Official MMA Topic.

[JoeyLeone25]

As Lithium asked in a previous topic which I closed to try and get the activity in here flowing, anybody train or participate in any Martial Arts? In the last two months I have taken up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and I am still constantly working on the basics for around six hours a week.

That's pretty sweet! Do you guys do any sparring at all yet? I was in jiu jitsu for a bit, but moved so I got out of it for now. I found it extremely fun, and a great cardio workout.

Do you mean sparring as in striking or competitively practising BJJ on the mat? This may sound weird, but at our Gracie Barra Dojo we refer to competitive jiu-jitsu on the mat (usually for around 3 x 3 minutes at the end of every training session) as 'sparring' and 'rolling'.

 

I agree on both your points as well, the cardio is surprisingly good to say for the majority of the time your simply on your back or on top of an opponent in their guard. And fun? Hell yes! I find it fun just being able to replicate those offensive techniques I see in professional fights, i.e. currently I can perform (quite well) the kimura, americana, arm-triangle, arm-triangle from guard, arm-bar, arm-bar from guard, among others. No better feeling than hearing the constant fapping of an opponents arm as he struggles to tap the mat as you look in that fateful choke...

Haha true enough there man. Sounds like your doing pretty good then! I'm looking at finding a new dojo over where I live now, although it looks like I may have found one. Evolution Fight and Fitness Club .Have you thought about getting in to any competitions as of yet? Or is there any cage fighting in your area Joey?

I haven't even thought of even attending competitions, never mind entering them yet! I've always said I want at least a year and a half experience under my belt before I start to jump into the Competition Arena (which would be more for the experience/education than the aspect of winning/obtaining a reward(s)). And there are no regular Cage Fighting events in my area, but I train with MMA fighters who travel Britain to fight in select events. What about yourself, do you ever think about or participate in any competitions?

[Lithium]

As Lithium asked in a previous topic which I closed to try and get the activity in here flowing, anybody train or participate in any Martial Arts? In the last two months I have taken up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and I am still constantly working on the basics for around six hours a week.

That's pretty sweet! Do you guys do any sparring at all yet? I was in jiu jitsu for a bit, but moved so I got out of it for now. I found it extremely fun, and a great cardio workout.

Do you mean sparring as in striking or competitively practising BJJ on the mat? This may sound weird, but at our Gracie Barra Dojo we refer to competitive jiu-jitsu on the mat (usually for around 3 x 3 minutes at the end of every training session) as 'sparring' and 'rolling'.

 

I agree on both your points as well, the cardio is surprisingly good to say for the majority of the time your simply on your back or on top of an opponent in their guard. And fun? Hell yes! I find it fun just being able to replicate those offensive techniques I see in professional fights, i.e. currently I can perform (quite well) the kimura, americana, arm-triangle, arm-triangle from guard, arm-bar, arm-bar from guard, among others. No better feeling than hearing the constant fapping of an opponents arm as he struggles to tap the mat as you look in that fateful choke...

Haha true enough there man. Sounds like your doing pretty good then! I'm looking at finding a new dojo over where I live now, although it looks like I may have found one. Evolution Fight and Fitness Club .Have you thought about getting in to any competitions as of yet? Or is there any cage fighting in your area Joey?

I haven't even thought of even attending competitions, never mind entering them yet! I've always said I want at least a year and a half experience under my belt before I start to jump into the Competition Arena (which would be more for the experience/education than the aspect of winning/obtaining a reward(s)). And there are no regular Cage Fighting events in my area, but I train with MMA fighters who travel Britain to fight in select events. What about yourself, do you ever think about or participate in any competitions?

I would love to be a cage fighter, but I lack the conditioning and experience I guess. I have done really well with what I know in sparring, but it would be a different story in the cage. I'd say if I could lose about 30 lbs and get better conditioning/experience I'd give it a shot for sure. I know I have the heart and strength to fight, as well as the toughness, it's just the conditioning is what is lagging behind everything else. That would be sick to fight in England, they must be pretty good fighters!

[JoeyLeone25]

Some are quite good indeed, one of the lads I'm currently training with has been offered an opportunity to train with Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez next year. The problem is, the competition runners are not so, so...professional over here in England. Our trainer told us the story that last weekend one of the fighters from our Dojo was competing in a professional MMA bout. During the first round he locked in an armbar from guard on his opponent, and the guy refused to tap, which resulted in our fighter breaking this other fighters arm, however nobody seemed to notice, and the fight continued. As the guy didn't tap, our guy went into a triangle and eventually put the other guy out cold. After the fight, everybody noticed the injury and started talking, with our fighter asking the referee; "Did you see his arm break?" To which the referee responded, laughing; "Yes!" Shocking really.

[Lithium]

Some are quite good indeed, one of the lads I'm currently training with has been offered an opportunity to train with Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez next year. The problem is, the competition runners are not so, so...professional over here in England. Our trainer told us the story that last weekend one of the fighters from our Dojo was competing in a professional MMA bout. During the first round he locked in an armbar from guard on his opponent, and the guy refused to tap, which resulted in our fighter breaking this other fighters arm, however nobody seemed to notice, and the fight continued. As the guy didn't tap, our guy went into a triangle and eventually put the other guy out cold. After the fight, everybody noticed the injury and started talking, with our fighter asking the referee; "Did you see his arm break?" To which the referee responded, laughing; "Yes!" Shocking really.

Wow thats f*cked! It's crazy that the guy could even continue going through that much pain. He must have either been crazy or had the heart of a lion. I think I may have found a place to train. Check out the trainers section, they sound pretty qualified. A purple belt in BJJ is pretty good. Positive Impact MMA

[JoeyLeone25]

Have you been yet Lithium? I find that a great trainer, makes a good training session (i.e. ours is a highly advanced Brown Belt), however, great training partners, turn a good session into a great one, or better. At our Gracie Barra Dojo there are plenty of Blue/Purple Belts who attend the 'Basic/Fundamental' sessions and continually roll, spar, and essentially help the White Belts such as myself.

 

If you can find a Dojo with wide array of experience in not only the trainers, but the students themselves, then I think you'll have found a good place to train at. Anyway, I'm rambling, keep me informed on how you get on. Oh, and I can't make it because of work, but a friend of mine is going to seminar with the Black Belt Lucio 'Lagarto' Rodrigues today at our Dojo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMMmR-aSiU - Can't believe I'm missing it!

[Lithium]

 

Have you been yet Lithium? I find that a great trainer, makes a good training session (i.e. ours is a highly advanced Brown Belt), however, great training partners, turn a good session into a great one, or better. At our Gracie Barra Dojo there are plenty of Blue/Purple Belts who attend the 'Basic/Fundamental' sessions and continually roll, spar, and essentially help the White Belts such as myself.

 

If you can find a Dojo with wide array of experience in not only the trainers, but the students themselves, then I think you'll have found a good place to train at. Anyway, I'm rambling, keep me informed on how you get on. Oh, and I can't make it because of work, but a friend of mine is going to seminar with the Black Belt Lucio 'Lagarto' Rodrigues today at our Dojo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMMmR-aSiU - Can't believe I'm missing it!

I haven't been yet, but I'll definitely keep you updated on the whole thing. I was wondering how much you pay to train? For just BJJ with 4 classes a week it is $70 a month, but I thought that to be a little expensive. What do you think?

[JoeyLeone25]

Have you been yet Lithium? I find that a great trainer, makes a good training session (i.e. ours is a highly advanced Brown Belt), however, great training partners, turn a good session into a great one, or better. At our Gracie Barra Dojo there are plenty of Blue/Purple Belts who attend the 'Basic/Fundamental' sessions and continually roll, spar, and essentially help the White Belts such as myself.

 

If you can find a Dojo with wide array of experience in not only the trainers, but the students themselves, then I think you'll have found a good place to train at. Anyway, I'm rambling, keep me informed on how you get on. Oh, and I can't make it because of work, but a friend of mine is going to seminar with the Black Belt Lucio 'Lagarto' Rodrigues today at our Dojo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMMmR-aSiU - Can't believe I'm missing it!

I haven't been yet, but I'll definitely keep you updated on the whole thing. I was wondering how much you pay to train? For just BJJ with 4 classes a week it is $70 a month, but I thought that to be a little expensive. What do you think?

That's around £44 in Pounds, and I currently pay £41.50 for the privilege of attending potentially five classes per week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday). The Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are training/teaching classes, while the Friday and Saturday are simply extended sparring/rolling sessions. I think $70/£44 a week is good, when you consider it, it is only around $17/£11 per week. I'd say go for it, and take up a trial/trial period with the Dojo for the first month and see how you get on.

[Lithium]

Have you been yet Lithium? I find that a great trainer, makes a good training session (i.e. ours is a highly advanced Brown Belt), however, great training partners, turn a good session into a great one, or better. At our Gracie Barra Dojo there are plenty of Blue/Purple Belts who attend the 'Basic/Fundamental' sessions and continually roll, spar, and essentially help the White Belts such as myself.

 

If you can find a Dojo with wide array of experience in not only the trainers, but the students themselves, then I think you'll have found a good place to train at. Anyway, I'm rambling, keep me informed on how you get on. Oh, and I can't make it because of work, but a friend of mine is going to seminar with the Black Belt Lucio 'Lagarto' Rodrigues today at our Dojo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMMmR-aSiU - Can't believe I'm missing it!

I haven't been yet, but I'll definitely keep you updated on the whole thing. I was wondering how much you pay to train? For just BJJ with 4 classes a week it is $70 a month, but I thought that to be a little expensive. What do you think?

That's around £44 in Pounds, and I currently pay £41.50 for the privilege of attending potentially five classes per week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday). The Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are training/teaching classes, while the Friday and Saturday are simply extended sparring/rolling sessions. I think $70/£44 a week is good, when you consider it, it is only around $17/£11 per week. I'd say go for it, and take up a trial/trial period with the Dojo for the first month and see how you get on.

Yeah I think I'm going to give it a shot man. Thanks for your input

[JoeyLeone25]

Keep us posted Lithium on how you do, and remember master the basics before anything else! E.g. concentrate on keeping your elbows in and your hands by your face to block choke holds rather than attempting omaplotta's all the time!

 

On that note, did anybody watch 117? What a card! It had EVERYTHING, a solid Heavyweight throw-down, a technical ground-battle, a couple of nice lights-out moments and a good few surprises (i.e. Main Event anybody!).

[Lithium]

Keep us posted Lithium on how you do, and remember master the basics before anything else! E.g. concentrate on keeping your elbows in and your hands by your face to block choke holds rather than attempting omaplotta's all the time!

 

On that note, did anybody watch 117? What a card! It had EVERYTHING, a solid Heavyweight throw-down, a technical ground-battle, a couple of nice lights-out moments and a good few surprises (i.e. Main Event anybody!).

I didn't get to see it, but I heard that it was a stacked card. Maybe you should enlighten us Joey?

[JoeyLeone25]

Stacked UFC card this weekend.

 

Silva vs Belfort - The Counter-attacking Spider against the persistent and brutal striker in Belfort. I imagine this one could go a few rounds before Silva eventually take the win through his disturbingly consistent strikes.

 

Also if Silva beats Belfort and then GSP beats Jake Shields, Dana White has pretty much confirmed that GSP will move up to 185 and a ‘superfight’ will take place between the two.

 

Griffin vs Franklin – Two of the nicest, and hardest working MMA fighters in the business today go head to head. They both never disappoint and it should be interesting to see how Franklin returns after breaking his arm against Liddell last June.

 

Jones vs Bader – The winner of this fight will almost certainly dominate the Light-heavyweight division for years to come. Two undefeated fighters (well Bones Jones technically isn’t but he should be…) will no doubt create a three round war. I expect Bones Jones to take a close SD.

 

Ellenberger vs Rocha – Brazilian submission specialist who has only had nine fights against the vicious, and quick fisted Ellenberger. If it goes to the ground it should be Rocha’s, but if they stay on their feet it could be anybody’s fight.

 

On top of those four you have Miguel Torres, Donald Cerrone, Mendes, Yamamoto and Romero all fighting on the card.

[cidamelo]

Hi friends!!! I want Anderson Silva to win!!! Anyone else is watching??

[JoeyLeone25]

Hi friends!!! I want Anderson Silva to win!!! Anyone else is watching??

I watched. I admired. I cried with joy. Front-kick knockout. Jesus, that was pure Seagal awesomeness!

 

Bones Jones, Rua, Faber, Wineland, Lightweight Miller, Middleweight Milller, Cro Cop, Barboza, Njokuani, Pellegrino, Pyle, it should be one hell of a weekend!

[tony da boss]

Jon Jones is gonna be destroying people in UFC for the next 5-10 years. What he did last night to shogun is just ridiculous, his skills plus that freak body he has seem pretty unstoppable. Has potential to be greatest UFC fighter EVER considering how young he is.

[I Love Anna Kournikova]

No Argument there. Looked very solid. Made Rua his bitch.

[JoeyLeone25]

I don't wish to sound like a broken record, but I've been saying it since he destroyed Matt Hamill (a fight which he should have won, as the fight was over nearly a minute before Jones landed the 12-6 elbows which he was disqualified for), Jones is fast, strong, young, big, subtle, explosive, inventive, and unpredictable. Essentially, everything that makes him an all round fighter. And after this fight he will only continue to faster.

 

It was a brilliant performance against Shogun, a fighter who was himself a force to reckoned with, but like Vlad, Hamill, Vera, etc al before, Jones showed that he has the drive, the strength, and most importantly the talent to take any fighter a part. He picked the perfect game-plan to counter Shogun, who seemed like he'd left his in the changing room as he looked lost. He couldn't chase and strike, because Jones was quicker on the counter, he couldn't take it to the ground, because Jones was stronger, and he was left at the end of it all looking like a lost dog (and I can't remember the last time Shogun looked lost in a cage...). Jones has now validated himself as one of the best fighters in the Light-Heavyweight Division at the moment, and now he needs to beat Rashad to cement his status, before looking to build his legacy.

 

@ TDP: Amen to that!

[JoeyLeone25]

ADCC's in Nottingham in September, and UFC 138 in Birmingham in November. British fans of grappling and mixed martial arts, do not miss these events! Also, as an added incentive for UFC 138 as no doubt they will throw yet another weakened card at the UK market, it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

[Mav.]

ADCC's in Nottingham in September, and UFC 138 in Birmingham in November. British fans of grappling and mixed martial arts, do not miss these events! Also, as an added incentive for UFC 138 as no doubt they will throw yet another weakened card at the UK market, it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

Haha completely agree! Seems like a strange fight to make the first 5 round non title fight (seeing as it won't make the distance) but oh well..

 

Also agree with you that all British fans should definately make an effort to get to Birmingham for the event.

 

I went to the one in Sydney earlier this year and it was absolutely amazing. Honestly one of the best weekends I've experienced.

 

 

[JoeyLeone25]

ADCC's in Nottingham in September, and UFC 138 in Birmingham in November. British fans of grappling and mixed martial arts, do not miss these events! Also, as an added incentive for UFC 138 as no doubt they will throw yet another weakened card at the UK market, it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

Haha completely agree! Seems like a strange fight to make the first 5 round non title fight (seeing as it won't make the distance) but oh well..

 

Also agree with you that all British fans should definately make an effort to get to Birmingham for the event.

 

I went to the one in Sydney earlier this year and it was absolutely amazing. Honestly one of the best weekends I've experienced.

Good to hear that you managed to make the event, but I'm sorry that the two Main Event fights were terrible! If I remember correctly, Bisping took advantage of an eye-poke to TKO Jorge and BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch was just slow, tentative and quite boring considering that I expected BJ to show more his BJJ skills that had been lacking recently.

 

Also, does Australia have a lot of 'redneck' fans like the UK does? By 'redneck' I mean viewers who still call it 'cage fighting,' boo whenever the fight goes to the ground, and, my pet annoyance is when two fighters are wrestling for underhooks against the side of cage and a group of idiots start shouting "kick him, knee him, punch him" etc.

[Mav.]

 

ADCC's in Nottingham in September, and UFC 138 in Birmingham in November. British fans of grappling and mixed martial arts, do not miss these events! Also, as an added incentive for UFC 138 as no doubt they will throw yet another weakened card at the UK market, it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

Haha completely agree! Seems like a strange fight to make the first 5 round non title fight (seeing as it won't make the distance) but oh well..

 

Also agree with you that all British fans should definately make an effort to get to Birmingham for the event.

 

I went to the one in Sydney earlier this year and it was absolutely amazing. Honestly one of the best weekends I've experienced.

Good to hear that you managed to make the event, but I'm sorry that the two Main Event fights were terrible! If I remember correctly, Bisping took advantage of an eye-poke to TKO Jorge and BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch was just slow, tentative and quite boring considering that I expected BJ to show more his BJJ skills that had been lacking recently.

 

Also, does Australia have a lot of 'redneck' fans like the UK does? By 'redneck' I mean viewers who still call it 'cage fighting,' boo whenever the fight goes to the ground, and, my pet annoyance is when two fighters are wrestling for underhooks against the side of cage and a group of idiots start shouting "kick him, knee him, punch him" etc.

Yeah the two main event fights were a bit of a let down, however the preliminary fights more than made up for it.

 

And yes, we do have our fair share of 'redneck' fans. They are also the ones that go out the day before the event and buy new 'Tapout' tops because they think they know what they're talking about. Oh well, each sport and each country will have them. They do bring in a lot of money however so they are necessary in keeping the sport growing.

[woodwolf]

 

it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

So what is the supposed logic behind a 5 round non-title fight ?

 

And good point : between Munoz and Leben ??

 

(But either way, I think I would have to give that one to Chris 'Woodenhead' Leben)

Edited August 4, 2011 by woodwolf

[Mav.]

it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

So what is the supposed logic behind a 5 round non-title fight ?

 

And good point : between Munoz and Leben ??

 

(But either way, I think I would have to give that one to Chris 'Woodenhead' Leben)

I suppose a number of factors.

 

Longer fights = more entertainment for fans.

 

Also allows for more advertising etc.

 

 

[woodwolf]

 

Who is your favourite fighter?

Brittney Palmer, hands down (or up, front, back, whatever ).

 

Oh, sorry...

[Darrel]

Rashad evans by KO.

 

Hope he shuts Ortiz's mouth once and for all.

[JoeyLeone25]

 

it will contain UFC's FIRST five round non-title fight between Munoz and Leben! But personally, I'd be very surprised if that fight even makes it to round three...

So what is the supposed logic behind a 5 round non-title fight ?

 

And good point : between Munoz and Leben ??

 

(But either way, I think I would have to give that one to Chris 'Woodenhead' Leben)

There's been many reasons put forward, but Dana White has said publicly the primary reason behind five round non-title fights is to give the fighters more time and opportunity to 'finish' each other therefore eliminating the possibility of 'dodgy judging' (as Dana always says, "Don't leave it in the hands of the judges!"). However there's many counter-arguments to such a proposal, most notably is that if a fighter can't end the fight in three rounds, what's to say that he will be able to end it in a further two?

 

@ Darrel: Meh, while Tito looked in great shape, he got very lucky (guillotines are pretty easy to defend against to be honest, also Tito seemed slow when he threw the few strikes that landed before the finish) against Ryan Bader, as Bader didn't seem to have his head in the fight. While Evans is still a world-class light-heavyweight fighter and it would have taken something special for Ortiz to beat him. The only shocking thing for me about the fight was that it wasn’t stopped earlier, as Tito took an absolute mauling in final two minutes of the first round.

[JoeyLeone25]

Leben vs Munoz, was, well, as expected, with Mark Munoz putting on an impressive display. But the real reason I'm double posting (again...) is to remind MMA (and non-MMA fans) that on Saturday for the first time ever, the UFC's main event which is between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos for the Heavyweight Title will be broadcast for free on Fox. 9pm in the East, 6pm in the West with a full card on Facebook/FoxSports.com beforehand. (For the Brits, Premier Sports, Channel 433 on Sky is showing it free from 2am). Enjoy.

[cidamelo]

YAHOOOOOOOOOO Cigano won, I'm so happy!!

[darthYENIK]

What a letdown the heavyweight championship fight was. Not that I favored either fighter. I was hoping for at least a couple rounds.

Edited November 13, 2011 by darthYENIK

[SIKKS66]

Was awake last night so I ended up watching the fight. Based on no prior knowledge of the fight, I went for Dos Santos. He looked hungrier and stronger going into the ring. Should have put money on it

[JoeyLeone25]

What a letdown the heavyweight championship fight was. Not that I favored either fighter. I was hoping for at least a couple rounds.

Personally I'd have preferred a Bantamweight/Lower Weight fighter to go to war (ala Guida vs Henderson before hand), but to be brutally honest, how many non-MMA fans would've become enthralled by such a fight, especially if it went to the ground for a whole round? Hell, even at events now, supposedly 'seasoned' fans of MMA shout idiotic things such as "knee him" and "booo, you suck, stand up" when a good ground grapple is going on.

 

This was clearly a shrewd move (could have been a mistake if it wasn't a stoppage, but with CV and JDS, it was always going to be a fight stopped before the end) by all involved to show the non-MMA fans that "hey, look MMA isn't all BJJ and tactical strikes, knockouts happen and they're OMG FREAKIN AWESOMES!" A dishonest and disgusting tactic, but I suppose if they want to break on to FOX in a big way over the next seven years, this is what they'll have to do.