UFC 84: Preview and Predictions...By Jay Graziani

[drunkguy]

Originally Posted by littleogre

DG you misunderstand what i'm saying even if he kicks machida's ass all around the octagon do you really think the judges will give him a fair shake.

i think UFC has too much to lose right now to let politics interfere in a ruling


he will have crazy crowd support too


will make it tough for judges to really screw him i think

[littleogre]

Originally Posted by drunkguy

i think UFC has too much to lose right now to let politics interfere in a ruling


he will have crazy crowd support too


will make it tough for judges to really screw him i think

hope you are right as i have always liked tito and would love to see him go out with a win

[TheVig]

Dave Meltzers Saturday UFC News

--Brock Lesnar's new opponent for UFC 87 on 8/9 in Minneapolis will be Heath Herring.
Herring is a tons tougher opponent at this stage of the game than Mark Coleman would have
been and it's a very dangerous fight for Lesnar.

--Tito Ortiz was on ESPN Sports Center running down Dana White. This has been the first
time that White has really taken it on the chin from the non-MMA media. It's really
clear Ortiz has made himself a sympathetic figure to the media in complaining that UFC
isn't taking care of the fighters. UFC keeping its finances so secretive makes them ripe
for this kind of criticism, particularly when most of the big names make the majority of
their income from unannounced bonuses so if people look up the numbers that are out
there, which is base pay, UFC isn't going to look good in discussions. It should make
for an interesting night tonight.
--Since a few have asked about a comment made yesterday regarding fans booing Sean Sherk
and "if they only knew," this is not whether Sherk is or isn't innocent and by
the rules of the sport using steroids is cheating. But you're very much naive if you
don't think a sizable percentage of mid-level and top-level MMA athletes are using
performance enhancing drugs.

[Oddessa]

SHANE CARWIN VS. CHRISTIAN WELLISCH

Round 1 - Quick touch of the gloves and Carwin starts swinging early. Wellisch avoids a few of the punches but is then rocked by a big overhand right. Wellisch hits the mat with a thud, and the ref jumps in to stop within the first minute of the fight. Wellisch went to sleep and didn't immediately awake. Shane Carwin def. Christian Wellisch via KO (punch) -- Round 1, 0:44.

DONG-HYUN KIM VS. JASON TAN

Round 1 - Touch of the gloves, and they're underway. Tan ducks an early punch but is tagged by a second and hits the mat. Alert, he immediately covers up and then grabs a leg to avoid damage. Kim continues throwing punches and tags his opponent with an elbow. Tan reaches for a second leg to no avail. The fight hits the mat. Tan is looking to escape, but Kim continues delivering damage with elbows. Tan briefly ties up his opponent then eats a barrage of elbows as Kim works for the mount. He's now bloodied -- possibly with multiple cuts. Tan barely hangs on to survive the round. MMAjunkie.com has it 10-9 for Kim.

Round 2 - Despite the drubbing, Tan is ready for round two. He goes on the offensive with wild kicks and punches. Tan then clinches up with Kim, where the action briefly stalls against the fence. Tan dips for a possible single-leg takedown, but Kim reverses the position for the quick takedown. Once on the mat, Kim works elbows in hopes of reopening cuts. Ref Steve Mazzagatti tells them to press the action. Kim jockeys for position on the ground and delivers punishment in the process. The pace again slows toward the end of the round as Kim fails to capitalize on the dominant sidemount and mount positions until late in the round. One final right punch sneaks through before the round ends. It's another 10-9 round for Kim.

Round 3 - Kim scores the early takedown, judo-throwing Tan to the mat. Kim immediately delivers punches and elbows to force the stoppage early in the round. Dong-Hyun Kim def. Jason Tan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 3, 0:25.

JON KOPPENHAVER VS. YOSHIYUKI YOSHIDA

Round 1 - After a brief feeling-out process, the fighters clinch, and Yoshida tosses his opponent to the ground. He immediately maneuvers into a choke and tightens the guillotine as Koppenhaver tries to pry his way free. Yoshida continues to roll and tries to tighten the hold. He briefly lets go of the hold but immediately locks it in again. Unable to escape, Koppenhaver refuses to tap and eventually goes out. The ref jumps in to stop it. Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Jon Koppenhaver via submission (anaconda choke) -- Round 1, 0:56.

[Oddessa]

Rich Clementi vs. Terry Etim
Round 1
Etim comes out to Phil Collins. Clementi follows to the Beastie Boys. The referee is Yves Lavigne. they feel each other out. Clementi gets a takedown, but does not advance his cause and the fighters are stood up. Etim lands a solid punch to knock Clementi down. Etim uses his reach to land several hard lefts. Clementi gets up. The round ends with the fighters exchanging punches. 10-9 for Clementi.

Round 2
The two square off and exchange blows. Etim lands a sneaky left hook but Clementi is unfazed. Clementi shoots in and battles for a double leg takedown. Etim pulls half-guard and applies a guillotine but it doesn't look deep. Clementi battles free and sweeps etim, landing in side-control. Not much happens and with 2:12 left, the referee stands them up. Etim pulls guard and sinks another guillotine. It looks deep but clementi again escapes. Clementi is stuck in Etim's guard and lands a few solid punches. The round ends with Clementi in Etim's guard. Close round but it goes to Etim, 10-9.

Round 3
Clementi scores a quick takedown and spends more than two minutes landing mostly ineffective blows from Etim's guard. The crowd boos until Lavigne stands them up with 1:17 remaining. Etim lands a knee to the head, but Clementi scores another takedown and maintains position until time expires. Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 (29-28) for Clementi. All three judges agree and award the unanimous decision to Rich Clementi.

[Oddessa]

RICH CLEMENTI VS. TERRY ETIM

Round 1 - The British fighter Etim has a noticeable height advantage as his American opponent Clementi comes in to touch gloves. We're underway, and Etim begins working leg and body kicks. Etim clinches then pushes away for distance to continue his long jab and additional kicks. Clementi finally closes distance and secures the takedown. Etim ties him up and avoids most damage. Yves Lavigne tells them to pick up the pace. After the stand-up, Etim continues the attack. Light on his feet, his strikes are connecting frequently, and a combination stuns Clementi, who trips to the mat late in the round. Additional punishment from Etim, and the bell allows Clementi to catch his breath. It's all Etim, 10-9.

wonder if Rich got a gift...?

[Oddessa]

KAZUHIRO NAKAMURA VS. RAMEAU THIERRY SOKOUDJOU

Round 1 - Sokoudjo gets a solid ovation from the Vegas crowd and immediately goes to work. Initially keeping his distance, he peppers his opponent with kicks and then closes the distance to land punches and knees to the body. Nakamura tries to retreat, but Sokoudjou continues the pressure. However, while pressing forward, Nakamura partially connects on a knee and a quick combo of punches. The pace slows, but Nakamura now goes on the aggressive, but Sokoudjo counters with a big body kick and strong right that drops his opponent. The round is closing, and Sokoudjou continues raining down punches until the ref ends. Nakamura is in bad shape and unable to stand. There will be no second round. The fight's called. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Kazuhiro Nakamura via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 5:00.

[Dr.Chau]

Silva murdered Jardine

[littleogre]

Cause thats what a ax murder does

[clevfan]

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ED GRANEY: Loss should close book on Ortiz's UFC career

Somewhere today, Gary Shaw would be smart to erase a few zeros on that offer sheet.

It's a good thing Tito Ortiz has his autobiography coming out -- "It will be at Barnes & Noble, so check it out," Ortiz shamelessly plugged to an adoring UFC 84 crowd Saturday night shortly after being predictably handled by Lyoto Machida -- and his legacy and his clothing line and the whole Jenna Jameson angle going. (Not that there is anything wrong with that).

He just wouldn't want to dive into the free-agent market on skill alone. It would be a pretty shallow pool right now.

Could this possibly have gone better for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Dana White? Only if it had ended sooner inside the MGM Grand Garden, which actually would have been better for everyone sleeping through three rounds.

If this was indeed Ortiz's final fight for the company that he helped grow into the biggest and best in mixed martial arts history, the unanimous-decision defeat for the light heavyweight progressed exactly how you imagine White hoped and expected.

Months of often entertaining and sometimes monotonous trash talk between UFC president and the aging legend overshadowed a significant point: Machida is now 13-0 for a reason, and while his uninteresting style makes Floyd Mayweather Jr. seem like an undisciplined brawler, it was the perfect counter to Ortiz, who when at his best years ago could effortlessly shoot at legs with power and take opponents down.

The only thing Ortiz took down Saturday was air, although he almost tackled the cage a few times. It was like watching Chris Byrd attempt to box last week, a once great champion having succumbed to diminished skill.

It was sad.

Ortiz had a fleeting chance late when he got Machida into a triangle choke (I am told this has nothing to do with the percussion family), but the better fighter escaped.

Machida said he would have died before tapping out, and such passing would have been solely from embarrassment given how easily he controlled the deliberate pace.

"I'm going to fight for three or four more years," Ortiz amazingly proclaimed. "I'm leaving for greener pastures."

How much of it will be in the form of cash is unknown. Someone will sign him. Ortiz is still marketable. Fans love him. They will pay to watch him. He wouldn't be a terrible free-agent signing. He's not the Mike Hampton of MMA.

But whether it's Shaw and EliteXC or another company that makes a deal, Saturday's loss took from Ortiz much of that magic word when it comes to negotiating: Leverage.

"Tito Ortiz is going to be around, no matter what," the fighter told a soldout arena. "Make sure you buy the pay per view."

I tried to laugh at that point but was distracted by a blinding light. I'm pretty sure it was Dana White's smile.

* This just in: When a guy lying on the canvas is twitching from his head and shaking at his feet, it's not a good thing.

Money came in late on light heavyweight Keith Jardine, but all those tickets were being shredded in 36 seconds, which is how long it took Wanderlei Silva to knock Jardine out in a frightening manner.

There are bad positions to be in when it comes to MMA, but I'm guessing that having your opponent hold your chin in place with one hand and beat your head in with the other ranks among the worst.

Once he regains all his faculties (put the over-under at Wednesday), Jardine might want consider plastic surgery. Maybe some granite in the ol' chin region, given he has now balanced a win against Chuck Liddell with quick knockout losses to Silva and Houston Alexander last May.

The latter came in 48 seconds against a guy better known at the time for his talents as a radio disc jockey than as a fighter.

* I didn't have a favorite UFC fighter before now. That changed with B.J. Penn.

Not only for his ability, although the way he took apart steroids-free (we think) Sean Sherk in a lightweight championship bout was impressive. No, my allegiance stems from the fact it's difficult not to support a guy with that powerful a kick and this much of an environmentalist conscience:

"Thanks to all the fans who came out," said Penn after his knockout of Sherk at the end of the third round. "I know the price of gas, so thanks for coming out."

Yep, times are tough. You have to figure a gallon of petrol now costs far more than those UFC undercard fighters made Saturday.

[littleogre]

kinda off topic but why does white have such a personal hatred towards tito? I know he got pissed when he disrespect that fake ass ken shamcrock.

[Oddessa]

...the beatoff that wrote that article must not realize the traingle in round 3 that almost ended the night for Machida...it would have for anybody else..

Machida has a freakish style...there was no shame in losing to him. He;s been training to fight since age....8?

Titos lost to grat fighters...champions..


Tito's a tough street kid that exceeded everyones expectations for him otther than his own. He carried the UFC is the dark years...and all the hate towards him is ridiculous.

Whites + Tito go back a decade..shame it went public..

[Oddessa]

Ortiz makes himself center of attention
By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports
9 hours, 38 minutes ago

Buzz Up PrintMore From Dave MeltzerUFC 87: GSP-Fitch in; Coleman out May 22, 2008 Machida could make big name May 19, 2008
LAS VEGAS – Based on the buildup, a lot of people expected fireworks between Tito Ortiz and Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White in the octagon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night, when one of the company’s biggest drawing fighters was presumed to be in his last UFC match.

On the pay-per-view telecast, Ortiz lost a unanimous decision to undefeated Lyoto Machida with White keeping himself out of the spotlight. White was not even at ringside during the fight, watching it from an office in the arena.

But a few hours later, things were quite different, as Ortiz decided to crash the post-fight press conference.

The 33-year-old former UFC light heavyweight champion showed up, uninvited, with UFC official Jennifer Wenk asking him to leave and not cause a scene. Ortiz at first refused, but after some pleading, got up and seemed to act like he’d made his point in front of the press about not being allowed in. But when girlfriend Jenna Jameson told him to stay put, he changed his mind and went back to his seat.

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Wenk, after seeing the press wanted to talk with him, agreed to give him 10 minutes before the official press conference started. That lasted about two questions before Zuffa COO Kirk Hendrick stopped the questioning. But after much discussion and a tense scene with the media that wanted to talk with him and the appearance of four Las Vegas Metropolitan police officers, they agreed to let him participate.

Both Wenk and White said that Ortiz was never banned from the press conference, but that he should have waited for everyone else as the fighters and White came in as a group.

“We both need some serious counseling,” said White after being asked about the tumultuous relationship between the two and about the possibility they could reach a new contract. “I don’t know if we can make a deal. We need to talk it out some place and talk with each other like grown ups. It’s hard for both of us.”

Neither was nearly as strong about saying Ortiz would never fight in UFC again, even after posting an 0-2-1 record in his last three PPV fight. Ortiz came across as the biggest star of the show to the sellout crowd of 14,773, with a gate of $3.7 million.

Aside from a few snide jabs between the two during the remainder of the press conference, there was only one real flurry. Ortiz said he didn’t know what terms could bring him back, that he’d need to talk with his attorney, that he only wanted to be taken care of financially.

“I don’t want to be 45 years old and still fighting in the UFC,” said Ortiz after a loss by straight 30-27 scores when he became the 13th fighter unable to answer the puzzle of fighting the unbeaten Brazilian. “The fighters are treated like slaves,” he said.

White took umbrage at the slave remark, saying that the fighters on the podium were happy to be there. He then said they are guys who want to fight three or four times a year, a knock on Ortiz, who hadn’t fought since July and missed a proposed fight late in the year to appear on The Apprentice on NBC.

“You want to be a superstar,” said White. “They want to be fighters.”

Ortiz shot back, “You want to be a superstar,” since White is a featured star on the UFC reality show and is the public face of the company.

With the exception of a triangle choke that he had locked in during the third round, Ortiz (16-6-1) could do nothing on offense against Machida. Ortiz was unable to take him down despite repeated attempts. The Brazilian’s movement kept Ortiz’s strikes from being effective and Machida countered enough to pile up points.

Machida had Ortiz in trouble twice. Machida took Ortiz down at the end of the first round and was firing punches as the round came to a close. In the third round, he knocked Ortiz down with a knee and did some effective ground and pound. Ortiz was cut on the right eye and wore sunglasses at the press conference, saying that he needed 15 stitches.

Even though the verdict was obvious, Ortiz, who came out to the sounds of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” got a standing ovation from a crowd who seemed to view him as the anti-establishment hero who stood up to authority.

He also upstaged Machida by jumping on the top of the cage as Machida was doing his post-match interview.

When asked about the triangle, since Ortiz has never won a match with a submission hold in UFC competition, Machida admitted being very surprised.

“I was thinking ‘I’m gonna die, but I’m not gonna tap,’ ” he said.

Ortiz said he made a mistake in trying to maneuver the move into an armbar, which allowed Machida to escape.

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan interviewed Ortiz in the octagon, where Ortiz said he would be looking for greener pastures. But when Rogan pressed if he was definitely through, he tempered his earlier words with, “I haven’t decided at all. I’m gonna take two weeks off. I gave my life in this octagon for the greatest fans in the world.”

[drunkguy]

again almost all favs cash on this card



wash for me

picks 2-2 dead even
Best bet 0-1 -1.00

Opinions 2-5 -3.10

[Oddessa]

YouTube - Tito Ortiz almost thrown out of UFC84 post fight press conf!

Tito post fight interview with Jenna ...

[TheVig]

Yo Bagels i would have never pegged you as an Ortiz guy? I think the hungry street kid from Huntington Beach is long gone, and what were seeing now as a fighter is a shell of his former self. I wouldnt be shocked to see him show up in the ring at the EXC show this weekend and start a big angle. Im sure they would pay him a small fortune, and maybe he has a few good fights left in the tank? I think the Tito/ White feud is more about we used to be friends and now he is my boss scenario. Ive been involved in a few of those and it always turns out bad for both parties. The stars of UFC are definately making big money, those official per fight payoffs they release to the press doesnt show the total payouts. The employees of the world will never be satisfied with what were making, from the cashiers to the pro athletes. We all think we deserve more money, and our bosses all think we make too much.

[TheVig]

Originally Posted by Oddessa

YouTube - Tito Ortiz almost thrown out of UFC84 post fight press conf!

Tito post fight interview with Jenna ...

Yo Tito.............Take your balls out of your wifes purse and man up!!!!! Having Jenna fight your battles isnt helping your street cred papi

[Oddessa]

My college roomate was Tito's wrestling coach at Cal State Bakersfield....Tito is actually pretty cool...