All Purpose UFC/MMA/That Kind Of Thing Thread

Unfortunately.
There are so many great athletes in MMA, so many great stories to be told, and the general media focuses on this joke. That this guy is quickly becoming the face of MMA (when he lacks the skill of a true MMA artist) is an embarassment.

 

Kimbo, believe it or not, has a lot of stories to tell about coming up from nothing. He was a heck of a high school football player and was recruited to play collegiately, but something went wrong.

 

Well, I know he has an interesting story ... but as far as being a credible MMA fighter, he's nothing but a sideshow freak. I think that's what frustrates me. There's a lot of people out there who used to watch UFC in the mid-90's when it was basically a "Toughman Competition" and think that's what the sport still is.
Now, those people might see Kimbo Slice, wonder what the fuss is about, see him fight, and think to themselves "Man, this sport hasn't evolved at all. What a joke."

 

UFC is still the beacon of MMA. I doubt we'll see Kimbo in a UFC ring anytime soon. He's in the lower levels, so what's the big deal. He gets a magazine cover. Oh well. So did Ryan Leaf.

 

For those who are well-versed in MMA, is it worth going out of one's way to catch Farber-Pulver?

 

Uriah Faber is one of the most exciting young fighters in the lighter-weight divisions that I've seen in a long time. If UFC had a 145-pound division, he'd be a big star right now. Pulver is a veteran who thrives at the 145-155 pound range. He's an exciting fighter who likes to throw fists. He's definitely the biggest name Faber has fought.
You'd have to define "going out of your way" ... but I think if you get to see the fight, you won't regret having watched it. But, as goes with all non-scripted athletics. It could be over in 20 seconds or it could be a completely one-sided decision. No guarantees. But, I think it's gonna be a good fight.

 

Versus is hyping the fight as "the greatest in cagefighting history." Can Pulver-Faber live up to that kind of hype?

 

It wont be a pay per view and WEC puts on good cards. Should be a good fight in its own right. I expect Faber to win fairly easy but you never know Pulver has heavy hands for that weight class and could catch Faber. Now Faber vs Kid Yamamoto that would be one for the ages...

 

No way in hell is this the greatest fight in cagefighting history, nor will it come close. That said, it should be very good. It has a couple of guys with interesting stories, who both step in the ring with thoughts of finishing fights above all else. They both take risks and that is usually a crowd-pleasing style. Pulver has heavy hands but Faber is much more evolved. I see Faber via 2nd-round sub.

 

Not a bad card tonight. Silva destroyed Jardine. Mr. Mean didn't even have a chance. Penn really teed-off as well.

 

Yeah, I really thought Jardine had a chance going into the fight, figuring it'd be a slugfest and considering how old Wandy had looked against Henderson and Liddell. I know the Silva fought Liddell pretty closely, but I figured that it was a good "old guy" fight. I thought Jardine would be able to take advantage of him.
Instead, he looked like the Silva of five or six years ago -- quick, deadly accurate and powerful.
As for the other fights, I'm still trying to figure out why Sherk never tried to take Penn down. I know Penn is great on the ground, but I thought he held an even BIGGER advantage standing up. That said, BJ is one of the best all-around fighters I've ever seen. I'd love to see him fight GSP again, though I think GSP wins again because he's the bigger, stronger fighter and seems to have "gotten it" mentally since losing to Serra.
The third round of the Ortiz-Machida fight was great. I kind of wanted to see Tito pull it out and when he nearly sunk in that triangle choke (man, I thought he had that foot locked in under his knee), I popped. But Machida is a fundamentally sound (if not exciting) fighter and is gonna be a thorn in many guys' sides. No one is gonna wanna fight him because, to the general public, he's a nobody, yet he has the ability to beat most anyone. So, the risks of losing to him far outweigh the benefits of earning a win over him.