Author: Ben Fowlkes

The MMA Wrap-Up returns to take a look back at a rough night in Calgary after UFC 149 delivered a pay-per-view snoozefest at premium prices. It’s not the first time we’ve had this conversation recently, but who’s to blame and how do we fix it? Those are the tougher questions, and ones that might require a combination of different answers.

With UFC 149 just hours away, time to look at the big questions, concerns, doubts and fears before a big night in Calgary.

I. Even with all Urijah Faber’s skills, charisma is still one of the best things he has going for him. Should Faber lose this interim title fight with Renan Barao, I suspect the UFC will still find a way to slide him into a fight with Dominick Cruz somewhere down the line. We’ve seen all the ways this can be accomplished. Maybe Faber wins one more against a barely credible bantamweight, then gets the title shot against Cruz he was promised after their TUF coaching stints. Or, if Cruz drops the belt to Barao, he and Faber fight to settle their trilogy and determine who still matters at 135 pounds. My point is, Faber’s not fading out any time soon, largely because people like him and will pay to see him. At least in the North American market, he’s probably the only UFC bantamweight you can say that about right now. He was the WEC’s biggest selling point back when it had precious few of them, and he’s still the most recognizable MMA fighter below the 155-pound division. It helps that he’s also an excellent fighter. But then, so is Cruz, and the last time he defended his title without the benefit of Faber’s fame to help sell the card, the UFC gave it away for free on Versus. It’s nice to be good. But for sheer staying power in the fight business, it’s even better to be popular.

---

---

II. What are we supposed to make of Barao’s streak, anyway? As you’ve no doubt been reminded by the endless UFC 149 hype reels over the last couple weeks, Barao hasn’t lost in a little while. And by a little while, I mean his pro debut back in 2005. Not all of his wins since then have come against household names (not unless you happen to live in the same household as “Dande Dande,” who Barao beat in his fourth pro fight), but the last few have. His first-round submission of Brad Pickett back in November was a highlight reel unto itself, and his decision win over Scott Jorgensen proved that he can wrestle a little bit when he has to, and we all know that’s the cover price for entry into the upper echelon of just about any division in the UFC. But let’s not kid ourselves, Barao’s winning streak is padded at least a little bit. How could it not be? Back when Faber was fighting guys like Ivan Menjivar and Bibiano Fernandes, Barao was beating up on the likes of Gleison Menezes (3-6) and Danilo Noronha (6-9). It’s still impressive that he managed to go seven years without a loss, and you have to admire something a guy who lost his pro debut and then decided that he didn’t care for that feeling and did not wish to repeat it. That said, until we see what he can do against a vet like Faber, let’s maintain some perspective on the streak. It works far better as a marketing ploy than a predictor of future results.

III. Speaking of marketing gimmicks, here’s where I would usually launch into a tirade about the pointlessness of an interim title — especially one that might very well go undefended. But I’m not going to do that, because you’ve heard it enough by now, and either you already know that the belt Faber and Barao are fighting for is nothing but a decoration piece that will, by itself, leave the winner of it completely unfulfilled, or else you still cling to the illusion that interim titles mean something, in which case there is no hope for you.

IV. If you haven’t already, go watch UFC.com’s weight-cutting video with Faber. I’m not sure what’s more disturbing: how much he truly resembles Skeletor by the time he gets down to 135 pounds, or how little that seems to bother him.

V. Hector Lombard does not play well with others, and that’s okay. Over the years, he’s developed a reputation for being a somewhat difficult sparring partner (just ask Josh Barnett), and in the lead-up to his first UFC fight he’s made it very clear to media members that he plans to be just as difficult an interview subject. Some fighters are always getting asked how they manage to turn it on when it’s time to hurt another human being for money. I doubt anyone wonders that with Lombard, since he never seems to turn it off. That, plus his undeniable skills in the cage, make him an interesting addition to the UFC’s middleweight division. You know how people on reality shows are constantly saying that they aren’t there to make friends? Lombard seems almost as if he’s specifically aiming to make enemies, and not in the gimmicky Chael Sonnen way, either. If I’m Tim Boetsch right now, I’m not sure I’d be expecting a friendly glove tap to start this one off.

VI. Of all the fighters affected by the constant reshuffling on this card, Cheick Kongo might have gotten the worst deal of all. The big Frenchman went from fighting an aging MMA legend in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to a relative newcomer in Shawn Jordan. What’s worse, the switch didn’t even result in a significantly easier fight for Kongo. Jordan might be nowhere near as famous as Big Nog, but the former LSU fullback is a dangerous style match-up for Kongo, and at a time when he could really use a win over a big name. Something tells me that in this one he’ll face an uphill struggle just to get any sort of victory — and to stay conscious.

VII. Of all the fighters who stepped in to cover for their injured comrades, Brian Ebersole probably has the most to lose. You can’t help but respect his willingness to turn around and take this fight just a few weeks after a hard-earned decision win over T.J. Wadlburger. Ebersole is definitely getting that paper, and endearing himself to his employers in the process. The thing is, beating James Head doesn’t do much else for his career right now. We already know he wants to move to lightweight, and we know he wants to jump right into the title picture when he gets there. This fight will help pad his bank account, but if he looks at it as just a little extra freelance work he could easily wake up tomorrow morning with all his momentum gone.

The Twitter Mailbag is back and ready to ignore your misspellings and confusing syntax in order to get to the beating, bloody heart of your MMA questions. In this installment, we sort through the depressing realities of the Strikeforce situation, examine the stakes for some main card fighters at UFC 149, and heap more scorn upon the practice of creating interim titles that go undefended.

If you’ve got a question of your own, I’m on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA and I’ve been told I’m an excellent listener. Mostly that’s because I zone out while other people are talking, but whatever. Let us begin. Who’s first?

Luke Williamson @ltw0303
@benfowlkesMMA Whats your take on the whole Zuffa/Showtime deal ? Dana says Gil and Luke shouldnt be discouraged but how can you not be ?

Mr. White is engaging in some self-serving reasoning here. As he told Ariel Helwani when he acknowledged the facts of the Strikeforce/Showtime situation and then proceeded to act as if that had been public knowledge since the beginning (it wasn’t), he doesn’t think there’s any reason for guys like Luke Rockhold and Gilbert Melendez to be depressed about being stuck in Strikeforce because, hey, they get to be champions and get paid. What’s there to be upset about? The problem is, White has spent the last decade telling everyone who would listen that the UFC is the only promotion that matters, that it’s the biggest show in MMA, and that champions from other organizations haven’t fought the best until they’ve fought in the UFC. He made those points forcefully and he made them often. He can’t unmake them now that he’s facing some inconvenient questions about the fate of Strikeforce fighters.

Obviously, Strikeforce fighters are getting screwed. They know it and so do we. Their options have been severely limited by forces beyond their control. In order for them to have a shot at moving to the UFC and testing themselves on the biggest stage against the best in the world, they have to wait for Showtime to get out of the MMA business, or at least out of the Strikeforce business. That’s a miserable position to be in, because TV executives can afford to be a lot more patient than pro fighters, who often have the professional lifespans of mayflies. If you tell them that they have to hang around in Zuffa’s JV organization (and don’t kid yourself, that’s exactly what it is) all because of a deal that doesn’t benefit them in any way, how can you expect them to be anything other than extremely depressed? Frankly, I’m amazed that the entire Strikeforce roster hasn’t been driven to drink by now.

tony woods @tonywoodsnc
@benfowlkesMMA where would a victory over Lombard put Boetsch?

On a slightly higher plane of the same purgatory that he’s currently in. Even if he knocks out Lombard in the first round, I don’t see him getting an immediate title shot because of it. It’s far more likely that fans would regard a Boetsch victory as a sign that Lombard was over-hyped rather than Boetsch being under-appreciated. That’s the hard part about fighting the hot new UFC acquisition. The best Boetsch can hope for is to knock Lombard out of the title shot sweepstakes, then hope that he can stick around long enough to get second or even third dibs on a crack at the champion. Can he pull it off? Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

wb @wiksenn
@benfowlkesMMA what’s the point of having an interim title when the interim champion isn’t on planning to defend it?

There isn’t one. When guys like Carlos Condit win the interim strap and take it home with them (or if Renan Barao follows through on his stated plan to do the same thing), it makes it painfully clear that the interim title is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. It’s a physical manifestation of the number one contender spot, and nothing besides. That doesn’t make the Urijah Faber vs. Barao fight any less interesting, but it does make me wish that the UFC would present it for what it is. Better to have a first-rate contender fight than a second-rate fake title fight.

Aaron Daane @aarondaane
@benfowlkesMMA you hate TRT, as do I, but who makes it go away – Dana, Keith Kizer, fighter’s union (yeah, right), CSAC, Lorenzo? #tmbq

I initially hoped that the Nevada Athletic Commission would be shamed into at least tightening up the requirements for a therapeutic-use exemption, maybe even doing something about the ridiculous 6:1 threshold for testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratios (most other regulatory bodies use 4:1). But with Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen and now Forrest Griffin, the rate of TUE application approval seems to be increasing rather than decreasing in Nevada.

So fine, forget Nevada. It didn’t become America’s haven for prize fighting and gambling because of its willingness to adopt tougher regulations than nearby states. If the commission won’t get tough on testosterone use, I think it’s up to the UFC. It has the power to tell its fighters to stop applying for TUEs and start making do with the testosterone they have rather than the testosterone they want. It also has a good reason to do so, since this spotlight is only going to get hotter.

I think a lot of fighters have developed a bizarrely entitled attitude about TRT. They think that if the commission gives them permission to do it, that should be the end of the discussion. It isn’t. Fans and media are always going to be suspicious when a thirty-something pro athlete with a body that looks like something out of a supplement ad (and not the ‘before’ picture, either) claims he has abnormally low testosterone, necessitating medical intervention. I’ve talked to several endocrinologists about this, including Dr. Don Catlin, the father of modern anti-doping science, and I’ve yet to talk to one who thinks there’s actually something to this rash of hypogonadism in the MMA ranks. They all say that the most likely explanation for low testosterone in fighters (assuming they really do have that problem to begin with) is past steroid abuse. And if that is the case, why should they get a free pass from the commission to avoid the consequences of their own behavior? Why should a cheating past earn you an advantage in the present?

I think what’s really going to decide the future of TRT in MMA is the reaction from fans and (clean) fighters. I was encouraged to see Tito Ortiz speak out after he learned that he’d just been beaten by a guy on some extra hormones. I hope more fighters will come out against it. I also hope fans keep the pressure on fighters who use it. If these guys realize that getting a TRT exemption means being looked at with doubt and suspicion for the rest of their careers, maybe it won’t seem worth it anymore.

j m @cubbiezfan80
@benfowlkesMMA what do u think of an all female TUF cast to develop challengers for @RondaRousey #TMB

I think it would take something closer to a top-secret government training program.

Tommy Ahlering @tahlering
@benfowlkesMMA most promising young prospect at their respective weight class: rory McDonald; Chris weidman, or Michael McDonald?

For starters, Weidman is 28 and, after his savage TKO of Mark Munoz, no longer just a prospect. Let’s take him off the list and start again. In the battle of the two McDonalds, who’s most likely to be a champ some time soon? That’s a tough one, because we haven’t seen much in the way of vulnerability from either of them. If you’re forcing me to choose, however, and it kind of seems like you are, I’ll put my money on Rory McDonald to get to the mountaintop first. He just might have to wait until his teammate retires first.

Jared McKenzie @TheRealChael
@benfowlkesMMA is the ufc ruining the career and potential of legacy for guys like Luke Rockhold and Gil Melendez by not bringing them over?

‘Ruining’ is a strong word. I might use ‘hampering’ instead. Maybe even ‘restricting.’ It’s definitely a bad deal for them, and one you have to think they wouldn’t have agreed to if they knew exactly how this was going to play out. Here they are, in what might be their best years as fighters, and they aren’t getting the chance to test themselves against the best. They also aren’t getting the chance to build up a real fan base and make the big money that comes with UFC stardom, and all because of a contractual situation that they can’t do much about. You know how Dana White loves to make the argument that teammates should fight each other because 1) they’re all in this to be the best, and 2) they have a limited window in which to make their money as pro athletes? Go tell that to Rockhold and Melendez right now. Then stand back and watch the angry veins in their foreheads explode.

Scott @140sNotEnough
@benfowlkesMMA Think Chael can talk Rampage into signing a new contract, then making him wish he hadn’t?

I wonder whether “Rampage” Jackson can talk the UFC into offering him a new one at this point. He’s been more trouble than he’s worth lately, especially because he seems to think that he is worth a whole hell of a lot for a few mediocre performances followed by an endless series of complaints.

Jeremy Sexton @jeremysexton
@benfowlkesMMA We all know your stance on TRT. How do you feel about the surgery Nick Diaz had to prevent cuts & what’s the difference?

Here’s one important difference: none of Diaz’s opponents are more likely to be hurt by him as a result of his surgery. The only thing it means to them is that they’re less likely to win via doctor’s stoppage/get bathed in his blood, and I can’t see how they could possibly complain about either. It also makes him safer, since it ultimately decreases the amount of scar tissue he’ll have to carry around on his already, well, let’s say well-traveled face.

TRT, on the other hand, involves injecting a powerful synthetic hormone that helps make athletes stronger, faster, and more resilient. That’s an advantage both in training camp and in the fight. Would you want to fight someone who had been shooting up a substance that made it easier for him to bounce out of bed on mornings when you could barely drag yourself to the gym? Would you want him combining the experience he’s gained in the cage with the hormones he hasn’t had since he was 21 as he punches you in the head? My guess is you’d feel that he was getting an unfair advantage, and one that put you in greater peril. The same can’t be said for Diaz’s facial surgery, which does nothing but decrease the amount of blood on the floor at the end of the night.

Brent Lee Smith @VisorBrent
@benfowlkesMMA You’re the best of all time in a martial art transitioning into MMA. You’ve only trained in that single discipline. Which 1?

Wrestling. Simply because if you don’t have it, your chances of getting to use any other martial art when and how you want to are pretty dismal.

Andre Harrison @Harrison101HD
@benfowlkesMMA Should the UFC fear that Anderson Silva will keep fighting until someone like a Weidman/Munoz/Lombard beats him?

Why would that be anything to fear? That’s how the fight business works. At this point, Silva’s legacy is more or less untouchable (unless he goes all Brett Favre and embarrasses himself outside the sport). He’s the greatest middleweight who ever lived, and quite possibly the greatest fighter in MMA history. If he keeps fighting until a younger fighter eventually beats him, I think we’ll write it off as a natural consequence of age and move on from there. The worst thing the UFC could do is shield him from tough competition. The champ should take on all comers, which is exactly what Silva has done. Just because he might not be able to do it indefinitely, that’s nothing to fear.

Jason Rule @JasonRule
@benfowlkesMMA Kos vs Ellenberger was announced. Who do you see winning this one and what would the win do for either one of em?

I give the slight edge to Jake Ellenberger, mainly because Josh Koscheck has started to look like a man who’s just going through the motions lately. His loss to Johny Hendricks and his win over Mike Pierce both seemed like uninspired performances. Even if he wins, he has to know that nothing short of a sudden GSP retirement and/or an act of God would land him in a title shot while he’s still young enough to capitalize on it. As it is, he’s closing in on 35 years old and facing a crop of UFC welterweights who are no longer living in fear of his takedowns. Ellenberger is younger, quicker, and hungrier than he is, none of which bodes well for Koscheck.

Jay Dera @JayGettit
@benfowlkesMMA why should anyone sign with Strikeforce knowing that it’s a dead end with no way of going to the UFC? #mailbag

For the same reason that Nate Marquardt did: a lack of better options.

Tony Fortune, Ph.D. @toneloc2424
@benfowlkesMMA Do u agree with Hector Lombard that your buddy Ariel tries to stir up things between fighters? #twittermailbag

This is an accusation that gets tossed at my old pal Helwani from time to time, but one that I’d expect a person with a doctorate degree to see right through, Mr. Fortune. Helwani interviews fighters, and part of his job is asking the questions that fans want answers to. Asking other, more established UFC middleweights how they feel about a guy like Lombard coming into the UFC and possibly getting a title shot with only one win inside the Octagon is a totally legitimate question. If Lombard doesn’t like the answer, he should get mad at the person who gave it — not the person who asked the question.

When fighters accuse Ariel of “instigating” beefs between fighters, it makes me think that they don’t understand what constitutes a good interview. Ariel isn’t there to be a guidance counselor and make sure everyone gets along. He’s there to find out what people really think about the MMA landscape around them. Not surprisingly, some fighters think other fighters suck, or aren’t deserving of the opportunities they’ve been given, and they aren’t afraid to say so. If Ariel were making up information and using it to get fighters to blow their lids, then he’d be guilty of stirring up trouble. But that isn’t what he does, and everyone who pays attention to his interviews knows it. If you’re a fighter, you won’t get a fairer shake from anyone with a microphone. What you do with those few minutes in front of the camera — and who you upset in the process — is entirely on you.

Ashley Amey @Ash_Amey
@benfowlkesMMA Should BJJ be an Olympic event? How awesome would that be?! #tmb

Short answer: totally awesome. While I’m in no hurry to see a watered-down version of MMA complete with headgear and shinpads added to the Olympic roster, I see no reason why jiu-jitsu shouldn’t be in there. The Olympics already has wrestling and judo, so why not some submission grappling of one kind or another? It’s a whole lot safer than ski jumping and horseback riding, and it’s easy enough on the competitors that maybe even a few famous fighters would be tempted to get in on the act for a chance at a gold medal (not to mention the opportunity to meet a beautiful track star from a foreign land; just saying, when you don’t speak the same language you have to assume you like each other and go from there). The same fighters who wouldn’t want to get punched in the head for free might not have the same reservations about getting choked or armbarred for the sake of national pride.

UFC 149 has seen its share of reshuffling, but we still have some interesting match-ups and tantalizing betting lines to sort through. Where should you put your money on Saturday night? Well, probably in a bank, if you want to be responsible about it, but that’s no fun. Instead, let’s take a look at some great opportunities to get rich or cry trying.

Urijah Faber (+160) vs. Renan Barao (-200)

Surprised to see a permanent contender like Faber as an underdog, even to “a monster” like Barao? You aren’t alone. As my podcast co-host Chad Dundas declared upon hearing the juicy line on Faber: “I take that walking away.” Yeah, I’m still not entirely sure what that means. What I do know is that on one hand you’ve got Faber, whose only losses in the last two years have come against Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz. On the other hand you’ve got Barao, whose biggest win so far was against Brad Pickett. True, Barao showed off some decent defensive wrestling skills in his decision win over Scott Jorgensen, but it’s going to take more than a good sprawl to get through five rounds with Faber, who’s among the best in MMA when it comes to mid-fight adjustments. Barao has finishing power, and maybe even some Jose Aldo-inspired leg kicks to bother Faber with, but Faber has tons of high-level experience and a deep toolbox to draw from. And, at 33 years old, this could very well be Faber’s last chance to fight his way into a (real) UFC title bout. He has to win. As a young scamp of 25, Barao has other options.
My pick: Faber. The line is too good for me not to take a chance on a crafty vet like “The California Kid.” Even though he’s rapidly approaching the point where he’ll have to change his nickname to “The California Middle-Aged Man.”

Hector Lombard (-310) vs. Tim Boetsch (+240)

Clearly, this is a fight that most people are expecting Lombard to win. And he should, when you think about it. He’s supposed to be the judo-infused knockout artist coming over to make his mark in the UFC. And Boetsch? He’s the mid-level light heavyweight who became a mid-level middleweight, and who just won’t go away no matter what the UFC throws at him. But that’s what gives me pause when picking this one. Or at least, that’s one of the things. Boetsch isn’t flashy and often isn’t even all that exciting. But even when you think you’ve got him beat, as Yushin Okami did, he can surprise you. Nothing is easy with this guy. You factor in the possibility of Octagon jitters for Lombard, and you might be looking at an upset in the making. Or you might be looking at a guy who is too slow and too predictable to be anything other than knockout bait for the UFC newcomer.
My pick: Lombard. If we’re making straight picks, he’s the guy who should win. With these odds, Boetsch becomes considerably more attractive, but let’s be honest that we’re really betting that Lombard will be diminished by the pressure of his first fight in the UFC. That’s worth small action with a line like this, but I’d tread softly if I were you.

Cheick Kongo (+105) vs. Shawn Jordan (-135)

Jordan is one of those six-footers who almost looks like he might be better off at light heavyweight, but who might lose his speed advantage (and the ability to eat what he pleases) if he made the move. He took this one on relatively short notice after Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira decided his arm wasn’t battle ready after all, and now he steps in as a favorite against an opponent who’ll have nearly a half a foot on him in height. When you look at Kongo’s recent record, however, it’s not so hard to understand. He got knocked out by Mark Hunt, won a very forgettable staring contest against Matt Mitrione, and somehow came back from the brink of unconsciousness to KO Pat Barry. On paper, that’s a respectable 2-1 run, but no one who actually saw those fights came away feeling like Kongo was finally putting it all together. Jordan has the power to put him out and the athleticism to keep from being Kongo’d up against the fence for three rounds. The only question is whether he’s really ready for this bout, and whether he had enough time to prepare for it.
My pick: Jordan. My guess is you might be able to find better odds if you look around some, but regardless, nothing Kongo has done lately should inspire a lot of confidence in a betting man.

Brian Ebersole (-400) vs. James Head (+300)

Remember when Ebersole was all, ‘Hey, I’m going to drop to lightweight and fight a big name and beat him when I wake up the next morning they’ll be throwing title shots at me and the world will be a beautiful place’? I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point. Turns out that didn’t happen, or at least it hasn’t happened yet, and instead he gets the chance to fill in as a welterweight for the injured Claude Patrick. The good news? This is a very, very winnable fight for Ebersole, as the odds suggest, and a chance to make some quick coin against a fighter who has yet to distinguish himself against anyone who matters in the UFC. The bad news? If you lose a fight like that, it knocks you way down the ranks way too quickly. There’s more to lose than gain here for Ebersole, in other words, but few reasons to think he won’t win just as convincingly as expected.
My pick: Ebersole. I’ll throw him in my parlay just for fun, but that’s all.

Chris Clements (+120) vs. Matt Riddle (-150)

Riddle took this fight after Siyar Bahadurzada pulled out (a move that may have saved Clements’s life, or at least his face) and is now somehow the favorite despite a UFC career that has been, to put it gently, unspectacular. He’s big for the division, though not terribly quick for it, and his wins have often left much to be desired. He’s a nice guy, and a thoroughly likable one, but he’s starting to seem like one of those fighters who we want to be better than he is. Clements may not have set the MMA world on fire lately, but he does have a decent win streak going against a series of mid-level fighters. It’s likely that his Canadian-ness is what’s mostly responsible for his placement on this card, but it’s also not unreasonable to think that he could deliver a win over the American for his countrymen on Saturday night, based on his striking and Riddle’s complete willingness to be struck.
My pick: Clements. Why not? He already caught one stroke of good luck with Bahadurzada being pulled. Maybe it’s a sign that someone up there likes him.

Crazy Internet Prop Bet That Could Make You Rich: Faber wins in round five (+2000)
You like Faber’s chances to wear the Brazilian down and put him away at the last minute? Then consider small action for a big payoff.

The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only Parlay’: Faber + Jordan + Ebersole + Clements

I can’t help but feel a little bit bad for the fans who snapped up tickets to UFC 149 back when they first went on sale in early May. Knowing how passionate Canadian MMA fans are, especially when it’s the UFC’s first trip to their home city, I can’t help but imagine hordes of Calgarians (Calgaryites?) eagerly coughing up their credit card numbers for the chance to see a major UFC event live and up close. And, at least at the time, it was a major UFC event. Now it’s more of a patchwork quilt, though one not without some limited appeal.

I don’t know about you, but I’d almost forgotten that, at one point in the not so distant past, Thiago Alves and Yoshihiro Akiyama were slated for a UFC 149 bout. So were “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva, and so were Tim Boetsch and Michael Bisping. It’s easy to remember that this card used to be headlined by a title fight between Jose Aldo and Erik Koch (we were so young and so innocent back then), but who among you still recalls the time when we thought we’d see Bibiano Fernandes on this fight card? Or Siyar Bahadurzada? Oh, how wrong we were.

After that emotional rollercoaster, I’m not sure how ticket-holders are supposed to feel about their purchase now. They went from a featherweight title fight to a bantamweight interim title fight, all while every single main card fight got switched around at least once. It makes you wonder, are they still getting what they paid for? And at what point does the phrase ‘fight card subject to change’ start to feel like a threat rather than a disclaimer?

The good news for the fight fans of Alberta is that, while this card has undoubtedly lost some firepower, it’s still got a genuinely compelling main event. Urijah Faber taking on Renan Barao (who is, according to the commercials that ran on a maddening loop during last week’s UFC on FUEL TV 4 event, “a monster”) is definitely a fight worth paying for. That’s true even without the completely fabricated interim belt on the line, which in the context of this event feels even more like an unnecessary marketing gimmick than usual.

I’m no fan of interim titles in general, mostly because I was always under the impression that the great thing about a championship belt was the fact that only one existed in each weight class. To get it, you typically had to take it from the champion, creating a clean, satisfying little timeline of dominance. Once you start creating extra titles for the sake of convenience, you almost defeat the entire purpose of having a championship belt. And if the interim champ is just going to hold onto his title until the real champ is healthy enough to put the genuine article back into circulation (and let’s be honest, that’s what’s most likely to happen with the Faber-Barao winner) it only makes the entire exercise feel even more ridiculous.

The worst part is, in this instance, you really don’t need it. Anyone who isn’t already upset over the many, many changes to this fight card probably doesn’t need a fake title to keep them interested. And anyone who is bummed out about all the great fights that have evaporated in the two months since tickets went on sale is probably not going to have their enthusiasm restored by a pretty meaningless hunk of metal and leather. Seriously, do you think the winner of the Barao-Faber fight is going to party it up in the Calgary bars that night, declaring himself the UFC bantamweight champ? Or do you think he’s going to nod politely at the belt and put it in a closet somewhere until he gets the chance to fight Dominick Cruz for the real one?

UFC 149 might be, in many ways, one of the UFC’s most cursed fight cards. Injuries and bizarre contractual situations prompted one reshuffling after another. The product that fans will get to see on Saturday night bears only a vague resemblance to the one they originally paid for. Then again, maybe the people who show up to see it won’t even care all that much. Maybe they don’t need to be tricked with fake belts and shouted promises. Maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they can tell the difference between a stacked card and a pieced together one, just like they can tell the difference between a title fight and a number one contender bout.

The citizens of Calgary might not be getting exactly what they thought they paid for on Saturday night, but they ought to still get something worth their money once Faber and Barao step in the cage. If only we could stop pretending and call it what it is, we might discover that we appreciate it a little more.

It may not have been the biggest fight card to ever hit the Rose City, but Portland got a taste of some surprisingly strong MMA action with Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy event. Now that the belts have been handed out and the cuts sewn shut, who are our biggest winners, losers, and everything in between? I’m so glad you asked.

Biggest Winner: Nate Marquardt
After more than a year out of action, he came back to the cage and knocked out an undefeated up-and-comer to claim the Strikeforce welterweight title. And just like that, Nate the Great is back in the conversation. When last we saw him, he was a small-ish middleweight out-pointing Dan Miller in the UFC. Now he’s a powerhouse of a welterweight with finishing power and the disposition to use it. He looked spectacular as he put away Tyron Woodley with elbows and uppercuts. Maybe he even looked a little too spectacular for a guy who, this time last year, was telling everyone that he suffered from chronically low testosterone levels. If what we saw on Saturday night was Marquardt performing at his natural hormone levels, it’s hard to imagine that he could have ever really been as crippled by testosterone deficiency as he once claimed. It’s also hard not to wonder how many big fights he’ll need to win before his post-TRT career drowns out the controversy that came before it, and whether Strikeforce is capable of supplying him with enough serious contenders to make that possible. If he keeps performing like he did on Saturday, he may cut through the roster faster than Strikeforce can replenish it.

Biggest Loser: Tim Kennedy
He’s one of MMA’s true good guys, so it hurts to admit this, but he might have just seen his last best chance at a major title evaporate in excruciating fashion. I’m not sure if Kennedy really expected to hear his name called when that fight went to the judges. He clearly lost at least three of the five rounds, if not more, and he never displayed a real sense of urgency in the later rounds. The look on his face as the decision was announced seemed to suggest that he thought he got robbed, but that’s becoming a less convincing look the more Kennedy uses it. In his first Strikeforce title fight with “Jacare” Souza, okay, he could make that case. But not here. If Kennedy didn’t know he was down on points, he should have. He also should have known that when you lose two title fights in two years, and when you’re as vocal and as honest about your dissatisfaction with your employer as he’s been lately (not without cause, but still), it might not play well for you in the end. Kennedy needed to win that fight. Failing that, he needed to at least look like he knew how badly he needed to win that fight. Instead, he spent too much time playing catch-up, hanging back and waiting for Rockhold to go first. He had openings here and there, but Rockhold closed them quickly and Kennedy continued to fight as if he had an infinite number of rounds to work with. If that were true, Kennedy the Cardio Machine might be champ right now. But isn’t, so he’s not.

Best Prospect/Best Public Plea: Lorenz Larkin
Here’s the rare situation where a drop in weight might have been precisely what was needed. After being manhandled by Mo Lawal at light heavyweight, Larkin dropped to middleweight and looked great in a decision win over Robbie Lawler. He mixed it up well on the feet, shoved Lawler around some when they tied up or battled on the mat, and even landed several hard shots that might have polished off lesser 185-pounders. Even better, he made good use of his post-fight interview time, getting down on his knees and begging UFC president Dana White to institute the UFC’s bonus system for Strikeforce events. And why not? As long as Zuffa is going to try and sell us on the notion that Strikeforce is not a second-tier promotion, and as long as it’s going to lock down great fighters like Gilbert Melendez and refuse to let them move to the UFC, why shouldn’t these competitors get the same financial incentives to excite and entertain that we see in the UFC? Larkin made the case forcefully, yet without being a jerk about it, reminding the UFC prez that “we’re your family too.” You have to admit that he has a point. Even if Zuffa so often treats the Strikeforce fighters like step-children who need only be tolerated a little while longer.

Most in Need of a Change of Scenery: Luke Rockhold
The victory over Kennedy didn’t provide much material for his highlight reel, but that’s almost to be expected. He still notched a fairly clear-cut decision, which is more than you can say for most of Kennedy’s opponents. The question for Rockhold is, as it is for all Strikeforce champs, now what? Sure, he could rematch Souza, but don’t expect that fight to set many hearts aflame. Strikeforce could also promote a middleweight from further down the food chain to come up and get a mostly unearned shot, but that probably won’t make Rockhold happy. Then there’s the persistent pipe dream that some stalled out middleweight from the UFC will come over to Strikeforce and make things interesting. Of those possibilities, the Souza option is probably the likeliest, and also the least compelling. Every Strikeforce champ who holds onto a belt for any length of time has this to look forward to. There just isn’t enough fresh blood to prevent them from quickly dipping into reruns, and with good reason. If you were an up-and-coming fighter, watching from a distance as Strikeforce fighters are trapped and treated like an afterthought, would you want to sign on for it? Or would you rather wait for a shot in the UFC, maybe even Bellator, since that allows at least the hope of moving on to the big show some day? You can’t tell me that if Rockhold were a free agent right now, watching this championship dilemma befall someone other than himself, he’d be eager to join the Strikeforce family. Now that he’s already a member, all he can do is make the most of it.

So Close, Yet So Far: Tyron Woodley
His inexperience showed at times, but so did his raw ability. When he had Marquardt hurt, he failed to capitalize. When Marquardt had him hurt, he betrayed it just a little too much, growing tentative and reactive as he waited for something bad to happen. He still proved that he has some punching power to go along with his wrestling skills, and he also showed that he can take some punishment and come back with some of his own. It was probably the most exciting fight of his young career, even if he came out on the wrong end of it. As first losses go, this might have been the best kind to suffer through. Yes, he got knocked out, but he also gained some valuable cage time against a savvy vet. If he takes the right lessons from it, there’s no reason to think he won’t emerge better for having been through it.

Too Tough For His Own Good: Keith Jardine
Roger Gracie took him down, cut him open, but couldn’t put him away. Whether you see that as a consequence of Jardine’s heart or Gracie’s inexperience is up to you, but it seems obvious that Jardine is getting by on more toughness than skill these days. He’s good enough to hang around and take a beating against mid-level opposition, but the best career trajectory he can hope for at this point is a line that falls gradually rather than plummeting straight down. His best years are clearly behind him, so what’s he in it for? Money? A lack of better ideas? Neither is a particularly good reason to keep getting your skull thumped and your face sliced open, especially considering that he’s now pulling in Strikeforce cash rather than UFC paychecks. At the same time, when you see him still there in the third round, still swinging away with whatever he’s got left, it’s hard to tell him that he has to go home. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is more scar tissue than anything else. You’d like to see him retire of his own volition, but then you look around and see how few of his contemporaries possessed the necessary self-awareness to do the same. We care enough about the stars of this sport to sit them down when it’s time, but what about fighters like Jardine? He hasn’t beaten a name opponent in almost four years, and yet he’s got just enough grit and ability to hang around. It would almost be better if he went the Chuck Liddell route and turned into knockout bait all at once. At least then we’d know exactly what we were looking at. This slow, persistent decline of a fighter who never made the big money even on his biggest nights seems so much more painful to watch, and it’s not even over yet.