Planet Tapout 9.25.07: Longer Doesn't Mean Better!
Posted by Lotfi Sariahmed on 09.25.2007
In the latest edition of Planet Tapout, 411Mania's Lotfi Sariahmed takes a deep breath and looks back at the week that was. With such a star-studded main card, there's a lot of talk about making fights longer. But Lotfi explains why longer doesn't mean better. All that and Miscellaneous Musings in this edition of Planet Tapout!
Welcome one and all to the only MMA column that's written on another Planet! I am the man people call Lotfi Sariahmed and this is the one, the only Planet Tapout. No mailbag this week because "The Iceman" and "Shogun" losing on the same card has to be a sign of the Apocalypse or something. But don't let the Apocalypse be the reason for you not writing. The email address as always is PlanetTapout@gmail.com . Now lets do the thing.
Well, so much for the Knockouts and so much for the UFC's light heavyweight division. (I'm sorry, I know the jokes have been made but I had to do it again). That's not to take anything away from the event. UFC 76 was a very good night of fights highlighted by Jardine and Griffin pulling upsets over Liddell and "Shogun" respectively. You also had Fitch eek out a split decision over Sanchez in what could potentially move "Nightmare" down to lightweight. Lyoto Machida beat up Kazuhiro Nakamura and should be in the discussion to be in the Light Heavyweight Top 10. Tyson Griffin also separated himself from the crowded lightweight pack with a big win over Thiago Tavares.
Every single one of those fighters on the main card could be considered Top 10 among UFC fighters within their respective divisions. They're a talented bunch and all of them have been or could be involved in title shots during their careers. But despite their indisputable talents, the fights on the card at UFC 76 were only three rounds. Why not make them five?
Why not give these world-class fighters the time to show what they're made of and put on really good performances? There's been so much talk of late about making some fights five rounds between these top caliber fighters and make all title fights seven rounds. Why not? If boxers are fighting for 36 minutes why can't titleholders in MMA go for 35? They're the two big combat sports and they should be held to the same athletic standard right?
Not so fast. I understand the thought process behind giving these big name fighters the platform to go at it for five rounds as opposed to three or seven rounds as opposed to five. If some is good more is better. If Griffin v. Bonnar were great for three rounds why wouldn't it be great for five? Or how about Evans v. Ortiz or Ortiz v. Belfort? Bisping v. Hamill needed to go five rounds right?
There are a couple of issues with extending fights. Some are more important than others but since I can't necessarily rank them all I'll just discuss them as they come. The first issue deals with which fighters would fight five five-minute rounds in a non-title fight and not three? Who would qualify? It seems like you'd need some sort of rankings to figure out who would fight for how long. Obviously the big problem with that is there are no definitive rankings. You have websites that are trying like MMAWeekly and Sherdog, but there just seem to be too many flaws right now.
Another problem with making these fights longer is that you're not necessarily going to get just as good of a fight. Fighters run out of gas. Fighters will pace themselves for the later rounds. Just because a fight between top middleweight "x" and top middleweight "y" was good for three rounds doesn't mean it'll be good for five. Then don't get me started on the title fights going to seven rounds. Name me a title fight in the UFC that NEEDED to go for 35 minutes. The best case you could make would be the one at UFC 75 but "Rampage" clearly won that fight whether you had it four rounds to one or three rounds to two. Couture stopped Gonzaga in the 3rd at UFC 74. Sherk dominated Franca and Silva stopped Marquardt at UFC 73. Jackson stopped Liddell at 71. Serra stopped St. Pierre, Couture dominated Sylvia, and Liddell stopped Ortiz. Do we really want to make Sylvia v. Arlovski III or Sylvia v. Monson a seven round fight?
That leads me into my last point. Boxing is making a comeback because it's putting on some great fights. Taylor v. Pavlik this Saturday night is a must-watch for casual fans that have HBO. It'll be a barnburner. But despite the great fights boxing has set up for the rest of the calendar year, that doesn't take away from the fact that a lot of boxing has become fighters grinding out long and boring decisions. And we want this for MMA why? A big part of the allure to MMA is the quicker fight. Given the sport itself you have a greater chance of finishing the fight with submission or knockout. Thanks to the shorter fights you also keep the fans attention and in a world where you're appealing to the fan's need for getting things done yesterday, that's invaluable. If MMA turns into boxing with regard to format, it might lose the very reason it's become as popular as it has.
Miscellaneous Musings!
●For those of you looking to rank the UFC's light heavyweight division after Saturday night, 411Mania.com writers included, you're an idiot. How could you rank (pick one fighter) Jackson, Silva, Henderson, Liddell, Shogun, Machida, Griffin, Jardine, Minotoro, Arona, Evans, Lambert, or Sokoudjou over (pick one fighter) Jackson, Silva, Henderson, Liddell, Shogun, Griffin, Jardine, Minotoro, Arona, Machida Evans, Lambert or Sokoudjou?
●So now everyone wants to know what will happen to the acclaimed Liddell v. Silva fight. Forget that fight. If it wasn't worth doing on seemingly half a dozen different occasions then it's not worth doing now. Besides, you have a couple of more interesting fights with the upsets from UFC 76. There are already rumors of Liddell v. Shogun. Lets see which fighter was "really overrated." As for Wanderlei Silva, well lets give him Forrest Griffin and see what happens shall we? You could sell Silva v. Griffin on back story alone forget how good the match-up is.
●Then that just leaves the Champ, Rampage. You could leave him on the shelf and let him do the media tour but what fun would that be? Now you have this MAC Truck of a light heavyweight whose not only built like one, but hits like one as well. All Keith Jardine has done was beat up the poster boy of the UFC in Chuck Liddell AND he has that huge knockout over Forrest Griffin. Mind you I think Rampage would wipe the floor with Jardine if that were the next title fight. But someone has to be the sacrificial lamb and it'll be a fun fight to watch.
●For those of you that forgot there were other non-UFC events this past week allow me to give you this nugget. Ben Rothwell will be that good. He's already the best heavyweight in the IFL and should blow through the IFL Grand Prix coming up. If you're not paying attention to him yet, you should be.
That's it for this week on Planet Tapout! As always send me your love letters and mail bombs (preferably the former) to PlanetTapout@gmail.com .
Make sure you come back next Tuesday for another edition of the Planet! This week in MMA gives us a STRIKEFORCE card at the Playboy Mansion. Normally that would be enough because hey, it's at the Playboy Mansion. But we're still getting Josh Thomson, Joe Riggs and Gilbert Melendez on the card. Enjoy the fights everybody.
