Heavy Handed 11.01.07: Rummaging Through the Wasteland that is My Brain
Posted by Joe Newman on 11.01.2007
Is Randy Couture a tainted hero? Can boxing survive? And is there any way to fast forward through this season's The Ultimate Fighter? We've got plenty of questions.
I'll be the first to admit that I haven't had a lot of time to immerse myself in the mixed martial arts culture over the past two weeks or so.
A guy has to eat and, in my case, as a freelance writer, I've been so over my head with deadlines and assignments, I haven't had time to keep up with the usual suspects.
When I crawled into my hole, Randy Couture was still the "Great American Hero" who had been wronged and disrespected by the man.
Now, after catching up on my reading, it seems Couture is a little tarnished. From what I've read, some people now think he's a greedy liar. Somebody even compared him to Terrell Owens.
Ouch.
Things can change quickly can't they?
If there's anything that can get you back in the mood for some mixed martial arts, it's taking in some boxing.
I saw the fight card at the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Fla. on Tuesday night and by the end of it, I was ready to poke my eyes out.
Granted, it wasn't a top lineup but it was decent. There were two Cuban Olympic gold medalists on the card, as well as James McGirt Jr. and Edison Miranda.
Miranda, who lost a title shot to Kelly Pavlik in May, is a beast but by the time his bout against Henry Porras started, the Hard Rock arena had mostly emptied out. That was a shame because Miranda put on a show on his way to a fifth round TKO.
The rest of the card? Not so good.
If you listen to promoter Bob Arum, boxing is on its way back.
I'm less convinced of it than ever after sitting through the six fights on the Hard Rock card.
The only other fight worth mentioning was the clinic Olympian Yuriorkis Gamboa put on in winning his junior lightweight bout.
Mixed martial arts is eating boxing's lunch and this is why. Once you've seen the excitement of MMA, it's very hard to sit through 6 to 8 rounds of two guys dancing around the ring playing patty cake.
Another thing I that missed while I was away were some comments International Fight League president Jay Larkin made during a recent news conference.
According to Sam Caplan's report on his proelite.com blog, Larkin said we're in store for some changes next season.
It sounds like the IFL is scrapping its geographical affiliations. Caplan wrote: "Calling the city-affiliations ‘contrived,' Larkin said the team concept will focus more on the identity of each team's head coach and their camp's reputation."
People don't care about a team called the Quad Cities Silverbacks or the Nevada Lions. The local affiliations mean nothing to people who live in those regions, so why should it matter to a TV viewer in Miami?
You've got to tap into a national and international audience for every show. So why alienate people by anchoring your teams to some meaningless geographic designation?
Do, however, stick with your celebrity coaches . . .You know what made your recent championship event special? It was the clash between the Miletich Fighting Systems and Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That's cool.
You need more of this. Imagine if you had a major fight camp behind each of your teams?
Does anyone really remember who Johnny Lawrence was? But everyone knows the Cobra Kai.
I'm not so full of myself to think that my column altered the course of the IFL. Or that I was even the first person to make these suggestions.
But it is nice to see that the IFL recognizes they have to make some changes if they're going to find success in the ever-crowded MMA landscape.
Well, I had intended to write a column about who in the UFC could fill the void left by Couture's resignation, meaning who could represent the sport as well as he has over the years. By that I mean, who has the complete package of athletic ability, skills, eloquence, personality and humbleness to become the face of the UFC.
Instead, I'll point to you to Morgan Marx's MMA News report, where he took a similar tack in looking at the UFC's next wave of stars.
What's interesting is that after five and a half seasons of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV series, there's still no one from the show who is a can't miss star in the mold of a Couture, Chuck Liddell or Matt Hughes.
A few of the show's fighters, like Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping could find themselves on that track but I would have to say their still miles away from superstar status.
Which brings me to this season's episode of TUF. While I've criticized the show on my blog for being hamstrung by its stale, tired format, I'll begrudgingly admit that a few of the shows this season have actually been entertaining.
TUF is the UFC's star-making vehicle but after half a season, there's no one on the show who even remotely looks like a sure thing.
For the most part, the fights have been sorely disappointing. Wednesday's episode was no exception.
While George Sotiropoulis looked good in his knockout of Jared Rollins, few of the fighters beyond Mac Danzig have left me very impressed.
Could it go down as the weakest cast ever?
I could go on but that sounds like a great topic for next week's column.
Got a comment, question or column suggestion? Contact Joe Newman by clicking below or reach him on his blog, Cage Buzz.
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