UFC 75 - London: Rampage Jackson Vs. Dan Henderson / Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Cheick Kongo

mookie blaylock 10

civ_eng_girl wrote:

hey! quick question about being in the clich against the fence.... how come they split up Mirko and Kongo so often when they were in that position, but they'll let Randy Couture stay in it for a full 5 (boring) minutes?!?

sorry, ceg, i forgot to attempt to answer this when you asked about randy before. it's always at the referee's discretion as to when a fight is stood up due to inactivity or failure to improve position on the ground or against the fence. in randy's case, he's well known by the refs for being a grappler who works for the takedown and stays "busy" in the clinch using "dirty boxing" (what we would call hockey fighting ), elbows, shoulder strikes, etc.

in the case of the fight with gonzaga, both guys are grapplers who were waiting for their opponent to make a mistake and take advantage. well, mostly randy was the one controlling and waiting for gabriel to either be off balance or to be out of position so that randy could get either an inside leg trip or slam on gabriel. so in a fight like that where the referee knows that both guys are working hard to change body locks, get over and under hooks and striking enough to keep the action going the referee is not likely to break it up.

in the kongo vs. cro cop fight, both guys are strikers for the most part. the clinch game for kongo is one that he uses mostly against weaker strikers who he can force against the cage and use elbows and knees to stay busy or finish the fight. with mirko, he was basically just holding him there, not working effectively enough for a takedown or creating space to strike. mirko wasn't working to escape and was just holding off the ineffective takedown attempts. this inactivity, or stalemate, combined with the groin shots that mirko was taking , probably would leave the ref more inclined to break the clinch and restart the action.

there is also something to be said for randy's age, reputation and experience that probably gives him a bit more leniancy in how a referee is going to handle how much time he gives him to improve position or stay busy. in the fight with tim sylvia, though, randy was stood up a couple of times due to a lack of progress in position...and the crowd booed a stand up for the first time i can recall! i don't mean to say that randy gets an advantage, but it's just that that has often been his modus operandi...to wear down his opponent with clinch tactics and get them to the point where they are tired enough that he can outwork them and ground and pound to victory or get the decision. he is always smart with his gameplans and is often fighting the bigger and younger opponent. coming from another fighter, the same tactics might seem a little more boring, but because it's randy and he is often the smaller guy and the underdog people rally behind him and get excited about a fighting style they might otherwise find doesn't suit their taste.

anyway, hope that helps a bit and makes some sense. maybe if someone else has more technical knowledge they'll be able to explain it better. just thought i would share a few thoughts.

mookie blaylock 10

ReleasH wrote:

heheheh . . .duran duran is terrible entrance music not matter how old/young you are!

hamill and bisping was a strange fight. I guess hamill wanted to prove he has a standup game but like beachdweller said, he probably lost because he kept letting bisping back up from the ground. I smell a rematch!

as always gsp was looking gorgeous in the crowd. he was sitting with brandon vera. i'm not sure who the other guy was ...mookie will probably know. although they all had too much clothing on . . .we need octagon boys!!!

not sure who the other guys was, actually, but he didn't seem to want to be on camera as brandon had to drag him into the shot.

mirko...if you're reading this...releash is only joking about your taste in music. please don't be angered with the rest of us for her sense of humour, sir.

edit: i was just watching a couple of the fights again, and i believe it's roger huerta that bradon dragged into the picture. i didn't recognize him clean shaven and with a vest on?

MookieBlaylock5v1

Hamill got screwed. I didn't see a close fight between him and Bisping... I saw Hamill dominating Bisping and totally agree with the judge who scored it 30-27 for Hamill.

Marcus Davis v. Paul Taylor was the best fight of the night, even though it lasted less than one round.

ReleasH

mookie blaylock 10 wrote:

not sure who the other guys was, actually, but he didn't seem to want to be on camera as brandon had to drag him into the shot.

mirko...if you're reading this...releash is only joking about your taste in music. please don't be angered with the rest of us for her sense of humour, sir.

edit: i was just watching a couple of the fights again, and i believe it's roger huerta that bradon dragged into the picture. i didb't recognize him clean shaven and with a vest on?

mirko ... I am not joking about your taste in music. Duran Duran, SERIOUSLY!!?? But I would be happy to pick out some new music for you ... might I suggest Slaves and Bulldozers?

Well, if Roger Huerta was the guy that Brandon pulled into view, then he definitely looks better scruffy and in tiny little shorts!

PissBottleMan

Sorry, I'm late on this thread.

I got up early on Sunday morning after feeding the boy and watched this show on TiVo. I really was looking forward to the Matt Hamill/Michael Bisping fight.

Were the judges watching the same fight? Bisping had very little offense...Hamill owned him from beginning to end.

What's the deal?

PBM

civ_eng_girl

ReleasH wrote:

mirko ... I am not joking about your taste in music. Duran Duran, SERIOUSLY!!?? But I would be happy to pick out some new music for you ... might I suggest Slaves and Bulldozers?

Well, if Roger Huerta was the guy that Brandon pulled into view, then he definitely looks better scruffy and in tiny little shorts!

first of all - i just had a really good laugh, becuase i didn't look at the name of the person who posted this, and I was expecting it to be PBM's post above - and i thought wow! PBM is a Huerta fan too?? haha... sorry PBM...

i am not suprised that it was Roger... that dude was cute... that's why i asked...

mookie blaylock 10

PissBottleMan wrote:

Sorry, I'm late on this thread.

I got up early on Sunday morning after feeding the boy and watched this show on TiVo. I really was looking forward to the Matt Hamill/Michael Bisping fight.

Were the judges watching the same fight? Bisping had very little offense...Hamill owned him from beginning to end.

What's the deal?

PBM

i was reading a little blurb today about dana white commenting on the fight, and he said he saw hamill winning...i think he said he would have given it to him 29-28. he said he was very unhappy with the judges decision, and that they are setting up a rematch asap.

PissBottleMan

mookie blaylock 10 wrote:

i was reading a little blurb today about dana white commenting on the fight, and he said he saw hamill winning...i think he said he would have given it to him 29-28. he said he was very unhappy with the judges decision, and that they are setting up a rematch asap.

The last couple of times I saw Bisping fight he dominated. Not so this time. He was on the defensive most of the bout.

Hamill would have beaten him in the TUF finals and should have gotten the victory on Saturday.

PBM

Indian Summer

there was already one of these on the top page...so I thought I'd add another!

DS1119