Since you asked... (6/9)
The last few blogs that I've posted have resulted in some good conversations about where the divisions in the UFC were heading after PPV and Fight Nights. This website has helped give me an avenue for my thoughts and feelings on the MMA world and also get some good feedback and thoughts from other fans.
We just had another PPV go by over the weekend but my thought is that from time to time I'll write a new blog about what is on my mind in the MMA world. I figure this is a good place to give it a shot because worst case, it sucks and people stop responding to me and I take the hint, best case, we get more quality discussions/debates going on and have a good time. Plus it gives me something to do when I should be working. Instead of breaking down all of the divisions from the weekend I'm just going to go over a few of my thoughts from the weekend...
- Alves "catches" Hughes:Thiago looked good in his knock out of Matt Hughes but it left a sour taste in my mouth. He did "catch" Hughes but unfortunately it was in a catch weight match. I know after the fight there were excuses being thrown out about an injury and that may be true but it is just tough to believe someone who was suspended about a year and half ago for taking an illegal substance to help cut weight. After the fight Alves did his best GSP impression begging Dana White for a title fight claiming "he's been a good boy". I'm pretty sure my definition of good boy doesn't include a suspension and missing weight for a main event. If I'm Dana White, the pitbull does not get a title fight yet. If I'm White I cannot risk putting him in a main event for a championship belt and than having him miss weight again. What I would do is if Josh Koscheck beats Chris Lytle, he faces Thiago and the winner gets the title shot. If Koscheck loses and Diego Sanchez wins, than he gets to face Alves. Alves has to prove that he can make weight especially with his sketchy past. The last thing the UFC would want is to set up a title fight and have another Lutter vs. Silva situation occur where the fight than has minimal significance.
- Bisping Dominates:I was happy to see this one. A lot of people give Bisping a lot of flack about his fight with Matt Hamill which he obviously lost. He acted like a jerk after the fight with the media but it isn't hit fault that the judges made that decision. Besides that fight and simply getting out muscled by Rashad Evans, Bisping has been a great fighter. He's been completely dominate in his last two middleweight fights and is going to help the UFC get some fresh blood in the division with himself, Leites, Maia and Palhares. Hopefully this means Anderson Silva won't have to leave the division and could have some quality matches to come in the near future. A potentially interesting fight and another step up for Bisping could be a match with Kendall Grove (if he can get past Evan Tanner). You can easily sell them both as champs of TUF 3 for marketing and it is a fight Bisping should win to help build him further in the division.
- The truth is... the ref is corrupt:When I saw the Vera-Werdum fight about to start and noticed who the referee was I instantly was a little bothered based off his last outing. Little did I realize this fight would prove how corrupt he was on that night in New Jersey. Vera got himself into a bad position with about 30 seconds left in the round, covered up and continued tp rock back and forth to avoid getting hit hard. After about 10 seconds Dan Miragliotta decided Vera had enough and called the fight. If someone can explain how that makes sense when he allowed Kimbo Slice to eat punches and elbows for a good minute when his arms were trapped and unable to protect himself. This makes Miragliotta look awful in my mind because I wouldn't have stopped the Vera fight and would've stopped the Slice fight and I feel like a good majority of the fans would agree with this. I'm not sure what could be done but Brandon Vera has every right to think that ref sucks because he does.
One quick last note... Mike "Quick" Swick looked fantastic. Not only did he knock off a fighter who no one has been able to stop lately but he dominated him for the whole fight. Good to see another face in the welterweight division and for him to bounce back after the Josh Burkman fight.
That's all I got for now, let me know what everyone thinks... Since you asked...
TheCaptain
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Comments
cool. "Little did I realize
cool.
"Little did I realize this fight would prove how corrupt he was on that night in New Jersey"
i agree
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
Good thoughts on the Alves
Good thoughts on the Alves situation, Captain. I like the idea of making him earn his title fight not just with his performances in the cage, but his actions outside the cage, too. I also like the idea of an Alves-Koscheck fight to become the number one contender.
I agree with regards to
I agree with regards to Alves. Man, he's got to be the most jacked welterweight out there. If he'd lift a little less, he'd be able to make weight no problem. No way a guy who hasn't proven that he can make weight gets the opportunity for a title shot. He's a beast but prove that you can comply with the rules first and then you get a title shot.
Bisping is definitely taking care of business in the middleweight division. He looks as exciting as I thought he would be when he graduated from TUF. But, there are still at least 4 guys ahead of him in the UFC middleweight division (Okami, Henderson, Franklin, and A. Silva) that I don't think he can touch.
Good idea to keep building Bisping up. Winner of Tanner-Grove is a good thought for his next fight...If Travis Lutter was still around in the UFC, that would have been a nice test as well...
i've always liked bisping
i've always liked bisping but there's no doubt that he can't touch a.silva or franklin. i think he has a better than average shot against okami and henderson will be a big handful for him but age and speed is on his side. hendo still takes that fight 4 of 5 times IMO.
bisping needs to beat hendo, okami, or franklin to get a title shot.
That's funny you say that
That's funny you say that Pramit, my initial thought was about Lutter. I'm not willing to say Bisbing cannot take people yet. The only flaws we've seen in his fight game so far is when he was in the light heavyweight division taking on bigger/stronger fighters like Evans and Hamill. Until I see someone overbear him with wrestling and strentgh in the middleweight division than I'll say he can't beat someone. I think a Franklin-Bisbing would be an extremely exciting fight, both guys would stand and trade.
-The Captain
I hear you Capt'n, it's just
I hear you Capt'n, it's just that I can't really think of a top contender that Bisping has beaten. I'm the opposite of you. For me, Bisping has to beat a top contender before I put him in that category...
I understand what you are
I understand what you are saying, I'm just trying to take a neutral stance, I'm saying I'm sure he can lose to these guys, but there is nothing that he has shown in his fight game for me to say, he cannot beat the top guys.
You are saying he cannot do it, but based off of what, because he hasn't beaten any top guys yet? If he had a opportunity versus someone yet than I'd agree but that hasn't happened.
I guess my stance is simply, you never know...
-The Captain
Fair enough Captain. I
Fair enough Captain. I respect your stance for sure. It's a philosophical difference -- I definitely see where you are coming from.
It's the same way I feel about title fights. In order for the challenger to take the title, they have to TAKE the title and win convincingly. It's the challenger's job to take the title from the champ. Anything less than that and the benefit of the doubt goes to the champ...
sad state of affairs in the
sad state of affairs in the welterweight division if sanchez and kos are the measuring sticks for a title fight. I can see your reasoning but what happened with this division? Don't count out Karo yet either.
Head of the MMAfia's Canadian Family - Canada Eh!
I personally have Karo lower
I personally have Karo lower than Mike Swick right now. If things play out like I'm saying above I'd say put Swick against Diego Sanchez, you'd have GSP-Fitch, Kos-Alves, Hughes-Serra, and Swick-Sanchez. To me, Karo has to work his way back up some. Karo is rumored to fight on Aug. 9th in Minnesota but they do not have an opponent linked to him yet. None of the top 8 will be ready to fight than so he'll have to take a lesser fighter and hopefully work his way back up. That's about it in the division right now though.
-The Captain
Cindy you got a problem with
Cindy you got a problem with Sanchez? He lost a decision to Koshcheck while battling a sick staph infection that most fighters would have canceled the fight and has never ever used that as an excuse. He lost a shitty decision to Fitch in which Fitch did nothing to try and end the fight while Sanchez at least went for submissions.
While I don't Koshcheck(Sorry EERS)I have no problem with saying the guy has elevated his overall game by leaps and bounds. He did get schooled by GSP but who hasn't? He looked really good against Hazelett at UFC 82 and has a good test against Lytle.
Sanchez has good wrestling, and some of the best BJJ in the 170lb division. His stand-up needs work but he will continue to work on that. It's one thing not to like the guy but give him some credit he's a good fighter with the potential to be one of the best as does Koshcheck.
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