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[Madness]

I think GSP was having a breakdown. You are on top for so long and you come crashing down in a sense. I will agree Anderson felt the same way, talking about retirement, his family etc.

Now that you mention it, there was this lack of confidence in himself as a fighter as he spoke. My point with the pics was to show that he's been taking quite a lot of abuse in his recent fights. There was a time when few would even catch him, let alone cut him up, give him shiners etc. Will he come back? Hard to say, he's perhaps the richest man in MMA and even though Bones has the sponsorships with Nike, GSP has a lot of sponsorships, advertisement, etc.

I think though, a lot of his punishment also came when he tripped over his own legs and Hendricks mounted him and just opened him up with elbows. I know you said he's a draw because he's a winner, but he also has a very unassuming personality. Few fighters are like GSP.

 

[Into]

Another case of poor judging, Joe Rogen could barely do that interview, GSP himself looked like a man who knew he did not win that fight, the crowd turned on him despite being pro GSP

Weird ending to the PPV, shitty ending, but that has kinda become the norm for UFC, one of the refs even gave Rory the win, which is down right hysterical

But hey, GSP is a draw, its good for business (Triple H!) for him to retain, Hendricks is not a major draw, he looks like WWE midcarder Damian Sandow, UFC has to sell tickets and PPVs, especially these days when they are down compared to a few years ago.


Sucks for Dana White, his boy and Canadian draw "won", but then he gave this anti climatic "i am kinda retiring, sorta..maybe" speech, rendering the title useless, making GSP look like he is done, and Johnny Sandow did not become a star since he "lost". He must be pisst

 

[polyh3dron]

Dana White Post-Fight Media Scrum is up: http://www.ufc.com/media/UFC-167-Post-Scrum

 

[abstract alien]

Thanks poly

 

[Madness]

Why GSP apparently was given the decision. It's one thing for us to watch the fight overall, quite another to score it round to round in a sense.

I agree there needs to be better MMA centric judging in place, maybe the UFC should look into better training or something to the commissions. A lot of judges are lifelong boxing ones, so you never know.

 

[Madness]

Sorry for double post, official scorecard, seems they all agreed GSP won rounds 3 and 5, but two of them also gave GSP round 1.

 

[abstract alien]

How on Earth could he have gotten round 1, of all rounds?

 

[shuri]

1) GSP is not the same person when he talks in french. He's very calm, very posed and almost sage/wise-like. His less than perfect english makes him sound dumb and very simple at times.
2) I really find those stealth attack about his orientation to be really crass. Who cares what he likes to bang (i've seen this on youtube and other forums)
3) he seems to be having a really hard time right now on a personal level.. Who knows what it is? Its his life.
4) lets not speculate about what he said too much; he obviously wasnt alright and all there during those interviews. Dude isnt crazy; he's just overwhelmed and dizzy from the fight; and his english doest help.

 

[Norml]

I hate GSP, but I don't think Johnny was robbed.GSP controlled the cage and and lost on damage.

Diaz was right,GSP hits like a girl.

 

[Vio-Lence]

I hate GSP, but I don't think Johnny was robbed.GSP controlled the cage and and lost on damage.

GSP did not control the cage. He was forced into a stand up fight because he couldn't take down Hendricks. Hendricks physically controlled where that fight took place. That was text book "octagon control". He bullied him standing up, bullied him against the cage, took him down twice, and stood up quickly after being taken down.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

How on Earth could he have gotten round 1, of all rounds?

Takedowns win fights.

 

[FACE]

Give Hendricks a rematch so he can pry the belt off GSP's headless corpse.

 

[Norml]

GSP did not control the cage. He was forced into a stand up fight because he couldn't take down Hendricks. Hendricks physically controlled where that fight took place. That was text book "octagon control". He bullied him standing up, bullied him against the cage, took him down twice, and stood up quickly after being taken down.

Maybe not in grappling against the cage,but in the standup I felt he did and the striking stats show it.

Hendricks is such a fool for letting GSP stand back up in that one round.

 

[SKINNER!]

How on Earth could he have gotten round 1, of all rounds?

You just know they're going to revive and dedicate an episode of Unsolved Mysteries to that round in a couple of years time.

Mystery of the fucking universe

 

[Vio-Lence]

Maybe not in grappling against the cage,but in the standup I felt he did and the striking stats show it.

if you go by volume sure, but hendricks landed more significant strikes.

 

[alr1ght]

lol @ askren

 

[Archaix]

I'm convinced. When have Nate Diaz, Diego Sanchez, or War Machine ever had the wrong opinion of a decision? And that guy who thinks the ref is the reason GSP won, clearly he's educated about the rules.

 

[LiquidSolid]

GSP sells because he's a champ, not because he's a good personality, or because he's got a hard hand, or brutal submissions.

Hendricks was great on the mic today, and he strikes hard. If their positions and results were reversed, people would be complaining that the great champ Hendricks had to beat up some can named GSP.

Yeah, just look at the huge PPV buys Demetrius Johnson shows get... Bullshit. There are nine champions in the UFC and only a few of them mean anything to anyone.

I'm not a fan of GSP but the reason why he's as popular as he is is blatantly obvious. MMA is sports entertainment and GSP has his babyface gimmick down perfectly. A lot of casual fans really love the guy thanks entirely to his personality (because it sure as hell isn't his fighting style).

 

[Plywood]

hendricks =

 

[Jest Chillin]

I'm convinced. When have Nate Diaz, Diego Sanchez, or War Machine ever had the wrong opinion of a decision? And that guy who thinks the ref is the reason GSP won, clearly he's educated about the rules.

Are you seriously cherry picking 4 tweets out of that huge list as if that demonstrates that they're ALL wrong?

Yeah, just look at the huge PPV buys Demetrius Johnson shows get... Bullshit. There are nine champions in the UFC and only a few of them mean anything to anyone.

I'm not a fan of GSP but the reason why he's as popular as he is is blatantly obvious. MMA is sports entertainment and GSP has his babyface gimmick down perfectly. A lot of casual fans really love the guy thanks entirely to his personality (because it sure as hell isn't his fighting style).

GSP isn't the only "nice guy" in MMA. There have been many before him and there will be many after him. He draws because of his dominance. It's the same reason why Silva draws. There may be something to be said of his being Canadian as well.

 

[juliushandle]

So what guesses do you guys have about GSP's personal issues?

 

[Ether_Snake]

So basically GSP was saying he was going to retire, and Dana White and the UFC wanted to milk him as much as possible so they said no, you can't, cause we'll give you the victory, so you have no choice but to give us at least one rematch, you can't walk away with the belt.

I would tell them to fuck off. He has no reason to waste his brain cells because the UFC wants to make more cash out of him, nor because some referee can't do their job right. If he had lost, he would have retired, now he lost, but they give him the victory so he has to keep fighting? Bullshit. Let's see Dana White put his health on the line.

 

[alr1ght]

UFC has nothing to do with the NSAC/refs/judges.

 

[AranhaHunter]

This fight reminds me a lot of Shogun - Machida 1

Shogun/Hendrix won and were the people's champ
Machida/GSP visibly more hurt and visibly demonstrating that they knew they lost the fight
Machida/GSP's team also showing that they knew they had lost the belt
Shogun/Hendrix celebrating after the final belt with the certainty they won. They just didn't put their arms up, they were 100% sure they got the job done
Shogun/Hendrix's team also celebrating with the certainty they had won
Shogun/Hendrix were extremely passive in the last round, maybe to a fault, because they were certain they had already done enough to win the fight
The reactions after the result was announced was that of genuine suprise, from both camps, in both fights
Dana White extremely pissed off with the decision on both fights
Lots of fighters speaking out supporting and giving the fight to Shogun/Hendrix
Machida/GSP saying they won 3 rounds and that ultimately it's up to judges and they call the fights

I hope the Hendrix/GSP rematch is a photocopy of the Shogun/Machida rematch

 

[Jamie OD]

UFC has nothing to do with the NSAC/refs/judges.

Most people don't know that.

 

[Dr.Acula]

UFC has nothing to do with the NSAC/refs/judges.

Most people don't know that.

That's so crazy to me. So fight judges are supposed to be like independent arbitrators or something? I heard these judges come from boxing?

I guess it makes sense, so that the UFC can't rig the judging, but at the same time, all it does is allow the Vegas books to get to them.

Other sports, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, seem to be able to operate while employing their own officiating directly.

 

[Syph Medwes]

So sounds like GSP Hendricks 2 is gonna happen eh
http://www.ufc.com/media/UFC-167-Post-Scrum

Or more likely than immediately post-fight at least.

 

[Pakkidis]

This is one of those unfortunate fights where the judges did get it right..at least statistically speaking. The fight however tells a different story.

 

[Norml]

if you go by volume sure, but hendricks landed more significant strikes.

Yeah, I think he won.I just don't think it was insane robbery like he completely controlled the fight. His best round was probably the first an even that was close.GSP had the most dominating round.

 

[En-ou]

Why GSP apparently was given the decision. It's one thing for us to watch the fight overall, quite another to score it round to round in a sense.

I agree there needs to be better MMA centric judging in place, maybe the UFC should look into better training or something to the commissions. A lot of judges are lifelong boxing ones, so you never know.

damage should be more weighted than number of punches/contact. makes no sense that 10 tickles > 1 big hook to the face.

 

[MyAbsolution]

damage should be more weighted than number of punches/contact. makes no sense that 10 tickles > 1 big hook to the face.

Exactly the reason why I never gave Frankie Edgar the nod in any of his "controversial close fights" except for Edgar vs Penn 2.

 

[DKehoe]

So with GSP losing his smile does that make Rory HHH?

 

[TunaMarshmallow]

Went over to my friend's place to check this out -- haven't been watching much recently. Seemed like a close fight.

 

[Heel]

Never forget.

 

[Norml]

Never forget.

If GSP would have push forward real quick in the process of the slide Johnny would have went down.

 

[Rur0ni]

Never forget.

I had a hearty laugh about that.

 

[alr1ght]

 

[Ether_Snake]

I hope GSP doesn't fight again, he shouldn't give White and the UFC the chance to ruin his life. It's their problem if they can't sell the fights without him, and if they can then they can shut up. If he fights Hendricks again, Hendricks will probably kill him or turn him into a vegetable.

 

[dream]

I'm kind of torn here. I fundamentally disagree with those articles because I think Dana is right. If Rush St. Pierre is having neurological problems, then he should retire instead of offering that hedgey "I'm going away for a bit" line. I also feel that Dana shows far more compassion for his fighters than you can reasonably expect from a fight promoter. He essentially talked Iceman Chuck into retiring rather than extracting every last drop of PPV value from him. He's given executive-level positions (figurehead or otherwise) to retired fighters like Matt Hughes. He let Brock go back to WWE. He just doesn't strike me as someone who rides fighters beyond their expiration dates.

But at the same time, he's never had a problem with putting a title on the shelf for months on end. Look at Dominator Cruz, who hasn't fought in 8 years but hasn't been stripped of his title. Look at all the instances of champions having to shoot TUF, effectively taking them out of action. Is that really any different from Rush St. Pierre taking a year off?

 

[Ether_Snake]

I'm kind of torn here. I fundamentally disagree with those articles because I think Dana is right. If Rush St. Pierre is having neurological problems, then he should retire instead of offering that hedgey "I'm going away for a bit" line. I also feel that Dana shows far more compassion for his fighters than you can reasonably expect from a fight promoter. He essentially talked Iceman Chuck into retiring rather than extracting every last drop of PPV value from him. He's given executive-level positions (figurehead or otherwise) to retired fighters like Matt Hughes. He let Brock go back to WWE. He just doesn't strike me as someone who rides fighters beyond their expiration dates.

But at the same time, he's never had a problem with putting a title on the shelf for months on end. Look at Dominator Cruz, who hasn't fought in 8 years but hasn't been stripped of his title. Look at all the instances of champions having to shoot TUF, effectively taking them out of action. Is that really any different from Rush St. Pierre taking a year off?

I think he just doesn't like the judges' decision and feels it will hurt the promotion of future events. He thinks GSP is done for, so he wants a new "star" to get the belt as soon as possible. He was probably expecting a rematch soon after this fight regardless of who won.

Saying GSP is done is crazy. Even if he isn't the very best in the division he can still beat pretty much everyone else.

Not if he was planning to retire anyway, and not if he has health problems.

 

[DKehoe]

Saying GSP is done is crazy. Even if he isn't the very best in the division he can still beat pretty much everyone else.

 

[dream]

Saying GSP is done is crazy. Even if he isn't the very best in the division he can still beat pretty much everyone else.

I don't know...he's been losing a step with every fight since the Jake Shields bout, looking slightly worse every time out. He takes a beating even in his wins, and the fire has been gone for a long, long time. Maybe physically he can still lay on guys for 25 minutes, but he just strikes me as an emotionally-shot fighter on the downslide of his career.

 

[DKehoe]

I don't know...he's been losing a step with every fight since the Jake Shields bout, looking slightly worse every time out. He takes a beating even in his wins, and the fire has been gone for a long, long time. Maybe physically he can still lay on guys for 25 minutes, but he just strikes me as an emotionally-shot fighter on the downslide of his career.

He was in control of the Condit fight throughout apart from the one time Condit did manage to connect. He also dominated Diaz. He might not be as good as he was at one point but he is still a great fighter.

 

[dream]

He's also a rich fighter, DKehoe.

 

[DKehoe]

He's also a rich fighter, DKehoe.

True but if he wanted to he could have retired a long time ago. I do think it might be a factor in him declining though. It must be hard to stay motivated.

 

[Jest Chillin]

People maybe angry but that definitely as more to do with Dana not mincing words and being honest about his anger with both the decision and with GSP's on the fence statements immediately after the fight.

The statements in the Bleacher article are disingenuous at best actually because they specifically avoid the fact that after hearing GSP express his discomfort in talking about his problems and his being unsure when he would return, Dana actually stepped in and rejected MULTIPLE questions from the Press that were trying to push the issue for a quote. He saw that GSP wasn't in the condition to field those answers and shielded him from the press, even when a reporter tried to say it in French to circumvent Dana's protection.

Dana absolutely shows more care for the fighters than I've seen in any other MMA organization. That doesn't mean that he's immune from having a gut reaction to the events that went down.

 

[May16]

People maybe angry but that definitely as more to do with Dana not mincing words and being honest about his anger with both the decision and with GSP's on the fence statements immediately after the fight.

Yeah. People remove the humanness of others in these situations. We say things the wrong way sometimes. Dana's emotions were everywhere, George's emotions were everywhere, the whole place was a mess due to what just happened.

If you're the head of that organization, and you see someone cleeeearly win a title fight, and then the (technical) champ turns around right away and says "Time to take a lengthy vacation, seeya later folks...maybe!" Then that's a huge kick in the balls to, in this case, Johnny Hendricks. Dana definitely feels for Hendricks, who wanted it, worked for it, and went out there and got it, but essentially had it taken from him by judges.

Dana wants to see a rematch in probably 6 months, tops, but when George says in so many words, "Welllllll I'm not calling it retirement, but I'm not not calling it retirement either. It's gonna be a while though!" ...you gotta understand where he's coming from. That's a huge disservice to Johnny Hendricks for one thing, and to the whole 170 pd. division for another. Most of us would have come off a little harsh in how we handled things immediately after the event, if we were in his position.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Yeah. People remove the humanness of others in these situations. We say things the wrong way sometimes. Dana's emotions were everywhere, George's emotions were everywhere, the whole place was a mess due to what just happened.

If you're the head of that organization, and you see someone cleeeearly win a title fight, and then the (technical) champ turns around right away and says "Time to take a lengthy vacation, seeya later folks...maybe!" Then that's a huge kick in the balls to, in this case, Johnny Hendricks. Dana definitely feels for Hendricks, who wanted it, worked for it, and went out there and got it, but essentially had it taken from him by judges.

Dana wants to see a rematch in probably 6 months, tops, but when George says in so many words, "Welllllll I'm not calling it retirement, but I'm not not calling it retirement either. It's gonna be a while though!" ...you gotta understand where he's coming from. That's a huge disservice to Johnny Hendricks for one thing, and to the whole 170 pd. division for another. Most of us would have come off a little harsh in how we handled things immediately after the event, if we were in his position.

Dana is the suit, not the guy who just spent 25 minutes getting his face punched. Georges should need a minute (if not a day or two) to compose himself, not Dana. I don't mind him going HAM on the judges, they deserve it, and it's been a long time coming, but Dana should have waited til he talked to GSP before tearing into him like that. Like I said earlier, once GSP came out and looked clearly shaken and out of his right mind, you can tell Dana probably regretted how he came off at the beginning of the presser and realized "Fuck this guy really has some issues".

 

[polyh3dron]

damage should be more weighted than number of punches/contact. makes no sense that 10 tickles > 1 big hook to the face.

Agreed. Scoring is supposed to be based on "effective striking" and "aggression".

 

[Ether_Snake]

Why? It's supposed to be MIXED Martial Arts, not street brawls.

A guy can look like GSP did after a fight it means nothing, it just means the other guy hit him in the face. This isn't boxing.