UFC 100

[Dimmauk]

Why are people complementing Brock's stand-up like it's something worthy of praise?
Charge in > throw wild big punch > lands(?) > No > throw another wild big punch > lands(?)> Yes > hulk lesnar smash!!!
Hate Mir if you want but he isn't stupid, he'll take it to the ground and/or drag it out to submit him.

I'm guessing people equate what happend in his last two fights, and even his first fight with Mir, as having a better stand up. Mir's stand up is pretty good too, but Nog was like a walking punching bag in that last fight. Hell I bet even a punching bag could see punches coming better than Nog.

[Bikpik]

Is that not what strikers do? Throw hard punches and hope they connect? I mean correct me if I'm wrong and give me some examples if I'm so retarded. I've watched quite a few fights in the past year, but I ain't claimin no expert.

That's what strong, unskilled strikers do. Good strikers throw jabs and leg kicks, to set up bigger strikes. Brock is like a train, it sucks if you get hit by him, but he's easily avoidable.

Brock's only chance is to keep this fight on his feet, which is hard to do for a wrestler, and hope to land a lucky punch. Because if it goes to the ground again, he's tapping.

This isn't complementing Brock's stand-up, it's respect for Mir's ground-game.

[Chips]

That's what strong, unskilled strikers do. Good strikers throw jabs and leg kicks, to set up bigger strikes. Brock is like a train, it sucks if you get hit by him, but he's easily avoidable.

I think Mir, Heath and Randy would disagree with you. Each of them said they saw his punch coming, but his reach is so long that they didn't have time to get out of the way.

[Day]

Doesn't sound like it's easily avoidable then haha. I understand what you are saying guys, but I don't think hes swinging at the air or anything, when his punches land he hits what he was aiming for. I get the jabs and kicks thing though.

[Brill Weave]

It's not so much praising his stand up Hiro, as it is praising his power. Mir will beat him on the ground. But I don't think he can stand up to the power the Lesnar is going to bring into it should it turn into a stand up fight. So calm down and stop freaking out because people might have a different opinion than you do. And don't make fun of Day. Interactions like this scare him back into Spam.

[Day]

Watchyoself Brillweave, I ain't the one run away this time.

[Dimmauk]

Some fighter's will stick with what comes natural. Sure it would be good if Lesner could throw leg kicks, but I'm willing to bet it would be more of a weakness for him. His body is not built for speed, so that leg kick would equal and easy takedown attempt for his opponent.

[Brill Weave]

Get back in the hole Day!

[Baelorn]

Doesn't sound like it's easily avoidable then haha. I understand what you are saying guys, but I don't think hes swinging at the air or anything, when his punches land he hits what he was aiming for. I get the jabs and kicks thing though.

Lesnar had a ~61% connect rate in his first fight with Mir while Mir was at ~80%. I think most of Lesnar's successful hits were hammer-blows which are kind of hard to miss if you're inside the other guy's guard. His only TKO win was against Couture who, imo, just wasn't ready for that fight.

However, the Mir fans who are using the Nogueira fight as a testament to Mir's ability need a reality check. Nogueira was extremely sloppy that fight. His performance rating was 16% compared to his usual 75-80%. Still, Mir is a great fighter with consistent performances aside from the first few fights coming back after his accident. I definitely wouldn't write him off like a lot of people are.

[Dimmauk]

Lesnar, Mir share barbs, family pics

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports Jul 9, 1:24 am EDT


LAS VEGAS – Brock Lesnar was arriving for his scheduled media session to promote UFC 100. Frank Mir was just leaving his completed one.

That’s when the two ran into each other, just down the hall from where workers were assembling an eight-sided cage where they can beat each other’s brains and bend each other’s bones Saturday here at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Lesnar and Mir had spent the past few months taking shots at each other, each claiming he was the legitimate heavyweight champion and boasting about future domination.

Lesnar called Mir “a glorified Karate Kid.”

Mir mocked Lesnar’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills.

Lesnar, in a Spike TV interview, got so tired of watching a replay of Mir submitting him in their February 2008 fight, he stormed out and punched a door so hard it busted off its hinges.

Meanwhile, Mir moved on and decided to mock Lesnar’s coaches for not teaching the big guy basic defense.

“Yeah, I enjoy poking at the bear,” Mir laughed. “Keep poking at the bear.

“Maybe your opponent has a weak mind so maybe his coaches are keeping him away from you,” Mir continued, as subtle as a falling safe. “So maybe you screw with the coaches, maybe you say bad things about them, like they don’t know how to teach martial arts. Then they’re upset.”


Oh, Lesnar has screwed with Mir and Mir has screwed right back. It’s made for great sound bites, great television and mostly great hype leading up to this much-anticipated rematch.

There was Lesnar on Spike TV this week, claiming Mir benefitted in their first fight from a decision by referee Steve Mazzagatti. He half-jokingly accused them of sharing a hot tub together.

“I think [Mazzagatti’s] a cool guy, but I haven’t been in any hot tubs with him,” Mir laughed. He then noted that before the last fight, Mazzagatti had specifically warned against strikes to the head, which Lesnar was penalized for. So maybe Lesnar should’ve listened.

Undeterred, Lesnar claimed Mir grew up a nerd.

“That was a funny one,” Mir acknowledged. “I liked that one.”

“He had some good stuff,” Lesnar admitted. “I think mine were better.”

One of the reasons UFC president Dana White took a chance on Lesnar, a former champion in the scripted World Wrestling Entertainment, was that he could also bring a little bit of showmanship to the table.

Lesnar, 31, could sell a fight – in this case, the main event of a milestone card that is expected to produce a mixed martial arts record of more than 1.3 million pay-per-view buys.

“I worked for the circus,” Lesnar said of the WWE. “For me, [the back-and-forth insults] is a chance for me to let some personality out because I don’t do it a lot. I’m a private guy, but if I want to add a little salt and pepper on every once in awhile, that’s fine with me.”

The insults are not just showmanship, though. Lesnar is an undeniably intimidating dude, with little patience for anything.

Part of his mystique comes from his physique – a 6-foot-3, 265-pound mountain of a body. “I don’t exactly blend in with the crowd,” he joked.

The guy’s hands are so big, the UFC had to make him custom, triple XL-sized gloves. His shoulders look like they were cut from the trunk of a huge oak. His head is big and thick and sits sturdy on top of an oversized neck.

He lives deep in the Minnesota woods, where he lifts weights, drives around on tractors and emerges every so often to “get in a fight.” He abhors materialism and strives for simplicity. If it weren’t for hunting shows, he says he’d throw the family television out. If not a UFC star, he says he’d be a farmer.

He isn’t particularly jovial. On Wednesday, he was surrounded by lawyers and agents that take themselves way too seriously. He got shuffled about in a self-important manner that runs counter to the down-to-earth style of every other star in mixed martial arts. Everything around him seemed stressed.

Then to top it off, he’s liable to flash anger at any moment. He boasts that he has no respect for any opponent.

“I didn’t have any respect for Randy [Couture], I didn’t have any respect for Heath [Herring], I don’t have any respect for Frank,” he said. “There’s going to be a winner, there’s going to be a loser. As soon as you step in and have any respect for your opponent, I think you become the loser a hell of a lot sooner.”

No one knows what he’s going to do or if he can be contained. He’s the ultimate leading man for the UFC, with natural charisma to go along with his on-the-edge demeanor. Fans love him or hate him. They never ignore him. He knows that’s his role.

“There’s a lot of entertainment value to this stuff,” Lesnar said.

And that’s the complex side of him. He was in a pretty good mood Wednesday. He talked about how he’s “happy with my life.” He repeatedly spoke about his commitment to being a good husband and father.

He even laughed about the door he smashed off its hinges in his gym.

“You know, I just got done working out, I didn’t want to be there, I wanted to go home [and] eat,” he smiled. “I’m a sore loser. I don’t like to lose. To watch it over and over again was frustrating. I wanted the interview to be done. So I exited the building.”

He shrugged.

“It was just in the way and I was going through.”

He might as well laugh about it, because Mir already was. Perhaps Lesnar didn’t intimidate Couture or Hearing either, but he certainly won’t scare Mir. If part of Lesnar’s success comes from the psyche-out, he’ll have to win this one shorthanded.

Mir has reveled in giving it back to Lesnar, trying to turn the tables. And why not? He already survived two massive punches in the first fight, and while Mir certainly fell down, he notes that he was never so rattled that he stopped attempting submissions. Eventually he caught Lesnar in a knee bar. MMA is about mental strength, and that, he laughs, makes this a no contest.

Perhaps. Or perhaps he just hopes that idea gets inside Lesnar’s head.

If so, the first stare down of this contest was taking place at an unscheduled time and an unexpected place. The UFC had staggered the fighters’ interviews an hour apart to avoid just this type of meeting. There were no cameras around. Few people. This was real. The trash talk had been incessant and personal. You poke the bear and maybe the bear pokes back.

“Hey, Brock,” Mir said, extending a hand.

“Hey, Frank,” Lesnar said, shaking it.

They stopped, smiled and exchanged pleasantries. Mir’s wife, Jen, asked about Lesnar’s new baby boy. Lesnar returned the favor by asking about the Mirs’ 4-week old son. Jen produced a picture of the kids.

And just like that, so much for the animosity. The unsuspecting gym door was long forgotten. They’ll save the heat for the octagon on Saturday night.

Poke the Teddy Bear?

“That’s nice,” Lesnar said, looking gently at the Mir family picture he held in the huge hand that he plans on punching the patriarch of the clan with on Saturday. “That’s really nice.”

[Chips]

Lesnar had a ~61% connect rate in his first fight with Mir while Mir was at ~80%. I think most of Lesnar's successful hits were hammer-blows which are kind of hard to miss if you're inside the other guy's guard. His only TKO win was against Couture who, imo, just wasn't ready for that fight.

I just watched that fight again because I thought those statistics were wrong... And I'm positive they are. Mir did not throw a single punch that fight. He threw two round house kicks which both landed, but that was it. Brock's striking accuracy was undoubtedly less than Mir's, but due to the fact that he threw a ton more.

[Day]

That was a good read Dimm, I lol'd at the door being in his way, and then all that crazy tension in the final meeting... "Hi Brock", "Hi Frank" ... lmao.

[donnie]

yea i read that earlier, its all hype but deep inside each of every man there is always the animal that wants to win in a competition so that doesn't effect the outcome.

although its good to mention how bellator tournament effected fighters greed to win, its a very good model and makes fighters take more risks then taking the safe routes to decisions.

back to the topic though, There are very few good strikers in MMA because logically if your a REALLY good striker , it would be more wise for you to go into boxing where the money is. but thats doesnt dis-credit MMA because at the end of the day its both different sports.

[Baelorn]

I just watched that fight again because I thought those statistics were wrong... And I'm positive they are. Mir did not throw a single punch that fight. He threw two round house kicks which both landed, but that was it. Brock's striking accuracy was undoubtedly less than Mir's, but due to the fact that he threw a ton more.

You're right, I just took a quick glance at the report for the fight before I posted. After seeing your post though I looked up Lesnar's fight against Couture. Lesnar landed 27 of 38 strike attempts in that fight.The only fight where his accuracy was above average was against Herring I think. I haven't seen that fight though so I can't judge Herring's performance without guessing from looking at the stats.

It's hard to pin down how Lesnar will perform since he's had such a short career in the UFC.

[archibaldcrane]

Striking isn't just about punching.

[Blarg]

It's about kickfisting

[Blarg]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/13..._12_medium.png

for those who get it this was the highlight of the weigh in

[Gryffes]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/13..._12_medium.png

for those who get it this was the highlight of the weigh in

There were some other cool bits:


Lorenzo wearing Pride t-shirt.
Rogan doing his growl.
Sexyama reference
Keith Kizer commenting on the buffer 360 at the presser.


But yeah lawlor stole the show with that lol.

[donnie]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/13..._12_medium.png

for those who get it this was the highlight of the weigh in

to clear it for people that didnt get it:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...7460582101.gif

and LOL

[Blarg]

For even more clearing up, the original just bleed guy is from the audience of one of the original UFC shows and has a cult status on forums. There was a lot of talk about hoping for people in the 100 audience copying the just bleed guy to pay homage to the number 2 ufc legend (right behind jim cozad)

Bonus points for a guy smoking right behind any new just bleeders