Former Pride Fighters: Overrated or Timid?

[Soul_Edge]

I was not very impressed with Werdum's performance tonight in the octagon. He looked appreshensive and threw sloppy punches. Granted, AA didn't do much to take advantage but he didn't need to, to win the fight. Not to mention, Gonzaga shocking the world by RHK CroCop for victory.


Which brings me to my question. Are the Pride fighters overrated or were they sucked into the hype of the UFC and the pressure. I won't take anything away from CroCop. He probably was overconfident and as we all know, anyone can lose on any given night. But I asked the question. Were the UFC Heavyweights that weak, or were people just looking down at them?

p.s. I am drunk right now...

[da@LARGE]

Watcing the same fighters in a both cage and a ring just demonstrates how much the setting effects their performance,

I believe the fighters who were great in Pride can be great in the UFC, it'll maybe just take some time for them to adapt.

[DonFrye]

I still love CC and that won't change. The problem I saw last night is that he was looking for a specific angle and never got it. It's almost like he was only looking for the straight left followed by the lhk. Gabe did a great job of circling and staying away from it. I just think CC wanted a HL finish and he got it, just not the one he wanted.

[Howie]

i think cro cop not training in a cage led to him not being prepared. i also think he was over confident and it got the better of him

[Tyler4870]

Cro Cop looked extremly uncomfortable last night. When Gonzaga took him down and was dropping elbows that threw him off of his game big time. He'll be back. I still got love for him.

[gogoplata]

ya he also said that he was "annoyed" with all the UFC pre fight whoring... hopefully next time they let him do whatever he wants to before the fight so hes psyched and ready to destroy

[Catalyst]

Originally Posted by DonFrye

I still love CC and that won't change. The problem I saw last night is that he was looking for a specific angle and never got it. It's almost like he was only looking for the straight left followed by the lhk. Gabe did a great job of circling and staying away from it. I just think CC wanted a HL finish and he got it, just not the one he wanted.

My thoughts exactly, plus the added effects of Cro Cop (and other former Pride HW's) getting used to the cage is the only problem here... I can't see the fighters being nervous to fight for the UFC crowd, as the Pride audience was always several times larger than those typical at UFC events, but I guess knowing that the fans are going to boo if you're not throwing punches every second can work the nerves a bit... Give them some time, the former Pride fighters will start performing up-to-par soon... I'm VERY interested to see how Nog fares for his first time in the octagon...

[sx66gns]

Overrated & Timid.

[bmore_aki]

I think what we are finding is that in general, the UFC and Pride level of competition are pretty damn close.

Each promotion may have top heavy talent in every weight class but the fighters who make it to that level generally are more talented than the average professional.

The growth of MMA in all parts of the world, the training improvements and the increased athletic pool means that in all promotions, better and more shocking fights are going to happen. Finally we are getting the opportunity to see match ups fans have always talked about. And maybe even seeing that the matchups we underrate ourselves have some surprises in store.

[Ramma]

Originally Posted by Howie3045

i think cro cop not training in a cage led to him not being prepared. i also think he was over confident and it got the better of him

agreed, and I never thought I would say this, but Cro Cop is a fool. He should be training in a cage, not the ring