UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche - Feb. 23rd.

[canucksfreak19]

History will be made on Saturday as women enter the UFC cage for the very first time.

Main Bouts (on Pay-Per-View):
Ronda Rousey (6-0; #1 Women’s P4P) vs. Liz Carmouche (7-2; #8 Women's P4P)
Lyoto Machida (18-3; #3 Light Heavyweight) vs. Dan Henderson (29-8; #2 Light Heavyweight)
Urijah Faber (26-6; #2 Bantamweight) vs. Ivan Menjivar (25-9)
Court McGee (13-3) vs. Josh Neer (33-12-1)
Josh Koscheck (17-6; #9 Welterweight) vs. Robbie Lawler (19-9)

Preliminary Bouts (on FX and Sportsnet):
Bredan Schaub (9-3) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-6)
Michael Chiesa (8-0) vs. Anton Kuivanen (17-5)
Dennis Bermudez (9-3) vs. Matt Grice (15-4)
Sam Stout (19-8-1) vs. Caros Fodor (7-2)

Preliminary Bouts (on Facebook):
Kenny Robertson (11-2) vs. Brock Jardine (9-2)
Jon Manley (7-2) vs. Neil Magny (7-2)
Nan-Shon Burrell (8-2) vs. Yuri Villefort (6-1)

 

[Bozzy]

The bouts I'm primarily looking forward to:

1) Lyoto Machida (18-3; #3 Light Heavyweight) vs. Dan Henderson (29-8; #2 Light Heavyweight)- I am quite intrigued by this fight, and although he is getting older, Dan Henderson always finds a way to put on entertaining bouts as well as challenge (and often beat) top-contenders. I've long thought that he would give Bones Jones his greatest challenge, and if not beat him (which I don't think we would do), would inflict some damage and go the distance. I'd like to finally see him get a title shot (after being promised and looked over). Although Machida lost to Jones in rather spectacular fashion their last fight, if he were to dispatch of Henderson with a nice finish, and get ample time to prepare for Jones, I think that could also be an entertaining fight. So, in reality, I think this fight will be "two" good fights, this one, and whoever gets Jones next for that title fight.

2) Michael Chiesa (8-0) vs. Anton Kuivanen (17-5)- I really like Chiesa. I liked how he fought so much adversity to win TUF, I like his raw talent, hell, I even like his beard, lol. This will be his first true test in the UFC, as Kuivanen is quite experienced, and not the easiest to put away. I'm just intrigued to see Chiesa outside of the "Ultimate Fighter" stage, and hope for good things for him.

3) Ronda Rousey (6-0; #1 Women’s P4P) vs. Liz Carmouche (7-2; #8 Women's P4P)- I must say that I don't watch too much MMA outside of the UFC. I read up on some Strikeforce, Bellator, WEC (when it was around) etc. pretty regularly, but I don't watch much. I've seen some highlights of Rousey fights, and female fights in general, but now that it's in the UFC, it's time to get more attention. I guess the biggest thing I am intrigued for in regards to this fight, is the "true MMA" talent these women possess. It will be nice to see alot of BJJ, Muay-Tai, etc. from most women on the circuit, as very few female fights seem to go the direction of KO's/TKO's. It seems to be less about "power" (boxing) and more about "technique" (well-rounded MMA) in my opinion (but, like I said, I haven't seen a "ton" of female fights).

Any other fights anyone is looking forward to?

 

[canucksfreak19]

I think the early favorite for Fight of the Night has to be Faber/Menjivar. I am really looking forward to this one. The only not super exciting fight Menjivar has had was with Mike Easton, and Eason's style had a lot to do with it. I think Faber and Menjivar add up to an all-action fight.


I wonder what the over/under on the length of the Rousey/Carmouche fight is? 2:00?

 

[Nick2317]

I for one really honestly hope Rousey loses .....Im sick of the hype

 

[Bozzy]

I think the early favorite for Fight of the Night has to be Faber/Menjivar. I am really looking forward to this one. The only not super exciting fight Menjivar has had was with Mike Easton, and Eason's style had a lot to do with it. I think Faber and Menjivar add up to an all-action fight.


I wonder what the over/under on the length of the Rousey/Carmouche fight is? 2:00?

Yeah, that fight is going to be good, it would have been my "#4" fight. My only concern is, are either fighter ever going to take the next step? Can they actually present a real challenge/threat to a title-holder? It seems whenever Faber or Menjivar (although awhile ago) face the cream of the crop, they never pull through. I know Faber has had his shots, but loses to Aldo, Cruz and Barao just doesn't bode well for future bouts against those same fighters. So, this fight, I agree, should be really entertaining, probably because their styles mesh well together. But, what's next for either guy?

lol, I have a feeling its going to be a really rare occurrence for any Women's fight to get out of Round 1. I'd say under 2 minutes BTW , haha

 

[chadsexington]

As a staunch supporter of women's MMA...the "History of WMMA" video the UFC posted is um...not quite a history. There aren't any decent clips outside of what's in the UFC's tape library

Ivan Menjivar needs to be nicknamed "The Prince of Twitter" or something like that. His tweets are the most unintentionally funny by far.

 

[canucksfreak19]

I for one really honestly hope Rousey loses .....Im sick of the hype

As annoying as it may be, is it hype if it's true? The Jon Jones hype train was out of control until everyone came to the realization that he was just that damn good, probably the same with Rousey.

Yeah, that fight is going to be good, it would have been my "#4" fight. My only concern is, are either fighter ever going to take the next step? Can they actually present a real challenge/threat to a title-holder? It seems whenever Faber or Menjivar (although awhile ago) face the cream of the crop, they never pull through. I know Faber has had his shots, but loses to Aldo, Cruz and Barao just doesn't bode well for future bouts against those same fighters. So, this fight, I agree, should be really entertaining, probably because their styles mesh well together. But, what's next for either guy?

lol, I have a feeling its going to be a really rare occurrence for any Women's fight to get out of Round 1. I'd say under 2 minutes BTW , haha

I suspect Faber will win, and I would give him a shot against anyone not named Barao. Since it was so long ago it's easy to forget but that second Cruz/Faber fight was really, really close. I think Faber would have a better shot winning the 135lbs. title than either Machida or Henderson have of beating Jon Jones. If he wins give him one more fight and then he can face the winner of Barao/Cruz. I certainly would not mind seeing Faber and Cruz fight for a third time.

 

[canucksfreak19]

As a staunch supporter of women's MMA...the "History of WMMA" video the UFC posted is um...not quite a history. There aren't any decent clips outside of what's in the UFC's tape library

Ivan Menjivar needs to be nicknamed "The Prince of Twitter" or something like that. His tweets are the most unintentionally funny by far.

It would make sense that there weren't clips that weren't apart of the UFC library. It's not often, almost never, that they use footage that they have to pay for, don't actually own.

 

[chadsexington]

It would make sense that there weren't clips that weren't apart of the UFC library. It's not often, almost never, that they use footage that they have to pay for, don't actually own.

Sure, I totally understand that...I guess I'm just cut up about implying something is a "history" when it's missing the first 10 years of said "history"

I'd even have been fine if they called it the history of the UFC women's championship...since technically the whole thing has been a 6 year transition from Elite XC to Strikeforce to the UFC

 

[canucksfreak19]

Every fight is a go. One at a catchweight.

Bring on the fights!

UFC 157 Weight-In Results

Ronda Rousey (134.6) vs. Liz Carmouche (133.6)
Lyoto Machida (202) vs. Dan Henderson (205)
Urijah Faber (136) vs. Ivan Menjivar (135.6)
Court McGee (170) vs. Josh Neer (171)
Josh Koscheck (171) vs. Robbie Lawler (171)
Brendan Schaub (243) vs. Lavar Johnson (255)
Michael Chiesa (156) vs. Anton Kuivanen (156)
Dennis Bermudez (145) vs. Matt Grice (145)
Caros Fodor (155) vs. Sam Stout (155)
Kenny Robertson (170) vs. Brock Jardine (170)
Nah-Shon Burrell (*175.8) vs. Yuri Villefort (170)
Jon Manley (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)

 

[Bozzy]

Every fight is a go. One at a catchweight.

Bring on the fights!

UFC 157 Weight-In Results

Ronda Rousey (134.6) vs. Liz Carmouche (133.6)
Lyoto Machida (202) vs. Dan Henderson (205)
Urijah Faber (136) vs. Ivan Menjivar (135.6)
Court McGee (170) vs. Josh Neer (171)
Josh Koscheck (171) vs. Robbie Lawler (171)
Brendan Schaub (243) vs. Lavar Johnson (255)
Michael Chiesa (156) vs. Anton Kuivanen (156)
Dennis Bermudez (145) vs. Matt Grice (145)
Caros Fodor (155) vs. Sam Stout (155)
Kenny Robertson (170) vs. Brock Jardine (170)
Nah-Shon Burrell (*175.8) vs. Yuri Villefort (170)
Jon Manley (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)

Wow, lol, was Burrell a late replacement for a fight? I think your in the wrong weight-class if you weight-in 6 pounds over after trying to cut for a few days, lol.

 

[chadsexington]

Wow, lol, was Burrell a late replacement for a fight? I think your in the wrong weight-class if you weight-in 6 pounds over after trying to cut for a few days, lol.

Dave might know the full story better than I, but I believe this fight was booked on 10 days notice. In fact, I didn't even know it was on the card until I saw Dave's synopsis yesterday. I sort of looked at that fight and said "When the hell was this fight added?" and tried to find some news on it. I don't know if this is filling in for another fight, or whether it was just...thrown in. I think it's supposed to be an introductory showcase for Villefort even though he's coming off an iffy decision loss. Zuffa was really high on him when they signed him to Strikeforce, so this might just be a redemption opportunity.

Michael Chiesa came in .2 pounds over (156.2,) however, I heard he had notified CSAC beforehand, and they granted him a special exception, so he wasn't considered overweight or fined any part of his purse.

 

[Bozzy]

Dave might know the full story better than I, but I believe this fight was booked on 10 days notice. In fact, I didn't even know it was on the card until I saw Dave's synopsis yesterday. I sort of looked at that fight and said "When the hell was this fight added?" and tried to find some news on it. I don't know if this is filling in for another fight, or whether it was just...thrown in. I think it's supposed to be an introductory showcase for Villefort even though he's coming off an iffy decision loss. Zuffa was really high on him when they signed him to Strikeforce, so this might just be a redemption opportunity.

Michael Chiesa came in .2 pounds over (156.2,) however, I heard he had notified CSAC beforehand, and they granted him a special exception, so he wasn't considered overweight or fined any part of his purse.

I'm sure your on to something, he must have replaced someone on pretty short notice. As, there is no reason why any fighter with ample notice can come that far from making weight, unless they are definitely in the wrong weight class, lol.

 

[canucksfreak19]

The Burrell/Villefort fight was officially announced on February 12 (13 days ago). This fight was added to the card after the Mendes/Gamburyan fight fell through. However, it should be noted that both fighters had the same amount of time to prepare for the fight; Villefort came in on point still.

As for Yuri's hype. He's only 21 years old, his older brother Danillo has fought in the WEC and UFC (once), and he has some very good tools. The issue for him came after he and his brother left American Top Team because he did not fight for 23 months, and has now been inactive for 9 months since his last fight. The other thing he has going against him is that he has wound up at Imperial Athletics/Jaco Training Center (a.k.a. Blackzilians).

With the recent cutting of sixteen fighters (including Jon Fitch), and then Dana's announcement that they're looking to cut close to 100 more I think that the losers of all of the fights below, with the exception of Chiesa if he were to lose, are looking at a pink slip following the fight.

Court McGee vs. Josh Neer
Brendan Schaub vs. Lavar Johnson
Michael Chiesa vs. Anton Kuivanen
Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice
Caros Fodor vs. Sam Stout
Kenny Robertson vs. Brock Jardine
Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Yuri Villefort
Jon Manley vs. Neil Magny

 

[Bozzy]

You know what would be the absolute best way to keep the UFC roster at a more manageable amount of fighters? Stop giving every participant of a TUF Season (or at close to every memeber) a fight contract! Seems like just about every fighter in the last 4-6 seasons of TUF has gotten a contract. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some fighters that don't make the finals, that are talented enough to be in the UFC, but maybe its time to just start taking the cream of the crop from TUF seasons. Maybe like 5 contracts instead of 12 or something? Just in 5 seasons of TUF (or roughly 2-and-half-years) you would shave 35 fighters from the roster that would have previously been given a 2 or 3 fight contract or something. That's just my opinion, but I'd much rather have Jon Fitch in the UFC than someone like Christiano Marcello or Bryan Caraway (just examples off the top of my head).

 

[canucksfreak19]

You know what would be the absolute best way to keep the UFC roster at a more manageable amount of fighters? Stop giving every participant of a TUF Season (or at close to every memeber) a fight contract! Seems like just about every fighter in the last 4-6 seasons of TUF has gotten a contract. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some fighters that don't make the finals, that are talented enough to be in the UFC, but maybe its time to just start taking the cream of the crop from TUF seasons. Maybe like 5 contracts instead of 12 or something? Just in 5 seasons of TUF (or roughly 2-and-half-years) you would shave 35 fighters from the roster that would have previously been given a 2 or 3 fight contract or something. That's just my opinion, but I'd much rather have Jon Fitch in the UFC than someone like Christiano Marcello or Bryan Caraway (just examples off the top of my head).

I agree with you about the TUF fighters, and I think the UFC has finally smartened up because the only fighters to get contracts off of the last season were the winner Colton Smith, finalist Mike Ricci, and the two guys fighting each other tonight Jon Manley and Neil Magney. Jon Fitch is obviously a unique situation and I think a lot of it has to do with how much he was making ($66K to show, $66K to win) verses his relative drawing power and level of excitement he brings to the cage (excluding his great fight with Erick Silva) which is not very high.

 

[canucksfreak19]

That main card was pretty awesome. Very fun night of fights.

 

[BravesFan4Life]

I was hoping for more from the Machida Hendo fight but overall pretty good card. That Bermudez Grice fight was awesome and Rousey proved herself I thought she was gonna tap but she fought it off, crazy tough fighter.

 

[canucksfreak19]

I was hoping for more from the Machida Hendo fight but overall pretty good card. That Bermudez Grice fight was awesome and Rousey proved herself I thought she was gonna tap but she fought it off, crazy tough fighter.

Ronda Rousey certainly has a sense of the occasion. To her coming out to Joan Jett's Bad Reputation, to post fight saying "there's no amount of press that can save these girls from me." Love her or hate her she is undoubtedly a freaking superstar.

 

[chadsexington]

Dudes...I had a question for you all. A WMMA fighter sent me a tweet tonight when I asked my TL about the Oscars and we had a quick tweetversation about this apparent controversy surrounding Ronda tapping during the face crank? I'm sure it's a non-issue, but did anybody get that feeling that she was tapping while reaching for Liz's ankle? I didn't even notice it during the fight, and since we were at the pub, there was no rewind to take advantage of. Her tweet was the first I'd even heard of it, and we both agreed it was probably much ado about nothing.

Any of you guys tapgate?