View Full Version : UFC 98: Evans vs Machida / Hughes vs Sera
Fool Me Twice
05-24-2009, 12:08 AM
Well, Hughes didn't pound on Sera, unfortunately. Man, I can't stand Sera. I wonder how the fight would have gone without that headbut? Anyway, Hughes should retire now--finish with a win--but they never do, do they?
Fool Me Twice
05-24-2009, 12:36 AM
How exciting is Machida? His style will make him a star if he can manage to hold on to his title for a while. (Of course, I thought the same thing about Silva, and what's more boring than a Silva fight?) I love having a successful karate fighter in the sport, almost makes me nostalgic.
Wow didn't see that coming. Rashad got KTFO by Machida. Power of Nunchaku!!
AstroDad
05-24-2009, 02:04 AM
Lots of KOs tonight. Machida is a baaaad man. Easy guy to root for too.
ahartman
05-24-2009, 01:59 PM
Well, Hughes didn't pound on Sera, unfortunately. Man, I can't stand Sera. I wonder how the fight would have gone without that headbut? Anyway, Hughes should retire now--finish with a win--but they never do, do they?
I feel the opposite - I can't stand Hughes. His lay & pray style has always bothered me. Serra should've been much more active from the bottom - he knew Hughes was going to come in & take him down. The headbutt was certainly unintentional.
I was happy to see Evans KTFO - I've never been a fan. He's certainly improved over the last year but he's still not a likeable guy in the ring. Not sure what he thought he was going to do from the outside like that. For a top-class wrestler, he got manhandled in every sense of the word.
How about Soszynski - talk about a guy who's come a long way - he looked very impressive. It was his 2nd win in 5 weeks!?!
This was a great event, overall.
speaker city
05-24-2009, 02:22 PM
How exciting is Machida?
Not very, unless you consider watching a fighter spend most of the match on his heels exciting. He won't engage his opponent, he just backs up defensively and waits for the other guy to make a mistake. That's how he beat Tito Ortiz. He is never the aggressor. If you had Machida fight a clone of himself, they would just circle the cage looking at each other. I don't know what Dana White is thinking.
Clearly it's a good strategy for winning fights, but it doesn't make for entertaining television.
bareyb
05-24-2009, 02:39 PM
Machida attacked way more than I thought he would. I was very impressed. That man is FAST. Evans looked pretty good too, but Machida is definitely the better striker. His speed in those flurries reminds me of Vitor Belfort in his early prime.
BTW. Did anyone see the little "beef" between Rashad and Dana White immediately after the fight? Dana said something to Rashad with a frown on his face and then Rashad looked annoyed an waved him off. I don't get the idea that Evans likes White much. Anyone know what that was about? :p
As far as Hughes goes, he pretty much eeked out a "W" by laying on top of Serra. I realize it was the "smart" thing to do, but it sure looked more impressive when GSP did it. With Hughes I was about ready to start pressing the "30 second skip" button. As he said to Royce Gracie "MMA has evolved and his style just isn't relevant any more". How ironic. I really didn't have a pick in that fight. I think they are both "dicks". I am glad they "hugged it out" but I don't think it will be long before Serra starts the post-fight trash talk. ;)
bareyb
05-24-2009, 02:44 PM
I feel the opposite - I can't stand Hughes. His lay & pray style has always bothered me. Serra should've been much more active from the bottom - he knew Hughes was going to come in & take him down. The headbutt was certainly unintentional.
I was happy to see Evans KTFO - I've never been a fan. He's certainly improved over the last year but he's still not a likeable guy in the ring. Not sure what he thought he was going to do from the outside like that. For a top-class wrestler, he got manhandled in every sense of the word.
How about Soszynski - talk about a guy who's come a long way - he looked very impressive. It was his 2nd win in 5 weeks!?!
This was a great event, overall.
I agree. Good night of fights. I was very impressed with Soszynski too. I fully expected to see Evans make more of an attempt to get the fight to the ground. That's the one place we haven't seen Machida deal with. He's gotta have an achilles heel, but so far, nobody seems to be able to find it. I have a feeling it's going to be a good long time before anyone figures out how to beat Machida. I read a rumor that he and Anderson Silva may actually fight, but I'm sure it's probably just that. A rumor...
AstroDad
05-24-2009, 03:26 PM
Not very, unless you consider watching a fighter spend most of the match on his heels exciting. He won't engage his opponent, he just backs up defensively and waits for the other guy to make a mistake. That's how he beat Tito Ortiz. He is never the aggressor. If you had Machida fight a clone of himself, they would just circle the cage looking at each other. I don't know what Dana White is thinking.
Clearly it's a good strategy for winning fights, but it doesn't make for entertaining television.
Did you watch last nights fight?
I agree. Good night of fights. I was very impressed with Soszynski too. I fully expected to see Evans make more of an attempt to get the fight to the ground. That's the one place we haven't seen Machida deal with. He's gotta have an achilles heel, but so far, nobody seems to be able to find it. I have a feeling it's going to be a good long time before anyone figures out how to beat Machida. I read a rumor that he and Anderson Silva may actually fight, but I'm sure it's probably just that. A rumor...
Yeah if somone can get Machida on his back then there is a chance to beat him. Unless Silva and Machida have a falling out like when Shogun and Wandy had a beef there will never be a fight.
bareyb
05-24-2009, 10:01 PM
Yeah if somone can get Machida on his back then there is a chance to beat him. Unless Silva and Machida have a falling out like when Shogun and Wandy had a beef there will never be a fight.
That's what I've always heard too. I read it on MMA Junkie so take it as a very unsubstantiated rumor. :D
Snappa77
05-25-2009, 11:51 AM
Not disagreeing with judges decision cuz Hughes did enuff to win that 3rd round. BUT... I personally believe Serra delivered more of a "beating" to Hughes.
For all the $#!T talking that was going on it was disappointing that Hughes was content to lay on him for a round.
ROFL I think Hughes thought Serra won.
The Machida bandwagon is gonna get overcrowded now. Don't think Rampage is gonna beat him but there are plenty of LHW that can give him a run for his money. Should be a great fight though.
bareyb
05-25-2009, 05:29 PM
Not disagreeing with judges decision cuz Hughes did enuff to win that 3rd round. BUT... I personally believe Serra delivered more of a "beating" to Hughes.
For all the $#!T talking that was going on it was disappointing that Hughes was content to lay on him for a round.
ROFL I think Hughes thought Serra won.
The Machida bandwagon is gonna get overcrowded now. Don't think Rampage is gonna beat him but there are plenty of LHW that can give him a run for his money. Should be a great fight though.
Yeah. That was kind of anti-climatic. Hughes seemed content to simply eek out a "W". I think Serra scared the crap out of him early in the first round. For a minute there I thought we were gonna have another upset ala Serra vs. GSP. I thought to myself... "oh man Serra is gonna be insufferable now" :D
Philosofy
05-25-2009, 07:45 PM
Why did the crowd boo ref Yves Lavigne?
bareyb
05-25-2009, 09:37 PM
Why did the crowd boo ref Yves Lavigne?
Yeah. No kidding. I'd forgotten about that... My guess is, he made a bad call on one of the earlier fights that night and it pissed off the crowd. Maybe an early stoppage? :confused:
KungFuCow
05-25-2009, 10:44 PM
Early stoppage on the Nover fight. It was questionable.. Nover was getting pounded on and rolling to guard and Yves stopped the fight.
Philosofy
05-25-2009, 11:44 PM
Was the Nover fight that night?
Was the Nover fight that night?
Yeah it was on the undercard and was not shown. I wish the UFC would post the undercard fights up on the website if they don't make broadcast.
AstroDad
05-26-2009, 08:27 AM
Yeah it was on the undercard and was not shown. I wish the UFC would post the undercard fights up on the website if they don't make broadcast.
they do, but you have to pay to see them
goblue97
05-26-2009, 08:27 AM
Yeah it was on the undercard and was not shown. I wish the UFC would post the undercard fights up on the website if they don't make broadcast.
They do, but you have to pay for them. It's all about the $$$.
EvilMidniteBombr
05-26-2009, 11:35 AM
I really liked this whole PPV. I was hoping that Hughes would win. I agree that it wasn't an exiting fight but Serra is as much at fault at that as is Hughes. Serra had Hughes worried when they were standing & striking. But when Hughes took it to the ground Serra did very little to work out of it. Glad to see Hughes get the W. Who will Serra start trashing next?
I LOVED the Machida vs. Evans fight. I lost all respect for Evans after the way he acted when he fought Griffin. I am convinced that Evans was scared of Machida. Everytime Machida would so much as hint at throwing a kick or strike Evans would jump back like he stepped on hot coals. Machida rarely flinched unless Evans actually threw a punch or a kick.
OMG Drew McFedries! What a whirlwind that was! I told my buddies that were watching with me that that was the fastest ass whoopin' I'd ever seen. Not the fastest knock out. The fastest ass whoopin'! McFredries didn't even get touched.
ClutchBrake
05-28-2009, 10:33 PM
Early stoppage on the Nover fight. It was questionable.. Nover was getting pounded on and rolling to guard and Yves stopped the fight.
And don't forget that Yves was also the ref in the Matt Brown vs Pete Sell match at UFC 96.
bareyb
05-29-2009, 12:42 AM
Wow. That's right... I'd forgotten about that. Levigne is quickly becoming the early stoppage king! If he starts getting booed every single time he refs a fight, I'd think that might cost him his job... Good incentive not to make bad calls I guess.
As an aside: Can we start booing Bruce Buffer every time he mispronounces a fighters name just so he can scream into our ears to 25 seconds? God I'm sick of that dude... I wish he'd just announce the friggin' fight already and then STFU. :D
Philosofy
05-29-2009, 09:00 AM
Wow. That's right... I'd forgotten about that. Levigne is quickly becoming the early stoppage king! If he starts getting booed every single time he refs a fight, I'd think that might cost him his job... Good incentive not to make bad calls I guess.
As an aside: Can we start booing Bruce Buffer every time he mispronounces a fighters name just so he can scream into our ears to 25 seconds? God I'm sick of that dude... I wish he'd just announce the friggin' fight already and then STFU. :D
Absolutely. :D
KungFuCow
05-29-2009, 10:54 AM
Looks like its going to be Shogun Vs Machida next with Rampage coaching the next installment of TUF with Rashad.
mrowe8
05-29-2009, 11:55 AM
Looks like its going to be Shogun Vs Machida next with Rampage coaching the next installment of TUF with Rashad.
Is this announced somewhere? I like Rampage/Rashad on TUF. That is going to be filled with classic one liners.
ClutchBrake
05-29-2009, 01:04 PM
Is this announced somewhere? I like Rampage/Rashad on TUF. That is going to be filled with classic one liners.
Yes, it is official on all the sites. Rampage was offered an immediate shot at Machida for the belt but said he wanted to "whoops Rashad's ass" more. Says the belt will always be there.
All indications point to Shogun getting the next shot at Machida and the title. The winner of Rashad/Rampage would get the winner of Machida/Shogun for the belt.
Rampage was offered an immediate shot at Machida for the belt but said he wanted to "whoops Rashad's ass" more. Says the belt will always be there.
Translation: Machida is a bad matchup for me and I'd rather someone else beat him.
A TUF with Rashad would be a great season tho no doubt.
bareyb
05-29-2009, 05:48 PM
Looks like its going to be Shogun Vs Machida next with Rampage coaching the next installment of TUF with Rashad.
Interesting... Ex-wrestlers seem to make pretty decent coaches. Looking forward to that one. Maybe this will get me over the bad feeling I've had about Evans for so long. Or make it worse... I guess we'll see. :p
Shogun against Machida? Machida will likely walk right through him. UNLESS he can manage to get Machida on the ground. So far, nobody's been able to do that... Even so, I have a feeling Machida's probably got a pretty good ground game too though.
pjenkins
05-29-2009, 06:32 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4215894
didn't know if it deserved it own's thread, but this matchup is interesting...
Fedor set to return against Barnett
Comment Email Print Share
By Brian Knapp
Sherdog.com
Archive
Fedor Emelianenko will lock horns with Josh Barnett in the featured bout at Affliction "Trilogy" on Aug. 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The promotion made the heavyweight matchup official on Friday.
The announcement pairs the No. 1 and No. 3 world-ranked heavyweights against one another in a five-round contest. For Emelianenko, it will be his sixth test against a former UFC champion.
"I consider Josh as one of the truly best in MMA, I think he is really in his prime right now," Emelianenko said Wednesday on his management's M-1 Global Web site. "Just like when I fought [Mirko] Cro Cop [Filipovic], he was in his prime as well. At that time it was one of the most anticipated fights in MMA history [and] my fight with Josh can be that as well."
bareyb
05-29-2009, 06:59 PM
As an aside: Can we start booing Bruce Buffer every time he mispronounces a fighters name just so he can scream into our ears to 25 seconds? God I'm sick of that dude... I wish he'd just announce the friggin' fight already and then STFU. :D
Absolutely. :D
Thank you for your support! :D
goblue97
05-29-2009, 10:13 PM
And don't forget that Yves was also the ref in the Matt Brown vs Pete Sell match at UFC 96.
Wasn't the argument there though that he let the fight go too long?
bareyb
05-29-2009, 11:23 PM
Wasn't the argument there though that he let the fight go too long?
You know what? You're right... I remember that fight now... Matt Brown was pissed... :p
ClutchBrake
05-29-2009, 11:39 PM
Wasn't the argument there though that he let the fight go too long?
Yes and no.
The initial issue was that he stopped the fight, then RESTARTED the fight, then let the fight go on too long.
He should have stuck by his initial stoppage, justified or not. That is what he did in the Nover fight.
A good ref has to make the call and stand by it.
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