2012 Off topic thread(basketball,movies,etc whatever)

[Svino]

I've been asked by my editor who my nomination is for Fighter of the Year.

Suggestions? And why?

Well, I think you might have to go with the guy who, in 2012 claimed a division title and defended it twice against top opposition: Ben Henderson. Admittedly, this idea is marred by the fact that his two wins against Edgar were controversial, especially the second.

There are two other guys I can think of with 3 very solid wins in 2012.

There's Stefan Struve, who beat Dave Herman, Lavar Johnson, and Stipe Miocic to emerge out of the Heavyweight pack.

And then there's Rafael dos Anjos, who beat Shalorus, Njokuani, and Bocek.

One fighter with two wins stands out to me: a person who in 2012 went from being relatively unknown in MMA to being one of the most talked about fighters in the sport: Ronda Rousey. Making history as the first female fighter signed by the UFC ain't nothing either.

(Honorable mention in the two-win category goes to Tim Boetsch, who pulled off two big upsets with his wins over Okami and Lombard.)

[Svino]

Pretty good read about the Ultimate Ultimate back in 96 (Nice time killer in the office)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/etick...ge=eightmenout

Yeah that was interesting; thanks for the link.

[SPX]

Yeah, I have never thought Serra was the most exciting guy to watch, but he won me over by being short and having a likeable personality. If it weren't for those two things, I probably wouldn't like him.

Hendricks is obviously a really good fighter, but honestly I keep hoping he'll lose. I was really hoping Kampmann would find a way to win that fight. But alas, it was not to be. Oh well. If Hendricks fights GSP it should at least be an interesting style matchup as GSP should have a harder than usual time doing his wrestling thing and there's always the possibility that Hendricks could Serra him.

[MMA_scientist]

Maybe it's just his fighting style. It's cool how he blows dudes up when he hits them, but I'm rarely a big fan of wrestlers and his striking isn't something that I'd say is particularly attractive to watch.

And I don't really like his face.

Yeah, he is not the most exciting fighter to be sure, except and until he lands. Honestly, he reminds me a lot of Matt Serra in that he is a little hobbit looking bastard with a stupid face that blows people up with his brawling style of striking. The difference is the wrestling, but I feel like he mixes it up pretty well. As I have mentioned before, I really only like him because of his wrestling days at OSU.

[SPX]

Maybe it's just his fighting style. It's cool how he blows dudes up when he hits them, but I'm rarely a big fan of wrestlers and his striking isn't something that I'd say is particularly attractive to watch.

And I don't really like his face.

[MMA_scientist]

how come you don't like Hendricks? Seems like he is pretty non-offensive these days.

[SPX]

Thanks for the feedback. I made a case for most of those guys in my e-mail.

Even though I don't really like him, I was originally thinking Hendricks. Then I realized the Fitch win was really in 2011 and I thought he should've lost the decision against Kos.

Matt Brown is an interesting choice. At the very least he should get a "most improved" award.

[MMA_scientist]

Johny Hendricks, Chris Weidman assuming he wins on the 29th, or Matt Brown. Hendricks for obvious reasons, and the same for Weidman. But Brown has gone 4-0 in 2012 and was an underdog in at least two of his fights with 3 finishes. He probably gets eclipsed by the bigger name opponents of the other two guys but it's hard to argue 4-0.

damn I didn't realize he fought 4 times in 2012. That is an under the radar pick that makes sense. He does lose some prestige via his strength of schedule being lower than any other contender. The criteria should be: wins, dominance, relevance, and strength of opponents.

[MMA_scientist]

I've been asked by my editor who my nomination is for Fighter of the Year.

Suggestions? And why?

Future Champ. If you count Fitch (12/30/11), no one else has wins as high in quality in the last 365 days. And he has two first round stoppages over two top 10 guys. Not just fan talk.

or Weidman, he only had two fights in 2012, but he dominated.

Or Gustafsson, if you count his 12/30/11 fight, he also has 3 quality wins, but only stopped one guy, and that was Matushenko- not in the top 10.

Jon Jones and Anderson Silva both went 2-0 but both had one real fight and one showcase against an undeserving challenger (Vitor is Vitor, but he is a MW).

You could make an argument for Renan Barao too IMO. He only fought twice, but he beat Uriah Faber, stopped Jorg, and also captured the interim title.

My vote goes to Hendricks or Barao.

[Ludo]

I've been asked by my editor who my nomination is for Fighter of the Year.

Suggestions? And why?

Johny Hendricks, Chris Weidman assuming he wins on the 29th, or Matt Brown. Hendricks for obvious reasons, and the same for Weidman. But Brown has gone 4-0 in 2012 and was an underdog in at least two of his fights with 3 finishes. He probably gets eclipsed by the bigger name opponents of the other two guys but it's hard to argue 4-0.

[SPX]

I've been asked by my editor who my nomination is for Fighter of the Year.

Suggestions? And why?

[SPX]

never had. What channel is it on?

Spike. It's kind of like Inside MMA.

[Mr. IWS]

Pretty good read about the Ultimate Ultimate back in 96 (Nice time killer in the office)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=eightmenout

[Mr. IWS]

Anyone here watch MMA Uncensored Live?

I've caught it a few times. Pretty good show.

never had. What channel is it on?

[SPX]

Anyone here watch MMA Uncensored Live?

I've caught it a few times. Pretty good show.