Random MMA Discussion

At the Wrestling Observer, they had a post where several MMA "experts" discussed a few issues going on in that world at the moment. So, I figured "What a fantastic post idea to steal!"...

...or something like that.

UFC vs Affliction
In case you haven't heard, the UFC decided to put on another free show on Spike. This one will be held on July 19th - the same night, of course, that Affliction is having their debut PPV.

I'm actually of mixed opinion on this. On one hand, it seems like the UFC is getting dangerously close to watering down their own product. It just seems like there's so much UFC on TV now, it's getting a little excessive. You just had a PPV with a shoddy lineup and a very weak main event that you made people drop $40 for and now you're giving out a free show with Anderson Silva? Something's wrong there.

On the other hand, cross-promoting your own show against the competition's has been a long-standing tradition in all sports - especially combat sports. Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett [later Ted Turner/Eric Bischoff] did it to one another to varying degrees of success for years. Affliction is the first promotion that looks like a legitimate threat [talent-wise] to the UFC so why not go for a kill shot before they get going?

Me? I'm still more interested in the Affliction show. Not sure I'm $40 interested but interested nonetheless.


Anderson Silva: 205
Again, if you're unaware, the aforementioned UFC show is going to be headlined by Anderson Silva making his debut in the Light Heavyweight division against James Irvin. Personally, I think this is a bad, bad idea. I understand that the well is running dry for legit Middleweight contenders for Silva to face but you're not having him vacate the Middleweight title so that situation is still unresolved.

I think this is a very risky move. You have a dominant Middleweight Champion that many people tune into to see the wild knockouts. The guy is getting some Mike Tyson-esque buzz. He has gotten so much attention, even the boxing world has taken notice of him. He seems like an opportunity to create a lasting, unique superstar for your promotion.

There was a rumored Silva/Liddell fight for a while. I didn't think that was a good idea either but I liked it better than this. If you do that fight, you promote it as a one-off fight for Silva, testing himself. You draw a MASSIVE buyrate and really don't lose anything no matter the winner. In the Irvin fight, it's a lose-lose situation. If Silva wins, he beat a nobody in the division and proved nothing more than he would have if you'd fed him another Middleweight. If he loses, uh oh... you potentially killed a cash cow.

Honestly, I would have rather seen Silva go the other way, dropping down in weight to take on GSP. Arguably the two best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it? That's a money match too. But maybe they're going to actually let BJ Penn make that challenge now.

Anyways, I usually think Dana is pretty smart with the matches they choose to promote - this isn't one of them.


TUF Finale
Eh. TUF has lost a lot of the magic for me over the past few seasons. At this point, almost none of the fighters do anything to distinguish themselves from the rest. That first season had characters that you could love/hate - hell, I still hate Koscheck and Bobby Southworth to this day when I see them fight. Most of the seasons since then have just been dry in that respect. For a show like this to succeed, not only do the fights need to be interesting - but the people in them need to be interesting too. And lately, they just don't have the kind of characters that you can get behind.

Granted, the two finalists are probably the most interesting. You can get behind Amir because he's inexperienced and looks to be way in over his head. You can rally behind a guy who looks like he should have no chance in hell yet somehow keeps on winning. And CB is a dick. No doubt about that. So, you can root against him.

But there's just something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it but I just don't feel a strong attachment to anyone from this show.

Oh, and last night's show with that jackass getting kicked out of the UFC after the show was over was just ridiculous. Does the UFC realize they don't do themselves any favors when they show these guys get drunk and act like idiots destroying the house every season? The first couple of seasons it was interesting - now it's just embarrassing to watch. There's a reason a lot of people look down on MMA competitors and when the people striving to be the next big MMA star do shit like that, we can see why.