Marshmallo Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Moraga has kinda come out of nowhere here but then the division isn't really deep enough yet for every defence to be against established contenders. Moraga is as good a shout as anyone then in my opinion, wouldn't expect Benavidez to walk straight back into a rematch, although he'll probably get the next shot now. I know the heavyweight division is all over the place right now with recent results, but Silva shouldn't be anywhere near Velasquez again yet, he needs another win to really put a marker down. It's just too soon since Cain destroyed him. Would prefer Silva-JDS but then who do you give Cain next to stop him lying on the shelf for 9 months? Struve-Hunt winner doesn't deserve a title shot but it might be an idea to keep the division moving, keep Cain active and then see who emerges form Silva-JDS or whatever Overeem does next. Tough news for Sarnavskiy, but i fancied the Caveman in his semi-final bracket anyway. Caveman - Brooks final? Benavidez might have got it anyway IMO but he said he wanted another fight first. Probably best not to put him in against Mighty Mouse too early where a loss would put him in a Rich Franklin position with no way of getting another title fight while Johnson holds the belt. The winner of Struve-Hunt makes the most sense to me, I don't know if it would draw but they shouldn't be too bothered about that with the Fox option now. I'm against guys getting quick rematches as a rule tbh in title fights unless there is some controversy, JDS should have to get at least 3 wins for me to get a shot. Hunt-Struve winner or Werdum-Nog winner are on decent streaks and should be in there before Silva/JDS IMO. Of course it could all be rectified if Cormier would just fight Velasquez. Rickels gassed horribly against Woodard, aye the opening round was fireworks but he still looked poor in that fight to me. He has the experience edge but Sarnavskiy is better on the feet, stronger and fresher following a less gruelling QF. Would have to pick Rickels now though in his semi. Brooks-Awad is impossible to call for me, not seen enough of either guy. Brooks beat more of a name opponent in the QFs but Awad won much more impressively in his match. Sticking with Bellator, Dantas-Galvao tomorrow night for the BW championship should be really good. Dantas looked like a beast any time I've seen him, but he lost a fight in Brazil to Tyson Nam outwith Bellator, really not sure what to make of that. Galvao is a cracking watch usually, not much of a finisher but his fights are always exciting. I think Dantas will have too much for him, probably a decision win as Galvao is very tough. MW QFs as well, Andreas Spang is awesome so it'll be good to see him in action. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) Benavidez might have got it anyway IMO but he said he wanted another fight first. Probably best not to put him in against Mighty Mouse too early where a loss would put him in a Rich Franklin position with no way of getting another title fight while Johnson holds the belt. The winner of Struve-Hunt makes the most sense to me, I don't know if it would draw but they shouldn't be too bothered about that with the Fox option now. I'm against guys getting quick rematches as a rule tbh in title fights unless there is some controversy, JDS should have to get at least 3 wins for me to get a shot. Hunt-Struve winner or Werdum-Nog winner are on decent streaks and should be in there before Silva/JDS IMO. Of course it could all be rectified if Cormier would just fight Velasquez. Rickels gassed horribly against Woodard, aye the opening round was fireworks but he still looked poor in that fight to me. He has the experience edge but Sarnavskiy is better on the feet, stronger and fresher following a less gruelling QF. Would have to pick Rickels now though in his semi. Brooks-Awad is impossible to call for me, not seen enough of either guy. Brooks beat more of a name opponent in the QFs but Awad won much more impressively in his match. Sticking with Bellator, Dantas-Galvao tomorrow night for the BW championship should be really good. Dantas looked like a beast any time I've seen him, but he lost a fight in Brazil to Tyson Nam outwith Bellator, really not sure what to make of that. Galvao is a cracking watch usually, not much of a finisher but his fights are always exciting. I think Dantas will have too much for him, probably a decision win as Galvao is very tough. MW QFs as well, Andreas Spang is awesome so it'll be good to see him in action. Dantas was superb in the bantam tournament last year and in winning the title against Makovsky. Don't see Galvao troubling him on the basis of that, he wasn't as impressive as Dantas in his tournament. But like you say, the Brazil results throws a spanner in the works he was KO'd in the 1st round (haven't seen it) so there may be an exploitable weakness there. Excellent main event, and former training partners so potential for a bit of edge. Glad i'm on holiday this week as i can catch it first thing Friday morning instead of my usual having to wait till early the following week to find the time, while trying desperately to avoid spoilers! Edited February 13, 2013 by Christophe 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 Cain vs Bigfoot and JDS vs Overeem set for 160 now? Pleasing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Another Overeem pasting should be good. Silva getting pasted so soon after doing that to Overeem won't be as amusing, but I can take that, and we'll get the final part of the JDS/Cain trilogy, and big trilogies are always fun. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 I think Cain vs Bigfoot is the right call. It's about the only title fight that makes sense to me at this point. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I think they could have gotten some good hype for a Hunt/Cain fight if he got through Struve. He probably won't get through Struve though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 The HW division will truly be in disarray if Overeem turns over dos Santos. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 The HW division will truly be in disarray if Overeem turns over dos Santos. I think they'd just go with Cain (or Silva) vs Overeem for the title. Belfort-Rockhold is booked for Brazil later this year, very good fight. If Vitor wins that they surely need to put him back in with Anderson? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I think they'd just go with Cain (or Silva) vs Overeem for the title. Belfort-Rockhold is booked for Brazil later this year, very good fight. If Vitor wins that they surely need to put him back in with Anderson? Would rather have had Belfort-Weidman as an eliminator. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Weidman would remain in front of Belfort in the queue I reckon, so he wouldn't get the shot. Unless Anderson Silva feels like turning that fight down for the fourth time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Weidman has to be next for Silva for me. I'd like to see the winner of Vitor fight the winner of Bisping vs Lombard for the next contender fight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Bisping and Lombard both have fights lined up, do they not? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Weidman would remain in front of Belfort in the queue I reckon, so he wouldn't get the shot. Unless Anderson Silva feels like turning that fight down for the fourth time. Aye, Weidman should be next in line. Anderson doesn't seem keen though. Ed Soares is talking about guys like Cung Le possibly being next. I think the UFC need to go ahead and just make the Weidman-Anderson fight though, Weidman should have got the shot after beating Munoz rather than Anderson dicking about with Bonnar at 205. Weidman has to be next for Silva for me. I'd like to see the winner of Vitor fight the winner of Bisping vs Lombard for the next contender fight. Bisping and Lombard both have fights lined up, do they not? Lombard-Okami is booked for the Japan card coming up soon, and Bisping-Belcher is booked for the same show as Jones-Sonnen (159 maybe?). If both win I'd match them up, seems to be a bit of bad blood there. Lombard would possibly be just ahead of Bisping in the pecking order but it'd be a good co-main for a PPV or Fox card. Unfortunately I'm not sure Lombard will beat Okami, I think Okami might just outmuscle and control him for 3 rounds, but we'll see. As a former Olympic judoka Lombard is a world class grappler so he might be able to keep it standing. He hits harder than Boetsch as well and look at what he did to Okami in the third round of their fight. No discussion yet on the card in London tomorrow? Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone to go with but I'll be watching it at some point. Not huge on names but I think there will be some cracking fights. Barao-McDonald will be fireworks, no doubt in my mind. Barao is one of the top 10 guys in the world pound for pound IMO, he has everything. McDonald is potentially awesome but he's really untested, he defeated Torres in impressive fashion but Torres is a bit of a wreck these days. I think Barao will outwork him to pick up a decision by a decent margin. Poirier-Swanson will be great as well, two guys who are never in dull fights. The winner of this will need to be talked about as a real contender at 145 for a shot at Aldo. Nelson-Santiago is one I'm really looking forward to, decent test for Nelson after impressing so much in his debut. Kon-Nedkov should be some fight on the prelims as well, another tough one for Kong. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I'd give Lombard a shot if he wins, given Bisping's inability to ever beat anyone in the upper tier. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Lombard will struggle to get a shot off the back of even an impressive KO of Okami. They put him on a big stage against Boetsch and he didn't deliver, I thought he won the fight 29-28 but it was one of the worst fights I've ever seen. If he beats Okami the same way he beat Palhares then it will be awesome, no doubt about it. But both those fights were midcard efforts on shows that will barely have been watched in the States. I think a win over Okami and a win over someone else on a streak on PPV, Fox or main eventing an FX card (dare I say it, even Cung Le?) and he'll be in there. I realise you were saying what you'd do though, not looking at what's likely. For me he should have to beat Okami + 1 other as well though, not a huge fan of giving guys title shots so close to losses unless they're contentious and/or against top, top guys. Boetsch ain't a top guy and that fight was horrendous. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Lombard will struggle to get a shot off the back of even an impressive KO of Okami. They put him on a big stage against Boetsch and he didn't deliver, I thought he won the fight 29-28 but it was one of the worst fights I've ever seen. If he beats Okami the same way he beat Palhares then it will be awesome, no doubt about it. But both those fights were midcard efforts on shows that will barely have been watched in the States. I think a win over Okami and a win over someone else on a streak on PPV, Fox or main eventing an FX card (dare I say it, even Cung Le?) and he'll be in there. I realise you were saying what you'd do though, not looking at what's likely. For me he should have to beat Okami + 1 other as well though, not a huge fan of giving guys title shots so close to losses unless they're contentious and/or against top, top guys. Boetsch ain't a top guy and that fight was horrendous. That's a fair post actually. He'd steamroll through Bisping anyways, so the fight I want to see would still happen. I'm willing to give Lombard the benefit of the doubt for that first fight as he was clearly WAAAAY cautious and probably nervous on his first visit to the big stage. Okami is very similar to Boestch in both style and how good he is, so if Lombard steamrolls past him, I'll be quite happy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 That's a fair post actually. He'd steamroll through Bisping anyways, so the fight I want to see would still happen. I'm willing to give Lombard the benefit of the doubt for that first fight as he was clearly WAAAAY cautious and probably nervous on his first visit to the big stage. Okami is very similar to Boestch in both style and how good he is, so if Lombard steamrolls past him, I'll be quite happy. I think he was injured in his first fight. I think he's in the UFC's bad books after that one though, he has some sort of decent PPV cut which he got in his first fight but his last fight and this one aren't on PPV, or even Fox. No obligation to give him those of course but the placement of his fights seems strange to me, biggish fights in a bit of a marquee division for the UFC. If Lombard fought Bisping I'm not sure how it'd go, Lombard clearly has more power but I think Bisping is a more skilled striker. I'd probably say Lombard with a KO in the first or second round but not sure he's steamroll him. Okami will be a tough test, I think he's ahead of Boetsch and if those two rematched ten times I think Okami would win eight or nine of them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I get this one actually. The card it's on has quite a few "names" on it. If that was a Fox card, I don't think there'd be many complaints. It's cracking stuff. I don't think Bisping can really deal with a striker who's going to just really put the pressure on, which is what Lombard does. He can unstuck against Henderson doing the same thing as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I get this one actually. The card it's on has quite a few "names" on it. If that was a Fox card, I don't think there'd be many complaints. It's cracking stuff. I don't think Bisping can really deal with a striker who's going to just really put the pressure on, which is what Lombard does. He can unstuck against Henderson doing the same thing as well. Yeah I agree it's a fantastic card, just it's stuck away on Fuel which not a lot of Americans have access to. Although Weidman and Korean Zombie got big wins on Fuel cards which catapulted them into title contention so we'll just need to wait and see. Lombard's certainly marketable, he looks like something out of Street Fighter. Not as marketable as he would have been coming off a massive streak outside the UFC and knocking Boetch's head off as he did to Palhares though. I get what you mean with Bisping, the Belfort fight was much the same for him. As well as that I think it's a quality thing, don't think he's good enough to beat top 5 MWs regardless of style. Good fighter though, definitely a top, top level gatekeeper. If they ended up putting Lombard and Bisping together, I'm sure Lombard would get the shot if he won. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Bisping and Lombard both have fights lined up, do they not? Aye. I was fantasy booking. I've also heard Lombard call Budping out do I can avtually see that happening at some point. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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