MMA's 3R’s 12.01.09: Silva vs. Bisping, Henderson’s Contract, Shine MMA, WEC Bonuses, Strikeforce’s Elbows, More

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.01.2009

From Wanderlei Silva facing Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson’s UFC contract status to Roger Huerta becoming a free agent and Strikeforce’s selective use of elbows, 411’s Larry Csonka breaks it all down in the latest edition of the 3R’s of MMA!



* The Column Concept *
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the column, here it is. The column will look at events and or happenings in the world of MMA. They will be broken down into the three categories, the Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right will be the good and great fights or positive news items of the week. Perhaps even big fight announcements. The wRong will be bad fights, bad booking decisions and the like. Finally, the Ridiculous are the things that were just the worst of the world of MMA. They get grouped in their categories, and for a show, they will get a score from 1-10, based on the 411 ratings scale.


* And now, the 3R's of…MMA*

THE RIGHT:

Bisping vs. Wandy: A bout between Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva is in the works for UFC 110 in Australia. Both fighters have agreed to the bout, but agreements have not been signed. While I wanted to see Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Wanderlei Silva, the bout that was originally rumored for the show, I have to say that I like the new bout because I enjoy watching both guys fight. Michael Bisping is coming off of the devastating KO loss to Henderson. He rebounded at UFC 105 against Denis Kang, and has stated that he want "top competition". If Bisping can defeat Silva, he gets close, again, to a title shot. On the other hand, you have Silva, who quite honestly needs to win. He is 1-3 in his latest UFC run. His losses are to top guys, but they are losses nonetheless. With back-to-back losses, one has to think that even though he is WANDY, three losses would likely mean that his UFC run is done. I think the fight is a winnable one for Wandy, especially if Bisping hasn't corrected his issues from the Henderson fight. Wandy needs to win here in the worst way, and it is that problem that could motivate him in this fight. This one could be rather awesome.

Roger Huerta: UFC's Loss is Strikeforce's Gain?: It was reported last week that Roger Huerta is able to negotiate with other promotions, but the UFC has a right to match any deal offered to Roger through a rival promotion. I don't think that the UFC wants to bring him back, which is why they made the fight with Maynard. I think that the UFC's loss will be Strikeforce's gain. Huerta is interested in going there, and possible fights with Evangelista, Aoki, Thomson and Melendez would be great for their lightweight division. Huerta is a name, not a big drawing name, but people know him from his UFC run, and with Strikeforce trying to grow and solidify their divisions, he is a ripe name to add to their roster.

SHINE MMA to Shine?: I am all for having as much MMA as possible, and while starting a new promotion is hard to do, especially without TV, that doesn't mean that I will not support new and growing groups. Shine Fights has been a busy group recently, and with that they have made some signings. In the month of November, the company has signed former Ultimate Fighter 3 contestant Jesse Forbes (11-3), middleweight prospect Alexander Shlemenko (24-4), former EliteXC middleweight champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua (17-10-1) and IFL veteran Jamal Patterson (5-2) to contracts. Now, considering that the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC and Bellator have a large portion of the fighters inked up to US deals, these are not bad signings. I do worry that Shine Fights will have a short existence if they try to grow too fast, due to the lack of TV, but as long as they keep it small and don't rush for PPV exposure like YAMMA and Art of War, they should be fine. I am all for another place for guys to fight and I wish them well.

THE wRong:

Brock Larson Gets Cut: It was announced last week that the UFC had released Brock Larson from his contract. Larson is 26-4 overall, going 7-4 under the Zuffa banner (3-3 in the UFC and 4-1 under the WEC banner). When the WEC closed down the welterweight division, Larson was transferred to the UFC. While he defeated Jesse Sanders and Mike Kyle, he dropped a decision to Mike Pierce, which surprised many, and then the UFC 106 loss to Foster. The two losses in a row allowed Zuffa the option to cut him, and they did. Larson's response to the release was as follows…

"It's probably a good thing, I was having a hard time getting motivated for my last two fights. I needed a change. The undercards just didn't do it for me."

Now, do not get me wrong, I understand that as a fighter they want one thing, the main event. But if you can't get that, you want on the main show. Prelim fighting isn't the most exciting thing in the world I can understand. Fighting in front of small crowds that sometimes are not paying attention to you because they are there for the main card has to suck. That being said, and I don't want to sound non-sympathetic, but it's your job to fight. You have a contract, you sign the bout agreement, show up and do your job. I am a Brock Larson fan, I wanted him on the main cards, but don't cry about it. I hope he moves to Strikeforce, as I am a fan of his and want to continue watching him fight, but I have to say, he comes off as a bit of a baby here. Cue the comments telling me that I do not understand the mindset of a fighter…now.

Hendo and the UFC: It is December, and there is still no new deal between the UFC and Dan Henderson and to me, that is a wrong. I do not blame Dan Henderson, he is a well-traveled fighter and a contender, and he deserves to get paid. He heard the figures tossed around for Fedor and others, and while he is not a huge draw, and would not produce the dream fight(s) that Fedor would, I do not blame him for trying to get paid. But again, I say that this is the UFC's fault. They did not lock Henderson up to a contract before UFC 100, and with the impressive KO on the biggest MMA show of all time, Henderson has the negotiating power. And now the UFC is running into a problem, more events and more injuries to top names are hurting future cards. I said this in the past and will say it again, losing a name like Henderson will hurt the product. Not cripple it or anything, but hurt them. While injuries hurt the company, you can compensate the loss of a main event but running strong co-main events, and Henderson could have really helped in that aspect. The UFC doesn't need Henderson to survive, but I do think that he would be a good band-aid for the current situation.

WEC Promotion: While I LOVE the WEC, due to the great fights and great cards they consistently put on, I do have some issues with the promotion. Actually, I have a problem with the PROMOTION of the WEC promotion. The last two WEC shows have been good shows, but quality does not always equal ratings. Those shows brought in 414,000 and 419,000 viewers respectively. Simply put, the company can and has done much better than that. The best the company has done is the Faber vs. Pulver show, which did 1.4 million viewers. And WHY did that show do so well? The name value of Jens Pulver is one thing, I will grant you that, but there were other factors. First of all, they treated it like a UFC show. They made it a big deal, they had a countdown show for the fight and they advertised this out the ass as the big fight that it was. Unfortunately for the rest of the shows they get treated like a Strikeforce Challengers show, meaning that it is scheduled, you see a few commercials on the channel it will air on, but other than that, basically nothing. The Zuffa machine has learned well, and the UFC is growing and growing quickly, unfortunately little brother stays in the shadow, and that is the real shame of it all.

THE Ridiculous:

WEC Bonuses: And while I just talked about the WEC, I have another bone to pick with them. While many people have been discussing how fighters are underpaid, and I will not completely disagree with that idea, the one thing I have been disappointed with are the WEC bonuses. Lets take a look at the three degrees of UFC bonuses, and then the WEC bonuses:

* UFC 106: $70,000
* UFC 105: $40,000 (International Event)
* UFC Fight Night 19: $30,000
* WEC 44: $10,000
* WEC 43: $10,000 ($20,000 was awarded for Fight of the Night)
* WEC 42: $10,000

So with the UFC, there is obviously three different degrees of bonuses. Regular US PPV, International shows and fight nights. For the most part, I am all right with that structure, and feel that they work. But then you come to the WEC. The WEC constantly puts on the best MMA shows out there, with exciting fights, but they obviously do not do the numbers of a major UFC event. But they do roughly what many fight night shows do as far as attendance, yet they are shafted with the $10,000. Now I will say that the bonuses offered by Zuffa do NOT have to be offered, but with the lower pay structure of the WEC, I do feel that they are shafted in the bonus department. I see no reason for the bonuses to be so low. Morale among the WEC fighters has been down as of late, due to low pay, a raise in the bonuses to at least $25,00 would not only be fair, but I feel is deserved. Come on Zuffa, make good for these guys, they really do deserve it.

Strikeforce and Elbows: And to close up the column this week, we'll discuss Strikeforce. I am a big fan of the Strikeforce promotion. They, for better or for worse, are the TNA of MMA. They don't have all of the biggest stars, the biggest cards and the like, but they do feature fighters that I like, they give a place for women's MMA to be seen on the national stage. But I have to say, after the latest show, I have noticed one thing that bothers the hell out of me. That thing is their policy on elbows. For those that aren't aware of the rule, you may use elbow strikes while standing, but while on the ground, no elbow or forearm strikes. As a fight fan I absolutely hate this. I understand why there are no stomps and kicks to the downed opponent, we need some restraint after all, but elbows? Really? I personally love elbows on the ground. There are guys that use the strike beautifully from top or bottom position. I just don't like the selective rule usage here. "Strikeforce follows the unified rules of MMA, minus elbows on the ground, because they're ICKY!"


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KYRA says goodbye…