UFC Thread

[D]

tryin not to be negative but Couture vs Coleman could be the most boring UFC fight in a very very long time.

[Hammy]

tryin not to be negative but Couture vs Coleman could be the most boring UFC fight in a very very long time.

I can see why, on paper, wrestler vs. wrestler and all that.  But to be honest I think Couture will just overwhelm and finish him in the 1st Round.

A Gracie debut should never be a prelim!

[Hammy]

Here is the complete list of UFC 108 payouts:

Rashad Evans -- $375,000 ($200,000 to show, $175,000 to win)
Thiago Silva -- $55,000
Evans defeated Silva via unanimous decision

Paul Daley -- $34,200 ($16,200 to show -- fined 10-percent for missing weight, $18,000 to win)
Dustin Hazelett -- $19,800 (awarded 10-percent of Daley's purse after "Semtex" missed weight)
Daley defeated Hazelett via KO (punches) in round one

Sam Stout -- $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Joe Lauzon -- $12,000
Stout defeated Lauzon via unanimous decision

Jim Miller -- $30,000 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 to win)
Duane Ludwig -- $12,000
Miller defeated Ludwig via submission (armbar) in round one
Junior dos Santos -- $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win)
Gilbert Yvel -- $30,000
Dos Santos defeated Yvel via technical knockout (strikes) in round one

Martin Kampmann -- $46,000 ($23,000 to show, $23,000 to win)
Jacob Volkmann -- $6,000
Kampmann defeated Volkmann via submission (guillotine choke) in round one

Cole Miller -- $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Dan Lauzon -- $15,000
Miller defeated Lauzon via submission (kimura) in round one

Mark Munoz -- $32,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 to win)
Ryan Jensen -- $6,000
Munoz defeated Jensen via submission (punches) in round one

Jake Ellenberger -- $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Mike Pyle -- $17,000
Ellenberger defeated Pyle via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Rafaello Oliveira -- $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
John Gunderson -- $5,000
Oliveira defeated Gunderson via unanimous decision

Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. It also does not include deductions for expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.

For example, the UFC often hands out extra cash for "Fight of the Night," "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night."

[t0ny]

Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz was so boring

[Hammy]

Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz was so boring

Yeap, one of the worst fights I've ever seen.

Thankfully the other 3 were good, great comeback from Dunham and Lawlor looked great until he gassed, shame, I like the guy, I also wonder what you have to do for a 10-8 round.

[D]

yeah, hilarious hearing how Maynard may get the next shot at BJ Penn. hahaha what a **** fight that would be. a **** massacre would ensue


Lawlor, if he didn't get a 10-8 for round one, they should never give out a 10-8

thats my problem with MMA.. lawlor decimated him in round 1.

simpson narrowly maybe won 2 and 3.. but Lawlor IMO won the fight if u judged it from the whole fight.

[Hammy]

I had it 29-29.  3rd Round was definately Simpson's and I think he edged the 2nd.  But yeah I thought that first was a 10-8, I think what must of stopped it being once was him being out on his feet rather than knocked down and nearly out, but fact is he was on chicken legs and in a bad way for a long time.

Maynard's not getting the shot Edgar is, I actually wanted Maynard to so Penn could decimate him and kick him out of the title picture.

[D]

I was talking about after Edgar.. and that is gonna be a **** fight also. no one can come close to BJ at 155 unless he doesn't take it serious.

[D]

That is Eastern US time by the way. should be interesting. .will post youtube link when available.

[Hammy]

Well word out of his camp is he will fight again, its just a question of when, hope he gets well soon as.

[Hammy]

"It's a miracle!"

Well, that's according to UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who informed ESPN SportsCenter viewers that he would return to the Octagon in Summer 2010 now that he's completely healed from his recent ailments.

With UFC President Dana White by his side, Lesnar recounted his battle with intestinal diverticulitis, the illness that hospitalized him and forced his withdrawal from the UFC 106 title defense against Shane Carwin scheduled for last November.

But no worries, the devastating illness -- that doctors thought was serious enough to contemplate career-ending colon surgery, has up and vanished thanks to a variety of medical, holistic and mental treatments. Did I mention the word "miracle?" Well, so did Dana and Brock -- several times.

From the champ:

"It's a miracle. The (doctors) were dumbfounded. They couldn't find anything wrong with my stomach. I've had colonoscopys done and CTC scans and there was nothing there."

The UFC recently announced that number one contender Shane Carwin will battle former champion Frank Mir at UFC 111 for the division's interim title. The winner will go on to face Lesnar in "Summer 2010," possibly at the UFC's Boston debut on August 28 to unify the belts.

White also went on record to say that the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Nogueira at UFC 110 would be next in line for a title shot should the winner of Mir vs. Carwin be unable to compete due to injury or other unforeseen circumstances.

While questions still remain surrounding Lesnar's medical miracle -- like his ability to drop forty pounds and put thirty of them back on in two months, it's still good news that he is definitely returning. There is no question he makes the UFC heavyweight division more competitive and his ability to sell pay-per-views is well, miraculous.

[Hammy]

Straying from the normal format and surely likely to cause more than a few head scratches, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Spike TV officials today confirmed that the upcoming 11th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" will feature 28 middleweight fighters.

The show traditionally features 16 or 32 competitors because of its single-elimination tournament format, though officials promise a "new format" that will be revealed during the show's March 31 debut.

"TUF 11," which features former champs Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz as coaches, today went into production.

The "TUF 11" season debut airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT following Spike TV's broadcast of UFC Fight Night 21, which is expected to be headlined by Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, which serves as the season's live-event conclusion, takes place on June 19.

But how does the cast go from 28 cast members to the final two? Without some tweaking, it's of course not possible – without first-round byes, double-eliminations or some other tinkering of the traditional tournament format. For example, a host of former UFC fighters (such as Bobby Southworth, Nick Thompson and Logan Clark) recently tried out for the show, and perhaps those UFC vets selected for the cast get an automatic berth into the second round.

Spike TV officials, though, told MMAjunkie.com the details of the format change will be kept under wraps until the March 31 debut.

"TUF" debuted on Spike TV in 2005 and has since launched the careers of more than 100 UFC fighters. In addition to producing champions such as Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, the series continually produces top-level talent and perennial contenders. Both Ortiz and Liddell have previously coached on the groundbreaking series, which shattered ratings records with the recently concluded 10th season.

[Hammy]

LAS VEGAS – Former UFC champion and MMA legend Chuck Liddell (21-7 MMA, 16-6 UFC) understands that his back is against the wall.

After a stretch of four losses in five fights, Liddell's longtime friend and current boss, UFC president Dana White, doesn't want to see the "Iceman" in the cage again.

But with a rematch with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter 11" coach Tito Ortiz on the horizon, Liddell has his sights set on one more run at the title. And along the way, he hopes to prove all of his doubters – including White – wrong about what he's got left in the tank.

"I don't think I have anything to prove, but I would like to prove (White) wrong," Lidell told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) at Monday's "TUF 11" media day. "I'm not too old. I can still fight.

"It is what it is. I'll keep arguing, and (White) will keep arguing with me. It doesn't matter. I've just got to show him I can perform. If I perform, he'll keep letting me fight."

"It's hard when you dominated for so long"

White's concerns are understandable. Three of Liddell's four recent losses came via brutal knockouts or TKO's. Even Liddell said he understands why everyone seems to want to discuss his remaining viability as a fighter.

But Liddell also believes the will of the fans is an ever-changing opinion.

"I understand," Liddell said. "It's hard when you dominated for so long. I lost four of my last five.

"The funny thing with fans is I lost two, then I fought Wanderlei (Silva). Great fight, and everybody was like, 'Oh, you're back.' Then if that punch is one more inch off, and Rashad (Evans) doesn't beat me, I probably win that fight easy, and I probably would have got a title shot."

The 40-year-old said he believes his current position is really no different than when Randy Couture elected to retire after suffering the second of two knockouts in a three-fight span – both of which were issued by Liddell, himself.

"Randy, they were glad he retired after I knocked him out twice," Liddell said. "He had never been knocked out in his career. I knocked him dead the second time, and everyone went, 'Oh, it's over. He's done. He's too old now.'

"He came back, and he's still fighting. He won the heavyweight title. I just needed some time off."

Liddell has taken that time off and remained on the sidelines since an April 2009 TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The near-12-year-veteran said during the break he has stopped partying, focused on conditioning and avoided any contact to his head.

"I'm doing a lot of training," Liddell said. "I still go out sometimes and hang out, but I haven't been drinking. I'm watching what I eat more and training more consistent. I'm going to be training from now until whenever [Ortiz and I] fight.

"I miss fighting. I miss competing. I miss sparring, too. I was giving my head a rest for a year, and I wouldn't let people hit me. I might not make it all the way to a year. I might have to spar with some of these [contestants on 'TUF 11']. But I feel good. I just felt I was getting hurt by stuff that normally wouldn't hurt me."

Back to basics

In addition to the rest Liddell has enjoyed for the past nine months, he said he's also focused himself on refining the techniques that contributed to his recent failures.

"After I lost to Rashad, people acted like I went out there and got my ass kicked for 10 minutes and got knocked out," Liddell said. "I was winning the fight when I got caught. It happens. Now I'm working on some stuff and cleaning up some holes that maybe over the years have gotten bigger – just not paying attention to details.

"I've cleaned up some stuff, so hopefully there won't be as many openings for people. This style of fighting, there's always something that can happen. But I've made a lot of those holes a lot smaller and harder to get into."

Liddell said the losses have been disappointing, but he refuses to let it affect his aggressive style in the cage. Instead, Liddell believes he simply needs to go back to the approach that worked best for him before.

"It always bugs me when I lose, but you have to bounce back," Liddell said. "You can't worry about it. If you're worried about it, it's just going to cause you problems. You're going to start fighting not to lose and fighting real conservative, and that's not my style of fighting. I'm not going to sit there and just try and eek out a win. I'm going to go out there and try to finish the guy.

"I plan on getting back to mixing [striking and wrestling] together a little more, keeping people off-balance so they can't just relax and not worry about me hitting a double."

"I'm going to be really ready to put my fist in his mouth"

As for an upcoming fight with Ortiz, Liddell said he has little to gain by defeating a man whom he's already soundly beaten on two separate occasions. That said, he believes the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" is the perfect foe.

"I knocked him out twice already, so in that way, it's not a big deal," Liddell said. "But [the trash talk] has already started. I have no problem getting up to fight him. He's starting to jaw a little bit, and it's already started going. By the time this season's over, I'm going to be really ready to put my fist in his mouth – if I don't do it before the end of the season.

"I never have to get motivated to fight. I love fighting. But training is always where you need the extra help to get motivated. We did one interview together today, and I'm already getting pumped up about punching him in the mouth."

White has openly admitted he didn't really want to give Liddell another fight. But the UFC exec laid out a plan for Liddell to follow, and when the aging fighter did, White had little choice but to live up to his end of the bargain.

But while White has said he hopes Liddell's comeback is a one-and-done affair, the man ultimately responsible for making the decision has a far different idea.

"At this point, I'd like another fight after (Ortiz)," Liddell said. "Hopefully Dana's happy with me if I get two wins, and I'd like a shot at a contender and then a shot at the the title. That's four fights.

"That's about as far forward as I've thought. But that's what I'd like to do."

"I have to go out on my own"

Ultimately, the potential for Liddell to regain the title he once defended in four-consecutive outings is highly debatable. But for Liddell, one of the most popular and well-respected fighters mixed martial arts has ever seen, it's important for him to answer the bell for the final time on his own terms.

"For me, as a fighter, I have to go out on my own – the way I want to go out," Liddell said. "It has to be my decision. I can't let somebody make that decision for me.

"I'm not going to let fans or people that aren't that close to me – don't watch me train, don't see what I can still do – I'm not going to let them make that decision for me."

[Hammy]

I'm picking

Gracie
Brock's mate
Emerson
Stann
Torres
Danzig
Maia
Trigg
Couture
Marquardt
Swick

[D]

Terrible PPV

wish i hadn't spent 55 bucks on this