Who is likely to be cut from the UFC roster after UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche? We discussed possibilities yesterday on the SiriusXM Fight Club.
Source: SoundCloud / SiriusXM Sports
We took calls yesterday on the SiriusXM Fight Club on women’s MMA, Ronda Rousey’s future and how viable this entire effort could actually be.
Source: SoundCloud / SiriusXM Sports
Miesha Tate told us last night on the SiriusXM Fight club that she’s now reinvigorated in her career and believes Liz Carmouche’s small measure of success reaffirms her belief that Ronda Rousey ‘is very beatable’.
Source: SoundCloud / SiriusXM Sports
From my conversation with Duke Roufus in the latest Technique Talk:
I don’t want you to give away your whole gameplan, but if you could give me one thing, what is one sort of technical flaw that you think could be taken advantage of against Aldo?I’m not gonna say it’s a flaw, but the one thing is the low kicks. The leg kicks are going to be a non-issue. Leg kicks are a cool thing until someone knows how to block it. When you know how to block it, he’s the one that gets hurt, Aldo, not Anthony. That’s the one thing that has given a lot of people trouble and that’s the one thing Anthony prepared for real well with Cerrone and that was a non-issue there, too. Those leg kicks he launched, you saw Anthony block it and strike back right away. You did not see him throw a leg kick anymore.
That’s the thing about MMA. Guys suck at blocking leg kicks. They’re so worried about takedowns that they sometimes forget the leg kicks and when you know that someone likes to throw them a lot, you’re ready for them. In other sports, they’re not as common because people know how to defend them. That’s the one thing I’ll say will definitely affect Aldo’s game. The kicking will be out. I believe Anthony’s faster than him so the hands and other weapons, Anthony won’t be in front of him for his knees and I can just say what Aldo is not going to do to him.
Source: mmafighting.com
Who is the greatest of all time in MMA? Who might replace that person among the current ranks of MMA’s greats? We debate this and more in today’s show.
Source: SoundCloud / SiriusXM Sports
Let me state up front I’ve been on the wrong end as far as predicting Frankie Edgar fights are concerned. I’ve not been wrong every time, but certainly a healthy portion. Today could be no different.
Still, I’ve got to go with my gut and I like the featherweight champion to retain his crown. I believe Aldo could fade and Edgar’s pressure game could end up taking a round or two at the end of a five-round fight, but I don’t see him dominating the champion for the first fifteen minutes or winning enough of the striking exchanges.
What makes Aldo special is his reflexive decision making, which itself is facilitated by his explosive athleticism. Edgar, by contrast, gets hit a lot and more so at the beginning and middle of fights. I don’t see how Edgar escapes the early rounds without taking a fair amount of abuse, particularly in the leg kick department.
In addition, Aldo’s takedown defense is good not just because it’s consistent, but because he creates separation after stopping a takedown very quickly. People don’t typically pin Aldo to the cage and force him to fight off a protracted attempt.
Edgar could make things very interesting late, but I’m betting he loses early and long enough to make winning the entire thing unlikely.
Pick: Aldo
Source: mmafighting.com
Yesterday’s MMA Fighting live chat. We talked creative strikers, Rampage Jackson’s future, Randy Couture signing with Spike, UFC 156, Bellator 87, oversaturation and so much more.
Source: mmafighting.com
MMA is a sport that looks and feels like a million different things. Other sports often allow one to watch them once or twice and basically grasp the gist of what’s happening. That’s not really true in mixed martial arts. It takes a while to understand it, to see all of the very different looks and realities of competition. More than any other event, UFC on FOX 6 underscored the open and spatial nature of MMA striking, the power of MMA wrestling, how size impacts performance, why title fights are critically important and so on.
UFC on FOX 6 also highlighted what is bad about MMA. Judging is inconsistent. Sometimes blood is a big part of a bout. Guys can get really, really hurt taking part.
Source: mmafighting.com
Today’s MMA Fighting live chat. Topics discussed: Anderson Silva’s opponents, Adalaide Byrd as a judge in Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo, my MMA media colleagues, the competitiveness of Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi, the future of Chris Weidman, why officiating in MMA is bad and so much more.
One note: I had to end it about 30 minutes early because I felt ill. Apologies all.
Source: mmafighting.com
