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[yacobod]

The original MMA thread can be located here.

First, for those who might wander in here and not know what on earth we’re talking about, here’s an “FAQ” primer.

What is MMA?

MMA = UFC = Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Chael Sonnen is a genius!!! He gets it. MMA aint true martial arts. Its Sports Entertainment!!!

UFC theme song is here.


What are these different organizations I hear about? UFC? Strikeforce? Bellator?

The UFC is the only relevant MMA organization in the game at this point. Everyone else is either going to fail (see Bellator) or get bought out by Dana White & Co (see Strikeforce). The UFC recently announced a network deal with FOX on August 18, 2011. The UFC debut on Fox will be on November 12th featuring a Heavyweight Title Match between Cain Velasquez (Champion) vs Junior Dos Santos (Challenger).


Who is Dana White?

It's not Dana White, it's Dana Fucking White. He's the current President and Promoter of the UFC. He's a self proclaimed self-made man, and his role model growing up must have been Vince McMahon. You don't mess with Dana.

What fighters are currently ranked in the Top 10 pound for pound rankings?

The full top 10 as per Sherdog on 03/14/2012:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Jon Jones
4. Jose Aldo
5. Dan Henderson
6. Dominick Cruz
7. Benson Henderson
8. Frankie Edgar
9. Gilbert Melendez
10. Carlos Condit


Current UFC Champs

Heavyweight (206 lbs and above) - Junior Dos Santos
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) - Jon "Bones" Jones
Middleweight (185 lbs) - Anderson "The Spider" Silva
Welterweight (170 lbs) - Georges "Rush" St. Pierre
Lightweight (155 lbs) - Benson "Smooth" Henderson
Featherweight (145 lbs) - Jose Aldo
Bantamweight (135 lbs) - Dominick Cruz


Upcoming Cards

UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Gustafsson - April 14, 2012 - Fuel TV (Cable TV)
UFC 145: JBJ vs Evans - April 21, 2012 - PPV
UFC on Fox 3: Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller - May 5, 2012 - Fox (Network TV)
UFC on Fuel TV 3: Korean Zombie vs. Dustin Poirier - May 15, 2012 - Fuel TV (Cable TV)
UFC 146: JDS vs. Overeem - May 26, 2012 - PPV
The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale: Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Ellenberger - June 1, 2012 - FX (Cable TV)
UFC on FX 3: TBD - June 8, 2012 - FX (Cable TV)
UFC 147: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen - June 16, 2012 - PPV

Who are the best athletes currently competing in the UFC?

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre aka GSP - Current UFC Welterweight (170) Champion

Jon "Bones" Jones - Current UFC Light Heavyweight (205) Champion

Frankie Edgar - Former UFC Lightweight Champion

Rashad Evans - Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Current Number 1 Contender

Who are the best fighters currently fighting in the UFC?

Anderson "The Spider" Silva - Current UFC Middleweight Champion & Consensus Pound for Pound King

BJ "The Prodigy" Penn - Former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight Champion

Nick Diaz - Current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - 2005 Pride MW Grand Prix Champion & Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Dan Henderson - Former Pride WW and MW Champion and Current Strikeforce LHW Champion

Who are the fan favorite personalities?

Tito Ortiz - Former UFC LHW Champion

Chael Sonnen - Number 1 Troll and Number 1 Contender at 185 lbs

Brock Lesnar - Former WWE Champion and Former UFC HW Champion

Alistair Overeem - K-1 Champion, Dream HW Champion, Strikeforce HW Champion, Undisputed Can Crusher, and Internet Phenomenon

Phil "NYBA" Baroni - Self Proclaimed Best Eva - Tomato Can on the level of the Brooklyn Brawler

Who are the anti-personalities or cigarette breaks?

Jon Fitch

Gray "The Bully" Maynard - also known as Lay Praynard

Jim Miller - 1/2 of the most vanilla duo in the UFC the Miller Brothers

You might be wondering what are the difference between the athletes, the fighters, personalities, and the anti-personalities?

The athletes cut an abnormal amount of weight to fight in their weight class to gain a competitive advantage against their opponents. They compete in such a fashion that limits the potential risk for a loss, and are perfectly content to ride out a decision victory. They probably train or have trained with Greg Jackson or his affiliates. They are often very strong wrestlers. They also might apologize to the fans from time to time for their performances.

The fighters are just that, fighters. A fighter likes to scrap. They are not happy grinding out decisions. They like to finish their opponents in devastating fashion, either by KO or by submission. They don't duck opponents or dodge challenges. They will often go up or down in weight class seeking out the toughest matches to quench their competitive spirit. These guys are not afraid to die with their boots on.

The personalities are the sports entertainers. They put asses in the seats and sell pay-per-views. They have carried the sport in the dark ages. It's no mystery that the largest pay-per-view draw in the UFC is a former sports entertainer. Some personalities are not as well known in the mainstream, but have a huge internet hardcore following.

The anti-personalities are the personalities from bizzaro-land. They manage to suck the life out of any card they are on. During one of their matches, it might be a good time to take a cigarette break or to take a quick trip to the supermarket. The anti-personalities are typically non-descript white fighters, who are primarily wrestlers, and are often described as gritty or grinders. The chances of them finishing a fight is about the same as you winning the lottery. The UFC welterweight division has the highest concentration of these grinders. If you find that you are watching one of their matches. expect the fight to go to decision. Avoid at all costs.


Legends that are no longer relevant, retired, punch drunk, or relegated to crappy M-1 Global Cards. Respect and Salute.

Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic - Pride 2006 OWGP Champion, RHK Hospital, LHK Cemetery

Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko - Former Pride and WAMMA Heavyweight Champion, Former pound 4 pound King

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell - Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva - Former Pride MW Champion

Woman's MMA

After Dana White and Co. decide to dissolve Strikeforce in 2012, I suspect that woman's MMA is going to die a slow and irrelevant death in Japan. Instead I will focus on the future of woman's mma, the ring card girl.

Current UFC Ring Card Girls - The Beautiful Chandella, Arianny Celeste, and Brittany Palmer.

MMA-GAF Sherdog Fantasy Pool
http://fantasy.sherdog.com
Pool: MMA GAF
Password: neogaf


MMAGaf |OT1| Hall of Fame

 

[dream]

Excellent OT, yaco!

 

[AiTM]

Yeaaaa buddy!

 

[NomarTyme]

That is a unflattering Rashard pic.... lmao.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

GJ........ you ended the suffering. Take a minute to yourself.

 

[AstroLad]

OP is gonna look rediculous when Fedor becomes UFC HW champ and Bellator finally overtakes UFC after Eddie Alvarez and Ben Askren get the mainstream recognition they deserve.

 

[Heel]

To any youngsters who may be reading this years into the future...yes, as of 2011, Fedor is the greatest heavyweight that ever lived.

That is all.

 

[Eggo]

GJ........ you ended the suffering. Take a minute to yourself.

LOL. I second this. Great job on the OP. Also thought the Rashad pic was funny. Only problem with the OP is you'll have to update it when there's a new champion or if BJ is over the hill. We'll see...

Hmm, actually, you may want to list the champions of each weight class, including the bantamweight and featherweight guys.

 

[yacobod]

oh no doubt the op will eventually look retarded, but go look at Boogie's. Pride being the top dog of MMA. UFC being garbage. It's going to come full circle.

 

[Chamber]

oh no doubt the op will eventually look retarded, but go look at Boogie's. Pride being the top dog of MMA. UFC being garbage. It's going to come full circle.

Yeah, 5 years from now we'll look at the OP and wonder how anyone thought GSP wasn't the GOAT.

 

[TheKaeptain]

The OP is going to look silly once the Athlete GSP destroys the "Fighters" Diaz and Penn.

 

[dream]

Maybe the OP will look incredibly prophetic and prescient when WWE and UFC merge in 5 years.

 

[Heel]

oh no doubt the op will eventually look retarded, but go look at Boogie's. Pride being the top dog of MMA. UFC being garbage. It's going to come full circle.

The original OP was actually informative and spoke in facts as of 2005. Can't say the same about yours to be honest, haha. Appreciate the effort though, thanks.

 

[TheKaeptain]

And Yaco, by your definition, Frankie isn't an athlete because he doesn't cut more than a few pounds to fight at 155.

 

[Jake.]

i know you're not a fan, but maybe a couple of lines about pride/its legacy and how dream is its 'replacement'? the average du probably thinks MMA = UFC and that's it.

 

[spindashing]

Great OP. Going to keep an eye on this thread.

 

[iddqd]

great thread, welcome new age!

 

[Eggo]

You know how TUF sucks now and nobody cares, what do you think of a show that spotlights fighters currently in the UFC who people don't know that much about? Like a Barboza, Ceronne, or Njokuani. If we got to see them train, walk around outside of the octagon, and had clips from their previous fights before entering the UFC (or UFC prelim fights that people may have missed), wouldn't that be more interesting than watching a bunch of amateurs in a house who oftentimes don't belong in the UFC? Do one or two fighters a week in each episode. With all the new talent coming into the UFC, there should be no shortage of people to learn about.

 

[Plywood]

Whoa, the old thread was six years old.

Nice OP yaco.

 

[yacobod]

i know you're not a fan, but maybe a couple of lines about pride/its legacy and how dream is its 'replacement'? the average du probably thinks MMA = UFC and that's it.

Dream is not Pride's replacement. That's a huge insult to PrideFC. Let it go man. Pride died 5 years ago, it's not healthy. I got my Pride dvds, but this is a new era. Move on with your life.

The original OP was actually informative and spoke in facts as of 2005. Can't say the same about yours to be honest, haha. Appreciate the effort though, thanks.

Boogie's OP reflected the times my friend. The UFC in 2005 was sort of like Rome before the Punic Wars. It was a regional power, very aggressive, but it wasn't ready for the big time. Fast forward to 2011 and the UFC has a virtual monopoly in MMA. To keep with the analogy, the Republic has been dissolved, and we are living in the golden era of the Roman Empire. It's only a matter of time before the decline happens. Enjoy the good times and decadence.

 

[Judderman]

Randy should be in that Legends section. Great OP, though.

 

[dream]

Is there even anything worth talking about as far as DREAM goes?

 

[TheKaeptain]

How can you have a personality section and not post Mayhem. You can also have a blurb about Diaz ducking him.

 

[Master Thespian]

I encourage the smarmy tone of the OP.

Jones hasn't had to apologize for a fight performance yet, though.

 

[yacobod]

Ok I will filter in suggestions into the OP, i made it rather hastily during the extended half time of the ND game. I'll even add a section to women's mma.

 

[dream]

I think you should write a Booking 101 section for the OP to explain how pro wrestling and the mixed martials is the same business.

 

[TheKaeptain]

I think you should write a Booking 101 section for the OP to explain how pro wrestling and the mixed martials is the same business.

Boxing too.

 

[Heel]

Boogie's OP reflected the times my friend. The UFC in 2005 was sort of like Rome before the Punic Wars. It was a regional power, very aggressive, but it wasn't ready for the big time. Fast forward to 2011 and the UFC has a virtual monopoly in MMA. To keep with the analogy, the Republic has been dissolved, and we are living in the golden era of the Roman Empire. It's only a matter of time before the decline happens. Enjoy the good times and decadence.

UFC may be the clear #1, but there will always be other promotions. Where would they find fighters, straight out of gyms? Even if Zuffa wants "MMA = UFC" to be a fact, it's misleading to someone new to the sport. There's plenty of enjoyable MMA from other promotions out there, M-1 Global included. I wouldn't say Bellator is failing either.

 

[Plywood]

I think you should write a Booking 101 section for the OP to explain how pro wrestling and the mixed martials is the same business.

Chael Sonnen has cut some amazing promos.

 

[Maklershed]

New thread! Wheeeee!

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Ok I will filter in suggestions into the OP, i made it rather hastily during the extended half time of the ND game. I'll even add a section to women's mma.

Ultimate Surrender to please.

 

[dream]

UFC may be the clear #1, but there will always be other promotions. Where would they find fighters, straight out of gyms?

In all seriousness, I have no idea where they find all the jobbers that end up on TUF.

 

[Heel]

In all seriousness, I have no idea where they find all the jobbers that end up on TUF.

The midwest tomato can circuit.

 

[JakOfTheShadows]

Just noticed that the Athletes are 5-0 against the Fighters in the OP ....

The next show down between these two groups will be Diaz vs GSP at UFC 137. Can this be a turning point? Need to get Silva to fight some of the Athletes.

Spoiler

BJ is responsible for 4 of the loses.

 

[TheKaeptain]

GSP is going to finish Diaz. It has to happen because Yaco and Dream both want him to get laid on for five rounds.

 

[dream]

No I don't. I want Nasty Nick to punch GSP in the face so he'll cower and find a surface to tap on.

PS: according to Google Translate, "S'il vous plaît ne me frappe pas plus" is how you say "please don't hit me anymore" in French.

 

[yacobod]

There's plenty of enjoyable MMA from other promotions out there, M-1 Global included.

No they aren't. I watched that OneFC stream on sherdog this morning. MMA outside of UFC and Strikeforce is pretty horrible, it's maybe a step above women's mma. It's a pretty big blanket statement, but its true.

UFC = filet mignon
MMA outside the MMA = $2.00 waffle house steak

 

[JakOfTheShadows]

No I don't. I want Nasty Nick to punch GSP in the face so he'll cower and find a surface to tap on.

How much more excited would you be if after that happens he runs out of the cage embarrassed like Forest?

 

[sazabirules]

The last Bellator card was great because of the Curran/Sandro fight. It was far more exciting than plenty of UFC fights.

 

[dream]

It's actually kind of offensive to consider the UFC and, I dunno, Wild Bill's Fight Night to be the same business.

 

[Heel]

No I don't. I want Nasty Nick to punch GSP in the face so he'll cower and find a surface to tap on.

PS: according to Google Translate, "S'il vous plaît ne me frappe pas plus" is how you say "please don't hit me anymore" in French.

 

[Maklershed]

It's actually kind of offensive to consider the UFC and, I dunno, Wild Bill's Fight Night to be the same business.

Sounds like a steak house. Hey wait a minute .. a steak house with a fight cage in the center. Who wants in on this business with me?

 

[yacobod]

OP updates:

UFC theme song added
Current UFC champions
Chael Sonnen added to personalities
Women's MMA
GafMMA |OT1| Hall of Fame

 

[dream]

Sounds like a steak house. Hey wait a minute .. a steak house with a fight cage in the center. Who wants in on this business with me?

With topless waitresses/ringgirls!

 

[JakOfTheShadows]

Lets compare it to the Toughman competitions where the fighters wear jeans and get introduced by explaining how they work at a Dunkin' Donuts.

 

[Plywood]

What are the chances of Dana increasing the amount of ring card girls from 3 to 5?

THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF.

NEED TO KNOW

ETC

 

[Maklershed]

With topless waitresses/ringgirls!

Well we know who the idea man in this operation is.

 

[dream]

Since we're still on the first page, I'd just like to say that the trend towards making every fighter as generic and unmemorable as possible (see: those damn Miller brothers) will be the death knell of this business.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

What are the chances of Dana increasing the amount of ring card girls from 3 to 5?

THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF.

NEED TO KNOW

ETC

Meh, they should get rid of the height limit as well. What do the chicks have to be max 5'2?

 

[Chamber]

What a beautiful double leg.