History vs. Hype…..

I’ve been finding myself staring at ESPN with a look of disbelief. I’m reading around and shaking my head, because there is this cloud of hype that seems to be hanging over the entire MMA landscape as we approach this weekend.

Chances are, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Here we are, just a few days away from one of the most historical match ups EVER in the UFC. Yet there are few people talking about it. Nope. There is no one really out there talking about the big and very significant match that isn’t even getting top billing. All I hear about is some former pro wrestler coming into the mix………

Pardon me if I’m not hopping out of my skin with excitement over that.

What has my attention is more than likely the same thing that has the attention of the fans who are not going to buy into hype until it is legitimized in a setting that is real, not fantasy.

Nope, not that gorilla who’s value is yet to be determined……

I’m talking about a fight between a former UFC HW Champion and a former Pride HW Champion. Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The Maine-Iac vs. Minotauro. The history here is so long, it just baffles me that the contest is generating so little discussion.

I suppose a lot of that has to do with Big Nog’s only performance in the cage thus far. Where all the neophytes and their MMA math (MMAth) spew quarter baked opinions about Big Nog’s abilities, based entirely on his fight with Heath Herring, I hope there will be more seasoned fans who can show these new fans the err of their ways.

First of all, Heath Herring just gets completely disrespected in that analysis. People say Big Nog looked “bad” in his fight with Herring. To those people, I always ask the question:

“What are you talking about?”

The constant response is that Herring floored Nogueira with a kick, and had the fight won, but gave it away. Those people……those people make me want to strap them to a chair and show them the real deal with Nogueira. Heath Herring has been to the mat with Big Nog before, and he knows better than anyone currently in the UFC how skilled Big Nog is on the ground.

And then take it one step further. While those people think Big Nog did poorly in that fight, those people must not understand that the kick which Nog survived would have ended the night for just about anyone else in the HW division. Does the fact that it was delivered by Herring make seem like it was less than crushing? I have no idea.

Prior to arriving in the UFC Big Nog went on one of the most dominant streaks in MMA history. His BJJ was off the chain. Slowly but surely, he developed some very strong boxing skills as well. If it weren’t for Fedor Emelianenko’s rise, Big Nog would have stayed the Big Dog in Pride until the promotion collapsed.

Just several years ago, a fight between Big Nog and Tim Sylvia would have had Big Nog as the head and shoulders favorite in the eyes of the hard core fans. These days, the majority aren’t even giving him a strong chance. I don’t know what this analysis could possibly be based on, but it sure can’t be history.

This entire fight is getting disrespected. Not enough talk, not enough promotion, the fact that it is being overshadowed, and even the “interim” title that the fight is for. All of these factors make me wonder what kind of direction the UFC is going in.

This is an interesting match up, far more so than the one that is getting all the attention.

You’ve got a massive guy with vastly underrated takedown defense and very credible stand up skills lined up against a guy who could be called a wizard on the ground, who’s stand up is just as credible, if not technically better than his opponent’s! Granted, this could have stolen some of the Lesnar-Hype if Sylvia was still knocking people out. Then you’d also have the unstoppable force of Sylvia’s right hand meeting the immovable object that is Nog’s chin.

I for one will be watching anxiously for this fight. This is the a for the “middle school” fans to get excited about. The folks who were around a little while before The Ultimate Fighter was a twinkle in Dana’s eye know the importance of this fight. The “old school” fans don’t need it explained. The “new school” fans still don’t care. The fact that Big Nog could climb to the position of number one heavyweight in the world with a win here is pretty huge to me. A heck of a lot more huge than some former professional wrestler coming into the mix anyway.

Maybe if Big Tim and Big Nog were a couple of tatted up pretty boys with fake tans and highlights in their hair, this would be different? But man, I really hope that’s not true.

I expect this fight to go the distance, but am very interested to see how Big Nog’s ground attack works with Sylvia. That is of course, assuming he can get the fight to the ground in the first place. Standing up, this one should be an interesting technical match up. I can’t see Tim getting his first KO in almost three years (Arlovski ran into that punch, and I don’t care what anyone says on the matter.) against Big Nog. I hope we see Big Nog and Sylvia both at their best on Saturday night, and I hope that they get the attention of all the new schoolers tuning in to see that side of beef with the lame tattoo on his chest……