MMA General Discussion and Fight Announcements 7.0

[Rocko604]

It looks like everyone (mainly Dana) came to their senses. This fight was reported as being a done deal prior to all of this happening too so I'll wait until it's actually signed but Okamoto is reliable.

Yeah, I think after Combate Americas pulled their offer to Yair, he realized he wasn't going to be fighting anywhere else and came back hat in hand. Bellator would have been all over him and there as no reported offer from them.

 

[LSCII]

Well in the case of Till, I'm not sure you can say he didn't have a taxing weight cut, he apparently lost vision before the first weigh in. And then with the 2nd weigh in the next day couldn't full re-hydrate so I'm not sure how much of advantage he had there. The problem with guys like Till is that they are attempting to cut so much weight in order to gain an advantage, but are either pushing their bodies to ridiculous extremes or not even making the weight in the first place. But the fact the Brazilian commission allowed the Dern/Cooper fight to take place was pretty ridiculous. Dern barely made weight for the weight class above.

Khabib as well. It makes no sense, given that the stats have shown there's very little statistical advantage of dropping more weight to get into a smaller class, winning percentage wise.

This is why the UFC and other organizations need to step in and make it so the fighters are only allowed to cut X amount of body weight to get into a division, and to make sure they don't weigh well above the day of the fight. The wild fluctuations in weight are the problem. These guys dehydrate themselves down and risk organ failure all in the name of an imaginary advantage.

 

[Avs_19]

Another good Dana White contender series show last night. It's not high level MMA but some good finishes and I prefer it over TUF.

Greg Hardy won in under a minute and was one of the guys who got a contract. You could make a good argument for him not getting the chance because he's a pretty terrible person and they deserve all the criticism they're going to receive for bringing him in. Have to admit though, his power was impressive and he also has crazy athleticism while being 265 lbs.

 

[Rocko604]

Another good Dana White contender series show last night. It's not high level MMA but some good finishes and I prefer it over TUF.

Greg Hardy won in under a minute and was one of the guys who got a contract. You could make a good argument for him not getting the chance because he's a pretty terrible person and they deserve all the criticism they're going to receive for bringing him in. Have to admit though, his power was impressive and he also has crazy athleticism while being 265 lbs.

Funny that Hardy was signed by the UFC despite high profile domestic violence charges, while his ATT teammate Michael Graves was released by the UFC for the same allegations in 2016.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

The UFC is beyond desperate to bring eyes back to the sport. Punk, Hardy, Jones-Lesnar, Lesnar getting the DC/Miocic winner, etc. And based on the projections from last week's PPV I can see why.

 

[MaxV]

Is Hardy really that marketable?

He made 1 pro bowl, but meh beyond that.

Unless, Dana thinks that Hardy’s success could lead to other known pro athletes trying MMA. That could be a boost.

 

[m9]

Is Hardy really that marketable?

He made 1 pro bowl, but meh beyond that.

Unless, Dana thinks that Hardy’s success could lead to other known pro athletes trying MMA. That could be a boost.

I think it's less that he's an NFL player and more that he's an NFL-level athlete, if that makes sense. He's an ultra-athletic heavyweight with KO power, and people love heavyweight prospects. Nobody really cared when say, Johnnie Morton fought in K-1. Probably a guy with similar NFL success but nowhere near the athlete.

 

[Rocko604]

I think it's less that he's an NFL player and more that he's an NFL-level athlete, if that makes sense. He's an ultra-athletic heavyweight with KO power, and people love heavyweight prospects. Nobody really cared when say, Johnnie Morton fought in K-1. Probably a guy with similar NFL success but nowhere near the athlete.

Putting all the controversy of Hardy aside for a minute, I am curious to see how an athlete of Hardy's calibre does. And I agree that it's more bringing in a high NFL-level athlete into MMA and seeing how it works. The difference between bringing in CM Punk vs the likes of Hardy or Lesnar, is that Punk is NOT an athlete, at least in the traditional sense.

We've seen quite a few football players crossover in the past, I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any fighters with a high level hockey background. Steve Bosse doesn't count.

 

[Rocko604]

Gegard Mousasi to defend his Bellator middleweight title vs welterweight champion Rory MacDonald, September 29th in San Jose. It's also expected that Wanderlei vs Rampage 4 will take place the same night. And in typical Bellator fashion, I fully expect them to make Wand vs Rampage the main event.

 

[member 51464]

Isn't Chad Mendes off suspension soon? I'll be curious who his first fight back is with.

 

[Avs_19]

Gegard Mousasi to defend his Bellator middleweight title vs welterweight champion Rory MacDonald, September 29th in San Jose. It's also expected that Wanderlei vs Rampage 4 will take place the same night. And in typical Bellator fashion, I fully expect them to make Wand vs Rampage the main event.

Mousasi vs. Rory is a great fight. Probably the best fight they can currently put on.

Isn't Chad Mendes off suspension soon? I'll be curious who his first fight back is with.

He's back next month against Myles Jury. Should be a good one.

 

[Rocko604]

According to Ariel, Michael Chandler is all but done in Bellator, with his contract set to end "imminently". That said, they're trying to negotiate a new deal, but aren't close.

At his age, the UFC would probably lowball him if he were to leave Bellator, and as much as I like Chandler, he's be outside the Top 5 if he came over. IMO, he might be better off going to the PFL next year (if it's still around) and try winning the Lightweight division.

 

[Avs_19]

According to Ariel, Michael Chandler is all but done in Bellator, with his contract set to end "imminently". That said, they're trying to negotiate a new deal, but aren't close.

At his age, the UFC would probably lowball him if he were to leave Bellator, and as much as I like Chandler, he's be outside the Top 5 if he came over. IMO, he might be better off going to the PFL next year (if it's still around) and try winning the Lightweight division.

They should try to keep him and he should probably stay. He's a good fighter but I don't know if heading to the UFC at the age of 32 would be the best move, especially if it's for similar or less money.

In other news, Machida is going to Bellator:

Machida signs multifight deal with Bellator

 

[Rocko604]

So, there was a UFC Fight Night this morning in Singapore. Leon Edwards UD over Donald Cerrone.

 

[Odysseus]

I’m Excited for Mousasi vs Rory. I expect Mousasi to win but I’ll be rooting for Rory. I hope Coker puts MVP vs someone legit on this card, such as Lima, Koreshkov, Larkin, or finally make the Daley fight happen.

 

[Rocko604]

I’m Excited for Mousasi vs Rory. I expect Mousasi to win but I’ll be rooting for Rory. I hope Coker puts MVP vs someone legit on this card, such as Lima, Koreshkov, Larkin, or finally make the Daley fight happen.

Bellator is going to hold a Welterweight Grand Prix starting on this card. Haven't announced the fighters or bracket yet, but if Bellator is smart, they match up MVP and Daley in the first round. Still unknown if Rory will be a part of the Grand Prix or not.

Honestly wouldn't mind if it's like the old Bellator Tournament days and the winner of the GP faces MacDonald. Only problem with that, however, is Bellator wants to span this over a year, similar to the Heavyweight GP. What's Rory going to do over that time if he's not a part of this?

Also, Bellator signed a 5 year, "9 figure deal" (so minimum $100 million) with streaming service DAZN, which is expanding into the US starting in September. I'm already a DAZN subscriber for football, rugby and soccer, so having Bellator on it is gravy for me. I think Viacom is coming around to the fact that Bellator and Paramount Network are not a good match, given the direction Paramount Network is going in. Marathons of Cops, Bar Rescue and Ink Master notwithstanding, they're going after a demographic that's the complete opposite of Spike TV.

 

[m9]

Bellator is going to hold a Welterweight Grand Prix starting on this card. Haven't announced the fighters or bracket yet, but if Bellator is smart, they match up MVP and Daley in the first round. Still unknown if Rory will be a part of the Grand Prix or not.

Honestly wouldn't mind if it's like the old Bellator Tournament days and the winner of the GP faces MacDonald. Only problem with that, however, is Bellator wants to span this over a year, similar to the Heavyweight GP. What's Rory going to do over that time if he's not a part of this?

Also, Bellator signed a 5 year, "9 figure deal" (so minimum $100 million) with streaming service DAZN, which is expanding into the US starting in September. I'm already a DAZN subscriber for football, rugby and soccer, so having Bellator on it is gravy for me. I think Viacom is coming around to the fact that Bellator and Paramount Network are not a good match, given the direction Paramount Network is going in. Marathons of Cops, Bar Rescue and Ink Master notwithstanding, they're going after a demographic that's the complete opposite of Spike TV.

Will DAZN work for Bellator in Canada? I had DAZN for NFL but haven't subscribed since the season ended. If so, will you be able to watch every Bellator card?

As for Rory, I think it should work out. An 8 man tourney is only 3 fights, and it starts the same day as Rory v Mousasi. They'll find 1 or 2 other fights for him in the meantime, just like they did when they used to have the champs/tournaments.

 

[Rocko604]

Will DAZN work for Bellator in Canada? I had DAZN for NFL but haven't subscribed since the season ended. If so, will you be able to watch every Bellator card?

As for Rory, I think it should work out. An 8 man tourney is only 3 fights, and it starts the same day as Rory v Mousasi. They'll find 1 or 2 other fights for him in the meantime, just like they did when they used to have the champs/tournaments.

You should be able to watch every Bellator event on DAZN. 7 of those will be exclusive to DAZN, and they'll be airing another 15 events which will be simulcasted on DAZN, Paramount and CMT. I'm just not sure if those 22 events are every event Bellator has planned from September 2018 to September 2019.

That being said, who really needs to watch 22 Bellator events in a year?

As for Rory, I've heard they may give him a bye to the semi finals in 2019, which would make it a 7 man tournament, and just 6 quarter-finalists. If that's the case, give me Lima, Koreshkov, MVP, Daley, Larkin and a play-in fight for the last spot between Ed Ruth and Neiman Gracie.

Jon Fitch can pound sand.

 

[crazychimp]

Very impressed with Adesanya, lengthy guy, great reach, great timing. Just picked Tavares apart. Very similar to Anderson/Jones.

 

[Avs_19]

That was a very impressive performance by Adesanya against a top 10 MW. Tavares didn't shoot all that often but I think Adesanya's movement had a lot to do with it and he showed some solid wrestling defense when he needed it. Some of those elbows were just brutal and Jon Jones-like. He said he wants the winner of tonight's Costa vs. Hall fight next.

 

[Rocko604]

Tito says he isn't getting a base pay for his fight with Chuck -PPV, gate and sponsorship revenue only- and he thinks that this could bring in 1.5 million buys. Going to be sad when he makes no money from this and has to go back to Bellator for another fight.

For comparison sake, the GSP/Bisping card did 875k.

 

[m9]

Tito says he isn't getting a base pay for his fight with Chuck -PPV, gate and sponsorship revenue only- and he thinks that this could bring in 1.5 million buys. Going to be sad when he makes no money from this and has to go back to Bellator for another fight.

For comparison sake, the GSP/Bisping card did 875k.

Brutal.

I think it will be lucky to do 200k.

 

[m9]

Just to add, I think it's absolutely insane and kind of sad how delusional some people are when it comes to things like this. I hope both of these guys have saved their money and are doing okay because if they think this fight is going to do anything close to what they're suggesting they are sadly mistaken.

 

[m9]

So yesterday in another thread I suggested doing Romero vs DC for the 205 title. Maybe Romero needs another fight first, but since DC is retiring this is our only chance to see this fight. DC's already beaten the other top contenders.

The thing that is scary is how bad LHW is right now in the UFC after losing guys like Bader, Anthony Johnson, Jones, etc.

The rankings include:
#4 Ilir Latifi (Latifi is a top LHW in the UFC - insane)
#5 Jan Blachowicz (Equally shocking)
#7 Corey Anderson (Hasn't really beaten anyone)
#14 Gadzhimurad Antigulov (A guy I've legitimately never heard of - hasn't fought in over a year)
#15 Sam Alvey (Isn't even a 205er, but beat Gian Villante so is now ranked)

It's really, really bad right now. Hopefully Romero and maybe Reyes can shake things up a bit.

 

[Avs_19]

So yesterday in another thread I suggested doing Romero vs DC for the 205 title. Maybe Romero needs another fight first, but since DC is retiring this is our only chance to see this fight. DC's already beaten the other top contenders.

The thing that is scary is how bad LHW is right now in the UFC after losing guys like Bader, Anthony Johnson, Jones, etc.

The rankings include:
#4 Ilir Latifi (Latifi is a top LHW in the UFC - insane)
#5 Jan Blachowicz (Equally shocking)
#7 Corey Anderson (Hasn't really beaten anyone)
#14 Gadzhimurad Antigulov (A guy I've legitimately never heard of - hasn't fought in over a year)
#15 Sam Alvey (Isn't even a 205er, but beat Gian Villante so is now ranked)

It's really, really bad right now. Hopefully Romero and maybe Reyes can shake things up a bit.

Yeah, LHW has been bad for some time now. Romero moving up would be a nice boost. I believe Rockhold is moving up as well once he's healthy. Reyes has been impressive in his first few UFC fights.

MW would take a hit and doesn't look too strong without them but at least that division has some youth. Whittaker (27) and Gastelum (26) are at the top. You hope guys like Carlos Junior (28), Costa (27) and Adesanya (28) keep winning and become contenders as well. I think it's also only a matter of time before Till is forced to move to MW.