas and didn’t like Hughes’ comments to Dean. He’s always been the type of guy that sticks up for the underdog.”
Since their verbal sparring on the reality show, the two have traded jabs in virtually every medium possible. It isn’t easy to imagine why they don’t get along, especially given the stakes of the packed welterweight rankings and the value of a win.
Serra’s journey in the UFC has been considerable and rife with dizzying turns of fortune. He’s been decisioned by B.J. Penn and Karo Parisyan, stopped with a highlight-reel spinning back fist by Shonie Carter in a bout he was winning. But that was followed by his winning the fourth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” then taking the title with his shock knockout of the seemingly invincible St. Pierre.
Then, he was blown out in the rematch. Now, he gets Hughes -- loser of three of his last four after one of the most dominant careers in the sport’s history. Hughes, 42-7, took the template of ground-and-pound and made it into a living. However, Longo believes that at some point, Hughes stopped evolving as a fighter, and that’s what he believes Serra will take advantage of.
“His last couple fights, he’s coming out like a southpaw, but he’s coming to go out there and get you to the floor. It looked like, at one point, his stand-up was coming along, but that he put it on the back burner,” Longo said. “Maybe GSP highlighted a couple flaws. I think the guy was a great champion, but the sport’s just evolving. It’s not what it was when he was a champion either, and the sport’s taking off in terms of everybody’s skills.”
Hughes has stated this will be his last fight -- one last match to get in before retiring.
“He’s definitely at the tail end of his career for sure. I don’t know where his motivation’s coming from now,” Longo said. “It’s like everybody else, you can’t get away from the sport … or you’re searching for something, but a lot of guys just don’t know when to hang it up. (Serra) just has to do what he has to do. If he gets the right opportunity, he’ll turn it up. But not to the point where he makes a mistake. He’s a professional. But believe me when I tell you -- he really wants to beat his ass.”
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i just had to write something to get those zeros away from my posts,lol. im trying to post better quality stuff for these boards like sincity,ron and mindspin do. they are all awesome and ill never come close to being the quality thread starters that they are
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i just had to write something to get those zeros away from my posts,lol. im trying to post better quality stuff for these boards like sincity,ron and mindspin do. they are all awesome and ill never come close to being the quality thread starters that they are
Dude you did a great job. Glad I had you on the team or the board would've been slow. everyone helped out thanks fellas.
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All things 98 will go here after a few days...
P.s. thanks to my english proof reader
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cool stuff, serra is a cool dude. hughes better bring his best cause serra is, im going with serra on this one
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cool stuff, serra is a cool dude. hughes better bring his best cause serra is, im going with serra on this one
I amm not a Serra fan in the least. Prolly one of the guys I hate the most. I just cant stand his jersey attitude and for some reason everytime he talks I just clinch my jaw up... Those videos were painful for me....
I hope Hughes KO's him to where he is left twitching! That way Hughes can tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP! ha-ha.
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I can't stand Hughes. It seems like arrogance flows thru his vains.
Cheering for Serra on this
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Sean Sherk: You know, Diego always look tough. That’s why I want to fight him. He was a top guy at 170 for a long time. He looks good every time, including his most recent win against Joe. It was a good first fight to introduce him to the lightweight division, I think. It’s funny because some people took it as disrespectful that I mentioned him as an opponent, but I asked to fight him out of respect for him. We’re both great fighters and I think a fight between us would be exciting.
Rich Wyatt: Diego has gone on the record saying that he's been given word that he'll earn a title shot with a dominating win over Clay Guida at the TUF 9 Finale. As the former lightweight champion and given the fact that your only loss at lightweight has come against the current champion, how do you feel about that statement?
Sean Sherk: Well, I would hope I’d be closer in line. I’m the former champion and have looked good lately. I would hope I’d be closer in line. If I beat Frankie, I’m not sure where that leaves me. I only want to fight the best, you know? I’m a guy who wants to challenge myself. I’ve got no interest in fighting pretenders. I’ve been in this industry for 10 years. I only want tho fight the best. That’s what gets me out of bed every day and makes me want to train. I’d like to fight either the winner of the Penn-Florian fight or the winner of Guida-Sanchez.
Sean Sherk talking to MMA for Real.
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With UFC 98 roughly two weeks away, it's worth taking a look at the current lines due to the fact that many of them are moving to favor the bank rather than the bettor. For the most part, oddsmakers have been getting relatively better at setting lines within the context of the UFC events, but the fanbase is also betting much more than they had been two or three years ago. This has resulted in many of the more recent events pushing closer lines as events approach. Every solid bettor knows that jumping on the lines early can result in solid returns. Let's take a look, parentheses are odds ranges from the various sites listed at BestFightOdds.com:
Lyoto Machida (-220 to -205) vs. Rashad Evans (+180 to +165): The matchup is one of the best we'll see in the Light Heavyweight Division this year, and the lines are even more enticing if you have a winner already picked out. Machida's line is continuing further up from -220, so you should jump on the lowest line you can right now before it hits the stratosphere. If you believe Evans will win this matchup, his line continues to get better for underdog bettors, moving up toward +190. You might want to try to wait on this line as it continues to get better.
Matt Hughes (-260 to -250) vs. Matt Serra (+220 to +190): Hughes' line is continuing to rise to a point where I don't think a bet is going to be possible with a little cash. He's rising toward -300, and I've always been wary when it hits that ceiling. -300 for Hughes isn't a bad deal though, if you truly believe he's the big favorite here. Serra's line is getting better. He may approach +250 by fight time, so waiting for the underdog pick might be worthwhile. Keep an eye on it.
Frankie Edgar (+240 to +190) vs. Sean Sherk (-280 to -265): Edgar isn't my pick here, but if you believe he can pull it off, now is the time to bet. +240 is a great underdog value bet here. Sherk's line won't move too much. It's sticking around -260 to -270, not a bad bet at all. I'd stick with a Sherk bet right now.
Dave Kaplan (+120 to +110) vs. George Roop (-140 to -150): Kaplan's line is getting better for underdog bets as it is moving toward +130, but this is still a pretty even line. Roop is heading upward, so he's going to be a bigger favorite down the road. Regardless of those lines moving, if Roop's your pick, you better bet now.
Kyle Bradley (+290 to +280) vs. Phillipe Nover (-350 to -365): Nover's line seems to be maintaining at -350, so I'm a bit skeptical at this point in betting on it. Too much dough to throw down on such a lowly fight. Bradley really isn't moving at all either, so if you know something we don't about Bradley, maybe it can work out. I'm staying away.
Brandon Wolff (+365 to +350) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (-460 to -550): I'm definitely not betting on this one. Line is way too far apart, not moving whatsoever, and Yoshida is the obvious favorite skill-wise in this matchup. -550 is huge. If it was down toward -350, it might not be such a hard bargain.
Pat Barry (-300 to -350) vs. Tim Hague (+250 to +225): Hague is actually moving up on some books, but Barry is also pulling away on some books. The line could hit -400 by the time the event comes around for Barry, so jump on Barry right now if that's your horse.
Brock Larson (+120) vs. Chris Wilson (-167): Only one book is putting odds out on this fight currently, but Larson is a decent underdog bet here, although +120 isn't the greatest value. Nonetheless, it might be worth a play. I'd probably wait till the other books push their odds out first to get some more options.
Drew McFedries (-227) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (+157): Again, only one book currently pushing these odds, so I'd wait for some other lines to hit the wires before making any bets. I imagine Pokam will see some action if he's an underdog, so it might be worth checking the books for when all the odds come out. Making a play on Pokam early might pay off.
Andre Gusmao (-118) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (-118): Another matchup with only one book on the odds so far. I like Gusmao here, and I think people underestimate him. If this line sticks, I'll bet some good money on him. Again, wait for some of the other books to open up for better options.
Betting Analysis
One of the ways a bettor can get ahead of the game is to jump on the early lines. Sometimes waiting out the hype is the right play as well, specifically for Evans. Evans may continue to rise as people bet on Machida more and more. You may be able to grab him up at +200 if this continues a day before the fight.
Happy Betting everyone!
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I amm not a Serra fan in the least. Prolly one of the guys I hate the most. I just cant stand his jersey attitude and for some reason everytime he talks I just clinch my jaw up... Those videos were painful for me....
I hope Hughes KO's him to where he is left twitching! That way Hughes can tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP! ha-ha.
I can't stand serra at all and hope Hughes gets his first knock out to shut him up, but for the record, serra is from long island,ny, not Jersey, we have enough bs in this state, we really don't want to lay claim to this munchkin from oz
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I can't stand serra at all and hope Hughes gets his first knock out to shut him up, but for the record, serra is from long island,ny, not Jersey, we have enough bs in this state, we really don't want to lay claim to this munchkin from oz
Oops my bad, he just seems to have that guido jersey tough guy attitude...
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"I felt a lot of pressure when I fought Rich Franklin. I had just two MMA fights and he was undefeated with nine knockouts, and many people came to tell me that if I stayed on my feet, I would be knocked out fast. But my father said, ‘It’s not like that, go there and believe in our art.’ I did what he said and knocked him out in the second round.
...My father is a amazing strategist. When he looks at someone fighting he knows exactly what I have to do. But my father is hot tempered -- he wants me to decide the fight fast, while my brother, Shinzo (a 2006 world-champion silver medalist in Shotokan karate) is more balanced and fights just like myself. Joining the tactics of my father and the equilibrium of Shinzo, I have the perfect package in my corner."
--Lyoto Machida, on his father, Sensei Machida
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thats very interesting..thanks
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while machida talks mostly about his karate backround, he doesnt really bring up the fact that he was trained by japanese wrestling superstar antonio inoki for years and trained/trains alot with the nog brothers and anderson silva. the dragon is awesome in sumo, wrestling and bjj but just prefers to say karate is his style to honor his fathers wishes
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Sherk would annihilate Sanchez IMO.
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"I don’t think about fight at heavyweight division, but I think about a challenge, maybe against the heavyweight champion, but it’s time for it now. My focus, for sure, is on my division now, later is later. Maybe a fight against Brock Lesnar. He’s a huge guy, showed himself very aggressive and strong, who knows if one day we can fight… I respect him as a fighter, he’s very strong, but I’m professional and I’d like to test myself."
--Lyoto Machida
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"I don’t think about fight at heavyweight division, but I think about a challenge, maybe against the heavyweight champion, but it’s time for it now. My focus, for sure, is on my division now, later is later. Maybe a fight against Brock Lesnar. He’s a huge guy, showed himself very aggressive and strong, who knows if one day we can fight… I respect him as a fighter, he’s very strong, but I’m professional and I’d like to test myself."
--Lyoto Machida
machida is trying to generate publicity
he is an amazing fighter
but his style will never sell tickets
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True, but I think the trainwreck factor would make everyone tune in to see him fight Lesnar. Shit- I know I would.
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"I don’t think about fight at heavyweight division, but I think about a challenge, maybe against the heavyweight champion, but it’s time for it now. My focus, for sure, is on my division now, later is later. Maybe a fight against Brock Lesnar. He’s a huge guy, showed himself very aggressive and strong, who knows if one day we can fight… I respect him as a fighter, he’s very strong, but I’m professional and I’d like to test myself."
--Lyoto Machida
I think you made that up !
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machida is trying to generate publicity
he is an amazing fighter
but his style will never sell tickets
after having watched more of his fights, he's actually more dominant that he has gotten credit for. And his last fight was a vicious KO. I'm now a fan.
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I think you made that up !
I'm from the future.
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after having watched more of his fights, he's actually more dominant that he has gotten credit for. And his last fight was a vicious KO. I'm now a fan.
his chance for prime time
was when he fought tito
but although he was tactically spot on
his hit and run didn't endear him to the fans
he needs an exciting high profile fight maybe against forest or jackson
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"I don’t think about fight at heavyweight division, but I think about a challenge, maybe against the heavyweight champion, but it’s time for it now. My focus, for sure, is on my division now, later is later. Maybe a fight against Brock Lesnar. He’s a huge guy, showed himself very aggressive and strong, who knows if one day we can fight… I respect him as a fighter, he’s very strong, but I’m professional and I’d like to test myself."
--Lyoto Machida
LOL, awesome. 8)
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first machida better get past rashad before he thinks about fighting a beast like that, i do believe machida has better technique then brock in striking and bjj, but i think the size,strength advantage and brocks awesome ground and octagon control will be to much for the machada in the later rounds
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sherk and deigo would be interesting imo, id love to see that fight. id give the edge to deigo in subs and the wrestling to sherk, striking i give the edge to sherk also
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May 13, 2009
UFC NEWS: DAN MILLER
With Okami Out, Miller Focused on Sonnen
By Kelsey Mowatt
Two weeks ago FCF caught up with Dan Miller to get his thoughts on his upcoming bout with middleweight contender Yushin Okami. At the time, the up-and-coming fighter shared his excitement about the fight, stating that he was hoping that a win over the highly regarded Japanese fighter, would help entrench Miller’s presence in the upper rankings of the 185lb. division. Shortly after, news surfaced that Okami had dropped out of the bout due to injury, leaving Miller in doubt as to who he would face on May 23rd at UFC 98.
“Yeah, I was definitely disappointed,” Miller said when FCF spoke with him today. “I was definitely looking forward to fighting Yushin. He’s a great fighter and I’d like to go in there and test myself. I definitely think he would have done that.”
Now Miller (11-1-1 NC) will take on the veteran Chael Sonnen (21-10-1), who although he has yet to work his way into a middleweight contender position like Okami has in the UFC, the Team Quest fighter has competed against some of the division’s more notable fighters, in addition to holding a recent win over former WEC champion, Paulo Filho.
“I think Chael is a great fighter,” Miller noted. “He has great hands and he’s a great wrestler. I think it’s still a pretty good fight for me. When I beat Chael it will be a great win.”
Sonnen, like so many other accomplished wrestlers, has indeed developed his striking skills to compliment the 32 year-old-fighter’s dangerous ground-and-pound game.
“No, I have no idea,” Miller said, when asked about what he believes Sonnen’s game-plan might be, come May 23rd. “It really doesn’t matter to me. I’ve been training everything, training a lot on my hands, and I’m very confident in my ground game. It really doesn’t matter to me where the fight goes.”
Miller is coming off a quick submission win over Jake Rosholt, as he caught the renowned collegiate wrestler with a first round guillotine at Fight Night 17 in February. In fact, of Miller’s 11 career victories, 7 have come way of submission. Although both of Sonnen’s recent losses came via tap-out, they came against world class jiu-jitsu practitioners in Demian Maia and Paulo Filho, and as a result, Miller is somewhat unsure as to how his own submission skills will play out.
“It is a positive for me because I’m pretty good at submissions, but I’m sure he’s training, getting better,” Miller said. “I don’t think he’s going to be the same fighter. I mean Demian Maia is nasty, so you really can’t go by what happened in that fight.”
It will be interesting to see whether or not conditioning plays into the bout, as Miller has been preparing for a fight for quite sometime, while Sonnen is stepping up on short notice. That said, Sonnen has been fighting professionally since 2002, and is more than well aware, that staying in shape is a pre-requisite for competing at the upper levels of the sport.
“I go into every fight very confident in my cardio,” Miller furthered. “Every fight I go in and try to test the guy and wear him out. I’m going to do the same thing in this fight. I’m going to go in and push the pace and make him fight my fight. If it goes into the later rounds then hopefully he’ll be tired and I’ll be fresh.”
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Brian Oswald over at MMAMania.com has a solid interview with the UFC's current Light Heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida in which he asks some specific questions about Machida's gameplan coming in and talks briefly about some of the martial arts that Machida implements in the Octagon:
Brian Oswald (MMAmania.com): You began training in karate at the age of three and earned a black belt at the age of 13. You began training in sumo at 12 and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at 15. Can you tell us about those three different art forms and how each one helps you as a mixed martial artist?
Lyoto Machida: Karate is my main martial art; that is what I train in every day. It has always been in my life. Sumo is another Japanese martial art that I got into at an early age. It is something that has helped and added to my overall stance and is a good base. It is not something I necessarily use in all my fights though.
I have been practicing Jiu-Jitsu ever since I started watching the UFC. I knew it was something I had to learn to be a full rounded fighter. I wanted to be prepared for when BJJ guys would come to my karate gym and challenge us to a fight.
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Brian Oswald (MMAmania.com): Your unorthodox southpaw stance is what really frustrates your opponents. Do you consider that your greatest advantage in the cage?
Lyoto Machida: The way I stand and my posture really complicates my opponents; they don’t understand it and don’t know what to do about. The way I stand there in front of them really throws them off. Karate is certainly my greatest advantage; being able to adapt it to MMA makes me stand out.
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Brian Oswald (MMAmania.com): You recently said that you have developed a game plan around Rashad Evans style of fighting. What is Rashad’s greatest strength and what is his greatest weakness?
Lyoto Machida: Rashad is definitely a well rounded fighter. He has got really fast hands and really good takedowns. I don’t want to get into his weaknesses here; I will leave that for the fans to see May 23. What I can say; the weakness Rashad has is where I will catch him.
Brian Oswald (MMAmania.com): If Rashad is able to take you to the ground and get in your guard will you be comfortable fighting off your back and work for submissions?
Lyoto Machida: I have trained for that a lot so if Rashad happens to end up in my guard…he will become very bothered because I will not stop attacking from that position.
We've heard about all of these techniques and strategies before, but it's worthy to note that he uses some very untraditional martial arts as a base for his skillset. Karate isn't unknown to the sport, but the way in which Machida manages to utilize it and modify it to work unbelievably well in the sport of MMA is uncanny.
The art of Sumo is also one of the most underappreciated arts that Machida uses in the cage. Sumo uses a plethora of trips and Judo-esque throws within its techniques, and Machida has managed to catch many opponents off guard using those techniques while he is being chased or in the clinch.
Machida doesn't give us a hint of his gameplan, but it's hard to see how Evans plans to defeat Machida's range, surprising counter tactics, and overall well-rounded skillset. As days go by, this matchup will surely be one for the hardcore and casual fans alike.
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first machida better get past rashad before he thinks about fighting a beast like that, i do believe machida has better technique then brock in striking and bjj, but i think the size,strength advantage and brocks awesome ground and octagon control will be to much for the machada in the later rounds
Machida is fucking dreaming.. Brock would crush him. We are talking 80 lbs of solid muscle differance. Plus it's not like Brock has not continued to get better.. The dragon better be careful with his mouth before he becomes unagi!
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sherk and deigo would be interesting imo, id love to see that fight. id give the edge to deigo in subs and the wrestling to sherk, striking i give the edge to sherk also
I agree with your first part, but the edge in striking goes to Diego in my book. He has been working with Apollo at Fasi in Vegas, and Apollo puts out top caliber strikers!
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I amm not a Serra fan in the least. Prolly one of the guys I hate the most. I just cant stand his jersey attitude and for some reason everytime he talks I just clinch my jaw up... Those videos were painful for me....
I hope Hughes KO's him to where he is left twitching! That way Hughes can tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP! ha-ha.
I couldn't agree more... I can't stand Serra!
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Lesnar will break him in half, Mir didn't stand a chance against Lesnar first time they fought, what makes Machida think he has a chance !?
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Lesnar will break him in half, Mir didn't stand a chance against Lesnar first time they fought, what makes Machida think he has a chance !?
mir won ???
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mir won ???
If the ref would have warned Lesnar about hitting on the back of the head, like every other ref in the world, instead of stopping the fight and standing them back up, Lesnar would have won.
But it is what it is and now we have Lesnar/Mir II, should be an awesome fight. 8)
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Machida dos'nt have the size to keep most of the bigger heavyweights off him for very long..
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mir won ???
no no no, mir survived...
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Sherk's striking is pretty good imo.. and fast. And, there is a lot of power behind his punches.
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Sherk's got decent head movement and pretty quick hands, he's also got a good left hook counter off his opponents jab, although, he lacks KO power. Diego's striking is improved, but I can see Sean getting takedowns, avoiding subs, and grinding out a decision.
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no no no, mir survived...
Mir beat him. The big bully had to tap like a biatch and have the ref save him before Mir snapped his leg.
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It's always easy to tell when crowd reactions get to a fighter. You could see the hurt in Sean Sherk's eyes when he was booed out of the arena at UFC 80 when he confronted BJ Penn in the octagon.
At UFC 84, instead of trying to break BJ's cardio with his wrestling, Sherk chose to stand and trade. Some speculated he did this because he figured he couldn't take BJ down, but I don't buy that at all. He did it because he wanted to make the fight exciting. I think he's trying to win fans back over to his side, and as a result he's limiting himself.
In a Sherdog interview today Sherk gave me the impression his primary goal at UFC 98 is to have an exciting fight, not to win:
My last fight with Tyson [Griffin] was real exciting. We got "Fight of the Night." I think my fight with Frankie is going to be real exciting. I think -- assuming I do pull the win off in two fast-paced, exciting fights -- that the fans would be excited for Penn and Sherk 2.
Most people pick Sherk to beat Edgar because he has the advantage in the size, strength, and cardio departments. If it turns into a wrestling match, it's hard to see how Edgar can pull it off. However, if Sherk is happy to stand and trade, this fight is a tossup.
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Jake Rossen looks to the future and wonders if Lyoto Machida is the personification of karate's revenge on MMA:
Machida is not a "karate fighter" in the sense Ichihara was; he’s trained extensively in jiu-jitsu, muay Thai and other styles to help complete his library of martial arts. What makes Machida a story is his footwork and defensive posturing, which is classically old-fashioned. And that’s frustrating, because the sledgehammer-swinging combat hybrid fighter of 2009 doesn’t go into a gym and practice mounting or defending attacks with hands low and chins up. For them, Machida’s style might as well be pluto-fu.
It’s a blend of technique that’s had answers for everyone from Rich Franklin (good striker with Western sensibilities) to Thiago Silva (jiu-jitsu, aggression) to Tito Ortiz (power, power, power). The only question left is the one Evans is more than capable of asking: What happens when an explosive wrestler decides he doesn’t want to keep swinging at air -- he wants to plant you on your ass and pummel until you sneeze bone fragments?
It’s a great question -- Evans/Machida holds more interest for me than any fight so far this year -- and the answer is going to have real influence on how aspiring fighters choose to train. When Royce Gracie proved his style’s efficacy in a real fight, schools began painting "and jiu-jitsu" in their front windows. Ichihara might find considerable irony in MMA franchises forced to add "and karate" to their yellow page ads.
It's a reasonable idea, but we have to be cautious at this stage about karate's application across fighters and fighting styles for a couple of reasons.
There are very different styles of karate and the type practiced by Machida - Shotokan - is far from the most commonly found among fighters in MMA - Kyokushin. As I explained a few months ago:
...for the record the two kinds of karate are actually meaningfully different. Shotokan is much more about precise forms (kata), nimble footwork, cunning, speed, precision, carefully selected shots and not taking damage. Kyokushin, on the other hand, values an athletic bang fest. It’s much more about forcing exchanges, striking first and often, being able to absorb punishment and to push the physical limits of the body.
The reason I don’t think this is a huge hindrance is that GSP likely has the ability to mimic Lyoto’s style to a sufficient degree. But the differences in Shotokan and Kyokushin seemingly speak to the very styles both GSP and Lyoto adopt in the cage.
From what I'm able to tell, most fighters in MMA with karate backgrounds that have reasonably successful careers come from the full contact, aggressive Kyokushin style. Whether it's because they were looking for more full contact and MMA became the natural place to go from their karate vantage point or because Kyokushin is more suitable for the high-paced action of MMA is not totally clear. But what is clear is that while Machida makes excellent use of the Shotokan style, I'm far from convinced others will be able to make use of Shotokan with even remotely similar levels of success.
There aren't many Machida's in MMA and it's not just because he has karate in his game. He has a style of karate that is quite difficult to make effective use of in full contact, damaging, cardio-emphasizing MMA. And even with other fighters with Kyokushin backgrounds, very few are able to make much use of their karate without compromising more requisite aspects of their MMA arsenal. I'm certainly not suggesting other, more traditional forms of martial arts may never find their place in modern MMA as skill sets develop, evolve and adapt, but I'm skeptical of the idea that what Lyoto can do, others can mimic over time.
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Mir beat him. The big bully had to tap like a biatch and have the ref save him before Mir snapped his leg.
I bet you would have taken his back and made him nap, eh? :D
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he def needs to hire someone to train him with the weights his form is crap
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Mir beat him. The big bully had to tap like a biatch and have the ref save him before Mir snapped his leg.
Bweahahahaha, Mir was fighting for his life in there...he even said so after in the post fight interview that he barely made it out alive.
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Sherdog has a very informative interview with Rashad Evans' striking coach Mike Winklejohn that provides several intriguing hints as to their game plan for Lyoto Machida:
“Machida is a tough nut to crack,” Winklejohn said. “He’s a talented guy with good reactions; he steps back, causes a hole and counters real well. [The] plan is to have Rashad not be there when Machida wants to counter. We are going to counter the counter or make Machida come at Rashad.”
...
“I told Rashad if the crowd starts booing, that’s a good thing; we have the right gameplan,” said Winklejohn, echoing the sentiments he imparted before Evans knocked out Liddell in Atlanta.
This match promised to be an epic of strategy, pitting two undefeated Light Heavyweights together at the top of their games. But it also threatens to be a slow-moving snoozefest to the uneducated eye.
Personally I'm looking at it like a detective story. Will the fight scientists of Greg Jackson's preeminent camp be able to unravel the enigma of MMA's most elusive striker, Lyoto Machida?
Will Machida, one of the games' craftiest players throw a wrench in the works by using his arsenal of trips and foot sweeps to put Rashad the wrestler on his back?
What mid-bout adjustments will be made? I expect the fight to be decided by footwork. Will Rashad take two rounds to figure out Machida's unconventional dance steps and catch him coming in in the third? Winklejohn is predicting a KO in 3.
Or will Machida adjust his game mid-fight so that when Rashad goes to KO Lyoto based on where he was in the first two rounds, Machida instead is somewhere else?
I really don't have words for how excited this matchup is getting me. You've got two of the best camps in MMA today putting up their top stud horses in a race for the marquee championship belt in the sport.
One thing I would like to know -- who has Machida been training with for this fight? Just his dad? What about his sometimes training partners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort? I'm particularly interested in knowing what wisdom Silva could impart to his teammate Machida.
One thing I don't expect Machida to catch from Silva is the lack of killer instinct. Unlike Silva who's been defending his belt and legacy against a string of mediocrities, Machida is on the rise and still proving himself to a legion of skeptical fans.
Even at his most notoriously slow-paced, Machida has always fought toward a definitive conclusion, relentlessly accumulating points and heading to a clear victory, even in decision.
I think there is too much on the line for this fight not to come to a satisfying and definitive finish, but like a baseball game featuring two great pitchers, I expect the tension to build over the course of the match. Round by round the fighters will test one another's defenses until someone makes a fatal mistake.
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UFC 87 back in August featured some huge bouts in terms of relevance for MMA fans. Georges St. Pierre took on an able challenger in Jon Fitch to defend the UFC Welterweight crown, and Brock Lesnar defeated the always tough Heath Herring in a battle that not only tested Lesnar's conditioning, but gave fans a sense of what Lesnar can offer in upcoming fights.
One of the dark matches that took place that evening that many fans rarely saw was the absolute war between Jon Jones and Andre Gusmao. It was a 3 round barn burner of activity that mostly showcased Jon Jones' dynamic striking ability and power, but it also had some back and forth action that showed the quick Muay Thai abilities of Gusmao. Jones' power punching vs. Gusmao's Muay Thai clinch game made for some crazy exchanges. In the end, Gusmao lasted through the onslaught of a gassing Jon Jones, but he was defeated via unanimous decision.
Saturday evening will provide a proving ground for Andre Gusmao to sink or swim within the UFC's Light Heavyweight division. Jon Jones was a great surprise for many fans, but Gusmao isn't the type of fighter that fans should want to see cut from the UFC. He'll have a solid opportunity to bring his stock back into the mix with a win over Krzysztof Soszynski.
What makes me believe that Andre Gusmao's time has come to succeed in the big leagues? Although Gusmao is currently 5-1 in his MMA career, he's shown some positively destructive offense in the sport over the course of his career. Most notably, he defeated IFL veteran Mike Ciesnolevicz in only his second bout via a brutalizing knee strike from the clinch. The IFL managed to get Ciesnolevicz the rematch at the IFL 2007 Team Championship, but Gusmao's skill was proven to be legit as he once again defeated Ciesnolevicz via a crushing knee strike.
His Muay Thai is one of his more impressive base skills within his skillset. He has very smooth transitions from the standup game to the clinch, and he easily throws knees from his hips with precision and quickness. He has respectable striking, an impressive chin from what we saw in the Jon Jones fight, and his conditioning was an absolute suprise in that same matchup.
One of the attributes that seperates Gusmao from the pack is that he started his foray into mixed martial arts by studying and practicing Capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that mixes martial arts and dance into one, and it is mostly practiced as an entertainment art. The Ginga movement is the base stance for Capoeira fighters, a side by side motion that resembles rocking back and forth.
How does this remotely tie into Gusmao's skillset? Interestingly enough, Gusmao has shown the ability to switch stances by using the Ginga at times in his career, and he showed some movement in the Jon Jones fight. It can be quite distracting to opposing fighters, and he can quickly change stances and throw strikes from that stance. Will we ever see it fully used in the Octagon by Gusmao? Probably not, but its base movements have no doubt given Gusmao some physical gifts.
Soszynski vs. Gusmao is currently lined up to be an even odds matchup, but I think this could be Gusmao's chance to put a solid win under his belt against a guy who has been exposed the casual fanbase via the Ultimate Fighter. It'll be a showdown between IFL veterans, and Gusmao will be seeking relevance in the division with a highlight win at UFC 98.
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A fight nearly three years in the making, it's difficult to imagine two opponents less similar then former UFC champions Matt Hughes (42-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) and Matt Serra (9-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC).
The well-documented rivalry that began in 2006 with "The Ultimate Fighter 4" – and later reached a boiling point in "TUF 6" – will finally be decided at Saturday night's "UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida" in Las Vegas.
And while the bout may have lost some luster in the eyes of the public, Hughes insists nothing has changed for the participants.
"I don't think it changes a whole lot," Hughes said on a recent media call. "Yes, we've both had injuries, but I mean that happens in our sport when you're as rough on our bodies as we are. But I think the fans still want to see it.
"Obviously, him and I still want this fight to go on. So the bottom line is nothing's really changed."
Originally scheduled to meet in December 2007 at UFC 79, a Serra back injury forced the delay of the contest. Hughes then suffered a knee injury in his most recent fight, a June 2008 loss to current top contender Thiago Alves.
Hughes said he was able to recover fully without the need of surgery.
"In the last fight I tore my MCL and partially tore the PCL, but they grew back together," Hughes said. "I did not go under the knife."
And while Hughes hasn't fought in over 11 months – and hasn't registered a victory in over two years – the once-dominant, guaranteed hall-of-famer insists his time off has been a good thing.
"Well you know, I'm getting older now," Hughes said. "So the time off was actually pretty nice. But I've switched things up a little bit. I went to a lot of training camps. I went out a lot to different places and didn't stay home as much."
Hughes is undoubtedly one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history. The former champion put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two different occasions and defended the belt seven times.
And despite those successes, Hughes has suffered recent criticism largely due to the potential character flaws so readily pointed out by Serra. But with his place in UFC lore firmly secured, Hughes insists the positives have far outweighed the hate.
"I think any time you voice your opinion or you're just an outspoken guy or you just wear your heart on your sleeve, you're going to have people that love you and people that hate you," Hughes said. "And I get a fair amount of fan mail. And obviously I get some hate mail, too.
"I don't mind you know. It's all part of the game and I don't sweat it either way."
For all of bravado, all of his promises, all of his glories, Serra has put together just a 2-2 record in hist four years in the UFC.
While a stunning victory over Georges St. Pierre has cemented "The Terror's" own place in the annals of UFC history, it's hardly a record unmatched by his peers.
Meanwhile, the legendary Hughes has put together just a 4-3 mark in that same time frame – though his supporters would undoubtedly point out that the wins included B.J. Penn and Royce Gracie, while the losses came to the two men who will contest the 170-pound belt in July.
It's an emotion-filled battle, that even if a little late is certainly better than never.
They share a first name, they've taken turns wearing the same UFC belt. But in the words of Hughes, the two Matt's are simply "just two different people."
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When it comes to lightweights in the UFC, BJ Penn comes first, Sean Sherk comes second, and everyone else comes in a distant third, fourth, etc. One of the big reasons Sherk finds so much success at 155 is because he cuts like a guy and steps into the cage at 175 pounds. Here’s how he does it:
Sherk: Well, it’s a matter of changing my entire lifestyle for 12 weeks. My diet is very, very strict. I do pre-cuts four weeks before every fight. I mean, I actually practice cutting weight. I did it a couple of weeks ago. I cut down to 158 on a Saturday just to get my weight down. Now I’m walking around at, like, 175 again. It’s all about getting your body acclimated. It’s all about getting that metabolism speed up. I naturally sweat a lot anyway, so the water comes off real good. There are a lot of factors in there. For me to lose 20 pounds, no, it’s not easy. It sucks ass. I’ll be honest. It’s not fun at all, but it’s something I can recover from by the time I fight. Within 30 hours, I’m 100 percent again; I’m 175 pounds again. I feel like I didn’t even cut the weight.
Sherk is in action this weekend against Frankie Edgar, and I expect him to roll over Edgar the same way Gray Maynard did when they fought. Because big surprise! Size matters. And Edgar is in the exact same boat Sherk was in a few years ago: too small to compete with the top talent at a higher weightclass.
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I bet you would have taken his back and made him nap, eh? :D
you damned straight. ;D
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Bweahahahaha, Mir was fighting for his life in there...he even said so after in the post fight interview that he barely made it out alive.
It doesn't change the fact that he made the big man call the ref for help...lol.
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after having watched more of his fights, he's actually more dominant that he has gotten credit for. And his last fight was a vicious KO. I'm now a fan.
Vicious indeed. Dude was completely out cold
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Vicious indeed. Dude was completely out cold
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4qrag_lyoto-machida-complete-career-highl_sport
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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4qrag_lyoto-machida-complete-career-highl_sport
Nice! Thanks for the link. I actually really like this dude. Something a bit different about him. Could make more use of elbows though I think
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The Memorial Day Weekend pay per view has become a big yearly show for the UFC. They originally wanted Mir and Lesnar on this show, which would have been huge. Then Mir's injury delayed things, and they tried to do Rampage and Rashad, but Rampage was injured, so they went with their third choice, Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans.
Internally the feeling at UFC is that Evans vs. Machida is a baseline title fight. In other words, it's not a draw at all beyond the hardcore fans according to their own research. However, the light heavyweight title is a strong title, it's been 5 weeks since the last show, it's a holiday weekend, and the semi-main event is very appealing to the 1.2-1.5 million casual fans that have watched The Ultimate Fighter for years.
Last year's May show did 475,000 buys with Penn-Sherk, Ortiz's last fight, and Wanderlei Silva third from the top. That is a stronger card on paper than this one, but the UFC is on a hot streak of late. They did 625,000 buys at UFC 97, though I don't think there will be any spillover effect due to Anderson Silva's performance. Machida and Rashad alone for the title is probably a 350 show, but Serra and Hughes will add buys on top of that.
A lot depends on the countdown show, but Dana has been all over the press, and I'm guessing the video game will give them an extra push too. It's hard to say without seeing the countdown show, but I'm guessing they will do between 475,000 and 500,000 buys.
Update: One reader below pointed out something I forgot about, the 10 dollar coupon toward a UFC PPV for those that buy the new game from Best Buy. Will this make a huge difference? Probably not, but I don't know how many games they sold to people that weren't going to buy anyway. It could be a factor though.
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By news like this:
“I’ve switched things up a little bit,” he says. “I went to a lot of training camps, went out a lot to different places and didn’t stay home near as much.”
One of those outside camps visited by Hughes (42-7) was Greg Nelson’s Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, home to former and current UFC champions Sean Sherk, Dave Menne and Brock Lesnar.
“We just basically got him into the fold of our training camp, and we all worked together,” Nelson says. “We have Sean training for Frankie Edgar. We have Brock Larson training for his fight the same weekend. [Hughes is] kind of the king of the hill at his own school, so it’s nice to come to another spot where they have a lot of guys who are high-level grapplers and high-level fighters that could put him in jeopardy and push him. And we worked on all the same stuff: punching to takedowns, submissions on the ground, full-on grappling, sparring, the whole ball of wax.”
As an aging fighter heading into a bout where there is both bragging rights and to a lesser extent legacy issues on the line, Hughes is wise to deviate from a potentially stale path he could fall into doing a rinse and repeat camp at H.I.T. Squad. The upside to training at MMAA is significant for any fighter, but for Hughes it provides some clear insurance in terms of establishing good cardiovascular fitness, getting the right kind and enough of the right training partner as well as pre-fight strategy under the eye of masterful tacticians. Greg Jackson appropriately receives accolades for his strategizing, but he does not have a monopoly on how to game plan for fights in professional MMA. Nelson is quite adept as well and by the sound of it, Hughes is going to stick to his strengths while making the slight adjustments necessary to handle the eccentricities of Serra's attacks:
“What you have to watch out for with Matt [Serra], more than anything, is that when he’s up on his feet, he holds nothing back,” Nelson says. “When he throws a punch, he’s going for it. It may not be pretty, but if it lands, you’re going to be in trouble. A lot of times, people always train for the guy who’s throwing the nice, straight punches and the pretty boxing, but what do you usually get hit by? The crazy shot that comes flying out of nowhere. I watched a lot of Matt Serra and kind of imitated the way he throws his punches and kind of threw wild shots at [Hughes], as well as clean shots.”
I certainly do not doubt Serra's camp is rigorous and the strategy meticulous, but I've yet to see evidence he's being immersed in the bubbling cauldron of fight camp similar to what Hughes is receiving at MMAA.
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as far as that dude nelson saying serra aint getting the high intensity training that hughes is getting at the caveman school is ignorant, trust me guys, ray longo puts his fighters threw hell, maybe they dont drag broads around by the hair and fight off dinasours like hughes but they train very hard
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I got Machida and Serra.
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Steve Cofield caught up with Sean Sherk this past week, and one of the topics of discussion was regarding Sherk's major drop in rankings due to his loss to B.J. Penn. Cofield points out in his article that Sean Sherk is currently ranked #4 in our USAToday/BloodyElbow.com Lightweight Consensus rankings for April.
Interestingly enough, Cofield also mentions the fact that MMAWeekly doesn't even have Sherk in their top 10 and two other sources have him at #8. To be perfectly honest, anything below top 5 for Sherk is a bit of a stretch in my opinion.
Regardless of my opinion, Sherk had this to say:
"There are guys ranked above me, that I've seen, that I know damn well I can beat. Rankings don't mean squat. (Shinya) Aoki is a good example. He's a big 155 pounder but he's got no boxing, no wrestling. Where does that leave you in the UFC? You can't wear pants, so guess what? You're in some trouble. I'd like to see a lot of those guys come here and I think eventually they will."
Sherk hits at the constant debate among fans when it comes to the Lightweight rankings. Should Aoki be that far up the ladder considering the multiple factors into why he's ranked so high? Should pants be an issue? Why is Florian above Sherk?
I think when it comes down to rankings, we have to put these guys where they rank according to their promotion's rule set. If Japan allows pants, cry me a river. It's a ranking after all. But even in that context, I still don't think Aoki is a top 3 guy currently. Sherk has a small case there. Florian ranked at #3 isn't a huge stretch considering he defeated Thomas, Lauzon, Huerta, and Stevenson, but if we look back at where those guys are at right now, was it truly that impressive?
Sherk did, after all, turn around and slug out a decision win over the always tough Tyson Griffin. I feel like Florian's rank correlates to where he stands in the divisional picture, and as we all know, the UFC doesn't care about divisonal rankings. Should Leites have been #2 ranked because he was in line for a title shot? No. Sherk might have a case there.
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MMAWeekly has a very interesting piece regarding Yoshiyuki Yoshida's progression as a fighter following his loss to Josh Koscheck at the UFC Fight for the Troops event in which Yoshida was knocked out. The article talks about the mistakes Yoshida feels he made, but it also mentions the fact that Yoshida is now training at Greg Jackson's camp:
"I think I thought about the opponent too much and basically forgot to fight my style of fight," Yoshida told MMAWeekly in an exclusive interview prior to his fight at UFC 98. "So this time, I want to go and just do what I do best and win."
What Yoshida did to get back to his winning ways was completely change his training routine, and that included adding himself into the mix at Greg Jackson's gym in New Mexico.
"I have been training at Greg Jackson's at almost two full months. For this fight I didn't wanted to train in Japan. If I train in Japan then coming to America and fight in the UFC, that itself would put everything into something extraordinarily and rare," Yoshida stated. "I wanted to approach this fight like any other fight I fought in Japan. So train in New Mexico for full two months, then take short flight out to Vegas to fight. It's about changing the environment to prepare for this fight in a different mindset."
I wasn't aware that Yoshida had traveled to New Mexico to train with Greg Jackson, but I must say... Kudos to Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Unlike some of his Japanese counterparts, he's taking his loss and turning it into a motivator to learn from his mistakes. While some of the other Japanese competition has probably done the same, they haven't gone out and found one of the best trainers in the world to help them achieve success in the UFC.
Hopefully, Jackson will get Yoshida back on track with his gameplan. Yoshida's powerful ground and pound and Judo style surely could use some tweaking from a camp that has the experience in the cage, the training partners to help Yoshida succeed, and the brilliant gameplanning that Jackson has implemented in the past.
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I just saw the Countdown to UFC 98 show that will air tonight on Spike TV. It aired in the United Kingdom last night on Setanta, and it is a great program.
Many will focus on the hype for Hughes and Serra, but I thought the work they did promoting the Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida fight was masterful. The UFC has struggled to promote foreign fighters in the past, but they decided to go all out in creating a karate persona for Machida, and it worked.
For the first time both of these guys really came across as superstars on television. UFC 98's buyrate success does now largely depends on how many people watch the countdown, as I suspect the conversion rate of viewers to buys will be extremely high.
Rashad's team sounds very confident that they've found holes in Machida's game, and Rashad is going to catch him a few rounds into the fight. He had a star-studded training camp for this fight, with all the resources of Team Jackson dedicated to this fight. Is that enough to figure out Machida? I don't think so, but my confidence in Machida has been shaken over the last week.
Make sure to catch the countdown tonight on Spike.
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MAIN CARD:
Rashad Evans (205) Vs. Lyoto Machida (204)
Matt Hughes (170) Vs. Matt Serra (171)
Dan Miller (185) Vs. Chael Sonnen (186)
Sean Sherk (156) Vs. Frank Edgar (155)
Drew McFedries (185) Vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (186)
PRELIMINARY FIGHTS:
Brock Larson (171) Vs. Mike Pyle (172)*
Pat Barry (237) Vs. Tim Hague (263)
Phillipe Nover (156) Vs. Kyle Bradley (156)
Krzysztof Soszynski (206) Vs. Andre Gusmao (206)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida (171) Vs. Brandon Wolff (170)
Dave Kaplan (156) Vs. George Roop (154)
*Late replacement. Mike Pyle was not penalized for being over. Source: UFC.com.
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Three days ago, it was reported that Xtreme Couture fighter Mike Pyle had signed on as a replacement fighter for UFC 98. Initial reports stated that Chris Wilson was likely the man to be potentially replaced due to the robbery at gunpoint that took place at his home in Brazil. It looks like Pyle will, in fact, replace Chris Wilson and take on Brock Larson on the UFC 98 undercard:
Mixed martial arts veteran Mike Pyle will make his long-awaited UFC debut Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as he takes on Brock Larson in a UFC 98 prelim bout. Pyle replaces Chris Wilson, who was a last-minute scratch from the event.
Mike Pyle is currently 17-5-1, riding a 4 fight win-streak since his loss to Jake Shields at EliteXC's Renegade event. He comes in with a load of experience like Larson, but he's also a much more formidable opponent for Larson as he has 15 of his wins coming by way of submission. As we all know, Larson's weakness could be considered the submission game. This fight got a whole lot more interesting.
UPDATE: From Chris Wilson's blog:
After several months of training, tapering for the fight, dieting, traveling and even cutting half of my weight the day before weigh-ins my fight has been canceled.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not approve some of my medicals and we couldn’t hussle them all out in time despite last minute physicals, blood tests, international conference calls and even a little prayer. No joke, I really prayed.
I’ve been told that I would likely be put on the earliest possible show in any slot that opens at welterweight. That is little relief since I was ready now and need the money but it will have to do.
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A month after Dana White tried to retire Chuck Liddell, the controversy continues. Here’s his latest statements on the subject, given at the UFC 98 press conference:
“Trust me when I tell you, he’s ready to retire,” White said. “He’s ready to retire. It’s the reason we love Chuck Liddell. He has nothing left to prove. He’s got a [expletive] load of money. He’s been a world champion. He’s beaten a who’s who of mixed martial arts fighters. He’s the most famous guy in the sport. There’s no reason to fight. He’s 40 years old, man. He and I had an agreement. We had a deal.
“Am I his father? Can I tell him not to fight? Absolutely not. If he still wants to fight, he can fight. I’m not saying, ‘It will never happen. It will never happen.’ But he made a deal with me. He’s never not listened to me. We’ll see what happens.”
White is Liddell’s former manager and the two are close friends. When asked if he’d stand in the way of Liddell fighting outside the UFC if Liddell opted to fight, White hedged.
“I don’t know, man,” he said, grimacing. “I’m honestly telling you guys I can not see him coming back to me and saying, ‘I want to fight one more.’ We already did that. I can’t see it happening. I think there are a lot of people around him who need his money putting pressure on him. That’s what I think.”
While I think we can all agree that Dana White handled the Chuck retirement issue with all the grace of a quadriplegic falling down several flights of stairs, you can’t say he doesn’t have Chuck’s best interests in mind. The average fight promoter would milk a guy like Liddell for all he’s worth, setting up big money fights until no one is willing to pay for them any more and then feeding Chuck to the next generation.
But instead Dana wants to stop making millions of dollars off his friend because he doesn’t want Chuck to finish his career with an ugly Ken Shamrock style skid to the bottom. It’s debatable as to whether that’s what would happen if Chuck continued to fight, but it’s hard to look at his performances from 2007 onwards and not say Chuck’s on the wrong side of the hill here.
Here’s hoping this entire situation is one where everyone has Chuck Liddell’s best interests in mind … Dana doesn’t want Chuck to become a punchline, and John Hackleman just doesn’t want Dana telling Chuck what to do. Still, when’s the last time you’ve heard of a club hopper like Chuck not having an entourage full of stupid freeloaders and morons? Can MMA really be the complete opposite of boxing to the point where you have people fighting over trying to help a fighter out instead of fucking him over?
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i do agree with dana
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Rashad Evans hopes to pick up a few extra bucks while he's in Las Vegas, on top of the purse he'll collect for fighting Lyoto Machida.
That's because Evans placed a bet on himself as a plus-210 underdog -- pretty good odds for an undefeated champion.
"I'm coming into this fight still the underdog," Evans said, not offering to say how much he bet on himself to win. "Every time I fight, people pick against me."
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Don’t get me wrong. I like Sean Sherk. The guy’s caveman training is utterly ridiculous and the way he is able to physically dominate opponents inside the Octagon deserves respect. Despite that, he’s been saying some nutty shit as of late. Here he is talking to MMAWeekly about how “size won’t matter” in his fight tonight with Frank Edgar:
I don’t think my size is going to be a factor. I think it’s going to come down to a skill factor and experience. The size thing, I don’t think it’s going to make that much difference because I’ve seen [Edgar] fight some pretty good guys at 155. He’s never been manhandled. Even Gray Maynard, he gave Gray a hell of a good fight until the third round. Gray was a lot bigger too and they’re both real, strong wrestlers too.
Wrong. Gray Maynard beat Frank Edgar because he was bigger and stronger. When two men of comparable skill levels meet, the one who has a strength and size advantage will usually come out on top. It’s physics — at least that’s what my friend who stayed awake during high school says. Saying size won’t be a factor in a fight is like saying the ability to see won’t be a factor in a stock car race. Just like the smaller guy will obviously be at a disadvantage in a fight, Ray Charles would also be at a disadvantage in the Indy 500. (That metaphor was a quick shout out to both our blind readers and our readers who are NASCAR aficionados. Then again, I would guess we don’t have many blind readers considering it’s tough to read a web site if you can’t see. Similarly, I bet we don’t have many readers who are stock car racing fans as most of them have trouble reading too. ZINGER!)
Sherk also is known for eating baby food as part of his insane diet. He talked to Sherdog about how he thinks baby food company Gerber should sponsor him. For real. He might be half-kidding, but I want to believe he’s entirely serious here.
Maybe I could try to get sponsored by those guys one of these days. To be honest with you, think about it, babies eat baby food for the first year of their lives and then move on to solid food. I’ve been eating baby food for years. I’ve probably eaten more baby food in my lifetime than any baby out there. Ideally, wouldn’t you want to sponsor me if you were a manufacturer of baby food? If you were Gerber wouldn’t you want to sponsor Sean Sherk? You get your name on my ass, and now you start branding yourself as clean healthy food. Now professional athletes start eating that stuff because they want to be healthy, too. It doesn’t taste bad. Once you get past that you’re drinking your food rather than chewing it, it’s really not any different.
Man, I would love to see Sherk show up to a fight with Gerber baby food logos all over his shorts. Fans and fighters alike would be all “Whoa, Sherk eats baby food? I’m most definitely going to make that shit a regular part of my diet just like him!” Then after that GoldenShowersPorn.com can start paying Lyoto Machida to start drinking a gallon of his own piss with their logo on it during his cage entrance. It’s comments like this that make me realize why certain fighters need people to do the business end for them.
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what's worng with baby food. about once a year i get a craving for the really smmoth baby cereal with banana.
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he should never be accepted into the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose the son-of-a-bitch! ;D
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yup, Dana is right. Chuck will only get hurt.
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Josh Gross has a very informative interview with Lyoto Machida's father and coach Yoshizo Machida.
I found his discussion of the mental side of fighting very interesting:
I like to incorporate everything, because a lot of it is spiritual and mental when you're going in the ring. How do you control yourself? A lot of times the fighter enters the ring nervous, not knowing what his opponent is thinking. With family being around to offer support and love, that can make him feel a lot more relaxed.
...
A lot of people don't prepare the mental state of their body. So many people are focused on the technical aspect and strength aspect, and they don't work on the mental aspects.
He also discusses the source of Lyoto's defensive approach to fighting:
Really, at the end of the day, I come from a background of martial arts. I always taught my children that in the Samurai days, if you were to get touched it would have been with a sword or a blade and you would have died. So the whole thing is to eliminate getting touched and that's what I've always instilled in my sons. Let's not pretend it's a punch. Let's pretend it's a sword. If you would have been hit by the sword, you'd be dead. That's how I trained him.
But he says that going into the Thiago Silva fight, even he thought Lyoto needed to be more aggressive.
Finally he addresses Rashad Evans and how Lyoto plans to take the belt:
From what I can tell, Rashad Evans is a compete fighter, a technical athlete. He's very fast. Very strong. I respect him very much. What I can't see is how strong he is mentally or spiritually. So, with that being said, that is where Lyoto is going to go after Rashad. He will attack his spirit.
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I just wasn't sure if they have been blocked yet? Did the last PPV work?
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i hope his spirit has a glass jaw
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Parts of it did, it's hit and miss, same thing with justintv....
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Parts of it did, it's hit and miss, same thing with justintv....
Fuck that Sucks DICK! Damn you Don White I mean DANA! ;D ;D
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Any links yet for the fight? Is the Justin tv up yet? ???
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DAVE KAPLAN VS. GEORGE ROOP
Round 1 - Kaplan works kicks and Roop punches, but little lands early. Roop misses with a head kick. Roop partially connects on a combination of punches and follows a bit later with a nice body kick. Roop scores one of his own. Kaplan has a trickle of blood coming from the bridge of his nose. Kalplan lands an overhand right as Roop moves in. The fighters continue trading punches and kicks with no sense this fight will go to the ground. Roop with a nice front kick to the body, but Kaplan connects on the second part of his combination with a left. Kaplan becomes the aggressor and punches through Roop's reach. Roop throws a head kick that partially connects, but Kaplan shakes it off. Roop lands an uppercut and body kick, and Kaplan shoots, scores the takedown and backs Roops into the fence. Kaplan stands and eats an upkick and then backs off and allows his opponent to do the same. Both fighters get in a few more licks before the end of the round. It's a close one, but MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Kaplan.
Round 2 - After trading punches, Roop jumps with a flying knee. Kaplan catches it and puts his opponent on his back. Kaplan postures up to try to improve his position, but Roop again connects a solid upkick. With Kaplan in guard, Roop delivers elbows to Kaplan's head and then kicks to create distance and get back to his feet. Roop again goes with a head kick that's blocked. Roop with a nice right jab, right body kick combo before Kaplan clinches. With Roops pressed against the cage, Kaplan grabs a leg and scores the trip takedown. Kaplan can do little with the position before Roop again kicks his way free. The fighters again trade punches with few landing. Roop throws a low kick, and Kaplan shoots, presses him against the cage and frantically tries for the takedown. After 20 seconds of trying, he finally takes Roop to the mat. Working from inside guard, Kaplan's short stature makes him an easy mark for Roop's elbows. Roop ties up his arms and delivers a decent amount of damage from below as the round comes to a close. It's another close one, and despite Kaplan's takedowns, MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Roop for overall damage.
Round 3 - Kaplan takes the center of the cage, waits for Roop and lands a nice leg kick. Roop again telegraphs a head kicks that his opponent easily dodges. Kaplan continues having some success with a punch-low-kick combo before grabbing a leg and forcing the fight to the ground. Kaplan quickly takes sidemount, drops some short punches and then hops into full mount. Roop ties him up, shoves and knees Kaplan to create distance and gets back to his feet. Kaplan again shoots for the double, but Roop easily sprawls free. Fatigue sets in as the fighters trade sloppy blows. Kaplan dips for a single leg, presses Roop against the cage and works for nearly a minute before a failed judo toss. Back to the center of the cage, both fighters swing wildly with heavy arms and deep breaths. Roop eats a low kick but finally lands a head kick. Kaplan easily shakes it off, dips for a single leg and presses Roop against the cage. The action stalls before Kaplan steps away and misses with a wild right. The crowd cheers loudly as we enter the final seconds of the fight. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Kaplan, but the fight could go either way on the scorecards.
George Roop def. Dave Kaplan via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)
BRANDON WOLFF VS. YOSHIYUKI YOSHIDA
Round 1 - After 40 seconds, Yoshida throws the fight's first strike and misses with the kick. Wolff throws a punch, and Yoshida immediately swarms, clinches and puts Wolff against the cage. The fighters fight for position while clinched. Yoshida delivers a knee to the body and shoulder jab before locking in a guillotine, pulling guard and wrapping up Wolff. Wolff tries to fight it off for a good 30 seconds, but he's eventually forced to tap once Yoshida locks in the body triangle.
Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Brandon Wolff via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 2:24
ANDRE GUSMAO VS. KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI
Round 1 - Soszynski is all smiles as the fighters touch gloves. He then bumrushes Gusmao, puts him against the cage but then eats a few knees to the body. The action briefly stops when Gusmao lands a low blow. Gusmao drops Soszynski and follows with a punch (might've been a trip). Soszynski is fine, and the action is stopped when it's Soszynski who lands the low blow this time. Soszynski becomes the aggressor, but Soszynski sidesteps the advances. Back to the center of the cage, and Gusmao lands a nice front kick to the body. The pace slows a bit as both fighters circle. Gusmao delivers a nice straight right before Soszynski lands a nice left cross. Soszynski throws a flurry as Gusmao backs up and then slows Soszynski with a body kick. Soszynski unloads a combo and connects on a right hook that stuns and then drops Gusmao. Gusmao briefly appears out cold as Soszynski delivers the final blows before a TKO stoppage.
Krzysztof Soszynski def. Andre Gusmao via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:17
KYLE BRADLEY VS. PHILLIPE NOVER
Round 1 - Little action early before Bradley lands a lunging right to the body 25 seconds in. Nover answers with a body kick. Both fighters trade wildly, and Nover eats a left as he charges in. Bradley continues the assault and scoops up and drops Nover hard to the mat. Bradley follows with a barrage of blows as Nover goes limp and face first into the mat. Referee Yves Lavigne jumps in to stop the fight, but Nover continues fighting. Bradley briefly jumps back in and then looks at the ref for instruction. Lavigne finally jumps in between the fighters and calls a stoppage. Nover quickly gets to his feet and complains, and a chorus of boos fills the arena. Honestly, though, it was a good stoppage. Lavigne's hesitation was the only thing wrong with the fight.
Kyle Bradley def. Phillipe Nover via TKO (strikes) Round 1, 1:03
PAT BARRY VS. TIM HAGUE
Round 1 - All smiles as the fighters touch gloves. Hague throws the first punches and forces Barry to retreat before he charges forward with a looping right that partially connects. Barry, a smaller heavyweight, showing the speed and elusiveness he talked about. Barry stuns Hague with a combo and head kick and has his dazed. But Hague grabs hold and forces the fight to the mat to regroup. Barry takes to his knees, and Hague blankets him and locks in a guillotine choke when Barry pops out his head. After locking in the body triangle, Barry is forced to tap.
Tim Hague def. Pat Barry via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:43
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BROCK LARSON VS. MIKE PYLE
Round 1 - Two quick welterweights touch gloves, and we're underway. Pyle misses some leg kicks, and Larson finally lands the first punch 50 seconds into the fight. He quickly clinches and takes Larson to the mat. Larson must pull free of an armbar attempt and then defend Pyle's additional swift ground work that ties him up. Eventually, Larson stands over his opponent, dodges a triangle choke, throws some ground and pound, stands up, eats another upkick and then takes to his knees and tries to lock in a guillotine with Pyle on his back. Pyle escapes but Larson secures an arm-triangle choke from half guard. Pyle struggles. Larson locks it in tighter, and Pyle eventually relents and taps.
Brock Larson def. Mike Pyle via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 3:06
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tvu worked for like an hour on the last ppv, then shut off.
anyone got a link?
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justinTV is shut down and for sale for 2 million and TVU has been giving me fits...
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http://wstvo.blogspot.com/2009/05/watch-ufc-98-live.html
works
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justinTV is shut down and for sale for 2 million and TVU has been giving me fits...
tvu is working fine right now. Justintv blows, keeps stopping.
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FRANKIE EDGAR VS. SEAN SHERK
Round 1 - The fighters trade punches in the center of the cage, but nothing lands Sherk graze his opponent with a right. Edgar returns one of his own. Edgar fakes a shoot that Sherk easily reocgnizes. Clinched against the cage, Edgar backs off, and we restart. The sparring match continues in the center of the cage. Edgar with a nice shot and then follows with a right that gets through. Edgar grabs a single leg and puts Sherk up against the cage, but he's forced to give it up. Sherk snaps off a leg kick, but Edgar grabs it and puts Sherk on his back. Sherks back out to get to his feet, and Edgar slaps on a guillotine from north-south position. Sherk escapes, though, and gets back to his feet. The fighters continue trading in the center of the cage, but again, most shots are blocked. Sherk lunges with a nice right. Edgar lands a leg kick, but Sherk makes his pay with a combination as the horn sounds. It's a close round, but MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Edgar.
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tvu is working fine right now. Justintv blows, keeps stopping.
Couldnt get TVU to load for me worth shit.. This Blogspot is streaming non stop.
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Couldnt get TVU to load for me worth shit.. This Blogspot is streaming non stop.
Yeah TVU just shut down, the blogspot looks good.
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Yeah TVU just shut down, the blogspot looks good.
I am just glad that people stream this shit for my Broke A$$
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Round 2 - Sherk stalks Edgar and backs him up with a right. Sherk doesn't have the reach to land any jabs, and Edgar sidesteps his blows. Edgar tries to clinch and eats a right before backing up. Edgar takes to the center of the cage and pops Sherk with a body kick. The fighters again trade blows in the center of the cage. Edgar shoots, Sherk sprawls, but Edgar connects with a knee to the body before they split. Sherk continues to stalk as Edgar slowly circles around the cage. Edgar sets up a nice right, but Sherk shows no ill effects and lands a looping right of his own. Sherk goes low then high with a combo and then gets through a left. Edgar again goes low-high to connect. The fighters collide in the center of the cage and trade blows. Edgar lands the best shot, but Sherk connects on consecutive strikes. A low blow from Edgar briefly stops the fight. Edgar shoots, Sherk sprawls and Edgar whiffs on a head kick that forces him off balance. MMAjunkie.com scores another close round for Edgar, 10-9.
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Round 3 - Sherk swings with a sense of urgency, but Edgar patiently waits for an opening while circling away. Edgar throws a lazy hook, and Sherk makes him pay with a lightning-quick double-leg takedown. Edgar, though, quickly gets back to his feet. Both fighters look to shoot and knock noggins. Edgar goes high with a head kick that basically just lands as a face slap. Back to the center of the cage, and the pace slows a bit. Edgar shoots, Sherk quickly sees it coming, and we restart in the center of the cage. This time Sherk shoots. Edgar sprawls and easilt defends from the takedown. The fighters trade punches again, and Edgar counters with a solid three-punch combo that lands. He then stuff Sherk's shot and makes him pay with a quick right. With 10 seconds left, Sherk shoots one final time, locks in a deep guillotine and pulls guard before the horn sounds. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Edgar (though the fight was a lot closer than our 30-27 score would indicate).
Frankie Edgar def. Sean Sherk via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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The fans hate the guy.. They just showed him on the Titan Tron and the whole arena booed his ass... All he could do was smile.. Damn that sucks cause he used to be a fan favorite for a lot of people..
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I am just glad that people stream this shit for my Broke A$$
For sure, Big-Tymer came through tonight.
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I booed him from my computer chair. ;D
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fuck buying a ppv with like one good fight on the card. ufc 92 i would have paid for, but that was about the only one
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fuck buying a ppv with like one good fight on the card. ufc 92 i would have paid for, but that was about the only one
No doubt, I aint even got Cable anymore, thought Netflix was a better option. Other then Sports I don't miss anything, but I watch the Internet more now ha-ha.
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DAN MILLER VS. CHAEL SONNEN
Round 1 - Sonnen's low kick is countered with a punch from Miller. Sonnen shoots, locks in a guillotine, pulls guard, locks in the body triangle and squeezes with everything he's got. Sonnen is bright red and nearly out before he miraculously frees his head. Sonnen postures up and rains down a blow before dropping into his opponent's guard. Miller pulls him tight, but Sonnen rises up and rains down a left. Miller looks for an out from below and rolls to try to improve his position. However, it only allows Sonnen to secure sidemount. Miller uses a bit of butterfly guard, but Miller pops him with jabs before he returns to full guard. Sonnen delivers some elbow strikes and then stands up and rains down another big blow to the kisser. Miller frantically looks for a triangle choke, but Sonnen returns to full guard and presses his forearm into his opponent's neck. Sonnen delivers a few more short strikes before the round ends. Miller nearly ended it early, but Sonnen did enough to take the round on MMAjunkie.com's scorecard, 10-9.
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Round 2 - The fighters trade kicks. Miller catches one, but after a scramble for position, the fighters clinch against the cage, where Sonnen scoops up Miller and slams him to the mat. Sonnen again gets trapped in a guillotine, but he frees himself and works the body with punches. Miller tries to pull him tight from below, but Sonnen postures up and drops a solid elbow strike to the face. Sonnen works a few hammerfists to the mug and follows with shots to the body. Sonnen's assault slows before Miller slabs on an armbar. He tries to stretch it out, but Sonnen breaks free and returns to his opponent's guard. Miller again pulls him close, but Sonnen gets through a couple elbow strikes and hammerfists. The pace slows with 40 seconds remaining, and the boos start to rain down. Sonnen stands over his opponent and rains down a big looping left that just misses. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Sonnen.
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Round 3 - Miller misses with a head kick but backs up Sonnen with a nice combination of punches. Sonnen shoots, picks up Miller and quickly takes him back to the mat. Working from full guard, Sonnen works punches to the body and hammerfists to the face. The assault continues for a good minute as Miller has little to offer from his back. Sonnen postures up, but his punches are blocked as he comes back down. Sonnen drops some sort elbows, frees a leg and tries to secure mount. Miller, though, forces him back into guard. The boo birds return as the pace to Sonnen's dominance slows. With Miller pressed against the cage, Sonnen postures up and pops him consecutive punches to the head. He then drops to guard and continues battering Miller with his and neck bent into the fence. Sonnen lands a few final blows to win the final round 10-9 on MMAjunkie.com's scorecard. The crowd mostly boos.
Chael Sonnen def. Dan Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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XAVIER FOUPA-POKAM VS. DREW McFEDRIES
Round 1 - McFedries strikes first, drops his opponent, and batters him with a series of brutal blows. Foupa-Pokam somehow gets back to his feet, and he's popped with a big uppercut and again hits the canvas. McFedries follows with more brutal shots as Foupa-Pokam is pinned against the cage. Yves Lavigne jumps in to stop it, though Foupa-Pokam initially protests.
Drew McFedries def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:37
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MATT HUGHES VS. MATT SERRA
Round 1 - As expected no touch of gloves. Steve Mazzagatti didn't even bother asking. We're underway, and Hughes misses wide with his first punch. Both fighters are patient and take turns backing the other away with punches that don't land. After a clinch, Hughes drops his back. Not sure if it was a slip or head butt or punch. But Hughes is dazed. Serra continues attacking and chasing Hughes. Hughes grabs a single leg to try to stall and then pushes Serra into the cage. Serra with a couple soft knees to the body. The pace slows big time as the fighters clinch, allowing Hughes time to recover from what seemed to be a heat butt. The fighters break apart, and we start at the center of the cage again. Hughes telegraphs a leg kick that misses before clinching with Serra. Hughes initiates a textbook trip takedown, takes sidemount, and then takes Serra's back. Hughes rolls to his back and locks in his hooks, but he doesn't have the choke, and Serra uses the cameras to help him watch what Hughes is doing from below. Serra rolls free and escapes, drawing a big ovation. A right hand nearly connects, but Hughes backs away. An exciting first round. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Serra.
IT WAS A HEAD BUTT THTAT DROPPED HUGHES ON THE SIDE OF THE CHIN AND THEN HE WAS HIT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD!
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Im watching it on Sopcast right now.
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Round 2 - The pace slows as Hughes lands the occasional body shot. Serra looks to his corner for instruction. Hughes with more body shots. Serra tries to escape, but Hughes puts him back on his back. Still working from hald guard, Hughes tries to free his other leg and instead opts for more body shots. Hughes' offense sputters and forces the ref to stand up the fighters with 10 seconds to go. Serra partially connects on a high kick before the horn sounds. It's a dominant round for Hughes, 10-9, though both fighters should be in good shape for the third-round finale.
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F'ing boring....... ::)
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Round 3 - The fighters remain patient early in the third. Each takes a turn with punches that miss. Hughes charges forward for the clinch. Serra initially defends, but Hughes turns him around so he can't use the cage and drives forward to put Serra on his back. Serra goes high with a leg and tied up one of Hughes' arms before he waves at the cameras. The pace again slows as a stalemate ensues on the ground. Hughes postures up and gets trapped in a triangle. Serra can't hold out, and Hughes easily breaks free before dropping back into half guard. Serra clings to his opponent to get the restart. Back to the center of the cage. Hughes lands the second part of a combo but has little behind it. Hughes jabs and Serra taunts him briefly by sticking his chin out. The fighters clinch in the center of the cage before Serra throws Hughes and sends him airborne into the mat. Serra rains down blows, takes his opponent's back as Hughes tries to get to his feet, but he runs out of time. MMAjunkie.com scores the final round 10-9 for Hughes.
Matt Hughes def. Matt Serra via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Worst fight of the night, I almost fell asleep.
Gave it to Hughes cause he's Dana's bitch.
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Matt Hughes
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http://wstvo.blogspot.com/2009/05/watch-ufc-98-live.html
works
thankyou :)
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thankyou :)
No doubt big tyme come through!
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FUCK!
it just went down :(
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fucking f.aggot dana white killing the stream right as the main event is about to start.
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its working again. refresh it
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^^ thanks :)
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http://fr.justin.tv/fimdemes5
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CHAMP RASHAD EVANS VS. LYOTO MACHIDA (for light-heavyweight title)
Round 1 - No touch of the gloves as tonight's title fight gets underway. Machida stays in the center of the cage as Evans circles. Machida with a quick and ineffective leg kick 40 seconds in for the bout's first bit of offense. The boo birds already come out of the nest. Evans isn't getting sucked in and remains as patient as Machida. A minute a half in, and we have one strike thrown. Evans creates distance with a jab. Evans charges forward and knocks Evans off balance with a blocked head kick. Evans laughs it off. The pace again slows to a crawl as Evans continues circling. Machida finally provides some action with a body kick. Evans jabs from distance but no dice. Machida again charges in for a body kick, but Evans blocks it this time. Machida lands another body kick and drops Evans, and he swarms in. Evans gets back to his feet, the fighters briefly clinch, and then they each retreat. Nice blow by Machida, who misses on a following head kick. Not many shots but the ones that landed counted. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Machida.
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YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!
DEBUSSEY'S FAVORITE MACHIDA SMASHED RASHAD!§!!!!!
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Raped him !!
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Round 2 - Machida misses with an early body kick. Machida fakes a shot and then backs off. Machida with another big body kick. He instantly clinches, can't force the takedown and quickly retreats out of Evans' reach. Machida lands an inside leg kick. Machida lands two nice punches, and Evans counters with two of his own. Evans lands a nice body kick after a lull in action. Machida fakes a charge, and Evans circles away and resets. Machida throws a combination. The first punch dazes Evans and the second drops him. Machida Charges in throwing wild blows that connect. The frantic pace continues even as Evans fights back. The blows mount up and have Evans staggered. A few more shots and a final left knock him out for good and force the TKO stoppage.
Lyoto Machida def. Rashad Evans via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 3:57 (to become new UFC light-heavyweight champion)
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Well first a movie with the wife. I'll add the scores up tomorrow and great fights tonight. Notate in the the topic title if you mention the result of a fight thanks!
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Hes definetly a hall of famer and he stated at the end of the Sera fight that he had one last fight in him.
I for one, would love to see him fight Thiago again.
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I hope he didn't bet too much.
Geesh- Lyoto has now dominated a laundry list of who's who in MMA including BJ, Tito, Thiago Silva, Sokajuo and Rashad.
I honest to god do not see him losing to anyone at 205 anytime soon. Rampage is next. Does anyone seriously think that barring a glitch in timing, or Lyoto just not properly preparing for the fight, that Rampage will not get destroyed?
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Rashad got fucking smashed!
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!
KTFO!!!!
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I hope he didn't bet too much.
Geesh- Lyoto has now dominated a laundry list of who's who in MMA including BJ, Tito, Thiago Silva, Sokajuo and Rashad.
I honest to god do not see him losing to anyone at 205 anytime soon. Rampage is next. Does anyone seriously think that barring a glitch in timing, or Lyoto just not properly preparing for the fight, that Rampage will not get destroyed?
He'll lose pretty soon. Not counting against him but there are some good fighters at LH. Especially if Shogun is rounding back into his former self.
It will be fun to watch all these matchups but I can see the belt jumping from fighter to fighter and back again.
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Hughes is definately a hall of famer, but I didn't see anything in him tonight that would convince me he would do any better against Thiago in a rematch.
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Hahahah..he did it to himself...
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I guess that's better than drinking someone elses :-\
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I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of the things that have been said about Lyoto Machida by the writers and editors of this site over the past few years. So here, through links and quotes, is a look back at the rise of Machida. It may be a bit long, but it should be fun for some of you BloodyElbow nerds out there.
A lot of people forget that Machida was scheduled to face Forrest Griffin in his second UFC fight back at UFC 70 (which ultimately turned into David Heath following Forrest pulling out):
The Machida vs Griffin match is also exciting. Machida coming heavily touted from wins over Rich Franklin, Steven Bonnar, and B.J. Penn and did well in his UFC debut over Hogar. Forrest will be fighting for his future in the UFC so it should be a standup war.
There was also talk of Machida getting Shogun Rua in his first trip to the UFC which quickly turned into Forrest Griffin/Rua:
Putting him in against Machida for his first fight is literally risking the franchise. Machida has fought twice in the UFC but neither fight has been aired and he is as boring as hell -- and I'm a huge fan of his! To the average fan a Rua/Machida match would pit two Brazilians they've never heard of and would likely result in Machida's counter-fighting style dragging things to a decision.
Kid Nate once suggested that Machida should drop to middleweight:
Among several good ideas, he recommends that several 205 pounders move down including Michael Bisping. I can only add to that the Ryoto Machida should do the same. He's a long way from a light heavyweight title shot but as the man who KO'd Rich Franklin before it was cool, he could get a shot at Anderson Silva in only a few months with a couple of key wins.
From the UFC 76 Wrap Up:
Lyoto Machida vs Kazuhiro Nakamura
Like I've said before, I'm a sucker for the technicians. Machida is just smooth as silk and he lands a lot of effective strikes and has good ground work. Nakamura really looked bad -- part of that comes from fighting the elusive Machida but there was probably also a degree of Octagon shock. I was amused at his pre-fight antics, but you've really got to bring it in the fight and he really didn't show much. I'd love to see Machida fight Houston Alexander -- am very interested in seeing how he would deal with Alexander's aggression and power.
Jason Miller was...slightly wrong in this prediction:
(Soukoudjou's) going to beat the piss out of Machida. Machida doesn't even know what he's got into. He's going to find out within the first minute of that fight.
Michael Rome had the following to say when Tito was offered Machida:
Tito may not accept, because his contract is tied to buyrates and Machida is a non-draw. However, he needs a win, and beating Machida would put him back into title contention. If this fight is made, I think most people in the MMA internet community will pick Machida, but I think this is a good fight for Tito. Machida is relatively untested against big, strong wrestlers.
Then we went through a will he won't he mess with Tito considering the offer and the build up being all about Tito's worth if he won. Of course 4 out of 5 BE staffers knew Tito wasn't going to pull it out.
Following the Ortiz fight Kid Nate took a look at "The Machida Divide" among the fans:
Personally, I'm a huge Machida fan. I thought his performance last night was dazzling in parts -- especially in round one and to a lesser extent in round two -- but have to agree with Luke's analysis on Any Given Saturday that Tito's performance in round three was very impressive. I'd give all three rounds to Lyoto because that knee to the liver was brutal, but Tito's triangle is one of those moves that was so close you could cry for him.
I want to see Machida vs Thiago Silva -- battle of the undefeated Brazilians. Total opposites. Fire and Ice. But both are fast rising contenders.
Nate chimed in with another article with various views on Machida from media personalities. Most interesting of which was this quote from Rami Genauer:
If you watched this fight, you saw the extremely rare occurrence of an upper-echelon fighter scoring zero points in a full round. In the first round of the fight, Tito Ortiz attempted 18 strikes and two takedowns. He landed none of them. In fact, it took Ortiz a full eight minutes before he landed his first significant offensive technique. FightMetric awards points for effectiveness based on the historical quality of techniques landed. In the first round, Machida out-pointed Ortiz 41-0. In the second round, it was 62-2.
Let us not forget that fighters were turning down offers to fight Machida at this point and Forrest Griffin made it clear that he didn't like the matchup:
He admitted: "I want nothing to do with that guy. Not at all."
The UFC soon found an opponent in undefeated Thiago Silva which led to both men talking about the importance of the fight:
"I know that this fight will show who is going to lose. The event will sell it this way, two unbeaten guys. I wanna do a great fight, a great show."
Of course Thiago got hurt and the fight was pushed back from UFC 89 to 94. But Silva made no bones about the fact that he was not impressed with Lyoto's game:
Q: Which of Machida’s fight impressed you the most?
A: I don’t know. Actually, there aren’t any of his fights I really like. Lyoto’s a fighter who runs more than he fights. He’s not a fighter who will knock me out easily. He scores points, and I’ll make it hard for him to score. I already faced the toughest fighters. I believe it will be more of a psychological fight than a physical fight for me.
Q: Which fighters have you faced that you believe are tougher than Machida?
A: Houston Alexander, Tomasz Drwal, James Irvin. Actually, I’ve only faced tough fighters in the UFC -- just like Lyoto -- who already defeated many top fighters. I’m on my way to the title. I want this belt, and it will be mine
Michael Rome tried to put Thiago back in his place with this analysis:
I've seen him tagged over and over again on his feet by James Irvin, Tomas Drwal, and Antonio Mendes. I don't see any way he can come close to competing with Lyoto Machida in a standing fight, and I don't think he has the wrestling to bring things to the ground.
This proved to be extremely spot on as Machida knocked Thiago out as time expired in their UFC 94 bout. This led to Nate sharing some statistics from FightMetric that showed just HOW dominant Machida had become.
I noted following the fight that Machida was getting better reactions during weigh-ins and fighter intros than he had in the past and that the fight had made him a star:
Machida received a nice reaction at the weigh-ins, certainly not the kind of reaction one would expect after reading the message board talk of mainstream hatred leading up to the fight. Then Machida received a warm reception at the fight, and Silva was lightly booed as he was introduced. Finally Lyoto fought the perfect fight, turning Thiago's aggression against him, working from the outside with strikes and if distance was closed he threw a few strikes and used a trip takedown to further dictate the pacing and location of the fight. As the crowd erupted at the devastating knockout I was confident that Machida had just become a star.
Rampage Jackson would go on to face Keith Jardine with the understanding that Rampage would get a shot at champion Rashad Evans with a win and if he lost that shot would go to Lyoto Machida. Jackson would win the fight but the turnaround for a fight with Rashad (which would have been a short camp due to the Mir injury) looked to be slightly too quick as Dave Meltzer reported:
At the press conference, Jackson said he didn't know about the fight with Rashad Evans being moved up to May 23 until 15 minutes before he got out...He was clearly not thrilled about it. Dana White said they would wait a few days to give Jackson a chance to assess how he felt coming out of a tough fight and noted if Jackson turned it down, that Machida had already verbally accepted.
This is, of course, exactly what happened. And as we all saw last night (and Joe Rogan so perfectly put it) it led to the beginning of the Lyoto Machida era.
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There is chatter about Sherk's game plan going into last night, which at this juncture are more than relevant. But what underwrites that game plan are the skills and abilities of the individual fighter (or the perceived skill), so when the gameplan fails it's important to inquire whether the skills (or lack thereof) play any role in the defeat. In Sherk's case, the decision to essentially box/kickbox with Edgar sealed his fate from the outset. Sherk simply didn't have the skillset to justify the gameplan, so let's look at some the problems to help us better understand why Sherk's reliance on his limited Thai boxing was a strategic error.
1. Sherk's stance is troubling. He barely threatens the takedown by working from a constant position of a slightly lowered elevation in the early going, but that unfortunately anchors him and prevents him from utilizing a looser, mobile style that can more easily create pivoted angles or a wide variety of distances. As he currently operates, he is only able to inch forward linearly. His stance almost looks like a sugar foot stance that Hughes is doing when he goes southpaw.
2. Sherk is a head hunter. He does posses a good arsenal of lead and rear uppercuts, left hooks and double jab, but almost never goes to the body. This allows opposition like Edgar to work more simplistic defenses and put together better counter combinations that, in turn, can land on Sherk's body. Sherk's head hunting also permits opposition to more predictably game plan and comfortably prepare defensive jab slips, step out angles, and high percentage combinations.
3. Sherk is flat footed. This fits more into the issues I articulated with his stance earlier, but again, it's important to keep in mind that if Sherk were regularly using the sugarfoot stance to more consistently incorporate takedowns, then Sherk could be forgiven sitting on his heels. As it is, not only is his mobility compromised, but it's reduced without the benefit of the constant threat of shots.
4. Sherk uses almost no head movement. The problems with this are obvious, but they're compounded by Sherk's other issues. Sherk not only leaves his head stationary for opposition, but his head is in the proper place for opponents who throw three-punch combinations after cutting angles while Sherk is facing the wrong direction.
5. Sherk only threatens with the right leg kicks and a head hunting attack. Sherk's opposition understand he may throw a handful of leg kicks himself and will likely never throw middle or high kicks. This limits the number, type and effectiveness of available combinations. Worse, while Sherk has short legs, he has even shorter arms. Sherk will never likely develop a dynamic kicking game that will send oppositoin crashing to the mat a la Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon, but it could make them more hesitant if they believed Sherk was capable of landing more than lead uppercuts.
6. Sherk's anchored, straightforward movement allows opposition to make Sherk counterpunch. Sherk did try to initiate exchanges, but Edgar often chose to not respond. Sherk is quite capable at putting three and four punch combinations together (to the head), but Sherk's one directional movement offers more of an opportunity to Edgar and others to simply circle out of harm's way and initiate exchanges at a time of their choosing.
7. He has no knockout power. His head hunting could be slightly forgiven were he, like Paul Buentello, capable of actually putting opposition to sleep with a somewhat limited striking arsenal. So while Sherk can do some damage with his quick punches, oppositon need not be overly concerned the lights are going to get shut off if they stand too long with Sherk. And given that Sherk is all too comfortable standing without the ability to KO opposition, he is forced to technically defeat them with his striking skills. The problem here should be clear.
8. Sherk rarely uses feints or threatens level changes. For an adept wrestler with arguably the fastest shot in MMA (I think Ishida might have him, but it's close), Sherk inexplicably chooses to shoot less than a handful of times over the course of three rounds. What's frustrating is that while Sherk does occasionally get desperate with shots attempts, Sherk does have excellent timing. A more diverse striking arsenal could would allow Sherk the opportunity to not telegraph his shots as he does after three or four attempts. It appears Sherk's only got a handful of combinations that allow him to get opposition to cover and to get the distance closed. More combinations with more diverse shot location means more opportunity for takedowns or takedown threating.
Sherk could've made the fight a much more competitive affair by using his reliable wrestling and extreme conditioning to make up for limitedness in his stand up arsenal, but the MMAA product simply could not or chose not to make the requisite adjustments. And unfortunately, he paid dearly for it.
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You can't say Dana White doesn't take the long view in running the Zuffa fighting empire. Last night at the post-UFC 98 press conference he announced Lyoto Machida's first title defense will be against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, per MMA Weekly:
The victory on Saturday was a validation of his investment in the Machida's tactical, karate-based style, which drew early criticism from fans.
"We bought the WFA to acquire his contract and Rampage's," added White. "I've always thought this kid was talented."
Dana made that investment back at the end of 2006 and Rampage was already well-enough known to be part of the story when the purchase was made, but Lyoto was not, from MMA Weekly:
Sources close to the situation told MMAWeekly.com that Quinton Jackson and Heath Herring are two of the fighters that are part of the deal and will soon be fighting in the UFC. Comments from UFC President and Zuffa co-owner Dana White in Zuffa's press release would seem to support that information: "Zuffa is committed to giving our fans the best fights between the best fighters in the world. This acquisition helps us continue fulfilling that goal... bringing the WFA fighters into the Zuffa family is the best thing that could happen for the fighters - and for the fans."
Its interesting to note that the WFA purchase has now produced two champions in the marquee 205lb decision division while the much more heralded and expensive PRIDE acquisition has only produced one interim champion in Nogueira.
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machidas urine will be bottled and sold as the official energy drink of the ufc