roster19

It was an anti-climactic ending to the hype machine that led up to the fight. The UFC expected this to be the next 'Forrest vs. Bonner' to launching the UFC further mainstream. Instead we were lulled into a spectacular finish. Better than Jon Fitch lay and pray session, but the amount of hype generated led to the disappointment, I think many of us were expecting the main event to be a competitive fight, moreover, many of us also felt Bendo vs. Guida would be a great fight. And it was fight of the night. Even Dana's poker face went on tilt as he criticized Cain's game plan and took aim at JDS' cardio implying that Cain could have won. I felt like he wanted Cain to win since it looks better to establish a champ than to re-crown a new one (seemingly after every fight). The tirade reminded me of Dana's disgust at the Pride 2003 GP when Chuck got smashed by Rampage.

Just in case anyone hasn't heard, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson is on tomorrow on Super Channel 2 at 7pm. Here's the main card: Heavyweight Bout: Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko Welterweight (Women's) Championship Bout: Marloes Coenen © vs. Miesha Tate Middleweight Bout: Tim Kennedy vs. Robbie Lawler Welterweight Bout: Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley Welterweight Bout: Tarec Saffiedine vs. Scott Smith Should be a good show.

Kongo's always been a blatant cheater too. He was grabbing Browne's shorts for dear life even after being deducted a point. And the groin shots...the only match I can remember him not committing an illegal groin shot was his first round choke out against Frank Mir. I'm no Mir fan, but that was satisfying to watch.

EA MMA demo came out yesterday. I'm not impressed at all. The controls feel unresponsive and the walking animation has the fighter gliding on the mat with his hands by his waist. I noticed some clipping too. A guy claiming to work for EA said the demo is a July build, but I'll believe it when the game actually comes out. To me, it makes no sense to release a poor demo after all the hype they've been throwing at this game over the past year. Undisputed 2009 had a solid demo, and I expected no less from EA.

The Diaz brothers are notorious for their in-ring antics. Its mostly just to get a mental advantage on their opponents. At the same time, they are very childish when things don't go their way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjS_-KnCkIg

I saw a video on youtube (presumably post e3), that looks a lot smoother than what we saw at e3. They managed to fix the awkward sliding walking that didn't look natural at all. I'm not going to jump on any bandwagons before the reviews are out, but I'm optimistic. I like the direction they've taken with career mode, and that they've incorporated a world wide perspective of mma. I can't wait to throw down some downed knees and head stomps. Their lack UFC fighters can be satisfied by an in depth create a fighter mode, which so according to the hype video, allows players to share created fighters. And anyone who knows two bits about mma will appreciate El Guapo being in the game!

He said it wasn't his cardio that was a problem, but his body. Carwin didn't elaborate on what that means, however I'll take a guess that he had to cut too much weight to make 265. He probably started cramping up more than actually being gassed, though cardio may well still have been a factor. In his first fight Carwin was 255, so I think he should try to keep leaner for his next fight to avoid the water loss and dehydration of weight cutting.

It's on Showtime. I don't have many channels on my tele, so I'm not sure exactly what channel it is. Too bad Fedor's not fighting on CBS.

Serra made him a conservative fighter. Now he wrestles, and strikes when his opponents expect the shoot. I don't think GSP has succumb to lay and prey tactics, but he's definately not the same fighter that clocked Jay Hieron unconscious. I also expect Machida to revert back to his in and out decision winning ways after being knocked out by Shogun.

Some news on EA MMA. Here's a written gameplay summary. And a video showing what they've got so far, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeiVDjnLes8&feature=player_embedded

Yvel was a very dirty fighter in the past, but he did his deeds in other orgs. If he intentially eye gauged his opponenet or sucker punched a ref in the UFC, he'd be out just like Daley. Paul won't be back in the octagon after this stunt because in my opinion, it's just as bad, if not worse than Babalu choking Heath unconscious (at least that was real revenge). *Fingers crossed for Daley vs. Diaz*

tsn I would be super pumped for a Dream vs. Pride matchup. That would make for a very solid co-main event, in fact I'd be more excited for that than for Chuck/Tito 3.

I can honestly say that I've never waited less than 3 hours to see a doctor in Emergency. You get what you pay for is all I'm saying. In any case, welcome back Brock.

With original opponent Shane Carwin receiving a recent upgrade to title-bout status, heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez (6-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will now face Ben Rothwell (30-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 104. Featuring a light heavyweight title fight between current champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, UFC 104 takes place Oct. 24 in Los Angeles. The undefeated Velasquez has earned four-straight wins in the UFC, including an impressive performance in June in a one-sided unanimous-decision win over Cheick Kongo. The UFC 99 bout was the first time the American Kickboxing trained fighter has been forced to a decision, having earned his previous five wins by TKO. An eight-year veteran of the sport, Rothwell was slated to fight Chase Gormley at the recently canceled "Affliction: Trilogy" event. The 27-year-old has won 14 of his past 15 bouts, including two wins over UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski, as well as wins over notables Ricco Rodriguez, Travis Fulton and Roy Nelson. Velasquez was originally expected to met Carwin in the evening's co-main event. That fight was scratched in favor of Carwin taking on heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 in November. Source Rothwell got tooled by Arlovski at Affliction: Banned. I expect Cain to do the same.

All the attention goes to Carano when Strikeforce's real superstar acquisition Gegard Mousasi shined. I wasn't surprised by the knockout, moreso by the sheer manhandling of Babalu. Getting a guy like Babalu isn't an easy task, so props to Gegard. He definitely reminds me of the vicious Shogun we saw in Pride(not that Shogun's past his prime).

His stand up didn't look that great against Arlovski until he cracked the Pit bull's glass jaw. I could see him getting taken down easily by Lesnar, and then catching him with an armbar. Sick, sick armbars.

Nobody should be questioning Fedor's legacy with multiple notable wins over the likes of Crocop, Nogueira, Schilt, etc. But, I don't think he's faced a prime fighter since Crocop in 2005. I don't buy into the whole 'pound for pound' label, but at the moment, Fedor's present credibility is unknown beating the likes of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. Brock, although I hate his antics, has looked equally dominant against some very good fighters in Randy, Frank, and Heath. He also happens to be the champ, so there's no arguing that he's a viable opponent for the Last Emperor. I guess as a fan I'd love to Fedor take out Brock in vintage cold emotionless style.

If I was Joe Silva, I'd set up a Crocop vs. Fedor rematch for the number 1 HW contender contender. RIP Pride FC

UFC 103 is looking pretty stacked. After seeing Hendo's vicious power back, I feel sorry Rich. Twinkle Toes Trigg is back too! Assuming they keep 6 fights on the main card(like UFC 99), I'm a little disappointed that Griffin vs. Franca will take the place of either Crocop vs. Dos Santos or McFedries vs. Drwal. Both those fights are nearly guaranteed to be knockout finishes while Griffin/Franca presents most likely a boring decision.

Blatantly is an interesting choice of word. Mirko was stalking Al-Turk the whole fight telegraphing every haymaker sent his way, and shrugging off his attempt to clinch. When the moment was right, he took it to Al-Turk and knocked him down. The eye gouge came shortly after that, and, although it was obvious that it happened, I wouldn't call it intentional. This fight reminded me a lot of the Eddie Sanchez fight where you know what the outcome is going to be, and the underdog just throws hoping to catch that Hail Mary punch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfVPgbgUMok. No knockout in the first round, but it does look really really good. One thing I really like is that it is possible to stuff take downs. Also, the loading time from main menu to gameplay was super fast. Can't wait til it comes out next week for the rest of us.

mmalinker.com

Gonzaga hit Carwin a good three times, and then took him down. At that point, I had the feeling it was going end very shortly after, and it did, but in favor of Carwin. Carwin was able to keep his composure, recover, and, most importantly, get to his feet. The man knows his game well, however the question that remains is his stamina.

Personal preference? Some people hate hockey, but that doesn't necessarily make them ignorant people. I like darts, and I do find it exciting to watch pros hit triple 20s at will. On the other hand, some people don't even consider it a sport. By the way I'm not a big fan of Joe Rogan's comedy, but I he does make for an interesting duo with Mike Goldberg who persistently says "Right you are Joe" thoughout the entire show. I digress. I can't speak for everyone posting in this thread, but I really like that tactical nature of mma-how there a multiple ways of winning a match. Some matches can be boring if they are spent entirely in the grapple, but other times you'll have two guys that really know their stuff in terms of standing and ground fighting. Plus a lot of fights end in knockouts or submissions, so that might be a reason people like it. Just my thoughts.

Rich Franklin's no slouch. Before Silva was in the picture, Franklin was a beast and a solid champion. I can even see him out striking Hendo in their upcoming bout, given Hendo doesn't unleash that right hand. The reason Anderson thinks he's P4P is the way he's dominated his fights(prior to the Cote match). He faced a striker in Franklin; broke his nose. He faced a jui-jitsu artist in Lutter; submitted him. He fought a rounded champion in Henderson; tweaked his strategy to prevail. I'm not saying Silva is the best in the world because I'm quite positive he's beatable by the likes of a Fedor, for example. All I'm trying to say is not a specious champion, and that he has a right to feel highly of himself.