UFC Fight Night 21 Questions

To steal Trp's idea, here are some questions to ponder after UFN 21.

1. Florian looked good beating a shot Gomi. What does he need to do to earn another title shot? He has had two title shots already and lost them both. Has his opportunity passed?

2. Who should Roy Nelson fight next? He's clearly a level above the Struve's and Schaubs of the world, but not at the level of the top heavies (Lesnar, Cain, JDS, Carwin). Who would be a good step up for him?

3. Ross Pearson has looked good since joining the UFC, but while his punches are accurate, he has little power. He hit Siver with a number of clean shots that barely rocked him. With only 3 KO's in 14 career fights, does Pearson have the overall ability to make up for his lack of punching power to have a succesful MMA career?

4. Yushin Okami won by TKO over Lucio Linhares on the undercard. Was his loss to Sonnen the last time we'll see him on the televised portion of a card, no matter how many times he wins?

5. Who do you prefer as TUF Coaches? Fighters who are no longer relavent, but still 'names' like Tito and Chuck, or two top fighters leading to a title fight, but in turn holding up the division for 6+ months while the show films and airs?


TFK

 

1. As U've Indicated, Florian has Very Little CHAMPIONSHIP Future...He's an EXCELLENT MMA Analyst Though & THAT's where his TRUE Future Lies, N REED's Opinion...

2. For Some Reason, Nelson's "Jolly Fat Man" Schtick IRKS the Shit Out of REED....REED would Match Nelson with Carwin IMMEDIATELY...Then, Moments After Nelson Regained Conciousness, Make him Fight Lesnar...Both Guys in the SAME Night...

5.REED Looooooooves TUF...Whether it's SHOT Guys like Chuck & Tito or More CURRENT Guys...It's a GREAT Show Regardless....Holding Championships Hostage Can B a Pain, but that's why they have Interim Titles...So while the TUF Guys R Waiting it Out, the Rest of that Particular Division Jockeys for POSITION to Get the Next Title Shot...




REED:hammert:

 

1: Put him against Gleison Tibau! Winner gets the shot! :cheer:

No but seriously, he'll probably fight Maynard for the shot. :yawn:

2: Probably another mid level fighter, JDS is a possibility, but not a good one.
Maybe the UFC will sign a 265 prospect and they will fight.

3: Yes, but that depends on what you mean by successful. He will not at all be a contender or even a fringe contender, but a solid mid-level guy.

4: Nah, Okami is a contender in the division. Undoubtedly, he's also stepping his overall game up, and is not really a boring fighter. In hindsight, the Sonnen loss doesn't look as bad as it once did.

5: Yeah, I like Tito, Chuck, Matt Hughes, and the vets to be coaches. They are usually pretty good, unlike guys like Rampage and are irrelevant enough to not stall the divisions out.

 

1) As I said before, unlike Jon Fitch, I think Kenny is improving his game in the area needed to compete closer with Penn. If Penn beats Edgar and Florian can get another top level win, I say he deserves the rematch. Let's not forget, Kenny was in the fight with Penn. He wasn't crushed like Diego.

2) I say match him with guys coming off devastating loses like Mir, Nog or even Gonzaga.

3)No, but he is fluid, reflexive and uses feints well enough to provide trouble for guys. I want to see him in with a solid wrestler and see if he lacks in that area like most English fighters.

4) Yes, we will see him again. The dude is like 8-2 in the UFC with loses to Franklin and Sonnen, which isn't too damn shabby. Apparently his stand up is improving even now so maybe next time out he makes it prime time.

6) I am split on this one. I like coaches that are still involved in the championship landscape, but by the same token I also like guys that have a true grudge like Evans and Rampage or Ortiz and Shamrock. I personally don't think they should ever let a champion coach as it keeps him on the shelf for so long as you said.

 

It's true, Pearson is a very solid fighter, but just has little to no power. Doesn't have that natural spark in his shots.

Contrary to REED, I like Roy's Jolly Fat Man persona, I don't know why, it's usually something that would annoy me, but I can't help but like Nelson.

Partly because he's so exaggerated, he's like a real life Rufus from Street Fighter 4, this fat hillbilly with a mullet, and the way he rubs his huge disgusting belly after he wins etc ::

Also I kind of respect his ability, being able to fight as well as he does, despite looking like a fat little hillbilly.

And yeah, I really like TUF. Even though I am far more boxing fan than MMA fan, somehow I like the whole style and format of the show, cardboard doors 'n all.

By the way, what happened to everyone's prediction that Dana would immediately throw Roy to the wolves, and match him with someone who would almost certainly beat him? Why do you think he was matched with a lanky scrub?

 

REED Normally Does Too...Who DOESN'T Like Santa Claus or William "The Refrigerator" Perry???...But there's just SOMETHING about Nelson that REED Loathes...Can't Quite Put his Finger On it Though...



REED:hammert:

 

Hey, homeboy looked legit, no doubt huh?? I hope he gets a shot in there against someone legit and soon. I want to see more fights from him!:cheer:

 

I've been on the Tibau bandwagon for a while now. He got robbed against Melvin who is a tough fighter no doubt, but his last real loss was in 2008 to Joe Stevenson. He's very young, only 26 I believe. A 24 year old who is still improving is going to be hard pressed to be the top 8 guys in a division. I think this is a steadily improving with age, Tibau who has a double leg from hell, and a BJJ black belt with improving stand up and serious power in his strike. Outside of Aoki, he's definitely a favorite of mine at 155.

 

1. He'll get his shot if Bj vacated or loses the belt.
2. Maybe Ben Rothwell and then one of the top guys if he wins.
3. Didn't see the fight but he has looked good and well rounded in all his fights I've seen. Don't see him as champ though.
4. Hopefully not, he's kind of been screwed by the UFC for always ending up on the undercards, kind of like Jon Fitch used to.
5. Non champions.

 

I like Pearson a lot, i don't see why people are so quick to write him off as a potential top 10er. Just in the year or so since TUF he has made vast improvements and whose to say that his devlopment has stopped or is slowing down?...he's going to get better.

Striking-wise, he's very good. I like his rhythm as he bounces in and out of range. It's true that there isn't a lot of power there, but no one is gonna let Pearson tee-off on them...in MMA, you don't have to be a big puncher to bust someone up good...and of course, he's scoring points.

We can only speculate about his ground-game, but it is naive to assume that it is non-existent. He has submission victories to his name, and his attitude is exemplary...i don't think he's the sort of guy to focus solely on his strengths in the gym...he's keen to learn.

 

I like Pearson, he is very easy to root for. Not sure how far he can go, but I'm game to watch.opcorn:

 

To answer my own questions...

1. I don't see Florian getting another title shot anytime soon, and definitely not if BJ stays champ. It's not like 170 where there aren't any challengers that haven't already been beaten. You still have the likes of Tyson Griffin and Gray Maynard out there who are deserving of a shot before Florian.

2. Nelson should fight against one of the title shot gatekeepers (Gonzaga or Kongo). If he beats one or both of them, then give him Mir or Nog.

3. I think Pearson will obtain Chris Leben level of success. He'll fight some decent names but he won't be a legit title challenger.

4. I just don't see Okami fighting on TV again. For some reason, he seems to be in the dog house.

5. I'd much rather have two non contenders coach TUF then have the show hold up a title shot. And while I know the coaches don't really do the 'real' coaching of the TUF fighters, I think that young fighters can learn more from the older fighters then they would the younger ones like Bisping, Rashad, etc.

TUF is the perfect way to keep non relavent active fighters relevant. Guys like Hughes, Couture, Tito, Chuck, Franklin..or even some fighters who haven't coached yet like Wandy and ideal for the job as they're still names, but aren't considered top level fighters anymore.

TFK

 

My only problem with the Ross Pearson/Chris Leben analogy is Chris has dynamite in his hands. The guy is a KO punch away in just about any fight. Pearson almost looks to be a somewhat light handed puncher. Guys like Leben are always going to be crowd pleasers which puts them on Dana White's good side which in turn gets them alot of fights in the UFC.

 

I'm not saying they have similiar styles, I'm just saying I think Pearson will obtain the same level of success as Leben. He'll fight some names but he won't be looked at as a contender.

TFK

 

fair enough.