MMA Thread (UFC/Bellator et al)

[Bandit]

[Big Boss Man]

I like Conor but what he did wasn't cool. I'm surprised Mark Goddard didn't retaliate, must have took a lot of restraint not to respond. In other MMA news, Jack Swagger has joined Bellator

http://www.f4wonline.com/mma-news/forme ... mma-246271

[Big Boss Man]

Mike Bisping has announced he's retiring on March 17th next year in London.

[Bandit]

Yeah, I'm not surprised. A list of people his career outlasted is pretty impressive especially given the brutal fights he's had. Diego Sanchez gets respected for still being around, but Bisping was in UFC less than a year later.

[Big Boss Man]

Mikes had a great UFC career. I think he's proved a ton of people wrong especially when he won a championship. He has a good future as a MMA analyst and his health is in tact so it's a wise choice.

[Bandit]

Boy, Bisping sure fucked up fighting twice in a month. Oof. Sakuraba showed years ago why it's a terrible idea, hopefully they'll learn from Bisping and never attempt it.

[Big Boss Man]

Had Mike beat GSP I believe he'd have retired then since it's like retiring at the top of his game.

[Bandit]

[Bandit]

10 years ago that would have been an amazing line up.

Rampage, Mir, Mitrione and Mo advance. Mir might win it all.

[Big Boss Man]

Mitrione might be the sleeper in this. He KOd Fedor IIRC. I'm thinking Bader vs Mir in the finals.

[Big Boss Man]

Conor's been causing more aggro, this time in a pub in Ireland allegedly

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-spo ... r-11607434

Danas denied it but Irish media indicate it was Mc.

[Bandit]

Dana had a knee jerk reaction to disbelieve it because European tabloids make up wild stories all the time and this sounds too entertaining of a story to be true.

[Bandit]

[Bandit]

Francis Ngannou's KO of Overeem was brutal. That punch was fast even in slow motion. But he does hold the world record for strongest punch ever recorded.

If he beats Stipe that would be good for the UFC. He has an incredible life story and is a really good guy who gIves most of his money away to poor children. People will definitely get behind him as champion. You can make yourself feel good about buying a UFC show he headlines because you're really just helping feed children in Cameroon.

[Bandit]

Less than a month after winning the UFC middleweight title in dramatic fashion, Georges St-Pierre is dropping that title in not-so-dramatic fashion.

Due to a condition known as ulcerative colitis (an inflammatory bowel disease), St-Pierre dropped the belt officially Thursday night, saying in a statement that he was going to have to take some considerable time off, adding that he didn't want to hold up the division.

“My fight at UFC 217 was one of the greatest nights of my life but I now need to take some time to focus on my health. Out of respect to the athletes and the sport, I don’t want to hold up the division. I will be giving up my belt and once I’m healthy I look forward to working with the UFC to determine what’s next in my career.”

That means Robert Whittaker gets the 'interim' removed from his middleweight title reign and now becomes the official champion -- on paper anyway. He's been injured since defeating Yoel Romero for the interim title and will look to defend the official gold for the first time against former champion Luke Rockhold at February's UFC 221 in his home country of Australia.

St-Pierre returned after a four year layoff to submit Michael Bisping for the middleweight title in November at Madison Square Garden. He had been a dominant welterweight champion before taking time off after a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at the promotion's 20th anniversary show. There was some question as to whether GSP would remain in the middleweight division as he was non-commital after the Bisping win.

UFC has had awful luck all year.

[Bandit]

"Damn, I guess you do have to have that mentality...."

Rogan doesn't seem to have confidence for him.

[Bandit]

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

She's a true warrior for taking that beating for 25 minutes. I thought her face would look worse.

[Big Boss Man]

Well said Bruce Buffer