Just got back from Strikeforce

[j_garcia]

Fedor vs Werdum.

Spoiler

SOOOO Shocked. For all his experience, I was stunned that Fedor got caught like that. And he KNEW it. You could see it being set up. He thought Werdum was hurt, but he was wrong and he paid the price at just 1:09 (note: this is only his second loss in his whole career). All of the fights were finished or stopped, so it was a short night, but it was also a fun one.

It is on SHO right now...

Cyborg is a beast. She demolished this chick, pretty much as expected. Local favorites Josh Thompson and Cung Le also did very well.

Frank Shamrock announced his retirement at the fight as well. Wow. Haven't seen him fight in a while though, so not too surprising.

The biggest moment for me though was getting a pic of me with Mike Ricci

 

[alphaiii]

I bet that was an awesome experience. I had to settle for watching it TV.

Shame to see Fedor lose... I was really surprised how he wrecklessly dove into Werdum's guard.

Maybe he overestimated the damage of those early strikes....or maybe he figured that, with all the time he spent demolishing Nogueira (who has beaten Werdum, and some would argue has/had better BJJ) while in Nogueira's guard in their 3 fights in Pride, that he didn't need to worry about BJJ.

The guy has repeatedly beaten people even where they are most skilled/comfortable, so maybe Fedor was just a little too confident this time.

He definitely recognized the mistake he made, so I hope he returns more motivated/prepared in his next fight. The bad thing is that there really isn't a good matchup for him in Strikeforce now, since Overeem will likely fight Werdum. I suppose Antonio Silva would be the most likely candidate.


And you're right - Cyborg is a beast. Won't it be interesting to see her fight someone that can actually compete with her - would make for a very entertaining fight.

 

[Matt34]

Just watched it on youtube, pretty incredible upset.

 

[lsiberian]

reminds me of Tyson vs Buster Douglas.

But remember the mark of a great fighter is how he comes back from a defeat. Only one great fighter I know of was undefeated(Rocky Marciano) and he came very close to losing. He needs to go to UFC and fight Lesnar.

 

[darien87]

Cyborg is a beast. She demolished this chick, pretty much as expected. Local favorites Josh Thompson and Cung Le also did very well.

Screw Cyborg!!!! She beat up my girl Gina.

I still think Cyborg's a dude.

 

[alphaiii]

The worst part about the idea of Fedor fighting Lesnar is that I think Lesnar has a good shot of winning.

Fedor is a much more skilled, well rounded mixed martial artist... but I still see Lesnar using his ridiculous size/strength advantage along with wrestling to bully Fedor on the mat, and get a stoppage.

I just think Lesnar is a bad matchup for Fedor. He's much bigger and stronger, very athletic, and his strength is his takedowns and top control. Fedor has good balance and throws, but I don't think he has the takedown defense to stop Lesnar from getting him to the mat.

While Fedor is usually comfortable on his back, and has one slick armbar, I think he'd have trouble with someone like Brock on top of him. I know Fedor survived HMC in top position, and got the armbar....but Lesnar is a different beast than HMC. He has great top control and alot of strength to go along with the size.


All that said, I absolutely cannot stand Lesnar, and would hate to see the Lesnar fans (or Dana White for that matter) get the satisfaction of him beating Fedor.

I'm hoping Carwin leaves Brock unconscious on the mat this weekend.

 

[j_garcia]

Fedor was very humble after, so I don't think it really phased him. I liked the comment that he made (through interpreter) "He who doesn't fall, doesn't stand up.". That's a lot of class. He was perfectly calm after, just like before the fight, and that is impressive. I recorded it and rewatched it and Fedor definitely though he had hurt Werdum and went in for the kill and though it was a little bit of luck, Werdum was able to keep his head and threw up the submissions. I don't think Fedor thought he was trying to submit him, but at the same time, after the first attempt, he should have backed off. Werdum said one of the reasons why he was able to get him is because it was so early in the fight and they weren't sweaty, so it worked to his advantage.

Fedor only has one more fight in his contract, so it will be interesting to see who he fights and what happens after.

I can't wait to see the Lesner Carwin fight. As long as it stays up, I think Carwin will win. We haven't really seen Carwin on the ground, so not sure how that might go, but Lesner is still bigger than Carwin and if he gets on top...it will be the same thing over again.

 

[alphaiii]

I still think Cyborg's a dude.

Haha it's tough to argue that.

 

[alphaiii]

Fedor only has one more fight in his contract, so it will be interesting to see who he fights and what happens after.

I just hope M1 doesn't try to get into a contract renegotiating pissing match again, and lets Fedor finish out the contract without issue.

Although, given the loss, M1 has probably lost some of its bargaining power.

Either way, I just want to see Fedor fight instead of being in one contract dispute after another while he quietly slips past his prime (which one could argue he is really already past, from an age perspective).

It's a shame that all of the negotiations/renegotiations have led to him fighting only 5 times since Pride was dissolved years ago.

 

[alphaiii]

As a side note, it's refreshing to discuss MMA here, even if there aren't a ton of fans on the forum.

I used to post on the Sherdog forums several years back, but that place is a zoo anymore. I still read the forums occasionally, but most often just wish I hadn't wasted my time.

 

[lsiberian]

The worst part about the idea of Fedor fighting Lesnar is that I think Lesnar has a good shot of winning.

Fedor is a much more skilled, well rounded mixed martial artist... but I still see Lesnar using his ridiculous size/strength advantage along with wrestling to bully Fedor on the mat, and get a stoppage.

I just think Lesnar is a bad matchup for Fedor. He's much bigger and stronger, very athletic, and his strength is his takedowns and top control. Fedor has good balance and throws, but I don't think he has the takedown defense to stop Lesnar from getting him to the mat.

While Fedor is usually comfortable on his back, and has one slick armbar, I think he'd have trouble with someone like Brock on top of him. I know Fedor survived HMC in top position, and got the armbar....but Lesnar is a different beast than HMC. He has great top control and alot of strength to go along with the size.


All that said, I absolutely cannot stand Lesnar, and would hate to see the Lesnar fans (or Dana White for that matter) get the satisfaction of him beating Fedor.

I'm hoping Carwin leaves Brock unconscious on the mat this weekend.

I like Lesnar and he is the best thing to happen to the UFC name wise. You bring in all the WWE fans and that's a lot of cash for the sport. Him vs Fedor would be the biggest fight in UFC history money wise, IMO.

I don't know if Brock recovered from his health issue though. He should beat Carwin, but Fedor should have demolished too. I'll confess before Brock showed up I'd never even watched UFC. I really want to see Mayweather fight in MMA, but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

[j_garcia]

It does suck to have him not fighing that much, but he didn't look like a fighter who hasn't been fighting in a while. He was as quick as ever, he just got caught. Sooner or later, everyone does. Even with the loss, I can't think of anyone who has a record like that, now: 31-2-1. Amazing.

Brock is the worst thing that has happened to UFC in years. He is a moron. He is very fast for his size and there's no doubt he is an athlete, but if he didn't have the size, he would just be another fighter because his skills are just average.

 

[Shock]

I don't see the appeal of watching two females beat each other senseless. It isn't entertaining to me in the least bit.

Although I would rather watch boxing than MMA anyways.

 

[j_garcia]

I'd rather watch MMA than boxing I don't really dig watching the chicks fight, especially since in Strikeforce it is pretty much one sided when it comes to Cyborg. She could easily take out some of the guys who were fighting that night.

 

[alphaiii]

It does suck to have him not fighing that much, but he didn't look like a fighter who hasn't been fighting in a while. He was as quick as ever, he just got caught. Sooner or later, everyone does. Even with the loss, I can't think of anyone who has a record like that, now: 31-2-1. Amazing.

I agree - just saying I would've enjoyed a few more fights from him in the past few years.

Brock is the worst thing that has happened to UFC in years. He is a moron. He is very fast for his size and there's no doubt he is an athlete, but if he didn't have the size, he would just be another fighter because his skills are just average.

I couldn't agree more. He's doesn't excel technically in any area really. You could argue he has great wrestling, but take away the size and athleticism and where does his level of wrestling ability stand.

IMO, Lesnar is really a superheavyweight. Every other weight class covers a 15-20lb range except heavyweight, where you can be 207 or 266.

There was something very uneven about 225lb hw champ Randy Couture defending his belt against a 265lb (on weigh in day, heavier at fight time) "heavyweight" Lesnar.

That size, with his strength and athleticism makes him a tough fight for anyone.


As far as what he brought to the UFC... Yes he brought money and media...but he's also brought with him a brash WWE personality. And if you want a good depiction of the majority of the fanbase that he brought to MMA, just read the sherdog forums.

While it was great financially for the UFC, I don't see Lesnar as being great for the sport of MMA. He just further supports that idea that big, strong athletes can bully their way to wins. If he becomes a skilled, well rounded fighter to go along with it, then OK...not much I can say.

He has potential to do that...but right now he's just a freakishly athletic brute who is physically dominating smaller, but more technically skilled fighters.

It seems though that the trend to big heavyweights is here to stay, so I'm hoping to see someone more skilled than Lesnar take the belt. I'm crossing my fingers that Carwin is the guy to do it, but I'm just not so sure about that.

If Lesnar does dominate Carwin, and then the next guy (guessing Cain Velasquez or Junior Dos Santos), then I guess I'll have to eat my words and respect what he's accomplishing. But for now, I'm just not sold on his MMA ability.

 

[alphaiii]

I don't see the appeal of watching two females beat each other senseless. It isn't entertaining to me in the least bit.

Although I would rather watch boxing than MMA anyways.

To each their own...

But this comment is the same that so many have made that just don't understand the sport of MMA. Maybe you just don't enjoy the sport and that's fine...it just reminds me of an all to familiar line of thinking.

While I prefer to see guys fight, I enjoy watching female fighters as well as long as they're skilled fighters.

Having trained some in boxing/muay thai and brazilian jui jitsu.... I guess I can appreciate the skills involved more than many people who just view it as "beating each other senseless".

 

[alphaiii]

Sherdog.com posted some fighter/coach/trainer reactions to Werdum's win Sat night. Not surprisingly, the Brazilians said they knew Werdum would win and it shows the power of BJJ...and no surprise Tito went on a rant about how Fedor wasn't the best (but who really cares what Tito says anyway). It was nice to see Florian give his honest take and not tow the Dana White/UFC line.

I really liked the following comments from Pat Miletich on Fedor:

Pat Miletich: "I watched in amazement as Fedor was submitted by Fabricio Werdum. My heart sank not for Fedor but for the reality of perfection that is not attainable in the sport of MMA. All experienced fighters know you’re going to lose if you’re fighting world-class opponents, but Fedor was different.

I remember when he came on the scene in the Rings organization. My fighters and I were competing there during the dark years of the UFC. Nobody even noticed Fedor at first, but that soon changed. He was wrecking name fighters standing up and on the ground. I found it puzzling how this guy, short and average looking, was able to beat guys like Ricardo Arona.

We all know what followed, as Fedor would go on to mow through great fighters in their prime in the Pride organization.

Today on all the forums, Twitter and Facebook, people are saying they knew he wasn't the best fighter in the world. Really? All I can say is, he wasn't (Saturday) night.

Fabricio Werdum was insistent in his interview that Fedor is the best in the world. I respect Fabricio for saying this. This shows true class from a true world-class fighter, and Werdum is a true fighter. What Fedor said was something only a man like he could say. Fedor said, "A man that does not fall, does not stand up.”

I just wonder who out of all those who are so critical of this man will stand in front of him when he stands back up?"

 

[lsiberian]

It does suck to have him not fighing that much, but he didn't look like a fighter who hasn't been fighting in a while. He was as quick as ever, he just got caught. Sooner or later, everyone does. Even with the loss, I can't think of anyone who has a record like that, now: 31-2-1. Amazing.

Brock is the worst thing that has happened to UFC in years. He is a moron. He is very fast for his size and there's no doubt he is an athlete, but if he didn't have the size, he would just be another fighter because his skills are just average.

I won't disagree that he's a moron. He left millions to try football. He's not fought enough IMO to even make an assessment on. They should have trained him for a couple years before bringing him out IMO. Still to even compete in MMA you have to bring something to the table. Money is what this sport needs to grow and it will grow. Dana has done a good job IMO. Even if he's a loose cannon.

 

[AzN_plyR]

Sigh no fedor vs overeem, I wish he was not so reckless in Werdum's guard.

Can't wait for this weekend either, not a huge fan of Lesnar or Carwin, but this fight shouldn't last long. Leben vs Aikyama should be fun. Definitely looking forward to George Sotiropoulos after he totally outclassed Stevenson though.

 

[cpk]

I hope Carwin can beat Lesnar. Depends on how he defends against the bum rush. Lesnar does not bring much to the mat with his technical skills, however he's still winning. This is what makes mma evolve though. First it was bjj being beat by muay tai. Then muay tai being beaten by grappling. Now it is mostly a ground and pound game. I really don't care much for the ground and pound, but it will evolve into something more technical. This is why I prefer K1 the most with their tournaments.

Joe