Wow! Saw the fight on Youtube. He destroyed Gonzaga. At one point too a direct kick to the head that would have brought a mortal down and just stood there.
There was nobody happier to see Randy win last night than Dana White. The PPV in December or February will now feature one of three all-time dream MMA heavyweight title fights -- Couture vs. Cro Cop, Couture vs. Big Nog, or Couture vs. Fedor (if Fedor signs with UFC soon). In six months time, the heavyweight division has gone from UFC's worst division to arguably its best.
If St. Pierre gets his wish of a title fight in Montreal, I'm not sure how the timing will work. Dana has said he's not pursuing a UFC in Montreal until after hockey season, since the Habs get first priority at the Bell Centre. So if Hughes/Serra isn't until December, then St. Pierre's shot won't come until March at the earliest, but that's still hockey season. Presuming the Habs make the playoffs, does this mean they're holding off for St. Pierre's rematch until June or July 2008? That would be a ridiculous layoff, and there's no point in GSP having another fight in the interim because he'd have nothing to gain by winning and everything to lose by losing. Having Serra and Hughes as the Ultimate Fighter coaches really messed up the welterweight title picture. I guess the best option would be to have St. Pierre's rematch in March, then have him defend the title in Montreal against the loser of Hughes/Serra in the summer.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeIs there anything he can't do?
Uh ... stay retired?
No haterade. I'm just saying, in sports entertainment, you can quit every other month. But in *real* sports, if you make a big deal out of your retirement, it damn well better be one special event that brings you back.
Well, the only reason he came back was so that CroCop would have a real opponent in a title fight (I am sure Dana begged as only Dana can). Of course, we all know how well that worked out...
I guess that would kind of qualify as a reason to come back - especially if he is a company man. Still, so much has happened since then that irrelevant.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeIs there anything he can't do?
Uh ... stay retired?
No haterade. I'm just saying, in sports entertainment, you can quit every other month. But in *real* sports, if you make a big deal out of your retirement, it damn well better be one special event that brings you back.
So boxing has now ceased to be a "real sport" I assume?
A title fight isn't "one special event" enough for a guy to come out of retirement? I'm sure after a year off, Randy felt better mentally since his divorce was past him, and he's obviously still in tremendous shape. I'm sure he wanted to go out on a more positive note than two losses to Liddell.
Originally posted by spfSo boxing has now ceased to be a "real sport" I assume?
Decades ago!
Originally posted by Big BadA title fight isn't "one special event" enough for a guy to come out of retirement?
An arbitrary guy? Maybe. But that's not the kind of "big deal retirement" we're looking at with Randy.
Somebody who 1) already had won the top championships (what?) 5 times; 2) had already been inducted into the hall of fame; 3) had wrapped up his career with a classic trilogy series with one of the other great athletes in his sport. No, that ain't enough.
I have no squabble about his ability to be back. If he'd told Dana he needed a sabbatical to get his life together, I'd have no problem with that. My problem is entirely with deciding you're done, taking the end-of-career accolades, then deciding you're bored or whatever & turning back up. It destroys the credibility of everybody who wants to close out an illustrious career with well deserved respect.
Originally posted by spfSo boxing has now ceased to be a "real sport" I assume?
Decades ago!
Ignoramus!
My problem is entirely with deciding you're done, taking the end-of-career accolades, then deciding you're bored or whatever & turning back up. It destroys the credibility of everybody who wants to close out an illustrious career with well deserved respect.
That's totally correct. I can't help but remember thinking during Andre Agassi's farewell speech at the US Open that it WOULD have been credible except for all of those flip-floppers like Roger Clemens, Brett Favre, and Sugar Ray Leonard who have ruined retirement for all athletes.
(edited by JayJayDean on 27.8.07 1310) Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
I can understand Couture's retirement--he'd been at it for a decade, he was fighting over 40 during the biggest youth explosion in the sport, he had just been outright knocked out for the first time in his career, he was going through a divorce, etc. It's easy to get the feeling that your life is over, let alone your career. After a year to think about it, he sees the sport still going strong, he feels re-energized, he decides he still has it in him to compete--why not give it another try?
I am a little biased by the fact that the man is one hell of an inspiration to me, and this fight reminded me why. Fedor may be the world's best fighter, but when he's on, Couture is the smartest. Tito, Chuck, Sylvia and Gonzaga all have had their trademark gameplans not just neutralized, but outright used against them, despite that each one had the definitive physical advantage. I'm through betting against Randy; I want him to get his wish, I want to see Randy/Fedor. If we don't see it, the sport's historians will still be debating it twenty, thirty, forty years from now.