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MMA Link Club: Dealing with a bunch of turkeys in the fight game

By Zach Arnold | November 24, 2011

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200,000 views and counting. If you missed it last Saturday night because you were watching UFC 139, now is your chance to watch one great fight featuring two guys with a lot of heart. Get to it.

For those not in the loop, Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area is supposedly going to have post-fight UFC event recaps after every major show on the channel. Frank Shamrock was on the channel’s first post-fight show after UFC 139 in San Jose. They are promising a recap show after UFC 140 in Toronto.

Member sites of the MMA Link Club

This week’s MMA Link Club featured stories

Five Ounces of Pain: Fedor’s camp pushing for fight with Cain Velasquez

To which Dana White responded with a ‘hell no.’ Fedor’s people weren’t asking for that fight before Cain lost to JDS, were they? Who can blame them for asking for a fight with Cain when you’re likely stuck having to fight Ishii on New Year’s Eve in Japan on a non-broadcast network TV event.

MMA Fighting: Michael Landsberg explains own confusion with strange Chael Sonnen interview

“I was really confused. I didn’t know if he was mad or I didn’t know if he was joking,” Landsberg said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I didn’t know if he was getting the whole thing.”

I know what I got out of that interview. Michael Landsberg acted like an execrable fool during the interview against the one-trick gimmick. Turkey.

Fightline: Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz set to headline UFC’s second show on Fox

Nothing sends a message of promoting a clean sport like having Chael Sonnen headline a network MMA broadcast show. First, Texas, and now Chicago. When is he going to fight in California again?

Cage Potato: Photo gallery of Fedor loving his kitteh

We’ve gone from Fedor licking ice cream cones to pics of his ex-wife during his PRIDE days shopping luxuriously to now a bug-eyed cat photo for a sympathy pop. A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do, apparently.

MMA Mania: Bellator 59 preview for Saturday’s event on MTV2

Don’t be a turkey and miss this show. Eric Prindle’s fighting on the card and ready to knock someone out. Alexis Vila, who pulverized Joe Warren, faces stiff competition with Eduardo Dantas. Plus, Patricky Pitbull versus Kurt Pellegrino. Seriously, DVR this show if you can’t watch it live. Last Saturday’s Bellator show was terrific and got totally lost in the fog of UFC 139, which was an off-the-charts show.

5th Round: Dan Henderson doing his part for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Here’s a man who put his money where his mouth is and delivered in a unique way. That’s the American spirit.

Bleacher Report: Mark Munoz says Chael Sonnen was dirty in their college match

What’s next, a revelation that Sonnen is an admitted criminal?

Middle Easy: Jens Pulver’s 2011 video game Christmas buyer’s guide

OK, so Easy didn’t use the word “Christmas” and instead used the generic term “Holiday” like everyone else in Corporate America that’s afraid to say the word Christmas on TV & radio even in a secular, commercialized kind of way. Nonetheless, Jens’ guide is great. Talk about Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Witcher 2, Dragon Age II, and more.

Low Kick: Dana White would like to see Wanderlei Silva walk away on a win

So would I. Want to know how to do it? Book his retirement fight at UFC Japan 2012 and give him a tomato can to squash. Better yet, a tomato can wearing a cartoon mask. There’s always Yoshihiro Takayama available to take a beating.

The Fight Nerd: Up against it — the evolution of fence tactics in MMA

But, as tool using mammals, the best human warriors have always been defined by the ability to turn the presence or absence of anything into a weapon. And there is no more obvious presence than the wall. There are the, now, obvious tactics. The fence, once used to enhance the chances of takedowns, now just as commonly defeats them. Squatting up while pressing alternating shoulders against the fence, or wall-walking, is now a standard way for a fighter to regain his feet and the complete antithesis of what the cage was originally designed for. But turn-about is just the beginning of what can be done with the wall.

I’ve never been a big fan of the cage.

MMA Convert: Jim Genia’s list of things to be thankful for (and he didn’t even shill his book on the list)

Ronda Rousey – Let’s face it, without Gina Carano smiling coyly at the camera, women’s MMA barely has a pulse. Which is sad, because 145-pound champ Cris “Cyborg” Santos is a viable and deadly fighter who’s more than deserving of accolades. But now we’ve got Rousey to liven things up, and with her Olympic-caliber judo and penchant for amputating arms in under a minute, woo-wee, women’s MMA is going to be fun again. It’s going to be sweet watching Rousey crush Meisha Tate, and it’s going to be even sweeter watching her dismantle Cyborg bit by Brazilian bit.

Now, wait a second, didn’t Zuffa call Gina Carano ‘the face of women’s MMA’ in their New York lawsuit filing?

MMA Payout: Ratings numbers continue to decrease for UFC PPV prelims on Spike

That’s what happens when you have a fatigued fan base and a network not interested in promoting your product. Judging by the empty seats on camera during the San Jose prelims, I’d say the paying customers took their time getting to the show as well.

Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

11 Responses to “MMA Link Club: Dealing with a bunch of turkeys in the fight game”

  1. fd2 says:

    Speaking as a fan, at live events the ring generally makes for better viewing (from most seats).

    Speaking as a guy who’s fought in both, there are huge logistical issues with rings in terms of grappling and the risk of falling out. You still see this in DREAM all the time, with takedowns turning into tumbles through or over the ropes, guys winding up with their heads out on the ring apron and the guy on top trying to ground and pound around the ring ropes, etc. The cage is logistically better for the fighters.

  2. Megatherium says:

    In Sergio Baterellis’ old International Vale Tudo Championship events netting was attached from the bottom rope to the ring apron which prevented fighters from sliding out on the bottom. At the Affliction events the ring apron was expanded out several feet to break the falls of fighters going through the ropes. These two features combine most of the stable benefits of the cage together with the better sightlines for the fans viewing experience that the ring provides and could easily replace the cage in my view.

    • Nepal says:

      Positively the best aspect of the ring is when the ref breaks the continuity of the fight and the tired fighters butt scoop themselves to the middle of the ring.

  3. Megatherium says:

    I’m really looking forward to Bellator 59 this weekend. Last weeks show was great. It’s really cool to see fighters grapple on the ground for a full five minute round like it’s 2004;I didn’t seee a single croud directed standup the whole card as the obviously seasoned crowd seemed to appreciate the groundfighting and I don’t think I saw any standups or heard any booing that whole event.

    Really impressed with the international recruiting job they have done as well, bringing in exciting prospects from Brazil and the Russian Caucasus in particular and giving Bellator the image of a true international competition with athletes from across the globe.

    Bellator seems to really take their pure sporting concept seriously and I believe there is a now a place in the mma landscape for a purist/traditionalist oriented orginization to prosper given how far away UFC has moved away from their true mma roots and Bellator is in a good place to fill that niche in the market.

    Good luck Bellator!

  4. Mr.roadblock says:

    That’s a really cute cat Fedor has. I like him again now. I think it was his management ducking fights and his irrational fans that bothere me in the first place. I bet he’s a super dude.

  5. I’m sure the UFC would rather avoid the headache that comes with Sonnen fighting in California but it’s not like they’re avoiding the state at all costs.

  6. EJ says:

    Wow 3 digs at Sonnen in one article, cleary that one gimmick guy knows how to work even people who claim to have knowledge of being worked.

    Honestly to me Sonnen vs. Munoz is yet another in what’s sadly becoming a long line of nonsensical match ups. I’m really starting to lose faith in the UFC and as as pro Dana and their methods as there is on here.

    Sonnen already had his warm up fight, now it’s time to make Silva vs. Sonnen 2 no matter how long it takes Anderson to grow a pair. First the UFC blew a huge opportunity and a massive buyrate when they gave Machida an undeserved shot at Jones and now this. 2012 needs to be a massive year for the UFC and they already are getting off to a bad start. Time for Dana and company to smarten up because they aren’t following their own blueprint that’s made them successfull and it will cost them if they keep it up.

  7. 45 Huddle says:

    Pacquiao’s conditioning coach went on record to say that Dana White is right about Bob Arum. Interesting, strong comments.

    UFC ratings down on SpikeTV? That is to be fully expected. They gave up on the UFC. At what point will fans and the media give up on the ratings and salaries story lines?

  8. edub says:

    Ariza likes to get headlines. However, hopefully his interview pushes the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight to the forefront.

    The salary storyline won’t be given up on until profits are at least shared to the public at a 50/50 percentage.

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