UFC / MMA

[SD_Eagle5]

A buddy of mine has a fight next weekend in the amateur MMA league. He's probably going to get his ass kicked.

http://www.newbreedfighters.tv/fightcards/2008/FightCardHOB020908.php?

I guess it streams online for $20, a lot of people want to watch it so we'll probably all split the cost.

What's his name? I know a couple of local mma guys but none on that list.

[Seabiscuit36]

Whats the tale of the tape with Lesner and his opponent?

i think lesnar weighed in at 265 and Mir at 255.  Lesnar will probably be 275-280 by tonight. 

[mussa]

height?

[Seabiscuit36]

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/7748786/Lesnar,-Sylvia-focused-at-UFC-81-weigh-ins

http://81.ufc.com/

Lesnar 6'3 1/2 265

Mir  6'1 255 per wiki  or on the recent press release he's listed as 6'4

LAS VEGAS — Nearly 15 years ago, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship was first conceived by Rorion Gracie, the idea was to showcase the jiu-jitsu their family made decades earlier in Brazil. The whole idea was to show the American public that in a real fight situation, skill and knowledge could beat size and brawn.

In 2008, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is part of an equation when it comes to the skill set of the top fighters. But even after the question was answered — that yes, skills can and usually do beat a bigger, stronger opponent — we have the latest experiment on Saturday night with the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir heavyweight fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Can a superior athlete, with more size, strength, speed and stamina, and arguably more mental toughness, overcome a lack of experience against a fighter with the skill set most dangerous to him?

Everyone knew going in that Lesnar was a huge guy, but so is Mir. Questions about how Mir, who is listed at 6-foot-4, would look next to Lesnar were answered at the weigh-in. Even though Lesnar is listed at 6-2 1/2, he was slightly taller than Mir. At 265 pounds, he looked gigantic next to Mir, who weighed in at 255. Lesnar will likely be closer to 275-280 come fight time.

This week brought a few other surprises. The first is that Lesnar has a freakish reach for a man of his height. The second is he is only the second man in the history of combat sports in Nevada to wear size 4XL gloves, the other being South Korean giant Choi Hong-man, who is 7-foot-3 and 367 pounds.

If the weigh-in is any indication, this is the match people are most interested in, even though the Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira match for the interim heavyweight title is the main event.

When Lesnar came out for the weigh-in, the crowd booed him heavily. There is a clear dynamic that UFC fans want to see skill overcome size, and specifically see a UFC veteran knock out what they see as a fake pro wrestler who isn't showing respect for their sport. MMA websites have been filled with talk about this fight, almost to the point it seems Mir is defending the honor of their sport against the entertainers from pro wrestling. The perceived lack of respect is pure ticket-selling hype as Lesnar wouldn't have put himself through insane conditioning workouts if he didn't respect the sport.

As for what will happen, it's the ultimate crapshoot gamble in Las Vegas. On paper, Mir should win. It is his game. Even though Lesnar is the superior athlete, he's a newcomer with just one professional fight and 18 months of training. Plus, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Mir's specialty, is specifically for smaller men to defeat stronger men.

Mir has fought in UFC title matches and against real opponents for years. Lesnar has been in man-on-man competition only once, a 69-second win last summer, since winning the NCAA heavyweight championship in 2000.

MMA fans have grown to expect seeing huge powerful guys go out, be too slow, and get tired, with all their power meaning little a few minutes into the fight.

The idea is the experienced fighter lies back, waits for the caged lion — as Lesnar has come across like all week — to come out aggressive and burn himself out, and then all those muscles work against the big guy.

But in this instance, everything people expect from such a confrontation may not happen.

Lesnar's conditioning training is far beyond anything Mir would do and rivals UFC's biggest conditioning freaks like Rich Franklin and Sean Sherk. He may still get tired because of nerves and the adrenaline dump of a first-timer on a UFC stage, but he's fought in NCAA tournaments having to win several matches over a few-day period before more than 15,000 fans. Even though it's not a sport, he has wrestled on two occasions on WWE shows before more than 50,000 fans. The crowd, which will likely be heavily against Lesnar, both from the MMA vs. pro wrestling angle, but also because Mir is from Las Vegas, may not be much of a factor.

In handicapping the fight, Mir has conceded that Lesnar will dictate where the fight is fought. If Lesnar wants to stand, Mir will have a difficult time taking him down. If Lesnar wants to get him down, Mir will have a difficult time not being on his back.

But, Mir's strongest position is on his back. And standing, Mir has quicker hands and feet. Lesnar hits very hard, but he's a beginner when it comes to the striking game. If Mir can avoid the takedown for any length of time, the great unknown question, whether Lesnar can take a punch, may be answered.

Will Mir frustrate Lesnar both standing and on the ground, forcing a mistake and getting him tired? Will Lesnar be too strong, and wear Mir out? Anything can happen in Round 1. After that, the advantage starts leaning toward Lesnar.

If Mir's gas tank isn't any better than it's been for most of his career, and Lesnar's is where it appears to be, it may be a nightmare for the people who somehow see the credibility of their sport resting on the outcome.

Lesnar is guaranteed $250,000, the highest of anyone on the show, plus has a $200,000 win bonus. Generally speaking, most UFC headliners earn substantially more than their contracted guarantees. Mir, who has a chance to revitalize his career with a win, has a $40,000 guarantee with a $40,000 win bonus.

The two participants in the title match, Nogueira and Sylvia, both have a $100,000 guarantee and a $100,000 win bonus.

[Seabiscuit36]

pretty good fights tonight.  Mir beat Lesnar with a ankle lock.  Lesnar was beating Mir's ass for the first 45 seconds, and then Lesnar looked like a tard standing over top of Mir.  Mir locked his leg and got Lesnar to tapout.  Lesnar will be a beast if he learns how to deal with submissions and the brazilian invasion of fighting.  Lesnar completly pwnd Mir but Mir was the tactical fighter and easly got him to submit.  None of the fights tonight were blood bouts.  Silvia lost to a submission.  I'm really tired of jiujitsu

[mussa]

lesner = amateur

dude has some good power, but he lacks any sort of form. he's got to learn some jiujitsu if he's going to go anywhere in MMA.

he knocked frank mir on his ass with a punch that looked like it was thrown with barely any power behind it...ha

[MURP]

Damn is Lesnar powerful.  But yeah he needs work.  Only a guy of his stature would be thrown into a UFC fight against Mir with one tomato can fight in his past.  He has the positive attitude, strength and punching power to be a force, but clearly needs to work on submission defense.   Most of the heavyweights can take a beating and keep going so Lesnar isnt going to be able to pound their faces in as easily as people expect.   We saw that in the interim champ fight with Slvvia and Nogueira.  And boy am I glad that Sylvia lost.   I still want to see Lesnar take some big punches to the face to see if he has the chin.  Looks like we are going to have to wait until June or so for his next fight.  Cant wait to see who they match him up with. 

Also that Nate the Great Marquardt is something else.  He just schooled Jeremy Horn who is a good fighter.   Marquardt is really not getting enough press, that dude is gonna be money. 

[Feva]

Here's the Mir/Lesnar fight for anyone who hasn't seen it.
Probably won't be there too long.

Lesnar must be going soft.  I remember back in the WWE, Kurt Angle had him in the Ankle lock for about 2 minutes and he didn't tap.  Here he taps to Mir in about 2 seconds.

Bitch.

[mussa]

ha...yea....sure....got ya!

[mussa]

anyone ever catch WEC Wreckage on VS? some decent fights on there. most fights end in seconds though, some of the guys are really amateur and get submitted really quick. Frank Mir is one of the announcers, ha

[Feva]

UFC 82 Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson... watch it before it's pulled.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4960901826315426386&q=ufc%2082&total=176&start=0&num=50&so=0&type=search&plindex=4


What a farging monster...

[mussa]

Just got done watching UFC 82. Most of the fights were, meh. Chris Leben might be my favorite fighter, the dude can get hammered and still comes at your 100% full force. He has amazing power. Prob his fight was the best and or most entertaining. Anderson Silva made an ass out of dan henderson. pretty disappointed in him.

so does this mean silva vs rampage, or am i in the wrong weight class?

[Feva]

Nah, different classes man.  Rampage is light heavyweight champ at 205.  Silva i sthe middleweight champ at 185.  Henderson came down in weight to fight Silva.

Technically, Rampage could come down as well or Silva come up to light heavy, but I wouldn't hold my breath.  One of them would probably have to lose their strap for that to really be possible.

[MURP]

I think Rampage is already scheduled to fight Forrest Griffin in UFC 86.  They are both coaches for this seasons Ultimate Fighter show.     personally i think it will be a fun fight.  Forrest is a total nut.

There doesnt seem to be a real "superfight" opponent for Anderson Silva right now unless someone moves up or down in weight class.    Okami (the guy who just beat Tanner) sounds like he is a probable choice since he has a good record and Silva was DQ'd the last time they fought.  Only problem is that Okami isnt a  major name so that might not draw a lot of interest for Pay per views etc.    They could always throw Rich Franklin back at Silva to get killed again.    There are a handful of other guys they could put in there for a shot like Bisping/Marquardt  etc

[mussa]

I think Okami is a guy with huge potential. Great size, great power. Don't think he's got the skills to take on Silva right now. Seems really raw as a fighter. Silva's jujitsu, on top of his other natural talents is a tough combo to stop. First fight I've ever watched of his and handling a guy like D. Henderson that way is something to take note of. top notch fighter in mma