Full Court Press

Roman, the way I saw it, and feel free to respond, but it looked like Cro Cop was overmatched against Gonzaga. Cro Cop looked like he was scared to mix it up at first and when he went to throw his left kick it landed but Gonzaga was smart enough to catch it and take him down and pound the hell out of him. Once it got back up on the feet, Cro Cop was out of it, then the kick came and it was all over.

As far as Arlovski goes, I agree. He really sucked out there and was just fighting not to lose.

With Gonzaga and Matt Serra winning within the last two weeks, there's no such thing as having ZERO chance anymore

Roman responds: So much for PRIDE guys being too good for UFC fighters. Cro Cop did look overwhelmed.
The biggest thing I took from the night was being disappoitned in Andrei. I like Andrei, and I thought in the first round he looked good. But after establishing superiority, he should have gone in for the knockout. Joe Rogan said exactly what I was thinking, and that's Dana White would rather see some lose spectacularly than win unimpressively. I've talked to Dana enough times to know he wasn't happy. He hears the boos. The thing is, Andrei can be a spectacular fighter. He just hasnt' been lately, and it might cost him a title shot. Now he might have to face Cro Cop with the winner getting the Coutoure-Gonzaga winner.

This had been the fourth straight MMA event with a prolific upset of an unbeatable opponent (Randy Coutore in the last UFC, Matt Serra's amazing KO of GSP, and Dan Henderson knocking out the once-unbeatable V. Silva in Pride to hold a belt in 2 different weight classes).

This is why MMA is the most exciting sport on the planet. You literally never know who is going to win (in each of the afore mentioned upsets, the supposed "superior striker" was decimated in the stand-up action). The better striker is often out struck because of so much else to worry about, and the guys with grappling backgrounds are really catching up with their hands and feet. I believe we'll keep seeing these huge "upsets" for some time to come.

With last night being the first time in history the full production of a UFC pay-per-view event was behind a cable-network broadcast (a first for any MMA event in the US), I must say I as disappointed as anyone with the fight selection.

With Michael Bisping, one of the up and comers at 205 lbs, on his home turf in Manchester, England, he was given an opponent with a losing record to basically walk through (I guess the UFC brass didn't want to risk having a bunch of angry Brits on their hands).
Also, there were 3 heavyweight fights broadcast. Given one was Cro Cop, the HW division is always the most lackluster in the UFC. The cable viewing audience would have been well served to see the speed and skill of a couple 155lbers or 170lbers going at it.

All in all, I believe the UFC missed a great opportunity to reach new fans with a poorly thought out and put together card.

Roman responds:The Bisping fight was ugly. And I'm really starting to agree with a former poster who said elbows on the ground are unnecessary sources of bloodshed. I was watching with my girlfriend, and she couldn't watch anymore. It was ugly.
But I'm going to have to disagree that Coutore beat an unbeatable opponent. Sylvia does not impress me.

to arlovski's credit, he displayed greats takedown defense, and kept his head not to rush in blindly ala his fight with sylvia , which would have been a hugh mistake with werdum on the ground.
yeah, it's obvious dana is gonna have a chit cat with aa to warn him to pick up the pace.
but c'mon , can dana really expect every fight of very event to be a philibuster of haymakers? i guess it's ratings to him and if it's boring money's lost and he'll have to give back his ferrari. it's a business.
crocop is a great fighter, but if he thinks he's the only one trained in head kicks, i think he got the message last night.

Ok heres the deal...Cro Cop was by no means overmatched. You have to realize he took a direct kick to the side of his head (reminiscent of Matt Hughes/ St. Pierre 2 if you recall that one)by a 6'3 in 240 lbs guy who is trained to do exactly that. Now as an avid UFC, Pride and boxing fan...it was the hardest shot I've ever seen anyone take. The fact that he walked out of the ring on his own two feet is a testament to the man's elite position in the MMA world. He is a man not a robot. There is no man in the UFC or Pride that would have taken that shot and not been knocked cold, so lets not jump the gun.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogera is the only UFC Fighter whose resume is comparable to Cro Cop's. Cro Cop is a slow starter. He prefers to counter. Gonzaga did what he had to do to win. No fighter wins every fight and anyone can be knocked out. Ask Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre. And in case you didn't know this the man that Arlovski fought last night had actually beated the guy that knocked out Cro Cop. So just cut him some slack everyone has a bad night. And Arlovski's performance was very sad. Im not even sure he beat that guy, even with as little as that guy did.

Ok heres the deal...Cro Cop was by no means overmatched. You have to realize he took a direct kick to the side of his head (reminiscent of Matt Hughes/ St. Pierre 2 if you recall that one)by a 6'3 in 240 lbs guy who is trained to do exactly that. Now as an avid UFC, Pride and boxing fan...it was the hardest shot I've ever seen anyone take. The fact that he walked out of the ring on his own two feet is a testament to the man's elite position in the MMA world. He is a man not a robot. There is no man in the UFC or Pride that would have taken that shot and not been knocked cold, so lets not jump the gun.

In fact I really thought Cro Cop's neck had been broken when I saw the replay.

I think the above poster means unbeatable in the sense of everyone favoring Tim in that fight with no feasible way for a 43 year old man to beat him.

The Gonzaga-Cro Cop bout was an excellent showing for Napao as he seemed extremely well versed in the tactics of his opponent and had a counter strategy for all the trump cards of Cro Cop. I know this was only one fight with a top ranked opponent but more than anything I see this as the startup of someone special right here. Also it goes to show how hype can hurt an opponent. It seemed to me that Cro Cop did not think his opponent could beat him, whether it was the interviews where he seemed apathetic about this match or how he didn't want to touch gloves like Napao was beneath him just seemed like he bought into is invincibility and paid for it.

Arlovski was smart not to get baited to the mat. Not the most exciting fight but be played it very smart. Being champ takes more then balls..

When does that hottie Gina Carano fight???

Roman responds:Embarrassingly, I'm not familiar with her, so I had to Google. I'll look into ti.

most MMA fighters have fought in many different organizations, so before everyone gets on the UFC is better than Pride bandwagon realize that the rules will effect the outcome. there are 2 major differences between Pride and the UFC; the cage and the use of elbows on the ground. both of these elements favor a ground and pound fighter. the cage allows fighters to use momentum to push the opponent back into the wall of the cage where as in the ring there is a danger of falling through the ropes. Matt Hughes is a good example of a fighter who uses the cage to "bull rush" his opponents. the use of elbows on the ground is a great technique to disrupt the "guard" position and damage your opponent. the problem is that elbows on the ground generally produce deep cuts which bleed tremendously instead of causing knockouts. once the fighters get more accurate with the elbows and start hitting the face instead of the top of the head it will not be long before you will see broken facial bones. Cro Cop suffers from a problem that plauges most fighters who develop one successful technique. he is over reliant on his incredible left kick. you would think that he would have developed better boxing and grappling skills by now. I will agree that MMA fighters have improved on striking in general but they still lack true boxing skills. a "top 10" proffessional boxer using 4 oz. gloves who could defend against a takedown would knock out many MMA fighters. Arlovski is a tremendous athlete and fighter who does not have a stong chin. he looks afraid of getting knocked out. the UFC should add the "yellow card" from Pride which is given to fighters who stall. it deducts 10% of your purse and gives the fighters incentive to keep the action going. the best part of the UFC on Spike was the commercials keep the pace and there was less "Joe Rogaine" and Dana White. signing Fedor Emelianenko will be the next challenge for the UFC. if he wins will that mean that Bodog fight is better than the UFC (lol)?

Quick comment on the elbows on the ground. While it does lead to cuts and looks "ugly" to some people, it's essential for MMA to thrive as a the best fighting sport in the world. Once a fighter takes his opponent to the ground, elbows become one of the most effective tools for him in inflicting damage. I think one of the reasons CroCop was caught off-guard with the head kick was that he was still recovering from a series of elbows to the head when Gonzaga was in his guard. Pride doesn't allow elbows and I think Crocop didn't realize how much damage they can do. Crocop never really tried to sweep or do anything when Gonzaga was on him. That's why elbows need to be allowed (I'd argue for knees to the head on the ground should be fair game too).

totally agree on the yellow card idea for UFC, but they should also be paying these fighters way more for the risks they're taking. 30% of PPV & Gate revenue should be distributed to the fighters according to their status on the fight card. Every fight could potentially be a fighter's last fight. If White and the UFC want to keep out bribes and big money gambling, they need to make sure that their fighters are fairly compensated. Besides, how many fights does a guy have in him? These guys have families to feed and they don't even make what I do. There's nothing I do that would generate several millions in PPV revenue...wait, let me think about that one.

With the the "unbeatable" post, I was definitely referring to Randy's chances going into the fight after coming out of retirement. I never thought Tim Sylvia could beat the top (former) Pride Heavyweights.

I do agree with Kang on the yellow cards, but with the recent UFC/Pride merger (thats really what happened), economics tells us these fighters are going see their pay decrease, even as the sport takes off. The fighters now have even less bargaining power than before. Outside of UFC/Pride, they'll basically have to fight overseas, or in much smaller shows stateside if they don't like the peanuts Zuffa (the UFC parent company) is paying them. That is of course unless they don't want to be an Anaconda, Silverback, Gremlin or whatever the heck some of those crazy IFL teams are named; for even cheaper peanuts and no name recognition (unless you're a washed old timer, then you get to "coach"). It'll probably get to the point where the UFC could even charge some of the fighters to fight if they wanted too, given their enormous bargaining power and lack of true competition.

Gina Carrano fights out of Master Toddy's gym in Vegas. Her last "big" fight was the ProElite fight against Kedzie, which she won impressively. I don't know what you all are reading but "Cro Cop" Filipovic gave Gonzaga credit, he didn't take it as he could "walk all over him". Andrei is a very talented fighter, as of late though he has not been portraying any of that. Elvis (who Bisping fought) has been the "stepping stone" for countless HW contenders as they are up and coming in the UFC. He knows it, and he knows that he's 36 and he probably knew he'd lose. He's a good competitor it just never seems to go his way.
As previously stated that "knees to the head should be fair game too", that's a step back. The whole point of sanctions and rules is to make it so no fighters are SERIOUSLY injured. MMA has never had a death or serious injury; a claim that cannot be boasted in sports such as boxing and football. Though "Cro Cop" looked dead he was lucky because getting knocked out so quickly probably saved him, and his leg from getting mangled.
The Couture - Silvia debate is a given. He was 43 and giving up 13 years and 6" to his apponent. It wasn't luck, it was skill. I've never been impressed with Silvia and there is a reason he has the reputation he does.
MMA is growing among women as a favourite, though some still can't stomach when a fighter is injured or bleeding excessively. White sees it as, as long as they can rope in their Male 18-34 demographic the rest is a bonus.

Knees to the head could be become a reality. Dana White commented New Jersey may legalize knees on the ground... an NSAC would likely follow NJ's lead. He surprisingly said he's in favor of knees on the ground, but not soccer/head kicks. I would rather sees knees on the ground and do away with elbows.

It'll be a while before we see the likes of anyone like gina Carrano in the Octagon. Shotime signed her, and Dana said we won't be seeing women fight in the UFC anytime soon. IFC has Debi Purcell as a coach, but no women competitions. Shotime ProElite and BodogFight feature women fighters. If you're a fan of the female MMA check out the Hook'N'Shoot promotion in Evansville, IN. They frequently feature all women cards. Jeff Osbourne runs the show down there.

Andrei Arlovski's problems are mental. He's afraid of taking a punch, and that's why he fights the way he does now.

Here's what i want to know: Why didn't UFC show the Lyoto Machida fight? Lyoto is definitely a PPV worthy fighter. I was looking forward to seeing his fight.

Why isn't anyone talking about the local IMMAC fight from this weekend. Miguel Torres remains undefeated and signs with BodogFight.

Roman responds: You start allowing knees to the head on the ground and you're going to have a fatality. And then watch the popularity diminish.

In case anyone's wondering, the IMMAC show is at UIC this Sat (I think in the evening). Hope you weren't planning on watching that little boxing match happening Sat night.

You gotta love UFC.Bet the underdog every match.Anything can happen in a fight.
All it takes is 1 knee to the face while your down to end everything as you know it.If I was in competition I wouldn't be able to imagine doing that to someone.

Roman responds: Don't bet the dog vs. Liddell.

Dana does not see women's MMA as something that will attract the fan base that the men do (see WNBA). It's an understandable concept, and he's probably right. Though the Carrano / Kedzie was a good match no promoter would make it a headlining fight (unless it was an all girls card). Debi Purcell has been involved in MMA for 20-some years and is the assistant coach to Marco Ruas' IFL Southern California Condors. She is very well trained and (I'm positive) a great addition to this growing league. She is all for fighters' rights and making sure they are paid fairly. She's been a fighter for so long she knows how hard it is; especially in smaller circuits. She also has a management company. The IFL has no plans of women fights in the future.
I agree with Roman that knees to the head would only lead to fatalities which would tarnish the still-growing image of MMA. Look at the Pro-elite - EliteXC fight between Renzo Grazie and Frank Shamrock. He took 3 knees to the head and they had to call the fight. I don't think anything good could come from allowing knees.

Any calls on the May 21st Liddell vs. Jackson fight? Jackson's the last person to KO Liddell and Chuck's looking to revenge that loss.

Roman responds: I don't know enough about Jackson, other than that's the only loss Chuck hasn't avenged. I'm looking forward to it.

Rampage beat Chuck on a TKO stoppage. It was a fight where Chuck got tired, Rampage got the takedown and proceeded to G'n'P Chuck into oblivion. It was repeated shots to the ribs that ended. Dana White was a guest commentator for that fight and kept on about how disappointed he was Chuck wasn't implementing the game plan(more leg kicks.)

But this is a different Rampage fighting than the one who whooped Chuck almost 4 years ago(damn i didn't realize it was so long ago!) Somewhere in the last 4 years Ramapage lost his "edge".
Rampage was hesitant to sign for the May fight because he wanted more time. Obviously Zuffa was able to "convince" him to fight Chuck in May.

Rampage is capable on the feet, but his strengths are slams and and G'N'P. He has freaky strength. But he isn't the wrestler Randy is, so if he does get the takedown will he be able to hold a fresh Chuck down.

I have to disagree about knees on the ground. Look at Pride the past 5 years when they allowed it. I'm OK with no stomps/soccer kicks. Elbows to the temple, punches to back of the head(happens a lot, just doesn't get called) passing out from blood chokes are all much more dangerous than knees to head. Knees on ground opens up the game to more tactics and strategies.

Lidell KO rd 2. If it goes past 3rd Rd Rampage by JD.

Cro cop should of won the guy he fought go luck with a kick and now his foot is broke cro cop should of knocked his ass out

Roman responds: You start allowing knees to the head on the ground and you're going to have a fatality. And then watch the popularity diminish.

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You obviously underestimate the human drive for violence.

Roman responds: Perhaps, but the UFC is trying to capture more than that blood-thirsty segment. It's a fine line. They want blood but they always boast that there has not been a major injury in their sport.