UFC 115 discussion/odds

[Mr. IWS]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

I had an interesting encounter the other day with a TKD instructor--the details of which I will not bore you with--but it looks like after 17 years away from formal training in the style, I am back in (hence the sig, that's my new "white belt") and I've found an instructor and a group who takes it pretty seriously. Supposedly my job now, as it's been posed to me, is to train my ass off with them and be ready for a tournament in September.

[Luke]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

I'd learn wrestling before I'd learn BJJ if I was planning on being a MMA fighter someday

[MMA_scientist]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

The funny thing is talking to you on here, you would love bjj. Its the most addictive thing in the world, especially for smaller guys. Unlike karate or TKD, there is no chance at all that a big athletic new guy is going to give trouble to a small skilled guy. It has a lot of team comraderie and there is usually a big element of respect for the art. If you started training, in 6 months you would be defending bjj to the grave... but you have to find a legit school. There is such a difference between real schools and knockoffs. It is just huge.

Like I said before, I used to do Judo and they also taught BJJ classes with a very credible instructor, so I've been exposed to it. I don't dislike BJJ and I'm down with ground fighting. I wouldn't mind training in it, but I feel that it's of somewhat limited use in terms of self-defense. Personally--and this is just me--I think Judo's better for SD because of the damage a throw can do on a bar room floor, and I think that at a good judo school you learn enough ground work to handle yourself there against an unskilled opponent if that's where the fight goes.

But yeah, I would like to study BJJ. There's just only so much time in the day for training MA though, and the truth is that my grappling is better than my striking, so I want to work on not being complete shit on the feet.

I had an interesting encounter the other day with a TKD instructor--the details of which I will not bore you with--but it looks like after 17 years away from formal training in the style, I am back in (hence the sig, that's my new "white belt") and I've found an instructor and a group who takes it pretty seriously. Supposedly my job now, as it's been posed to me, is to train my ass off with them and be ready for a tournament in September.

That's awesome. Congrats on getting back into it... that is more than 99% ever do.

As for bjj and self defense... I can somewhat agree on Judo and bjj. I have done some Judo too. To me Judo is not as good as wrestling for takedowns and not as good as bjj for ground work. The thing some people don't understand is that bjj is not about being on your back. In the hierarchy of positions, guard is the best of the bad positions... you don't want to be in guard. It is more if a big guy decides to put you on the ground. Judo will not help you that much against a bigger stronger guy. My personal preference for bjj comes from the fact that the technical ability trumps all in bjj. At my gym, there is a 60 year old man that weighs 135 and never did a sport in his life. I love watching him tap 200# college kids when they come in.

But against an untrained guy, Judo will probably get the job done. I just don't hear of it (judo) getting in your head like bjj does. Once you get the bug, it becomes part of your life.

[SPX]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

Yeah, not sure if you saw the ITF vid that I posted in the OT thread, but it's a little more like kickboxing in terms of sparring than the Olympic stuff that I posted before. I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I can get someone to record the tournament. Ya'll won't see that shit if I suck, though.

Here's an ITF guy who has transitioned to MMA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8048hXhXKs4

[MMA_scientist]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

I'd learn wrestling before I'd learn BJJ if I was planning on being a MMA fighter someday

Actually, you would learn wrestling and also bjj (otherwise you would get Kenny Monday'd). That is why it is not a really fair comparison- I hear that a lot (even though, bjj is still the only required skill). Two skills are better than one, sure.

[Luke]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

Fresh off a come-from-behind win over Pat Barry at UFC 115 this weekend in Vancouver, Canada, heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic told a Croatian news site that he may be calling it a career after enduring a tumultuous training camp.

“In addition to winning the Pride Grand Prix Finals, it’s my favorite fight of my career [but] most of the training proved to me that I am now too old for this,” Filipovic told Jutarnji.

Surprisingly, Filipovic openly admitted he no longer has the desire to compete, let alone winning. Cro Cop’s admission could explain why he has fallen off so much since his impressive run through Pride’s GP tourney back in 2006, however contradicts the gutty performance he displayed in his submission win over Barry.

“For 20 years I lived this life and now I have no motivation for the fight, no mental strength for all the Spartan training,” Filipovic stated. “I am no longer so hungry for victory. I will not stop training, but if I am asleep I’ll stay in bed and practice an hour later.

“I don’t know about a new contract with the UFC. I believe that I gave this game a lot, I fought with the greatest fighters.”

Once considered one of the most feared strikers in all of mixed martial arts, Cro Cop was unable to find his way in the Octagon. That fact was never more evident than his knockout loss to Gabriel Gonzaga, which ironically came via a head kick – something that Filipovic has made a career of doing.

If UFC 115 was indeed the last time Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic enters a professional fight, it was a fitting end as he went blow-for-blow with a dangerous youngster that idolized him.

Cro Cop’s official resume currently reads 27-7-2 with one infamous No Contest to Strikeforce heavyweight Alistair Overeem.

[Mr. IWS]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

Yeah, not sure if you saw the ITF vid that I posted in the OT thread, but it's a little more like kickboxing in terms of sparring than the Olympic stuff that I posted before.

Yeah, I saw the link, but I try to make a habit of not watching gay porn.

Maybe I can get someone to record the tournament. Ya'll won't see that shit if I suck, though.

Seriously, that would be cool as shit if you could do that.

[MMA_scientist]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

Cmon, I want to see a vid win, lose or draw.

[Luke]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

I'd learn wrestling before I'd learn BJJ if I was planning on being a MMA fighter someday

Actually, you would learn wrestling and also bjj (otherwise you would get Kenny Monday'd). That is why it is not a really fair comparison- I hear that a lot (even though, bjj is still the only required skill). Two skills are better than one, sure.

and who is Kenny Monday?

[Mr. IWS]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

Some bad ass wrestler I think.

[Luke]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

Some bad ass wrestler I think.

Is he as good as the Undertaker?

[MMA_scientist]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

STFU. You guys know damn good and well who Kenny Monday is. I was actually thinking of Kevin Jackson though.

You would get Kevin Jackson'd. That's what I should have said. Or Joe Warren'd.

I have said this before... high level BJJ guys own high level wrestlers on the mat. Wrestlers don't want any part of the mat battle. They can use thier takedowns to keep it standing... but if you put a high level bjj guy and a high level wrestler on the mat, the bjj guy is going to win. You see a lot of wrestlers winning top control against bjj guys in MMA... but you are putting a very high calibur wrestler usually, in with a guy who just trains some bjj at his local mma gym... If you put a real world class bjj guy in there, he is not going to be controlled by anyone. And he will have better top control than the wrestler.

I will give a copy of an HD DVD of American Ninja 2 to anyone that can give me 3 examples of a world class bjj practioner being controlled by a wrestler on the mat (not counting HW- though I still can't think of any).

[zY|]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

^^call it bluray and I'll start doing some research.

[SPX]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

That's awesome. Congrats on getting back into it... that is more than 99% ever do.

I was already taking a class for credit at the college, but I had been calling around and ended up talking to an instructor here who is a fifth dan and who actually trained with the founder of TKD, General Choi. I explained to her what I was looking for (a strong competitive focus, and heavier-than-light contact sparring) and she said that that wasn't the kind of school that she ran, but that I might want to talk to the husband of the lady that teaches the class at the college.

Anyway, my instructors husband then showed up at the class last Saturday and taught half the class and then pulled me to the side afterward. He told me that Ms. Barnett, the lady I originally talked to on the phone, had called him regarding our conversation, and he basically told me that if I'm serious about learning, then he'll teach me. (Basically an "if I commit to him, then he'll commit to me" kind of thing.)

I still don't know a lot about him, but I was genuinely impressed when he took over the class on Saturday, and I felt good about it after I talked to him. He seemed pretty intense . . . like, not really the kind of guy who I would ever be friends with, but someone who might actually be able to teach me something legitimate. And Ms. Barnett told me that, in her experience, his guys always go "pretty hard" when they spar her students so I thought that was promising for sure.

I just don't hear of it (judo) getting in your head like bjj does. Once you get the bug, it becomes part of your life.

I have heard of people feeling that way about Judo, or at least I have heard it . . . within Judo circles. The biggest problem with Judo right now is also the biggest problem in TKD: Too much emphasis on the Olympics, with the de-emphasis on ground work. The Olympics have single-handedly destroyed vast segments of both styles.

[Luke]

Re: UFC 115 discussion/odds

STFU. You guys know damn good and well who Kenny Monday is. I was actually thinking of Kevin Jackson though.

seriously whos Kenny Monday and why should I know who he is?