UFC and MMA Thread

Did you happen to see the significant strikes landed stats from the 1st fight? Key word there is "significant". Sonnen completely and utterly dominated Silva in that respect, along with ground control. I'm sure the same stats would appear for the 1st round of the 2nd fight as well.

You are right, Sonnen does have a hard time finishing a high-level BJJ guy like Silva, and that was very evident in both fights. Even though he couldn't finish him, Sonnen was in a dominant position for 24 out of 25 minutes the 1st fight, and the vast majority of the 2nd fight, whereas Franklin was NEVER in a dominant position at all, in either fight. Sonnen would have very easily won the decision the 1st fight if he would have been able to hold off the submission, perhaps even scoring a few 10-8 rounds. If he would have stuck to a similar gameplan as the 1st fight, he would have again dominated the entire fight and won a decision if it went there.

Name me any other MW MMA fighter on the planet who could bring the fight to Silva the way he did, and have a very solid chance at winning against Silva?

If the UFC gave the fans the choice of what fight they would prefer to see, Silva/Franklin III, or Sonnen/Silva III, I would be surprised if Franklin got any votes at all. I would buy the PPV for a third fight against Sonnen, but I don't think I would buy it against Franklin.

Yes, Armen, your absolute hate of Sonnen is showing up loud and clear, and that is fine, you are entitled to choose your favorite fighters. But c'mon, you cannot say that Silva didn't get the challenge of his career against Sonnen, and could have very easily come out on the losing end.

 

I use to watch Sonnen even before Fihlo and He was just an AVERAGE fighter. I still think he is just an average fighter with a HUGE mouth. Average meaning: Ok stand up (at most) GREAT take downs. Poor BJJ. Great Wrestler (ground Control), Terrible finisher. Sloppy defense on ground and obviously stand up. Hey Franklin could have landed a BIG punch and finished it. But didn't. Silva did. (both fight). 1 mistake could change the whole fight. It's MMA there are many aspects of the sport and many ways to win. I agree Sonnen Dominated control but any other GREAT fighter if had the chance Sonnen did for 4.5 round would have finished ther opponent one way or another. Comm'on 4.5 rounds of GnP and couldn't even finish him. What does that tell you? You have to agree to that atleast. Sonnen is not much of a finisher. A controler but NOT a finisher. Hmmm, What makes you think I hate Sonnen? And yes I agree with you regarding the Sonnen III over the Franklin III.
Please take it ALL for fun! That's what makes this thread fun. Im not always right. Actually i'm barely ever right but in this situation, I really think the steriods did make a difference in this match up too.
Everybody has that one nemesis. Silva's is Chael 4 SURE!

 

One thing not mentioned is how much punishment Silva can take. It's never mentioned because we so rarely see him taking it. I think any other fighter in the MW division would have lost to Sonnen the 1st fight. Sonnen did land some good hard shots, and Silva didn't seem affected at all.

My prediction if we ever get to see Silva/Sonnen III - Chael takes it by flying scissor heel hook!

 

Speaking of such - the most impressive submission I have ever seen in MMA;

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyth7pxQLuI&feature=player_detailpage[/ame]

 

Don't forget Sonen's T/E ratio was 17:1 the first time he fought Silva (for reference Overeem's was 14:1 and he's referred to as Overoid).
It's not surprising Sonen controlled Silva the first fight: he was juicing.

The second fight, I agree with Armen, he couldn't do anything to Silva once on the ground.
I will put my name down that I can't stand Sonen- least liked fighter in MMA: a cheat, a felon f(or money laundering that wants to run for political office) , a racist. He's a good wrestler- what else is there to like about him?? His WWE schtick???

 

What do you guys think of Chris Weidman after his impressive win over Munoz? Is the guy deserving of a title shot, and would he have any chance against Silva?

His wrestling certainly looks to be strong enough to get Silva to the ground, and what he is able to do on the ground looks a lot more effective than what Sonnen was able to do. I think it would be an interesting matchup.

 

Just saw the Silva vs. Sonnen UFC... Tried to avoid this thread until I had watched it myself.

Don't want to give away spoilers for those who have not yet watched it, but wow, talk about reversing domination from first to second round! Awesome stuff, only other sport I watch besides motorsport...!

 

Tough Question. Youth and strength is on Weidman's side but A. Silva's stand up & Experience might be the difference. Weidman made Munoz look so bad. How good is Weidman's stand up???? That you'd have to factor in. A. Silva will disect it quickly. There is a HUGE difference between good stand up and GREAT stand up. HUGE!

 

For sure . I don't think he would have a shot standing up , Silva is light years ahead of everyone . Weidman would have to get him down quickly and go for a sub or g'n'p him .

 

A win over Munoz is impressive, but I don't think Weidman is ready for Silva.

 

Entertaining Strikeforce card on Showtime yesterday.

 

Silva would destroy rockhold but I guess we won't know until he moves over from sf.

 

Pretty decent card this past Saturday night.

I thought Barao was going to win, and he did so nicely. Very interesting matchup for when he will go against Cruz.....

I expected a lot more out of Lombard. All of the hype following him into this fight led me to believe he was going to destroy Boetch. Not the case at all. Boetch looked so much bigger than him, almost like 2 different weight classes.

How about that K.O. by Jimmo? Very impressive.

 

With so many events (UFC), and so many injuries, the cards sure do seem watered down to me lately....

 

Very impressive free card coming up this weekend. Been a while since I posted pick 'ems, but here goes;

UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera
Date: Aug 04, 2012
Location: Los Angeles, California
Venue: Staples Center
Broadcast: FOX and FUEL TV

MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Brandon Vera Vera? Really? I guess Shogun wanted to make sure he'd win this one.
Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader Machida has the tools to win this one, but it won't be a cakewalk.
Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner I am a big fan of Lauzon, but I think a motivated Varner is a very tough guy to beat.
Mike Swick vs. DaMarques Johnson This one could really go either way. Difficult to determine how Swick's long layoff will affect him.

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV, 5 p.m. ET)

Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan I am a big fan of Cole's, but Phan has proven to be quite a warrior. Cole would have to get him in a submission early, otherwise Phan will win it.
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado I am a fan of Davis'......the guy represents himself very well. I don't really know anything about Prado.
Josh Grispi vs. Rani Yahya
Phil De Fries vs. Oli Thompson
Manny Gamburyan vs. Michihiro Omigawa This pick is for Armen.....
Ulysses Gomez vs. John Moraga

 

Card looks good compared to the last few ppvs. They've been horrible except for 148.

I pretty much agree with your picks except I think cole miller will win over nam. Also, while varner did look impressive on his last win, joe got's this one covered.

 

Shogun and dragon look good. Last two too close to call I take Varner and Johnson.

 

Looking forward to the event. I'll be there! Go Shogun! Dan, Thank you for the props. I know you got my back. GO RED, BLUE, ORANGE!!!!! I agree with you on all except I Too think Miller will beat Nam. I think the Varner vs Louzon fight will be a great fight. Either way for me on that one.

 

Armen, awesome card to go to!!!

I agree with all of Dan's picks. I'm a little on the fence with Swick as it's been such a long layoff and he's changed a lot, but I think he will get the W.
I also think Pham will get the win.

The rub is, I think whoever wins the title shot won't have a chance against Jones (I think he'll beat hendo).

 

I'm gonna change one- I think Bader will take it....

 

Dragon was impressive. Shogun showed great heart, that was an amazing fight. Vera gave him all he could handle elbows body kicks knees.

 

Rua vs. Vera was a great fight. I like both fighters but wanted Vera to take it.

 

just got back from the event. Probably one of the best card ever. EVERY fight was amazing.

 

That really was a good card, the best they've had in a long time. Congrats to the Dagon and Shogun, both put in incredible performances. Vera should hold his head high too, that was a war he came just a little short. Either fighter could have won.


Mark

 

Very enjoyable night of fights!

I am looking forward to seeing Machida/Jones II. Since Machida is the only fighter to have ever won a round against Jones, maybe he has the best chance. Against Bader, Machida clearly demonstrated the difference in levels between fighters. Bader was nowhere in the same league.

The Vera/Shogun fight was better than I expected, however compared to the Machida/Bader fight, it seemed to play out at 7/10ths the pace. Is it just me, or does Shogun fight like he is 10 years older than he actually is?

Armen, your boy Manny came through. Wasn't an easy fight.

It really sucked that the Davis/Prado fight was declared a no-contest. Prado looked to have been getting the better of Davis leading up to the poke..........

Awesome fight between Miller and Phan. One of the best of the night. Was quite the chess match.

Awesome job by Lauzon over Varner. Another awesome fight.