Ultimate Fighter- good TV

[Johann]

One of my favorite UFC fighters has retired.

Brock Lesnar took a beating from Alistair Overeem and he announced that we won't see him in the octagon again.
I have to admit that the fighters today are just absolute monsters. Brock can't compete anymore.
These heavyweights are animals.
I loved what Brock did to lift the UFC's profile, but when it's time to leave, it's time to leave.
A man's gotta know his limitations.
Brock cannot afford to have his liver destroyed, with the kind of kicks like Overeem dished out.
Man, some of these fighters are killers.

I love that Brock proved that you don't have to have a background in MMA to step into the octagon.
You need belief in your own abilities. He beat the living shit out of Frank Mir (a supposedly superior fighter) and if that's Brock's legacy, he can hold his head high. He was Heavyweight Champ for a while.
Now it's a division of ferocious animals and skilled monsters vying for that belt.
I love it.
I'm a little sad that Brock is done, but you gotta know when to fold 'em...know when to walk away...know when to run.

[Johann]

Frank Mir Sucks.

Just watch that pathetic Heavyweight UFC fight he was in last saturday night.
This clown just will not go away.
I said it years ago Frank: put a fork in you. You're done.

Junior dos Santos beat him like a fucking GONG.
8 minutes and Frank couldn't do a damn thing to save his lame ass.
I hate Frank Mir so much...

[Johann]

I haven't posted about the UFC in a while, so I'm gonna do data-dump posts here, in parts. I've always followed it, I just don't want to seem like it means more to me than film. Because it doesn't. But Boy, do I love the UFC!

Re: Frank Mir vs. dos Santos (the May 26 fight in Vegas):

Mir looked fat and slow and heavy, and he gassed out. And he can't take a punch. The preview that profiled both fighters showed that Mir is utterly narcissistic and arrogant. He owns a private gym, so he can babysit his kids- their toys and jungle gym shit are EVERYWHERE- how does he focus on training with that noise around him? I'd go fucking bonkers! We see one of his kids puke in one of the clips. Nice.
It was utterly amazing to see Junior dos Santos land incredibly hard shots to Mir's empty melon- you see Mir wince and try to shake out the cobwebs on one right hand to the forehead in that bout. And then there is that gorgeous right hand that rocked Mir so hard he fell backwards like a sack of potatoes to the mat. I've seen it in slow-motion over 100 times. That shit is POETRY! Mir needs to be punched as hard in the face as any opponent can muster, and dos Santos did it. And watch Junior's hand when you watch it in slo-motion. He strikes Mir on the button, and then RETRACTS his fist like it was on autopilot! Dangerous man indeed. Watching Junior fight is a Joy. He is a beautiful fighter- he controls everything in the octagon. You have to force him to beat him, or he'll force you. At will. Mir couldn't do a damn thing. He looked like a buffoon in there. Bigger man. Heh.

And the absolute best part of that whole fight was that EMPHATIC hammer fist to end it. Junior just sledgehammers Mir's skull with a definitive one-drop hammerfist, as if to say, GET OUT AND DON'T EVER COME BACK.

Alaistair Overeem is out of the UFC I think. He lied to Dana White about being 100% clean. He had abnormal levels of testosterone in his system and he was barred from getting a license until the new year, throwing the UFC into a scramble. After all the millions they spent building him up, to have this happen...Overeem is done. No integrity. As far as I'm concerned the fight with Brock should be erased from UFC history. And I think that's why Brock is in talks to come back. But I think he shouldn't. I love the man, but Junior dos Santos would defeat Brock pretty easily, and if you're just doing it for a paycheck, then just commentate. Don't fight. Brock has trouble getting hit extremely hard, whether it's in the face or a kick to the body. You have to be able to withstand insane punishment to win in the UFC. You must have a chin. No glass jaws here! Because most of these guys have one-shot knockout power. Wrestling is Awesome, and it is a much-needed arsenal weapon in any fighters toolbox. But outstanding wrestling alone won't secure the wins. It will on a lot of guys, but you need to rely on your toolbag in totem, not one thing. And you have to employ those tools lightning fast, because things happen lightning fast in the octagon.

Take Fedor vs. Dan Henderson (not a UFC fight, but indulge me):

That fight is so fucking incredible you have to see it to believe it. In one split-second, Henderson is being swarmed by Fedor (like he does like a ferocious animal) rocking and knocking Dan to the mat against the cage. In the middle of that melee Dan manages to somehow get an underhand uppercut that tags Fedor, something that has never happened before, at least not like that.
It was enough for Henderson to win the fight. Watch it. It's astounding. I was always curious to see how a man could ever knock Fedor out, and Dan Henderson showed how you have to do it: be 1000% resilient, even when you are being floored and rag-dolled. You just might tag that bastard and have the whole arena in awed disbelief.

[Johann]

Junior dos Santos will be UFC Heavyweight Champ as long as he wants.
I'm incredibly stoked to see the rematch he'll have with Cain Velasquez, who just obliterated his last opponent in the last PPV.
Junior must be on his toes- Cain is on fire, and he wants that belt back big time.
That fight will be a Gladiator match. I must see it Live on PPV.

My favorite UFC fighter is Lyoto Machida, and he also has been outstanding since he last got dropped like a bad habit by Jon Jones, who will be facing Dan Henderson next, another fight that I'm beyond stoked to see. One of these days I'm going to a Live UFC event. Probably in Montreal.
When I do, I'll be sure to post about it.

Hendo, Machida and dos Santos are my top three favorite fighters. They are Heroes to me. Great Men, who have demonstrated what being a Champion is all about, even though Henderson has never won a belt. But who gives a shit about that? Look at that man's experience. Look at who he's fought. And beat down. The list boggles the mind. He's got a granite chin (some say the best chin in MMA) and he just annihilates with a passion. Love his style, love his Legend. Same goes for Junior and Lyoto. These 3 have the "X" factor, exploiters and destroyers.
They embody THE ART OF WAR axiom of "Know your enemy. Know yourself. You will never lose a war" (paraphrase) and the "If you see an opening, CHARGE IN. Everytime."

[Johann]

There is a scenario possibility that I don't want but will live with if it happens:
The winner of the Jones/Henderson fight may be his next opponent.
I would like to see a Jones/Machida rematch badly. I really would.
But Machida/Henderson? Those two are my boys. I would have to take a side and that doesn't sit well with me.
And if that match were to go down, I would lay my money down on Machida.
Why Machida you say?

Well, you see, I feel Dana White has something in his craw for Machida, ever since he demanded to be paid like a Champion, which he deserved.
Dana put Lyoto in a position where he HAD to win a fight against Randy Couture or his contract might be tossed.
So what does Lyoto do? He goes in there and gets "KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT". He spectacularly kicked Couture right in the mouth, knocking him out, knocking his TEETH out!

Dana sneers that Lyoto is back in the mix. He makes him fight Jon Jones, just to rough him up, I feel.
Even though Machida is a better fighter than Jones (my opinion) he got hurt bad. He got roughed up.
So guess what this does?
It makes Machida's resolve turn into Mercury, turn into a fucking Lava of Discipline.
He just slaughtered Ryan Bader.

And he will slaughter anyone in his path. Even Dan Henderson. The resolve is that great. Nobody else sees it, but Holy Shit I sure do.
Machida is Zen.
Machida is Amazing.

[Johann]

Lyoto Machida fights with a samurai mentality:
"Don't pay attention to the leaf. You won't be able to see the tree. Don't pay attention to the tree. You won't be able to see the forest".

That's why he's my favorite fighter. And that's why I'll put my money on him everytime.

[Johann]

Another fighter who impresses the Holy Hell out of me is Roy Nelson, "Big Country".
He went the distance against Junior dos Santos and his record is flawless to my eye. People can talk all they want about Roy Nelson. I've heard every criticism of him: too fat, not a fighter, even not an ambassador for the sport. It's all bullshit. Nelson is a Beast. Youtube any of his fights and tell me he ain't a Bad Man. Tell me you don't respect him. You must be one of those people who think fighters should look like Ravishing Rick Rude. Cover fashion shows Fabio. You don't belong.