UFC on Fox: Shogun vs Vera | Machida vs Bader (Aug 4th)

[REDDzone]

Yep.

Mousasi vs Gustaffson...

drool icon.

[Nemesis21]

I think the should reschedule Gustaffson vs Lil Nog, winner gets Jones/Hendo winner.

[Gold Chain]

I think the should reschedule Gustaffson vs Lil Nog, winner gets Jones/Hendo winner.

Nog would get crushed. Why do you wish this on him?

[CPT]

I think the should reschedule Gustaffson vs Lil Nog, winner gets Jones/Hendo winner.

And when are they gonna schedule that? The winner has to be ready to go when Jones (or Hendo) is, which is probably Dec/Jan.

Also, putting Lil Nog in a title eliminator is almost as bad as putting Vera in one. He's lost 2 of 3, with the win being against Tito. A lot of ppl would say 3 of 4, with the way the Brilz fight went.

Gustafsson isn't ready yet and he needs a tougher opponent than Lil Nog to prove he is. Machida/Bader winner, Teixeira/Rampage winner or Rashad.

[REDDzone]

IDK, I mean this is the ufc, getting a title shot isn't something that seems to be all that sacred. If they are fine with Erik Koch getting a shot, why not Gus? You probably couldn't find two dudes with more similar records. 13-1 vs 14-1, beaten almost everyone put in front of them, no elite dudes but both have beaten a bunch of solid solid fighters in their division.

It all comes down to Jones imo, I'd just rather he fight someone that is going to give him a new look, as opposed to someone who already had their entire face shattered by him or else tapped to strikes at his hands already. Just my opinion, anyway, some will disagree, although Jones doesn't seem to...

[Nemesis21]

IDK, I mean this is the ufc, getting a title shot isn't something that seems to be all that sacred. If they are fine with Erik Koch getting a shot, why not Gus? You probably couldn't find two dudes with more similar records. 13-1 vs 14-1, beaten almost everyone put in front of them, no elite dudes but both have beaten a bunch of solid solid fighters in their division.

It all comes down to Jones imo, I'd just rather he fight someone that is going to give him a new look, as opposed to someone who already had their entire face shattered by him or else tapped to strikes at his hands already. Just my opinion, anyway, some will disagree, although Jones doesn't seem to...

Exactly. I didn't realize the LHW division lacked this much depth as far as title contenders. I mean it's down to Bader, Machida, Shogun and Vera to fight Jones next. Vera is 1-2 in his last 3 fights(Thiago Silva victory over Vera over turned, otherwise he is 1-3 in his last 4 fights), Machida has not fought anyone since being put to sleep by Jones. Shogun beat Forrest and lost to Hendo in 2011's fight of the year, since losing to Jones, and Bader is 2-2 in his last 4 fights. Of those 4, I say if Bader beats Machida he should get the title shot. That makes the most sense to me.

[Gold Chain]

Machida is in shape.

[CPT]

IDK, I mean this is the ufc, getting a title shot isn't something that seems to be all that sacred. If they are fine with Erik Koch getting a shot, why not Gus? You probably couldn't find two dudes with more similar records. 13-1 vs 14-1, beaten almost everyone put in front of them, no elite dudes but both have beaten a bunch of solid solid fighters in their division.

It all comes down to Jones imo, I'd just rather he fight someone that is going to give him a new look, as opposed to someone who already had their entire face shattered by him or else tapped to strikes at his hands already. Just my opinion, anyway, some will disagree, although Jones doesn't seem to...

Fair point about Koch, but he kind of backed into his title shot and nobody is all that excited about the fight. They are willing to do that at FW, where there are no stars at the best of times, but I'm not sure it will fly in the UFC's glamour division.

Hell, even in the lower weight classes look how much they milk Urijah Faber at BW and the rematches at 155.

Maybe I shouldn't be concerned with the UFC's business and just look at it competitively, but that's the reality. And I'm not sure Gus has any better chance of beating Jones than any of the LHWs at the top of this card (Vera being the exception).

I'd like to see Gus get some momentum first so I can actually get excited about the fight. Right now it would just be "meh."

[SDM]

Machida is in shape.

[img]

Even if doughy Machida enters the cage, he's a tough match up for Bader. I just can't get excited about this fight (and the main event) for some reason, and that's probably because Bones has cleaned everyone out and all four LHWs are big names, relatively speaking, who have headlined PPVs. I'm used to these guys fighting with actual, earned high stakes. I really like both Machida and Bader too, but I don't care the slightest to watch them fight eachother right now.

[REDDzone]

I'd like to see Gus get some momentum first so I can actually get excited about the fight. Right now it would just be "meh."

I mean, I'm not even sure we disagree on anything. It all comes down to preference. That's why I suggested put Gus on the card with Bones/Hendo. If he is impressive, give him the shot.

Would you really say you would be more excited for Jones vs Machida/Shogun/Bader II than Jones/Gus though? I realize not everyone has the disdain for rematches to extremely decisive fights that I have.

[CPT]

I'd probably rank the possibilities as follows (assuming all win impressively, which is obviously not possible.)

1. Shogun. He's a proven former champion, and if he's on his game, he could conceivably give Jones some trouble.

2. Machida. Granted, the fight was recent, but I always felt Machida's style posed an interesting problem for Jones.

3. Gustafsson. Probably the best physical matchup for Jones, but I don't feel I've seen enough from him to put him in a title fight.

4. Bader. Ironically he'd probably be the most deserving of a shot, but he doesn't bring anything to the table that would give Jones any trouble.

57. Vera. Borderline UFC fighter. The idea of him getting a title shot is laughable.

I might actually prefer Phil Davis to all of these guys, but he needs to work his way back up.

[blkout]

Te Huna is waiting in the wings

[Gold Chain]

Ariel Helwani
@arielhelwani

FOX announces they'll be using the "ref cam" on Saturday night. We've seen it in PRIDE, EliteXC etc, but I think that's a 1st 4 UFC, right?

[Gold Chain]

Te Huna is waiting in the wings

Yeah, because beating Rosa and Beltran is worthy of a shot.

Te Huna has nothing for Jones, like almost everyone else at 205.

[blkout]

Te Huna is waiting in the wings

Yeah, because beating Rosa and Beltran is worthy of a shot.

Te Huna has nothing for Jones, like almost everyone else at 205.

It was a joke you joyless plank

[Gold Chain]

Te Huna is waiting in the wings

Yeah, because beating Rosa and Beltran is worthy of a shot.

Te Huna has nothing for Jones, like almost everyone else at 205.

It was a joke you joyless plank

Well, then be funnier.

I can't help it if you're not funny.

[blkout]

Ya, that's what it was.

[REDDzone]

Shogun has ALWAYS wanted this:

"[Chael] speaks so much. Fighting him would be a pleasure for me. I respect him as a fighter but he does have a too much big mouth. I would like to face Anderson. He is the best of all times but I only would take him as a light-heavyweight. I can't drop to the middleweight division,” he said.

[blkout]

Shogun vs Chael would be perfect considering Chael said he was interested in moving up to 205

[REDDzone]

Although I'm not sure there is really a discernible size difference in Silva/Shogun at lhw, I still am not a huge fan of calling out dudes from lower weight classes to move up in weight. I legit feel like Shogun really really really wants that fight though.