UFC 81 *Spoilers*

[Anthony Cissell]

Some pretty good fights I thought.

Congrats to Nate Marquardt, getting a submission victory over Jeremy Horn. I was more than impressed with his performance and a solid win like that against a veteran like Horn, if he gets his striking up, I think he could possibly do a lot better against Anderson Silva or Dan Henderson depending on who holds the middleweight belt after UFC 82.

Of course the biggy, LESNAR TAPS OUT LESNAR TAPS OUT LESNAR TAPS OUT! (Trying to do my best Jim Ross impersonation). Lesnar came out like a man possessed and just went nuts, got a point deducted for hitting Mir in the back of the head (They are getting really serious about these shots to the back of the head and just taking a point away without warning these days). Mir got dropped by a nice shot by Lesnar, Mir pulled an armbar, Lesnar pulled out of it then Mir got in a deep kneebar which forced Lesnar to tap at 1:30 in the first.

And congrats to Big Nog in beating Sylvia for the Interim Heavyweight championship. Pretty back and forth fight I thought going into the 3rd round where Sylvia got caught in a deep guillotine choke and was just forced to tap out. Congrats to Big Nog who will next be fighting a rematch with Fabricio Werdum as Werdum became the number one contender when he defeated Gabriel Gonzaga last month at UFC 80.

All in all a good night of fights, I really am looking forward to UFC 82 and watching Hendo vs Silva, thats going to be a sick fight. That card looks sick and I am definitely looking forward to it.

[David Stanley]

man i wanted brock to win, but i was kind of thinking he would get caught with a submission due to inexperience. I can't wait to actually see the fight even though i know brock lost. He did show up from what i hear. Congrats to Mir and Nog.

[Scott Markowitz]

I wasn't able to watch this, but I did keep up with it online. What do you guys think is next for Lesnar?

[David Stanley]

i'd think he'd keep on in ufc i mean he basically lost tonight because of inexperience(from what i hear this is my opinion). He did pretty well so i think he should stick with it and see how much he improves.

[Matt Schumann]

Man.. i was disapointed Brock lost! But heres how it really went down... brock was awesome


BUT... I would like to say Brock had the best looking defeat yoiu can see. He absolutely DOMINATED Mir until the submission. The fight started and before you could blink your eyes lesnar took Mir down with a powerful shot... Then proceeded to pumble him! I couldnt believe my eyes......... Then one of Brocks shots accidently hit Mir in the back of the head and they stiid them back up. If the ref didnt stop the fight for the foul it was very possible that it might have ended up with brock getting a TKO on mir............
Sooo they go back at it and lesnar gets him down again and starts to dominate again.... at some point Lesnar stands up while Mir is on te ground.... At this point Lesnar left his left leg vulnarable and Mir was able to grab it and catch lesnar in a knee bar. Brock didnt seem to be in pain but he reluctently tapped. Very disapointing but it looked like a very simple and small mistake due to his lack of experience. Up to that point Brock looked dominate.

Brock said that he will be back and with the way he performed in this fight I CANT WAIT! I honestly think with a few fights nder his belt he will be the most dominate heavy weight the UFC has ever scene

other than that i am extremely happy that sylvia lost....dont care who it was im just glad he lost.

Now all i have to do is watch my Patriots finish off the best season ever !

[Scott Markowitz]

I kinda figured Mir might have been too much at this point - what I meant was should Lesnar fight a few jobbers before another "big" fight, or did he look like he was ready now and just got unlucky? To my knowledge nobody at that level in UFC is undefeated.

[chrisklavette]

That stop was crap. There is always a warning before hand. Hell, in one of the fights earlier in the card a guy got two warnings! Brock will be a force in the future. He did look a little novice but what can you expect? Most guys work up from amateur fights held at fairgrounds and bars and get a rep and experience before stepping onto a stage of that caliber. Give him a year or so and watch out! The guy is athletic and LOVES to win.

[Kurt Hessenbruch]

He absolutely DOMINATED Mir until the submission.

Yeah, for a whole 90 seconds! "Domination" means little when you're facing a master jiu jitsu player. BJJ is all about patience and seazing opportunity when it comes. The minute Lesnar came out like a wild man, it was over. Mir is a seasoned fighter. Lesnar is a soap opera star. That may well change in the future, but for now, it's the case. It's beyond me how so many people were picking Brock to win. Based on what, exactly? Big traps?

[Scott Markowitz]

Lesnar is a soap opera star. That may well change in the future, but for now, it's the case. It's beyond me how so many people were picking Brock to win. Based on what, exactly? Big traps?

He may be green as far as fighting goes, but I think this is a mischaracterization. It's not like we're talking about throwing Ronnie Coleman in the octagon (as an example of a big guy who probably doesn't know anything about fighting). Lesnar was a heck of a wrestler and obviously has some "hurtin' bombs" (sorry - rewatched Rocky Balboa recently). He may not know (yet) what to do with a submissionist, but to say he's a soap opera star...well, it just ain't right. :IMHO:

[JohnCook]

I was impressed by Lesnar. However, he fought the fight that I was hoping he wouldn't fight. He played right into Mir's strengths. Like I stated before, in another thread, I was hoping he'd fight with a little more patience. Oh well, you gotta give the guy a lot of respect for jumping in the deep end of the pool. I can't wait to see him fight again.


I'll say this again, THANK GOD Nog beat Sylvia.

[Mike Pelosi]

Ricardo Almedia looked very good sinking in that choke. If he can get back to where he was I see big things. He has a great team he's training with and a great Strength and Conditioning Coach (Martin Rooney).

How about that guy that accepted the fight in three days and totally dominated the other guy (I don't remember either of the names?) He kept setting up with the teep and just going in from their. The teep is one of the most important movements in standup fighting without question.

As far as Lesnar and Mir...I thought the shot to the back of the head was not on purpose but more so a product of him rolling over, perhaps even on purpose...the fight game is a strategy. But he was rolling over on his stomach and giving up his back which could say alot of things. Brock did alot of damage to him in a 60 second time frame, more then I thought he did. He just gave up that leg which, as he learns more jiu jitsu, he will learn its such a simple mistake but easy to avoid.

Sylvia and Nog...Nog took a beating, both of his eyes were swollen shut (or so it seemed) and he got rocked quite a few times. It honestly looked like his strategy was stand close to Sylvia, try to avoid getting hit, and take him down. The way the fight was going you thought Sylvia was just too strong or big to be taken down but once the fight hits the floor it's a completely different story.

Last night proved how the bigger, stronger guy doesn't always win, especially when jiu jitsu comes into play. Very old school UFC Theme

Now Henderson v Silva...that should be interesting. I think Henderson can give him a challenge just as long he doesn't get into that nasty clinch that Silva has.

[Alex Klotz]

Nice work Frank Mir. I was worried there for a bit, but he got his submission.

Congrats to Big Nog as well.

[Kurt Hessenbruch]

He may be green as far as fighting goes, but I think this is a mischaracterization. It's not like we're talking about throwing Ronnie Coleman in the octagon (as an example of a big guy who probably doesn't know anything about fighting). Lesnar was a heck of a wrestler and obviously has some "hurtin' bombs" (sorry - rewatched Rocky Balboa recently). He may not know (yet) what to do with a submissionist, but to say he's a soap opera star...well, it just ain't right. :IMHO:

You're right. I guess I was referring only to his most recent line of work. He was, indeed, a phenomenal wrestler and I'm sure he can be again. We all know what wrestlers are capable of in MMA once they learn the game.

Now Henderson v Silva...that should be interesting.

That has the makings of an epic fight!

[brian kling]

just downloaded and watched and man what Bull$%^&!!!!! Brock dominated that guy, he was mauled within minutes and that stop was crap. I think once he gets some experience he will be unstoppable, just look at the size of the guy! They were saying they had to make new gloves just to fit him. Him and rampage would be a sick fight (are they in the same weight class?). Also thought the silvia fight was crap, i hate when people win with a stupid submission.

[Scott Kaiser]

"stupid submission" I think someone needs to learn what MMA means! The bigger stronger dude doesn't always win. Wait lets start a new sports where the strongest man wins lets call it something like maybe strongman does that work for ya"ll?

[brian kling]

lol, im not really a fan of MMA so to speak, i prefer when the guy stand up and go at it or just pound each other not try to out manuever each in a ball on the ground. How ever, i dont think having guys beat each other until one is knocked out, dead or has a broken limb would fly on tv today.

[amy kelly]

i was glad to see mir move the way he did before the accident. the first few fights he did were very slow and clumsy compared to how he used to fight and this fight he was like going back to were he left off. great fight.
as far as the stop with lesnar, i can understand it due to a fight in elitexc ending premature. frank shamrock hit renzo gracie in the back of the head and it sent him to the hospital ending the fight early due to dq on franks part. the whole arena boo'd. you take these hw's hitting there and if a main card like this with heavy advertising and exposure, it would po you if it was ended early on a dq hit and it would set off those pols that still think they can stir up votes by rallying against this 'human cockfighting'.

[chrisklavette]

lol, im not really a fan of MMA so to speak, i prefer when the guy stand up and go at it or just pound each other not try to out manuever each in a ball on the ground. How ever, i dont think having guys beat each other until one is knocked out, dead or has a broken limb would fly on tv today.
So you are either a fan of old Irish style boxing or martial arts movies from the '80's.

Nog winning was awesome! Now, if they could just get rid of Joe Rogan.

[darrell baker]

congrats to big nog & mir!!!! mir looked great, he was very composed during brock's gnp. brock hit mir in the back of the head twice & the ref stood them up, i thought the point deduction was a bit much (usually a warning it seems) but the break was the right call, same as if it were an illegal groin strike. then brock dished out some more gnp & mir was again cool under pressure looking for the sub, brock slipped outta the arm bar & mir got a knee bar on him. mir is back, which like i said in the other thread is good for the depth of the ufc hvywt div. brock has a lot of potential, he knows this is a learning experience, he lost to a former ufc champ. hopefully his next match is against someone like kongo or hardonk, i like his chances against those guys.

nog needs to be sponsered by timex, cause he definetly takes a lickin & keeps on tickin. he just can't be knocked out! beautiful sub to end it. he asked for randy to fight him but i don't think randy is coming back so this "interim" tag should go away soon. i hope he keeps the belt for a long time.

like Mike Pelosi said, Tim Boetsch (i had to look his name up) looked amazing. this was the first i've heard of the guy & i honestly can't remember someone using such a diversity of strikes. pretty well finished heath with that hard takedown. nice fight.

[Stu Christensen]

All I want to say is that I hope Lesnar's next fight is against a stand up striker. I would like to see him go toe to toe with someone with the fists... rather than a BJJ fighter. This would at least give him a touch more exposure and see if he is actually the real deal. From the fight with Mir...obviously he can strike and hits hard... lets just see him grow some patience and experience.

[Matt Schumann]

does anyone have a link to a video of the fight.... i would like to watch it again but i cant find it on youtube.

[Scott Markowitz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2P_SL3beqQ

[Anthony Cissell]

The youtube link didnt work for me. For those that missed the Lesnar Mir fight or UFC 81 all together http://mixedmartialartvideos.com/2008/02/02/brock-lesnar-vs-frank-mir-video-ufc-81-breaking-point/

and you can go to mixedmartialartvideos.com and watch all the fights for free with no sign up whats so ever.

[Justin Blake]

Yeah, for a whole 90 seconds! "Domination" means little when you're facing a master jiu jitsu player. BJJ is all about patience and seazing opportunity when it comes. The minute Lesnar came out like a wild man, it was over. Mir is a seasoned fighter. Lesnar is a soap opera star. That may well change in the future, but for now, it's the case. It's beyond me how so many people were picking Brock to win. Based on what, exactly? Big traps?

cant disagree with that, remeber back in UFC 2(i think) or one of the first ones, Severn Vs Gracie, Severn threw Gracie around like a rag doll and dominated for about 12 mins of the fight , then BAM submitted

also, did Lesnar remind you guys of a more under control version of someone? (Tank)

[Kevin Cronin]

Now all i have to do is watch my Patriots finish off the best season ever !
Looks like you jinxed 'em. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[Easton Taylor]

18 AND "1" I attribute that to Karma, for cheating.......

[Matt Schumann]

i guess im a closet Giants fan:BB:



Looks like you jinxed 'em. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[Matt Schumann]

ive watched the lesnar fight a few times now.... Im not really sure but did it look like Mir pulled guard on the first take down and after they stood them up did it look like he tried to pull guard again when Lesnar punched him?

idk for sure but it looked like he wanted to go on his back on both the take down and the knock down....... anyone know what mir said after the match bout what he thought about brock?

[Josh Kamins]

Mir is great from his back, and I think he knew he was going to his back eventually anyway, so he might as well do it voluntarily rather than get taken down. That being said, Lesnar did catch that initial kick and powered through it for a take down.

I know Mir's striking is from Kenpo, but I wish he had used a bit more boxing early on...though I think he was a little scared of Lesnar's strength even standing...

[Matt Schumann]

yeah Josh, I think Lesnar was just so physically dominate that Mir didnt want to fool around and he just wanted to get a quick submission and get the heck out of there. Brock looks like he has everything except experience.