Does anyone think that Fedor’s (almost) year of inactivity will leave him with any ring rust?
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
And since Sylvia was the former champion (although I agree an incredibly unappealing one), if he does beat Vera let him fight for the #1 contender spot vs. Nog next (the winner to fight the winner of the Randy vs. Arlovski/Cro-Cop). That way we get to see the top pride guys fight the top UFC guys and still get some pretty decent (unless Sylvia somehow beats Nog) fights for the title.
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That’s about how I see things going down. Dana & Joe Silva are going to make Sylvia beat Vera AND one of the top PrideFC guys in order to get his title shot.
The only concern I have with your scenario is that it sets up a potential Sylvia-Arlovski IV matchup, which I don’t think anyone wants to see.
[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
I completely agree.
However, if the UFC wants MMA to be taken seriously as a sport, they can’t deny a guy a shot at the title just because the cool kids don’t like him.
Do you think the NBA is thrilled that the Spurs keep making the finals instead of teams from the monster media markets (NY, LA, Chicago)? Do you think MLB was thrilled to have a Cardinals vs Tigers World Series or do you think they would have preferred the Dodgers versus the Yankees?
The fact of the matter is, unpopular champions are a reality that all legitimate sports must deal with. If the UFC buries Sylvia simply because he is unpopular, then they really can’t be taken seriously as a competitive sport.[/quote]
I don’t think they intend on burying Sylvia forever, but just until Randy is done with the belt. Randy has two more fights on his contract, and if those are both big fights with 6 months between them he’ll probably be done after that. Nobody wants to see one of those two fights wasted against Tim after he unquestionably destroyed him for 25 minutes.
All this talk about “who deserves it” is pure opinion because there is no ranking system nor any written regulation governing the advancement of a fighter towards the title shot.
Right now it’s all based on the conjecture of the brass at Zuffa, and passing the fact that Sylvia should get the title shot is an opinion no more valid than any other. There is nothing you can point to written in stone as to why Sylvia should get it. They could pull a Lindland and fire him tommorow if they wanted to.
[quote]Damici wrote:
Does anyone think that Fedor’s (almost) year of inactivity will leave him with any ring rust?
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In short, yes. I don’t think a guy like Fedor will ever come to a match unprepared(unless he fights with an injury which he has), but by the time a contract is inked and the day of the fight shows up, it will be over a year since he has been in MMA competition. Though I do think he has competed in Sambo since his fight in Bodog, which was his last best to my knowledge.
That all being said, how much of a threat does Randy pose to Fedor? Lets be honest here.
[quote]Damici wrote:
Does anyone think that Fedor’s (almost) year of inactivity will leave him with any ring rust?
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He fights in sambo competitions, as well as the fight he had in April with Lindland in Russia, so he isn’t exactly doing nothing.
The UFC does protect fighters and groom them for championship matches, it is not always the most deserving person that gets their shot. Sylvia could win his next three fights and I still believe would not get a title shot. Roger Huerta is a perfect example of this. He has fought nothing but cans really and now is looking at a title match, even though there are man others that should be in line before him.
Sylvia blew his chance with his BORING fights with AA, Monson, and his lackluster performance versus Randy.
[quote]Outrage247 wrote:
Sylvia could win his next three fights and I still believe would not get a title shot.[/quote]
We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.
I would be SHOCKED if Sylvia has to win more than two fights to get another title shot. Honestly, I would be surprised if he doesn’t have contract language that stipulates as much.
That said, I do think Dana & Joe Silva are going to do everything in their power to make his road back to the top as difficult as possible. He’ll have to beat Vera and probably either Nog or Cro Cop. If Timmay can run that gauntlet and come out 2-0, he deserves another shot.
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
I agree, but frankly If that’s who they match him up with, I don’t think he can do it.[/quote]
I don’t like his chances either.
That said, I also didn’t like Serra’s chances of knocking GSP senseless on his feet or Gonzaga’s chances of decapitating Cro Cop with a high kick. Stranger things have happened.
As of Late,I think Randy has grown more confident in his stand up. Hes been trading with Tim and Gonzaga. Where am I going with this? Lets see how this new found confidence plays out against a new and improved Crocop. Lets all remember,Crocop is now working on his Stand up game right now. Can you believe it? This guys stand up game is at the top of the food chain already!
[quote]analog_kid wrote:
One of my faovirte HW fighters that I hope doesn’t fall off the face of planet, Sergey Kharitonov. If he can get and stay healthy, with a little more training, I think he could be a huge force in MMA. As far as strikers go, I put him up there with CroCop. He is fast, accurate, and has tons of power, and he is much better on the ground than Mirko. Now that I think of it, I’d love to see CroCop and Sergey fight! [/quote]
Kharitonov is a pretty good fighter but both his shoulders seem to be prone to dislocation. It doesn’t bode well. The UFC has not really signed any of the lower PRIDE guys yet. I don’t really know how interested they are in bringing in a bunch of new faces, even if they are talented fighters.
[quote]gotaknife wrote:
analog_kid wrote:
One of my faovirte HW fighters that I hope doesn’t fall off the face of planet, Sergey Kharitonov. If he can get and stay healthy, with a little more training, I think he could be a huge force in MMA. As far as strikers go, I put him up there with CroCop. He is fast, accurate, and has tons of power, and he is much better on the ground than Mirko. Now that I think of it, I’d love to see CroCop and Sergey fight!
Kharitonov is a pretty good fighter but both his shoulders seem to be prone to dislocation. It doesn’t bode well. The UFC has not really signed any of the lower PRIDE guys yet. I don’t really know how interested they are in bringing in a bunch of new faces, even if they are talented fighters.[/quote]
I believe Kharitonov has signed with K1 and fights in September on the Hero’s card.
[quote]Outrage247 wrote:
I believe Kharitonov has signed with K1 and fights in September on the Hero’s card.
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Thanks for the info!
His shoulders have been giving him some trouble as of late, which sucks for him. Then again, if you remember Josh Barnett’s first fight with CroCop, you’d think the same about Josh.
[quote]gotaknife wrote:
analog_kid wrote:
One of my faovirte HW fighters that I hope doesn’t fall off the face of planet, Sergey Kharitonov. If he can get and stay healthy, with a little more training, I think he could be a huge force in MMA. As far as strikers go, I put him up there with CroCop. He is fast, accurate, and has tons of power, and he is much better on the ground than Mirko. Now that I think of it, I’d love to see CroCop and Sergey fight!
Kharitonov is a pretty good fighter but both his shoulders seem to be prone to dislocation. It doesn’t bode well. The UFC has not really signed any of the lower PRIDE guys yet. I don’t really know how interested they are in bringing in a bunch of new faces, even if they are talented fighters.[/quote]
I agree! For some reason Sergei has a habit of being overlooked and underrated. If you guys watched Sergei’s performance againts Pedro Rizzo he displayed beautiful rythem and boxing ability. His Strikes all connected and was able to evade Pedros counter strikes. Check out his fight againts Ninja Rua? Again,great striking ability and can handle himself on the clinche. The Judo throw (Forgot what was called) was so beautifully performed that that is enough reason to check out the fight.
Againts bigger fighters such as Semmy Schilt and Cory Peterson,he displayed great Grappling ability and dominated them on the ground. I have to say,Sergei is a VERY well rounded fighter and would be an excellent asset to the UFC Organization. While we are on the subject of bringing over our favorite fighters over tot he UFC,I would have to say bring on Igor Vovchanchyn! I miss and love that little guy!
Sergei has great boxing skills. Considered one of the best if not the best amateur boxer during his time. WIth his Sambo ability I think he would give some great fights in the UFC. Him against Arlovski. Or…Tim Sylvia. I am kind of serious about that one.
[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
Damici wrote:
I hear what you’re saying, but I think what those examples combined prove is that there is no set-in-stone rhyme or reason as to how the UFC decides who gets the next title shot.
I thought it looked pretty clear.
Former champions always get a rematch within one or two fights of losing the belt.
Assuming Sylvia can win his fights, he will be getting a title shot sometime in mid-2008.[/quote]
Just because they’ve done it a few times in the past, doesn’t mean there’s a law set in stone that they have to do it. Those examples you gave are all rematches everyone want to see. Nobody wants to see a Randy vs Sylvia fight so it’s not going to happen anytime soon. Deal with it
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
By the way I do think that Serra’s win over GSP was a fluke. I’m calling Hughes over Serra.
What do you think?[/quote]
I have too much respect for Matt Serra to call his win over GSP a ‘fluke’. He’s a world class BJJ blackbelt who obviously hits like a damn mule. He deserves credit for beating GSP ‘fairly squarely’.
That said, if they were to fight ten times, I’d expect GSP to win seven or eight of the fights.
I have to say that Tim Sylvia is about the last fighter I’d ever want to see fight again. I absolutely hate watching his fights.