UFC 85: London 02 Arena, 6/7/08

[rawli007]

this event only a couple weeks after UFC 84 so lets get it started...

-Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
-Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben
-Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick
-Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin
-Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera
-Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
-Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
-Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
-Luis Arthur Cane vs. Jason Lambert
-Neil Wain vs. Antoni Hardonk
-Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro
-Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor

 

[rawli007]

they have added bouts left and right over the past several days.... this is all i've got for lines right now:

Fabricio Werdum (-110) vs. Brandon Vera (-120)

Nate Marquardt (-145) vs. Thales Leites (+115)

lots of close matchups on this card... looking forward to many of them...

interested in Marcus Davis over Mike Swick and Thiago Tavares over Matt Wiman... will be watching out for the lines on these two fights in particular.

Also want to see opening lines for Bisping/Leben... i must admit Bisping did look much better in his debut at middleweight and he will have a solid reach advantage over Leben... this i think hurts Leben bad. Anderson Silva used his reach to completely nullify Leben's attack. If the lines are close to even (like i expect) i will have to pass, though.

 

[layinwood]

Irvin vs Evans could be fun. Evans thinks he's good at standing so Irvin has a good shot. If Evans ever decides he just wants to win, he can use his wrestling and totally dominate this fight.

 

[rawli007]

Irvin vs Evans could be fun. Evans thinks he's good at standing so Irvin has a good shot. If Evans ever decides he just wants to win, he can use his wrestling and totally dominate this fight.

This is another interesting matchup... i agree, i think Evans thinks too highly of himself standing, but i think we see a lot of Evans' double leg takedown in this bout... then again, if Irvin sees that shot, he just might introduce Evans to a flying knee

:dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy:

if i make a play it will definitely be Evans, though, due to Irvin's lack of ground skill and the wrestling mismatch.

 

[ukgaz]

Looking like a good card. Some very competitive fights. Think Leben could be a bad matchup for Bisping.

 

[rawli007]

Looking like a good card. Some very competitive fights. Think Leben could be a bad matchup for Bisping.

i feel the same way for Leben if Bisping comes out aggressive like he did against McCarthy, but i dont think it's possible to bully Leben. Leben is always the bully. this could help or hurt Bisping, but he tends to :mj23: from aggressive opponents... thats the problem w/ Bisping.

 

[HurricaneEddy]

Anyone else LOVE Hughes in this 3 rd fight verses Alves?

 

[redsfann]

Anyone else LOVE Hughes in this 3 rd fight verses Alves?

yeah, don't understand this match-up at all. Hughes at his prime doesn't even take this fight; Hughes now older, distracted with his new gym near St Louis and coming off his last couple of fights??

I'm not sure he is the "lock" that a 1st look would have you believe....

 

[gardenweasel]

mostly all good,competitive fights.....like this better than 2 elite fights and a slew of mismatches....

i`ve got a woody(in a non-sexual context:SIB ) for martin kampmann...he got roughed up a bit by thales leites but never lost his cool...just kept plugging and eventually ended up working leites....nice test vs rivera...

looking forward to this card..

 

[HurricaneEddy]

The way I see the Hughes-Alves fight is Alves has up to 3 chances to KO Hughes on his feet. When it goes to the ground Matt is active enough to NOT force a standup and possibly get a stoppage. If Hughes is -300 or better I'll take him BIG

 

[rawli007]

The way I see the Hughes-Alves fight is Alves has up to 3 chances to KO Hughes on his feet. When it goes to the ground Matt is active enough to NOT force a standup and possibly get a stoppage. If Hughes is -300 or better I'll take him BIG

he will be better than -300, so keep an eye out. :SIB

this will be a good test for Alves. he trained w/ judo olympian Rhadi Ferguson to help negate Parisyan's throws.. now we'll see if he can stuff a takedown.

Hughes apparently really likes the matchup:

http://www.matt-hughes.com/

 

[kickserv]

well card has changed again!!!!!......now looks like this:


-Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
-Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben
-Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick
-Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin
-Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera
-Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
-Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
-Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
-Luis Arthur Cane vs. Jason Lambert
-Neil Wain vs. Antoni Hardonk
-Jonathan Goulet vs. Paul Kelly
-Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro
-Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor

 

[kickserv]

ummmmmm maybe no Leban now:scared :scared

http://mmajunkie.com/news/4250/ufc-fighter-chris-leben-arrested-for-dui.mma

 

[rawli007]

update..

update..

ummmmmm maybe no Leban now:scared :scared

http://mmajunkie.com/news/4250/ufc-fighter-chris-leben-arrested-for-dui.mma

sounds like he is still booked:

http://mmamania.com/2008/05/01/chris-leben-dui-looks-to-clear-up-dui-charge-prior-to-ufc-85/

hope he remains on the card.. Leben has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, but i get the feeling he'll always be white trash.

 

[The Sponge]

I wonder if Leben is training with Tank Abbott.

 

[rawli007]

I wonder if Leben is training with Tank Abbott.

:mj07: :mj07: :mj07:

maybe we'll see him training in his cell on MSNBC's prison show Lockup: Portland

:142smilie

 

[kickserv]

looks like it will come down to a visa:SIB

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6195&zoneid=2

 

[rawli007]

i think Hughes is crazy for liking this matchup. to me Alves is third in the division behind Jon Fitch, and i only say that b/c he has that loss to Fitch.

here is a little snippet from Alves....

http://mmamania.com/2008/05/04/ufc-quick-quote-pitbull-looking-to-unleash-against-hughes/

if feel like Thiago is very underrated. he always comes with solid gameplans, is just as big/strong as Hughes IMO.. if he manages to keep it standing he will MAUL Hughes on the feet. just my thoughts.. looking forward to more lines on UFC 85.

:0corn :0corn

 

[kickserv]

raw.....as much as I hate Hughes...I do think he'll get by Thiago...will be curious to see the odds!

Oh and FWIW I do think these guys are all "above" Thiago (barely above but above):

Josh Koscheck
Matt Serra
Jake Shields
Diego Sanchez

 

[rawli007]

raw.....as much as I hate Hughes...I do think he'll get by Thiago...will be curious to see the odds!

Oh and FWIW I do think these guys are all "above" Thiago (barely above but above):

Josh Koscheck
Matt Serra
Jake Shields
Diego Sanchez

i should have narrowed my ranks to just the UFC. i like the idea of throwing Diego in the mix, though. to me hes right there w/ Alves. i hope Sanchez and Koscheck rematch after their upcoming fights...

Shields is definitely up there in the global rankings.. interested to see how he'll fare against Drew Fickett (i think it has been postponed til the end of July or somethin)...

on a side note.. Hughes says he gets Serra next no matter what happens against Alves... and rumor has it Alves is next in line for a title shot after Jon Fitch (if he beats Hughes)... added motivation for Alves.