UFC 75

[torrentthief]

i hope its a good crowd so far the uk crowd have been as enthusiastic as wet blanket and ruins the atmosphere.

complete and UTTER lie!!!

did u go to ufc 70 @ manchester, i did, it was deafening during bisping and cro cop fights!!! and if you listened to the commentary mike and joe were saying how loud and amazing the crowd was. get your facts right!

[Rappy Veteran]

UFC 75 site is live...

UFC 75:Champion vs Champion

Thanks for heads up!

[caster316]

Bumping because the fights tomorrow. Got my bets in and I'm hoping for the best!

[Rappy Veteran]

Bumping because the fights tomorrow. Got my bets in and I'm hoping for the best!

Yep can't forget that because its on my birthday...its gonna be pretty awesome and I am saying Rampage and Crocop.

[Christopher]

I definately am going to be home in time to watch this.

The fights all have the potential to be EXPLOSIVE.

As for my picks:

I think Dan Henderson will take the belt. The rate at which his game is evolving is just tremendous.

Rampage does have a chance, dont get me wrong. But it will be a small one. A lucky punch or knee.

Cro Cop I think will win his fight. Hes hungry, and I think his last fight humiliated him so much that he will be looking to make an example out of his opponent.

Though I still wouldnt count Kongo out. His reach is a big factor, and his stand up isnt bad at all.

Should the fight SOMEHOW go to the ground, I give the advantage to Cro Cop.

Naturally, I could be completely wrong. A lucky shot in this will be all it takes.

This fight should be a war.

I really want to see Hamill win. In fact, I think he will.

Hes extremely talented. His stand up is good, and hes slowly grasping it even more, but his ground game is amazing.

In order for Bisping to win, he will have to stay away from Hamill and pick him apart with punches.

Just my thoughts.

[metallithrax]

Main event 49-46 on all cards - Rampage

[Rappy Veteran]

Bisping got pwned in my opinion and still won!!! wtf is up with that and Crocop is finished...tho it was a split decision.

According to Tom Hughes, our guy on the scene, Bisping (the local fighter) was booed by the crowd in a post-fight interview.

Good old Rampage :)

[Zoom7000]

I agree with Bisping getting owned. Those judges gave in to crowd pressure! That was a Matt Hamil win all the way! I didn't see the CroCop match, but, 2nd loss in the Octogon, it certainly doesn't look good for his return to the big time.

Rampage vs Henderson was a much closer fight and I feel that the judges decision could have gone either way, however, we saw a very different Rampage tonight. I'm surprised at how well he handled Henderson on the ground.

[Rappy Veteran]

Yeah I am pleased Rampage won tho but I am wondering Hamil vs Bisping 2?...got to happen.

[sn00pie]

What's the main event suppose to be? Tito Ortiz's match? That's going to be less than an hour from now right? So what are these fights that are being shown right now all about? I'm a n00b at this stuff.

[Rappy Veteran]

What's the main event suppose to be? Tito Ortiz's match? That's going to be less than an hour from now right? So what are these fights that are being shown right now all about? I'm a n00b at this stuff.

I hope not because Ortiz isn't fighting...the main event is Rampage Jackson vs Dan Henderson.

[caster316]

Bisping got pwned in my opinion and still won!!!

I agree with Bisping getting owned. Those judges gave in to crowd pressure! That was a Matt Hamil win all the way!

I'm so angry, :angry: those judges robbed Hamil... who I had bet heavily to win. That was the most blatant crowd suck up judging I've ever seen in the UFC. Luckily I also bet heavily on Rampage to win so I end up perfectly even. :x

[caster316]

[Zoom7000]

I wonder if it will be a PRIDE curse... All these big time PRIDE guys coming to the UFC and getting beaten! CroCop is down in the dumps. Nogueira was made to work damn hard by Heath Herring and almost knocked him out. Shogun has a damn hard test against Forrest. Rampage is the only one that has really got anywhere.

Fedor to lose the potential unification match to Randy Couture? :p (Actually, if there is anyone in the business who could do it, it'd be Randy!)

[Rappy Veteran]

:laugh:

You know what I think there should be a rematch between them 2 because it has to happen!!!

Fedor I thought was gonna sign last night like they always do announce someone big has signed but it didn't happen so I predict either before ufc 76 or during ufc 76.

[Rappy Veteran]

An all-points bulletin was issued in London last night and a search-and-rescue mission was officially launched in hopes of finding anything resembling Mirko ?Cro Cop? Filipovic?s once promising UFC career following his unanimous-decision loss to Cheick Kongo.

As it stands now, Cro Cop?s UFC career is in ruin, and he?s on the verge of going down in history as the biggest bust in company history.

During Saturday?s match vs. Kongo at UFC 75, Cro Cop was dwarfed by a fighter with respectable ? but far less accomplished ? striking credentials who was bigger, faster, stronger, and on this night, better.

This isn?t a case of overreacting. The UFC has a serious problem on its hands from a business standpoint. They can?t just hit the restart button and do another take when it comes to Cro Cop. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

There is no commission in the UK, so it wasn?t reported what Cro Cop made vs. Gonzaga at UFC 70, and it won?t be reported what he made last night vs. Kongo. What we do know is that he was paid at least $350,000 for his debut at UFC 67 against Eddie Sanchez. I have no idea how his contract is structured, but I?m operating under the assumption that what he?s been paid for his last two matches is pretty damn close to the first.

In a normal situation, you?d just send a fighter in Cro Cop?s situation down the card and have him fight nondescript opponents during the non-televised portion of the card. But $350,000 is a lot to pay a guy to fight in matches that will only be seen by a live audience or subscribers of the UFC?s on-demand video service. He would go down in history as the most expensive non-televised fighter to ever appear on a fight card.

The doom and gloom lies in the fact that we were told by the Cro Cop apologists that after a devastating knockout that we always see a better and badder Crop Cop. Well, I?m not exactly sure what we saw last night. Pointing to a reason for his loss isn?t as easy as it was against Gonzaga. Cro Cop appeared to be in great shape (he had more definition in his physique than usual), and by all accounts, he appeared motivated and relaxed (was it me or did he even crack what somewhat resembled a smile when they showed him getting his hands taped?).

And when it came to the match, he actually didn?t look that bad. The problem is, he just didn?t look all that good. It wasn?t as if he went out there and totally got his ass handed to him. He went the distance and came out of the match in decent shape. He took a lot of punches to the face, knees to the body, and kicks to his lower leg, but he was able to deliver some offense as well. What we saw last night was not Cro Cop vs. Randleman or Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga.

The issue is that nobody lives in fear of the left high kick anymore. In the past, Cro Cop could be in control of the match and stalk his prey. Now, he is the hunted one, and fighting on his heels is not something he apparently likes. You could see the frustration in his body language. It was almost as if he took it as a personal affront that Kongo had the audacity to impose his will.

Perhaps Cro Cop should spend some time at The Pit in California working with John Hackleman and Chuck Liddell so he can learn how to strike while moving backward. If there was one thing I learned last night, it was that while Cro Cop has a background in counter-terrorism, he isn?t much for counter striking. In the meantime, the UFC needs to have an emergency meeting at its Las Vegas offices first thing Monday morning to figure out what?s next for their Croatian destroyer.

I have some ideas of my own.

Lock him out of the gym for three months and tell him to not even think about fighting. Then, after he spends some time with Georges St. Pierre?s sports psychologist, you can schedule him for a showcase match. The problem is that Cro Cop vs. Sanchez II isn?t something that can happen again. Unless the UFC goes outside the organization and serves up Wes Sims, there really aren?t any guaranteed wins ? and would anyone take a win over someone like Sims or Brad Imes seriously? You could put him in with Heath Herring or Frank Mir, two fighters he would be heavily favored against, but if he lost to Kongo, then he could lose to either.

You could really think out of the box and loan his contract out to another organization. I?m not sure if his contract is transferable, but a match in Japan for HERO?S might not be a bad idea. While he wasn?t the draw that Kazushi Sakuraba, Hidehiko Yoshida or even Fedor Emelianenko or Wanderlei Silva were/are, Cro Cop was still very popular in the land of the rising sun.

Let him go to Japan, and let them put him against the kind of obvious tomato can that the UFC is so far above at this point. Let HERO?S foot most of the bill for Cro Cop?s fight, and in return, get them to loan Kid Yamamoto to Zuffa LLC and the WEC for one fight. With Yamamoto in tow, perhaps the WEC could hold their first-ever pay-per-view event built about a Yamamoto vs. Urijah Faber dream match. Then again, would the WEC want to risk a loss by their poster boy to a fighter not even under contract to the company?

In reality there?s only one option that makes sense, and that?s a forced move to light heavyweight. Cro Cop won?t want to do it, but if I?m Dana White and company, I would tell his management that he doesn?t have a choice: either cut weight, or be cut. He can either fight at 205 or have his contract accelerated and take his chances that another fight promotion may or may not offer him what he?s scheduled to make with the UFC.

Cro Cop says he doesn?t want to cut the weight, but it can be done. If he alters his diet, he can go from 220 to 215 or 212. Hell, if he cut down on the number of squat thrusts he does, then he could lose all the weight by reducing the size of his tree trunk thighs. Once he got down to the 212-215 range, he could probably sweat the rest of the weight off two days before his fight. He?s never really had to cut weight, and I?m sure he won?t enjoy the process, but a few hours in a sauna suit is a small price to pay for $350,000.

The prospect of Cro Cop at 205 pounds would be daunting. Instead of being an undersized heavyweight, he?d be a gigantic light heavyweight. He wouldn?t have to worry about being dwarfed by guys like Gonzaga and Kongo, and he could go back to stalking his opponents. Once again, Cro Cop would be someone to be feared. Starting over in a new weight class would be enough to resell him to fans like me who have lost complete faith in him. The money matchups are also endless. Cro Cop vs. Liddell, Cro Cop vs. Shogun, Cro Cop vs. Rampage, Cro Cop vs. Silva II, and Cro Cop vs. Ortiz.

If Cro Cop refuses to make the move, then if I were the UFC, I?d put his contract up for auction on eBay with no reserve price and use the proceeds to pay for Fedor and Brock Lesnar.

Interesting Article.

[Zoom7000]

If Cro Cop refuses to make the move, then if I were the UFC, I?d put his contract up for auction on eBay with no reserve price and use the proceeds to pay for Fedoand Brock Lesnare>.

It was an interesting article until the last 3 words! Brock Lesnar has a MMA Record of 1-0-0. He is only a big draw because he was in the WWE. I can't believe at the K-1 event that he fought at he was announced as a 3 time WWE Champion. Hello? Even I can be scripted as a 3 time WWE Champion! Sure, if you're a good fighter, then you can talk the trash and prove it in the ring. However, he hasn't done that, nowhere near it and already he is claiming potential victories over the likes of Randy Couture. His only fight was against a tiny opponent, who tapped to strikes in the first few seconds. Not anywhere near convincing enough.

Frankly put, until he proves otherwise, he could be a worse signing for the UFC than even CroCop.

On the subject of CroCop, the article does correctly suggest IMO, that he should drop down to 205. It would be more worthwhile to the UFC if he did. Because after 2 losses to considerably lesser opponents than what was his potential stature, it would be a very expensive road back to title contention for the UFC. He would have to get past all the other "contenders" in the division because the "CroCop" label doesn't mean he can walk into a title shot anymore.

[Rappy Veteran]

Yeah I agree Zoom now Crocop has to go back to the drawing board because everyone else is now in line like the bloke he lost to last night he is now not far from a title shot tho if Fedor signs that he will be bumped for sure for that massive unification bout.

[Zoom7000]

I swear I saw a Fedor look a like in the crowd on TV yesterday! Just sign dammit! :p

[DrunkenMaster]

Yeah I agree Zoom now Crocop has to go back to the drawing board because everyone else is now in line like the bloke he lost to last night he is now not far from a title shot tho if Fedor signs that he will be bumped for sure for that massive unification bout.

I'm not a huge MMA watcher. But I was anticipating something more from Crocop. When I saw him fight last night, he was really stalking Kongo. And Kongo was backing away. He was almost scared to death of getting hit by Crocops' kicks or punches.

But it all changed in the 2nd round. Kongo knew Crocop wasn't much of a threat and for the rest of the match Crocop was the one being stalked AND backing away. He seriously needs to cut a lot of weight to make it to a lighter division. I think if he stays in the HW division, if he had to fight Tim Silvia or Bob Sapp, both of whom aren't the best guys, he'd get pounded.

[caster316]

UFC poll "Who Do YOU Think Should Have Been Awarded The Decision At UFC 75??"

http://www.ufc.com

Currently at...

Michael Bisping 8.98%

Matt Hamill 91.02%

[Rappy Veteran]

At least the fans are getting it right :D

[Rappy Veteran]

Longtime MMA judge Jeff Mullen, one of the two officials who scored Saturday?s UFC 75 fight between Michael Bisping and Matt Hamill as a victory for the U.K fighter, says that the angle in which he was watched the fight played a major role in his final decision.

The Bisping-Hamill fight took place Saturday at the 02 Arena in London, England. The final verdict was a controversial split-decision victory for Bisping, ?The Ultimate Fighter 3? light-heavyweight winner.

Mullen, who says he first started judging UFC contests in 1996 (and has been doing it twice as long as any other current judge), recently posted a message on The Underground Forum, where he?s been a member since 2001.

Mullen argues that he had a clear view of Bisping early in the second round ? and a view that the television camera and the UFC broadcasters didn?t have ? and that the local fighter ?was landing the jab again and again and not getting hit.? Additionally, he argues that Bipsing was ?using an active guard trying to turn for armbars and sweeps? in the second round while Hamill was ?doing very little on top.?

Both Jeff Mullen and Cecil Peoples scored the fight 29-28 (awarding Bisping the second and third rounds) while British judge Chris Watts gave all three rounds to Hamill.

In the end, it was a controversial split-decision for Bisping.

?By the way, Mario Yamasaki thought Bisping won rounds two and three,? Mullen wrote. ?Mario was the ref and had a better view than any of us.

Because England has no athletic commission, the UFC was responsible for regulating the event. UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner was charged with the tasks of drug testing the fighters and choosing officials ? including Mullen ? to judge Saturday?s fights.

[caster316]

“Fight of the Night” - Marcus Davis vs Paul Taylor $40,000 each

“Submission of the Night” - Marcus Davis $40,000

“Knockout of the Night” - Houston Alexander $40,000

Marcus Davis's next fight might be in January at a event in Newcastle, England.

Also UFC 75 had the largest U.S. audience to ever tune in to an MMA card (4.7 million viewers)

The event also had a record-breaking audience at the 02 Arena in London, UFC President Dana White said.

Michael Bisping requests a rematch, coming on the hills of Dana indicating he was already working on Bisping vs Hamil 2 it looks likely to happen.

[Rappy Veteran]

It's good theres gonna be a rematch and I hope Bisping can prove his critics wrong in it.