Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg: Fight Each Other or End the Conversation

Posted on by

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

Ronda Rousey versus Cris Cyborg sounds as exciting as Godzilla versus King Kong and has roughly the same odds of happening anytime soon. The longer they drag the conversation out, the worse it looks.

Nothing in the fight world captures as much attention as good match propositions. With the media bloated on Rousey's bottomless storeroom of attention-mongering, it's no surprise the speculation revolves around her.

It's no surprise either that the talk keeps looping back to Cyborg, the only woman in MMA more terrifying than Ronda, with power and striking ability to balance Rousey's grappling. The babble comes in an endless circle of steroid accusations, Dana White's hatred for all things not UFC, name-callingand old-fashioned head bounties. Along with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bethe Correia, Holly Holmand Gina Carano, Cyborg occupies the Rousey Zone, where fighters turn into marquees for the UFC's golden goose.

Nothing in interviews gives the impression that the fight will happen. With the UFC's new-found righteousness in the steroid war, they might not want the hassle of Cyborg's alleged usage. Furthermore, Dana White seems like he simply can't bear dealing with Justino professionally.

Beneath the surface, however, it could get into problematic territory. Fighters get accused of ducking when they aren't challenging the killers coming up the ladder.

Whether or not Rousey and the UFC are ducking a dangerous fighter is beside the point. It's perception that counts. The more they talk about it and refuse to let it happen, the more we'll start to question why.

Dana White and the UFC have enough pull and influence to sign whoever they need to sign. The steroid issue has been buried with too many fighters for that to be an effective explanation. He signs fighters he hates or keeps them long after the relationship goes sour.

We know that Rousey's career is carefully orchestrated by her handlers; all great fighters' careers are, especially the ones with Rousey's bankability. If Rousey and the UFC want to avoid the inevitable accusations of evasion, they need to ride the line between hype-building and legitimate matchmaking.

In the meantime, Rousey's fantasy fights get more attention than the one she's actually slated for against Alexis Davis.

Read the rest here:

Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg: Fight Each Other or End the Conversation

HD 2014 wildlife nightlife clubs bars beaches festivals things to do goa india on my blog – Video

Posted on by


HD 2014 wildlife nightlife clubs bars beaches festivals things to do goa india on my blog
http://www.tharobster.wordpress.com . this is just my last 4 weeks enjoying goa on my blog ..... restaurants , beaches , bars , clubs , wildlife , sunshine , festivals , nightlife, clubs, things to...

By: tharobstervideo

Read more from the original source:

HD 2014 wildlife nightlife clubs bars beaches festivals things to do goa india on my blog - Video

Mexico's Pacific Coast: hidden beaches and resort towns

Posted on by

Puerto Vallarta: the beaches

Even if youre staying a couple of weeks, theres a beach for every day and every mood in and around Puerto Vallarta. Downtown at the Playa de los Muertos (Beach of the Dead), and in the hotel zones to the north, youll find plenty of people and plenty going on. Elsewhere around the Baha de Banderas, the bay at whose centre Puerto Vallarta sits, alternatives abound. They include Mismaloya, where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor carried on the scandalous romance credited with first putting Puerto Vallarta on the map, and many more white-sand getaways that can be accessed only by boat or an arduous jungle hike, such as the old hippy hangout of Yelapa, hemmed in by tropical hills and coconut palms.

Better still, 30 minutes offshore lie the Marieta Islands, at the heart of a huge marine national park characterised by extraordinary natural rock arches and tunnels. If you want to escape the crowds, there are dozens of tiny hidden beaches and lonely swimming and snorkelling spots here.

Buceras and Punta Mita, with their very different characters, mark the northern extent of the Baha de Banderas. At laid-back, shabby Buceras, seafront restaurants offer tremendous views back over Puerto Vallarta, and theres entertaining shopping at a series of flea-market style stalls. Punta Mita is altogether glossier, with a magnificent coral-sand beach thats been exploited by ritzy resort hotels. Languorous Sayulita, farther north, is somewhere between the two, attracting a gringo surfer crowd to an enchanting, jungle-fringed beach. Its a particularly good place to learn to surf.

The Costalegre stretches south of Puerto Vallarta for more than 125 miles, including some of the wildest, most undeveloped stretches of Mexicos Pacific coast. The jungle-smothered mountains, lonely beaches and isolated villages seem incredibly tempting, but before attempting the journey youd be well advised to seek some local advice: many of the choicest spots have been closed off thanks to disputes over land ownership.

Barra de Navidad is an accessible, and almost entirely Mexican, resort

At the southern end of the coast, the twin resort towns of Barra de Navidad and Melaque definitely are accessible. A striking contrast to Puerto Vallarta, theyre almost entirely Mexican resorts, little commercialised but crowded at weekends with families and revellers from Guadalajara, Mexicos second city. Barra and Melaque are joined by a five-mile arc of golden sand, the focus and highlight of a visit to either.

Highlights elsewhere on the Costalegre include the Costa Careyes (Turtle Coast), a series of fine beaches ringed by glamorous villas, where endangered Olive Ridley turtles lay their eggs. Theres a conservation programme you can visit, and though some of the beaches are gated, the guards will let you through to visit the beach. Nearby Baha Chamela offers another sweeping arc of superb beaches, only now starting to be developed theres fabulous snorkelling and diving around a series of small offshore islands.

Getting there Direct Dreamliner flights with Thomson (thomson.co.uk) to Puerto Vallarta start from Manchester on May 1 and from London Gatwick on May 3. Prices range from less than 350 return, in early May, to more than 1,000 on peak dates in August, with discounted package holidays in May from about 610. One-stop flights involve changing planes, either in Mexico City (direct flights with British Airways) or in the United States. Less mainstream packages are offered by specialists such as Audley Travel (01993 838 638; audleytravel.com) or Cathy Matos Mexican Tours (020 8492 0000; mextours.co.uk).

Where to stay

Go here to read the rest:

Mexico's Pacific Coast: hidden beaches and resort towns