Official UFC 74 : Respect

[Rappy Veteran]

* Heavyweight championship bout: Randy Couture vs Gabriel Gonzaga

* Welterweight bout: Georges St. Pierre vs Josh Koscheck

* Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez vs Hayato Sakurai

* Lightweight bout: Joe Stevenson vs Kurt Pellegrino

* Middleweight bout: Patrick C?t? vs Kendall Grove

[Zoom7000]

Well, this was supposed to be the big UFC "Battle of the Heavyweights" Randy vs CroCop. However, Gonzaga had other ideas and now here he is. I really want to see Randy win though, purely because I wanna see the prospect of him vs CroCop, Fedor etc.

GSP will probably win and get a shot at his title again. It'll probably turn out to be GSP vs Hughes 3, unless Serra has other ideas!

Also, I dunno when that photo was taken or if it has been retouched, but Gonzaga looks in a damn good shape. If it is the case that he is in that good shape, then he could well stand a better chance than most of us will give him.

[Rappy Veteran]

Yeah I want Randy to win I think because I also want to see these big fights with Fedor and Cro Cop but Mirko has to get himself back up there and want it which we will see at UFC 75...

[caster316]

Diego Sanchez vs Hayato Sakurai is out, it's now B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez.

[Rappy Veteran]

Diego Sanchez vs Hayato Sakurai is out, it's now B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez.

Be good to see BJ Penn again...

[caster316]

Penn's Camp Denies Report of August Fight

So I guess it's Diego Sanchez vs. the ever popular T.B.A. as Sakurai's camp had previously denied reports of a fight with Sanchez.

[Zoom7000]

Man, it feels like ages since the last UFC. This one can't come soon enough. 1 at the start of July and then at the end of August, thats nearly 2 months!

Almost feels like Premiership football withdrawal symptoms!

[caster316]

Man, it feels like ages since the last UFC. This one can't come soon enough. 1 at the start of July and then at the end of August, thats nearly 2 months!

Yeah but on the bright side... we have a clump of UFC stuff bunched together now...

Aug. 25, 2007 - UFC 74

Sept. 8, 2007 - UFC 75

Sept. 19, 2007 - UFC Fight Night 11

Sept. 19, 2007 - The Ultimate Fighter 6 Debut

Sept. 22, 2007 - UFC 76

Here's the current UFC 74 card by the way...

MAIN CARD

* Champion Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (for heavyweight title)

* Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

* Patrick Cote vs. Kendall Grove

* Joe Stevenson vs. Kurt Pellegrino

* Alberto Crane vs. Roger Huerta

UNDERCARD

* David Heath vs. Renato ?Babalu? Sobral

* Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir

* Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida

* Ryan Jensen vs. Thales Leites

[Rappy Veteran]

I can't wait to see if Couture can defeat Gonzaga its gonna be tough but if there is any man that can do its Couture with his experience.

[Zoom7000]

I really wanna see Couture win. Purely for the basis of seeing who else in the HW Division he can beat, and also to see him potentially go up against the likes of Fedor.

It'll be really interesting to see if the UFC sign him and Couture loses the belt, if they have the guts to put Fedor against Couture for his debut match. Now that will be a superb draw.

Failing that, if they wanna give Fedor a walkover, put him in with Sylvia! :laugh:

[Rappy Veteran]

Fedor vs Gonzaga would be amazing...cut that big man down to size thats of course if he gets past Randy.

[caster316]

from article at http://www.tvweek.com/

Mr. White said plans are in the works to take the UFC series "Live Event" on a world tour, with four stops in the U.K. and additional stops in continental Europe, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Canada.

[Rappy Veteran]

That would be awesome if they could go round UK :)

[Rappy Veteran]

This weekend!!!

[Zoom7000]

About time too! Go Randy! Damn you Gonzaga! To think we could have been watching Randy vs CroCop this weekend!

Edited August 22, 2007 by Zoom7000

[Rappy Veteran]

No official word on whether or not he has signed, but Brock Lesnar is in Las Vegas for Saturday's UFC 74 "Respect." Lesnar is currently playing the outsider heel and several MMA insiders are buying it. At a press conference yesterday, Randy Couture said he would love the change to fight the former WWE champion.

Dana White commented on Lesnar yesterday saying: "I'm very interested in Brock Lesnar. I tried to talk to (his reps) a couple of years ago. They were on a different planet at the time. After fighting in the s*** show he fought in last time, maybe they're back down here on Earth where we can talk."

Randy vs Brock would be interesting.

[Rappy Veteran]

OMFG!!!

Randy does it again and its a shame Gabriel had his nose smashed so early on but Randy just shows again that he is the best and Fedor vs Randy anyone? :D

[caster316]

I have to stop betting against Randy, he's going to put me in the poor house... :blush:

[caster316]

[Rappy Veteran]

You know what Babalu is the biggest idiot ever and he was fined $50k for not letting go...the poor guy tapped but he should of let go.

[Christopher]

I just saw the Heath fight.

After that you have to lose some respect for Babalu.

On a side note, my boy Randy did well.

[rpl318]

This was an excellent PPV! Randy took care of business as usual. GSP did damn good as well.

[Zoom7000]

They just simply have to sign Fedor after that, if they don't though, I wanna see CroCop get a shot! How does Randy do it though! 44 years young and still going damn strong.

GSP sure is back in business, his title rematch should be a good one if he stays on form.

Roger Huerta was hillarious in his use of the big screen whilst Alberto Crane had his back. Crane was exhausted though, he could barely stand up come Round 3. I'm surprised to see that a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion couldn't stand the heat.

As for Babalu, I was glad to see the crowd giving him a good reception last night prior to his match, it was nice to see his 10 match unbeaten streak and 10 year reign in MMA appreciated. But then... what a fool he made of himself. Quite right for the crowd to boo him. I think he's blown the little chance he had of getting back up in the division with that bit of stupidity. As for the match though, the blood! I'm surprised Mazzagatti let it go on for so long!

Here's the UFC report on the matter:

?Babalu? Wins and Loses at the Same Time in UFC 74 Prelim Match

VEGAS ? Former light heavyweight title challenger Renato ?Babalu? Sobral broke a two fight losing streak in impressive fashion, grounding and pounding David Heath before submitting him in the second round of their UFC 74 preliminary bout at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, but his victory was marred by a classless display which saw the Brazilian keep a finishing hold locked on seconds after Heath tapped out and referee Steve Mazzagatti attempted to break the fighters to halt the bout.

?I just thought that I needed to teach him respect after he showed me so much disrespect,? said Sobral, who engaged in a heated weigh-in staredown with Heath on Friday and claimed the Oklahoma native had previously shouted an obscenity at him. ?I think that you can be fearless and tough and still maintain sportsmanship. He needed to be taught a lesson.?

Before the disappointing finish, Sobral (28-7) was sharp, shooting and taking Heath (9-2) down, and working his ground and pound game effectively as his opponent fired back punches and tried to force the fight back to a standing position. Eventually the two scrambled and switched position, but Sobral still got the better of the action as he looked to work his submissions from the bottom, with Heath landing the occasional haymaker.

?Babalu? stuck with the same ground and pound strategy in round two, opening up a nasty cut on Heath?s head with his relentless onslaught as the crowd chanted his nickname. Heath refused to give in though, doing just enough to stay in the fight and avoid the stoppage. But just as Heath seemed to find his opening to escape, Sobral locked in a choke that produced a tap out at the 3:30 mark.

Sobral will reportedly be fined half of his purse by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and may also face other disciplinary action.

[Rappy Veteran]

Roger Huerta was hillarious in his use of the big screen whilst Alberto Crane had his back. Crane was exhausted though, he could barely stand up come Round 3. I'm surprised to see that a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion couldn't stand the heat.

Yeah I loved that...he was full of energy as well Huerta it was mad but I thought Crane was just overwhelmed out there even tho he is a world champion of some sorts.

[caster316]

News:

"COUTURE BREAKS ARM

Even Superman feels it from time to time.

Following yet another feather-in-his-cap performance Saturday at UFC 74 in Las Vegas, real life superhero Randy Couture (16-8), was informed Sunday by doctors that he?d broken his arm during his third round TKO stoppage of Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2).

Couture, 44, sustained the injury Saturday blocking a Gonzaga right high kick with his left forearm, cleanly separating the ulna bone with a ?nightstick fracture,? a break common in law enforcement circles. The injury placed the UFC heavyweight champion?s arm in a splint for six weeks. The appendage will not need a cast."

Also:

Joe Stevenson breaks jaw during the course of his fight with Kurt Pellegrino.

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