Strikeforce thoughts

[Liquidrob]

I just talked to a big Gina fan, he is a casual fan, he still loves Gina and thinks that Cyborg is a beast and wants to see a rematch down the line

Of course Gina winning would have been great, but now Gina is still a draw and Cyborg is the baddest Women on the planet

 

[Anthony]

what? lol, Gil/Ishida was way better than Neer/Pellagrino

Neer was asking the ref to stand it up the entire fight while Pellagrino 'worked' in Neers guard

Ishida became a human punching bag, what did he do to actually make it a "Fight"? - I must've missed something.

 

[Liquidrob]

Plus now a star is born in Gegard Mousasi, dude is legit

Fights like Mousasi/Bablu feel like let downs when it happens, but after the fact it creates a great HL and hype for Mousasi now

 

[Liquidrob]

Ishida became a human punching bag, what did he do to actually make it a "Fight"? - I must've missed something.

He did more than anything Kurt or Josh did, Kurt coasted after each TD and never went for a finish, Neer worked some guard and didnt do anything, lol @ asking for stand ups

Gil and Ishida actually faught each other, Ishida was still pressing even as he was getting popped for most of the fight

 

[Steel Mamba]

There's a big difference between watching an event for free and paying 45 bucks to watch the premier org and being let down. In what situation is the first time fan going to have a more sour taste in his mouth?

 

[Liquidrob]

There's a big difference between watching an event for free and paying 45 bucks to watch the premier org and being let down. In what situation is the first time fan going to have a more sour taste in his mouth?

true, because most guys here probably just watch all the events for 'free' and cant judge them differently

 

[Anthony]

Plus now a star is born in Gegard Mousasi, dude is legit

Fights like Mousasi/Bablu feel like let downs when it happens, but after the fact it creates a great HL and hype for Mousasi now

Mousasi was a star to me even before the fight, but I understand what you're saying. There's tons of good fighters out their up for grabs, they could've done more it's all I am saying. Bring in Manhoef, King Mo, Lil Nog, Arona (If they can find him) etc.

Manhoef would be a huge hit with the casual fans.

 

[Liquidrob]

Mousasi was a star to me even before the fight, but I understand what you're saying. There's tons of good fighters out their up for grabs, they could've done more it's all I am saying.

they tried, Overeem hand was hurt, Diaz is busy smoking weed, Riggs went to the hospital, etc...

Babalu was the Strikeforce champ and they pulled off a fight that Affliction couldnt do, now we have Mousasi as the clear cut champ

Of course the fights could have been better, but this was still a showtime show and they were not asking you to pay $45

 

[Liquidrob]

From Jake Rossen at Sherdog, pretty much what I said, now they ave Carano and the killer in Cyborg

The fairly predictable thesis topics for MMA media coming out of this weekend: Severe-looking Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeats dimpled, doe-eyed Gina Carano, and women’s MMA immediately enters a blackout; Gina Carano was not as savage as advertised, damaging both her marketability and the quality of attention afforded to her sport; there is not enough female talent to support a recurring female division.

And one bonus springboard: Santos has a giant dragon tattooed on her back, and good God, is that the stuff of nightmares.

This is the great problem of an entire industry built almost exclusively on the talents and appeal of a single attraction. When Michael Phelps retires from swimming, his niche sport will resume anonymity. For millions of people in the 1970s, boxing started and ended with Muhammad Ali: No one else made their hairs stand up. Geena Davis, actress and archer, is the only reason you’ve ever seen the word “archery” in a mainstream publication. And you will never see it again.

This is not unreasonable thinking. Where it goes astray is the treatment of Carano’s loss as if it were some kind of assumed retirement. Carano isn’t going anywhere. And neither is the structure she helped build.

Danica Patrick, who is equally feminine in the equally masculine sport of car racing, attracts no end of attention despite the fact that she’s won exactly one major race in years of trying. Anna Kournikova was plastered on magazine covers for years, yet ESPN once named her one of the 25 biggest “sports flops” in history. For better or worse, female athletes tend to get leniency where male athletes would be shown the door.

It’s an ugly fact of beauty: Carano is pretty, and pretty people often land on their feet.

Carano will land on her feet.She’ll be fine. And so will Strikeforce, which finds itself in the curiously attractive position of having one genuine superstar in Carano and one genuine boogeylady in Santos. The depreciation of Carano’s reputation is outmatched by the new appeal of Santos, who may not instill quite the same adolescent appreciation -- boys rarely fantasize of women with necks like tree trunks -- but is staking a reputation as a female terminator. It’s an easy sell: Santos smash.

(Their rematch will be big business -- maybe CBS business. Carano can smile and say that the 10-month layoff affected her, and that this time will be different. And maybe it would be.)

Strikeforce is additionally insured by the fact that there are few rivals for female talent. The UFC had its opportunity to seize Carano but didn’t take it, citing a lack of opposition. Bellator is scheduled to host a women’s tournament this fall, but having a clearly defined star to emerge from that scene could only boost a potential money fight down the line with two promotions willing to carpool to the bank together.

Even better: Women who are influenced by Saturday’s fight could be heading to gyms now. And who knows where they wind up? The lead-time for a credible athlete to become proficient in MMA isn’t exactly intimidating. (Carano had four months of muay Thai before her first fight.) A female Thai or Western boxer wouldn’t be defending the tackle of a 250-pound NCAA-accredited wrestler, making the learning curve a little less steep. (That’s only assuming grapplers like 2004 Athens Bronze Medalist Patricia Miranda -- who might see the sense in following their male counterparts to the prizefighting ring -- sit it out.)

In many ways, women’s MMA resembles the evolution of male competition in the mid-1990s; some sloppy affairs mixed with legitimate contenders. The UFC survived the absence of Royce Gracie. And female fighting will survive Carano’s showing to continue giving the sport what no one thought it needed: more estrogen.

 

[Liquidrob]

Ref cam baby!

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

Well for the simple fact that it was MMA was good enough for me.

Well im glad to see it takes so much to impress you..

 

[Liquidrob]

Well im glad to see it takes so much to impress you..

I dont think he means it like you are thinking, just having the fights they had lined up like Mousais/Babalu, Gil/Ishida, etc...are good fights

Fights are not always 'great', but its still a fight

Like Silva/Forrest, I was dissappointed Forrest got mauled, but it is still if a fight where I got to see And1's skill level and was impressed

Just like Mousasi destroying Babalu, it sucks it happened that quick, but it was still an awesome finish

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

The best thing that came of this was taking steps towards Mousasi becoming an actual draw in America.

 

[clovett]

Well im glad to see it takes so much to impress you..

god forbid this wasnt an ufc event

 

[Liquidrob]

 

[Liquidrob]

Anyone else feel like this was Rocky vs Clubber Lang 1?

Gina was living the good life, photo shoots, do some training, interviews, apperences, etc.. while Cyborg was in the dungeon training her ass off, hungry and just waiting to kill Gina

Wake up call for Gina, she needs the eye of the tiger back

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

god forbid this wasnt an ufc event

All shitty cards are shitty cards. UFC, Strikeforce and otherwise. Saying "God forbid this wasnt a UFC event" shows absolutely nothing. If it was a UFC event it'd be even worse because they have a deeper talent pool and are held to a higher standard.

 

[Steel Mamba]

Anyone else feel like this was Rocky vs Clubber Lang 1?

Gina was living the good life, photo shoots, do some training, interviews, apperences, etc.. while Cyborg was in the dungeon training her ass off, hungry and just waiting to kill Gina

Wake up call for Gina, she needs the eye of the tiger back

We don't know if she did or didn't train hard. Cyborg was just too big and powerful for Gina, on top of that the pressure was a bit much. No matter how hard she trained those two factors wouldn't have changed.

 

[Steel Mamba]

god forbid this wasnt an ufc event

If there was some beef and drama between the fighters he wouldn't be as upset about the event.

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

If there was some beef and drama between the fighters he wouldn't be as upset about the event.

If there was actual competition I might've been impressed. I dont watch MMA for one-sided fights.

Im starting to believe Rob's not the only guy whos bias against the UFC on this forum. You guys will support anything without a UFC label on it even if its garbage. Pretty sad.

I, on the other hand, consider garbage to be garbage.. UFC, or otherwise. And I consider great events to be great events. Saturday was not the latter.