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Mons Public
Jun 22, 2006

Sometimes I look for Rupees.
This thread is here to answer any questions Wrestlehut posters may have about Our Gay Sport(s), and to help them understand what the hell we are talking about.

I'm going to start with Mixed Martial Arts, since it is the most popular and also the one I know the most about.


What is MMA?- MMA is a sport in which combatants use techniques from numerous martial arts to defeat their opponent. In MMA striking and grappling techniques are both allowed, and there are 3 main ways to win- knockout/TKO, submission, or judges decision. Despite what ignorant pundits will say, MMA is a closely regulated sport with a clearly defined set of rules designed to minimize danger to the participants. (see “The Rules” below)

The History- The full history of mixed martial arts would take forever to fully type out, but this article from Bloody Elbow does a pretty good job of hitting the important notes.

TLDR: Vale Tudo was fought in Brazil throughout the late 20th century. The UFC started in 1993 as a tournament that pitted different one dimensional fighting styles against each other, pro-wrestling in Japan evolved to shoot fighting and eventually MMA in the mid to late 90s, and then JMMA busted around 2006 as stars faded and fad-loving masses got bored. Zuffa bought the UFC in 2001 and implemented a tournament-like policy regarding match making that built stars based on talent, helping to legitimize the sport.

The Promotions-

Major League -

UFC- The biggest, most successful promotion, with the superstar roster to match. Most of the big names (with a few notable exceptions) fight for the UFC. They promoted 24 events last year with 15 being PPV and the rest being free on SPIKE or Versus. They also produce The Ultimate Fighter reality show which is largely responsible for the current boom in MMA. The promotion was saved from certain death when it was bought by parent company Zuffa in 2001, which is owned by brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, and the UFC President, Dana White.

PRIDE- Went belly up in ‘07 after numerous scandals and tons of amazing fights. PRIDE was extremely popular amongst hardcore MMA fans, and for good reason. Their unique rule set, elaborate production values, questionable officiating, and interesting matchmaking became a hallmark of big time Japanese MMA. Their content and some fighter contracts were bought out by Zuffa.

WEC - Now defunct, the WEC was used by Zuffa to build their 135 and 145 pound divisions before merging them into the UFC. They showed excellent cards for free on VS, and while completely ignored by mainstream media, produced some of the most exciting fights ever.

B League -

Strikeforce- The default #2 US MMA promotion, Strikeforce offers non-exclusive contracts that appeal to bad fighters, crooks, and Alistair Overeem, giving them a large talent pool that is impossible to work with. It wasn't always this way, though:

fatherdog posted:

Once upon a time, Scott Coker decided to put together a small regional MMA promotion to make money off of local ticket sales based on building local names and signing whatever mid-level draws were available. For years, they grew steadily on strong gate receipts and popular draws from the San Jose area. Then they took over the tattered remnants of EliteXC, and like everything tainted by the slimy touch of Gary Shaw, things rapidly went downhill.

DREAM- The offspring of the former K1 MMA promotion and the former staff of PRIDE. They are finanaced by FEG, who also promote the K1 brand. It seems like FEG is on the verge of collapse, and big time Japanese MMA might go with it.

Bellator- A relatively new, television based promotion that has season long tournaments with events scattered around the US each week for a few months. They have upgraded from ESPN Deportes to FSN to now MTV2 and put on interesting, fun and, more importantly, free cards that you won't watch.

Others: Sengoku, Shark Fights, Tachi Palace Fights

The Rules-

Here’s the Cliff Note version from UFC.com

UFC.com posted:


Weight classes:
Flyweight - up to 125 lbs.
Bantamweight - over 125 lbs. to 135 lbs.
Featherweight - over 135 lbs. to 145 lbs.
Lightweight - over 145 lbs. to 155 lbs.
Welterweight - over 155 lbs. to 170 lbs.
Middleweight - over 170 lbs. to 185 lbs.
Light Heavyweight - over 185 lbs. to 205 lbs.
Heavyweight - over 205 lbs. to 265 lbs.

Bout duration:
All non-championship bouts shall be three rounds.
All championship bouts shall be five rounds.
Rounds will be five minutes in duration.
A one-minute rest period will occur between each round.

Fouls:
1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
8. Small joint manipulation.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
13. Grabbing the clavicle.
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
21. Spitting at an opponent.
22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
30. Interference by the corner.
31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

Ways To Win:
1. Submission by:
Physical tap out.
Verbal tap out.
2. Technical knockout by the referee stopping the contest.
3. Decision via the scorecards, including:
Unanimous decision [all judges pick the same fighter as the winner].
Split decision [One judge picks one fighter, the other two judges pick the other fighter].
Majority decision [two of three judges pick the same fighter as the winner].
Draw, including:
Unanimous draw.
Majority draw.
Split draw.
4. Technical decision.
5. Technical draw.
6. Disqualification.
7. Forfeit.
8. No contest.

Referee may Restart the round:
If the fighters reach a stalemate and do not work to improve position or finish.

Bear in mind- some organizations have slightly different rules- for example in many Japanese MMA orgs, kicking an opponent in the head on the ground is alright, but elbows to the head are illegal. In Strikeforce, it is illegal to throw elbows on the ground, because their movie star ex-champion does not want his face uglied.

The Fighters-

As a new fan, you may wonder, “What fighters should I look out for?” Well wonder no more. I’ll go ahead and list the top 10 fighters in each weight class according to bloodyelbow.com (as of Feb 1st, 2011), as well as any recommendations I may have. Take these rankings with a grain of salt- no ranking system is perfect- in fact every top ten list ever made loving blows. Just use these lists as a reference for fighters you should check out if you have some time.


Heavyweight (Over 205 lbs)
code:
1 	Cain Velasquez 		 UFC 
2 	Brock Lesnar 	 	 UFC 
3 	Fedor Emelianenko 	 Strikeforce 
4 	Fabricio Werdum  	 Strikeforce 
5 	Junior Dos Santos  	 UFC 
6 	Shane Carwin 	 	 UFC
7 	Alistair Overeem  	 Strikeforce 
8 	Frank Mir 		 UFC 	
9 	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira UFC 
10 	Antonio Silva 	 	 Strikeforce
Other guys to watch- Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, Brendan Schaub, Sergei Kharitonov

Light Heavyweight (186-205 lbs)
code:
1       Mauricio Rua 	         UFC 	
2 	Rashad Evans 	         UFC 	
3 	Quinton Jackson          UFC 
4 	Lyoto Machida 	         UFC 	
5 	Ryan Bader 	         UFC 	
6 	Forrest Griffin          UFC 	
7 	Jon Jones 	         UFC 	
8 	Thiago Silva 	         UFC 	
9 	Antonio Rogerio Nogueira UFC 	
10 	Gegard Mousasi 	 	 Strikeforce
Other guys to watch- Rich Franklin, Phil Davis, Rafael Cavalcante

Middleweight (171-185 lbs)
code:
1 	Anderson Silva 	   	UFC 	
2 	Yushin Okami 	 	UFC 	
3 	Chael Sonnen 	 	UFC 	
4 	Nate Marquardt 	 	UFC 	
5 	Demian Maia 	 	UFC 	
6 	Vitor Belfort 	 	UFC 	
7 	Jorge Santiago 	 	Sengoku 	
8 	Ronaldo Souza 	 	Strikeforce 	
9 	Michael Bisping 	UFC 	
10 	Dan Henderson 	 	Strikeforce
Other guys to watch- Kazuo Misaki, Wanderlei Silva, Brian Stann

Welterweight (156-170 lbs)
code:
1 	Georges St. Pierre  	UFC 	
2 	Jon Fitch 	 	UFC 	
3 	Jake Shields 	 	UFC 	
4 	Josh Koscheck 	 	UFC 	
5 	Thiago Alves 	 	UFC 	
6 	Carlos Condit 	 	UFC 	
7 	Martin Kampmann  	UFC 	
7 	Nick Diaz 		Strikeforce 	
9 	B.J. Penn 	 	UFC 	
10 	Paul Daley 	 	Strikeforce

Other guys to watch- Dan Hardy, Jake Ellenberger, Chris Lytle

Lightweight (146-155 lbs)
code:
1 	Frankie Edgar 	 	UFC 	
2 	Gray Maynard 	 	UFC 	
3 	Gilbert Melendez 	Strikeforce 	
4 	Eddie Alvarez 	 	Bellator 	
5 	Shinya Aoki 	 	DREAM 	
6 	Kenny Florian 	 	UFC 	
7 	George Sotiropoulos 	UFC 	
8 	Tatsuya Kawajiri 	DREAM	
9 	Jim Miller 	 	UFC 	
10 	Sean Sherk 	 	UFC

Other guys to watch- Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi, Melvin Guillard, Anthony Pettis

Featherweight (136-145 lbs)
code:
1	Jose Aldo 	 	UFC 	
2 	Hatsu Hioki 		Sengoku 	
3 	Manny Gamburyan  	UFC 	
4 	Michihiro Omigawa 	UFC 	
5 	Marlon Sandro 	 	UFC
6 	Diego Nunes 	 	UFC 	
7 	Hiroyuki Takaya  	DREAM 	
8 	Bibiano Fernandes  	DREAM	
9 	Mark Hominick 		UFC 	
10 	Dustin Poirier 	 	UFC

Other guys to watch- Rani Yahya, Mike Thomas Brown, Joe Warren

Bantamweight (126-135 lbs)
code:
1 	Dominick Cruz 	 	UFC 	
2 	Brian Bowles 		UFC 	
2 	Joseph Benavidez  	UFC 	
4 	Scott Jorgensen  	UFC 	
5 	Miguel Torres 	 	UFC 	
6 	Urijah Faber 		UFC 	
7 	Takeya Mizugaki  	UFC 	
8 	Wagnney Fabiano  	UFC 	
9 	Brad Pickett 	 	UFC 	
10 	Masakatsu Ueda 	 	Shooto

Other guys to watch- Masakazu Imanari, Demetrious Johnson, Damacio Page

Flyweight (up to 125)
Flyweight is current not a division in any major promotion, with Shooto and Tachi Palace Fights putting on the most matches. The UFC will eventually get around to picking this weight class up, but currently these little dudes get even littler paychecks.
code:
1 	Jussier da Silva  	TPF 	
2 	Yasuhiro Urushitani 	Shooto 	
2 	Mamoru Yamaguchi   	Shooto 	
4 	Alexis Vila      	MFA	
5 	Rambaa Somdet  	 	Shooto 	
6 	Kiyotaka Shimizu 	Sengoku 	
7 	Yuki Shojo      	Shooto 	
8 	Mitsuhisa Sunabe   	Pancrase 	
9 	John Dodson  	 	Nemesis 	
10 	Ryuichi Miki  	 	Shooto





No Love For The Ladies?
What can I say about Women's MMA? First off, the talent pool just isn't there. It's impossible to create full divisions like the ones you see with men. This is the main reason that we'll never see women in the UFC. Strikeforce has been giving a rather half-hearted attempt to start some divisions, and Bellator has put on a tournament. Unfortunately these meager offerings by US promotors in the last few years are far more credible and relevant than anything done prior.

That said- here are some girls to look out for in no particular order, off the top of my head.

145 lbs.
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (Strikeforce Champ)

135 lbs.
Marloes Coenen (Strikeforce Champ)
Sarah Kaufman
Roxy Modaferri
Miesha Tate
Shayna Baszler

125 lbs.
Tara LaRosa

115 lbs.
Zoila Frausto(Bellator Champ)
Megumi Fujii




The Fights every MMA fan must see (according to a bunch of goons)
I'm going to try to edit in as many of these as I can find
:siren: Watch this goddamn fight:siren:
Kazuo Misaki vs. Jorge Santiago 2 - watch it

Fedor/Nogueira 1
Nogueira/Sapp
Matsui-Schrijber
Tank/Vitor
Yuki Nakai/Gerard Gordeau
Pete Williams/Coleman
Couture-Sylvia
Rampage/Arona
Nog/Fedor 2
Rampage/Wandy 2
GSP/Hughes 3
Hunt/Crocop
A second space devoted to all of Hunt's other fights
Rampage/Chuck
Wandy/Chuck
Anderson/Franklin 2
Hughes/Gracie
Space devoted to all of Igor Vovchanchyn's fights before he began a gnarled mess of calcified hands.
Frye/Takayama
Guida/Huerta
Barnett/Nog
Fedor/Crocop
Rutten/Kohsaka
Sylvia/Nog
Liddell/Silva
Babalu/Heath
Shogun vs Nogueira
Rampage vs Silva II
Nogueira vs Crocop
Fedor vs Crocop
Karo vs Sanchez
Ninja vs Sperry
Sakuraba vs Newton
Gomi vs CRUSHER
Hansen vs Alvarez (Fight of the Year 2008) part 2
Nick Diaz vs Diego Sanchez
Roger Huerta vs Clay Guida
Tyson Griffin vs Clay Guida
Joachim Hansen vs Luis Azeredo
Tyson Griffin/Frankie Edgar
Kazuo Misaki vsYoshihiro Akiyama
Torres vs Maeda
Diaz/Gomi
Diaz/Lawler
Diaz/Parisyan
Gomi/Pulver
Edgar/Maynard 2
Silva/Sonnen
Henderson/Pettis



Links-
MMA Blog Aggregator - See everyone's headlines on one page!
MMAjunkie - Reliable, professional(comparatively), boring.
Sherdog - Poorly written, terrible analysis, the worst community. The most popular site, and sometimes worthwhile content comes from here.
BloodyElbow - Once the best MMA blog on the net, now on a crash course to being worse than Sherdog. Great depth of coverage and speed, though.



There are several discussion threads here on SA, broken down by sport and promotion:

UFC general discussion
B-league MMA(anything that's not Zuffa owned )
K-1 kickboxing
Boxing
Grappling
Overeem Chat

We also try to put up gameday threads when there's a card happening for general low content posts.

Chat with goons in #MMA on irc.synirc.net

Mons Public fucked around with this message at 12:59 on Mar 30, 2011

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Mons Public
Jun 22, 2006

Sometimes I look for Rupees.


What is K-1?

Much like the UFC, K-1 was born in the early 90's, consisting of style vs style bouts organised by the Seidokaikan karate organisation with the aim of finding out which standup fighting style was strongest. The answer? Well probably Muay Thai but they're all pretty good except Taekwondo.

After using freakshow fights to temporarily boost ratings, K1's popularity died and focus returned to fights. The last few years have been awesome, and if you're just getting into it now, you missed out. K1's parent company FEG is running on empty, but the K1 brand is still strong and if worse comes to worst, someone will probably buy the name at least. Also, It's Showtime puts on some great cards.

What are the rules?

The rules are actually CONTINUOUSLY CHANGED FROM EVENT TO EVENT BEHIND THE SCENES. No rules meeting regarding the clinch is ever the same. In general, however:
  • Don't hit dudes in the junk.
  • No elbows whatsoever. Knees and kicks to anywhere but dicks are just dandy.
  • Fights will consist of 3 x 3 minute rounds, if at the end of the allotted period no winner can be determined, up to 2 more extension rounds will be called.
  • One knee strike to the head is allowed from the Thai clinch, depending on the official in the ring a warning may or may not be given about pulling the head down
  • Please do not beat Masato
  • Thai-style throws and trips are legal, but do not score, excessive throwing may result in a warning if you're not popular
  • Commentary must be bad

What are the weight classes?

Super heavyweight: Above 100kg
Heavyweight: Under 100kg

Despite these two divisions having separate championship events, the talent is not segregated and a yearly contest is held for the super-heavyweight GP crown. There is no heavyweight GP crown.

MAX Divisions

Middleweight: Under 70kg
Lightweight: Under 60kg

Lightweight is a new addition to MAX, it's not really a fully fledged division. MAX's popularity is at an all time low, mainly due to the retirement of heartthrob Masato, and Kid Yamamoto being a human being who isn't good at fighting.

K1 also puts on Regional tournaments and Child Abuse tournaments (Koushien).

Have a list of cool fights that I should watch?

Yes. Coitus and Duncan have compiled some awesome fights and further explanation of what K-1 is all about. Read that post, watch the fights, be amazed.

Are there any non-K1 kickboxing promotions?

Yes, but few that are noteworthy. It's Showtime is a Dutch organization that has been putting on high level cards, and then there is random stuff like S-Cup, but most are tiny compared to K1.

Links

Headkick Legend - Blog with the largest coverage and consistent updates.
Nightmare of Battle - Japanese MMA and K-1 blog

K-1 Official Site - is now regularly updated with news and features, check it out! It's all really lame but support the effort.
K-1 Youtube Channel - home of cool poo poo
K-1 Twitter - if you're some kind of dork.
K-1 Fans Forum - register here for some delightful surprises!

There is a site that always has fights, you should pick up the name if you read the threads at all :ssh:


And that's it. If you're new to all this, MAX is really the premiere product. Watch it.

Mons Public fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Feb 2, 2011

Mons Public
Jun 22, 2006

Sometimes I look for Rupees.


What Is Boxing?
Boxing is one of the oldest sports in the history of the world. I mean come on it's two men punching each other in the face who doesn't like to watch that? It has developed over the years into the sport we know today.

The Rules
In 1867 the Marquess of Queensberry made the rules that are still followed in boxing to this day.

  1. To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable.
  2. No wrestling or hugging (clinching) allowed.
  3. The rounds to be of three minutes duration, and one minute's time between rounds.
  4. If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man.
  5. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down.
  6. No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds.
  7. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes.
  8. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new.
  9. Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction.
  10. A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes.
  11. That no shoes or boots with spikes or sprigs be allowed.
  12. The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised London Prize Ring Rules.

Of course there have been slight modifications here and there but that's about the gist of a boxing match. Two men punching each other, with as little clinching as possible, until the end of all the rounds or a ko/tko happens.

The Punches
  • Jab- this is the beginning of everything in boxing. It is a simple straight punch with the forward hand.
  • Cross or Straight- This is a straight punch with the back hand
  • Hook- A punch with a circular motion.
  • Uppercut- A punch coming from bottom to top.
Those are the four basic punches and all you have to worry about for now.

The Stances
A boxers stance is very important to which of his punches will have more power and what type of punches it will be easier for him to get hit with. Generally stance isn't really a big decider unless a southpaw has a huge problem with straight rights.
  • Orthodox- This is the stance for almost every right-handed fighter. Left foot is forward right foot is in the back.

  • Southpaw- This is the stance for almost every left-handed fighter. Right foot forward left foot is in the back.
The Styles
Every boxer has their own style but they can be categorized into 5 archetypes.
  • Boxer/Out-fighter- This is imo the best style to watch. It's boxing at its purest. The out-fighter fights on the outside(duh) and utilizes fast, long range punches to do his damage. Every boxer will have an excellent jab and will know how to work the ring.
    Notable out-fighters: Ali, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

  • Boxer-puncher- Boxer punchers tend to be well rounded boxers being able to fight on the inside as well as the outside. They have similar technique to the out-fighter but are able to KO their opponents more often.
    Notable boxer-punchers: Sugar Ray Robinson, Manny Pacquiao, Tommy Hearns

  • Brawler- Boxers with incredible punch strength and not much else. These guys take two punches to give one and that one punch is usually a doozy. Slow and predictable these guys will always have to win by KO.
    Notable brawlers: George Foreman, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini

  • Swarmer/In-fighter- Pressure is the name of the game. Staying incredibly close to their opponents and throwing combinations on top of combinations these fighters will stick to you like white on rice. They use bobbing and weaving to get to the inside and when they get there boy are you in trouble.
    Notable in-fighters: Jack Dempsey, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson

  • Counter Punchers- These fighters are defensive geniuses that rely on punching when their opponent misses. Capitalizing on your opponents mistakes is difficult though and these guys have to have the mental toughness to stare down punches waiting for their counters.
    Notable counter punchers: Juan Manuel Marquez, Bernard Hopkins, James Toney
How these styles match up is what makes the world of boxing interesting and as the saying goes "styles make fights."

What is the current state of boxing? Why is a sport with so much history and cultural significance on the decline?
It's really just greedy promoters and stupid alphabet soup organizations.

The way boxing works today is that if you're a champion you have to pay a fee to the organization that you hold the belt for if you're going to defend it and so does your opponent. So that basically makes titles meaningless at this point because who honestly wants to pay 50k to fight some scrub that is up in the rankings and a mandatory fight for him?

This is how the alphabet soup titles all came to be. This is why the rankings for none of the titles matter either as they just want a guy that will pay them and they can force the champ to mandatorily defend against.

Those are the ranking issues. Then the managerial issues are that boxing is run by greedy assholes with bigger egos than the fighters. When you have two top guys that everyone wants to see fight (Floyd v Manny) and they are under different promotion banners it becomes a pissing match to see who can get who to concede to more. This is why a lot of fights don't get made.

Then there is the protection factor where managers will keep their fighter fighting journeymen to pad their record so they can get a title shot. Leaving legitimate threats to the top without fights (Paul Williams was in this situation for a long time). These are the major problems with boxing as I see it.

What could remedy all this?
An organization like the UFC might work but then you'll end up with tons of others popping up and none of the top guys fighting again. The UFC situation won't work unless you are hyper dominant and that won't happen unless someone wants to invest billions. Maybe a TV deal like the ABC one and every Friday night or whatever but people just won't watch. I think the onus is on boxers to stand out and make change like Floyd did when he refused to pay the fee to defend his belt. It's just a very difficult situation.

The Fighters
This is the rings pound for pound list and includes some of the best guys at various weights. I'm not going to include rankings for each weight class because there are too many and I'm lazy but I will link you to the ring rankings.

  1. Manny Pacquiao
    Country: Philippines (General Santos City)
    Record: 52-3-2 (38 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #1 | Last Week: #1 | Weeks On List: 374
    Titles: WBO
  2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
    Country: USA (Las Vegas, Nevada)
    Record: 41-0-0 (25 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #2 | Last Week: #2 | Weeks On List: 72
  3. Sergio Martinez
    Country: Argentina
    Record: 45-2-2 (24 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #3 | Last Week: #3 | Weeks On List: 39
    Titles: WBC, The Ring
  4. Juan Manuel Marquez
    Country: Mexico
    Record: 52-5-1 (38 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #4 | Last Week: #4 | Weeks On List: 203
    Titles: WBA, WBO, The Ring
  5. Nonito Donaire
    Country: USA (San Leandro, Calif.)
    Record: 23-1-0 (15 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #5 | Last Week: #5 | Weeks On List: 92
  6. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
    Country: Thailand
    Record: 78-3-1 (42 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #6 | Last Week: #6 | Weeks On List: 40
    Titles: WBC, The Ring
  7. Fernando Montiel
    Country: Mexico
    Record: 43-2-2 (33 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #7 | Last Week: #7 | Weeks On List: 29
    Titles: WBO
  8. Wladimir Klitschko
    Country: Ukraine
    Record: 55-3-0 (49 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #8 | Last Week: #8 | Weeks On List: 25
    Titles: IBF, WBO, The Ring
  9. Timothy Bradley
    Country: USA (Palm Springs, Calif.)
    Record: 27-0-0 (11 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #9 | Last Week: #9 | Weeks On List: 20
    Titles: WBO
  10. Juan Manuel Lopez
    Country: Puerto Rico
    Record: 29-0-0 (26 KOs)
    Ranking: This Week: #10 | Last Week: #10 | Weeks On List: 11
    Titles: WBO

The Fights
Here are some fights that you can look up to get you started in watching boxing there's a seriously long history to this sport so I'm just going to cherry pick some of my favorite fights.

Jack Johnson vs James J. Jeffries
Jess Willard vs Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey vs Gene Tunney
Joe Louis vs Max Schmeling 1-2
Joe Louis vs Billy Conn
Jersey Joe Walcott vs Ezzard Charles 1-3
Jersey Joe Walcott vs Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano vs Archie Moore
Floyd Patterson vs Ingemar Johansson 1-3
Cassius Clay vs Sonny Liston 1-2
Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier 1-3
Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman
Muhammad Ali Vs Earnie Shavers
Tommy Hearns vs Roberto Duran
Tommy Hearns vs Marvin Hagler
Tommy Hearns vs Sugar Ray Leonard 1
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Roberto Duran 1-2
Hector Macho Camacho vs Edwin Rosario
Hector Macho Comacho vs Sugar Ray Leonard
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
Mike Tyson vs Donovan Razor Ruddock 1-2
Pernel Whitaker vs Oscar De La Hoya
Pernel Whitaker vs Julio Cesar Chavez
Oscar De La Hoya vs Felix Trinidad
Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelly
Naseem Hamed vs Marco Antonio Barrera
Macro Antonio Barrera vs Erik Morales 1-3
Erik Morales Vs Manny Pacquiao 1-2
Israel Vasquez vs Rafael Marquez 1-3
Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti 1-3
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Emmanuel Augustus
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Diego Corales
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Jose Luis Castillo 1-2
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Zab Judah
Zab Judah vs Kostya Tszyu
Kostya Tszyu vs Diosbelys Hurtado
Kostya Tszyu vs Ricky Hatton
Ricky Hatton vs Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Ricky Hatton vs Manny Pacquiao
Miguel Cotto vs Manny Pacquiao
Miguel Cotto vs Paulie Malinaggi
Sergei Liakhovich vs Shannon Briggs
Sergei Liakhovich vs Lamon Brewster
Wladimir Klitschko vs Lamon Brewster 1-2


Links

FightNews - upcoming fight schedule, Fighter rankings
BoxingScene - news and articles
Bad Left Hook - blog
BoxRec - fighter records

Mons Public fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Feb 3, 2011

Mons Public
Jun 22, 2006

Sometimes I look for Rupees.
If anyone wants to add anything, send me a PM and I'll put it here.

Mons Public fucked around with this message at 05:23 on Feb 2, 2011

Doctor Nick
Dec 27, 2003

Don't forget Leonard Garcia vs. Korean Zombie. One of the best fights of the year.

Beef Jerky Robot
Sep 20, 2009

"And the DICK?"

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

HulkaMatt
Feb 14, 2006

BIG BICEPS SHOHEI


Ahhh this is fantastic.

Doctor Nick
Dec 27, 2003

Beef Jerky Robot posted:

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

because overeem really hasn't fought against the kind of competition that fedor has, even if he hasnt really beaten anyone relevant in a couple years. That, and fedor has been actively ducking him (see dis thread).

henkman
Oct 8, 2008

Beef Jerky Robot posted:

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

1. Rankings are retarded.

2. Fedor fans are retarded.

3. Most people doing the rankings are Fedor fans.

STING 64
Oct 20, 2006

Beef Jerky Robot posted:

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

a better question: why isnt werdum

Government
Nov 2, 2004

Beef Jerky Robot posted:

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

Short answer: Rankings are dumb and don't really work for mma.

Government fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Feb 2, 2011

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

Beef Jerky Robot posted:

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

Because MMA rankings are completely subjective and sometimes maybe even many times aren't supported by reality. If two guys haven't fought each other its hard to say who is better. Fedor coasted for a long time on his unbeaten russian cyborg routine, which was mostly smoke and mirrors combining a long list of hand picked opponents and shameless hype by his russian mob handlers. Not saying that Fedor is terrible, clearly he's not, he's beaten some of the greats, but that was 5 years ago in PRIDE. Since then he's coasted on his reputation and fighting not very good opponents and sometimes looking overwhelming against them.

Lloyd Boner
Oct 11, 2009

Yes officer, my name is Victoria Sonnen...berg
Wait, if big-time Japanese MMA is possibly on the verge of collapse, and Puro is also on a downturn, what's the big combat sport in Japan? I guess this is more of a Japan question than an MMA question.

kensei
Dec 27, 2007

He has come home, where he belongs. The Ancient Mariner returns to lead his first team to glory, forever and ever. Amen!


henkman posted:

1. Rankings are retarded.

2. Fedor fans are retarded.

3. Most people doing the rankings are Fedor fans.

Is empty quoting ok in this subforum? Because this is a Perfect Post

rare Magic card l00k
Jan 3, 2011


Doctor Nick posted:

Don't forget Leonard Garcia vs. Korean Zombie. One of the best fights of the year.

This makes me wonder if we should have a thread where MMA, Wrestling, and Boxing fans all share their favorite stories/matches/whatevers.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!
Thank you for the OP! As someone who's never followed MMA or K-1, it explained a lot, especially which league/federation is which.

STING 64
Oct 20, 2006

sticky this, take down the books thread

ForbiddenWonder
Feb 15, 2003

RE: Vale Tudo


I never hear ya'll talk about it, like at all. Are there any must-watch matches or anything like that?

Push El Burrito
May 9, 2006

Soiled Meat
"Don't stick your finger in any orifice" is my favorite rule for a sport ever.

Thanks for the thread though, I've seen some K-1 footage and always wondered where the cage is.

manyak
Jan 26, 2006

ForbiddenWonder posted:

RE: Vale Tudo


I never hear ya'll talk about it, like at all. Are there any must-watch matches or anything like that?

it doesnt really exist anymore if you mean no holds barred, but you can watch the first few UFCs if you want to see people getting hit in the balls

Triticum Guzzler
Jun 16, 2002
This is going to be very brief. Lots of you reading this will be completely new to K-1. Click one of these, any of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvlFoQTse8s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH2IxgvCYJ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUwVPfZdvoU

or if you have super add click this instead, it has street fighter music and phil baroni liked it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW354-zgJkI

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

ForbiddenWonder posted:

RE: Vale Tudo


I never hear ya'll talk about it, like at all. Are there any must-watch matches or anything like that?

Well MMA grew out of Vale Tudo in some ways. It was big in the early 90s but I don't think there's any real orgs putting on Vale Tudo fights any more. Maybe some back alley Brazilian poo poo, but for all intents and purposes Vale Tudo is dead.

ForbiddenWonder
Feb 15, 2003

yeah, I guess I was meant the league where yvel Won Something


I know it doesn't exist anymore, lol

MycroftXXX
May 10, 2006

A Liquor Never Brewed

Beef Jerky Robot posted:

This might be a dumb question, but if Overeem and Fedor are in the same fed, and Overeem is the champ, why is Fedor ranked higher?

The first thing to always consider about rankings is that they are stupid and are put together by stupid people.

Other things to consider are that the strikeforce belt means nothing, it is never defended and the people that get title shots are coming off loses. Also, Fedor gets ranked highly for literally no reason other than his trumped up pride legacy.

henkman
Oct 8, 2008
Just look up street fighting on your favorite video streaming website and you'll have more than enough Vale Tudo.

Lid
Feb 18, 2005

And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

henkman posted:

1. Rankings are retarded.

2. Fedor fans are retarded.

3. Most people doing the rankings are Fedor fans.

To give a non-Fedor example for over a year now Vitor Belfort has been in most rankings as a top ten Middleweight, usually between fourth and sixth. This is retarded for two reasons:

Vitor hasn't fought in about eighteen months.
Vitor hasn't fought at Middleweight.

Don't try and work it out.

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

Yeah, basically the only belts that mean anything are the UFC belts.

KungFu Grip
Jun 18, 2008
Did anyone ever expect anything from Kimbo besides a sideshow of failure?

Boregasm
Nov 18, 2009
Regarding the Strikeforce belt confusion:

Strikeforce's belts are meaningless. Overeem won the belt years ago and defended it once against a Walmart tire salesman (seriously) last year before deciding that he rather do K-1. Nick Diaz the 170lb champ has spent as much time fighting at middleweight and recently defended his belt against a 155lb fighter and against Evangelista Santos who is not a good fighter. The 185lb champ defended his belt against Dan Henderson, then promptly left Strikeforce for the greener pastures of the UFC.

In short, when it comes to champions in the men's bantamweight to heavyweight divisions, the UFC is the only legitimate belt.

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

KungFu Grip posted:

Did anyone ever expect anything from Kimbo besides a sideshow of failure?

Not anyone who knows anything about fighting.

Beef Jerky Robot
Sep 20, 2009

"And the DICK?"

That makes sense (the answers, not the rankings). Thanks guys!

henkman
Oct 8, 2008

KungFu Grip posted:

Did anyone ever expect anything from Kimbo besides a sideshow of failure?

I'd actually say he surpassed expectations, what with him actually learning grappling and being aggressive with takedowns in his 2 UFC fights.

Triticum Guzzler
Jun 16, 2002

A Pale Horse posted:

Not anyone who knows anything about fighting.

Coincidentally these people aren't where the money comes from, so freakshows have a proud history in all combat sports

Grab Your Foot!
Apr 24, 2007

The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

KungFu Grip posted:

Did anyone ever expect anything from Kimbo besides a sideshow of failure?

Well I think making lots of money was expected, and that pretty much happened. But in terms of actual significance in the sport no, nobody ever expected anything of him. He is notable for how terrible his fight with Houston Alexander was, and for this:



And for apparently being awesome at barbecue.

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

Giovanni Qobras posted:

Coincidentally these people aren't where the money comes from, so freakshows have a proud history in all combat sports

As well they should. You know me, I love a good freakshow fight. PUDZIAN POWER!

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

Grab Your Foot! posted:

Well I think making lots of money was expected, and that pretty much happened. But in terms of actual significance in the sport no, nobody ever expected anything of him. He is notable for how terrible his fight with Houston Alexander was, and for this:



And for apparently being awesome at barbecue.

This is literally the best thing Kimbo has done in fight sports.

KungFu Grip
Jun 18, 2008

Grab Your Foot! posted:





Man you guys sure need your own gif thread. I can watch this forever.

Triticum Guzzler
Jun 16, 2002

A Pale Horse posted:

This is literally the best thing Kimbo has done in fight sports.

Just wait until he gets the poo poo slapped out of him by that wacky sumo dude that Sapp chickened out of fighting

A Pale Horse
Jul 29, 2007

Giovanni Qobras posted:

Just wait until he gets the poo poo slapped out of him by that wacky sumo dude that Sapp chickened out of fighting

can't wait :twisted:

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Save Russian Jews
Jun 7, 2007

who the fuck is this guy anyway, i can't even see his face

Lipstick Apathy

A Pale Horse posted:

This is literally the best thing Kimbo has done in fight sports.

I still posit that the 3+ minutes of circling before that gif occurred are the best thing he has ever done

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