I know what you mean. I thought that he may have won the fight with a submission if Tim had made a mistake, but he completely dominated him. From the first punch that put him on his butt to the final of the bout. Randy is the man.
That's not saying much PRFRMNJ. Look at their heavyweight roster, they only had 3-4 fighters under contract and the rest were just on a fight by fight basis. It's the weakest division in the entire UFC. If the UFC and Pride Fighting was a joint organization and Tim Sylvia was the champion, then he'd be impressive. But his title reign was very weak over a bunch of nobodies and losers with the exception of the weak chinned Arlovski who likewise was a poor champion with his title defenses over Buentello and Eilers. Not to mention Arlovski was notorious for getting KO'd by 1 punch against many different opponents throughout his career. It says something about your skills and abilities as a fighter if you get beaten at your own game(striking) against a man half your size who's 43 and not even a top level striker. I hate to think what real fighters like CroCop and Fedor would've done to Tim Sylvia.
Ranjeet - I'm not disagreing with you! It is the weakest division, but for a 220 pounder 43 year old to dominate what looked to be a much more stronger opponent. All I'm saying is that you can't take away from what Randy has accomplished. That's like saying the the Heavyweight division in boxing is weak and that a lightheavyweight coming in and dominating means nothing. In boxing giving up 10 pounds is out of the question, so when considering he was giving up over 40 pounds to someone who couldn't do much with it, then you've got to give him credit for what he did.
Absolutely I give him credit for the win. Couture has been my favourite fighter for the past 7 years. When he landed that first punch in the opening round and dropped Tim Sylvia on his butt, I jumped out of my chair and fell to the ground in shock! We were going nuts! It wasn't expected that Couture would win, I wasn't expecting it either. I figured he would get jabbed to death and the fight would go the distance with Tim retaining his title. But Couture put on a great display of skills. Not only on the ground but on his feet. He was bobbing and weaving and landing almost every big punch he threw. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks? LOL! Yeah right! Couture is something else! I really hope he can retain his title against CroCop. It won't be easy at all since CroCop legitimately is worlds better than Sylvia. But who can doubt Couture? He's a beast!
I'm not betting against him! I know I wanted him to win, but did not imagine for one second he would dominate the way he did... CroCop is a different animal. I want to see the fight, but yet I would rather see Randy retire as a champ. I think he could get seriously hurt in that fight.
Randy is a fave of mine as well. But one of his big problems is that he stays in his opponent's guard and just punches. That's typically a wrestler's style, but it does get to be a problem if his opponent has long limbs and knows how to use them. I'm sure if Randy were to pass Sylvia's guard, take side mount and work from there then he probably would have gotten a submission. Now Crocop presents much more of a challange because he'd difficult to take down and he loves to strike during a take-down attempt. I might be betting my life away but if Randy could shoot in quick and take Crocop the to mat then he might be able to win. There's also a question of conditioning - I think Crocop might have the advantage there. Either way, it's going to be one hell of a fight!
CroCop is slated to fight Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 in England, Fedor is slated to fight Matt 'The Law' Lindland at Bodog in Russia. I don't think Couture is planning on retiring anytime soon. During his eary reign, the UFC was still growing. Today, they're paying their top fighters in the millions including a cut of PPV revenue and gate. Liddell and Ortiz made over $3 million each for their fight, CroCop just signed a 6 fight deal in the 8 figure range. I think Couture just loves fighting and feels as long as he's fit and healthy, then there's no reason to retire. Plus the money they're paying him now is just too good to pass up.
Well Randy himself has stated during his stint on Pros vs Joes that, despite his tremendous wrestling credentials, submission isn't a focus of his. So he's more likely to try to pound you instead of applying a kneebar or armbar. He had several opportunites to make an attempt at Sylvia's leg, I'm pretty sure if Josh Barnett had been in Randy's position, he would've gone for a submission. Either way, Randy did his job and we can look ahead. As for CroCop, I don't think he has any fear of fighting off the mat. He trained in Ju JitSu with Fabricio Werdum and his ground game has evolved considerbly. Even Fedor wasn't able to truly penetrate CroCop's defense while in CroCop's guard.
Too bad Tank Abbott wasn't young and in shape again. Remember the Abbott-Taktarov fight? I know that abbott had near-zero skill but he was super strong, aggressive, and had an attitude that just made you laugh. I'd have loved to see him go after Sylvia. One crappy fighter against another.
Speaking of Tank, he still has some dreaded 1 punch power. Did you see what he did to Cabbage Correira in their 2nd fight? 1 shot to the jaw and Cabbage was completely out. And Cabbage is a tough chinned fighter. I feel if Tank had landed that big shot to Sylvia in the first round the way Randy did, Sylvia might still be out right now.
I bench press 500 lbs (well that's if you add up every time I push 245 lbs) LOL 245 X 12 reps. Damn I'm stronger then him! LOL.... Yeah right! He is an animal... That's animal strenght.
Last October Paul Buentello knocked Tank out in the first round! Just a matter of who lands the hard punch first. The year before, Buentello lost to Arlovski.
Cro Cop didn't look too impressive to me during his ufc debut. I've seen him much sharper. Looks like he's just here for a vacation! I think if all things were equal with his last fight against Barnett, Josh would've had a great shot to win. If Couture can get inside before getting kicked by either of Cro Cop's legs, he might have a chance.
