MMA Fans

[Aurman]

Originally Posted by Pad

Finally got to see the main card from Fight Night 34 in Singapore from last weekend. Some very interesting fights and some very interesting fighters I hadn't seen before.

Kang Kyung Ho looked very good beating Shunichi Shimizu. Some really nice grappling, jiu-jitsu and G&P skills on display. Really impressed at the speed with which he snapped in the winning head and arm choke.

Tatsuya Kawajiri was a real eye opener in his win over Sean Soriano. Relentless grappling and a picture perfect rear naked choke to get the win. I'll very interested to see his future fights in the UFC.

Tarec Saffiedine was hugely impressive beating Lim Hyun Gyu. He looked like a bit of a terminator. I wasn't massively impressed by Lim's figthing abilities - but man OH man - talk about heart. I really expected him not to come back out for the fifth round, but he did - and fought like a bulldog despite the fact he could hardly walk. Another thirty seconds and he might well have taken Saffiedine out.

Unintelligible post fight speeceh of the night went to Tatsuya Kawajiri. As best as I could make it out it went something like this

"い をん tひs ふきんg tひんg。 やあ は あ ふcきんg ゐん。 イ あ へ gれあて"

please excuse my spelling mistakes.

Referee's blunder of the night went to Steve Perceval when he failed to see Sean Soriano tap - letting him get choked unconcious.

Disappointment of the night went to the UFC ring girls - where is Kahily Blundel when you need her???

P.S. If you didn't get to see this card I'll have it on my PC for a week or so. I can post it if you want to take a look.

Great card, the first three bouts all turned out to be some excellent grappling matches so I knew you'd like it

Sean Soriano is a beast in the stand up department. His blunder came in round 2, rushing straight into Kawajiri instead of keeping distance and picking him apart with strikes. I'd say that was due to inexperience so we should see him rise through the ranks pretty quickly if he grows from the lessons in this.
Kawajiri showed good grapling and serious physical strength but I was not very impressed because his cardio was shit. He was so gassed, if Soriano manged to escape that choke he (Kawajiri) would've likely been done for.
I don't think referee Percevall failed to see Soriano's tap because you see him almost jump in at it, but, Soriano seems to stop "mid-tap", if you will, prompting the ref to give him more time to escape. That is one of those close situations because too many times guys/girls are caught in chokes/subs that seem locked in and then they escape. It was a very close thing either way.
Kawajiri's post fight made plenty of sense to me He wanted that belt, he wanted that title shot. I don't think he's quite there yet but gotta love his spirit.

I hear you on the ring girls. Aside from Brittney, Arianney and now Kahily (hehe, new favourite), the UFC seems to pick the skinniest/lankiest most gangly-limbed females they can find...wth?!

Saffediene is no joke, he definitely lived up to the hype but Lim, I mean how do you not like a guy who comes out to fight on one leg, goes Super-Sayan and almost wins the damn thing at the final bell?
Saffediene's going to light up the welterweight division and just imagine what Lim will do with some more experience and better technique under his belt.
Good stuff man, good card.

[Aurman]

Originally Posted by AuctionSniper

That was a nice kick by Rockhold.

And for those who missed it:



Apparently, Rockhold wants Belfort (again), lol.

That was a nice bunch of kicks. I've only seen Rockhold fight one other time before his UFC debut so, I forgot his attacks were so kick-centric. He looked good though, would'nt mind seeing him against Vitor again.

[Aurman]

Liked this latest fox card, all except the main event which was, well...a bit of a let down, still good but...anyway.
I didn't do a prediction because when I looked at the match-ups I could'nt pick one, not one, all the match-ups were so close. I was unfamiliar with was Martins but since he defeated Cruickshank, looking to have serious striking and subs in those clips, I couldn't say what would happen. The other two debutants, Rhodes and Sullivan, were also unknown factors.

Nikita Krylov vs Walter Harris: They made such a big deal about Krylov's weight that I just automatically started pulling for him. Martial arts can be looked at as the small guy/girl beating the big guy/girl so that usually comes to mind when I watch a match. Krylov showed being the lighter fighter makes no difference.

George Sullivan vs Mike Rhodes: Good scrap, both solid fighters.

Daron Cruickshank vs Mike Rio: Cruickshank is serious with those kicks, him and Stephen Thompson have some of the best kicks in the game. I'd say maybe only Machida, Tecia Torres and now Rockhold are in there with them. I'd give some love to Edson Barboza and Jose Aldo but they mainly stick to leg kicks, the aforementioned fighters display a very versitile arsenal of kicking attacks.

Hugo Viana vs Junior Hernandez: Viana looked good in the first two rounds, after that though, he didn't seem to know what to do when it was evident he wouldn't be finishing Hernandez with strikes. That's when he resorted to running around the octagon for the last 5 minutes of the bout. Hernandez is, apparently, the slow starter of all slow starters, waiting till the 3rd to turn it on. He was right in calling Viana on all that running but where was his urgency, his fire for those first two rounds? Still a good fight all in all.

Chico Camus vs Yaotzin Meza: Pad I know Chico Camus' stock had to go way up in your eyes, what with how good his grappling/top control was in this fight I was impressed, very impressed with Chico's ground game, which was on display like never before in this match. I knew his hands were nice but wow, that's some serious transitioning he's got there.
I'd like to see him against Kang Kyung Ho again. I felt Chico lost that bout to be honest and then turns around and does pretty much the same thing to Meza and wins...???!!! Weird right? Still, I'm a Chico fan now so I can't wait to see his next bout.

Eddie Wineland vs Yves Jabouin: Once the fight started I felt Eddie was going to take it. Even though Yves was landing more early on, he didn't seem to be having much effect, while Wineland was patiently stalking, picking his shots, getting ever closer to that knockout/knockdown blow, which he did, after which it was a wrap.

Alex Caceres vs Sergio Pettis: I know how good Caceres is but I couldn't pick, seeing as how Sergio Pettis is living up to all the hype around him. Still, I was glad to see Caceres adjust as the fight wore on. He came out with very long, loose striking which Sergio took advantage of, landing lots of hard counters. Midway thru round 2, Caceres seemed to tighten up his strikes which led to that knockdown and the eventual finish in round 3.
Watching Sergio, his style reminds me more of Frankie Edgar than his big brother, he's got crazy potential so I don't think this will set him back any.
I also gained a whole new level of respect for Alex Caceres listening to what he wants to do with his win/bonus money:

http://http://youtube.com/watch?v=oHJafgkJJFs

http://http://youtube.com/watch?v=oHJafgkJJFs

Jeremy Stephens vs Darren Elkins: Wow man, Stephens is on a tear and damned impressive, being able to keep Elkins grappling at bay. Couldn't get the knockout but that's mainly because Darren Elkins is like a piece of iron, many other fighters would've been on the canvas from those shots.

Donald Cerrone vs Adriano Martins: All I can say is Cerrone is back! Martins looked soooo confident, that is until about 1 minute into the first round. I don't know if it was the way Cerrone shook off his first takedown attempt or if Cerrone hits waaaayyyyy harder than he's been given credit for. Whatever the cause, Martins went from having a look of confidence/happiness about him to one of worry/fear after less than a minute in the octagon with Cowboy. Honestly, I don't know how Martins even managed to beat Cruickshank. Martins was out of his league, way out and that headkick said it all.

Stipe Miocic vs Gabriel Gonzaga:Who would've thought this fight would go the distance. Gonzaga's hands are not near as skilled as Miocic's but he's got power in them. His leg kicks are brutal but, as it turns out, so are Miocic's. I could'nt call if Miocic's wrestling/takedown-D would be enough to stop Gabriel from taking him down and submitting him. Turns out Stipe's takedown defense is as good as his striking and footwork. I think another big difference was cardio, Miocic had it Gonzaga, not so much. Good performance by Miocic, wonder who they'll match him up with next.

Ben Henderson vs Josh Thomson: This...this was a good fight, a good technical fight. What it wasn't however, was the return of Benson Henderson that I, and I think most Bendo fans, wanted to see. I thought we would be seeing the Benson Henderson who beat the crap out of Clay Guida. I thought we would see him fighting like a man possesed, not a man concerned, a man concerned with eeking out yet another decision. He's got the tools, physically and technically so....I mean he's not going to finish anybody with those punches to the thigh. His stepping in strikes to the body were on point but...where the hell is my follow up!? Josh Thompson looked good, his takedown-sweeps are fantastic so I hope he doesn't call it quits just yet. As for Henderson, Dana said that his performance against Josh was not enough to earn him a title shot so, if he want's that title back he's going to have to do more, he's going to have to find that Benson "Smooth" Henderson we saw when he was fighting his way up the UFC ladder the first time. That guy deserved a title shot, this one...not so much.

ultimate fight nations Canada vs Australia episode 3.
389mb
mp4
43minutes
704x400
http://dfiles.eu/files/3tq8w2xvb

[Pad]

Originally Posted by Aurman

I hear you on the ring girls. Aside from Brittney, Arianney and now Kahily (hehe, new favourite), the UFC seems to pick the skinniest/lankiest most gangly-limbed females they can find...wth?!

Don't forget Chrissy Blair!!! Maybe not as voluptuous as Arianny, Kahily etc - but hot stuff nevertheless.

Originally Posted by Aurman

I don't think referee Percevall failed to see Soriano's tap because you see him almost jump in at it, but, Soriano seems to stop "mid-tap", if you will, prompting the ref to give him more time to escape. That is one of those close situations because too many times guys/girls are caught in chokes/subs that seem locked in and then they escape. It was a very close thing either way..

Hehe!!! Yeah, he stopped mid-tap because he went unconcious. But you're right it was a very close thing and perhaps I was being to hard on old Percy.

Originally Posted by Aurman

Liked this latest fox card, all except the main event which was, well...a bit of a let down, still good but...anyway.
I didn't do a prediction because when I looked at the match-ups I could'nt pick one, not one, all the match-ups were so close..............

etc.

etc.

etc...............

Welcome back Aurman - I thought we'd lost you there for a while.

Great commentary and I agree with pretty much everything you say. My only comment is that I'd put Cerrone up there with Machida, Torres and Rockhold in the kicking department. He constantly uses his kicking to break up the striking patterns and vary the tempo. His previous fight was a classic display of how to use the kicking game, and of course it doesn't get better than his head-kick KO last Saturday.

Very much liked the clip with Cacares. Seems go be a very down to earth kid - literally and figurtively.

Just picked up another little tidbit about the Miocic/Gonzaga fight. Apparently Gonzaga broke his hand early on in the fight. Having said that though - it he never made any real attempt to bring it to the ground. Strange since he is a BJJ blackbelt.

[Aurman]

Not lost man, just busy.

You're right, there are an additional few cuties on the ring girl roster. Arianney, Brittney and Kahily are just my gold standard for UFC ring girls

I was looking through the post-fight stuff, vids and articles and I saw a pic of Gonzaga's hand after the fight, swollen to maybe twice the normal size. That impacted the fight for him I'm sure, still, Miocic did an excellent job, they both did so...

I agree Cerrone's kicks are excellent stuff. There are plenty of fighters we're not listing that have strong kicking games, my compliment of Torres, Cruickshank, and Thompson are that they use a much wider variety of kick attacks, to great effect. When Cruickshank got rushed against the cage in that last fight, and used a side kick to create space, Tecia, in her last fight, used alot of powerful sidekicks but also dropped axe kicks, front kicks, the whole damn library of kicking techniques, the same with "Wonderboy" Thompson. Those three, they use kicks like other fighters use punches, coming from any and every angle, with accuracy and power, that's what is noteworthy to me. Obviousley Cerrone, Machida, Rockhold, big brother Pettis (little bro too now I guess) and more, use kicks very well but those three, aforementioned fighters do so with much more fluidity and versatility than any others I can currently recall.


For tonight...hmmmm...too many unknowns in the prelims, I need to start learning my lesson and stop thinking I can predict anything about these debutantes. I'd pick Clint Hester, Al Iaquinta, and Jonh Makdessi to win their respective bouts but I don't know shit about their opponents so....leaving that alone, on to the main card!

Abel Trujillo v Jaime Varner: Both men are beasts in the cage, Abel decisively proved that in his last outing. Varner can easily pull some slick, veteran stuff and exploit the holes in the relatively new Trujillo's game, if he shows up. I think this is going to be a close one and may be a fight of the night candidate....guess I'll go with Varner's experience and his current "back against the wall" status should only serve to fuel his fire.

John Lineker v Ali Bagautinov:Both these guys are tough but I give it to Ali. Lineker has some serious power but he just plods forward and swings, Bagautinov has power as well plus technique/footwork. Ali also has that championship sambo background, we've see from his fellow countrymen (i.e. Khabib Nurmagomedov) how effective that can be in the cage. I don't know what Linekers ground game is like or if he even has one, only thing I know about him is he keeps knocking people out and he keeps missing weight. I say Bagautinov does him in.

Frank Mir v Alistair Overeem:You might be right Pad, 'Reem might use Mir for kicking practice but let's not forget, Mir took a beating from Lesnar in their first fight right up until he sunk in that heel hook (kneebar?) for the sub. Mir will be dangerous throughout but I think 'Reem has the right attitude, he's reportedly focused on his cardio this camp and has said he's being more mindful of maintining his respect for his opponents abilities. I think he will defend Mir's takedowns and do what Dos Santos did with punches, except he'll be using more knees and kicks!...poor kid, she had no idea...

Ricardo Lamas v Jose Aldo:...Aldo

Renen Barao v Uriah Faber:Gotta go with you on this one, I think Faber takes it and not just because I want him to finally get his UFC gold. The thing about Barao and even Aldo, they're both good, really good, but they have pretty much stayed where they are in terms of skill level, very high level but no noticeable improvements. Now you can say why improve if nobody can match you, well, eventually, someone will. That's why I give much respect to Demetrious Johnson, Ronda Rousey, champs like that. They both have world class skill but train like they are beginners, and it shows! While Aldo showed some strong wrestling against the Korean Zombie, his all around game each fight is the same, same with Barao.
The Bang Ludwig,team Alpha Malers though, these guys were already world class and, with help from what should be the 2013 MMA coach of the year, they have improved, noticeably, obviously, impressively improved.
So, not saying Barao won't be dangerous, but Uriah has seen what he has to offer in the cage, I say he's ready for it and ready to be champ.


...And! Here! We! GO!

[Pad]

UFC 169

All around I'd say an average night of fights, with several "you can not be serious moments".

Kevin Lee v. Al Iaquinta. I liked this fight. It had a bit of everything. Iaquinta's transition into the heel hook in the first round was just beautiful even though he didn't get the sub. Lee's rear naked choke attempt in the second was also tasty even though again he couldn't close the deal. All finished off with a banging third round. Great fight all round.

Nick Catone v. Tom Watson. As I said before I'm not a fan of Tom Watson. Any fighter who feels the need to make his entrance in a gorilla mask is suspect IMO, and as often as not he seems to dissapoint. However I really thought he got robbed. There's no question in my mind that he won the fight. How one of the judges scored all three rounds to Catone is beyond belief. Felt sorry for Watson.

Chris Cariaso v. Dani Martinez One of those "Meh!!!" fights. Apart from some good kicks by Cariaso it was mostly filled up with ineffectual take downs by Martinez. Nothing special.

Alan Patrick v. Jon Makdessie. Again I was stunned at the result. I thought there was little doubt that Makdessie had done enough to win the fight - even though the fight overall was nothing special. Again another 30-27 scored by one of the judges. The mind boggles.

Abel Trujillo v. Jamie Varner. One of the better fights and it had a little bit of everything. Great North-South choke attempt by Varner in the first. Swinging for the fences in the second ultimitely ending in the KO for Trujillo. Well deserved fight and KO of the night - good call Aurman.

John Lineker v. Ali Bagautinov. Goodish sort of fight. The boys trading heel hooks in the first was quite funny. I thought Bagauntinov would take this one but Lineker did enough to get the decision.

Alistair Overeem v. Frank Mir. Well that didn't go the way I expected. . I thought Overeem would come out swinging wild, but he showed huge discipline in working Mir over steady as she goes. On the other side Frank never really got in the game at all. Too bad, that's probably the last we'll see of Frank Mir in the UFC.

Jose Aldo v. Recardo Lamas. Dominant performance by Aldo. A bit slow in the first round, but he turned up the pace and heat steadily as the fight progressed. Those leg kicks are just brutal, and I thought Lamas did really well just to last the full five rounds. No question - Aldo is "De Man" of his weight class.

Renan Barao v. Uriah Faber. Wow!!! No question but Herb Dean is one of the better UFC refs - but what a cock-up. Bad, bad, bad stoppage. Given Faber had his head firmly cushioned on Barao's leg, the punches Barao was landing were doing very little damage. The cushioning of the leg would have minimised or even eliminated any chance of concussion from the punches. Great pity as I have little doubt Faber could have fought on for the full five rounds (barring KO's or submissions of course). Anyway we'll never know. Faber was a sport and a gentleman in his post fight interview.

Ultimate Fighter Nations.Canada vs Australia. episode 4
mp4
471mb
704x400
43 minutes
http://dfiles.eu/files/yf97dq3cv

[Dr. Blowjob]

Originally Posted by Pad

No question - Aldo is "De Man" of his weight class.

Lol Imo Aldo is "De Man" of MMA, now that Anderson has lost twice and GSP left.

Ultimate Fighter Nations.Canada vs Australia. episode 5
720x400
257mb
mp4
43minutes
http://dfiles.eu/files/vyuop2wlc