TUF 22. McGregor v Faber

Just watched episode 1.

Some good fights to get into the house as there always is.

Some good banter between the 2 coaches.

Looking forward to this season.

I must admit after the shambles of the last TUF I wasn't sure if I'd bother watching this series, the whole thing has gone down hill IMO over the last few years but this series looks like its going to be pretty good. As you said the fights to get into the house were decent, although there were a couple of bad decisions.

Just watched 2nd episode and enjoyed it. Banter between the coaches continues, we saw more training sessions than we have in recent series and McGregor looks like he's going to be a decent coach, some interesting stuff from him.

First fight was decent, don't think Dana can have any complaints. Lets hope it continues this way.

Watched the third episode.

CM was going mad at Sasha, kept telling him to stand up and he wouldn't.

Interesting that each team had a losing fighter to come back, so now 9 fights.

1 winner will not make it, depending on performance.
Should make the fighters really perform.

Good banter between the 2 coaches.

westisbest wrote:Watched the third episode.

CM was going mad at Sasha, kept telling him to stand up and he wouldn't.

Interesting that each team had a losing fighter to come back, so now 9 fights.

1 winner will not make it, depending on performance.
Should make the fighters really perform.

Good banter between the 2 coaches.

Not so sure about that to be honest, the fact that you need 3 wins to be in the finale is why fighters often fight with caution. They risk getting ko'd or submitted or an injury, cant really blame them. I understand Dana wanting exciting fights but he's not the one doing the fighting or the one needing to earn the money, rarely do you get rewarded for losing.

Can't understand the tactics Sasha employed in that fight, first round while it was standing he was winning, seemed to have the better technique and then that 3rd round, ignored CM's instructions and shot in for the take down........against a wrestler
Still was a decent fight though. Don't see the other guy progressing further to be honest, doesn't seem to have a great skill set.

2 fights in and 2 good fights and unfortunately 2 wins for the yanks. Any idea what was behind the choice of coaches? Normally the 2 coaches square off but that wont be the case this time.

Watched episode 4.

Team Europe get their first win.

Good display from Marcin.
Only thing, when Tom was gassed late in the second round, thought Marcin could have gone in for the kill and ko'd Tom.

Good to see team Europe get their first w.

Yeah I thought the same but credit to the guy he played it smart, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to get the win no matter what Dana says. 3 wins to get to the finale and the contract so you also got to avoid injuries, something else thats interesting with CM's training methods.

Strange that Marcin called out Gritz afterwards, would fancy Marcin to take Gritz apart in a controlled fashion.

Looking forward to the next episode.

BTW Did you see DC vs Gus this weekend? Cracking fight!

Certainly did. I had 48-47 DC but was hoping for the mauler to get the nod.

Is he ever in a bad fight?

Same for me, was a little surprised that one judge had it the other way, Gus kind of threw it away in the last round, bit like in the Jones fight.

Any idea who is next in line to fight DC? I hear Jones is back in training.

Another good fight and a good win for Team Europe, Saul just dominated the guy from start to finish. 2 all now, starting to get interesting. Looking forwarded to seeing CM's next pick, Mehdi, a French kick boxer who has competed at the highest level, looked good in the prelims but not sure how well rounded he is, if he can keep it standing he wins if not.........

Yes, good fight.

Saul dominating, shame he couldnt finish him.
Credit to Billy though.

Hope Medhi can make it 3-2 to Europe.

CM cracking me up as usual.

Seems a very good trainer aswell.

Good technics in training.

Been a decent season so far.

Dana spoke very highly of Saul, thinks he could be the guy to win this and go on to bigger things. Not a huge fan of his style, he is basically a grappler/ground & pounder and is strong.

I'm hoping Medhi can win but generally pure kickboxers don't do well in MMA, of course there are the odd exception, but the way MMA is progressing a kickboxers best weapons are often his downfall and generally they are not strogest, the fittest quite possibly. But hears hoping!

Episode 6 not up yet on mma-core.

You seen it yet sohot?

No, there was no episode last week so it goes out on USA tv tonight so should be up tomorrow. Apparently it kicks off in this episode, saw a trailer a couple of days ago.

Ah, oh cheers.

Will try and catch it over the weekend.

Funny last night'ss episode. Won't reveal who one the bout but the handbags after the weigh in was proper funny. And although McGregor was stirring the brown stuff, he was right in what he was saying. Dillishaw is a rat 'leaving' Team Alpha and Faber is in denial. Dillishaw thinks he can beat McGregor but was KO'd in 2 mins by Tiny Dodson

Yeah you had to laugh at that, certainly spiced up the episode! I think that McGregor genuinely likes & respects Faber, he made himself very clear where he stands on loyalty and this situation doesn't sit well with him. Interesting that he said TJ is just there for his own interests, do you think a fight between the 2 of them is the cards providing they win there next fights? I think its an interesting fight, TJ is clearly a talent with great footwork, speed & accuracy, be interesting to see how McGregor approaches the fight & handles him but yeah being ko'd by Dodson doesn't fill you with hope, McGregor connects its game over.

Decent episode.

Funny indeed after the weigh in.
Couldnt make out if the guy that squared up to cm was a contestant or coach, didnt recognise him.

Poor if he is a contestant.
Cm is great entertainment value alright.
Would be a good fight between him and TJ.

Thought the fight itself was good, thought it should have gone to a third.
Shame it didnt, but then so many fights over the seasons should have gone to a third but didnt.

Should these fights be three rounds, that way wouldn't have that dilema, i dunno.

Next fight, fancy Le to win.

Great season so far.

It does seem strange that the fights are 2 rounds as opposed to 3, as you say you wouldn't have this dilemma. I thought in previous series they were 3 rounds, last couple of series aside?

Tough fight to score really, Fabers guy fought smart off the back foot and kept it at distance but Mehdi landed the heavier shots but for me was not busy enough, kind of lost the fight rather than was beaten. I wasn't that impressed with him in his fight to get into the house, he just seems very one dimensional, as I said previously pure Kickboxers don't generally do that well in mma, seem hesitant to throw the classic combinations.

Le did look impressive in his fight to get in, I was hoping to see him matched against the other kickboxer from team europe, forget who he is.

Wasnt expecting Svenson to win before the fight.

Le hit him with some good kicks and a good punch.
Svenson did well to take him  to the ground where he wanted it to be.

As Dana said, Svenson didnt really do anything when on top, but was patient enough to work for the submission.

All tied up again.

Next fight Artem v Jenkins. Two guys who like to stand and bang.
Should be interesting.

What is it with americans and booze on this show.
Embarrasing stuff, but at the same time, fun to watch.

I watched that, it was rubbish. Was like watching any other reality show.

Pr4wn wrote:I watched that, it was rubbish. Was like watching any other reality show.

Yeah don't know why they bothered with that plenty more interesting stuff they could've showed. Drunk guys fighting is just drunk guys fighting!

Well team Europe go 5-3 up, Artem vs Jenkins was a decent fight but Artem was just 2 strong. Once he landed and rocked Jenkins the fight was effectively over just a case of when. Artem looked a much better fighter than in his previous fight. I have forgotten who the other was between but Europe got the win.

Definitely been one of the best series I've seen fight wise and there is good chemistry between the two coaches. Next episode is the last fight and they will pick the next rounds fights.1 fighter will be dropped though, my guess based on his fight will be Gritz. He won but he had an opponent who maybe just froze and made huge mistakes.

Gonna watch latest episode now but won't comment on it in case others haven't seen it yet.

Good win for Europe on the last prelim fight.

Felt a bit sorry for Gritz being the guy that won to not progress.
They knew the rules at the start of the season.

Must admit the part where CM & UF were in with Dana was a bit embarrassing. Like a couple of kids when talking about how much they earn, more so Connor.

Haven't really had a favourite this season.
Don't like this juicy j guy and hope he loses.

Would probably want Saul to win.
I did think more Americans would progress to the quarters.

Next episode looks interesting with a pool party.

Strange quater final matching Saul v Ryan Hall. Thought that would have/should have been the final.

Yer I felt sorry for Grtiz but IMO he fought the weakest guy on Team Europe, who basically layed down and let Grtiz Frak him up and he still couldn't get the stoppage.

Rosa's fight was only a little bit entertaining because of Medi, as he basically ran for the whole fight.

The winner of Saul v Ryan Hall wins the season for me.

Must admit I found the CM UF & Dana bit hilarious, the whole series the banter has been good between them, I think the actaully quite like each other.

Yeah I know what you mean about Gritz but as soldier has said fought a weak opponent and still didn't perform well or get the stoppage. The worst fight of the entire series. Had to laugh at UF's loyalty to him, imagine him going in against Saul and fighting like that?

Rosa to be fair was up against a fighter with a good pedigree and power so even though he ran he did get the win.

Can either of you decide between Saul vs Ryan?

It is surprising how this series has turned out, only 2 Americans have progressed.

Its usually the way with the Americans in seasons like this. If they were good enough, they would more then likely be in the UFC already.

Bar Ryan Hall, I don't think the others have got the talent to be there. And I thought Medhi actually beat Rosa aswell.

The best fight of the season so far was in the prelims between Mehdi and Artem.

And by the looks of it, Gritz will be back in anyway.

That's exactly what I thought or they could be signed up with Bellator ,not sure if WSOF is an American organization. TUF can sometimes be last chance saloon for a lot of guys, some of the series in the last 6 years have been poor fight wise.

Mehdi vs Rosa was one of those hard to score fights, 1st rnd I have to give to Rosa, he kept on the outside and did land, Medhi was just not busy enough. 2nd rnd you'd probably have to give to Medhi based on heavier strikes landed, defo should have been a 3rd rnd. Medhi vs Artem should also have gone to a 3rd.

Yeah it does seem as if Gritz is getting a 2nd chance, I got the impression something a bit dodgy has come up, could be wrong. Don't see Gritz winning his next fight.

So Gritz got his second chance.
Was a decent fight.

Gritz looked tired, thought if he pressed more may have been able to ko Artem.
Artem showed his punching power in the end.
Dont think he will win it though.

Very gld Ryan lost. Dont like him.
Was another good fight. Saul did a great job drfending the take down and getting out of some awkward positions.

Fancy Saul to win it.
Think it maybe Saul v Artem in the semi, will see how next to quarters pan out.

Some hot woman at that pool party.
Dang

Was a good fight and I was impressed with Gritz, much better performance than his previous fight. Artem I have mixed feelings about, although he was impressive in his last fight, in his first after a good 1st round he just seemed to tire and was there to be hit, and to some extent it seemed like that against Gritz. He does have serious power but I'm not sold on his stamina. Seems very one dimensional.

Saul was impressive, he was up against a dangerous opponent and hardly put a foot wrong, his size and strength were also a factor here.

Saul vs Artem would be an interesting fight but you have to look at Saul as the more rounded fighter. Wouldn't be surprised if these 2 were being aimed for the finale, Artem is from CM's camp, UFC politics could be a factor here.

Yeah and you know Dana will pretty much do what Connor asks.

Artem and Gritz fight was brutal, but you can see why Artem has 10 losses on his record with that style.

Conor may have some influence and advise Dana to put Saul and Artem in seperate semi finals for the chance of getting his pal in the final. Saul already holds a pro win over Artem.

I liked Ryan's ambition in the first round, keeping it standing showing he has got more in his locker then just being a BJJ savant. The first round was closer then the second and that when he went to his bread and butter by trying to take it to the mat. But I with he will always come unstuck against well rounded guys atheltic like Saul's who was even doing damage from top position at various stages. You could tell it was slipping away from him when he was trying to goad Saul to the mat

Saul has to be the favourite for me, he is far from the finished article but definately has the best potential to make waves in the UFC.

I wasn't aware of Artem's record to be honest until the fight with Gritz, its poor and after that many fights is he really going to change or improve? Both him and Saul are big guys and can see them fighting at WW. Maybe this is the problem with Artem's stamina, maybe he is cutting to much weight.

Saul does look to be the favorite and defo has the potential in the UFC, just seems so strong.

2 good fights to end the quarter finals with.

Actually hope Julian beats Artem, beginning to be a pain in the a55.

Like to see Saul win the other.

Saul v Artem or Julian would be a decent final.

This season has gone pretty quick.
Been a decent season.

Yeah it has been a very good season, I don't think there was really a bad fight, sasha vs gritz aside, the next 2 and the finale should also provide good fights.

Marcin vs Temur was a really good fight which i think should have gone to a 3rd round. I think Temur edged the 1st and Marcin the 2nd, Temur seemed to gas a bit in the 2nd which I think cost him.

Abner vs Julian was also a good fight, Julian impressed me more in this fight than in his previous, I think he feared Mehdi's power and kept on the move. Here though he seemed much more confident and as the fight went on appeared to be the heavier striker and also the fitter hungrier fighter and in the end I think that was what won him the fight.

Strangely while watching that fight I thought if, they were to meet, that Julian could cause Artem a lot of problems. He's got good footwork, has quick hands and far better stamina than Artem. I think unless Artem gets the stoppage in the first or within the first minute or so of the 2nd, then he gases and he loses after an extra round. As I said before I'm not sold on the guy. Saul vs Marcin is also a good fight, just get the feeling that Saul is potentially a level above Marcin and is very strong, so gonna pick him. Saul vs Julian for the finale.

Saul did a good job to win his fight.

Artem knocking out Julian as quick as he did was a surprise.

Thought it might have gone to a second round.

Saul v Artem would have been a good final.
Sadly for Saul he lied on his visa, so cant fight.

Ryan Hall replaces him.
Marcin may have been a good choice, made it to the semis and is a strong puncher to.


Decent season all in all.

Finale tomorrow, then the big one saturday.

Was a decent fight but saul aside from being to big and to strong was a class above marcin and executed a good game plan, marcin was never in it. Saul must be kicking himself now withat visa situation.

Artem was impressive, he made short work of julian which i didn`t expect.

Roll on the finale although i was a little surprised that they didn`t choose somebody from team europe

Finale

SPOILER













So Hall wins this season.
Pretty poor I think considering he didn't even make the quarters.
Only saw the last round and thought it wasn't very good.

The whole fight was poor, disappointing after what was a very good season. I really think the ref was biased towards Ryan, should have stood them up or broken them apart in the final round, he just wasn't doing enough the first round aside. Although a very good martial artist I feel he has no place in mm a, stick to bjj tournaments

Not having that, Ryan hall is one of the best bjj guys in the world and has been training mma for a long time, seeing as bjj guys are so successful in mma why should he not compete, I want to see the best using whatever style they can.

I'm a big fan of Ryan as he has some amazing bjj instructional videos highly entertaining and insightful. 50/50 check them out.

Ok maybe I was a little harsh, but I did say I considered him a very good martial artist and I did pick up during the season how highly regarded he is within the bjj world. But his fights were not great to watch. Yes some bjj guys are successful in mma but they add a lot more to there game, think Werdum, he's winning fights with his stand up now. For me in the final Ryan seemed to just neutralise Artem without doing much else. That's why I felt he should just stick to bjj tournaments, his style is much more for the purists.

On a side note I do respect bjj & jj very much although not so keen on watching it, but did see some stuff with Frank mir doing some seminars and as you said, entertaining and insightful. I will repost here if you or anybody else is interested.

This is a 10 parter I think but maybe its available as one video yu'll just have to search for it Heres part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_46WInJ1LE&list=FLRtTESEEptJ5UmsoPzaSkeA&index=9&feature=plpp_video

Ah great stuff sohotnot, I totally understand where your coming from, can I just refer to Damien maia last two fights, similar level to ryan imo put on two mma clinics against ranked or 'hanked' guys, the art of not even breaking a sweat, holding position is thrilling to watch, these guys are so dangerous it keeps me on edge of seat, love stand up equally but that can get a bit boring sometimes with circling, no engagement.

Also remember werdum won title by bjj guillotine.

In summary I think a good fight is a good fight, would have everything, stand up, takedown, submissions.

Actually one last point, did anyone see the absolute beating wiedmen got, I personally would have rather seen a easy submission than all those punches..

FanMan wrote:Ah great stuff sohotnot, I totally understand where your coming from, can I just refer to Damien maia last two fights, similar level to ryan imo put on two mma clinics against ranked or 'hanked' guys, the art of not even breaking a sweat, holding position is thrilling to watch, these guys are so dangerous it keeps me on edge of seat, love stand up equally but that can get a bit boring sometimes with circling, no engagement.

Also remember werdum won title by bjj guillotine.

In summary I think a good fight is a good fight, would have everything, stand up, takedown, submissions.

Actually one last point, did anyone see the absolute beating wiedmen got, I personally would have rather seen a easy submission than all those punches..

Different strokes for different folks, prefer stand up myself but know exactly what you mean, the recent womens straw weight fight was like that.

Do you consider Maia same level as Ryan in bjj as opposed to mma? Seen a few Maia fights but I thought he was reasonably rated or had been previously?

Yeah enjoyed the Weidman vs Rockhold fight, could be a potential fight of the year. Thought Rockhold stood a good chance but didn't expect that. I have kind of bought into Weidman after the first Silva fight, but Machida did get success late in their fight and showed chinks in the armour and Belfort did have his moment before getting punished. I think Weidman would have preferred an easy submission rather than those punches and kicks, Rockhold was another level with those kicks.

Got to be honest i've forgotten how Werdum finished Cain, just remember him beating him in every department and Cain seeming gassed after the first round. Saw his fight before that where he dominated the stand up against Travis Bown. Werdum is such a well rounded fighter these days, come on a long way since losing to Overeem.

Totally, I remember seeing Verdum destroy Roy Nelson with knee hits and actually made Roy look delicate which is hard to do. He actually guillotined cain when cain went for a take down. Funny how guillotine is one of the simplest bjj moves to do yet works so well in so many fights.

I'm a big fan of Weidman, hopefully comes back stronger after that beating, he was holding his own against Rockhold in kick department, just stupid stupid roundhouse attempt, he'll know it, think he needs to improve bjj funnily enough, as rockhold seemed to be alot stronger on the ground game.

Yeah I believe Ryan is on Maia's level in terms of technical knowledge the amount of grappling details and tricks they know is scary, they both trained boxing, kicks for many years but not their best strengths but I believe they both have enough to beat anyone in their divisions, reckon maia beats lawler, love to see Ryan against a ranked guy at lightweight, think he'll go far.

So Conor wants to hold two belts at two different weights at same time, love the enthusiasm, I think winner of this Saturday next, hopefully cowboy, then back down to fight winner of Edgar vs aldo 2..move over dana.

I like Weidman but I don't think he's quite the finished article, in most of his fights he's been the bigger man, but against Rockhold that wasn't the case and he was facing a guy who had better stand up & bjj and equally as strong. Disagree that he was holding his own in the kick department, Rockholds were harder and faster, thats the difference with a kick boxer to somebody thats added kick boxing to their game. Rockholds punches were better as well. Defo was a big factor in the defeat the roundouse and he knows it. I'm sure he will be back and a force at the weight, don't really see any better names out there.

I got mixed views on Ryan and how far he will go, I think he's to much of a bjj guy and is very effective with it but against Saul Rogers he was never in the fight, maybe size played a part in that i don't know. His style will not sit well with Dana.

How do you see Cerrone vs Dos Anjos going? Only seen Dos Anjos beat Petits and was very impressived with him. Cerrone seen a few times but on the fights I've seen I'd favour Dos Anjos. Either would make an intersting macth up with CM. Looks a decent card what with Overeem vs Dos santos, Nate diaz, Nate Marquardt.

Is Edgar next or rematch with Aldo?

I hope Connor will fight Edgar next.
If connor and aldo were to fight again, think connor would win again and inside the first round to.
Beat him mentally and then was much easier than people thought.
Would fancy connor to ko him in about 2 minutes.

Would love to see him put the beating on Cerrone

For me Cerrone is most exciting fighters out there, excellent kicks and knees, it's hard to predict these matches, but im going for Cerrone, he's been improving consistently last few fights. Cowboy vs mcgregor would be a humdinger stand up battle.

From what I remember Weidman landed a kick to body that had luck in trouble, don't think he could have taken many more of them, that looked like his best option.

I think Ryan has learnt from Saul match, he's an intelligent guy, most certainly been planning for fighter looking to avoid grappling. I think Dana likes him or wouldn't have brought him to final, he has people talking about the leg lock rolls, it's new angles on mma game. I think dana has a issue with fighters including wrestlers not going for finishes, Ryan has hundreds so don't think that will be an issue. Lastly remember mcgregor is brown belt bjj, that's bound to raise awareness amongst casual fans on importance of grappling.