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The Natural

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MMA has gotten so big that it really shouldn't matter if it's a name or not. If you put all the pressure on a name fighters (because it takes two people to have a great fight), then the focus is going to be on them the most. So of course it's going to be obvious that it sucks. Kalib Starnes use to be a killer BEFORE he got into the UFC and then he is running away from Nate Quarry a few years later. Rousimar Palhares almost crippled a few guys BEFORE he got into the UFC. People didn't give a shit UNTIL he did it to Drwal in the UFC. But before the shift into mega Zuffa powers in 2007, it wasn't that unusual to have the fight of the year outside the biggest companies. Someone would go crazy over some Shooto 154 pound title fight. Now it's exclusive to the UFC outside your Chandler-Alvarez fights. But it's the same for RING magazine in boxing when their #1 fight of the year is like a strawweight fight from Japan every few years. It's just there to make sure people believe you have credibility.

 

Because you have so many shows a year now, the innate response is to say that (insert UFC newcomer winner here) should face (top 5-15 guy). But I don't think it use to be like that. Ten years ago, you had time to actually gestate where someone should probably go as a fan. People would actually say that you need build Newcomer X up to fight whomever. With the concern for card quality, fans have negated that idea unintentionally. There are few in-between, mediocre dudes now tallying up wins just to do so. Guys are actually fighting those types of fighters but fans are writing those wins off because there is a new shiny toy on the very next show. There are more guys closer to 05-08 Jon Fitch than Marcus Davis in that same timeframe. When you actually analyze the success rate of relatively new UFC fighters, the reaction shouldn't be "I want to see this fighter against this top guy" from an entertainment standpoint. I'm not saying people going out there to be Leonard Garcia or trying to be boring on purpose, but fighters are trying to win by ANY MEANS now. There is some hot and up-and-comer that might go out and find out the hard way, "oh shit, I just can't clown on Francis Carmont like I did some guy in Victory Fighting Championships. I need an actual strategy to win." It already has happened to people like Cruickshank, Mein, Duffee, and all these other young guys that actually grew up watching and doing MMA.

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The divisions are way more stacked nowadays then they were a few years ago.  Back in 2007-2008 you had guys like Tamdan McCrory and Luke Cummo getting fights on main cards as far as WWs go.  Now you have a division that's probably 30 deep that are better then those guys.

 

Just look at the current WW division

 

Georges St. Pierre

Johny Hendricks

Carlos Condit

Hector Lombard

Jake Shields

Jake Ellenberger

Rick Story

Tyron Woodley

Nate Marquardt

Robbie Lawler

Matt Brown

Paulo Thiago

Siyar Bahadurzada

Martin Kampmann

Dong Hyun Kim

Demian Maia

Hyun Gyu Lim

Josh Kosecheck

Rory MacDonald

Jordan Mein

Gunnar Nelson

Kyle Noke

Claude Patrick

Mike Pierce

Mike Pyle

Tarec Saffiedine

Erick Silva

Brandon Thatch

Mike Swick

Stephen Thompson

 

And that's not even the whole division.

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I know it's not exactly ideal and it's still only been a week, but why not just strip GSP of the title and let him take his time off and put Hendricks against I don't know Robbie Lawler in a title bout as soon as they are ready?  GSP said he needed time off to take care of personal things, and if that's indefinite he can't be champion.  It's not like GSP has the power to strip himself of the title.

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I know it's not exactly ideal and it's still only been a week, but why not just strip GSP of the title and let him take his time off and put Hendricks against I don't know Robbie Lawler in a title bout as soon as they are ready? GSP said he needed time off to take care of personal things, and if that's indefinite he can't be champion. It's not like GSP has the power to strip himself of the title.

That's what I was saying that night. If GSP wants a year or two to deal with that fact he knocked a chick up and she won't abort then Dana at the pressed should have announced do to retirement Hendricks was the new champion.

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I have no idea if anyone here watches TUF but can someone explain to me how 2 guys can fail to make weight so badly?

It just blows my mind that these guys walk around at 150-155 and then cut to 135 for a fight. That can't be healthy right? Is there some sort of tactical advantage? Wouldn't it make more sense to cut to 145 and fight there? Or even try to train a little more muscle onto the body and just fight at a natural 155?

Im obviously showing my total lack of understanding about fight prep here but I just cant get my head around these two guys walking around at 150+ when they know they need to be under 136 in a matter of days.

Can someone with a better knowledge of camps and fight prep please explain to me why these guys would cut down to such a low weight rather than fighting at something closer to a 'natural' size?

Thanks in advance.

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Walk around 155 to fight at 135 is fairly normal, it's just they went the wrong way of going about it.  Usually the best way to do weight cutting is diet down to 10 or so pounds above the weight division then just sweat out the last pounds.  You don't try to sweat out the whole 20 lbs.

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I like one a week. It's still fighting and 40 or so will be free.

I'd rather have quality over quantity. I could watch thousands of crappy MMA fights on YouTube.

Honest, non trolling question: do you feel that name fighters have better fights than lower guys? I feel like its an absolute toss up.

 

 

In terms of how good a fight is, it doesn't necessarily matter. But I'd rather watch a fight that had some divisional ramifications.

 

 

So, more divisions?

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I have no idea if anyone here watches TUF but can someone explain to me how 2 guys can fail to make weight so badly?

It just blows my mind that these guys walk around at 150-155 and then cut to 135 for a fight. That can't be healthy right? Is there some sort of tactical advantage? Wouldn't it make more sense to cut to 145 and fight there? Or even try to train a little more muscle onto the body and just fight at a natural 155?

Im obviously showing my total lack of understanding about fight prep here but I just cant get my head around these two guys walking around at 150+ when they know they need to be under 136 in a matter of days.

Can someone with a better knowledge of camps and fight prep please explain to me why these guys would cut down to such a low weight rather than fighting at something closer to a 'natural' size?

Thanks in advance.

I haven't watched TUF in a while but haven't they had this problem a few times before? maybe not with 2 people in the same fight though. Like its been said its not unnatural to drop 20lbs for a fight the right way over the course of a couple of months but that cant be done 3 (or 4) times over 6 weeks like they would have to in the TUF house. They have had several guys win the show in the past fighting at a higher weight than they normally would then dropping to there 'natural' weight class immediately after.

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For TUF it's usually better to fight up a weight class so it's an easy weight cut for you while you're in the house, then after TUF ends and you win the contract then you can finally cut down to your normal weight class.  When you have a fight in the UFC you spend your whole training camp dieting down to the weight you start cutting down to.

 

For example there's no way that Johny Hendricks could make 170 if he fought on TUF, he walks around a little over 200.

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I have no idea if anyone here watches TUF but can someone explain to me how 2 guys can fail to make weight so badly?

It just blows my mind that these guys walk around at 150-155 and then cut to 135 for a fight. That can't be healthy right? Is there some sort of tactical advantage? Wouldn't it make more sense to cut to 145 and fight there? Or even try to train a little more muscle onto the body and just fight at a natural 155?

Im obviously showing my total lack of understanding about fight prep here but I just cant get my head around these two guys walking around at 150+ when they know they need to be under 136 in a matter of days.

Can someone with a better knowledge of camps and fight prep please explain to me why these guys would cut down to such a low weight rather than fighting at something closer to a 'natural' size?

Thanks in advance.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1859469-tuf-18-jessamyn-duke-fighter-blog-episode-12

 

 

Anthony had made weight for his fight with Cody exactly one week prior to his fight with Davey. They didn't show it, but I saw him step on the scale at 136 for that fight. After that weight cut, though, he kind of went crazy with the food. That whole week he kept treating himself and making exceptions. One week was the longest any of us had to prepare for a weight cut. One of the toughest parts of the show was having to always be so close to weight because if you were picked to fight, you only had 24 hours to make weight... And since you had no guarantee you were gonna fight, you had to cut weight just in case. 

 

So the fact that he had a whole week to prepare really was a luxury, and he had no excuse not to make the weight. He just lost discipline and lost focus during that time, and it cost him the opportunity of a lifetime. It had nothing to do with him not being physically able to cut the weight either. This is why Ronda made the decision to make weight in 24 hours. The editing of the show makes it seem like Dana talked her out of it, but let me tell you what really happened...

 

Anthony tried to say that it just wasn't possible for him to cut the weight because he had screwed up on his diet. But here's the thing, he could have made it. He left the gym the night before at 144, which is well within a range to make the weight. There is a science to cutting weight and lots of things that we as fighters can do to make it easier on ourselves, but the BIGGEST factor in the weight cut is your mental fortitude...and this is what Ronda wanted to prove.

 

She jumped on the scale after Anthony missed weight and was 152 pounds. Without any sort of prep (diet, water loading, sodium loading/cutting, etc.) jumped in the sauna and was in there for FIVE hours before it was time to go to the coaches challenge. Yes, Ronda Rousey cut weight in the sauna for five hours, went to a rock climbing challenge, won, and then went BACK to the sauna that night and cut some more.

 

The next day when it was time for Jessica and Raquel to fight, she was at the gym before anyone else arrived and was back in the sauna cutting weight. When the rest of us arrived she was sitting at 136 pounds in the locker room. I watched her warm up Rakoczy for her fight while on weight and then step on the scale in front of Dana and be 135 pounds. She did this to prove a point.

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If GSP still wants to take some time off and they decide to do an interim belt in his absence, doing Hendricks vs. Condit(if he gets past Brown that is) at UFC 171 in Dallas would be a good way to go.  Johny lives in Dallas now and is from Oklahoma so he would probably draw in a decent crowd.

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