Has anyone been watching Pro Wrestling recently? I think the WWE's stock has gone down majorly with the explosion of MMA. Even though McMahon and Dana White both keep saying the target audience is different, its clearly not. Unless McMahon does something REALLY drastic, I don't see WWE holding much water as sports entertainment, because Dana White is eating into his crowd with the Ultimate Fighter, and this series is showing no signs of slowing down, what with GSP-Koscheck 2, right on the heels of Rushad-Rampage and Liddell-Franklin.

Anyway, on to the UFC. UFC 123 was a really good even on paper, but it kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. The quality of match-ups seemed excellent, but the fighters just didn't cut it. G-Sot's win over J-Lau wasn't as clean and clinical and satisfying, as his wins over Joe Stevenson and Kurt Pellegrino. Still, is very pleasing to see G-Sot's ground work and how easily he transitions from one position to another. Again Miquel Falco apparently coasted the last round, I saw the first two rounds, but I'd read the reviews prior to watching it, so I didn't even bother with the third round, and even then, the match wasn't ultimately satisfying. Matt Hughes, I love the dude, and what he did to Ricardo Almeida was hilarious, and scary, but this guy is walking dangerously close to Chuck Liddell territory. BJ didn't hit him THAT hard, it was almost like Franklin's KO of Liddell. I hope this was just a fluke, cause what I saw from the Almeida match-up, Hughes still has a lot to offer. Haven't seen Rampage-Machida yet. Anyway, Penn's next match-up with Jon Fitch sould be very interesting. Penn is vicious with his hands, but I'd give the edge to Fitch due to superior conditioning and temperament. GSP-Kos should be #WIN! I give this one to Kos, mostly because he is the same fighter as GSP, but with better hands. Both of them are on the same level of wrestling and groundwork, so it boils down to where Koscheck keeps this fight. If he keeps it standing, GSP is going to get Matt Serra'ed. On to the middleweight division, I AM PUMPED for Belfort-Silva. Again, Silva isn't going to toy with Vitor. He's as prodigious with his hands as Silva is. If Vitor comes in with the right conditioning and brings the same game he bought to the Franklin fight, I have no doubts that he'll take Silva out. This fight is ending in a KO, and is probably my most anticipated fight of next year. I've ben waiting for this fight to happen ever since it was announced almost 1 1/2 yrs back! And Chael Sonnen, I feel sorry for the guy, and yet I'm so disappointed that what could easily have been the performance of a lifetime has been marred by PEDs. Shame. Still, what a fight! What a fight! I hope Sonnen comes out clean. On to the heavyweights, Cain Valesquea is a BEAST. Complete destruction of Brock Lesnar. I think Lesnar-Mir 3 should be in the works, I still think Fir needs to get it out of his system, and Brock needs to show that he's not a one trick pony. For JDS-Valesquez, I score it for Cain, because JDS simply doesn't seem to carry the same discipline to fights as Cain does, and if he gases like he did in the Roy Nelson fight, Cain will end his fighting career.

More as events keep happening.

I don't know what Penn is going to achieve at 170. He's well done for IMO; can't beat Edgar at 155 and definitely can't do shit against GSP, if he does get that far.

Koscheck-GSP is something I'm waiting for eagerly too. Kos is probably the only guy who's given GSP a stiff fight w.r.t. wrestling. The one time they fought, he did even manage to take him down a couple of times which is more than what most can say. He says he's going to be concentrating on bringing his wrestling A-game the next time they meet so I hope he puts his plans into action. I honestly can't stand GSP and his smug, clean-boy schtick, as silly as that sounds. Koscheck has come a long, long way from the first Ultimate Fighter and will be a deserving champ.

Vitor-Silva will be a washout. Vitor is a wild, no-holds barred swinger and Silva feeds off of those kind of fighters. I hope I don't have to eat crow but I'll be really surprised to see Belfort win.

I will admit that Lesnar has won me over. I was hugely sceptical when he first came into the MMA world but he does infact respect the sport, behind the trash talking and goofball wrestling gimmick facade. I haven't seen his loss to Cain yet but I'll wager that he'll continue to improve and give a much stiffer challenge to Velasquez if they meet again.

Now you're fucking talking. +1 to this thread.

I'm not a UFC fan, but a huge pro-wrestling (WTF, sports entertainment) fan.

Quick thoughts on the current WWE scene:
- Since Linda McMahon lost, the product seems to have gone up be a notch or two. Not only have the last few weeks of Raw been highly watchable, it seems as tho the booking's improved, and the storylines are far more interesting.
- I love the fact that John Cena's been 'fired' on-air - especially since it makes Wade Barrett look like a madass heel. The only drawback i have from this is WWE's refusal to turn Cena heel. I predict a Wrestlemania showdown between the two, perhaps for the championship (although its not really needed), where unfortunately, i see: Cena wins.
- The new champ at the moment is The Miz. Yup, you read that right. The kid who couldn't wrestle for nuts. Mind you, his in-ring product is still far from good, but a welcome change. I see him only as a transitional champ
- The new faces are sweet: Bryan Danielson can be molded ala Bret Hart, Sheamus should surpass Triple H's on air role, Dolph Ziggler has been putting on some great matches, and all this has allowed guys like John Morisson (Still can't get that name) to step up.
- CM PUNK: He is THE MAN. Great talker (anyone catch him on commentary on Nexus / The last RAW?), and brilliant worker as well
- Micheal Cole: Fuck, he should've been allowed to let loose / play this character ages back. Highly entertaining atm.
- Smackdown: Has really become the B show in the last few weeks. Drew McIntrye has been a huge letdown, while i can't take Kane seriously (but hey, Paul Bearer's back!); Edge is gold as usual. Oh, yes, and Cody Rhodes needs kneepads.

Quick thoughts on everything else:
- TNA is officially WCW circa 2000
- I miss Shawn Michaels, and more over, Chris fucking Jericho (predict a Royal Rumble / Wrestlemania comeback)

On UFC vs WWE:
- I see them as two different markets. WWE's always been about entertainment - and wholesome, family PG entertainment (with a sharp edge, as was seen in the Attitude days)
- UFC will definitely take away some of WWE's market, but the fact that WWE can appeal to kids and get them to watch / buy it as a habit early on is a huge win for them
- I see a hybrid WWE-lite UFC (heavily shoot based) promotion - maybe on the lines of a ROH / Evolve - which'll appeal to both worlds (guys who watch WWE & UFC)

I will say this however. It's well-meaning threads like this one that promote the perception that pro-wrestling and MMA are in any way inter-related. They're not and while I do love a lot of old pro-wrestling uptil the Attitude era, they shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath. The real fans are discerning and intelligent enough but we really don't need more lay ppl equating the two.

But it's bound to happen. Since Brock Lesnar, and i think Bobby Lashley (Strikeforce?), and previously Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbot, Dan Severn have both had decent runs in both the worlds. Do correct me if i'm wrong on Tank Abbot. The Undertaker showing up at a UFC event, and throwing one back at Lesnar doesn't help either.

Personally, i think this scenario is bound to happen some time or the other: UFC is built on the funda that its real, right? To grow bigger, or to get better ratings, there will be some sort of angle that'll play out. I'm not talking WWE-esque fantasy stories. Something that's as simple as the bullish newcomer that destorys everything in its path (wasn't Brock pushed this way - in both worlds?) Its the easiest thing to do. Then again, i don't watch any UFC, so i don't know if that's already done.

Anyhoo, you mentioned the Attitude era. Any old-school ECW fans here?

Vitor is not a swinger. hes a precision counter puncher. I love Okami but he has no chance against the Spider. Vitor has more of a shot at dethroning him than anyone else.

Koscheck will never amount to anything other than agate keeper. All hes got is wrestling. His telegraphed overhand right hardly works against elite opposition...check Paulo Thiago. GSP is going to kill the fool.

Watch the Lesnar fight again . He got tooled. Theres no way hes winning another fight against Cain. Cain is fucking scary. Great boxing with a stellar ground game and top control Plus he works with Dave Cammarillo in AKA. The guy is going to hold on to the strap for a long long time.

George's win over Lauzon was awesome. What fight were you watching? It was a come back win with a kimura from hell.

Chaels situation is slightly weird. Apparently he has been going through hormone replacement therapy for the past four years. Wrestlers who cut weight frequently have imbalanced testosterone levels. Which is why he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels not PED's.

BJ hit Matt right on the D spot. Perfect right cross. Right on the button. Thats a fight ending punch.

Koscheck as i have said before is going get tooled in the stand up. Georges is going to kill him . It won't be a washout but its not going to be anything else other than Georges beating the hell out of Fraggle rock.

Didn't read all the posts but just want to know one thing out of curiosity. Isn't WWE fixed and UFC real?

Pretty much.