UFC/Pride Mixed Martial Arts Thread *Many contain Spoilers*

[Cowboy22]

Originally Posted by Ryan H.

Scheduling them for an undercard match is a lot different than giving them a chance at a $100,000 contract. Yes he knows it can bring in viewers, but if that was all he cared about, he would have found some other way of punishing them and kept them on the show, hoping it would happen again.

They'd lost already, so, barring injury, they'd already blown the chance at the big contract. He wasn't taking anything away there other than the chance to chill in the house and train for a few more weeks. I get why he made the big speech and threw them out, because you don't want to have a million fights in the house and get someone hurt, but if he was really pissed he wouldn't have aired the whole deal and then give them a fight on the final, thereby rewarding them with a chance to make a name for themselves. And I would almost gurantee that if it's a good fight, one or both will be back in UFC again. He's a business man first and foremost, and a good one at that.

[Ryan H.]

Who's watching Ultimate Finale Live right now (or earlier if you don't live on the west coast)?

I'm up to the Diaz/Gamburyan fight, but I've already had the main fight (Pulver/Penn) spoiled!

[cAtDaFeLiX]

I watched part of the marathon today on spike, I missed the freaking finals but I did dvd record it. Going to watch later on tomorrow. It looked like a great show down.

[Cowboy22]

IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SHOW YET FOR WHATEVER REASON, DON'T READ THIS POST. SERIOUSLY. STOP IT. I'M NOT KIDDING. I'M ABOUT TO SPOIL THE RESULTS. GO AND WATCH THE SHOW FIRST. THIS POST WILL STILL BE HERE. I PROMISE.

I watched the later airing because I was working when it was on live. Thankfully, I managed to avoid any spoilers. Pretty fun show I thought. The TUF final itself was disappointing, that could have been a great fight if Manny hadn't hurt himself. It's too bad for him, I think he'd have probably won (though I think Diaz has more long-term potential. But Manny is better right now and is an bad match-up for Nate). They're both great fighters with a long UFC career ahead of them (I'd expect both to be near the title picture at 155 at some point), and I'm sure they'll have a rematch soon.

Some of my friends I've talked to seemed surprised that Penn dominated Pulver the way he did, but given the shape BJ was in, I don't think it was surprising at all. Pulver's a good fighter (and I'm big fan, he's fun to watch and he fights out of Iowa), but a focused BJ is just out of his league. Frankly, I'm not so sure a focused BJ isn't out of everyone's league. I think he's probably the most talented fighter in the world, pound-for-pound. It's a little surprising to hear that he's interested in moving up a weight class, because he'd probably roll through 155. 170 is a lot tougher right now, and I think he's a more natural fit at lightweight. With that said, if he can mantain his focus and cardio, he's got a great shot at 170 too. If you look at that weight class, the top three guys are GSP, Hughes, and Serra. He's beaten Serra pretty soundly, beat Hughes in their first fight in impressive fashion, was dominating GSP before he gassed, and dominated Hughes in their second fight before gassing/hurting his ribs. At his very best, he's better than all those guys, there's no reason to think he doesn't have a shot at winning the title in that weight class.

[Ryan H.]

Yeah the Penn fight was not surprising. Penn rolls over people, including Hughes who is TOUGH to beat.

I agree that both Manny and Diaz are going to be HUGE in UFC, sucks that Manny lost that way.

Best show of the night was Maynard knocking himself out with his own slam; love the guy and all but he's full of shit that he wasn't knocked out.

[Cowboy22]

Yeah, that was crazy. Maynard didn't come off well in the interview afterwards at all. He was so obviously out, I don't know who he thought he was going to fool. The crowd booed him pretty loudly for that bullshit.

[Ryan H.]

Originally Posted by Cowboy22

Yeah, that was crazy. Maynard didn't come off well in the interview afterwards at all. He was so obviously out, I don't know who he thought he was going to fool. The crowd booed him pretty loudly for that bullshit.

I don't think Emerson came off well either. I don't think he knew Maynard was out, because if he did he never would have tapped.