Tag: Fighting

Why Bellator Signing UFC Castoffs Hurts the Company’s Image & Future

Bellator is the second largest MMA organization in the world today and if it keeps buying up former UFC fighters and placing them in their tournaments, that is all they are ever go to be.UFC is the largest brand available today and when a fighter compe…

Bellator is the second largest MMA organization in the world today and if it keeps buying up former UFC fighters and placing them in their tournaments, that is all they are ever go to be.

UFC is the largest brand available today and when a fighter competes long enough for them, they become a UFC fighter. Even those that don’t last long in the company are branded “former UFC fighter” status. It’s a great marketing tool, helps increase the salary for any fighter who has it and gives them bigger awareness in MMA news.

It is something that every fighter should willingly embrace because, at the end of the day, it helps their career.

Bellator is embracing it to having signed fighters like Maiquel Falcao, Rob McCullough and Ben Saunders to their ranks. They even acquired War Machine despite the fact that he had troubles with the law in the past which has lead him going to jail yet again.

There isn’t much of a point in signing a fighter like War Machine or letting Ben Saunders take place in a tournament to fight for the belt except for one reason.

They have name recognition.

For a new promotion like Bellator, they want to have as much built in marketing as they can for their events, but using branded stars won’t help them.

It may be a bit callous to refer to fighters in a way that sounds like Bellator is dealing with cattle, but the logic isn’t unfounded. Fighters who have been built up and tied in with a certain brand will always be stuck with that connection.

People like Tito Ortiz or Randy Couture, even when they weren’t active in the company, were considered UFC fighters.

There was no way to escape the brand and what it had done for their careers or the notoriety it had given them.

If Bellator continues to buy up former UFC fighters, they will get the reputation of having some great fighters. They will also be known for having fighters who couldn’t make it in the UFC and, if those fighters win the championships or even come close, then that is all Bellator will amount to.

A place where those who couldn’t be the best in the world go to still get a healthy paycheck. That is all their championship will amount to as well.

Bellator now has the possibility of rivaling the UFC someday. It wasn’t possible in the past, but now that they have been bought by Viacom, they have the capitol and the backing to do so.

They just need to remember that just like their tournament format, they are a different product then the UFC.

Their fighters need to be the same.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 145: 7 Reasons Why It Will Be the Most Highly Anticipated Card of the Year

In less than eight weeks time, all roads lead to Atlanta, GA, for the most eagerly awaited and highly anticipated fight card of the year—UFC 145. The event is set to be stacked to the rafters with some of the most combative superlatives residing …

In less than eight weeks time, all roads lead to Atlanta, GA, for the most eagerly awaited and highly anticipated fight card of the year—UFC 145.

The event is set to be stacked to the rafters with some of the most combative superlatives residing in Zuffa-based hierarchy.

And with that in mind, the Philips Arena is geared for an explosive night of edge-of-seat fueled action, where anything could happen.

And here’s why.

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UFC’s Zuffa Era: The 10 Least Memorable Champions

The Zuffa era of the UFC began in 2001 and since then there have been over 40 champions to hold titles in the promotion’s seven weight classes.Champions such as Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn have cemented their plac…

The Zuffa era of the UFC began in 2001 and since then there have been over 40 champions to hold titles in the promotion’s seven weight classes.

Champions such as Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn have cemented their place in history as perhaps the best fighters in the history of their weight class, but there are a number of former champions who just are just not quite as memorable. In fact, many of them have seen their title runs go all but forgotten by the average MMA fan.

These guys might not be who you think of immediately when you think “UFC champion,” but perhaps a trip down memory lane will help us recall that each of these former champions had their own, important place in UFC history.

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Designing a Super Bowl-Level Event for the UFC

As MMA continues to grow as a sport, its events will get bigger and bigger. It may be a while before the sport’s biggest organization, the UFC, tries to create an event as big as the Super Bowl, but it could very well happen at some point in …

As MMA continues to grow as a sport, its events will get bigger and bigger. 

It may be a while before the sport’s biggest organization, the UFC, tries to create an event as big as the Super Bowl, but it could very well happen at some point in the future. 

Let’s take a look at what a Super Bowl-type UFC show would look like. 

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Rob Emerson: ‘I’m Done Being Mediocre, No Deathbed Regrets for Me’

Every mixed martial artist has had some type of encounter with the sport.For former UFC lightweight Rob Emerson (11-10-1) it was while enjoying a cold Corona and a box full of donuts.”The first time I was ever asked to fight was while I was watching so…

Every mixed martial artist has had some type of encounter with the sport.

For former UFC lightweight Rob Emerson (11-10-1) it was while enjoying a cold Corona and a box full of donuts.

“The first time I was ever asked to fight was while I was watching some other guys fight,” Emerson told Bleacher Report. “I was drinking a Corona in one hand and had a pack of donuts in the other.”

“I said screw it, I’ll give it a try. The guy I was fighting almost choked me out in 10 seconds, but I escaped and ended up knocking him out. The guys I was with said they never saw someone get knocked out like that before. I came back the next month and knocked another guy out,” said Emerson. “It was a snowball effect from there.”

However, things would take a turn for the worse as Emerson would lose six of his first eight professional fights.

Emerson would eventually find his way into the UFC, but a struggle and constant battle with alcohol ultimately lead to lackluster performances and finally his dismissal from the UFC.

To Emerson’s credit, his worst days are now behind him as he attempts to make yet another run towards the his dream of a UFC title.

“I’m sober now and I feel like a new person. I’ve turned over a new leaf and I’m living up to my true potential now. I’m ready to show the world what I’m made of,” said Emerson. “I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

“I half-assed my career up until this point. I’ve fought some guys where I just kind of squeaked by training camps and then snuck by in the fights as well. Every guy I’ve lost to I felt like I’ve handed him a free pass because of the lifestyle I lived outside of the gym,” said Emerson.

Emerson’s fresh start will also come at a new weight as he’s recently made the transition from the lightweight division down to join the featherweights.

Emerson, also known as “The Saint,” will make his 145-pound debut when he meets Savant Young (10-8) at Tachi Palace Fights 12 on March 9th.

According to Emerson, fans in attendance and those viewing his return to the sport can expect a bout no longer than a round or two.

“I’m going to blast him in the first or second. I don’t see it going to third, but my conditioning is there if it happens to make it that far. I don’t think he has the wrestling or jiu-jitsu skills to take me down and keep me down. I’m going at him the second the bell rings,” said Emerson. “My body and mind are great and as I mentioned, I’m sober again.”

A win over Young will be Emerson’s third win in his last four outings pushing him even closer towards his dream of returning to the UFC.

If things go as planned, Emerson believes it’s only a matter of time until the UFC comes knocking on his doorstep.

“I’m 100 percent sure I’ll make it back since I dropped to 145 and I’m going to blast two or three guys. I’ll be back. I’m going to be a powerful fighter at 145. I’ve never been hurt and never lost a drop of blood at 155 so they won’t be able to do that at 145. I’m athletic, faster and stronger than most of these guys already,” said Emerson. “I’m ready and I’ll be back in the UFC in the next couple of fights if everything goes right.”

“I’m done with being mediocre. I’m not OK with that anymore. I’m destined for greatness and I want to achieve what I’ve set out to do. I don’t want to be on my deathbed and say I should have done this or I should have done that,” said Emerson. “I’m ready for a new start.”

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

10 MMA Fighters Who Should Have Taken Their Careers More Seriously

Despite working their entire lives to achieve a dream that has denied countless others, fighters oftentimes forget that being a professional athlete is a blessing in itself.It doesn’t matter whether they’ve fought in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, WEC, D…

Despite working their entire lives to achieve a dream that has denied countless others, fighters oftentimes forget that being a professional athlete is a blessing in itself.

It doesn’t matter whether they’ve fought in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, WEC, Dream or Bellator. There are very few human beings on this planet blessed with the ability to do the things that these guys can do.

In every gym strewn across the world, there are dreams waiting to be achieved or denied. There is also natural talent that will make it to the big show but will never reach its full potential.

Ralph Marston, author and publisher of The Daily Motivator, once said, “There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”

In any sport, talent can only take a person so far. They need the drive, hunger and motivation to succeed.

MMA is known for its grueling training regimen and dieting, which sometimes takes a toll on even the most disciplined of athletes. Still, these are things a fighter has to endure if he or she ever hopes to reach their full potential.

Here are 10 fighters who should have taken their careers more seriously.

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