I haven't seen the fight, but a reigning champion engaging in a standing-only MMA match with no judges? On pay per view? And his belt isn't even at stake........ why, exactly? That's bull****. :hat
That's true as well. And I guess I thought have thought about both guy's respective sizes for half a second before I opened my mouth. :hat
OT: the second matchup was the most satisfying result I ever had as a PRIDE FC fan. SIlva was such a cocky douchebag **** to everyone in Pride and talked a whole bunch of **** about Cro Cop leading up to the fight and CC picked him apart and brutally KOd him, not only nearly killing him but effectively ending his run as an elite fighter in MMA. Wand has also adopted a "nice guy" persona since, as he is known in the UFC. Wanderlei was never the same after that. And Wand actually came in weighing more than CC in the second matchup. Chutebox twice ruined the careers of two of their fighters in there desperate search for a HW champion, first when Ninja Rua got brain damage from Kharitonov than when Wanderlei got decapitated by CC. Sad and poor management really.
As for the first fight they weighed in at the same weight IIRC. Cro Cop broke Wanderleis ribs with a nasty body kick. Look at the damage in these pics This content is protected This content is protected
Wand was never the same after he fought Mark Hunt. Hunt was dam near 300lbs. And hurt the brave Wand numerous times. The second CC loss compounded that. Along with Vovchancyn vs Inoue that is hands down THE most brutal fight iv seen in MMA. There was no love lost between the two as Wandy hated CC. And CC replied in kind. CC was blowing kisses to Wand in between rounds. And when ever he dumped him to the mat he angrily asked him to get up. Back then although CC had a half decent guard he had no take down defence as he'd only just come across from the K-1. Thus Wand took him down easily many times. The rules were adjusted that way because PRIDE along with the fans wanted to see a KO. They were also adjusted that way as an agreement between the K-1 and PRIDE as both their stars were being represented. Any time it went to the ropes and the action stalled they were stood up. There were also no judges so there was no scoring. Hence why if it went the full 5 the fight was declared a draw. Other than that everything was the same. The rules ensured as much action as possible. Unlike the second bout though there wasn't much difference between the two in size. CC outweighed Wand by about 6-7lbs. CC weighed 222lbs. In the second Wand weighed more than CC and looked far too muscular.
Im not sure his ribs were broke. Wandy would have had to be iron man not to feel that and he didnt even wince despite being kicked their numerous times. Badly bruised yes. Broke? I dont think so...IIRC Stephen Quadros said something too along those lines.
CC definitely landed the better shots. But if there were judges Wandy may have snuck it because of his popularity and busier work. For my money though ironically a draw was the best result.
