In a way , this brutal loss marked the end of an era for me...Crocop was also part of that era. There was a time when mma had the big 3. (fedor , Nogueira & Crocop)...Now , i guess it's clear that it'll never be the same...ever. and wanderlei losing to page on the same night was reinforcing this feeling as far as i'm concerned. But , having said that , i'm not sad at all about this reality...Sakuraba also had his time...then came wanderlei...etc... it's needless to cling on to the past...it just gives you false ideas about today's mma scene... And yet...the more things change the more they stay the same...Before his accident , Mir was ufc's champ...Jackson used to compete with wandy... these gus aren't new fighters... it's a bit like in boxing...Wlad Klitschko's been doing this since the mid 90's !...(and now he's the face of the hw division)... Jackson himself has been fighting in this sport since 99...It's not like he's a new emerging talent..(well , at least , he was as far as the ufc is concerned)..but most of these guys had a second chance and were "reborn" in a way... I'm really excited to see what's gonna happen at affliction's next show...Fedor vs Arlovski has even gained more importance now that Nog is out of the top 3. Will Fedor prevail ?...is it fedor's turn to go down ? was his recent loss in sambo a sign ? or will it motivate him like never before and annihilate his next opponent ?..
I kind of feel the same way. This certainly is the Golden era of MMA and it will be a shame to see these guys flames put out. But thats the fight game. And for the record i just cant see Fedor loosing to Arlovski. Fedor is too good on the floor and could submit or TKO Arlovski on the mat and his aggresion standing up will put Andrei on the backfoot which he doesnt like. Interesting fight but i have Fedor the clear winner irrespective of his recent loss in Sambo.
Yep, and unfortunately the best fighters don't have the same appeal. I mean GSP is the exception, but I associate him with old guard more than new blood.. Sorry, I liked Griffen's toughness and determination, but he has nothing explosive or dynamic, just a hard grinding fighter who the skills he needs to know, but nothing that is a certain trademark.. No Wanderlei knees, Crocop head kicks.. Rampage, has slams and those great counter hooks. He is a very entertaining fighter. Fedor is still around, but ****ing Dana White ruins any intriguing matches at heavy.. GSP and BJ.. Still a good bit to look forward to.. Not impressed with the tuf champs at all. They shouldn't have given Griffen the belt in the first place.
It was the nail in the coffin for Pride, as far as I'm concerned. And yeah, it was heart breaking to watch. When Cro Cop won the Grand Prix, MMA was at its absolute best. It's been slowly sliding down for me since. I'll still watch it and enjoy it...but it doesn't feel the same.
Thats exactly how i feel. Everyone kept saying we`d see all the best talent in the UFC and get the match ups we wanted. But what matchups have we seen exactly? MMA has lost alot of appeal for me as the true greats are all falling one by one and i defintly count guys like GSP and BJ as old school. The new kids on the block have nothing defining about there style or method of fighting. Ironic really as everyone trys to become so well rounded. In my opinion its always best to focus on your strengths and let everything else compliment that. I think it may be sometime before we see devastating strikers in MMA like CC and Wandy in there prime as most either fight in there respective tournys or just dont make the switch. Or big men with great ground games.The UFC could really do with Melvin Manhoef right now who is a great Muay Thai striker. But the world will never get to know about him now.
