UFC 92 Feeback
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Frank Mir v. Antonio Rodriguo Nogueira
Worst Match: Dan Everson v. Pat Berry
Hi Dave
I really enjoyed the show. It was cool to have matches that were really hard to preidct that were good with cool finishes I can't believe how perfectly the Mir-Lesnar dynamic has worked out for UFC. Mir's speech was actually pretty moving. It really felt like a time where a younger generation are taking over in a fall where Lesnar beat Couture, Evans beat Lidell and now Mir beat Nogueira (I know Mir has been around, but he came into his own). No match was really bad on this show and I also really enjoyed Jackson-Silva. Of course, Jackson v. Evans is a logical next match. Solid show.
Dave Musgrave
Whitby, Ontario
*Warning - the following comments are probably influenced by the fact that everyone I
hate won*
Thumbs down, big time. No spectacular finishes (well, one or two), no chess matches.
One of these guys (I can't remember now) had such horrible boxing technique it looked
like an opening match at a smoker! It always seems to happen - the two free cards
immediately before were much better than the "biggest card of the year"
Best Match - Mir/Nogiera. I wanted Nog to win but I have no trouble with Mir, especially
because of his feel good story and the thought that him and Brock would make a better
money match. How Mir kept throwing those jabs down broadway is amazing and he deserves
all the credit in the world.
Runner-up - Silva/Rampage. This may have been one of those Silvia/Couture cases where
the buzz of the match made it better than it was. Especially because Rampage looked like
he was headed to the chair, not the octagon.
Worst Match - Griffin/Captain Dickweed - Why does Evans feel the need to act like (and
occasionally feel up) a prick? You're not Muhammad Ali, jackoff. You're Cuba Gooding Jr
in Jerry McGuire. Combine that with a ground game that I could have gotten out of, and
I attribute this to a poor Griffin performance. Just bad all around, and please, Dana,
find someone to knock this guy out and send him back to thefight nights.
Everything else I've already forgotten about. Bring on GSP/Penn - yes, we're skipping
Henderson/Franklin. Sorry, Dana.
What's next?
Griffin - I constantly get the idea that he was pushed too soon and too hard. I'd say
that he needs a break if he didn't have the injury a few months ago. He needs another
Rua victory, so I would put him against Wandy, Franklin, possibly Rampage again, or my
favorite idea - let Randy Couture move down and make it a "torch passing"
Nog - He should fight the winner of Mir/Brock. In the meantime they could set up a match
with Kongo, but I don't think Kongo would go for a match that big unless it was for a
title. Nog is a tough case, he's too much of a draw to feed to Velazquez or Kongo, but
he won't draw against someone like Hardonk.
Wandy - I think his career is over, aside from the possible superfight. He's obviously
not a main eventer, although he's not on the level of Cro Cop, since he's actually looked
good. He;s got a number of interesting matchups, including a rematch with Liddell and
possibly Jardine, and matches with Franklin and Griffin. He doesn't deserve a title shot
but I still want to see him knock Evans' head off. He's a showcase fighter now.
Rampage - Aside from possible prison rape, I'd like to see him take on Evans. I doubt
that would happen because UFC wouldn't want their champ in jail. He's kind of moved into
the same territory as Silva.
Evans - Who cares? I won't buy a PPV with him on top unless it has a hell of an
undercard. Evans is going to flop badly unless he turns into the Honkey Tonk Man 2K9.
Hammill - I don't particularly like him and I don't think he's very good, but he's got
star power. For good or bad, people know him and people who aren't like my friends who
call him "Greased Up Deaf Guy" want to see him succeed. I just hope UFC is giving him
time to improve and not holding him back. Considering he looked badagainst Andy, I think
it's the former here.
Mike
*Warning - the following comments are probably influenced by the fact that everyone I
hate won*
Thumbs down, big time. No spectacular finishes (well, one or two), no chess matches.
One of these guys (I can't remember now) had such horrible boxing technique it looked
like an opening match at a smoker! It always seems to happen - the two free cards
immediately before were much better than the "biggest card of the year"
Best Match - Mir/Nogiera. I wanted Nog to win but I have no trouble with Mir, especially
because of his feel good story and the thought that him and Brock would make a better
money match. How Mir kept throwing those jabs down broadway is amazing and he deserves
all the credit in the world.
Runner-up - Silva/Rampage. This may have been one of those Silvia/Couture cases where
the buzz of the match made it better than it was. Especially because Rampage looked like
he was headed to the chair, not the octagon.
Worst Match - Griffin/Captain Dickweed - Why does Evans feel the need to act like (and
occasionally feel up) a prick? You're not Muhammad Ali, jackoff. You're Cuba Gooding Jr
in Jerry McGuire. Combine that with a ground game that I could have gotten out of, and
I attribute this to a poor Griffin performance. Just bad all around, and please, Dana,
find someone to knock this guy out and send him back to thefight nights.
Everything else I've already forgotten about. Bring on GSP/Penn - yes, we're skipping
Henderson/Franklin. Sorry, Dana.
What's next?
Griffin - I constantly get the idea that he was pushed too soon and too hard. I'd say
that he needs a break if he didn't have the injury a few months ago. He needs another
Rua victory, so I would put him against Wandy, Franklin, possibly Rampage again, or my
favorite idea - let Randy Couture move down and make it a "torch passing"
Nog - He should fight the winner of Mir/Brock. In the meantime they could set up a match
with Kongo, but I don't think Kongo would go for a match that big unless it was for a
title. Nog is a tough case, he's too much of a draw to feed to Velazquez or Kongo, but
he won't draw against someone like Hardonk.
Wandy - I think his career is over, aside from the possible superfight. He's obviously
not a main eventer, although he's not on the level of Cro Cop, since he's actually looked
good. He;s got a number of interesting matchups, including a rematch with Liddell and
possibly Jardine, and matches with Franklin and Griffin. He doesn't deserve a title shot
but I still want to see him knock Evans' head off. He's a showcase fighter now.
Rampage - Aside from possible prison rape, I'd like to see him take on Evans. I doubt
that would happen because UFC wouldn't want their champ in jail. He's kind of moved into
the same territory as Silva.
Evans - Who cares? I won't buy a PPV with him on top unless it has a hell of an
undercard. Evans is going to flop badly unless he turns into the Honkey Tonk Man 2K9.
Hammill - I don't particularly like him and I don't think he's very good, but he's got
star power. For good or bad, people know him and people who aren't like my friends who
call him "Greased Up Deaf Guy" want to see him succeed. I just hope UFC is giving him
time to improve and not holding him back. Considering he looked badagainst Andy, I think
it's the former here.
Mike DeGeorge
Hey Guys, Thumbs Up Best Match: Griffin-Evans Worst Match: Barry-Devensen Thought it was a real good show top to bottom. Mir looked surprisingly really, really good and I was totally shocked at how he dominated Nogeuria, although I had a feeling Mir would win; just not in dominating fashion. Nogeuria looked old and washed up, very sad... Jackson-Silva was the one I wanted to see and, boy, does Jackson punch hard or what? A left hook and Silva was out cold. Wish it went longer since I wanted to see a three round slugfest, but a KO of the night by Jackson is good enough for me. Griffin-Evans was a real good fight and Evans looks like the best light heavyweight in the world right now. Who's next for him? Anderson Silva maybe? Jackson-Evans would be awesome too but I have no idea who gets the next title shot. Thanks. Randy, San Francisco, CA, f4wonline.com subscriber
I hope they maintain the tradition of giving us stacked cards at the end of the year. I give Griffin vs. Evans the best match vote. Personally, aside from Evans' punches at the end, he is a very dull fighter. I hope someone drops his bland self to the canvas asap. I will say that it was a very strange night in terms of the results. Nogueira didn't do a thing, and he looked like he didn't even belong on the ring, and this is a guy who is one of my favorites ever! Vanderli got dropped by a very strange Jackson. Did he look like he was together? I think he needs some psychological help or something.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to Henderson vs. Franklin. Maybe we will finally get a match that goes the distance as opposed to quick knockouts.
Matt Wright
.hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } UFC 92 Feeback
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Frank Mir v. Antonio Rodriguo Nogueira
Worst Match: Dan Everson v. Pat Berry
Hi Dave
I really enjoyed the show. It was cool to have matches that were really hard to preidct that were good with cool finishes I can't believe how perfectly the Mir-Lesnar dynamic has worked out for UFC. Mir's speech was actually pretty moving. It really felt like a time where a younger generation are taking over in a fall where Lesnar beat Couture, Evans beat Lidell and now Mir beat Nogueira (I know Mir has been around, but he came into his own). No match was really bad on this show and I also really enjoyed Jackson-Silva. Of course, Jackson v. Evans is a logical next match. Solid show.
Dave Musgrave
Whitby, Ontario
I give UFC 92 a thumbs up. Lots of good matches and surprise endings.
Best match: Jackson vs. Silva
Worst match: Berry vs. Evensen
Jason McNeil
| Thumbs Up Best Match: Mir vs Nogeria Wort Match: Haronk vs Wessel If someone told me a year ago that Rashad Evans would be the Light Heavyweight Champion I would have thought the only way that would have happened would be if 5 of the top Light Heavyweights were out with injuries or drug failures. But he beat two top guys decidedly and earned the belt with no dispute. He's not the most fascinating fighter in UFC but he proved himself tonight. Right now I'd take Quentin over Rashad but that would depend greatly on Jackson's state leading up to the fight. I really hope this was an aberration in Nogeria's career and not the sign of things to come. He was obviously out of shape and seemed unprepared which I'm certain wasn't the case. I expected Mir to take round one as that's how Nogeria's matches seem to go. But I didn't think he'd take it that much. This was the best I've ever seen Mir and the worst I've ever seen Nogeria. Unfortunately, they happened to be fighting each other. A+ promo work by Mir after the fight. I'm no Mir to begin with fan but I really hope Lesnar knocks him out in their rematch. UFC should have had them meet in the Octagon after the fight for a photo op/face off. |
Chris Marullo
| Hi Dave, Thumbs Up! Best Fight: Rashad/Forrest Worst Fight: Hamill/Andy 2 Shows in a row that all fights shown on the PPV ended in a finish; only strange thing was that there were no subs. Can't complain about a lack of action on this card as there were some devastating finishes. Wandy getting KTFO the way he did was just absolutely beautiful on Rampage's part. It reminded me exactly of the Felix Trinidad/Fernando Vargas finish in that Trinidad landed his left hook before Vargas just as Rampage did tonight before Silva's got there. To me Rampage showed better hand speed all fight (as short as it was) and better technique which is why his short compact left hook landed before Wandy's wide/looping left hook to end the fight. Strangely enough, my first reaction to the KO - aside from WOW - was "poor Lyoto Machida" as he is for sure going get passed by Rampage for the next title shot even if he beats Thiago Silva in impressive fashion next month. I'm guessing Chuck was upset because he just saw the possible second Wandy fight go out the window - as there's no way Wandy's fighting until August or September after that finish. Mir KO'ing Nog was not a finish that I thought was possible. I was cheering for Mir even though I did think Nog would win. I'm so happy that Mir won b/c now we should be in store for some unbelievable promo work for the Brock/Mir fight as we know that Brock knows how to sell a fight and Mir showed that he does too with the 2 fights he had this year. I liked that he immediately looked for Brock once the fight was up and and started to put that fight into people's minds right away. I'm thinking 1 million buys and possible record for the rematch - unless of course the economy continues to get worse (although let's all hope that it's pretty much bottomed out). Rashad/Forrest was very compelling for the time it lasted as Rashad had the clear hand speed advantage and he knew how to counter Forrest very well, but Forrest showed a lot of determination in trying to push the fight - especially in RD 2. When Forrest went down in RD 3 and Rashad started to rain down punches, I thought I was seeing a replay of the Jardine fight. When Forrest survived the initial barrage I thought he might be able to keep the fight going. I give Evans a lot of credit for being able to re-assert his dominance on the ground after the initial wave ended as most fighters struggle to do so and end up just waiting it out and get stood up. The finish was very clinical (I love that word when used in the fight game - be it MMA or boxing). I'd make Forrest vs Chuck next. Maybe in Germany (if UFC is still going over there). While the other fights all were finishes, none were very memorable - other than Kongo and Al-Turk exchanging vicious knees to the groin. This card was built on the strength of the triple main-event and all 3 lived up, if not exceeded the hype that was put on them. CGs to the UFC for delivering - well, I guess I should be congratulating the 6 fighters  .UFC 93 has a tough act to follow. I don't envy Henderson/Franklin or Shogun/Coleman at all. Rishi Malhotra Toronto |
Best Fight: Evans vs Griffin
Worst Fight: Hamill vs Andy
A few years ago, I wrote in a feedback to 2 Pride events something to the effect that Crocop and Rampage had been abducted by aliens and didn't look like themselves. That's the way I feel about Big Nog tonite. This match was not about Mir winning, this was about Big Nog not even showing up. He threw just a few jabs, and almost no power punches. He stoop up straight like a telephone pole, didn't bob, didn't weave, didn't move side to side. Mir's sloppy strikes landed at will. I can't even believe I typed that last sentence.
The question is : has Nog reached the end of the line like Crocop? Or will he transition to a new even more successful phase like Rampage has been able to?
I think the former. Although Nog and Crocop are in their early 30s, they're both an OLD early 30s. They've been fighting for a long time and have been in many matches. Crocop by his estimation has been in 100s of kickboxing matches since his late teens plus his 30 or so MMA matches. Nog has been in almost 40 MMA matches and as we all know has absorbed brutal beatings.
Can't wait to see Brock Lesnar vs Mir. Frank, please go toe-to-toe with Brock to show off your "new and improved" standup.
Mike Wessel is one tough dude. He took some brutal shots. Hardonk's stand-up looks more and more devastating every time we see him. I'd love to see him vs Kongo.
Evans and Griffin both looked very good and congratulations to Rampage on avenging his losses to Wanderlei Silva.
Joe Silva, please don't give Matt Hamill a title shot anytime soon. I like and respect him, but his fights are horrible.
## Please don't use my name, I'm a teacher and I try to keep a very low internet profile, thanks! ##
| Thumbs up! Best fight: Mir/Nog Worst fight: Hamill/Andy I'm always skeptical of "loaded" cards not being able to live up to the hype, especially since 91 was a home run with only one marquee match. But this was one for the ages. Rampage needed this fight badly, and I'm so happy to see the guy who was so scary prior to the Griffin fight back in top form (haha, Liddell sure wasn't). And I've never understood the Mir hate as he's a great story and I was BEAMING during his promo. Brock probably didn't feel anywhere near as confident of how he'd do in a rematch as he did when they giving the ring introductions. Felt bad for Nog but if it means the long-awaited Couture fight it's for the best. How can anyone not love Forrest? He's actually more entertaining when he loses than when he wins. Great attitude and he'll be back soon enough. And who would've thought that Evans would follow Koscheck in making all of us who called him "boring" at the start of the year eat our words. WOW!! Will 2009 be the year of Kongo? He hasn't given us a reason to think it won't be yet. Finally, I was watching on the Internet. Was it an optical illusion on the feed when it looked like Dollaway was tapping in the guillotine and the ref was out of position? Great show full of surprises. This is exactly why I love MMA so much. Michael Roper Columbia, SC |
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