Excellent card with 2 of the top 2011 prospects fighting. Tyrone Woodley gets an amazing test in The Belgian Waffle, Tarec Saffedine. Also, one of TLC Heavyweight prospects, Daniel Cormier takes on fellow wrestler and convicted sex offender, Devin Cole. This one should be a blow out with the former US Wrestling team member Cormier running through Cole. Welterweight bout: Tyron Woodley vs. Tarec Saffiedine Heavyweight bout: Daniel Cormier vs. Devin Cole Light Heavyweight bout: Ovince St. Preux vs. Abongo Humphrey Women's (145 lbs) bout: Julia Budd vs. Amanda Nunes Light Heavyweight bout: Rhadi Ferguson vs. John Richard Also, Rhadi Ferguson is a local guy down here that teaches at ATT in Boca Raton. He was on the US National judo team during the 2004 games in Athens. The dude is a freak. He's a black belt in Judo and BJJ. He's also the cousin of Kimbo Slice. There should be a slam or two in his fight so it should be fun.
I was just reading a bit on Ferguson, strange that he's the cousin of Kimbo yet I never heard of the two training together. Seems like something Kimbo should have done. Rhadi has some pretty impressive credentials, my main concern is that he's 35 already so he doesn't have much time to learn on the job.
He's old to start MMA and he is also short for the weight class. But the dude is retard strong. It will be fun to watch how he advances.
Woodley- Saffedine is the most intriguing fight, but St-Preux vs Abongo should be the most intriguing MATCHUP. That said, Rhadi Ferguson may just be the most interesting man in MMA. :: He's just a ridiculous person. 36 years old. 5'7 205lbs, but 205lbs of hulking muscle. An Olympic level Judo player and world class all around grappler, yet is cousin of a ghetto, barely educated, street fighter with no grappling ability whatsoever. And to top it all off, the guy has his doctorate so in the cage he'll be known as "Dr.Rhadi Ferguson".. ::
Funny thing about his size is that I think he was 220 at the Olympics. And if you've never seen the dude, he absolutely ripped. I love the stories from ATT about him picking up Monson. And you're right, how are he and Kimbo related yet none of the grappling ever rub off.... That being said, Kimbo isn't completely uneducated. He spent a year or so in college.
Cormier is sloppy as hell in his positional game. I feel like once he faces a good grappler he'll just lay in guard to avoid being reversed, because he certainly gives a ton of opportunities.
Tarec is the truth (as my homey BTG used to say:egypt:) this guy has great upside. He has come up to our gym and trained once. The guy has bad ass hip tosses. I know that sounds funny, but he is great with an arm whizzer out of the clinch. His standup is lightyears above Woodley too.
true, but I just don't see the same upside out of Woodley. To me, he is a typical wrestler with great control. Maybe I'm wrong, and it could be just a bias beings I have met Tarec. I watched the fight, and I just don't see that much potential out of Woodley.
He has great takedowns and ground control. He isn't looking to be a complete MMA fighter at all. Tarec will. Believe that.
Woodley a great athlete, but has lots of work to do to be a more complete fighter. And Cormier is going to get hurt at HW.
Yes it does.... purple belt. I think you mean white belt, or even blue. Purple belts are more than capable on the ground.
Submission artist? I said he's got subs, I didn't say he's Hatsu Hioki(a BJJ brown belt btw) Most oeioke in MMA or lower don't have brown or black belts, so saying T-Wood isn't good at subs because he hasn't subbed one is laughably foolish. Your hero Fraudor Emeliafake-o has never subbed anyone with even basic BJJ skills, let alone a purple belt. Of course, he follows a different criteria though, what am I thinking, along with expected competition levels for a so called number one ranked fighter. Belt rarely means anything in BJJ anyway, lots of BJJ belts are gifted away, like Rashad's or extremely difficult to gain. Hatsu Hioki BJJ Brown Belt Charles Oliveira BJJ Purple Belt Joe Lauzon BJJ Purple Belt Martin Kampmann BJJ Purple Belt Phil Davis BJJ Blue Belt Rashad Evans BJJ Black Belt Keith Jardine "Gaidojutsu" Black Belt Randy Couture Submission Wrestling Black Belt Wanderlei Silva BJJ Black Belt Now I wonder which group is better?
Once again...you make no sense. Comparing these guys to the purple belt no hopers that Woodley has submitted.
TLC makes a decent point. Maybe not specific to Woodley's opponents, but belts really depends on who they are earned under. I'll throw out another example. I'm not sure Matt Hughes holds any BJJ belt, but the guy still submitted some pretty good fighters including 3rd degree black belt BJJ stud, Ricardo Almeida. Another funny one is Nate Diaz. His ground game, especially off his back, is as good as it gets but the dude is only a brown belt under Cesar Gracie. So is his teammate Gilbert Melendez. We should do a poll as to the best MMA BJJ practicioner that is NOT a black belt.
I wasn't saying that Woodley has submitted all stars. I was just laughing at you for assuming purple belt = bad. Those guys weren't purple belts anyway. They weren't BJJ fighters, most MMA fighters aren't.
I didn't assume purple belts = bad. I was laughing at the fact you claim that Woodley has subs because he submitted a few bottom feeders at the beginning of his career. One barely a purple belt.
Woodley will never be a great submission guy. Enough said. He will also never be good on his feet. He will be a poor man's Gray Maynard. That is it.
