I have fuck all to do today and was watching some of their old Pride fights and they seem to be moving in quicksand post 2006. The problem with both guys wasn't getting old, they both lost a full step in speed overnight when they left Pride.
Fedor was ridiculously fast, then all of a sudden a guy like Arlovski (quick, no doubt) is making him look slow and sloppy. Mirko fought Wand and Barnett like he was possessed by a demon and then comes to the UFC and isn't even quicker than Eddie Sanchez and is gun shy on top of it.
MentaL - Vitamin s hint eh? <img src="/images/phone/droid.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
Eastern Europeans don't mess with that stuff.
It's crazy how much speed they both lost. Maybe coming to America had something to do with it. I don't know, but it just happened overnight.
Bobby Lupo - I have fuck all to do today and was watching some of their old Pride fights and they seem to be moving in quicksand post 2006. The problem with both guys wasn't getting old, they both lost a full step in speed overnight when they left Pride.Trolling a little loops?
Fedor was ridiculously fast, then all of a sudden a guy like Arlovski (quick, no doubt) is making him look slow and sloppy. Mirko fought Wand and Barnett like he was possessed by a demon and then comes to the UFC and isn't even quicker than Eddie Sanchez and is gun shy on top of it.
Let's not forget - Fedor brutally KOd him...
lionsoul -Bobby Lupo - I have fuck all to do today and was watching some of their old Pride fights and they seem to be moving in quicksand post 2006. The problem with both guys wasn't getting old, they both lost a full step in speed overnight when they left Pride.Trolling a little loops?
<b>Fedor was ridiculously fast, then all of a sudden a guy like Arlovski (quick, no doubt) is making him look slow and sloppy</b>. Mirko fought Wand and Barnett like he was possessed by a demon and then comes to the UFC and isn't even quicker than Eddie Sanchez and is gun shy on top of it.
Let's not forget - Fedor brutally KOd him...
That was a beautiful KO, but everything leading up to it indicated that something was way off with Fedor. It's like when Tyson KO'd Botha; it was an amazing KO killshot, but Mike Tyson looked bad in that fight against a guy he shouldn't have looked bad against.
Fedor landed one nice body shot and was beat to the punch on every exchange. Arlovski was markedly faster and crisper. If not for jumping in the air just as a bomb is coming at his chin...
Both guys had fighting styles based on speed, explosiveness and power. Fighters like that rarely can sustain those abilities into their 30s. Tyson and RJJ are also great examples.
I think CroCop was mentally done after winning the GP. He continued to fight, as many fighters sadly do, but his knees were shot, his head was in other things (politics), and I think another factor was that coming from a K-1 background, it was more difficult for him to cut off opponents in an Octagon as opposed to a ring.
I truly think CC left it all in Pride after winning the GP in '06. He broke down and cried after winning (when have you ever seen him show emotion?) and he even stated that if he lost the tournament, he would be done with MMA forever.
Attila - Both guys had fighting styles based on speed, explosiveness and power. Fighters like that rarely can sustain those abilities into their 30s. Tyson and RJJ are also great examples.
Good points.
It's part of the aging process, a process that is sped up by years and years of fighting, training, and accumulated injuries. Wanderlei is another guy. Watch him in 2003/2004, he was extremely fast. Take a look at him in 2007 on, there is a remarkable difference. Rampage spoke about himself after their 3rd fight. I don't have the quote in front of me but it was something to the extent of that he would have never been able to counter Wanderlei with that left hook in their first two fights because Silva was too fast back then.
Guys get older, they slow down, and yes sometimes it does appear to be over night.
CLINTK9 - this happens with alot of things. time off, change, enviroment, previous battles/wars/hard work taking its toll.
More good points. Especially with Fedor. His technique wasn't the greatest, but he was so explosive he made it all work for him.
wrongaboutVitali -CLINTK9 - this happens with alot of things. time off, change, enviroment, previous battles/wars/hard work taking its toll.
More good points. Especially with Fedor. His technique wasn't the greatest, but he was so explosive he made it all work for him.
Yeah, Fedor had the speed and explosiveness to cover for sloppiness or a mistake. Once he slowed down a step, he couldn't do that any longer. I think M-1 knew this and picked some of the slowest guys they could find: Sylvia, Rogers, Bigfoot, Hendo for him to fight.
I think that the notion that Cro Cop mentally checked out of the sport after the OWGP seems pretty logical. You don't go from destroying juiced up Wand and Barnett in one night to looking tentative and slow against Eddie Sanchez in a couple of months.
nhbguy - It's part of the aging process, a process that is sped up by years and years of fighting, training, and accumulated injuries. Wanderlei is another guy. Watch him in 2003/2004, he was extremely fast. Take a look at him in 2007 on, there is a remarkable difference. Rampage spoke about himself after their 3rd fight. I don't have the quote in front of me but it was something to the extent of that he would have never been able to counter Wanderlei with that left hook in their first two fights because Silva was too fast back then.
Guys get older, they slow down, and yes sometimes it does appear to be over night.
YUP.
All good points above. It was the Arlovski fight that really indicated to me that Fedor had lost a step. What ever he changed leading up to that fight, it was clear that he was just off a little, but that little was en ough to open the flood gates and allow a journeyman like Rogers to give him all he wanted and then the 3 consecutive defeats in Strike Force, including being put to sleep for the first time in his career.
CLINTK9 - with Fedor, some may not think it, but life/spiritual things and changes can affect your performance in life or at work. Rampage & Belfort both went through it also. Maybe god does a little priortizing in us at times and our jobs or winning or doing well may not part of the plan. Fedor's fasting DEFINITLY was an issue with strength, power and expolsivness.
More valid points. If the guy who was cursing at the TV while CroCop was beating his brother was still around...?
Leigh -I think a year in prison will teach her the lesson. Do you think she would do it again after a year in the clink?attjack -She won't. She'll do about a yearRonin_jutsuka - 3.5 years?!?! C'mon. That bitch should be facing the same amount of time that guy could have received. That's the only way you are going to stop this type of stuff.3.5 years is a lot. Good sentence if she does that much time.
CC - yes.
Fedor - no.
Of those 3, he was only competitive with Fedor. Reem and Barnett threw virtiual shut outs against the tire installation specialist. but your point is taken.
nhbguy - It's part of the aging process, a process that is sped up by years and years of fighting, training, and accumulated injuries. Wanderlei is another guy. Watch him in 2003/2004, he was extremely fast. Take a look at him in 2007 on, there is a remarkable difference. Rampage spoke about himself after their 3rd fight. I don't have the quote in front of me but it was something to the extent of that he would have never been able to counter Wanderlei with that left hook in their first two fights because Silva was too fast back then.
Guys get older, they slow down, and yes sometimes it does appear to be over night.
Exactly this.
What's interesting is that you have so many younger fans who simply don't get how aging works. They don't understand that people age differently. There's not one universal age that people start to drop off at. You have genetic freaks like Herschel Walker or Darrell Green who at the age of 50 was still able to run a 4.4 40 yard dash.
On the flip side you have guys who's legs are shot by their early 30s. There are so many things that affect our bodies; different genetics, training, injuries, motivation and just general wear and tear. Some fighters or athletes may be hitting their peak at 34, 35 years old while some are done by 30.
You can't point to Randy Couture or Dan Henderson and say "well those guys were still great at 40, than therefore Cro Cop and Nogueira should still be great in their mid 30s."
It just doesn't work that way.
SinCityHustler - All good points above. It was the Arlovski fight that really indicated to me that Fedor had lost a step. What ever he changed leading up to that fight, it was clear that he was just off a little, but that little was en ough to open the flood gates and allow a journeyman like Rogers to give him all he wanted and then the 3 consecutive defeats in Strike Force, including being put to sleep for the first time in his career.
Fedor's coach got stone drunk after the fight and said that Fedor only had 2 weeks to train because of so many media obligations and travel for Affliction, and that he would never let him go into a fight in that condition again. Fedor was in Brooklyn, 2 times zones away eating blini and signing books in a Russian book store 3 days before the fight. I figured that he was just unprepared. The Rogers fight was even more telling.
nhbguy - What's interesting is that you have so many younger fans who simply don't get how aging works. They don't understand that people age differently. There's not one universal age that people start to drop off at. You have genetic freaks like Herschel Walker or Darrell Green who at the age of 50 was still able to run a 4.4 40 yard dash.Another great post.
On the flip side you have guys who's legs are shot by their early 30s. There are so many things that affect our bodies; different genetics, training, injuries, motivation and just general wear and tear. Some fighters or athletes may be hitting their peak at 34, 35 years old while some are done by 30.
You can't point to Randy Couture or Dan Henderson and say "well those guys were still great at 40, than therefore Cro Cop and Nogueira should still be great in their mid 30s."
It just doesn't work that way.
