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

[Thrilla]

Pssh, South Korea, who are they even at war with? >_>

[Lineker]

Chris Weidman is awesome.

[Benjamin]

War Machine tried to commit suicide in jail. He's now on suicide watch.

[badotori]

The comments section on Sherdog about War Machine's attempted suicide is a scary place. I know that can said for many of the comments sections on there but dayum.

[9 to 5]

I blame Biggz. >_>

[Forky]

And MPH because he's always to blame

And the most boring feud of the last few years goes to Dan Hardy and Matt Hughes on their views about hunting.

Also why do people keep calling out Lesnar? Lesnar will never be 100% thanks to his diverticulitis but yet people like Mir and Overeem keep trying to call him out. Just because you call his name doesn't get you in the spotlight.

[Benjamin]

It gets their names in the media even when they're not relevant and it gets the media hits.

Also MMA fighters are kinda' dumb.

[Noah]

Major blow: Victoria Police Chief supports cage-ban, misunderstands legislation

Ken Lay, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police speaks to the media

Victoria's MMA cage-ban debate has elevated ahead of the November election, with the state police chief condemning the sport this morning.

MMA Kanvas exclusively reported last week that the "cage ban" would be lifted if an election was held today, now the state police chief, Commissioner Ken Lay has thrown his support behind the government's plans to uphold the ban.

“It concerns me when we start considering cage fighting in the world’s most livable city, especially when we’re seeing such great progress in reducing violence in our community. It would be disappointing if we went down the path of glamorising this extreme violence,’’ he told the Herald Sun.

If Commissioner Lay's comments are taken on face value, it appears that he does not fully understand the current legislation around MMA in Victoria. To be clear, the sport of MMA is perfectly legal in Victoria, but only in a boxing ring.

Labor plans to lift the ban should they be elected in November, moving the state's legislation to be more in-line with Australasia’s Ringside Medicine Association, who recently told MMA Kanvas that MMA is far more dangerous in a boxing ring, than it is in a cage or fenced-in environment.

As is often the case with political policy, a small detail in legislation can have significant ramifications, and in this case, an entire sport is being impacted Down Under.

Mr Lay went on to say that he does not support the sport of mixed martial arts, but failed to acknowledge that Victoria already "supports" MMA, but forces the sport to hold events in a ring rather than a fit-for-purpose arena - yet more evidence to support the argument that the chief has misunderstood the issue that has divided the state's two major parties.

"I’m deeply concerned about the message it sends when we accept this as a form of entertainment, and the culture that surrounds these types of activities,’’ he said. Mr Lay plans on meeting with both sides of governement in the near future; “I would welcome an opportunity to talk to any political leader about my concerns.’’

Labor's spokesman John Eren highlighted the safety concerns with the current ban. "If the minister believes that mixed martial arts contributes to violence on the streets, then logically his next step would be to ban the sport entirely, not what makes the sport safer," Mr Eren said.

There’s no argument against the fact that MMA is one of the more physically demanding professional sports, but it’s clear that the current ban, which forces MMA fights to take place in a ring rather than a cage is making the sport more dangerous.A tackle in rugby league or AFL can be taxing to the human body, but it would be far more hazardous if the either code was forced to hold a match on a tennis court. Rugby league matches take place on a fit-for-purpose rectangular field, so too AFL (of the oval variety) – so why does the state of Victoria insist on MMA fighters competing in a roped-ring?

One might theorise that the current legislation and the government’s plans to uphold it are more about public perception and winning votes than athlete safety or medical advisory.

The state election is fast approaching, to get the full story on the MMA cage-battle that's likely to be decided on November 29, read our full report here.

[EddieG]

Velasquez out of UFC 180, Werdum will be fighting for the interim title instead, against MARK HUNT

[HC]

Velasquez is turning into Cruz. That sucks....but if Mark Hunt actually wins the belt holy shit.

[HC]

Cain should be stripped of the belt, though, I know he's a draw and he's injured but by the time he finally fights again that's what, almost 2 years? It holds the division hostage. Just like Cruz should have probably been stripped earlier. 1 year should be the max time between defenses,

[Benjamin]

There never seems to be a point with stripping people of belts in my opinion. Have an interim belt, if it gets defended then awesome, if not when the champ comes back have them unify it. It makes the match feel bigger, there'll be a legitimate claim, more people are sure to be interested in a unification match, there would already be a story for the fight, everybody wins.

Still, if Mark Hunt is a UFC champion in 2014... HOLY SHIT.

EDIT:

Also,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6HIZX3rfpI

It's amazing how some guys just get so dumbfounded against Conor, when they know they should just shut their mouth because they can't keep up with him.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Benkid

[Forky]

Man, even though I think Cain will destroy Hunt when he gets healthy, I will freak if Hunt becomes the champion. He has done some damage in his quest to get here and it'll be pretty cool seeing him win if he does.

[Rich]

Cain should be stripped of the belt, though, I know he's a draw and he's injured but by the time he finally fights again that's what, almost 2 years? It holds the division hostage. Just like Cruz should have probably been stripped earlier. 1 year should be the max time between defenses,

The injury to Cain isn't exactly holding up much in the division, he fought a year ago so plenty if time before we are getting in to "cruz" territory, I like interim titles, mainly because I like the unification element...

[Benjamin]

The heavyweight division is pretty scarce, anyway. After Werdum / Hunt, there's just Miocic and maybe Arlovski. Everyone else has lost to each other, and JDS can't beat Cain. Having an interim belt might do some good for the division.

Javier Mendez and Dana have said that Cain is coming back in March, anyway, so this interim belt is more so that the Mexican fans don't feel like they're being shafted.

[HC]

Eh, I just think I champion should have to defend the belt. If he can't do it regularly, then strip him. Cain is looking at probably a spring/summer 2015 return now, so that'll be about a year and a half time missed. I realize interim belts can be appealing for the eventual two belts aspect,(UFC 100 was pretty awesome) but it kind of devalues the matches in between that time. Hunt/Werdum is essentially another number one contender's match, so to speak. I think Cain returning to win back what he never truly lost is a much more appealing angle as well. He obviously deserves first crack at it upon returning.

[Forky]

Eh, I just think I champion should have to defend the belt. If he can't do it regularly, then strip him. Cain is looking at probably a spring/summer 2015 return now, so that'll be about a year and a half time missed. I realize interim belts can be appealing for the eventual two belts aspect,(UFC 100 was pretty awesome) but it kind of devalues the matches in between that time. Hunt/Werdum is essentially another number one contender's match, so to speak. I think Cain returning to win back what he never truly lost is a much more appealing angle as well.

I think it's more that if you strip him of it then essentially you have a champion who never defeated the real champion. At least with the interim belt, you know that eventually he'll get to fight the actual champion. This isn't wrestling and as much as there are some storylines through fights, it doesn't work as well in UFC.

[Benjamin]

I'm still not sure if this is not the worst year for the UFC in terms of injury. The only titles that haven't been affected is the women's bantamweight one, and even that you can point at Cat being out because of her injury and her husband's suicide.

[Gazz]

Injuries are going to continue to mount up until there is a shift in training philosophy.

Fighters need to train smarter, not harder. Training three hours twice a day for six days a week isn't training smart.

[JasonM]

The only way those mentalities change is if there's an incentive not to train like a madman.

Right now a fighter gets injured and they go ''Ok, we'll replace you and you can fight when you're better.'' And nothing happens, the big names have enough cash to survive those 3 months out of action and those 3 months getting back into fighting shape.

From what I know about pro fighting. When the contract is signed, the fighters get a stipend up front, and that means whatever happens they got money to survive an injury. And whilst that's a good thing, that's also a bad thing, because that means fighters can go ''I will train like a madman, because if I get injured I can live off the up-front money.''

For what it's worth, fighters need to be punished both in their wallet, and professionally for getting injured in training too often. Less title shots, less money for those that essentially train too hard. And do the reverse for fighters that in turn train smart and actually make it to their fights in one piece.