Griffin vs Rampage..is such a bigger money maker, and it will put two exciting fighters against each other..

and imo , Forrest belongs with the top guys where Rashad doesn’t

i still dont think forrest is ready for jackson… but i thought he would of lost against sho gun… so what do i know

Either way….neither really have a chance…maybe a punchers chance…maybe. We have a very unrealistic top 5 at 205 because of some upsets,a draw, and one really really really bad main event this past saturday

Exactly right ! Not once could anyone actually believe that the winner of the Evans – Bisping fight would actually fight Quinton Jackson for the title. If you really thought that, you just don’t know MMA regardless of any report.

Forrest Griffen defeated a much more well rounded and tougher opponent in Shogun than Evans did in Bisping. Not to mention it was a lackluster split and not main event worthy.

As I see it :

Champion – Quinton Jackson

# 1 contender – Forrest Griffen
# 2 contender – Chuck Liddel (split loss to Jardine or not)
# 3 contender – Keith Jardine (no personality, unmarketable)
# 4 contender – Shogun Rua
# 5 contender – Wanderlei Silva

I should note that since Dan Henderson is not slated to fight Anderson Silca at 185 lbs. I do not include him in the 205 lb. ranks.

I cant believe this is even being debated… Rashad and bisbing are sorry 205′ers, Forest Griffan ABSOLUTLY deserves a titel shot, I mean CMON, first of all everyone doubted him during the Shogun fight, everyone doubted him during the Tito fight, yet he managed to pull through both fights. Not to mention he submitted shogun whom had NEVER been submited before…

UFC 82:
Main Event:
Forrest v. Rampage

Under Card:
Hendo v. Silva (middleweight)
? v ?
? v ?
etc…

I give Griffin a much better chance then people think because, I think Rampage would brawl with him and when two guys brawl usually the guy with more heart wins…but anyway

Machida is the only one I believe with three straight wins , and hasn’t lost a round in the Ufc ..I can understand not wanting to give him a title shot just yet cause of only one main card apparence but he is def ranked above most of the guys imo, and should get a title shot if he beats the Sukodudjio

terrible main event, bisping is an exciting fighter, he is really well rounded but rashad he sucks all he does is take down – do nothing when he is down there – opponent gets up – repeat step 1 – ever since he beat brad imes in tuf he has been put forward as this great striker ( bs man ) rashad will be forgotten pretty soon i reckon

Ahhh im torn,

two of my favorite fighters are
Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin

im gonna be soo torn, i dont wanna see Forrest get jacked all night =(

on a totally unrelated matter, one of my buddies was saying to me last nite that Matt hughes is a steroid freak, its just that he is clever about it and stops coming up to fights so his systme is clean, he is taking drugs that are harder to detect – supposedly guys from his camp confirmed – is this just bs or do you think there is any truth in it ?

[quote comment="213348"]on a totally unrelated matter, one of my buddies was saying to me last nite that Matt hughes is a steroid freak, its just that he is clever about it and stops coming up to fights so his systme is clean, he is taking drugs that are harder to detect – supposedly guys from his camp confirmed – is this just bs or do you think there is any truth in it ?[/quote]
.. i cant back it up…. but i can say he was best friends with sean sherk…LMAO

I’d like to see where Tito weighs in after his back surgery. I really think that was his biggest problem to date. He comes out dominating every first round he’s in and then his back gives out and makes him look like he’s gassing but with his cardio – there’s no way he’s gassing at the beginning of all his second rounds. Tito is… well… “Tito” so you either love him or hate him but against someone like Rampage I think he has a better shot that with someone like Chuck.

I think everyones taken too much from the Shogun fight.

Shogun was woefully out of shape and looked a bit like a rabbit in the headlights. He is a class act and will come back from it tho.

I really like Griffin (who doesn’t) but i recon Rampage would destroy him, too strong too good of a striker. Griffin would just walk into a big right.

forrest is the fight i want to see, i do not like rashad, he’s not even a top 8 lhw in my opinion, he’s boring and gets too much help from the judges in his fights, i say put rashad in there with houston alexander and let him get knocked out like his boy jardine

Forrest deserves a title shot more than anyone in the UFC right now, but I think he’d lose for sure. next in line should be wandy if he gets passed chuck (which he will), or machida if he gets passed sokouju (which he will too)

how boring was that main event?? It seems like both those fighters have very little punching power. After a 15 minute fight I saw only a handful of heavy, heavy shots, where guys like, Rampage, Chuck, Jardine, Forrest hit a lot more heavier. Both Evans and Bisping belong in 185 where the spider will eat them alive.

Evans doesn’t deserve a title shot, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Evans go against Rampage. I would love to see Evans get destoyed. I don’t think Griffin deserves a title shot either. Griffin against Evans makes more sense to me. If Wanderlei wins his fight against Chuck he should get the title shot. Wanderlei worked Rampage twice. Dana has been giving the top tier Pride guys title shots after one fight, so why not Wanderlei. The 205 division is deep, but I can’t think of anyone that deserves a title shot at this point.

How about Thiago Silva? They need to put this guy against some top tier guys. He’s 12 – 0 and he’s won four fights in 2007. He hasn’t really beaten anyone notable.

Rashad needs more notable wins than a split decision over Bisping and head-kicking Sean Flopping Fish before he even gets mentioned among the contenders for the 205 title. A Rampage-Forrest brawl would be great but would probably not last 25 minutes.

Here is how I see this light-heavyweight title hunt.

Rampage Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin.

Here is the list after that.

3.) Keith Jardine (Holds victories over Forrest and Chuck)
4.) Wanderlei Silva
5.) Rashad Evans
6.) Shogun Rua
7.) The African Assassain
8.) Chuck Liddell
9.) Tito Ortiz
10.) Lyoto Machida
11.) Thiago Silva
12.) Michael Bisping
13.) Wilson Gouevia
14.) Stephan Bonnar
15.) Jason Lambert
16.) Houston Alexander

IT feels like I am missing somebody… but oh well.

This kind of feels like the NCAA polls, just crazy.

[quote comment="213324"]Griffin vs Rampage..is such a bigger money maker, and it will put two exciting fighters against each other..

and imo , Forrest belongs with the top guys where Rashad doesn’t[/quote]

I completely agree!

A win over Bisping is nothing compared to a win over Shogun.

Forrest and Rampage are both healing right now, and will be ready to go in ‘08, but WHEN in ‘08? Who will healthy to fight first, Rampage or Forrest? If Forrest is cleared to fight months before Rampage, they can have a Forrest/Rashad #1 contender fight if they’d like, but I don’t think Rashad is ready for a #1 contender fight.

If Wandy beats Chuck, he should get an instant title shot, no matter what.

Agree with MikeV, if Wandy KOs Chuck or beats him in an entertaining way, not a split decision, he should get an instant shot at Rampage, and that won’t happen till May, memorial day weekend, and vice versa, if Chuck destroys Silva, he should fight Forrest in March, and winner gets Rampage. Also Soko or Machida might earn a title shot as well.

rashad is a shit fighter all he relied on against bisping was taking him down to get his breath back i thought bisping did great to get back up everytime people need to give him a chance , he likes to stand up were he shud be put against another opponent for example alexander

How about Randy Couture? No heavyweight fight makes sense for him, he could drop down and be the first in the ufc to hold to belts at the same time.

[quote comment="213348"]on a totally unrelated matter, one of my buddies was saying to me last nite that Matt hughes is a steroid freak, its just that he is clever about it and stops coming up to fights so his systme is clean, he is taking drugs that are harder to detect – supposedly guys from his camp confirmed – is this just bs or do you think there is any truth in it ?[/quote]

No personal knowledge on the matter, but from my impressions of Matt on TUF, if he is taking steroids we would have to call him the Juan Rincon of MMA, to relate this to other steroid happenings in sports. He definately doesn’t look like a ‘roid freak. How many people would have thought some of the 1st Baseball players to get busted in the new steroid testing era would be 5′8″ 185# pudgy relief pitchers with 88 mph fastballs (which suddenly turn to 96mph gas overnight). If THESE guys are taking it and are willing to risk EXTREMELY lucrative careers in baseball, why should anyone be suprised by any athlete at all taking ‘roids. I mean, the proof is in the pudding so to speak. The stuff works, but at a very large cost. If you can take steroids and improve your game without getting caught, why wouldn’t you…I know why I wouldn’t, honor….To me, if you know you are cheating how can you look at yourself in the mirror and say I AM THE BEST??? There is no honor in cheating. Example…Joe Schmoe…”I was champ for 5 years, defended my belt 10 times, BUT I took steroids, I will die young” Jon Doe….”I worked my ass off, got a title shot, did it the right way. Joe Schmoe beat me because he was better (or was it the steroids?), oh well, I tried my best, now on to the rest of my long life” The way I see it is that if these guys want to take steroids let them. They are professional trained athletes trying to entertain us. They are mortgaging the rest of their lives for 15 minutes of fame, its their choice. I know people will say “What kind of message is that to send to our kids?” Well if the only message the kids are getting is if you take steroids you will win, then our society is completely flawed and is doomed to fail because we have no clue how to teach our children right from wrong. Yes, athletes are very visible and are often idolized by kids, but the last time I checked we as parents actually raise our children and are supposed to protect them and teach them right from wrong. There will ALWAYS be cheaters, on one level or another, but cheating diminishes honor as morality is thrown out the window. Jon Doe is 80 years old and can tell grand stories about when he was in his 20’s and 30’s, about his shot at the title and the journey towards that shot, grandchildren and great grandchildren sitting around listening to every word. Joe Schmoe is 50 years old, on his death bed, wishing he had just a couple more minutes to spend with his family, wishing that when he was in his 20’s and 30’s he hadn’t mortgaged 30 solid years of his life to hold a tainted belt, wishing he had lived long enough to even have grandchildren.
So to paraphrase…If Matt Hughes does steroids, let him, there is ultimately only 1 judge that matters, and being omnipitent is that judge’s specialty.

I hope that Forrest is a huge underdog again so I can make some money off of this fight.

Don’t underestimate Couture’s gameplanning and Forrest’s abilities.

I’m for Forrest all the way, he’s been my favorite fighter for 3 yrs or so, since ultimate fighter and I have never doubted his improving skills and ability and his conditioning is example.
So I’m going for Forrest and I think he has what it takes to win.

I believe that Forrest is still one fight out. He is not ready for Rampage who is the most well-rounded LHW in my opinion.

Rampage has powerful strikes, (ask Chuck) solid chin, (ask anyone he has fought) and the best wrestling ability of anyone in that division (ask Hendo). Gameplan all you want but Rampages camp gameplans very well also, Couture hasn’t cornered the market on gameplanning.

Also, Forrest cuts to easily and with a big strong guy like Rampage who hits hard and can throw elbows from top position, that doesn’t favor Forrest at all.

The only way Forrest can win is if A) punchers chance or B) Rampage reverts back to his old lazy form in the gym, something that Griffin would never do with Couture as his coach.

nick j – Shogun was injured and lost. Forrest was injured and won. So if you want to be all about injuries and newness to the UFC: injury cancels injury. As far as newness, the guy’s a veteran of MMA. You can’t blame it all on newness. He was out-classed that night. Forrest was the better fighter. It’s not a permanent state for either of them, but please don’t make excuses for Shogun. You don’t hear him making excuses.

TheSaint – Disagree. Forrest wasn’t “ready” for Shogun by most accounts. Jardine wasn’t “ready” for Liddell (in fact, I don’t remember one pundit who called it for Jardine). I’m not saying I think Forrest will win, but I don’t count him out. I’d put it at about 40% Forrest, 60% Rampage. Closing a 20% difference is massive, and I don’t see Forrest winning. But then again, he’s in Couture’s camp. Never know.

I think you are all missing the point. Dana White tried to sell Bisping-Evans as “the winner gets a title shot.” If I am not mistaken, he even said it this saturday and now he is back tracking. Hmmmmmm, saying anything to sell a fight, kind of reminds me someone, oh yeah, Don King (he did boxing great).
Anyways, it was a s*%t main event and it should have been a UFC Fight Night card. I want my $40 back.

Blake Bowman needs to put on a couple of pounds and hand Rampage a sound defeating.

just kidding,,

[quote comment="213500"]I think you are all missing the point. Dana White tried to sell Bisping-Evans as “the winner gets a title shot.” If I am not mistaken, he even said it this saturday and now he is back tracking. Hmmmmmm, saying anything to sell a fight, kind of reminds me someone, oh yeah, Don King (he did boxing great).
Anyways, it was a s*%t main event and it should have been a UFC Fight Night card. I want my $40 back.[/quote]

After the performance of Rashad against Bisbing I dont blame Dana for back tracking. Even after weeks of intensive training Rashad looks gassed in all his fights. Even during the TUF series he looked gassed and that doesnt make for an entertaining fight.

The card wasnt worth $40 imo but I didnt pay for it anyway so I’ll shutup

if forrest vs rampage happens im going with forrest. i think he needs another fight or 2 but he has a good chance if he can stop the takedowns and slams but page is powerful and could overwelm forrest. forrest has looked much better in his last 2 fights but that wasnt an inshape shogun either but a wins a win. if forrest can gain some more muscle and still make weight he has a great chance. is he still training with randy?

i still cant believe the LHW division has come down to forrest as a number 1 contender. i look at rampage as just the next tito. nothing special just good enough for now. its hard to believe he is the best 205′er when i watched him get destroyed by wandy and shogun a couple years back.

Forrest is supposedly a heavyweight…reported to be walking around at like 230-245 wheras Rampage walks around about 225 give or take a FEW pounds, Forrest is 6′3 with the definate reach advantage something like 75 or 76″ reach? I would give Forrest a good shot at winning, although I would expect Rampage to win as he is a tough dude, but Forrest could pull it off. I would love to see this fight, only thing that stick in my mind is Forrest’s loss to Jardine, but Forrest/Rampage is more marketabel than Jardine/Rampage…..Machida should get the shot if we are going by records though….but doesnt look like the UFC plays the game that way.

[quote comment="213337"]I cant believe this is even being debated… Rashad and bisbing are sorry 205′ers, Forest Griffan ABSOLUTLY deserves a titel shot, I mean CMON, first of all everyone doubted him during the Shogun fight, everyone doubted him during the Tito fight, yet he managed to pull through both fights. Not to mention he submitted shogun whom had NEVER been submited before…

UFC 82:
Main Event:
Forrest v. Rampage

Under Card:
Hendo v. Silva (middleweight)
? v ?
? v ?
etc…[/quote]

Those two fights alone are worth my 50 dollars

[quote comment="213392"]Here is how I see this light-heavyweight title hunt.

Rampage Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin.

Here is the list after that.

3.) Keith Jardine (Holds victories over Forrest and Chuck)
4.) Wanderlei Silva
5.) Rashad Evans
6.) Shogun Rua
7.) The African Assassain
8.) Chuck Liddell
9.) Tito Ortiz
10.) Lyoto Machida
11.) Thiago Silva
12.) Michael Bisping
13.) Wilson Gouevia
14.) Stephan Bonnar
15.) Jason Lambert
16.) Houston Alexander

IT feels like I am missing somebody… but oh well.

This kind of feels like the NCAA polls, just crazy.[/quote]

Hendo again? He wasn’t destroyed. If he fights/beats Anderson Silva maybe he’ll try to win both belts in the UFC?

[quote comment="213432"]I hope that Forrest is a huge underdog again so I can make some money off of this fight.

Don’t underestimate Couture’s gameplanning and Forrest’s abilities.[/quote]

I don’t know about huge underdog, but he would no doubt be the underdog again..something like 190

I agree, after seeing Rashad Saturday, he doesnt even seem to stand a remote chance against Rampage.

Light Heavyweight Rankings (No MMAth b/c it doesnt work!!!)

1-Rampage
2-Forrest Griffin
3-Winner of SOKO vs Machida
4-Winner Of Liddell vs Wandy
5-Jardine
6-Loser of SOKO vs Machida
7-Loser of Liddell vs Wandy
8-Shogun
9-Tito
10-Rashad
11-Thiago Silva
12-Bisping
13-Houston Alexander
14-Stephan Bonnar
15-Matt Hamill

i don’t think forrest is ready for jackson. After Wanderlei beats Liddell he should get a title shot (he dominated Jackson twice in Pride)

UFC 79 will make next oponent for Rampage, Liddell, Silva, Machida or Soku, all depends how each of them perform.

I think Forrest could beat Rampage for a few reasons.
-Forrest is probably the biggest LHW in the division
-Forrest’s cardio is among the best in the division
-Rampage has had an injured left hand for a while, so if Forrest can avoid his right, he should be ok on his feet.
-Both have tremendous heart and can take a lot of punishment, but I think that Forrest would come prepared and could slowly but surely outstrike Rampage.

However:
-Rampage is strong as shit
-Rampage may have the best chin in the division
-Rampage is a great wrestler and could overwhelm Forrest

Basically, Rampage is Tito Ortiz except stronger and better on his feet, but he is not relentless as Tito. Judging from Forrest’s fight with Tito, it would seem that he would not fair much better against Rampage, but we need to remember that it would be 5 rounds instead of 3, and Forrest can make enough of a difference in the later rounds to pull this one off.

LHW Rankings:
1.Rampage
2.Forrest
3.Jardine
4.Liddell
5.Henderson
6.Wanderlei
7.Tito
8.Shogun
9.Machida
10.Rashad
11.Thiago Silva
12.Bisping and Hamill (tied)

Sound legit to you guys?

I think Rashad needs to go train with Couture. They have similar skills sets but obviously on different levels. I think Couture could groom Rashad really well into the same type of fighter that he is. No offence to Jackson but he’s not getting the most out of Rashad. The demands that Couture would put on Rashad would force him to excel to the next level.

I would put Wanderlei and Chuck at the top of the list. I know they are both on losing steaks, but both have proven themselves and no one else is worthy of a title shot. Forrest is going to be on the shelf for a while with the injury. If Wanderlei wins against Chuck he gets a title shot. If Chuck wins, he needs to fight Forrest or Shogun to get another crack at Rampage. The wild-cards in this division are Soko and Thiago Silva. Both have looked very impressive but need to prove themselves to be legit. Soko has beaten two very good LHW and with a win over Machida, would have three top tier wins. Might be worthy of a shot at Rampage with win over Machida. Silva needs two more fights agains top tier competition. Shogun and Henderson are coming off losses and have had recent title shots. Jardine got destroyed by Alexander and needs to atone for that by getting a couple more wins. Machida could move up the ladder quickly with a win over Soko and another quality win. Evans, Hamill and Bisping are on the outside looking in.

LHW Rankings:
1.Rampage
2.Wanderlei
3.Liddell
4.Forrest
5.Soko
6.Shogun
7.Henderson
8.Tito
9.Jardine
10.Machida
11.Thiago Silva
12.Rashad
13.Bisping
14.Hamill

[quote comment="213454"]I believe that Forrest is still one fight out. He is not ready for Rampage who is the most well-rounded LHW in my opinion.

Rampage has powerful strikes, (ask Chuck) solid chin, (ask anyone he has fought) and the best wrestling ability of anyone in that division (ask Hendo). Gameplan all you want but Rampages camp gameplans very well also, Couture hasn’t cornered the market on gameplanning.

Also, Forrest cuts to easily and with a big strong guy like Rampage who hits hard and can throw elbows from top position, that doesn’t favor Forrest at all.

The only way Forrest can win is if A) punchers chance or B) Rampage reverts back to his old lazy form in the gym, something that Griffin would never do with Couture as his coach.[/quote]

solid chin yes but he has been knocked out at least three times, best wrestler no, and has been submitted.

huge fan of rampage but i think the way forrest is wired in the head it could be a lot closer than alot of people think..i pray they fight in ohio..i already got my $ saved. I just doubt Dana would put Spyder vs Hendo & Rampage vs anyone especially forrest on the same card if it isnt in vegas

lhw division

1 rampage(he got the belt)
2 hendo(might be fighting mw but will be back to lhw after)
3 shogun(lost to forrest but not at his best)
4 winner of vandy vs liddel(lost to crocop h.w. and hendo but should still be tough for anyone to beat, chuck can still knock out anyone got caught by rampage lose to jardine flouk)
5 forrest
6 winner of machida vs african asassain
7 loser of vandy vs chuck(even with another lose these two are better than most)
8 jardine (not overly impressed by him good fighter though)
9 silva (still has some thing to prove)
10 tito (can still beet alot of people in the division)

other notables arona,lil nog,evans

i put them according to who i thoght was the best not to there win lose record in the ufc

In my opinion, it would be perfect if the winner of Machida – Soko fought the winner of Griffin – Jardine rematch for number one contender. That would be awesome

Machida is very under rated. I think he could beat any LHW right now. Not saying he will destroy everybody but he definetly has a good shot against anyone. He represents a “bad match up” stylisticaly for a lot of fighters

[quote comment="213647"]lhw division

1 rampage(he got the belt)
2 hendo(might be fighting mw but will be back to lhw after)
3 shogun(lost to forrest but not at his best)
4 winner of vandy vs liddel(lost to crocop h.w. and hendo but should still be tough for anyone to beat, chuck can still knock out anyone got caught by rampage lose to jardine flouk)
5 forrest
6 winner of machida vs african asassain
7 loser of vandy vs chuck(even with another lose these two are better than most)
8 jardine (not overly impressed by him good fighter though)
9 silva (still has some thing to prove)
10 tito (can still beet alot of people in the division)

other notables arona,lil nog,evans

i put them according to who i thoght was the best not to there win lose record in the ufc[/quote]
#9 is thiago silva

[quote comment="213402"][quote comment="213324"]Griffin vs Rampage..is such a bigger money maker, and it will put two exciting fighters against each other..

and imo , Forrest belongs with the top guys where Rashad doesn’t[/quote]

I completely agree!

A win over Bisping is nothing compared to a win over Shogun.

Forrest and Rampage are both healing right now, and will be ready to go in ‘08, but WHEN in ‘08? Who will healthy to fight first, Rampage or Forrest? If Forrest is cleared to fight months before Rampage, they can have a Forrest/Rashad #1 contender fight if they’d like, but I don’t think Rashad is ready for a #1 contender fight.

If Wandy beats Chuck, he should get an instant title shot, no matter what.[/quote]

I agree with that statement. If wanderlei beats chuck, he should automatically be Rampage’s next opponent, even before Forrest. Wanderlei holds 2 wins over Rampage and Rampage is dying to fight wanderlei and everyone who has beaten him in the past. Dana let chuck rematch everyone that beat him, so he should give Rampage the rematches he wants, especially since he isnt asking to rematch dudes like Jermy Horn, Rampage wants to rematch animals like shogun and wanderlei. I think with a win over Liddell, wandy should be next in line for Rampage.

Rampage looked healthy to me. Neither of his hands looked wrapped up bit it did seem like his left hand was a little swollen around the knuckles. I hope to see him fight again by march against wanderlei.

[quote comment="213559"][quote comment="213392"]Here is how I see this light-heavyweight title hunt.

Rampage Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin.

Here is the list after that.

3.) Keith Jardine (Holds victories over Forrest and Chuck)
4.) Wanderlei Silva
5.) Rashad Evans
6.) Shogun Rua
7.) The African Assassain
8.) Chuck Liddell
9.) Tito Ortiz
10.) Lyoto Machida
11.) Thiago Silva
12.) Michael Bisping
13.) Wilson Gouevia
14.) Stephan Bonnar
15.) Jason Lambert
16.) Houston Alexander

IT feels like I am missing somebody… but oh well.

This kind of feels like the NCAA polls, just crazy.[/quote]

Hendo again? He wasn’t destroyed. If he fights/beats Anderson Silva maybe he’ll try to win both belts in the UFC?[/quote]

That would be nice to see Hendo be a touble champion, the only reason why he is not on that list, because that is a current list. Hendo has fought at 205, and has fought for the belt, but right now he is fighting for the Middleweight Championship. If he loses I can see him going back up to 205, and then he would easily be in my top 5 Light Heavyweights. Dan Henderson is an awesome fighter, and I hope he beats Anderson and then fights Rampage (again) or whoever the champ is and holds both titles, first time in the history of UFC.

YOU HEARD IT FIRST HERE. Coaches for tuf 7, Rampage and Griffin. again like at the end of every season coaches battle, forrest- marketability and everyone likes him, comedic value etc. and the same with rampage some like him some dont ,but very marketable and great for ratings.

Perfect match-up!

Rampage win by 2R KO.

I now believe that Forrest can do this. The guy is huge. He is significantly taller than Quinton so that jab could keep him at distance. (I’ve seen them both standing side by side.)

Forrest will definitely have a game plan that could work. All of Randy’s guys come so well prepared. If the plan goes out the window, no worries, he loves a good old fashioned slug fest.

I actually think this would be a great fight. A damn good money maker for Dana and co. too.

Bisping Evans was boring, still though maybe another couple of rounds could have sorted things out a bit better. We would have got a more decisive decision. Splits suck because it usually means neither guy actually did anything substantial to win the fight which was definitely the case. Of course this doesn’t apply to the little guys, Guida, Griffin, Tavares and co. Those guys have epic battles where it’s just hard to say that someone has to lose.

I call for all UFC PPV fights to be 5 rounders.
Maybe 3 rounds for UFNs.

What do you guys think?

Forrest Griffin is the #1 contender and he’s as ready as he’ll ever be to fight Rampage. I think this will be one hell of a fight because Rampage likes to hurt people and Forrest doesn’t wake up until he’s hurt or bleeding. This will be one hell of a fight!

1. Quentin “Rampage” Jackson- Undisputed
2. Forrest Griffin- Beat the dog shit out of the “Shogun”
3. Dan “Hollywood” Henderson- Fight with Rampage was too close and still holds MW Belt!
4. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva- Beat “Rampage” twice
5. Chuck “The Ice Man” Liddell- Lost to “Rampage” and Jardine but can knock ANYONE out anytime!
6. Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz- That’s right I got him at #6. Lost only to Ice and “The Natural” two tough fucking dudes, and one guy is Heavyweight Champ. Wins sloppy, but wins!
7. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine- Beat Ice and Forrest, lost to Houston Alexander!
8. Thiago Silva- Beat Houston Alexander, is a Jiu-Jitsu bad ass, and has 12 knockouts in 14 fights.
9. Lyoto Machida- Coming around has chance to make his mark.
10. Matt Hamill- Beat Bisping and has potential ground-and-pound like Tito, maybe better. Tons of potential here!
11. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua- Lost to Forrest. This isn’t Pride!
12. Rashad “Sugar” Evans- Beat Bisping. Has potential but tires easily, needs to work on submissions.
13. Rameau “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou- A couple of good fights in Pride. Just like Hamill lots of potential but this isn’t Pride!
14. Houston Alexander- Holy Shit can he fight, needs to learn grappling but can knock you out if he doesn’t get nervous and wait like he did against Silva!
15. Michael “The Count” Bisping- You can’t win a fight throwing punches while you step back from your opponent!
16. Jason Lambert- Too up and down, not consistent!
17. Stephen “The American Psycho” Bonner- He needs to be more consistent and needs to finish fights.

Looking at the landscape, it can change with 1 hey-maker. These guys are all Great fighters, but some just want it more.

this sucks cuz im a fan of both.like to see Forrest wear a belt but not at the cost of Rampage.but if so im pulling for Jackson.2nd or 3rd round stoppage.

[quote comment="213714"]YOU HEARD IT FIRST HERE. Coaches for tuf 7, Rampage and Griffin. again like at the end of every season coaches battle, forrest- marketability and everyone likes him, comedic value etc. and the same with rampage some like him some dont ,but very marketable and great for ratings.[/quote]

That is possible. But to be quite honest, both those guys are so nice and humble, I wouldn’t be able to like one over the other. I guess it would come down to who told the best joke. Which would probably be Rampage.

How could Evans even possibly be considered?
He is more boring than parisyan who hasn’t got a shot at title.

Futhermore rashad hasn’t fought anyone yet, bisbing sucks and tito is even more washed up than chuck!

[quote comment="213714"]YOU HEARD IT FIRST HERE. Coaches for tuf 7, Rampage and Griffin. again like at the end of every season coaches battle, forrest- marketability and everyone likes him, comedic value etc. and the same with rampage some like him some dont ,but very marketable and great for ratings.[/quote]

I believe season seven of TUF is going to be middleweights. Maybe Hendo and Silva’s translator will be the coaches.

[quote comment="213775"][quote comment="213714"]YOU HEARD IT FIRST HERE. Coaches for tuf 7, Rampage and Griffin. again like at the end of every season coaches battle, forrest- marketability and everyone likes him, comedic value etc. and the same with rampage some like him some dont ,but very marketable and great for ratings.[/quote]

I believe season seven of TUF is going to be middleweights. Maybe Hendo and Silva’s translator will be the coaches.[/quote]

season 7 is MW, but that doesnt mean the coaches have to be MW, if you remmebr when the tuf show started it was an assortment of weight classes, unless i am mistaken

Quote from Andy
“…Silva’s translator will be the coaches. ”

Sorry, but that made me laugh. No offense to the bilingual challenged.

Forrest is NO WAY near Rampage’s caliber!

rampage wouldd win,but would be such an awesome fckin fight.i would pay 40 for that fight alone.slap that fight on the card with siva/hendo and we got a bigger ppv than ufc79.maybe i would even start liking dana….(maybe).

p.s. i would have to pull for rampage,hes representin memphis,tn.otherwise id probablly pull for griffin.

p.s.s i would also think a cool middle weight fight for 82 would be leben and herman,i dunno,just think it would be a cool fight

I agree box91… What’s so cool is that if you visited Japan about 3-4 years ago, you’d hear about this guy whoopin ass all over the place in Pride. And then you’d be like, Oh Shit! this guy’s form fuckin Tennessee! I’m in Japan, and this guy from Memphis is CRAZY POPULAR HERE!!! and yeah.

forrest is the only logical opponent for rampage

then have the winner face wanderlai (assuming he beats chuck)

tough on jardine but i dont see him as an awfully marketable fighter so he probably wont get a title shot unless he notches up a few more big wins

i cant see there ever being a better time for forrest to challenge

hes a fan favourite and has just beaten the supposed #1 in the division

#1 contender fights should always have the winner face the champ its incredibly unfair to say if 1 guy wins he gets the shot but not the other

at the same time its a good idea to keep #1 contender fights slightly quiet and just say the winner is looking at the top 5 like with rashad bisping
then if the fight sucks UFC isnt commited to either

[quote comment="213500"]I think you are all missing the point. Dana White tried to sell Bisping-Evans as “the winner gets a title shot.” If I am not mistaken, he even said it this saturday and now he is back tracking. Hmmmmmm, saying anything to sell a fight, kind of reminds me someone, oh yeah, Don King (he did boxing great).
Anyways, it was a s*%t main event and it should have been a UFC Fight Night card. I want my $40 back.[/quote]

He said they’d move up in the ranks for title contention, not earn a title shot. There’s a difference, comprehension is your friend.

[quote comment="213580"]i don’t think forrest is ready for jackson. After Wanderlei beats Liddell he should get a title shot (he dominated Jackson twice in Pride)[/quote]
I think Wanderlei needs at least one more win over a top contender after beating Chuck to earn a title shot. There’s too many legit contenders in the 205 division to give a fighter a title shot after winning only one fight (of his last three…)

[quote comment="213426"]How about Randy Couture? No heavyweight fight makes sense for him, he could drop down and be the first in the ufc to hold to belts at the same time.[/quote]

I’ve said it before, big monster payday for Couture if he does it… however, I don’t think he could beat rampage at 205lbs.

If Forrest or Jardine got a shot at the title… I’d be happy about either one being picked…

however I think Forrest is just a tad more deserving after beating Shogun, a guy that beat Rampage.

Jardine beat Liddell, a guy Rampage destoryed twice so I say Forest is the one that should get the title shot, even though Jardine beat Forrest…

Confusing huh?

If Sokoudjou beats Lyoto Machida he should fight the winner of chuck wandy for #1 contender. I kno a lot of people think that the winnder of wandy chuck should fight for the belt but they are both comin of 2 loses, (pride or not) so they shouldnt be given an instant title shot after one win. Sokoudjou, i think has the potential to be the next pound for pound best! The ufc needs to get him fighting for the title!

Rampage Jackson
First Tier Contenders (Should get title)
Keith Jardine/Forest Griffin/Dan Henderson

Second Tier Contenders (Could get title fight because of Hype)
Chuck Liddell/Wandy Silva/SOKO/Tito Ortiz

Third Tier Fighters (Needs a win over someone in 2nd tier)
Shogun/Thiago Silva/Rashad Evans/Machida

Fourth Tier Fighters
Houston Alexander/Stephan Bonnar/Matt Hamill/Michael Bisping

I can see Henderson getting the MW title and wanting a crack at Rampage again… Or Randy dropping weight and wanting the same thing.

Depending on who loses, Rampage should get Silva if he wins vs chuck/Forest would likely get Evans.

If Chuck wins he will get a fight vs Houston, If Silva loses he would probably fight against SOKO.

I can also see Soko taking Ortiz to the cleaners if he gets a choice to fight someone…

Houston vs Bonnar would be a brawl too and the rematch with Hamill and Bisping (Because of the History). After which Bisping will go to MW.

Evans vs Hamill would be interesting, Evans would be the one taken down at will.

[quote comment="213339"]I give Griffin a much better chance then people think because, I think Rampage would brawl with him and when two guys brawl usually the guy with more heart wins…but anyway

Machida is the only one I believe with three straight wins , and hasn’t lost a round in the Ufc ..I can understand not wanting to give him a title shot just yet cause of only one main card apparence but he is def ranked above most of the guys imo, and should get a title shot if he beats the Sukodudjio[/quote]

Machida is a fucking boring fighter and doesnt finish anyone. he deserves nothing

[quote post="3947"]Rashad looks gassed in all his fights. Even during the TUF series he looked gassed and that doesnt make for an entertaining fight. [/quote]

Rashad really only gassed during one of his fights in TUF, and remember, he was only like 220 lbs (a soft 220 at that) fighting Heavyweights. The did gas in was the TUF finale against Brad Imes. Brad Imes is as big as possible for a HW, so it was to be expected that the much smaller figher would tire. By the way, I loved the knockdown puches Rashad was throwing. Brad Imes looked like a he was falling in slo-mo at times.

[quote post="3947"]i look at rampage as just the next tito. nothing special just good enough for now. its hard to believe he is the best 205″²er when i watched him get destroyed by wandy and shogun a couple years back. [/quote]

WOW, I really can’t believe I just read that. Rampage = nothing special, the next Tito?????? You are crazy and know nothing! You are probably still upset because Chuck Liddell was you mma God and he got his ass whooped by Rampage, not once, but TWICE. When Rampage was fighting in Japan, he was not taking his training seriously, nor was he in a good camp with good training partners. Rampage is totally different fighter now than he was years back in PRIDE. Juanita Ibarra has him motivated, and I do not see Rampage losing his belt anytime soon. Wanderlei Silva is the ONLY fighter that I think has a chance at beating him only if he can become the Wanderlei from years ago. If not, Rampage will be champ of the 205lb divison even longer than Chuck was. A LOT of things change in a couple of years.

[quote comment="213593"]Next oponent for Rampage – Liddell, Silva, Machida or Soku, all depends how each of them perform.[/quote]

Out of your 4 potential next opponents for Rampage, only one of them is a possibility, Wanderlei. After losing the belt, Dana said Chuck needs 2 wins for a shot at the belt. Since then, he lost to Jardine. So a win against Silva is only #1, he would still need another win. Remeber – he is now on a TWO fight losing streak. Machida will not get a title shot until he finishes a fight, and then defeats at LEAST one fighter in the Top 5. Sokodjou only has 5 pro fights, none of which were in the UFC. He is NOWHERE close to having a title shot aainst Rampage.

[quote post="3947"]Basically, Rampage is Tito Ortiz except stronger and better on his feet, but he is not relentless as Tito.[/quote]

People, PLEASE stop comparing Rampage to Tito Ortiz. It makes ZERO sense and you are just proving how little you know about MMA. The people saying this can probably only name about 10 MMA fighters off the top of their head WITHOUT using the Internet. WHAT A JOKE… Just because they both have good wrestling skills, that makes them the same? Then Randy is exactly like Tito. Dan Henderson is exactly like Matt Hughes. Mike Van Ars Dale is the same as Rashad Evans. NONE of these are true. Then you say “Rampage is Tito Ortiz except stronger and better on his feet, but he is not relentless as Tito.” Rampage is stoneger. Rampage’s standup is 100 times better than Tito’s. Tito is only ‘relentless’ for the beginning of the first round, then he tires and sucks. Rampage is relentless for the whole fight. Tito does not like getting punched in the face and he hides from every single good fighter in the division. Rampage enjoys getting hit in the head and he only wants to fight the best fighters. That is why is wants to fight the two fighters that destroyed him years ago, Wanderlei and Shogun. Just go ask Tito Ortiz if he would fight Rampage and you will have your answer. They are NOTHING a like except for the fact that they both held the UFC LHW belt and they both have abnormally large heads.

[quote post="3947"]I call for all UFC PPV fights to be 5 rounders.
Maybe 3 rounds for UFNs.
What do you guys think? [/quote]

OMG, PLEASE NO. You are saying that you would want to see Rounds 4 and 5 of Bisping/Evans? Rounds 4 and 5 of Tim Sylvia/Assuerio Sylva? Rounds 4 and 5 of Marquardt/Salavery? Rounds 4 and 5 of Fisher/Edgar? Rounds 4 and 5 of Arlovski/Werdum? The list can go on and on and on. There are some 3 round fights that I wish were only 2 rounds because they are so boring…

RAY, I have a problem with your rankings list from 5 – 17.

everyone keeps talking about deserving a title shoot, than take houston off your list he lost and has only won 2 fights in the ufc and has alot more to prove.

[quote comment="213899"]rampage wouldd win,but would be such an awesome fckin fight.i would pay 40 for that fight alone.slap that fight on the card with siva/hendo and we got a bigger ppv than ufc79.maybe i would even start liking dana….(maybe).

p.s. i would have to pull for rampage,hes representin memphis,tn.otherwise id probablly pull for griffin.

p.s.s i would also think a cool middle weight fight for 82 would be leben and herman,i dunno,just think it would be a cool fight[/quote]
I would love to see Leben and Herman, but they train together and are very good friends so I don’t see it happening.

[quote post="3947"]I call for all UFC PPV fights to be 5 rounders.
Maybe 3 rounds for UFNs.
What do you guys think? [/quote]

OMG, PLEASE NO. You are saying that you would want to see Rounds 4 and 5 of Bisping/Evans? Rounds 4 and 5 of Tim Sylvia/Assuerio Sylva? Rounds 4 and 5 of Marquardt/Salavery? Rounds 4 and 5 of Fisher/Edgar? Rounds 4 and 5 of Arlovski/Werdum? The list can go on and on and on. There are some 3 round fights that I wish were only 2 rounds because they are so boring…
[/quote]

Yeah but I have two points here for you. First off the close ones like Guida Griffin, Griffin Tavares, Tito Forrest etc. These were good fights. A couple more rounds would see more KO’s, submissions and decisive victories. Often for the evenly matched fighters 3 rounds is too few, especially given that this is their livelihood.

Who wouldn’t want to see rounds 4 & 5 of Griffin Guida, Girffin Tavares etc? Of course it can also work the other way. At least you guys in the States that have to pay could get more bang for your buck so to speak.

Hell even commentators and critics are calling for 5 rounds or change. The format needs to be adjusted a little.

You also love slating any idea that’s not yours. Seriously though Edgar Fisher wasn’t that bad, sure Edgar dominated him but that’s sometimes the way mma is. It’s a sport and it’s entertainment. Hard to do what’s best for both but I stand by what I said, 5 rounders are the way to go. In real sport not every game/fight can be riveting.

Rob, I would love for the LW fights to go 5 rounds, but do you really want to see two out of shape HW’s go 5 rounds, when they are sucking air 2 minutes into round 1? I don’t.

And everytime I read a good idea on this site, I always quote it and say so. When I see a bad idea or incorrect facts, I correct them. I guess that the only thing I can really respond to you with is that I’m sorry that I have never seen you post a good idea before. Seriously, every fight being 5 rounds? We already pay $40 to see 5 fights, and with your time consuming ingenious idea, we’d only get to see 3 fights due to time constraints. Remember, they only have 3 hours.

AND ALSO, you ended your post with “What do you guys think?”. And then I tell you what I think, and you cry like a little girl. Grow up.

[quote post="3947"]I call for all UFC PPV fights to be 5 rounders.
Maybe 3 rounds for UFNs.
What do you guys think? [/quote]

Top 10 contenders
1) Jardine.
2) Iceman
3) Forrest
4) Wand. Silva
5) Thiago Silva
6) Houston Alexander (still dangerous striker)
7) Matt Hamill Rashad
9) Tito
10) Bisping

Its got to be Rampage and Griffin. In my opinion the winner of this fight will take on the winner of Wanderlei and Liddell in mid 2008.

And Forrest will get the title shot before Jardine because hes more marketable. Jardine is just boring, even though he beat Forrest, I dont think he would be a very good champion. He just doesnt have that appeal that Forrest, Wanderlei, Chuck, Rampage, Shogun have.

LISTEN EVERYONE WHO THINK JARDINE IS GOOD!, He is umarketable, lazy with his hands, and got distroyed by rashad evans (who wasnt as good then) on the tuf show. If you put Jardine agaisnt Ortiz, Ortiz will own his ass, for 2 and a half rounds before Jardine probably will tap due to strikes.

Jardine vs Forrest. Jardine got picked apart until a LUCKY PUNCH (which has been quite common lately)
Jardine vs Alexander. Is wasnt an mma fight, Jardine lost to a guy who wasnt even in the top twenty at lightheavywieght.
Jardine vs Liddel. AS much of a chuck fan I am, Chuck is no RANDY, you know wat im saying, I think that maybe he doesnt carry that Kick in his punches anymore.
Jardine is a bum, in 2008 he will soon find himself out of the top 5 if he even belongs in them now!

Chuck still has the punching power josh he just doesn’t set up the bombs with anything so sometimes in a 3 round fight he won’t hit the big bomb. That being said give Forrest Griffin his shot, if he loses it’s likely his only shot he’ll ever get(not saying he’s not good, the LHW division is just so stacked its hard to rack up 3 or 4 wins in a row to get a shot). Hopefully Forrest would win!!

now lets not forget wanderlei he knockout rampage not once but twice forrest had 1 good win in a while even though keith jardine snored him after wand beats the iceman he will beat rampage again

wandy vs. liddel should get a shot at rampage there both veterans and i see wandy winning and possibly going 3-0 against rampage the winner of rampage and wandy or liddell at ufc 82 or 83 should fight the winner or either forrest griffin vs.evans or jardine vs.shogun and im thinking the winner of griffin vs.evans and then maybe put machida against possibly ortiz or thiago silva, thoughts?

Hey MarkG. i agree with a lot of your top 10, but I would still put Shogun around 6th, definitely above Matt Hammill. Matt’s Hamill’s only real credential is beating Bisping (should have anyway) and Bisping hasn’t really beaten anybody either.

I’d even put Machida well above Rashad, Bisping, and Hamill. Sobral is better than all 3 of them too, loss to Lambert or not.