The MMA thread

I don't think it will go the distance, either Aldo sinks in a RNC or Conor knocks him out in three rounds. Depends on how much Aldo focuses on getting it to the ground and how much Conor learns since his last fight.
 
Pretty awesome reaction video of Diego Sanchez, Cowboy Cerrone and other Jackson Wink guys, bar the drunken Andrea Lee being a little annoying.

 
Being a bitch at the weigh-ins [x]
Not touching of the gloves [x]
Deliberately throwing a punch after the bell rang [x]
Getting schooled and knocked the feck out cold [x]

So fecking happy right now! Was rooting so hard for Holm. What a performance!
 

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:lol::lol:
 
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In terms of "selling" the fight, then fine... go ahead. If Rousey ends up losing in the process, then her comments beforehand are merely a reason to sell the fight and not an excuse to be an ass. It's myopic. It's not just Rousey's arrogance which makes the loss gratifying. For me this is the start of the women's division evolving. Not going to lie, I didn't think there was going to be any decent competition for Rousey, but Holm was definitely under the radar. Competition breeds excellence, and hopefully this is the end of the immense coverage Rousey receives from mainstream media. She's a great fighter and has obviously done a lot for the sport, but we're told she's continually improving. I'm yet to see that. Edmond seems to be teaching her crap, so she's perfecting that. She lacks striking skill - Edmond praising her for her terrible striking technique is sad - and was impatient throughout the fight. Which compounds her problems. Her stubbornness ultimately cost her and I'm certain that she would lose a rematch, unless she takes up a new coach. If you do not evolve in MMA, you get left behind.
 
*cringe*

That's what happens when you surround yourself with people who do nothing but blow smoke up your arse.

It's the same arrogance you hear from McGregor. It doesn't really bother me, though. It's probably got a lot to do with selling tickets but I think it also has to do with finding a way to put aside doubt and fear. Everyone has their own way of getting their head right to compete in elite sport and I'm sure that sort of cast-iron self-belief and braggadacio is what works best for them, so to each their own.
 
It's the same arrogance you hear from McGregor. It doesn't really bother me, though. It's probably got a lot to do with selling tickets but I think it also has to do with finding a way to put aside doubt and fear. Everyone has their own way of getting their head right to compete in elite sport and I'm sure that sort of cast-iron self-belief and braggadacio is what works best for them, so to each their own.

That's true to an extent and you're always setting yourself up for a bigger fall by playing the cocky villain but I do get the impression that McGregor is 100% focused on fighting (when he's not being forced into world tours etc...). You read about him showing up at gyms and rolling with guys much better than him just to improve himself. I think you can be cocky to sell a fight but you have to show a certain humility in real life to improve yourself as a fighter. Not saying that Ronda doesn't but you have to question if her heart is in it with all the other distractions and the fact that she does actually seem to believe her own hype. I don't think it helps when you have people like Rogan building her up to be some indestructible superwoman and not taking a step back and admitting that there were massive holes in her striking game for instance. Her own coach came out with this not too long ago..

her boxing coach Edmond Tarverdyan has prompted sideeye from the women’s boxing community after saying that Rousey’s hand skills could earn her a boxing championship if she wanted.

“I know she wins the boxing world title,” Tarverdyan told MMAFighting.com. “Ronda has nothing to prove to me.”

I expect he'll be dropped like a bad habit and rightly so. It's just utter nonsense.
 
It's the same arrogance you hear from McGregor. It doesn't really bother me, though. It's probably got a lot to do with selling tickets but I think it also has to do with finding a way to put aside doubt and fear. Everyone has their own way of getting their head right to compete in elite sport and I'm sure that sort of cast-iron self-belief and braggadacio is what works best for them, so to each their own.

I think there's a fine line. I don't particularly mind it but it does set itself up for a fall. The difference is for the likes of Mayweather and McGregor (since he got big) is they've not lost a fight and it's always been backed up. The fall from grace is always more spectacular to watch then the winning every time.

I also think the way it's portrayed is difference. Confidence has never bothered me but to use the previous examples Mayweather and McGregor always had a slight humour about themselves and it was clearly done for a wind up and worked. Rousey just soudns a bit cringing to me when she does it, the lack of humour and the fact in this most recent fight especially her opponent wasn't rising to it made it impossible.

Rousey was pretty fecked by the whole hype machine as well. I watch UFC but am not an expert on MMA and just a casual viewer but she's the one person who you can't get away from...she's better than the men etc and the most dominant athlete of all time. Stuff like that always makes a fall from grace funnier to see.

I'd imagine if McGregor loses to Aldo people will be quick to shit all over him, it's the price you pay and the risk you run really...the risk for these fighters is that once their unbeaten run goes no one cares about them as much. I think Rousey will struggle to get that aura she had back about her now, McGregor of course has an advantage he's already lost so has nothing to defend.
 
Interesting reading a mates comments about this on Facebook (he is/was a professional mma fighter with UFC experience).

Stemming from a debate about the outcome of a fight between Mayweather and Rousey he's of the opinion that he'd knock her our much quicker for the simple reason that she is unable to shoot legs on someone who can outbox and out manoeuvre her. I guess that's common sense really as Judo primarily focuses on clinch based takedowns whereas wrestlers look to change levels and avoid any kind of standing combat, which is why the likes of Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and Mark Coleman dominated when the UFC was still in it's infancy.
 
I think there's a fine line. I don't particularly mind it but it does set itself up for a fall. The difference is for the likes of Mayweather and McGregor (since he got big) is they've not lost a fight and it's always been backed up. The fall from grace is always more spectacular to watch then the winning every time.

I also think the way it's portrayed is difference. Confidence has never bothered me but to use the previous examples Mayweather and McGregor always had a slight humour about themselves and it was clearly done for a wind up and worked. Rousey just soudns a bit cringing to me when she does it, the lack of humour and the fact in this most recent fight especially her opponent wasn't rising to it made it impossible.

Rousey was pretty fecked by the whole hype machine as well. I watch UFC but am not an expert on MMA and just a casual viewer but she's the one person who you can't get away from...she's better than the men etc and the most dominant athlete of all time. Stuff like that always makes a fall from grace funnier to see.

I'd imagine if McGregor loses to Aldo people will be quick to shit all over him, it's the price you pay and the risk you run really...the risk for these fighters is that once their unbeaten run goes no one cares about them as much. I think Rousey will struggle to get that aura she had back about her now, McGregor of course has an advantage he's already lost so has nothing to defend.
Neither of them are the first either, same shit as Sonnen, who was gods gift because he had a mouth. Until Anderson Silva placed his knee in that mouth, then he was never all that good.

Diaz brothers too, but everyone still whacks off all over them, and I'm sure there were plenty more throughout MMA history that I'm less aware of.

It's all well and good preferring respectful fighters who don't mouth off, but it's these cocky asshole characters who draw people in and make the fights more interesting.
 
Neither of them are the first either, same shit as Sonnen, who was gods gift because he had a mouth. Until Anderson Silva placed his knee in that mouth, then he was never all that good.

Diaz brothers too, but everyone still whacks off all over them, and I'm sure there were plenty more throughout MMA history that I'm less aware of.

It's all well and good preferring respectful fighters who don't mouth off, but it's these cocky asshole characters who draw people in and make the fights more interesting.

Yep I agree with the last point, people love to hate them, they become the pantomime villain and the ones who are best at it manage to get a second or third chance etc when/if they lose. If McGregor loses in a months time he won't be forgotten about. He'll sell his next fight and come up with some excuse (lucky, bad day etc.) What I find interesting about Rousey compared to the rest is how when it's fight time she's still an absolute dick. The "being a cnut" thing works when you're trying to get a few PPV buys but once you're in the ring (or octagon in this case) then that should all stop. McGregor was hugely respectful to Mendes right before and after his fight. Rousey has a habit or just being a bitch to people i.e. refusing to touch gloves before the fight, refusing to shake Meisha Tate's hand after their fight. There's no need for it then. McGregor post fight is pretty humble and respectful with people it's only when his next fight is announced his "character" comes back out again. Stuff like WWE hasn't really helped combat sports as that is obviously hugely character based and people liked the character so it's an easy way of fighters making money. Give yourself this persona.

Another struggle for Rousey compared to the people I mentioned is the fact she's not a male. Women's MMA only really took off because of her, the aura she had, most people acknowledge most her competition she fought wasn't the best but they built it up. I think it'll be interesting to see what happens there with that as going forward it's hard to sell when you realise the number 1 in the sport got easily outclassed and in reality there isn't many more to get behind.
 
It's the same arrogance you hear from McGregor. It doesn't really bother me, though. It's probably got a lot to do with selling tickets but I think it also has to do with finding a way to put aside doubt and fear. Everyone has their own way of getting their head right to compete in elite sport and I'm sure that sort of cast-iron self-belief and braggadacio is what works best for them, so to each their own.

She actually believed her hype. The video would've been a bit less funny if she showed Holm a bit of respect during the weigh in and pre-opening bell fist bump. Let her revel in her humble pie for the next 6 months and see if she learns a bit of humility.
 
She actually believed her hype. The video would've been a bit less funny if she showed Holm a bit of respect during the weigh in and pre-opening bell fist bump. Let her revel in her humble pie for the next 6 months and see if she learns a bit of humility.

I'm sure she believed her hype. That's my point. Being so arrogant/confident is the mind-frame needed by some fighters to get the best out of themselves. They can run through walls because they believe they can run through walls. It also helps that their supreme confidence might rattle some (but, of course, not all) potential opponents.

I agree with what you (and a few others have said) that you have serious self-belief without behaving like a dick and she does seem to act like a dick more than is really necessary. I think McGregor does too fwiw. He's a much more charismatic and charming person -so less easy to dislike - but he does take the asshole persona a bit too far sometimes.
 
She's surrounded herself with idiots. Only her mother seems to have the sense that her coaching is not getting the best out of her. This Edmond guy once claimed she would KO Katie Taylor in a pure boxing match. He didn't talk about average fighters but basically the greatest female amateur boxer of all time. Anyone with any sense knows that Taylor would destroy Ronda in no time. I'm afraid that Ronda began to believe the hype and that she was untouchable. This Floyd bullshit was the cherry on top. Floyd wearing MMA gloves would literally ruin her with one shot. She'd never have gotten close enough for the takedown because the minute a full grown man punched her once she'd be straight to cuckcoo land. However she seemed to believe it. She literally disregarded human anatomy. My girl does kickboxing but she knows that if we fought in a genuine fight I'd murder her in no time because I'd walk straight through her punches even if she is a technically way more skilled fighter than I am.

Ronda now needs to sack that shithead coach of hers and find herself a proper gym with properly skilled teammates. Conor's ground game may not be elite but at the very least he trains a lot with Gunnar who has a very impressive ground game. Ronda has sheltered herself enough to believe that a very experienced striker like Holly with a very good coaching team wouldn't be a threat at all.

Here's the difference between her and Conor. Ronda hasn't improved at all in the last years, if anything she has abandoned judo and weakened herself even more by not even having a proper striking coach. She could do well to try get Freddie Roach onboard if she wants to continue focusing on striking. Conor on the other hand, for all his bravado, is fully aware of the holes in his game. He may talk a big game when in character but there are plenty of interviews where he shows great humility and constantly talks about the need to improve. He rolls with high level guys and hasn't surrounded himself with yes men who feed his ego. He acknowledges that before the Duffy fight he disregarded ground game and was taught a lesson. Since then he's has worked hard on improving that side of things. If he loses to Aldo it will be the same, he'll show humility and class and try to learn from the mistakes.

If Ronda wants to beat Holly in the next fight she'll have to forget her ego and focus on developing a gameplan and getting a better team around her. My advice would be to learn to shoot a takedown from distance to get to ground instead of constantly needing to clinch for it. I still reckon that if she gets Holly to the ground enough she'll be able to sub her.
 
What's up with all the Rousey vs Mayweather stuff? Like how can it even be up for debate that Mayweather would win easily. All this about how she will get Mayweather on the ground and somehow overpower him is a bit crazy
 
Only just watched the fight:

Ronda clearly got outclassed on the feet but what the f*ck were here corner playing at not reading her the riot act for a brainless approach to the first round. Someone should have been screaming at her to stop rushing-in after 2 minutes, she was walking into shot after shot and you could see she was reeling from the power of Holm.

She has one of the most naive/primitive game-plans I've ever seen and whilst it has worked up until this fight she clearly didn't have a plan B to revert to when the going got tough or she simply refused to use it.

Full credit to Holm, she beat what was in front of her in a patient yet ruthless fashion, but Rousey made it too easy to be picked apart and didn't try to adapt to what was happening even once. Her corner should be ashamed for endorsing the first round and sending her back out with the idea of repeating the same shambles in the second. Listening to them at the break had me questioning whether I'd misjudged the events of the first round they were so bizarre.

Assuming Ronda can actually take on board the lessons of this fight and focus on her strengths then the rematch should be a much more interesting match-up and completely different stylistically. Holm may still win but it will be interesting to see how she copes when it isn't simply a striking competition.

Holm's movement was great and it's good to see the quality and diversity of striking gradually rising in the womens divisions. I can't remember seeing such a brutal and clinical knockout by a lady in the UFC. Not seen much of her but I look forward to seeing her fight again.
 
One thing that i found a bit odd is that Rousey didn't seem to do anything to protect her face from Holm clocking her with her left repeatedly in the first.
 
One thing that i found a bit odd is that Rousey didn't seem to do anything to protect her face from Holm clocking her with her left repeatedly in the first.

It was genuinely like she went in there not knowing that Holly is a southpaw. A Sonnen style gameplan of spamming takedowns would've been more effective in hindsight except her 'coaches' have never taught her to shoot from distance.
 
She's surrounded herself with idiots. Only her mother seems to have the sense that her coaching is not getting the best out of her. This Edmond guy once claimed she would KO Katie Taylor in a pure boxing match. He didn't talk about average fighters but basically the greatest female amateur boxer of all time. Anyone with any sense knows that Taylor would destroy Ronda in no time. I'm afraid that Ronda began to believe the hype and that she was untouchable. This Floyd bullshit was the cherry on top. Floyd wearing MMA gloves would literally ruin her with one shot. She'd never have gotten close enough for the takedown because the minute a full grown man punched her once she'd be straight to cuckcoo land. However she seemed to believe it. She literally disregarded human anatomy. My girl does kickboxing but she knows that if we fought in a genuine fight I'd murder her in no time because I'd walk straight through her punches even if she is a technically way more skilled fighter than I am.

Ronda now needs to sack that shithead coach of hers and find herself a proper gym with properly skilled teammates. Conor's ground game may not be elite but at the very least he trains a lot with Gunnar who has a very impressive ground game. Ronda has sheltered herself enough to believe that a very experienced striker like Holly with a very good coaching team wouldn't be a threat at all.

Here's the difference between her and Conor. Ronda hasn't improved at all in the last years, if anything she has abandoned judo and weakened herself even more by not even having a proper striking coach. She could do well to try get Freddie Roach onboard if she wants to continue focusing on striking. Conor on the other hand, for all his bravado, is fully aware of the holes in his game. He may talk a big game when in character but there are plenty of interviews where he shows great humility and constantly talks about the need to improve. He rolls with high level guys and hasn't surrounded himself with yes men who feed his ego. He acknowledges that before the Duffy fight he disregarded ground game and was taught a lesson. Since then he's has worked hard on improving that side of things. If he loses to Aldo it will be the same, he'll show humility and class and try to learn from the mistakes.

If Ronda wants to beat Holly in the next fight she'll have to forget her ego and focus on developing a gameplan and getting a better team around her. My advice would be to learn to shoot a takedown from distance to get to ground instead of constantly needing to clinch for it. I still reckon that if she gets Holly to the ground enough she'll be able to sub her.

Spot on in every sense.
 
I don't buy all the BS about her trainer. He creates the most dominant MMA figure in the sport and now he's suddenly rubbish because she lost a fight ? I'm not buying that at all. Simply put, Holm came in with the perfect game plan and executed it to perfection.
 
I don't buy all the BS about her trainer. He creates the most dominant MMA figure in the sport and now he's suddenly rubbish because she lost a fight ? I'm not buying that at all. Simply put, Holm came in with the perfect game plan and executed it to perfection.

I'll let her mum answer that...

“She was winning before she ever met him,” De Mars said. “She probably won 99 percent of the judo matches she ever fought in. She’d won the Junior Worlds when she was 17. She got a bronze medal in the Olympics. She got a silver medal in the world championships. She was one of the top athletes in the world when she walked in there, and he wouldn’t even give her the time of day for months. Somebody like that is a terrible coach.”

And..

“I think she stays there because it’s like somebody pitches a no-hitter when they’re wearing red underwear, and they wear that red underwear for every day – and I think it’s superstition, and I would caution anybody from going there,” De Mars said. “And I think it’s bad he uses her to lure people in. And the reason I tell everybody, and I told Ronda, ‘I’m not going to be quiet about this anymore’ – he’s a bad person, and people should not go there. And if he wants to sue me, that’s my honest opinion.”

Now, whatever personal issues her mother has with the guy aside, that's a pretty damming assessment (made well before this last fight). It's odd that the biggest female star in the sport hasn't chosen an established coach with the credentials and knowledge to improve her as a fighter. That's an even bigger mistake.
 
Interesting to see how WMMA is evolving similarly to the early days of the UFC. Rousey is not unlike Mark Coleman, and Holm not unlike Maurice Smith, the first kickboxer to win a title in the UFC, by beating Coleman's previously unstoppable ground and pound.
 
Great analysis of Holm's defending Ronda's take down attempts


Firas Zihabi is one of the best and I wouldn't be surprised if Ronda was to go to Tristar if she decides to stick with the fighting. She's briefly lived in Montreal before I believe. Edmond is a fraud and everyone knows it, he just won the lottery with Ronda (and somehow managed to literally bankrupt himself in the process).
 
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Interesting stuff from Reddit regarding what Ronda's corner were telling her...

If you purchased the PPV through UFC.tv (Fight Pass), I encourage you to go and re-watch the fight while listening to the audio feeds from both corners. I've done it a handful of times today and I'm hearing new things each time. Here are a few interesting tidbits:
  • Edmond's advice during the fight is completely braindead. He's constantly praising her and telling her that she's doing well, regardless of how many time Holm smashes that straight left into Rousey's mouth.
  • His main piece of substantive advice is to shout "Discipline!" and to tell her to keep her hands up. (Thanks, coach!)
  • Whenever Ronda is in serious trouble, Edmond says absolutely nothing. Nothing. When Ronda's stunned, he goes silent. When Holm takes Ronda down, he goes silent. In the last ~15 seconds of the fight, as Ronda's flailing around, then getting stunned, and then getting kicked in the head, it's just dead air. This is not a coach who has helpful things to say when the chips are down. Just brutal.
  • When Ronda's regaining minimal consciousness, she's very resistant. Herb Dean asks Edmond to talk to Ronda to try to help her settle. Herb specifically says: "Talk to her. Be honest." I found the "be honest" part interesting.
  • Ronda, clearly dazed, has a very difficult time accepting what's going on. She insists that she's not been knocked out and that she's "fine." When she's instructed to sit on the stool, she declines because she'd like to "get back in there." It's really sad and hard to listen to.
More stuff here...
https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/3sz1ed/spoiler_a_few_interesting_things_overheard_from/
 
Interesting stuff from Reddit regarding what Ronda's corner were telling her...

If you purchased the PPV through UFC.tv (Fight Pass), I encourage you to go and re-watch the fight while listening to the audio feeds from both corners. I've done it a handful of times today and I'm hearing new things each time. Here are a few interesting tidbits:
  • Edmond's advice during the fight is completely braindead. He's constantly praising her and telling her that she's doing well, regardless of how many time Holm smashes that straight left into Rousey's mouth.
  • His main piece of substantive advice is to shout "Discipline!" and to tell her to keep her hands up. (Thanks, coach!)
  • Whenever Ronda is in serious trouble, Edmond says absolutely nothing. Nothing. When Ronda's stunned, he goes silent. When Holm takes Ronda down, he goes silent. In the last ~15 seconds of the fight, as Ronda's flailing around, then getting stunned, and then getting kicked in the head, it's just dead air. This is not a coach who has helpful things to say when the chips are down. Just brutal.
  • When Ronda's regaining minimal consciousness, she's very resistant. Herb Dean asks Edmond to talk to Ronda to try to help her settle. Herb specifically says: "Talk to her. Be honest." I found the "be honest" part interesting.
  • Ronda, clearly dazed, has a very difficult time accepting what's going on. She insists that she's not been knocked out and that she's "fine." When she's instructed to sit on the stool, she declines because she'd like to "get back in there." It's really sad and hard to listen to.
More stuff here...
https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/3sz1ed/spoiler_a_few_interesting_things_overheard_from/

You can hear that last bit in this vid. Seeing it does make me feel strangely sorry for her as much as she may have needed some humble pie. "No, I wanna get back in there" clearly way out of it.

 
He told her she was doing 'beautiful work' after the 1st round....lolol

I know the corner man has to be up beat but - WTF. Not to mention, did she train to get hit in the face? It was like the notion of 'bobbing and weaving' was completely foreign to her.

She kept rushing forward - getting tagged.....coming forward...getting tagged.
 
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Great analysis of Holm's defending Ronda's take down attempts


This just reinforces my view that Rousey's trainer wasn't that far off the mark with his comments. She was doing all the right things in terms of getting Holm where she wanted in the clinch and going for an arm bar, but Holm managed to get out of it. Rousey could've made quick work of her had her elbow not been in the right place. Simply put Holm fought masterfully and deserves all the credit.
 
What evidence do you have to support that Connor is anything but an entertaining trash talker and UFC hype?

Aldo has fought the best in the division multiple times, been tried, tested and come out the other side time and time again. He has shown he is better than Connor EVERYWHERE by his actions, in actually fighting top class fighters.

Connor has potentially one advantage, power.

Connor was also hilariously exposed by Mendes, a guy with a 7-9 day training camp, who practically gassed walking to the octagon took Connor down at will. The only thing that kept Connor in that fight was Chad going for submissions and losing position, and being exhausted a minute and a half into the fight.

So what evidence do I have to support it? What a pompous question. Jose Aldo has reigned in one of the most talent heavy divisions for a DECADE, and he has DOMINATED for a decade. The burden of proof isn't on me. It's on you. Aldo is the establishment. He is the known, tested, and true commodity. Connor is mostly hype right now. His only important fight to date has a huge * beside it.

*Took fight on one week notice and gassed walking to octagon.

Jose is faster.
Jose is more explosive.
Jose is more athletic.
Jose has better striking defense.
Jose has better kicks.
Jose has better wrestling.
Jose has better JJ.
Connor might have better power.
Connor is more cocky.
Connor has more UFC hype support.

Chad Mendes with a full camp, respects Connors power, but the fight is standing for all of about 30 seconds per round. Connor has no wrestling and he has no ground game. He's an even more one dimensional version of Chuck Liddell.

I see any number of ways for Jose to win this fight. I only see one way for Connor to win, father time.

Wow you've really got your tounge wedged in Aldo's arse.

Conor wasn't exposed at all by Chad. Going against the best wrestler in the division, he was always going to get taken down. His plan from there was to ride the storm, get the fight stood up where his strengths can be utilised. He got it back to feet, attacked the body, which in turn aided Chad gassing out. Then his immense striking advantage can be used to finish it. Conor had his game plan and executed it, whilst also showing the toughness to withstand the barrage coming his way while he was taken down.

This fight with Aldo is 50/50, Aldo might be quicker but Conor is an expert at judging body movement and striking accurately with the counter. The stance Conor uses will give Aldo a big target though for the leg kick and he has one of the meanest leg kicks I've seen. This all rests on how Conor gets in his head, i can see Aldo buckling to the pressure and Conor taking advantage. If he doesn't then it will be a very even fight.

I'm betting McGregor KO in the 3rd/4th
 
Just watched the fight again, I swear Ronda's attempt at the arm-bar seemed so half arsed and pathetic. Of course, HH's defence probably had something to do with it but you would think an olympic judo practitioner would be able to do a bit more damage in the clinch and off the ground.

Also, went back and watched HH's previous fights in the UFC and she looked distinctly average. Probably held back to trick Dana White that Ronda clit-sucker into giving her a match then turned into super saiyan mode. I could even vouch that her hair turned more and more blonde as her fight with Ronda progressed.