Comments on: Thursday trash talk: Everybody has a price

By: David M

David M — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 05:47:52 +0000

Watching GSP dismantle Hughes again will be fantastic. I have no idea what will happen in Chuck-Silva, but my gut is telling me that Chuck’s chin ain’t iron anymore, and Wanderlei is way faster and will probably knock out the Iceman.

By: Jacobs Montgomery

Jacobs Montgomery — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:24:45 +0000

45-Huddle is a funny man

By: 45 Huddle

45 Huddle — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:00:04 +0000

I wouldn’t say Shields is ducking competition either. But I will say he wants to making a living at MMA without putting his career in jeopardy by fighting the best. At least that is the impression I get. And that is a very different type of fighter then a Sokoudjou, or Matt Hughes, or Dan Henderson…. Who just want to fight the best for the competition of it.

By: 45 Huddle

45 Huddle — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:57:10 +0000

I agree with Michaelthebox. This is damage control. Nothing else. If it was really about other fighters from the start, his message would have been loud and clear.

One more point I forgot to add about the UFC 79 preview show. I was nicely surprised to hear Zuffa acknowledge Silva’s wins over Quinton Jackson.

By: The Gaijin

The Gaijin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:23:04 +0000

*Just to be clear:

I’m in no way criticizing Soku for going to the UFC or saying that one of the reasons he went is “to fight the best”.

But to distill it all down to “the level of competition brought him there” – he’s a real fighter and in stark contrast Shields is a p*ssy b/c he’s avoiding them – is absolutely ridiculous and insulting.

By: The Gaijin

The Gaijin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:13:51 +0000

“There is a very interesting Sokoudjou interview at Sherdog.com right now. He discusses the reasoning behind going to the UFC. In short, it is the level of competition in the LHW Division that attracted him there. This is in stark contrast to a guy like Jake Shields, who knows all the best Welterweights are in the UFC, but just signed a long term contract with EliteXC.”

45:

While I certainly agree with you on your first point (re: Soku vs. Lyoto – fantastic fight), I’m not sure how much I agree on your second point.

Soku probably went with the best/safest bet in terms of fight contracts he could get. He also has team members in the UFC (Hendo), so I’m sure there’s tonnes of other factors involved in his going to the UFC – not merely b/c he wants to face the best.

In the same vein, I really, really don’t think Sheilds is trying to duck top competition. In fairness to him he’s the top dog and gets paid like the top dog in EXC – where would he be in the UFC? They probably aren’t interested in or very high on him, b/c they think he’s got a “boring fight style” (common past criticism). So his potential to get caught in the mix, fight some dark matches/undercard fights and get dropped with ZERO publicity is likely a real concern for him.

He’s a great fighter and I’m sure he’d love to prove it against the best, but he’s got to put food on the table the best way he can too.

By: Michaelthebox

Michaelthebox — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:37:28 +0000

klown: Saying Couture is doing the right thing completely misses the point, because he has no choice. This dispute already has destroyed much of his popularity because so many people perceive the dispute as being Randy being greedy. He has to reframe it as being about the wellbeing of fighters as a whole to avoid his popularity falling even more. Its damage control.

By: klown

klown — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:00:11 +0000

Great article by the LA Times.

Couture is doing the right thing by shifting attention towards the wellbeing of other fighters and once again, explicitly talking about fighters uniting.

White sounds like a typical arrogant exploitative boss.

By: 45 Huddle

45 Huddle — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:27:58 +0000

Just got done watching the UFC 79 Preview show. I was kind of surprised that they did not even discuss the Machida/Sokoudjou fight. I know it won’t sell any tickets, but it is a fantastic fight.

There is a very interesting Sokoudjou interview at Sherdog.com right now. He discusses the reasoning behind going to the UFC. In short, it is the level of competition in the LHW Division that attracted him there. This is in stark contrast to a guy like Jake Shields, who knows all the best Welterweights are in the UFC, but just signed a long term contract with EliteXC.

As for Matt Hughes, he has always been an arrogant pr*ck.

By: StreitigKaiser

StreitigKaiser — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:39:20 +0000

Hughes is a dick. He picked St. Pierre because he thought it would be an easy win, but since he caught George on the tail end of training camp things will not be going as planned; Im hoping to see a repeat performance of their last dust up. George has his number, Hughes’ game will not be that much different and even if he has improved his stand up George will be lording over him with his reach advantage.