UFC 84 - Ill Will

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Pretty standard generic promo video but it hypes me up. I can't wait for BJ/Sherk.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjkfJKSZoiQ

 

We can't imbed videos anymore?

 

Watching that video just makes me wish UFC still had the huge main entrance / ramp walk way to the Octagon. I'm getting a bit miffed on this whole "fighter walks from the back thru crowd" shit.

 

I can do without the ramp... I'm use to it after years of watching boxing.

[Mik 0]

Official Card

 

MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)

Champ B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk (for lightweight title)

Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic

Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes

 

PRELIMINARY CARD (NOT TELEVISED)

Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Rob Emerson vs. Terry Etim

John Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan

Shane Carwin vs. Christian Wellisch

 

I am looking forward to Carwin/Wellisch, Nakamura/Sokoudjou, Emerson/Etim, and Koppenhaver/Yoshida as well.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Dana's love of Rob Emerson rears it's ugly, OC head again.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I thought it was established with War Machine that Dana White loves those white boys from Cali with troubled pasts.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I find it a bit odd that this show's main card is all 205 fights minus the main event. Almost seems like between Montreal and this show they're trying to flesh out the contenders @ 185 and 205.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

So apparently having a war with Sam Stout @ UFC 83 wasn't enough for Rich Clementi as he'll be back on this show to face Terry Etim. Damn Rich.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Rich is always ballsy like that... Although I dislike the man as a person, I can't help but respect him as a fighter.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I think he should be able to handle Etim in a similar fashion to Stout as Terry is a better on the ground but can't throw like Sam. If Clementi looks as good in this as he did against Stout they'll actually be forced to put him up against higher competition. I for one would dig the hell out of Clementi vs Nate The Hate.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Rich to me will never be able to get past gatekeeper level, which is why Nate Diaz would beat him... He belongs in the UFC no question, but I can't see him making a serious run at the title.

 

Me personally, I would like to see Fisher/Clementi... That would be a very entertaining fight.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

While the Pellegrino fight showcased Nate's toughness and heart it also laid out the gameplan to beat him. I could easily see Rich taking a much more conservative approach to the ground game and grinding him out for a decision. Also keep in mind that Rich hasn't been subbed in quite some time and I doubt Nate would KO him.

 

EDIT: My bad, Din tapped him out back in the fall of 05 but I still think Rich could go the whole fight and avoid Nate's subs.

[Mik 0]

Must watch video:

http://i218.photobucket.com:80/albums/cc23...nn_vs_Sherk.flv

 

I haven't been this hyped for a fight since GSP/Hughes 2, legitimately. I'm a total BJ fanboy (me and the rest of the internet, right?) and I hate Sherk. God, I can't wait for this.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I think I'm the farthest thing from a BJ fanboy you could get.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

In retrospect (aside from the Serra victory) the biggest GSP fight I cheered for was against Penn.

 

TAKEDOWNS FTW!~

[Lord of The Curry 0]

So Tito thinks that if he beats Machida UFC will either refuse to interview him afterwards or cut his mic because they're afraid of what he'll say.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

and Tito would be probably right.

 

The Machida fight is intended to either drag Tito to a boring fight, or to have him beaten. If Tito wins, he most likely will not be interviewed or given a mic without them on the "cut" button. That's just kind of how UFC operates, but they usually don't show it on screen.

 

I honestly keep forgetting this show is this month. I've always hated UFC's presentation because until they get to the countdown show and can make me care about these fighters as people, it's just another show. They just treat it as another show, in the "I don't like my opponent! I'm gonna punch him!" kind of way. The last countdown was fantastic at making me feel somewhat invested in the people. Hopefully they do as good of a job this time when it comes up.

 

I also still hate the fact that Sherk fails a drug test and gets a title shot first fight back. No one else has gotten that benefit.

 

Buuut I can just hope that BJ Penn kills him a roided man.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I'm just wondering with the whole "UFC is cutting boring fighters" thing going on lately with JOB, Lutter and Starnes being released.........would they actually cut Sherk? My first reaction is that there's no way they'd allow somebody with his name and record go to EliteXC or Japan but at the same time if Sherk loses there's still a strong possibility that if he's kept around he can beat everybody they put in front of him.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

They won't cut Sherk. Main reason is he's friends with Dana.

 

Dana plays favorites. He'd never cut one of his fighter buddies.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Excatly... Sherk has been with the company for how many years, and plus you add in the fact that the UFC hype machine has built him to be a unstoppable wrestling/cardio machine.

 

UFC also cut Din Thomas, who isn't really a boring fighter and has had some entertaining bouts.

 

Plus Sherk has been playing a great heel leading up to the Penn bout... Even if he is boring, people will pay to see his fights in hopes he will lose.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

But like I said, the inherent danger of keeping Sherk around is that he can (and likely would) beat everybody at that weight class not named BJ Penn. I understand that people hate Sherk but it would be suicidal from a business standpoint to match him up against exciting fighters like Huerta or Florian again because he'd out-wrestle them for three rounds and work his way back into title contention.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

It's a slippery slope UFC's on. They claim to want the "best fighters" and yet they cut or allow good talented fighters, or prospects to leave, or allow others to remain in the FA world. They claim to want "exciting fighters" yet their trying to establish Machida as a contender and have Sherk main eventing.

 

The best way to view UFC, is WWE without works. Dana's just gonna do whateverthefuck he wants to do, regardless if it contradicts what he's previously said or not. His world, and we just are allowed to view it.

 

And in Dana's world, Sean Sherk is Dana's friend. He's not going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

[The Niggardly King 0]

But like I said, the inherent danger of keeping Sherk around is that he can (and likely would) beat everybody at that weight class not named BJ Penn. I understand that people hate Sherk but it would be suicidal from a business standpoint to match him up against exciting fighters like Huerta or Florian again because he'd out-wrestle them for three rounds and work his way back into title contention.

 

So what we have is a less exciting and not as cool Rich Franklin? Just let him move up and then we can enjoy GSP or Kos dominating him at his own game.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Not sure if you knew this but GSP already did that. Agreed on Koscheck though.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Fitch, and Sanchez would beat Sherk on the ground problay as well.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Diego has excellent scrambling but Sherk has the wrestling to keep him back on the ground. It'd be a close fight I think but I wouldn't want to call it.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Diego has excellent scrambling but Sherk has the wrestling to keep him back on the ground.

 

So did Josh Koscheck, but he failed in both fights when he took down Diego. Fitch was the only one succesful at keeping Diego down, and even then he almost got caught in a few submissions... Plus I thought Diego should've got the desicion against Fitch.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Not sure if you knew this but GSP already did that.

 

I know, but the sequel would be even better.

 

[Mik 0]

… I know there are a lot of people out there doing steroids, cheating and every time I run into one of them, I’m going to call them on it and then I’m going to beat the shit out of them.… It’s going to be a historic night because all the kids out there will realize that you can do it with just hard work alone … he wants to say he has heart and all this different shit, but you can’t confuse steroids with heart…. It’s two different things, a guy with heart is a guy doing it with blood, sweat and tears, waking up with the sore back, the sore body.… What would happen in the old days when you get caught with a couple of aces up your sleeve, they kill the guy right there and that’s why I say Sean Sherk is dead….

[starvenger 0]

C'mon BJ, tell us what you REALLY think...

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

If UFC has the balls to play up the steroid thing, this show could be massive.

 

But since that'd paint Sherk in a negative light, they haven't touched on it at all as far as I know outside of small references.

[NoCalMike 0]

I am rooting for Penn.