The 411 MMA Top 5 11.30.09: Week Twenty-Two - Reasons To Be Thankful For MMA

Posted by Larry Csonka on 11.30.2009

From the wild antics of Brock Lesnar and the vision of Dana White to the greatness of the fighters and the WEC, the 411 MMA writers list the reasons we should be thankful for MMA! Check out the full column to see which reasons made the lists and why!



Welcome:
Welcome back to the MMA Top 5! What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 MMA will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. At the end, based on where all of these topics rank on people's list, we will create an overall Top 5 list. It's highly non-official and final, like WAMMA.

Since this is a personal deal of thankfulness, no overall top five this week…


This week's topic is…



Reasons To Be Thankful For MMA!


Larry Csonka

HONORABLE MENTIONS

HDNET - HDNet is a great outlet for free, non-UFC MMA. It would have made my main list, had the communists at Time Warner not taken away the channel from me.

Shit Talking Fighters - Not whining bitches, just good old-fashioned, shit talking fighters. They can brighten any day.


5. Bas FN Rutten - Proof….





4. The TapouT Crew - I have nothing but respect for the hard work that the TapouT guys have done for the sport. All they do is spotlight the hard life of the up and coming fighter, search out new talent and promote the sport at every turn. They are good guys.

3. WEC - I know I sound like a broken record with this one, but I firmly believe this. The WEC consistently puts on the best MMA shows and best fight sin the industry. And if that isn't good enough, as long as you have Versus, this company airs to you for free. No PPV people, just great MMA on a consistent basis on your cable package. Oh yes, thank the WEC!

2. The 411 MMA Staff - For me, I have to mention the 411 MMA staff, both past and present. Everyone who works or has worked for this zone has busted their ass to make it grow an thrive, and I am thankful for all of their time and effort.

1. The Fighters - And without the fighters, who sacrifice in training camps only to go into a cage or ring where they will harm another and be harmed, they are the ones we should be most thankful for. Thank guys!

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Samer Kadi

5. Dana White - Say what you want about the man, but he's one of the main reasons behind MMA's boom in North America.

4. Busy MMA schedule - It seems that every month is filled with numerous MMA events featuring some genuinely interesting fights. From the UFC to WEC to Strikeforce and DREAM, it's an ever-busy schedule for hardcore MMA fans.

3. The Big 3 - Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko are three of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Instead of spending some time arguing over pointless P4P debates, maybe people should appreciate that we're getting to watch all 3 artists on top of their game.

2. WEC - The P4P best MMA promotion in terms of fight quality. You can always rely on a WEC show for great MMA action.

1. UFC - This is pretty self-explanatory really.

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Jonathan Solomon

5. HDNet - I don't have the network (or else, perhaps this would be higher on my list) but damn is it an awesome network if you love MMA. Not only do they broadcast DREAM, Sengoku and K-1 shows out of Japan but smaller shows also get airtime. Add in the Inside MMA show featuring Bas Rutten, and what's not to love? Hopefully, Mark Cuban's baby will enter new markets around the country so more can tune in.

4. The Up and Coming Fighters - This is a shout out to all the men and women who compete on MMA shows around the globe for very little money, often needing to work a second (real) job to earn enough money to pay their bills and provide for their family. The majority of fighters do not get into the sport for the money. The number of people who can earn a legit living from the sport is few. In 2009, there are still guys on UFC undercards earning about $8,000 to show up and win their fight. Sure they have the potential to win more via bonuses and sponsorships, but you have to imagine it's rough to start in the sport from the ground up. To those people, thank you for sacrificing and dedicating your lives to the sport.

3. WEC - Two of my leading candidates for fight of the year happened in WEC. One had a ton of hype and was as epic as any fight in the promotions history and the other did not receive much pub before hand but the fighters fought their hearts out without any stops. Ironically, both went the full twenty-five minutes to a decision. Mike Brown defeated Urijah Faber to retain his gold and Ben Henderson arrived and beat Cowboy Cerrone to be named the interim-lightweight champion. There has been a lot of great MMA around the globe but these two fights were brought to us by the folks at WEC. THANK YOU!

2. The Good Referees - I would say good judging but I have a hard time backing that statement up. Instead, I'll go with the better refs in the sport. Obviously Big John is the man but sadly, he is not working in the state of Nevada. Everyone knows about the Steve Mazzagatti's of the world but lets be thankful for refs like Mario Yamasaki and Josh Rosenthal. Sure, Yves Lavigne had a hiccup in the Sell/Brown fight, but he is usually a solid man in the middle of the cage. Herb Dean is pretty damn good, too. These are just the names that have been popularized through constant appearances on UFC, WEC and Strikeforce shows. Thanks goes out to the men and women who are good at their job but do not receive the positive notoriety of some of their peers.

1. Elite Fighters - No, I'm not talking about the awfully run promotion. I'm talking the best of the best in terms of fighters. Right now there may not be as many as there were at the beginning of 2009, but those that are still there are AWESOME~! Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko each had amazing wins this year and may be in store for even bigger things next year. Ironically, each has had to deal (or is dealing with) injuries that may delay their returns, but when they do, you better watch. Who knows how much longer these men in particular will be considered as dominant as they are. We've seen in 2009 alone the fall of Miguel Torres, B.J. Penn (albeit, at welterweight) and another loss added to Urijah Faber's record. It's also interesting to wonder who will be the next generation of elite fighters. How about Gegard Mousasi to start with. Who do you think can step it up and become one of the best in the sport?

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Jeffrey Harris

5. Dana White - Say what you want about him, but the guy clearly works hard to advance the sport of MMA. Not only that he gives us a direct window into the business with the video blogs. Dana White gives fans so much info. and access and they still complain. I appreciate that Dana White cares so much and is so open with the fans and just simply tells it like it is. That's why Dana White is awesome.

4. The WEC - Because of good marketing and promotion on UFC shows, I started watching WEC in 2008 and never looked back. It seems no matter what, the WEC shows are most easily some of the best MMA cards of the year. People put so much stock into the so called BIG NAMEZ and yet WEC cards usually have none of that. Yet these guys who are hungry as hell go out and put on amazing fights. WEC main events have been some of the best main events and title bouts in MMA for the last two years. I look forward to more in 2010.

3. The Fighters - To all the guys out there that put their bodies on the line and go out into the cage and leave it all in there. This is one of the highest risk, lowest reward sports of all time. The guys that stick with it and put the time and effort in deserve more thanks than possible. The guys that do this because they love it and believe in it.

2. The UFC - The UFC has basically become the major league of everything MMA and is doing a good job of putting the cart before the horse. The brand has grown so where the brand is the biggest thing. And the UFC has done more than any other promotion to deliver more great fights to fans all over the world. UFC gives us the fights that we want to see. Yet fans still complain when cards are changed due to injury like it's the UFC's fault. Without the UFC, MMA would still be a fringe, cult, and segmented sport it was before.

1. Free MMA - Whether is the England events, UFC Spike TV prelims, Ultimate Fight Nights, WEC, The Ultimate Fighter, CBS and Showtime fights, and WEC there is more free MMA on TV than ever before. I think that's great and people need to stop complaining and just enjoy it. If you are a fan of the sport, if you support fighters, then you should be supporting more shows. More shows means more guys getting bigger TV exposure. More shows means more guys getting bigger paydays. If you are a fan of the sport you should be happy with all the free choices you are getting. And the fights we've been getting on TV are good fights.

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Daniel Bonnizzio

5. HDNet - At Your Home for MMA, there is a metric crap ton of free MMA. The Affliction shows, the Adrenaline shows, MFC, DREAM, Sengoku, all the K1 you can love; this network carries all of them. Anytime I want my MMA fix I go to channel 569, look for MMA, and hit the record button. Hours later, and I have a boatload of MMA shows to watch, from the events like the aforementioned to MMA shows like Inside MMA and MMA Worldwide. For all the free MMA HDNet brings me, I am thankful.

4. The Gracie Family - God loves the Gracies. There is no other sports family I am aware of that has had such an impact on the world. From changing the face of MMA from the brawling muscle head into the cerebral technical fighter, to the introduction of a sport everybody is capable of participating in, to instilling a sense of pride in one's work and efforts, this family's ideals penetrate into the very heart and soul of every competitor in any sport, but MMA especially. Had Royce not entered and won UFC 1, 2, and 4 we would not be faced with the grappling superstars like BJ Penn, Marcelo Garcia, Saulo Ribeiro, and as such none of their students would be close to anything resembling a superstar.

3. John McCarthy - The best ref in the game has his own academy where he is working on correcting some of the most flawed fundamentals of the game: referees and judges. At the BJMUTA (Big John McCarthy Ultimate Training Academy) he gives courses on proper refereeing, proper judging, and he even trains fighters. Big John has impacted MMA, refereeing many. many events and being more popular than even some fighters. John's efforts to further MMA land him here.

2. TapouT - So these guys have been synonymous with MMA for the past decade or so and they've grown into the monster corporation they are today. The real thanks here goes to how they reach out to every single person in MMA who asks of it and helps them. Their willingness to sponsor nearly any MMA fighter who wants it, combined with the way they sought out up and comers to give them a sponsorship and feature them on their show gave both MMA, the fighters, and the TapouT crew much needed publicity to help quell the omnipresent misconceptions of MMA as nothing more than cockfighting and not a sport.

1. Dana White - This man IS North American MMA. Were it not for the tireless efforts of Dana White, the Fertitta Brothers and ZUFFA, the UFC would have died after UFC 29 and we would have never seen the meteoric rise and popularity of MMA. While it took hold in Japan on its own through the famous PRIDE FC, in North America we may have seen the last of proper MMA with the death of SEG, but with the tireless efforts of ZUFFA and its ever-present bald-headed President, we have today all sorts of MMA and for that I am thankful.

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Scott Kuczkowski

5. Brock Lesnar - Fans love a larger than life character and Lesnar provides that in spades. His emergence in MMA has been outstanding and had spawned a host of potential matchups that are certain to see Lesnar win or lose (depending upon who is speaking). Love him or hate him, Brock Lesnar gives people plenty to talk about, which is almost always good for this sport.

4. Pride, Strikeforce, Affliction, or any organization that creates competition for the UFC - I'm not one of those guys that stumps for everything that isn't the UFC, but I can appreciate the fact that Dana and Co. need competition in order to stay out front. No one puts on a show like the UFC and a large part of that is their need to stay ahead of their competition. Sure, pleasing the fans is always important, but I guarantee that staying ahead of Strikeforce is always on Dana's mind. As Strikeforce grows I guarantee we will be treated to the UFC pulling out all the stops in order to break PPV buy rate records, which is always good for us fans.

3. The internet - This is easily the most neglected portion of the whole MMA subculture and is never give the credit it deserves (aside from Joe Rogan mentioning the Underground forums during a random PPV). Shit, you wouldn't even be reading this article is it wasn't for the web. The internet has done more for MMA than The Ultimate Fighter or any of the early UFC VCR tapes ever could have. Plus is gives fans a place to congregate when we're not elbowing our ways through the crowd at the local sports bar to see a PPV.

2. Randy Couture - Forget Randy's last fight with Vera and think about what Captain America really stands for. Randy Couture is pretty much the epitome of what MMA is supposed to be. While he's had some hiccups during his storied career, I think most people genuinely like and respect Randy. Was there anyone out there who wasn't cheering when he routed Tim Sylvia and took the HW title? Wasn't everyone sitting on their hands waiting to see if he could beat Lesnar? The guy is the freakin' miracle worker in the octagon and will a benchmark for longevity in MMA for a long time.

1. Dana White - Are you fucking kidding me? Who do you think did most of the leg work to get this sport as big as it is? It doesn't matter if you love or hate Dana White; you just need to acknowledge that without him and the Fertitas we would all still be trading tapes of the first few UFCs and wishing Pride hadn't gone out of business. The UFC is the apex of this sport and anyone who says they aren't trying to get to the UFC is probably full of shit. The UFC exists because Dana White had the balls (and the rich friends) to make it happen. For that I am thankful.

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Come back next week for another edition of the MMA Top 5~!

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