Pride 11 card: WTF is this crap?!?

[GROUND CONTROL]

Matt said that he will be fighting in December for Pride.

[McLeod]

Wasn't Johil and Serra's rematch supposed to take place soon?
And what about Newton? Having him fight a top opponent again is way ovedue, and I want to SEE it, not hear about it.

[fil]

Newton needs to be matched up with a good lightwight fighter. He entered the "Olympic Pankration" (very restrictive rules MMA) event in Toronto area a short while ago. I dont understand why he was allowed to enter again (last year also) what is suppose to be an amatuer event. And from what I hear he was easily thrashing his oponents (no big suprise) but using unnecessary force on novices (slamming and suposedly KOed one oponent). I am sure he needs to practice but against other guys no where near his level... doesnt seem like a good atitude.

On another Canadian note, Goodridge has said (before his match with Yvel) that he has a two year contract with Pride, this is despite he never seems to break into the A class level of fighters. But they are happy with him I assume because he is fairly entertaining.

[Hookah Smokin Caterpillar]

Goodridge sucks, but I love the man. I've never seen a card with a Goodridge fight and thought to myself, "Damn, this match is going to suck."

I have a feeling his fight is going to be worked though in this Pride. I hate when people accuse fights of being works without actually seeing the fight, but its just an instinct. I honestly see a better chance of Takada beating Vov in a shoot then Yatsu beating Big Daddy. This card isn't blockbuster, but it'll be a good show like all Pride shows

And thats my two cents

[GROUND CONTROL]

What besides the Yvel vs Silva fight is even worth watching?
Goodridge in my opinion sucks. Who cares if he acts like a hard ass to entertain the fans? I don't find him beating his chest before he loses entertaining. Gary needs to get with Tank and Ken S. and do some pro wrestling. But even pro wrestling wants a fighter that can win once in a while.

It is nice of Pride to allow him to finally win a match. The only thing I give him credit for is having the balls to step into the ring and fight.

[Zhoozhitsu]

Holy sh*t! I missed the Yvel x Silva fight. This one will rock the house no doubt. If Silva were smart, he'd take Yvel down and pound him there. But knowing Silva and his strong tendency to go toe to toe w/ anyone, I'm inclinded to think he will duke it out w/ Yvel standing up.

Lights out for someone in this fight.

[fil]

Originally posted by GROUND CONTROL
Gary needs to get with Tank and Ken S. and do some pro wrestling.

He has already stated that he does want to become a prowrestler either in Japan or America and he will likly end up doing just that eventualy.

As for him "sucking" I think he is a fairly good MMA fighter and has improved alot and has looked for help from acomplished fighters (Coleman, Newton) he some skill and ability to give alot of very good fighters tough fights but he is just not at the level of alot of pro fighters. He is useful as a litmus test for new fighters, if you beat him you are good enough to be brought back again. I wouldnt use the term "sucks" for him but for some of the guys he has beaten...

If anyone should not be brought back to Pride it should be Matsui. How many times does he have to lose before Pride decides to get rid of him?

As for Vanderlei vs Yvel. I think Silva has matured a little as a fighter and wont be stuborn and try to KO Yvel standing and do the smart thing and take Yvel to the ground. He submited another Dutch striker Shriber so I think he will try to do the same in this match. If he does get into a standup war with Yvel mark my words that is a big mistake.

[Hookah Smokin Caterpillar]

I agree with you fil about Silva making a mistake if he stands up with Gilbert. Even if people think Silva is a better striker, it doesn't mean shit. Maybe in Jiu Jitsu competition size doesn't matter, but in the striking arts, if you're a middleweight and you're slightly better then a a heavyweight, still doesn't mean you'll win. Not that I think Silva has Yvel's power and craziness

[GROUND CONTROL]

fil- I also think Yvel will beat Silva if he decides to go toe to toe. As for Goodridge maybe "Sucks" was a strong word. Gary is tough period. He has no skills. He is big, strong and can punch a little. Being fairly good is an overstatement of his talent. He may be training with Coleman etc but it sure didn't help him against Yvel.

[Hookah Smokin Caterpillar]

Ground Control...

I think training with Coleman WAS the reason he lost. Who would train with Coleman to protect themselves from someone who's known to try to KO with high kicks?

[fil]

Originally posted by GROUND CONTROL
He has no skills. He is big, strong and can punch a little. Being fairly good is an overstatement of his talent. He may be training with Coleman etc but it sure didn't help him against Yvel.

I classify him as being a fairly good MMA fighter because he could easily defeat most heavyweight fighters that compete in smaller shows such as Extreme Challenge, IFC, UCC etc. And he has given veteran expeirenced very good fighters competitive matches.

Him having no skill is not true, it doesnt matter how strong you are you cant last long with fighters like Coleman, Frye, Ruas, Vochanchin and Erickson on pure strength alone. He even competed in the Grapplers Challenge a submision grapling event about two years back in Toronto and submited both his heavyweight oponents in the advanced division, not bad for someone not considered a grappler. He does not train full time like alot of pro fighters and lives in Barrie, Ontario not exactly a mecca for MMA, he has to drive three hours in order to train with Coleman in Ohio when he has time available. Not everyone is lucky enough to be raised at birth training like Rickson, live in a city with so many good fighters avaliable to train with like L A, or have the foresight was a teenager to join the highschool wrestling team instead of the baseball team.

As for Coleman not helping Goodridge in his match with Yvel. As the other poster mentioned that Coleman sort of hurt Goodridge. Goodridge was only concerned with takeing down Yvel, lowering his arms telegraphing his intentions and exposing his head. He was not thinking about defence only about getting the takedown.

[rockinronnie]

With the exception of the Yvel / Silva match-up, it looks
almost pathetic. I'm curious about the Sakuraba / Rich bout
- only curious about how Rich will size up Saku, and what
his game plan intends to be. Sure hope he pulls off an
upset - even though I've heard it's highly unlikely (I've
yet to see Shannon fight, although some say he's nowhere
near the level of F. Shamrock, V. Belfort, T. Ortiz and a
few others that should have got the fight with Saku
instead). Looking more forward to Pride 12, for sure.

Fil - you even mentioned Carlos Newton, and when we may see
him again in IFC or Pride, etc. I had a chat with him at the
Toronto Pankration tournament and asked him something
similar. I asked him if we'll ever see a rematch with him
and Saku, and his response was that it HAS to happen again
eventually. Personally, I'd rather see that one sooner,
rather than later. By the way, I also disagree with him
being able to fight in an amateur tournament such as the one
in Toronto, although even though he totally dominated every
fight, he never tossed his opponents that hard (like I'm
sure he's capable of), and he never "knocked out" any of his
opponents. What he did do was bring his knee down on his
opponents chest / stomach so often, that his opponent told
the ref that he had had enough. The guy laid on the mat for
about a minute, and then got up and eventually shook
Newton's hand. But at no time was he ever knocked out cold.

Ronnie.

[GROUND CONTROL]

Fil- we will agree to disagree. Surviving with Coleman, Frye, and Erickson wasn't that hard. At the times they fought none of those guys had the skills to finish the fight. Gary is a tough guy and weathered the storm as best he could. He never had any of those guys in danger. Just surviving isn't enough to claim he has skills.

Vovchanchin Ko'ed him twice so that is a bad example.

Ruas was old and injured when he fought Gary. He was also 40-50lbs lighter and he tapped Gary not a good example either.

I can't remember but I think the much smaller Frye tapped him also.

[fil]

I dont argue that he is very limited in tecniqe and I doubt if he can ever move up a level but I just think the term "no skill" should be reserved for guys like Takada.

I think if Pride wants to keep him they should use him only as an oponent for newcomers to test their worth.

[GROUND CONTROL]

Fil OK I will agree with that. He is big, strong, and comes out swinging. So he is a good test for newcomers.