The whole Kimbo Slice debacle can not be broken down any simpler than an If-Then(-Else) statement. If a condition is true, then the following statements must be true, or else it’s all false.

If you really think Kimbo Slice is a fraud who is ruined for good…

Then forget about the return of Chuck Liddell (he got knocked out by Rashad Evans), don’t hype up Ronaldo “Jacara” Souza (who got KO’d by Gegard Mousasi’s upkick at Dream 6), and please stop signing Georges St. Pierre (who got beaten down by Matt Serra) to huge sports marketing agencies.

Else realize that every fighter will take a beating at least once in their life. If you didn’t cover the ridiculously brutal knockout of Chuck Liddell or the surprising defeat of Jacare, don’t act like you know if Kimbo Slice is a farce. Don’t pretend you know what he will do next. And please stop acting like Seth Petruzelli is Rocky.

With one of the most stacked cards to date, the sixth installment of Japanese promotion, DREAM, is set to explode on September 23rd at Saitama Super Arena. With five productions behind them (of varying levels of success), it seems impossible to disregard the future DREAM has established for itself as one of the biggest and most dynamic MMA organizations in Japan and the world.

Looking back, DREAM has made an arduous journey from the low ratings of DREAM 1 to an organization that’s combined their forces with the popular Hdnet and fight org EliteXC. Dream has not been without it’s blows, having suffered repeated low ratings, and canceling fights with the (recently) elusive Mirko Filiopovic and “injured” Japan poster-boy Norifumi Yamamoto “Kid”. Yamamoto’s recent “hush-hush” drug allegations by Japanese tabloids have given Kid some trouble, and may be one of the reasons for his recent absence from the ring. Marijuana possession is socially unacceptable in his native Japan, and is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Thankfully, “Cro Cop” is set to fight Dutchman Alistair Overeem at DREAM 6, headlining the final four of it’s middleweight grand prix. Overeem publicly ostracized the “Croatian Sensation” for dodging real competition as of late. Alistair Overeem is coming off a string of wins, having submitted Samoan superstar Mark Hunt at DREAM 5, and having recently taken the Strikeforce heavyweight, defeating Paul Buentello. This will be Cro Cop’s first real challenge since returning to Japan after 2 back to back losses in the UFC.

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Anyone who is paying attention to modern MMA can see that the biggest names in the business are not consistently offering a top shelf product. Elite XC put together a card that pits their champions against mediocre fighters and will make for a less than entertaining night aimed at getting attention, not at putting out a high quality product.

The UFC put on one of their best events ever, which had three interesting light heavyweight matchups, the debut of a man many consider a future phenom (Shane Carwin, just so we’re clear) and the biggest matchup that they can offer at 155 pounds.

Still, as I scroll down the cards of upcoming events, I found something bizarre.

The UFC is promising to put out shows that are far from interesting, namely it’s utterly uncreative UFC 85 card which consists of two interesting matchups on the entire evening (Davis vs. Swick and Vera vs. Werdum) and it’s unpromising TUF finale card which is headed by two fighters hardly at the top of their game, while the only two interesting matchups it has to offer (McFedries vs. Eastman and Lister vs. Horn) will remain in the middle of the card and will probably not be broadcast but for the grace of God.

So I am damned to look for incredible fights on the outskirts of the MMA world, but what I found is that I don’t actually have to look, because everybody else seems to actually care about putting out top notch fight cards.

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