MMAWeekly.com is reporting that UFC 68 (currently scheduled for March 3, 2007) will take place in Columbus, Ohio. The current card is thought to feature Tim Syliva vs. Frank Mir Brandon Vera for the Heavyweight title and the return of former Middleweight champion Rich Franklin.
Recently we have seen the UFC trying to capitalize on their popularity by holding events in places other than Las Vegas. First they went to California, and since have had and event in Florida. Plans for 2007 include several events in the United Kingdom and in Canada.
But Columbus, Ohio? Seems kind of an odd choice for me. There is a huge wrestling contingent in the midwest, and lots of MMA fight fans for some of the smaller shows held in that area. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
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lol wtf?? why would frank mir get a title shot?? i think mir has to beat arlovski before he gets a shot at sylvia again.
Wow, it sounds like MMAWeekly is smoking some really good ****, man. Can I get some?
Mind you, I have a buddy in Columbus. Might have to book vacation time if this is true…
My mistake BV, simple type. I meant to put Brandon Vera.
I don’t think we’ll see Frank Mir in the UFC again at all.
I like mir but he got hit like one time and fell down and just covered up. he did not even try to pull guard or fight back. I was hoping he woudl do better so at least they would be another heavyweight that has a chance. That Kongo guy woudl beat Mir at this point…………………….I wish the UFC woudl come to Houston
i know brandan vera is good i give him that im a fan but hes not ready for tim not yet maybe 5or6 fights yes but not now hes going to lose if he cant find a way around that height hes just bigger and stronger tim is and the way the ufc is going u lose and it might be the last time u see them i think vera should fight arlovski if he can beat him then maybe but not until them but i will still be going for vera but i think its a bad move a really bad move .
They will sell out that building in Ohio in 1 week tops. Ohio is MMA crazy, people outside the midwest just don’t realize that. I plan on driving down from Michigan and I bet alot of others will as well.
Hey ****…what are you smoking?! Vera could beat Sylvia. Tim has been less than impressive lately and Vera seems to be well versed on his feet and on the ground.
On a side note…when is the UFC coming back to AC dammit!
vera will beat sylvia!!!!! how much more well rounded can u be
when u are a bjj black belt, thai striking and thai clinch god, and a greco roman wrestling champion. Vera will win and be the poster boy for the ufc h.w division for a long time . We can only dream and hope for a future fight in a couple years that could be mma legendary.
BRANDON VERA vs. FEDOR
Fedor vs Vera???
Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves a little ??
Way ahead.
Jason…come to Montreal for GSP Hughes III!
I’m only about 3hrs from columbus, aufc here will be great, and I will deffinately try to go. I’m not paying $300 for nose bleeds though.
I live in AZ and am stuck with that anti-MMA ******* McCain and all of his influence he has stinking up the place. Ohio be thankful!
Why wont UFC Contract Fedor, is he not willing or is Dana White not willing? He would kill Sylvia. also, Quinten Jackson? Sylvia is such a lame Heavy weight. Can’t wait until he loses.
I wouldnt blame Dana or Fedor. It depends on what his current contract is with PRIDE. Also, he draws a big crowd, so I am sure he is treated very well wherever he goes PRIDE affiliated.
u guys going for vera to win are kiding ur self tim is bigger and stronger and he showed some ground skills against monson and monson is a monster and ur trying to tell me that u guys dont believe tim has a little chance then u guys are letting ur emotions in on this straight up vera will try to exchange and get knocked out and even though i hate to type it its true .now is somebody other than myself think vera is making the wrong choice
tim has some KO power but watching him fight is such a bore. He doesn’t have much more than great power. His so called ground game he showed against Monson… Come on he rolled from a North/South into another North/South. He fought that fight with fear. He is lucky he is so big. I’t might not be Vera but his days are numbered.
mark ill agree with that
Not to mention Sylvia has a WEAK chin! Come on…anytime ANYONE has hit him he goes down like a $10 hooker! I’m not saying Vera is the best in the business…but I believe he can and WILL be Sylvia.
*beat*
$15 hookers go down better. Just sayin’
lol, alot of hate against Sylvia here man. He may not be up to par technically with some of the other fighters, but it doesnt change the fact that hes a beast! hes huge, hes disciplined, he knows how to use his size to his advantage, and hes probably one of the toughest guys in MMA today. I dont think hes a very exciting fighter to watch, but i dont care what any of you say, hes a force to be reckoned with.
Vera is a great fighter, hes well rounded, i still see him as the underdog going against Sylvia. He boxes like Holyfield, he keeps guys at his range and knocks them out. Im sure Pat Miletich helped him with his strategy in the monson fight, and he was victorious. He destroyed Monson, took him out of his game, frustrated him, and he won the fight. Just because he didnt take a more aggressive strategy after the 3-4th round, doesnt make him a bad fighter. In his opinion he was ahead in the fight, and he was. It was monsons job to take the fight to him, Really Sylvia made the right decision, and he won the fight. Period.
I dont see many people criticizing Fedor, and hes a beast just like Sylvia. Hes got a great MMA game, but in the end, hes a monster with a hell of a chin. Theres a score of technically better fighters than Fedor, but its not just about skill people, Skill is just one part of the equation.
Whoever said Sylvia has a weak chin, lol you must be crazy. After getting clocked by Arlovski and getting back up, shows an amazing chin! amazing heart! when he got his arm broken by Mir, amazing heart! and amazing toughness!
You think Sylvia doesnt belong at the top of the heavy weight division? simply YOU ARE WRONG. ANYONE would have a hard time dealing with Tim Sylvia, Best of luck to Vera, I dont think he deserves a title shot yet. I think he should have to go through Arlovski first.
Has everyone forgot about Arlovski???? Hes one of the best Heavyweight Fighters in the world! He didnt represent in that last fight vs Sylvia, but hes FAR from finished, ill be looking for my boy Dre to climb the ladder back to the top of the Division.
BVRASP…
TO SAY SYLVIA BOXES LIKE HOLYFIELD IS GIVING TOO MUCH. Also, Tim Sylvia has an average chin, at best. If someone hits you and your knees buckle and you fall down that is not what you call an “amazing chin”. That isnt props to Sylvia for winning, its holes in Arlovskis game for not properly finishing a shook up and rocked opponent.
“I dont see many people criticizing Fedor” (BVRASP)
Maybe thats because this is a UFC discussion, and also because he is a heavyweight that is agile and makes his way without the god given gift of a 10 foot reach. Are you saying he doesnt have skill, heart, and amazing abilities?
All of your advocates to why Sylvia is the best are things that others have more of or equal to. If you ask me he is a good fighter and just so happened to slip into the title while the time was right. By that i mean that he has defended against a grip of fighters who have ended up proving that they cant even cut it in the UFC anymore. With a couple exceptions of course, but i guess you cant cancel everyones contract.
If Vera is given a chance to go at him healthy, and he doesnt get ahead of himself and remains consistent Sylvia has a coin toss of a chance in my mind.
You say you dont think Vera deserves a title shot until after Arlovski, but he has beaten everyone that has been put in front of him. Many people still dont think Anderson Silva deserved a title shot and look at him now, so that is irrelevant.
Nobody has forgotten about Arlovski, in fact, how could we forget that he lost twice in a row to Sylvia. You get a title shot and lose to the same guy you fought against and lost to in your last fight, how does that make you deserving of another title shot? Lets stick to giving title shots to guys that are winning fights instead.
Apparently in your opinion BVRASP, undefeated, winning UFC fighters with a resume including being a 2x Pan-American Champion, Abu-Dhabi veteran, 8x Grapplers Quest Champion, W.K.A. Muay Thai National champion, and earning a Lloyd Irvin Brown Belt doesnt make you an option for a title fight.
Stop letting your biased opinions cloud your views on reality.
MAX
hehe obviously i didnt mean that hes at the skill level of Holyfield, i just meant his boxing style is like holyfield, using the size advantage, that was a misunderstanding.
“Not to mention Sylvia has a WEAK chin! Come on…anytime ANYONE has hit him he goes down like a $10 hooker!”
-this is what i was responding to…
when someone with Arlovskis power hits you on the button, your done, the fact that Sylvia recovered so quickly is what says he has an amazing chin.. LOL.. now you see somthing like that, then you comment saying Sylvia has a weak chin?? you must be crazy man, that blow would have probably broken your jaw LOL
“Maybe thats because this is a UFC discussion, and also because he is a heavyweight that is agile and makes his way without the god given gift of a 10 foot reach. Are you saying he doesnt have skill, heart, and amazing abilities?”
-i wasnt the first one to mention Fedor in this thread hehe
Fedor is not an amazing technical martial artist, just like Sylvia is not great at the technical aspect, granted, fedor is better than Sylvia in terms of skill. Im not saying theyre equal, im trying to show you what they have in common. Just because your not tall, doesnt mean your not a beast lol. Fedor has skill, heart and amazing abilities… AND he also has god given gifts. Dont kid yourself bro, Fedor is no Bruce Lee, Hes a warrior, he can dish it out, an he can take it. Sylvia is a warrior too man, though he may not look as pretty doing it, he gets it done.
So how would that make me biased? i recognize a warrior when i see one man, to deny Sylvia the respect he deserves sounds like you just dont think hes an exciting fighter, so your hating on him.
About Vera, LOL man, i never said he wasnt an option for the title, your puttin words in my mouth now. I said he should go against Arlovski first, id rather see him fight Vera than Cruz, just like if you want a shot at the welterweight title, you gotta get through Riggs first lol. But thats just my opinion.
Stop hating on Sylvia man, though he looks like just an Ogre, hes a cerebral fighter and hes coming around bigtime in his skills under miletich. Hes got all the tools, lets see how far he will reach cuz hes got potential man.
I dont know what im looking forward to more.. Chuck Wandy, or Sylvia Fedor LOL. Obviously Fedor would be the favorite, but dont count out Sylvia in that fight either.. it IS a fight, and anything can happen, with miletich in his corner and the right game plan, he could win that fight bro.
I realize any fighter COULD beat any other fighter. Hell, if a miracle happened, i COULD beat Chuck Liddell. Doesn’t mean anything about me, other than the fact I can cause motion in my arms and legs.
And please stop comparing Sylvia to Fedor. Fedors strengths are sambo, judo, and obviously strength and striking. Sylvia can defend a takedown, and use his reach for strikes, thats it!
The day Sylvia reverses a takedown, and turns it into a win by good solid submission, you can maybe say “someday he might fight like Fedor”.
You cant possibly think that if Fedor had been fighting Monson it still woudl have gone 5 rounds. I think Monson and Mark Coleman would make a good fight, but we all saw what Fedor did to coleman.
Peoples perspective of the heavyweight area of MMA gets distorted when they only watch UFC. Cruz is a joke, Arlovski, Sylvia, Marerro, and Kongo are the only real long haul fighters in that weight class that they have.
If you want to see a very good heavyweight battle, get a hold of the Mirko vs Fedor fight.
lol, now i understand, you think my opinion is biased because you think i only watch UFC. Bro i probably been watching Pride before you man, K1 and Abu Dhabi. But lets not get into that debate… cuz its always dumb and it never goes anywhere..
so in response to what you said, I was trying to compare what Sylvia and Fedor have in common, and I even said it wasnt their skills. Read what i wrote, cuz im not gon say it all again lol.
Basically, its the tenacity of the man, Its not just a measure of skill, its that killer instinct, that is what they have in common.
Coleman is over the hill, the only time i want to see coleman fight, is against couture, or royce gracie, if they ever have a seniors match lol
In terms of the Sylvia vs Fedor, Sylvia would not win by superior skill, because right now he doesnt have that, its TACTICS man, why cant you understand that? Look at holyfield tyson, before you jump in and say, this isnt a boxing match blah blah.. there are similar tactics in MMA to keep your opponent at a distance and capitalize on your reach advantage.
Sylvia could do it man… you couldnt LOL your arm motion even if you put everything behind one shot, you couldnt knock Fedor out, whos losing their grip on reality now? hehe
i am not losing my grip on reality. reality is that sylvia has faced fighters who havent been able to take him down, and/or work around the reach and thats it. i was simply saying fedor could take him down. fedor could stop sylvia dead in his tracks.
“Bro i probably been watching Pride before you man” (BVRASP)
you are merely a spectator, its obvious. watching ER doesnt make you wise and understanding in the medical field when compared to doctors.
seeing how i was born in russia and lived there for many years, i have an understanding about peoples mentality compared to that of the US. you will not hear people calling UFC a savage sport like here in the states. you will not hear as many comments about how people could “never do that”. to understand what i am saying, you have to have experience toe to toe, or understand these fighters mentality.
(i also want to say that i mean no rudeness or personal attack on you BVRASP. i am just having a friendly debate. sometimes my wording after going back and reading it can sound harmful and rude, and for that i apologize)
i feel you, its nothing personal, no attacks hehe
If you wanna know a bit about me, i was born in cyprus, was in the army in my country. I loved martial arts my whole life, I started in Fred Villaris Kempo Karate, still a brown belt. Trained a year of wing chun with some friends of mine. Just recently ive started getting into BJJ, Muai thai and Krav maga. Other than that, Ive studied the Jo staff and Katana. Im not trying to say i could beat you up lol, just so you know im not just a sitting on the couch martial arts fan.
If your interested, check out my buddys video, he a full Ninja, 15 years training, and hes trained in almost every form of martial arts. He works as a stunt man, check him out, hes pretty good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIH4ERLRoJA
well hats off to you for your accomplishments. a little bit about me…
unorthidox but know enough to get the job done. simply, can take a hit, and can give a worse one. which is why i give much credit to big guys who can roll.
Look, I just feel for his size (6′8″) Tim Sylvia is a weak fighter. I feel he could have and should have put Monson (5′9″) away in the 3rd + rounds…after all Chuck Liddell (6′2″) beat Monson in a decision and he didn’t have anywhere near the reach advantage. Even against Arlovski part 3, Tim could have imposed his will on the Pit Bull…but NOOOOO he just bobs his goofy head around and is willing to go to decision. It seems to me that ever since Mir broke Tims arm…he just fights well enough to win (except when he got lucky against vs Arlovski part 2)–he doesn’t have a killer instinct like Fedor or CroCop or “the man” Bas Rutten.
I have to Agree Tim does fight more not to lose rather than fight to win.
yea, i agree with both of you, Sylvia is playing it alot more safe than people would like. A friend of mine just returned my UFC 44 yesterday and i rewatched it, DAM Sylvia destroyed Gan McGee who is actually bigger than Sylvia at 6′10. Then again, he was tested positive for steroids and had his title stripped after that fight..
but thats another story hehehe
Sylvia is a decent fighter, you dont get where he is by being a nobody in mma, but I just dont think he is in the same league as such fighters as Fedor, and Cro Cop. I actually do believe Arlovski is a better fighter than Sylvia, and would take him over Sylvia any day of the week. Some people just have off nights. Tim’s good but not great
The Arnold Classics will be in Columbus, OHIO that weekend. And NAGA is going to host a huge jiu-jitsu tournament there as well…so the word on the street is that UFC 68 is scheduled there because of this.
i think sylvia is a smart fighter…he knows his strengths and weaknesses and sticks to his plan, but his plan is the same for EVERY FIGHT! it gets so boring seeing a guy do the same thing fight after fight, especially a champion who headlines ppv events. he might know how to fight, but he’s the most predictable and lackluster fighter to watch in the UFC hands down in my opinion. it’s true that if he wasn’t 6′8″ and only had his ability to rely on then he would have never become the champ.
i live in erie pa and some of us are getting together to drive to columbus for the foght! ufc is huge around here!
whoops! i mean fight, sorry!