Talk Radio: Do we need to give Gary Shaw credit for what he did with Kimbo Slice?
By Zach Arnold | June 7, 2010
Final passage from yesterday’s MMA Nation radio show. I bring this topic up because I’m surprised that no one has booked Kimbo Slice yet in a fight now that he’s gone from the UFC. If you look at the PPV estimates for that UFC 113 event in Montreal, I’m really starting to wonder how much of a factor Kimbo Slice played in convincing people at the last-minute to order that show.
Before you read the radio passage (transcript of quotes) here, let me ask the following — do you think Kimbo Slice could still draw 6,000 or 7,000 fans for a mid-level independent MMA show right now? I bring this up as a clue to you as to the person who I think should deserve the most credit for the Kimbo Slice experiment in MMA, and it’s not Gary Shaw.
Full-page mode gets you the radio passage and my answer to the last question.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Talk Radio: Cleaning up the trashy aspects of The Ultimate Fighter and trying to rehabilitate the show’s image
By Zach Arnold | June 7, 2010
Have noticed that this season’s version of The Ultimate Fighter seems more… tame? The MMA Nation radio show crew thinks it’s become tamer and that it’s part of a broader campaign by both Spike TV and the UFC to repair the image of the show in an attempt to not have tabloid TV shows mock it so much.
LUKE THOMAS: “The reality though is one of the things that I feel like that I have been very vindicated on is The Ultimate Fighter reality show. And the reason why I say that is because several seasons ago, there was this big push to have what I would call ludicrous and outrageous behavior featured on the show and MMA fans would rush to the rescue of the UFC and say, ‘well listen Luke, it’s a reality show! They got to have this stuff on there!’ Which is partly true. It’s partly true that as a reality show there is a little bit more to the story than simply putting on good fights. They have to show some kind of personality clash. OK, fair enough. But the argument I made was the level to which they were doing this was unnecessary and really beyond unnecessary, counterproductive. You know showing guys consuming each other’s bodily fluids, you know, I’m sorry, that damages your brand. You know, what you say and do in this life matters. It matters in this life. You have to own that. OK, you have to own that. And I believe what this season has demonstrated is that, yes a little bit of personality clash helps but ultimately the core of that show, the core of the appeal to that show… folks want to see good fights. That’s what folks want to see. They want to see really entertaining fights. Now, up-and-coming professionals will give you some mixed bags but I think generally-speaking the guys on that show, you know Jamie Yager’s last performance notwithstanding, fight pretty hard. You know, they fight… Kris McCray will have fought five times in six weeks. That is a lot of fighting, man, that’s a lot. That’s some Travis Fulton frequency of fighting.”
Luke mentioned this topic for a few reasons, but what triggered his reaction on Sunday was due in part to the likes of the Bob Barrs of the world bringing up the ‘heart-ripping cage fighter’ story as a way to attack the UFC in the press.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
Talk Radio: Can Frank Mir make it at Light Heavyweight and will Fedor’s career be complete if he doesn’t fight in the UFC?
By Zach Arnold | June 7, 2010
The first of several passages from yesterday’s MMA Nation radio show that I wanted to focus on and get your comments about.
With Frank Mir openly talking about cutting down to Light Heavyweight, I find it hard to believe that he will able to make the cut consistently. Which brings us to the topic of whether or not there should be a Cruiserweight division. Most people who comment here on the site say no, given that the Heavyweight division worldwide isn’t that deep outside of the UFC, so why create another division with a shallow talent pool? That said, Cruiserweight would fit Frank Mir wonderfully.
JAMES KIMBALL: “That’s pretty surprising considering he spent the last year putting on considerable size and muscle to better compete with the likes of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. he weighed in at the maximum amount for a heavyweight at 265 at UFC 11, so he’s thinking dropping 60 pounds.”
LUKE THOMAS: “I think he can make it.”
JAMES KIMBALL: “Yeah, he said that when he stands next to Forrest Griffin he thinks that he’s in the wrong weight class.”
LUKE THOMAS: “Well, Forrest Griffin is enormous.”
JAMES KIMBALL: “He’s a very big Light Heavyweight.”
LUKE THOMAS: “He’s a very big guy. I definitely think it’s a better move for him. I think the first fight is going to be a real litmus test of… listen, is Frank Mir just one of those Cruiserweight guys? He might be. One of the kinds of guys who you know if you’re at 225, 230, it’s a lot easier to get to 205 than 240 and you would say well that’s sort of obvious, you’re 10-15 pounds less. That 225 to 240 window I think is a different kind of guy, is a different sized guy. You go from linebacker to tight end at that point, you know what I mean? Do you go from 6’2″ 220 to 6’4″ 250, 245? I think it’s a different physically-sized guy. Like, if I was in dramatic shape I could probably make 205 but at the end of the day I’m a more slender kind of 240. Frank Mir is a humongous 240.”
JAMES KIMBALL: “That’s too bad because Dana said that there are no plans for a Cruiserweight division, so yeah he’s kind of stuck in no man’s land right now.”
LUKE THOMAS: “But I think the lesson here is that as strong as he got with that stuff and it did help probably a little bit, you can’t pretend to be something you’re not.”
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: M-1, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Are you buying or selling the prospects of a Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort match-up in UFC?
By Zach Arnold | June 6, 2010
Before we get to the conversational topic of the day, here are some odds and ends news-wise happening…
Paulo Thiago is ready to fight Martin Kampmann at UFC 115 this Saturday and Pat Barry can’t stop talking to Sherdog. Pat Barry is in the semi-main event of UFC 115, which is pretty amazing. Gilbert Yvel will try to hit a right note on the comeback trail.
UFC is publicly claiming that they aren’t giving up on the German market — yet.
I’m not sure why it’s news that the UFC won’t create a Super Heavyweight division, but apparently it is.
It seems that the media worm has turned against Bellator and now you’re getting more “their business sucks” stories.
Paulo Filho fought a heavyweight… and won.
I thought it was very interesting that M-1 compared Fedor’s political aspirations to that of Aleksandr Karelin. Karelin, of course, had that famous exhibition match with Akira Maeda for Maeda’s retirement bout in RINGS at Yokohama Arena over a decade ago and could have been a really huge force in MMA if he wanted to be at the time.
Now, onto today’s chatting topic… From Sherdog on Friday, talking about what to do next with Michael Bisping in the UFC.
TJ DE SANTIS: “Let’s talk about Michael Bisping, where he fits in the Middleweight picture inside the UFC. I think he’s always going to be sort of stuck in that mid-card role. You know he might find himself again in a co-main event but I don’t really ever foresee him putting together a run. If he fights Vitor Belfort, I think he loses to Vitor Belfort. I don’t think that his striking’s good enough to beat Vitor. If Vitor’s off at all then maybe he could win but I don’t think he has the power to really put Vitor out and really, I just like Vitor’s technique. If Vitor wanted to go back to that old ground ‘n pound style of Vitor Belfort that we saw in PRIDE a little bit, I think he’d maybe take down Michael Bisping and grind out a top game, too. I mean I don’t think it’s likely but I just really when I look at Vitor Beflort against Michael Bisping on paper, I have a real hard time seeing Bisping winning in really any fashion.”
JACK ENCARNACAO: “I would agree. I think it’s a bit closer than that. I think Bisping, if he does get taken down, is actually very underrated in the wall walk and get-back-up department and I don’t know you know how long he’ll be a sitting duck for the ground ‘n pound. I think Belfort’s legendary fast hands might serve like if Bisping circles the wrong way ala Dan Henderson we know where that’s headed. But you know, Bisping has very, once he gets settled and once he gets a bit comfortable with the punching power of his opposition, he can do very nice footwork, he’s got great fundamentals from a Muay Thai perspective, and I actually can see him you know if he dodges the heavy artillery taking maybe two out of three rounds against Vitor Belfort in 2010. I think it’s a bit more up for grabs. All I know is that the UFC has been salivating at the prospect of him challenging for the Middleweight title and being able to run big with it in the UK and being able to run big with the storyline of you know no Brit has ever won a UFC championship, you know, and we’re going to blow the roof off the place and you know when there was a speck of hope that he might be working towards a shot against Anderson Silva, there was definitely a lot of crazy talk going on about Wembley Stadium and whatnot, so I think he’s very much, it’s very much waiting you know the UFC’s very much waiting for him to reach that level and whether he can or not remains to be the seen. But the Belfort’s fight is an interesting. I think Belfort might be in a different place mentally right now having expected to face Anderson Silva, having been told he qualified to face Anderson Silva and due to an injury the fght’s off in Abu Dhabi and all of a sudden Chael Sonnen talks himself, well he beat Nate Marquardt impressively, then talks himself into the title fight so I don’t know if Belfort’s going to consider himself benched until that shot is for him that he got in the first place or if you know he’s going to be looking for a pay day and a Bisping fight would be interesting to him. They do have a October card tentatively scheduled for London that’s going to be a Spike special but a numbered UFC event kind of like they’ve done with UK super cards in the past. Maybe that needs a main event and maybe Bisping and Belfort makes a ton of sense for marquee value if nothing else and maybe Belfort can be talked into it.”
LOTFI SARIAHMED: “I mean the problem I have with Belfort/Bisping, you want to think that at some point Bisping’s going to get it and it’s going to come all click for him but you keep going back to the UFC 100 bout and even against Dan Miller, I mean it happened a lot against Dan Miller, too, he just circles the wrong way in the stand-up and he circled right into that knockout against Henderson and he’s lucky Dan Miller didn’t have more stand-up prowess than he did otherwise who knows what would have happened there. If you talk about a guy like Vitor, I mean you know Vitor’s what he can do standing up. Whether or not it’s diminished at all based on his age, based on his time in the game, well I mean it’s debatable but a bout like that and a guy with Bisping who has shown that he has some very very troubling deficiencies to that extent, I mean it’s hard to favor Bisping in a fight like that. Would it be close? Maybe, I don’t know, but hard for me to pick Bisping.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Mike Goldberg: It’s fair to say that Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans is UFC’s most-heated rivalry
By Zach Arnold | June 6, 2010
The interview up above took place right before last weekend’s UFC 114 main event happened. Mike’s answer about UFC and Las Vegas is the part that I found most interesting.
INTERVIEWER: “Is this the most heated UFC rivalry in history? Dana said it is, that it’s surpassed Tito (Ortiz) and Chuck (Liddell) and other rivalries, Tito and Ken (Shamrock), things along those lines. But in your opinion, is this the most heated rivalry in UFC history?”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “Tito and Ken was pretty good. Tito and Ken put together some good shows before the show and before the fight. And obviously Tito and Chuck is pretty legendary, but you know Matt Serra and Matt Hughes went back and forth a little bit, (Josh) Koscheck and (Paul) Daley…. probably it is, though, I would agree with Dana and I think part of that, though, is the fact that these two guys at this time in their career are pretty much still at the top of the game. Like I said, they’re only a fight or two removed from being the UFC Light Heavyweight champion. So while Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz was very special, Tito was kind of working his way back in, Ken’s prime may had been a few years prior. Great fighters, obviously Shamrock one of the greatest of all time, but everything is just coming at the right time in this rivalry and they’re pretty good at it. You know, Tito and Ken did some good stuff, Tito and Chuck talked and you know Daley had some good lines and (Dan) Hardy was funny but if you really looking at pound-for-pound the best trash talkers in MMA today, Rampage (Jackson) and Rashad (Evans) are number one and number one and everybody else is a distant two and down, so I think the fact that actually, all kidding aside, they’re actually pretty good at it and they’re funny when they do it….”
INTERVIEWER: “Very interesting, Mike, because we are in Las Vegas and the UFC has put together some amazing fight cards and some of these rivalries as you talked about in UFC history have taken place inside this building, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which is something we don’t necessarily see all the time but this building has a lot of history behind it, especially when it comes to the UFC.”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “Well, one of the biggest things that ever happened in UFC history was coming to Vegas and I remember when Zuffa bought the company many years ago, they brought some of us former employees if you will, the lasting employees from SEG in the olden days, out here for a dinner in Las Vegas and I asked Lorenzo Fertitta that night and he said, ‘Any questions?’ and I said, ‘We will be ever on a billboard in Las Vegas?’ and at that point, you know my mind was you know was only you know my expectations weren’t that large. I said, ‘will we ever be on a billboard in Las Vegas?’ and he said ‘absolutely.’ Well now we’re on every billboard in Las Vegas and now this truly is the home of Mixed Martial Arts and so the fighting capital of the world is the capital of MMA. And so you’re right, I mean, coming here was a great thing. Now, them kind of coming to us and being in the partnership we are, I think is wonderful for Mixed Martial Arts and I remember I was… actually it was when Rashad was fighting at the first of the year against Thiago Silva, I went to The Black Eyed Peas concert, my favorite band by the way… but I went to the concert that night and I looked around at a Black Eyed Peas concert and all I saw in the building were UFC banners. And I thought, ‘Wow, they’re kind of playing in our house. The Black Eyed Peas are in our house tonight,’ and that really tells you how far the UFC has come to not only be in Vegas but to have Vegas be its home and there’s no better home for any kind of combat sport than Las Vegas, Nevada.”
INTERVIEWER: “No doubt it. The UFC’s success can be attributed to a variety of things but matchmaking and amazing fights have become first and foremost. We see that fights in boxing, it takes a little while to happen. In the UFC, Dana White, Joe Silva, if a fight wants to happen it’s going to happen. Do you feel that’s largely in part to their success?”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “Well, it’s a credit to the fighters, first and foremost. I mean, you know Joe Silva is a smart guy and he’s done this for a long time and there’s nobody that rivals the ability to see and judge and match fighters like Joe Silva. He’s the best, that’s why he works for the biggest organization in the world, but the fact of the matter is the best thing that can happen to Dana White or Joe Silva is a kid on the other side of that phone saying, ‘yes, any place, any time,’ and what we pride ourselves on as an organization is bringing in real fighters, fighters that want to fight. They don’t care if it’s two days notice, two weeks notice, two months notice, they don’t care if it’s Brock Lesnar, Brock Larson, or Brock Jones who we don’t know anything about, they’re going to fight. And so while it definitely takes a mastermind like Joe to put it all together, Joe will be the first to tell you the guy who picks up the phone on the other side of the line and wants to fight, that’s the guy that we want to see. That’s the fighter that people will pay to see on PPV because they’re the ones who will leave it in the Octagon, so I do, I give a ton of credit, I give the majority of the credit to the fighters because if you’re willing and able and you want to do it and you want to be an MMA superstar, then you want to fight in the Octagon any place, any time against anybody.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Talk Radio: Everyone has a price in the MMA media and you can’t expect independent-minded journalism
By Zach Arnold | June 5, 2010
Except for a few of us…
This discussion happened on Sherdog radio on Friday. A caller brings up the charge that Ariel Helwani and Danny Acosta worked for the UFC during UFC 114 weekend and then the conversation spirals into the idea that because there’s not enough money for MMA media writers that it’s OK to take a pay day from a promoter if it means paying the bills.
I’m choosing to respond to the quotes from the radio show before you read them because I don’t want to interrupt any of the commentary — I want you to read it in full. However, a message to Jack Encarnacao — I am an independent-minded guy and I am not entirely alone. I know you used the term “Watergate” in a different context, but there was a “Watergate” story for MMA and it was called the implosion of PRIDE. I asked many writers at the time to help give the story coverage and actually talk about it and people largely took a pass. The PRIDE implosion was a story that had so many elements to make it major — organized crime charges, the involvement of Japan’s largest broadcast network (outside of NHK), major fighting events, allegations of death threats, you name it and it was there.
There are stories being covered out there in an honest fashion and I understand that maybe four years is ancient history to you, but the ramifications of what happened during PRIDE’s collapse are still being felt today in the business today.
I will say one point that the radio show got right — no money mark wants to finance an ‘honest’ MMA media web site. Not going to happen.
Any how, read the full article and check out what the radio hosts had to say on the topic.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The debate: Has the Satoshi Ishii experiment turned into something great or is it a train wreck?
By Zach Arnold | June 5, 2010
Your ear might get ripped off Pancrase-style if you don’t listen to what Jordan Breen has to say here.
I’ll present to you the positive side of this argument from Jordan Breen:
“Satoshi Ishii has done something really interesting that very few Japanese guys get the chance, let alone actually forward with, and he’s left Japan, he’s training at HMC out in Hawaii and basically he’s just fighting like an MMA prospect. Just fighting every couple of weeks. When you compare and contrast that to how most Japanese athletes are handled, especially cross-over guys who won Olympic medals, it’s a bit crazy really. It’s almost like MMA’s kind of like a sport. You know, just this guy who has some potential just going, he’s training somewhere, he’s fighting as much as he wants. It’s kind of like the way that MMA’s supposed to be almost. And he’s probably going to win as a result of it. Right now, he’s not facing world-beaters. You know, he’s had an exhibition fight in Hawaii, he just had a fight down in [New Zealand] that he won via armbar.
The point is that Ishii now can train at his own rate. He’s outside the media scope of Japan. No promotions are forcing things upon him. He’s just getting to train and develop at his own rate and do his thing. That’s great. We can only hope that MMA, as we continue to globalize, offers these opportunities to more guys. There’s an Olympic gold medalist wrestler or judoka from Japan who want to learn how to fight MMA properly, they don’t have to be put into you know fights for half a million dollars immediately where they’re going to have their competitive edge dulled by the fact that they’re facing guys with 10 times more experience. So, good for Satoshi Ishii. And good for his handlers for recognizing that this is probably the best way to develop an actual fighter.”
Now, let me present to you the flip side of the argument and explain why Ishii’s career is like watching a dog chase its own tail in a circle repeatedly.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, Sengoku, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Talking Heads: Should Dana White not push Rashad Evans in the UFC because of his boring fight style?
By Zach Arnold | June 5, 2010
Heads just exploded with that question even being brought up. However, the Yahoo Sports team brought that up and also brought up the initial odds released for a fight between Rashad Evans and Mauricio Shogun. Shogun is a -250 favorite, which is pretty close to where I initially predicted the odds would be for the fight. (For the record, I said Shogun would be a -300 favorite.)
There’s that debate, along with whether or not Quinton Jackson is interested in a match with Lyoto Machida or if he would be interested in a ‘safer’ fight with Forrest Griffin that would draw better business more than likely.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Roy Nelson: The UFC Heavyweight division is probably the most feared division in MMA and “it used to be like how PRIDE was”
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2010
Watch Roy Nelson Speaks On Rumored Bout With Dos Santos on RawVegas.tv
I would encourage you to read the transcript just to get a feel for his comments about the UFC’s depth, the MMA media, and the Internet.
Much like Dana White, I still can’t figure out what web sites they are reading and who they are responding to.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Rich Franklin: I think I have a few good years left fighting in the UFC Light Heavyweight division (long interview transcript)
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2010
From Inside the Ultimate Fighter, a 20 minute interview this week with Rich Franklin. I like to listen to him talk and also read his thoughts about his training, fight strategy, and his overall take on the business in general. He’s a guy who is willing to give you more than just a quick sound bite.
When you read the quotes about the hernia surgery he had last January, it kind of makes you cringe. I thought it was interesting how open he is in admitting that he wished he hadn’t have taken the Vitor Belfort fight. He makes a very good comparison between the schedules of MMA fighters and boxers and how the two professions are viewed differently by the fans.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Former GOP’er-turned-libertarian Bob Barr uses ‘heart-ripping cage fighter’ story to attack MMA
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2010
Seriously, Bob, is the best you can do?
And from a supposedly newly-minted Libertarian no less?
If you need background information on the ‘heart-ripping cage fighter’ story that has exploded in media channels, click here for the real truth. By the way, I laughed heartily (pardon the pun) at one of the most recent comments on that post about me not knowing the area that I was referring to.
It looks like Bloody Elbow was right about that story taking on a life of its own in the media. Will this supplant John McCain’s “human cockfighting” quote as the most annoying media cliché to use against MMA?
Be on the look out for this story about an Atlanta Falcon player who is a Jay Glazer MMA trainee getting suspended for a game by the NFL. Steve Cofield and Jeff Pearlman have been drilling Glazer lately like a punching bag. At least Steve won’t be complaining about Glazer being “a bad body guy” like Mike Russow.
- Related: As the cross-over between MMA and football expands, so does the media scrutiny on training and drug usage
- Related: Alistair Overeem, Brian Cushing, steroids in the NFL & MMA, and the way the media covers these subjects
New York MMA legislation bill gets new life
So sayeth The Albany Times-Union in this new report in which they indicate some new life may be given. With that said, this sounds like a dog chasing its own tail repeatedly and getting nowhere by doing so.
I remember when Marc Ratner was on MMA Junkie radio right around the time that UFC was heading into the 113 show in Montreal and he was very confident that something would get passed by mid-May. We’re into June and not much is happening in New York — at least right now, anyways.
These things I don’t know the answers to
Are sales for the UFC Undisputed 2010 game really ‘below expectations’ or is that hyperbole?
Lorenzo Fertitta says that if fighters want to create a union, go ahead. How fast would he be able to break up a union in MMA?
With all the love given to Melvin Guillard these days, just how many people giving him such love are willing to bet anything of value to them that he won’t make a dumb mistake in a fight like he has in the past?
Seeing reports that Fedor may retire after a couple of more fights to become a part of a pro-Putin, pro-Kremlin political party, how long will his mystique as a fighter hold up in the years after his retirement?
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Talk Radio: Can UFC 115 draw 400,000 PPV buys?
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2010
Card line-up for UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia on Saturday, June 12th
The Chuck Liddell/Rich Franklin fight is next week. I know. It’s one of those cards that would have been on Spike TV, but I think it’s going to have a tough time in terms of fan interest (on PPV). Locally, in Canada, it will be a huge story and I expect the media blitz to be crazy hot.
The setup for this passage from Wednesday’s Observer radio show is this — with an audience that is burned out, can this show draw 400,000 PPV buys or more given that people spent money to buy UFC 114 and may be saving up to buy the July event with Brock Lesnar?
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “And Rich Franklin is in as the coach. He’ll be fighting Chuck Liddell on June 12th.”
DAVE MELTZER: “And there’s a mystery coach that’s going to be announced on next week’s show. Next week is a two hour show so I guess it’s the last two episodes.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Yeah.”
DAVE MELTZER: “So, in actuality, you’re really only getting one week, because I mean Franklin showed up literally at the last minute of the show this week. He shows up. So, you’re really… if next week is the final two episodes where they’re going to show both semi-finals, you really only have one week of Rich Franklin on television which is… When you think about it, it’s kind of silly.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Yeah.”
DAVE MELTZER: “What was the point of replacing him?”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Well, you had to get…”
DAVE MELTZER: “I mean it was three or four weeks of television that you could get out of those five days, that’s one thing. But when you’re talking about one week of television?”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Well at least Rich is on TV for a week because otherwise it would be Chuck and Tito continuing to build up a fight that’s not going to happen and then just…”
DAVE MELTZER: “You know what? It may very well happen at the end of this year.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “But it’s not happening June 12th.”
DAVE MELTZER: “And people have already seen with (Matt) Hughes and (Matt) Serra which was 17 months later and with Quinton (Jackson) and Rashad (Evans) which was, you know, six months later, that as long as you end up doing the fight you’re still going to make the money.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Sure, but you may as well get Rich on TV for a week as opposed to not getting on TV at all.”
DAVE MELTZER: “A week? I mean, yeah, I kind of understand. You know, a week is better than nothing but I would have thought that they would have least tried to get like you know tried to get three weeks out of it.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Yeah, well that’s Tito’s fault.”
DAVE MELTZER: “It really is a fight with almost no build-up. I mean, it’s… you know it’s like the coaches’ fight that really hardly is.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Yeah.”
For the record, on a separate note, I am flabbergasted at anyone thinking that the business UFC 114 did was somehow below expectations. There’s somehow, for some reason, spin that because it was Memorial Day weekend that this prevented people from buying the UFC 114 show. The UFC 114 show did just fine, thank you very much.
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Independent World MMA Rankings – June 3, 2010
By Zach Arnold | June 3, 2010
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
June 3, 2010 – The June 2010 Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple MMA web sites, as well as www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form an independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Head Kick Legend).
Note: Quinton Jackson, who was previously ineligible to be ranked due to 12 months of inactivity, has regained his eligibility to be ranked as a result of his recent return to competition.
June 2010 Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on June 1, 2010
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Shane Carwin (12-0)
4. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
5. Alistair Overeem (33-11, 1 No Contest)
6. Junior dos Santos (11-1)
7. Frank Mir (13-5)
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 1 No Contest)
9. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
10. Brett Rogers (10-2)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4)
2. Lyoto Machida (16-1)
3. Rashad Evans (15-1-1)
4. Quinton Jackson (30-8)
5. Anderson Silva (25-4)
6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
7. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-0)
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3)
9. Gegard Mousasi (28-3-1)
10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Jake Shields (25-4-1)
3. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
4. Nathan Marquardt (29-9-2)
5. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
6. Dan Henderson (25-8)
7. Demian Maia (12-1)
8. Robbie Lawler (17-5, 1 No Contest)
9. Yushin Okami (24-5)
10. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (12-2, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)
2. Jon Fitch (22-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (15-4)
5. Paulo Thiago (13-1)
6. Nick Diaz (22-7, 1 No Contest)
7. Dan Hardy (23-7, 1 No Contest)
8. Matt Hughes (44-7)
9. Paul Daley (23-9-2)
10. Matt Serra (10-6)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. Frankie Edgar (12-1)
2. B.J. Penn (15-6-1)
3. Gilbert Melendez (18-2)
4. Kenny Florian (13-4)
5. Eddie Alvarez (20-2)
6. Shinya Aoki (23-5, 1 No Contest)
7. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
9. Ben Henderson (12-1)
10. Tyson Griffin (14-2)
Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (17-1)
2. Manny Gamburyan (11-4)
3. Urijah Faber (23-4)
4. Mike Brown (23-6)
5. Hatsu Hioki (21-4-2)
6. Bibiano Fernandes (8-2)
7. Marlon Sandro (16-1)
8. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)
9. Michihiro Omigawa (10-8-1)
10. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (18-4)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
4. Miguel Torres (37-3)
5. Scott Jorgensen (10-3)
6. Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2)
7. Damacio Page (15-4)
8. Masakatsu Ueda (11-1-2)
9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2)
10. Rani Yahya (15-6)
The Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until his first fight in the new weight class has taken place.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
Special thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett Bailey for designing our logo.
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