Originally Posted by ActionAndy (Post 938110)

FIREBALL KID!

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...KOs/kogomi.gif

Originally Posted by LasciviousXXX (Post 930829)

Story BloodyElbow just ran.... interesting



"Will Dana White Really Cut Anderson Silva If He Plays Around Against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117?


Kevin Iole documents the atrocities that have been Anderson Silva's recent middleweight title defenses:

Following UFC 90, which featured little action in the first two rounds before Cote had to withdraw after a third-round knee injury, White came to the post-fight news conference and said, "I was sitting there saying, ‘What the [expletive] is going on?' " He also said, "I was sitting there going, ‘No, this isn't happening,' " and, "If you don't know him and you showed up for the first time, you'd [think] that guy was goofing around. He was acting arrogant and cocky and trying to play with [Cote] like he was a little kid."

It was more of the same at UFC 97, when Silva declined to follow Leites, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, to the mat and turn a fight into a grappling match, leading to a dull five-round fight. Silva didn't understand why he was being criticized and said, "Everything I trained to do, I did."
...

But Silva's performances at UFC 90 and UFC 97 were just kind of a cruel warm-up act to the comedy skit that went on during his title defense against Maia, the first UFC card in the Middle East and the first with the White and Fertitta's new partners, Abu Dhabi-based Flash Entertainment, in place.

Iole also says that had Anderson put on the kind of performances against Cote, Leites and Maia that he did against Rich Franklin (2x), Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt that he'd likely have been rewarded with a mega-fight against welterweight champion Georges St Pierre.

Instead, Silva is being punished by having to beat Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort in conconsecutive MW title defenses before getting any more fights outside his division. That's IF Dana White approves of his performances in the two fights.

Iole continues:

But if there is a repeat, the pressure will shift from Silva to White. White vowed after UFC 112 to cut Silva should he fight as he did that night ever again.

If Silva prances his way to an unsatisfying win, the burden will shift to White to back up his tough talk and ax the man he's touted for years as the best fighter in the world.

That would be far more interesting to watch than any of Silva's last three title defenses have been.

That will indeed be very interesting and could well be a critical fork in the road for Dana White, the UFC and MMA as a sport. If the precedent is established that simply winning is not enough to stay in the UFC, but rather entertaining is the preeminent virtue, White will have indeed set the UFC on a course away from sport and towards sport-entertainment.

On the other hand, if Anderson Silva once again makes a mockery of his opponent and the fight and Dana does not cut him, Dana will look like he backed down in the face of a recalcitrant but supremely talented athlete."

Originally Posted by ActionAndy (Post 940788)

Sonnen does have a chance. Not a great one, but it exists (and I'm not just talking about the ever present unpredictability of the Puncher's Chance). He can and will get this fight to the ground at least once.

The problem is Sonnen's phenomenal top control has never been paired with vicious ground and pound. He's got pillowy fists for some reason--you'd expect a guy that strong to summon some beast elbows but he either can't or won't. Another problem is Silva's long, lanky limbs. He can snap a triangle up in his sleep, and Sonnen's shown to be vulnerable to subs from the bottom. I'm ignoring Silva's rear naked choke victory against Henderson because I can't imagine the circumstance where Anderson will actually be taking Sonnen's back.

The only person with better wrestling (in MMA) than Sonnen is King Mo and we saw that despite furious effort from the bottom, someone as talented as Mousasi still had trouble. I think it's fair to draw the parallel between the two fights, though one could easily argue that Anderson is more talented on the ground than Mousasi.

Originally Posted by ActionAndy (Post 987275)

Go here for a little list of memorable Don Frye soundbytes from that broadcast.

Originally Posted by Steelergar (Post 994647)

chael sonnen supposedly failed his post fight drug test. Does he deserve a rematch?

Originally Posted by Steelergar (Post 998816)

How's TUF this season? Is it entertaining? I gotta check the fighters backgrounds out. Anybody else looking foward to DREAM 16 tomorrow (or very early sat morning). I love watching these live but its a pain in the ace to stay up tha late.

Originally Posted by yachties23 (Post 998594)

Watched TuF last night.

Maybe its me, but I've always had a dislike for GSP, and even though UFC paints him as a hero and Kos as the heel, I've always liked Josh. Dude always takes whatever fight you throw at him, and always puts on a show, unlike the champ, who is a take down, and never finish you fighter.

I know who I'll be rooting for come that fight.