No More UFC Love?

[D1omedes]

I think the diversity of opinion on who won here and elsewhere shows it was close. People who follow MMA didn't give Bisping a chance and while he lost, it was close. I think it was 29-28 Sonnen, but if it was scored 29-28 Bisping, I would be okay with that. Round 3 was clearly Sonnen. I thought Round 2 was Bisping and Round 1 was Bisping except for the takedowns, which gave Sonnen an edge.

In any event, Bisping is much better than I thought. The gap between him and Sonnen was nowhere near the gap between Phil Davis and Rashad Evans.

I should mention to that Maia and Weidman did nothing to interest new fans. It looked like to out of shape amateur "Tough Man" boxers.

I completely agree with your assessment of the Bisping vs. Sonnen match. I have a feeling that something was wrong with Sonnen going into that fight. His footwork (even though he doesn't believe that should be discussed seriously) seemed really off and his striking looked a lot more sloppier than it did in the Silva and Stann fights. It might have been a good thing that he fought Bisping and not Munoz - the latter hits a helluva lot harder and could have easily ended the fight.

Still, I'm a big Sonnen fan. He reminds me of a new age Couture - he's a grinder, with great wrestling and great cardio. He's not afraid to press the action and just plain PUNISH people. His commentary is EPIC to say the least and I could only imagine how disappointing it must have been to Kershaw to lose the sponsorship.

Maia and Weidman was boring but I don't really blame Weidman. I know he cuts a lot of weight to make 185lbs and he only had 11 days or so to prepare. Maia should not have gassed like that - unless he has a problem cutting weight or was injured coming into this fight. He went five solid rounds with Anderson in Abu Dhabi. And his rudimentary striking was surprising as well. I mean the guy has been working with Junior Dos Santos's boxing trainer. His performance Saturday night left me scratching my head.

I do remember seeing a video where Dana White admitted that it was Fox's decision to get rid of the firearm/knife sponsors. I'm sure it was with Ariel Helwani but I think the video was pulled from Youtube.

 

[SleepyBadger]

I gave the win to Bisping - 2 rounds to 3. Chael didn't do much in the way of damage. He was out struck by Bisping in 2 of 3 rounds. The scoring system is flawed. Plain and simple. Getting a take down should mean little if he cannot submit or do any offensive damage. Sure, Chael was the more aggressive fighter, but it wasn't like Bis was running from him, other than to get range and avoid TDs. Face it, Chael sucked ass till the 3rd round. Even then, all he did was smother and tap tap tap Bis. He doesn't deserve Anderson after that craptacular performance. But then, neither does Bis. I'd like to see Chael fight Rousimar Palhares. Watch em lose a leg to that beast.
Take a look at Brock, he had the same delusions of grandeur that Chael has. If Chael wins the REAL belt, he'll retain it for about as long as Brock did. Then he'll quit, after he loses a couple more times. Just like Brock did. Then, finally we can watch some real well rounded fighters, not some one trick pony who has to cheat to...almost win. Sorry to burst the bubbles of all the Chael lovers, but the man has 11 defeats on his record, he's nothing special.

So Chael "sucked ass" even though he outstruck Bisping, took him down more times and mounted him? Thats odd, because in my mind, if you suck ass, you can't take down one of the best middleweights in the world with the efficiency that Chael did. He didn't struggle for weak single legs or employ sloppy drag downs, he executed strong and technical takedowns against a proven high level defensive wrestler.
What did Bisping do to win the fight? Press Chael against the cage for minutes on end? Did Bisping knock him down or even wobble him? Threaten with a good submission? No, none of the above. Bisping hung with Chael and surprised everyone with how well he did, but he did nothing deserving of a clear cut win in my opinion.
"Getting a takedown" shouldn't mean anything if you cant do anything with it? What? Do you understand how hard it is to take another professional fighter down? You act like getting a double leg takedown is so easy and anyone can do it, therefore it is worth nothing. That seems odd. Should punches not count unless they knock someone out or put them on the ground? And Chael did not "do nothing", he landed a few punches to Bisping's noggin on every takedown, unfortunately his jitz is kinda weak and can't progress his position.

I fully agree that there are arguments to both sides of this fight, but making ridiculous statements like Chael "sucked ass" adds nothing to the conversation. Chael did not suck ass by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe it didn't go the way we all wanted it to go with a crazy finish, but thats how fights go sometimes.

 

[Corpus]

So Chael "sucked ass" even though he outstruck Bisping, took him down more times and mounted him? Thats odd, because in my mind, if you suck ass, you can't take down one of the best middleweights in the world with the efficiency that Chael did. He didn't struggle for weak single legs or employ sloppy drag downs, he executed strong and technical takedowns against a proven high level defensive wrestler.
What did Bisping do to win the fight? Press Chael against the cage for minutes on end? Did Bisping knock him down or even wobble him? Threaten with a good submission? No, none of the above. Bisping hung with Chael and surprised everyone with how well he did, but he did nothing deserving of a clear cut win in my opinion.
"Getting a takedown" shouldn't mean anything if you cant do anything with it? What? Do you understand how hard it is to take another professional fighter down? You act like getting a double leg takedown is so easy and anyone can do it, therefore it is worth nothing. That seems odd. Should punches not count unless they knock someone out or put them on the ground? And Chael did not "do nothing", he landed a few punches to Bisping's noggin on every takedown, unfortunately his jitz is kinda weak and can't progress his position.

I fully agree that there are arguments to both sides of this fight, but making ridiculous statements like Chael "sucked ass" adds nothing to the conversation. Chael did not suck ass by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe it didn't go the way we all wanted it to go with a crazy finish, but thats how fights go sometimes.

Problem is you're overrating Bisping. Bisping could barely finish a completely gassed Miller. I don't have to read a few blogs to see things like that. As far as Anderson, Anderson was injured the entire fight. Chael was roided up. You figure it out. Besides, a champion doesn't dominate an entire fight to get caught in a triangle as easily as Chael did.

I neither like nor hate Chael, I just see through the hype. Yeah he's a really good wrestler. But he's not a champion MMA fighter. Mark Munoz is a much more well rounded fighter, and could beat him pretty handily. As could Palhares. Both of these guys would destroy Bisping too.

If Chael and Anderson fight again, it'll be a much different fight than last time. Wait and see.

 

[P1GEONPOO]

The only reason Sonnen and Silva 1 went so long is because Anderson waned to sub him. That's why he entered the octagon in his BJ Gi. He never usually does this.

Sonnen got inside his head dissing his blackbelt, saying they hand out Noguera's blackbelts at McDonalds with the happy meals.

The next fight, Anderson will win by spectacular knockout. Vitor would also destroy Sonnen now he can't get his steroid fix.

 

[bernard_s3]

Problem is you're overrating Bisping. Bisping could barely finish a completely gassed Miller. I don't have to read a few blogs to see things like that. As far as Anderson, Anderson was injured the entire fight. Chael was roided up. You figure it out. Besides, a champion doesn't dominate an entire fight to get caught in a triangle as easily as Chael did.

I neither like nor hate Chael, I just see through the hype. Yeah he's a really good wrestler. But he's not a champion MMA fighter. Mark Munoz is a much more well rounded fighter, and could beat him pretty handily. As could Palhares. Both of these guys would destroy Bisping too.

If Chael and Anderson fight again, it'll be a much different fight than last time. Wait and see.

Very true. Chael test positive for steroids after the fight, so why would he deserve another title shot? The only good match up for Silva, right now, is Jon Jones. And that's be one of the only times i'd go for Silva. Jones has proved he can fight, but he wins with his 84 1/2 inch reach! That's between 6" to 12" longer than his opponents! But, just like it was shown "Mister Wonderful" didn't like to get hit, and couldn't take it, I hope Evans is able to get inside and punish Jones. Evans is the better striker, Jones is the better wrestler and has a nice reach advantage; the only reason he beat Machida.

 

[rpn]

I felt like it was Bisping with rounds 1 and 2. He survived that early blitz well, popped right up from the take downs, worked the fence better, got the better of the stand-up game and worked better in the clinch. Round 3 was all Sonnen of course. I thought Rogan's commentary was right on.

Looked to me in Sonnen-Silva 1 that Silva was covering an injured rib- although Chael hurt him early too. I have got to imagine that a healthy Silva is going to finish that fight with a KO.

Add: That blows about the endorsements. Everybody loses..except a growing UFC I guess...wonder if Chael is waiting on one of the flippers or has the 0550/0551??

 

[Thomas W]

Not to cool with some of the commentary here. Gonna shut it down.

Call me Lolo...