411 MMA Fact or Fiction 10.15.08: Bisping on the Cusp of Title-Shot, EliteXC Should Fire Jared Shaw, Anderson Silva Will Retire in 2009, and MORE!

Posted by Bren Oliver on 10.15.2008

Should Junie Browning have already been kicked off the Ultimate Fighter? Does EliteXC lack ethics when it comes to only offering knockout bonuses? Is Brandon Vera in a "must win" situation against Keith Jardine? 411Mania columnists Dustin James and Scott Kuczkowski debate these topics and more in this week's MMA Fact or Fiction!

Welcome to 411Mania MMA's weekly meeting of minds, "Fact or Fiction"! We've got a big weekend ahead, as we're only a few days away from the UFC's newest venture into the land o' fish and chips. However, before Michael Bisping and Chris Leben lock up at UFC 89 to determine who moves one step closer to being knocked out by Anderson Silva, I'm here with a couple of champs in their right and they've been kind enough to provide this edition's proverbial fireworks. Joining us this week are 411 MMA columnists Dustin James and Scott Kuczkowski. James is our resident M.C. of rankings, as well as the author of one of our newest columns (The Ultimate Writer), while Kuczkowski is the master of all things good, bad, and ugly. Each has some strong opinions to share in regards to our six savory special ingredients - the topics - so let's not waste time with any more formalities.

Readers...are you ready? Fellow columnists...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. EliteXC's practice of only awarding knockout bonuses is unethical and hurts the credibility of their company.


Dustin James: FACT. What credibility EliteXC has is the real question here. I listen to a lot of sports radio where I work during the day and even the majority of ESPN Radio guys know that EliteXC is a joke. However, the fact that the company doesn't hand out a submission bonus is weak. It just goes to show you how in love with boxing Gary and Jared Shaw truly are. If they had their way, every fight would end with a tremendous knockout and no ground work what so ever. Bonus money is something the lesser known fighters try to earn. When you are making only $5,000 a fight and the bonus money is $2,500 extra. You will try to earn that bonus any way you can. So if EliteXC only offers knockout bonuses, then guess what...most of the fighters are going to keep the fight standing. A promotion telling their fighters how to fight is basically what it crumbles down to.


Scott Kuczkowski: FACT. EliteXC is basically telling their fighters (and the fans) that someone like Kimbo Slice should get more money than Jake Shields because he knocks people out, where as Shields "only" submits them. Both fighters are finishing their fights, but somehow Kimbo's win is worth more to EliteXC. How can they justify that? I feel that EliteXC is only seeing one side of MMA if they ignore submission victories. EliteXC needs to promote kickboxing if they really feel submissions aren't worth anything.


SCORE: 1 for 1.


2. A win over Chris Leben will put Michael Bisping one victory away from a UFC Middleweight Championship bout.


Dustin James: FACT. Dude, this is the UFC. It's my opinion that if Bisping does defeat Leben then he WILL earn a Middleweight Title shot. How many contenders are out there that Anderson Silva hasn't already destroyed? The casual UFC fans know who Bisping is and by knocking out "the red-haired punk from Ultimate Fighter 1" on a UFC PPV....his credibility goes up a little more. Look at Brock Lesnar. Do you think he has earned a UFC Heavyweight Title shot? Not at all. The truth is the UFC knows that a Couture/Lesnar fight will sell PPV's. You don't think a Bisping/Silva fight would sell a PPV? It would sell a hell of a lot more than a Silva/Cote PPV. That's for sure.


Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. I'd say it puts him two wins away. The truth is that a win over Leben will be good, but it doesn't skyrocket him through the division. Leben is a tough fighter, but he isn't a world beater and isn't even in anyone's top 10 middleweight rankings (neither is Bisping for that matter). I'd say a victory over Leben would set Bisping up for a fight with Okami and then probably Henderson or Franklin (if he ever comes back to Middleweight). I could even see making him fight Patrick Cote, which would probably be a great fight. But one win away from a title shot? No way.


SCORE: 1 for 2.



3. Brandon Vera is in a "must win" situation against Keith Jardine.


Dustin James: FICTION. It depends on what "must wins" means. I don't think a loss to Keith Jardine would cause the UFC to release Vera by any means. But it is a "must win" situation if Vera wants to keep his name anywhere near the top of the UFC's light heavyweight division. Vera's light heavyweight debut was less than spectacular for sure, but I don't think a loss to Jardine is reason to panic. Jardine is considered a top 10 light heavyweight by many. I think Vera will be fine if he loses to "The Dean of Mean".


Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. The only thing Vera "must" do is make the fight exciting, which I think he can. This fight should be on the feet for the majority, and I think Vera has the tools to pick apart and even knock out Jardine. Don't get me wrong, Jardine will be a tough opponent, but I don't think he will finish Vera. However, if Vera can land the headkick he landed against Justin Eilers, it might be a short night for The Dean of Mean.


SCORE: 2 for 3.


---SWITCH!!!---


4. It is in EliteXC's best interest to fire Vice President Jared Shaw.


Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION-ish. I'm only saying fiction because I think there are about a hundred other things that would be in EliteXC's best interests to do, and all of those come way before firing $kala. Should Jared be removed/replaced? Absolutely. Should EliteXC concern themselves with doing that right now? No. EliteXC is hemorrhaging money and making so many poor business decisions that firing one person isn't going to do anything for them. There are immediate changes to need to occur in how they market their product and how they are perceived amongst the mainstream populace. Until they can make some headway in those areas and prove that they will be around past their next televised event, firing Jared won't mean anything.


Dustin James: FACT. What good has this guy done for his company? That's the one thing that every business owner in America looks at when evaluating their employees. What good has Jared "$kala" Shaw done for EliteXC? The answer....nothing really. He looked like a moron shouting and screaming at the ref after his "meal ticket" Kimbo Slice got knocked out. Kim Couture came out and called him a "scumbag" because apparently during Gina Carano's weigh-in, Shaw was trying to sneak a peek when Gina was nude (I don't blame him, but C'MON!), and of course he's trying to turn EliteXC into BOXMMA (yes, I just made that up). So I ask you again.....what good has this guy done for his company?


SCORE: 2 for 4.


5. If he remains undefeated for another year, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will retire from Mixed Martial Arts.


Scott Kuczkowski: FICTION. I know this topic came up a few weeks back when Silva mentioned in an interview that he wanted to retire from MMA in a few years. His management team tried to recant that statement a few days later. I don't see Silva leaving the sport anytime soon, but I could see him trying to branch out into boxing or taking more fights at light heavyweight. I could also see him pushing the UFC to try and set up fights against other top 10 middleweights not under UFC contracts. I just don't see him walking away from the sport though.



Dustin James: FICTION. At least I hope it's fiction. While Anderson Silva may be dominating the middleweight division in the UFC, there are still TONS of great fights out there for him. You have a rematch against the last man to defeat him, Yushin Okami. You have a potential bout against Michael Bisping. Rumors are GSP could be interested in fighting Silva. Then of course there is the UFC's light heavyweight division that has TONS of great match-ups for Silva. Silva/Liddell, Silva/Evans, Silva/Griffin, Silva/Rampage, Silva/Rua...etc, etc, etc. Silva would be stupid to hang it up in a year. There is still a ton of money for the guy to make in this sport. Let's hope for all our sakes, he doesn't decide to hang them up anytime soon.


SCORE: 3 for 5.


6. Junie Browning should have been thrown off of the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 after his actions on last week's episode.


Scott Kuczkowski: FACT. I think Junie Brown is a little turd bump that needs to be wiped and flushed. The fact that he hides behind the fact that no one can punch him for fear of getting thrown off the show demonstrates how shallow and cowardly he really is. So he had a tough upbringing. Big deal? That doesn't make it O.K. to act like a total jack ass for the rest of his life. Guys like Junie are everything that is wrong with this sport. I understand Dana is letting him stay because he appeals to the folks that enjoy the reality TV element of the show, but the sooner he is gone, the better off everyone will be.


Dustin James: FACT. Fact, fact, fact, fact, fact! Remember that "Lobstah" guy who got thrown off a few seasons back just for acting like a UFC referee why two other dudes fought during a drunken night? Are you honestly telling me that what Junie Browning did was not worse than that? Browning threw a glass at somebody and cut them, he tried repeatedly to get people to fight him, and he even attempted to DROWN Bader! Then once Dana White gives him another shot, he keeps the shit talking going and then commits a SIN by jumping into the Octagon after a fight. Dude, Dana, are you going soft on us? The old Dana would have thrown this guy out on his ass faster then we can say "UFC". Do you think Junie will pop a rating? He probably will, but trust me when I say this....it's not the audience you want. Junie Browning is a scumbag and doesn't deserve to step foot into a UFC Octagon.


SCORE: 4 for 6.

----

Join us next week when two more participants discuss UFC 89 results, a few bouts at UFC 90, and a few other issues lingering out there in the land o' MMA...