Monday Miyama 16

Welcome to the Miyama! I am your Party Host David "Cage Kings was awesome" Snipes, and with me are Robert "X" Menn, Joao "Rubberguard" Pedro as well as Jason "Insert nickname here" Allen.

1) Do you think a cage or a ring is better for MMA?

Joao: I really do not have a preference between a cage and a ring, but here is my take on the advantages of both:

Cage: fighters do not get tangled up in the ropes, when near the sides of the ring, both standing and on the floor (no stoppages to move the fighters closer to the center of the ring). Also, there are specific tactics and allows for bigger ground 'n pound against the sides of the cage.

Ring: it is better for those who are watching it live at the arena/ stadium, greater visibility. The "ring" is perceived as a more civilized fighting environment than a "cage". There is less "running around" in a ring; if a fighter gets another trapped in the corner, then the trapped fighter has no choice but to engage his opponent (a great thing to put Kalib Starnes in).

Robert: Both have their advantages. My personal preference is the cage. You can't get caught up in the ropes in a cage and it looks cooler. The ring is probably better for in house fans though.

Jason: I like the cage better. I've seen people completely fall out of the ring in Japan. The fights have to be restarted in the middle of the ring if they go under the ropes. It just seems to me that the cage is much better suited to MMA. You don't have to worry about restarts. I also like the size of cage that the UFC uses. It allows fighters to move around a bit more.

David: I like the cage better- It seems to give more of a macho vibe- plus ground fighters can kick off the cage to gain position- you also have no chance of spilling out of a cage (unless you bust through the door)

2) How far does Kimbo have to go in TUF to be legit?

Joao: He has to win the entire thing. He also has to show the audience that he works hard in training and is no longer a brawler, a street fighter. With the extremely poor heavyweight talent season 10 has, I would say Kimbo actually has a great chance at winning it all and getting a UFC contract. After all the things Dana White has said about him...

Robert: I don't think that far. I mean, what is legit? He only has 4 fights under his belt and he's not Brock Lesnar. And it depends on who he fights. What if he KOs Roy Nelson? Then that is a "real" win and should be enough.

Jason: I don't think he has to win it, but I do think he has to show some improvement. I think it he makes it to the finals whether he wins it or not he will be fighting in the UFC after TUF. Then again, the UFC has brought in fighters that haven't made the TUF finals too. If people watching the show like him and are interested in him, then they will bring him back.

David: I don't think he has to do much, He needs to impress his coach- the more Rampage/Rashad likes him and he learns- the better off he will be, I cannot see Dana at least putting him on the Finale- so he is an automatic to get an offical UFC Debut- problem is what next- If he loses (even badly) on the show- then gets beaten again on the finale, he's done and won't be NEAR the main card on any show with a seating capacity over 2K unless he's fighting Butterbean in Japan. If Kimbo works hard- impresses his coach- he can easily end up in one of the two best camps in the world- and then who knows how far he could go?

3) How good can UFC 101 be?

Joao: Look, the star power is not a big as the one in UFC 100. But there are some fights there that can realistically be more exciting than what we had at UFC 100. Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin promises to be a great fight. BJ Penn and Ken-Flo should be interesting too. And then I don't think guys such as Amir Sadollah and "Batman" Pellegrino can ever be boring fighters. The undercard also has some interesting fights. It should be good.

Robert: I would say great. In some ways I was looking forward to 101 over 100. Forrest/Silva is a hell of a matchup. I would say more interesting than anything that 100 brought to the table. Add BJ Penn vs Florian and you got yourself a fantastic show.

Jason: Am I excited about the upcoming UFC? Not really. There are some interesting fights. I think the Silva-Forrest matchup will have fireworks in it. Forrest is going to bring the fight to Silva before getting dropped. I also believe the BJ-Kenny fight will be exciting. The only other fight that I am really looking forward to is the Almeida - Grove fight. Other than that I think the card is pretty average.

David: This is a two fight show- Amir being third from the top is dang near sad- especially with a guy who was almost cut in Kendall Grove and Josh Neer on the main card (and who did Thales Leites piss off? Did he park in Joe Silva's spot at UFC HQ?) It would be better with Brandon Vera and Matt Hamill as intended but UFC 100 just gutted the Upper Mid-card for now. If Anderson or Forrest breaks an ankle the day of the fight-this could go down as the worst on-paper card in UFC history.

4) Cro-Cop is back in the UFC- thoughts?

Joao: The UFC really wants Cro Cop onboard. The Fertittas are fans of his. Cro Cop, right now, looks old and slow, that is the main issue. Can he get back into fighting shape and knock some guys out? It is tough to tell. The UFC's Heavyweight division needs some names, and having Cro Cop fighting at least 2 more times cannot be a bad thing.
Is he going to make a serious title run? Highly doubtful.

Robert: I don't care all that much. I guess he's a decent addition to the class but he's not the fighter he was when he first arrived in the UFC. War Kimbo KOing CroCop.

Jason: It really doesn't do a whole lot for me. While he beat Al Turk handily and would have won regardless of that eye poke Al Turk isn't a great fighter. Although in the UFC's Hw division another couple of wins gives him a shot at the title. Of course he has a chance to KO Lesner with his 1 punch or 1 kick KO power, but I don't think it would happen. I think he would find himself in the same position Mir did. On his back eating those monster fists.

David: In the UFC Heavyweight rankings that should be out later this week, Cro-Cop might have a hard time legitimately claiming a top 7 spot to me. He's almost like the heavyweight Jens Pulver at this point.

5) Who do you think will be the next UFC title holder to fall?

Joao: Let us look at the calendar. UFC 101, BJ Penn probably beats Kenny Florian. UFC 104, Machida probably beats Shogun. GSP probably beats Kampmann or Swick. When will Anderson Silva defend against Demian Maia or Dan Henderson? When will Lesnar defend against Shane Carwin or Cain?

Too many questions marks on the calendar. I am going with Lesnar losing to Shane Carwin.

Robert: I guess, based on history of the belt, it would be Lyoto. No one seems to defend that belt lately. But based on his skill, Lyoto keeps that belt until Anderson Silva decides to take it. So....I don't really know who will lose. My guess would be BJ Penn. You just don't know which BJ gets into the cage.

Jason: This is a really tough question. All of the title holders have looked dominant in their divisions. I'm going to say Penn. I think Kenny takes the title from him. I think he has the skills to negate BJ's skills. I also don't think BJ is as mentally strong right now as he usually is. Now, I could be completely wrong and he could come out with vengeance and destroy Kenny, but I don't see any of the other title holders losing their belts anytime soon.

David: I got Penn, I think Ken-Flo is ready, and even if he gets past Ken, there are a TON of fighters that could take that belt. Lyoto and GSP will NEVER show up unprepared and Anderson is just good enough to win, and has a chin that can withstand a mistake, and Brock has the size to overcome the vets and the power to beat the young'uns.

6) If you could book one match for UFC 110 (meaning anyone on the UFC Roster is avail) who would you headline? (from the mailbag)

Joao: I personally am not eager on seeing the fight, but most of the fans seem to want GSP and Anderson Silva going at it.
My personal choice would be Lyoto Machida versus Rampage Jackson. I think it has fireworks written all over it. If Machida beats Shogun and Rampage gets past Rashad, this is the fight that happens next, a fight that can easily headline any UFC event.

Robert: This is a tough question. I'd like to see many fights.
Most are probably going to say Anderson Silva vs GSP, but Anderson will crush him. Id rather see a competitive fight. My pick...Rich Franklin vs Rampage Jackson. I'm pretty sure Rampage will beat Rashad and Rich will beat his next 205 opponent. Then Lyoto defends, setting up my pick. Now the odds of this fight happening by 110 is highly unlikely. I'd just want to see it.

Jason: GSP VS Silva - Everyone wants to see this fight and it would give GSP just about the year he wants to put on the extra weight to fight Silva.

David: Forrest vs Chuck, Chuck wants a goodbye fight and Forrest is a game opponent for anyone- and this fight could be a headline event in the Silversdome and sellout. Do I really need to defend this pick?

Got a better fight idea? Send them in!

Submitted 7/20/2009

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