UFC 100

[Surfah]

Wow. Mir looks to be in the best shape I have ever seen him in. They all look good though.

[Coach McGuirk]

Wow. Mir looks to be in the best shape I have ever seen him in. They all look good though.

That is what I thought. Usually he is still holding fat in his cheeks and core. But this time he is absolutely ripped. I can't wait for tomorrow night.

[Surfah]

That is what I thought. Usually he is still holding fat in his cheeks and core. But this time he is absolutely ripped. I can't wait for tomorrow night.

I doubt his 6 pack shows tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if he gains 15 lbs or more before the fight. But that's the best I have ever seen him at a weigh in.

[Pheidippides]

I doubt his 6 pack shows tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if he gains 15 lbs or more before the fight. But that's the best I have ever seen him at a weigh in.

Agreed. Isn't he known for not having a ton of gas in the tank? Maybe that will change this time. I still think he is a jackass, so I begrudgingly hope that Lesnar beats him.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

So I know nothing about UFC, but I have ordered this tonight and am excited for it. So I have read who everyone thinks will win etc. Are there good guys? Who will be the in arena crowd be cheering for? Who is an underdog that I can pull for? I want to seem like the smartest guy in my group of non-UFC friends.

[Surfah]

So I know nothing about UFC, but I have ordered this tonight and am excited for it. So I have read who everyone thinks will win etc. Are there good guys? Who will be the in arena crowd be cheering for? Who is an underdog that I can pull for? I want to seem like the smartest guy in my group of non-UFC friends.

All of these guys are good guys. Dan Henderson is one of the most decorated MMA fighters ever. Held titles in both Pride and UFC. Bisping won TUF 3. He's good. I am still not sold. He's a huge favorite in the UK as you'd imagine being a Brit. His only loss was a questionable split decision to Rashad Evans. He's held two championship belts in other lesser leagues.

St. Pierre is strong and fast. He's beat some of the best. Some say he has a suspect chin after the Serra fight. While I wish his beard were weak, I don't think that it is. Has a very complete game. If there was someone in this class to test that beard, Alves could. To me they're very similar fighters. Both big for this class. Fast and agile with great striking and submissions. Alves has been impressive in his last couple of bouts, demolishing Matt Hughes (who hasn't lately), Karo Parysian, Chris Lytle, decisioning Josh Koschek and John Alessio. He's on a very good run right now winning 7 in a row, 9 of his last 10, and is 9-2 overall in the UFC. No small accomplishment especially in this division.

Mir was a former champ. Great pedigree. One of the best BJJ guys at his size ever. And his stand up against Big Nog in his last fight was precise. Lesnar is a freak. His size, strength, agility, and speed are unmatched. He's still raw though. Needs some more training on the ground. Especially his defense. But he can ground and pound or lay and pray Mir for the decision if he can defend submissions because Mir will be trying everything.

All of these guys with the exception of Lesnar have a wealth of experience and have fought some big time opponents.

Some of the other fights too are great. Akiyama and Belcher. Fitch and Paulo. I hope the Bonnar fight airs also. Mac Danzig and CB Dolloway usually entertaining.

Best card ever.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Thanks Surf.

[Pheidippides]

So I know nothing about UFC, but I have ordered this tonight and am excited for it. So I have read who everyone thinks will win etc. Are there good guys? Who will be the in arena crowd be cheering for? Who is an underdog that I can pull for? I want to seem like the smartest guy in my group of non-UFC friends.

I'm a (relative) newcomer as well, with only about 8 months or so of watching and paying attention. Henderson/Bisping, Lesnar/Mir and GSP/Alves are all absolutely great matchups. The more experienced watchers should feel free to correct me here, but I would say the stories of those respective matches are, in order (1) ground game vs. stick and move striking (Bisping has no shot on the ground and needs to nibble points away to win by decision, in my mind), (2) Raw strength and power against experience (Lesnar is learning but still not as skilled as he is powerful) and (3) Stand-up power vs. tactics and ground game (Alves has monster power, but GSP will kill him on the ground, especially given what he did to BJ Penn last time).

The most interesting matchup to me is Lesnar/Mir. It's a rematch, they clearly don't like each other, but more than that, it's hard to give an edge one way or the other in certain aspects. In the stand-up game, Lesnar has a brutal right hand that caught Mir and others. Plus Lesnar is quick. Mir did tag nogeura (sp?) though with stand-up, and one wonders if it's a fluke or if he's actually has that ability.

On the ground, it's hard to say. Lesnar is an amazing wrestler - but Mir is amazing at BJJ. I have to give the edge to Mir on the ground based on something my brother said - my bro was a NCAA D-I wrestler, and he's trained for MMA with several people as a grappling partner. He said it was often easy to get somebody on their back in a fight, but then there was a "now what?" feel. I think this fight entirely depends on how much Lesnar has learned on defending BJJ - in the first fight, the leg lock that caught him was not the first submission attempt that was noticeable.

I'd watch the strategy and try to get a feel for what each fighter is doing - who wants to bring the game to the ground, who wants to keep it up. Might be useful to look up some of the common terms (half guard, full guard, clinch, etc.) so you can follow the announcers (and don't think what they say is gospel truth). And then just enjoy the ride.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I'd watch the strategy and try to get a feel for what each fighter is doing - who wants to bring the game to the ground, who wants to keep it up. Might be useful to look up some of the common terms (half guard, full guard, clinch, etc.) so you can follow the announcers (and don't think what they say is gospel truth). And then just enjoy the ride.

Yeah that is what I plan on doing, I want to at least be able to cheer/heckle/think the announcers are biased for one fight. So I am going to go for Lesnar.

And I know I will enjoy the commentary because I think Joe Rogan is hilarious. His two stand-up CDs are fantastic and frequently on my iPod.

[Surfah]

Yeah that is what I plan on doing, I want to at least be able to cheer/heckle/think the announcers are biased for one fight. So I am going to go for Lesnar.

And I know I will enjoy the commentary because I think Joe Rogan is hilarious. His two stand-up CDs are fantastic and frequently on my iPod.

One thing I enjoy about Rogan is that he is a huge fan and not just a commentator. He also trains and knows what he is talking about. He is also hilarious. He has some funny stuff on his blog.

[Pheidippides]

One thing I enjoy about Rogan is that he is a huge fan and not just a commentator. He also trains and knows what he is talking about. He is also hilarious. He has some funny stuff on his blog.

Yeah, between the two commentators I would go with what Rogan says.

[Surfah]

Yeah, between the two commentators I would go with what Rogan says.

Mir is a very good commentator. You can learn quite a bit from him when he does the WEC fights.

[Pheidippides]

Mir is a very good commentator. You can learn quite a bit from him when he does the WEC fights.

I haven't seen any WEC fights, but I can see that. Mir is a talker and smart. If a jackass.

[Surfah]

I haven't seen any WEC fights, but I can see that. Mir is a talker and smart. If a jackass.

You should DVR them when they come on Vs. They're free. They're lighter weights. Owned by the UFC, so you see a lot of the same guys. And there are some amazing fighters in the WEC. Mike Brown, Uriah Faber, Miguel Torres. Lots of guys hone their skills there before jumping up to UFC like Carlos Condit who recently lost his UFC debut. But he's sick.

UFC has been so smart with their WEC promotion and their live free Fight Night Fights. They've engendered lots of goodwill and new interest from these free events. They usually have pretty dang good cards too. I also like how on Spike and Vs. they'll feature the PPV bouts usually the next month in their hourly specials.

[Drunk Tank]

Just tuned in to Spike TV and they are showing UFC's 100 greatest fights. It runs up til the start of the pay per view.