NoCalMike 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 I didn't see the show, I might try to catch the fights on youtube. From what I am hearing Alves thouroughly dominated Hughes. So maybe with Penn thinking about moving up they could do Penn v. Alves with the winner getting GSP....or do you guys think Penn dominating Sherk the way he did was enough to immediately put him in line for a title shot with GSP!?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 I don't think Penn should move up. Would Penn/GSP be a big money fight, yeah. But Penn hasn't "Silva'd" the division yet. He has plenty of big fight challengers at 155. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NoCalMike 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 I don't think Penn should move up. Would Penn/GSP be a big money fight, yeah. But Penn hasn't "Silva'd" the division yet. He has plenty of big fight challengers at 155. True, but have you seen what these guys get paid? I mean seriously if I was an MMA fighter not named Chuck Liddell(who is probably gonna get a big pay day regardless of who he is fighting or what his record is), I would be looking for the biggest money fight ASAP. Right now that is probably Penn's biggest pay day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 Alves being 5'9 would kill him at MW against guys who are 6'2. WW is the best division for him to be dominant. That knee was sick, his GnP looked great, but I'd like to see him fight Fitch again before getting a shot at GSP. The MW division got a shot in the arm with both Bisping and Kampmann looking tremendous. A number 1 contenders bout between the two would work for me, though it would probably be better to save them each for a shot at the firing squad. Marquardt looked strong, though earns a spot in the Gilbert Yvel/Dirty Bob section of MMA. Leites after the knee looked pretty bad, but then again, the fact that he was able to put up something of a fight after getting his brain scrambled says something of his heart. Herb Dean calling in the doctor for no reason other than to give Leites time to recover was class. Marquardt Sappbombing Thales was dope. Though, I don't think the fight did anything for either man to put them up for a title shot against the champ. Matt Wiman. Fuck that guy. Swick is putting in some fairly uninspiring performances. There really is nothing in his fights that make me think he is a challenger for the belt. It's a shame that Davis got his streak broke, but then again, he didn't do a whole lot to keep it going. I am mixed on the Vera stoppage. He could have lasted the end of the round, but he was doing little to convince the ref he wanted to continue the fight. Even a buck would have helped his cause, but he didn't do it. He just turtled on his side and turned away from the punches which is even worse. Werdum was too big and Vera should drop to LHW... though he'd probably get wrecked there too. *jumps off bandwagon* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 I don't think Penn should move up. Would Penn/GSP be a big money fight, yeah. But Penn hasn't "Silva'd" the division yet. He has plenty of big fight challengers at 155. True, but have you seen what these guys get paid? I mean seriously if I was an MMA fighter not named Chuck Liddell(who is probably gonna get a big pay day regardless of who he is fighting or what his record is), I would be looking for the biggest money fight ASAP. Right now that is probably Penn's biggest pay day. BJ is going to get a big paycheck no matter what. Did you see the purse he brought in compared to Sherk? Guys like Ken-Flo, Huerta, Guida, Mac and other 155 guys are the ones who will get screwed out of the payday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawkius Maximus 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 My problem with Swick is simple. He's boring now. And he had no intention of trying to win beyond doing what the absolute minimum was to win. Nor was he intending to fight in round three until he *HAD TO*. He was clinching and running away, not engaging because he knew he had already won rounds one and two, so why try in round three? And then he lost the point, and suddenly he was fighting. Night and day. It was his STRATEGY to give up the third round. I'm never down with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 The front stroke/back stroke ending of Swick/Davis was hilarious. Swick isn't taking risks, and on the odd chance that he does, it's usually a flying knee from a mile away that he gets burned on w. a counter and then he reverts back into a more defensive posture. He relies too much on a range he doesn't even use well. He's like a shitty WW Lyoto Machida. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawkius Maximus 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 Shitty is a good way to describe him. Machida doesn't take risks, but if there's an opening he will take that shit, and try to finish people. He just won't strike unless it's there. That's being smart. Swick just...I dunno what happened to the guy. He HAD shots to win the fight, but he didn't try. At one time, he was really fun and while he's never been elite, I at the very least wanted to watch him fight. This is his second boring fight in a row that I can remember right now. I don't want to see him fight. He's like a WW Travis Wiuff. Just NO BUYS. And he WINS which makes it *worse*. We need to be able to strip him of that "Quick" nickname. He sure isn't "quick" in his fights anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randomguy 0 Report post Posted June 8, 2008 Wiman fight was very entertaining, some great wrestling. Especially when the guy had him from behind and he did the front-flip. (Don't know the name of what he did, my wrestling buddy did though and was very impressed) Right before the last exchange the opponent looked injured, IIRC Wiman kicked him off and the guy went flying way back, I kind of wonder if Wiman kicking him off before standing up hurt him. Swick is a smaller Tim Sylvia. That level of boring and same pawing style. Hughes looked bad. His shots were slow and weak, every time he shot in he either got stuffed or got a leg in the face. On top he did nothing and on the bottom he looked terrible. It didn't look like the flying knee caught him square, as he fell he looked alert but just didn't defend. It was total domination. Bisping looked good. Guy has always had great technique in standup, to me the questions are ground game and power. He's aggressive without being a brawler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AboveAverage484 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2008 I don't really think Hughes has his mind fully in the game at this point. He just wants to fight Serra and probably bow out after that. Really nothing left for him to accomplish and it would be sad to see him end up like a Mark Coleman or a Don Frye, broken down and hobbled. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Niggardly King 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2008 Hughes didn't even look like he gave a damn in the last match with GSP... his heart isn't in fighting anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2008 Swick used to be one of my favorites. What the hell happened to him? I heard this fight wasn't as bad as the Burkman fight, but still... just winning fights isn't good enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NoCalMike 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2008 Seeing Hughes against GSP the second time and the other night against Alves, reminds me of watching Sakuraba get destroyed by Wanderlai Silva for the third time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AboveAverage484 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2008 Well, the difference is that at least Hughes is still physically healthy. Sakuraba is pretty much held together by chewing gum and rubber bands these days. I can only hope that if he can't take Melvin down, he just makes it quick and relatively painless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted June 10, 2008 Maybe dropping the 15lbs has just taken Swick's KO power away. His fights at 185 were exicting. I was looking forward to his move to 170...now he's just another dude, winning sure, but nothing memorable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted June 10, 2008 Swick didn't look good at 85 against Loiseau or Okami. You can look at it (either) two ways: Swick is more cautious against a higher level of competition; and/or Swick is more cautious when there is a contender spot on the line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 When Swick decided to push the pace in the Okami fight, he looked pretty good. But someone in the divison is going to push Mike Swick to fight at his best... Causing him to make more risks and be more active. I thought Marcus Davis would be that guy, but I overrated him. I'd like to see him fight Anthony Johnson... Johnson has proven to be a pretty good striker, he's very strong and compacted at WW, and his wrestling is better then Swick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RavishingRickRudo 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 I have little doubt that Swick has skills, he just is not choosing to go buck with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Johnson, if he fights with the speed he fought Tommy Spears at would make Swick fight like he used to Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
