The Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread - New Rankings

[baka_boy1221]

[Nassiral]

So here's a question that may be very unpopular.

Is Forrest Griffen still relevent in the UFC title picture?

He's coming off a 14 month layoff to fight Rich Franklin this Saturday. Griffin's last match was a split decision win over Tito. Before that he was beat to hell by the Spider, and was knocked out by Evans. Really Griffin's last notable wins were his championship win over Rampage and his sub of Rua.

Even if he wins over Franklin, is it at all meaningful? He's gone two and a half years at least since a noteworthy victory, so is Griffin now going to be nothing more than a fan favorite, or does anyone see some sort of career comeback in the making? If so, how?

[Za The SITUASIAN]

Nassiral

So here's a question that may be very unpopular.

Is Forrest Griffen still relevent in the UFC title picture?

He's coming off a 14 month layoff to fight Rich Franklin this Saturday. Griffin's last match was a split decision win over Tito. Before that he was beat to hell by the Spider, and was knocked out by Evans. Really Griffin's last notable wins were his championship win over Rampage and his sub of Rua.

Even if he wins over Franklin, is it at all meaningful? He's gone two and a half years at least since a noteworthy victory, so is Griffin now going to be nothing more than a fan favorite, or does anyone see some sort of career comeback in the making? If so, how?

I actually thought he should've won against Ortiz via UD. Oh well, a win is a win.


Griffin and Franklin is too alike styleistically. And both got KTFO by Anderson Silva. Griffin is still an underdog and is a title contender no doubt, he just needs to get more active. Fight more often instead of once every year.


Franklin is going to win though in my eyes, Griffin has gassed in the past. Franklin never gasses. I got Franklin by TKO.


Win or lose, Griffin is a threat to anybody

[Nassiral]

Za_Xiong

Nassiral

So here's a question that may be very unpopular.

Is Forrest Griffen still relevent in the UFC title picture?

He's coming off a 14 month layoff to fight Rich Franklin this Saturday. Griffin's last match was a split decision win over Tito. Before that he was beat to hell by the Spider, and was knocked out by Evans. Really Griffin's last notable wins were his championship win over Rampage and his sub of Rua.

Even if he wins over Franklin, is it at all meaningful? He's gone two and a half years at least since a noteworthy victory, so is Griffin now going to be nothing more than a fan favorite, or does anyone see some sort of career comeback in the making? If so, how?

I actually thought he should've won against Ortiz via UD. Oh well, a win is a win.


Griffin and Franklin is too alike styleistically. And both got KTFO by Anderson Silva. Griffin is still an underdog and is a title contender no doubt, he just needs to get more active. Fight more often instead of once every year.


Franklin is going to win though in my eyes, Griffin has gassed in the past. Franklin never gasses. I got Franklin by TKO.


Win or lose, Griffin is a threat to anybody

Now the problem is, because Griffin's fights have been very few of recent, compared to more active guys like Machida, Evans, Jackson, Rua, Bader, how can you really say Griffin is a contender? Hamill is more of a contender imo right now than Griffin is.
Then again, with UFC being so fan (and Dana) driven, Griffin will still be treated as one of the top guys in the weight class.

I'd also argue Griffin doesn't gas out. He wins by wearing other guys down.

[baka_boy1221]

Nassiral

Za_Xiong

Nassiral

So here's a question that may be very unpopular.

Is Forrest Griffen still relevent in the UFC title picture?

He's coming off a 14 month layoff to fight Rich Franklin this Saturday. Griffin's last match was a split decision win over Tito. Before that he was beat to hell by the Spider, and was knocked out by Evans. Really Griffin's last notable wins were his championship win over Rampage and his sub of Rua.

Even if he wins over Franklin, is it at all meaningful? He's gone two and a half years at least since a noteworthy victory, so is Griffin now going to be nothing more than a fan favorite, or does anyone see some sort of career comeback in the making? If so, how?

I actually thought he should've won against Ortiz via UD. Oh well, a win is a win.


Griffin and Franklin is too alike styleistically. And both got KTFO by Anderson Silva. Griffin is still an underdog and is a title contender no doubt, he just needs to get more active. Fight more often instead of once every year.


Franklin is going to win though in my eyes, Griffin has gassed in the past. Franklin never gasses. I got Franklin by TKO.


Win or lose, Griffin is a threat to anybody

Now the problem is, because Griffin's fights have been very few of recent, compared to more active guys like Machida, Evans, Jackson, Rua, Bader, how can you really say Griffin is a contender? Hamill is more of a contender imo right now than Griffin is.
Then again, with UFC being so fan (and Dana) driven, Griffin will still be treated as one of the top guys in the weight class.

I'd also argue Griffin doesn't gas out. He wins by wearing other guys down.

orrest is a guys that ... well he's not a cardio monster like Guida ... but he does tend to push the pace of a fight ... great examples such as the Shogun and Rampage fight ...

If Forrest wins this against Franklin ... he's in the picture ... but he's like that guy at the edge ... another big win or two will no doubt put him back into contention ... but until then ...

The thing I'm worried about with Forrest is that ... as of late ... he has been injury proned ...just hope that he can stay healthy ...

[Nassiral]

But really, how many Light Heavyweights can be said to push the pace of a fight when compared to a Lightweights like Guida, Tyson Griffin, Fisher, Gomi, Guillard, etc...? Every weight class kinda has it's own pace, and there are some standouts that do push it a little more than most, though when you get above Middleweight it's more about pacing yourself and that moment to find and explode to finish someone in trouble.

Who would you say pushes the pace in Light Heavy? I'd say Machida, and Evans does a bit, and of course Griffin.

[baka_boy1221]

Nassiral

But really, how many Light Heavyweights can be said to push the pace of a fight when compared to a Lightweights like Guida, Tyson Griffin, Fisher, Gomi, Guillard, etc...? Every weight class kinda has it's own pace, and there are some standouts that do push it a little more than most, though when you get above Middleweight it's more about pacing yourself and that moment to find and explode to finish someone in trouble.

Who would you say pushes the pace in Light Heavy? I'd say Machida, and Evans does a bit, and of course Griffin.

Machida if he is aggressive ... he sure does pushes ... as of late Shogun has started ... but besides them ... Thiago Silva, Rampage, Jon Jones ...

[baka_boy1221]

UFC 126 - February 5, 2011
Preliminary card
Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson
Pierce defeated Robertson via TKO (punches) at 0:29 of round 2.
Light Heavyweight bout: Ricardo Romero vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Kingsbury defeated Romero via TKO (strikes) at 0:21 of round 1. This bout aired on Spike TV following the Mendes vs. Omigawa fight.
Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
Taylor defeated Ruediger via KO (strikes) at 1:42 of round 2. This bout aired on the PPV broadcast following the Silva vs. Belfort fight.

Preliminary card (Facebook Stream)
Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson
Johnson defeated Yamamoto via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27).

Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Mendes defeated Omigawa via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly
Cerrone defeated Kelly via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:48 of round 2. This bout aired on the PPV broadcast following the Taylor vs. Ruediger fight.

Main card
Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos
Torres defeated Banuelos via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Ellenberger defeated Rocha via split decision [27–30, 29–28, 29–28].
Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader
Jones defeated Bader via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:20 of round 2.
Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
Griffin defeated Franklin via unanimous decision [29–28, 29–28, 29–28].
Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Vitor Belfort
Silva defeated Belfort via KO (strikes) at 3:25 of round 1 to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Bonus Awards
Fighters were awarded $75,000 bonuses.

Fight of the Night: Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly
Knockout of the Night: Anderson Silva
Submission of the Night: Jon Jones

[baka_boy1221]

Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva - February 12, 2011
Main card
Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva
Silva defeated Emelianenko via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2.
Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout: Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov
Kharitonov defeated Arlovski via KO (punches) at 2:49 of round 1.
Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bout: Shane Del Rosario vs. Lavar Johnson
Del Rosario defeated Johnson via submission (armbar) at 4:31 of round 1.
Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bout: Chad Griggs vs. Gianpiero Villante
Griggs defeated Villante via TKO (punches) at 2:49 of round 1.
Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bout: Valentijn Overeem vs. Ray Sefo
Overeem defeated Sefo via submission (neck crank) at 1:37 of round 1.

Preliminary card (HDNet)
Catchweight (156 lbs) bout: John Cholish vs. Marc Stevens
Cholish defeated Stevens via submission (kneebar) at 3:57 of round 2.
Welterweight bout: Igor Gracie vs. John Salgado
Gracie defeated Salgado via technical submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:04 of round 2.
Welterweight bout: Sam Oropeza vs. Don Carlo-Clauss
Oropeza defeated Carlo-Clauss via verbal submission (strikes) at 4:10 of round 1.
Featherweight bout: Anthony Leone vs. Josh LaBerge
LaBerge defeated Leone via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 1.
Featherweight bout: Kevin Roddy vs. Jason McLean
McLean defeated Roddy via split decision [29-28, 28-29, 29-28]. This fight was not shown on the HDNet broadcast.

[Nassiral]

So tonight is Penn vs. Fitch. Three key fights, the main event, Bisping vs Rivera, and Sots vs Siver.

Sots needs to get an impressive win to make sure he keeps his footing in the crowded lightweight division to get a chance at the title this year. Siver winning will help him get elevated toward contender status, but this is really a fight for Sots to show he is one of THE top guys. If he doesn't deliver, we'll see several lining up ahead of him.

Bisping and Rivera is much the same. Bisping has been looking good at Middleweight, and just needs to keep a couple wins going if he wants to take a crack at The Spider. Rivera is a good but not great fighter. I don't think we'll ever see him be a top contender but he could play spoiler and knock Bisping down a peg or two.

As for Penn vs. Fitch? Well, Dana has hinted the winner of the two may be the next title contender for welterweight. The way I see it, as long as GSP is focused and determined, doesn't matter who you put against him at welterweight, he's keeping that belt. GSP will beat Shields and I hope that means Dana will try to give fans what they want and arrange the MMA pound-for-pound superfight that would be George Rush St. Pierre vs Anderson The Spider Silva. GSP has already beaten Penn twice, and I just can't envision Fitch doing much better than his AKA comrade Koscheck.

[baka_boy1221]

UFC 127 - February 27, 2011
Preliminary card
Lightweight bout: Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Curt Warburton
Warburton defeated Jewtuszko via unanimous decision [29–28, 29–28, 29–28].
Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Hunt defeated Tuchscherer via KO (punch) at 1:41 of round 2. This fight aired on the PPV broadcast following the Penn vs. Fitch fight.

Preliminary card (Facebook)
Featherweight bout: Zhang Tie Quan vs. Jason Reinhardt
Zhang defeated Reinhardt via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:48 of round 1. This fight aired on the PPV broadcast following the Ebersole vs. Lytle fight.
Light Heavyweight bout: Anthony Perosh vs. Tom Blackledge
Perosh defeated Blackledge via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:45 of round 1.

Preliminary card (TV Card)
Middleweight bout: Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda
Ring defeated Fukuda via unanimous decision [29–28, 29–28, 29–28].
Light Heavyweight bout: James Te-Huna vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Gustafsson defeated Te-Huna via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:27 of round 1. This fight aired on the PPV broadcast in the review of the event.
Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher
Pearson defeated Fisher via unanimous decision [30–27, 29–28, 29–28].

Main card
Middleweight bout: Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi
Noke defeated Camozzi via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:35 of round 1.
Welterweight bout: Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole
Ebersole defeated Lytle via unanimous decision [30–27, 29–28, 29–28].
Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver
Siver defeated Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–28, 30–27).
Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
Bisping defeated Rivera via TKO (strikes) at 1:54 of round 2.
Welterweight bout: B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch
Penn and Fitch fought to a majority draw [28-29, 28–28, 28–28].


Bonus awards
Fighters were awarded $75,000 bonuses.
Fight of the Night: Brian Ebersole vs. Chris Lytle
Knockout of the Night: Mark Hunt
Submission of the Night: Kyle Noke

[Nassiral]

Bisping is fast getting less and less fan support out of the US. Not going to speculate if the knee was intentional or not, but it certainly looks horrible. Then the shouting and spitting? People were angry about Lesnar's actions after he beat Mir, this is as bad or maybe worse.

Penn and Fitch went to a draw. Yep, neither one would win against GSP. Work on making the superfight happen.

Siver defeated Sotiropulous, boosting himself and for the time being moving Sots back in the Lightweight pack. The way I see it, barring injuries, the LW title picture should go something like this the rest of the year...
Maynard won't learn from his mistake and will be out-scored by Edgar in a Unanimous Decision.
Edgar will go on to out-score Pettis whenever they match up. (Likely sometime in September, unless say...Edgar gets injured in training Pettis will take the May fight. Most likely.) I think Pettis will surprise some and push Edgar harder than will be expected.
Clay Guida will stop Ben Henderson in their TUF Finale matchup. If he keeps the submission streak going, Guida should be a lock to have his challenger spot and a shot at the belt.

[baka_boy1221]

Nassiral

Bisping is fast getting less and less fan support out of the US. Not going to speculate if the knee was intentional or not, but it certainly looks horrible. Then the shouting and spitting? People were angry about Lesnar's actions after he beat Mir, this is as bad or maybe worse.

Penn and Fitch went to a draw. Yep, neither one would win against GSP. Work on making the superfight happen.

Siver defeated Sotiropulous, boosting himself and for the time being moving Sots back in the Lightweight pack. The way I see it, barring injuries, the LW title picture should go something like this the rest of the year...
Maynard won't learn from his mistake and will be out-scored by Edgar in a Unanimous Decision.
Edgar will go on to out-score Pettis whenever they match up. (Likely sometime in September, unless say...Edgar gets injured in training Pettis will take the May fight. Most likely.) I think Pettis will surprise some and push Edgar harder than will be expected.
Clay Guida will stop Ben Henderson in their TUF Finale matchup. If he keeps the submission streak going, Guida should be a lock to have his challenger spot and a shot at the belt.

But Pettis is fighting Guida at the TUF Finale ... Ben Henderson will be fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 129 ...

[Nassiral]

baka_boy1221

Nassiral

Bisping is fast getting less and less fan support out of the US. Not going to speculate if the knee was intentional or not, but it certainly looks horrible. Then the shouting and spitting? People were angry about Lesnar's actions after he beat Mir, this is as bad or maybe worse.

Penn and Fitch went to a draw. Yep, neither one would win against GSP. Work on making the superfight happen.

Siver defeated Sotiropulous, boosting himself and for the time being moving Sots back in the Lightweight pack. The way I see it, barring injuries, the LW title picture should go something like this the rest of the year...
Maynard won't learn from his mistake and will be out-scored by Edgar in a Unanimous Decision.
Edgar will go on to out-score Pettis whenever they match up. (Likely sometime in September, unless say...Edgar gets injured in training Pettis will take the May fight. Most likely.) I think Pettis will surprise some and push Edgar harder than will be expected.
Clay Guida will stop Ben Henderson in their TUF Finale matchup. If he keeps the submission streak going, Guida should be a lock to have his challenger spot and a shot at the belt.

But Pettis is fighting Guida at the TUF Finale ... Ben Henderson will be fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 129 ...

Could've sworn I'd read they lined up Guida - Henderson for TUF finale because Pettis has been guaranteed the next challenge after the May Edgar-Maynard fight. I'll have to poke around.

[baka_boy1221]

Nassiral

baka_boy1221

Nassiral

Bisping is fast getting less and less fan support out of the US. Not going to speculate if the knee was intentional or not, but it certainly looks horrible. Then the shouting and spitting? People were angry about Lesnar's actions after he beat Mir, this is as bad or maybe worse.

Penn and Fitch went to a draw. Yep, neither one would win against GSP. Work on making the superfight happen.

Siver defeated Sotiropulous, boosting himself and for the time being moving Sots back in the Lightweight pack. The way I see it, barring injuries, the LW title picture should go something like this the rest of the year...
Maynard won't learn from his mistake and will be out-scored by Edgar in a Unanimous Decision.
Edgar will go on to out-score Pettis whenever they match up. (Likely sometime in September, unless say...Edgar gets injured in training Pettis will take the May fight. Most likely.) I think Pettis will surprise some and push Edgar harder than will be expected.
Clay Guida will stop Ben Henderson in their TUF Finale matchup. If he keeps the submission streak going, Guida should be a lock to have his challenger spot and a shot at the belt.

But Pettis is fighting Guida at the TUF Finale ... Ben Henderson will be fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 129 ...

Could've sworn I'd read they lined up Guida - Henderson for TUF finale because Pettis has been guaranteed the next challenge after the May Edgar-Maynard fight. I'll have to poke around.

Even if Pettis wasn't fighting ... I don't think it would be a good idea to wait that long ... ring rust can get to you ... besides Guida is a good test for anyone ... especially Pettis ... being one of the WEC lightweights ... he needs to (somewhat) prove that he can hang with the UFC guys ...