Hit the Mat 02.02.09: The Month That Roared
Posted by Matt McEwen on 02.02.2009
30 years from now, you might look back at January 2009 and think of it as THE time to be an MMA fan.
Every sport has had it's moments and personalities that come to not only define an era, but that also achieve for that sport a new, higher standing in the collective sports consciousness of the public at large.
The NBA had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird ushering in the Showtime era in 1980, followed by Michael Jordan ushering in the era of, well, Michael Jordan.
The NFL has used the Super Bowl concept to become the biggest one day sporting event in North America, if not the world.
Soccer rode both Pele and David Beckham to some form of or relevance in North America, a testament to both their talents and our attention spans.
In many ways, boxing is still existing off of fans created by th life blood of Muhammad Ali and his myriad of classic fights, not to mention his defiant personality.
The world of pro wrestling (OK, so I'm stretching the truth of the word "sport") exemplifies this, be it Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin, The Rock or John Cena.
When we look back at the history of MMA in a few decades, it could very well be that January 2009 is one of the more memorable months in that history, giving us moments, personalities and events that could very well define the era.
Nine days ago Affliction pulled off what no one thought they could - an excellent (Tito Ortiz's losing battle with intelligent speech not withstanding) night of fights that was an artistic success. Top to bottom the card was interesting, with intriguing fights - Dan Lauzon coming back from three groin shots to choke out his last minute opponent - shocking finishes - Vitor Belfort finishing off top 5 middleweight Matt Lindland in under a minute, leaving him groggy and disoriented - and topped the night off with a MOMENT.
Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski stepped into the ring in the main event and took part in a fight that reached "big fight" status, gained some public attention and may have put a small dent in the synonymous relationship that the terms UFC and MMA seem to have. Once the actual fight began, it was not an MMA masterpiece by any means, more resembling an OK kickboxing match, but the end...THAT is the definition of what I mean by a "moment."
Watching live, my immediate reaction was along the lines of, "What the hell just happened?" The replay though...that is one for the highlight reel. The overhand right counter to the attempted flying knee nearly spun Arlovski full around, and left him laying face down and out cold. The punch, the result and perhaps most of all, the shocked, amazed silence of the crowd, followed by the "WHOOSH" of realization, created a true moment, and one that will be in highlight reels for years to come.
But that moment may not have been the most important and long lasting image of the evening. That could very well have been provided by someone who does not even compete in the sport...and actually just retired from his own sport. Oscar De La Hoya - the most popular and well known combat athlete of the last 20 years - was on hand, not only taking the fight in, but lending credibility and importance merely by attending. It may not have made the front page of any papers, but rest assured that more people gave the sport a chance knowing that De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions had a hand in it, and given the show that Affliction put on, a good percentage of them might stick around. It was another step towards main stream acceptance, and one that really angered HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant. So much so that he spent a fair bit of time talking about it to HBO viewers, who were likely left wondering what they were missing by watching HBO instead.
Two weeks after the Affliciton card, the UFC took to the PPV airwaves two nights ago for the "biggest fight ever." While they are certainly guilty of hyperbole more often than not, the UFC went out of their way to make sure the hype lived up to the moniker. The creation of the UFC Primetime series certainly made the fight seem more important than the usual "Countdown" specials, while the fighters themselves went out of their way to provide compelling personalities for fans to root for and against.
Once the fight started though, it was one personality that stood head and shoulders above all others. I am talking about Georges St. Pierre of course, but his emergence here was more than just a victory over Penn. With the first generation of UFC superstars - Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, and Ritch Franklin - either beginning to show their age, suffer multiple losses, or both, St. Pierre stepped up on the biggest stage to be presented yet to an athlete in this sport and hit a home run. When the buyrate estimates eventually float around, it is likely that the biggest paying audience in MMA history watched St. Pierre dominate Penn in the "Fight for the Ages", all the while with Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg talking about how, at 27, St. Pierre has not even reached his peak yet. Now, how many fans do you think are in the French Candian's corner after that performance?
Just like Affliciton, UFC 94 was more than just a main event, and several other fighters may very well have left a lasting impression on newer fans. Every fight on the card - save perhaps Parisyan-Kim, and even that featured some nice throws - was exciting, but two men on the undercard may have picked the right time to look good. Jon Jones looked spectacular for the first 8 minutes or so of his fight with Stephan Bonnar, and likely guaranteed himself a PPV slot for his next two or three fights. An exciting 21 year old, Jones showed a diverse and unorthodox striking game to go along with his brutal throws. Watching with me, my wife had never heard of Jones going into the fight, and could not stop talking about how good he was by the end.
The other fighter who made a big impression was Lyoto Machida. Personally, I've been on the band wagon for a while (to the point that my wife and I were the only people cheering him in out entire section of the arena when he fought Tito Ortiz), and he justified my faith in him Saturday night. He dismantled Thiago Silva in an exciting fashion, effectively destroying not only Silva, but also the last remaining knock against him. Showing the great defense he always has, Machida decided to unload on the wide open chin of Silva, producing two knock downs before the brutal punch on the ground that led to the KO. Considering the number of new fans likely watching, Machida stood out by looking very different in his style, and being the only person to end a fight with punches the entire evening.
The common theme between UFC 94 and the Affliction show was the depth of talent beneath the huge main events, and there were two other shows which showed that it was not just a couple of loaded cards, but rather a good sign of how much talent there is in the sport right now.
Last Sunday, the WEC aired a free show on Versus which featured the fight of the month in Jamie Varner defending his 155lb title against Donald Cerrone, the most popular American fighter not in the UFC in Urijah Faber and two exciting young fighters to boot. Remember when it was an anomaly to get a fight on free TV? Remember when the UFC had an entire event where the goal was to have the best fight, and therfore get on an episode of The Best Damned Sports Show Period? Those times are long past at this point, as MMA is slowly inching towards being a television staple. In six days we get another free card from the UFC, and another one two weeks after that. It is almost like MMA is a regular sporting event....
And that is perhaps the biggest thing to come out of this month - MMA being treated more and more like the sport that it is. ESPN did special pre and post shows for UFC 94, and it is likely that they will be doing so on ESPN 2 someday soon, rather than on ESPN.com alone. Emelianenko got some good press prior to the Affliction card, UFC 94 got the most mainstream press I have seen for a non-heavyweight tilt (and likely more than those as well) and on top of all that, it has been a month of good fights, which should be the bottom line to any fan.
No, I did not mention the dire financial rumors surrounding the Affliction promotion. As far as what really matters - the fights - I do not care about how they are doing, only that they are putting on great shows. And no, I did not mention UFC 93. An entire PPV by the biggest company in the sport, and you probably did not notice that I had not mentioned it until now. That should tell you how good a month it has been.
MMA has been slowly inching into the mainstream consciousness almost since it began, and Royce Gracie made all sorts of people look silly, but a few years from now, a month with three good PPV's, the best heavyweight in the world, a battle of champions, the most hyped show in history and a bunch of young fighters stepping up in exciting fights could very well be the defining time of an era.
