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Yep -- he offered it for private sale to me. However, when I go to buy it nothing happens. It looks like the sale goes through correctly, but afterwards there doesn't appear to be any change. Jaques is still listed as the owner and I'm still listed as an employee. The gym still isn't listed on Highstreet nor can I access it from my bookmarks or fighter page. However, I can still access it if I go to the "Companies on Sale" section and click on it from there. I suspect something is going wrong with the sale, perhaps because I'm already an employee. Once that is corrected and the sale is completed, I guess everything should be fine again. Hopefully Mike sees this soon and can lend us a hand.

I'm a BJJ guy, but to be fair at this point in the evolution of MMA I would say that wrestling is the best base for a fighter, simply because it gives you a greater say in where the fight takes place. Having the ability to control your opponent and dictate where the fight occurs is a huge advantage; not being able to do so means you'll always be forced to compete in the part of the game where your opponent feels he has the advantage. And simply put, no discipline is better at dictating the location of the fight than wrestling. A black belt in BJJ doesn't do you much good if you can't get your opponent to the ground. Awesome standup won't help you if you can't stop your opponent from driving you to the mat with a double leg and proceeding to pound on your face. Having said that, nobody that wants to be a top fighter can afford to be one dimensional any more. If a great wrestler doesn't know standup, he's going to get blasted with a knee or an uppercut as he shoots in for a takedown. If he doesn't know submission defense he's going to take a BJJ fighter down only to end up taking a nap or tapping to an armbar. In my opinion, all these discussions about which discipline is superior are antiquated. The days when a practitioner of a single martial art is able to dominate the competition is long past. You can still specialize in one area, but you had better have a well-rounded game or you simply will not succeed at a high level. If you're primarily a stand-up fighter, your wrestling would focus more on preventing takedowns and your ground training would focus more on escapes and defense. If you're primarily a ground fighter, your wrestling would focus more on getting takedowns and your stand-up training would focus more on defense and set-ups. But you've got to have knowledge of all areas of the game, or you're not going to excel.

Been to quite a few -- some of the more famous names include Royler, Ricardo Almeida, Gordinho & Frankie Edgar. No unusual stories, though. They all have been very friendly, helpful and humble -- just all around good guys. I tell you though, when Royler is in side control it feels like he weighs 300 lbs. -- he's a small guy but his pressure is incredible.

Unless I'm missing something (entirely possible), it appears there is an error in alliance records. For example, MMAPlayground Coaltion has three members with records of 83-40-5, 40-22-1 and 48-23-1, for a total of 171-85-7. However, the alliance record is listed as 686-373-10. I don't think this is a case of dropped fighters/historical records either. The only thing I can think of (other than a bug) is that the alliance used to have a lot more members who have subsequently left. Anyway, I thought I should point this out in case it is an error.

If you're withholding information in an attempt to deceive the other person, that's lying.

Just bought four beast chains (Manager ID 5805). Thanks. Now I can alternate between those and my Smell my Finger shirts.

Nope. I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

6

That's seems kinda crappy. Why would he do that? Just to prove how much better he was than you? Did he explain why he beat you up like that, because I don't see how that would help teach you jits. Maybe you were getting too cocky, so he had to put you in your place.

Toney is a great boxer, but MMA is a different sport. He'll get killed by any decent fighter with any sort of ground game -- just like he'd kill almost all MMA guys is a straight boxing match. Let's face it -- this was done to pique interest and generate money. My guess is the UFC will give him the Kimbo Slice treatment -- feed him a couple of straight stand-up guys who won't be able to take the fight to the mat. Under those conditions, Toney will likely pick up a couple of wins before the UFC has him headline against a good MMA fighter. At which point he'll get massacred and the experiment will be over. Of course it's also possible that Dana will want to prove a point and treat Toney as a one-time attraction. He'll put Toney in against a legit MMA fighter and watch Toney get annihilated. Then White can talk smack about how much better MMA is than boxing. I guess it all depends on whether White wants to make a boatload of cash in the short term by building Toney up a bit or he wants to prove a point and have somebody wipe out Toney right away. But either way, this is sure to generate quite a bit of mainstream press.

No problem -- we're cool.

Why the need to be a troll? I don't see anyone being arrogant in this thread except you.

Wow -- 11 years is a long time to still be a purple belt. Have you had to miss time training in the past or is your school very stingy with promotions? Just curious -- it seems most places you would have a brown or black after 11 years of regular training. Regardless of the belt color though, I bet your skills are damned good after all that time on the mat. You should be proud.

No -- they're pretty informal. The instructor gives them out when he feels your skills have progressed enough to warrant it.

Blue belt (just earned my 2nd stripe). I've been training for close to 3 years. Royler Gracie -> David Adiv -> Thomas Clifford -> Me. My instructor also trains with Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida and John Danaher (it's great living in the NY suburbs -- lots of great jits in the area). Of course the difference between me and the others on the list is astronomical, but I keep working.