Lei Tong

BTW- is LotC's av slowing up anyone else's scrolling capability?

Rumble on the Rock has now also joined the Worldwide Cage Network, along with Cage Warriors, the newly renamed Cage Force, Nordic Events Fightsport Promotions, Warrior's Realm, and Pangea Fights.

In college Tito was not of note at all really. Liddell is more accomplished than Tito. Tito would certainly have the edge in experience but Rashad is the better wrestler. The question with Rashad is can he capitalize on his wrestling. As I said before, in his last fight he has the guy's back and didn't know what to do with it. I would take Rashad by decision. Although it's hard to say how good Rashad's takedown defense is or his game from the bottom. Mike Whitehead took him down and controlled him for a while, but he was 260lbs (though a pretty doughy 260) and couldn't do much in terms of damage. Imes & Jardine both ended up on top at times too, but only momentarily.

The problem is, Wellisch isn't very good, and his wins have been against mainly a "Who's Who" of HW MMA jobbers like White, Howard, etc. Besides, when you're taken down, mounted, and nearly fully armbarred within 30 seconds, that's never a good thing. Also, while Kongo would have a distinct height and reach advantage, he hasn't shown much ability to keep opponents from closing the gap.

I disagree. He can easily be champio at his level. Were he to improve on wrestling and ground skills, he might be able to add the 'n' later on. Monson, Gonzaga & O'Brien would all quickly take him down and maul him, not to mention guys who only might choose to do similar and/or hold their own on the feet.

Tim Sylvia: He's simply not going to make any money as champion, so the UFC has to be praying that someone takes him out soon. Despite this, he still knows how to use his physical advantages to win, and is unlikely to leave the main event scene. Jeff Monson: Sylvia's next challenger, and despite what his fans might say, not much of an improvement when thought of as champion. The terrible fight against PDP showed just how limited and boring he could be. Unlike Sylvia, I have doubts about his ability to stick around against tougher competition, and look for him to get hit hard in '07. Andrei Arlovski: Despite a pair of losses to Sylvia, still arguably the UFC's most talented heavyweight. His chin will always be liability, but Sylvia remains the only UFC HW capable of exploiting it at this point. Next Match-up should be: Dan Christison Brandon Vera: Very talented fighter that might be done in by his lack of size in a key match-up with Sylvia, seeing as how he's one fight away from a title shot (if that). However, his combination of skills & charisma should keep him in the UFC for some time to come, even if it means the UFC bringing out the money to entice him to drop. Next match-up should be: Frank Mir Frank Mir: It's pretty much swink or swim time for Frank. He needs to realize that even Ricco became expendable, and he'll need more than his recent piss poor performances to keep him around. Even assuming he can get into proper fighting shape, his cardio & are still highly suspsect, so a title run seems very unlikely. Next match-up should be: Gabriel Gonzaga Chieck Kongo: Desite being 2-0 and certainly looknig like an intimidating HW, Kongo's likely on borrowed time with the increasing number of capable ground stylists in the UFC. Next match-up should be: Eddie Sanchez Assuerio Silva: Despite being a perfectly servicable HW, Silva's quick loss to Vera and winless record in the UFC makes him nearly imposible to take as a serious contender, yet a dangerous fight for many up-and-comers. Next match-up should be: Jake O'Brien Dan Christison: Much like Silva, a servicable HW who simply hasn't looked good in the UFC. He had his big opprotunity when Mir showed up totally out of shape, but still managed to blow it. If brought back at all, it will likely be as feeder material. Next match-up should be: Andrei Arlovski Gabriel Gonzaga: While being hot off a Mundials title and win over Neto would've served Gonzaga well, yet another set-back comes in the form of an injury. While actually a very good prospect, he still has to work hard (and needs and impressive win) to erase the stigma of the Jordan fight. Next match-up should be: Brian Olsen Other notes: There's a few notable HW's on the American scene who, despite injuries and losses, could still be brough tin eventually; Jake O'Brien is getting a lot of hype as the next big HW prospect;

Not with his wrestling and ground game.

Sean Sherk: Likely to be their next LW champion, though not for long. He'll probably bore against a higher level of competition, and since I don't believe he'll stay champion for long, I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone sometime next year. Kenny Florian: Has name recognition (both positive and negative), and enough skills all around to hang near the top of the division. The lack of any discernable stand-out skills (he has a very good BJJ top game, but not quite the wrestling to back it up) will make it tough for him to stake a claim as "The Man" in the division. Spencer Fisher: Capable of being a solid, popular champion with a vvery crowd pleasing style, but will have to tighten his game up lest he shoots himself in the foot again. Next match-up should be: Jorge Gurgel Joe Stevenson: A somewhat limited game (he simply cannot win from the bottom or standing at this level) will relegate him to "contender" status, yet his heart and wrestling should keep him in the division. Next match-up should be: Mark Hominick Melvin Guillard: A lot of potential, which is almost likely to go untapped. With as many fights under his belt as he has, it'll be very hard for him to iron out weaknesses seemingly set in stone (wide punches standing, submission succeptability and weakness from the bottom). Next match-up should be: Roger Huerta Sam Stout: Unlikely to stay around long. While he has the ability to beat most guys dumb enough to stand with him (Fisher), guys like Stevenson, Guillard, Sherk & of course Florian all have the wrestling ability and mindset to take him down and make him look very bad. Next match-up should be: Hermes Franca Mark Hominick: Despite being smaller than Stout, he's more likely to stick around. Has shown better takedown defense and ground game than his teammate, and though he has slight spoiler potential, he'd really benfit from the creation of a UFC featherweight division. Next match-up should be: Joe Stevenson Hermes Franca: Spoiler material, he's more likely to be something of a gatekeeper, dropping unanimous JD's to the true players in the division. Next match-up should be: Sam Stout Tyson Griffin: Darkhorse contender of the division. While his top level competition has been mostly at featherweight, he's shown the skills to hang with true lightweights and has the skillset and work ethic to make his way to the title. Next match-up should be: Jason Dent Notes: Roger Huerta is another hot prospect to look out for; Thomas, Clementi, & Serra will all likely drop after TUF; if Penn decides to drop, it'll likely dump the division on its head; with UFC's increasing international relationships, more Japanese & Brazilians are a distinct possiblity. I'll do the rest later.

I know this might come as a shock but Rashad is a better wrestler then Tito, and is much more accomplished as an amatuer wrestler then Tito ever was. Most people don't know that Rashad beat one of the best wrestlers of this decade, in an NCAA tournment. I could see Rashad outwrestle Tito. Much of the same could be said about Matyushenko. Of course, that being said, I'd be hard pressed to pick a winner.

Not really. The UFC and MMA as a whole had little to gain from bringing a broken down former pro-wrestler in for a fight or two for a small, short term boost in buys and/or ratings. From a competition stand-point, it may have been morbidly entertaining to see a severely hurt Angle bear-crawling across the cage looking for a leg as his head got punched in, but it wouldn't serve the interest of fans looking for competitive fights or an org that's trying to sell itself as being on the up-and-up and having the world's best fighters (though, they weren't above using Sean Gannon).

I'm still amazed by Seth's relative internet popularity.

Those were my comments to MSIA. Now stop being such a whiny fag before I continue the long tradition of shitty grapplers embarassing shitty boxers.

So Hughes is pretty much the best MMA fighter ever, thus far. You can argue Fedor all you want, but in terms of resume, it's nearly a blowout. Other tired notes from convo with MSIA: "Pulver getting smashed was tits." "I hate Evans' goatee. Actually, just the point." "Abaddi went the distance with Gurgel? HAHAHAHA! SPLIT?! HAHAHAHAHAHA" "Why can't Guillard ever land in guard? Double leg on Melvin = sidemount. Also, can a guy have a signature move than does no damage? Guillard's lateral drop."

Ortiz has already beaten Shamrock twice, the second time being a controversial stoppage in which many people think Shamrock should've been allowed to continue eating elbows for a few more seconds before the ref stepped in. Ken's lost a number of times since coming back from pro-wrestling often (hilariously), yet the guy's name power, cultivated by his early-UFC exposure and WWF tenure, doesn't seem diminished in the least. Also, Shamrock will supposedly, win/or lose, retire after the fight.

Dustin Hazelett.

Well, Riggs is out, Singer & Haynes are both pretty "meh," and Leite/Marquardt & Alves/Alessio each have a really good shot of being boring as all hell. Of course, I'd still prefer either of the latter two over Hamill tard punching Seth, but I'll see them eventually.

'venger, please tell Slick to stop being gay.

my sex is artsy: I think that's as good of a 15 minute fight you can get out of a one dimensional fuck head like McCarthy

Most of them look like boring heavyweight boxers. If Kurt Angle can't fight a former pro-wrestler than he is in a world of hurt. I fail to see how that applies to Vera, Arlovski, Monson, Gonzaga, Silva or Neto. Also, Liddell is a weight class below, which Angle could've probably have fought in once upon a time.

Honestly, most of the HW's in the UFC could probably hurt Angle very badly if they chose too.

Tim Sylvia. Big (6'8, 255lbs+) striker with a weak submission game but decent takedown defense.

Meh. I think a majority of Pancrase fighters sucked pretty badly without works and pussy rules to back them up, much like a few SHOOTO guys had to learn at the early JVT's. EDIT: The similarities between the two are the pussy rules and mediocre grappling, not the works. Well, compared to some of the guys the UFC was bringing in they were Fedor level. If Fedor thought giving up back control to grab a foot was a good idea, maybe. It's moot though, as Brazil had better fighters long before.

Take this with a grain of salt, since I don't want to give any details that would give away identities, but a close friend of mine did some contract work on a UFC competitor fairly recently. The contract contains, among other things, a list of banned substances. It doesn't include steroids. That is, they'll test for certain drugs, but steroids aren't tested for, according the standard contract. ...quoi? I'm not sure what a UFC contract would have to do with a fighter's testing, as the tests themselves are run by the state athletic commisions themselves. Besides, Bonnar, Sylvia, Marquardt, Barnett and several TUF hopefuls have tested positive for different various steroids over the years. Anyways, not everyone on a UFC card is tested. Only those competing in title fights (or the main event, if no title fights are being held), plus one random pair of fighters from a match will be tested.

Meh. I think a majority of Pancrase fighters sucked pretty badly without works and pussy rules to back them up, much like a few SHOOTO guys had to learn at the early JVT's. EDIT: The similarities between the two are the pussy rules and mediocre grappling, not the works.

Frank was more afraid of Rutten & Belfort at that point.