Any Predictions for UFC 74?

MacLeod

Actually got a pretty solid card tonight. St Pierre vs Koscheck and Coture vs Gonzaga.

I dont think there will be any upsets tonight.

I think Gonzaga got lucky with Cro-Cop last fight and Coture will come out on top. I dont think itll be an asswhoopin' but Coture is in the top .001% of wrestlers in the world and Gonzaga isnt in the same league on the ground. Neither are superb stand up fighters but Coture has knocked a lot of people out in his day so Ill give the edge to him there as well.

St Pierre is one of the best techincal fighters in the world. I think his weakness is that he doesnt have much heart or fire. If he gets hurt, its over. Hes a great fighter by the numbers but he lacks that "Neanderthal" gene that a lot of fighters have. I still think he'll win tho after that pretty embarassing loss to Sera last time. Koscheck is a great wrestler but St Pierre has far superior stand up and is also very talented on the ground.

Belcon

I'll take Gabriel Gonzaga over Coture. That was not luck when he took out Cro-Cop. Gonzaga beat Cro-Cop at his own game with a massive roundhouse to the head (if I remember correctly).

The other fight, I have no clue, but I know I've got to see it. GSP seems like he is hungry again like he was in the 2nd Hughes fight. Koscheck might pose similar problems that Matt Sera did last fight. He is heavy handed and very good on the ground. GSP, I think, after the loss, found a boxing trainer and is looking to train that aspect of his game. I don't think he'll be able to land that spinning back kick on Koscheck.

Sooooooo, I'll take Gonzaga and Koscheck.

Great to see other MMA fans out there!

66chevyIISS

Not a bad card tonight, but I am looking forward to UFC 75.
Jackson vs henderson and Cro cop vs Kongo!

Sami

What a wakeup call for Koscheck, he did get schooled tonight. Gonzaga needs to learn about tactics, he could have finished the match against Couture if he just would have continued with his kicks instead of playing into Randy's game.

MacLeod

Woohoo! I got 2 out of 2!

Ive guessed the last few UFC's dead wrong so Im glad to be back on track!

Didnt buy this one cause it cost $40. Ill be getting it on DVD in a month or 2.

Sami

MacLeod wrote: »

Didnt buy this one cause it cost $40. Ill be getting it on DVD in a month or 2.

Went in just in time for the last two fights, cost me two beers (Buffalo Wild Wings).

Belcon

I didn't watch it either, but I'm sure I'll see it by monday.

This is exactly why I love MMA. There are no sure things in the sport.

From how I read it, Couture made sure it was going to be a marathon.

Which fighters do you guys follow?

MacLeod

I really only follow the main ones however Ive been a hardcore fan of the UFC since the 2nd one back around 93.

I really like Coture and Matt Hughes. I think Hughes is, pound for pound, the best fighter in the biz right now.

I also like Pride as well and especially Fedor. I believe Fedor to be the baddest dude on the planet right now bar none. I would love to see him come over to the UFC but I doubt theyd let him. He'd cream their fighters. Coture is the only one I would say has a shot at taking him but I doubt it. Fedor is simply a monster.

Belcon

Was it Pride that Dana White bought recently?

Fedor is awesome. Its odd to watch Rampage Jackson fight in the UFC and be so dominant, but see him in the Pride league and get beat soundly by lessor fighters.

Sami

MacLeod wrote: »

I really like Coture and Matt Hughes. I think Hughes is, pound for pound, the best fighter in the biz right now.

Even after the ****-whooping he got from GSP? After Saturday's fight it's not unclear who is the best fighter in that weight class, and it's not Hughes.

I agree on Fedor though, none of the UFC heavyweights are any good except for Couture who isn't that great either. Randy does have a hard skull though, he can take some punishment.

MikeC78

Sami wrote: »

Even after the ****-whooping he got from GSP? After Saturday's fight it's not unclear who is the best fighter in that weight class, and it's not Hughes.

Agree. Matt Hughes thinks that he's the best thing to ever walk on the planet. I hope Sera beats the dog snot out of him.

This season of the ulitmate fighter comming around will be interesting.

MikeC78

BTW, who was the big Pride fighter that Dana White just recently signed?? For some reason I keep thinking it was Fedor?

MikeC78

Nervermind, it was Wanderlei Silva.

ohskigod

Belcon wrote: »

I'll take Gabriel Gonzaga over Coture. That was not luck when he took out Cro-Cop. Gonzaga beat Cro-Cop at his own game with a massive roundhouse to the head (if I remember correctly).

!

DOH! :rolleyes:

just kiddin bud, that cro cop knock out was was it was, Gonzaga threw a devestating right roundhouse, Cro cop dropped his left arm thinking the kick was going for his ribs, problem was, it wasnt going for his ribs. Kick lands on Cro Cop's sometimes questionable jaw, and its good night.

I was motionless in stunned amazement after that hit. Gotta give it to Gonzaga, you do not want to take a kick to the head from that guy, his shin must be like a frikkin baseball bat!

unfortunatly I didnt see Saturday's fight, as I was at the Jets Giants game, but I do want to see it as soon as I can.

Sami

Gonzaga landed a few kicks on Randy's head but when it's cement I'm sure the pain was in his leg. He had a chance to take Randy out late in the 3rd but he thought Randy was dazed by the kick and he could go in and finish him off, which was a bad mistake. Randy proceeds to take his usual grab-him-and-wear-him-out stance once again and by this time Gonzaga is gassed out and fights over. Had he stayed up and landed a few more kicks, he would have most likely won. Randy had no answer to those kicks.

avelanchefan

Well personally I think Gonzaga changed his tactics 15 seconds into the fight when "The Natural" hit him square on the chin and Gabriels legs buckled like my girlfriends did on prom night. Two points I would like to make...

1) GG vs RC was THE most bloodiest fight I have ever witnessed. The cut on GG's nose was so freaking huge, let alone the breaking of it really doomed him. But even in the third round he made some huge hits on RC that I think even shocked him. I also like the way RC fights. I like the Greco Roman stand up tactics, and it really suited him well in this fight.

2) Roger Huerta is THE MAN!! This is about the 10th UFC I have watched and I have never seen or heard of this guy before. He was an absolute machine. I would say there are not many more people on this planet that are fitter than Huerta. When Alberto Crane stood up after the second bell rung he almost did not make to is side of the Octagon due to fatigue, and I think someone had to help him. This was Cranes first UFC fight, and he was definitely a submission hold away from beating Huerta, he nearly had him multiple times yet Roger somehow got out of them. Crane will be doing a ton of cardio before his next fight, and I think it was a very valuable lesson he learned in his debut. It looks like the Lightweight division is going to be crazy fun to watch over the next few years.

Going for a stretch here but the Huerta vs Crane fight was by far the best of the night.

BTW- What was up with GSP's corner guy walking around with no shirt on, and carrying GSP around after the fight.....uber.... aghhh..... weird?

Sami

avelanchefan wrote: »

BTW- What was up with GSP's corner guy walking around with no shirt on, and carrying GSP around after the fight.....uber.... aghhh..... weird?

That's a fellow MMA fighter, and a damn good one at that, Anderson "Spider" Silva.

MacLeod

Sami wrote: »

Even after the ****-whooping he got from GSP? After Saturday's fight it's not unclear who is the best fighter in that weight class, and it's not Hughes.

I agree on Fedor though, none of the UFC heavyweights are any good except for Couture who isn't that great either. Randy does have a hard skull though, he can take some punishment.

That wasnt much of an **** whoopin'. GSP got in a kick to the head and down went Hughes. These guys are the best in the world and any of them can win on any given day but 8 times out of 10, Hughes is gonna walk all over GSP. St Pierre is techincally proficient no doubt but Hughes is the far superior wrestler, has extremely good submissions and is strong as a bull! Plus he's got a lot of heart and a lot of aggression. GSP lacks both these things. He's a techincian and a business man. Hughes is a brawler.

Coture is the best in the UFC and one of the best in the world. He would be the only on in the UFC right now that could put up a good fight against Fedor. Unfortunately Father Time is taking his toll on poor old Randy. I dont care how much you work out, when youre getting into the upper 40's your body just aint gonna work as well as it did.

How bout the event Sept 8th on Spike TV?!? Rampage Jackson vs Dan Hollywood Henderson!

Thats gonna be a great fight!

Im calling my shot right now! Henderson by either KO or TKO. Lets see if I can predict 2 in a row.

Sami

MacLeod wrote: »

That wasnt much of an **** whoopin'.

I don't know what fight you watched but the one I did Hughes had no answers to GSP, he was totally dominated from start to finish. The kick was just the icing in the cake. If anything, it's Hughes who has the chance of a one hit wonder against GSP, just like Serra did. Not much more.

MacLeod

I watched the one where they circled around each other for 2 rounds.

Hughes tried maybe once to take him down. The rest of the time he stood up with him trying to box. Hughes is a wrestler NOT a boxer. Coture tried the same thing with Liddell. He tried to stand up with him and got knocked the f**k out - TWICE! So Hughes tried to stand up with him but basically all he did was walk around taking jabs to the face here and there, threw a few horrible looking punches and then took a kick to the face.

The first fight, Hughes took GSP down, controlled him and submitted him in the 1st round.

Im not knocking GSP, I think he is one of the most talented fighters out right now, but I think Hughes is better. GSP is more techincally proficient but Hughes is stronger and a better wrestler and as long as he sticks to his "ground and pound" nature he's very hard to beat.

Sami

Hughes tried to take him down. Tried. Nothing he tried worked, he looked quite lost and desperate. Desperate takedown attempt, kick to the head, end of game. I highly doubt he has found any answers to penetrate GSP's defense which looked very solid, and since Hughes can't punch the change of a lucky shot isn't that great.

Sami

After tonight, I don't think even Matt himself believes he can win. What seemed like an easy fight for him against Serra turned out to be an ugly one.

MacLeod

What can I say? You cant argue with results.

I still have faith in Hughes tho. Nobody is on top forever. 43-6 is a pretty damn impressive record and he aint over the hill yet.

BIZILL

did i miss a ufc last night???

mantis

BIZILL wrote: »

did i miss a ufc last night???

Yes you did.

66chevyIISS

missed some good brawls. I really thought Chuck was going to lose that fight. Glad he didn't lose 3 straight though.

BIZILL

damn, damn. i thought there was one on last night. oh well. i'll catch the next one.