UFC 92

[markdeez33]

I called all 3 of the major fights tonight. I hated to see Forrest lose, he's from Evans, GA (started fighting when he became a cop in Athens) - where I went to high school - and he is a local legend. Evans had a great 3rd round and took over the match.

The Rampage KO was the highlight of the night for me, WOW, what a left hook.

Mir's stand up game looked proper and I expect him to bring his A+ game when he meets Lesnar in the octagon. I hope Lesnar can come away with the victory and get a little vengeance though.

[CPT]

Wow, Mir made me (and a lot of people) look dumb tonight. Would have cost me some money had I been able to register for a betting site, lol. I'm still not sure if Mir was just amazing or if Nogueira was horrible....it's probably a bit of both. He just kept tagging him with that 1-2 combo with the uppercut....you would think Nog would catch on after the first 5 or so. I think Lesnar will take Mir in the rematch though, and I'm thinking they might do Nogueira vs. Couture next. Not much point in can fights for either of those guys at this point in their careers, and you know that's a fight they can hype the hell out of, even with both guys coming off a loss.

The Rampage KO was huge. The fight was somewhat disappointing to that point, but a hell of a knockout anyway. Kind of a dick move to punch Wandy a couple more times when he was down...the first one, or maybe two I can understand, but by the third one it had to be clear the fight was over. They didn't make a big deal about it on the broadcast though, so I expect it will be forgotten, much like BJ Penn holding the choke on Pulver for an extra few seconds. I could see Rampage getting the shot at the title right away, as there is no way Machida is going to look as impressive against T. Silva as Page did against Wandy.

Good fight in the main event, and Rashad looked good getting the win. I was screaming for him to go for a takedown, and then once he finally got one, he finished the fight. Like I said, I think his next fight will be against Rampage, since Machida won't win convincingly enough to get a title shot (not that he doesn't deserve it), and a fight against Rampage can definitely be a main event....Evans vs. Machida....not so much.

Nice, quick finishes on the undercard as well. Kongo still sucks, but he looked impressive. CB was very impressive, showing an ability to take some punishment and still get the win. Pat Barry could be a guy to look out for in the future....would be nice to see an exciting striker at HW. Nice win by Hamill as well, though I have no idea what he said after the fight.

Pretty good show all around....nice to have one of these big events that doesn't disappoint when it comes to the fights. No FOTY candidates or anything, but some impressive performances all the same.

[2009NBAChamps]

I wasn't that impressed with the event...

I mean a lot of hype going into it that I wasn't particularly buying, but since the fights were so one-sided it really takes away from the excitement.

The Evans - Griffin fight was the only entertaining bout of the 3 big fights.

Also, I don't think Rampage deserves a shot at the title right away... Machida is next in line (assuming he wins his next one) and that would be a more interesting fight I think, but so would Machida and Rampage if they need to decide between whose more deserving.

And I agree with what you say about Pat Barry, he looks promising.

[cowboyronnie]

Rogan commending Pat Barry's "technique"...Jesus.

[jTF2]

Man.. Wand better drop to 185 or consider retirement. Even if he continues, that jaw of his won't get him very far. He can KO anyone on any given night but the same can happen to him. Can't say the same for the other elite 205ers.

Big Nog... sigh.

Ever since Pride died and the decline in the dominance of Japan based MMA, we've all seen so many shockers happen since they've crossed the Pacific. One legend after another losing and losing badly. I thought Nog would atleast have been the one rock. To me, all this means is that Japan's LW fighters are and have always been vastly overrated. Gomi, Kawajiri, etc... pffft.

7/10 for the card.. so sad for Wand and Nog.

[cowboyronnie]

Rampage showing how much of a douche he is. It was obvious Wandi was out cold yet he still goes and smokes him three more times with the referee trying to pull him off. What a piece of ****.

On the re-play, those were just show punches...nothing much.

And I agree with what you say about Pat Barry, he looks promising.

why?

Please, tell me more about Mir's awfulness. He just embarrassed the living legend he had no business being in the ring with. But, Nog was in Pride, so I expect by now you have many excusess for this unfortunate outcome.

he out-boxed a fat, old Nog

he deserved to be in there with THAT Nog

looked better than he ever has, no question. pwn3d.

[cowboyronnie]

Wanderlei is really close to shot. All that steroid abuse, 10+ years of intensive training for vale tudo/MMA, all that abuse he's taken...it's disturbing.

Are you kidding me? Wanderlei is no longer the guy we knew from Pride, but he still has a lot left in the gas tank and fights very exciting fights. Just ask Keith Jardine.

Two guys run to the middle of the ring and swing like maniacs, one's bound to get clocked. Not a sign of anything. He was coming off three straight losses, 2 by brutal KO and he's 5-5 in his last 10. But catching Jardine half a minute into a fight proves he's back??? Sitting down on one punch? After 3 straight Ls?

funny that you say he is 5-5 in his last 10, considering you could say he is 21-5-1 in his last 27 fights. The only two fights he has looked damn bad in the past couple of years were the CroCop fight and the Hendo fight. In the CroCop fight he is fighting someone who is better than anyone any top LHW has ever fought besides Arona who fought Fedor. In the Hendo fight, you can't watch that one and tell me he looked how he usually does. He is now coming off a KO win, and an impressive showing against Chuck where you could argue and say he won that fight. He is now also fighting one of the most overrated fighters in all of MMA. Rampage has not looked impressive against a top opponent besides his fights against Chuck. He looked average against Forrest, average against Henderson, barely beat a MW in Lindland, and destroyed by Shogun. Everyone likes to pretend that Rampage some how is a different fighter than he was 3 years ago. He is the same fighter, the only difference is he hasn't faced fighters who can really test him. He hasn't faced fighters who are terrible style match-ups for him like Shogun and Wanderlei. Wanderlei will destroy him, quickly. And then everyone will have to admit he is back, and have to re-evaluate Rampage's claim to being top 5 in the division. Wanderlei became gun shy after his 2 KO losses, he himself has stated it stopped him from rushing in to finish Chuck when he knocked him down multiple times. He will walk through Rampage. Rampage has nothing on him, and Rampage is a mentally weak fighter and always has been. He quit against Shogun, and is talking all of this **** online to Wanderlei and yet when they see eachother he says nothing. I hope Wanderlei teaches him his lesson, and Babalu's him by getting a couple extra strikes in when the ref tries to stop it. Rampage couldn't even handle Forrest in the clinch, he won't handle Wanderlei. He's also training with a garbage camp right now in England, while Wanderlei is training in a city (Las Vegas) that has all of the best trainers in the world.

his brain and body are mush

[pugilistfan]

I think its quite obvious we watched 2 shot fighters last night.

I collected money off the Rampage fight because I knew even before this fight that Silva was shot. I knew he was shot 2 years ago. The guy has lost 6 of his last 11 fights and 4 of his last 5. And the guy lost to a UD to Chuck Liddell. LOL.

Noguiera was tough to watch because really its 2 fights in a row where hes looked bad. But his last fight he was able to secure a submission on Sylvia.

In terms of the Rampage/Sylvia fight, its quite unreal to look at how amatuerish their striking looked. Silva was throwing wide punches from his waist with his chin out and got hit with jabs throughout the fight. He had ZERO head movement.

Mir's mediocre boxing made Nog look foolish. Mir fought a good fight.

Griffin/Evans was a pretty solid fight and although Griffin is a good fighter hes not championship calibre. Hes not great at anything but rather decent at everything, hes a HUGE LHW and he can take a beating.

[pugilistfan]

Wow, Mir made me (and a lot of people) look dumb tonight. Would have cost me some money had I been able to register for a betting site, lol. I'm still not sure if Mir was just amazing or if Nogueira was horrible....it's probably a bit of both. He just kept tagging him with that 1-2 combo with the uppercut....you would think Nog would catch on after the first 5 or so. I think Lesnar will take Mir in the rematch though, and I'm thinking they might do Nogueira vs. Couture next. Not much point in can fights for either of those guys at this point in their careers, and you know that's a fight they can hype the hell out of, even with both guys coming off a loss.

The Rampage KO was huge. The fight was somewhat disappointing to that point, but a hell of a knockout anyway. Kind of a dick move to punch Wandy a couple more times when he was down...the first one, or maybe two I can understand, but by the third one it had to be clear the fight was over. They didn't make a big deal about it on the broadcast though, so I expect it will be forgotten, much like BJ Penn holding the choke on Pulver for an extra few seconds. I could see Rampage getting the shot at the title right away, as there is no way Machida is going to look as impressive against T. Silva as Page did against Wandy.

Good fight in the main event, and Rashad looked good getting the win. I was screaming for him to go for a takedown, and then once he finally got one, he finished the fight. Like I said, I think his next fight will be against Rampage, since Machida won't win convincingly enough to get a title shot (not that he doesn't deserve it), and a fight against Rampage can definitely be a main event....Evans vs. Machida....not so much.

Nice, quick finishes on the undercard as well. Kongo still sucks, but he looked impressive. CB was very impressive, showing an ability to take some punishment and still get the win. Pat Barry could be a guy to look out for in the future....would be nice to see an exciting striker at HW. Nice win by Hamill as well, though I have no idea what he said after the fight.

Pretty good show all around....nice to have one of these big events that doesn't disappoint when it comes to the fights. No FOTY candidates or anything, but some impressive performances all the same.

I agree.

But apparently Rampage wants forrest even if the belt is not on the line. So I think Machida will get a shot. I agree about Kongo, I just dont think hes very good.

It was a good card.

[cowboyronnie]

Yeah, for Griffin to secure guard that first time during the initial scramble where Rashad went after him - and not not turtle - wow, what a tough MFer.

[Cammo101]

Man.. Wand better drop to 185 or consider retirement. Even if he continues, that jaw of his won't get him very far. He can KO anyone on any given night but the same can happen to him. Can't say the same for the other elite 205ers.

Big Nog... sigh.

Ever since Pride died and the decline in the dominance of Japan based MMA, we've all seen so many shockers happen since they've crossed the Pacific. One legend after another losing and losing badly. I thought Nog would atleast have been the one rock. To me, all this means is that Japan's LW fighters are and have always been vastly overrated. Gomi, Kawajiri, etc... pffft.

7/10 for the card.. so sad for Wand and Nog.

The Pride guys were somewhat overrated because they were fighting a thinner talent base. Not to say they were/are not great fighters, but they were overrated compared to a lot of the guys fighting in UFC.

We see similar stuff still with the overrating of the Dream LW's and the underrating of the UFC LW's. When guys like Sherk and Florian are ranking around 8 or 9 then there is a serious bias in the rankings.

[2009NBAChamps]

And I agree with what you say about Pat Barry, he looks promising.

why?

Mainly because of his size and strength. The guy is huge and built. I mean it's not everything in MMA but that's a hell of a foundation he's got to build on. It was a small sample that I'm going on but it was a great start to a career.

[CPT]

I just think it will be nice to have a guy that comes from a striking background in the (UFC) HW division. The HWs are almost all wrestlers or BJJ guys, at least as their base. There are others, like Kongo, and Barry may never even be as good as him, but being a smaller guy, he'll probably have more exciting fights, because he'll have to mix it up instead of relying on his reach.

[pugilistfan]

Yeah I agree.

Pat Barry is a guy who can easily cut down to 205 though. I have no idea what hes doing mixing it up with guys who are significantly bigger than him. lol.

[Chach]

He'll figure it out soon enough. It will be fun to watch for now but when he faces a guy like Mir/Carwin/Lester sized, then he'll probably drop down like Vera and Evans did.

Just re-watched the Mir-Nog fight. Mir boxing looked good but "looked" great because of Nog. Against a better boxer, it would look decent, especially compared to Mir fights in the past. If he continues to work on his boxing and conditioning, I think he can take Lesnar. We still have no idea how good Lesnar's chin is and Mir is tipping the scales around 250 so if Lesnar comes into the ring around 280, that 30 pound advantage is still an advantage but not as much as it was against someone like Couture, who should probably be fighting at 205. Forrest Griffin could have fought Lesnar with a smaller weight gap. And as much as Lesnar has been working on his ground game, Mir BJJ is going to be light years ahead of Lesnar. There are submissions and transitions that Mir can take advantage of from the bottom that some of Lesnar's smaller opponents had no shot at. I'm betting on Mir taking Lesnar. mahalo
~Chach~

[Cammo101]

The problem Mir has in this next Lesnar fight is that Lesnar no long has to go to the ground with him to win. Lesnar will fight Mir like he did Randy, stand and bang and likely either gas Mir or one punch KO him.

Lesnar will find out just how good a striker Mir really is.