UFC/PRIDE (Possible Spoilers)

[Amazinz]

Lackluster card overall but man oh man man... Forest.

[Minor League Skilz]

I thought Rampage was done in the 2nd after that leg kick. Forrest is the man!


Why was the crowd booing Forrest after the match? That was strange. I understand Kos but Forrest, come on!

[bigh0rt]

How is that fight not a draw? I can understand giving Forrest 10-8 in Round 2, but Rampage wins 3 of the other 4 rounds and it's a draw... no judge even had it close. I think Dana is pushing Forrest because he won the Ultimate Fighter. Blah. How the hell Cote won his decision, too, I have no idea.

[Amazinz]

Well I definitely think Dana is pushing Forrest but he still had to go in there and perform against Shogun and Rampage. And even if you think the judges should have scored it a draw or in favor of Rampage, that doesn't diminish what Forrest did. There are very few fighters that have shut Rampage down like that.

The scoring was pretty much right on IMHO, although had I been scoring I would have actually scored round one to Forrest. They weighed Rampage's success late in the round too heavily but I think it ended up close to the same. I wouldn't have scored the second round 10-8 Forrest just 10-9 so it basically evened out since most of the judges scored that 2 points in Forrest's favor.

[cordscords]

Great main event. Very entertaining and tough to score. Rumor is if Liddell gets past Evans in September we will get Chuck vs Griffin on NYE for the belt.

[Amazinz]

That would be very cool although part of me thinks Rampage should get an immediate rematch. I'm not usually in favor of immediate rematches but I think in a case like this, where the champ lost the fight in a super-close decision, it is probably warranted.

[Mookie4ever]

I didn't see the fight but I did watch every episode of this season of TUF and I know that these two guys are the most popular and marketable fighters that they have. This tells me that Rampage will probably get a rematch. Much like Franklin did with Silva. After Rampage I think that any discussion of contenders has to include Machida. You don't go 13-0 and beat Penn, Ortiz and Rich Franklin and not get consideration.

[Phatferd]

I was rooting for Forrest, so I was happy with the decision. With that said, I was having this discussion with my friends who I watched the fight with. I am new to the whole MMA scene, but what I remember about boxing and stuff is to take the belt away from the current champ you really have to earn it. In a close fight like this, I think unless the contender clearly dominated the fight, the belt should stay with the champ.

[Amazinz]

After Rampage I think that any discussion of contenders has to include Machida

I think you can make an argument for Machida or Liddell as #1 contender. I lean toward Machida too but I don't dismiss the argument that Machida has to beat a top-5 LHW to get the distinction. Machida is really in a position to get screwed because he is probably going to have to wait for two more title defenses before he gets his shot. This is what happened to Parisyan and then it was all downhill from there.

...but what I remember about boxing and stuff is to take the belt away from the current champ you really have to earn it. In a close fight like this, I think unless the contender clearly dominated the fight, the belt should stay with the champ.

It's never been a rule in boxing just a boxing adage.

[cordscords]

Machida has beaten lower tier top 10 guys (Soku and Ortiz) and in addition W's over Penn & Franklin when they were at 205. So I definitley think he's worthy of a title shot. My guess is he will have 2 more fights before he gets a title shot. Unfortunatley it's a business and Machida as the champ isnt exactly great from a marketing standpoint. My guess is he gets Jardine next, and then a #1 contender fight.