Have you watched this season? It's really been excellent -- just well-rounded talent all fighting to win and coaches actually coaching instead of letting their fight promotion overshadow the talent. And Sonnen is awesome.
The last season I really paid much attention to was the Rampage-Rashad season, and the rest since then I've just kind of dropped in and out if something looked interesting.
But yes, Sonnen is awesome.
Why do MMA fans not realize that Sonnen is a pro wrestler that happens to only do shoot fights?
ReplyDeleteI've heard it's picked up this season now that they've dropped the juvenile shit at the house (and after so many seasons, that REALLY got old), didn't just use it as a hype machine for a coaches PPV match, and just focused on the fighters and their stories. I may have to check it out at some point.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind trash talk if it's genuine or if it's just a little ramped up. But with Sonnen it honestly feels like he sits in front of a mirror and practices everything he says. Everything feels fabricated coming from his mouth. Which is odd because as a pro wrestling fan I should like that but I don't. I was a fan of his up until his second fight with Anderson. But after that it just felt redundant. It feels like what he did to Anderson in 2009-2010 is what he's doing to Jon Jones right now.
ReplyDeleteI think most MMA fans do realize that. I watched Sonnen's fight against Michael Bisping with my cousin and the first thing he said after the fight was "God does he have to do that wrestling bullshit?"
ReplyDeleteSonnen's toned down his rhetoric for the show. It seems that he's come to find some actual respect for Jones which is interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteHonestly as a fan of TUF I think this season is just a pretty standard season for the show before TUF10 or so. The past few seasons have been abysmal but the formula for TUF is pretty easy. Get 3 or 4 guys who are actual legit prospects. A couple crazy guys (helps if one of them is an actual prospect). A few jobbers. A couple token "old guys" (hard for me to say since I'm now older than all of them). Give them free alcohol. And the show writes itself.
Uriah being a legitimate headcase who has the rest of his housemates scared to death is pretty fun to watch though. They're advertising another execution by him next week and I'm sure it'll deliver.
I highly recommend if they throw on a marathon or it's on demand. They upped their game production-wise, and I think overall the talent has been much better.than in the last couple of years. Some of these knockouts have been ROUGH.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed watching Sonnen just coaching and motivating the guys. And watching Bubba crap his pants in fear is and will continue to be high comedy.
ReplyDeleteTUF is seen in more homes than ROH.
ReplyDeleteUFC 2nd largest promotion in USA.
How about just a UFC live thread for the PPVs?
ReplyDeleteWhile TUF has already been aired on FX, it still had the old production company look and feel to it. This is the first season where you can tell that FX had their own production input and it has made for a great upgrade in my opinion. Individual interviews are much more documentary style, getting insight on the fighter themselves, and just the look of the show seems more professional. Definitely a big step up.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am very impressed with the coaches this year. Both Jones and Sonnen are not only going over the technical aspects of fighting, but the mental aspects as well. They truly care about the fighters and want them all to succeed without putting their own agendas first.
Granted, TUF doesn't produce stars anymore. That's because all the true young talents are already in the UFC or will be signed up right away. Jon Jones himself is an example, as when he was just an up and coming prospect, UFC just brought him in right away. If anyone in TUF the last few years had real start potential, they'd have been shot right to the big dance and not even used on the show.
I didn't care for Sonnen prior to TUF but seeing him not "on" has endeared him to me. I like his coaching style and his objectivity. Most every fight I've seen in past seasons had the coaches and competitors all unanimously supporting their guy each week. This year, Sonnen has been pretty forthcoming about his fighters' chances. While he always thought his guy would win, he still gave credit and respect to the opposition.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think Sonnen deserved to fight Jones yet (still don't, really) but I still can't wait to see it.
Does Sonnen have an actual chance against Jones? Jon is a destroyer who has finished some tough fighters and if Sonnen can't take him down and control him (which will be difficult based on Jones' wrestling and size), what hope does Chael have?
ReplyDeleteSonnen has been great coaching and motivating all the talent, and Jones as well. Big change from when some of the fighters were rebelling against Lesnar and Rampage.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think he has much of one. There's nothing he can do significantly better than Jones and Jones has multiple advantages. I just hope it's entertaining.
ReplyDeleteShort answer, no. He had a better chance on Anderson.
ReplyDeleteSonnen is a decision fighter. 27 career wins, 16 decisions. Most of his legitimate losses are submission losses. He gets you down on the ground and doesn't have the power or submission skill to put you away quickly. That's not the worst fighting style in MMA; it describes modern GSP pretty much and he's the 2nd or 3rd most successful UFC fighter ever. Sonnen's problem in this fight is that he doesn't have the strength to get Jones down to score points in the first place; it's more likely that Jones will take HIM down just to prove a point. Sonnen doesn't even have the "anything can happen" 1 punch power where he can flash KO Jones.
It's just a bad matchup stylistically and that's why it's always been curious to me why Jones didn't accept the fight the first time it was offered to him. It's such an easy win on paper.
Yeah, that's probably the best answer anyone can give.
ReplyDeleteI think Jones' refusal on Chael earlier was based on his management team wanting to play it safe.
Had Jones taken the fight, it would've wasted the huge payday he's likely to get this time. Jones/Sonnen should draw fairly well and they wouldn't have had that opportunity if Jones had accepted the replacement fight.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of the show, but I only started watching this and MMA in general a few years ago, so I can understand why it isn't as popular as it used to be. This new season does feel a bit fresher, and the next sounds like a lot of fun, but I do question how relevant the show can stay in the next few years.
ReplyDelete