One Step Closer

I know there's been a surplus of MMA stuff on here this week but honestly, what else am I going to talk about? The Home Run Derby? (didn't see it!)

But I did see this article that made me think I am one step closer to my MMA dream come true of Mirko Cro Cop vs Brock Lesnar in Japan! The linked article above basically has Dana White saying that "they" will have to kill him to keep the UFC out of Japan. Who are "they" in this instance?

The "dirty, sneaky, bad guys in Japan" trying to keep the UFC out of the country.

Dana White - How To Win Friends And Influence People

So, this week, Dana's been pissed at Brock, Dan Henderson, Electronic Arts, and now... basically, the Yakuza. And yes, one of those things are not like the others in a very big way... unless you think EA Sports might conspire to have Dana murdered on the streets.

It's in the game, you know?

Usually, I'm a big fan of Dana's big talking attitude but on this one... well, I just might keep my mouth shut and not try to antagonize the Yakuza before trying to break into the Japanese fight market.

Just a suggestion!

Return Of Top Five Friday: Top Five Favorite MMA Fighters

It's the "long-awaited" return of Top Five Friday tonight here at the B-Spot as I celebrate the happening that is UFC 100 with a MMA-themed list...

My Top Five Favorite MMA Fighters!

5. Wanderlei Silva

One of the most dangerous strikers in MMA, the "Axe Murderer" takes the #5 spot in this one. He may not be as dangerous as he once was as he seems to have lost a bit in the move from Pride to the UFC [you can speculate all you want as to why] but he's still one of the most entertaining fighters in the world. The man will throw down from Minute One and not stop until someone is laid out. I have to admit though, I DO miss the head kicks and stomps from Pride Silva.

4. Brock Lesnar

The current UFC World Heavyweight Champion

come a long way from his days throwing around

the WWE's finest. One of my favorite things about

Brock in MMA is that the so-called "purists"

absolutely despise him being there, let alone him

being the champ. It's a beautiful thing to see. To

me, the only thing that would be better is if Brock

used his natural arrogance to the fullest and

embraced his pro wrestling roots while running

down the UFC guys as being "not as tough" as the

WWE folks. It'd make for amazing television as

fighter after fighter stepped up to "protect the

honor of MMA." Vince McMahon is obviously a

huge influence on Dana White - you'd think Dana

would pick up on some of the storyline aspects of

the biz too.

3. BJ Penn

This is a weird one for me because I have a really difficult time explaining why I like BJ Penn so much. There's just something about a guy who talks a ton of trash about people who looks like there's no fucking way he can back it up inside a cage... and then goes in there and does it. Plus, you toss in things like licking the blood off his fists after a fight and well... it's just kinda cool. I'm still pissed he lost to GSP. Fucking Frenchy.

2. Mirko Cro Cop

Fuck yes! CroCop is coming back to the UFC for more! I was so disappointed when I thought he was jumping back to Japan because ever since I stumbled upon MMA, Cro Cop has been one of my favorites. From the Pro Wrestler Hunter gimmick to the "the right leg sends them to the hospital, the left to the morgue" quote - this man oozes badassedness. Plus, he's in Croatian Special Forces so he really could fuck up someone's world. I still think Brock vs Cro Cop in Japan would be a golden ticket for the UFC to do whatever the fuck they want in the Land of the Rising Sun.

And my #1 favorite fighter in MMA...

ANDERSON SILVA

I still remember the first time I saw Anderson Silva fight in Pride. He seemed... interesting. There was nothing amazing about him but I found the spider guard to be pretty impressive as no one else was able to do something like it. When he jumped to UFC, I wasn't excited because all I could remember was the guard. Then he took on Chris Leben - who was one of my favorites at the time... and absolutely KEEEEELED HIM DEAD! It was a beatdown of epic proportions that cemented Anderson Silva as a rising star. The two fights with Rich Franklin put him over the top as someone who was potentially MMA's version of Mike Tyson in the late 80s/early 90s - the guy you would pay big money to see because you wanted to see how badly he'd knock someone the fuck out. Sadly, the shine has come off him a bit with a few unimpressive showings but to me, Silva remains the top dog in MMA.

Lashley Beats Sapp

Just a quick one tonight...

So, former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley defeated former IWGP Champion Bob Sapp tonight in a battle of former pro wrestlers turned MMA stars [or in Sapp's case, a former MMA star turned pro wrestler turned foreign megastar turned occasional MMA star.]

Sapp, as usual, came in far too heavy in my estimation and probably nowhere near ready for a fight with someone who might actually put on a good fight. Lashley, a former collegiate wrestling standout, took Sapp down with ease and pounded him out for an easy win.

No big shock at all.

But the question remains - is that enough to gain Dana White's interest? I'm not sure how eager Dana will be to have another former WWE wrestler on his roster even though Brock has turned out pretty well so far. I'm guessing Lashley's not there yet - maybe a few more wins [against decent competition] will do it.

The other question? How many more losses can Sapp endure before he looks for a paycheck elsewhere? The WWE's interest in him has long been rumored and it's starting to sound to me like it might be a good place for him if he can handle not being an instant megastar. I'm guessing he might also have to put up with a duffel bag full of shit or two.

An interesting crossroads for one MMA competitor on the way up and one definitely on the way down.

Ahhh, Texas

You know, Texas and the inhabiting Texans take a lot of shit from a lot of people including yours truly. A lot of it is probably uncalled for and just playing off some bad stereotypes.

But...

Dallas school accused of staging fights

The Dallas school system was rocked by allegations Thursday that staff members at an inner-city high school made students settle their differences by fighting bare-knuckle brawls inside a steel cage. The principal and other employees at South Oak Cliff High knew about the cage fights and allowed the practice to continue, according to a 2008 report by school system investigators.

...

The report, first obtained by The Dallas Morning News, describes two instances of fighting in an equipment cage in a boys' locker room between 2003 and 2005. It was not clear from the report whether there were other fights. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa told the newspaper that there were "some things that happened inside of a cage" and called the fights "unacceptable."

...

The allegations came to light during a grade-fixing investigation that eventually cost the high school its 2005 and 2006 state basketball titles. School officials were suspected of altering students' grades so that they could remain eligible to play for South Oak Cliff, a perennial basketball powerhouse in one of the poorer sections of the city.

The newspaper reported Thursday that Angela Williamson, a parent, said she was ignored when she attempted to bring the matter to the attention of district administrators after her son, Cortland, told her that students stood around clapping and screaming while watching a fight he participated in. He and another student fought for five to ten minutes in the cage in 2004. She said the students acted as if they were in an arena.

Wow. Just... wow.

Now, granted... from the description of the school as being in one of the poorer sections of the city, I'm going to use some blatant profiling to say... "They could have been settling their issues in a far worse manner."

But this is the kind of thing that makes Dana White wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because there's no chance in Hell that any TV report of this story doesn't mention "ultimate fighting," "cage fighting," or something of the like. It's the same kind of thing that gives people like John McCain ammunition to call MMA "human cockfighting." All they would've needed was one of these kids to drop dead and you could have had a big time rollback on states allowing MMA inside their borders as irrational as that would be.

Oh, and the fact that this came to light during a grade-fixing investigation is just the icing on the cake. It's not bad enough that "institutions of higher learning" pull this kind of shit so that they can get their names in the headlines for going to a Bowl game or a tournament but now high schools think it's a good idea too.

So, grade-fixing and students beating the crap out of one another for the amusement of the masses?

It's gotta be Texas. Hook 'em Horns.

I was about to post this but one more thing just came to mind. When I was in high school, I always thought it would be awesome for a school to invest in building an American Gladiators course for gym class...

...but this, as Balki Bartokomous would say, is ridiculous.

Lesnar vs Couture: Let's Get It On!

Hooooo boy.

Dana White sure does know how to make a splash. You've got to wonder just how long he's been holding that in his back pocket. Just when Quinton Jackson had been formally charged and there was a nice-sized black eye on the UFC's rep - BOOM! - Dana puts y'all in check.

So, Randy Couture is officially back in the UFC and is still UFC Heavyweight Champion. And apparently he's back on a multifight deal as Dana says the winner of Randy/Brock will meet the winner of Noguiera/Mir for a unification fight in 2009. Now that's how you stir up interest in your heavy division. And if that wasn't enough, Dana drops the teaser that he wants to do the Fedor fight and as soon as Fedor is clear of contractual obligations to Affliction, they'll try to put it together.

Hoooooo boy.

At first, the Randy/Brock fight seemed a poor choice to me but the more I think about it, the more I start to like it. After his last fight, I saw dollar signs all over Brock Lesnar. The showboating after the win, the crazy near KO at the beginning, the total domination [boring as it was] of a legit heavy contender - all good signs for the UFC. If Brock can improve as much between Herring and Randy as he did between Mir and Herring, this could be an interesting fight. After all, even Randy can't harness the Flux Capacitor and make himself ten years younger. With this long of a layoff, will he have ring rust? If he does, this could get interesting. Randy's whole fight strategy is usually based around getting people down, dirty boxing, and ground-and-pound. I don't think you want to get that close to Brock for any of that so I think it could be a serious style clash for the champ.

And if Brock loses? Well, he's losing his first title fight to Randy Couture. No shame in that. That's an easy rebuild. If he wins? He beat Randy Couture! Oh, and if he beats Randy, you can bet that Dana's praying for Mir to upset Noguiera. Mir/Lesnar 2? I can smell the cash from here.

Dana is predicting that Lesnar/Randy will be the biggest fight in UFC history and do over a million buys. How much of that is promoter hype, I just don't know. But I do think that if Lesnar gets a chance to show his natural personality before the fight - and I mean shoving a mic under his face EVERY possible chance until then - people will want to pay to see him lose. And that's where the money is. The money is in people wanting to pay to see the heels lose - just like in pro wrestling - no matter how many people want to deny it. It worked for Tito. It would work for Josh Koshcheck if he'd embrace his inner dick. It'll work for Brock.

Biggest fight in UFC history? I guess we'll all know soon enough.

Far Too Easy But... RAMPAGE ON A RAMPAGE!

I saw a headline about it pop up in the TMZ section of my Google Reader earlier but I wanted to wait til there was more detail to "report" on. Well, we've got 'em now thanks to Dave Meltzer at the new Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Daily combo site.

Here's the gist of it...

Now-former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was pulled over and taken in by police in Newport Beach [actually Costa Mesa from the photos, I believe] after a car accident. He was charged with felony hit and run, reckless driving, and felony evading arrest.

From the police statement, he was observed driving with a flat tire and talking on his cell phone [dammit Quinton! BLUETOOTH, BABY!] The cop tried to pull him over to no avail as Quinton just kept on going, ignoring the officer in pursuit. They had gotten another report of his vehicle busting out a hit and run on other VEHICLES [yes, plural] on the 55 Freeway earlier.

Oh, how do they know it was his vehicle?



Yep, his picture was on the side of it. Subtle.

So, a little chase ensued with Quinton weaving in and out of traffic and apparently driving on the wrong side of the road and the sidewalk at one point. While in pursuit, the office saw him hit yet another car. Thankfully, no one appears to have been injured in any of these collisions.

Eventually, the tire blew out and came off the rim. He finally stopped, got out of the car AT GUNPOINT and was taken directly to jail without passing go and without collecting $200.



He's currently being held on $25,000 bail and apparently Dana White is en route to post bond.

Whew. Not the kind of press Dana was hoping for one of his top stars, I'd imagine. And he thought someone kicking out a limo window was bad.

The UFC's Hottest Rivalry - Ortiz vs White

I just added this article from the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer regarding the apparent final chapter to the Dana White/Tito Ortiz saga to my Google Reader news over on the right sidebar so go check it out if you want to read it in full.

Me? I want to dissect the article and give you all my expert opinion!

Let me preface this by saying I love Dana White. He always cracks me up and his balls-to-the-wall promotional style makes him a hero to me. He shares a lot of the same qualities with Vince McMahon - another personal hero... okay, go ahead and mock me now. By the same token, I'm also a Tito Ortiz fan... sorta. I think he's a prick and believes his own hype too much but I think he used to be a top level fighter and no one can deny his ability to put asses in the seats.

That being said... MY EXPERT OPINION!
NOTE: Anything in bold was written by the esteemed Mr. Meltzer

Whether he wins or loses May 24 in Las Vegas against Lyoto Machida, it certainly appears Tito Ortiz will end his 11-year Ultimate Fighting Championship career. But there will be no televised celebration of his accomplishments when the fight is over.
UFC president Dana White will want it to end as quietly as possible, with Ortiz as an afterthought, and the crowning of the undefeated Machida as a new top star.

The huuuuuuuuuge problem with this scenario is that it likely will end quietly - but it'll be the crowd that is silent after three rounds of grappling that end in a decision for Machida. Yeah, I think Machida will pull off the win but he just happens to be one of the most boring fighters I've ever seen. What Dana needed was someone to KO Tito flat on his way out - unfortunately, there's no sure bet on that one. So, what he did was put Tito in there in a no-win situation. Even if Tito wins, it's likely to be a boring fight that'll lower his value in the eyes of the fans. The problem for Dana is that the fight is likely to be so bad, even a Machida win won't be enough to make him a star.

"He's one of the most dishonest human beings I've ever met," White said. "I put up with him when he was a good fighter. He's not anymore. He's done. I'm no longer in the Tito Ortiz business."

Okay, so... you have to take everything Dana says with a large grain of salt. After all, his goal is to sell his product and shit on everyone elses. This is the same guy who after months of courting Fedor turned around and ran him down, saying he couldn't hang with any of the UFC's top heavies. With that in mind, I don't know how much Tito has left in the tank. Enough to make a lot of money somewhere else I'm sure - but so does Ken Shamrock for that purpose. Does Tito want to be the next Shamrock? Or does he want to take his considerable outside-the-cage talents and ability to be controversial to an arena that may provide him more longevity - pro wrestling anyone?

The war of words between the two is nothing new, as they've had issues since 2003, when UFC wanted to put together the first Ortiz vs. Liddell match and Ortiz claimed he didn't want to take the fight because the two were close friends and had an agreement not to fight each other (Liddell claimed there was no such agreement).

As a side comment, I hate these "agreements." Your job is to fight. Get in there and fight no matter who the opponent is. You're not trying to permanently injury your opponent so who gives a shit if it's your friend? I'd punch every single one of my friends right in the damn throat for the kind of pay day Tito and Chuck got... guaranteed!

Ortiz's contract expires with this fight. Things got so bad that Lorenzo Fertitta, the company's co-owner, and not White, was involved in trying to negotiate a new deal. But they couldn't come to terms.

"They told me I wasn't worth as much as I was in the past," Ortiz said.

Well, honestly... that's probably true. You're not beating Rampage. You're not beating Chuck. You're probably not beating Wanderlei. So, unless you wanted to do Dana a solid and drop down to go fight Anderson Silva or GSP, there's not a lot of "big fights" left for ya at the moment, pal.

Technically, there is a 30-day period after the contract expires where he can only negotiate with UFC, and then a period where UFC has the right to match any outside offer.

...

"There's not going to be any bidding war," White said. "Gary Shaw (promoter at Elite XC) should offer him $30 a fight because we're not going to match it."

I need an emoticon showing me laughing my ass off. That's the kind of Dana White throwdown that I like. You know it's bullshit but it's a funny as fuck soundbite. It really will be interesting to see if it's Elite XC, Dream, or the new Affliction group that ends up with Tito's services. It would be huge for EXC or maybe even IFL. Dream will pay a nice chunk of change but I don't know how Tito sells in Japan. Affliction can probably land him but they will only commit to doing three shows before deciding where they stand.

"This guy went on Howard Stern and said he was getting $200,000 a fight," White said. "That was such a lie. Tito made $5.8 million in 2006. He only fought once in 2007. He made $710,000 for that fight (with Rashad Evans) and that was the third match from the top (on the card). He goes around saying we made $231 million last year. He's a moron. This guy talks about what a businessman he is, and he was on ‘The Apprentice' and he doesn't know the difference between revenue and profit."

Ehhhh. I don't want to get into the dollars and cents because none of us know the actual numbers. The only thing I want to actually say on this is that much like pro wrestling, the MMA game seems to be one of those businesses where the talent's piece of the pie is considerably less than the public would imagine. So, I'm going to guess the truth is somewhere in the middle. I doubt Tito was Latrell Spreewell trying to feed his family but... he's probably not A-Rod either.

Ortiz has been unhappy with White's public comments, in which the UFC president called both Ortiz and girlfriend Jenna Jameson, who had done some negotiating with UFC for him, "morons."

What the fuck? He's got Jenna negotiating for him? I... I don't even know how to respond to that. I mean, I suppose it's possible she's a smart business woman but doesn't he gave an agent for this purpose? A manager? Having your semi-retired porn star girlfriend negotiating with a boss you hate seems to be asking for trouble.

From a business standpoint, Ortiz in 2006 was pure gold. But in 2008, it's very much a question. Ortiz hasn't had a win against a true top opponent in years. Even Ortiz's 15-5-1 record is interpreted completely different by both.

"In the last eight years, the only people who have beaten me are Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, two of the best fighters in the world," Ortiz said.

"Look at his record," White said. "When was the last time he beat a legitimate top contender? Forrest Griffin was right out of ‘The Ultimate Fighter' and a lot of people think Griffin won that fight. You have to go back to Vitor Belfort (in early 2005). He's not ranked in anyone's top 10."

You can count me among those people who think Forrest won the fight with Tito. So, it's much like I said earlier - there's just no big fights left in him for the UFC. There's plenty of "interesting" fights that I'd like to see him in but he needs to realize that he probably does need to drop his price a little bit at this stage until he proves otherwise [for the record, the article states the UFC's final offer was for six fights and Tito admit it's probably more than he'll get elsewhere.]

And even White concedes Ortiz can help them and come across as a top star on the outside.

"He'll probably dominate, because he won't be fighting the same level of competition," he said. "Kimbo Slice? Three months ago he was fighting in your backyard."

Ortiz feels he's got several potential big fights outside of the UFC.

"There's a rematch with Randy Couture, a rematch with Frank Shamrock, and maybe (heavyweights) Kimbo Slice or Fedor Emelianenko," he said. "Yes, they are (except Shamrock) heavyweights, but we can fight at a catch weight. Babalu (Renato Sobral) is another one. I have three or four years left."

First, Dana got the killer Kimbo soundbite - so, so accurate by the way. Let's look at what Tito thinks are big fights for him. Randy? Sure, I'd like to see it. Frank Shamrock? After the loss to Cung Le, I'm not sure how big of a draw Frank Shamrock's going to be. The Frank/Ken match will sell big when/if it happens because people aren't going to get that they're not blood brothers. Babalu? No fucking way. The big two on the list obviously are Kimbo and Fedor. I don't doubt that Tito can beat Kimbo - which is why that fight probably would not happen any time soon. EXC thinks Kimbo's celebrity status is going to be the wagon they tie their horse to so they are going to be very careful about who they match him with. In fact, I have a hard time seeing EXC booking Kimbo with anyone who isn't going to stand and throw. Tito will not stand and throw with Kimbo Slice. Tito will take him down, hold him down, and pound out a stoppage or decision. Fedor? Interesting. Fedor will beat him but... interesting.

It's no secret why UFC booked Machida, 12-0, a highly respected but uncharismatic relative unknown to the casual UFC fans, as Ortiz's last opponent. The expectation is Machida would get a win over a huge name opponent, and hopefully become a star in the process, and become someone who can draw if challenging for the marquee light heavyweight title.

I don't believe that for a second. This fight is designed to bury Tito win or lose, period.

The match has more intrigue within the MMA world than any fight in a long time, because Machida is seen as White's surrogate fighter, and the question becomes, if Ortiz wins, what will he do, and what will he say, in his final interview. Or will White allow him a final interview?

Nope. No chance in hell he gets anywhere near a live mic.

It'll be an interesting fight Saturday night - not because it'll be good by any stretch of the imagination but because of all the chaos surrounding it. As a fan of the MMA business [and not just the fights,] I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.