OT: UFC 168

[DoobieKeebler]

Weird card for sure.

Sad to continuously watch Chris Leben take fights simply because his finances are so bad. I'll totally buy the argument that Leben had been rocked at the end of the 1st and threw in the towel because he knew he shouldn't let it go further, but obviously he wouldn't be fighting at all if he had other options that paid like fighting does. Leben isn't a guy that keeps coming back simply because he loves fighting like Wanderlei or Liddell. Dana should try to find him a PR job or something.

Rhonda Rousey.... watching women in the UFC is just weird because everyone makes it weird (ie: Joe Rogan & Dana White). Miesha Tate showed heart, but that fight looked like if a big LHW pushed around a natural MW. Maybe the Women's divisions need to have tighter ranges between weight classes instead of 15 lbs because female body shapes fluctuate much more than a man's. Miesha never had a chance because she is as big as one of Rhonda Rousey's thighs and I'm not all that interested in fights where the impressive aspect is that Tate got through the fight without having her arm broken. Then again, the UFC is obviously still just smoothing out the rough edges of finding talented fighters for mainstream female MMA... but still.

Also, count me among the people that thought Rousey was classless for not shaking hands with Tate. Women in MMA don't play by special rules, so don't show poor sportsmanship because of something an opponent may or may not have said in the lead up to the event when everyone is trying to sell tickets. "I didn't shake her hand because she insulted my family"; bitch, don't forget when Sonnen said he'd smack Silva's mom's ass and tell her to cook him a steak.

And speaking of Anderson Silva....

Jesus Christ. Watching the replay of that kick made me physically ill. Such a horrible way for him to possibly end his career. Awful way for a grudge match to end, but most importantly an awful situation for Anderson Silva the man. Such a freak accident.

Watch GSP probably go on to fight for another decade.

 

[dredinis21]

GSP is done man. He has gotten his face caved in the last couple of fights. I think he realizes it too as he announced a break from the sport and vacating his belts.

I like Rousey although she should have shaken hands.

Women's MMA is much like UFC back in it's infant stages, where sumo wrestlers were fighting 180 lb street brawlers. Until the quality of fighter improves, the weight fluctuations are going to have to be tolerated.

Lastly, I have never been able to stand Anderson Silva after he fought (I think) Dan Henderson, went up on points early, then played dope on a rope the rest of the time, then interviewed that he had no interest in fighting that particular fight after the fight was ruled in his favor. Even Dana White called him a pussy and told him to either fight who he told to fight or get his reduced paycheck elsewhere. I haven't been able to like him ever since. But going out this way ain't right either. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

 

[tallglassofwater007]

GSP is done man. He has gotten his face caved in the last couple of fights. I think he realizes it too as he announced a break from the sport and vacating his belts.

I like Rousey although she should have shaken hands.

Women's MMA is much like UFC back in it's infant stages, where sumo wrestlers were fighting 180 lb street brawlers. Until the quality of fighter improves, the weight fluctuations are going to have to be tolerated.

Lastly, I have never been able to stand Anderson Silva after he fought (I think) Dan Henderson, went up on points early, then played dope on a rope the rest of the time, then interviewed that he had no interest in fighting that particular fight after the fight was ruled in his favor. Even Dana White called him a pussy and told him to either fight who he told to fight or get his reduced paycheck elsewhere. I haven't been able to like him ever since. But going out this way ain't right either. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

He choked Henderson out. It was his fights with Damian Maia and Thales Leites where he was dancing around and not finishing. I am not a fan of Silva in terms of his showboating in the ring. However, after he beat Sonnen the first time I figured out why he does it and stopped having a problem with it. He does it to get in the heads of his opponents and honestly I think he was bored with fighting because he was so much better than every other fighter he was against. He got a little too carried away the first Weidman fight and it cost him, but he respected him for it and this fight, he didn't mess around at all because of that. It was an unfortunate way for him to lose for both fighters. Weidman still has to answer critics because he still didn't have a convincing win. The first one, is the "What if Silva didn't play around?" and this one is "what if Silvas leg didn't break?" Weidman will now fight Belfort and get smashed because that guy looks unstoppable right now. Until he gets busted for something (that he is absolutely on) he deserves the shot.

As far as Rousey vs Tate... I hate to sound sexist.. but Tate fights like a girl and Rousey fights like a man and that is the difference. When you watch that (and other) fights you can tell. When Tate throws punches, they are slow and don't go through the target. Rousey was throwing punches that were meant to hurt, not to connect. All of the top women in the sport fight that way. Next time you see women fight in the cage/ring.. just watch the way they throw strikes and you will see what I am talking about.

Other than the main fights, Browne really impressed me as did Poirier. Both had pretty nice wins, and Michael Johnson keeps getting noticeably better each time he fights. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with the step up in competition.

 

[Kinzu]

It was a gruesome and likely career ending injury to one of the sports GOATs. The card as whole though mostly sucked and that ending was just he icing on the cake. A lot of a one sided early stops and 3 rounds of Rousey showing just how much more advanced her grappling is compared to the division.

Here is a tip to anyone fighting Rousey, do everything you can to keep distance and avoid the clinch. Got it? Ok, then you have at least have a chance at victory.

It sucks for Weidman though. He has to go on to do some pretty incredible things now to erase the stigma of his Silva wins out of peoples minds even though he beat him twice. The first time he beat him it was pretty clear Silva was not fighting seriously, and the second time he wins because Silva breaks his leg on a fluke kicking accident. It's highly doubtful Weidman will ever get another chance to prove he can just beat Silva and even if he does it won't happen for at least 2 years now.