Rampage vs. Griffin is going to draw a lot of buys on pay-per-view.
The internet fan base of mixed martial arts that reads blogs and news sites on a daily basis is going to hate the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter show no matter what.
These aren’t concrete facts, but they are most likely to be true if you read this article a year from now. I probably wouldn’t because it will fall under what most MMA posts end up being – dull highly opinionated talking points over matters that only a small concentrated percentage of the fan base care about. I mean, look at blogs these days. Blogs I do, in totality, respect even. Evan Tanner? My neighbor doesn’t care about Evan Tanner. It’s cool that you are such a fan that you care if Tanner makes it back to a certain level, or writes a MySpace note, but is he really worth debating about? How about the goofiness of DREAM of World Victory Road? Couldn’t we all just post on one site that everyone agrees to send new hardcore fans to a note reminding them that Japanese MMA and Pro Wrestling are closely related, less sports and more entertainment, and controlled by the mafia of that country? I mean, I’ve read this stuff for years and frankly I don’t care about any of these guys unless they’re fighting live on my TV with an issue that might make me want to pay for it if it’s not free.
The mount is probably the most static position in mixed martial arts. It’s rare to see a fighter move past a position he can hit hard from, and there’s no where you can hit harder from than the mount.
Every fighter in the sport is willing to admit that if you’re in the mount, you’re in about the best shape you can be. There’s no way that the judges are going to look the other way about a position like that, and the chances that the fight is even going to go to the judges are slim to none.
Fighters look for the mount to finish, but there’s a way that they finish way more than any other, and it’s something that’s strange, given the number of grapplers in MMA.
The viceral nature of the sport makes everyone feel like strikes are the be all and the end all, especially from a position where you have some much control over them. That’s why even the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters don’t finish with submissions from the mount, even when an opponent throws their arms up to protect them from strikes.
Yeah, I know this is a bit later than I hope but with my INSANE schoolwork schedule, it’s been very hard to get any time to try and give my thoughts on the Upcoming shows. If it’s not a Speech/Presentation I have to write, than its preparation for a Math exam, or a Book summary for History. I apologize to those people I have definitely burdened with my absence and definitely apologize to the staff of MMAOpinion.com for my lack of contribution.
Ok.. Anyways, DREAM. 3 is only hours away and the updated finalized card looks like this:
HEIWA DREAM.3 Lightweight GP 2008 2nd Round Date: May 11th, 2008 Place: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
Lightweight GP 2nd Round Fights:
8. Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno
7. Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez
6. Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape
Welterweight Championship Eliminator Fight:
5. Nick Diaz vs. Katsuya Inoue
No fighter ever goes into a fight without thinking that he will win. Well, no fighter except Kalib Starnes, but he’s not fighting for the UFC lightweight title in a month.
BJ Penn and Sean Sherk are two of the greatest pound for pound fighters in the world, and yet they couldn’t be more different. Penn is one of the greatest jiu-jitsu technicians on the planet, he’s limber and he’s agile. He strikes with finesse and versatility and shows some of the best technical savvy out there.
Sherk’s a technician too, but no one talks about his technique. He’s a wrestler, phenomenally skilled, but if you looked at him, you see a man built like a Greek statue, if the Greeks had been sponsored by Balco.
There’s still not a lot going on in the world of MMA news these days, unfortunately. While UFC 84, scheduled for May 24th, is looming, many people are also looking forward to see the first glimpse of MMA action during prime time television only a week later thanks to the partnership of EliteXC and CBS. It’s not like EliteXC just paired up with some junk television station - CBS has been a roll lately by racking up the highest number of viewers for the second straight week while maintaining a solid second place standing for the entire season just behind Fox. Ten of the top 20 shows on television these days are on CBS and the viewership will be there regardless of what else is on television at the time. And now thanks to the UFC and Spike TV, you can also watch “Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell” on May 31st as well.
So why did the UFC decide to air a show opposite of live MMA action? If you go out and ask anyone on the street who Chuck Liddell is, you’ll get a pretty decent response. Ask those same people if they like watching live sports and your reaction might be even better. Ask people on the street if they enjoy documentaries and, well, your response might not be so positive. So what makes those running the UFC show think that people will stop watching EliteXC’s live Saturday Night Fights on CBS to learn about the life of an injured former light-heavyweight champion on Spike TV?
The current poll up on Sherdog is a question regarding Randy vs. Fedor. It asks “Will Randy Couture ever fight Fedor Emelianenko.” With the answers being “Yes, No, or don’t matter, I’m no longer interested.”
When I wrote this there was 11,730 votes and of these votes 28% of the people who voted said no and another 28% said they don’t care they are no longer interested. That is way too many people that have no interest in this fight. Possibly one of the best heavyweight match ups ever!
How can this be? I was beyond shocked when I saw these numbers. I understand that there have been controversy after controversy about these two fighters, and the fight seems more distant than the Chuck and Wandy fight back in the day, but c’mon! This is Randy and Fedor! I understand that Randy seems to be doing more legal fighting than MMA fighting, and Fedor has been running around with the Olympic torch and sleeping his way through the Sambo tournament, but it is Randy vs. Fedor!
Do you remember that feeling you had right when the bell rang for Chuck and Wandy? If you are like me I said to myself, I can’t believe that these two are finally fighting! Here we go! Would it not be the same feeling if not more?
Speaking of here we go, we are almost in a similar lull that we had prior to that fight. As of right now it is unsure if these two legendary fighters will ever square off. It is like that time when your parents said there was no way you were getting that Nintendo, but in a way you knew you would still get it… I am hoping
that one day soon we will get that surprise package under the tree and inside will be a Randy vs. Fedor PPV!
I can understand why many of the fans have lost interest. I get that, I only hope that the minute that the fight is announced that those same fans will change their mind. If they don’t it is possible that they could miss one classic battle! At the same time, if these two never fight, every single fan of the sport will have been done wrong, and all in the name of money!
The UFC’s heavyweight division at the present time is running low in talent, but that won’t stop them from generating excitement.DreamFighters has stated that Antonio Nogueira will be defending his UFC title at UFC 87.This could set up a few different scenarios for the division.Nog is 31-4-1 in his career, fighting mostly in the Pride organization.In his last fight he completed an exciting come from behind submission over Tim Sylvia.In his previous 2 fights Nog has been rocked and almost finished, but has shown amazing heart and won both.
The first possible scenario for Nog’s opponent could be Frank Mir.Mir’s rejuvenated career started with a win over WWE sensation Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 by submission.In that fight Lesnar seemed to be in control, and looked to win by knockout but Mir’s Ju Jitsu experience took over and led to a quick submission.
Now lets forget Bill’s economic stupidity. Let’s forget that the 16-34 year old males are the second most potent viewer groups in the entire country (in, the minds of many producers of big advertisement buyers, like beer companies, the most important). Let’s forget that the sport has been approved by state athletic commissions, that it has fewer fatalities than boxing, hockey or football.
Let’s forget that when John McCain commented on the sport and called in “human cockfighting”, Ken Shamrock destroyed him in civil debate on Larry King’s live interview, one of the crowning moments for the sport, and one I would like to see Shamrock repeat. Personally, I’d be happy to debate O’Reilly myself, since he clearly knows nothing about the sport and about the way that it’s marketed.
As far as the “redeeming moral value” of MMA that the twit Jane Hall, there’s as much redeeming value in mixed martial arts as there is in football.
How do you know when you have made it in the highly competitive world of sports?For some athletes it is when they sign that first shoe deal.For others, it is when Gatorade calls and wants you to bleed Lemon Lime in a commercial, and the top is when Nike calls and says they want you in the middle of a Nike Sparq “my better tastes like French toast” commercial!
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson joins the ranks such as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and many other athletes that have done many of the above feats.Rampage now has his own shoes.
If you are a huge Rampage fan or an avid MMA collector check out his shoes here.Don’t get it twisted.These are not PF Flyers that will make you run faster and jump higher.One version has chains, while the other one has the look of a cage.Neither one of these shoes are the next Air Force Ones or Chuck Taylors, but they do show the ever climbing popularity of MMA.
The Rampage Serve shoes will run you about $68.00.They do not come with your very own Rampage chain, or devastating right hand, but if you are Quinton’s number one fan these are a must have.
Bill O’Rielly is at it again.He has returned to bash the sport we love with an uneducated bias that could hurt Mixed Martial Arts.A while ago, Dana White and Rich Franklin joined Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor.That video can be seen here.Throughout the great video, Dana and Rich tell Bill about the safe side of the sport and argue about its safety.Bill keeps to his stance and doesn’t waver at all.Dana states several times that there has never been a death or serious injury in the sport in 12 years (the video was taped a prior to the recent death of Sam Vasquez).
In his new video, Bill again states that this sport is brutal, and that CBS is lowering their standards to put it on television.He says that the move is strictly a move for money.I will let you watch the video and make your own decision.There are many people around the world that have the same views as this man.These are the ones that make it hard to sanction the sport in other states.If there is a black cloud following the sport, it is caused by people with this opinion.
My fighter profiles have been getting a lot of positive feedback from people, so I appreciate it, and I’ll continue to put them together, but I felt like this series on BJ Penn and Sean Sherk (and, yes, Sherk’s will be out shortly) is one that has to be done, because no two fighters have really danced around each other for so long while remaining so close in level of competition.
There was a time when BJ Penn was considered the most dangerous fighter in the world, pound-for-pound the most frustrating man that you could have standing across the cage.
Even before BJ came into MMA, his skills as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner were well documented. He was a prodigy in jiu-jitsu and he didn’t come across the name by accident. Penn is a world class submission fighter, and has one of the most incredible, innate abilities for learning the martial arts. Fighters as legendary as Frank Shamrock, who coached him when Penn first turned to MMA, have always been impressed with his ability to learn techniques and put them into practice.
It’s not easy for all of us in the United States to easily find and watch Japanese MMA without the aid of the internet. And with the recent news that Tokyo Broadcasting Station (TBS) had dropped the Dream promotion from it’s slot on network television, things were looking even worse for us. Not to mention that the organization itself would have lost potential viewers and future fans by not acquiring any television coverage.
It’s our lucky day, again, as HDNet comes to the rescue with some potentially exciting Japanese MMA to be aired on May 2nd. Granted it’s not live, but we will be watching Dream 2 even before Japanese viewers will get a chance to see MMA action in their own homes. Sure, you can read about the results, chat on the forums, or try to watch grainy videos, but nothing comes close to watching the event in high definition.
So where is the love for HDNet? I don’t routinely find people writing about how much HDNet has done for MMA in the short time that the channel has been airing MMA fights. Do we take the channel for granted or is it just another expensive HD channel that only a few of us can barely afford?
Mark Cuban isn’t on the receiving end of many compliments either these days. As the head of the company, Cuban has rose through the ranks as an entrepreneur who went from being an average joe to a billionaire, but people still write him off as someone who is just cashing in on the sport. While it’s certainly questionable that Cuban began airing MMA fights as soon as the sport began to take off, his company has also taken many risks by airing so many small domestic fights along with the big international fights like Yarennoka. Even the IFL is shown on HDNet after being dropped from their spot on MyNetworkTV. Cuban gets points just for being that guy who is taking a chance on the small MMA promotions that would otherwise receive no reputable television coverage.
Not only does HDNet go out and capture all of these events for our viewing pleasure, their HD feed is amazingly clear. Although the UFC 83 HD quality improved slightly from the previous live pay per view events, they still didn’t even come close to what can be seen on HDNet on a random weeknight. You also can’t find a worthwhile MMA news show on Spike TV like Inside MMA with our friends Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice.
So what’s not to love about HDNet right now? You get both local and international fight cards in high definition with a weekly news show to boot. There’s no Bill Goldberg, no expensive pay per views, and the organization might just stick around for a while. I’m off to watch Reckless Abandon 2 from Dallas Texas. You know, the one with Frank Trigg and Edwin Dewees?
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I do still love MMA and have...
