Ufc 97

Event is tommorrow night. Let's get some discussion and predictions going.

UFC 97: APRIL 18, 2009
venue: Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva (23-4; #1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (17-3; #5 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Chuck Liddell (21-6; #6 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Luiz Cane (9-1) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-1)
-Cheick Kongo (13-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
-Brian Stann (6-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1)

Preliminary Bouts:
-Nathan Quarry (10-3) vs. Jason MacDonald (21-11)
-Denis Kang (31-11-1) vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum (20-9)
-David Loiseau (18-8) vs. Ed Herman (16-7)
-T.J. Grant (13-2) vs. Ryo Chonan (15-9)
-Mark Bocek (6-2) vs. David Bielkheden (13-6)
-Matt Wiman (11-5) vs. Sam Stout (13-5-1)
-Eliot Marshall (7-3) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (6-4)

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/rumors.asp?articleid=7839&zoneid=14

My predictions:

Main Card Bouts:
Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites - Silva by (T)KO 2nd rd.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Chuck Liddell - Shogun by KO 2nd rd.
Luiz Cane vs. Steve Cantwell - Cane by TKO 1st rd.
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk - Hardonk by TKO 3rd rd.
Brian Stann vs. Krzysztof Soszynski - Soszynski by KO 2nd rd.

Preliminary Bouts:
Nathan Quarry vs. Jason MacDonald - Quarry by decision
Denis Kang vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum - Kang by decision
David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman - Herman by decision
T.J. Grant vs. Ryo Chonan - Chonan by armbar 2nd rd.
Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden - Bocek by RNC 2nd rd.
Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout - Wiman by decision
Eliot Marshall vs. Vinny Magalhaes - Marshall by KO 3rd rd.

Watch out Leites. You're in for a rough night.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=8585&zoneid=13

Main Card Bouts:
Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites (KO Rd 1) -- Leites is a good fighter but this is a huge step up for him and I don't think his standup is good enough to avoid getting messed up.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Chuck Liddell (UD) -- Chuck has lost a step or two but he hasn't looked nearly as awful as Shogun has in his last two fights. I'll be pulling for Shogun but I think he's going to get shown up big time.
Luiz Cane vs. Steve Cantwell (Murder Rd 1) -- Cantwell is OK but not really in Cane's league.
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk (TKO Rd 2) -- I actually like Hardonk a lot because he's made some pretty big improvements in his ground game, but for a kickboxing specialist he sure seems to eat a lot of punches. I hope he wins because I'm not a big Kongo fan but I think Kongo's going to eventually put Hardonk on his back and pound him out.
Brian Stann vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (Sub Rd 2) -- Stann gassed horribly in his last fight with Cantwell, maybe he's addressed it in the meantime but I suspect we'll see a repeat performance.

Preliminary Bouts:
Nathan Quarry vs. Jason MacDonald (Sub Rd 3)
Denis Kang vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum (Sub Rd 1)
David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman (SD)
T.J. Grant vs. Ryo Chonan (UD)
Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden (UD)
Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout (UD)
Eliot Marshall vs. Vinny Magalhaes (Sub Rd 2)

My predictions:

Main Card Bouts:
Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites - Silva by KO 1st rd
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Chuck Liddell - Liddell 3rd rd TKO
Luiz Cane vs. Steve Cantwell - Cane by TKO 1st rd.
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk - Kongo Decision
Brian Stann vs. Krzysztof Soszynski - Stann 2nd rd TKO

Preliminary Bouts:
Nathan Quarry vs. Jason MacDonald - Quarry by 2nd rd KO
Denis Kang vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum - Kang by 1st rd submission
David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman - Loiseau 2nd rd TKO
T.J. Grant vs. Ryo Chonan - Grant 1st round submission
Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden - Bielkheden Decision.
Matt Wiman vs. Sam Stout - Stout Decision
Eliot Marshall vs. Vinny Magalhaes - Marshall 1st rd TKO

A few interesting undercard bouts. A buddy of mine beat Loiseau back in 2001.

Anyone else headed to the fights? Hopping on a train in about 90 minutes to Montreal.

Last year was sick, hopefully the crowd is awesome again this year.

Is there any SOPcast or TVU channel up for this? MMA Channel wasn't working for the last Strikeforce show.

Is there any SOPcast or TVU channel up for this? MMA Channel wasn't working for the last Strikeforce show.

It worked for me.

It worked for me.

Hmm. Said it was down at the time for me and for everyone else I knew trying to use it to watch the Diaz fight.

Anyone else headed to the fights? Hopping on a train in about 90 minutes to Montreal.

Last year was sick, hopefully the crowd is awesome again this year.

I'll be there! I can't see the crowd matching last year due to the fact that there's no GSP, but i think it will still be insane! The card the year is MUCH better than the card last year, I can't wait.

As far as the fights, I'll take:

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva (23-4; #1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (17-3; #5 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Chuck Liddell (21-6; #6 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Luiz Cane (9-1) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-1)
-Cheick Kongo (13-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
-Brian Stann (6-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1)

Preliminary Bouts:
-Nathan Quarry (10-3) vs. Jason MacDonald (21-11)
-Denis Kang (31-11-1) vs. Xavier Fouka-Pokum (20-9)
-David Loiseau (18-8) vs. Ed Herman (16-7)
-T.J. Grant (13-2) vs. Ryo Chonan (15-9)**Grant is legit, first of many fights in the UFC
-Mark Bocek (6-2) vs. David Bielkheden (13-6)
-Matt Wiman (11-5) vs. Sam Stout (13-5-1)
-Eliot Marshall (7-3) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (6-4)

Anyone know of any appearances or autograph signings going on during the day today featuring UFC fighters?

Hmm. Said it was down at the time for me and for everyone else I knew trying to use it to watch the Diaz fight.

Well I'll let you know how it's going tonight and see if I can help if you have issues again.

For anyone in Montreal, Wanderlei Silva is going to be doing an appearance outside the Bell Centre from 1 to 3.

I tried to get tickets but only the most expensive tickets were available when tickets went on sale to newsletter subscribers. Should be awesome.

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1) KO1 any comment needed?
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (17-3) vs. Chuck Liddell (21-6) TKO2 I know Shogun has looked terrible since arriving in UFC, but I think he does have the hands to knock Chuck out if this is a stand up match. Chuck spoke of working on his wrestling and other stuff, which should probably worry Shogun, but when the chips are down Chuck will probably fight the same fight he always does, and I don't think he's fast enough to win that way anymore. I still have a soft spot for Chuck, but I've been really disturbed by where his game has headed.
-Luiz Cane (9-1) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-1) TKO1 Cantwell really impressed me in his UFC debut, but Cane was just awesome in disposing of Sudoku. Hard to pick against that guy.
-Cheick Kongo (13-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4) eh, whatever.
-Brian Stann (6-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1) I know nothing about Stann, but I enjoy watching Krystoff's striking, and will be pulling for the Winnipeg guy.

Preliminary Bouts:
-Nathan Quarry (10-3) vs. Jason MacDonald (21-11) MacDonald is on a losing streak and needs a win badly here.
-Matt Wiman (11-5) vs. Sam Stout (13-5-1) Wiman looked terrible in getting rolled up by one of the crazy Miller boys. Stout has looked terrible fighting pretty much anybody not named Fisher, hasn't he?
-Eliot Marshall (7-3) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (6-4) In a battle of jiu-jitsu specialists, it seems silly not to pick Magalhaes, but Marshall does seem to have a broader range of skills, and might be able to keep this from turning into a jiu-jitsu contest.

This card just doesn't do it for me. I mean, it's not a bad card per say, but I just have been having a hard time getting excited for it. I got about 6 texts in the past two days asking if I was ordering, since I'm usually the guy in our group that hosts, but I just kept ignoring thinking that if someplace to watch it didn't pop up, I could actually do without seeing it live. Luckily someone else came forward, but still, kind of a weird feeling about the card for some reason.

Anyways, enough about "feelings" this ain't Oprah...

Silva via KO rd 1 or 2 - Can it go any other way? Everyone talks about how Leites has the style to potentially dethrone Silva. We've heard similar rhetoric about other seemingly unstoppable champions, and usually it winds up as just that...empty rhetoric. I have a hard time putting Leites's last performance out of my head going into this one, and I think he does too. Silva is just too much for him.

Shogun via KO rd 2 - I dunno about this one to be honest. I kept going back and forth. Both have looked pretty bad in their last few outings. In the end, Shogun is more spry, and I think he will bounce back. Chuck on the other hand is on his last legs as a fighter and unless he takes no damage in this fight, this should be his curtain call.

Cane via KO rd 1 - Cantwell is a decent up and comer, but Cane's striking is just too clean. Cantwell will think he can stand and bang and will be rudely awakened.

Kongo via decision - Here's to hoping these two showcase their skills and make it a kickboxing match, but ever since Kongo has worked with Team Punishment he thinks he's a wrestler. He'll use those skills to win all three rounds with takedowns and ground and pound, almost lay and pray-like. Even if he is content to stand with Hardonk, he'll use a takedown to close out each round to edge Hardonk on the scorecards.

Soszynski via TKO - Both guys are pure oxes, and it could turn into a pure slugfest, I just have a gut feeling that Kryzstof is the one that lands his bomb first. Could go either way on this one too. Though as the fight wears on, Stann is at a disadvantage since Kryzstof has more refined striking, better gas, and a much more established ground game.

Kang via submission - Personally I think Kang's very overrated. His status seems to be built on guys like Foupa-Pokam. Admittedly, I should recuse myself from a prediction here, since I've only seem Kang fight, but it just seems to me like the UFC hand picked him a guy they know he can beat to justify the big contract they gave him to bring him over.

Quarry via split decision - Fight of the fight. Both men stand and trade. There's some great ground work, with submission attempts, sweeps, escapes, and reversals, in the end Quarry squeaks it out.

Herman via decision - I commend Loiseau for his comeback efforts, but I think Herman's smart enough to utilize his better grappling skills to pound out Loiseau.

Bocek via submission, RNC - Bielkheden came in overweight, so I think that will take it's toll. I never got the hype with him in the first place.

Wiman via submission, armbar - Stout has never put enough focus on rounding out his ground game as he should have since making the leap to the UFC. Though if Wiman wants to stand with Stout, he'll get knocked out.

I don't know enough about TJ Grant to render a prediction on his fight with Chonan.

Magalhaes via decision - I think Eliot is good enough in the jits game to defend against Vinny's world-class skills, but that's about all he's doing for most of the fight. Vinny keeps him in some precarious positions for every round to cruise to a unanimous decision.

UFC® 97 REDEMPTION
Anderson Silva Vs. Thales Leites
Chuck Liddell Vs. Mauricio Rua
Krzysztof Soszynski Vs. Brian Stann
Cheick Kongo Vs. Antoni Hardonk
Steve Cantwell Vs. Luiz Cane
Eliot Marshall Vs. Vinicius Magalhaes
Denis Kang Vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Jason MacDonald Vs. Nate Quarry
David Loiseau Vs. Ed Herman
Mark Bocek Vs. David Bielkheden
Ryo Chonan Vs. TJ Grant
Sam Stout Vs. Matt Wiman

I love 'Fight Night'...can't wait to see some good fights tonight.

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites
Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk
Luis Cane vs. Steve Cantwell
Vinicius Magalhaes vs. Eliot Marshall
Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Denis Kang
Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry
Ed Herman vs. David Loiseau
David Bielkheden vs. Mark Bocek
Ryo Chonan vs. T.J. Grant
Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman

Not going to do the prelim fights since there honestly isn't a singer fighter I could care about.

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva (23-4; #1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (17-3; #5 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Chuck Liddell (21-6; #6 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Luiz Cane (9-1) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-1)
-Cheick Kongo (13-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
-Brian Stann (6-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1)

I like Leites a lot. I think he has the potential to beat Silva. I'm sure he'll be KO'd within 15 seconds or something to make me look like a fool, but I'm just on a hunch. Have never really picked against Silva before.

Liddell should be able to dismantle Shogun if Shogun comes in not giving a **** again. In fact, I hope he does.

Cane is the man. He's insane. Straight up bad-****ing-ass. Cantwell is a great WEC dude, but I think he's dismantled in this fight. Was pretty bad-ass when Cantwell dislocated Razak Al-Hassan's elbow, but I don't think he'll even have a chance to do that in this fight.

Who cares about the Kongo fight? He'll win, but I might go get ice cream during it or something.

I like All American Brian Stann in the fight against Krzysztof. Never have been a big time Krzysztof fan. Something about him just doesn't make me have much confidence in him as a long time UFC fighter. Stann is still a little green, but I think he'll be out for blood to avenge his loss against Cantwell.

Nice. MMA TV working great.

Such a great first fight.

Cane is a bad, bad man.

Cannot wait for this to get started.

Over/under on nut shots this fight?

That Kongo fight was horrible.

I knew it would be terrible, but still.

Krzysztof is a strong strong man.

Pretty boring card so far.

I hope Shogun lights Chuck the **** up.

Me too. I'd rather have Shogun return to form than Chuck just because of the age issue.

Me too. I'd rather have Shogun return to form than Chuck just because of the age issue.

Exactly. Shogun from Pride is like Fedor or old school Wanderlei: totally badass. I want to see that guy again.

Well Chuck is officially done.

I would have liked to see that go two or three to find out if Shogun had the conditioning, but he look pretty good anyway. All the same I won't complain to see him back in good form.

Happy trails Chuck. Hang your head high, you were a beast over your career and have nothing to be ashamed of.

Shogun looked five years younger tonight. Hopefully it stays this way.

And how weird was it to see Chuck pressing forward like that? It was almost like he didn't know how to walk forward considering he spend his whole career walking backwards and counter punching.

What a finish by Shogun.

If the old Shogun is actually back, that's a good thing.

It's going to be weird not seeing Chuck around.

Shogun really was an embarrassment to MMA his last fight. I'm glad he came out strong tonight. He's too nice of a dude to root against.

Shogun vs Forrest rematch next I would assume.

Shogun vs Forrest rematch next I would assume.

If Shogun has cardio, Forrest is a dead man.


And nice beard on Wiman. :thumbu:

SHOGUN BABY!!!!! :handclap::yo:

That Kongo fight was horrible.

I knew it would be terrible, but still.Why do u say that? not a kongo fan? cuz this was a standard kongo fight..Awkward kickboxing sprinkled with some g&p..

Why are we seeing this match instead of the main event.. If they have time to burn surely we should be seeing the main event completed first and then the undercard matches after..This **** is taking forever..Sam stout is a gatekeeper for gatekeepers and wiman will never be a contender why do we have to sit through this?

Why are we seeing this match instead of the main event.. If they have time to burn surely we should be seeing the main event completed first and then the undercard matches after..This **** is taking forever..Sam stout is a gatekeeper for gatekeepers and wiman will never be a contender why do we have to sit through this?

Bonus fights are great, why complain?

And I think the main event usually has a set time for the earliest it can start so both fighters know around what time they need to be ready for. I don't know that for a fact, but I do know that whenever all the main card fights end really early, they always show a prelim or two before the main event.

And I don't know what Goldberg was smoking, I thought it was pretty clear Stout won that one. A takedown wasn't going to be enough to win that third round for Wiman.

Thales Leites can win this fight. Watch out for a leg lock or a triangle.

Thought that Wiman decision was terrible.

No way Stout won that fight. Only way I can possibly think they scored it for him was to please the Canadian crowd.

Bunch of ********, if you ask me. Wiman clearly won round 3 and won 3/4 of round 1.

Why do u say that? not a kongo fan? cuz this was a standard kongo fight..Awkward kickboxing sprinkled with some g&p..

Why are we seeing this match instead of the main event.. If they have time to burn surely we should be seeing the main event completed first and then the undercard matches after..This **** is taking forever..Sam stout is a gatekeeper for gatekeepers and wiman will never be a contender why do we have to sit through this?

The Wiman/Stout fight was a hell of a lot more entertaining than that boring as **** Kongo fight.

Kongo is such a mediocre HW.

Bonus fights are great, why complain?

And I think the main event usually has a set time for the earliest it can start so both fighters know around what time they need to be ready for. I don't know that for a fact, but I do know that whenever all the main card fights end really early, they always show a prelim or two before the main event.

And I don't know what Goldberg was smoking, I thought it was pretty clear Stout won that one. A takedown wasn't going to be enough to win that third round for Wiman.

The 3rd round was a clear win for Wiman. Much more aggressive than Stout, much more technical. Tried to do a lot more stuff and was pretty successful at keeping the fight on the ground.

hahahaha, you'd think people would be smart enough to avoid using GNR when in Montreal.


And yes, I mean to say "fight" instead of "third round."

hahahaha, you'd think people would be smart enough to avoid using GNR when in Montreal.


And yes, I mean to say "fight" instead of "third round."

Ahh, I kind of figured that after I read it. Mainly because I don't know how anyone could have scored the third for Stout. Haha.

I still gave Wiman most of the 1st. Came out of the gate huge, landed a lot of nice shots, etc.

Stout landed the biggest shot (the liver punch), but never really hurt Wiman at all besides that. Definitely won the 2nd, though, as Wiman looked gassed that whole round.

Ahh, I kind of figured that after I read it. Mainly because I don't know how anyone could have scored the third for Stout. Haha.

I still gave Wiman most of the 1st. Came out of the gate huge, landed a lot of nice shots, etc.

Stout landed the biggest shot (the liver punch), but never really hurt Wiman at all besides that. Definitely won the 2nd, though, as Wiman looked gassed that whole round.

Kinda drunk, I'll blame it on that.


And dear the lesser Buffer: Benoit is not pronounced Ben-oit

Terrible first round.

Give it to Thales slightly, but who cares about it?

Another boring round. So far you could give either to either guy and have a legit argument for it.

Leites is so, so smart.

He's done so well at keeping Silva at bay and hasn't really made any mistakes yet.

If he keeps taking him down, he will eventually wear Silva out.

Another boring round. So far you could give either to either guy and have a legit argument for it.

I give both to Leites so far. Only guy who really pressed either round.

Silva looks like the late 90s/early 2000s Devils. No offense and only capitalizing off mistakes.

1st round silva, 2nd round Leites and 3rd round a point should be taken away from Leites for refusing to engage. Falling every time when Silva engages is just ridiculous.

1st round silva, 2nd round Leites and 3rd round a point should be taken away from Leites for refusing to engage. Falling every time when Silva engages is just ridiculous.

Yeah, flopping to his back like that is dumb. If you're going to do that, pull guard or don't go down. He could've had the crowd on his side before all this garbage.

Well, that was almost embarrassing round wise.

Also, Yves Lavigne is such a ****** ref for not seeing that eye poke by Silva.

Silva is getting really annoyed.

Silva's just trying to embarrass him into engaging at this point

Silva's just trying to embarrass him into engaging at this point

I think it's the opposite. Leites is trying to piss Silva off so he gets stupid.

Both fighters are trying to goad one another.

4 rounds of trying to Sean Avery each other.

I think it's the opposite. Leites is trying to piss Silva off so he gets stupid.

Both fighters are trying to goad one another.

4 rounds of trying to Sean Avery each other.

Can only doing so long if you're Leites when you're losing the fight on points.

Can only doing so long if you're Leites when you're losing the fight on points.

I'm with you on this one.

Silva was trying to goad him while picking up points.

Leites was trying to goal him with giving up points.


And atta boy Rogan! "And now they're chanting bull ****."

Regardless of the outcome, the clear way to go with Silva now is to bore him to death.

I do think that GSP will beat him if they fight next.

Silva should not be celebrating. What a God-awful fight.

Oooh. 3 rounds of knee stomps and knee punches.

Wow!

Regardless of the outcome, the clear way to go with Silva now is to bore him to death.

I do think that GSP will beat him if they fight next.

Disagree. It really accomplishes nothing when Silva's shown he's not going to play into your strengths just because you will run all fight.

Can only doing so long if you're Leites when you're losing the fight on points.

Oh, definitely. After Leites realized he couldn't take him down in the 3rd, the fight was over then. All he could do was survive.

Regardless of the outcome, the clear way to go with Silva now is to bore him to death.

I do think that GSP will beat him if they fight next.

Only way GSP beats Silva is to take him down and GNP him and I just don't think GSP is strong enough to do that.


And Rogan needs to shut up. It was a boring fight and there's no question about it. Don't try to spin it like it was some tactical battle. You had one guy who wanted to fight and another guy who wanted to lay on his back.

That was a garbage fight. I should have gone to bed early.

Disagree. It really accomplishes nothing when Silva's shown he's not going to play into your strengths just because you will run all fight.

It certainly accomplished something. He didn't get submitted or destroyed by Silva in the first round.

He actually embarrassed both he AND Silva by this fight, which is insane.

One of the worst fights I have ever seen.

How the hell did someone score it 50-26?

Only way GSP beats Silva is to take him down and GNP him and I just don't think GSP is strong enough to do that.


And Rogan needs to shut up. It was a boring fight and there's no question about it. Don't try to spin it like it was some tactical battle. You had one guy who wanted to fight and another guy who wanted to lay on his back.

GSP is a much stronger fighter than Leites is. His strength would be a huge advantage compared to Thales.

GSP is one of the few guys around I think who could definitely take down Silva.

Agree on Rogan. This fight was terrible. Though I don't think that Leites WANTED to lay on his back all fight. He simply could not get Silva down after the early 3rd round and just basically gave up. Kind of stupid, but it was the only way to not get destroyed by Silva.

How the hell did someone score it 50-26?

Wasn't it 50-46?

Wasn't it 50-46?

Again, drunk 2 and 4 are close together.

Question still stands. how is it scored 50-46?

How the hell did someone score it 50-26?

10-8, 10-8, 10-8, 10-8 and 10-8 for a 50 - 42 and then you subtract all the respect you lose for Leites that fight and you get a 50-26 :p:

Only way GSP beats Silva is to take him down and GNP him and I just don't think GSP is strong enough to do that.


And Rogan needs to shut up. It was a boring fight and there's no question about it. Don't try to spin it like it was some tactical battle. You had one guy who wanted to fight and another guy who wanted to lay on his back.

Anderson doesn't want to fight. He wants to dance around all night. He'd be exponentially more devastating if he stayed away from the BS theatrics and just engaged rather than shadow boxing most of the fight. Given the quickness and skill level of Silva this fight should have ended in the 1st round, but Silva didn't do anything for 5 straight rounds. He toys with his opposition rather than fighting them. May as well sign up for Dancing with the Stars.

Anderson doesn't want to fight. He wants to dance around all night. He'd be exponentially more devastating if he stayed away from the BS theatrics and just engaged rather than shadow boxing most of the fight. Given the quickness and skill level of Silva this fight should have ended in the 1st round, but Silva didn't do anything for 5 straight rounds. He toys with his opposition rather than fighting them. May as well sign up for Dancing with the Stars.

Bingo.

If Anderson wanted to fight, he would have. He was more than content with just defending Leites take downs and dancing around all night.

Hopefully someone destroys him next time. Getting a bit sick of him, to be honest.

Those 30 knee stomps were some of the most boring and retarded strikes I've ever seen. It did nothing to Leites and was just stupid. I give credit for experimenting a bit, but the dude did not go for one single devastating blow. For a guy who likes to stand up and dismantle dudes, I thought he looked like a ****** in the fight.

Anderson doesn't want to fight. He wants to dance around all night. He'd be exponentially more devastating if he stayed away from the BS theatrics and just engaged rather than shadow boxing most of the fight. Given the quickness and skill level of Silva this fight should have ended in the 1st round, but Silva didn't do anything for 5 straight rounds. He toys with his opposition rather than fighting them. May as well sign up for Dancing with the Stars.

Well if Silva just wants to dance, i guess that means Leites just wants to **** since all he did was lay on his back and spread his legs.

10-8, 10-8, 10-8, 10-8 and 10-8 for a 50 - 42 and then you subtract all the respect you lose for Leites that fight and you get a 50-26 :p:

What did you really want Leites to do? Why should he risk his health just to engage Silva in the "exciting" fight that Silva wants?

The dude could not get takedowns. He had nothing else. After that, he might as well just play defensive, and he did. No real harm in that other than making Silva look like a fool and putting on an embarrassing show.

If you lost any respect for Leites, you should have none left for Silva.

Well if Silva just wants to dance, i guess that means Leites just wants to **** since all he did was lay on his back and spread his legs.

I don't blame Leites. He was outclassed. There was literally nothing else he could do except invite Silva to a roll on the mat.

What's Anderson's excuse for not doing a damn thing?

Anderson doesn't want to fight. He wants to dance around all night. He'd be exponentially more devastating if he stayed away from the BS theatrics and just engaged rather than shadow boxing most of the fight. Given the quickness and skill level of Silva this fight should have ended in the 1st round, but Silva didn't do anything for 5 straight rounds. He toys with his opposition rather than fighting them. May as well sign up for Dancing with the Stars.

So Silva should clinch with a guy that is desperate to pull guard to have a glimmer of hope of winning? It's his fault then when he engages and strikes the other guy just lays on the ground, not even attempting to pull guard because he's afraid of a knee or head kick.

Like I said earlier, when Leites falls to the ground not even attempting a takedown, pulling guard or simply grabbing a single leg he should lose a point after the 20th god damn time.

God awful main event:shakehead

I don't blame Leites. He was outclassed. There was literally nothing else he could do except invite Silva to a roll on the mat.

What's Anderson's excuse for not doing a damn thing?

And the only way you can really describe this fight is taht Silva was just as much of a ***** for not going to the mat as Leites was for not standing up with him.

What did you really want Leites to do? Why should he risk his health just to engage Silva in the "exciting" fight that Silva wants?

The dude could not get takedowns. He had nothing else. After that, he might as well just play defensive, and he did. No real harm in that other than making Silva look like a fool and putting on an embarrassing show.

If you lost any respect for Leites, you should have none left for Silva.

He's paid to engage in a fight! He doesn't have to strike but not attempting takedowns or pulling guard and simply falling to your back when Silva gets within 10 feet of you is unacceptable.

Fedor finishes fights and he doesn't lose. Anderson Silva isn't the best pound for pound fighter in the world. His last 2 fights were disgusting.



Shogun is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. :yo:


I'm getting **** faced tonight. ;)

I don't blame Leites. He was outclassed. There was literally nothing else he could do except invite Silva to a roll on the mat.

What's Anderson's excuse for not doing a damn thing?

Every time he tried to do something the guy would just lay down. He was diving like Crosby left and right.

Every time he tried to do something the guy would just lay down. He was diving like Crosby left and right.

*********. Anderson was playing pattycake. Throw strikes and maybe something happens when you connect like he did pretty much at will.

So Silva should clinch with a guy that is desperate to pull guard to have a glimmer of hope of winning?


How about trying a combination or two? It was just constantly dance in, throw a punch or kick, dance out, reset, dance in, throw a punch or kick, dance out. He didn't try and string anything together all night.

Again, drunk 2 and 4 are close together.

Question still stands. how is it scored 50-46?

One 10-10 round and the rest 10-9's for Silva. 10-10 rounds are pretty rare but some judges will still hand them out if there's very little action in a round, I'm guessing it was probably the first round that earned that score.

Main event was awful, Shogun winning was cool, big props to Cantwell for doing way better than I thought he would. Oh yeah, and I also thought Wiman should have won. Aside from that, not much to say... it was a pretty blah card.

What's Anderson's excuse for not doing a damn thing?

If you're winning the fight that easily, the onus isn't on you to do anything different.

One 10-10 round and the rest 10-9's for Silva. 10-10 rounds are pretty rare but some judges will still hand them out if there's very little action in a round, I'm guessing it was probably the first round that earned that score.

Main event was awful, Shogun winning was cool, big props to Cantwell for doing way better than I thought he would. Oh yeah, and I also thought Wiman should have won. Aside from that, not much to say... it was a pretty blah card.

10-10 rounds aren't possible. It's a 10 must system which means the winner gets ten and the loser gets 9 or less.

-Anderson Silva (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1) KO1 any comment needed?
Well, that was pretty much garbage.

-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (17-3) vs. Chuck Liddell (21-6) TKO2 I know Shogun has looked terrible since arriving in UFC, but I think he does have the hands to knock Chuck out if this is a stand up match. Chuck spoke of working on his wrestling and other stuff, which should probably worry Shogun, but when the chips are down Chuck will probably fight the same fight he always does, and I don't think he's fast enough to win that way anymore. I still have a soft spot for Chuck, but I've been really disturbed by where his game has headed.
And hopefully that was the end of it. Looked slow, the chin looks like it's glass now, I don't think that punch would have knocked down most top LHW fighters.

While people are celebrating the return of Rua, I'd be cautious on that. At this point, I'm not sure knocking out Chuck is a huge accomplishment, and I'm not sure the fight lasted long enough to show that Rua's conditioning troubles have been solved either.

-Luiz Cane (9-1) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-1) TKO1 Cantwell really impressed me in his UFC debut, but Cane was just awesome in disposing of Sudoku. Hard to pick against that guy.
Although losing on the scorecard, Cantwell gains a ton of street cred here. Outstanding effort against a really deadly opponent. This guy is 22!?

-Cheick Kongo (13-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4) eh, whatever.
whatever.

-Brian Stann (6-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1) I know nothing about Stann, but I enjoy watching Krystoff's striking, and will be pulling for the Winnipeg guy.
Superb performance by Krystoff. Certainly the highlight of the night for me.

-Matt Wiman (11-5) vs. Sam Stout (13-5-1) Wiman looked terrible in getting rolled up by one of the crazy Miller boys. Stout has looked terrible fighting pretty much anybody not named Fisher, hasn't he?
I thought Wiman did enough to win the 1st and 3rd rounds on the scorecard... but I don't feel that bad about the decision. The only significant damage in the fight was done by Stout in the 2nd round. Wiman won the 3rd round by virtue of basically a couple of takedowns and some top-control in which he did nothing. Stout did more "gnp" in the 20 seconds he had top control than Wiman did in the whole fight. If Wiman had won on the scorecards, I'd have thought it was the correct decision, but I'd also think it was a good example of the limitations of the "10-point must" scoring system.

That was an awful main event. Anderson should have attacked a bit more. Instead he decided to show off, throw punches at Thales' leg, throw his hands in the air and on his waist, do a little straight kick like 20 times, try some backwards soccer kick, and at the end did he try to walk out of the interview? Or was he looking for water or a towel or something? Because if he tried to walk out then he's a cocky little b****. I like the guy, he's one of my favourites but his last 2 fights have been pretty bad. Maybe GSP will knock some sense into him.

So what if the crowd boos? Why does he really care what the people in Montreal think? Just keep doing your thing and if Thales wants to lay down because hes scared to exchange then let him. Atleast attack though. Let him lay there and get on top and do something. Don't just throw your hands in the air and throw a hissy fit.

I think if they had someone better or someone who wasn't scared to stand up, then Anderson would have been a lot better as well. This just wasn't a good fight.

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites
Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk
Luis Cane vs. Steve Cantwell
Vinicius Magalhaes vs. Eliot Marshall
Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Denis Kang
Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry
Ed Herman vs. David Loiseau
David Bielkheden vs. Mark Bocek
Ryo Chonan vs. T.J. Grant
Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman

5/5 for the PPV.

2/7 undercards :laugh:

If you're winning the fight that easily, the onus isn't on you to do anything different.

He was winning the contest, but he certainly wasn't fighting.

Silva should never ever wonder why he will never get the big bucks,,,, neither Silva/Leites should collect a check tonight... Affliction must have been loving this MAIN EVENT,,,, One of the worst/Bush League fights I have seen in a long time, let alone the so called P4P best in the world. You would nver see a fight like that out of GSP or Fedor. Could you imagine if you paid $500 + for tix to that ****

The inspiration behind Leites' strategy:

f_3Utmj4RPU

10-10 rounds aren't possible. It's a 10 must system which means the winner gets ten and the loser gets 9 or less.

http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=3&file=/S_3_1/S3_1R12_A.htm&PHPSESSID=d258ab1776dbe03e887a5ec29ffe9ec6

DIVISION XVI
JUDGES AND SCORING

[...]

129. In exceptional instances, where neither of the contestants has obtained an advantage, a judge shall score the round even.

O.C. 662-95, s. 129.

130. The 10-point scoring system shall be used for all bouts. The points of the contestant leading a round shall be maintained at 10 and, where the referee deducts points from that contestant, those points shall be added to the other contestant's points.

The loser shall receive between 9 and 6 points based on his performance, except where the referee deducts points.

Each contestant shall receive 10 points for a round that is scored even.

O.C. 662-95, s. 130; O.C. 392-2004, s. 10.

Like I said, it's rare and most judges don't do it, but every now and then you see one. And if there was ever a candidate for a 10-10 round, the first round of this fight was it...

http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=3&file=/S_3_1/S3_1R12_A.htm&PHPSESSID=d258ab1776dbe03e887a5ec29ffe9ec6



Like I said, it's rare and most judges don't do it, but every now and then you see one. And if there was ever a candidate for a 10-10 round, the first round of this fight was it...

Quebec is the first place I've heard of that scores draws.

Quebec is the first place I've heard of that scores draws.

Well, NSAC permits it as well so I'm not sure what more to tell you

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-467.html#NAC467Sec796

NAC 467.796 Method of judging. (NRS 467.030)

1. Each judge of a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts that is being judged shall score the contest or exhibition and determine the winner through the use of the following system:

(a) The better unarmed combatant of a round receives 10 points and his opponent proportionately less.

(b) If the round is even, each unarmed combatant receives 10 points.

[...]

(Added to NAC by Athletic Comm’n by R070-01, eff. 8-31-2001)

Most judges must not know they can score 10-10 rounds then, because there's been tons of rounds that should've been a draw.

Analogy of the Silva/Leites fight.

Picture a highlight reel of Datsyuk breakaway/shootout goals. Now imagine that after Datsyuk tooled the goalie he peels off rather than putting the puck in the net. That's pretty much what the fight was, with maybe a couple limp backhanders along the ice from the blueline mixed in. Sure it's an "attempt" but one with no chance of accomplishing anything.

Loved the Shogun fight, but im not as upset with the Sliva fight... i kinda enjoyed how he slowly picked apart Leites

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5il_RYWrKzRqBcOh27qt7R30xm9VA

Good.

It's good that he's getting out before he gets seriously injured. He had a great career and should be proud.


"It's not working for me lately," he said simply. And then he left the news conference to go drinking.

Haha! Atta boy Chuck.

Analogy of the Silva/Leites fight.

Picture a highlight reel of Datsyuk breakaway/shootout goals. Now imagine that after Datsyuk tooled the goalie he peels off rather than putting the puck in the net. That's pretty much what the fight was, with maybe a couple limp backhanders along the ice from the blueline mixed in. Sure it's an "attempt" but one with no chance of accomplishing anything.

I would say more like the goalie knocks his net over each time Datsyuk crosses the blueline.

I would say more like the goalie knocks his net over each time Datsyuk crosses the blueline.

:biglaugh:

That's a good one.

Well, maybe it was more like the goalie knocks the net over while Datsyuk dipsy-doodles around pointlessly.

I understand people being mad at Silva. But Leites fell on the mat and turtled whenever Silva tagged him. It's a strategy, I guess... Kalib Starnes had a strategy too.

I dunno. Should the ref at some point started taking points away from the fighters for failing to engage? That's the only thing I can think of...


Bonuses: (http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5il_RYWrKzRqBcOh27qt7R30xm9VA)
Krysztoff gets $70,000 for the submission.
Rua gets $70,000 for knockout of the night.
Stout and Wiman both get $70,000 for fight of the night.

All were obvious choices, I would say.

Chuck will not go gently in to that good night...

UFC need yellow cards for inaction or tieing up like they have over in Japan

Lol Anderson. Doubt anyone will say this is why he won the fight, but after the way the fight went, he'll probably get some sick heat from this.

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/141506/vdzn2w_medium.gif

Bloody Elbow (http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/4/19/844485/josh-gross-assertion-that-anderson)

Maybe he had a itch.

I don't know if Rogan got mixed messages about Chuck's intent, should he have lost, but shoving the mic in his face when he was having a tough time speaking--for whatever reason--came off awfully distasteful IMO.

I'm glad Dana is pulling the plug. Somewhere Dr. Johnny Benjamin is breathing a sigh of relief.

He wipes vaseline off his forehead onto his chest, stomach, and ... uh, apparently his nuts?


I'm not sure what he thought Leites might have been planning...

Yes, our group noticed that as well. I think if it was in Nevada, there would have been someone watching each fighter's every move--ready to pounce and wipe off any sign of "stray" grease.

I was just thinking though how easy it would be to grease someone. Throw a healthy dose of it on a white towel; who would even know the difference when wiping down a fighter's sweat in between rounds?

I just hope some other promotion doesn't back a truckfull of money up to his door and convince him to have one more fight.

I don't know if Rogan got mixed messages about Chuck's intent, should he have lost, but shoving the mic in his face when he was having a tough time speaking--for whatever reason--came off awfully distasteful IMO.

Well, I think they wanted to get some kind of post-fight comments from him win or lose since he's such a big name, so I don't know if there was really a better way to go about it. At least it wasn't as bad as that WEC guy who asked Jens Pulver "so are you even relevant anymore" after he got starched by Garcia. But yeah, it was kind of hard to watch, I never thought I'd see Chuck on the verge of tears.

The post-fight "interview" on UFC.com is pretty sad as well. http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=VideoPlayer.home&gid=19368

I've never been a huge Liddell fan but cheers to him. :cheers:

Loved the Shogun fight, but im not as upset with the Sliva fight... i kinda enjoyed how he slowly picked apart Leites

How can you say with a straight face that "he slowly picked apart Leites"?

How is punching the dudes knee picking him apart?

He worked Leites left leg all night with the kicks to the knee, if you can use your lead leg you take away alota offence

He worked Leites left leg all night with the kicks to the knee, if you can use your lead leg you take away alota offence

if you lay on your back all night, you take away a lot of offence too.

if you lay on your back all night, you take away a lot of offence too.

Laying on your back doesn't score points.

What's next for Shogun? I can't wait to see him fight again. Liddell isn't as good as he use to be, but Shogun looked good last night. His movement was awesome.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2lwsn0j.gif

Bonuses: (http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5il_RYWrKzRqBcOh27qt7R30xm9VA)
Krysztoff gets $70,000 for the submission.
Rua gets $70,000 for knockout of the night.
Stout and Wiman both get $70,000 for fight of the night.

All were obvious choices, I would say.

While I agree with the awarded fights, I'm not sure I can agree that they were obvious. On the sub, Bocek's rear naked was pretty awesome, more the speed at which he sunk it in and finished the fight, quite a masterpiece. :yo:

And I personally felt the Chonan/Grant fight was a better fight than Stout/Wiman, but to each their own (I was live and in person also, a little harder to see how crisp the shots etc. are...).

What's next for Shogun? I can't wait to see him fight again. Liddell isn't as good as he use to be, but Shogun looked good last night. His movement was awesome.

They will probly give him a tune up fight or 2 and then a shoot at the belt I think

http://i41.tinypic.com/2lwsn0j.gif

I like this one:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ufynvd.gif

Shogun working on head movement and defense? :amazed:

also his bum looks like an angry owl

Was Clay Guida sporting a playoff beard for the Blackhawks? Hmmmm...

I cheered like a little girl finally getting Barbie's dream house when Shogun won, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. :laugh::handclap:

I like this one:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ufynvd.gif

Shogun working on head movement and defense? :amazed:

also his bum looks like an angry owl

That kick is awesome.

That kick is awesome.

CARDIOOOOOOOO!!!

CARDIOOOOOOOO!!!

Won't matter once Rampage gets his rematch against Shogun. Rampape will knock him out.