Raoul Duke Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Wow. After watching the Countdown show tonite, I think I hate Serra even more now. Such a big annoying mouth. Please GSP, for the love of Brady, destroy Matt Serra!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innovative Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I don't mind Serra. The pressure is gonna be on GSP, he's gotta come through. The crowd is gonna wild in Montreal. Biggest crowd in UFC history apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfizer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 pretty interesting read about nhlers talking about UFC 83. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=234438&...s=headlines_nhl NHL tough guys have nothing but respect for MMA fighters Riley Cote was a long way from home and even further from the NHL. He had landed a job with the Memphis Riverkings in the Central Hockey League after going undrafted out of junior and was about to make a decision that would change his life. He turned himself into a fighter. Soon Cote climbed the ranks to the ECHL and American Hockey League, dropping the gloves as often as possible along the way. But he needed to do something more to take the next step. So he added to his off-season training regimen. ''I dabbled with mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu,'' said Cote, a native of Winnipeg. ''I did that for training and conditioning, getting my hands going. ''I'm just trying to get an edge. I'm going to do the most I can to keep my job and be the best at my job.'' Cote ended up earning a spot in the Philadelphia Flyers lineup last fall. He fought 24 times during his first full NHL season, second in the league. Cote put in the hard work last summer at New Jersey Martial Arts in Maple Shade, N.J. He'll be back there again in the coming months trying to improve his stamina and strength. Training with mixed martial artists has given him a deep appreciation for the sport. ''If you step into a cage, you've got some serious balls,'' said Cote. ''That's a whole new level. Those guys are serious athletes in tremendous shape. You've got to give all the props in the world to those guys.'' It's a sentiment shared by many of the toughest players in the NHL. The growth of the UFC has earned the sport many fans in dressing rooms around the league. It's also earned MMA fighters a lot of respect from NHLers. ''Even the worst UFC fighter that there is would beat me because of their training,'' said Pittsburgh Penguins enforcer Georges Laraque. ''It's so much harder than anything I've ever seen. ''I'm a fighter, so I know how hard they work and I know how hard it is to go against someone.'' Laraque counts Montreal's Georges St. Pierre among his good friends, although busy work schedules often limit their contact to phone conversations. He watches fights on pay per view. The UFC makes its Canadian debut at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday night when St. Pierre looks to reclaim his welterweight title from Matt Serra at UFC 83. The Canadian will have several NHLers pulling for him. One big GSP fan is Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic, who fought 13 times in his rookie year. The 19-year-old from Vancouver was introduced to the UFC by his buddies back home and relies on them to keep him updated on it during the hockey season. ''You've got to be pretty crazy to get in an Octagon,'' said Lucic. ''It's fun to see, it's entertaining for me. I love the UFC.'' He didn't hesitate when asked what he likes best. ''For me, knockouts are a big thing,'' said Lucic. ''When you see them landing those punches and taking each other down, that's exactly what you want to see in a fight. I think my generation is more and more interested in that freestyle kind of fighting and I think it's going to be popular for a long time.'' Some hockey players will miss out on being part of the record Bell Centre crowd at UFC 83 because of the playoffs. Kris Newbury of the Toronto Maple Leafs had tickets bought for him by a friend but won't be able to go after being assigned to the AHL Marlies for the post-season. At five foot 10 and 200 pounds, Newbury is small by NHL standards for fighters. That's part of what draws him to mixed martial arts. ''In the UFC, you see a lot of small guys that don't weigh a lot,'' said Newbury. ''A lot of times the smaller you are the quicker you are. It's just becoming as strong as you can and as bright as you can in the fight so that you don't get hurt.'' One place the sport isn't very popular is in the Montreal Canadiens locker-room. The only Habs player who follows the UFC closely is defenceman Josh Gorges, who has just three fights to his credit in 165 career NHL games. The 23-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., has done some sparring as part of his off-ice training but would never consider getting in the cage. ''The fact that these guys are willing to go in there and fight like that takes a lot of courage, a lot of guts,'' said Gorges. ''That's something I could never do.'' Montreal has a 3-1 lead in its playoff series with Boston and will have a chance to eliminate the Bruins in Game 5 on Thursday. Winning that game might allow Gorges to attend UFC 83. ''With the UFC coming to Montreal and Georges St. Pierre fighting, I'm hoping that I'm around because I want to watch that big time,'' he said. ''If it's on TV, I'll watch it. I'd love to go see it live. ''I think it's awesome watching all that stuff.'' Columbus Blue Jackets agitator Jared Boll led the NHL with 27 fights this season and is another player who enjoys the UFC. His favourite fight of the year came against Aaron Downey of the Detroit Red Wings during a game back in November. It lasted about 75 seconds before both players became too tired to punch anymore and skated away from each other. He can't imagine how UFC fighters can go at it for several minutes at a time. ''I can't believe how good of shape those guys have to be in,'' said Boll. ''I'm completely gassed after throwing them for 30 seconds on the ice. And look how long some of those fights go.'' There aren't very many similarities between hockey fights and those that occur in the Octagon. Mixed martial artists tend to employ more technique while hockey tough guys ''just grab on and start punching,'' according to Cote. He's started to notice more gyms sprouting up that offer MMA training and can't believe how much fighting is now on television. He tunes in whenever he can. ''The UFC's the real deal,'' said Cote. ''That's real fighting. It's not just standing there punching. ''These guys step into a ring and the fight's not over until someone taps out or gets knocked out. If you ever see some of the training these guys do, it's ridiculous. It's in a league of its own.'' Cote said he just has a foot in the door with the Flyers and will continue working hard at his craft to hold onto a roster spot. The 26-year-old would like to have a long career and become the top fighter in the league, but knows that tough guys often become expendable. Fighting is responsible for allowing him to realize his dream of playing in the NHL and he won't rule out continuing to do it when he's done with hockey. He thinks that his mixed martial arts training could one day lead to his next profession. ''I don't plan on doing that until my (hockey) career's over,'' said Cote. ''But I'd consider doing it.'' One hockey enforcer who has already made the transition is Steve Bosse, who played for the St-Jean Chiefs most recently in Quebec's rough-and-tumble LNAH. As a heavyweight, Bosse is 2-1 in MMA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfizer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 (edited) http://dreamfighters.com/site/index.php?ac...p;id=1208361585 GSP and Serra training video for the fight. Edited April 16, 2008 by Pfizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEON.KNEE Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 ^ awsome article Lucic is a Monster..... I would love to see the Hockey Enforcer event given another chance. anyways, back to the UFC I hope GSP destroys The Midget Serra, that guy is super annoying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboss- Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 after watching the countdown show last night, i really really hope serra gets knocked out in the first round so him, his brother and his ???? of a trainer longo will shut the ???? up, i dont know why they think they have a chance against GSP, he stepped into the hughes fight with only 30 days notice and dominated the fight and hughes is a 10x better fighter than serra will ever be, hes a fluke, got beat in most of his fights than goes on to the ultimate fighter wins gets a title shot and flukes his win and he thinks hes on top of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEON.KNEE Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 (edited) after watching the countdown show last night, i really really hope serra gets knocked out in the first round so him, his brother and his ???? of a trainer longo will shut the ???? up, i dont know why they think they have a chance against GSP, he stepped into the hughes fight with only 30 days notice and dominated the fight and hughes is a 10x better fighter than serra will ever be, hes a fluke, got beat in most of his fights than goes on to the ultimate fighter wins gets a title shot and flukes his win and he thinks hes on top of the world I wouldn't say that Hughes is a better fighter than Serra... I was royally pissed that Serra pulled that injury crap and GSP had to mop the floor with Hughes again, I was really looking foward to seeing how Serra and Hughes would match up. GSP and Hughes just don't match up well. Serra is annoying, but he is a good fighter, a natural even. That's how he beat GSP the 1st time around. FIGHTER'S LUCK, that's why even if I trained like these UFC guys I'd never go in the ring...... anything can happen in a fight Edited April 16, 2008 by ok.nuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfizer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I wouldn't say that Hughes is a better fighter than Serra... I was royally pissed that Serra pulled that injury crap and GSP had to mop the floor with Hughes again, I was really looking foward to seeing how Serra and Hughes would match up. GSP and Hughes just don't match up well. Serra is annoying, but he is a good fighter, a natural even. That's how he beat GSP the 1st time around. FIGHTER'S LUCK, that's why even if I trained like these UFC guys I'd never go in the ring...... anything can happen in a fight Hughes can trash talk though because he proven himself in MMA. He held the belt for a long time. Serra on the other hand lost to Karo and BJ Penn and then basically got kicked out of the UFC. He had to go on a reality show to get back in the UFC and not only that they gave him a free title shot that he didnt even earn. You'd think Serra would acknowledge this but he thinks that he is a great fighter by losing to everyone else that matters and beating GSP. I hope GSP crushes Serra and then Hughes annihilates him and Serra goes back to being a UFC nobody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raoul Duke Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 You'd think Serra would acknowledge this but he thinks that he is a great fighter by losing to everyone else that matters and beating GSP. I hope GSP crushes Serra and then Hughes annihilates him and Serra goes back to being a UFC nobody. That's the plan! Totally forgot about Mac Danzig's debut too! Well, besides his TUF Finale fight. Interested to see how well he does down at 155. And Starnes vs Quarry should be a killer bout, couple of good brawlers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfizer Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 weigh ins are in about an hour. 1pm. pacific. http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventdetail.home&eid=480 heres the link to the streaming video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfizer Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 sam stout is on the preliminary card again.wanted to see him fight last few times but hes always been preliminary. Surrey's Kalib Starnes is on the main card so that should be interesting although i dont find him very entertaining as a fighter. but still... hometown guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braddy Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 after watching the countdown show last night, i really really hope serra gets knocked out in the first round so him, his brother and his ???? of a trainer longo will shut the ???? up, i dont know why they think they have a chance against GSP, he stepped into the hughes fight with only 30 days notice and dominated the fight and hughes is a 10x better fighter than serra will ever be, hes a fluke, got beat in most of his fights than goes on to the ultimate fighter wins gets a title shot and flukes his win and he thinks hes on top of the world You lose any kind of credibility when you resort to name calling, this isn't the 2nd grade You go on to say you don't know why they think Serra has a chance against St. Pierre, hmmmmmm maybe because he has already beaten him once before??? I think on paper St. Pierre takes it, but the fight doesn't happen on paper, once inside the cage anything can happen. i wouldn't be surprised to see St. Pierre take it by submission, but I also wouldn't be surprised to Serra take it by knock out or ref stoppage. Either way I don't see this fight lasting too long 1st, 2nd round is my guess, it should be entertaining as hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab316 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 http://video.ufc.com/UFCPlayer/downloadman...sx/600k_eng.asx 1pm ON NOW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suolucidir Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 GSP FTW He's the smarter fighter and he trains like a madman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfizer Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 haha Serra got boo'd loudly and this was only the weigh ins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st33 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 What do people think about the other fights on the card? In specific, Joe Doerksen Vs. Jason MacDonald and Travis Lutter Vs. Rich Franklin GSP is at -475 right now, so he better win or people will be losing a lot of money LOL. I personally like MacDonald a lot at -145, I don't know a lot about Doerksen though. I also think Lutter at +280 is a good bet too, Lutter gave Silva a fight.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Famous Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Lutter has NO chance against Franklin, We're talking about a former Champion who was running his division until Silva came around. The best bet you can take right now is the Vasquez fight. Take him. He is a BEAST, and a new up and coming Heavyweight. If his fight is on the PPV, you will see his attributes. He is like a better trained Brock Lesnar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st33 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Right on. What about McDonald? I think -145 that is an absolute gift as the guy he is fighting is 1-4 in the UFC and just got destroyed by Ed Hermen who McDonald destroyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raoul Duke Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Lutter has NO chance against Franklin, Wow. Underestimating Lutter much?? This guy has some serious jiu-jitsu skills. I wouldn't say he has NO chance. We're talking about a former Champion who was running his division until Silva came around. The best bet you can take right now is the Vasquez fight. Take him. He is a BEAST, and a new up and coming Heavyweight. If his fight is on the PPV, you will see his attributes. He is like a better trained Brock Lesnar. Pretty sure you meant to say Velasquez.... yah, this guy looks pretty tough. Although Ive never seen him in action. Nor have I seen or even heard of his opponent, Brad Morris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab316 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 4.5 more hours :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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