MMA

[punchoutsb]

As much as I hate to see this match up delayed even longer, it's for the best it doesn't happen. I'd rather see Cain at his best, win or lose.

I basically agree. But that being said I think Cain's gotta drop down the list now. Werdum is getting old, give him the rematch against Stipe or have him face #3 for the chance to fight for the title. Cain will need to show he can put two or three healthy fights together in my opinion.

[p4p1]

What I have loved about the UFC is that they pretty much always have the #1 or #2 contender fighting for the title when it's supposed to happen. Not saying it's going to happen, but I hope Conor doesn't throw a wrench in this thing.

I agree with P4P here. Conor did affect the FW picture. If a champion is delaying fights, it definitely affects the division. And in Conor's case, it wasn't due to injury. I loved the Diaz fights, however, as much as they were entertaining, I'd rather see the integrity of the sport stay intact.

That's my issue as well. I would watch Diaz and McGregor fight every week but as a long time boxing fan the thing that drew me to the UFC was the best fighting the best, no bullshit politics and one champion. Now that all this is happening I worry that the UFC adopt some of boxing worst habits.


Dana is now saying that McGregor and Khabib may fight in Russia but take that with a grain of salt because I don't think he ever says anything truthful. If the UFC is keen on getting into the Russian market though it's a smart move.

I really hope he's not blowing smoke here. This is the perfect setup to burst into the Russian market with. He's probably working hard to get it done. Conor might be the big stumbling block though. I get the feeling he would like to avoid Khabib altogether.

I think it makes a lot of sense business wise. Russia is a massive market and having a Russian fighting for a championship in Russia after they couldn't secure Fedor coming over would really get them off to a great start.

Itll be interesting to see what happens though because at the end of the day the UFC does and always will hold the power. They can give Khabin an interim fight in Russia leaving Conor no choice but to defend or vacate. The UFC doesnt need Conor as champ to make money off him at the end of the day as his fights with Diaz proved he doesn't need to win to get people to tune in.

[p4p1]

Ronda Rousey isn't doing any media in the run up to 207 including the normal pre fight press conference that's held. I don't understand why the UFC would let her do this, hell they took Conor off a card for missing a less important press conference. It seems Ronda can't handle being interviewed by people with MMA knowledge after being knocked out.

[punchoutsb]

Ronda Rousey isn't doing any media in the run up to 207 including the normal pre fight press conference that's held. I don't understand why the UFC would let her do this, hell they took Conor off a card for missing a less important press conference. It seems Ronda can't handle being interviewed by people with MMA knowledge after being knocked out.

Ronda is still Dana's true love...at least for now. She can get away with this, but probably only this time. It's not so much her importance as it is Dana and the UFC PR machine trying to salvage a bit of credibility from their previous sellings of her.

[zojo]

Ronda Rousey isn't doing any media in the run up to 207 including the normal pre fight press conference that's held. I don't understand why the UFC would let her do this, hell they took Conor off a card for missing a less important press conference. It seems Ronda can't handle being interviewed by people with MMA knowledge after being knocked out.

She's got to make weight.

She was doing TV interviews right up to the fight date when she fought Holm. Due to the amount of time she spent in front of the cameras, she was away from the gym/sauna. She simply didn't look healthy at all come weigh-ins.

My guess is she is not doing press interviews so that she can concentrate on the scale.

[punchoutsb]

Ronda Rousey isn't doing any media in the run up to 207 including the normal pre fight press conference that's held. I don't understand why the UFC would let her do this, hell they took Conor off a card for missing a less important press conference. It seems Ronda can't handle being interviewed by people with MMA knowledge after being knocked out.

She's got to make weight.

She was doing TV interviews right up to the fight date when she fought Holm. Due to the amount of time she spent in front of the cameras, she was away from the gym/sauna. She simply didn't look healthy at all come weigh-ins.

My guess is she is not doing press interviews so that she can concentrate on the scale.

Ronda has mental issues (as do many fighters...most I've known personally). In my opinion that is why she's staying away. She's never had trouble making weight in her career and didn't look any different at the weigh in against Holm, she looked unhealthy in the cage because Holm has skill and a decent fight IQ.

[Impractical Poster]

Ronda Rousey isn't doing any media in the run up to 207 including the normal pre fight press conference that's held. I don't understand why the UFC would let her do this, hell they took Conor off a card for missing a less important press conference. It seems Ronda can't handle being interviewed by people with MMA knowledge after being knocked out.

Ronda is still Dana's true love...at least for now. She can get away with this, but probably only this time. It's not so much her importance as it is Dana and the UFC PR machine trying to salvage a bit of credibility from their previous sellings of her.

She doesn't pose the same types of issues as Conor does either. I always get the feeling that Conor is trying to strong arm the UFC and dictate terms over them. Rhonda is a company woman. I just feel they are much more willing to work with Rhonda than they are Conor.

[thunderfromdownunder]

Ronda not doing all the media makes me think she is super serious about this fight, which is good. I thought she might have had one foot out of the door after the holly loss.

[jujigatame]

I don't think I'm buying this card now that Werdum/Cain is off, but I did have a dream where Ronda got her ass whooped for the first two rounds, then miraculously came back and started dominating, and then was robbed by the judges. So if you believe my dreams are actually visions of the future, bet Nunes by decision.

[Impractical Poster]

I don't think I'm buying this card now that Werdum/Cain is off, but I did have a dream where Ronda got her ass whooped for the first two rounds, then miraculously came back and started dominating, and then was robbed by the judges. So if you believe my dreams are actually visions of the future, bet Nunes by decision.

It does suck without Cain/Werdum. However, Garbrandt/Cruz, Dillashaw/Lineker, and Nunes/Rousey still make it PPV worthy.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Smolka/Borg is a nice fight. I'm buying it, though I already had. The last one was the first one I hadn't bought in months and it was great.

[punchoutsb]

Ronda not doing all the media makes me think she is super serious about this fight, which is good. I thought she might have had one foot out of the door after the holly loss.

They didn't do her any favors by building her entire product on being unbeatable by anyone. I would say that essentially crushed her Hollywood career as well...at least for now. They're trying to re-invent her with the perfect never stuff but it's pretty hard for most people to swallow given what they'd been fed before. I used to like Ronda, but not anymore. I do hope she is ready for this fight though--Nunes isn't really special but she's probably the second best gal Ronda has fought.

[p4p1]

Ronda not doing all the media makes me think she is super serious about this fight, which is good. I thought she might have had one foot out of the door after the holly loss.

They didn't do her any favors by building her entire product on being unbeatable by anyone. I would say that essentially crushed her Hollywood career as well...at least for now. They're trying to re-invent her with the perfect never stuff but it's pretty hard for most people to swallow given what they'd been fed before. I used to like Ronda, but not anymore. I do hope she is ready for this fight though--Nunes isn't really special but she's probably the second best gal Ronda has fought.

A huge part of her fame was built on being the baddest bitch in the world, while it really was probably never true. She's not a nice person, is I would imagine given everything we've seen from her hard to work with and is a terrible actor. Once she was no longer seen as some kind of mythical figure her Hollywood career was always going to be in trouble. I was glad to be there when she lost and I'll be just as happy if she's loses to Nunes. She is a terrible ambassador for MMA.

Gina Carano is carving out a nice career in Hollywood for herself though.

[thunderfromdownunder]

Ronda not doing all the media makes me think she is super serious about this fight, which is good. I thought she might have had one foot out of the door after the holly loss.

They didn't do her any favors by building her entire product on being unbeatable by anyone. I would say that essentially crushed her Hollywood career as well...at least for now. They're trying to re-invent her with the perfect never stuff but it's pretty hard for most people to swallow given what they'd been fed before. I used to like Ronda, but not anymore. I do hope she is ready for this fight though--Nunes isn't really special but she's probably the second best gal Ronda has fought.

A huge part of her fame was built on being the baddest bitch in the world, while it really was probably never true. She's not a nice person, is I would imagine given everything we've seen from her hard to work with and is a terrible actor. Once she was no longer seen as some kind of mythical figure her Hollywood career was always going to be in trouble. I was glad to be there when she lost and I'll be just as happy if she's loses to Nunes. She is a terrible ambassador for MMA.

Gina Carano is carving out a nice career in Hollywood for herself though.

I don't really like her either, though I feel she's a little underated after the holly fight. If she is taking this seriously and training the house down, and not just coming back for a payday, it could be a great fight. If she's unsure, Nunes is the kind of fighter who could really wreck her.

Bummed that Cain/fabricio gut scrapped. That's the fight I was looking forward to most.
Was also thinking of throwing a 50 on Cody, I don't think he'll win, but he's paying a decent amount

[punchoutsb]

I don't think it's possible for Rousey to ever be underrated. She was the best of a bad bunch, the not-quite Royce Gracie of Womens UFC 1. There are athletes who will be many many times better than her...though they are not necessarily there now. Personally I think Ronda will beat Nunes but I am going for Amanda because Ronda put me off a long time ago.

[jujigatame]

I don't think I'm buying this card now that Werdum/Cain is off, but I did have a dream where Ronda got her ass whooped for the first two rounds, then miraculously came back and started dominating, and then was robbed by the judges. So if you believe my dreams are actually visions of the future, bet Nunes by decision.

It does suck without Cain/Werdum. However, Garbrandt/Cruz, Dillashaw/Lineker, and Nunes/Rousey still make it PPV worthy.

Yea it's not terrible or anything. Kind of a borderline case. Now that the PPVs are $70 I'm a bit more discerning. I think I only bought 3 this year.

[crusader]

Since I've been following combat sports, no fighter has come close to being as overrated as Rousey was. It was absolutely mindblowingly over the top hype, with people talking about her being one of the greatest athletes ever, and the best fighter--man or woman--alive.

[Rexob]

Since I've been following combat sports, no fighter has come close to being as overrated as Rousey was. It was absolutely mindblowingly over the top hype, with people talking about her being one of the greatest athletes ever, and the best fighter--man or woman--alive.

She hasn't retired yet, so she may prove you wrong.

[crusader]

Oh ya, and wasn't Rousey also supposed to be able to waltz into boxing and destroy anyone in her first fight?

[p4p1]

Since I've been following combat sports, no fighter has come close to being as overrated as Rousey was. It was absolutely mindblowingly over the top hype, with people talking about her being one of the greatest athletes ever, and the best fighter--man or woman--alive.

She hasn't retired yet, so she may prove you wrong.

It was never that she wasn't good. She was overrated because some people were saying she could beat men in the UFC. That she was unbeatable and as Joe Rogan said a one ever athlete. The problem is that it's extremely debatable that she was the best female fighter in MMA at any point. It's extremely debatable that she was the best female fighter when considering how other women have dominated their other combat sports. She was also called by some the greatest/best female athlete ever/now when clearly she was not there and will likely not have the longevity to get there.

Also the comparison made to Royce Gracie is completely perfect btw. A lot of the women Rousey fought and defended against hadn't taken up martial arts until they were adults. Correia being the worst having only started learning any martial art 4 years before she fought Rousey. Carmouche for example only took up martial arts after she left the defence forces.

[jujigatame]

I think the rush to discredit Rousey after her loss has been a bit extreme. She's still the most accomplished female fighter in MMA history, even if she loses again on Friday.

[Impractical Poster]

She was/is definitely in the upper echelon of the female combat fighters of the world. She was overblown as being more than she was as a marketing strategy. And it worked. Took a toll on her though.

[crusader]

I think the rush to discredit Rousey after her loss has been a bit extreme. She's still the most accomplished female fighter in MMA history, even if she loses again on Friday.

Not much of a history then. I guess that extreme lack of depth explains how an accountant becomes a contender and fights for the biggest titles when they only started training a few years earlier to lose weight

I don't often browse MMA websites, so I'm not sure what the general commentary on Rousey is following the loss, but I hardly think that her losing credit is unreasonable given how highly regarded she was pre-Holm. She's been swimming in a very small pond, still showed clear flaws even when winning, and looked like a novice last time out, which isn't really the stuff of an ATG athlete and the best P4P fighter in the world.

Still obviously quite a good fighter though

[p4p1]

I think the rush to discredit Rousey after her loss has been a bit extreme. She's still the most accomplished female fighter in MMA history, even if she loses again on Friday.

A lot of people said the same thing before she lost as well. I know I certainly did and most people who didn't get caught up in the UFC hype machine have said the same thing all along. Hell there's been gifs for years making fun of her striking. The fact is she is brilliant at a hip toss into an armbar but was helped during her reign by others lack of experience and ring IQ.

Most accomplished is certainly debatable. Joanna is closing in on her # of defences and women's flyweight is a deeper and better division than BW. Joanna certainly has beaten the better competition. Holm might soon be a win away from being a 2 division champ - though I personally favour consistent defences over no or failed defences then going to another division. Theres always Cyborg as well who has a decent record though has pissed hot before and *could* be in hot water right now.

[punchoutsb]

I think the rush to discredit Rousey after her loss has been a bit extreme. She's still the most accomplished female fighter in MMA history, even if she loses again on Friday.

She is the most accomplished WMMA in history...which is realistically less than ten years old. Ten years from now she will be looked at like a Ken Shamrock-esque pioneer. She played a pivotal role in her own replacement as best WMMA ever too; she inspired young girls who will take up the sport early and have full fighting careers before the reach the UFC just like the men do (CM Punk withstanding). These kids will grow up to be well rounded and not soft windmill flailing toughmen types with low fight IQ's. They'll be real actual fighters like Joanna Jedrzejczyk.