rolling mma thread

Jones's toe injury this weekend was shudder-inducing

the ufc hegemony has made mma kinda boring but i gotta say this season of the ultimate fighter has been super fucking entertaining. though nothing as endlessly rewatchable as that uriah hall gif.

yeah i havent really been into mma in a minute. i've "tapped out" if you will

Too many slug-fest "wars" for me lately, too many fighters whose skillset is now gunning for the one-punch KO. I like well-rounded fights - the drama that comes from the possibility of the fight going to the ground at any time, etc., fighters working for chokes and submissions when they are on the ground.

A lot of the best fights are lower on the card or in prelims so I just wait to hear about them and then download it.

every time the crowd boos while two dudes are grappling their hearts out i mourn PRIDE that much more.

pride never die

silva's leg break arrrgh not what i was expecting to see when looking for hungover viewing

i dont ever watch this but i guess im watching these girls fight rn

beating up a girl from cleveland on primetime network tv

That was oddly gratifying

https://the-cauldron.com/the-end-of-an-error-cbac04dc4a98

been waiting for a piece like this. the whole world seemed to be experts in women's fighting overnight, then couldn't comprehend it when its supposed GOAT lost

The truth was we had no idea what we were watching, or how to evaluate it. But for many reasons — an eagerness to seem progressive, an addiction to vapid celebrity culture, the headlong rush to avoid being left out of a major story — everyone was afraid to admit that maybe, in Rousey’s case, there was nothing to be seen.

ESPN anointed Rousey “Fighter of the Year” and “Female Athlete of the Year” for a period in which she had spent a total of 30 seconds in the ring with two hopelessly under-qualified opponents in a sport that still significantly lacks history and development of its ranks. The idea of her being a better fighter than Floyd Mayweather, or a more exemplary female athlete than Serena Williams (who was in the midst of a 28–0 run and had won every major title in one of the most popular and competitive women’s sports in the world) was laughable, at best. But the manufacturers of celebrity and the branding agents weren’t about to let reality get in the way of their latest pet project, and the fans were more than happy to buy what was being sold.

man, this is a fucking fire piece

lol that's the same dude that wrote the fake Mo Williams thundercat article

Article kinda ignores the little detail that Holm fought brilliantly -- really, really brilliantly. Sort of the way that the sporting press kinda ignored that Buster Douglas beat Tyson with his relentless jab more than Tyson beat himself. Rousey had to get in close to have a chance to win, and Holm methodically and powerfully made sure she didn't go in without getting hurt or frustrated.

Article wasn't so much about the fight afaict

I found this, link hopping from the deadspin article and it is definitely something
https://streamable.com/gtdl

No, the article wasn't about the fight, but it did argue that the fight showed that there is nearly nothing behind the hype about Rousey. And I don't think the fight showed that. The "best there ever was and ever could be" narrative is almost always wrong, but Rousey is an excellent fighter. She get beat by a better one.

I'd have to say it did show it. The point was, we don't yet know what it means to be a great fighter in the context of women's UFC, yet we pretended we did. Her talent is undeniable but if we're unable or unwilling to even try and give it the scrutiny it deserves then the hype is disingenuous and empty.

I would argue that we did see great fighting -- from Holm. I do agree that there isn't a lot of clarity on what great fighting means in women's MMA and what is involved -- I read an article from an apparently respectable publication that wrote "Holm only has an inch more reach than Ronda!" as if an inch weren't a goddam mile when you are dealing with a skilled boxer -- but I think we saw the other night that the way to greatness has more to do with brains and fitness than pro-wrestling/Rocky IV-style fire and passion. Holm taking Ronda down and then letting her up again with the quickness was a brilliant move, and also demonstrates that Holm for one knew she was dealing with an awesome grappler.

Yeah Holm was phenomenal (most sites give her a 3 inch advantage at 69" vs 66") but even in that we were sold a lie and were too eager to buy it and then continued to buy it even after it was revealed to be false. The fight wasn't an upset as it's being characterised, firstly that implies an overturning of the odds within the fight itself which was anything but the case and also because outside of the hype, we had no idea how they would match up or how good Holm actually was and didn't respect either of them enough to actually interrogate that.

Firas Zahabi posted an amazing breakdown which was promptly taken down but rescued by reddit people https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/3t5fb2/video_firas_zahabis_fight_analysis_ronda_rousey/
Goes into detail about her posture, discipline and how she was able to avoid the clinch with apparent ease

That's a grappler's analysis, and it sure wasn't a grappler's fight -- I did find it interesting, but incomplete (then again, I used to box).

well, that was embarrassing

want to have it on record: osp beats jones.

McGregor quits?!

dunno if he's trolling or if this has something to do with the mma fighter who died in ireland recently

i don't know what to make of that. dispute over money/promotion schedule would be my guess.

beat takeshi interviewing sakuraba: http://www.global-training-report.com/sak55.htm

rip Kimbo Slice, age 42

his recent fight with dada5000 in bellator was the worst bullshit ever--kinda fucked up that dada and kimbo were both medically cleared and dada ended up nearly dead in the ring (and then was medically DEAD in the hospital that night) and kimbo died three months later. by all accounts he was a chill guy and put his health and his life on the line paying his bills in a tough tough way.

reading about this on the train today, i wondered if anyone in my car, on the whole train cared about kimbo.

as stunning as the backyard fights were, he ended up a joke, whose professional career exposed his lack of skill. the majority of kimbo’s professional fights were like... he lost or it was fixed.

his boxing career was cans and no-names, fighting a guy who was 39 and had a 0-1 record and the fight was in a casino in miami, oklahoma.

in mma, even in the debut against against bo cantrell, there were suggestions it was fixed-- doubt it: cantrell was in on short notice, looked soft, and maybe bas rutten shouting at kimbo for a few hours helped him put a few things together. the elbow he rocked him with looked deadly. but tank abbott, dude was never more than a particularly scary nightclub bouncer who was already deeeep in the twilight of whatever he had made out of his career, fighting kimbo on the tail end of a 1-8 slide, made it 1-9. it eventually came out that abbott took that fight and a big payday with the promise to keep it standing, not clinch, not take it to the ground. once he made the ufc, houston alexander took him the distance in a boring as hell fight. and then mitrione FUCKED HIM UP at ufc 113. kimbo actually took him down a few times, got side control, but didn't go for anything dangerous on the ground and was nearly submitted before being saved by bell at the end of the first. kimbo muscled out of dangerous situations on the ground but gassed badly and could not answer back with anything. mitrione eventually got tired of punching and the fight ended with mitrione riding kimbo, curled in the fetal position.

the fight with shamrock was either fixed or another example of a marginal mma promotion tossing its elder statesmen into the furnace. the final fight with dada 5000 was a disgrace. don't even bother watching highlights, if you've never seen it. dada ended up flatlining that night in the hospital. kimbo dead a few months later.

it's fucked up, the bullshit fights and going out like this. because he was like a folk hero or something some limewire urban legend. i'm sure i heard about him knocking out big d's eye before i ever saw them square off in a shitty backyard in south florida, clinch up against a satellite dish. and he never even knocked out big d's eye, man. just cut him up a bit. but that's what i mean. i bet i heard about as many kimbo slice fights as i ever saw. i bet i was related the details of kimbo slice fights that never actually happened. he wasn't fighting real challengers but he looked dangerous and slick.

slick and tonsured, a cipher, never heard him say shit except "you done?" when reaching down to help up his downed opponent. when you finally heard him talk, on the ultimate fighter, he was surprisingly thoughtful and reflective. "will i ever lay kimbo slice to rest?" he seemed humble, aware that he was going into the deep end, begging to be taught the secrets of brazilian jiu jitsu and how not to get taken down and fucked up by more well rounded fighters.

i don't know. it's not like his story is unique, lots of dudes with brawled up from streets/injured lost shot at pro football turned to fighting legends out there. he never retired and hawked a line of barbecue sauce lines and instagram product placement and never showed up on yo gotti mixtape skits or whatever, he kept trying to fight for a living, even when he was most safe or could at least transition out of the fight game, i hope. he was still shooting gear and trying to line up a fight with wanderlei silva. r.i.p. kimbo slice.

lmbooooooo

rip

https://the-cauldron.com/the-end-of-an-error-cbac04dc4a98

been waiting for a piece like this. the whole world seemed to be experts in women's fighting overnight, then couldn't comprehend it when its supposed GOAT lost

― k3vin k., Monday, November 16, 2015 9:13 PM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i guess amanda nunez is the greatest fighter of all time now?

https://gfycat.com/FamiliarGlamorousFulmar

the greatest LOL

poor lost soul. also, lol

i love daniel cormier he is my favorite fighter

so he got jobbed or what?

So Conor McGregor huh

Cocaine is a helluva drug

Just hours after Conor McGregor and his friends stormed a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and other fighters competing on Saturday’s UFC 223 card in the Barclays Center loading dock, Nurmagomedov said he wasn’t impressed by Team McGregor’s antics.

“I am laughing inside,” Nurmagomedov said. “You broke window? Why? Come inside. You know UFC don’t let you come inside. If you real gangster why don’t you come inside?

“This is big history gangster place. Brooklyn. You want to talk to me? Send me location. We have to talk? I am gonna come, no problem.

“I grew up like this. I don’t grow up throwing chairs at window. This is not my bus.”

I’m going to have to get back into watching ufc now

I have a feeling this is all a publicity stunt to set the scene for a fight with Nurmagomedov

Dana White looked/sounded legimately furious, plus two fighters not involved are injured and one had to be pulled from the upcoming fight

White mentioned multiple lawsuits and McGregor is being charged in NY, his plane is grounded

Maybe McGregor is such a dumb shithead in his mind it was a stunt, but the UFC I don't think was involved. Apparently McGregor has a website called Mac Life and some of his credentialed journalists opened the doors for his gang, such an insane story.

He's really such a stupid racist piece of shit I keep imagining if a black athlete did this Trump would have called in the national guard.

Biggest thing though is he's pretty fucked in the long term. At 29 he's just squandered years of his prime on not fighting then getting beat up by Floyd Mayweather. This will eat up at least a year, if he gets back in UFC. He'll be on the wrong side of 30 not having fought in like 4 years.

yeah this was definitely not a stunt. although the NYPD refuted Dana White's claim of a pending warrant (which mighta just been White bloviating out of anger)

This is current story from ESPN, though I guess I don't know if there's a distinction between being charged and a warrant?

New York police have charged UFC star Conor McGregor with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony criminal mischief after he turned himself in following an incident Thursday in Brooklyn, according to the New York City Police Department.

my guess is at the original time Dana claimed there was one, they hadn't gotten that far yet, but that White knew charges were likely coming.

figured he'd eventually get pulled in for that. no idea what he was thinking.

White said a non fighter regular UFC employee got a broken knuckle, can't even imagine how much they will sue for

Max Holloway declared unfit to fight Nurmagomedov.....

well that got out of hand