Ultimate Fighting

[Valuist]

Anybody a fan of this? A lot of publicity for this Ronda Rousey fight tomorrow night. Might be worth checking out.

[badcompany]

Began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie back in 1996. One of the guys I started with became a UFC champ. Haven't been training much lately due age and injuries but I still follow the sport.

The President of the UFC, Dana White, signed Ronda Rousey to a contract hoping that she can appeal to a wider demographic because she's female and happens to be gorgeous. If she loses her fight, I believe the women's division won't be long for this earth.

http://admin.mmaweekly.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/03/Ronda-Rousey_1651.jpg

[Valuist]

She is hot, and how about this record: 4 of her last 5 fights lasted less than a minute.

Rousey ain't mousey.

[turninforhome10]

She is one tough lady, WowIfD0AVt9W3g Caution towards the end she breaks that last ladies arm to win the title.

[Valuist]

Began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie back in 1996. One of the guys I started with became a UFC champ. Haven't been training much lately due age and injuries but I still follow the sport.

The President of the UFC, Dana White, signed Ronda Rousey to a contract hoping that she can appeal to a wider demographic because she's female and happens to be gorgeous. If she loses her fight, I believe the women's division won't be long for this earth.

http://admin.mmaweekly.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/03/Ronda-Rousey_1651.jpg

It will be a huge upset if Rousey is beaten. She's a -1200 favorite.

[Robert Fischer]

Poorly kept secret that Rousey winning would be in the UFC's best interests.

Not exactly my kind of bet, although now might be the time to catch it, even at bridgejumper odds.(*not bridgejumper amounts :) )

[badcompany]

I don't see women's mma catching on even with an appealing flagship like Ronda. There's something inherently off putting about women hitting each other.

[redshift1]

Anybody a fan of this? A lot of publicity for this Ronda Rousey fight tomorrow night. Might be worth checking out.

$45.00 per viewing- to much for me.

I've seen a lot of MMA, the women's fights usually end up one-sided because of the paucity of good fighters in the woman's division.

Santos (cyborg) from Brazil is probably better although she's coming off an anabolic steroid suspension.


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[kingfin66]

I consider myself to be very knowledgeable out martial arts, MMA and the UFC. I have trained in karate and am a huge fan. The only thing about MMA that I really despise is the blood....gushers. I also am one that thinks there are too many rules, but that's another story.

MMA has been down this road before when it comes to women's MMA. The last time we saw a hyped woman fighter was when Gina Carano was going to be the big star in women's MMA. She got worked by Cyborg Santos. There was a lot of pressure on her and she failed to deliver. There is even more pressure on Ronda Rousey because she will be fighting on a much, much larger stage than Carano ever did.

In my opinion, she is much better equipped to handle the pressure because she has already been there and done that. She was the first American woman to ever win an Olympic medal in judo. That is quite a feat. Also, she is extremely gifted when it comes to her hand speed. I have seen her fights. She knows how to use her striking to set up her take downs. When it goes to the ground she is virtually unbeatable.

I agree that she hasn't really been tested in the cage. Women's MMA is still developing and it will be a while before the talent catches up to her. Cyborg is good, but let's remember that Cyborg is much bigger than Ronda and has developed much of her muscles through illegal means. Even if she is now off the steroids she still gets to keep the muscle.

The UFC is taking a big risk putting her on top of a PPV card, but if she is a UFC champion, she should sell PPV. The potential payoff is worth the risk. Those who know MMA and the UFC know that Dana White was very much against ever having a woman's division in the UFC. The sole reason that he changed in mind is Ronda Rousey. He saw the talent, knew that she would be marketable, and that means that she would help the UFC grow.

Reports I have read quote Dana White as saying that Ronda Rousey has more media coverage than any fighter in UFC history, including Brock Lesnar. I am here to tell you that Lesnar got lots of media for all of his UFC fights.

I doubt the card will break UFC PPV records, but I bet it ends up in the top 5 in PPV buys, which is still pretty awesome.

My prediction, Rousey wins by submission in the 1st or 2nd round, thus, living up to the hype. After that, she will just keep getting better and better, but it will be hard to find worthy title contenders to fight her.

[redshift1]

Since my cable provider pulled Inside MMA I don't hear as much MMA news but my pick is Rousey in the first, with an armbar submission.

Want to see her fight Santos even though she's lighter.

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[kingfin66]

I agree that Santos/Rousey has the potential to be a good fight, but there is really nothing to gain for the UFC in making that fight. If Cyborg wins, there goes their promoting of Rousey. If Rousey wins great, she proves herself to be the better fighter but probably does not gain new fans.

The UFC is pretty good at making fights that fans want to see, but in this case the fighters are in different weight classes. Also, Santos has now left the UFC and the UFC says they are done with her. She essentially came off of her 1-year suspension for steroids and was trying to tell the UFC how it was going to be. The UFC wanted time to get the women's division established, build momentum and then look into that fight. She said no and asked for her release from the UFC, which was granted.

[redshift1]

The UFC deserves credit for bringing MMA to the front of fighting sports but they pretty much dictate who fights who. I would probably pay to see some of the european kick boxers like Badr Hari face the top UFC fighters although I'm sure lack of submission experience would do them in. I think Hari was mentioned with the UFC until his many many assault charges put him on the side lines.

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[hugh]

If you want your MMA fix and do not want to pay, just watch the under card on FX. That's what I'm going to do.
Here are the lines to the entire card including the free fights...

http://www.sportsbook.ag/livesports/indexmember.php?sportsname=boxing


On another note I grew up with Luke Rockhold.. hanging on the beach, lifeguarding, and surfing. He's turned into a hell of a fighter!!
I get to see him kick some ass on may 18th for free... thanks to the UFC/Fox/FX!!!