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« | Home | »

Wednesday weekly notes: Reality TV mania

By Zach Arnold | July 11, 2007

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About that Mark Burnett reality show for Elite XC… is the recruiting starting?

Luke Thomas on the UFC 73 attendance. More at Fightlinker.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka announced his blog that he will facing Thiago Alves at Ultimate Fight Night 11 on September 19th at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas.

During the IFL telecast on FSN last week, the network aired ads for a “Best Damn Toughman” show that will air on the network Wednesday night.

On yesterday’s Around the Horn show on ESPN TV, a panel of three sportswriters (JA Adande, Jay Mariotti, and Kevin Blackistone) discussed whether or not Congress should investigate professional wrestling in regards to steroids. Audio here. All three writers agreed that there should be Congressional hearings.

Onto today’s headlines.

  1. MMA Weekly: JZ Calvan injured and off HERO’s card
  2. UFC HP: The Highly Unofficial Half-Year UFC Awards – The Upsets
  3. UFC Junkie: Shogun to debut against Ryoto Machida at UFC 76
  4. MMA Weekly: Brazilian Team MMA debuts on August 11th
  5. Ark City: Tyler Stinton victorious in Vegas debut
  6. The Merced Sun Star (CA): Investigators still have few clues in Arco incident
  7. The Saipan Tribune: Local MMA fighters must get formal training
  8. The Guam Pacific Daily News: Fighters out to settle score at PXC 12
  9. The Orange County Register: News and notes from UFC
  10. The Monterey County Herald: Law school grad Christian Wellisch makes his case in MMA
  11. Bodog PR: UFC will surpass boxing in online betting revenues for 2007
  12. The Edmonton Sun: Fighting for a future – Riggs and Chambers both have extra incentive
  13. MMA on Tap: TKO notes and quotes

Topics: Brazil, Canada, IFL, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, UFC, Zach Arnold | 67 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

67 Responses to “Wednesday weekly notes: Reality TV mania”

  1. The Gaijin says:

    Two can play your game all day long…

    It’s not Silva’s fault that Sakuraba got old and run down fighting everyone on the planet, it’s not Silva’s fault Kondo got old.

    It’s not Fujita’s fault Shamrock got old as hell – let alone the fact that as much as you try to run down Fujita’s abilities he completely outwrestled Mark Kerr, who was lightyears better a wrestler and mma fighter than Tito – with far more success. Meanwhile I still haven’t been able to decipher what your definition of “success” means.

    Tito got GIFT decisions against Forrest Griffin AND Belfort in order to set up the box-office dream rematch with Chuck. For christsakes – are you that biased? I just recapped the fight for you – Tito did well for all of about 3 minutes THE ENTIRE FIGHT. The rest of the time he was getting stuffed like a turkey and eating punches at Griffin’s will – it’s too bad Griffin doesn’t hit anywhere near as hard as Silva or Liddell. Apparently the Arabian goggles were on when you watched that fight.

    Please tell me what “international level wrestlers” Tito’s taken down and pounded? Randy? Sinosic? old man Shamrock? Griffin? Liddell? Evans? Bohlander? Albritton?
    Answer – NONE

    Tito’s great g’n’p stoppages were against guys like Kondo, Bohlander, Albritton, Sinosic and Tanner. That’s it! His awesome g’n’p that Rogan (and apparently you)loves to go on was against bottom of the barrell guys in the dark days of the UFC. The same types of fighters you criticize Silva for fighting.

    It’s really nice that you point out how Silva’s fought “cans” and then ignore the fact that he’s got wins over Henderson, Rampage x 2, Sakuraba at his absolute peak, Arona (in a far more clear cut decision than either you or 45 would ever dream of admitting), Nakamura etc. Silva’s got wins over 4 of the current top 10 fighters at LHW and Tito has 1. You also ignore the fact that Silva has decimated Rampage Jackson twice and Rampage is a far more well-rounded, stronger, killer instinct’ed fighter than Ortiz.

    45 – so I guess Silva should be criticized for actually taking fights that would be dangerous/a risk for him than be like Ortiz and not fight anyone? Ortiz hasn’t had a “decisive win” over ANYONE at 205 since 2000 – so there goes your point.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    Hmmm… Forrest Griffin admitted after the fight that Tito even won… Yet you don’t want to admit it.

    And Tito beat Belfort… I was rooting for Belfort at the time, but when that fight was over, I knew he had lost. I was shocked that it was even a split decision.

  3. The Gaijin says:

    I really really really hope that Gonzaga does at some point beat Fedor.

    The “boner” you’d get from having your fantasy coming true would no doubt cause a nuclear level explosion. You only start that topic of conversation once a week.

  4. The Gaijin says:

    That’s nice of Griffin. Too bad everyone in the building including Eddie Bravo, Stephan Bonnar, Rogan and Goldberg thought the exact opposite. Rogan and Goldberg maybe the two guys who are somehow bigger UFC shill zombies than even you and yet you still don’t want to admit it?

  5. The Gaijin says:

    “…[than even you] admit that…”

  6. The Gaijin says:

    …Rampage Jackson admitted Ninja Rua beat him, Hunt admitted he thought Silva beat him, on and on…guess we should go change those decisions since the fighter admitted as such.

  7. The Gaijin says:

    I cannot believe I’m having an argument over whether Tito Ortiz is actually a good/elite level fighter. He’s not and anyone with half a brain, eyes and a functioning level of reasoning doesn’t need to be given a million examples why.

    He’s vastly vastly overrated and his body of work over the last 6-7 years is the most effective illustration of this FACT. End of story.

  8. 45 Huddle says:

    Based on your previous 5 posts, it looks like you are arguing with yourself….

    Tito Ortiz is still World Class. I wouldn’t rank him Top 5, but he is most certainly Top 10. I would say anywhere between #6 and #8 in the world is the proper ranking for him.

  9. The Gaijin says:

    No just responding to your comments. Clearly the three should be read as one – I realize that requires some minimal form of brainpower however.

    Tito doesn’t belong in the top 10 sorry…he couldn’t even get past Evans. Sorry – you’re right…at one point he was “World Class”…now he’s not. I don’t think it takes to be a stretch of logic nor extrapolation of past performances of the past 6-7 years to figure this out. Honestly, is it that difficult? I wish I could believe you’re playing devil’s advocate but then again I know you’d be heart broken to admit one of the UFC’s more dominant LHW champs in their history was a total paper champ.

    Seriously, why are you even defending him? He’s proven to be a chicken-shit, loud mouth who runs from any real fights (Cotoure, Liddell) and acts like a bully where he knows/thinks he can win. But his pro wrestling act has people like you actually buying him as a legit fighter…sheesh.

  10. 45 Huddle says:

    Who would you place ahead of him?

  11. PizzaChef says:

    Gaijin….While I hate Tito Ortiz and yet I agree 100% that Belfort should of beat his punk ass….What’s with all of the angst in the posts man? I see you make a lot of posts that either turns into attack or something close to it.

  12. D. Capitated says:

    I’ll make this brief….

    It’s not Silva’s fault that Sakuraba got old and run down fighting everyone on the planet, it’s not Silva’s fault Kondo got old.

    So then Tito gets respect for beating Kondo first and doing so faster? Sakuraba, on the other hand, should have fought at 185. He was never going to be a match for Silva ever.

    It’s not Fujita’s fault Shamrock got old as hell – let alone the fact that as much as you try to run down Fujita’s abilities he completely outwrestled Mark Kerr, who was lightyears better a wrestler and mma fighter than Tito – with far more success.

    The imagination that it takes for a 36 year old Ken Shamrock to be very different than a 38 year old one as a proper counter to comparing a 31 year old fighter to a 37 year old alcoholic who’s barely competed, or to bring up Mark Kerr in any sense, must be wild.

    Tito got GIFT decisions against Forrest Griffin AND Belfort in order to set up the box-office dream rematch with Chuck. For christsakes – are you that biased?

    You clearly are if you think Griffin and Belfort were obviously and clearly the winners.

    Please tell me what “international level wrestlers” Tito’s taken down and pounded?

    Well, he’d have beaten a D1 Big 10 wrestler with Evans if he hadn’t grabbed the fense. You should also look up Matyushenko’s background.

    Tito’s great g’n’p stoppages were against guys like Kondo, Bohlander, Albritton, Sinosic and Tanner. That’s it!…The same types of fighters you criticize Silva for fighting.

    What about that win over Silva?

    It’s really nice that you point out how Silva’s fought “cans” and then ignore the fact that he’s got wins over Henderson, Rampage x 2, Sakuraba at his absolute peak, Arona (in a far more clear cut decision than either you or 45 would ever dream of admitting), Nakamura etc.

    Well, you’re a little biased it seems, so what we’re “willing to admit” and your vision of reality are likely separate things. No one’s saying he didn’t beat anyone (though Nakamura’s inclusion into this list is really pushing it), but the idea that he was dominant over the best fighters and that Tito is awful and so forth is ridiculous. You credit him for a win over Henderson years before he dropped to a proper weight of 185, and say nothing about what’s happened recently, where Henderson KOed Silva after having lost his last fight at 185. So I get where you’re going. You make it clear. You’re willing to accept the results of fights 6 years ago when they suit you, but not when they suit you, and you really like Japan a lot.

  13. cyphron says:

    “You know, maybe you should really start watching fighting and try to understand that, okay? I’m getting a little tired of the beginner’s level “BUT THE COMPETITION~!” thing. ”

    This is typical D. Capitated. Why did you reply to my point with that attack again? What’s the point of a debate if you can never ever see the opponent’s point of view? You are always right and everyone is wrong. That is typical of all debates that start with you. I have admitted that we don’t see eye to eye with the boxing thing because you’re a boxing fan and have let it go. But I’m beginning to think that you want to ALWAYS win the debate and ALWAYS have to have the last words regardless of the FACTS.

    Silva fought more often than Ortiz with opponents that are elite and out of his weight class. That is the Pride management fault, not his. When you fight heavyweights and more often, you will lose. Any non-fans would see that based on both their win-loss records and the opponents that they have both fought. It’s there. I am a UFC fan and can even see that.

  14. JThue says:

    “…Rampage Jackson admitted Ninja Rua beat him, Hunt admitted he thought Silva beat him, on and on…guess we should go change those decisions since the fighter admitted as such.”

    – This just sums it up, really. No, we shouldn’t turn around the decisions based on what they say, you’re right. But you obviously think decisions should be changed bacause of what YOU perceive, which is every bit as absurd. Tito beat Griffin, and Tito beat Belfort. Neither fight strikes me as being a robbery of any kind.

    I don’t think Tito would beat Wand today either, but some of these arguments are just ridiculous.

  15. Jeremy (not that Jeremy) says:

    Wow.

    I haven’t gone back and watched Tito’s earlier fights lately, but he didn’t look that impressive to me at UFC73. The Sacramento crowd was pretty harsh most of the night, but I was fully with them when they booed him after the fight, it was … ugh.

    If that had been the extent of it, maybe it would have passed, but the idea of watching a rematch between those two guys just turned my stomach. I guess Tito has some kind of appeal to a lot of people out there, but I’m not feeling either the love or the hate, I’m just feeling tired of it. I’d like to move on.

  16. D.Capitated says:

    This is typical D. Capitated. Why did you reply to my point with that attack again?

    Because its horribly slanted. You’re starting with the assumption that PRIDE > better under all circumstances. Thus, Ortiz losing to Couture and Liddell is damning in your eyes, because neither one could concievably beat anyone in PRIDE except perhaps a Minowa. You use the A>B=A>C argument, which is ridiculous in discussing any fighting sport. Hell, as I said earlier: It takes balls to go talking about how a 1-1 Mark Hunt who 6 months earlier was easily defeated by Yoshida shouldn’t count against Wanderlei, while losses to Liddell and Couture prove Tito’s relative non-value to the sport.

  17. The Gaijin says:

    1.) “The imagination that it takes for a 36 year old Ken Shamrock to be very different than a 38 year old one as a proper counter to comparing a 31 year old fighter to a 37 year old alcoholic who’s barely competed, or to bring up Mark Kerr in any sense, must be wild.”

    What relevance does Mark Kerr’s sad state today have on ANYTHING I said?!??? I was pointing out the fact that Fujita went to town on Kerr, who at that time was one of the most dominating HW’s in the sport. But clearly your pea-brain had little ability to process that one. The imagination it must take to think that the Tito today is anywhere near as dominating a wrestler/mma fighter than Mark Kerr circa 2000 (when Fujita beat him) must be WILD.

    2.) “Well, he’d have beaten a D1 Big 10 wrestler with Evans if he hadn’t grabbed the fense. You should also look up Matyushenko’s background.”

    So then your answer would be??? NONE. Look how ridiculous you are – you try to make a claim, it gets completely shown to be B.S. and you still cannot admit it. I wish I could live in your dreamworld.

    3.) “Tito’s great g’n’p stoppages were against guys like Kondo, Bohlander, Albritton, Sinosic and Tanner. That’s it!…The same types of fighters you criticize Silva for fighting.

    What about that win over Silva? ”

    That was a g’n’p stoppage eh?? Hmmm…not only can you not read, nor concede to issues where you’re obviously wrong, but now you can reinvent results of fights. B/c I was pretty sure it was a pathetic lay’n’pray snoozer that would never be allowed to go for that long with absolutely no action again. Can you imagine if that fight was in the US and not in Japan where they’re too respectful to lynch such a terrible fight?

    4.) “Well, you’re a little biased it seems, so what we’re “willing to admit” and your vision of reality are likely separate things. No one’s saying he didn’t beat anyone (though Nakamura’s inclusion into this list is really pushing it), but the idea that he was dominant over the best fighters and that Tito is awful and so forth is ridiculous. You credit him for a win over Henderson years before he dropped to a proper weight of 185, and say nothing about what’s happened recently, where Henderson KOed Silva after having lost his last fight at 185. So I get where you’re going. You make it clear. You’re willing to accept the results of fights 6 years ago when they suit you, but not when they suit you, and you really like Japan a lot.”

    Tito’s had wins against exactly how many “elite opponents” in the time since he’s fought Silva? None – would that sound about right?…Any time he’s fought a guy that would be considered Top 10 (Liddell and Couture) he’s gotten absolutely embarassed. But he has managed to put up an impressive runs of decision wins over Patrick Cote (non-top 10 185’er), Forrest Griffin and Belfort and of course 3 “impressive” wins over Ken Shamrock (I think enough has been said on that matter).

    And Silva’s pretty much done nothing right? A real over-hyped and overrated can-opener. Rampage x 2, Henderson, Nakamura, Arona. Yes Silva did lose to Henderson – who you seem to also conveniently forget was coming off a very dominant win at 205 over someone that Tito barely squeaked out a decision over. But of course Henderson’s a small 205’er who outside of a loss to Silva and Lil Nog at 205 was very successful as a 205er but he immediately makes Silva a bum b/c Henderson can move down to 185.

    You must really love Dana.

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