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

[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]

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.

[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.

[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.)

[SPX]

Those some good suggestions.

I can't go with Bendo because I thought he definitely lost the second fight with Edgar. If he had been dominant then I'd be on board, though.

I didn't think about Rousey. In 2012 she won the women's title, defended it, and became the first woman signed by the UFC. Maybe she's the one.

[SPX]

Grumpy Old Men is a good fucking movie.

And I just realized it has Mickey from Rocky.

[SPX]

So I thought about it, and my official bid for Fighter of the Year:

Ronda Rousey

Won the belt in dominant fashion, defended the belt in dominant fashion, became the first female fighter signed to the UFC. Boom.

[SPX]

Anyone think the old team concept from the IFL should be revisited?

[MMA_scientist]

So I thought about it, and my official bid for Fighter of the Year:

Ronda Rousey

Won the belt in dominant fashion, defended the belt in dominant fashion, became the first female fighter signed to the UFC. Boom.

makes sense. I didn't even consider Rousey, because I don't really consider WMMA to be a legitimate sport. But, yeah, she pretty much has to be it.

Anyone think the old team concept from the IFL should be revisited?

No. It would have some interest if it was actual teams, like Cesar Gracie vs. XTreme Couture, but that would have a lot of problems too.

[SPX]

What kind of problems?

[SPX]

If you watch Storage Wars. . .

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/storage-wars-staged-fired-star-claims-lawsuit-193712014.html

[MMA_scientist]

What kind of problems?

Just guys not wanting to fight each other, and guys switching gyms or cross training at multiple gyms. The true team guy is getting more and more rare.

[edman5555]

Just guys not wanting to fight each other, and guys switching gyms or cross training at multiple gyms. The true team guy is getting more and more rare.

I bet a lot of the gyms are impersonal. Ive read that in some interviews. I would also stipulate that a lot of the guys saying they dont want to fight a teamate are doingg so because they dont want to look bad on tv. If that downside was no present, they would be going for the money. Give rory mcdonald a couple of years and hell probably think sbout the millions he is missng out on from not being the welterweight champion.

[SPX]

Just guys not wanting to fight each other, and guys switching gyms or cross training at multiple gyms. The true team guy is getting more and more rare.

Yeah, well I think it would have to be handled like any other team -- the guys would need to train together at the same place and under the same coach, and they would need to understand that their success is as a team and not only as individuals.

This is no different from other individual sports with teams -- wrestling teams, karate teams, fencing teams, etc.

[Ludo]