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Ronda Rousey vs. Cyborg: Why That Is the Fight That Matters Most for WMMA

So, now that it’s official and Ronda Rousey is signed with the UFC, women’s MMA (WMMA) looks to be on the threshold of breaking out in a way many of us never thought possible. While Rousey alone cannot take credit for all the efforts and su…

So, now that it’s official and Ronda Rousey is signed with the UFC, women’s MMA (WMMA) looks to be on the threshold of breaking out in a way many of us never thought possible.

While Rousey alone cannot take credit for all the efforts and success WMMA has enjoyed since they made their entrance into the sport, she is certainly the main reason why Dana White reversed his long standing position on women in the octagon.

White has been blown away by Rousey and thanks to that, she and Miesha Tate are now in the UFC fold.

But the signing alone isn’t worth a hill of beans if there aren’t any compelling fights to be had for the ladies.

White sounds passionate about a women’s 135-pound division, so there is a lot of work to be done if he wants to acquire enough talent to make such a division, and that means taking some chances on fresh faces that may or may not have what it takes.

But amid all of this, there is one central fight that looms above it all, and thankfully it is centered around his new favorite star. The fight is Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg.

People can shout all they want about how Cyborg is just a cheater and how she’s always been a cheater (much of this based on her power and her looks), and that will likely continue until the day Cyborg retires.

But none of that talk diminishes the simple fact that Cyborg is the only real legitimate threat to Rousey’s kingdom.

Thus far, Cyborg is in a sport that allows for second chances, and third chances, and so on and so forth. She’s paying the price for her failed drug test, and once she is cleared by the commission, White should be all about the business of making the fight that matters the most for WMMA, even if many think it matters the most for all the wrong reasons.

White should also make this fight because it gives Rousey her greatest moment to date. Ali was made greater by Frazier, Leonard by Hearns—the list goes on and on, and this is no different.

White has put her on the biggest stage, and now she deserves her chance to shine, and the spotlight couldn’t be any bigger than if she is squaring off against Cyborg.

So why not put the fight together? We know Rousey is up for it, as always: in an interview with ESPN, she talked about it openly.

“If Dana said he wanted me to fight Chris ‘Cyborg’ Santos with a 40lbs weight disadvantage or wrap our hands with Duck Tape and be there in 40 minutes, I’d say I’d be there in 10 minutes just so I could stretch first. It doesn’t matter to me, I consider myself the best in the world. I think if you have that title, you have a responsibility to defend it at anytime against anyone.”

There may be many people worried that Cyborg can take Rousey out if she can thwart those takedowns, but Rousey isn’t one of them.

White should take her up on the offer, and should make the fight at 140-145 lbs. Once the dust settles, then the world has the answers needed and WMMA can start off on the strongest footing available.

If Cyborg wins, then it is business as usual: strict drug testing and putting her front and center for any challenger to come down the line. No matter what anyone thinks of Cyborg, she has the same kind of crowd-pleasing style that saw Mike Tyson attract so many fans during his reign.

Rousey dusts herself off, writes it off as being too inexperienced, and marches her way back up to the top of the heap for another crack at Cyborg, and you have a rematch that is sure to be a big draw on any PPV card.

Should Rousey win, she is firmly placed as the greatest fighter in WMMA, without question, and in defeating the menacing-looking Cyborg, she becomes even more beloved to the fans and her following grows.

But if the fight does not happen, then a kind of fog settles in. People can talk all they want, but in the end, this is a fight sport, and anything can happen, which is why fighters slug it out in the first place.

There is a kind of peace that is only found on the other side of war, and never has this been truer than in the case of Rousey vs. Cyborg. If they don’t fight, it is simply a case of more of the same: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, MMA style.

Not only does WMMA need this fight, but Rousey and Cyborg need it as well. If they don’t fight, neither can lay honest claim to a reign that says—without question or reservation or caveat—that they sought out and conquered any threat to their dominance, big or small.

Rousey has made it clear that if asked by White, she would fight Cyborg, with no hesitation, weight considerations be damned. She no doubt believes that it’s not her weight but the style of fighting that she so effortlessly employs that allows her to win, and she’s right, because styles always make fights.

White should give her this chance and make the fight at the next weight class up, because what Rousey has been doing in the cage up to now has been leading up to this very thing: a fight against a serious wrecking machine, where one style clashes with another.

This is her defining moment, bar none, and simply recycling a list of top contenders who have all fallen prey to Rousey via first-round arm bar isn’t going to cut it.

Right or wrong, the fight game is about making the fights that matter most, and right or wrong, Cyborg is in a sport that allows for people to prove they have learned from their mistakes.

With stricter drug testing (and Rousey could easily insist on Olympic-style drug testing, which Cyborg would have to agree upon or forever lose all credibility) in place, if Rousey is really as great as she seems and the success Cyborg has had was really only based on PED’s, then Rousey should be able to make short work of her.

If not, then she may very well take a nasty beating, but that shouldn’t dissuade her. She’s in a fight sport, breaking arms along the way, so taking a beating isn’t something she should mind at all in her quest to be the greatest.

And if the answering of these questions isn’t the reason why Rousey is here (and it is, no doubt), then why did White sign her in the first place?

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MMA: Why the Sport Needs a True HOF and Who Should Be in It

Many years from now, when fans look back on the sport, they will be able to recognize several important men who were celebrated for their contributions and achievements in the sport by way of the UFC Hall of Fame. Sadly, should they content themse…

Sadly, should they content themselves with that accounting they will never know such fighters as Frank Shamrock, Fedor Emelianenko, Jeremy Horn, Kazushi Sakuraba and others—men who either fought for other promotions or who simply weren’t on Dana White’s list of friends.

The UFC Hall of Fame is a great thing, but it will never be a true HOF for the sport because it is totally dependent on the whims of a single man who is not above ignoring the contributions of others if he does not like them.

A true HOF is not dependent upon the selections of one man. The International Boxing Hall of Fame has five categories (Modern, Old-Timer, Pioneer, Non-Participant and Observer). Those inducted are chosen by an international panel of boxing historians and members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Votes are cast and tabulated, and inductees can become members.

And that is just what the sport of MMA needs: a true HOF that recognizes fighters and other contributors to the sport with no biases for or professional prejudices against. It would be a committee of many minds and sensibilities, not an army of one, and from there, recognition and induction would be the byproduct of a concerned consensus.

Which is how it should be.

As great as the UFC is, the sport is too big to have its HOF members decided upon by a single man.

So, who should be inducted without hesitation or delay once such a HOF is born?

Here are the names of 25 deserving individuals for your consideration.

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UFC on Fuel 6: Will Mac Danzig Ever Live Up to the Potential He Showed on TUF?

It’s been a long time since December 8, 2007, when Mac Danzig won the Season 6 finale of The Ultimate Fighter, and to say it’s been a rough road since that time is a serious understatement. Danzig was head and shoulders above all the other …

It’s been a long time since December 8, 2007, when Mac Danzig won the Season 6 finale of The Ultimate Fighter, and to say it’s been a rough road since that time is a serious understatement.

Danzig was head and shoulders above all the other fighters on that season of the show (save perhaps for George Sotiropoulos), and his finale bout against Tommy Speer saw Danzig take out the bigger, stronger wrestler with such ease it was anti-climatic.

Perhaps it was the authority with which Danzig secured the contract for that season that made it look as if he would enjoy the same levels of success seen by previous winners such as Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Michael Bisping and others.

Then, after his first pay-per-view appearance and victory (over Mark Bocek), Danzig began to see a reversal of fortunes. He lost his next three fights, and since then he has been battling to win two in a row.

More than a few times it seemed as though Danzig was inches away from being cut, only to come back and save his career, especially in his bout with Joe Stevenson, the winner of Season 2 of TUF. But Danzig ended that night early, putting Stevenson to sleep via KO early in the first round.

With a win over Efrain Escudero via decision in his last outing, Danzig is now looking to make it two in a row this coming Saturday night as he steps into the octagon against Takanori Gomi in Macau.

Danzig has had nine fights since he ran over Speer in 2007, and as of now he is 4-5. Even for a man with as much experience, ability and grit as Danzig, things must be getting a little desperate.

No one ever said the fight game was easy, and for damn good reason because it is incredibly unpredictable—fighters can be losing more times than not, only to turn a corner in training and then they are mowing over everyone—but for a guy with the potential of Danzig, it looked like it would be a lot easier than this.

Pinpointing the reasons for Danzig’s lack of success is harder than people think. He’s got knockout power and knows how to deliver it, he is in good condition, he has a solid chin and a respectable ground game that no doubt is getting better by the day, and he really loves to fight.

And yet, we’ve seen him lose fights it looked like he should have won, at least on paper. Whatever is going on behind closed doors, Danzig can’t seem to find footing solid enough to allow him to get a winning streak started.

The majority of the losses Danzig has suffered in the UFC (most of them via decision) are akin to the tale of the two Indians who are about to enter Grizzly country. One Indian stops and begins to wrap his moccasins tighter than usual.

The other Indian looks at this and says: “Why bother? You know you can’t outrun the bear.”

The other Indian nods and smiles and says: “I don’t have to. I just have to outrun you.”

It’s seemed like many a time Danzig was simply a step or two behind the other guy, and that was enough to see him defeated.

But when looking at Danzig, it is clear he still has all the necessary tools to start winning back-to-back bouts. He’s one of those rare fighters who can confound expectations and turn that corner; he’s just got to find the right street first.

When he faces Gomi on Nov. 10, he’s got a good chance to get another victory under his belt, which he sorely needs right now. Gomi has the power in his hands to put Danzig to sleep, but Danzig should be able to take Gomi to the mat and submit him if he is as exacting and focused as we’ve seen him be in the past.

Danzig can indeed live up to all the potential he showed us years ago, but he has to start now. He’s not as young as he used to be, and after a while, talking about potential seems too much like daydreaming when the hour is growing late.

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Should the UFC Give Small Fighters Their Own Shows?

For a long time, there was a beloved tradition with myself and a group of friends: After work, we would all gather at one house and watch USA Tuesday Night Fights. This was around the time when the UFC was just starting, and boxing was still thriv…

For a long time, there was a beloved tradition with myself and a group of friends: After work, we would all gather at one house and watch USA Tuesday Night Fights.

This was around the time when the UFC was just starting, and boxing was still thriving. The program showcased boxers on the rise and gave them their own spotlight, which in turn allowed fans of the sport to get to know them much better.

Names like Riddick Bowe, Vinny Pazienza, Fernando Vargas, Pernell Whitaker, George Foreman and others fought on the show (either on their way up or on their way out), and some excellent bouts were brought to us on free television.

The UFC should do the very same thing.

Granted, they might not be able to do it every single week, but twice a month or even once a month would be better than nothing.

Not every up-and-coming fighter is going to be discovered on TUF—especially since each show usually only focuses on one or two weight classes at a time. Having a smaller show for those fighters could not only deliver some great bouts, but it would also allow fighters to create their own following at a grassroots level.

There is something about a fighter creating a buzz that makes their climb toward the title compelling. Fight fans love that feeling of discovery when they see a newer fighter making waves and clawing his way upward, and this would give those fighters a chance to have more of the spotlight than they normally would.

It could also prove to be a vehicle for those fighters who are on a slump or have been regulated to undercard status. They could possibly headline at these smaller shows, growing their brand while getting some fights under their belt.

But, as with anything else, the real winner would be the fans. Having a regularly scheduled MMA show that put the newer fighters in action gives the viewer a chance to really see just how gritty and scrappy some of the new names are.

Then, when they make the transition to the next level, they will be enjoying greater name recognition than if they were to simply “show up” on an undercard as a new name and face. In short, they would bring a “buzz” with them, and that makes people want to watch, much like the days when UFC PPVs had known names in all the slots.

Once upon a time, Nick Diaz was making his UFC debut against Jeremy Jackson, and most people watching didn’t know either fighter from Adam.

Had a smaller UFC-backed show been in existence then, a fighter like Diaz would have probably built up a nice following and from there could have brought quite a buzz into the cage with him at UFC 44.

God knows I would have been watching.

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Georges St-Pierre: Why He Should Call out Nick Diaz If He Wins at UFC 154

Fresh starts are not always easy to come by in a sport as fever pitched as MMA. A fighter is normally only as good as his last showing, and labels seem to stick to the skin like tattoos.But given enough distance and a long enough time to ask questions …

Fresh starts are not always easy to come by in a sport as fever pitched as MMA. A fighter is normally only as good as his last showing, and labels seem to stick to the skin like tattoos.

But given enough distance and a long enough time to ask questions that need the kind of answers that only come from within, a fighter has the right to say: “Yes, my destiny is in my own hands.”

For a long time now, Georges St. Pierre has been as close to perfect as a fighter with his style can be. But with that came a trend of decisions that, be it right or wrong, has hung around his neck like a scarlet letter.

Then, a long absence necessitated by a serious injury had him questioning if he really wanted to come back. It was gut-check time for the champ, who was seeing doubt in the eyes of his training partners and those who were expecting far more than he was showing on his road to recovery.

But now he’s back, and after such a long time off, many a fan and critic are going to be throwing questions his way like stones—questions about his heart, resilience, desire and, most of all, his attitude.

If GSP was a play-it-safe fighter before the injury, what is he going to be after?

Well, if those questions are going to be asked (and they are), and if those asking the questions are going to proceed from false assumptions (and they will) given GSP’s track record of safe, patented, generic answers that seem more scripted by a Goodwill ambassador than coming from the heart, then he might as well take the reins and give them something to talk about.

If he defeats Condit at UFC 154, no matter how good or bad he looks in victory, he should call out Nick Diaz.

Make no mistake about it, in his first fight back, chances are very high that GSP is going to be rusty, and he could very well have the toughest fight of his career against a young, mean Condit. His timing will probably be off, he will be hesitant at certain points, and he’ll also be hittable.

But he’s proven in the past that when the going gets tough, he can come up with the answer and pull it off. His style is a great one, and unless Condit finishes him quick, odds are he can win a decision.

Yes, I know, another decision. Awful, isn’t it?

But in his first fight back, against such a great fighter, a win is a win, and that may help him finally get his legs back under him. Before you can run, you gotta be able to stand up with some balance.

And if the victory comes to pass, GSP will indeed be standing, and he should, with no hesitation, make a run straight at Nick Diaz. I’m not just talking about a tentative, respectful request that ends up complimenting Diaz and the fans: He’s done that before, and it sounds almost robotic by now.

He should take the microphone from Rogan, and just let it pour out. If he’s still mad about Diaz insinuating that he’s a coward, he should rip into Diaz for that and mention that he’s never been afraid of a press conference in his life and maybe it’s Diaz who’s scared.

If GSP thinks he can destroy Diaz, he should make it known, loud and clear. If he thinks he can take Diaz down at will and dominate him on the ground like he did BJ Penn, then give it air and don’t hold back.

Shock the world. Why not? It’s not like anyone is doing GSP any favors or giving him the benefit of the doubt based on the early days of his career when he was finishing many a fight.

Given his trend of decisions and his “turn the other cheek” attitude, he’s being looked at by many a fighter as if he isn’t dangerous anymore. They have a point: None of them will look awful if GSP takes them down repeatedly and wins a decision, so what’s to be scared of?

But if GSP were to start pounding opponents out on the ground or breaking arms like Frank Mir—if he were to come out mean and nasty, channeling his inner Wanderlei Silva… those same fighters would be given a great deal of pause.

Of course, many would say: “That’s stupid. He shouldn’t do that because that’s not who he is.” Truth be told, do any of us know who GSP really is, and if we do, does that matter so much that he can’t reinvent himself?

Maybe he really is just a nice guy, but he’s in a mean sport, and he clearly knows this given that he’s once again promising to finish fights. Maybe now is the time to put the nice guy away for a while and go get some respect back.

Granted, calling out Nick Diaz after the fight would be nothing more than talk, but you’ve got to start somewhere, and if GSP were to let it all hang out, he’d end up with some serious goals set for himself.

He’s said he didn’t want to come back “just to take a beating,” and in the sport of MMA, where beatings are part of the job description, it’s much better to give than receive. GSP knows this better than most, and in his case maybe he can lead himself to walk it as violently as he talks it.

It might just see him end up walking right over Nick Diaz in vintage fashion.

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MMA: The Fighters and Fans Need Another Organization with Pride

As it stands right now, if you are a fighter or a fan, and if you don’t like what Dana White is offering you, then that’s just too bad, because his is essentially the only show in town, so you better get with the program and start singing &…

Think about it: Would White have dared to call the fans “morons” back in 2003? Sure, he was just as vocal and knee-jerk back then, but he wouldn’t have called the fans morons in front of such a large audience.

He also wouldn’t have thrown his biggest rising star under the bus and placed the entire cancellation of an event on said fighter’s shoulders. But then, a lot of things have changed since then.

Believe it or not, when Zuffa first took the reins, White had a very different attitude about things in the world of MMA. In a 2001 interview with Tommy Rojas of PrimeTimeFighters.com, White discussed a great many things that show the difference between then and now.

The first thing I did when we bought the UFC was call Yukino Kanda from PRIDE. I told her there was always a war between the UFC and PRIDE…I told her the war is over. Our office staff started clapping and cheering when I made that call. Then I called Terry Trebilcock from King of the Cage, Paul Smith from IFC. I talked to Jamie Levin from WEF today. Basically, these guys were all at war with each other and I wanted to work together.

Hard to believe that at one time White was happy to assume the role of peacemaker, singing songs of unity all toward a greater end that sees everyone seated at the table.

Obviously, a lot can change when you’re the only game in town. Suddenly, you don’t have to take caution in your tone or else risk the possibility that your fighters might seek refuge in the arms of another organization equal in size to yourself.

And as for his views about the fighters themselves?

Tommy Rojas: There has been a lot of talk that the UFC didn’t pay very well. Will that change?

Dana White: Right. That’s gonna change. See, that’s what we really want to change. We’re gonna bring back a lot of the fighters that left the UFC for that reason and the other reasons that they were chased away. You have to understand Lorenzo and I. Lorenzo comes from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and what do they do? Their job is to look out for fighters. I was a manager, what was my job? To look out for fighters. So we really want to put a lot of emphasis on the fighters. The old UFC’s emphasis was the UFC. That was the main thing that they wanted to promote and publicize. We want to create superstars.

And to be honest and fair, White and the rest at Zuffa have done that very thing. Fighters like Jon Jones and GSP may not be as well known as Michael Jordan, but they enjoy a status far beyond what any dreamed possible for the sport of MMA.

But there is something ironic about White’s words back then, especially when he was talking about the SEG–era UFC: “The old UFC’s emphasis was the UFC.” As much as it would seem things have changed, they also stayed the same. When looking at the UFC 151 fiasco, White was quick to say it wasn’t his fault or the UFC’s fault that the card was cancelled; Jon Jones was to blame.

When looking back on things, White and Zuffa looked to be at their best during those times when they had a rival company to consider. Competition brings out the best in not only fighters, but promotions as well.

Back when PRIDE FC was going strong, the UFC seemed to go about business with painstaking detail; they were willing to take big risks, but they also took care to make sure they didn’t overspend their budget and that they didn’t burn too many bridges. They had their eyes set on the future.

They weren’t lashing out at fighters or coaches in public, mainly because they knew a scorched–earth policy is only good if you never plan to plant crops in those fields again.

Now, there is no other true rival for them to worry about. Every other promotion is a clear step down, and thus it seems that we are seeing an even newer version of the UFC, one that wants to make superstars, as long as those superstars are almost totally subservient to the company line.

The sport needs a new promotion (probably overseas) that can uphold the mantle that PRIDE FC once did, albeit with more fiscal responsibility. They need to be dedicated to bringing the best fights they can to the public, and they need to be dedicated to putting their fighters into the spotlight.

Contrary to what many believe, White is right about a great many things. It’s easy to understand the hard-line stance he takes when backing up most of his decisions regarding who is going to fight whom; he doesn’t want MMA to go down the same road as boxing, where the fighters usually decide who they are going to fight and title belts are the byproducts of business deals.

He is also right about the sport of MMA becoming one of the biggest sports in the world, globally speaking. Nationally, football in America will always be bigger, but globally? That becomes a totally different conversation.

Already, MMA is so big that the UFC alone (and some of the smaller organizations) cannot encompass it all as it deserves. And as the sport continues to grow, so does the need for choices—especially for the fighters.

White clearly wants to make superstars out of his fighters, but none of that means anything if he alone decides what a fighter is worth. When that is the case, then a low standard might be set, and from there low expectations usually follow.

That is not to say that White tries to set the bar so low that the fighter trips over it; it simply means that choices give a fighter confidence in what they are doing, and with confidence comes desire.

Also, the more promotions there are of worth, the more fighters there are to be discovered and groomed for the mantles of superstars and champions. Simply put, it’s a big, wide world, and were it to see another promotion of the same caliber as the UFC, with that same financial power and sense, then more and more fighters would be discovered. With that would come more thrilling rises to glory and title fights—perhaps even champion vs. champion.

Then, there is the idea of co-promotion with the goal of giving the fans the fights they really want to see. When PRIDE FC was thriving, sending Chuck Liddell to fight in their tournament wasn’t a threat because PRIDE was an established entity and clearly just as big in the sport as the UFC.

The same cannot be said for M-1, who wanted to co-promote with the UFC for all of the events that their main star, Fedor Emelianenko, would be fighting in. M-1 wasn’t an established entity in the promotional business, at least not near the level of the UFC, so co-promoting with them was indeed laughable.

The sport needs honest promotions that are willing to go about the business of serving the fans by bringing them the best fights possible from the best fighters available. They should look to the UFC and see how it can be done, because the UFC has proven they do it better than anyone else.

But if White and Zuffa have proven anything of late, it’s that they shouldn’t be doing it alone.

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