Ufc 68

[Snail Shell]

Okay, I'll start this one then! 😀

Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture:

Couture wouldn't take the fight if he didn't think he had an honest shot at winning. He's got something up his sleeve, you'll see. As big and massive as Sylvia is, youth and strength never prevail over age and cunning. It'll be a good fight if nothing else.
MY CALL: Couture by Submission in any round.

Matt Hughes vs. Chris Lytle:

As much as I hate Matt Hughes, even if Lytle got him to the ground, Hughes is strong and experience enough to avoid any submissions Lytle's got. This'll be short.
MY CALL: Hughes by TKO in Round 1

Drew McPhedries vs. Mark Kampmann:

This has a shot at being the fight of the night. Two guys who love to swing, both with KO power. If nothing else, it'll be a blast to watch.
MY CALL: Kampmann by Decision (For no reason whatsoever lol)

Rich Franklin vs. Jason MacDonald:

Chris Leben outstruck Jason MacDonald and MacDonald still won. Franklin is a better and more powerful striker than Leben. That being said, it's a time test for MacDonald. He has to get Franklin down, arrange himself, and submit Franklin before he gets what Franklin is famous for doing, and that's knocking people out. Can he do it? Theoetically, yes. Will he do it? I'd like to think so, but probably not. Now, on the other hand, Rich Franklin loses this fight, we may never see Silva vs. Franklin 2, which would be a fun show. I like both fighters, but Franklin has the edge for sure. However, MacDonald can't be counted out completely like so many already have.
MY CALL: Franklin by KO/TKO in Round 2

Jason Lambert vs. Renato Babalu Sobral:

Seeing as how this card is pretty much getting all the former contenders/champions back on track.... lol Lambert is no slouch on the ground, but if you were to rank the best ground fighters in the world, you could make a strong case for putting Babalu in the top spot.
MY CALL: Babalu by Submission in Round 1

Rex Holman vs. Matt Hamill:

While I don't believe Matt Hamill will be 'the next big thing' the way Tito Ortiz did, I do believe he's a solid fighter who'll be sacrificed to Liddell at some point. Holman won't hold him back that far.
MY CALL: Hamill by Decision

Jon Fitch vs. Luigi Fioravanti:

Scratch that. THIS will be the fight of the night. I believe down the road, either of these guys could be Welterweight Champion. They love to swing. They're good on the ground. They're both terrific fighters. If only this was going to be on the televised card. *sigh* I give the fight to Fitch only because he's impressed the hell out of me on every occasion he's fought.
MY CALL: Fitch by Decision

The other fights, I'm not educated enough on one/both of the fighters. See you Saturday!

Snail Shell

 

[CurtWild]

Okay, I'll start this one then! 😀

Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture:

Couture wouldn't take the fight if he didn't think he had an honest shot at winning. He's got something up his sleeve, you'll see. As big and massive as Sylvia is, youth and strength never prevail over age and cunning. It'll be a good fight if nothing else.
MY CALL: Couture by Submission in any round.


Snail Shell

lol.....close

i don`t think anyone would`ve picked Couture by 5 round domination....

 

[jugner]

Someone forgot to tell Couture someone who is 6 inches shorter, 40 lbs. lighter, and 13 years older is supposed to lose. Go Captain America!!!

 

[PainTrain]

Glad that wimp sylvia is gone. He might as well retire; with Couture and CROCOP in the ufc, he has no chance at ever getting that belt back.

 

[maniactickler]

Did matt hughes win?

 

[Snail Shell]

RANDY COUTURE IS MY HERO!!! I mean, five round domination and he dropped Sylvia with the first punch. O.O Hail to the heavyweight king baby!

And the rest of the night:

Yes, Hughes won, but it was by decision. He should've been able to finish Lytle. Hughes is back yes, but it was a disappointing return.

Franklin won too by corner stoppage after two.

Jason Lambert KO's Babalu! I don't think that was on anyone's radar. Great show by him. 🙂

Kampmann arm triangles McFedries into a TKO. The Miletich camp didn't do very well tonight, did they.

Fitch chokes out Fioravanti. Fitch'll have a title shot soon. You'll see.

Hamill TKO's Holman in the first round.

Varner and Dent also take home victories.

But still, show of the night put on by Randy Couture. While I don't think he'll be champion for a very long time, it does provide an opening for more competitive title fights at 265. Can you imagine Couture vs. Monson? hehe

As for Sylvia, I really don't care. He was a pompous ass as champion who is, frankly, not a better fighter than Arlovski. Give him fights against Herring, Crocop or any of the other big names they just brought into the 265 division and he'll fold like a dollar bill.

See you in Houston on the 7th!

Snail Shell

 

[MasterTT]

Couture is a great fighter, a great champion and great for the sport. As someone who trains and fights MMA I have a degree of respect for what Silvia has accomplished, he's not my style of fighter, I'm not a big fan, but without going the full distance with a guy like the Snowman, it's hard to imagine what that takes. Now I don't think he will be back too soon... but he is more impressive than some people give him credit for... but COUTURE is THE MAN. He is in many ways what is best about MMA he went out there and used technique to DOMINATE a younger bigger fighter. It was a truly wonderful thing. He is truly one of the greats of ALL TIME. There just isn't enough that can be said. Some other good fights, but just saying again

RANDY "THE NATURAL" COUTURE; UFC HEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPION!!
That is the highlight of highlights.

 

[Coffee]

I enjoyed the fights and Yes like most of the fans I am looking forward to Couture/Crocop.

 

[jugner]

When Couture had his 1st fight with Liddell, he was an underdog, everyone said he was too old. He had something to prove, and he did. Liddell is a better fighter, the second two fights proved that, but on that night he was unstoppable.

Same way with Slvia. On March 3, he was unbeatable. No one could've beat him, Liddell, CroCop, anyone. I don't know what will happen now, but if he can maintain that much itensity, he'll keep the belt til he's 50.

 

[bass]

damn.. i completely missed this thread and didnt give my two cents haha..

it was a good night of fights though.. i didnt get to watch them, because the movie zodiac ended up being a hell of alot longer than i thought it was going to be, but ive seen most of the fights online by now..

if randy didnt knock tim down in the first 3 seconds, the fight would have been different i think.. but now.. once cro cop defeats gonzaga, it will be cro cop vs couture for the belt.. cro cop takes it.. sorry guys, but he does.. i give randy a chance, but cro cop is too much for him.. and cro cop isnt a little bitch like sylvia, he comes to fight.. but once cro cop has the belt, there will be one of the most marketable championship bouts in UFC history.. cro cop vs arlovski..

the only way cro cop vs arlovski isnt going to happen, is if fabricio werdum takes out arlovski at UFC70.. if he does, thats fine.. cro cop vs werdum would be just as great in my books, but not so much for the casual fans..

and i definately predicted hughes by boring decision.. its just like his comeback fight against charuto after losing the belt to bj penn.. a solid performance, but not great.. there better not be hughes/gsp III right after gsp takes serra out.. ill be pissed.. im sick of rematches and giving former champions one fight before they get a shot at the title again..

anyway, theres this website you all might like.. its like a fantasy MMA league, where you pick the winner/method/round and you are awarded points and money (fake money), and you can make bets with other members.. there also is a pretty good forum, of which i am a regular contributor.. so if that interests you at all, check it out.. www.mmaplayground.com

peace

 

[MasterTT]

damn.. I completely missed this thread and didn't give my two cents haha..

it was a good night of fights though.. I didn't get to watch them, because the movie zodiac ended up being a hell of alot longer than I thought it was going to be, but ive seen most of the fights online by now..

if randy didn't knock tim down in the first 3 seconds, the fight would have been different I think.. but now.. once cro cop defeats gonzaga, it will be cro cop vs couture for the belt.. cro cop takes it.. sorry guys, but he does.. I give randy a chance, but cro cop is too much for him.. and cro cop isnt a little bitch like sylvia, he comes to fight.. but once cro cop has the belt, there will be one of the most marketable championship bouts in UFC history.. cro cop vs arlovski..

Ok I'm not gonna exactly argue because I think there is a REALLY good chance your right, cro cop takes the belt. But I think you have to give Randy a good chance if he's fighting at the top of his game. I think there are some things people aren't thinking about in that one. Most importantly, we have all seen Cro Cop rock it, in PRIDE, and one of the biggest differences is, pride is in a ring. The cage is less kind to cro cop, easier to get backed up, and easier to get pinned against it and neutralized, and taken down, especially by someone with a world class clinch and greco guy like Couture. Now I will give you these points... Cro Cop has some of the best take down defense in the world (that spiral take down defense frustrated a lot of guys over in pride) and he comes to fight (I won't call Tim Sylvia a little bitch considering he has a 23-3 record with 16 wins by knock out or technical knock out. I don't like Tim Sylvia, I can't imagine myself buying his instructional books or DVD's if he released them entitled "How to be a super tall counter fighting giant" but I will continue to say he has more going for him than people give him credit for. I mean yeah, he's boring to watch in those matches where he defended his title by not losing, that's not a proper fighting spirit, Randy is one of my favorites and a world class champion and ambassador for the sport, but people act like Sylvia's a no talent punk... who's he lost too, Couture, Arlovski, and I think Frank Mir broke his arm... that's not a shameful group of losses, and when Cro Cop beats him half to death it won't be so shameful either... I'd love to see that fight, can anyone say leg kicks... but anyway) Also with the Couture, Cro Cop fight, if Couture comes out, doing that bob and weave and trying to strike with Cro Cop like he did with Sylvia, Mirko is going to kick him in the head so hard Randy's grand kids will feel it... but if randy fights a near perfect fight, he has more of a chance than I think some people are giving him. The hardest part is, if he can get Cro Cop down, he has to finish him, he's not gonna survive 25 minutes trading with Cro Cop even if only part of that is on it's feet, and as we have seen, Cro Cop is a hard guy to finish, for a striker his ground game is tight (he does have BJJ training I'm almost sure).

Now if your right, and Cro Cop takes Couture's belt (and despite all I said, I agree VERY possible) I actually hope Cro Cop gets to fight Sylvia first for two reasons. One I would like to see Sylvia get leg kicked, I tried to calculate based on Cro Cops speed, Sylvia's defense, and the fact that all important Sylvia fights go the distance... 15 billion times.... ok ok maybe that's a little high but still, and because of the what if scenarios... because IF Arlovski beat Cro Cop (more amazing things have happened) then if Cro Cop already killed Sylvia with leg kicks, then we don't have to worry about Sylvia vs. Arlovski 48,038 (that's actually 4 for you purists, but the third one where Andre broke his foot felt like 48,034 all by itself) Of course I don't see anyone but Couture having that great a shot against Cro Cop any time soon anyway... so I guess it doesn't matter, but UFC is enough different from pride, that it could prove an intangible, maybe of course the biggest laugh would be if Dana White got Fedor to come over... but you know.

the only way cro cop vs arlovski isn't going to happen, is if fabricio werdum takes out arlovski at UFC70.. if he does, that's fine.. cro cop vs werdum would be just as great in my books, but not so much for the casual fans..

Yeah it's possible, and either one would be a good fight... either Arlovski gets to go back to the big stage or people who are more casual fans get introduced to Werdum. Either way it's good, Werdum has a good record... I know he lost to Nogueira by decision... but he hasn't lost a lot, he's pretty promising right now where as I like Arlovski, but he's like 10-5 so we know he can be beat.

and I definately predicted hughes by boring decision.. its just like his comeback fight against charuto after losing the belt to bj penn.. a solid performance, but not great.. there better not be hughes/gsp III right after gsp takes serra out.. ill be pissed.. im sick of rematches and giving former champions one fight before they get a shot at the title again..

I agree I would like to see Hughes fight one more before the GSP rematch. I mean, obviously he deserves a rematch, he isn't just another champion he completely dominated that division... now I think the guy we need to be talking about too in this division to some extent is Diego Sanchez, I mean he's one of those fighters who a lot of people don't like... a lot of decision wins, and a lot of attitude, but if he doesn't lose, he needs to fight Hughes or GSP, I mean he is 17-0. IF he win's his next fight I would personally like to see Sanchez, Hughes... and the winner of that fight go with GSP for the title... but that's just stuff I'd like to see.

 

[Snail Shell]

It's not that I don't think Couture will stop CroCop. It's that I don't think ANYONE will stop CroCop. He's going to get the belt and he's going to keep the belt for a very long time. The only person I can see coming close is Arlovski and that's not going to happen for a while. The only question is when CroCop gets his shot, which I predict will be before this time next year.

As for 'champions getting rematches immediately', the UFC brass has already said that Franklin will get Silva, in Cinncinnati, before the year's out. Sorry.

Hughes said post fight that he wanted first crack at GSP. They told him no, Serra gets first shot. Then Hughes said he wants Diego Sanchez. They told him no, they have other plans for Sanchez. Which means the fight to watch in the short term is Diego Sanchez vs. Josh Koschek. I have a feeling the winner gets GSP, the loser gets Hughes.

See you in Texas on the 7th!

Snail Shell

 

[bass]

It's not that I don't think Couture will stop CroCop. It's that I don't think ANYONE will stop CroCop. He's going to get the belt and he's going to keep the belt for a very long time. The only person I can see coming close is Arlovski and that's not going to happen for a while. The only question is when CroCop gets his shot, which I predict will be before this time next year.

As for 'champions getting rematches immediately', the UFC brass has already said that Franklin will get Silva, in Cinncinnati, before the year's out. Sorry.

Hughes said post fight that he wanted first crack at GSP. They told him no, Serra gets first shot. Then Hughes said he wants Diego Sanchez. They told him no, they have other plans for Sanchez. Which means the fight to watch in the short term is Diego Sanchez vs. Josh Koschek. I have a feeling the winner gets GSP, the loser gets Hughes.

See you in Texas on the 7th!

Snail Shell

dana white has already said that the winner of cro cop/gonzaga gets next shot at randy.. napao is a phenominal grappler, but i give him little to no chance against mirko.. they might even put cro cop/couture on the july card along with silva/marquardt and sherk/franca.. three title fights in one night.. that would be great.. i know people are interested in all three of those fights also, so it would be great for them financially also.. and if its not on that card, it will be on the next one, no doubt.. before the end of the year, the belt will be with mirko.. and then i see arlovski or werdum winning one more fight, and then getting their shot.. like i already said, either one of those fights would be great..

its alright about franklin getting another shot in cincinatti.. its not going to be until the end of this year though.. silva is fighting marquardt in july, which means he wouldnt fight again until probably october or so.. and i highly doubt that rich is going to sit around and wait and not fight for 6-8 months, so he will probably have another fight before then also.. so before then, rich could lose another fight, or silva could lose his belt to marquardt.. so touche.. we will see haha

this is wishful thinking.. but i think koscheck takes diego out by TKO at 69 in houston.. diego couldnt handle his wrestling when they fought on TUF1 way back in the day, and now kos is much better at everything.. add skills to a sick wrestling base, and diego is in for some trouble.. i see either a ground and pound stoppage, or a decision victory for kos..

so with diego losing that fight, i see them matching him up with hughes next.. but i dont see them giving kos a shot at GSP, he hasnt done enough to earn it.. they would probably give him the winner or hughes/diego..

or is diego does win, i say they give him to GSP.. then i can see what he looks like when he is unconscious 😎

 

[MasterTT]

I don't think CroCop beating Couture is a foregone conclusion, but I do think it's a pretty good bet. A serious argument can be made that CroCop is the greatest striker on the face of the earth today (almost certainly for his weight class). Especially if we are talking about stand up strikers, but who have a full MMA skill set.

As for Sanchez vs. Koschek I think Koschek could certainly take it. It should be a really good fight, but I honestly doubt that either of them are ready for GSP OR Hughes, but I could be wrong. Anything can happen in any given fight, but those four, plus maybe a couple of other guys, make that a very interesting division to watch right now.