Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's..... TIME! for an MMA thread.
Any fans here? I'm pretty sure there are few. Any favourite fighters? Any favourite fights? Any favourite styles? Any dream match-ups? Anyone excited about the St. Pierre vs. Diaz fight this weekend? Any ideas who Ronda Rousey is gonna add to her arm collection next?
Here's a few fighters who are fighting now that I'm most excited about:
Anderson Silva – What can be said that hasn't already been said? There is no suitable adjective in the world that hasn't already been spoken again and again when describing this warrior. He's an absolute beast. He's so good he's scary. Vicious but calculated brutality. Intelligent, creative and unpredictable, sometimes even playful. His taunts, feints, dodging and weaving, unorthodox surprises, are as exciting as watching Muhammed Ali in his prime playing to the crowd, to me. I mean, is this the fucking Matrix or what:
Undeniably one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters to enter a ring. I am so grateful that he fought in my lifetime and that he is still fighting now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rbG84kVD4QRonda Rousey – I'm so on board the Rousey bandwagon. I'm absolutely smitten. She's just so damn hot. Honest, passionate and exciting outside of the cage. Completely untouchable inside it. Sexy and deadly. World class. Her judo is like poetry to me. The problem now is finding a fighter for her to fight. She's burning through contenders, first round armbar each time, bitches. And she was pretty much unknown a couple of years ago. She's done so much in that time for women's MMA and women's visibility in combat sports. I'm still taking it in. First woman to sign to UFC. First ever women's fight in the UFC (credit to Carmouche too, another solid and hard-working female fighter). First women to headline UFC. More importantly, first women's UFC champion. She's becoming one of the biggest draws in MMA. Everyone wants a piece of her. And I love the fact that the haters and naysayers are so fucking furious about it. Their tears taste delicious. And fuck anyone who says her fights are boring. What the fuck do you want her to do, pretend to lose so they last longer? Shit's ridiculous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf-eNVAeC0UJon Jones – Shaping up to be one of the best all-round fighters, like, ever. He's on another level. The guy is a freak of nature. A born fighter. A champion slayer. Making veterans look like amateurs. Hardly been hurt at all despite being in the cage with some formidable opponents. And his career has really only just begun. He can only get better and more complete. He's already got a brutal stand up game. Already an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler (which I think is beautiful when executed by someone skilled). Brilliant, intelligent martial artist. I'm a total shameless fangurl. I'm bursting with excitement about his next fight, and the next, and the next. Cool, smart and funny. Just a really nice guy. And it doesn't hurt that he's pretty too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKirYWR1sp0George St-Pierre – Another obvious choice. But you just can't deny it, this guy is a total class act. A great ambassador for the sport. So calm, collected, mature, respectful and humble. I respect him so much for the man he is and the fighter he is. Amazing athlete, just from a sheer physical specimen perspective. He's sculpted like a Greek god and moves like a gladiator. His grappling, takedowns, endurance and strength make compulsive viewing. He works damn hard and he can lay down some fearsome beatings. What I just don't get is how it's kinda become cool to hate on him. Why?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP4vpIGNC3ANick Diaz – Every story needs a villain. Never gonna be the most popular fighter due to his polarising nature and attitude. He's very much punk rock. Very much Marmite, you either love him or hate him. I fucking love him. Never a dull moment in or out of the cage. He loves to fight. Loves to get hit. Loves to get dirty and bloody. Absolutely fearless. His boxing is beautiful. He's a better boxer than a lot of actual boxers fighting right now. And he has a great ground game. His Gracie jiu-jitsu is gorgeous. When he gets chance to use it, it's some of the most excellently executed jiu-jitsu I've seen in the cage. He's the guy I like to watch train almost as much as I like to watch fight. He doesn't give a shit. He doesn't cowtow. He doesn't play the publicity game like a good boy. He says what he thinks, when he wants. And in doing that, inadvertently makes for great publicity. There is such a buzz in the run up to a Diaz fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOqxWX8aBXoLyoto Machida – I really don't understand the criticism this guy gets. I mean, I do understand most of it, it's because a lot of people just wanna see a bloody slugging match and an evasive game isn't as superficially exciting. But to me, he has one of the most fascinating defensive/counter games in the sport. It's good to see different martial arts in MMA. It's good to have unique characters bringing their own style that distinguishes them. It's good to see a fighter evolve. His style now is so much more advanced than it was. What I love most about him though is that he has that old school samurai warrior vibe. That nobility, dignity and honour. Bushido. It's like he carries the traditions of Japan into the Western, capitalist circus of the Octagon. He's had a couple of losses. But he gets back up. Fall seven times, rise eight times. That is the way of the warrior.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvMokTFYPoIUrijah Faber – I love this guy. He's a little ball of dynamite. High on life. He's got so much charisma and likeability. Bags of heart. Oozes energy and good vibes. So upbeat and enjoys every minute of it. A cool Californian dude. I wanna party with him. And an incredibly open and honest attitude outside of the ring. A solid fighter too. An honest, clean, hard working fighter. He's done a hell of a lot for the popularity of the lighter divisions. Goes to show that it isn't all about the bigger weight divisions. There are some really exciting fighters in the lighter divisions too and its a shame they often get overlooked.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yayzZ5ioxVI
Topic: MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)