***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[DavidMarrio]

Mir wants to cut to 205lb supposedly. I say give Cro Cop Rothwell because thats the fight they were looking to put on originally. Shame Pat's bromance for Cro Cop probably cost him as in the 1st when he dropped him he could have easily charged in and possibly finished from there but Pat will learn from this.

[Indie913]

Cro Cop's a tough one because you don't want to put him against somebody who isn't already thought of as a decent fighter, Rothwell or Mir maybe, the problem with Nogueira is that they've fought before.

I wouldn't call it a problem. They fought ages ago and that's a rematch Cro Cop wants. He said in several interviews at different points in his UFC tenure that he really wants that rematch. I do think, though, that a fight with Rothwell is the best choice here.

[Rich]

I would like to see Cro Cop and Big Nog coach against each other on TUF, it'd be like a Pride fans wet dream

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

I'm sure the American audience would love all those subtitles and broken English.

[Rich]

Mirko's fine and Nog is the best out of pretty much all the Brazilians who are part of the Zuffa organisation

And Nog's done it before

[Gene Kiniski]

Mir put on that weight to want to cut it all back off? Logical.

[Rich]

There's that.... And there's the fact he realises that whoever wins at 116 he is going to be a ways off a title shot as he has been summarily dicked by Lesnar and Carwin. He drops to 205, as a former heavyweight champion he comes extremely relevant very quickly... he will also go from an average sized heavyweight to a HUGE 205er. But I only believe half of what comes out of Frank's mouth, so until I see him signed for a bout at 205 I will take it with a pinch of salt.

[Toe]

I thought it was a great night of fights. The Rothwell/Yvel fight was a bit slow, but the rest of the card was fun. Pat Berry said in an interview before that he is always hesitant to go for the kill when he hurts the opponent. He did look very good in the first, but he gassed a bit (especially after Cro Cop took him down) and Mirko took advantage. For the first time in his UFC career, we saw Cro Cop moving forward. His head kicks in the second and third looks very crisp.

[Gene Kiniski]

I haven't watched the card yet, but from what I have been reading it seems as if this was the type of fight Mirko needed to get over his slump. Am I right?

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

I believe that Mir wants to go to 205. I don't believe that he's able to.

[Rich]

I haven't watched the card yet, but from what I have been reading it seems as if this was the type of fight Mirko needed to get over his slump. Am I right?

Yeah, the guy has been suffering both mentally and physically since the Gonzaga loss, and we have truely seena better Mirko in both respects in this fight, not saying he is going to be the Mirko of the old Pride days still, but the guy still has some good fights left in the tank you have to feel.

Everyone complaining about Barry not going for the kill should think, would they be able to keep on fighting with a broken foot and hand, let alone go for the kill? Barry did exceptionally, but the broken hand in the 1st and foot in the 2nd, made him less dangerous and slowed him down respectively, allowing Mirko to come back from adversity (which we haven't seen him do, only tap out or give up). I felt Mirko showed a lot more mental strength to come back from two knockdowns and whatever happened to the left side of his face, all in the first, and win, than we have seen in him since the PRIDE GP in 2006.

[Cactus Drags]

I don't like people complaining about the timing of the Macdonald stoppage. That was uncomfortable to watch with the damage to his eye, I'd have been happy to see it stopped a good minute before it was, he wasn't doing anything much to defend, wasn't getting out of his position.

[Indie913]

Some Croatian site interviewed Mirko following 115 and though the translations are poor, it appears that he said this might be his last fight, and that it was one of his favorites of his whole career.

It'd be a good note to go out on, if that's true. Either way, if they can lure him back, he shouldn't fight Rothwell if he's only gonna fight once or twice more. Give him Nogueira as a final fight.

[Rich]

Totally agree Dragsy, its not the referees MO to keep a fight going to the end if its nearing the end of a round. The Referees job is to keep the fighter safe and to stop the fight if he thinks they are not. The ref decided MacDonald had had enough, and like Dragsy said I had no problems with that or if he had done it earlier in the round.

You can not be a top level MMA fighter and take the kind of punishment that Rob MacDonald did off your back, you have to be able to defend. He is really young though so he has plenty of time to learn that aspect of the game and if he can fight effectively off his back I see no reason why he wouldn't be a top level fighter, even in the notriously tough 170 division.

[Powerhart]

Until a few hours ago this was the only UFC card I had missed since UFC 100 (the introduction of UFC PPVs to Mexican Television) but I've just finished watching it, and here's my opinions.

The first fight was great, lots of exchanges, lots of strikes and great takedowns and grappling, really liked it. I had McDonald winning the first two rounds but Condit demolished the kid in the third round. The decision in Condit/McDonald was definitely controversial but did you see the face of that young kid? Sure there was only 9 seconds left on the fight but he was getting destroyed out there. What if something bad happend to the kid? You don't want taht kind of press/promotion, specially not if it's the first fight card in Vancouver in which you're trying to show that this is not as ruthless as people think. So I applaud the decision of the ref.

Sad for Yvel as I thought the fight should've been stopped at the end of Round 2 with that flurry of haymakers, that third round is one (if not) the most boring third round I've ever seen, Yves screwed Yvel.

Barry/Crocop was great, I loved every single bit of it. Great kicks by Crocop, old school-style. Really happy to see Crocop win.

As for Lidell, well, he's chin just can't take anything more, as it is beign said that punche wasn't as hard as many he's taken but it's the fact that he is old and not the same, his latest fights have proved it, I know he's guaranteed money but at one point you must look at a 40-year old guy's safety after three consecutive KOs. Happy that Franklin got the win, specially after breaking his arm early in the fight.

Question, when was the last time Rachelle Leah was a ring girl? The last show she was in.

[Indie913]

Sad for Yvel as I thought the fight should've been stopped at the end of Round 2 with that flurry of haymakers, that third round is one (if not) the most boring third round I've ever seen, Yves screwed Yvel.

Rothwell was still very lucid and in no danger of being KO'd. They were hard shots and it looked brutal, but Yves absolutely made the right call. Rothwell is a tough dude. Terrible fight though, neither looked good.

[Powerhart]

Sad for Yvel as I thought the fight should've been stopped at the end of Round 2 with that flurry of haymakers, that third round is one (if not) the most boring third round I've ever seen, Yves screwed Yvel.

Rothwell was still very lucid and in no danger of being KO'd. They were hard shots and it looked brutal, but Yves absolutely made the right call. Rothwell is a tough dude. Terrible fight though, neither looked good.

That's the reason why I wanted to be stopped there, for the sake of the viewers, I mean, it was clear that if it didn't end there it would go to decision as both guys were completely gassed out.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Powerhart

[Rich]

Thats not the referees job though Powerhart, the ref is to keep the fight going until one of the fighters in danger and can not intellegently defend themselves, Big Ben was doing that. Yves decision to keep the fight gonig no doubt had some root in what happened in the Wiman/Danzig bout earlier in the evening, but you can't have fights just end because the fans aren't in to it, if you want that go back to pro-wrestling. Yves didn't screw Yvel, Yvel's lack of well roundedness screwed Yvel.

Again, bottom line its a sport, not sports entertainment and being a fan you have to take the rough with the smooth, and that 3rd round was rough, but nowhere near the worst round of fighting I have ever seen.

[Powerhart]

Thats not the referees job though Powerhart, the ref is to keep the fight going until one of the fighters in danger and can not intellegently defend themselves, Big Ben was doing that. Yves decision to keep the fight gonig no doubt had some root in what happened in the Wiman/Danzig bout earlier in the evening, but you can't have fights just end because the fans aren't in to it, if you want that go back to pro-wrestling. Yves didn't screw Yvel, Yvel's lack of well roundedness screwed Yvel.

Again, bottom line its a sport, not sports entertainment and being a fan you have to take the rough with the smooth, and that 3rd round was rough, but nowhere near the worst round of fighting I have ever seen.

I haven't seen much, not more than 15 UFC Events, so it was pretty bad for me. I know what the ref's job is, I was joking. What happend in the the Wiman/Danzig bout?

[Rich]

Wiman had Danzig in a guillotine, it was tight but there was room for breathing and circulation to the head, Danzig was bracing his hand against Wiman's knee to stop Wiman's attempts to transition from half guard to full guard, Wiman says to Yves "I think he is out" Yves asks for a sign, grabs the hand that is keeping Wiman form advancing, Danzig doesn't react (so as not to be put in an even worse position, so Yves calls it even though Danzig was neither out or tapped :/