UFC 68- 03/03/07

[Ced 0]

Couture vs. Cro Cop, built right, could be huge. Captain America versus unstoppable foreign killing machine. It's like right out of pro wrestling or a movie or something.

 

Like Insanity said, this is as close as we can get to a real life Rocky 4 (barring Gabriel Gonzaga pulling off the biggest upset since Tyson-Douglas). The only question would be if Randy plays Rocky or Apollo to Cro Cop's Drago.

[Mik 0]

Between Rampage/Chuck and Cro Cop/Randy... they certainly have some MONEY fights in the works. I can't believe that Dana is going to give Franklin and Hughes rematches so quickly but it sounds like a rematch for both is imminent.

 

I think that the winner of Diego/Koscheck should get a shot at Silva before Franklin does. I'm not really sure who I'd slot in for a title shot at 170 before Hughes, though.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Diego/Koscheck is at 170, so the winner of that fight will likely get the winner of GSP/Hughes III.

 

As of right now Anderson Silva is penciled in to fight Nathan Marquardt at UFC 71. Franklin will get his shot after that.

[AboveAverage484 0]

Diego/Koscheck is at 170, so the winner of that fight will likely get the winner of GSP/Hughes III.

 

As of right now Anderson Silva is penciled in to fight Nathan Marquardt at UFC 71. Franklin will get his shot after that.

 

This is a very winnable fight for Nate.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Absolutely but I don't think it's going to be a cakewalk by any means. Silva's ground game is good enough to neutralize Nate's wrestling and subs and in the stand-up department it's clear where the advantage is. I think Nate's best chance for a win is to push the pace, control the standup and score with takedowns and ground and pound.

 

On second viewing of Couture/Sylvia I feel absolutely no shame in admitting that I had tears in my eyes when that final horn sounded in round five.

 

Randy is living proof that human beings can do some amazing things when they want to.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

From an emotional standpoint, that main event was Fight of the Millenium. It was the fight I said I hoped to see, never thinking I'd actually get it. Couture made Sylvia his bitch. And it was glorious.

[snuffbox 0]

It wasn't quite Foreman-Moorer but it was up there.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Everything in that fight had attached to it this huge weight. Every punch Randy landed was a huge step towards victory, every strike Tim landed was a potential defeat. Every takedown was a leap forward, every guard pass was a win. It wasn't just a fight, it was a series of fights. It's what defines an epic.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Haha, after seeing how well Randy performed after his comeback from retirement I guess RRR tries to do the same?

 

Many people were talking about how shitty this card was on paper, but much like the PRIDE card it came through big time. THAT GUY IS MY HERO!

 

I'm serious though, how many people can do that? Fuck Tim Sylvia for even mentioning the injury. This fight brought all to light about why people hate him. Boring as hell on the feet, clueless as to how to adjust his gameplan, when the fight went to the ground in the first round instead of fighting he tried to hold on for a standup, completely makes an ass of himself in the interview, etc. The guys fights not to lose these days, and now I'm glad that we will probably never see him hold that HW Title again. Even if Mirko leaves, in that time odds are the UFC will bring in some capable HW that will take it to Tim. After seeing this fight I'd put money on Gonzaga if the line was juicy enough.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

Tim is never holding the UFC HW title again. Ever. Doesn't matter if he magically became the best heavyweight in the world, he'll never hold it again after this reign.

 

It isn't the fact that fans consider Sylvia boring. Which he is. Sylvia is UNIVERSALLY HATED now. It's not the good type of heat either. Sylvia doesn't understand why the hell he gets booed. Tito Ortiz plays it up. Semmy Schilt cut a pre-fight promo on the K-1 Show last night playing heel. Sylvia just doesn't GET IT.

 

Dana is going to keep Sylvia as far away from the title as possible. He's been wanting someone to beat him for awhile. Hence why he's been headhunting PRIDE HW's. He BADLY wanted someone to beat Sylvia, and now that he's gotten it, if Sylvia ever gets a rematch or title shot again I'll be amazed.

 

Sylvia won't draw for UFC, and his fights are pretty much dead to the crowd beyond raising their wrath. I'm not sure where you go with Sylvia, but he won't be contending for the title anytime soon.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Another thing, I totally agree with Rogan's rant about standing up fighters. I hate seeing guys stall to avoid grappling situations and to me it's not indicative of a "real" fight which at the end of the day MMA tries to mimick, with some safety rules and regulations in place. I don't care if someone else thinks it is boring, but people should learn to fight their way out. That's why I was really happy when Anderson didn't stall for the standup against Lutter but instead bucked his way up.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Oh, and apparently the injury that Sylvia had was a serious back injury about a week out of the fight and he considered not fighting at all, according to Hughes.

 

Considering how little sympathy Hughes gave his guys on TUF for injuries, this one must have been really bad for him to not fight up to his level. I guess whoever said he fought without a spine or backbone was right.

[Darthtiki 0]

That fight last night is probably one of the few exceptions to the rule of men not crying. Between the respect between Rich and Anderson and Randy winning it's safe to say that MMA is sticking around for a long long while.

[KingPK 0]

It wasn't the most exciting or technically sound fight ever, but I loved every second of it. Joe Rogan did perhaps his best color job of his career in this match, pointing out how Randy was ducking and weaving and even throwing in some criticisms (about standups and about not being able to knee the head while on the ground). Tim had absolutely NO answer and probably mentally gave up by round 3.

 

Now all we need is Randy running up a snowy mountain and upon reaching the peak, screaming "MIRKOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" "MIRKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

[benn 0]

Haha, after seeing how well Randy performed after his comeback from retirement I guess RRR tries to do the same?

 

Many people were talking about how shitty this card was on paper, but much like the PRIDE card it came through big time. THAT GUY IS MY HERO!

 

I'm serious though, how many people can do that? Fuck Tim Sylvia for even mentioning the injury. This fight brought all to light about why people hate him. Boring as hell on the feet, clueless as to how to adjust his gameplan, when the fight went to the ground in the first round instead of fighting he tried to hold on for a standup, completely makes an ass of himself in the interview, etc. The guys fights not to lose these days, and now I'm glad that we will probably never see him hold that HW Title again. Even if Mirko leaves, in that time odds are the UFC will bring in some capable HW that will take it to Tim. After seeing this fight I'd put money on Gonzaga if the line was juicy enough.

You're right. From halfway through round 2 I couldn't believe Rogan saying he doesn't get the Sylvia hate and thinks he's criminally underrated. It was totally clear in the way Sylvia completely failed to adapt to Randy's strategy.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

Couture coming out to "Back In The Saddle" was a huge markout for me for some reason. I HATE Aerosmith, but hearing that song with Randy Couture just made so much damn sense. I don't know if he had used it before, but it really sent a message of "I'm back asshole!"

 

It was like the old sheriff just walked back into town to whoop some more ass.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

"barring Gabriel Gonzaga pulling off the biggest upset since Tyson-Douglas"

 

That already happened when Grandpa George Foreman won the World Title.

[snuffbox 0]

The thing that made Foreman winning just a bit bigger was that knockout. Big George, 45, was losing every round but starting to close the gap in the 9th. Then, as he inched into position in the tenth, he tried a jab-cross combo that didnt quite land flush but found the range...he tried it again & BANG, goodnight Mike. Lampley shrieking 'It HAPPENS!' and Gil Clancy having what sounded like an audible heart attack made for quite the emotional soundtrack.

 

But, while Randy didnt ko Sylvia he did dominate...and against a hated champion no less.

[starvenger 0]

RANDY FUCKING COUTURE!!!!!!!!!!

Whoa, dude. You're back.

[tigeraid 0]

Tremendous main event and a decent card throughout. The only thing I was disappointed about was MacDonald's showing--I'm a big MacDonald mark, and while I didn't necessarily think he'd beat the hell out of Franklin, I expected better. Still, this is in no way hurts MacDonald's push through UFC, he's still got a good undefeated streak and only lost to a former champion.

 

And I couldn't agree more on Silvia. I considered Arlovski a better fighter and better champ, and I thought the one knockout Silvia got on him was really luck.

 

Randy just had his number the entire match. That first punch is really what did it IMO, it totally threw him off, because he expected Randy to push the shoot at all costs, kind of like with Monson. Instead, Randy out-paced him on his feet, and solved the reach problem with that big overhand right. It was phenomenal.

 

I just hated Silvia's attitude since winning the title--he became a guy trying to keep the title, not a guy trying to go out and beat people up. My hatred of him was really confirmed when he said, in the pre-PPV hype stuff, that "Couture didn't do well against his last two Heavyweights, or his last two strikers--and I'm the best of both." ... Are you fucking kidding me? With Arlovski and Cro Cop in the same division? Jesus. Just a pompous ass with all ego and no skill. Which is a shame, because he if HAD have put effort into his technique, he really COULD be the most dominant heavyweight in the world. He's the ultimate slacker.

 

Compare that to Couture, who drove the point home by throwing punches at Silvia until the absolute BUZZER of the 5th round, and not a second before. That's how a champion should fight. The old man rocks.

 

I really, really think Dana White came to Joe Rogan before the show and begged him to put Silvia over in an attempt to make the fight more interesting. I honestly expected Couture to win (just not in so dominant a fashion), and obviously from the phone poll, everyone else did too. And we all know Joe considers Couture to be his "hero," so it's really the only explanation.

 

And how about that transition into triangle choke from Kampmann? That shit was poetry in motion.

 

Oh, and Babalu FTL. For the fuckin loss. Go home.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Arlovski.

 

Say it with me now: ARRRR-LOV-SKEEE

[tigeraid 0]

FINE.

[benn 0]

Also, did anybody else notice Batista sitting right behind Anderson Silva? Almost every time they cut to Silva for a reaction he was in shot. WWE can't be too happy about it with their policy of not acknowledging competitors.

[tigeraid 0]

Ya, my buddy mentioned just that when he saw him... "I wonder what McMahon thinks of that."

[starvenger 0]

Ya, my buddy mentioned just that when he saw him... "I wonder what McMahon thinks of that."

"Hey - he's not conforming to the company dress code!"

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Matt Hamill vs Rex Holman (UFC 68) - Previously Unaired

http://rapidshare.com/files/19685362/Matt_...an__UFC_68_.wmv

or

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LX1ALB7D

 

 

Jamie Varner vs Jason Gilliam (UFC 68) - Previously Unaired

http://rapidshare.com/files/19684686/Jamie...am__UFC_68_.wmv

or

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CCSVFPHX

 

Jon Fitch Vs. Luigi Fioravanti

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SKSLT2E7

 

Fitch fight is particularly good, I don't know why the Tibau fight hasn't been upped though.

 

After watching the prelims overall this card turned out to be about 100x better than I thought it would have been.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Reps.

 

Oh shit, wrong board.

 

Can't wait to see if Hamill improved his striking from Utterly, Horrifically, Retard-flingingly Shite, to just plain Utterly, Horribly, Shite.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

While it was bad, it wasn't "Worst striking I've ever seen in a fight bad" like Sherdog said. Also interesting is that Tito is in his corner. Post fight interview is awesome, as expected.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

That Fitch fight was fucking dope. A lot of good things in that fight from both guys and very few bad. Very high quality fighters, especially Fitch, who is sick, and it was a fight that was close enough where one mistake was all it took. Really strong base, Luigi had a real hard time moving his hips and I was surprised he did such an effective elevator. Fitch has to stop with the kicks, though, man.

 

Man. Hamill. That post fight interview was fucking tremendous. No one puts that kind of passion into their words. The boxing was bad, from the way he threw punches to his head movement to the way he set nothing up to his footwork to everything. But damn can he wrestle. No takedowns, but his sprawl and defense was silly good. Very hard puncher, especially on the ground, so if he ever does develop his hands, he could be a fucking danger. A positive and a negative is his aggression. Where he comes forward and pushes the pace, but that leaves him open. The UFC has to be really careful with him because he is still not at the level where he can be put in there with anybody. But then again, they can't coddle him too much where he doesn't develop as a fighter.

 

Still, he is very new to the fight game, less than a year as a pro, I think. Very raw, and has the unfortunate blessing of developing in the UFC rather than the smaller fight shows.

 

Oh, and Goldberg is SO proud to call Rex Holman's penchant for throwing the uppercut. I <3 Goldie.

[theintensifier 0]

Since Cro Cop was defeated, and probably injured, how long before he faces Couture?