I'm calm now It was his pre-fight interviews in which he said any of the following fights might be his last one, that led me to believe he is retireing.
I sure like the guy his whole attitude reflects his heart and the true warrior spirit. He is a real deal guy that is for sure. I hope he is able to get back in there and fight for the Championship. Gary
I'm glad that UFC 70 was free. I think I would've been a bit disappointed if I had paid for it. The Bisping-Elvis match was pretty good but I thought the Arlovski-Werdum match was a bit booring after the first round. The Cro-Cop - Gonzaga match was good though, especially with the surprise ending! One thing I wonder though, is if guys like Cro-Cop and Rampage are "ready" for title shots so soon. Cro-cop's previous match was a bit booring (couldn't put his opponent away) and this one basically became a #1 contender match. To be honest, why does he rate a title shot in the UFC? Now Gonzaga, by beating Cro-Cop, whose latest UFC matches haven't been that great rates a title shot. Rampage Jackson has had one match and it wasn't "too" impressive - yet he rates a title shot. Pardon me for the Pro-Wrestling reference but it's sort of like when the WWE bought WCW and brought in their top guys to "job" them out to their own. I'm a big fan of Pride but from what I've seen, I don't think they are stacking up well to the UFC guys. I don't know if they are being "rushed" to big matches for fan approval or whther there is a hope that they won't be "ready" and will lose to the established UFC stars...
I felt this event was mediocre. Arlovski/Werdum and Kongo/Silva were pretty lackluster events. Kongo is a great striker, but without wrestling or a groundgame, he won't get very far. Etim and Grice was awesome. Bisping/Sinosic was pretty good. Gonzaga/Cro Cop blew my mind. If I remember correctly, Cro Cop TKO'd Sanchez, so it wasn't like Cro Cop didn't do his thing. The UFC has a history of giving fighters title shots, even if they don't really deserve it. Riggs/Hughes and Quarry/Franklin both come to mind. Arguably, the fighters from TUF didn't really deserve a shot either, considering the level of competition they faced. I know it seems to be a moot point in light of Serra's victory, but let's face it. Shonie Carter, Chris Lytle, and Pete Spratt were not top contenders in the UFC. With maybe the exception of Lytle, they were journeymen. At least people like Cro Cop and Rampage had decorated records coming into the UFC. Cro Cop was just coming off a Grand Prix victory, and was probably in line for a title shot at Fedor. To my mind, giving Cro Cop the fast track to the championship was at least a little more justified than something like Riggs/Hughes. Cro Cop was going into his fight the heavy favorite. I think few people would have thought that the Cro Cop/Gonzaga matchup was a "rush". If anything, it looked like Gonzaga was being fed to Cro Cop. Obviously, things turned out differently, but I'd say it's a genuine surprise to most at how poorly so many of the Pride imports have been doing, Anderson Silva being the one exception.
Title shots are often there just to keep a champion active. Honestly...who else in the UFC HWs "deserves" to fight Randy Couture? Keep in mind the whole picture. Only real possibilities are Arlovski and Sylvia. Arlovski been "out" for quite a while, and after the consecutive losses to Sylvia, needs to build up some momentum first. Sylvia is a UFC marketing nightmare. He's so boring, I'm convinced that's why Couture got the title shot in the first place. And to be fair, it could be argued that from a "standard" point of view, Couture didn't deserve his title shot either. With that, enter Crocop...exciting fighter with great credentials. Perfect opponent for Randy...if Randy wins, he looks good, if Crocop wins, you've got an exciting new champion.
Cro Cop is not going to go there for now he is out, as in a kick in the head and bye bye.. Gonzaga is up for the battle. I think a good one will be Arlovski and Cro Cop, the winner fights the winner of Couture and Gonzaga. Gary
I can't help feeling a little sorry for dana white. He's critised for having a weak HW division compared to Pride so he brings in Cro Cop and Verdum, rated as two of the best in Pride to fight. They both lose! And he's got a very dominent 205 pounder whos destroying everyone so he brings in one of the best 205ers from Pride and.....it remains to be seen, but I bet Dana's praying that Rampage at least gives Chuck a good fight! I think one of the problems is that Cro cop's health is pretty dodgy (he had to have fluid drained from his left ankle just prior to his first UFC fight and has had a fair bit of surgery on it) and he's a fighter that replies on mobility and speed alot. Rampage really hasn't been the same fighter since Silva beat him twice and he going to need to find his best form again if he's going to restore Pride's pride...
I sure don't feel bad for him with the money he is making...I bet he regrets signing Herring but not Mirko...Mirko will almost certainly provide at least 1 or 2 highlight reel knockouts before his contract runs out plus now we know just how good Gabriel is.... I agree that Mirko seems to be injury prone, recent injuries cannot help that much
Nog has never dropped the ball. His only fairly recent losses come to Fedor and Barnett...and he beat Barnett by UD in the rematch. I WILL say that elbows could make life a bit more difficult for him...but he's a tough guy, and we've seen him get out of some tough spots against Fedor(not for long of course). And with Nog...all you gotta give him is an arm baby...just an arm. And if he's smart, he'll train to use the cage as a defensive tool...it can help or hurt depending on how you plan to use it.
Not really: http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Randleman/video/xkz7n_mirko-cro-cop-vs-kevin-randleman
Yeah, to clarify my earlier post...Nog's only losses have come by decision. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Rodrigo_Nogueira Hasn't been finished once in that long and illustrious career...pretty damn impressive considering the absolute monsters he's had trying to take his head off. That said...Gonzaga just may be part of the "new generation" of fighters changing of the guard.