Free-TV MMA Thread

[Guest Dusty Finish]

.... because the WEC merger means that UFN, Fight For The Troops, Versus et al are looking very healthy these days, there's another Strikeforce Challengers show in February (they're usually fun, as a rule), and there's a new season of Bellator a-comin'. Hence, there's much good MMA on the horizon.

 

Fight For The Troops this Saturday has a handful of (what should be) good fights. Hopefully my man at 155lbs Evan Dunham can get (officially) back in the "W" column and on route to contendership status. Mark Hominick should be the name touted round "Aldo" circles if he gets his hand raised against George Roop. The careful handling of Matt Mitrione continues, and although Meathead should start as significant favourite, he's still raw enough that a heavy slugger like Tim Hague needs only one chance to turn his lights out.

 

SF Challengers is also pretty imminent, although in true Strikeforce style, not much past the Lightweight main event of Pat Healy vs Lyle Beerbohm and Ryan Couture's sophmore outing has been confirmed.

 

Versus 3 is heavy with the potential crew, although it's been hit by a few injuries. Most significant to me is the return from injury and UFC bow of Brian Bowles, although the choice of Damaico Page as his opponent is a little underwhelming, given how Page is 2-2 in his last 4, and was pretty comprehensively smashed Bowles in their first WEC meeting. More a showcase for the former 135lb champ, I reckon, but great to see him back.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Wow totally forgot about this, looks like a pretty solid card. It'll be interesting to see if Melvin can continue his streak, I'd probably lean his way in the main event. Which would suck because Evan would be on a mini losing streak after that terrible decision against Sherk. Probably most looking forward to the Roop fight, I kinda like Barry though, for some reason, and his fight should be cool too. I'd like to see Yahya/Brown make the main card too, it's about time for Yahya to bust out another choke.

 

Cody/Edwards and DaMarques/Guymon will be streamed on the UFC Facebook page. Couture is fighting Lee Higgins at the SF show.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Cody got choked out... the ironing is delicious.

 

Goldberg now has a goatee and looks even more goofy than usual. Which is quite a feat. And man these troop videos are going to get old fast.

[Guest John Hancock]

Cody McKenzie honestly fights like he's on crack. I'm half sad he lost, and half glad he lost, both for the exact same reason; The ridiculous novelty guillotine streak is over.

 

PS: The American troops are kinda annoying.

[Guest Frank Botch]

The UFC have signed The Rock!!

 

Cody just seems like he's always WAY behind what's happening, it's crack or a 'dropped on his head as a youngster' deal.

 

Start a fight already, damn.

 

'Handsome' is not a fitting nickname for this dude, not that I notice that sort of thing. Miller should take this.

Edited January 23, 2011 by Frank Botch

[Guest Frank Botch]

Yeah Miller did not take that, Wiman busting out the Sakuraba double fists was pretty cool. Barry/Beltran should be good, Barry by devestating head and/or body kick of destruction. Or decision.

 

Last double post I'll ever make. Ahem.

 

You are not handsome, jeez it's like nicknames aren't meant to be taken seriously. Shout out to his dogs cancels out the lameness of the God shout out.

Edited January 23, 2011 by Frank Botch

[Guest Dusty Finish]

I wasn't planning on staying up for FFTT, but was still up at 1:30, so thought "what the heck?" Didn't watch the Facebook prelims, though. Thoughts as follows:

 

- THE USS INTREPID! There was a blast from the past. How awesome would an impromptu Bantamweight Ultimate Fighter on-board have been? For a six figure contract or a shot a Dominick Cruz- slam Manny Yarborough!

 

- Not knocking the cause in any way but.... it might've been a better show than it felt like, as the pacing made it an absolute chore to watch- more akin to episode of RAW (ie. 20 minutes between anything happening in the ring) than a regular UFC show. The "USA! USA!" stuff never fails to get very overbearing, very quickly. How ironic was it that, as Goldberg & Rogan talked to the camera about the troops, "Born In The USA" played in the arena?! I'm convinced that Yanks in general don't actually get that song.

 

- For the first 2 minutes, I was going to say Cole Miller has polished his striking right up, then Wiman just completely shut his game down for the subsequent 13, setting a frantic tempo that the ATT man couldn't handle. Quite the upset for me, this was, and by far Wiman's best UFC performance.

 

- Barry vs Beltran was messy as hell. Beltran is one tough dude, as Barry literally kicked the entire life and will out of his front leg. Round 1 was kind of a nothingness, barring the 2 low blows and Barry's awesome disgruntled facial expression at the end. I actually had Beltran winning the 3rd on strikes landed until the eye poke- would've been a shame if he'd have been finished afterwards. This fight left me a little cold.

 

- The show was all about 2 individual performances for me.... #1 Mark Hominick. I've read that they want Aldo to fight on the Toronto card, and Hominick should have no trouble making that date after this one. Comedy moment of the night was the clearly out of it Roop stumbling over to "The Machine" post-stoppage- I thought for a moment he was inadvertantly going to have a Paul Daley moment.

 

- Pretty routine win for Mitrione. Maybe Travis Browne or Jon Madsen for him next? He's improving, but a long way from ready for one of the top 8 or so guys in the division. I imagine it's bye-bye Tim Hague, yet again.

 

- I'm gutted that Dunham had no chance to show anything, but the main was a coming-of-age moment for Melvin Guillard. Relentless showing from he, and on this evidence he's become a sleeper in the pack. Too bad for him that the division is so top heavy at the moment.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Yeah quite the performance from Melvin, I was kinda on the fence about this whole resurgence deal they were pushing, he wasn't exactly in there with world beaters, but Evan is pretty legit so it was a great win. Maybe throw him Florian next? Or the winner of George/Siver, the loser of Guida/Pettis(cut Clay after that defeat...), Maynard, Gomi... yeah it's a stacked division right now.

 

Agree that Barry/Beltran was sloppy, and not in the mildly cool Griffin/Bonnar style, there was one brutal kick from Barry though, the 'femur breaker' as Rogan called it, but yeah not really too entertaining. I've seen people say that Beltran could've got the decision but he didn't help himself by straight up collapsing at the bell. Hominick was awesome though and was probably the highlight for me, his strikes were ridiculous. Cody/Edwards was real good too, always like that kind of fight.

 

Not a bad show but as mentioned the troops deal was overbearing, I don't remember it being this bad last time out. Should've probably recorded it and hit fast forward but... I just didn't know! And yeah I guess no one listens past the Born In The USA part of that song. It was mildly amusing that they were mentioning brain damage during the fights though. I'm easily amused.

 

Oh yeah everyone support the troops, apparently they're fighting for freedom and/or democracy.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg is on the 29th.

 

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship: Nick Diaz vs. Evangelista Santos

Strikeforce Middleweight Championship: Ronaldo Souza vs. Robbie Lawler

Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson

Roger Gracie vs. Trevor Prangley

 

Top two fights should be pretty cool, always like the Diaz brothers fights and Nick needs a bonus to fix up his Honda so he'll probably go all out... Lawler will probably score another knockout if Souza tries to stand with him. Roger didn't look too impressive last time out so not really looking forward to that one. I can see Walker winning via his patented armpit punches.

[Guest John Hancock]

I don't pay as much attention to Strikeforce as a I should, but, damn, Evangelista Santos is still fighting!? He has literally been around since the beginning of time as far as I remember.

[Guest Frank Botch]

I was pretty suprised when I saw he was 32, or 33, a while back, dude has been around forever. I remember seeing him in some Vale Tudo thing back in the day(back in the day meaning, like 2000). I think this is only his second SF fight, I think Nick will probably pick him off but I'm notorious for bad predictions.

[Guest Dusty Finish]

Yeah, I'm liking tonights card, although the Diaz-Cyborg main event takes a bit of a backseat for me as I reckon Jacare-Lawler will be more of a contest.

 

The 170lb title fight breaks down similarly to Anderson and Belfort for me, with champion & challenger in the same roles. There's a danger Nick will be tempted/drawn into a close range fight early on, and that's Santos' best (or only real) shot at winning. I think Diaz lets Cyborg control the early tempo, gets out of a tentative first, picks his shots as the Brazilian tires (Diaz has superior technical strikes for me- I like to compare Santos to a scarier Chris Leben), then takes him down & finishes in the second.

 

Jacare's striking has improved significantly, we saw that against Tim Kennedy. However, he won't want to stay around the pocket for too long with "Ruthless" Robbie. Souza to shoot at every opportunity, and to catch a submission in the second or third.

 

I'm not American, hence Herschel Walker is no more interesting to me than any other 1-0 fighter... but I'll watch with no expectations. Roger Gracie tickles the interest-bone, though. Obviously he'll outpure grapple anyone (asterix possibly Jacare), but although he's a bit of a journeyman, Prangley should be a decent yardstick as to what kind of level his skills translate into MMA at, and how good his transitions are. Hoping to catch the show tomorrow at some point.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Dusty nalied the top two fights... anyway Nick is the GODDAMN man, just waiting around to sink in a sub when he got the chance, he took some good shots along the way too. One of the most fun fighters around right now I think, what's that his tenth win in a row?

 

Roger told me, he looked pretty great, dominating Prangley on the mat, which is something I always like to see. Have to say Walker looked... okayish, but that guy he was fighting was a bum. Very fun card, pretty much flew by. Strikeforce on TV kills the UFC free deals.

[Chris2K 176]

I hate Nick Diaz. I hate Nick Diaz so much I would pay him a monthly sum to not ever fight, talk or do anything that draws attention to himself again.

 

I guess this victory gives him that shot at the "big money" match with GSP that he wants so much.

 

Oh wait...

[Guest Frank Botch]

Ha, these dudes are hated almost everywhere, I love watching both, Nick especially, fight though. I really think Nick could be a star if Strikforce could capitalize on... anyone.

 

And Dana would love to sign Nick:

 

Current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz is widely considered to be one of the top 170-pound fighters in the world, as well as one of the most controversial. As is often the case when a fighter proves himself to be legitimately high-caliber outside of the UFC's eight-walled cage, people begin speculating what would happen if that fighter joined the UFC's thoroughly stacked roster (e.g. Fedor Emelianenko).

 

Though Diaz spent a solid portion of his early career fighting in the UFC, he has established himself as one of the best while competing in other promotions. So it is that many MMA fans wonder how Diaz in his current form would fare against top UFC welterweights, namely 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre. During a Q&A session with troops prior to the UFC Fight for the Troops 2 weigh-ins, UFC president Dana White gave his thoughts on Diaz fighting in the UFC, as well as on his brother Nate, who currently competes as a UFC welterweight.

 

"Nate Diaz is on the Toronto card, too. I'm a big Nate Diaz fan. I like him a lot – him and his brother," White said. "The problem with Nick Diaz is Nick won't play the game even [a little]. You can't [flip off] the athletic commission. You can't tell people – you have to play the game a little bit. When Nick Diaz wants to play just a little bit – and nobody's telling him not to be who he is and not to act the way he wants, but you've got to play a little – when he does, we'd love to have him back in the UFC."

 

Diaz has achieved quasi-cult hero status for his out-of-the-cage antics, which include instigating a brawl with Joe Riggs in a hospital after the two fought for three rounds at UFC 57, participating in the live-on-network-TV jumping of Jason "Mayhem" Miller at Strikeforce: Nashville, and more than one altercation with former rival KJ Noons and his father, to name a few.

 

Diaz has indicated a willingness to "play the game" in past interviews and he has been very vocal in his search for bigger paydays as of late; do you think any of this indicates that the elder Diaz could return to the UFC? Discuss in the comments section below.

 

Diaz would have a better chance against GSP than those losers he's been fighting lately.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Strikeforce ‘Diaz vs. Cyborg’ Payouts

 

Jenna Castillo -- $3,000

(Includes $1,500 win bonus)

def.

Charlene Gellner -- $1,000

 

James Terry -- $3,000

(Includes $1,500 win bonus)

def.

Lucas Gamaza -- $1,500

 

Germaine de Randamie -- $3,000

(Includes $1,000 win bonus)

def.

Stephanie Webber -- $1,000

 

Ron Keslar -- $3,000

(Includes $1,500 win bonus)

def.

Eric Lawson -- $1,500

 

Isaiah Hill -- $3,000

(Includes $1,500 win bonus)

def.

Bobby Stack -- $1,500

 

Nate Moore -- $4,000

(Includes $2,000 win bonus)

def.

Nathan Coy -- $3,000

 

Roger Gracie -- $75,000

def.

Trevor Prangley -- $30,000

 

Herschel Walker -- $5,000

def.

Scott Carson -- $5,000

 

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza -- $85,000

(Includes $15,000 win bonus)

def.

Robbie Lawler -- $65,000

 

Nick Diaz -- $150,000

def.

Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos -- $20,000

 

These numbers, sent to Sherdog by the California State Athletic Commission, are disclosed pay only. They do not include additional bonuses or percentages of other revenue.

 

Nick should be able to fix his Honda now...

[Guest Frank Botch]

Beerbohm/Healy from last nights Challengers show was a pretty fun fight, lot of really cool grappling/wresting. All the other fights were at the very least mildly entertaining (high praise indeed), show is worth checking out. Next show is on April 1st.

[Guest Frank Botch]

I have 11 of 16 posts in this thread, someone else post... if only to say no one cares about free MMA.

 

Anyway BAMMA 5 is live on SyFy tomorrow at nine, the main event, Shirai/Daley, has the potential to be the best fight of the night(including 127).

 

Daley missed weight by 0.881849 pounds though so it'll be a non title fight. Harsh. Daley/Diaz will happen if Daley wins according to Coker.

[Guest Rikidozan]

For anyone not watching BAMMA 5, i'll be doing live updates at http://thewrestlingpress.com/ starting at around 9pm. Co-main event is James McSweeney versus Ricco Rodgriguez in the heavyweight division.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Daley destroyed this dude, knocking him down with jabs and stuff. Guy is an animal, that fight with Diaz should be nuts, two of my favourite guys to watch right now.

 

Show was terrible overall though, them avoiding mentioning Daley missing weight all night, until the very end, was funny though.