UFC/MMA Thread

So do I. I hate them both, but I hate Diaz more.

I'm in a pool, I picked him because it's a win-win situation for me - either he loses or I get points.

THANK YOU for starting this thread. Having said that, it's REALLY hard to choose. Conor's main problem was his cardio in the first fight. I'm rooting for Nate, cause I've been a fan of Nick since I first saw him fight in 2004/5. Haven't kept up with much of the rest of the card though but I'll likely still order it or watch it at a bar.

The whole card...
www.mmafighting.com/2016/8/20/12559244/ufc-202-results-diaz-vs-mcgregor-2

Cerrone vs Story looks set to be fight of the night IMO.
Cerrone is always fun to watch and Story is one of the better pressure fighters around.

Holy shit brehs. Perry is dope!

I'm I the only one who likes Daniel cormier?

Hater!

Ok, maybe not. Nate got to him at the end of round 2.

Your face.

Not so sure about the decision and didn't think it was exciting. Meh.

McGregor went to leg kicks which was smart given how Diaz has proven susceptible to them in the past and managed to keep things on the feet.

I'm still waiting on him to fight a wrestler with more than a week's notice though.

As a boxing fan, I can understand the sentiment but at the same time, the mere threat of a takedown, or kick, is enough to render a number of defensive techniques risky.

A number of pro kickboxers, Mirko Cro Cop and Mark Hunt among them, who tried their hand at MMA got KO'd by lesser strikers who hit them off of an overreaction to a faked takedown.

I used to be into UFC.

Then Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin fought and the sport peaked. Now it's like why bother?

Like Jeremiah said, I don't know who's who anymore.

Well except Rhonda Rousay but she's so damn hot I can't help but know who she is.

I've found that a big part of understanding and appreciating combat sports is the ability to follow the visual "language" that you're seeing. For some people, boxing can seem like a very repetitive process, lasting 10 (or more) rounds. But if someone is familiar with the visual "language" of punching and defense, the complexities of how the fight is playing out sticks out in clearer relief. There are peaks and valleys and dramas that will be noticeable for knowledgeable fans that would go unnoticed by the average viewer.

It is similar in MMA, but more complex. Particularly when it comes to the grappling side of the sport. In the early days, wrestling was largely disdained because it was less exciting than the big knockouts produced by the striking. As time went by, the audience began to understand the visual language of the clinching and wrestling games, and over time, began to appreciate those elements of the sport much more. To someone unfamiliar, it can look like a very slow, repetitive back-and-forth (similarly to how those unfamiliar with the intricacies of boxing offense and defense could come away with that impression.) When you follow the small cues of where advantage and opportunity lie when it comes to grappling/submission, those fights will produce many more exciting moments than if it just looks like a couple of people rolling around randomly.

Probably one of the best examples of high-level grappling/submission I've ever seen was the fight between Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi had never been finished, and Lee had never been defeated (she's only 19, though.)

This is one version of it.

Also, MMA was partially invented by Bruce Lee. Fuckin' Bruce Lee!