UFC 74 thread

[bigalt]

yeah that headbutt changed the complexion of the fight big time. i'm not saying it would have gone differently, but something tells me gonzo wouldn't have been sitting there pressed up against the cage gasping for air for 6 minutes if he had been able to breathe.

would love to see a rematch.

[warrantofice]

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Kendall Grove -230
Patrick Cote +180

I think these are the best odds on that card so far. Patrick did farelly well in the Ultimate Fighter and I think he's forsure bigger and stronger than Kendall Grove. Also, he trains with GSP who just came off a humiliating loss so you can only imagine how dedicated he will be to dominating his next fight. And Patrick is his size, and could very well have been his sparring partner in training.

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I thought you meant the other way...as in bet the farm on grove. Cote has never shown any amazing talents in any professional MMA fight IMO. Tons of hype from Cote keeps being brought up because GSP has SWORN in several interviews that Cote is an absolute beast in the gym, but a dud when it comes to showtime. People keep expecting Cote to show up better the next time, but we've never seen that ever. Remember how midboggling close Cote's line was against Lutter? Remember how lackluster his only UFC win was?

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I am in no way saying that Cote will be the next super star of the UFC, but i will say he has a great chance against Grove. You bring up the Lutter fight, but that was a bad match up for Cote. Lutter would dominate Cote on the ground and was stronger and bigger than him so that took away a lot of his stand up. Now I can't make excuses for all of Cote's performances but will say that his match up against Grove will be in his favour. Grove enjoys striking and Cote does have a strong chin, he is also strong enough to take Grove down, which he will because i think Grove's tdd isn't as strong as it could be. It won't be a pretty win but i believe that Cote will win this fight around 55% of the time. I'd like to hear how Grove will end this fight.

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OH AND WHO'S EVERYBODYS DADDY --- I AM
i actually missed this fight but the money will confort me
just a regular brag post

[bigalt]

yep, a wild looping punch to the back of the head just as you predicted

[warrantofice]

hahaha. alright maybe not exactly how i predicted. but he won and thats all that matters.
the rest were amazing fights. Crane got handled like a little boy, Couture is the man and should get the Daddy nicknamem, GSP well he beat Kos on the ground, I will say though that he looked a little affraid to stand and strike with Josh. I think he should have done more striking, simply for the fact that he needs to get that striking loss off his mind.

[Namdrahsirhc]

I dont think ive ever lost money on a fight before and been happy. NH randy.

[MikeyPatriot]

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I dont think ive ever lost money on a fight before and been happy. NH randy.

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QFT

"I think he should have done more striking, simply for the fact that he needs to get that striking loss off his mind."

Why would he do that when he gameplanned to get Kos on his back and out of his comfort zone? Are you serious?

[DannyOcean_]

I could not beleive how completely GSP owned the wrestling in that match. Koscheck looked like a tackling dummy getting taken down. And GSP avoided that last takedown attempt in the third round, just awesome.

Randy is the man. GG should have been more poised when getting slammed, those face to face collisions can be pretty easily avoided if you keep your wits about you. Still very impressed with Gabe though. He'll be around for a while.

[MikeyPatriot]

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I could not beleive how completely GSP owned the wrestling in that match. Koscheck looked like a tackling dummy getting taken down. And GSP avoided that last takedown attempt in the third round, just awesome.

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I wasn't really that shocked. There's more to wrestling in an MMA match than your ability to shoot in for a takedown. Georges did a great job setting up his takedowns with strikes, which is a good indicator of a advanced mixed martial artists.

I forgot to mention how impressed I was with Roger Huerta. I really enjoyed his fight with Leonard Garcia, but I kind of soured on him when he got the huge UFC marketing push that is obviously based on things outside of the cage (his ethnicity, good looks, etc.). He showed me a lot last night though. His submission defense against a black belt BJJ player was sick, he looked like he could go 5 rounds without much effort, and his creative use of the television screens impressed me a lot. Hopefully the UFC and his management step up and put him in a fight with one of the more solid fighters at 155.

[rush66]

I guess ill add my two cents too. I love KOS, though most people hate him for some reason. I knew him before he was a dick on TV. Anyways, he got owned by an elite badass in GSP. You could see on his face after the fight, he knew he wasnt on GSP's level. However, I think he will get better from this, though its hard to imagine hell ever be as good as GSP looked last night.

Huerta looked sick last night. I dont know if it was his opponent not being that good or if he is really that legit. I think a combination of both, considering I heard that crane was an amazing bjj guy for his world title and so was Gonz for his. I think maybe they talk them up too much?? I dont know enough about BJJ in Brazil I guess.

Randy is just sick in the octagon. He has the perfect sytle for it. In pride he would not be as good b/c he couldnt hold people against the ropes like that. However, he uses his strengths to his advantage like nobody Ive ever seen. Wonder if he could hold fedor against the cage like that?

Very very much looking forward to rampage and hendo.

[slickpoppa]

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I think a combination of both, considering I heard that crane was an amazing bjj guy for his world title and so was Gonz for his. I think maybe they talk them up too much?? I dont know enough about BJJ in Brazil I guess.

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Crane's and Gonzaga's BJJ credentials are legitimate, but part of the reason they look overhyped is that a lot of people conflate winning Mundials or ADCC with having really good submissions. Many of the the BJJ champs who get talked up won their titles by controlling their opponents and winning on points. Gonzaga and Monson both won most of their matches on points and aren't really sub wizards. And so when a fighter with excellent TDs and top control like Couture matches up against guys like that, if he can get top position, he can just punch them in their guards without ever being in any real danger of being subbed. A fighter like Nogueira, on the other hand, is not as good of a pure grappler as the ADCC champs, but he has adapted his grappling to MMA and is much more dangerous from his back with subs in an MMA fight. I think Gonzaga's biggest mistake is that he overvalued his own standup and never really gave himself a chance to use his grappling. If he had tried to take Randy down and gotten top position he would have had a good chance of controlling him and maybe passing his guard and pounding him out from side control.

Another aspect is that it can be more difficult to get a sub or hold positions in an MMA fight when you have to deal with the other guy punching or elbowing you in the face. If you look at the Huerta-Crane fight from a pure grappling standpoint, Crane did very well. He had Huerta in dominant positions several times and was somewhat close to getting subs but he obviously could not deal with Huerta's striking or superior cardio.