UFC 65 11/18/2006 (Spoilers)

[ClutchBrake]

A pretty darn good night of fights.

With the exception of Tim Sylvia, of course. :rolleyes: If he wants to stop getting booed he's going to have to do more than throw some jabs and try to win on points. He did it with Arlovski and he did it with Monson.

Anyone else notice that Josh Barnett was in Monson's corner? I would have paid another $40 had Monson stepped aside and let Barnett enter the ring. I'm sure Sylvia would have crapped himself (again)!

Was glad Joe Stevenson won. Though I would have liked to have seen his opponent put up more of a fight. Slips out of one guillotine then turns around and puts his head right back where it was. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

Vera versus Mir was kinda pathetic. Yeah, Vera is pretty good, but Mir was atrocious. He needs to decide whether he wants to be a fighter or not.

Hughes versus St. Pierre. What is there to say, really? We saw the same Matt Hughes that showed up against BJ Penn. He has said in interviews that his dream is to knock someone out. Well, trying to do it against BJ Penn or St. Pierre is just going to get you knocked the crap out. Hughes' bread and butter is ground and pound. He needs to make that happen if he wants to win against vastly superior strikers.

I love St. Pierre and I'm glad he is the champion. The only person that can challenge him is BJ Penn. I can't wait to see Penn/St. Pierre 2 or Hughes/Penn 3.

I guess Serra will be St. Pierre's next fight. Sucks. Will be boring. I won't be buying that PPV.

Also wonder who Sanchez will fight if he gets past Riggs. Seems like the only people left for him are St. Pierre, Penn, and Hughes. And I don't think he can take any of them. Just don't know if they will send him to St. Pierre or let him be a tune-up for Hughes or Penn.

Guess we will get Sylvia/Vera sometime fairly soon. I think of all the guys in the UFC Vera has the best chance. Unless Chuck defeats Tito and decides he wants the heavyweight belt. Would love to see him be the first holder of two simultaneous belts in the UFC.

[TAsunder]

What's wrong with sylvia's style? I like it... but then again I like that style in boxing too. He had very impressive takedown defense and decent boxing. Very impressive execution of his game plan.

Hughes had a nice position against st. pierre that would have led to a takedown against almost any other opponent. I think he knew what his gameplan was supposed to be but just couldn't execute it because st. pierre was relentless in the stand-up.

[ClutchBrake]

What's wrong with sylvia's style? I like it... but then again I like that style in boxing too. He had very impressive takedown defense and decent boxing. Very impressive execution of his game plan.

He wasn't aggressive. He is content to throw some jabs and score points for the win. Boring and not in the spirit of fighting, IMO. If fighters act like that in PR

PRIDE deals with fighters not fighting far better than the UFC. Take their money if they don't fight.

[goblue97]

GSP looked awfully impressive. I'm not sure Hughes could handle him in a rematch and for Penn to have a chance he would have to be in tip top shape. I read some interesting comments over on sherdog about Hughes' post fight comments. Apparently the second groin kick didn't catch him in the groin. It's just too hard to wade through all the nonsense on sherdog to find out what really happened.

[ClutchBrake]

GSP looked awfully impressive. I'm not sure Hughes could handle him in a rematch and for Penn to have a chance he would have to be in tip top shape. I read some interesting comments over on sherdog about Hughes' post fight comments. Apparently the second groin kick didn't catch him in the groin. It's just too hard to wade through all the nonsense on sherdog to find out what really happened.

The kicks were landed well. A few just slipped up and hit Hughes' cup. But the strikes were landed to inside of his thighs, not his groin. Was not intentional and Hughes, GSP, and Big John all acknowledged that. Hughes has said it did not change the outcome of the fight.

[TAsunder]

He wasn't aggressive. He is content to throw some jabs and score points for the win. Boring and not in the spirit of fighting, IMO. If fighters act like that in PR

PRIDE deals with fighters not fighting far better than the UFC. Take their money if they don't fight.

It takes two to not fight, though. Sylvia was more aggressive than his opponent, anyway. Throwing a jab is a lot more aggressive than doing nothing for 4:45 and then trying a takedown.

[Cue-Ball]

I can't really see anyone who can take on Sylvia. He has such huge hands and such a long reach that nobody can touch him. Monson is a friggin' monster and even he couldn't take Sylvia down. Perhaps they need a "Super Heavyweight" division and Sylvia can fight some other 7 foot tall genetic freaks like himself.

St. Pierre looked really good and even though I was hoping Matt would win I was very impressed by GSP's performance. I hate Diego Sanchez, but I do think that Diego/GSP could be a really good match since both fighters are young and quick.

Next up is Liddell/Ortiz. Does anyone think Ortiz will win? I think Chuck will knock him out pretty quickly, but with the way the title fights have been going lately maybe Chuck will fall under the bad juju like Hughes and Franklin.

[ClutchBrake]

I can't really see anyone who can take on Sylvia.

I think you mean no one in the UFC. But that isn't saying much.

Off the top of my head I can think of:

Fedor
Cro-Cop
Big Nog
Josh Barnett
Aleksander Emelianenko
Sergei Kharitonov
Mark Hunt(?)

[ClutchBrake]

Next up is Liddell/Ortiz. Does anyone think Ortiz will win? I think Chuck will knock him out pretty quickly, but with the way the title fights have been going lately maybe Chuck will fall under the bad juju like Hughes and Franklin.

I figure it will probably go just like Liddell vs Everyone Else.

Tito can't strike with Chuck. The question is whether or not he can take Liddell down. Chuck has phenomenal takedown defense.

Tito is going to have a tough night. If he tries to strike with Chuck he will likely get knocked out. If he tries to shoot on Chuck he will likely get knocked out.

Tito's fight with Forrest wasn't impressive. Well, the first round was. Tito owned him that first round. The rest of the match could have been called for Griffin. Tito might well have won simply because he is Tito.

The Ortiz/Shamrock fights might have been good for Ortiz's wallet but I wonder if not facing a quality opponent might hurt him. I realize no one trains like Tito but that isn't a substitute for quality fights.

[busyba]

What happened in the 3rd fight? The guy with the tattoos was doing great then he just flops on his back for no apparent reason. What up wit dat? Am I missing something?

[Raimi]

Glad to see Hughes get humiliated by GSP. Hughes looked horrible. He just needed somebody to put him in his place so he can learn a little humility. GSP looked to be in top form.

I was really rooting for a Monson victory but he was just too small to do much with Tim. Tim's ground game looked ok, but I think his size was really the deciding factor.

Now I'm looking forward to Liddell/Tito. I'd like to see Tito win but he doesn't appear to be in even as good of shape as he was when he lost to Liddell last time.

[TAsunder]

What happened in the 3rd fight? The guy with the tattoos was doing great then he just flops on his back for no apparent reason. What up wit dat? Am I missing something?

Seemed like he got hurt previously and decided on a strange strategy to recover.

[Raimi]

What happened in the 3rd fight? The guy with the tattoos was doing great then he just flops on his back for no apparent reason. What up wit dat? Am I missing something?Yea, I thought that was pretty strange also. If the guy wanted to give up he could have at least laid down right after taking a punch so it didn't look so wussy. :)

[Cue-Ball]

I think you mean no one in the UFC. But that isn't saying much.

Off the top of my head I can think of:

Fedor
Cro-Cop
Big Nog
Josh Barnett
Aleksander Emelianenko
Sergei Kharitonov
Mark Hunt(?)I think that even most of the fighters you mention would have a hard time with Sylvia. It's not like Sylvia is indestructible or unbeatable, but he does have decent ground skills, he's good at avoiding the takedown, and he can play to his strengths - namely, his huge height and reach advantage. His last few fights have been won on a strategy of picking at his opponents with jabs to score points while avoiding takedowns. Nobody else is tall enough or has the reach to stand up with him and because of his size and weight it's damn near impossible to get him down. Even guys like Barnett and Cro-Cop are only 6'3" or so. Sylvia is 6'8" and would still have a good 4-5" reach advantage over any of them. I think there are people outside the UFC that could beat him, but even they would have a difficult fight on their hands, IMO.

[ClutchBrake]

I think that even most of the fighters you mention would have a hard time with Sylvia. It's not like Sylvia is indestructible or unbeatable, but he does have decent ground skills, he's good at avoiding the takedown, and he can play to his strengths - namely, his huge height and reach advantage. His last few fights have been won on a strategy of picking at his opponents with jabs to score points while avoiding takedowns. Nobody else is tall enough or has the reach to stand up with him and because of his size and weight it's damn near impossible to get him down. Even guys like Barnett and Cro-Cop are only 6'3" or so. Sylvia is 6'8" and would still have a good 4-5" reach advantage over any of them. I think there are people outside the UFC that could beat him, but even they would have a difficult fight on their hands, IMO.

Aleksander Emelianenko is 6'6" and has very heavy accurate hands. He would be my #1 pick to bring over. Reason being that he is an excellent fighter but the PRIDE HW division is horrendously stacked and as good as he is he isn't Fedor, Cro-Cop, Big Nog, or even Barnett. He could come to UFC and likely dominate for a few years before coming back to PRIDE as a force to be reckoned with.

Please, Dana White, sign Aleksander and Sergei!!!

[TAsunder]

Sylvia is pretty athletic for his size. Compare him to Valuev, the heavyweight boxer. That guy is almost the literal definition of a clumsy oaf. But then again, he's a good 4-5 inches taller than sylvia.

[Raimi]

I'd have to agree with ClutchBrake. I think there are quite a few Pride heavyweights that would demolish Sylvia. There just aren't many good heavyweights in the UFC.

[Mamoth]

Was a great night imo. One of the better UFCs in awhile.

I'm not PRIDE fan boy (I like all MMA)... but I agree... the heavyweight division is slim in the UFC.

Grats to GSP. Was happy to see him win.

[laststarfighter]

Just curious, which organization is considered more appealing to fighters? Which one pays more, has more prestige, etc. I just wondering if one league is considered the "NFL" of MMA and the other one is considered the "CFL" of MMA.

You guys say that there are better fighters in Pride so does that mean that fighters would rather fight in Pride than step down to the UFC? :confused:

[TAsunder]

Seems like there is more money and publicity in the UFC. I think I'd rather be there if I had the choice.

[Knives of Ice]

I think that even most of the fighters you mention would have a hard time with Sylvia. It's not like Sylvia is indestructible or unbeatable, but he does have decent ground skills, he's good at avoiding the takedown, and he can play to his strengths - namely, his huge height and reach advantage. His last few fights have been won on a strategy of picking at his opponents with jabs to score points while avoiding takedowns. Nobody else is tall enough or has the reach to stand up with him and because of his size and weight it's damn near impossible to get him down. Even guys like Barnett and Cro-Cop are only 6'3" or so. Sylvia is 6'8" and would still have a good 4-5" reach advantage over any of them. I think there are people outside the UFC that could beat him, but even they would have a difficult fight on their hands, IMO.

he's not even top 10 heavyweights in the world IMO. wouldn't last a round with fedor or cro cop. hell, brendan vera will expose him when they fight and he will fall like all the militech champs have been lately.

[fmowry]

Seems like there is more money and publicity in the UFC. I think I'd rather be there if I had the choice.

I dunno. The Japanese pay really well for stuff like this. We get more pub for the UFC HERE. Pride is bigger worldwide, Brazil, Asia.

Frank

[Raimi]

Just curious, which organization is considered more appealing to fighters? Which one pays more, has more prestige, etc. I just wondering if one league is considered the "NFL" of MMA and the other one is considered the "CFL" of MMA.

You guys say that there are better fighters in Pride so does that mean that fighters would rather fight in Pride than step down to the UFC? :confused:I can't speak to how much fighters get paid in Pride compared to the UFC but there have been quite a few fighters that have left the UFC to fight in Pride. I don't think it is a better organization necessarily but they do have a better heavyweight division. I prefer watching UFC events though. Both organizations have their good and bad.

[bareyb]

Does anyone know if Comcast Cable carries the UFC PPV fights? I am thinking of switching to Comcast for the series 3 TiVo but I can't do it if I can't get my UFC PPV's! :D

[Granny]

Does anyone know if Comcast Cable carries the UFC PPV fights? I am thinking of switching to Comcast for the series 3 TiVo but I can't do it if I can't get my UFC PPV's! :D

:up: They do in Seattle. Though I don't know if it isn HD. (?)

[TAsunder]

Does anyone know if Comcast Cable carries the UFC PPV fights? I am thinking of switching to Comcast for the series 3 TiVo but I can't do it if I can't get my UFC PPV's! :D

I assume you realize you'll have to keep your STB to get pay per view with the series 3, right?

[cherry ghost]

I assume you realize you'll have to keep your STB to get pay per view with the series 3, right?

I get PPV on my Series 3 by calling Comcast and ordering.

[bareyb]

I get PPV on my Series 3 by calling Comcast and ordering.

Really? I was told (by Comcast) that I had to have a Comcast box to get PPV! I already paid for the extra Comcast box and had it activated! Comcast said there was no way to activate the PPV on a Series 3 TiVo, even with the phone. How did you do it? :confused:

[TAsunder]

Whoops, I forgot about phone ordering.

[ireland967]

:up: They do in Seattle. Though I don't know if it isn HD. (?)

I have Comcast and it's definitely not in HD - I assume the events are not filmed with HD equipment, which is a real shame. I was actually able to enjoy the Winky Wright/Ike Quartey fight this past weekend since HBO broadcast it in HD.

[TAsunder]

I have Comcast and it's definitely not in HD - I assume the events are not filmed with HD equipment, which is a real shame. I was actually able to enjoy the Winky Wright/Ike Quartey fight this past weekend since HBO broadcast it in HD.

There were two good boxing matches in HD, the other one being the Cotto fight. Those were my first HD boxing experiences. Nice. By good I mean with talent on display, not necessarily close fights.

[cherry ghost]

Really? I was told (by Comcast) that I had to have a Comcast box to get PPV! I already paid for the extra Comcast box and had it activated! Comcast said there was no way to activate the PPV on a Series 3 TiVo, even with the phone. How did you do it? :confused:


Maybe it differs by area? I just called and ordered it and switched to the channel it was on. If it's PPV designated to a specific channel, it shouldn't be any different than ordering a premium channel that you didn't already have. If it was some sort of PPV in the OnDemand menu, I wouldn't be able to get it, but in my area UFC fights are on a specific channel(usually 801 or 803). Check the guide on your Comcast box for the channels labeled "inPPV" and add them to your Series 3 channels that you receive and see if you get any guide data on them.