I think it tomorrow night…but Ill still pick
GSP…not sure about this one, I really like Hughes too, but I think GSP might want it more.
MONSON…Any guy with a Tat of a guy holding a gun to another guys head on the back of his neck is a bad man you want no part of.
VERA… The TRUTH , a future champ
DIAZ…just because I have no idea who Tibau is
I’d have to say that Hughes has a slight advantage due to raw strength but it could easily go either way. I like St. Pierre though.
GSP because he wants it more. This is a fight where a single mistake likely will determine the outcome.
Sylvia - height and reach determines this one I think. How’s Tim’s take-down defense coming along?
Vera - He seems intelligent about the sport and his training. I don’t know if that’s enough to win but I’ll go with him.
Diaz - I think this match will help (and may have been chosen ) for him regain his path to a title shot or leave him on the second wrung of UFC fighters for the next year or so.
What say you Geeforce?
Hmmmmm should be a couple of good fights.
you have to go with the champ tho. Hughes is just a monster and can not only punch but has the ground skills to finish also.
As much as I would liketo see an think Sylvia will win, I have to go with Munson,have you seen this guy? he scares me thru. the TV.
Mir in a tap out
who knows who these other two are?
I didn’t see it first hand but the mma forums are saying that GSP dominated Hughes. What happened? Did Hughes really get spanked or just seem to have an off night?
Nice, I waste my luck picking MMA fights instead of lottery numbers or investment schema.
Geeforce thank you for raising awareness of the sport and sharing your passion for MMA to Slowtwitch. I see it as a true expression of the warrior spirit (in a modern marketized sort or way) But, did not the Romans have their gladiators?
I’m sure you understand, being also a student and practitioner of triathlon multisport, the amount of time and sacrifice that these guys put in to learning not one but multiple arts is phenomenal.
In my eyes the conditioning, strength, technique and mental focus may be similar to our own quest for Kona.
Staddler v. GSP in a octagon-bike-run?
Nicely recapped. I think we’d see more of Norman crying.
That fight was awesome and I was the only one in the Sportsbar where it was shown who was a fan of GSP. GSP dominated completely and Hughes was lucky to survive the first round.
Hughes looked worried in the second round and the hit on his head/neck from GSP was fantastic.
Herbert
Yes GSP did a good job. whtch out though, hughes is no slouch and have no doubt there will be a rematch and when there is…ohhhh GSP is going to go flat on his ass and the Champ will be Champ again. I would say that MAtt needed to take him to the canvas quicker and he could have won. although hughes is a great striker, his game is more a submission one.
I think GSP had a defense to Matts take down attempts, with the kicks and the punches he was throwing. It was a good fight, I was very disapointed to see Matt loose but I think that he will be back ready for the next fight. I thought Matt looked flat from the time he walked into the ring. He did not have the usuall fire and stare down in his eyes that he usually has. He usally does not take his eyes off of the other guy from the time he walks in the ring. This was missing, I could tell right from the start Matt was in trouble. I am not taking anything away from GSP, he fought a great fight. I am looking forward to the rematch.
Good fights for the most part Saturday; if round 1 of the Hughes/GSP fight was 3 seconds longer, it would have ended then.
The “new” version of GSP is an improved version of the older model in that he has really honed the variety of skills he possesses—I don’t see at this point how Hughes could ever beat GSP again if the rematched 5 more times, GSP has become that good in my opinion.
BJ Penn had very similar success with the standup game in their most recent bout; had he not gassed, we would have seen BJ and GSP last Saturday, which could at this point be a very compelling match…except that apparently BJ is dropping down to lightweight.
Oh, and Matt Serra vs. GSP? I feel sorry for Serra…
I wanted to see Hughes/ Serra, after the way Serra was running his mouth on the show. I think ethier way Serra was going to get a rude awakening. Now that I saw how good GSP has gotten the other night I really do not expect Serra to last 2 minutes.
GSP is the total package. A fighter that has been trained for the octagon - not a wrestler or grappler or martial arts expert trained in other disciplines. Matt Hughes is a a great fighter but he is a wrestler first and foremost and I think his new found cockiness got the best of him in this fight. Why sit and strike with GSP when you know that’s not your strength. Same thing happened to Franklin in his fight with Anderson Silva. I would agree that Matt didn’t look as focused as he usually does but I also think that’s because he thinks too much of himself right now. He needs to get back to basics and work on what got him to where he was, otherwise GSP will knock him silly again.
One thing I found interesting int he fight was the apparent groin shots…as detailed on other forums, they were legit strikes to the upper thigh with the shin where the foot slid up the leg. What was interesting was that after Big John warned GSP, he also went over to Hughes and kind of gave him a few words too - almost as if he knew that they were borderline and that maybe Hughes was acting up the second one a bit too much.
Other fights - Mir is washed up, Sylvia is a bore to watch and not a brightspot for UFC - they need to get that belt off of him. Vera looks good and Diaz may start to make another push. But be prepapred for a long title reign for GSP unless another all-round fighter can be found to battle him or he loses touch with his strengths (a la Hughes and Franklin) and gets wooped trying to play someone else’s game.
Other fights - Mir is washed up, Sylvia is a bore to watch
Agree on both counts…Mir is done, Sylvia, even though showing some other skills to combat Monson, is another “one note” fighter, relying primarily on standup and not much else. (Though I suppose you could say the same for Chuck Lidell as well…) His kicks are lethal, or have been in the past, but it seems as though he gets way too tactical, trying not to make mistakes and consequently doesn’t use everything he has.
Agree too that Brandon Vera is looking real strong, with a variety of skills.
As for Matt Hughes’ focus, you could be right that for some reason he seemed not totally there and certainly fought a tactically horrible fight…there has been some reporting of an impending retirement in his near future, perhaps he was already mentally baling more hay on the farm instead of honing his all-around game for GSP…
Looks like the Hughes / GSP rematch will be in Canada. I am looking forward to ufc 66 and seeing Forrest fight again.
Andy