Now thats a role model kiddies.
There are definite advantages to being based in Japan - namely the Japanese just don’t give a fuck. Kicking your opponent in the face and stomping on him while he’s down; now that’s some good stuff.
And here’s an image I saw that I just had to post. MMA is badass (that’s Ken Shamrock in case you can’t tell, after a fight with Tito Ortiz)
This is a great thread. Coincidentally I have been contemplating just how bad ass Vanderlei is the last couple of days. I only wish the Vitor match never happened b/c it sort of taints how bad ass he really is. Hopefully Vitor will take a trip to Pride and Vanderlei can get some revenge (although Vitor does match up well against him, Vanderlei is the best fighter in the world at the moment, and not only is Vitor past his prime, you never can tell w/ him now a days). It would be interesting to see a Vanderlei/Fedor match up if Vanderlei decides to move up a class.
Wanderlei Silva would fucking Destroy Vitor now. Vitor doesn’t even have enough cardio to handle Tito. And I have never seen Silva too tired in his career.
I don’t think Silva matches up will with Belfort anymore though.
Sakuraba you have to admit is a decent striker, has great takedowns, and is one of the most excellent submission experts around.
But Silva has his Number, and has called collect on it 3x and got Sakuraba charged very high fees.
In other words, silva has elevated his game to the point that he KNOWS how to defeat everyone he goes up against. Belfort wouldn’t be shit for him. He’s EASILY beaten better.
Now Randy Couture Vs Wanderlei Silva.
That’s the best match up i’ve heard of yet.
Randy’s use of Greco-Roman Clinch allows him to have something that IS in boxing and is in muay thai (isn’t so much in Muay thai)…but is VERY lacking in the standup of 98% of MMA fighters.
Using position to leverage technique/Striking. You can see it in the ground game… they’ll gain superior position THEN go for submissions or alternate method they Wrestle for the submission… so no matter their position they can gain a submission from there. (making that position superior)
In standup, you have methods of evasion (slipping, ducking, bob & weave) blocking (covering up, raising shin, etc), and using your feet to position yourself in range of your opponent.
Randy Couture, uses wrestling and clinch range to his advantage… if he can touch you…he’ll control your head and outflank you.
By the time you can trade blows with randy, he’s going to be almost diagnol to you, but he’ll control your head/neck so you can’t reach him.
You’re vulnerable everywhere… sure maybe you can circle back and get out of it, but not before he lands a strike or two.
Hell, from watching his clinch tapes I see ways that he opens himself up for a nice shoot through his out flanking.
but:
1- You have to be beyond fast
2- Do you REALLY want to try to take down randy couture?
Randy has mastered probably the only hole in Silva’s game. Silva’s standup is just to walk right through the guy. No matter how much bigger or how much stronger, or how much more technical, silva will just fucking walk through the guy like a monster.
But what about someone who DOESNT stand and trade with you. But their method of standup evasion also isn’t, block, block, shoot for the leg like everyone else.
Silva would have a HARD time dealing with that. I don’t think his Muay Thai clinch will compensate for getting out flanked…
By the time he pivots… bam… Couture would just break off. Re-set, re-start. By points alone following that plan Couture could easily win. AND keep the fight standing. But its no secret that Cuture can (and would) take Silva down and work a sweet ground and pound.
Only thing is this…
Silva is a monster, no one smells blood like he does. I don’t even know if it’s natural for human being to be able to harness that much aggressive energy… Silva won’t stop. And he’s not going to get frustrated by anyone.
He just keeps coming.
(its part of how they train at Chute Box, you should HEAR the stories- people getting their skull caps ‘popped’ off, knocking each other out 4-5x a day in ‘light’ sparring-90% of it’s probably bullshit, but it does give you an idea how intense they are.)
The sheer ferocity of Silva is the only thing that could overcome Randy.
And Age.
I personally think they only person that can beat Randy is Father Time.
You can see it with a few boxers where it seems that they ‘age in a fight’. Just in 2-3 rounds you see the years catch up with them. Sugar Ray Leonard did so in a progression of 2-3 fights I believe.
Randy Couture VS Wanderlei Silva
To Unify the Belts is the fight we want to see. PrideFC and UFC probably will never work it out before Couture gets too old (if thats possible- he drinks the blood of virgins or something).
Sometimes I wish I was really rich. and I could put a million for each fighter. Film it underground and just distribute the DVD’s.
You’d make gazillions and these guys would get paid what they deserve.
(yes gazillions is my technical MBA term)
Yeah, good post. Randy is the man, Wanderlei is the man, win an f’n lottery and make it happen. The thing I would be interested in seeing is just how Silva would handle Couture on the mat. He never really has to deal with it too much, but I have heard his BJJ skills are incredible as well. (btw, I would love to know where to get some more Chute Box stories).
Vanderlei Silva is the man, but there are a lot of tough mother fuckers in PRIDE. Antonio Roderigo Nogiera is the best, if you ask me. He soaks up some punishment in stand-up, but if he gets you on the mat boom! You’re submitted. And in PRIDE, 80-90% of matches are decided on the mat.
Wow…
We need people like that and all the people who like to fight over in Iraq. Instead of beating the crap out of a fellow American, you can do it over in Iraq and stand up for your country.
What I forgot to say was in relation to Silva just walking through people, i can point to his fight with Mirko CroCop… a vastly superior standup fighter as far as power. CroCop’s thai kick is one of the most feared weapons in the sport. If not THE most feared.
Silva took a shot from that kick to the RIBS…didn’t flinch…and kept attacking.
A kick that has put most men down. Even guys like that one big ass muscle 350lb Bob Sapp.
Fucking incredible.
Atlas,
I’m not much of one to discuss politics, I think that it causes too much division between people when the facts aren’t ever really represented without bias. Bottom line is politician’s cater to whoever funded their campaign, it’s like everything else in life- it’s about power.
If you get down to it, they do relatively the same shit fiscally.
For instance, people bitch about having Bush in office, cause we went to war.
Look- we would have went to war even if Al Gore was in office.
And we eventually would have gotten to Iraq anyway. Do I agree with it, not neccessarily. Do I like how it’s being handled, no.
Do I support war??? Hell No.
Do I support our soldiers?? HELL yes
That being said…
A love of combat, that burning desire to fight, to compete, to unleash that fire deep within you is something inherent in a Fighter. Other sports too I believe. But I’m biased and hold that combat is the purest form.
But I digress.
Being a soldier is not about that. being a soldier is about defending your country. Doing what the others should be doing but going because you are able bodied. It’s defending your way of life.
It’s two different motivations all together.
Just cause someone likes to fight doesn’t make them fit to be a soldier.
Also these guys who train MMA are no where near prepared to be soldiers.
A soldier is a different class of man. That is a soul brave beyond our reckoning. Standing in front of someone in a locked cage with a referee is different than standing in front of a country of men who will suicide themselves simply to harm women and children…for an idealogy that is propogated by cowards.
You can’t compare these two. Don’t even prepare a response trying too cause you’re not going to convince me
I’m letting you know that up front.
You can have your opinion and I respect that. Now you know my opinion. I hope that you can show me the same respect.
-Xen
All I wanna add to Xen Nova’s comment is that bullets fly faster than fists… Contemporary wars have been won by technology. Technology which pencil-necked geeks (who profit from behind the scenes where it’s safe) designed who’ve never stepped foot on a battlefield, shot a rifle, or have thrown down in an old-fashioned mano-a-mano slugfest. Don’t get me wrong, I truly honor and respect our nation’s soldiers, but it’s ridiculous to believe our military needs UFC fighters to succeed in Iraq or any other war… Our technology reigns supreme.
Peace be with all!
I love Vanderlei. He has the best stare down i’ve ever seen. I thought the match with him and Mark Hunt was interesting. He had trained for Sak, but Sak was injured. I miss Bas Rutten (in the ring), he’s great as comentary, but I loved his Pancrase fights
On a side note, something about this guy i find terifying!
“Razor” Rob McCullough
Randy vs Vandy would be awesome I’d like to see Silva on the mat also because he is a purple in BJJ maybe even higher now. Only thing is Zuffa would never allow Randy to fight in Pride.
[quote]stellar_horizon wrote:
All I wanna add to Xen Nova’s comment is that bullets fly faster than fists… Contemporary wars have been won by technology. Technology which pencil-necked geeks (who profit from behind the scenes where it’s safe) designed who’ve never stepped foot on a battlefield, shot a rifle, or have thrown down in an old-fashioned mano-a-mano slugfest. Don’t get me wrong, I truly honor and respect our nation’s soldiers, but it’s ridiculous to believe our military needs UFC fighters to succeed in Iraq or any other war… Our technology reigns supreme.
Peace be with all!
[/quote]
Actually, it was a joke (somewhat). These men that love to fight and inflict harm on another person should go and inflict harm on people that want to harm us (as a nation). I’m not into the UFC or any of that stuff, but I totally support the war and our soldiers. I bet lots of men in the war are scared because its there first time in combat. These guys that are in the UFC and whatever other organizations there are love to get in the octagon or whatever platform and fvck up another person.
Put that mentality, hatred, drive, or whatever you want to call it over in Iraq, and it would help out a lot 
See where I am coming from now?
No question Silva is a great fighter! And I do think he would defeat Belfort if they met again (the first time Silva went down like quick). However, if Silva were to fight Couture I think Randy would beat him.
Those who think Randy can’t stand toe to toe only need look at the tape of him standing and trading with Ice Man (a fight he won easily). If they need more proof they can look at what he did to Vitor Belfort when they both stood toe to toe in the middle of the Octagon. This was also around the same time period (with in a year or so) that he knocked Silva on his butt.
Randy can stand and trade or ground and pound. Nothing against Silva but I think he loses to Randy!
Im a big Silva fan, but Vitor is still a bad match-up for him. Silvas looping punches make him vulnerable and would probably be exploited by Vitors very fast, straight punches. If the fight went more than one round, then the fight would definitely favor Silva. Vitor has a very small gas tank and mentally, he’s pretty weak. As for Couture vs Silva, it would probably be an ugly, ground and pound win for Couture. Couture is strong as an ox and is used to taking down much bigger opponents. Couture wasnt the heavyweight champ for nothing…
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1108592993459.couture.JPG
“Those who think Randy can’t stand toe to toe only need look at the tape of him standing and trading with Ice Man (a fight he won easily). If they need more proof they can look at what he did to Vitor Belfort when they both stood toe to toe in the middle of the Octagon. This was also around the same time period (with in a year or so) that he knocked Silva on his butt.”
Yeah, this pic is a pretty good testament to Randy’s ability to go blow-for-blow. I got it from Massif’s av (Sorry, Mass!
I thought it was Mass the first time I saw it, LOL. I asked him if it was and he just said “I wish, that’s Randy after the Belfort match.” Crazy fucking picture…
[quote]CC wrote:
“Those who think Randy can’t stand toe to toe only need look at the tape of him standing and trading with Ice Man (a fight he won easily). If they need more proof they can look at what he did to Vitor Belfort when they both stood toe to toe in the middle of the Octagon. This was also around the same time period (with in a year or so) that he knocked Silva on his butt.”
Yeah, this pic is a pretty good testament to Randy’s ability to go blow-for-blow. I got it from Massif’s av (Sorry, Mass!
I thought it was Mass the first time I saw it, LOL. I asked him if it was and he just said “I wish, that’s Randy after the Belfort match.” Crazy fucking picture…[/quote]
CC:
I absolutely love that picture!
[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
What I forgot to say was in relation to Silva just walking through people, i can point to his fight with Mirko CroCop… a vastly superior standup fighter as far as power. CroCop’s thai kick is one of the most feared weapons in the sport. If not THE most feared.
Silva took a shot from that kick to the RIBS…didn’t flinch…and kept attacking.
A kick that has put most men down. Even guys like that one big ass muscle 350lb Bob Sapp.
-Xen[/quote]
Are you talking about this kick? One, it’s not to the ribs, it’s to his lat. Two, it’s not a thai kick (thai kick is a horizontal attack, not a vertical one, also thai kicks hit with the shin, not the toes). Three, crocop is leaning way back thus he is not getting nearly as much power as he should into the kick. That said, I’m sure it hurt like a bitch but it could hardly be called one of Crocop’s feared kicks.
Couture is secretly…well you know who…
“Couture is secretly…well you know who…”
LOL Who did that? That’s fucking hilarious…