The MMA thread

[Halb]

GregK2 said:

246 pounds DC weighed in. Heavier than Stipe (242.5lbs) Surprisingly.

those are two big boys.

so for a title defence of the lhc, he'd gonna have to get down to 205. I find the whole cutting thing a bit silly. I wonder if Dana will allow sufficient time for scheduling title defences.

[Ruskie]

Don1 said:

Uncle Dana wanted a superfight, a champion on champion.

Good fight, OK card but Beast/Predator was horrific. Brock needs to dial back the PEDs.

He’s back on the USDA testing list so I expect him to look a bit less jacked from now on.

Beast/Predator fight was a joke.

[Halb]

I had to search those names, in the old days that would be Magnum PI impersonators, Don Frye and Dan Severn.

[Halb]

Corny chimes in on the Lesnar/Cormier angle
https://youtu.be/h6jTX183418

[Halb]

Chael Sonnen on the brock/daniel shove match.

Brock Lesnar knew he was in the cage with an amateur...

https://youtu.be/NOyzhdt76O4

[ben5575]

Liver shot.

Aside from Saturday's show, I see that BT are stepping away from UFC from December this year. Any ideas where it's heading (apart from Kickass Torrents)?

[Don1]

ben5575 said:

Liver shot.

Aside from Saturday's show, I see that BT are stepping away from UFC from December this year. Any ideas where it's heading (apart from Kickass Torrents)?

That shot was wonderful.

I was going to talk about the BT thing as well - I'm guessing I'll have to get Fight Pass? As such, do they stream the event at any time/on demand as 95% of UFCs occur when I'm asleep....

[briangriffin]

I see they’ve lost more football rights though so maybe they will change tact on UFC on the back of that.

I tend to record the cards and watch in the morning so would need fight pass to provide that option to me too

[Don1]

Looks like they do - https://www.ufc.tv/page/fightpass

I'll take my free 7 days the day before BT switch it off. I'd also like to keep ESPN, so BT looks to be removing itself from my requirements... Save money on a different provider.

[BRR]

Really enjoyed the card at the weekend, awesome to see Aldo get the win, especially as he almost got KO'd about a minute before that body shot

will be interesting to see what happens with BT, i use them for my TV, broadband etc as it means i get BT sport cheap, I only have BT sport for the UFC so won't bother if it goes

I also have UFC fight pass but it's limited in what it shows i.e. you can't watch the numbered UFC PPV's until a good while after the event (at least a week) it's still worth having though for the early prelims and some of the other decent content on there

[Don1]

BRR said:

I also have UFC fight pass but it's limited in what it shows i.e. you can't watch the numbered UFC PPV's until a good while after the event (at least a week) it's still worth having though for the early prelims and some of the other decent content on there

Really? Arse. That's rubbish. Why would they do that, unless it's to protect their PPV market that we don't have access to anyway. Might have to up my Bellator watching then.

[BRR]

Don1 said:

Really? Arse. That's rubbish. Why would they do that, unless it's to protect their PPV market that we don't have access to anyway. Might have to up my Bellator watching then.

A lot of the time it doesn't even show the main card live for fight night shows, i guess it's all down to protecting the companies that have paid for the TV rights or for areas where there is PPV

[Zarco]

Is annoying BT Sport is dropping UFC as that along with MotoGP made it quite good value for me. I don't watch anything else except BSB/WSB (Eurosport) and F1 (C4).

Quick Google says Eleven Sports is picking up UFC for UK. Never heard of them and can't even work out how to to subscribe from their website! I'll look at Fight Pass as I rarely watch UFC live. Usually weeks behind and don't have time to watch every card.

Interested to hear what everyone else is doing. Got an fairly pricey Virgin TV/Broadband sub that needs to be reviewed now.

[DocJock]

Apparently they are going to be part of your SkySports/Virgin package with ppv for the big cards.

[Zarco]

Thanks

[Don1]

I don't see value for money for PPV. Bellator it is then. Shame.

[ben5575]

Don1 said:

I don't see value for money for PPV. Bellator it is then. Shame.

I agree. It's an interesting to fast forward through for an hour on a Sunday morning, but there's no way I'd PPV for it. Add in the new Lesnar/WWE factor and I can see myself losing touch with it quite quickly, which is a shame.

[Ruskie]

ben5575 said:

I agree. It's an interesting to fast forward through for an hour on a Sunday morning, but there's no way I'd PPV for it. Add in the new Lesnar/WWE factor and I can see myself losing touch with it quite quickly, which is a shame.

I agree, I love the cards but I’m not gonna be paying £20 every month when I get BT sport free with broadband currently. Can see them losing a lot of UK fans over this.

[Don1]

Agreed on all counts. It's not as if their product is crack cocaine - give out some freebies and watch people come back.

The rules are muddled, the judging is perverse at times, there are few compelling fighters, the question of drugs is always around and I feel that the Reebok deal started their malaise. Fighters need to be colourful, with the eye-catching branding and the fight poster, rather than ugly-ass 'uniform'.

Throw into that the amount of money the UFC are making off their talent.... It's not great to watch now. To pay extra money to see it? No thanks.

[ben5575]

I agree with the reebok branding as well - btw I have never seen anybody wearing reebok at any of the gyms I've trained at, so who do they sell their gear to?

But to expand the theme a little (and I'm generalising, so of course there are exceptions)...

Posters provided a real 'local' connection - fighters are proud of their gym and training partners, people who don't fight can still train at the same gyms or with the same partners. The advertising gives back to the grass roots (ok I may be being slightly romantic here!) and connects with (some of) the audience.

UFC is now old enough that the kids coming through are trained MMA fighters rather than MMA fighters that have a base in a specific discipline. So you're losing/lost the original attraction of is kung fu better than bjj/clash of styles type fights. They're 'third' generation - the old guard now in their 40/50's were specialists. They taught the current senior ranks/names in their late 20s/30s how to adapt a specialism into MMA. The current crop of senior ranks are training the kids that are just coming through now as straight MMA.

This 'general' MMA technique also means that the fighters lack the depth of knowledge/specialism in any one particular style. This means that fighters can get by with being 'good' in all as opposed to excellent in one. Of course I get that they're learning how to win at their sport, and I'm not being purest/luddite about it, but DC's a wrestler, Machida's a karate guy, Ortega jits and are all fantastic to watch as a result because you're seeing absolute world class skill on show.

So 'generic' MMA training, the reebok uniforms and the fact that most of the fighters all look the same as a result, makes for a formulaic, identikit product.