The MMA Thread

[Darryl]

I had 2 and 5 to Lawler as well.  But like Patrick said talking about strikes Condit lit him up the whole fight. I would bet half of Lawler's strikes came in round 5.

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I mean even if you just look at significant strikes which eliminate the huge volume of just pitter-patter shots Condit threw, Condit had 177 to Lawler's 93.

It was a clinic.

[Darryl]

Well McGregor gets his wish a chance to hold two titles.

[CarltonTheBear]

So the UFC banned a pretty reputable reporter from covering their events for life for reporting news:

Imagine the NBA having Adrian Wojnarowski escorted out of a game in the third quarter and banning him for life for having reported a trade rumor. Ridiculous as it seems, a scenario exactly like this just happened at a UFC show.

Last night, Ariel Helwani of Vox’s MMAFighting.com reported that Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion and current pro wrestler, was in serious talks to compete on the big UFC 200 card next month. Later in the evening, Helwani said that he had, along with colleagues Casey Leydon and Esther Lin—universally considered the best videographer and photographer, respectively, in MMA—been thrown out of the UFC event they were covering and told they’d been banned for life:

...

The issue here appears to be that Helwani reported news before the UFC wanted it reported, upstaging their plans for a surprise announcement of Lesnar’s return.

http://deadspin.com/ufc-throws-reporter-out-of-event-bans-him-for-life-for-1780632344

Helwani was on TSN 1050 earlier today talking about it further: http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050/helwani-punishment-does-not-fit-the-crime-1.502431

Pretty crazy.

[Nik]

The structure of the UFC has always been a little hinky, hasn't it? Like they're one conglomerate that gives their fighters very little in the way of negotiating power or essentially banishes them to second tier organizations.

[L K]

Dana White does crap like this all the time.  He's a petty person that doesn't seem to recognize what he needs to do in his role.  As much as UFC has a window of popularity, it's a sport that still sits on the edge of an athletic world that is moving away from the acceptable nature of people take punches, elbows, knees and kicks to the head. 

One of the other rumors is that CM Punk (formerly of WWE) is going to make his UFC debut at 202 and that is going to follow up on Brock Lesnar competing at UFC 200.  UFC is also supposed to do some promotion for Summerslam that happens a few days after UFC 202.

[seahawk]

Helwani has since been reinstated. Smart about face by the UFC. They do come across as wanting to control the release of info like the Lesnar return or the Diaz-McGregor rematch.

Surprised to see Lesnar coming back for just 1 fight. He will have his hands full with Mark Hunt at UFC 200. That card is looking pretty stacked now.

[Darryl]

This is the stuff that keeps the UFC from being considered among the big leagues with the NHL, NBA, NFL, etc. If they every want to evolve to that level they can't have temper tantrums like this and act out personal vendettas.

Speaking of MMA controversy I hope Bellator is investigated  following the death of Kimbo Slice.  You have  recently fired former employee who is suing them for wrongful termination and has stated that they doctored medical records for a fighter. Now look at the fight where Kimbo has died of heart related issue. His his opponent Dada 5000 who's heart stopped after the fight and was in the hospital in critical condition. Afterwards it comes out that Kimbo tested positive for steriods and rather than him being suspended Bellator schedules him for a fight in the UK where drug testing is nearly non exisitent for MMA.  Doesn't feel on the level to me.

[hockeyfan1]

Canada's George St.-Pierre is back, and ready to take on Michael Bisping in a UFC matchup in a yet-to-be determined date and location.  According UFC president Dana White, it could headline UFC 213 in Las Vegas or UFC 214 in California.  Both would most likely take place around the month of July.

The 36 yr.old St.-Pierre returned after having taken a sabbatical that began in 2013.  St.-Pierre won't submit to what his plans are but did say he'll commit for the long term.

More:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/georges-st-pierre-michael-bisping-get-heated-ufc-press-conference/

[Darryl]

https://streamable.com/2sad8 Mighty Mouse with a move that looks like something from a video game. Suplex into an armbar. Wow!

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[Darryl]

Damn fine return for GSP last night. I worry if the fight had gone longer but he ended at just the right time. 

Now does he fight for the welterweight title next and vacate the middleweight title? Or unify the middleweight title against Whittaker.

[Darryl]

Didn't see that KO coming, definitely not that quick. Might be it for 145 woman's division if Cyborg leaves.

[Bender]

Didn't see that KO coming, definitely not that quick. Might be it for 145 woman's division if Cyborg leaves.

Wow that was insane. Cyborg didn't respect Nunes' punching power at all. Why did she want to trade strikes with her? Seemed like a bad strategy to me....

Also, man, Jon Jones really outclassed Alex Gustavsson tonight. At no point did I think Alex was much of a threat.

Condit.... Was he ever good? He got totally schooled.



Really enjoyed the featherweight and Anderson/Latifi fight also.

[Guilt Trip]

Yes he was a great fighter, just old now. Interesting trend...A lot of top fighters that lost to GSP saw their careers go downhill after the loss. Hughes, Koscheck, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Condit, Hendricks were at their peaks fighting GSP and their careers were never the same after losing to him.

[Bender]

Yes he was a great fighter, just old now. Interesting trend...A lot of top fighters that lost to GSP saw their careers go downhill after the loss. Hughes, Koscheck, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Condit, Hendricks were at their peaks fighting GSP and their careers were never the same after losing to him.

Cormier is older, but point taken. That's pretty interesting. Hendricks really baffles me. He really should've won his fight with GSP, you would think he'd just regroup and take the belt.