MMA: Lemme speak on this...

[bobsticks]

I agree with your take on GSP/Penn and I'm stating now that I'm pulling for GSP heavily. That's not an endoresment that he'll win but more of a recognition that I consider him a good guy. Clearly it could go either way.

Where does UFC go from here? Your guess is as good as mine. Therea are, and will remain, some doubts about Lesnar and until he develops enough to beat a top-tiered opponent convincingly that's the way it is. None the less, Mir/Lesnar 2 should draw some heat as many are interested in that development and it doesn't hurt that Mir dispatched Big Nog in short order. The rest of the heavies don't really match up currently though Shane Corwin has the potential and there's word that Dana's bringing Allistair Overeem in.

SPOILER PREDICTION***--over here in the good ol' U.S. of A where them stair-royd thingies are illegal Overeem will be a shadow of his former self.

I'm most disappointed in the lack of real competition for A. Silva in either the 175 lb. or 205 lb. divisions. After last night, and indee his previous fight, the only person I'm really salivating to see fight Anderson is, believe it or not, Vitor Belfort. "The Phenom" is back...or at least it looked that way in te 28 seconds and one punch that it took to KtFO Matt "The Law" Lindland. I still don't thnk Vitor will beat Anderson, I'm just sayin'...

Sometimes I think we're conditioned by some of the amazing offensive tour de forces that we've witnessed to underestimate the thinking aspect of these things. I respect your opinion but, to an extent, found parts of both fighters' performances last night ipressive. If AA looked unnatural it's because IMO he was concentrating on adopting a style slightly foreign to his natural tendencies. I felt he used his reach advantage well, avoided the ground and, surprisingly, used leg kicks effectively. It was his own hubris that was the end of him (...and the Romans).

For Fedor, perhaps, the most impressive part of the night was his recognition of his limitations and playing an effective role despite them. He waited for his opportunity and skillfully implemented a counterstrike resulting in the multi-directional collision between AA's head and the mat. One observer noted that Andre got "Arlofted"... I think some credit has to be given for remaining ice-cold in such an adrenaline-soaked situation.

[kexodusc]

Hmm, yeah, fair assessment.

You're right, Silva needs some heavy duty competition fast. Maybe he could put on 30 lbs or so and take on the big boys?
Maybe they should just tie one arm behind his back? Maybe he could meet the winner of GSP and Penn in some hybrid weight class match? Probably not fair, but it'd be neat.

[bobsticks]

Hmm, yeah, fair assessment.

You're right, Silva needs some heavy duty competition fast. Maybe he could put on 30 lbs or so and take on the big boys?
Maybe they should just tie one arm behind his back? Maybe he could meet the winner of GSP and Penn in some hybrid weight class match? Probably not fair, but it'd be neat.

Y'know what I miss? The old K-1 tournies...no wieght classes, baby. I can think of more than a handful of heavies that would potentially be put down by Anderson. 'Member them ol' UFCs back in the day. A one night, no-weight class, dealio would be more interesting than 99% of the matches that Dana could put together right now.

[kexodusc]

Y'know what I miss? The old K-1 tournies...no wieght classes, baby. I can think of more than a handful of heavies that would potentially be put down by Anderson. 'Member them ol' UFCs back in the day. A one night, no-weight class, dealio would be more interesting than 99% of the matches that Dana could put together right now.

There was talk of putting on a tournament style king of the octagon type event, but it's unlikely to happen for a lot of reasons.

Fist, sanctioning and the perception that MMA is a sport, not barbaric - those tourney's have the potential for some ugly scenes that could hurt the sport's image.

Second - ego - a lot of fighters have more to lose than gain by entering that now. So the purse would have to be huge, or the card would be mostly mid-level talent.

That would still be interesting though...I'd pay to watch that.

Joe Ferraro of Sportsnet.ca had an interesting comment about weight classes in today's UFC...

...at 145 pounds, how would Urijah Faber do against a 205-pounder like Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Quinton (Rampage) Jackson, Wanderlei Silva or even Chuck Liddell?

I asked Dana White this very question while he visited the Sportsnet studio on Tuesday and his response was obvious. "He'd get killed. What's your point?"

I explained to White, my point was simple: the difference in weight between Faber and the light-heavyweights was similar to what Randy Couture experienced vs. Brock Lesnar.

[bobsticks]

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