He's most likely going to go right through Couture.
It seems you seriously underestimate the talents of Gonzaga, Couture and (I would assume) Tim Sylvia. Why you don't think Couture can hang with the best heavyweights in the world is beyond me. Say what you want about Sylvia, but he beat three top 10 heavyweights. He really wasn't drawing much criticism until his third fight with Arlovski. Randy Couture is in his prime. His anniholation of Tim Sylvia was the best Randy we've ever seen. Keep in mind that Sylvia became the HW champion by defeating Ricco Rodriguez - the man who took the belt away from The Natural and forced him to drop to LHW. Ultimately, I don't think you're giving the UFC crew much credit. Couture and Gonzaga are both top 10 heavies, and Randy was very serious when he said that he would rather fight CC and he thought Gonzaga was the better fighter.
You have another thing coming if you think Gonzaga is going to truck through Couture. Couture can beat both GG and CC.
washmykev wrote:
His G'n'p wasn't all that great considering the circumstances. Consider the fact that Cro-cop A) Apparently has no experience fighting in a cage B) Has no experience defending elbows on the ground and C) was never a ground fighter to begin with.
See, this is what I don't understand...you'll say "C" but prior to the fight mention that Gonzaga hardly has a chance. I was telling people for weeks that he'd be able to hold his own standing, and if it got to the ground, Mirko would be in serious trouble. I was just watching Gonzaga's fght with Fabricio Werdum, and he is easily one of the top takedown artists in the heavyweight divison. If Mirko came unprepared for the fight, that was his own fault. He knew he had to keep this fight standing at all costs, he knew it would be fought in a cage and he knew elbows would be a factor. I'm not sure why you're saying his GNP isn't all that great. It's extremely difficult to maneuver offense when someone has you in full guard and Gabe was making him bleed.
The overall reaction to this fight is interesting. This isn't directed at you, kev, but it seems a lot of disgruntled Cro Cop fans are in disbelief and coming up with excuses for why he didn't waltz in and pick apart the UFC the way everyone thought he would.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:51 am Posts: 17078 Location: TX
mowbs wrote:
The overall reaction to this fight is interesting. This isn't directed at you, kev, but it seems a lot of disgruntled Cro Cop fans are in disbelief and coming up with excuses for why he didn't waltz in and pick apart the UFC the way everyone thought he would.
Well, we've been watching him tear apart the Pride ranks (except for Fedor) for the past couple of years.
I still say the Cro Cop of 2006 wins that fight at least 8/10 times. The Cro Cop of right now... well, I don't know what to say, but he doesn't seem like himself at all.
I'm just upset because he didn't do anything in that last fight. He didn't land any strikes, he barely threw any. He didn't do any of his incredible sprawls and didn't showcase his takedown defense. And he didn't demonstrate any of his ability to stalk his opponent and avoid their strikes then come back in with his own. Did anyone else notice how he was fighting much closer to Gonzaga than you usually see him? And also, Cro Cop is in his element when he is backing away from his opponent. He usually lands more strikes the faster they are trying to come at him. He didn't do any of that the other night.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:51 am Posts: 17078 Location: TX
Like with the Joe Riggs fight...
I realize Diego Sanchez beats him most of the time, but that fight just pissed me off. I know Riggs is better than that, but he sucked it up the first minute then Sanchez landed a lucky punch, and Riggs is out. It can happen to anyone but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
Peeps wrote:
warehouse wrote:
i saw this last night...holy shit what a kick. anyone know what happened to crocops leg? that was fuckin nasty lookin
i dont know how much you saw, but as he was leaving the ring, barely even had a limp
im telling you, herbs reaction at having to straighten out his foot was priceless
i didnt see him get up. i turned it off right after they replayed him getting knocked out for the 10th time. rogan was flipping out about how bad his knee looked getting bent under him
_________________ Feel the path of every day,... Which road you taking?,...
MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185-pound limit)
1. Matt Lindland
2. Anderson Silva
3. Paulo Filho
4. Rich Franklin
5. Dan Henderson
6. Denis Kang
7. Nathan Marquardt
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Kazuo Misaki
10. Frank Trigg
WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170-pound limit)
1. Matt Serra
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Matt Hughes
4. Josh Koscheck
5. BJ Penn
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Karo Parisyan
8. Jon Fitch
9. Jake Shields
10. Akira Kikuchi
Top 10 Greatest UFC Upsets By Jesse Holland Special to UFCmania
What started as a freak occurrence has seemingly turned into a spiraling epidemic as the best of today’s UFC fighters are going down in a blaze of eight-sided glory. After the year we’ve had in this sport I must approach every pay-per-view with nervous anticipation. It really is true: Anything can happen.
With that in mind I present my list of the ten greatest UFC upsets:
10. Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort: UFC 15 At UFC 15, relative newcomer Randy Couture was set to face Vitor Belfort in a match that many experts compared to the ancient practice of feeding Christians to the lions. Couture had only two fights under his belt while Belfort was 4-0 in the Octagon. Not only was he undefeated, Belfort had four straight (T)KO’s and never had a match go longer than two minutes.
Randy was supposed to be a cakewalk for the invincible Brazilian but it was Couture who earned the TKO stopping Belfort with strikes shortly after eight minutes. They would face off two more times in 2004 but the match that will be remembered in my book is probably their first as it ranks as one of the UFC’s first big upsets.
9. Jason Lambert vs. Renato Sobral: UFC 68 Renato Sobral was widely considered one of the top light-heavyweights in the world and for good reason. Since July of 2002 he compiled an impressive 12-2 record including a ten-fight winning streak.
Like Minotauro Nogueira, who could have been on top for years if not for a certain Russian cyborg, Babalu was second only to Chuck Liddell. His bout against Lambert at UFC 68 was supposed to be a chance to get back to his winning ways.
Lambert wasn’t having it. Talented but unproven, Lambert was coming off a KO loss to Rashad Evans and had a history of falling short against popular fighters like Tim Sylvia and Cabbage Correira. He was expected to follow suit against Sobral but instead stunned the world with a lights-out KO at 3:26 of the second round.
8. Frank Mir vs. Marcio Cruz: UFC 57 Believe it or not there was a time when Frank Mir was the poster boy for UFC heavyweights. He was an 8-1 submission master and a fan favorite long before breaking Tim Sylvia’s arm. After a devastating motorcycle accident kept him out of action for nearly two years, the UFC welcomed him back by matching him against Brazilian cream puff Marcio Cruz.
What was planned as a homecoming quickly turned into a nightmare as the 1-0 rookie put Mir on his back and started raining down elbows until a blood soaked Mir could no longer defend. The fight was mercifully stopped at the end of the first round and Frank’s career would never be the same.
7. Mark Coleman vs. Maurice Smith: UFC 14 Mark Coleman was one of the first true heavyweight goliaths of the UFC using his superior wrestling and ground ‘n pound to lay waste to the entire division. At 6-0 he had already destroyed legends Gary Goodridge and Dan Severn by submission and Don Frye by TKO.
His next victim was UFC newcomer Maurice Smith who was 3-4 with submission losses to Ken Shamrock and Bas Rutten. It looked like an early night for the heavily favored Coleman but instead it became a very long one as Maurice put an end to the era of dominant wresting and scored a unanimous decision after twenty-one minutes of fighting.
It was a shocking upset at the time. Coleman would never see another victory in the UFC and eventually defected to PRIDE in 1999.
6. Jens Pulver vs. Joe Lauzon: UFC 63 Jens Pulver — like most lightweights — was unwelcome in the Octagon after the UFC decided they were better off without a 155-pound division. Fortunately good sense prevailed and Jens, like the division, was reinstated.
Little Evil was undefeated in the Octagon and his win over BJ Penn was a memorable battle. Now he looked to return to greatness and his ring entrance at UFC 63 looked more fitting for a war hero or a matador than a UFC combatant.
In his first UFC match, unknown Joe Lauzon admitted to taking Jens antics personally. He took out his anger on an unsuspecting Pulver with a brutal KO in the first round. Any thoughts of Jens walking to the title went out with the lights.
5. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture: UFC 43 Appearing for the second time in my illustrious list is “The Natural†and this time it’s for upending the mighty Liddell at UFC 43. Chuck was 12-1 and on a torrid ten-fight winning streak looking as close to immortal as a fighter can get.
In contrast Randy was coming down from heavyweight after getting crushed by Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez. Nearly 40, Randy was seen as not just a huge underdog, but also an aging combatant in a sport that long since passed him by (if they only knew).
For the second time Randy made the critics eat their words as he put an absolute clinic on the bewildered Liddell stopping him with strikes in the third round.
4. BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes: UFC 46 Matt Hughes was a victory machine. Coming into the Penn fight Matt was 13-0 since 2001 and a staggering 34-3 overall. He was making it look easy and scoffed at the idea of BJ moving up in weight. After all, Penn was a mere pup compared to the welterweight workhorse and Hughes probably took things lightly.
He shouldn’t have. BJ tooled him from start to finish and choked Hughes into tapping in the first round. The look on Matt’s face perfectly summarized what we were all feeling: complete and utter disbelief. He didn’t even notice when the Hawaiian celebrated with a kiss. He was too busy trying to figure out what just happened.
3. Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia: UFC 68 After reading this list I wonder how I could have ever picked against Randy. But pick against him I did, as did most, when he came out of retirement to face the hulking menace from Camp Miletich.
Randy’s last dance in the Octagon was grotesquely one-sided, and his return to a weight class that chewed him up and spit him out in 2002 seemed ill-advised and money-driven. Few believed Randy when he claimed to have found a hole in Sylvia’s game and we quietly hoped he would get through the fight void of serious injuries.
Once again we looked on in astonishment as Randy dropped The Maine-iac in the opening seconds of round one and continued to punish him throughout the fight. Tim summed it up best after dropping the decision: “He would strike when I thought he would shoot and shoot when I thought he would strike.â€
Tim shouldn’t feel bad for having Randy make him look stupid. He’s been doing it to us for years.
2. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga: UFC 70 I’ll admit it. Part of what makes this upset come in at #2 is the way it ended. Aside from Randy Couture (who looks more and more like a genius with every move he makes) I don’t think anyone gave Gonzaga a real chance at winning.
People may have been open to a decision loss or a freak submission but if you wanted to lay odds on a head kick they would have laughed in your face. Well no one is laughing now as the artist formerly known as #2 in the world is back in Croatia licking his wounds.
Gonzaga was a talented fighter before the bout but his TKO loss to Croat associate Fabricio Werdum made it hard to believe he could withstand the strikes of Cro Cop. Mirko later admitted to having blurry vision courtesy of Gonzaga elbows and never saw it coming. Don’t worry Mr. Filipovic, neither did we.
1. Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre: UFC 69 As if there was any doubt, I present the greatest upset in the UFC and perhaps all of mixed martial arts. Nobody in the world whose last name isn’t Serra gave Matt a chance against an opponent largely considered one of the best fighters in the world today.
With only a submission loss to Matt Hughes on his near-perfect record, GSP represented the new breed of MMA: Young, strong, and versed in all styles of combat fighting with very few weaknesses.
Of course a perfect skill set doesn’t do you any good if you get punched in the head. Serra did everything right, maintained composure, and finished off a rigid GSP in devastating fashion.
This is one win I don’t think even Randy could have predicted.
IFL seems too bush league to me, I can't get into it.
Yea...it is basically minor league, but it's pretty cool to see the sport get that kind of exposure, and I enjoy watching guys like Don Frye, Carlos Newtown and Marco Ruas be involved with the sport.
That Horodecki kid is something else, though. Nineteen years old...if he doesn't burn out liek Vitor Belfort, he's sure to be a true contender some day.
Jeremy Williams Dead of Apparent Suicide Sunday, May 06, 2007 by Ken Pishna MMAWeekly.com Officials from the International Fight League this morning confirmed the death of California Condors fighter, 27 year-old Jeremy Williams. The Orange County, Calif. Sheriff’s Department Coroner Division confirmed the Williams’ death to the IFL and stated that an autopsy will be performed to officially determine the cause of death.
Sources close to Williams have told MMAWeekly that comments made online about the situation are true, that Williams did indeed take his own life. Apparently, he was found in his car and died of what is to be believed a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Williams was the middleweight representative of the Marco Ruas coached California Condors in the IFL. He had not fought in nearly five years before Ruas and the IFL made Williams an offer he couldn’t refuse, so he returned to the ring in January of this year. He won his first two IFL bouts – over Bristol Marunde and Kazuhiro Hamanaka – and his career seemed to be headed up. Williams’ overall professional record stands at 7-2.
He seemed to be happy with his return to fighting and excited to be a part of Ruas’ Condors. As Williams said in an interview with MMAWeekly’s Mick Hammond in March of this year, “I feel good and I’m real excited… I really do feel that we have the best coach in the IFL. He’s amazing, just the time he takes with us and the things he teaches us.â€
A very popular figure among friends, the most common sentiment among those that knew Jeremy seemed to be disbelief and shock. As one IFL official put it, “We’re all still trying to come to grips with this. You never know why; but if you knew Jeremy… it just doesn’t make sense.â€
Close friend Chris Brennan released the following statements yesterday – reprinted with his permission: “I was fortunate enough for [Jeremy] to walk into my school not yet 18 years old in 1998. Jeremy was a best friend to me for many years and I sort of raised him when he wasn't at home, took him under my wing and showed him everything I know. He grew as a person, teacher and MMA fighter. I'm not sure what causes people to do the things they do, but I feel terribly for his family and everyone around him. Jeremy, I love you like a brother… and I will miss you dearly.â€
IFL Co-founder and Commissioner Kurt Otto commented, “Jeremy was a tremendous competitor and teammate, as well as being a very strong person who lifted the spirits of everyone around him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jeremy’s wife, Lauren, their young daughter and the rest of his family, as well as his coaches Marco Ruas and Debi Purcell and all his teammates. Everyone at the IFL, as well as the entire MMA community, will do everything we can to support them in their hour of need.â€
Details for a memorial service have not yet been announced.
I love this thread and I don't dig it's presence on page 2. Those .gifs you cats post are fucking epic by the way. Post more of those. Or recommended youtube footage. Hook a brother up.
_________________
Dev wrote:
lol I got the new one cause I wanted to stay relevant
Main card: -Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson
-Karo Parisyan vs. Josh Burkman
-Terry Martin vs. Ivan Salaverry
-Keith Jardine vs. houston Alexander
-Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes
Prelim card: -James Irvin vs. Thiago Silva
-Sean Salmon vs. Eric Schafer
-Din Thomas vs. Jeremy Stevens
-Carmelo Marrero vs. Wilson Gouveia
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 6:30 am Posts: 6116 Location: NC
Yea... ever since crocop got brutalized. it's been kind of a slow news period for MMA. It's seemed kind of weird too, since the last few months have been rock-solid.
I'd really like to make a prediction for Chuck-Rampage, but i'm not going to. I'm done speculating on MMA. There's no real underdog, but Chuck is facing his first real striker in quite a while... but after seeing Rampage's last performance, I have no idea where to go with this one. \
Liddell/Rampage: Page will be hesistant to engage and Chuck will be steady countering. If Page manages a takedown, Chuck will get back to his feet. Page is going to eat a lot of shots and the fight will not go the distance.
Chuck by tko - rd. 3
Karo/Burkman: Potential show-stopper. A fight with Karo is always exciting, and he has a wild and unpredictable style. I expect to see a lot of technical grappling and takedown scrambling. I think Josh will be able to handle himself on the feet, snd I'll give him a slight edge and the minor upset.
Burkman by split decision
Martin/Salaverry: Pretty good matchup with a legit test for Martin. Terry will come out swining for the ko, but the more experienced Salaverry will be smart enough to take it to the ground and work it out.
Salaverry by submission - rd. 2
Jardine/Alexander: Silly fight. A b-level challenger for Jardine.
Jardine by ko/tko - rd. 1
Leben/Starnes: I'm not a big fan of either fighter, but I'd like to see Kalib hand Leben his ticket out the door and hopefully away from the UFC forever. Leben will want to throw hands and Starnes will want to go to the ground with his improved submissions and gnp, but Chris has too hard a head to be finished with srikes.
Starnes by decision.
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God bless his family
