The Verbal Submission 06.10.08: The Debut Column

Posted by Chris Robinson on 06.10.2008

Is Thiago Alves the next top contender in the UFC Welterweight Division? Will Dana White's "big announcement" shock the world of MMA? Will Affliction and Donald Trump rise up and become a true competitor to the UFC? Find out what I think in this edition of "The Verbal Submission".



Welcome to the first edition of "The Verbal Submission" here at 411mania.com. I'm your new resident MMA writer, Chris Robinson and point blank, I'm just a fan. I'm not some kid who does BJJ, or boxes, or does foxy boxing. I've been an MMA/UFC fan ever since Ken Shamrock debuted in the WWF(E). I became enthralled by the sport after buying some tapes of PRIDE (that's right I said TAPES) and witnessing the brilliance of Wanderlei Silva, Sakuraba, and Mark Kerr. Then, the Ultimate Fighter hit it big on old Spike TV and UFC blew up into the phenomenon it is today. Good history lesson for you? Great.

In today's "Verbal Submission", I'm going to focus on the UFC's welterweight division, which is probably the company's strongest division right now. Debatable? Yes. I'm also going to discuss the possible BIG announcement from UFC President Dana White. Did he sign Fedor? Hell no! Is Cro Crop returning? I sure hope not! What could this mysterious madman with a resemblance to Lex Luthor have in store for us? I'll also go over a recent debate I was involved in about the upcoming Affliction Banned show, and its impact on the UFC and MMA as a whole. Here we go.

WHO WILL DOMINATE THE 170 POUND DIVISION IN THE UFC
The world wasn't super shocked when Georges St. Pierre regained the UFC welterweight crown from Matt Serra at UFC 83. GSP was coming off his second win over Matt "I got bit by a Pitbull" Hughes, and looked better than ever. The big question surrounding GSP thus becomes, "Will he be able to defend his title?" With his upcoming match-up against Jon Fitch, we'll have that answer sooner than later. St. Pierre is going to have his mental preparation questioned until he defends that title successfully. Is Jon Fitch ready for GSP? What about the other top contenders at 170? Are they ready for GSP?

THE TOP 3 CONTENDERS AT 170


Jon Fitch is a great wrestler, with good ground and pound, and submission capabilities. Is he going to stand and strike with GSP? Probably not! Not if he's smart anyway. He has knocked out Thiago Alves, and submitted Roan Carneiro, but as we all saw at UFC 85, that's not too difficult. His win over Diego Sanchez wasn't as dominating though. I'd put Sanchez as probably the toughest striker, and most well rounded opponent Fitch has faced, with maybe Alves being the exception. I personally don't find Fitch to be a super exciting fighter. I think he relies on his ground skills too much, and needs to develop better striking. If, and when he loses to GSP, he goes into welterweight limbo. Fitch and Matt Hughes have very similar styles, so GSP's game plan should be perfect coming into the fight. If the "Greatest Welterweight of All Time" can't beat GSP on a second try, what chance does Fitch have?

Thiago Alves dominated Matt Hughes at UFC 85, even if he came into the fight all chunked out. He was seen in the back surrounded by Snickers' wrappers and White Castle bags complaining about his ankle, but we all know he's just a tubby bastard! All kidding aside, four pounds over the limit didn't help those knee strikes become any more lethal. Just ask Matt Hughes' face. Thiago's fights have all been action packed and fast paced. With 7 TKO wins over top opponents like Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle, and Ansar Chalangov, Thiago doesn't exactly sit back and wait in the cage. Will he be able to handle GSP, if he were to get that coveted title shot? I believe so. Alves' combination of speed and muay thai should worry GSP. I don't think old Georges has faced someone with these kind of striking skills. The last decent striker that "Rush" faced was BJ Penn. Frankly, the more I look at the list of top welterweights over the last few years, they're all wrestling guys.

Speaking of wrestling, there's the always dangerous Josh Koscheck. He took GSP to the limit and wasn't knocked out or submitted. It was an entertaining fight. I think he could give St. Pierre some problems if they were to meet again. Koscheck always comes to bring the pain, with his flawless takedowns, and heavy handed ground and pound. I'm hoping we get a Koscheck vs. Fitch match-up after Fitch falls to St. Pierre. I'm totally writing off Fitch in that match and it's two months away!

Now there are a slew of other contenders for the welterweight title. The up and comers like Mike Swick, Diego Sanchez, and Marcus Davis need a few more wins to get into contention. Then there's the old guard that seem to be sliding down the ladder; Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, and Karo Parisyan. If you know one thing and one thing only about me: I hate Karo Parisyan. There's also the intriguing match-up of perhaps unifying the UFC welterweight gold with the WEC's version of the strap, currently held by Carlos Condit. Carlos' biggest win didn't even come in the UFC, as he defeated Frank Trigg back in '06 by submission. His submissions are daunting, and I think a match-up with GSP would be something to behold. Condit is no newbie. The guy has 26 fights under his belt. I'm actually surprised the UFC didn't quietly slip him into the welterweight division after buying the WEC.

So there you have it. Will the likes of Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, or Josh Koscheck be able to dethrone the greatest French Canadian fighter of our time? Will one of the "oldies but goodies" like Serra or Parisyan get a crack at the man they call "Rush"? Could a new acquisition from outside the UFC, like a Jake Shields, step into challenge for the strap? I'm real big on questions. I'd like to hear your answers.

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
The big announcement from Dana White will probably be that he's going to hold the first fight on Mars in 2012. He's a promoter. What else would you expect? With all the hype and hoopla in the news concerning the EliteXC show, and the upcoming Affliction show, Dana has to step up and get the UFC back on the front page of the MMA news. Speculation is running rampant with the most likely candidates for "big surprise" being the signing of Floyd "I headlined Wrestlemania" Mayweather, or a new TV deal. My money is on the TV deal. The three top contenders for that surprise are HBO, FOX, or ESPN. ESPN likes to dip its pen in whatever ink is popular in the sports world. Remember their love affair with poker? You know. Poker! It's fast paced! It's exciting! It's played by only the young and hippest of the hip! Then there's FOX. FOX will probably want to put Rampage in the Octagon with a bear and then turn it into a reality show. Come to think of it, I would watch that show. Then there's HBO. HBO will make everything look all fancy pants, and put their experts on the screen to give their expert opinions. Granted, those experts have been watching boxing since the Lincoln administration, but still, they're experts.

If it's Mayweather coming in, I won't be excited. We've played this game already with Brock Lesnar. Is this the new cool thing to do? Ditch your former occupation that made you wealthy and popular to garner fame and fortune in the UFC! Also, White better have Mayweather spend the next 18 to 24 months training for that debut. Otherwise, what was the point of not letting Kurt Angle enter the octagon. He has to die somewhere!

The third possibility is that the UFC's debut in Atlanta will be headlined by middlweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Chuck Liddell. Yes, it would be a SUPER FIGHT. Yes, the bout would be at 205. Yes, Anderson Silva's goal is to rule the UFC and hold every belt. He's going to look horribly unhealthy at 155. If THIS is the big announcement, I'll be mildly excited. I don't think Silva needs to move up, and I don't think Liddell has run out of light heavyweight opponents. There's still matches with "Shogun" Rua, Rashad Evans, and a rematch with Rampage. For Silva, the middleweight division is thin on top talent. Although, Michael Bisping has entered the division with both barrels blazing. If they need to start throwing together super fights for Silva though, they need to GASP! build up the middleweight division instead.

AFFLICTION VS. UFC
MMA fans are waiting for a viable competitor to the UFC to further build the sport's fan base, and create more star fighters. EliteXC has obviously stepped into the MMA limelight, and hopes to to attain this #2 status, unlike the IFL and the now defunct BodogFight. One company that may blow by EliteXC on the way to the top is the new promotion by the clothing company of the same name, Affliction. Affliction will be running their first show in July, aptly named "Banned", with a headlining fight featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia.



Fedor vs. Sylvia is a huge fight because it pits the often proclaimed "best fighter in the world" against the former two time UFC heavyweight champion. Affliction also recently announced the signing of another former champ, Andre Arlovski, and will pit him against former IFL star, Ben Rothwell. So in a matter of months, Affliction has lined up the last two heavyweight champions from the UFC not named Couture, and positioned them for fights with Fedor. Quick question for Dana White, "What other things slip through your fingers?" Now a lot of people question whether Fedor would find success in the octagon after former PRIDE stand-outs like Cro Cop failed so miserably. Well, we're going to find out, but not on a UFC show. A few casual MMA fans I've talked to are chomping at the bit for this fight card. Other big names like Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Renato Sobral, and Matt Lindland will also be on the card.



So the question becomes, will the name power alone draw in the fans for this pay-per-view event? I think it will. The key for Affliction will be to stick with three weight divisions: heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight. There are a lot of big names out there who, although they may command a big salary, will find homes with Affliction. Look at Tito Ortiz. Tito has come out and said he's going to promote his own events. That sounds great on paper, but at the end of the day, I have my doubts. Affliction's newest promoter, Donald Trump, has already made it known he wants Tito in the fold. There's another big name. So the name power is there. These fighters have all been top guys. Will it pull some fans from the UFC. Whereas the UFC relies on building new stars in multiple divisions, can Affliction get things kickstarted with top names from the UFC's past? We shall see.

END OF THE THIRD ROUND

That wraps up the first edition of the "Verbal Submission". Thanks for taking the time to read all my thoughts and theories. I look forward to writing about MMA here at 411mania, and if you have any comments, good or bad, feel free to voice your opinion. I'd like to take a moment to plug my podcast, the Empire Hardcore Podcast, which is up on Tuesdays and Saturdays at Podomatic.com and is also available on iTunes. I would love to to run it here at 411mania (wink, wink) because all the podcasts in the MMA and wrestling sections I've listened to have been very entertaining. Also, be sure to check out my web comedy series, Pounders Fight Squad, which is up on YouTube. And check out my blog at EmpireHardcore.com. I'll be back next Tuesday, so until then, have a great week.

Kick. Punch. It's all in the mind.

-CPR


(Image credit: UFC.com, AfflictionBanned.com, and Sherdog.com)