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So, the old B-League thread has gone on for over 9 months, and during that time Bellator has slowly ascended to the level of a B+ League, and Strikeforce has been dead since about January. Thus it's time for a new B-League thread. Yuriy was originally going to do this but he's banned at the moment, so apparently that task falls on me. Because apparently the Rapture was due to come before someone else would make a B-League thread. Or at least, the stuff I'd already written up for it would be falling out of date. The stuff not written by me will be properly attributed. This OP is subject to updates and is a work in progress. If you're short on time, this is Rolles Gracie summing up 90% of B-League MMA in a nutshell: Yuriy posted:IT'S TIME for MMA that is too awful to be in the UFC! Yuriy's laptop died at this point. I'd written up stuff on some of the other major promotions, but as for finishing the WSoF stuff right this moment, well Welterweight
Lightweight
Featherweight
Bantamweight
Women's Divisions "Coming Soon" (all 5 divisions, which I don't really expect to exist ever but whatever). ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships was founded in 2012 by former Strikeforce/IFL/Affliction/UFC executive Shannon Knapp and matchmaker Janet Martin as an all-women's promotion. While not the first such promotion, it is by far the most ambitious. It currently houses just over half of the 50 fighters listed in the WMMA Unified Rankings (28/50 under contract by my count), including the #1 fighters in the world at Womens Featherweight, Flyweight, and Atomweight. With Bellator having recently shuttered its womens divisions, they may yet grab several more Top 10 Flyweights and Strawweights, having already picked up Felice Herrig. Thus far Invicta has held six events on a quarterly schedule, with the most recent event airing on PPV and iPPV for $15. They've managed to convert a lot of MMA fans into WMMA fans, by showcasing many of the women fighters in the world in some badass fights. Check out Thug Rose Namajunas vs. Tecia Torres for a recent example. Many of Invicta's fights from Invicta 1-4 (before they were on stable PPV) are available on their current and older YouTube channels. One major problem is the sheer depth of their roster is making it impossible for them to properly showcase everyone with cards only four times a year, even with 12-14 fights a card. As there appears to be entreaties from Showtime and other television networks, hopefully Invicta can get on television by the start of 2014. So far, Shannon Knapp, who had television offers since the very first show, appears to be holding out for the deal that doesn't strip her of creative control. Champions and Divisions: Featherweight (145 lbs.) Champion: Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino (11-1, 1 NC) (World #1 Featherweight) Top Contenders: #1 Marloes "Rumina" Coenen , #2 Ediane Gomes , #3 Julia Budd Overview: Of the five competitive WMMA divisions, this is the thinnest, and Invicta has single-handedly kept it relevant. Despite this, some top prospects are actually just being shoe-horned into it, and Invicta is actually looking to add a Lightweight division in the long-term, using Featherweight as a springboard, presumably in hopes that if there is a stage for women at that weight to display their skills, more will be attracted to the sport. It's also a division that the UFC wouldn't be looking to scoop up anytime soon, the way they've grabbed most of the Bantamweight talent and scooped up a bunch of top Flyweights in the process. Nevertheless, Invicta basically owns this division right now, with the top 4 fighters in the world under contract and 6 of the top 10, including the only real contender to Ronda Rousey's claim as the Baddest Woman on Earth, the very scary Cris Cyborg. Bantamweight (135 lbs.) Champion: TBD Top Contenders: #1 Lauren Taylor , #2 Sarah D'Alelio , #3 Miriam Nakamoto Overview: While Invicta has world #9 and #10 BWs Lauren Taylor and Sarah D'Alelio in addition to a few really good prospects, the UFC has almost everything else including the rest of the Top 10. Earlier in their existence Zuffa lent Invicta some of their female Strikeforce fighters in a mutually beneficially arrangement, but that appears to be over now. Shannon Knapp has stated publicly that they're waiting for The Ultimate Fighter 18 to play out so they know who they can sign before crowning a Bantamweight Champion, although Lauren Taylor appears to have secured herself a spot in the Inaugural Bantamweight Title match. I presume following TUF 18 they may also pick up some natural Flyweights and Featherweights who made the show but don't end up in the UFC. TUF 18 actually stripped Invicta of quite a bit of their talent as Knapp let anyone who wanted to leave do so since she is not an rear end in a top hat like Bjorn Rebney. In fact, she generally is pretty loving awesome. Flyweight (125 lbs.) Champion: Barb Honchak (World #1 Flyweight) Top Contenders: #1 Leslie "The Peacemaker" Smith , #2 Vanessa Porto , #3 Jennifer Maia Overview: With half of the world's Top 10 fighters, Invicta dominates this division but Invicta is surprisingly short on depth here, as they've previously spent a lot of resources crystalizing Featherweight and Atomweight while showcasing Strawweight (deepest of the divisions) and Bantamweight (which initially had the most star power). It doesn't help that the current champion, Barb Honchak, is a wrestler with a slightly cardboard personality, but the always-badass Leslie Smith is the confirmed #1 contender and I've yet to see a Leslie Smith match that was less than badass. Bellator shuttering their divisions has left at least a couple of high-end Flyweights available, but plans for Invicta 7 haven't been announced yet. At this rate it may end up being a 20-fight card to fit everyone. Strawweight (115 lbs.) Champion: Carla "Cookie Monster" Esparza (World #3 Strawweight) Top Contenders: #1 Claudia Gadelha , #2 Joanne Calderwood , #3 Felice Herrig Overview: It should be noted that despite not having the top two fighters in the division, this is Invicta's deepest, and outside of those two they basically own with the rest of the Top 10 and then some. Also, World #2 Megumi Fujii is set to retire after her next fight, and Invicta is in negotiations with World #1 Jessica Aguilar now that she has been released from Bellator's prison. Anyway, this is the division where they just have oodles of talent and some of their best fights. I even made a poster to illustrate that this is the best division globally. Now Thug Rose follows me on Twitter. Worth it. Invicta has 11 of those 16 women, not including Ms. Aguilar who they are in negotiations with. I'm sure Shannon Knapp would sell a kidney to sign Fujii though. Meanwhile they have loving everyone else who matters, including fan favorites Joanne Calderwood, Bec Hyatt, and Rose Namajunas. I guess what I'm saying is this is the bestest Invicta division and better than any division not in the UFC. Atomweight (105 lbs.) Champion: Michelle Waterson (World #1 Atomweight) Top Contenders: #1 Jessica Penne , #2 Simona Soukupova , #3 Alex Chambers Overview: Prior to Invicta, this division barely existed outside of Japan. It's thanks to Invicta that it's become a crystalized, legitimate division with regular challengers, even if the rankings are still sorting themselves out (how the gently caress Alex Chambers isn't in the Top 10 in the WMMA Unified Rankings is beyond me). I should note that Invicta is currently in negotiations to sign World #3 Atomweight Seo Hee Ham to get a direct title shot at Michelle Waterson next, possibly at Invicta 7. Anyway, Atomweights may be the tiniest of punchwomen, but they are also the fastest and Michelle Waterson vs. Jessica Penne showcased just how much more flexible the women can be than men when it comes to grappling. Related viewing: History of WMMA Female Empowerment Video Invicta Female Empowerment Video Invicta's Newer, Weird Facebook-Looking Channel Invicta's Other, Older Channel With More Fights ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ONE Fighting Championships ONE Fighting Championships (more commonly known as just OneFC), was founded in 2011 by Filipino Canadian sports media executive Victor Cui, in what was at first just a very coordinated marketing blitzkrieg of Singapore. After a successful first show, they quickly established major television deals across Asia and started attracting refugees from the dying JMMA scene, including long-time Top 10 staples Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Bibiano Fernandes. In fact, when the UFC offered Fernandes $15k + $15k for a spot on their ill-fated Calgary show, OneFC promptly quadrupled the offer. In general, they have a very international roster, and are Asia's largest and most successful regional promotion. They also are behind the annual Dream MMA resurrection shows on New Years Eve. Although the promotion has had fights at all 8 competitive divisions in the Unified Rules, they tend to specialize in the lighter weight divisions. They also possess a ruleset that is basically the Pride ruleset with elbows, or the Unified Rules with knees, kicks, and stomps to a grounded opponents. Whichever. They have so far put on nine shows with two more currently scheduled. OneFC is scheduled for Friday, September 13 (Thursday in North America). Champions & Divisions Disclaimer: not all of these people are exclusive or even current. Heavyweight Major fighters: Andrei Arlovski (formerly), Tony Bonello, Tony Johnson, Rolles Gracie, Tim Sylvia Light Heavyweight Major fighters: Nicholas Mann, Tatsuya Mizuno, Renato Sobral (formerly), Yoshiyuki Nakanishi Middleweight Major fighters: Ryo Kawamura, Brock Larson, Melvin Manhoef Welterweight Champion: TBD Major fighters: Phil Baroni , Jung Hwan Cha, Eduard Folayang, Igor Gracie, Roger Huerta , Rustam Khabilov (formerly), Kamal Shalorus, Yuya Shirai, Yoshiyuki Yoshida Lightweight Champion: Shinya Aoki Major fighters: Kotetsu Boku, Felipe Enomoto, Caros Fodor, Ole Larsen, Arnaud Lepont, Zorababel Moreira Featherweight Champion: Koji Oishi Major fighters: Honorio Banario, Eric Kelly, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Bae Young Kwon, Jens Pulver, Donald Sanchez Bantamweight Champion: Soo Chul Kim Interim Champion: Bibiano Fernandes Major fighters: Kevin Belingon, Gustavo Falciroli, Masakazu Imanari, Leandro Issa, Koetsu Okazaki, Yusup Saadulaev, Masakatsu Ueda Flyweight Vs Champion: TBD at OneFC 10: Shinichi Kojima vs. Andrew Leone Major fighters: Rey Docyogen, Allamurad Karayev, Shinichi Kojima, Andrew Leone, Yasuhiro Urushitani ________________________________________________________________________________________________ KSW Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, literally translated as "Martial Arts Confrontation", is a Polish promotion founded in 2004 that toiled more or less in obscurity until around 2009, when it seemed to pick up some steam on the back of rising star LHW/MW Mamed Khalidov, and then really took off in December of that year when Polish national hero and World's Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski decided to get into MMA, which has been entertaining for all the wrong reasons. They are now a huge regional promotions, and possibly the most important promotion in all of Europe. KSW has had 28 events with one currently scheduled for September 28. How you view it I have no idea. They currently promote fights in 7 Men's divisions Featherweight - Super Heavyweight, and as best I can determine, two Women's divisions (Strawweight and Flyweight). At least in the top portions of the card, they tend to focus on the heavier divisions (Middleweight and higher). While Poland does have quite a bit of native MMA talent, and KSW is a relatively polished and professional production, the judging has been known to be a little bit... odd. Resulting in moments like this. Champions and Divisions Note: not all of these listings are exclusive or current. Super Heavyweight Champion: This is an exhibition division only, so probably never Notable Fighters: Eric "Butterbean" Esch, Sean McCorkle, Mariusz Pudzianowski, James Thompson Heavyweight: Champion: TBD Notable Fighters: Karol Bedorf, Pawel Nastula, Oli Thompson Light Heavyweight: Champion: Jan Blachowicz Notable Fighters: Goran Reljic, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Middleweight: Champion: Michael Materla Notable Fighters: Matt Horwich, Mamed Khalidov, Melvin Manhoef, Kendall Grove, Rodney Wallace Welterweight: Champion: Aslambek Saidov Notable Fighters: Borys Mankowski Lighteight: Champion: Maciej Jewtuszko Notable Fighters: Curt Warburton, Andre Winner Featherweight: Champion: TBD Notable Fighters: Anzor Ashiev Women's Flyweight: Champion: Karolina Kowalkiewicz Notable Fighters: Women's Strawweight: Champion: TBD Notable Fighters: Jasminka Cive ________________________________________________________________________________________________ There's totally other stuff too, some of which will hopefully covered in the future, most notably: Resurrection Fighting Alliance (AXS TV staple and quasi-official UFC feeder league) Legacy FC (AXS TV staple and UFC feeder league that doesn't realize it's a feeder league) DEEP (Japanese grass roots promotion which now houses all the former JEWELS fighters) Shooto (the first MMA promotion anywhere, and still the grass rootsiest) Pancrase (formerly a hugely innovative promotion that is now another Japanese B-League and proof that modern day slavery still exists in Japan) Cage Warriors (The U.K.'s best promotion by default) OPLOT (this promotion is everything you ever needed to know about Ukrainian culture) Anyway I totally encourage people to do write-ups on whatever minor promotion they want, and I'll try to add it up top. This isn't just for B-Leagues, this is B-through-Z Leagues really. However, if it's really obscure, their probably ought to be some other compelling reason to include it, like if it's culturally educational, truly hilarious, or preferably both. Chrom1um fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Dec 20, 2013 |
# ? Sep 14, 2013 09:11 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 08:01 |
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Yuriy did a write-up for OPLOT, the Ukrainian fed responsible for a number of brawling Heavyweights from Russia and the Ukraine (and a few random other Eastern Europeans and Americans) with uneven physiques and questionable cardio. Also if you ever wanted to know what the Ukraine was like culturally, watching is an excellent primer right down to their drunk ring announcer singing along to the entrance songs and an amateur fighter chugging a beer between rounds last show. They also somehow do shows weekly, as Ukrainians are nothing if not industrious (at drinking and fighting anyway).Yuriy posted:
Chrom1um fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Oct 19, 2013 |
# ? Sep 14, 2013 09:12 |
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Reserve Post #2
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 09:12 |
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poo poo, I had completely forgotten about Bibiano Fernandez. Please come to the UFC Bibi.
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 10:05 |
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Meat Recital posted:poo poo, I had completely forgotten about Bibiano Fernandez. Please come to the UFC Bibi. He won't because of money. He'd undoubtedly make more money in the UFC but he fights for the biggest contractually guaranteed purses so he can provide for his family no matter what. It's a bit of an unusual view but he has a unique perspective because his mother died when he was a kid, his father couldn't afford to provide for him and abandoned him, and he ended up spending years living hunting in the jungle as a boy. So unless they wave a contract structured PRIDE style, he's going to be fighting in weird places.
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 12:47 |
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I bet each of these respective b-league organizations are surprised that someone has put this much thought into their roster and niche in the sport.
DumbWhiteGuy fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Sep 14, 2013 |
# ? Sep 14, 2013 14:08 |
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My friend is headlining BAMMA 13 tonight, I'm super nervous. Max Nunes should be on everyones watch list, hes awesome and quite a lovely chap.
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 14:15 |
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B-League Update! Sat. 9/14 -Oplot Challenge - 2pm EST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ72ChzNFpA -Cage Warriors 59 - 2:45pm EST - Prelims http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cage-Warriors-Fighting-Championship/112090072144502?id=112090072144502&sk=app_113165568775888/ , main card http://cagewarriors.mmajunkie.com at 4 PM EST. CWFC is doing a one night 4 man BW tourney, should be interesting, semi-finals are on the prelims, finals are headlining. -BAMMA 13 - 5pm EST - AXS.tv British B-Leagues -WSOF 5 - 6pm EST - Prelims on Sherdog, main card on NBC Sports -Jungle Fight 58 - 8pm EST - http://tv-aovivo.nl/lutas.html Join us in #mma! individual865 fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Sep 14, 2013 |
# ? Sep 14, 2013 19:40 |
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individual865 posted:
MAX NUNES IS ABOUT TO FIGHT AND HE IS A LOVELY MAN WATCH HIS FIGHT
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 22:46 |
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willie_dee posted:MAX NUNES IS ABOUT TO FIGHT AND HE IS A LOVELY MAN WATCH HIS FIGHT FFFFFFUUUUCCKKKK
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:03 |
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http://www.sherdog.com/events/WSOF-5-Arlovski-vs-Kyle-28631 - this is about to start
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:04 |
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willie_dee posted:http://www.sherdog.com/events/WSOF-5-Arlovski-vs-Kyle-28631 - this is about to start Hope they ponied up the bucks to get Andrei some WSOF gloves this time
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:07 |
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Julio Cesar Fatass posted:Hope they ponied up the bucks to get Andrei some WSOF gloves this time Well it appears they can't afford a decent internet connection to stream the prelims so don't get your hopes up.
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:28 |
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Apparently this happened, I wouldn't know since the stream isn't working for me
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:30 |
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Fentry posted:Apparently this happened, I wouldn't know since the stream isn't working for me It did indeed, but it must be said the Gracie chap was getting punched while maintaining guard and gave it up pretty rapidly, despite it being the deadly Gracie Ju Jitsu death zone. (BJJ doesn't work)
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:34 |
WSOF are having some serious production snafu's tonight, they've played the walkouts for the first fight three times during the walk out for the second.
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:38 |
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Dugulubgov is a good kickist, except for when he kicks dongs
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:49 |
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Another nice submission.
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# ? Sep 14, 2013 23:52 |
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I fully anticipate that other than Neiman, no more Gracies are gonna win tonight.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 00:05 |
Well at least Gregor won't be spawning any more Gracies.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 00:10 |
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BJJ once again proves useless against the running testicle punt
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 00:11 |
World series of ball shots.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 00:16 |
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Rey Sefo's extensive K-1 experience definitely didn't help him pick a good streaming company
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 01:44 |
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How do I watch this if I don't have a tv?
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:02 |
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origami posted:How do I watch this if I don't have a tv?
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:22 |
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Come to #mma and I will describe it for you guys with exceptionally vivid language.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:25 |
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lmao wsof is amazing
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:32 |
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Middleweight title eliminator canceled by the NJAC when a commission official sees a fighter pop a pill before the fight.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:34 |
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Shockingly JT MONEY is the lesser fuckup in the match
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:35 |
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Julio Cesar Fatass posted:Middleweight title eliminator canceled by the NJAC when a commission official sees a fighter pop a pill before the fight. Is Panama Lewis managing MMA fighters now?
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:47 |
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Why is Rollister Gracie fighting a fat dude. And why do I think he'll lose, bad?
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 02:55 |
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1st AD posted:Why is Rollister Gracie fighting a fat dude. because he's An Gracie, and thus, is A Bad.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 03:01 |
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hahahahaha that was a mike tyson's punchout knockout
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 03:06 |
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Need a gif of his body crumpling in the wrong direction post-KO
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 03:07 |
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They should have sent a poet.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 03:07 |
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A stroll down the boulevard of broken Jaws
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 03:10 |
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1st AD posted:Need a gif of his body crumpling in the wrong direction post-KO
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 03:42 |
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Arlovski vs Kyle is about to start for those of you waiting for the co-main of the boxing PPV to start
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 04:04 |
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I hate Mike Kyle because not only is he a dirty piece of poo poo but he makes me root for other fighters I don't like.
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 04:06 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 08:01 |
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Pretty Lady Blob posted:I hate Mike Kyle because not only is he a dirty piece of poo poo but he makes me root for other fighters I don't like. What's not to like about Arlovski
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# ? Sep 15, 2013 04:09 |