Another Argument...sheesh!!!

[AceHBK]

Man o man....

I had another argument with my brother, this time about the upcoming fight between Forest Griffin and Quinton Jackson. My brother believes that Griffin is NOT good enough to get a title shot again Jackson.

Guys I had to hold the phone away from my ear as I heard that load of crap. He tried to tell me that there are way better people who are more WORTHY of a title shot than Griffin. Now mind you as he is yappin all this in my ear he cannot name 1 fighter who deserves a title shot.

I hate it when people make claims like this but can't provide sold examples of why their reasoning of something is better. I mean who doesn't want to see forrrest vs. Quinton? 2 guys that will stand up and bang like Liddell and Silva did. Heck and even if it hits the ground both guys like ground and pound. It looks like a great matchup.

Anyone else out here feel Forest doesn't deserve a shot at the title? Who else do u think deserves a shot?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Man o man....

I had another argument with my brother, this time about the upcoming fight between Forest Griffin and Quinton Jackson. My brother believes that Griffin is NOT good enough to get a title shot again Jackson.

Guys I had to hold the phone away from my ear as I heard that load of crap. He tried to tell me that there are way better people who are more WORTHY of a title shot than Griffin. Now mind you as he is yappin all this in my ear he cannot name 1 fighter who deserves a title shot.

I hate it when people make claims like this but can't provide sold examples of why their reasoning of something is better. I mean who doesn't want to see forrrest vs. Quinton? 2 guys that will stand up and bang like Liddell and Silva did. Heck and even if it hits the ground both guys like ground and pound. It looks like a great matchup.

Anyone else out here feel Forest doesn't deserve a shot at the title? Who else do u think deserves a shot?

Well I am in the camp with your brother as I simply feel that Quinton will dominate Forest so much that it will not be a good fight. (unless you are rooting for Quinton)

As to who is more deserving well there are a couple unfortunately right now they need an influx of new talent in that weight class because after Quinton there is a huge, huge drop off!

 

[AceHBK]

I would root normally for Quinton but in this particular fight I can't really root for one over the other. I am a big Forrest fan as well ....the guy gives 110% in the ring and seems very likeable and most importantly he gives a great show to the fans.

I went to wikipedia to see a list of some of the guys that they have in the Light Heavyweight and I see that there really isn't any talent in that weight class. Out of all the people listed maybe Lyoto Machida??? I don't think he would be a good match up for Jackson though.
My brother yaps that Forest doesnt have a good enough record to fight jackson and therefore some up and coming new guy should get the shot which I totally disagree with.

Gotta remember also they both are the new coaches for TUF and who in the Light Heavyweight would you want to coach a group of guys??

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Heavyweight_(MMA)

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I would root normally for Quinton but in this particular fight I can't really root for one over the other. I am a big Forrest fan as well ....the guy gives 110% in the ring and seems very likeable and most importantly he gives a great show to the fans.

I went to wikipedia to see a list of some of the guys that they have in the Light Heavyweight and I see that there really isn't any talent in that weight class. Out of all the people listed maybe Lyoto Machida??? I don't think he would be a good match up for Jackson though.
My brother yaps that Forest doesnt have a good enough record to fight jackson and therefore some up and coming new guy should get the shot which I totally disagree with.

Gotta remember also they both are the new coaches for TUF and who in the Light Heavyweight would you want to coach a group of guys??

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Heavyweight_(MMA)

I like Forrest quite a bit as well! He seems like a stand up guy and will give it a good go. Still if I am placing any money it is on Rampage!

 

[Tez3]

The Wikipedia list is somewhat biased! No Brits or Europeans. Names to watch out for expecially as we have UFC (as Wikipedia seems only to acknowledge that and the now defunct Pride) in the UK now are Bisping ( well of course) Paul Cahoon, James Zikic, Mark Epstein and if rumours are true Ian Freeman is coming back, he's already a UFC veteran, he has pressing reasons for wanting to get back and fight which I'm not at liberty to disclose even thought the words are burning my mouth lol!
On the Wikipedia list though I would say watch out for Elvis Sinovic the Aussie.

 

[AceHBK]

The Wikipedia list is somewhat biased! No Brits or Europeans. Names to watch out for expecially as we have UFC (as Wikipedia seems only to acknowledge that and the now defunct Pride) in the UK now are Bisping ( well of course) Paul Cahoon, James Zikic, Mark Epstein and if rumours are true Ian Freeman is coming back, he's already a UFC veteran, he has pressing reasons for wanting to get back and fight which I'm not at liberty to disclose even thought the words are burning my mouth lol!
On the Wikipedia list though I would say watch out for Elvis Sinovic the Aussie.

Thanks for adding to the list. I knew there were more foreigners but you are correct they didn't list them. I wouldn't EVEN think of giving Bisping a shot at the title as of now. The division just isnt that deep as other divisions.

Who would you list as a top contender in this division.

 

[AceHBK]

I like Forrest quite a bit as well! He seems like a stand up guy and will give it a good go. Still if I am placing any money it is on Rampage!

LOL!! True if I had to put some money on it I would also put it on Rampage

 

[Tez3]

Thanks for adding to the list. I knew there were more foreigners but you are correct they didn't list them. I wouldn't EVEN think of giving Bisping a shot at the title as of now. The division just isnt that deep as other divisions.

Who would you list as a top contender in this division.

Probably Zikic, though Paul Cahoon is a very stong contender.If you can watch for Marc Goddard too, he's only recently come back into fighting but has shown great improvement, he's also a cracking referee one of the two best in the UK. Two to watch for as well are Premyslow Mysiala and Valentino Petrescu. Ian Freeman is in the process of choosing the British team for IFL and may well include at least one of these. The choice for the IFL is quite narrow because of the restrictions placed by the contracts so Ian will chose a fair few non Brits.

 

[Spinback]

While I've always been a fan of Forrest Griffin, I'm kinda iffy about whether or not he should have a title shot. Unless he's improved his ground game since I last saw him fight (and takes Rampage down right away) I can't see him winning. Griffin is a great striker, but he doesn't have Rampage's brute force or momentum. Frankly, if this fight happens (is it already scheduled?) I wouldn't be surprised to see Rampage take it with a first round knockout.

That said, I would love to see Griffin take the title. He's a terrific guy and Rampage has held the belt in thatd division for a long time. However, I don't think it's a feasible possibility.

Lyoto Machida, on the other hand, I feel would be a better matchup. He's relatively new and really impressed everyone with his recent win over Soka (not going to try to remember how to spell his name). Machida is a major tactician on his feet and deadly on the ground. The arm triangle he won his last fight with was a textbook example of great BJJ, not to mention the fact that it's not a move you see often in the UFC. I think if Machida went into a fight against Rampage and worked the angle like he always does, he'd have a great chance of taking the belt.

 

[AceHBK]

While I've always been a fan of Forrest Griffin, I'm kinda iffy about whether or not he should have a title shot. Unless he's improved his ground game since I last saw him fight (and takes Rampage down right away) I can't see him winning. Griffin is a great striker, but he doesn't have Rampage's brute force or momentum. Frankly, if this fight happens (is it already scheduled?) I wouldn't be surprised to see Rampage take it with a first round knockout.

That said, I would love to see Griffin take the title. He's a terrific guy and Rampage has held the belt in thatd division for a long time. However, I don't think it's a feasible possibility.

Lyoto Machida, on the other hand, I feel would be a better matchup. He's relatively new and really impressed everyone with his recent win over Soka (not going to try to remember how to spell his name). Machida is a major tactician on his feet and deadly on the ground. The arm triangle he won his last fight with was a textbook example of great BJJ, not to mention the fact that it's not a move you see often in the UFC. I think if Machida went into a fight against Rampage and worked the angle like he always does, he'd have a great chance of taking the belt.

Yeah the firght is scheduled. Forrest and Quinton will be the new coaches on TUF and as always they will fight at the conclusion of it.

I agree. I love both guys and would like to see Forest win it but as Brian said...if I had to put money on it I'd put it on Quinton. Being that Quinton prefers to stand up just like Forest, I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed on their feet the whole time.

U know Machida match up would be nice to see. I don't think it would be a great match up for Quinton b/c of Machida's BJJ skills. Then again as champion you really can't duck opponents especially in a weak division. Machida has the striking skills and is very accurate as well but I dont think going toe to toe with Jackson would be in his best interest.
As far as the African Assassin guy that Machida fought in UFC 79, I wasn't impressed by him. He came in very hyped and all but as soon as it hit the ground he looked like a fish out of water. Reminded me of Houston Alexander.

 

[Spinback]

Yeah the firght is scheduled. Forrest and Quinton will be the new coaches on TUF and as always they will fight at the conclusion of it.

I agree. I love both guys and would like to see Forest win it but as Brian said...if I had to put money on it I'd put it on Quinton. Being that Quinton prefers to stand up just like Forest, I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed on their feet the whole time.

U know Machida match up would be nice to see. I don't think it would be a great match up for Quinton b/c of Machida's BJJ skills. Then again as champion you really can't duck opponents especially in a weak division. Machida has the striking skills and is very accurate as well but I dont think going toe to toe with Jackson would be in his best interest.
As far as the African Assassin guy that Machida fought in UFC 79, I wasn't impressed by him. He came in very hyped and all but as soon as it hit the ground he looked like a fish out of water. Reminded me of Houston Alexander.

The African Assassin made a very dumb mistake (not once, but twice); he used his significant judo talents to take down a superior grappler. Both times Machida basically accepted the takedown then rolled him; a risky tactic, but it worked. I do something similar when I grapple with guys that weight 40+ pounds more than me, because it's damn near impossible for me to take them down.

The AA looked like a good fighter, but he didn't have a game plan that I could see. He came out swinging, let himself get tied up, mistake one, then used a judo throw to take down a guy with excellent submission skills, mistake two. As everyone knows, in MMA even one mistake is generally enough to finish you. The AA was unfortunate in that not only did he come to the battle without a proper game plan, he was up against one of the best tacticians in his weight class. If he learns some more groundfighting and gets a better trainer I wouldn't be too surprised to see some good things from him.

If Machida gets another fight soon and wins it, they'll probably give him a title shot, and well deserved IMO.

 

[thetruth]

I don't like Quinten after I saw Rampage Unleashed which in my opinion is the biggest waste of mma dvd space I've ever seen released. He is a disrespectful wanker throughout the whole dvd. That doesn't change the fact that he will unfortunately flog Forrest who I really like.

Cheers
Sam:asian:

 

[TheArtofDave]

I am a bigger Forrest fan, and especially his showing on TUF when he broke his arm and still managed to win. That is some insane toughness. I heard all this great stuff about Jackson, but when I actually got to see him fight I didn't really even see anything special about him.

I think Forrest will get the win over Jackson. Nobody in my mind deserves a title more than Griffin except maybe for Chuck if he can make a strong come back. Sure Jackson rushes you early but I believe Forrest will catch Jackson and walk away with a very respectable win.

I saw alot of rushing and lot of strikes from Jackson but nothing that really showed that he was the type of fighter they made him out to be. So I'm hoping Forrest can either ko Jackson, or make him tap. I just can't stand how Rampage has a chance against Griffin.

 

[Andrew Green]

Forrest does seem to be coming in a little early, but looking at the past few fights for the top guys in the division, he's as qualified as anyone. I think he should get one or two more against other top contendors first, but then Rampage is left on the bench.

Right now I think there are a lot of good contendors, but I can't say any of them really stands out as #1 based on their most recent fights.

But, that said, I wouldn't count Forrest out, he's definately the underdog, but he certainely doesn't go down easy. He alsowasn't expected to do much against Shogun, and we know how that turned out.