MMA News and Notes

[hamato_yoshii]

I'm actually rooting for Roy. I like him. I like it that Dana didn't like him and he just kept winning his fights. Dana clearly stated his dislike of Roy but he also said that would change if he kept winning which he did. Then after the finale, Dana finally gave him some props. I think Roy is a pretty dangerous fighter for a fat guy. He's dangerous because he has good foot work, he circles to the right when fighting right handed strikers and he's got decent take downs. When he's got someone down he lays that fat belly on you and there's no way of getting up if you're tired. He's not former IFL champ for nothing.

He's only got 3 decision losses and been tko'd once by Andrei Arlovski. No shame in that. He's stopped 7 guys by ko/tko and subbed 4 guys and only decisioned a win 3 times. That's pretty impressive if you look at the guy physically.

both guys have only fought against a top 10 once and both guys lost those fights. I think Struve's biggest advantage is his height and length. If he stays on the outside and use his reach it could be a long night for Roy. Or take it to the ground and work for subs. Struve may even get knocked out

I disagree totally about Roy. I give him props for accomplishing what he has with his physique, but it's like people act like he has a disability or something. He is fat, and lazy. He cannot afford to carry that much wasted weight around. He is a light heavyweight trapped in the body of a lazy heavyweight. Every fight he will be in now he will likely be giving up the advantage in strength, height, and reach. I don't see how he can succeed with that formula. He will learn that he will not be able to progress in the heavyweight ranks, and he will have to either cut weight, or he will just go away.
BTW, Roy has lost more than just Arlovski. Any time he has fought a legit heavyweight guy, he has lost. Andrei, Jeff Monson, and Ben Rothwell.

 

[SumoNinja]

I disagree totally about Roy. I give him props for accomplishing what he has with his physique, but it's like people act like he has a disability or something. He is fat, and lazy. He cannot afford to carry that much wasted weight around. He is a light heavyweight trapped in the body of a lazy heavyweight. Every fight he will be in now he will likely be giving up the advantage in strength, height, and reach. I don't see how he can succeed with that formula. He will learn that he will not be able to progress in the heavyweight ranks, and he will have to either cut weight, or he will just go away.
BTW, Roy has lost more than just Arlovski. Any time he has fought a legit heavyweight guy, he has lost. Andrei, Jeff Monson, and Ben Rothwell.

height disadvantage, yes,............ reach disadvantage, only to some,.............. strength disadvantage, only to top wrestlers like Brock and Cain. He's strong enough to knock out any hw right now

I didn't say he only lost to Arlovski, he has 3 losses via decision and lost by tko to Arlovski. (4 total) again, he's only fought a top 10 ranked guy once (which is arlovski). Monson and Rothwell weren't ranked top 10 (if even that ever) at the time they fought roy. Monson really should have been able to stop roy if you really look at it. but to me, that's just another testament to roy's abilities.

you and dana share the same opinion about him but i think he's better than what you guys think

here's who i think are the top of the UFC hw div in no particular order and how roy may do against them:

Brock (roy would lose because of the wrestling, if brock kept it standing he may get ko'd)
Junior (roy would lose by tko or unan dec)
Cain (roy would lose by tko or unan dec)
Nog (good chance of ko'ing nog if standing or lose by sub)
Mir (lose by sub or good chance of ko'ing Mir)
Shane (who i think is over hyped, ko can go either way)

i think he can take everyone else in the division or at least just equally matched

 

[hamato_yoshii]

height disadvantage, yes,............ reach disadvantage, only to some,.............. strength disadvantage, only to top wrestlers like Brock and Cain. He's strong enough to knock out any hw right now

I didn't say he only lost to Arlovski, he has 3 losses via decision and lost by tko to Arlovski. (4 total) again, he's only fought a top 10 ranked guy once (which is arlovski). Monson and Rothwell weren't ranked top 10 (if even that ever) at the time they fought roy. Monson really should have been able to stop roy if you really look at it. but to me, that's just another testament to roy's abilities.

you and dana share the same opinion about him but i think he's better than what you guys think

here's who i think are the top of the UFC hw div in no particular order and how roy may do against them:

Brock (roy would lose because of the wrestling, if brock kept it standing he may get ko'd)
Junior (roy would lose by tko or unan dec)
Cain (roy would lose by tko or unan dec)
Nog (good chance of ko'ing nog if standing or lose by sub)
Mir (lose by sub or good chance of ko'ing Mir)
Shane (who i think is over hyped, ko can go either way)

i think he can take everyone else in the division or at least just equally matched

See, I actually think that Roy is very skilled, what we differ on is I don't think he will be able to use those skills in the heavyweight division. I think that he will just be giving up way too much on a nightly basis to his opponents because of his "shape". I don't think that he really has that much strength, and I don't think that because he is fat, that means he is strong. The reason why he was able to use it as an advantage in TUF is because he was fighting guys who are not very skilled (and far less skilled than the guys he will be fighting now), and because most of the guys that he fought were also guys who are not really heavyweights, they are just light heavyweights who have not yet learned how to train and cut weight properly. Watch how many of those guys drop weight, if we ever see them again.

 

[hamato_yoshii]

height disadvantage, yes,............ reach disadvantage, only to some,.............. strength disadvantage, only to top wrestlers like Brock and Cain. He's strong enough to knock out any hw right now

I didn't say he only lost to Arlovski, he has 3 losses via decision and lost by tko to Arlovski. (4 total) again, he's only fought a top 10 ranked guy once (which is arlovski). Monson and Rothwell weren't ranked top 10 (if even that ever) at the time they fought roy. Monson really should have been able to stop roy if you really look at it. but to me, that's just another testament to roy's abilities.

you and dana share the same opinion about him but i think he's better than what you guys think

here's who i think are the top of the UFC hw div in no particular order and how roy may do against them:

Brock (roy would lose because of the wrestling, if brock kept it standing he may get ko'd)
Junior (roy would lose by tko or unan dec)
Cain (roy would lose by tko or unan dec)
Nog (good chance of ko'ing nog if standing or lose by sub)
Mir (lose by sub or good chance of ko'ing Mir)
Shane (who i think is over hyped, ko can go either way)

i think he can take everyone else in the division or at least just equally matched

Also, it proves my point that not only could he not beat a solid heavyweight in Arlovski, he couldn't beat 2 middle of the pack guys in Monson and Rothwell.

 

[SumoNinja]

See, I actually think that Roy is very skilled, what we differ on is I don't think he will be able to use those skills in the heavyweight division. I think that he will just be giving up way too much on a nightly basis to his opponents because of his "shape". I don't think that he really has that much strength, and I don't think that because he is fat, that means he is strong. The reason why he was able to use it as an advantage in TUF is because he was fighting guys who are not very skilled (and far less skilled than the guys he will be fighting now), and because most of the guys that he fought were also guys who are not really heavyweights, they are just light heavyweights who have not yet learned how to train and cut weight properly. Watch how many of those guys drop weight, if we ever see them again.

Also, it proves my point that not only could he not beat a solid heavyweight in Arlovski, he couldn't beat 2 middle of the pack guys in Monson and Rothwell.

i see what you're saying but I still think he'll do better than what you may think. I don't think he'll be a cake walk for anyone other than Cain or Brock because of the wrestling and even they need to not get knocked out in the process.

i dont' think he's top 5 in the division at all (that remains to be seen) but what i didn't understand was what makes you think Struve was going to run all over him? that's where i disagreed and had to comment. what has Struve done to make you think that? Struve's best chance I think is to fight off his back and work for arm bar or triangle. I dont' think he will be knocking roy nelson out. if the fight remains standing, he's gonna come in strong, utilize his reach in the first round like he did with paul buentello, but fade in the 2nd and 3rd if he doesn't get knocked out in the process first. i see why they gave him the nod against Paul but it really could've went either way. most felt he lost hence the booing after it was announced

 

[tcarswell]

When is rampage gonna fight Rashad ? I am 99% sure Rashad would win by decision lol...

Anyone excited to see Paulo Thiago fight ?! Crazy guy KO'd koscheck in the first round and is a Brazilian special forces agent. Very skilled fighter.

 

[hamato_yoshii]

i see what you're saying but I still think he'll do better than what you may think. I don't think he'll be a cake walk for anyone other than Cain or Brock because of the wrestling and even they need to not get knocked out in the process.

i dont' think he's top 5 in the division at all (that remains to be seen) but what i didn't understand was what makes you think Struve was going to run all over him? that's where i disagreed and had to comment. what has Struve done to make you think that? Struve's best chance I think is to fight off his back and work for arm bar or triangle. I dont' think he will be knocking roy nelson out. if the fight remains standing, he's gonna come in strong, utilize his reach in the first round like he did with paul buentello, but fade in the 2nd and 3rd if he doesn't get knocked out in the process first. i see why they gave him the nod against Paul but it really could've went either way. most felt he lost hence the booing after it was announced

I just hate the feeling that you go through all that in TUF and what we end up with is a guy that we know will never be good enough to be an elite fighter. If he took this thing serious and got down to 205, I think he could be really good.

I think really highly of Struve, and have for a while. A guy like Roy fits right into his game. Roy will want to stand, and with throw some slow shots trying to make up for the reach disadvantage, and one of these two things will happen; it will end up going to the clinch, where Struve will have a huge advantage, or it will go to the ground, where Struve will have a huge advantage. This is just a bad matchup for Roy, if it goes to the ground, even if he's on top, I don't see how he will be able to keep a skilled guy down using just his fatness, especially a guy who is 6-11 and will be able to "reach" up with his legs and probably sink in a triangle.

 

[SumoNinja]

When is rampage gonna fight Rashad ? I am 99% sure Rashad would win by decision lol...

Anyone excited to see Paulo Thiago fight ?! Crazy guy KO'd koscheck in the first round and is a Brazilian special forces agent. Very skilled fighter.

I believe Rashad and Rampage will be fighting in May. It will be late spring/early summer. I give Rampage a better chance of winning this fight. I don't think Rashad will knock rampage out, if anyone is gonna get laid out, Rashad is the one more likely to go to sleep. But anything can happen

I just hate the feeling that you go through all that in TUF and what we end up with is a guy that we know will never be good enough to be an elite fighter. If he took this thing serious and got down to 205, I think he could be really good.

I think really highly of Struve, and have for a while. A guy like Roy fits right into his game. Roy will want to stand, and with throw some slow shots trying to make up for the reach disadvantage, and one of these two things will happen; it will end up going to the clinch, where Struve will have a huge advantage, or it will go to the ground, where Struve will have a huge advantage. This is just a bad matchup for Roy, if it goes to the ground, even if he's on top, I don't see how he will be able to keep a skilled guy down using just his fatness, especially a guy who is 6-11 and will be able to "reach" up with his legs and probably sink in a triangle.

most TUF fighters will never fight at the elite level. not just roy, there are only a handful that actually do,.......... Diego, Kos, Swick, Forrest, Rashad are pretty much the only ones. Only Rashad and Forrest are the only champions who are the product of TUF but both lost the first title defenses. (the rest have only been able to compete at the elite level but never good enought to be champs) There's Matt Serra but he was already a UFC vet, i didn't really consider him a true TUFer. But the GSP win was a fluke in my eyes. We know how the rematch went,........ so roy actually CAN compete at the elite level, he just may never be champ. roy aint gonna drop to 205, lets' be honest,............ but i feel he dont' need to. just because he can't don't mean he's a sorry fat lazy bum either though

struve really should be a bad matchup for anybody because of his height and reach. he was supposed to be a bad matchup for Paul Buentello but he ended up on a highlight reel (where he went for a flying knee and got clocked mid air). I feel Paul won that fight though but it was close. struve wont' have the advantage in the clinch. his greatest advantage is on the ground. he can't utilize his reach and height advantage standing, that showed in the buentello fight.

but i think 70% if not more of the UFC roster cannot fight at the elite level or will never be champ, why single out roy?

 

[hamato_yoshii]

most TUF fighters will never fight at the elite level. not just roy, there are only a handful that actually do,.......... Diego, Kos, Swick, Forrest, Rashad are pretty much the only ones. Only Rashad and Forrest are the only champions who are the product of TUF but both lost the first title defenses. (the rest have only been able to compete at the elite level but never good enought to be champs) There's Matt Serra but he was already a UFC vet, i didn't really consider him a true TUFer. But the GSP win was a fluke in my eyes. We know how the rematch went,........ so roy actually CAN compete at the elite level, he just may never be champ. roy aint gonna drop to 205, lets' be honest,............ but i feel he dont' need to. just because he can't don't mean he's a sorry fat lazy bum either though
There actually have been quite a few guys that have come out of TUF, but if we just look at the winners we have, Forrest (had belt), Sanchez (fought for belt), Stevenson (fought for belt), Rashad (had belt), Grove (not so much), Bisping (Top 5 in his weight), Serra (had belt, but fluke I agree), Lutter (fought for belt), Diaz (fought for belt), Danzig (not so much), Sadollah (not sure still), Escudero (prob not), Bader (jury is still out, undefeated though), Pearson (I think very good, could compete at the top), Wilks (I like him to, don't know how high the ceiling is though), and Roy.
Again, I don't know how you can say that Roy will be able to compete at an elite level, when any time he has fought an "elite" (arlovski) or mid level guy, he has lost. He burned his way through chumps on TUF, and mostly who don't belong in that weight class, I don't see how that proves anything.
Also, I think you can say that he is fat, and he probably is lazy. If it sounds better to say that he isn't committed or dedicated, I can go with that, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.

struve really should be a bad matchup for anybody because of his height and reach. he was supposed to be a bad matchup for Paul Buentello but he ended up on a highlight reel (where he went for a flying knee and got clocked mid air). I feel Paul won that fight though but it was close. struve wont' have the advantage in the clinch. his greatest advantage is on the ground. he can't utilize his reach and height advantage standing, that showed in the buentello fight.

Struve is a bad matchup for most guys, and thats why he will have success in the UFC. That doesn't make him a champ right now, and I am not claiming that he is. He is 21 (maybe 22) and he is very experienced, and he is on a streak, that includes some tough guys. Paul is a veteran guy, and he couldn't beat him. I think Struve is still immature, and he shows it by how he fights in the stand up. He will normally absorb shots just so he can close the distance on a guy. He will learn (and has shown improvement, see the third round of the Paul fight) that he can use his length to frustrate guys. I think this will be a major factor in the Roy fight.

but i think 70% if not more of the UFC roster cannot fight at the elite level or will never be champ, why single out roy?

70% of the roster doesn't compete and win TUF and get awarded a big contract. It's apples and oranges. I think that there should be hope with the TUF winners that they have a shot at being very good to elite, and at least competing for the title in their respective weight class.

....

 

[tcarswell]

How is bisping top 5 in his weight ?! lol maybe im partial cause I despise the guy. But honestly after getting hammered by Matt Hamill (Hometown decision) beat by Rashad and completely destroyed by Dan Henderson I don't see how that is possible. I honestly feel like the guy gets can fights and tons of air time to keep the UK fans watching. He even admitted after the loss to Rashad that his game plan was to "use a lot of movement and win the decision" On top of that he certainly is not an entertaining fighter.