The MMA/Boxing Thread

[Akmuq]

Make a new "weight" class. Let people get all cracked out or doped up or whatever on whatever drug they want and put on a show.

I've always kinda wanted to see this alongside the Olympics, some sort of super Olympics where all the competitors are taking every steroid going and are jacked as hell.

I guess Russia had the same vision...

 

[NW48]

Well Ladies and Gents, it's the final fight week of 2016 and we are ending with a bang. Ronda Rosuey makes her long awaited comeback to try and win back the title she lost in November of last year. We haven't seen much of Rousey since then, but she is looking ripped. Will the extra muscle be her downfall (reduced cardio) or will it help her in going up against a dangerous striker in Amanda Nunes? Rousey won't be doing media at all this week, and has already started fight week by pre-signing posters in her own isolated room as part of this bizarre deal Dana White has agreed to.

In the Co-Main, we have Cody Garbrandt challenging Dominick Cruz for the Bantamweight title in what is sure to be a grudge match. Garbrandt is a proven KO artist and is undefeated, but doesn't have too many notable wins to his record, whilst Cruz is the undistuputed king of the Bantamweight division, only eating one loss in his pro career. This is the fight I'm most looking forward to.

Cain Velasquez has been pulled from his fight against Fabricio Werdum as he has failed to gain medical clearance by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after admitting in an interview he cannot stand for more than 10 minutes without feeling pain in his back. Werdum is still on the card but does not have an opponent yet after he turned down Junior Dos Santos as a replacement. Werdum has however demanded he get a fight with Stipe Miocic for the title at 207, claiming he deserves it. Which is bizzare considering his last win was a soft decision victory over Travis Browne, who is not a championship contender. This is probably a time where the UFC probably wished to have a Lesnar or someone of that reputation on standby. Unfortunately though, just confirmed a couple hours ago, the fight has been completely scrapped in favour of a welterweight showdown between Don Hyun Kim and Tarec Saffiedine.

TJ Dillashaw is also on the card, fighting John "Hands of Stone" Lineker in what should be a pretty good fight, and should determine the next challenger to the Bantamweight crown, despite the UFC not wanting to commit to giving the title shot to either fighter.

And to round the card off, Ray Borg takes on Louis Smolka in a fight where both men are looking to make a statement in the flyweight division. Smolka is coming off a disappointing loss to Brandon Moreno and would like to return to the win column with a win over Borg, who is also looking to bounce back from a loss in his last outing.

 

[Eva]

Well Ladies and Gents, it's the final fight week of 2016 and we are ending with a bang. Ronda Rosuey makes her long awaited comeback to try and win back the title she lost in November of last year. We haven't seen much of Rousey since then, but she is looking ripped. Will the extra muscle be her downfall (reduced cardio) or will it help her in going up against a dangerous striker in Amanda Nunes? Rousey won't be doing media at all this week, and has already started fight week by pre-signing posters in her own isolated room as part of this bizarre deal Dana White has agreed to.

In the Co-Main, we have Cody Garbrandt challenging Dominick Cruz for the Bantamweight title in what is sure to be a grudge match. Garbrandt is a proven KO artist and is undefeated, but doesn't have too many notable wins to his record, whilst Cruz is the undistuputed king of the Bantamweight division, only eating one loss in his pro career. This is the fight I'm most looking forward to.

Cain Velasquez has been pulled from his fight against Fabricio Werdum as he has failed to gain medical clearance by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after admitting in an interview he cannot stand for more than 10 minutes without feeling pain in his back. Werdum is still on the card but does not have an opponent yet after he turned down Junior Dos Santos as a replacement. Werdum has however demanded he get a fight with Stipe Miocic for the title at 207, claiming he deserves it. Which is bizzare considering his last win was a soft decision victory over Travis Browne, who is not a championship contender. This is probably a time where the UFC probably wished to have a Lesnar or someone of that reputation on standby. Unfortunately though, just confirmed a couple hours ago, the fight has been completely scrapped in favour of a welterweight showdown between Don Hyun Kim and Tarec Saffiedine.

TJ Dillashaw is also on the card, fighting John "Hands of Stone" Lineker in what should be a pretty good fight, and should determine the next challenger to the Bantamweight crown, despite the UFC not wanting to commit to giving the title shot to either fighter.

And to round the card off, Ray Borg takes on Louis Smolka in a fight where both men are looking to make a statement in the flyweight division. Smolka is coming off a disappointing loss to Brandon Moreno and would like to return to the win column with a win over Borg, who is also looking to bounce back from a loss in his last outing.

Had Werdum taken the Dos Santos fight and won, that would have been a straight shot for another title bout. He thinks he still has the power of a titleholder or a big draw without really being either, which is absolutely hilarious because I can't stand Werdum. 207 should be good, better than 206 arguably.

 

[NW48]

Had Werdum taken the Dos Santos fight and won, that would have been a straight shot for another title bout. He thinks he still has the power of a titleholder or a big draw without really being either, which is absolutely hilarious because I can't stand Werdum. 207 should be good, better than 206 arguably.

Yeah Werdum has proven himself to be an absolute clown, the running joke of the UFC, in my eyes. And I agree, had he taken and won the JDS fight, he'd be the next in line for a title shot. Instead, it's looking like it'll be Hunt if he wins against Overeem or the winner of Struve v JDS, which I hope Struve wins as he is one of my favourites.

 

[Eva]

Yeah Werdum has proven himself to be an absolute clown, the running joke of the UFC, in my eyes. And I agree, had he taken and won the JDS fight, he'd be the next in line for a title shot. Instead, it's looking like it'll be Hunt if he wins against Overeem or the winner of Struve v JDS, which I hope Struve wins as he is one of my favourites.

Hunt vs. Miocic sounds like a fight I want to watch. Both are going to punch really damn hard.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Hunt vs. Miocic sounds like a fight I want to watch. Both are going to punch really damn hard.

Hunt is facing Overeem at 209. Basically 2 mins of them circling each other followed by 13 mins of gassed hugging against the fence. The HW division's depth is paper thin, I don't rate Miocic either, he's won fights, but against erratic and glass chinned opponents way past their prime (Arlovski, Werdum).

I hope Cruz annihilates Garbrandt, and think he will

Rousey/ Nunez, not sure who I am going for. Probably Nunez. She looked mega against Tate. Funny how Rousey can avoid pressers, but when Conor did it, he got hauled off the card.

 

[Eva]

Hunt is facing Overeem at 209. Basically 2 mins of them circling each other followed by 13 mins of gassed hugging against the fence. The HW division's depth is paper thin, I don't rate Miocic either, he's won fights, but against erratic and glass chinned opponents way past their prime (Arlovski, Werdum).

I hope Cruz annihilates Garbrandt, and think he will

Rousey/ Nunez, not sure who I am going for. Probably Nunez. She looked mega against Tate. Funny how Rousey can avoid pressers, but when Conor did it, he got hauled off the card.

I'm hoping Nunes mops the floor, but I'm expecting Rousey to do what she usually did. No idea really. Nunes is taller and has a reach advantage.

 

[NW48]

Funny how Rousey can avoid pressers, but when Conor did it, he got hauled off the card

That's the thing I'm most surprised about considering how far Dana is up McGregor's arse.

 

[NW48]

Bit late but better late than never, here's my predictions for the main card:

Fight #1 - Flyweight - Louis Smolka v Ray Borg
Prediction: Smolka by decision

Fight #2 - Welterweight - Dong Hyun Kim v Tarec Saffiedine
Prediction: Kim by decision

Fight #3 - Bantamweight - TJ Dillashaw v John Lineker
Prediction: Dillashaw by decision

Fight #4 - Bantamweight Title - Dominick Cruz (c) v Cody Garbrandt
Prediction: Garbrandt by KO in the third

Fight #5 - Women's Bantamweight Title - Amanda Nunes (c) v Ronda Rousey
Prediction: Nunes by KO in the second

The main event I was entirely sure that Nunes would dominate Rousey, but just this week, I've flip-flopped between them at least 5 times. I've decided on Nunes, but I wouldn't be surprised if Rousey can edge out a win by submission in the opening rounds if Nunes is caught in the clinch when she's gassing.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Holy smokes, it's on today, not tomorrow (AEST) like I thought . thanks for the reminder NW48

I don't have too care factor about any of the bouts other than the co-mains.

I reckon Cruz will gets a points decision over Garbrandt easily, his movement is just too good....given what a revolving door the Woman's title has been, I'm going with Rousey 👍

 

[Terronium-12]

Well...

Spoiler

No one stays on top forever, and I think it's safe to say that Ronda has peaked. Either her heart just isn't in it anymore, the competition is way better than it was before, or a combination of the two.

 

[GTFan24]

HOLY. ******ING. ****.

That's all i have to say

 

[Mr P]

Well that was a crazy event 👍 The co-main was excellent.. There should be a chin of the year award and the co-main would have a contender and a worst chin of the year award would find a candidate in the main event hahaha

Good night overall 👍

 

[NW48]

Co-Main is my personal fight of the year. I've never been so invested in a fight before. So glad Garbrandt won it. Definitely deserving. So glad to see one of my favourites win the big one.

Rousey, well, she's done. We'll never see her again after that. Probably not even in the WWE. She's mentally destroyed and honestly, I'm worried for her mental state. I really am.

 

[Andrew R]

Garbrandt was exceptional. He made such a good fighter look so far out of his league it was crazy. I don't like the show boating instead of finished it but it really put an exclamation mark on the win. I was surprised how close the judges called it.

The Rousey fight didn't really surprise me but it was spectacular to watch. I don't think you'll see Rousey outside of an Ellen interview and gossip mags when she starts pumping out kids.

 

[Mike Rotch]

I was really surprised Garbrandt was so dominant, but he was, so props. TJ was crazy dominant in his fight as well, I really hope he gets the shot over Cruz. Cruz looked pretty bad going forward vs being the counter striker as he was vs Faber.

Nunes was devastating. Rousey looked done mentally but credit for trying to hang in there. She is done for sure though, a devastating fall from grace. Shoulda had a warm up fight or two first....

 

[Andrew R]

She is done for sure though, a devastating fall from grace. Shoulda had a warm up fight or two first....

Too right. She needed to come in and face a few contenders around top 5 before going straight to Nunes, if not just for her own sake.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Apparently rousey got $3m and Nunes 200k for fight purses...

 

[Andrew R]

Nunes can't be ignored anymore. I didn't see a single mention of Nunes in the build up besides Rogan which is just disrespectful for a champ. I thought they would have at least marketed the openly gay angle but they didn't even bother with that.

 

[NW48]

Yeah Garbrandt had me on the edge of my seat whenever he started to showboat and trash talk during that fight. I could just see that being his downfall, but if anything, it helped him win it. I was very surprised by his performance despite being well and truly in his corner.

 

[NW48]

Nunes can't be ignored anymore. I didn't see a single mention of Nunes in the build up besides Rogan which is just disrespectful for a champ. I thought they would have at least marketed the openly gay angle but they didn't even bother with that.

Apologies for the double post but Dana said the reason why she wasn't promoted was that no one knows who she is. However everyone knows who Ronda Rousey is. It is true though, if you walked up to anyone in the street and said "Amanda Nunes", there wouldn't be too many people who knew who she was. But now, after that demolition of Rousey, everyone will know who she is.

 

[prousonhairy]

I don't know, I think it's pretty cool she lost. I never did care for RR. That and I absolutely can't stand Dana White, he's too much of an attention whore, and talks too much. It's cool to see his cash cow fall from grace.

 

[NW48]

Ronda Rousey memes are my new favourite thing.

 

[NW48]

So the UFC has announced the first new commentator in the wake of Mike Goldberg leaving and it is ex-WWE commentator, Todd Grisham. Unsure how to feel about it, but he isn't the person who will replace Goldberg, that replacement is TBD.

 

[Mike Rotch]

So the UFC has announced the first new commentator in the wake of Mike Goldberg leaving and it is ex-WWE commentator, Todd Grisham.

Oh no, that's a miserable choice. Blurring the line between UFC and WWE yet further

 

[NW48]

Oh no, that's a miserable choice. Blurring the line between UFC and WWE yet further

Yep, I hate the movement but apparently these new owners (WME-IMG) are all about the entertainment aspect. Just hopefully they don't go down the route of fixing the match outcomes like the WWE, I mean, the new owners name certainly sounds like the WWE

Also, while I remember, how would we all feel about doing some sort of UFC Tipping Comp for select fight cards (like the PPV's and some Fight Night cards)? It's just an idea I've had and it'd certainly create a bit more interest in this thread.

 

[NW48]

Well, UFC 208 in the books, and The Spider got his first win since 2012, and Germaine de Randamie won the Women's Featherweight title. Pathetic. Very pathetic. How on Earth did De Randamie win that title with all those punches after the round finished?? Honestly, absolutely disgraceful. These judges should be ashamed of themselves.

Hope Cyborg destroys De Randamie when they fight later this year. As is, De Randamie is already ducking Cyborg by saying her hand is hurt.

 

[Mike Rotch]

I completely forgot about this one, I think because the card looked so pathetic.

 

[Eva]

Enjoyed Anderson Silva. I agree that the punches after the end of each round should have been penalized but I think it just makes it more enjoyable when Cyborg tears her a new ass for a face.

 

[NW48]

I completely forgot about this one, I think because the card looked so pathetic.

Yeah, only two fights interested me, Silva v Brunson (Middleweight is insane at the moment, and I am a massive Silva fan) and the Holm v De Randamie fight. Neither really delivered in all honesty though. You definitely didn't miss anything good.

Enjoyed Anderson Silva. I agree that the punches after the end of each round should have been penalized but I think it just makes it more enjoyable when Cyborg tears her a new ass for a face.

Yup, loved the passion of Silva when he won, the dude is a legend. Definitely was happy he got that win. And yes, I can't wait till Cyborg decimates De Randamie, if that fight actually happens because De Randamie is already trying to put it off.