UFC Rampage vs PRIDE Rampage

In Rampage's three UFC fights he has looked like a totally different fighter. And in each fight he seems to get better. When he was in PRIDE I remember thinking and reading that he may be done. He looked at times uninspired and unsure of himself. Now with back to back wins over two of the top 5 fighters in the world, he has solidified himself as the best LHWT in the world. IMO, the Rampage we see today will also beat Shogun if/when that fight happens.

He is trainging now with other pro fighters, but wasn't he training with Tito and the guys during his time in PRIDE?

he would still lose to wanderlei. wandy's standup is much more explosive.

Watch him in Pride, and he looks like he got by on natural strength and talent. That'll carry you a good piece, but it's not enough against the best.

Now he looks ridiculously more polished.

I just want to see a good slam...

When he fought Silva, he was as good and more vicious.

The way Henderson fought (either fighter could have been the victor), if he drops down to 185, he takes the belt.

You're only remembering the Chute Boxe losses and not the overpowerings of Igor, Arona, Randleman, and Chuck.

"he has solidified himself as the best LHWT in the world."

  • Not until Shogun.

"Watch him in Pride, and he looks like he got by on natural strength and talent. That'll carry you a good piece, but it's not enough against the best."

  • He beat Chuck more definitively the first time than the second.

"He beat Chuck more definitively the first time than the second. "

I don't know about that, but he definitely has Chucks number. Last night Ramapge showed and endless gas tank. He looked the same for all 3 rounds.

First time around, Rampage's win over Chuck was more impressive. He beat Chuck like the guy stole his lunch.

In Pride one could not just press his opponent agaist the cage for major part of the match which both Hendo and Rampage are quilty of. In fact that's how most of the fights go. Fighters clinch and try to press the opponent against the cage. Most of the time that results to nothing that leaning against the cage for most of the round.

VERY BORING. Cage makes boring matches. Pride ring is much better.

"First time around, Rampage's win over Chuck was more impressive. He beat Chuck like the guy stole his lunch."

Let's not discount win #2 just because he KO'd Chuck too quickly to lay a vicious beating...

It's not just training with Juanito, it's having other worthwhile training partners. I'm pretty sure the only decent fighter in the training camp before was Razor Rob, and he's 50 lbs lighter.

Max

"I don't know about that"

  • In the first fight, Rampage outboxed Chuck throughout, which opened him up for the slam, and GnPed his ribs to the point where Chuck was lying on the ground writhing in pain and his corner had to throw in the towel.

In the second fight, Rampage countered a hook to the body with a right hook to the chin that knocked Chuck out.

If the second fight had happened first, a lot of people would be calling it a "fluke," that Chuck just got "caught."

It's only in conjunction with and in the context of the other 15 minutes of fighting from the first fight that people are now saying Rampage "definitely has Chucks number."

Most, if not all of the UFC 205's feared Chuck, almost like a paralyzing fear of him (not the good kind of fear), look at Babalu.

Rampage comes from Pride and has beaten Chuck before. Thus, the Chuck's aura of invincibility did not surround him when he fought Chuck. If anyone was hesitant, it was Chuck in that fight. Thus Rampage won again.

Rampage's biggest challenge so far was against Henderson.

Rampage has all the tools to beat Chuck a third time around.

In the future, Rampage's biggest challenges will come from Shogun and Silva and possibly Soko.

"I don't buy the training camp excuse completely, but I will say that Colin Oyama definatly had a negative effect on Quinton's skills later in his Pride run."

  • I agree. His rise and most of his best wins happened while he was under Oyama. You have to take the good with the bad.

But that Shogun fight was deplorable.

And Rampage did not look good at all against Yoon or Lindland. He didn't look that impressive against Eastman either.

It's really the one-punch Chuck KO that has everybody talking about this ostensibly dramatic improvement.

Which is specious because Rampage never sucked before. In fact, he beat down Chuck worse before. It's just that he lost really bad before, and now he's on another roll.

LOL... What it comes down to is freaky little keyboard nerds who've overrated Pride and it's fighters for many years.

Fuck off loser. Go whack it to your pride posters gaylord.

I don't really see the relevance of your comment Pulsar...

That's not to say your other 35,000 posts whining about Pride and its fans are irrelevant, but this one seems a little out of place.

Actually this thread is about underrating Rampage's accomplishments in Pride.

Just because he lost impressively didn't nearly erase the impressive wins, either.

It's not like those losses were his only big fights. People act like they only saw him get demolished in Pride, when he did some pretty good demolishing of his own.

It's not as if he underwent some startling metamorphosis to suddenly become this top 5 fighter. He was one before.

It's in response to numerous other posts, many from Pridegp1, with that flavor.. It's a change of environment, the cage, the training partners, the new management, the earth shifting on it's axis, it makes me laugh, and seeing as Pridegp1 is in a leadership role with these kooks he makes a prime target. I also like the whole flogging off to japanese anime porn vision I get when I think of him. Makes me laugh.

Yes, I did spend quite a few posts disparriaging what Pride did to MMA and it's inability to implement basic and sound business practices. Look what we've been left with now. I feel most justified.

"And Rampage did not look good at all against Yoon or Lindland."

Both of those guys are as big or bigger than Henderson, are better at submissions, have better cardio, and are as good or better with their takedowns in MMA -- I'll never understand why people use those fights as evidence of some "slide" in Rampage's fighting career.

" He didn't look that impressive against Eastman either."

This one still stumps me. That fight was the crispest standup we've ever seen from Rampage, and he won by KO early in the second round.