I’m not the kind of fight fan who believes losing a single bout, even if in shocking fashion, means a fighter is done and his potential lost. In a sport as erratic as mixed martial arts, favorites are going to lose, underdogs will sometimes preva…
I’m not the kind of fight fan who believes losing a single bout, even if in shocking fashion, means a fighter is done and his potential lost. In a sport as erratic as mixed martial arts, favorites are going to lose, underdogs will sometimes prevail and those guys you’ve never even heard of will leap to the forefront of things with an unbelievable victory.
That’s just the way this game works.
However, I may be in the minority. Oddly enough, it seems a large portion of “MMA fans” are eager to leap and declare an individual’s hype deceased upon first defeat. I suppose that’s the nature of the beast; you’re only as good as your last fight.
Note: While there are 12 fighters on this list, the overall slideshow consists of only 10 frames. The reason being is that a few of these fighters fall into what I would call a “TIE” category in that their respective derailments mirrored the significance of another’s to a T.
Back before fighters were well rounded the game was a crap shoot. For the UFC, the days of one dimensional fighters came to a close shortly after Zuffa purchased the promotion from Semaphore Entertainment Group in January of 2001. Back then fast hands,…
Back before fighters were well rounded the game was a crap shoot. For the UFC, the days of one dimensional fighters came to a close shortly after Zuffa purchased the promotion from Semaphore Entertainment Group in January of 2001.
Back then fast hands, sinister submissions or wrestling could get a fighter by. And I don’t mean a combination of the three, I mean mastering one single element alone. That seemed to suffice.
As primitive as combat may have been at the time, fans played witness to numerous highly entertaining bouts. A solid handful of men excelled back in the day, and that’s what this piece is all about: examining the golden age of the UFC’s existence.
Here’s a look at 20 of the toughest men to compete for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and their career’s pre-Zuffa. Nothing they’ve accomplished beyond December of 2000 inside the octagon is going to be factored into this list, so refrain from spilling into a rage when Mark Kerr doesn’t top the list!
2012 has been a tumultuous year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Injuries have called halt to more amazing bouts than can be counted, Brock Lesnar, one of the UFC’s largest financial draws, opted to remain retired from MMA after heavy rumo…
2012 has been a tumultuous year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Injuries have called halt to more amazing bouts than can be counted, Brock Lesnar, one of the UFC’s largest financial draws, opted to remain retired from MMA after heavy rumors took flight of a potential return. Failed drug tests, shelved champions, horrendous officiating, we’ve seen a little bit of everything this year.
2013 sure as hell isn’t guaranteed to be a superior year, but logic says that 2013 probably can’t get too much worse. Advancements in regards to drug testing are occurring before our eyes, new “danger” clauses are being inserted into contracts and, as of today, the majority of the promotion’s champions are healthy.
There is hope.
Outside of specific fight picks, I personally tend to steer clear of outlandish predictions, but I’ve got a funny feeling about the forthcoming year. So, I’m going to give it a go and toss out some extrapolations to mull over.
Rich Franklin entered the UFC ranks as a light heavyweight prospect with a wealth of steam behind his name but little “big league” experience. After brutalizing the late, great Evan Tanner at UFC 42, Franklin’s career would change dra…
Rich Franklin entered the UFC ranks as a light heavyweight prospect with a wealth of steam behind his name but little “big league” experience. After brutalizing the late, great Evan Tanner at UFC 42, Franklin’s career would change dramatically.
In less than two weeks, “Ace” will return to the Octagon (for the 20th time) as a seasoned veteran and former champion with some amazing wins under his belt. The only major question that hangs above the head of the 38-year-old Franklin is, how much is left?
Wars with Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva and YushinOkami have certainly taken there toll on Rich. A man who’s struggled to regain an identity in the sport, bouncing around from 205 pounds to 185 pounds to 195 pounds, it seems the former champion has lost his footing.
On November 10th, we’ll learn whether or not Franklin has taken strides to reinvent himself as a middleweight contender. But when facing a striker as dangerous as Cung Le, reinvention is no guarantee.
Unlike Rich, Cung Le enters this bout as a universal question mark in general. A stellar San Shou career (in which he went undefeated in 17 bouts) prepared Le for the landscape of mixed martial arts.
After bursting onto the scene in 2006, Le amassed a perfect 6-0 record before falling to Scott Smith in December of 2009. All of those bouts took place under the Strikeforce banner.
Le would bounce back and avenge the loss to Smith just six months later. Shortly thereafter, Le was recruited by UFC brass. He made his promotional debut at UFC 139 in a highly anticipated bout that saw the once beaten kickboxer challenge former Pride king, Wanderlei Silva.
For a round, things looked good for Le. But a fading gas tank enabled “The Axe Murderer” to take over the bout, eventually stopping Le with a plethora of vicious strikes (including some true vintage Wanderlei knees) before the second frame expired.
Since that bout, Le has yet again battled his way into the win column, handily outworking Patrick Cote at UFC 148. But a win over Patrick Cote isn’t a win over Rich Franklin, and to be blunt, it didn’t do too much to improve his divisional positioning.
Cung Le is still an enigma.
UFC on FUEL TV 6 offers Le a chance to change that status and bully his way into top-10 consideration once more. Toppling a former champion of Franklin’s caliber will provide a much clearer idea of the man’s capabilities.
And let’s be honest, at 40 years old, those capabilities deserve to be called into question. Le’s taken a strong fancy to the acting world (in fact, you can catch him in The Man with the Iron Fists, which opens in theaters tomorrow), and with three films shot inside this calendar year alone, one must wonder how much time he has to focus on MMA.
It’s tough to cut it as an elite mixed martial artist when all you do is eat, sleep, breathe and bleed the sport: Attempting to get a grasp on the additional challenges that come when moonlighting as an actor seems impossible.
Just the same, if Cung Le can prove that cinema hasn’t stolen his stride, and he can put Rich Franklin down and out, we’ve got a marquee name who will have reached a career pinnacle in a division with plenty of extremely relevant and intriguing matchups to be made.
For Le, it’s a chance to prove he’s capable of living up to the promise he’s long boasted. For Franklin, it’s an opportunity to remind fans that he’s one of the world’s finest competitors at 185 pounds.
A win for either man ensures more treacherous fights in the future. With Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman, Alan Belcher, Tim Boetsch and VitorBelfort clogging the contender list, there will be further “gimme fights” for either man.
The middleweight division has become a serious shark tank over the last few years. Whoever wins this bout, be it Le or Franklin, they’ll be forced to collide with the other killers who tip the scales at 185 pounds.
Interestingly enough, the loser of this match may find himself forced to tangle with the elite beasts as well. Franklin and Le put asses in seats, and that means big fights.
Come November 10th, Takanori Gomi and Mac Danzig will square off in a featured lightweight contest. The bout promises fireworks, as Danzig’s footwork is brilliant, and he’s showcased some sound boxing skills. Gomi, on the other hand, is a r…
Come November 10th, TakanoriGomi and Mac Danzig will square off in a featured lightweight contest. The bout promises fireworks, as Danzig’s footwork is brilliant, and he’s showcased some sound boxing skills. Gomi, on the other hand, is a refined brawler with enough power in his fists to render foes unconscious with a single blow.
These are aesthetically pleasing combatants who rarely turn in drab performances. They go for the gusto, and seek the finish. The term point fighting doesn’t seem to be in either man’s vocabulary.
Having said this, fully acknowledging the crowd-pleasing style that both bring to competition, neither man has managed to make serious waves within the division. To say that both men have failed to meet fan expectations, in regard to winning bouts, is a fair assessment.
Mac Danzig won the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Since stopping Tom Speer via submission to claim that title, Danzig has pieced together a sketchy 5-5 record fighting for the promotion.
In contrast, TakanoriGomi was able to leapfrog the TUF fiasco, making his debut at UFC Fight Night 21. Welcoming him to the largest promotion in the world was Kenny Florian, who upset the Japanese star’s debut by submitting him in the third round. Gomi has thus far amassed a 2-3 record inside the Octagon.
Each man can boast an impressive win or two during their UFC tenure: Gomi leveled Tyson Griffin at UFC Live 2, and Danzig put former title challenger Joe Stevenson to sleep with a picture-perfect punch at UFC 124.
Beyond these accolades, neither man has accomplished all that much. The case can be made that both men are on the downside of their careers. But if that’s the case, are they fit to compete with the absolute best in the world?
It should be noted that each man will enter this fight coming off of victorious performances inside the cage: Danzig picked up a unanimous decision over another former TUFwinner in Efrain Escudero at UFC 145, and Gomi stopped EijiMitsuoka with strikes at UFC 144.
Given Danzig’s exposure on The Ultimate Fighter, and Gomi’s legendary days fighting for pride, each man is worthy of a little leeway. However, Gomi sports a sub-.500 record while fighting under the famed Zuffa-owned banner, and Danzig sits right there at .500.
What the UFC clamors for is winners—marketable, flashy winners. Gomi may look profoundly dynamic in his attacks at times, but he’s missing the cushion that comes with solid success. The same could be said of Danzig.
If a fighter hopes to ensure longevity with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ultimately, he must win.
A loss for either man at UFC on FUEL TV 6 could potentially spell disaster. Gomi may be thrown a bone if he comes up short in this competition; his fanbase is still strong, and he represents a drawing power in Japan that Dana White and company certainly recognize.
Mac Danzig, on the other hand, may very well have his head resting on the chopping block. The lightweight division is packed with amazing talent, talent he’s unlikely to rival at this stage of his career, and he lacks the international appeal of “The Fireball Kid.”
While I’d prefer to see these two respectable warriors continue to hold a place on the UFC roster, there’s a very material chance that the loser of this bout picks up his walking papers. The greater danger looms over Danzig’s head, as a UFC record of 5-6 doesn’t typically cut it (sure, there are exceptions, but the majority of those exceptions are fighters who draw massive fan attention courtesy of brutally violent and highly entertaining affairs) these days.
However, Gomi certainly isn’t sitting in a safe position, and a loss in Macau could signal the end of Takanori’s UFC run. Like it or not, both of these men face the chopping block.
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As you probably know, Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and outspoken Chael Sonnen will host the Ultimate Fighter’s 17th season. Given Jones’ reputation as a despised champion, an…
As you probably know, Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and outspoken Chael Sonnen will host the Ultimate Fighter’s 17th season.
Given Jones’ reputation as a despised champion, and Sonnen’s unlikely rise—popularity due to his brash trash talk and spirited performances against middle weight champion Anderson Silva —the 17th spell of FX’s reality show should draw some respectable numbers, especially with a planned shift that will take TUF away from the doomed Friday night slot it currently employs.
But featuring Jones and Sonnen as opposing coaches will only go so far: specifically, a single season. Expect a big ratings boost from the 17th iteration of TUF, but what about when the dust has settled and the 17th season has reached closure?
What can we expect when the dust settles: more dwindling ratings and lack of interest?
Unfortunately, that’s probably the case. However, there are ways to save this show, and it all rests in the palm of Dana White and who he opts to enroll as future coaches.
I’m not the man with the master plan, but I’ve got a list of potential pairings that could see the show sustain the attention that Jones vs. Sonnen will muster.
