Bushido WW GP

[MarcusG]

Bushido 11 is airing Sunday.
The WW GP looks very good.

-Jason Black vs. Eoh Won Jin
-Murilo Bustamante vs. Amar Suloev (WW GP)
-Paulo Filho vs. Yoon Dong Sik (WW GP)
-Ryo Chonan vs. Joey Villasenor (WW GP)
-Makoto Takimoto vs. Gegard Mousasi (WW GP)
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
-Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett
-Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Olaf Alfonso
-Akihiro Gono vs. Hector Lombard (WW GP)
-Denis Kang vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua (WW GP)
-Phil Baroni vs. Kazuo Misaki (WW GP)

 

[Alexander]

Some really good match-ups. Why the hell is Olaf in Pride? Mach is gonna destroy him. Looking forward to Kang/Ninja the most, but there are at least 6 or 7 really good fights.

 

[MarcusG]

Some really good match-ups. Why the hell is Olaf in Pride? Mach is gonna destroy him. Looking forward to Kang/Ninja the most, but there are at least 6 or 7 really good fights.

For the same reason Bennet is in Bushido. And both are still relatively better than Zulu/Giant Silva.

 

[Rodja]

I think Ninja is one of the most overrated fighters in Pride.

 

[MarcusG]

Ninja is great at 185. He was too small at 205.

 

[Alexander]

I don't think he's overrated. He did well against Henderson, Arona, Sperry, Rampage, etc. He lost to Filho, but Filho will own that division soon.

 

[MarcusG]

I like Filho too. Sperry said that Filho is the most physically talented athlete he has seen. With guys like Arona and Nogs, thats quite a compliment.

 

[Rodja]

Denis Kang KO'ed Ninja :15 into the first round...like I said, overrated.

 

[size]

Results:
-Kazuo Misaki def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision
-Denis Kang def. Murilo "Ninja" Rua via KO at 0:15 of Round 1
-Akihiro Gono def. Hector Lombard via unanimous decision
-Gegard Mousasi def. Makoto Takimoto via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:30 of Round 1
-Ryo Chonan def. Joey Villasenor via split decision
-Paulo Filho def. Gregory Bouchelaghem via unanimous decision
-Amar Suloev def. Murilo Bustamante via unanimous decision


While not part of the tournament, the Sakurai vs Olaf Alfonso was on the card and had a great punch. Sakurai knocked Olaf comlpetely out while standing with an over hand right. Olaf went to the floor limp.

 

[EESCHMan]

Except for the Kang & Sakurai Fight, I thought most of the fights were fairly boring. I expected a lot more from Sulev/Bustamante.

 

[Grassroots082]

I love watching Filho fight, damn pit bull and looks mean too.

 

[Beowulf]

Any chance someone has a link to watch this?

 

[Alexander]

Denis Kang KO'ed Ninja :15 into the first round...like I said, overrated.

Is Cro-cop overrated for getting KO'ed by Randleman? Sh*t happens.

 

[Rodja]

Is Cro-cop overrated for getting KO'ed by Randleman? Sh*t happens.

Cro-Cop had beaten several top-tier opponents before that fight and Randleman hit him with a clean shot. Ninja has yet to really beat anyone that would be considered a contender.

 

[Alexander]

Yeah, you may be right. I guess he is a little overrated. I'd like to see him at 183 for a few more fights, but you're right he does seem to be on a downslide and was never that high to begin with. He looks great against decent guys, but doesn't look his best when fighting top guys. I think Filho will win the GP, but my second pick would be Kang. He gets better and better every time out, although you couldn't tell too much from that 20 second KO.

 

[Rodja]

Elbows are illegal in Pride.

 

[MarcusG]

Obviously, I did not know this. So much for my pet theory of the American way of the blade.

Knees to the head on the ground still legal? That's bassackwards, probable concussion tactics are ok, probable facial laceration tactics are taboo, WTF?

If knees to the head are illegal, is that why Heath Herring packed his bags for K-1?

What's the scoop on Filho and Kang, guys, what else do they have in their toolkit?

Elbows are illegal in Pride. Knees/kicks on grounded opponents is illegal in UFC.

Elbows can cause premature stops through cuts.
Banning knees on grounded opponents however is retarded because it is counter-intuitive and no good strikes are possible in the front headlock position. Punches are still possible in positions where elbows are thrown, so taking out elbows don't change the game like banning knees/kicks.

Filho is a tremendous athlete and Kang is actually better on the ground.

 

[Rodja]

The whole elbows cause stops by cuts is a little overblown. There have been very few fights stop because of a cut from an elbow. Elbows are a huge part of Muay Thai and the GnP arsenal.

 

[size]

The whole elbows cause stops by cuts is a little overblown.

I respectfully disagree. The intentions of most unsupported elbows are to cut.

 

[Rodja]

I respectfully disagree. The intentions of most unsupported elbows are to cut.

I am not arguing the intentions, I am saying that there are very few fights that are stopped by a cut from an elbow. I know the Loiseau v. Tanner and Florian v. Karalexis were stopped from cuts by elbows, but the actual percentage of fights stopped by a cut from an elbow is around 5-7%.

 

[MarcusG]

The whole elbows cause stops by cuts is a little overblown. There have been very few fights stop because of a cut from an elbow. Elbows are a huge part of Muay Thai and the GnP arsenal.

Banning elbows won't change standup or GnP that drastically because punches are still possible in those positions.

Banning knees/kicks on grounded opponents however totally changes the whole game. Liddell had to simply let Vernon White and Horn simply get back up when he dropped them numerous times because he couldn't throw any meaningful strikes while they flopped around in front of him.

Allowing knees/kicks on grounded opponents is much closer to the original early UFC rules. It means good striking possibilities are always available in EVERY POSITION even if elbows are banned.

 

[Rodja]

Banning elbows won't change standup or GnP that drastically because punches are still possible in those positions.

Banning knees/kicks on grounded opponents however totally changes the whole game. Liddell had to simply let Vernon White and Horn simply get back up when he dropped them numerous times because he couldn't throw any meaningful strikes while they flopped around in front of him.

Allowing knees/kicks on grounded opponents is much closer to the original early UFC rules. It means good striking possibilities are always available in EVERY POSITION even if elbows are banned.

The ban on knees on grounded opponenets has changed the game. It is probably the only thing allowed in Pride that I wish was allowed in UFC. If knees to a downed opponent were allowed, then the Vitor-Tito fight would have ended differently.