411MMA Fact or Fiction 05.21.08: Sherk/Penn Winner is the Top Lightweight in the World, UFC 84 Will Be the Last Time Tito Steps Into the Octagon, Keith Jardine Next in Line at 205 with a Victory Over Wanderlei Silva, More!

Posted by Bren Oliver on 05.21.2008

Should Eddie Alvarez be considered one of MMA's "Top 10" 155-pound fighters? Does Keith Jardine deserve an opportunity at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship if he defeats Wanderlei Silva at UFC 84? Could the ban on Affliction sponsorship at EliteXC/UFC events prove to be a fatal mistake? Is the NSAC's pre-fight drug testing program a good thing? Join 411Mania's Adam Tool and Ultimate Fighter veteran Brad Imes as it's "writer" vs. "fighter" in this week's edition of FoF!

Hellllllllllllllllllo readership! Thank you for taking a few minutes of your life to give this week's MMA "Fact or Fiction" a onceover. For those of you habitual FoFers, welcome back to what should be another interesting edition of the column, and to all you first-timers, pat yourself on the back as you've just joined the best looking group of MMA fans in the history of the internet! True story - I asked Rachelle Leah out on a date one time and her response was along the lines of, "Hell no, but I'd do the 'Fact or Fiction' collective in a heartbeat!" Fine, she actually tazed me and then had her security team beat me to a pulp....alright, honestly, she kicked my ass herself and is the hardest-hitting girl I've been assaulted by...okay, actually I've never even met her, but if I did ask her out I'm certain the end result would be my walking with a permanant limp, so let's move on, shall we?

From imaginary Bren-beatings to a few guys who dish physical punishment out in real life while collecting a paycheck for the organized mayhem, I'm extremely pleased to have the involvement of two legitimate MMA professionals for the UFC 84 Preview and Review editions of "Fact or Fiction". This week brings us the stylings of veteran 6'7" Heavyweight, and the proud owner of back-to-back Gogoplata victories, Brad Imes . Then, on May 28th, look for the UFC's Anthony "Rumble" Johnson to give you his thoughts on the action from UFC 84 amongst a variety of other things. Speaking of the epic card headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk, the bulk of this week will focus on previewing the event with a hint of DREAM and essence of athletic commission mixed in.

Stepping into "Fact or Fiction" Stadium against "The Hillbilly Heartthrob" is 411Mania MMA's own resident McDreamy, the one and only author of our Zone's Saturday Special , "The Fightin' Stance News". Yes, it's none other than Adam Tool, and when I say he's also a "heartthrob", I do so because there's actual evidence to back the label up. In point of fact, Mr. Tool was voted 2008's second sexiest internet personality. Don't worry Adam! You'll beat out that dastardly Tay Zonday next year!

Before getting into the sizzle of this steak, I want to express my appreciation to Brad Imes for not only participating in this on the cusp of a last-minute booking against Roy Nelson, but also for his willingness to step up after the bout's result and flesh out a few of his responses. Additionally, it should be said Imes did not receive all of the topics until after DREAM III had concluded (based on the show's results being involved) and was unable to complete the full six-subject format. Fortunately, our resident Quad-Cities beat man, John Curry , stepped up to the plate and gave a few original thoughts of his own.


And now on to the meat and potatoes of "Fact or Fiction" - the topics! Gentlemen...are you ready? Then, America, with an enlarged heart and an empty skull, I say unto you the words of my Uncle...


ALLEZ FACT OR FICTION!!!!!!!


1. When also taking into account his wins over Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell, Keith Jardine deserves to be the #1 Contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship if he beats Wanderlei Silva.


Brad Imes: FACT. It's a tough field, but given his previous wins over Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Mike Whitehead, plus if he wins add Wanderlei Silva to that list, I would say he is the logical choice. Plus he's a TUF 2 vet., he's the logical choice. Plus, he's a TUF 2 vet.


Adam Tool: FICTION. Recently when we ranked the top Light Heavyweights one of my fellow 411 staffers asked why people weren't ranking Jardine higher considering his wins over Griffin and Liddell. I told him it was because of two simple words: Houston Alexander. As impressive as his wins have been (and would be should he beat Wandi), he got demolished by Alexander. Let's not forget he also still has the loss against Stephan Bonnar, regardless of how close the decision was. What about the undefeated Rashad Evans, who beat Jardine on his way to winning The Ulimate Fighter? Personally I feel Lyoto Machida should be the #1 contender if he can get past Ortiz. Clearly he's also a fighter that has beaten some big names, but unlike Jardine he doesn't have any dubious losses on his record.


SCORE: 0 for 1. Good to see Imes still has his fellow TUF 2 castmate's back! Sure, "The Dean of Mean" got flattened by Houston Alexander, but wins over Wilson Gouveia, Chuck Liddell, and (current #1 Contender) Forrest Griffin mean a lot more to me than an individual getting caught by a punch in a single fight. It happens to the best of 'em. Just ask Georges St. Pierre if you don't believe me. Adding a "W" over Wanderlei Silva more than makes Jardine qualified to face the winner of "Rampage" Jackson's title-defense against Griffin as far as I'm concerned, especially in comparison to Machida whose most-significant UFC victories would be over Tito Ortiz (who hasn't finished anyone other than Ken Shamrock in more than five years) and Sokoudjou (who has six professional fights). Let's also not forget Machida stunk up the Octagon against David Heath to the point the company refused to air the advertised bout between the two. Win or lose, at least you know Jardine is going to deliver an entertaining fight.


2. The winner of Sean Sherk vs. BJ Penn should be considered the best Lightweight in Mixed Martial Arts.


Brad Imes: FACT. These two guys are unquestionably the top two fighters in the world at 155. Add the winner of the Florian/Huerta fight to this list but Sherk and Penn are in a class of their own in 155. I see the winner of this fight holding on to the title for a while.


Adam Tool: FICTION. I already feel BJ is the #1 Lightweight. So his winning obviously won't change that. However I would hesitate giving Sherk the top spot if he wins, because what other "Top Ten" fighter has he beaten? Sure he got the win over Florian, but I don't think Kenny was in anybody's "Top Ten" back when the two fought. I also consider the methods of victory whenever I rank fighters, and there's no way I'm putting a guy that's won his last three fights via lay and pray over someone like Penn or Gomi.


SCORE: 0 for 2. Takanori Gomi called and, through his translator, told me his heart has officially been broken. *sniffle*


3. Win or lose, UFC 84 will be the last time Tito Ortiz competes inside the Octagon.


Brad Imes:FICTION. Tito and Dana go back a long way. This isn't the first time Tito has said that he would not fight for the UFC again. The reality is if he wants the money he is making now and the face time he will stay with the UFC in some capacity. You can never say never with Tito and the UFC.



Adam Tool: FACT. I know that anything can happen, but all signs point to this being Tito's last dance in the UFC. He has said repeatedly that the whole reason he's leaving is because of a lack of respect from Dana White. Obviously I haven't been privy to all the things said between the two, but clearly these are a couple of guys with strong opinions and big egos. Tito won't work for Dana, and there's nearly no chance the UFC will be running without Mr. White at any time in the future. As I mentioned in my news report on Saturday (cheap plug) Dana said he has no desire to keep Tito under the UFC banner. Combine that with the glut of new promotions out there, and his continued forays into other business streams, and it would appear that Ortiz will have plenty of options for his future outside the Octagon.


SCORE: 0 for 3. I like that Imes isn't on the "Tito is History" bandwagon. I'd never really thought about it until reading his point, but the public feud between Ortiz and Dana White is actually a great tool for selling Ortiz's fights to the public. One of the WWE's most profitable storylines involved the rivalry between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Vince McMahon. After all, who can't relate to having an overbearing or d-bag of a boss? Hell, at least half the interest in Ortiz's UFC 84 bout against Machida is due to Tito's rivalry with Dana White. Whatever "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" lacks in the Octagon, or whatever skills of his have diminished, he more than makes up for whenever he stands in front of a camera or microphone. Mix in the bad blood with Dana White and you've got an angle you can sell to the public no matter who Ortiz faces or how he performs inside the cage.


---SWITCH!!!---


4. With Affliction merchandise being pulled from EliteXC and UFC events, it appears as though the company may have made a costly mistake by going into business for themselves in their creation of a MMA promotion.


Adam Tool: FACT. It's definitely going to be costly. With the lineup just for their first show the company is already paying millions for their talent, and that's not taking into account the other expenses that accrue when putting on a night of fights. They've lost their main source of exposure, that is the fighters who wear their gear when they step inside the cage. If the show can somehow pull in a great buyrate, and they find a way to turn a profit then I will be very surprised. If they put on another show they would likely stand to lose even more money, and how long can they operate in the red? The MMA market here in the U.S. just isn't big enough yet to support the number of promotions swelling up, so I don't see much chance for Affliction MMA to be successful anytime soon.


Brad Imes: FACT. The company was actually really successful in their marketing of their gear. When they decided to start their own promotion they lost that money that was coming in from the UFC, EliteXC, other organizations, and the fighters who are no longer allowed to wear their gear to the cage. They have zero to little experience in marketing promotions and if it doesn't work out they will be in a very tough spot.


SCORE: 1 for 4. That's the first time I've ever seen a fighter call out Affliction. Bravo to you, Mr. Imes!


5. Eddie Alvarez has proven himself to be a "Top 10" Lightweight.


Adam Tool FICTION. Eddie Alvarez has gained a lot of new fans (myself included) and his fight with Joachim Hansen should definitely be remembered when it comes time for "Fight Of The Year" honors to be handed out, but at this point I'm not convinced he belongs in the "Top Ten". If he can manage to win the entire tournament, then we'll talk about ranking him.


John Curry: FACT. I have to say fact here. Although many fans who are not aware of fighters outside of the WEC and UFC will not recognize Alvarez's name, he is 14-1 with 12 of those fights being finished to only two being decisions. The Lightweight division is deep but not deep enough to ignore fighters outside of the UFC and WEC. If Alvarez continues on his path we could very well see his name arise in the UFC or WEC, possibly even one of the up and coming organizations such as Adrenaline and EliteXC.


SCORE: 1 for 5.


6. The Nevada State Athletic Commission's new policy to test fighters for drugs up to a month before scheduled competition should have a significant positive effect on the sport of MMA.


Adam Tool FACT. Why wouldn't it? Now there's no telling when a fighter will be called upon to make #1 in a cup, and if they want to continue competing and earning their livelihood they'll have to play by the rules. The only real negative effect it would have is if a number of fighters fail the test and have to be pulled from an upcoming card, but with most of the UFC 84 fighters having already passed it's a non-issue in this case. Here‘s another question, will we ever see Nick "Up In Smoke" Diaz compete in the state of Nevada again?


John Curry FACT. 110% Fact. How this policy took this long to go into effect is beyond me. In every major sport there are random steroid/drug/banned substance tests which are administered at random times. However, with the possible exception of boxing and football, does the usage of steroids and drugs influence the outcome of an event more than the sport of MMA. Before everyone gets all up in arms talking about how steroids ruined baseball, look at it this way if I hit the gym and take steroids and become as buff as Scott Stiener, the Roid Freak, would that make me any better at hitting a baseball going 90 mph? No. However, if I were to take steroids and lift weights until I was said Steiner's size would that give me an advantage in a fight. YES. All this aside, drug testing helps give the sport of MMA more legitimacy. When they test their fighters for drugs they turn them from fighters into athletes which gives the sport a more "civil" appearance.


SCORE: 2 for 6. I personally think it's high time the NSAC addressed this sticky, icky situation! And to answer Tool's question about Nick Diaz, the FoF Magic 8-Ball says, "Reply hazy, try again."


Thanks again to Brad Imes for his participation! Make sure to check out his sponsors - Warrior Wear, Shocker Nutrition, Unbreakable mouthpieces, Angus Grill, and Chiro Fitness Extreme in Rock Island, Illinois.


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Join us next week when two more participants take a post-event look at UFC 84, Kimbo Slice's effect on MMA's reputation, the need for more womens' MMA on television, and a handful of other lingering issues in the Mixed Martial Arts' world ...