The only guy who seems to be entirely available that I would have really liked to have seen involved would be Tom Erickson. The guy is such a beast and very much a heavyweight. He belongs.
Yes I'd love to see Barnett and Sapp as well, but I could live with what they have a lot easier if they announced Erickson. I just feel like it would be thrilling to see how somebody would find a way to beat him. It's been done, but I can't see Herring handling him again.
I understand the context of the post dude.... I'm just saying the
terminology of "useless JAP" may be deemed racist or ignorant... I
realize that you did not mean any cultural malice towards
Japanese people, but saying "Akira Shoji-Useless Jap" is just like
saying "Ricco Rodriguez-Boring Spic"....
I'm not attacking you dude, I agree with most of your points, but
you should use caution when you post terms like that cause I'm
sure there's a Japanese fan base on mma.tv that would take
exception to your remark....
peace.
SW.
Erikson (there's no "c" in Tom's name) is the man I want in there too. He's the most ducked fighter in NHB, regardless of what that mental midget Striker18 says when he pulls his head out of Veron's ass.
Erikson is an enigma, aging now yet never getting an NHB fight. He was all over Herring until the ref decided to pull him off and Heath landed the high kick - a lot like Tito-Metzger 1. Tom is a force and he should be in this tourney. And a great guy outside the ring as well. What else is Tom up to this month?
Ty - you're right, my statement about eduction destroying racism was a bit dogmatic. I should have said that the more educated one becomes, the more one travels the world and comprehends other cultures, the less one has a propensity to prejudge people based on race. Every culture has good and bad. Thanks for the correction and BTW I went to ASU. I've been teaching there for the past 13 years and have mostly foreign students in my class. I've seen a lot more tolerance and understanding in my classes than in the general public.
Gimmick - I can construe your comment about Shoji less offensively by seeing interpreting it "in context". I think you meant that Pride threw in a MW Japanese opponent to get more local guys on the card when he wasn't even a heavyweight, thus "useless" as a threat to win. Point well taken. You just stated it kind of offensively by saying "useless JaP' but now I see what you were driving at. Overall IMO your posts, by and large, are good. Keep it up.
"Relax, sit back and watch some beatdowns"
Like I haven't seen that before... 10 fucking years ago.
Fine, everyone's happy to get a handful of name fighters and a bunch of guys who will be outweighed and at best out-talented (heh), I would have liked to see the best tourney of the year, and if that means less beat-downs and perhaps 8 fighters instead then good.
"Why do some of you have such a boner over seeing the true contenders do this very same thing in a tournament?"
It's this that makes me wonder what the staunch Pride supporters really want from the sport. Then, I read green namers cheering and hollering, and maybe I'm the weirdo for wanting truely competitive fights.
Fighting Major has this threads Coup de Grace.
My issue is that this is supposed to be the best fighters competing to see who is the best in Pride. When there are so many B level fighters how can anyone in their right mind consider this a challenge for any of the top fighters involved.
Ogawa (I believe his name is) is the newest fighter added and has ZERO MMA fights, but somehow is in a tournament that is supposed to showcase the best vs the best. Please that is a joke. Whomever is paired with this guy gets an easy and unfair win, unless a miracle happens for Ogawa.
The MW tournament was stacked with top fighters, maybe that's why I'm so disappointed with this one. The MW GP was actually some of the very best vs very best, this GP is inexperienced or b level vs A level.
THe opening round is worthless. I personally want to see competitive fights, not CroCop ko'ing some poor overmatched bastard who never had a chance and was only put in there to lose.
I am masturbating right now, thinking about this GP. I will not stop masturbating until the Monday morning following.
Bitch about an issue. This GP rocks.
Do you know how many "competitive" fights I've seen that weren't? Do you know how many overmatched fights I've seen that the underdog has won?
A shite load.
Now, shut up. Get in time out.
Paulio, I have to say that I agree with you completely. To me it also seems like certain fighters are getting screwed. Fedor is the only guy in the tourney with a legit opponent in the first round.
"some poor overmatched bastard who never had a chance and was only put in there to lose"
This is this "thinker's" opinion of Randleman, former UFC HW champ who beat the crap out of Maurice Smith, TKO'd Ninja, beat Pete Williams, Pedro Rizzo and so on. Someone should be punished for leaving the door to the chimp cage open. As pathetic as a post as I've seen in five years here. Ogawa does not have "ZERO MMA fights", professor - he submitted Goodrich. You need to do some research before posting this crap, its an insult to those of us that watch the sport. Damn neophytes...
Yelm Douche - "Fedor is the only guy in the tourney with a legit opponent in the first round." C'mon pal, buy some tapes and watch these guys! You don't think the now 220 pound Ninja has a "legit" opponent in the undefeated 7-0 Sergei who trains with Fedor and is rumored to be better than Emelianenko on the ground? Were you the guy behind be at UFC screaming "Kick his ass, let's see some blood". Probably not, for the UFC fights aren't "legit".
I don't know for sure but I have read in several places that Ogawa's fights are known works.
When Randleman fought Mo he landed 1 huge punch and held him down, when he fougt Pedro- Pedro was not right in that fight (because of an accidental headbutt) Petey- well he was saved by the bell in the first then did the lay n pray to win a decision, Ninja was dominating him up until the punch. Randleman does not=a legit contender.
Yelm - good points. Admittedly he was saved by the bell, you could argue Pedro was off that night, and Ninja was besting Kev until Kev TKO'd him. I disagree on the Smith fight, personally very impressed Kevin could beat Smith standing up. But to me this does not mean Ken isn't a contender. Don't you think the fact that he beat Smith standing up and has great takedowns suggests he'll be a fascinating matchup for Mirko? The classic wrestler vs. Striker. I think it'll be greeat.
Ogawa has done works in pro wwrestling but he's a Judo silver medalist and the fight with Gary was not a work. He's a "legit" badass. To be honest, other than these credentials, I haven't studied his career like the other fighters but what I've seen and heard impresses me. Thanks for the respectful post after I went off a bit.
"Do you know how many overmatched fights I've seen that the underdog has won?"
Well, do you know how many overmatched fighters I've seen get totally wasted?
It's just the constant consistency problems I have with Pride, from Matchups to decisions, every single event has something that does not correlate with a previous event. I'm used to it now, and I guess like many just hang out for the really cool matchups that do happen.
not giving randelman a chance. gives you an idea of the difference of talent between ufc and pride.
"not giving randelman a chance. gives you an idea of the difference of talent between ufc and pride."
With the same game he's been using from day 1, he's got no chance in either event.
"Then, I read green namers cheering and hollering, and maybe I'm the weirdo for wanting truely competitive fights."
With the exception of Crocop vs a can -- which Randleman is not -- it's hard to say which fights will end up being competitive and which won't. In any case, the point of the tournament is to weed out those who can't hang, and hopefully insure that the best are left standing. I guarantee there will be at least a couple surprises as to who advances and who is upset.
It also makes sense that top fighters are matched against fighters most think have little chance, at least in the early round(s). Look at how it only takes one loss, in many instances, for people to start saying a fighter has been "exposed" or was "over-rated".
If you put Fedor vs Crocop in round one, right off the bat, one of the top guys in the sport is going to be a first-round loser, and that's never going to be good for building a fighter. If you put one of them against a legit up-and-comer, you have the same problem, a fighter who could have been something made to look like a chump in his first really big exposure.
You need to understand that Pride makes a hell of a lot of its revenue from Pro-Wrestling cross-over appeal.
Hence the addition of Ogawa, Giant Silva etc.
Opash: Oh, I'm fully aware of that, but as an MMA website discussing MMA, I figure we've got some leverage to have a little whinge...
"But I am not a Japanese spectacle fan. So to me and most other non-Japanese fans this card is a let down."
Word.
Not that I don't always enjoy the glitz and drama the Japanese can promote. I watch several of their tv shows because they've got a knack for a kind of entertaining cliched drama.
However, it's just not my cup of tea for MMA promotion.
Hirotaka Yokoi , Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva , Sergei Kharitonov, The Texas Crazy Horse, Stefan "Blitz" Leko , Henry "Sentoryu" Miller.....are definitely better fighters than rizzo, ricco, silvia etc.
No doubt about that and anyone who doesn't believe so is a retard.