Anderson Silva v. James Irvin

[Mr. Zhu]

MMA Fans...

You guys think Irvin's got a chance?

[Tempo]

Nope.

[Saz]

Don't know who Irvin is, but Silva's a beast. Last match I saw of his he got rattled a bit, didn't seem to be great on his back. So whoever James Irvin is, his best chance of winning is if he's a good wrestler IMO.

[Mr. Zhu]

Don't know who Irvin is, but Silva's a beast. Last match I saw of his he got rattled a bit, didn't seem to be great on his back. So whoever James Irvin is, his best chance of winning is if he's a good wrestler IMO.

I think you saw him versus Travis Lutter... Travis Lutter is a world class grappler though, I mean, grappling definitely is not Silva's main game, but you gotta give him some credit for being able to finish Lutter with a triangle.

James Irvin is a pretty good fighter, great knockout power. He delivered the fastest knockout in UFC history, an 8 second fight... 8 seconds.... Crazy knockout power... But I think Anderson Silva will prevail, when it comes to striking, no one can match up to Silva.

[Mr. Zhu]

OMG.... JAMES IRVIN GOT FUCKING DESTROYED... IN 1 FUCKING MINUTE.... HUGE KNOCKOUT PUNCH.... WALKED ALL OVER LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION.... HOLY SHIT... I AM IN AWE... I thought he'd had much more difficulty, but he fucking destroyed James Irvin.. FUCKING DESTROYED.

[Saz]

Lawls.

[Mr. Zhu]

This is what happens when a fucking hardcore MMA fanatic gets so impressed by a single win.

[Tempo]

Nope.

You heard it hear first ladies and gents.

[Talys]

Dammit! I missed the show for Dark Knight...I think it may have been worth it though...I thought Silva would win...

[Mr. Zhu]

Dammit! I missed the show for Dark Knight...I think it may have been worth it though...I thought Silva would win...

It was quite a fight... Although Irvin wasn't in that fight at any point of time, he did come off better than some of the people did... He looked better than Rich Franklin when he got that broken nose :S.

[Pinky]

At least Rich didn't collapse after a single punch to the face.

Seriously, Anderson's attack was more like a jab than a power strike. He just knows where to put it, and has a sense of timing that's akin to voodoo. He only had a fraction of a second to do it, and he put it right where he needed to without hesitation. He's a real live fighting genius. Anderson had to cut a lot of pounds to compete in the middleweight division, and he still cuts weight to get down to 205, but he doesn't need to lose nearly as much to be in the LHW division. I think he's going to be even more dangerous now than he was at 185.

What I think is most interesting about this is that Silva's top training partner, Lyoto Machida, is also in the LHW division - and they're both undefeated in the UFC. Usually, if someone holds a belt in another weight class they get a fast shot at the other title holder, but I think Machida is the #1 contender for the division right now. If Anderson fights Forrest first, he could very well take the title and then Machida would be next in line; if Machida fights Forrest and takes the title, Anderson would be right behind him.

[Mr. Zhu]

At least Rich didn't collapse after a single punch to the face.

Seriously, Anderson's attack was more like a jab than a power strike. He just knows where to put it, and has a sense of timing that's akin to voodoo. He only had a fraction of a second to do it, and he put it right where he needed to without hesitation. He's a real live fighting genius. Anderson had to cut a lot of pounds to compete in the middleweight division, and he still cuts weight to get down to 205, but he doesn't need to lose nearly as much to be in the LHW division. I think he's going to be even more dangerous now than he was at 185.

What I think is most interesting about this is that Silva's top training partner, Lyoto Machida, is also in the LHW division - and they're both undefeated in the UFC. Usually, if someone holds a belt in another weight class they get a fast shot at the other title holder, but I think Machida is the #1 contender for the division right now. If Anderson fights Forrest first, he could very well take the title and then Machida would be next in line; if Machida fights Forrest and takes the title, Anderson would be right behind him.

Anderson stated after the fight that his main duty is going to be defending the Middleweight Championship. I don't think he's going to move up officially, but I think Silva would make a very decent Light Heavyweight, and I don't think Machida is the #1 Contender :S.. But in all honesty, there's no one in the Middleweight Division I can actually think of that stands a fraction of a chance against Silva...

[Pinky]

I agree that the middle weight division holds no challenge to Silva. Franklin is the #1 contender there, and Silva beat him twice already (three times, if you count the TKO at the very end of the first round in their second match)

But, in my view, Machida is definitely the #1 contender for the LHW title. Ortiz recently left the UFC after losing to Machida, Jackson just lost the belt so he needs a fight or two before there's any chance of another title shot and he's currently having legal troubles, Wanderlei only has one win over Jardine after recently losing to Liddell, Liddell only has a win over Wanderlei (which is big, but still it's one victory) after losing consecutively to both Jardine and Jackson and his next fight is against a mid-level fighter Rashad in September. Shogun might be considered the #1 contender by fans, but after his recent loss to the current champ Forrest he's going to need to a major victory to be in the next title fight, but Liddell is tied up, he and Wanderlei are friends so they won't fight each other, Jackson probably won't be fighting for a while, and I don't think that challenging Silva would be a very good idea if he intends to get a title shot anytime soon.

That leaves Machida. His big selling points are the recent unanimous decision over Ortiz (which was huge considering that Ortiz is a former LHW champ, and is still a very strong fighter) and the fact that's he's currently undefeated - that's not easy to pull off in the UFC, especially in the deep waters of the LHW division. He's not as "exciting" as the other contenders, but MMA fans today are really aware of the subtleties of combat sports and Machida has quite a fanbase. He was also supposed to fight Forrest back in 2007, but that was called off due to injury, iirc. All signs point toward the next LHW title fight being Forrest v Machida.

[Mr. Zhu]

I agree that the middle weight division holds no challenge to Silva. Franklin is the #1 contender there, and Silva beat him twice already (three times, if you count the TKO at the very end of the first round in their second match)

But, in my view, Machida is definitely the #1 contender for the LHW title. Ortiz recently left the UFC after losing to Machida, Jackson just lost the belt so he needs a fight or two before there's any chance of another title shot and he's currently having legal troubles, Wanderlei only has one win over Jardine after recently losing to Liddell, Liddell only has a win over Wanderlei (which is big, but still it's one victory) after losing consecutively to both Jardine and Jackson and his next fight is against a mid-level fighter Rashad in September. Shogun might be considered the #1 contender by fans, but after his recent loss to the current champ Forrest he's going to need to a major victory to be in the next title fight, but Liddell is tied up, he and Wanderlei are friends so they won't fight each other, Jackson probably won't be fighting for a while, and I don't think that challenging Silva would be a very good idea if he intends to get a title shot anytime soon.

That leaves Machida. His big selling points are the recent unanimous decision over Ortiz (which was huge considering that Ortiz is a former LHW champ, and is still a very strong fighter) and the fact that's he's currently undefeated - that's not easy to pull off in the UFC, especially in the deep waters of the LHW division. He's not as "exciting" as the other contenders, but MMA fans today are really aware of the subtleties of combat sports and Machida has quite a fanbase. He was also supposed to fight Forrest back in 2007, but that was called off due to injury, iirc. All signs point toward the next LHW title fight being Forrest v Machida.

First of all, the #1 contender in the Middleweight Division is no longer Rich Franklin, Rich moved up to 205 after his second loss to Anderson Silva. I believe the current #1 contender is Patrick Cote, after winning against Ricardo Almeida, earning himself the Middleweight Shot that he deserved. However, I still think he's going to be another quick victim for Silva... Cote is too premature to carry the Middleweight Belt, and is unlikely to win against Anderson Silva. Cote has shitty ground game which the Black Belt Anderson Silva will gladly take him upon it. Besides, Cote mainly resorts to standing up and banging against his opponents, but his reach is no where near Anderson Silva's so naturally his striking is going to be very limited.

The UFC have not yet announced an official contender for the LHW title, and I'm pretty sure at UFC Breakthrough 88 the winner will become the next LHW title contender, so it's pretty much down to Liddell or Rashad Evans. Of the two, I would have to choose Rashad to win over Liddell, no matter how impressive Liddell is, obviously, Rashad have been waiting for a chance ever since he won the Ultimate Fighter, which practically promises a title shots. Evans have also been headlining many UFC events, I think his time may be soon. When it comes down to it Rashad Evans carries a 16-0 record, and holds notable wins over various headlining LHW. At first Rua vs Liddell was supposed to take place at UFC 85, but then Rua pulled out due to an injury, resulting in Evans taking his place. But Liddell also injured himself near 85, and the fight was removed from the card. Now the fight is going to take place in UFC 88, and I'm pretty sure if anyone was set to fight Chuck Liddell, that guy was getting close to a title shot. After all, Liddell have always been lingering around the top 5 LHW throughout his career, and right now he's still amongst the top 5. I think it's safe to say that the winner at UFC 88 is going to move up to face Forrest Griffin..

And just an additional note... RAMPAGE WAS ROBBED BLIND IN THE LHW TITLE FIGHT!!!

Note the exclaimation marks...

[Pinky]

First of all, the #1 contender in the Middleweight Division is no longer Rich Franklin, Rich moved up to 205 after his second loss to Anderson Silva. I believe the current #1 contender is Patrick Cote, after winning against Ricardo Almeida, earning himself the Middleweight Shot that he deserved. However, I still think he's going to be another quick victim for Silva... Cote is too premature to carry the Middleweight Belt, and is unlikely to win against Anderson Silva. Cote has shitty ground game which the Black Belt Anderson Silva will gladly take him upon it. Besides, Cote mainly resorts to standing up and banging against his opponents, but his reach is no where near Anderson Silva's so naturally his striking is going to be very limited.

That's right, Rich is fighting Hamil in UFC88. Being from Ohio, I was just too excited to think about two good native Ohioans going at it to realize that Franklin moved up. Regardless, keep in mind that Franklin's professional loses are owned by Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, which is another feather in Machida's cap.

The UFC have not yet announced an official contender for the LHW title, and I'm pretty sure at UFC Breakthrough 88 the winner will become the next LHW title contender, so it's pretty much down to Liddell or Rashad Evans. Of the two, I would have to choose Rashad to win over Liddell, no matter how impressive Liddell is, obviously, Rashad have been waiting for a chance ever since he won the Ultimate Fighter, which practically promises a title shots. Evans have also been headlining many UFC events, I think his time may be soon. When it comes down to it Rashad Evans carries a 16-0 record, and holds notable wins over various headlining LHW. At first Rua vs Liddell was supposed to take place at UFC 85, but then Rua pulled out due to an injury, resulting in Evans taking his place. But Liddell also injured himself near 85, and the fight was removed from the card. Now the fight is going to take place in UFC 88, and I'm pretty sure if anyone was set to fight Chuck Liddell, that guy was getting close to a title shot. After all, Liddell have always been lingering around the top 5 LHW throughout his career, and right now he's still amongst the top 5. I think it's safe to say that the winner at UFC 88 is going to move up to face Forrest Griffin..

Are you drunk? Evens is going to be pounded into a meaty pulp. He's a Jardine-level fighter, and he does not belong in title contention. The only reason Keith beat Liddell was that Liddell fell into a lazy rut, and he still mauled Keith. Keith was the first to break away from an exchange more often than not, and at several points he actually turned his back to Chuck and ran away, and after the fight he looked like he was hit by a truck while Liddell could have kept going for another two rounds.

I agree with Wanderlei, Chuck should have won the decision that night, but the scoring system is fucked sideways. Joe and Dana agree that the decision was bad because after that fight Chuck went on to fight Wanderlei, and Jardine only fought Wanderlei after Chuck beat him - this is a clear indication that even after the Liddell-Jardine fight Chuck was considered the superior fighter. And now Liddell is making a comeback with a vengeance, since that fight with Wanderlei was like a clash of the titans, and Wanderlei in turn proved that Chuck is beyond human because he just raped the dogshit out of Jardine which obliterates any claim to fame that Keith had.

Rashad's record might officially say 16-0-1, but in reality Tito beat him and was robbed of a point during the match, so his record is really 15-1. Besides that, his best wins in the UFC are all split decisions, he has two TKO's over non-contenders, and the rest of his record is against no-names outside of the UFC. Realize that Rashad is going to have to do what Wanderlei and Tito could not - beat the Ice Man who is at the top of his game right now - and Rashad is nothing compared to Wanderlei, and Tito gave him more than he could handle. Reports claim that Rashad can't even out-wrestle GSP who is two weight classes below him, so he won't be able to even clench with Liddell. His best chance is to exchange with Liddell, and the Ice Man's record is a who's who list of KO's by strikes (he was on a seven-win KO streak before fighting Quinton). Unless Rashad's luck causes a rafter to fall on Liddell's head before or during the fight, it's a foregone conclusion that he's going to lose.

Although, I must say that I wouldn't mind seeing Forrest v Liddell. Chuck was his coach during the first season of TUF, and now Griffin took the title from the guy that beat Chuck, but he's training under Couture who was season one's superior coach that held the title before Chuck took it back from him. The careers of those three or four fighters makes for a nice soap opera, except that everybody is cool about it and they just beat each other senseless because it's their job.

edit: after re-reading this, this is a lot of rambling. the point was that rashad has a snowball's chance in hell of beating liddell. i also want to say that winning the TUF tournament doesn't automatically give anyone a title shot: forrest was s1 winner and he JUST had his first title fight, diego sanchez hasn't had a title shot, s2 joe stevenson had a title fight earlier this year and was nearly bled to death by penn, and season 4 was an exception because they were all veteran fighters who had contracts with the ufc and the prize was a title shot. rashad dropped from heavy to LHW, his record isn't impressive, meanwhile the LHW contenders are all world-class monsters. if he beats liddell then i will shit a brick.

And just an additional note... RAMPAGE WAS ROBBED BLIND IN THE LHW TITLE FIGHT!!!

Note the exclaimation marks...

I dunno about that. I definitely think that the fight was closer than the judges called it, but it really could have gone either way. From what I remember, they both earned two rounds and one of the rounds was up in the air. That's the danger of letting the judges decide, and I think Dana allows it so the fighters will finish it themselves.

[Mr. Zhu]

Are you drunk? Evens is going to be pounded into a meaty pulp. He's a Jardine-level fighter, and he does not belong in title contention. The only reason Keith beat Liddell was that Liddell fell into a lazy rut, and he still mauled Keith. Keith was the first to break away from an exchange more often than not, and at several points he actually turned his back to Chuck and ran away, and after the fight he looked like he was hit by a truck while Liddell could have kept going for another two rounds.

Rashad's record might officially say 16-0-1, but in reality Tito beat him and was robbed of a point during the match, so his record is really 15-1. Besides that, his best wins in the UFC are all split decisions, he has two TKO's over non-contenders, and the rest of his record is against no-names outside of the UFC.

Although, I must say that I wouldn't mind seeing Forrest v Liddell. Chuck was his coach during the first season of TUF, and now Griffin took the title from the guy that beat Chuck, but he's training under Couture who was season one's superior coach that held the title before Chuck took it back from him. The careers of those three or four fighters makes for a nice soap opera, except that everybody is cool about it and they just beat each other senseless because it's their job.

You do know that in this sport anything is possible, huge upsets have been pulled. Heck, if Ryo Chonan can defeat Anderson Silva, Rashad Evans can definitely defeat Chuck Liddell. Although past reports do prove the Chuck is the superior fighter, but there is no indefinite in the MMA game. One punch can change a whole lot of things and rather quickly, thats what the foundation of MMA is basically built upon. There is no one person that can be invincible in the ring, even Anderson Silva, who is now the number 1 Pound for Pound fighter in the world have been defeated by a sudden rise of event. If you seen the fight between Silva and Chonan you would know that MMA is nothing one sided.

If you're talking about no TKO wins against top-notch contenders, point out 1 KO win under Lyoto Machida's record that was against a top-notch fighter, except for Rich Franklin. If you want to talk about records, ALL OF LYOTO MACHIDA'S UFC VICTORIES ARE DECISION WINS except for one crummy submission against some guy I've never heard of in my life. And Machida's only claim to fame in UFC is against Tito Ortiz, which was the only guy he fought that had beyond 10 wins as a career. Talking about Rashad Evans not having anything good to mention, Lyoto doesn't either.

Forrest vs. Liddell will probably be inevitable if Forrest can hold on to that title belt, because Liddell will always be coming back for it, time and time again he has. I think of Chuck Liddell as a measuring tool for future young guns, he is the one that will prove if someone is ready for a title shot or not, and because of this, Dana is throwing just about every LHW he can find towards Chuck. Chuck is gladly dismembering most of them, but some manage to slip through. I would like to see Shogun vs. The Iceman for a title shot.

[Saz]

I just watched the fight on youtube. That was brutal. He made one mistake, and he was done.

When I saw his face I recognised Jame Irvin. I remember watching some of his fights before. Sucks to be him right now.

[Pinky]

Machida also has a KO over Stephen Bonner, who also fought Rashad into a split decision. With the terrible scoring system of the UFC a split decision might as well be a coin toss. As for Machida's decisions in the UFC, they're all unanimous. That means even under the eye of the piss-poor judges he's definitely superior to all of the opponents that he's faced so far. And by the way, Sokoudjou came to UFC from PRIDE because of his impressive record - he has KO wins over Rogerio Nogueira (UFC interim HW champ Rodrigo's twin brother), Ricardo Arona, and Nakamura. The fact that Lyoto was able to finish him is worth noting. Machida's style is based on intelligent evasion, he doesn't just barrel head-first and swing for the fences: he initiates exchanges only when he wants to, and he's really good at it. He reminds me a lot of Bruce Lee, actually.

You do realize that by citing Silva v Chonon you're saying that Rashad essentially has a better chance of being hit by lightning than beating Liddell. Rashad's skills are limited to basic striking and All-American wrestling: Liddell is one of the top three most dangerous strikers in MMA and he has the best take-down defense in the sport. You can bring up a dozen one-in-a-million scenarios, but there's a reason that fighters are divided into pedigrees: some are champions and the rest just aren't and never will be. Check the list of UFC title holders. There are no lucky punchers on that list.

Heavyweight title holder: Randy Couture, aka The Natural, aka Captain America, who is one of the best fighters in the history of MMA and who has only lost to other champions in the past ten years. There's a reason he's the gold standard for MMA fighters today. Chuck Liddell is the only person to beat him twice.

LHW title holder: Forrest Griffin, Couture's prize student. Besides being young, he's got skills that are only slightly less impressive than his mentor, and other than the fight with Jardine (whose claim to fame is a handful of freak wins that depend on poor performances from his opponents) the rest of his losses are owned by top-level and highly experienced competitors Dan Severn, Jeremy Horn, and Tito Ortiz. He was Liddell's first pick for s1 of TUF

Middleweight title holder: Anderson Siva, aka The Spider. His first fight in the UFC was a TKO with a 100% striking accuracy against Chris Leben who himself was known for a hard head that protected him from being knocked out. Of his 26 pro MMA fights, the four loses include a disqualification, that bizarre Chonan match where he was knocking the little asian guy silly for the entire fight, another submission, and a split decision which also happened to be his first pro MMA match. The five victories of his that went to decision are all unanimous against the likes of Sakurai and Jeremy Horn, with the rest being decisive knock outs and submissions with the latest being against Henderson, Nate the Great, Franklin, and Travis Lutter.

Welterweight title holder: GSP, aka RUSH. His nickname comes from the fact that he goes ballistic with mechanically reliable performance. This kid's win record is a who's who list of welterweights, with only two losses: one to Hughes which he redeemed himself for twice, and another to Serra which he doubly redeemed himself for in a single rematch.

Lightweight title holder: BJ Penn, aka The Prodigy. Like all the other UFC title holders, he is one of the best fighters in the world, and is likely the best fighter in his weight class bar none. This guy has confidence in himself that can move mountains, and besides that poor loss to Pulver (six years ago) his loses are to GSP, Machida, and Hughes. Yeah, that's right, he fought Lyoto Machida.

Now, my point is that Chuck Liddell is one of them and Rashad is not. They can win decisively in streaks against top-level competition, while the toughtest opponent that Rashad has faced is Tito during his last months in the UFC and even then he would have lost had the ref not stolen a point from Ortiz - which is a man that Liddell has handily mauled on two separate occasions. Not only that, but the champions only lose once or twice here and there, afterward they came a stellar comeback - which is what Liddell is in the middle of doing right now. Really, the only way that Rashad can win is if lightning strikes or if he's suddenly become three times stronger than he's shown in previous matches, but I wouldn't bet on either coming true.

[Mr. Zhu]

Machida also has a KO over Stephen Bonner, who also fought Rashad into a split decision. With the terrible scoring system of the UFC a split decision might as well be a coin toss. As for Machida's decisions in the UFC, they're all unanimous. That means even under the eye of the piss-poor judges he's definitely superior to all of the opponents that he's faced so far. And by the way, Sokoudjou came to UFC from PRIDE because of his impressive record - he has KO wins over Rogerio Nogueira (UFC interim HW champ Rodrigo's twin brother), Ricardo Arona, and Nakamura. The fact that Lyoto was able to finish him is worth noting. Machida's style is based on intelligent evasion, he doesn't just barrel head-first and swing for the fences: he initiates exchanges only when he wants to, and he's really good at it. He reminds me a lot of Bruce Lee, actually.

You do realize that by citing Silva v Chonon you're saying that Rashad essentially has a better chance of being hit by lightning than beating Liddell. Rashad's skills are limited to basic striking and All-American wrestling: Liddell is one of the top three most dangerous strikers in MMA and he has the best take-down defense in the sport. You can bring up a dozen one-in-a-million scenarios, but there's a reason that fighters are divided into pedigrees: some are champions and the rest just aren't and never will be. Check the list of UFC title holders. There are no lucky punchers on that list.

Heavyweight title holder: Randy Couture, aka The Natural, aka Captain America, who is one of the best fighters in the history of MMA and who has only lost to other champions in the past ten years. There's a reason he's the gold standard for MMA fighters today. Chuck Liddell is the only person to beat him twice.

LHW title holder: Forrest Griffin, Couture's prize student. Besides being young, he's got skills that are only slightly less impressive than his mentor, and other than the fight with Jardine (whose claim to fame is a handful of freak wins that depend on poor performances from his opponents) the rest of his losses are owned by top-level and highly experienced competitors Dan Severn, Jeremy Horn, and Tito Ortiz. He was Liddell's first pick for s1 of TUF

Middleweight title holder: Anderson Siva, aka The Spider. His first fight in the UFC was a TKO with a 100% striking accuracy against Chris Leben who himself was known for a hard head that protected him from being knocked out. Of his 26 pro MMA fights, the four loses include a disqualification, that bizarre Chonan match where he was knocking the little asian guy silly for the entire fight, another submission, and a split decision which also happened to be his first pro MMA match. The five victories of his that went to decision are all unanimous against the likes of Sakurai and Jeremy Horn, with the rest being decisive knock outs and submissions with the latest being against Henderson, Nate the Great, Franklin, and Travis Lutter.

Welterweight title holder: GSP, aka RUSH. His nickname comes from the fact that he goes ballistic with mechanically reliable performance. This kid's win record is a who's who list of welterweights, with only two losses: one to Hughes which he redeemed himself for twice, and another to Serra which he doubly redeemed himself for in a single rematch.

Lightweight title holder: BJ Penn, aka The Prodigy. Like all the other UFC title holders, he is one of the best fighters in the world, and is likely the best fighter in his weight class bar none. This guy has confidence in himself that can move mountains, and besides that poor loss to Pulver (six years ago) his loses are to GSP, Machida, and Hughes. Yeah, that's right, he fought Lyoto Machida.

Now, my point is that Chuck Liddell is one of them and Rashad is not. They can win decisively in streaks against top-level competition, while the toughtest opponent that Rashad has faced is Tito during his last months in the UFC and even then he would have lost had the ref not stolen a point from Ortiz - which is a man that Liddell has handily mauled on two separate occasions. Not only that, but the champions only lose once or twice here and there, afterward they came a stellar comeback - which is what Liddell is in the middle of doing right now. Really, the only way that Rashad can win is if lightning strikes or if he's suddenly become three times stronger than he's shown in previous matches, but I wouldn't bet on either coming true.

I get what you're saying, and yeah, I know Lyoto defeated BJ Penn... But that was like what... 3 years ago? A lot can happen in 3 years, heck, I can get to my first black belt in 3 years. Like I said, there is no for sure in MMA... Even a few months can result in a huge amount of difference. Upsets do happen, that's why they are called upsets. I know everyone counted Matt Serra out when he was fighting GSP (who btw is friend to the coach I am training under), but boom, he lands a great punch. AND it wasn't just some fucking lucky punch that happens ever so often, no, these people are professional, they look for their hits, and set up their strong hooks or KO punches.

Quoting from Brandon Vera who in his own rights is a very impressive fighter, "When you get to a high level of fighting like in the UFC, it is no longer just punching and kicking, it's more like a chess game, if he does this, I gotta do that." It is like a chess game, you make one mistake, and you get your queen taken or you get a checkmate. When the fighting becomes so professional, it is like a waiting game, you're waiting for your opponent to commit the first mistake.

Who are we to judge if Rashad Evans or Lyoto Machida do not deserve the title, opinions will be opinions at the end, but there is no such thing as a lucky punch in a business like this. That's what I've been hearing from my coach ever since the start of my training. "There's no such thing as a lucky punch, you either make a mistake and get knocked out, or knock out someone for committing a mistake." Although I must say, if Rashad Evans is headlining a UFC event instead of Lyoto Machida, who I believe is making an appearance at UFC 89: Leben vs Bisping, and he is taking on Thiago Silva, who is also undefeated. If he does win that fight, he will make a definite advance in ranks.

Lyoto vs Thiago is a extremely high card fight, but it is no main event. Rashad was also the person who was seen to most likely win the Ultimate Fighter in his season, and Matt Hughes even says that Rashad has the potential to make it big in this business. I don't care if Lyoto is indeed the better fighter, he hasn't earned his spot in UFC to even be considered for a title shot. As you very well know, the LHW is a tremendously competitive weight class, and I'm telling you right now, it takes a little more than being undefeated to become champion.

Also, knowing this from my coach. A loss is a better learning opportunity than a win. That has also been quoted many times before. If you go through your career never being defeated, you won't know what its like to be on the receiving side of critism and experience. That's where you have to get back up on your feet, and continue your journey as a Martial Artist. Now, I don't claim to be an expert in the octagon, but I'm pretty sure my knowledge about Martial Arts is slightly above many of the people in this RPG. Knowing this much, it's not about what your status looks like, it's what you bring to the table.

Lyoto, yes, scored some pretty impressive wins, and one particularly that was against Tito. He has a history of imposing his will against many of the greats in UFC. But as I said, Lyoto lack the reality of actually pulling off an impressive finish in the UFC which is going to be a huge thing to work on if you wanna progress in "Entertainment". Most people don't wanna see 2 people scrambling about on the ground, nor do they wanna see a submission finish(I particularly like both, but that's speaking from being an Artist myself). But most UFC fans desire a fancy brawl, a slug-fest if you will, and they wanna see the opposition get knocked out clean. I know as a fan back in my early days, I liked to see people swinging at each other and getting knocked out.

As for Rashad, he finished many of his opponents, he finished many opponents in the Ultimate Fighter show, and many people from that show would eventually come out to be known fighters. By the way, Ryo Chonan's win against Anderson Silva, god damn that was some fucking expertise with a joint lock. To be able to turn a leg scissor, and position himself so damn nicely to execute that heel hook, GOD FUCKING DAMN was it awesome.

[Pinky]

I get what you're saying, and yeah, I know Lyoto defeated BJ Penn... But that was like what... 3 years ago? A lot can happen in 3 years, heck, I can get to my first black belt in 3 years. Like I said, there is no for sure in MMA... Even a few months can result in a huge amount of difference. Upsets do happen, that's why they are called upsets. I know everyone counted Matt Serra out when he was fighting GSP (who btw is friend to the coach I am training under), but boom, he lands a great punch. AND it wasn't just some fucking lucky punch that happens ever so often, no, these people are professional, they look for their hits, and set up their strong hooks or KO punches.

Serra was GSP's most difficult opponent: a highly experienced and undaunted submission artist with heavy hands. And the first punch that rocked GSP wasn't even a "punch" per se, it was actually a forearm that caught him in the back of the head which is an illegal strike. That's luck if only because the ref didn't call a time-out so GSP could recover. And this isn't comparable to the Liddel v Evans fight because Liddell is the superior fighter and he's Rashad's worst nightmare skill-wise.

Quoting from Brandon Vera who in his own rights is a very impressive fighter, "When you get to a high level of fighting like in the UFC, it is no longer just punching and kicking, it's more like a chess game, if he does this, I gotta do that." It is like a chess game, you make one mistake, and you get your queen taken or you get a checkmate. When the fighting becomes so professional, it is like a waiting game, you're waiting for your opponent to commit the first mistake.

That's an oversimplification. There are rock-paper-scissor style movements, but individual ability (strength, speed, accuracy, timing, confidence, reach, endurance - and Liddell takes the advantage in them all) is also key.

Who are we to judge if Rashad Evans or Lyoto Machida do not deserve the title, opinions will be opinions at the end, but there is no such thing as a lucky punch in a business like this. That's what I've been hearing from my coach ever since the start of my training. "There's no such thing as a lucky punch, you either make a mistake and get knocked out, or knock out someone for committing a mistake." Although I must say, if Rashad Evans is headlining a UFC event instead of Lyoto Machida, who I believe is making an appearance at UFC 89: Leben vs Bisping, and he is taking on Thiago Silva, who is also undefeated. If he does win that fight, he will make a definite advance in ranks.

Your coach is only telling you that to keep you from over-thinking things. I understand that certain mental limitations help keep a fighter sharp, but you must realize that it's essentially a Jedi mentality and shouldn't be taken to the extreme (I hope that you don't believe blowing out your ACL or breaking your hand during a punch is a conscious mistake). Also, besides a title shot there's not a lot of room left for Machida to climb.

Lyoto vs Thiago is a extremely high card fight, but it is no main event. Rashad was also the person who was seen to most likely win the Ultimate Fighter in his season, and Matt Hughes even says that Rashad has the potential to make it big in this business. I don't care if Lyoto is indeed the better fighter, he hasn't earned his spot in UFC to even be considered for a title shot. As you very well know, the LHW is a tremendously competitive weight class, and I'm telling you right now, it takes a little more than being undefeated to become champion.

TUF is an amateur tournament designed to pick at least one guy in the selected weight class(es) to join the UFC at the bottom rung. Rashad won the only heavyweight competition they've ever had on the show, which is a particularly unimpressive division. His performances so far have been mediocre, including that split decision that won him the TUF2 finale. It's funny that you say being undefeated isn't enough to be champion, because that's the only thing Rashad has going for him. His best attribute is LUCK due to his winning so many split decisions and that silly Tito thing. But, as long as a piano doesn't fall on Chuck's head it looks like his luck has run out.

Also, knowing this from my coach. A loss is a better learning opportunity than a win. That has also been quoted many times before. If you go through your career never being defeated, you won't know what its like to be on the receiving side of critism and experience. That's where you have to get back up on your feet, and continue your journey as a Martial Artist. Now, I don't claim to be an expert in the octagon, but I'm pretty sure my knowledge about Martial Arts is slightly above many of the people in this RPG. Knowing this much, it's not about what your status looks like, it's what you bring to the table.

I know a bit about fight sports myself and Rashad's abilities are insufficient for this match, which is what I've been pointing out this entire time.

Lyoto, yes, scored some pretty impressive wins, and one particularly that was against Tito. He has a history of imposing his will against many of the greats in UFC. But as I said, Lyoto lack the reality of actually pulling off an impressive finish in the UFC which is going to be a huge thing to work on if you wanna progress in "Entertainment". Most people don't wanna see 2 people scrambling about on the ground, nor do they wanna see a submission finish(I particularly like both, but that's speaking from being an Artist myself). But most UFC fans desire a fancy brawl, a slug-fest if you will, and they wanna see the opposition get knocked out clean. I know as a fan back in my early days, I liked to see people swinging at each other and getting knocked out.

Maybe this was true five or six years ago, but MMA fans in general and UFC fans in particular have become much more refined. When fighters scramble for submission locks and reverse position on the ground there's as much cheering as during an exchange. Lyoto has garnered himself a nice fanbase for having only five fights in the UFC and it's getting bigger.

As for Rashad, he finished many of his opponents, he finished many opponents in the Ultimate Fighter show, and many people from that show would eventually come out to be known fighters. By the way, Ryo Chonan's win against Anderson Silva, god damn that was some fucking expertise with a joint lock. To be able to turn a leg scissor, and position himself so damn nicely to execute that heel hook, GOD FUCKING DAMN was it awesome.

Evans has finished two fights as a UFC fighter (which is only one more than Lyoto...) and TUF tournaments are full of low-level fighters. You seem to have a very unrealistic view of Rashad's ability and his record. I don't know if you're just obsessed with him as a fan or if you're full blown gay for him, but you should prepare yourself for disappointment come UFC88.