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?

If anything, trying to go head to head with live action fights by using a documentary will only provide backup commercial-break material for MMA fans watching Saturday Night Fights. Will those viewers learn anything about Liddell in the few minutes between fights? Probably not. And I’m sure the whole point is to just grab viewers to learn about the UFC, MMA, and fighters, but I definitely don’t see a documentary doing any damage to EliteXC. As a fan, I’ll record the one-hour Liddell documentary and watch the live fights. I doubt anyone will be coming over at 9PM to learn about the Iceman and his rise to fame. Instead, the party will arrive when the fights begin and the bell rings.

A better solution, one that will never occur, is to set the Liddell documentary to begin either before or after the fighting action. If anything, it could provide an interesting lead into the fights or something to watch after the fights end. But head to head, the fights win.

It doesn’t end there, however. You can also watch Liddell and Wanderlei Silva go at it during UFC 79 for the first time on cable television at 10PM EST in the UFC’s second attempt to go head to head with Saturday Night Fights. Considering that Zuffa makes every attempt to keep their fights off of the internet, they may grab some viewers if Saturday Night Fights doesn’t meet the expectations of the viewers. But then you still have the people with TiVo’s and DVR’s who simply won’t sacrifice live footage for old news. Head to head, live fights are almost always better than their taped counterpart. Although the fight between Silva and Liddell went the distance, it lacked a climatic ending and may disappoint some. I’d suggest sticking to EliteXC’s broadcast to determine if Saturday Night Fights is something that will be be a consistent part of our Saturday nights.

It’s apparent the UFC isn’t gonig anywhere anytime soon.

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!

My generation had a tragedy of its own on September 11, 2001. It played out in a much more graphic sense, live on TV as planes hit and then buildings fell. I had Peter Jennings, as did so many other Americans, as my touching voice to both encapsulate history and calm any sense of fear. It was Jennings who had taught me about death as a six year old. Pre-school let out early and I sat on my father’s lap in front of a TV as Jennings explained why a school teacher, much like my own, had passed away with others on a space shuttle called Challenger.

These are extreme examples of citizens all experiencing a traumatic event at the exact same time through eyes provided to us. While it is certainly hyperbole to compare these events to tragedy and triumphs in sports, there are threads of reactionary behavior and thought that remain the same in any example. A sociologist or psychologist knows there are a few common bonds that link any event with another.
The first is basic. When Cronkite spoke, he spoke through a relatively new box Americans had placed in their homes. Similarly, my memories of Jennings were viewed through this same box. When CBS/Elite XC has their first event in front of the nation, millions of first time viewers will see the sport of MMA through this same box: The TV.

The second link, while more subtle, should be on the minds of every MMA fan, but more importantly ever CBS and Elite XC decision maker in a position of power on this project. A calming voice. Why, you might ask, should that be an attribute to be considered of anyone being considered for a sports announcing job? After all, the most successful MMA squad consists of Mike Golberg’s hyperbole of sound bite or Joe Rogen’s passionate sales pitch of each fighter’s abilities. Imagine this scenario:
A man is sitting at home watching TV with his wife. At the same time many friends, male and female, gather at a local bar. A few blocks away an elderly couple watches TV, half awake, in their bedroom. A family somewhere, consisting of Mom, Dad, two young boys and a teenage girl, decides to watch whatever Dad wants to see. In fact, this is all happening thousands of times over in every scenario across America. They’ve all tuned in to CBS and found Elite XC.

Now imagine a fighter gets cut. Not just a small cut though, a gaping wound on the eyebrow. It’s nothing you the experienced fight watcher haven’t seen, but the blood pouring from his forehead like a faucet is starting to bother Mom. It’s bothering The older couple too. A few people in the bar, male and female, are beginning to verbally become concerned, and it’s alerting other people who didn’t care to watch in the first place. This guy is bleeding everywhere, and it’s upsetting someone’s girlfriend, sister, the old couple, and the guy who finds fighting barbaric. It’s happening across the TV, and first thing Monday, somethings gotta be done by a few of those people. They can’t understand why they’d allow this to go on. The people on TV just allowed it to happen. In fact, they seemed excited it did. They didn’t care at all. So a few of those people feel the need to do something about it, and the next thing you know CBS is under some scrutiny.

Some of this will happen no matter what anyone says, thinks, or does. There are people who would not get it after carefully investigation and education. MMA is not something everyone will condone or accept. But that number can be significantly lessened by a calming voice. That being the voice of CBS’s lead announcer, whoever that might be.

CBS Sports executives (and perhaps the entertainment ones too) have a major choice to make in conjunction with Elite XC brass. Who will be the lead voice of MMA to the masses? I hope they choose wisely. I hope they choose a man who can convey the drama and excitement, while at the same time showing the ability to explain the sport. If a man is cut on an eyebrow live on CBS and starts gushing blood during a match, it’s the woman sitting next to the everyman that the MMA fan should be concerned about. It’s the politician nearing an election or key alliance. Because even if that cut is a superficial would that has a minimal effect on his ability to fight, I can assure you the effects to MMA might not be so superficial. These are the realities that should resonate with decision makers in the CBS/Elite XC project.

There is a lot of pressure on whoever is chosen, but I’m most hopeful that whoever that person is they have the ability to use a controlled voice that grabs ears if a brutal knock out or bloody fight takes place. In the heat of the moment there will be and should be excitement, but it’s important to realize some people watching are going to need to be educated. Not about Jiu-jitsu or cage control, but about superficial wounds. Or the types of injuries that actually occur. Or that only one person has died. They need to do all that credibly and strongly while still being exciting. I do not envy them in the least.
Cronkite was often considered the most trusted man in America. MMA doesn’t need an announcer to be that accountable. He (or she) just needs to be calm, cool, and collected. No one can be prepared to the degree that might be necessary. After all, the worst case scenario isn’t a gushing superficial wound or a broken arm. It’s Sam Vasquez dying in the ring in Houston late last year. Last time I checked there was really no one to blame for Vasquez early passing, but does anyone really believe that something like that won’t be the “fault” of MMA if it airs LIVE on CBS?

My choice would be Mauro Ranallo. Mauro has the ability to be a hype man, a sound bite king for TV commercial use, and a source of knowledge to the new viewers. I’ve seen him embody not just a lead announcer or a PLAY BY PLAY MAN, but a great communicator with an aptitude for switching to an articulate concerned voice. A calming voice who can talk a fan out of panic or nerves while maintaining the integrity of the play-by-play of the match itself.

Many people see Ranallo as a court jester with bad jokes and a stupid catch phrase. If you listen to his radio show you’re right. The jokes are lame and “Yo yo yo, and away we go” isn’t cool the first time you hear it. Then listen to Mauro be interviewed by other media personalities about the business. He’s got a great mature sense of what he does and what the business is. He gets it. Listen to his work in Pride and as recently as the last Strikeforce show in San Jose. He gets it.

CBS/Showtime and Elite XC have a tough choice. I’m sure they’d like to go with a CBS name who did football once or some other B-team guy who might have a sudden fascination with MMA. Don’t do it. In late May if Kimbo Slice knocks Thompson silly I want Mauro Ranallo making the sound bite call, then reigning himself in to quell any fears that Thompson is actually dead on the canvas. Even if you don’t like Ranallo, would it save us all some trouble? Just in case.

There is a moment in the lone round of the fight with Herring where Fedor picks Heath up and slams him down into the canvas, and I remember being twelve years old, watching that slam and going, “Damn.”

To say I follow Fedor with personal investment in his career is overstating it. There are fighters that I believe that I have a much bigger stake in, fighters who I have backed a little bit more than I realistically should have because I want them to get some extra attention. Still, there is something about Fedor that makes me, and every hardcore MMA fan I know, revert to the child/enthusiast in them, yelling and screaming at the TV.

Fedor is not as polarized as Muhammad Ali, nor as well covered as Mike Tyson. He does not have the mass media appeal of Bruce Lee, or the beard of Chuck Norris. Still, there’s no doubt in my mind that Fedor is the greatest fighter in the history of combat sports. He has dominated in a way that not even Rickson Gracie did, because Fedor has done it in the presence of men who, without him, would have been just as legendary, and anyone familiar with the history of the sport knows that Rickson only fought a handful of guys worth talking about.

Mirko CroCop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are titans of our time in a way that Sonny Liston and Evander Holyfield weren’t, because they bring aspects of the game that no one else does. They don’t talk big like Liston or boast some of the flamboyance that Holyfield did. They are, very much like Fedor, stone cold killers, who are explosive and dangerous and respectable, and they are well feared by those who are going to step in with them, a respect that doesn’t get pushed aside by big-talking boxers trying to make names for themselves.

People will ask me why Fedor is the greatest fighter ever, and I pull up Fedor vs. Randleman on youtube, or (if the UFC pulls it off for copyright reasons) the DVD I have of the Critical Countdown 2004 event where it went down. If they say that’s only one fight, I’ll point them to the Zuluzinho fight, the Goodridge fight or both Coleman matches. For those who understand how big the matchups between Fedor and his top rivals (fighters like CroCop and Nogueira) were, I walk them through Fedor’s game, and how he controlled those fights, even when it looked like he didn’t.

The fact is, nobody in the sport has stayed as dominant as long as Fedor has and, while people will dispute his status because he hasn’t fought top tier competition in a little while (though the fight with Mark Hunt wasn’t that long ago), when he fights Tim Sylvia in Adrenaline, he’ll remind us something very important: there’s a reason why he’s feared, because he is dangerous anywhere and everywhere.

I, like many of my fellow long time Pride fans, will be watching the approaching Adrenaline card, as it has offered us the opportunity to see Fedor fight a top heavyweight, even if that heavyweight is Tim Sylvia. Certainly, a war with the former UFC champion/ogre will be exciting. It will be the second time Fedor has fought an opponent with a size advantage and a supposed advantage in the standup department, but if Randy Couture can put the Maine-iac down with a punch, who’s going to say that Fedor can’t end this fight standing, as well as on the ground.

The sport is changing, but Fedor seems to evolve even faster. Hopefully, we will see a new level of performance in his fight with Sylvia. While a debut in the UFC seems unlikely, at least in the immediate future, the presence of Fedor as a force in the world of independent MMA and as the most dominant heavyweight in the world seems unquestionable.

Fans don’t want a new fighting surface. Professional wrestling would have seen the benefit of a cage with banked edges to help set up crazy tag team combinations, but MMA fighters only saw it as an obstacle which discouraged takedowns and encouraged stalling. The “pit” was a novelty idea that we’ll hopefully never see again in a real MMA competition.

Ring announcing shouldn’t be turned into a comedy show to distract from the action inside the cage. Although poor announcing really can’t ruin anyone’s night, it’s just a bad way to attract attention to a promotion. Howard Stern talk show host Scott Ferrall used phrases like “Please, give some loooove, to Chris Tuscerer.”, “And in the red corner, pacing again like he wants a piece”, and “In charge of the leverage tonight in the YAMMA Pit, once again, Big Dan the Man, how can I be the Man if you’re the Man, Dan, Miragliotta” only added to the ridiculousness of the overall show. Complain about Bruce Buffer all you want, but he doesn’t try to steal the attention from the fighters inside of the UFC cage with a poor comedic performance aimed at teenagers.

Moving on to who could be the biggest problem with MMA these days. YAMMA promoter Bob Meyrowitz was a driving factor behind the largest MMA organization back in the early 90’s and he seems to still be stuck in the years when MMA was truly no-holds barred. While the current owners of the UFC are lobbying to get MMA legalized in as many U.S. states as possible, Meyrowitz is still looking for fighting sensationalism. Sorry Bob, present day MMA fans want the MMA that has been around for the past few years. MMA fans don’t want something new and crazy and they don’t want the resurgence of the crotch-smashing MMA from the early years of the UFC either.

Now I realize that the proven MMA organizations are just looking at YAMMA as a joke, but I certainly hope they don’t try to borrow any ideas. I doubt the UFC, the old stable Republican of MMA, will do anything crazy this year, but the smaller organizations like EliteXC and King of the Cage need to just keep doing what they are doing right now in hopes of attracting larger crowds. YAMMA just proved that good old fashioned MMA fighting on a flat surface, with stable announcing, and weight classes is what the fans want.
Nobody wants to see a circus in MMA anymore. The early 1990’s have come and gone.

In response to the negative comments made by Chuck, Kimbo recently made and posted a video that is swirling about the internet. In the attached video you can hear his comments, as well as him challenging the UFC super star to a bare knuckle fight. Not only does he challenge him to the fight, but Kimbo also says he would do it at Chuck’s gym! Check it out and let the comments roll.

After watching Matt Serra dismantle Georges St. Pierre during UFC 69 last April along with St. Pierre’s domination of Matt Hughes, this fight could easily go either way. Bodog is showing lines of -500 for St. Pierre and +300 for Serra while BetUS has Serra up at +350. You could make $350 for every $100 if Serra pulls off another “upset.” It’s only an upset if Serra wins because it’s one of those fights where many are thinking St. Pierre will come away with the victory, but there’s some uncertainty. Remember the last time this happened? It was Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson and although a great fight ensued, the upset just wasn’t there. Things may change this time around if Serra doesn’t let the Montreal crowd get to him.

The Rich Franklin/Travis Lutter fight has the two men who can’t seem to get past Anderson Silva up against each other. Bodog says -350 Franklin and +250 Lutter while BetUS says Franklin has even more of a chance of taking this fight with odds of -400 and +300. Lutter’s last fight was in February 2007 when he lost against Silva in the second round while Franklin’s last defeat, also at the hands of Silva, was more recent; UFC 72. While Franklin has only lost to one other fighter during his long fight career and carries an impressive 22 wins, you know he’s not feeling too great about himself after failing to get past the Middleweight champ - twice. As for Lutter, he’s had a long time to get ready for this fight. There’s big upset potential and with odds like those, you almost feel dumb not wanting to drop a few bucks on Lutter…just in case.

As for Mark Bocek, well, he’s up against Mac Danzig. You can’t take much away from The Ultimate Fighter 6 winner, except that he was up against a house of inexperience while he walked around with his 20+ fights. Danzig dominated in the finale, but has yet to fight since and aside from his finale win, he has two recent losses to content with. Mark Bocek hasn’t done much yet, but with odds like +350 against Bodog and BetUS’s -550 and -500 respectively, there’s upset potential that could yield a few extra bucks if you’re willing to take a small risk on this fight.

Many of the other fights on the UFC 83 card also have extremely contrasting odds, more than normal for a UFC event. Spend that extra cash from your income tax return, providing you overpaid, have kids, or paid your mortgage last year, and let us know what happens!

From beginning to end, the show was by far the worst MMA production in a very, very long time. To start off the ring announcers voice had you wondering if this was MMA or a night at the carnival. If his voice didn’t get you laughing, then his sayings like “the guy in the red corner with the thick cross tattoo on his left shoulder” to ” fighting out of Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes, lets catch a snook” and ” drink a cold one for Ricco” was sure to have you rolling with laughter. The actual appearance of the show looked out dated, from the words on the screen (stats, fighters,etc.) to the camera panning away from the fights and into the crowd. Last but not least, one of the commentators made comments as if it were his first MMA event ever, like after a fighter threw a superman punch or a flying knee he said “I don’t like that jumping stuff” and “is his nose broke? No it can’t be broke because they would stop the fight, you can’t continue with a broken nose” I think you get my point. It just seems a little unprofessional to jump on the the MMA scene with such a minimal attempt to give the fans not only their moneys worth, but also an amped-up night of fights.

The new Yamma Pit Fighting cage was created to have fast action in the center of the mat and less holding and clinching against the fence. Ironically there was hardly any action and the new cage seemed to slow the fighters down. A lack luster night of fights to say the least. Though the cage did keep the fighters off the fence, the 3 foot incline at 3 feet away from the fence, seemed to also confuse the fighters as well.

The tournament fights were made up of 8 fighters, with the most recognized being the out of shape Ricco Rodriquez. All of the fighters to put simply are low-caliber fighters. Obviously leading to very boring fights. None of these fighters would last a second in the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC,etc. I just can’t believe this was Yamma’s big night of fights to etch their spot into MMA. The best fighter of the night was Travis Wiuff(52-11), who won the tournament fighting 3 times throughout the night, gaining the new Yamma heavyweight belt. What this belt stands for in the big picture of MMA? I’m still not sure.

The highlight “super fights” were made up of 2 matches Oleg Taktarov, Pat Smith, Mark Kerr, and Eric Esch (Butterbean). If you don’t recognize the names it’s because most of their best fights were about 10 years ago. Oleg VS. Mark Kerr was the better of the two, which actually showed a little ageing power and technique. Oleg pulled off a kneebar to win. Pat smith VS. Butterbean was pretty ridiculous, though Pat smith showed he still had some power, Butterbean fell to the mat (all 417 pounds of him) and was unable to get back up. Literally he is so big he could not get back up to his feet, leaving Pat Smith pounding him till the ref stopped the fight.

There is really not much more to add except to say I survived Yamma. Hopefully they made enough money from the pay-per-view revenues to actually get some real talent. If there is a next time!

I doubt that most fans care either way. Although Sylvia is a league above most of Fedor’s past opponents like Hong Man Choi and Wagner da Conceicao Martins, It’s still not Randy vs. Fedor. Don’t forget about the fact that there’s still a risk of this fight not even happening. If you go back to my last article which referenced the Houston Chronicle article about Cox and Emelianenko, Cox said that it was difficult to deal with Russians because of the language barrier coupled with paying a fighter $2 million for a fight before any tickets are sold. Even top UFC fighters, like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, only make 1/8th of what Fedor wants before gate percentages and other endorsements are factored in. This is a huge risk in an attempt to please 25% of the MMA fanbase.

Even so, I’d kinda like to see it happen. I honestly don’t think Sylvia is going to stop Emelianenko in his quest to take on Randy Couture in what could be the biggest fight of the decade. After watching Emelianenko totally dominate an even larger fighter like Choi in the first round, I don’t think Sylvia will be able to use a reach advantage and will need to rely on keeping the fight standing without stalling. If you remember Sylvia’s last fight with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, once the fight got to the ground, Nogueira took immediate control and submitted Sylvia quickly. Speaking of the Brazilian, who wouldn’t want to see Big Nog up against the Russian again for what could be an amazing rematch? Their last fight on New Years Eve in 2004/2005 ended in a decision with their prior fight resulting in a no contest. Not many fighters have gone that far with Emelianenko in a ring lately so I’d love to see what the cage could do for both of them. See, it didn’t take long for me to get bored with Sylvia with the prospect of some other big fights this summer. But with Nogueira under contract with the UFC, I don’t know if that will happy anytime soon unless he pulls a Sylvia and leaves the largest MMA organization to fight the most dangerous heavyweight in the world.

Let’s hope that Cox can pull this all together and bring in more contenders for Emelianenko after the Sylvia fight. I’m tired of waiting to see him fight someone skilled and exciting again.

Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle has an informative article about Monte Cox’s involvement in MMA throughout the past 13 years and 500 events. Most of the article focuses on working with the Russian heavyweight, Emelianenko, and why the deal with signing him failed. A difficult language barrier coupled with an immense loss leader with signing Emelianenko to $2 million per fight led to the breakdown of the to-be-signed contract that Emelianenko never signed. Instead, he had signed a letter of intent and was given a signing bonus of $1.5 million which he has since returned.

The newest supposed stars of Adrenaline MMA will be IFL heavyweight Ben Rotherwell and UFC heavyweight Tim Sylvia. While Sylvia recently left the UFC on his own after losing two of his last three fights, Rothwell was forced out of the IFL after the 2007 season due to contractual reasons. He left the organization on a 13 fight win streak including prior wins in other organizations before moving to the IFL. What makes it somewhat interesting is that both fighters have already fought each other, back in 2001, when Sylvia proved to the judges that he was deserving of the decision win over Rothwell. Now seven years later, both men may end up fighting again - who knows if the hype will still be there, however.

What’s great about Monte Cox, all issues with Emelianenko aside, is his ability to get things done for MMA. The Adrenaline MMA organization will begin with an inaugural show near Chicago, a major city that could appreciate some big-name MMA action. Then the organization will move to the smaller city of Joline, Illinois and then hopefully throughout the rest of the U.S. during the summer months. While the IFL has been focusing on the east coast this year and the UFC headquarters is Las Vegas, the Midwest is in need of something new and big. Can Cox deliver like he has done for over a decade? With reported numbers of $3 million for Syvlia per fight and Rothwell seeing paychecks he has never dreamed of in the IFL, I sure hope so. This will be an interesting summer for MMA fans for sure.