Tag: MMA

Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg Is a Bad Move for Women’s MMA and the UFC

Dana White is already making the wrong moves with women’s MMA.For the last few weeks, the UFC president has been openly hinting that he’s close to making a superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, arguably one of the biggest possi…

Dana White is already making the wrong moves with women’s MMA.

For the last few weeks, the UFC president has been openly hinting that he’s close to making a superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, arguably one of the biggest possible bouts in mixed martial arts right now.

Even better, it could possibly headline a UFC card, according to statements made during a keynote speech at a recent television industry summit (relayed by publicist Amy Pfister):

While not committing to it, @danawhite just said @RondaRousey vs. Cris Cyborg could/should be a main event on UFC pay per view. #CTAM

But as attractive as a “champion vs. former champion” match between the world’s two best female fighters may look on paper, it’s the wrong one to make.

As Ronda Rousey herself stated in the aftermath of Cyborg’s positive test for anabolic steroids, the fairest way for this fight to take place is if it happens at the 135-pound bantamweight limit.

More than anything else, the idea is that Cyborg may have been using banned substances for most of her career, and the weight cut will force her to shed some of her advantageous muscle mass. Cyborg’s also had difficulty in the past just trimming down to 145 pounds, so a 135-pound cut may even bring her usual aggressiveness down a notch.

Either way, that fight shouldn’t be happening.

During her reign as the Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion, Cyborg destroyed her entire division in one-sided fights that made every opponent look utterly outclassed. As a result, the 145-pound women’s roster is a wasteland, with no marketable fights to be made outside of Invicta FC and small regional shows.

Considering how long Cyborg’s been suspected of doping, it’s not something that should be rewarded with a starring role in a high-profile UFC or Strikeforce main event.

Moreover, this is exactly the kind of shortsighted matchmaking that’s been plaguing the UFC for the last year. It’s little more than a quick “dream fight” cash-in that kills the luster of the losing fighter—and forgive me for saying so, but that fighter’s going to be Rousey.

Even with the weight cut, Cyborg is too strong, too fast and too aggressive to lose to “Rowdy” in a five-round fight.

Cyborg’s stand-up is light years beyond anything that Rousey has shown in any of her fights. That’s a problem right off the bat, and the former featherweight champion’s sheer strength won’t let her fall prey to an armbar as easily as Sarah Kaufman or many other women have. 

Even assuming that Cyborg hasn’t been on performance-enhancing drugs for most of her career, the insane muscle build that’s already etched into her frame hints at a mauling waiting to happen. If I were a betting man, I would put money on Rousey getting beaten worse than Gina Carano.

But none of that needs to happen.

Instead of a matchup between Rousey and Cyborg, Dana White should be thinking of the bigger picture. He should be trying to promote a more diverse stack of fights designed to set up a proper title mix for the female bantamweights.

Why not have Rousey rematch Miesha Tate, and set up another main card fight that same night with Sara McMann?

Rousey and Tate already have a huge rivalry that’s tailor-made for the UFC promotional wagon, and McMann’s status as an Olympic silver medalist practically markets itself.

Just sign Shayna Baszler to the same card, pack in the story of her close split-decision loss to McMann at Invicta FC 2 and you’ve got a deep, multi-angled storyline to set up for weeks with UFC Primetime and a “Countdown” show.

That’s the right way to bring women’s MMA into the spotlight and set up an immediate title contender for the bantamweight belt.

Dana White and the UFC have been playing fast and loose with their main event talent and already paid the ultimate price once for weighing entire cards on a single fight. Doing the same thing with Ronda Rousey’s future will be equally damaging for them and women’s MMA.

[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]

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UFC 153: Memorable Images from the Silva vs. Bonnar Card

Since a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, what better way to recap the weekend’s UFC 153 action than by revisiting some of the most stimulating images produced by the event?Since there was no shortage of blistering action, spectacular finis…

Since a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, what better way to recap the weekend’s UFC 153 action than by revisiting some of the most stimulating images produced by the event?

Since there was no shortage of blistering action, spectacular finishes or meaningful performances, the images presented here are limiting.

Still, the following 10 illustrations do well to reanimate many of the defining moments of UFC 153.

Enjoy.

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Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar: Ranking the P4P King’s Greatest Performances

It’s getting to the stage where we cease to be in awe of Anderson Silva’s ability to seemingly defy the natural laws. His routine, repetitive brilliance has become so utterly predictable that the sublime risks becoming mundane. We all marve…

It’s getting to the stage where we cease to be in awe of Anderson Silva’s ability to seemingly defy the natural laws. His routine, repetitive brilliance has become so utterly predictable that the sublime risks becoming mundane.

We all marvelled at the ease with which he disposed of Stephan Bonnar, waxing lyrical about his uncommon physical gifts.

With that said, where does Saturday night’s circus-like exhibition rank in relation to his other celebrated feats?

Without further delay, I present to you Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s top five UFC performances.

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Why Jones vs. Cormier on the Ultimate Fighter Needs to Happen

The Ultimate Fighter has issues. The UFC’s venerable reality show suffers from a host of problems, from the day of the week that it airs (Friday nights aren’t really a good television night) to the simple fact that it’s been around for a long time…

The Ultimate Fighter has issues. 

The UFC’s venerable reality show suffers from a host of problems, from the day of the week that it airs (Friday nights aren’t really a good television night) to the simple fact that it’s been around for a long time with few changes in the format.

Sure, they’ve added fights to get into the house and a few other minor wrinkles over the course of 16 seasons, but you’re essentially seeing today what you saw in the very first season, and it’s just not clicking with the public the way it used to.

Is there a way to save The Ultimate Fighter, to restore it to the glory it once had in the old days?

I’m not sure. A change of scenery might help matters a bit, and moving the show to a night where people actually stay in the house and watch television would probably improve ratings drastically.

Having recognizable coaches probably wouldn’t hurt matters, either. 

This is not to say that Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin aren’t known commodities in the UFC, because they most certainly are, just like Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber before them. They’re recognizable names, but they aren’t superstar attractions. They aren’t the kind of guys where you say “yeah, I’m not going to miss any episodes of TUF this season”. 

Jon Jones is the kind of fighting superstar that TUF needs.

He’s one of the three biggest superstars currently on the UFC roster, and he has the star power and clout to instantly turn The Ultimate Fighter from has-been to must-watch television. He’d need the right opponent, of course; Chael Sonnen would be the perfect antagonist for Jones, but Sonnen still has to get past Forrest Griffin in December. 

What about Daniel Cormier?

The Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix winner is going to make the jump to the UFC sooner or later, and if Cain Velasquez becomes the heavyweight champion in late December, Cormier will likely make the move to light heavyweight. Providing he wins his last fight in Strikeforce—and it’s impossible, at this point, to determine when that’s actually going to happen—Cormier would be an instant contender at light heavyweight.

But Jones isn’t all that interested in coaching against Cormier. 

“I’d be interested in a TUF season in the future, but it’d take the right opponent. As far as Daniel Cormier saying he wants to coach against me, he would want that, wouldn’t he?,” Jones recently told ESPN. “He’s relatively unknown. I want to do it when the fans are aware of both guys, and when it’s spunky and when it raises a lot of viewers. I’m not here to raise his stock.”

Judging by this comment, I’d say there’s one thing Jones doesn’t understand about The Ultimate Fighter. 

Sure, it’s used to find new talent to infuse into the UFC roster. But at its core, The Ultimate Fighter is about creating stars, both in terms of the coaches that serve on the show and the fighters competing in the tournament. It’s about creating those stars and, over the course of 12 to 16 weeks of television, building those stars up for a fight against each other.

I’ll admit that Cormier may not be a household name just yet. He’s got a world of fighting skills and I think he’s one of the most dangerous fighters in the world, but few outside of MMA‘s fervent, hardcore fanbase have any idea who he is.

That’s not his fault; it’s simply because he’s been toiling in Strikeforce, which is primarily a hardcore fan promotion. 

The bottom line is this, I think: Cormier is going to be a title contender, and I think he’s going to be a contender at light heavyweight. Yes, I think Velasquez is going to beat Junior dos Santos in the rematch, which will force Cormier to adjust his diet, to start eating well and work his way down to a manageable weight where he can start a cut to 205. 

And if Cormier is going to be a title contender, if he’s going to hang around the top of the division, then doesn’t it make sense to find a vehicle that can help build him into a star? 

Creating buzz for Cormier doesn’t just help the former Olympian’s bottom line—it also helps Jones out. Because the time is going to come when Jones must face Cormier on pay-per-view, and I’m sure Jones would much rather have a guy standing across the cage who just spent three months on weekly television than someone who didn’t receive the same kind of promotion.

After all, Jones does receive a portion of the UFC’s pay-per-view profits. If he’s going to be facing Cormier on pay-per-view anyway—which, again, I believe he will—why not use The Ultimate Fighter as a vehicle to build the fight?

Cormier is engaging. He’s an excellent wrestling coach, as evidenced by his selection as the wrestling coach at American Kickboxing Academy. He’s likeable, friendly and has the genuine ability to come off as a star. Those are the exact qualities I’m looking for in potential coaches for The Ultimate Fighter. It doesn’t hurt that Cormier represents a chance to create another superstar. 

At the end of the day, Sonnen and Cormier are both perfect candidates for the show, though they bring completely different things to the table. 

With Sonnen, you’d get three months of the larger-than-life pro wrestling persona that helped turn him from an also-ran middleweight into one of the UFC’s top five pay-per-view draws. He’d create drama out of thin air, and by the end of the season, fans would be salivating for their chance to see the title fight. 

With Cormier, you get a chance to create another superstar who is going to be around for awhile. Even if he fails in his first chance at the title, it won’t be his last opportunity. If Jones is intent on establishing a historic legacy for himself, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll have to go through Cormier at some point to do it. 

Why not use the UFC’s reality show to help build up a rivalry that could last for years? It makes perfect sense, if only Jones could see it. 

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UFC 2012: Was Pat Barry’s ‘Roaches’ Take on MMA Fans Fair?

Fighters have a sense of entitlement, and why shouldn’t they? They’re tough, athletic men who could crush most other human beings into dust.However, that sometimes leads fighters into saying (or believing) things that are faulty or otherwise execrable&…

Fighters have a sense of entitlement, and why shouldn’t they? They’re tough, athletic men who could crush most other human beings into dust.

However, that sometimes leads fighters into saying (or believing) things that are faulty or otherwise execrable—like UFC heavyweight Pat Barry believing that MMA fans who express their opinions verbally (read: booing) are, as he put it, “Roaches.”

“That’s why I call them roaches,” Barry said on a video he posted on his YouTube channel in response to an incident he had with a booing fan. “There are more of them than us. They’re never going to go away. They’re feeble creatures…They’re just a bunch of [expletive] roaches, running around. They’re everywhere, can’t escape them.”

This view is awful, but what’s worse is that a group of MMA fans actually endorse this belief! Just spend five minutes on the legendary MMA message board, The Underground, to see one poster raise a point only to be shot down by dozens of people going “Well you don’t TRAIN/FIGHT so how could you possibly have anything worthwhile to say?”

Just look at the highest-rated comment of Barry’s video, which is a response to a rant against Barry’s views:

“Oh, I see. You are one of the roaches who hasn’t ever competed in a combat sport,” the comment said. Many of the other 400-odd comments echo this sentiment. 

The notion that only someone who has fought can offer criticism is not only laughable, but it shouldn’t matter in the context of booing a fight. 

Fighters and fighter-worshipping fans might not realize this, but the sport of MMA, as well as the UFC’s popularity, only exists because of fans like the one mentioned in Barry’s video. Casual fans who spend their money on the sport for a night of entertainment, a night where they can forget about political chicanery in the news and workplace politics and just enjoy phantasmagorical displays of violence, symphonies of strikes and submissions.

Look at the sport before The Ultimate Fighter and the emergence of the casual, Spike TV-watching fan; there was a reason those times were called “The Dark Ages.”

Yes, fans may have been more respectable, but the sport as a whole was in a much worse place and money was extremely scarce.

Now, the sport is approaching the mainstream (and some might argue that it is mainstream already) and is therefore being plagued with mainstream problems—the foremost one being that fighters will be criticized and booed at some point in their careers and there is absolutely nothing they can do to stop it.

The sport is driven by money, not a nonexistent warrior code of honor. Being vocally unsatisfied with the results of a fight/event that you spent money on via tickets and travel expenses does not make a fan a roach—it doesn’t make them anything.

When paying customers don’t get what they want, they tend to not be happy about it. There’s no sin in that.

If a football game is a dud, do fans flock to the Internet to decry all those who criticize the game’s lack of excitement as feeble pretenders who don’t deserve to assess a football game because they never suited up and played on the gridiron?

No, because such a notion is absurd.

Fans have every right to boo and to be upset with how fights play out—that is their right as paying customers. I’m all for educating oneself on how the sport works and have trained myself to the point of being sidelined with injury, but what I’m not for is berating the people who helped make the sport successful and who keep a roof over the fighters’ heads—the fans.

 

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5 UFC Fighters Who Always Look to Finish

The fans know them all very well. The have a killer instinct that drives them when they fight. They aim for the finish, be it by ruthless KO/TKO or a wicked tight submission.These fighters are ever present in the UFC, and for good reason. They are exci…

The fans know them all very well. The have a killer instinct that drives them when they fight. They aim for the finish, be it by ruthless KO/TKO or a wicked tight submission.

These fighters are ever present in the UFC, and for good reason. They are exciting and fan friendly. Some are feared strikers, and some are tenacious grapplers.

All are well-rounded fighters who want nothing more than to walk away with a post-fight bonus. In the following slides, you’ll see five fighters who always fight to finish.

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