*Official* UFC 69 Thread...

[LEONARD]

UFC 69: APRIL 7, 2007 IN HOUSTON, TEXAS (Toyota Center)

Main Card Bouts:
-Georges St. Pierre (#1 WW) vs. Matt Serra
-Diego Sanchez (#4 WW) vs. Josh Koscheck (#9 WW)
-Mike Swick vs. Yushin Okami
-Kendall Grove vs. Alan Belcher
-Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia

Preliminary Bouts:
-Heath Herring vs. Brad Imes
-Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell
-Luke Cummo vs. Josh Haynes
-Pete Spratt vs. Marcus Davis

I hope we get more than 5 fights this time. I'd like to see Leites - Sell and Cummo - Haynes, and if Herring looks any better this time.

Promo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qehtUJ7NXwg

If you missed Countdown to UFC 69 or All Access with GSP on Wed, they replay tomorrow I think. All Access with GSP was good. It's hard not to like that guy...

Prefight videos and press conf are up...
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=MultiMedia.video

Cummo interview
http://evilmaster-mma.blogspot.com/2007/04/q-luke-cummo-prepares-for-battle-at-ufc.html

[LEONARD]

Weigh-ins online at 3:00 central time...
http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/04/06/ufc-69-weighins-live-at-4-pm-et/

Wow, 4 different places to watch them now...

[IX_Equilibrium]

-Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra
-Diego Sanchez vs. Josh Koscheck
-Mike Swick vs. Yushin Okami
-Kendall Grove vs. Alan Belcher
-Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia

Preliminary Bouts:
-Heath Herring vs. Brad Imes
-Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell
-Luke Cummo vs. Josh Haynes
-Pete Spratt vs. Marcus Davis

[desflood]

Diego got a bit carried away.

[LEONARD]

Yea he did...

It's a no win in this fight...I want them both to lose, but slightly less for Diego because at least he's fun to watch...

Maybe a double KO?? :lol

[LEONARD]

weigh-in video
http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/UFC?g=b3ec1fee-fdc8-4791-a929-3d306f7200a5

[IX_Equilibrium]

Yahoo sports has an MMA section and a preview on UFC 69.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=2292800&ch=2283876&src=sports

[cornbread]

Main Card Bouts:
-Georges St. Pierre (#1 WW) vs. Matt Serra
-Diego Sanchez (#4 WW) vs. Josh Koscheck (#9 WW)
-Mike Swick vs. Yushin Okami
-Kendall Grove vs. Alan Belcher
-Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia

Preliminary Bouts:
-Heath Herring vs. Brad Imes
-Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell
-Luke Cummo vs. Josh Haynes
-Pete Spratt vs. Marcus Davis

[djohn14]

Let's go George, Diego, Mike, Kindall, Roger, Brad, Thales, Luke, and Pete.

[djohn14]

If you aren't watching it, you can follow it at a good site called www.MMAnews.com

[djohn14]

The best fight ever just now. Well, maybe not, but a great one as Roger Huerta just beat Leonard Garcia by UD.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

swick lost in a decision :ihit

[djohn14]

Wow folks!!! Josh has just whipped Diego in a really boaring match. The only way this will be worth the money is if GSP knocks out the Serra.

[djohn14]

Serra beat GSP, no joke. I sware. Round 1 knockout. My God!!! GSP is still dazed. He just started throwing bombs. This is BS. I'm going to bed mad tonight. New FN champ!!!

djohn out!!!

[T Park]

So thats whats next door at the Toyota center.

Im in the Hilton next door, and this dude named St Pierre was down there getting mobbed.

Made a bit of a pain in the ass trying to get to the car to get to the ball game.

[cornbread]

My observations:

2007 is truly the year of the underdogs. Big props to Matt Serra.

Josh Koshchek is the ultimate heel of the UFC. He's going to be booed for years to come.

Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera could/should be the HW champ very soon.

Props to Dio for saying to keep my eyes on Huerta. As promised, that guy is the tits.


One more thing. GSP is the classiest cat out there. Sylvia (and others) could a learn thing a thing or two from him about giving a post-fight interview after a loss.

[dallaskd]

I just got back from hooters. Im mad swick lost but man what a warrior serra is. major props. diego had so much hype and didnt do jack. I was very dissapointed in him.

[dallaskd]

Huerta-Garcia was amazing. It might be the best Ive ever seen.

[desflood]

Oooh, poor Rush. My heart hurts for him... all the credit in the world goes to Matt Serra, though.

Roger Huerta couldn't have done better. That was excellent .

Kos and Diego both tried so hard not to lose to each other that nobody actually tried to win that fight. What an awful waste of everybody's time that was.

[djohn14]

I think if Diego would have been more aggressive he could have pulled it out. Honestly, I thought he went into the match hurt and didn't want to aggravate an injury. Maybe that's why all the lack of movement. I shouldn't make excuses for him, but this just sucks. First Melvin, now Diego, and GSP. Who's next Anderson Silva, Rampage, Cro Cop?

[Rip-Hamilton32]

holy shit GSP knocked out, everyone said serra had no chance...still in shock

[IX_Equilibrium]

What an event....my head is still spinning. :dizzy

Deep down I thought Okami would win, but I was hoping that Swick pull of some of his magic, especially in his hometown. His confidence wiltered after the 1st round due to Okami's strength on the ground. In the second round though, he got his confidence back after unleashing a fury of punches to Okami. His effort was good in the 3rd round too, but it was too little too late. He should have been way more aggresive on the feet in the 1st round.


Belcher totally sucked against Grove. He got dominated, and I sure did underestimate Grove, probably large in part because I don't really like the guy.

Diego - Kos sucked. I don't see why the outstretched hand of Kos kept Diego at bay like it did. If Diego wanted to kick his ass so bad, it certainly didn't show in the octagon. It didn't look like Diego had an interest in even winning the fight. Maybe he needs to get back on the weed. :smokin

Huerta - Garcia was definately one of the better fights I have ever seen. The pace, heart, and tenacity of both guys were unreal. Even though Garcia is as tough as nails and doesn't seem to get hurt, Huerta was just too technically proficient for him. Whether on the feet or ground, Huerta definately used his size, experience, and sharpness to his advantage. This won't be the last we see of Garcia though, especially since he is now in Greg Jackson's camp.

Serra shocked the world. If Serra were to pull off the win, I thought it would have been by submission, not by winning the standup war. They were saying his and were heavy, and they sure did prove to be just that.

One of Serra's guys, Luke Cummo, is one of my favorite fighters to watch. Win or lose, his pace is unreal and his fights are always exciting. He dismantled Haynes with no problem. I hope to see alot more of him on the UFC cards.

[IX_Equilibrium]

Something I missed, GSP actually tapped. Not that it matters much because Big John was already stepping in.

http://www.upshizzle.com/pfiles/2175/GSP%20gets%20Kayo%27d.gif

[dallaskd]

Something I missed, GSP actually tapped. Not that it matters much because Big John was already stepping in.

http://www.upshizzle.com/pfiles/2175/GSP%20gets%20Kayo%27d.gif

I dont see it.

[dallaskd]

Matt Hughes seemed happy Serra won.

[IX_Equilibrium]

I dont see it.


GSP's right hand at the end. It may be easier to see it realtime.

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ufc%2B69/video/x1nn0f_ufc-69-matt-serra-vs-george-stpierr

[mardigan]

I dont see it either, but it was cool to see the highlights on ESPN

[IX_Equilibrium]

From a guy I know who went there: "Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans almost came to blows at the event. They each exchanged words and then shoved each other, but the whole thing was promptly broken up."

[mardigan]

I hope Rashad beats his ass

[atxrocker]

ortiz would knock evans out.

about last night, only caught the sanchez and st.pierre fights. was really dissapointed that sanchez let kos have his way with him and dictate the pace of the fight. i still think he coulda pulled out a win in the first round if he had more time. kos is an arrogant little shit, but he took it to diego (who i noticed is a kings fan). serra was awesome out there tonight, props to him for taking out a champ. what an upset.

and i heard about those two cats from texas (lubbock and SA) who put on a good fight. a buddy said it was one of the finest UFC fights he had seen. too bad i missed it. any links?

[djohn14]

ortiz would knock evans out.

about last night, only caught the sanchez and st.pierre fights. was really dissapointed that sanchez let kos have his way with him and dictate the pace of the fight. i still think he coulda pulled out a win in the first round if he had more time. kos is an arrogant little shit, but he took it to diego (who i noticed is a kings fan). serra was awesome out there tonight, props to him for taking out a champ. what an upset.

and i heard about those two cats from texas (lubbock and SA) who put on a good fight. a buddy said it was one of the finest UFC fights he had seen. too bad i missed it. any links?


They fight on July 7 I think.

[cornbread]

Try dailymotion.com. The videos usually last longer there than youtube.

[LEONARD]

Damn...GSP WTF??? Uggggghhhhhhhh. I have zero interest in Hughes - Serra...but I have a feeling we'll see it now. I'd rather see Hughes - Koscheck. I think Koscheck would beat Matt.

Diego vs Koscheck = worst fight in years...not comment worthy really.

Okami is a bad mofo...highly under-rated due to lack of exposure. Swick came in a little over-rated IMO...

Huerta - Garcia was vert entertaining...Garcia can take some abuse, but he was clearly outmatched.

Grove looked really good...

Luke got a nice KO win :fro

Herring got a win with a dominant unanimous decision, which is great for the HW division...

Leites - Sell sounds like it was a great fight. Can't wait to DL them later this week along with the other undercards.

and Big Nog is now in the UFC...the HW division is kicking ass now... :fro
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1nngy_minotauro-at-ufc-69

6/8 on my picks...missed on Koscheck and Serra (obviously)...

[tlongII]

If you can strike you have a chance at beating anybody in MMA. This should probably give a little more respect to boxing.

[desflood]

Okami is a bad mofo...highly under-rated due to lack of exposure. Swick came in a little over-rated IMO...
Swick lost all heart after that first round. During the break the camera was on him and you could hear him say, "Man, he's really strong," and the look on his face was already that of defeat.

[IX_Equilibrium]

From a guy I know who went there: "Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans almost came to blows at the event. They each exchanged words and then shoved each other, but the whole thing was promptly broken up."


Here is the video of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xq1bCjeNGg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebloodyknux%2Ecom%2Fforum%2 Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D25862

[dbreiden83080]

Honestly a GSP/Serra rematch is a better fight than Hughes and GSP again. Hughes can not strike with GSP and he has a tough time taking him down, that is a bad combination. Serra is not as good a overall fighter as Hughes but he can strike with GSP.

[desflood]

Here is the video of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xq1bCjeNGg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebloodyknux%2Ecom%2Fforum%2 Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D25862
Forrest found it all highly amusing.

[djohn14]

Anderson Silva versus Nate "The Great" Marquardt.

[dbreiden83080]

Forrest found it all highly amusing.

Tito is going to pound Rashad, he is in over his head.

[LEONARD]

Funny incident between Rashad and Tito...

Tito can sell a fight :lol


Anderson Silva versus Nate "The Great" Marquardt.

Uhhhhhhhhh....yea, that was random. They're fighting at UFC 73 in July...

:dizzy

[LEONARD]

GSP post-fight interview
http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1153

Koscheck post-fight interview
http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1154

Koscheck hit up Diego's myspace page a few hrs after his fight... :lol
http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/04/08/josh-koscheck-probably-lost-a-myspace-friend/

Swick post-fight interview...says he's considering dropping to 170 lbs. :ihit
http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1155

Huerta post-fight interview
http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1156

[mardigan]

Tito is going to pound Rashad, he is in over his head.
I think peopl are underestimating Rashad, guy is a freak. He is one of the more athletic guys in the UFC, and can hold his own on the ground. I think he has a real good chance at taking Titos overhyped ass out

[atxrocker]

i think it'll be a competitive fight, but overhyped? dude kicked a bunch of tough motherfuckers asses. i don't care much for his arrogance, but tito is a force for sure. i think he'll take this one.

[dbreiden83080]

i think it'll be a competitive fight, but overhyped? dude kicked a bunch of tough motherfuckers asses. i don't care much for his arrogance, but tito is a force for sure. i think he'll take this one.

Tito's only losses at 205 are to the very top guys in the sport, Liddell and Couture. While there are other guys at that weight that can beat Tito, Rashad is not one of them.

[mardigan]

i think it'll be a competitive fight, but overhyped? dude kicked a bunch of tough motherfuckers asses. i don't care much for his arrogance, but tito is a force for sure. i think he'll take this one.
Well all the guy has done is beat up Shamrock and lose to better comp. He had that one fight against Forrest, where he didnt dominate whatsoever, and other than that had gotten his ass beat, not just a little, but bad. He also almost lost against Belfort, and he has lost to more han just those 2 guys. He doesnt scare people the way he used to, and I would not be surprised to see Rashad knock him the fuck out

[djohn14]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahk3YEQ2LD0

Different fight, but same result against Tito?
Anyone see this?

[djohn14]

I know this is random, but ouch. He's having a seizure or something.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JnpUkneMSWE

[dbreiden83080]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahk3YEQ2LD0

Different fight, but same result against Tito?
Anyone see this?

Tito is going to take Rashad down and punish him until they stop the fight. He will never get the chance to land a shot like that.

[LEONARD]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahk3YEQ2LD0

Different fight, but same result against Tito?
Anyone see this?

Damn...when was that???!!! :spin

That black guy is a badass... :ihit

[IX_Equilibrium]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahk3YEQ2LD0

Different fight, but same result against Tito?
Anyone see this?

Sean Salmon. Some guy who had never fought in the UFC before and got put in a main event. :rolleyes
They gave him to Rashad to build up the Rashad hype. Tito will put an end to that hype.

[IX_Equilibrium]

Koscheck hit up Diego's myspace page a few hrs after his fight... :lol
http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/04/08/josh-koscheck-probably-lost-a-myspace-friend/



That is funny. I want to hear Diego's thoughts on the fight and his reason for being so passive.

[IX_Equilibrium]

From one of Alan Belcher's training partners on Belcher post-fight:

"Firstly, Alan was wavering back and forth between "should I take him down or should I stand and strike". At first Alan wanted to KO Grove on the feet, but he was also having such a hard time in sparring with me and another tall guy from Rich Franklin's camp that he thought he might need to go with another game plan. As of fight night, the game plan was to stay standing and chop away at Kendal's skinny legs for the first round. We all knew Kendal was going to bring a fast pace, so body shots and leg kicks were what we wanted to focus on in the first round.

Alan worked with Helio Soneca for Jits and Muay Thai. Soneca apparently has a good group of MT badasses in Kentucky that worked Alan really good for the entire week that he was there. Tim Creuder, a BJJ black belt, came down twice a month on the weekends to work BJJ. Tim would put Alan in a bad spot and Alan would work out of it, etc, etc. Alan's boxing coach worked a lot on getting inside Kendal's lazy lead left hook with a right hand to the chin. In sparring I had to mimic Kendal's fighting style the best I could by throwing lots of long lead looks and Alan did well with defending them and getting inside.

The big surprise was that Kendal worked from a Thai clinch. We never expected it and we never worked it. Also, Kendal was way stronger than in his past fights. That's something that caught Alan off-guard. Alan figured that he'd be the stronger guy. Kendal just had a lot of leverage.

I haven't talked to Alan yet since the fight. His girlfriend, Ashlee, told me that he had to get 19 stiches and was just super disappointed. She also said that Alan suffered a severe adrenaline dump after his takedown on Kendal in the first round. I'm sure I'll see or talk to Alan sometime soon, but right now he just doesn't want to see anyone right now. He's still in Houston and watched the Astros battle the St. Louis Cardinals at the Minute Maid Park."

[LEONARD]

Interesting info...thanks :fro

So much more comes down to gameplan than we realize...

[LEONARD]

Didn't take Dana long to announce Serra vs Hughes...
http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/04/10/matt-serra-to-face-matt-hughes-in-first-title-defense/

I'm a Serra fan now...fuck Matt Hughes...

[desflood]

It's set then - over the next 8 months or so Matt Hughes will take the belt from Serra, then GSP will take it back from Hughes. Oh, happy day...

[LEONARD]

It's set then - over the next 8 months or so Matt Hughes will take the belt from Serra, then GSP will take it back from Hughes. Oh, happy day...

I hope not...the WW division is too stacked for just GSP and Hughes to get title shots...

I hope Serra beats Hughes and sends him to retirement...

[IX_Equilibrium]

GSP will fight someone before he fights for the title again. Koscheck perhaps? I think Hughes will get the belt back, and GSP will defeat Kos, and then they will fight again. It's too soon for me to predict on Hughes-GSP III. I'd like to see how they both look on their next fight.

[desflood]

I think we might see GSP/Diego Sanchez next. I think a lot of people feel that even though Kos ran the fight, Diego would have won had he not been so cautious.

[IX_Equilibrium]

I think a lot of people feel that even though Kos ran the fight, Diego would have won had he not been so cautious.


Diego didn't do shit. For all of his badboy antics and attempts to intimidate, he sure didn't translate that into his performance in the octagon. He really hurt his image that night, IMO. If you talk a big game, and you have the chance to back it up but don't, you lose credibility.

I hate Kos as much as anyone, but I feel he moved up the ladder to the title shot above Diego.

[desflood]

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree with you. Kos won (even if it was a crappy win) and he deserves to move up for it. I'm just not sure that that's what will happen. Not that it matters so much, because neither of them could beat GSP or Hughes anyway, at least not yet.

[IX_Equilibrium]

Diego updated his myspage page and stated his record is 20-0! WTF???

People are leaving him nasty comments about it, like:

"19-1. You aren't retiring undefeated! After that Boring Gun Shy performance on Saturday, Koscheck would beat you 100 times out of 100. Deal with it!"

another one:

"Maybe try throwing a few punches next time it is a fight and people are paying to watch the weigh in was more exiting than the fight!"

[LEONARD]

LMAO...myspace wars...

[LEONARD]

Swick posted on the UG forum...
http://mma.tv/tuf/index.cfm?ac=ListMessages&PID=1&TID=1026626&FID=1&pc=45

[dallaskd]

I wanna put the Garcia-Huerta fight on my blog. Anyone found the video?

[dallaskd]

Didn't take Dana long to announce Serra vs Hughes...
http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/04/10/matt-serra-to-face-matt-hughes-in-first-title-defense/

I'm a Serra fan now...fuck Matt Hughes...

Kosheck has to have a title shot some time. GSP will probably have to fight 3 fights before getting another shot. The welters are deep. I expect Deigo to get one by next year even after his dissapointing loss. I think Hughes will win but I'll never doubt Serra again, just like Randy Couture.