I hate that dickhead too. Lawler looked way off his game against him.

A class that has Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture in it will be just as hard to succeed in.

By "dominate" I didn't mean he'd be the champ within 2 mos. I just meant he'd be a top 10 fighter in the class in a couple of years or less. I don't think he's a top 10 heavyweight.

There are a ton of these fighters sponsored by full contact fighter magazine and other MMA media. UFC just gave them all the boot so I can see why they are doing that. I'll bet they have these fighters micromanaged to the point that that even what they wear has to be approved by Dana. I really don't understand this move as I would never buy a UFC magazine over the others especially since their being such asses about it. I guess it's all about controlling the fighters but I think this will cost them even more talent. Losing BJ Penn and others is just a bad move IMO.

http://www.fcfighter.com/news.htm

Here are some rankings I would have to say they look pretty damn close. I would love to see Fedor and Arlovski go at it but of course we will never get to see that unless Arlovski leaves the UFC.

Some other great fights I would like to see that we probably never will

Wanderlei Silva -vs- Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture

BJ Penn -vs- Matt Hughes

IMO the UFC is trying to make it over the hump. Get past third teir sport and into second teir. That's going to take a load of cash and being highly organized. Right now Dana White has them on the right track and The Ultimate Fighter was a stroke of sheer brilliance. If the best fighters will just stick it out for a few more years in the UFC so they can solidify that second-teir sport status I think they'll all get paid just fine. I can see the UFC replacing boxing in the next 5 years. Boxing is in such a state of disarray it's ripe for being picked off.

Also, I think the rules in the UFC are there to protect the fighters. The UFC can't afford a skull fracture or God forbid a ring death right now. The few striking rules they have seem pretty sane to me.

IMO you'll eventually see MMA as the new boxing, with three or so championship belts. The UFC belt, the Pride belt, etc. You'll see fighters trying to combine the belts. I don't think that is what's best for the sport but I think that's where it's headed.

I agree the Ultimate Fighter idea was brilliant, just look at how many more people are talking about MMA on this board since it started. I like Pride rules though so I hope that is what we end up with. The only reason they went overboard with it was because of meathead McCain was trying to shut down all MMA in this country. I love it when they thank him for helping them set up the UFC it goes up his ass a mile.

I don't think that pissing on everyone is the answer to getting over the top though. JMO From kicking out the media that helped build you to cutting off any sponsors of these fighters to cutting the microphone off when fighters start talking about their contracts I just don't see that as a wise move.

As far as different belts are concerned I think it's all good I just wish we could have a standard set of rules and obviously I think Pride has it right. Kicking and kneeing to the head is a big part of a real fight. You have to admit watching the fights I posted would be awesome and I don't know how seeing them could be a bad thing.

Penn has already beat Hughes. Although, that was really before Hughes started to roll.

Nonsense, he had already beaten Trigg, Sherk, Mach Sakurai, and Newton twice before he lost to Penn.

In other good news: It turns out that the Finale had really good ratings.

I can't read this thread other than the first post, as I haven't had time to watch the finale yet, but this was a pretty good show. I didn't watch the first season, but I enjoyed this one.

It would be great to see them go at it again. BJ has his own Rumble on the Rock now though so it won't happen. I think BJ wold probably win again but I would really like to see it. Since I am doing predictions I think Fedor would win as well. THe light heavyweights is a toss up, I would love to see them go at it.

Then the info I saw was inaccurate. I have tried to find the link again, but I have been unable to do so. If I was wrong, my bad.

Either way, I think Hughes is a helluva fighter. Those shots he took from Trigg in the second match would have beat a lot of other fighters. To be hurt like that, and come back took some heart.

Then again, apparently I could probably put a rear naked choke on Trigg.

Oh, don't get me wrong. Hughes is number 1 Welterwieght in the world. But Penn is easily number 1 lb-4-lb. Penn has a habit of making extraordinary fighters look bad (See fight vs Gomi at ROTR).

It's funny... my wife used to cringe whenever I watched MMA; now she's hooked. She absolutely loves it... even more than football :D

lil momma is the same way. She will even remind me what night Pride Fights are on so we can make a night of it.