UFC 136 initial thoughts (spoilers.......)

Anfields5thKing wrote:

redmeanie77 wrote:

p4pnumber_1 wrote:

redmeanie77 wrote:

Edgar should be at Bantamweight or at least 145lb. I think he is smaller than Aldo and Cruz. Those champs are all messed up IMO.

Aldo should be 155, Cruz 145, Edgar 135.

135 may be pushing it to be honest, but you never know. I agree Aldo should be 155 champ and Edgar 145 champ and I think that may be the case in the future.

Edgar cuts no weight at all, compared to other UFC fighters 20lbs isnt that big deal. Cruz should definetely be thinking about 145lb, Aldo should move up aswell. Frankie can make both, but wont go to 135 but i think his body can do it if he wanted it.

Could possibly give him the opportunity to become a 3 weight champion if he was willing to do so. He beats every at 145 not named Aldo IMO, and I think he'd roll through 135.

Aldo also has chance to do that aswell, he can fight at LW, and cut to 135 might be tough but still do able. Only 20 lbs difference between the 3 divisions, same as difference between MW and LHW.


Dana seems to want the champs to vacate their belt in order to move divisions though.

Not too sure on Aldo's ability to cut even more weight, I think this has been a huge part in why he's looked less than brilliant in his last two fights. Sure, if he's alloweds to dictate the pace and can get his shots of early enough, but I couldn't see him dropping down even lower. I can definitely see him going up to 155 though.

There is virtually no chance of Aldo being able to cut to 135. There is a video of him cutting weight for the Hominick fight and he says in it he will just weigh in overweight and suffer the consequences. This doesn't sound like someone with the ability to cut a further 10 pounds. Plus his body hasn't fully developed and he's only going to get bigger, hence the planned move to LW.

Great event

That judge who scored the first rd for Massenzio wants his licence taking away from him,no way anyone could make a serious case for Mike winning the first rd.
Good fight though,started the card off great.

Simpson looked good aswell,but Schaffer showed nothing except the fact he has a granite chin.
Couldn't believe after watching the first rd,that this fight would of gone the distance.
I'd imagine schaffer gets cut after that.

Only saw the first rd of the Elkins - Quan fight,so don't know how it played out,but from what I saw,at this level,it's no good just having a good submission game(well a dangerous guillotine),if your grappling game isn't very good to go with it.

Miocic looked pretty good,he's still very green in certain areas but he's a well rounded fighter,who i think will improve alot over the next couple of years.
I'm sure he'd of took alot away from that fight.

Enjoyed the Stephens - Pettis fight,I gave Stephens the first rd and Pettis the last 2.

The maia - santiago fight was abit dull,but it went pretty much how i expected it to go,with maia being able to handle himself standing long enough to get Santiago down,where Maia would be able to controll him.

Shit,I couldn't believe how Melvins legs gave out on him,after what seemed to be nothing more than a stiff jab.credit to lauzon,one thing he is really good at,is when he has a fighter hurt,he doesn't waist anytime going for the kill,he was on top of melvin instantly and finished him with a very nice choke.

can't believe I didn't pick the Phan - Garcia for FOTN,I could watch these two fight each other at any time,they always give there all,really hope we see a third fight.
Phan's hands were impressive.

good performance from Sonnen,the guys a beast when he can grab a hold of you.
impressed,but not getting carried away,after watching Davis dominate him with his wrestling in his UFC debut,Stann was tailor made for Sonnens style.
Still think Anderson beats him.

Kenny fought a smart fight to frustrate Aldo,but he never seemed to put in the extra effort to try a win the fight.
Aldo didn't really put on a great performance,but he did enough to easily win the fight.
Impressed with his takedown defence,will be interested how well he can defend mendes's takedowns.

Gutted I switched to maynard winning.
What was he thinking,if you don't push the pace and keep the pressure on frankie,he'll just out work you.
Maynard is an idiot,he's obviously got power in his punches,but his over all boxing is poor,he's a wrestler,so after switching off again after a great first rd,I'm happy the fool lost.
Frankie for me,proved that he is undersized in this division,but he is a better,smarter and more skillfull fighter than Maynard.

p4pnumber_1 wrote:There is virtually no chance of Aldo being able to cut to 135. There is a video of him cutting weight for the Hominick fight and he says in it he will just weigh in overweight and suffer the consequences. This doesn't sound like someone with the ability to cut a further 10 pounds. Plus his body hasn't fully developed and he's only going to get bigger, hence the planned move to LW.

He messed up the Hominick cut because he got quite heavy having been off for so long and not being able to train while his neck healed. He could definitely make 135 but it's just a matter of whether he wants to commit to it or not.

Once Mohawked Pete wrote:Was a good card, great performance from Sonnen.

Garcia has got some heart like, amazing fight again.

Maynard will be kicking himself for sure, definitely choked. I think in his effort to not gas, he forgot everything that took him to a title shot, certainly didn't live up to his name after round one, Bully? Fuck me, he allowed himself to be bullied by one of the smallest 155lb'ers that there's ever been. Edgar should think really seriously about moving down to 145lb, I know that Anfield in particular, will have a go about this statement, but, I could see him beating Aldo @ that weight, Aldo hasn't looked brilliant in his last two, when put under pressure. I'm aware that a lot of that, will be because of the weight cut, but, I could see Maynard, with his style putting him under huge pressure for 5 rounds, and whatever anyone says about Edgar, he can take a shot.

Was a bit gutted that Guillard lost so easily, really thought he might have had an outside chance at a title shot.

Was also impressed with Miocic as well, looks like he could be a prospect.

Yet again though, was confused at scoring last night, in the Cantwell/Massenzio fight, one judge scored 30-27 for Massenzio? There was no way in fuck that he took the first.

Aldo destroyed Hominick for 4 rounds and looked really impressive until he gassed. Florian tried to spoil the fight and was a lot bigger than Aldo. Edgar's not going to have a speed advantage over Aldo. He'll be a long way short in the striking department and Aldo has the best takedown defence in the sport. I wouldn't fancy Edgar's chances.

Maynard really shocked me by not shooting for takedowns until round 4. His corner were telling him to show everyone who the better wrestler is and take him down. Edgar was landing numerous leg kicks and not the fast half hearted leg kicks like in UFC 125. Even Shogun would have been impressed by some of those kicks Edgar landed last night but Maynard never threatened with a takedown and allowed Frankie to do what he likes.

Edgar did land a lot of kicks but those aren't damaging. Edgar uses them, very well, to set up his punches. But they're not Shogun or Aldo esque.

Maynard should have been going for takedowns early when Edgar was still catchable. Edgar sweats more than anyone in the sport and by the 3rd and 4th round he's like trying to catch a greased eel.

But still on the countdown Maynard was saying oh look at those kicks he's landing, they not meant to hurt he is just doing it for points. Edgar said yeah he just threw them really fast and half hearted so he wouldnt get taken down. But yesterday he was blasting Maynard with those kicks as hard as he could, and Maynard just stood there watching didnt try to time a shot.

They still lack power though. Edgar is a point scorer. He caught Maynard with that huge uppercut when they were breaking from the clinch and Maynard left his chin hanging out. After that it was over. 3 full power shots to a guy who was rocked and had his hands low, even with Edgar's limited power, that's fight over.

Frankie doesnt have to go to 145 but i think he will at some point 135 is intersting 3 weight world champ
He is doing so well at lw he prob makes more money there 2

Primetime comming up for sonnen silva Me thinks

Lauzon v miller next and sherk maynard ? What do you think who next

I'd like to see J-Lau against Nate to be honest.

I have to give Edgar all the respect in the world for surviving again but Maynard fucked up. Not sure how he managed to screw up twice from the same position, but after the 1st round there was only one fighter in it. Great comeback from Edgar. He needs to work on how he starts the fight though, if he was fighting Melendez he would have been finished both times in the 1st round.

Aldo proved he can win fights when he isn't at his best, similar to GSP. Ben Stiller tried to ruin the fight and won the first IMO but then it was easy for Aldo. Florian didn't really offer anything. It's a mark of a great fighter when he wins so dominantly after performing below his best. Top 3 P4P IMO.

Stann was out of his league, he was absolutely dominated by Sonnen. Good to see him back and in back with his comments. Really good performance and I am starting to think he will beat Silva in a rematch. The comments on Belort had me in stitches.

Phan vs Garcia was another fun fight, thankfully the right guy won this time. Garcia is a lot of fun to watch but he needs to work on better gameplans. Any skilled striker beats him comfortably.

Guillards sub defence is still not where it needs to be. He is an excellent striker, but he has holes when defending. Lauzon is a fairly good striker but Guillard should be better than that.

I missed the spike prelims and all the facebook fights except for Miocic vs Beltran. That was a lot of fun IMO, Beltran is one tough motherfucker. He took a hell of a beating and came back.

Miocic is a lot of fun to watch but I'm not sure he has the ability to become a top, top fighter. He has a long way to go before then. He needs to work on his conditioning.

Chelsea I was saying about Lauzons hands for the lasts few fights they have got so much better, Melvin only got subbed because he got Rocked to his boots 1st. I give Lauzon major credit for rocking him, wouldnt mind what Anfield suggested and seeing him fight Diaz. Guilard can strike allrigth but Lauzon near put him away trading hands. Anfield would you back him to beat Nate? I think at 155 Nate will make a run at the title, I reckon he could give Edgar hell.

Speaking of 155ers, anyone see Pettis fight? He has been training with Askren to fix his Wrestling (Guillard take note, if youve a hole in your game mix it!)
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Has the Traffic Jam been cleared up at 155 at all with Maynards loss and Guillard being eliminated as a contender?

So Melendez is clear favorite to walk into a title shot but assuming he doesnt come to UFC straight away Bendo vs Guida winner is getting the next crack at Edgar.

1. Pettis - should have had a title shot, lost to guida then got another win. If Bendo beats Guida it will make his case stronger as he beat Bendo. I see him as next in line between the rest of the devision. Potentially 1 win away from a shot

2. Jim Miller - coming off a loss to Bendo that ruled out his title shot, Still its only 1 loss in his last 8 fights, his career losses are to Edgar and Maynard. I think avenging the Maynard loss could earn him a shot. Potentially 1 win away too?

3. Dennis Siver/Donald Cerrone Winner - Siver is on a 4 fight winning spree, beating George Sot (who was a win away from a title shot) Cerrone is on a 5 fight winning spree, add eachs name to their CV and they look a win away from a title shot.

The rest: Id say these guys are probabally 2 fights away from being in contention Diaz, Lauzon, Maynard

So 3 guys a win away and 3 probabally 2 wins away, Its still a bit of a log jam at the top of the devision, I cant wait to see who gets matched up with who.

Maynard should have tried at least one submission attempt on Edgar in the first round when he had him rocked all over the place.
He should've figured by that point he won't finish Edgar with his awkward robotic Gn'P, so why not?
That whole fight was one big tactical error by Maynard. He did one thing right in 19 minutes.

He isn't ever going to be champion now. If he gets another shot Melendez will have the belt by then.

As will Sonnen...

rudeboyben84 wrote:Chelsea I was saying about Lauzons hands for the lasts few fights they have got so much better, Melvin only got subbed because he got Rocked to his boots 1st. I give Lauzon major credit for rocking him, wouldnt mind what Anfield suggested and seeing him fight Diaz. Guilard can strike allrigth but Lauzon near put him away trading hands. Anfield would you back him to beat Nate? I think at 155 Nate will make a run at the title, I reckon he could give Edgar hell.

Speaking of 155ers, anyone see Pettis fight? He has been training with Askren to fix his Wrestling (Guillard take note, if youve a hole in your game mix it!)
------------------------------------------------------------------


Has the Traffic Jam been cleared up at 155 at all with Maynards loss and Guillard being eliminated as a contender?

So Melendez is clear favorite to walk into a title shot but assuming he doesnt come to UFC straight away Bendo vs Guida winner is getting the next crack at Edgar.

1. Pettis - should have had a title shot, lost to guida then got another win. If Bendo beats Guida it will make his case stronger as he beat Bendo. I see him as next in line between the rest of the devision. Potentially 1 win away from a shot

2. Jim Miller - coming off a loss to Bendo that ruled out his title shot, Still its only 1 loss in his last 8 fights, his career losses are to Edgar and Maynard. I think avenging the Maynard loss could earn him a shot. Potentially 1 win away too?

3. Dennis Siver/Donald Cerrone Winner - Siver is on a 4 fight winning spree, beating George Sot (who was a win away from a title shot) Cerrone is on a 5 fight winning spree, add eachs name to their CV and they look a win away from a title shot.

The rest: Id say these guys are probabally 2 fights away from being in contention Diaz, Lauzon, Maynard

So 3 guys a win away and 3 probabally 2 wins away, Its still a bit of a log jam at the top of the devision, I cant wait to see who gets matched up with who.

I'm not sure Diaz will get a title shot because I don't think him and Gilbert would fight. I think Diaz is about to become a top top fighter though. Look at his career and his brothers and they're fairly similar. I think Nate can be top 3 at LW. I'd back him to school Joe to be honest, but they both come to fight so it would be a fun fight to watch.
Melendez is the best LW in the world so he should get the shot. I think he will. Frankie's eye and nose are messed up so he could be out a while though.

Bendo walks through Guida and Edgar for me. He's the best the UFC has right now. I think he'd beat Pettis if they fight again. In fact if they fought 5 more times, I think he'd win 4 of them. Pettis is going to be great though. So talented. Add him to the list of people more talented than Jon Jones. Actually, Pettis vs Nate might be an idea.

Miller is going to be a gatekeeper to the top 5 I think.

Cerrone has the talent to make a run at the title but I think Bendo, Gil, Nate, Pettis, Maynard and Edgar would all beat him.

I would like to see Lauzon-Nate and Guillard-Maynard.


Melendez (Looks like isnt coming till after Masvidal fight)
Bendo-Guida winner
Cerrone-Siver winner
Pettis
Nate Diaz
Lauzon
Maynard
Guillard


This is how im ranking guys in terms of close to title shots against Frankie. There are still other guys who can enter the frame with more wins. Dunham, Sherk, Miller, Stout, Barboza, Makdessi, Dos Anjos, Wiman. And im still probably forgeting some guys aswell....

rudeboyben84 wrote:Chelsea I was saying about Lauzons hands for the lasts few fights they have got so much better, Melvin only got subbed because he got Rocked to his boots 1st. I give Lauzon major credit for rocking him, wouldnt mind what Anfield suggested and seeing him fight Diaz. Guilard can strike allrigth but Lauzon near put him away trading hands. Anfield would you back him to beat Nate? I think at 155 Nate will make a run at the title, I reckon he could give Edgar hell.

Speaking of 155ers, anyone see Pettis fight? He has been training with Askren to fix his Wrestling (Guillard take note, if youve a hole in your game mix it!)
------------------------------------------------------------------


Has the Traffic Jam been cleared up at 155 at all with Maynards loss and Guillard being eliminated as a contender?

So Melendez is clear favorite to walk into a title shot but assuming he doesnt come to UFC straight away Bendo vs Guida winner is getting the next crack at Edgar.

1. Pettis - should have had a title shot, lost to guida then got another win. If Bendo beats Guida it will make his case stronger as he beat Bendo. I see him as next in line between the rest of the devision. Potentially 1 win away from a shot

2. Jim Miller - coming off a loss to Bendo that ruled out his title shot, Still its only 1 loss in his last 8 fights, his career losses are to Edgar and Maynard. I think avenging the Maynard loss could earn him a shot. Potentially 1 win away too?

3. Dennis Siver/Donald Cerrone Winner - Siver is on a 4 fight winning spree, beating George Sot (who was a win away from a title shot) Cerrone is on a 5 fight winning spree, add eachs name to their CV and they look a win away from a title shot.

The rest: Id say these guys are probabally 2 fights away from being in contention Diaz, Lauzon, Maynard

So 3 guys a win away and 3 probabally 2 wins away, Its still a bit of a log jam at the top of the devision, I cant wait to see who gets matched up with who.

Ben his hands have improved massively bit he's still not what I would consider a world class striker. I honestly think Guillard could be in the top 3 or 5 strikers in the division. The last time Lauzon fought a top striker he was comprehensively beaten by Stout. I like Lauzon he's a good fighter and he's exciting but he kind of reminds me of Martin Kampmann. He's good everywhere but he isn't great anywhere.

Him vs Diaz should be a great fight. I'm not 100% sold on Diaz yet, he still hasn't proved he can beat wrestlers. Neither has his brother to be fair. Lauzon vs Diaz would be a good fight, not sure who I'd pick to win.

Edgar is suspended from contact until late November. If Gilbert is fighting Masvidal in early Decemeber, then they might line up perfectly for a late Feb fight.

Guilard walked straight on to a punch. He was far too arrogant. He thought
that he had absolutely nothing to fear in the stand-up.

Maynard fought the worst fight possible. From the second round onwards he hardly did anything.
It was like he was transfixed. He seemed to think that Edgar’s punches weren’t hard enough for him to bother defending himself and were hard enough for him not to walk straight through them.