Your MMA News, My Views 7.13.07
Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.13.2007
Contrary to the Dana White announcement, this column is on for today. My apologies, after looking further into it contrary to the Dana White announcement, this column is off for today. I am sorry, I have just received world from Ashish’s camp that contrary to the Dana White announcement; this column is on for today. Now on the topic of title vs. title, that’s a whole other mess!
INTRODUCTION~!
Welcome once again to another edition of Your MMA News, My Views! In a week that started slow, there was a lot that came out, or didn't come out, or did come out and has just confused the hell out of everyone. It's wackiness I say! The good news is that I am here to try and make sense of the mess that has been the news of the week. Plus with me being back home I have access to some good email for later on in the column. Sit back, relax, check the great links I am about to provide you and then check out the news of the week!
MMA LINKZ~!
Tons of great stuff to read this week from the 411 MMA crew!
ZUFFA (UFC/WEC/PRIDE) stories, scuttlebutt and rumors:
Your News: The Ultimate Fighter Unleashed did a 1.1 rating last week.
-The UFC 73 Countdown Show did a 0.7 rating.
-The UFC All Access show did a 0.4 rating.
My Views: For the most part they are staying steady with the ratings. Personally I would like to see higher numbers for the countdown and all access shows, but when you are converting the great percentage to PPV buys that they are I guess that isn't a big deal. Also SPIKE is happy with them, because there were weeks that SPIKE resembled the UFC network. As long as that is the case, and we get our MMA on TV I am a very happy man.
Your News: WEC sent out a press release regarding the next show, which is 8/5 on Versus, from the Hard Rock in Las Vegas with Carlos Condit vs. Brock Larson for the welterweight title and Paulo Filho vs. Joe Doerksen to create a middleweight champion.
My Views: Sounds good to me. Also, there is no wrestling PPV that night, so expect me to have LIVE coverage here on the site of the event and a follow up column. I am excited to watch some WEC after only skimming the first event.
Your News: Dana White has confirmed a Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans rematch for sometime in the near future. Tito claimed he had a back injury that really acted up in round three, hence his poor performance in that round. Dana also said until they got TV in either the US or Japan, there probably wouldn't be much movement as it regards a PRIDE revival.
-Rashard Evans' camp has confirmed a Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans rematch will happen in October.
UFC 77 Rumored Card:
-MW Title: Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin II
-Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans II
My Views: Blah blah blah, I was injured, my vagina hurt, blah blah blah. You fought a lazy fight and you cheated repeatedly and got caught. In theory both guys were lucky to walk out with a draw. Hopefully when they do this rematch Rashad shows up to fight instead of dance and Tito takes some Monistat and cures the inflammation in his vagina. I want a fight.
Your News: The highly-anticipated fight between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell and former PRIDE LHW Champion Wanderlei Silva appears to finally be....dead. Earlier this week numerous media outlets reported the bout had been inked to headline UFC 76 (9/22 in Anaheim, CA). However, yesterday in an interview with Yahoo's Kevin Iole, Dana White became the bearer of bad news when he stated the following:
"This is the worst news I could have possibly gotten...It's horrendous. I have been trying to make this fight for six years. I have done everything in my power I could do over the last six years to make this fight and it's still not happening. I just don't see it happening now."
White's statement was made as a response to a member of Silva's training camp, Chute Box, approaching him (White) to explain the brutal Brazilian no longer wanted to fight Chuck Liddell. While either Liddell or Silva has issued no official comment, White came off as "adamant" the dream showdown between two of MMA's hardest-hitting fighters would likely never happen.
My Views: Fuck you Wanderlei Silva. Dana was probably going to too a shitload of cash at you, but you decided that since you got knocked silly in you last two losses that you didn't want to man up and face Chuck, who is also coming off a loss. Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell has been a match people have wanted to see, and as Dana said he has wanted this fight for a long time, and now it looks as if we will not get it. I don't know the details, but as I said, it looks as if Wanderlei Silva is a big old pussy or wants way too much money. Either way it sucks.
Your News: Eraldo Cano, 26, was killed on Saturday night in a fall at the Arco Arena where he was attending the UFC show. He was outside the arena in an elevated smoking section and police believe he jumped over the four foot retaining wall at 8:30 p.m, not realizing it was a 30-foot drop to the ground. He was rushed to UC-Davis Medical Center where he was ruled dead at 10 p.m. Police believe it was accidental and they are looking at alcohol as a possible cause.
My Views: Well that puts a black eye on the event, and at no fault of the UFC. Unfortunately with the media they will spin things to be sexy, and "Fan dies at Fighting Event" is a good headline for them. Thankfully the media hasn't sensationalized this as a negative against the UFC, I was ready and waiting for it though.
Your News: Ryan Hockensmith, an ESPN journalist and admitted fan of Mixed Martial Arts, recently sat down with Dana White for an interview published on ESPN's website today. Never suffering from a lack of words, White offered quite a few interesting nuggets of information. My comments in BOLD:
On Rampage vs. Henderson..."It will absolutely be a unification bout. We have to respect Henderson's titles. He knocked out Wanderlei Silva and had the 185-pound championship. When he fights Rampage, they both have belts. Why should Dan Henderson get the UFC title if Rampage can't get the PRIDE titles? It makes one of them the undisputed guy."
Sweet Jesus I just keep getting more confused. First is it a respect fight. Then it is a UFC Title fight. Then a unification of the LHW Titles. Then it goes back to the respect fight. NOW it says, if I am reading it right, that the winner gets ALL the titles. So if Rampage wins, he gets BOTH of Dan's belts. My head hurts.
On UFC's involvement in initially booking Marlon Sims vs. Noah Thomas (of TUF 5 street-fighting notoriety)..."Spike really wanted that fight to happen, and we ended up booking the fight. Then I realized, 'How the (expletive) did we book that fight?' That fight will probably happen somewhere else, but it won't happen in the UFC. The thing that people have to realize is in "The Ultimate Fighter," those guys aren't UFC fighters. They want to be UFC fighters."
Funny thing, Dana said when it first came out that SPIKE announced the fight without their knowledge because they wanted it, and that UFC had nothing to do with it. Now he says he DID book the fight. It's hard to keep the lies straight after so long. He is right in one thing, the fight will happen somewhere for someone, Elite XC I am looking at you.
On the UFC heading to New Jersey in November..."It's true, it's true. It's going to happen. We haven't announced it yet, but it will be a pay-per-view."
Nice, now come down south so I can go.
On IFL, BoDog, and other smaller MMA organizations..."It's good for us. I don't look at those guys as competition at all. They're nowhere near the league that we're in. I need shows like that. They're the feeder leagues. All the guys who fight in those shows aspire to be in the UFC someday. They're creating all the UFC talent of tomorrow....I actually watched the IFL once, and it was [expletive] painful. These guys are minor-league shows. They're necessary. I need them to exist, to continue to pay money to put on their shows. I need them to create more talent and get guys experience in fighting. But I don't worry about them. I'll give you an example. There are races going on all over the country, every weekend. But you know when NASCAR rolls in to town."
He is right that it is good for him and UFC. They can get more talent and he is right that these groups mentions are no real threat, especially since the IFL will fold eventually due to them burning through so much money in WCW fashion. BODOG is a due with a ton of cash playing fight promoter. I hope that Elite XC can start to grow more, with the show ala TUF in the works and the news below, they are taking the proper steps.
On the status of UFC's rumored deal with HBO..."It will be done very soon, in a matter of weeks. People don't realize this stuff isn't easy to get done."
This is the rumor that doesn't end…
On the possibility of Tito Ortiz vs. Frank Shamrock..."Frank Shamrock would never fight Tito Ortiz. Tito would crush him. Frank's not going to fight anybody serious. He's going to very carefully handpick his opponents, and continue to play the smoke and mirrors game."
I can't argue about Frank, he's right. Frank is still very skilled and a cardio machine, but it is a bit of smoke and mirrors.
On the status of negotiations with PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emilianenko..."We'll have him soon. We'll have him before the end of the year."
I refuse to believe this until I see it. Wanderlei Silva has jaded me.
FEDOR~!:
I bet that other computer is the one he plays WARCRAFT on with Dana and Mirko. Also, Fedor at a computer just seems so very wrong.
Other MMA News…
Your News: Showtime is expanding its stake in MMA as it plans to debut a new show on Friday, July 27 at 11 p.m. ET. The show will be called "ShoXC" and the first show will originate from the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif. Modeled after Showtime's boxing show "ShoBox," ShowXC will primarily feature fighters that even hardcore MMA fans might not be familiar with. The idea is to give talent that's unknown to the mainstream a shot at working their way up onto the big EliteXC shows. The next EliteXC show is scheduled for early September.
My Views: I think that this is awesome. First of all it is more MMA on TV. We will have WEC on August 5th, this right before it and that is a cool thing. Secondly this is great for Elite XC, as they can start to cultivate fighters unknown to just about everyone, and if they do well bump them to the Showtime Elite shows and then eventually to PPV. Making stars is important. Much like the rumored "TUF Style show" being rumored, another great move for the promotion as a whole. I plan to cover this show as well as I am rather excited about the potential it has.
Your News: Nick Diaz won't be asked back to Zuffa-owned PRIDE, and basically he is "blacklisted" from Zuffa, which means UFC, PRIDE and WEC. As stated in my last news column, Diaz is under contract with Elite XC and is requesting a fight with Frank Shamrock.
My Views: And that's the problem, like in wrestling, when one person or company owns the biggest company. Worse for Diaz is that not only is UFC the big dog, but they own WEC and PRIDE now. I think it's a shame that people get "blacklisted," especially since there doesn't seem to be a solid reason why. Sure he had the weed failure, which was stupid and he can be an asshole, but I think that with his brother winning TUF contract and their media department, they can make them into a crazy rebel family. Just show the footage of them Sai fighting and it will all work itself out.
READER FEEDBACK~!
From Chris -
Good write-up on UFC 73 man, though…
There is something I have noticed. People, INCLUDING the UFC folks fail to take into mind when they talk about Silva… Dude has a BJJ black belt under Big Nog… They don't just hand those things out, the guy is no slouch on the ground. I heard Rogan finally mention it in passing on sat night, but people seem to think he is just all Muay Thai.
I'm just saying…
I agree that a lot of people do this, myself included. I bring it up because the only times I have ever seen him in trouble has been on the ground. Also I think that they bring it up to make him seem vulnerable. They want people to think that the challenger has a chance, so if you constantly remind people that "his weakness is on the ground" and that the challenger is good on the ground, people are intrigued and think that the champ can lose, just business I think, marketing and such. Thanks!
From Brad -
Hi Larry:
Just read your review today as I did not watch UFC 73 Stacked and went looking around for the fight outcomes. I usually do PPV the UFC events but did not this time - mostly due to what I perceived as too much hype for reality to live up to... Much as you indicated as well...
I really enjoyed your fight summaries and got a kick out of your reviews - especially the retarded bull description - too damn funny. Most interesting is that I can't wait to see some of these fights based on what I read in your reviews - should be some side splitting funny stuff based on what I anticipate from your articles - Thanks again and keep up the candor....
Yeah, for the big MMA fan the card had an air of importance, while with the regular fan it was just another card. And yes, I felt it was a let don to a degree, under-achieved perhaps. I am glad that you like the reviews and summaries, I try to take some of the stuff people like about the wrestling reviews and incorporate them here. Some MMA sites have such bare-bones reviews, no emotion or good description. I think that's what separates 411 is our extremely detailed coverage. Thanks!
From Jamie on Ken Shamrock -
My personal reaction to the Shamrock release was: "He's still under contract?" I thought he stated in his post fight interview after the third Ortiz fight that he was retiring. I also saw his coaching the IFL as a sign that he was no longer with the UFC.
I kind of agree that the UFC should show him respect, but I don't think having him fight again is the way to do it. If he were to fight at all, I'd like it to be an IFL super fight, which has tended to be "legend" vs. "legend".
The current branding of the UFC is not that of a senior circuit, nor is it "sideshow matches". Things like the Gracie-Hughes match, and to a lesser extent Shamrock-Franklin are way too "pro wrestling booking" for what the UFC is looking to accomplish.
What I'd like to see happen with Shamrock (and others) is this: re-sign him to the company in a non-fighting role on TV. I think the UFC would get more of a "legit" sport feel if they had a studio crew (like NFL live, baseball tonight, etc.) and/or "sideline" reporters. Rogan and Goldberg are fine, but if they were just match commentary, it may be a smoother broadcast. I'd love to see Shamrock in a role like this. There are a lot of other guys who would fit well in this type of role after thy retire.
With the first wave of true mainstream MMA stars nearing retirement age in the next few years, the time is right to start finding ways for them to continue their involvement (not all of them are necessarily cut out for coaching/training). Not only that, but they will have a greater legacy to new fans.
Many current NFL fans never saw Terry Bradshaw play (myself included - I'm only 28), the same will soon be true for Steve Young and Michael Irvin. But seeing them talk about games each week keeps them fresh in people's minds. Not only that, but retired athletes have an insight that few others do. Let's see what these guys have to say.
I think a lot of people forgot he was still under contract, so you're not alone. He did do the IFL deal and he and Frank had great promos and they need to fight just for the build. I think the UFC should have used the fight, there was money to be made and now I think someone else will make it. Using him in a non-fighting role works as well as you had some great points there, hard to disagree. Thanks again!
And finally some thoughts from 411's Ryan Mancuso -
Does the California State Athletic Commission test for Ding-Dongs? He definitely was bigger than I seen from him in PRIDE (8-12 pounds heavier), but it didn't look like the muscle enhancing type of growth. Maybe my eyes were deceiving me there.
Sherk did try his hand at 170. He did have success, but it wasn't the kind that got him a title belt on that mantle. When has Tito Ortiz not claimed that he was going into a fight injured? I would be more upset and shocked if he didn't claim injury after a fight where he looked sluggish. Tito cost himself that fight. Rich Franklin is in trouble for the Silva rematch and the hometown crowd isn't going to help him.
I have always wondered one thing about the PPV timing issue. I read one time PPV's don't go 3 hours exactly, but at most 2 hour 50 minutes. The PPV companies set some sort of cut off time for live events. If that was the case, then I could see why the ended it there because they would have only 4 minutes left and there was no way an under card fight would make the time. You get a lot more PPV's than I do. I am just wondering if you have seen PPV's where the event has gone past 10:50 PM (or 12:50 AM for UFC shows) because I can't think of any off the top of my head.
One last thing, UFC should go 4 hours the next time they do a PPV with 2 title matches. This is to plan in case both title matches and PPV under card fights or two go to the judges. There could still be time for an un-televised fights and they won't have to rush a fight like Florian's last night.
Ryan and I exchanged some emails and were discussing and these are some snippets. We were talking about NOG and Heath looking bigger in the wrong way since they are out of PRIDE and have to drug test now. On Sherk, I hate that he cuts so much weight to dominate a smaller division, my feelings are if you are such a damn machine and so good, go to 170 and prove it.
The UFC PPV's have gone to 12:50 and such before, I was just surprised they didn't show the extra fight and fully agree that if they ever do 2 title matches again they need 4-hours because the end was very rushed and in a way unprofessional looking. Also I feel that they shouldn't do 2 title matches on a show due to them running monthly and needing a marquee match for every show. They have done so well thus far and just want them to keep it up. Thanks Ryan!
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