pretty sweet card! anyone have any sleepers they like for an upset need advice for a late round pick in my fantasy ufc league.

how on earth did ed herman get jake shields. how the mighty have fallen

love cerrone, love edgar, mad respect for bendo though he has crazy eyes and is possessed by jesus. should be fun

Maybe I am just at the saturation point for MMA, but the only fight that really peaks my interest is the headliner. I mean, are either of the fighters in the co-main moving that close to a title fight with a win? Shields v. Herman? Really?!? Could be a good fight, but could just as easily be a snoozefest, especially with Jake stating that the has not acclimated to the altitude. I will probably still watch it, but there is little on this card that makes me rub my hands in anticipation of tomorrow night.

Hell, yeah. Depending on the money-line, I might actually make a wager. for the record, I think Henderson has as good a chance as Machida of taking the belt off of Jones. I am hoping the old guy starches the kid's collar.

As I said, I love the Headliner, but there are too many "ifs" on the rest of the main card. For me Guillard is hit or miss . . . with the right opponent it is fireworks, and that may happen with Cerrone on the other side of the cage. Or, it could be another one like the Lauzon fight, where he loses his discipline early and looks terrible. Shields has been iffy since joining the UFC, and while his fight with herman could be a technical gem, it could also turn into to two guys pressing agaianst the cage for 12 minutes, as well.

 

Originally Posted by Geoff Moore

I will be rooting for Hendo as well but Bones is way too dynamic imo.

I would be shocked if Guillard doesn't come out looking to impress.

The cage pressing in the Shields/Herman fight is a possibility for sure.

I find that when Guillard comes out "looking to impress" is when he gets in trouble (a la the Lauzon fight). He does much better when he just goes out there and works. The results speak for themselves, as I think the only thing hoilding Melvin back is between his ears.

The reasons I give Hendo a shot against Jones are as follows:

Granite chin . . . virtually chisel-like in it's integrity. In his fight against Silva, he took some pretty decent shots and pretty much smiled at him (well, not literally, but you take my meaning). Jones is not nearly as precise as Silva in the striking department, so I think it might be easier for Henderson to get inside. The question will be how much damage he can do when he gets there.

The right hand . . . loathe though I am to credit any asset that is so one dimensional, you have to be cognizant of that punch. You ignore it at your Bisping. If he can utilize the power of that right hand in the clinch, or when Jones tries to gain separation, it will be a bruising experience for Jonny's bones, and potentially his chin.

Grappling . . . though not quite able to negate Silva with his grappling ability, I think he has a decent chance of doing so against Jones. Admittedly, I think it will be more of a defensive weapon, rather than an offensive one, but it will allowe him to dictate where the fight happens.

Durability . . . Look at the Shogun fight. Do you think ANYONE has tested Bones like that? For all of Jones' "dynamic" qualities, how will he fare in a war of attrition? I think Henderson might have a mental edge if it goes that route.

All things considered, I think it is likely 6:5 in favour of Jones . . . thoughts?

cerrone is always close to a title shot. the guy is a champ that had one shitty fight vs diaz. guilard is kind of a fail though

does anyone know why shields dropped to welterweight in the first place? guy was middleweight champion in strikeforce, just beat henderson, then wants to drop down to 170 and almost instantly got a shot at st pierre. are people that afraid of anderson silva and think pierre is a solvable puzzle?

 

Originally Posted by Milo

I find that when Guillard comes out "looking to impress" is when he gets in trouble (a la the Lauzon fight). He does much better when he just goes out there and works. The results speak for themselves, as I think the only thing hoilding Melvin back is between his ears.

The reasons I give Hendo a shot against Jones are as follows:

Granite chin . . . virtually chisel-like in it's integrity. In his fight against Silva, he took some pretty decent shots and pretty much smiled at him (well, not literally, but you take my meaning). Jones is not nearly as precise as Silva in the striking department, so I think it might be easier for Henderson to get inside. The question will be how much damage he can do when he gets there.

The right hand . . . loathe though I am to credit any asset that is so one dimensional, you have to be cognizant of that punch. You ignore it at your Bisping. If he can utilize the power of that right hand in the clinch, or when Jones tries to gain separation, it will be a bruising experience for Jonny's bones, and potentially his chin.

Grappling . . . though not quite able to negate Silva with his grappling ability, I think he has a decent chance of doing so against Jones. Admittedly, I think it will be more of a defensive weapon, rather than an offensive one, but it will allowe him to dictate where the fight happens.

Durability . . . Look at the Shogun fight. Do you think ANYONE has tested Bones like that? For all of Jones' "dynamic" qualities, how will he fare in a war of attrition? I think Henderson might have a mental edge if it goes that route.

All things considered, I think it is likely 6:5 in favour of Jones . . . thoughts?

I agree with pretty much all of this.

Things we know: Bones will not KO Henderson, Henderson will not sit back and let JBJ pick him apart for 5 rounds a la Evans.
Things we don't know: Can JBJ take a good shot from Hendo on the chin, Can Hendo land a good shot on JBJ?

I think JBJ wins unan. dec.

 

Originally Posted by lance814

You are out of your mind if you think this fight will be anything like the Shogun-Hendo fight. 1 of 2 things will happen: Jones brutalizes him and dominates the fight (95% chance) or Hendo catches Jones and knocks him out (5% chance). There's a reason why Jones is -700.

I think it's obvious that JBJ should be a favorite in this fight but no one on earth should be -700 against Dan Henderson

Also, Melvin weighed in 2.5 lbs heavy . . . ruh roh

I'm leaning a little towards Hendo on this one. Hendo has that true grit that Bones has never faced and will give him problems for sure.

Very hard to see Shields losing but Herman can't be completely counted out.

Cerrone/Guillard....................Cerrone by Sub?

I have seen Justin fight since he was a lil guy. He has true talent and this is a very big test for him. Holloway might be faster Justin has KO power. That being said i hope to see a good fight with Lawrence coming on top out on top. Two fight of the night and ko of the night would be fucking huge. Lawrence FTW!!!!!

 

Originally Posted by voorh33s

was with you up until this, have you seen frankie edgar fight? dude invented point fighting and easily my least fav fighter in the history of mma

Urm . . . level?

First fight against Bendo, and all the Edgar fights, were ANYTHING BUT point fighting . . . so yeah, level? Not too many point fighters stand and trade in the pocket the way Edgar seems willing to do, either.

Not my favourite fighter, but not exactly a track star, either.

"Point-fighter" seems to be the new "lay 'n' pray".

Machida is definitely a "counter" fighter, and that leaves him open to criticism as a "point fighter", or "track star". Not saying I agree with the comment, or even that it is accurate (it isn't, imo), just that it is almost inevitable that it will appear when Machida is under discussion.

As I said, people who are looking to criticize a fighter whose style they dislike seem to be gravitating to "meh . . . point fighter" these days, whereas a year or two ago the whine was about "lay and pray" wrestlers. Some people just refuse to see the beauty in different styles of fighting, I guess.

Agreed . . . me, I like to watch a brawl as much as anybody, but I love the clash of styles that comes when two top level fighters get into the cage.