All UFC Thread

[OzExorcist]

I know a lot of people don't like Rogan for whatever reason too. Personally I don't mind him, he's got a decent level of knowledge and brings good energy to his work most of the time.

Brian Stann is at least as good though, I wouldn't be that worried if they switched Rogan out and put Stann in.

So we're getting at least one more year of Joe Rogan BUT we'll be getting more of the other guys too, as Rogan will no longer travel to events outside the USA.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/7/2...exclusive-dana-white-commentary-team-mma-news

 

[nelo80]

omg , i love ufc , i can see all day long . i have a dream one day see live

 

[andyt5303]

So Bisping vs Hendo 2 has been 'verbally' announced for ufc 204 oct 8th.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/8/4/12383476/michael-bisping-vs-dan-henderson-2-agreed-for-ufc-204

What do you guys think of this?

By the way its gonna be local time 5AM for the main event! Im gonna try my best to get tickets to this, gonna be one crazy night!

 

[OzExorcist]

So Bisping vs Hendo 2 has been 'verbally' announced for ufc 204 oct 8th.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/8/4/12383476/michael-bisping-vs-dan-henderson-2-agreed-for-ufc-204

What do you guys think of this?

By the way its gonna be local time 5AM for the main event! Im gonna try my best to get tickets to this, gonna be one crazy night!

I think middleweight is a guddam mess right now so why not do this

Can't believe they're being dumb enough to put it on at 5:00am local time though, that's just nuts. The whole point of having Bisping headline a fight card in Manchester is to try to build a bigger following in England. It won't be a huge-selling PPV anyway so why not do it at a time that maximises the local audience?!?

They did the same thing when they went to sweden last time, main event was in the early hours of the morning local time and by all accounts people were just sleeping in the stands waiting for Gustaffson to make it into the cage. Doesn't make for a great atmosphere and all but ensures you have a minimal local audience.

 

[andyt5303]

I definately agree with you, the division is a mess right now and this will certainly be one of the lower selling PPV events and it makes no sense whatsoever to have the fight so late local time considering it won't sell...

But either way im pretty excited to have a UFC PPV in my hometown! This won't come around again for a longgggg time haha!

 

[Rincewind]

So Bisping vs Hendo 2 has been 'verbally' announced for ufc 204 oct 8th.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/8/4/12383476/michael-bisping-vs-dan-henderson-2-agreed-for-ufc-204

What do you guys think of this?

By the way its gonna be local time 5AM for the main event! Im gonna try my best to get tickets to this, gonna be one crazy night!

I'm like 90% sure I will be flying over for it (from ireland). Its a short (1 hour) and very cheap (€20) flight. Day/evening in Manchester, hopefully catch a poker tournament somewhere and maybe some cash action.

andy can you recommend any good poker clubs/casino's?

 

[Rincewind]

I think middleweight is a guddam mess right now so why not do this

Can't believe they're being dumb enough to put it on at 5:00am local time though, that's just nuts. The whole point of having Bisping headline a fight card in Manchester is to try to build a bigger following in England. It won't be a huge-selling PPV anyway so why not do it at a time that maximises the local audience?!?

They did the same thing when they went to Sweden last time, main event was in the early hours of the morning local time and by all accounts people were just sleeping in the stands waiting for Gustaffson to make it into the cage. Doesn't make for a great atmosphere and all but ensures you have a minimal local audience.

I definately agree with you, the division is a mess right now and this will certainly be one of the lower selling PPV events and it makes no sense whatsoever to have the fight so late local time considering it won't sell...

I have to disagree with you both here guys. I think this will do pretty decent numbers. Historically, Bisping has always been a good PPV draw in the USA.

Add to that, the history between him and Dan and the fact that it will be Hendo's last ever fight (or so he says) then you have all the ingredients for a big seller. Sure it wont be on the same scale as 200 or what 202 is gonna be but it will do really well. There wont be many other events not involving McGregor, Ronda or Brock that will outsell it this year.

No matter what time its on, it will be a rapid sellout. Fans will travel from all over western europe for this. Gate receipts are only a fraction of potential PPV profits so it makes sense to have it on a time that suits an American audience.

Gate receipts would be $1-$2 million maybe? If they sell 500,000 (realistic estimate) PPV's thats $30 million. PPV's are $60 a pop in the US. If they have the event on early they lose millions. Its a massive no brainer from a financial POV.

Bisping surely stands to pocket at least 2 and half million for this and Hendo probably half that (plus a nice golden handshake for his retirement). Delighted for both guys no matter what the result.

 

[OzExorcist]

I have to disagree with you both here guys. I think this will do pretty decent numbers. Historically, Bisping has always been a good PPV draw in the USA.

There's no actual evidence of that though.

UFC199 only did 320k buys, despite being on in American prime time with two title fights on the card (Hendo was also on that card).

And unless I'm missing something, that's the only PPV he's ever headlined. His headlining fights against Silva, Leites, Rockhold (the first time), Le, Kennedy and Belfort were all on free TV or Fight Pass. He headlined UFC120 against Akiyama but that wasn't a PPV either.

Same goes for Hendo. Last PPV he headlined was 161 against Rashad that only did 140k buys. UFC 139 v Rua did 290k. If you go all the way back to 2008, he did 325k buys in the main event of UFC 82 (against Anderson Silva).

All indications are they're building this card to appeal to UK and European audiences: the other names they've announced for the undercard include Mousasi, Struve, Magomedov and Manuwa. None of them are huge draws. The only Americans on the card so far are Hendo and OSP.

There's plenty of time for them to announce some bigger-drawing international fighters, though they're likely saving their big draws around that time for the following card: UFC205 card at Madison Square Garden.

Since the start of 2014 the list of fighters who've broken 500k PPV buys is very short: Silva-Diaz and Jones-Cormier are the only 500k+ cards that didn't feature either McGregor or Rousey (and UFC 200 - haven't seen numbers on that yet but it's reasonable to assume it was very big). Go back a few more years and it was only really GSP, Silva and Jones that could get those numbers.

TLDR: respectfully, I'll eat my hat if Bisping-Hendo gets 500K PPV buys, even in American prime time. It's not realistic.

A $2m+ gate I'll buy as realistic, though they'll make that a bit hard on themselves if they insist on putting the card on in the middle of the night local time...

 

[SMD Jabroni]

I can't ****ing wait for diaz to smash that loudmouth mick connor mcgaygor.

 

[OzExorcist]

I can't ****ing wait for diaz to smash that loudmouth mick connor mcgaygor.

Oh good, a racist and a homophobe. Just what we need...

I don't suppose you've got anything intelligent to say about that fight?

 

[Mr Sandbag]

I can't ****ing wait for diaz to smash that loudmouth mick connor mcgaygor.

.....wow

 

[SMD Jabroni]

Oh good, a racist and a homophobe. Just what we need...

I don't suppose you've got anything intelligent to say about that fight?

I think that midget connor will get beat even worse this time around.
possibly KO'd
can't wait for the money ill make on this fight.
can't come soon enough.

 

[Rincewind]

I think that midget connor will get beat even worse this time around.
possibly KO'd
can't wait for the money ill make on this fight.
can't come soon enough.

Wont even be a fraction of 1% of what McGregor makes. All thanks to people like you who keep stoking the fires of the engine of his hype train.

He has you all truly rattled and wound up. Mission accomplished for him.

How good is he at marketing his own brand when he doesn't even need to win to be the highest paid MMA fighter in the world right now? this fight will surely be worth in the region of $10m for him and will possibly outsell UFC 200 in the PPV stakes.

I wonder, does it bother the haters when they know they are putting money directly into his pocket?

McGregor=Genius.

 

[OzExorcist]

I wonder, does it bother the haters when they know they are putting money directly into his pocket?

McGregor=Genius.

^ this. This x 100.



This time around they're putting money in Nate's pockets as well, so I suppose Diaz fans have that to be happy about. But you're absolutely right, whether it's bad or good, if you're talking about McGregor then McGregor is a happy man.

As for everyone who's already counting their money because they think Diaz is a stone cold lock to win this fight... you're setting yourself up for a nasty fall.

Should Diaz be the favourite in this fight? Probably. Is Diaz a +EV bet at current odds? Probably. But is he a lock, is he unbeatable? The 10 in his 19-10 record proves he's not. This is professional face punching, anything can happen. Rousey can lose, RDA can lose, Cain can lose and yes, Diaz can lose.

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

As for everyone who's already counting their money because they think Diaz is a stone cold lock to win this fight... you're setting yourself up for a nasty fall.

Should Diaz be the favourite in this fight? Probably. Is Diaz a +EV bet at current odds? Probably. But is he a lock, is he unbeatable? The 10 in his 19-10 record proves he's not. This is professional face punching, anything can happen. Rousey can lose, RDA can lose, Cain can lose and yes, Diaz can lose.

Sure he can. But I don't think that is likely to happen. All your examples were upsets somehow "explainable". Holly is a boxing world champion and probably the worst match up for Ronda. Dos Anjos is a black belt in BJJ and Muay thai. Usually fighters like him don't have a good defensive boxing style e.g. Jose Aldo and are very vulnerable to punches . Cain had two weeks to adjust to the mexico City altitude.

Diaz had 11 days to prepare for the first fight coming back from a Cabo trip where he had issues with the mexican water, what happened? He outboxed Conor. So I don't understand why there are so many people so sure that the outcome is going to be different.

Conor does not need months of training in order to beat Diaz. He needs years.

Nate is not one of those midgets Conor is used to fight. His punches are innefective at 170.

So there is no reason to believe that Conor is going to beat Nate.

 

[OzExorcist]

Usually fighters like him don't have a good defensive boxing style e.g. Jose Aldo and are very vulnerable to punches.

Surely you jest? Otherwise that sound you can hear from half a world away is me, dying of laughter right now.

Aldo is one of the most defensively sound fighters in all of MMA. RDA sure, you can have a discussion about how effective his defense is. But Aldo?!?

Come on, you're trolling me right?

 

[Rincewind]

Diaz had 11 days to prepare for the first fight coming back from a Cabo trip where he had issues with the mexican water, what happened? He outboxed Conor.

For about the last 2 minutes of the fight yes I would agree, but for the first round McGregor landed the cleaner shots without a doubt.

Diaz only started dominating on the feet after McGregor had spent the best part of 2 rounds overthrowing his power shots and gassing himself. A mistake he should not make again. There is no way McGregor comes into the next fight with the same attitude.

A patient and smart McGregor has all the tools to keep a straight line boxer like Diaz at bay and under control.

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

Surely you jest? Otherwise that sound you can hear from half a world away is me, dying of laughter right now.

Aldo is one of the most defensively sound fighters in all of MMA. RDA sure, you can have a discussion about how effective his defense is. But Aldo?!?

Come on, you're trolling me right?

All I hear is the sound of ignorance.
It is a fact that Muay Thai fighters / kickboxers have a weak guard especially facing good boxers. Rockhold, Aldo, Werdum, RDA got KOed cause they are very vulnerable to punches. If you don't know that u know shit about fighting and u need to educate yourself otherwise u gonna sound like a bandwagon casual fan everytime u post something technical about fighting. SMH

 

[Rincewind]

It is a fact that Muay Thai fighters / kickboxers have a weak guard especially facing good boxers. Rockhold, Aldo, Werdum, RDA got KOed cause they are very vulnerable to punches.

Really? Sorry but that is not a ''Fact'' at all. To be fair mate, that is a very broad sweeping statement. So broad that it is pretty much moot to be honest.

Aldo especially is probably one of the hardest guys to hit in his division. And in reality, McGregor only got to hit him once, so you cant really judge his defence on that loss.

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

Diaz only started dominating on the feet after McGregor had spent the best part of 2 rounds overthrowing his power shots and gassing himself.

A patient and smart McGregor has all the tools to keep a straight line boxer like Diaz at bay and under control.

This is why it is really hard to take u irish fans seriously. Ur so biased but ur unable to see it. So according to you, Conor lost to himself by getting tired. LOL. What about the fact that Diaz is a durable fighter and can take punches? Or that Conor hit Nate with everything he got but that wasn't enough? Or maybe, who knows, Nate could be the better fighter... No, no, no. It's impossible. Conor can only lose to himself by choosing the wrong strategy.

 

[Rincewind]

This is why it is really hard to take u irish fans seriously. Ur so biased but ur unable to see it. So according to you, Conor lost to himself by getting tired. LOL. What about the fact that Diaz is a durable fighter and can take punches? Or that Conor hit Nate with everything he got but that wasn't enough? Or maybe, who knows, Nate could be the better fighter... No, no, no. It's impossible. Conor can only lose to himself by choosing the wrong strategy.

Mate I was a Nate Diaz fan fr years before I was a Conor McGregor fan. There is no bias, just a fair assessment based on informed knowledge. Are you saying that Nate Diaz couldn't be beaten by a fighter with McGregor's skill set if he chose to fight sensibly? Diaz may be good but is probably the most predictable fighter in the game right now.

RDA (a fighter whose stand up defence against boxers you apparently dont rate at all) absolutely annihilated (the boxer) Diaz by sticking to an intelligent gameplan. McGregor, if he fights smart, could very easily do the same.

 

[SMD Jabroni]

Wont even be a fraction of 1% of what McGregor makes. All thanks to people like you who keep stoking the fires of the engine of his hype train.

He has you all truly rattled and wound up. Mission accomplished for him.

How good is he at marketing his own brand when he doesn't even need to win to be the highest paid MMA fighter in the world right now? this fight will surely be worth in the region of $10m for him and will possibly outsell UFC 200 in the PPV stakes.

I wonder, does it bother the haters when they know they are putting money directly into his pocket?

McGregor=Genius.

ive already come to terms with how the ufc operates. all i can do is hope mcgregor gets viciously knocked out and nobody talks about that two time loser again.
or wait until the next unqualified guy gets pushed to the top because he knows how to play the game and somehow talks his way into main events and title fights. like chael sonnen and brock lesnar.

 

[OzExorcist]

ive already come to terms with how the ufc operates. all i can do is hope mcgregor gets viciously knocked out and nobody talks about that two time loser again.
or wait until the next unqualified guy gets pushed to the top because he knows how to play the game and somehow talks his way into main events and title fights. like chael sonnen and brock lesnar.

You're hoping in vain re: McGregor I'm afraid. He'll be getting talked about until he retires.

As for Lesnar, I don't think he ever talked his way into anything. In fact he's notoriously bad at talking. The UFC pushed him hard because he was already a legitimate draw.

Sonnen, yes, obviously got his high profile fights on the strength of his mouth. Sonnen is the reason you shouldn't be holding your breath about McGregor disappearing any time soon by the way. Sonnen lost fight after fight after fight, he wasn't as good a talker as McGregor, he didn't have a whole country behind him in the way McGregor does, and his fights weren't even a third as exciting as McGregors are... AND he had a spotty history with drugs. And yet he got two fights with Silva, and one with Jon Jones, and all sorts of other high profile spots. If he can do that, imagine how long they're going to keep pushing a legitimate star like McGregor, win lose or draw against Diaz.

And yes, that's the way the UFC (and Bellator, and boxing, and any other combat sport that wants to be able to make money and pay its athletes) operates. This isn't some meritocracy. It's prize fighting. It's the fight business. Those who can draw the biggest crowds and make the company the most money get the headlining spots.

 

[OzExorcist]

All I hear is the sound of ignorance.
It is a fact that Muay Thai fighters / kickboxers have a weak guard especially facing good boxers. Rockhold, Aldo, Werdum, RDA got KOed cause they are very vulnerable to punches. If you don't know that u know shit about fighting and u need to educate yourself otherwise u gonna sound like a bandwagon casual fan everytime u post something technical about fighting. SMH

I'm literally falling over laughing here

Aldo is one of the best defensive fighters the sport has ever seen. Period. Right up there with Cruz. Did you even watch his latest fight with Edgar, as just one example?!? Aldo's defense is f&*king sublime.

Is that true of all muay thai fighters? No. But the fact that you're lumping Aldo in with "all muay thai fighters" shows you're not paying a great deal of attention here.

Thanks for the laugh, it's been fun

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

Are you saying that Nate Diaz couldn't be beaten by a fighter with McGregor's skill set if he chose to fight sensibly? Diaz may be good but is probably the most predictable fighter in the game right now.

The very best version of Conor is not enough to beat a full camp Nate Diaz at 170. The first fight was not a matter of strategy error or Conor getting tired. Nate landed the more efficient punches and Conor did not. Sure he can try to change things but at the end of the day Nate is the better fighter especially fighting at 170.