MMA for newbies/Ask Alex

[Postman Dave]

Okay, so I have had up until now a passable knowledge of MMA (knew the fight format, could name at least 10 fighters, etc.) but I want to get more into it. So I got a "Best of 2012" UFC comp, and I'm gonna use this here thread track my progress and ask Mr. [MENTION=626]Red Alex[/MENTION] any questions I have on the sport. If anyone else wants to join in, either answering questions or asking, please feel free. And I apologise in advance for any stupid questions.

Random thoughts so far:

- Nate Diaz is fantastic. I know he's a dick, but hell at least he stands out and is memorable. Same with Chael Sonnen. If there's a problem with a lot of MMA fighters is that they don't stand out, these guys have at least charisma going for them.

- Why does every other fighter from Brazil have "Diaz" as a surname?

And a question:

How are title shots decided? I assume it isn't like wrestling where it's like "we need someone to keep the champ busy for the month" and they have seedings and stuff. But at the same time, I gotta assume draw power plays a role? You don't want a boring fighter main eventing PPV's surely?

 

[The Great Cochrane]

Re: MMA for newbies

Well first of all, thank you very much for creating this thread. And I want to remind you that for current state of knowledge in the UFC that there is no such thing as a stupid question, I will gladly answer all questions to the best of my ability.

Nate Diaz is fantastic. I know he's a dick, but hell at least he stands out and is memorable. Same with Chael Sonnen. If there's a problem with a lot of MMA fighters is that they don't stand out, these guys have at least charisma going for them.

Both the Diaz brothers are fantastic, if you ask me they both present the best boxing in all of MMA and especially the way Nick threw 5 punch combos against Carlos Condit and put him up against the fence. Chael Sonnen is very good as well, he's a very straight forward fighter and loves to take the fight to anyone who steps up.. his fights against Anderson Silva are both great examples. And I agree the sport needs more people like these to bring image and hype into the sport.. I definitely think we need more people like Chael and the Diaz brothers. My only criticism is between those three fighters their record is 0-6, however with Chael's only two losses coming to Jon Jones and Anderson Silva that says quite a bit. Hopefully Nate has a little bit more success as a welterweight.

Why does every other fighter from Brazil have "Diaz" as a surname?

Interesting you should say that, the only Brazilian fighter I can think of that has Diaz as his surname is Hacran Dias. And that's an entirely completely different spelling : Diaz is actually a name of Mexican descent. I believe Silva or Gracie is a lot more popular in Brazil than Diaz.

How are title shots decided? I assume it isn't like wrestling where it's like "we need someone to keep the champ busy for the month" and they have seedings and stuff. But at the same time, I gotta assume draw power plays a role? You don't want a boring fighter main eventing PPV's surely?

It's a different scenario every single time, even with the formal ranking system that the UFC now has we still see fighters leap frogging over guys who have had consecutive wins.. so to answer your question I believe title shots are decided with how well fighters sit in Dana White's books. Although like I said, it's a different scenario every single time.. but hopefully with this formal ranking system we see more deserving fighters get title shots. Chael Sonnen has gotten two title shots in a row because of the fact that he's a major draw, and if you ask me the top five draws are: Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Rashad Evans, and Chael Sonnen. Nick Diaz also got an immediate title shot even after losing the interim title bout to Carlos Condit so of course how well you sit with the boss plays a part in that too.

Hopefully I helped you out a little bit, my friend! I believe I'm gonna sticky this thread just in case anybody else has questions.

 

[Hoss]

I think MMA needs more heels in general. Though UFC would never come out and address it... without heels the entire place would be so plain, it would hardly be worth watching. And even though they try to distance themselves from pro wrestling, they need fighters with pro wrestling personalities to make things interesting. Fights like Silva/Sonnen, GSP/Koscheck and Mayhem/Bisping are just more compelling than Silva/Franklin or Machida/Jones... villains are needed to make the heroes matter.

 

[The Great Cochrane]

Much similar to pro wrestling fights also have the ability to tell stories, and in my oppinion if you put on a fight with a good story than that also wins over the fans too. Take a look at the first Forrest Griffin vs Shogun fight, here's a fighter who's considered to be the top 205 lber in the world comes into the octagon facing someone who's coming off a hard loss and just when everybody thinks Forrest is just a lamb to the slaughter, he finishes him late in the third round. The first Anderson Silva Vs Chael Sonnen fight is another good example, the best fighter in the world gets manhandled over the course by a West Oregon farmboy who although experienced has never really shined at the top. These are a couple fights where you see who truly has the will to win.

 

[Joey]

Where and when can I watch MMA on Television?

 

[The Great Cochrane]

There's a series of events and they're all different, Pay Per View events are the biggest, Fox shows are the prime time equivalent, FX usually has about 4 fights, and Fuel TV usually has 6 fights a card.. and they're all headlined by big name fighrers to watch. Usually they're on Saturday night but every now and than you get the odd Wednesday Night show, if you wanna watch there's UFC on Fox on Saturday the 28th with some stellar fights including a title match. PM me and I can give you a slew of upcoming shows.

Seeing as you're from Boston you might wanna check out the Fox Sports 1 debut at the TD Garden going down on August 17th with Chael Sonnen Vs Shogun. Just a suggestion, it's 10 times better live than on TV.

 

[Postman Dave]

Korean Zombie: What's the deal with the weird (for MMA) gimmicky name?

 

[The Great Cochrane]

I'm not entirely sure of the origin, but my guess is that it comes from his ability to take a severe ammount of punishment and still come forward. The first Leonard Garcia fight is the perfect example.

The Korean Zombie is actually amazing, his fighting style reminds me of a more seasoned Wanderlei Silva with a vicious ground game to top it off. His last fight against Dustin Poirier is one of my personal favs, and he's definitely gonna give Jose Aldo a fit with his go for broke style.

 

[Postman Dave]

He's exciting to watch for sure.

Now for a lighter question: I've seen some god awful ink on this set, who has the worst in your opinion?

 

[The Great Cochrane]

Oh geez that's a really tough question.

I'd have to say it's a tie between either Gray Maynard or Cub Swanson, for somebody who has a nickname "The Bully" getting a tramp stamp is definitely not intimidating. And Cub Swanson's "So Cal" chest tattoo is pretty dumb too, this is all a matter of oppinion but those are my answers.

 

[Hoss]

I hate all of Cub Swanson's ink.

 

[The Great Cochrane]

If he was still in the UFC I would have included Brock Lesnar on that list. But for obvious reasons that's ruled out.

 

[Postman Dave]

Bump.

I come baring new questions!

1. Where the fuck can I watch MMA on UK TV : I'm doing my best with online (UFC putting up free matches is particularly helpful) but I could do with some regular programming.

2. Best fights of 2013?

 

[The Great Cochrane]

1. Where the fuck can I watch MMA on UK TV : I'm doing my best with online (UFC putting up free matches is particularly helpful) but I could do with some regular programming.

Unfortunately I can't confirm that as a definite. However my research goes to show that BT Sport is the best source for UFC programming. Now Bellator, whatever network partners with Spike TV.

Best fights of 2013?

Another tough question considering we still have a month to go! haha. Right now I have to say the top 5 fights this year (and this is a matter of oppinion, feel free to disagree) so far have been:

Condit vs Hendricks
Condit vs Kampmann
Jones vs Gustaffsson
Gilbert Melendez vs Diego Sanchez
and than that war between St-Pierre and Hendricks tops off my list.

 

[Postman Dave]

Seeing Condit there twice makes me happy as his bout with GSP is my favourite from last year.