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By Zach Arnold | January 27, 2008
OK, let’s hope civility prevails, but anything MMA-related you want to comment on… go ahead and leave a comment at this post.
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Zach,
You are a great asset to the MMA community and have done a great job consistently improving the site.
Keep up the good work!
Ken
It is getting exciting heading into the next UFC. I hope Brock wins. I have noticed most hardcore MMA fans want him to lose.
I wonder that if he beats Mir if they will set him up with another dangerous opponent right away. And when will his next fight be?
Only good things can happen if Brock wins. If he loses, nothing will change.
The 81 card looks pretty good top to bottom on paper. Although the co-main events both have a decent chance of being snoozefests or massive disappointments in one way or another.
I’m also predicting that this PPV sells like crack cocaine.
NSAC’s stated intention of enacting random drug testing of its licensed fighters throughout the year could be huge for the sport; it’s kind of hard to time a cycle when you don’t know when you’ll be tested. I’m wondering how much this will actually change, and whether we’ll start to see guys shrinking, refusing fights in Nevada, or even going to rival organizations that run in states with less stringent testing, or foreign countries.
First Brad Imes, then the Undertaker.
gogoplata> triangle choke
Prediction:
Frank Mir over Brock Lesnar via gogoplata
NSAC testing guys during the whole year won´t that just affect the fighters that are training out of Nevada or close to Nevada..
I can´t see NSAC sending people to Montreal or Brazil trying to track down fighters and testing them.
Pontus— That’s not how it would work. Fighters would be sent a verifiable-delivery notice that they have been chosen for a random drug test, along with a list of NSAC-approved drug testing facilities (which could be just about any Quest Diagnostics location in existence), and they would have X number of hours to take a drug test at an approved lab (although the NSAC hasn’t said how many hours are in “X hours,” and if it’s more than 24 hours then that’s a big problem).
Failure to take a drug test within the specified timeframe could subject the fighter to disciplinary action (fines and suspensions), just as refusing to take a drug test at a live event could subject the fighter to disciplinary action and would also result in the fighter’s bout being removed from the event.
I think the gogoplata finish the WWE di shows how over MMA is now. Back when the Undertaker did a worked version of the Hughes/Newton finish (with Kurt Angle i think) it was met with a huge WTF. Now it was accepted and recognised by a good portion of the fan base. It’s probably not coincidental he did it in the same week the WWE promoted in New York Brock Lesner’s UFC debut. Vince is mad if he thinks his audience is completely seperate to the mainstream MMA audience but overall it’s not a bad bit of business to cross promote sometimes.
I don’t “want” to see Brock lose. I just think he’s going to.
I don’t feel like I have a particular dog in this fight, because I don’t watch pro wrestling, but at the same time, I do recognize that wrestlers (i.e. guys who have a history in actual competitive wrestling) do have some degree of success in UFC and other MMA organizations.
Frank has been climbing back from that car accident for quite a while now, and I think it’s a very competitive fight, because right now, both guys are kind of looking to prove that they can get back into that first tier of fighters (or into it, in the case of Brock). If Brock doesn’t bring everything he has, then Frank is going to do some terrible terrible damage to him, and he may not be interested in fighting again.
Mir has always been a very outspoken proponent of BJJ over wrestling (and his background is in both). This is a very good chance for him to prove it. And I think he will.
Car accident meaning he was hit by a car. He was riding a motorcycle. It’s not even 8AM yet.
First it was a motorcylte crash, now it might just be a trainwreck, if you know what I mean…
Mir+gogoplata>Brock+F5
I don’t know how interested I am in seeing the fight, but I am interested in the result, so I will watch it.
I think Mir by submission in late round 1 or early round 2.
Zach,
I can understand why you disabled comments, but I have to say that it made the site a little less interesting. Civility is important..
There have been a few debates on this site in recent months about whether or not Dana White is pushing Brock Lesnar over the Sylvia/Nog fight. That debate is definitely over, and it’s clear the former WWE Champion is THE main event for the upcoming PPV.
Instead of burying pro wrestling, UFC is using it as jumping-off point to secure a larger fanbase, which is VERY smart.
Mir COULD lock on a submission, but it depends on how prepared he comes into this fight…and if he can lock on an armbar with Lesnar smashing him in the face.
True, it depends which Mir shows up though.
I hadn’t been reading the site as much when the comments got turned off. Was it really that bad? Anyway, I applaud the move if it’ll prevent this website from turning into Sherdog. Even if I don’t agree with everyone, I think this Zach has attracted the most intelligent readership in the MMA blog scene and I hope it stays that way.
I think the Mir/Lesnar fight has a few possible outcomes:
1) Lesnar by gnp TKO
2) Mir by armbar from guard
I doubt this fight will go 3 rounds, and I think Lesnar takes this easily. Here’s my thinking:
People talk mention that Lesnar doesn’t have a chin. I guarantee Lesnar’s chin will not be tested in this fight. Not only does Mir not have true KO power — please don’t mention Wes Sims — Mir will be on his back the entire fight, win or lose.
People mention that Lesnar could have a bad gas tank. Well, we KNOW Mir doesn’t have cardio, so this is moot.
Now, assuming that Mir will be, at best, in guard, what are his options? The common choices are armbar, triangle, kimura and the less-common gogoplata. Any other submission I’m missing? I guess omaplata to reverse. Maybe the armlock Mir got on Williams.
Well, I think Lesnar’s frame is too big for Mir to effectively get and finish with a triangle or gogo, and I don’t think Mir is strong enough to power out a kimura from guard against Lesnar.
That leaves the armbar. And I think Lesnar knows this. If he comes in with remotely decent BJJ defense and takes this fight seriously, this should be an easy victory.
I visited less when the comments were off as well, GKH. Definitely the most intelligent MMA commentary on the web, even if occasionally menaced by trolls.
For example, I think Sylvia is going to beat Nog. While my track record on predictions is terrible, as I’ve noted in the past, here I can expect to hear the best actual reasons why I might be wrong. Elsewhere I’d hear invective.
BTW, I Timmy’s going to jab, jab, clinch-lean against Nog the whole fight and win a boring decision.
FF
I think the big questions with Sylvia/Nog are:
1) Does Nog have the strength/wrestling to get Sylvia on the ground and keep him there. My guess is no.
2) Assuming Nog cannot get the fight to the ground, will he actually have a gameplan to neutralize Tim’s strengths on the feet? My guess is also no for this.
I mean, no doubt, I am rooting for Big Nog, but I just don’t see a win here. I think Tim will have more reach, better cardio, more strength, better clinch. Nog’s only chance is to get it to the ground, and Tim might be too big for him.
Fan Futbol, I will agree with you on one point: if Tim Sylvia is involved in a fight, it\’s pretty much guaranteed to be boring.
Nog has an iron chin, and Sylvia is not exactly big finisher, so I would bet against a KO. There is no chance of Sylvia winning via submission, so that leaves a boring decision if he\’s going to pull it off.
On the other hand, Nog has excellent hands (he out-boxed a very sharp looking Josh Barnett in their last fight) and he could easily get into a position to leg lock, armbar, or choke out Sylvia during a 5-round fight.
My money is on big Nog.
Vive la Pride.
Tim already stated his strategy was going to be similar to his fight with Vera, so be ready for boredom. Unless Nog can put him to the ground, it’s gonna be a snoozer.
Speaking of the UFC/TNA relationship, what is TNA gonna get out of it exactly? TNA is known to get into one-sided relationships with very little to nothing in return for them (the move to Fox Sports Net, the promotion of Jackass 2 where they did a storyline with X-division wrestlers copying the Jackass guys, etc.). And I doubt it will lead to Lesnar wrestling in TNA, or Kurt Angle fighting in UFC. But I still want a Sharkboy vs. Sean “Muscle Shark” Sherk fight. Or even a tag team!
Oh, and it seems like UFC hit a deal with WWE to promote UFC 81, so this is the closest that TNA will get to being affiliated with WWE.
Sylvia via KO (Deadly Jab) Rd 4.
Tim Sylvia gets the job done but goodness gracious, he needs to stop jabbing for the decision. He should be going for the knockout. That kind of fighting has hurt boxing. He better not be fighting like he did against Vera. Sylvia is probably one of few fighters that I think are overpaid (though I don’t blame Timmy for making that money. Man’s gotta do what he has to do right?). No one outside the UFC would pay him $100,000 to fight and another $100,000 to win because he’s so boring and conservative. Sylvia would have never seen that kind of money in Japan and I doubt EliteXC, Strikeforce or M-1 Global would offer Sylvia that much money.
Couture will make this stink and Dana White is loving it because it brings mainstream press to UFC and if he feels that the price is right for Couture Emelianenko then he can do it on his terms if need be otherwise he can use his muscle (lawyers) to fight Randy.
What on Earth was that supposed to be?
well since comments were closed on it, for good reason, I wanted to say about Undertaker on the gogoplata is that if he’s such a diehard mma fan, he would know its alittle insulting to the sport to use it for a gimmick finish.
plus if everyone could head over to fightlinker.com and wish linker a get well I’m sure it make him feel better to hear some well wishes.
Zach, do you have any rumors for possible fights for the upcoming K-1, dreams or whatever it is in March?
Hey Zach. I got a question. Who was that guy that they showed during the Yarennoka! opening movie? He was like after Takada or Fedor and his name was written in Japanese. I’ve seen him during the Zulu vs. Butterbean promo at PRIDE.34.
Can you clarify on who he is?
Among the most interesting news of the past week was in this article by Adam Swift on MMA Payout:
“MMAPayout.com is following this story closely, however, requests for comment from Xyience and the Nevada State Attorney General’s Office have gone unanswered. Multuple sources within the industry have told MMAPayout.com that they believe a criminal investigation into the company may be forthcoming.”
I give it to Nog. His striking is on-par with Tim’s, he works well in the clinch, and he has the gas tank for the 5 rounds.
Anyone know anything further on this supposed “banning” of Affliction as a sponsor by the UFC due to their relationship with Randy & Fedor (re: the new promotional campaign)??
Saw this story last week but haven’t hurt much since.
*hurt=heard (wtf? lol)
Gaijin
I head it is because Affliction is working on starting their own promotion with another company
^^^
should say: working with another company to start their own promotion
Zach – Just wanted to say great job on The Fight Network’s show today.
So some crazy Armenian dude went even more crazy than usual and trolled my Youtube account because I had the audacity to point out that Karo Parisyan requested an opponent other than Jon Fitch for his next fight. His entire profile was written in aNnOyInG sTyLe SuCh As ThIs. Murder should be legal.
I don’t personally know any Armenians – but judging solely by the three Armenian fighters I’ve seen in the UFC, they’re all insane.