Saturday night saw the two biggest mixed martial arts promotions, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce, go head-to-head with free shows on television. There will always be those out there who will ask, “Well, who won?”
Well of course, you the fans won.
That was a no brainer, anytime either promotion puts a show on television […]
Saturday night saw the two biggest mixed martial arts promotions, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce, go head-to-head with free shows on television. There will always be those out there who will ask, “Well, who won?”
Well of course, you the fans won.
That was a no brainer, anytime either promotion puts a show on television it’s always the fans who come out on top. But lets take a closer look and examine both cards.
The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale brings with it all of the promotion power and slick advertising the UFC can muster. To a casual fan it might be easy to pick the TUF show as the winner as it brings many fans who followed the entire Spike TV reality series with it. Most UFC events can only be viewed by pay-per-view so this is a great chance to see some favorite fighters for free. It’s also in tune with UFC president Dana White’s policy of giving back to the fans by providing free shows.
Let’s look at the TUF 12 Finale card.
The card had several notable fighters in Stephan Bonnar, Demian Maia, Kendall Grove, and Leonard Garcia but none of the big names fans pay to see on pay-per-view. None of the fighters moved that much closer to a title shot, other than Demian Maia but there is a long list of challengers before him.
Fans got to watch some exciting fights with five bouts on the main card, but failed to see any finishes. In fact fans got a reminder of why the scoring system needs a review with the awarding of a split decision to Leonard Garcia over Nam Phan, in a fight that practically everyone scored for Phan.
Now the Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II event.
On paper the Strikeforce card was much superior than the TUF card with several former champions in Dan Henderson, Renato “Bablu” Sobral, and Antonio “Bigfoot Silva. Wins for several fighters have moved them closer to title contention, notably Dan Henderson and Paul Daley.
If your not a subscriber to Showtime, or were unable to find a suitable video feed on the internet, then you likely missed out. This is still one of the biggest drawbacks to the promotion being unable to reach more homes like the UFC’s deal with Spike TV.
Fans who caught Saturdays show were treated to some exciting knockouts with four of five fights ending in knockouts. Three of those knockouts ended spectacularly with Henderson, Daley, and Robbie Lawler finishing their fights in the first round. The event wasn’t without it’s own controversy as Ovince St. Preux thought the referee should have stopped his fight with Benji Radach in the first round.
If you’ve watched both events, which show did you prefer?
(Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
With everyone focused on the crowning of a new UFC heavyweight champion, The MMA News contributor Jaclyn Hughes takes a look at the co-main event between Jake Shields and Martin Kampmann. Were the judges scores (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) really indicative of how the fight happened? […]
(Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
With everyone focused on the crowning of a new UFC heavyweight champion, The MMA News contributor Jaclyn Hughes takes a look at the co-main event between Jake Shields and Martin Kampmann. Were the judges scores (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) really indicative of how the fight happened? Let us know what you thought of the fight and the article.
Jake Shields earns a split decision at UFC 121 with fans still debating it
While most Brock fans are still hanging their heads in dismay from last night’s UFC 121 main event, the other fights on the card are still being debated. One for certain under the fan microscope is the Jake Shields match in the welterweight division against Martin Kampmann. Shields fans were anxiously anticipating a great win for Jake for his UFC debut since being signed this past summer, in which he did pull out the victory via spilt decision. Some feel as if the fight could’ve gone either way with the judges, while the others feel Jake should have walked away with a unanimous decision.
While observing the fight, it was obvious the judges would give Jake the first round due to the double take downs he obtained over Kampmann. Whether the fans like it or not, those take downs are getting more points in the judges eyes and will sway them. As far as damage that was committed, Kampmann appeared to hurt Jake more than his groundwork affected Martin. The second round was the gray area apparently, as Jake did obtain side control and two takedowns, but Martin got right out of them and also landed two knees during this round, one of which did result in Shields buckling over quickly in the beginning of the second round. The third however, Shields without a doubt began to run out of gas with Kampmann taking advantage of it by taking Jake down and not permitting Shields to complete the body triangle he was aiming for just before the final bell.
The issue here, which seems to be happening all too often is anytime you leave the fight in the hands of the judges you honestly have a chance of just about any outcome. The scorecards for this fight came in at 29-28 Kampmann, 30-27 Shields and 29-28 Shields. Does anyone know what the second judge was watching to result in a score of 30-27? Judges are not similar to referees in that they generally are not a class of people that train in mixed martial arts, where as some refs do. They are trained to score the fights with a ten point system in place and the majority of the fans think Kampmann won this fight which is most likely why there were so many boos coming from the audience. They didn’t even televise Joe Rogan interviewing Jake just after the fight.
While this match will be the fifteenth straight win for Jake, it gives Kampmann a loss with a 17-4 record. Shields is in the works for a title shot, with rumors it will be as soon as taking the winner of the GSP vs. Koscheck fight. Yet another debate, should Jake be getting this opportunity before Jon Fitch? He does train out of the Caesar Gracie Team and hasn’t lost a fight since 2004. Jake’s acclimated ground game is not the issue, it is that other fighters feel this is there time to get a title shot in the welterweight division and by the middle of December the results will be in if Shields will be competing against Josh or GSP.
(Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC 121
LESNAR-VELASQUEZ
By Jake Daniels
Brock Lesnar IS human after all.
All this time I’d figured he was a real-life version of “The Thing” from the fantastic four: made of stone, no neck, talks a lot of junk, backs it up with his fists, and no doubt feels “I’m […]
(Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC 121
LESNAR-VELASQUEZ
By Jake Daniels
Brock Lesnar IS human after all.
All this time I’d figured he was a real-life version of “The Thing” from the fantastic four: made of stone, no neck, talks a lot of junk, backs it up with his fists, and no doubt feels “I’m the idol o’ millions!” I figured it would take some years for someone to bring this guy down. Even Stan Lee would’ve been planning the next dozen or so issues on Lesnar/The Thing bulldozing anything in his way.
There’s no doubt Lesnar was thinking very Thing-like as Cain Velasquez hammered fist after fist into his face Saturday night. “Wotta revoltin’ development ‘dis is”, Ben Grimm used to say when he’d be in trouble with a villain.
Thing is (pardon the pun), Velasquez is no villain – he BEAT the villain. Ask any MMA/UFC fan what they think of Lesnar, and the lines are clearly drawn: you love watching him do that voodoo that he do, or you can’t stand the big muscle head. Despite never having been a member of the WWF/WWE wrestling fraternity, I liked seeing the former NCAA division one wrestling champ grow in the Octagon. He mixes true athleticism with massive size, a mean attitude, and the marketing genius learned in pro wrestling.
The trouble really started for Lesnar in his submission win over Shane Carwin. The millions watching actually witnessed the heavyweight champ get stunned by punches, although his bulging biceps kept a frantically-punching-himself-out Carwin from doing much damage before the end of round one. Still, if you’re Velasquez, you saw an in – and man did he take advantage at UFC 121 to claim the belt from Lesnar. Perhaps Brock himself was fooled by his own “It’s clobberin’ time” attitude, and didn’t give the heavy hands of Velasquez the respect they deserve.
Hopefully, we’ll see Lesnar dig deep, learn some more, and come back for another shot at that shiny golden belt. If he’s really anything like Ben Grimm, he’s already thinking “Maybe I’m too ugly and stupid to give up!” just like The Thing in his fight with the Champion of the Universe.
In the meantime, sombreros off to the new Heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. This Mexican-American may have just locked up a huuuuge new viewing audience as the UFC’s first Mexican title holder. It’s something Dana White will be glad to bank on, considering the millions his former champion brought in just by being his cartoony self.
– Jake Daniels is a former sports radio talk show host and MMA enthusiast.
Jake has offered to help us out at The MMA News, so please let us know if you liked his work. Maybe we can convince him to write a few more articles in the future!
Part of the success for the Ultimate Fighting Championship was bringing the sport to Spike TV with shows like “The Ultimate Fighter.” Since the explosion of the sport, UFC president Dana White has always been seeking to partner up with a major television broadcaster.
In a recent interview after this weekends UFC 121 […]
Part of the success for the Ultimate Fighting Championship was bringing the sport to Spike TV with shows like “The Ultimate Fighter.” Since the explosion of the sport, UFC president Dana White has always been seeking to partner up with a major television broadcaster.
In a recent interview after this weekends UFC 121 event, White hinted at an upcoming network deal, and also noted that the promotion could launch their own network.
A lot of people don’t realize we are in a half a billion homes around the world. You know all the things we’ve been through in the United States, but this sport travels well. Cricket will never be big here and the NFL will never be big around the world. But we are all human beings and fighting is in our DNA. We get it and we like it. So we are working on a couple moves now and should be in a billion homes around the world in the next couple months.
It could be our way into NBC. Everything you’re saying makes sense. Fox on Saturday nights, Comcast merging with NBC, I am sorry I can’t get into it.
Sports Business Journal just came out with a survey asking big names in the industry which sport could start its own network and 4 out of 5 said us. They are right. I agree. That will happen within the next couple years.
The other major promotion, Strikeforce, deals with Showtime, which is a subscription service and can only be accessed by so many homes. A major network deal for the UFC would open the sport into the mainstream of everyday homes. A network deal would certainly help the promotion move into other markets around the world, allowing more events to be shown each month without fans having to hurt their pockets with costly pay-per-views.
Of course, according to White, the UFC could open their own network. Would you subscribe if the channel was available?
The MMA News would like to welcome our newest contributor Jaclyn Hughes to the site. Jaclyn is a big fan of mixed martial arts and has written for other sites in the past.
Recently she interviewed Strikeforce’s latest welterweight acquisition Paul “Semtex” Daley and has let us repost that article here.
Give the interview a read […]
The MMA News would like to welcome our newest contributor Jaclyn Hughes to the site. Jaclyn is a big fan of mixed martial arts and has written for other sites in the past.
Recently she interviewed Strikeforce’s latest welterweight acquisition Paul “Semtex” Daley and has let us repost that article here.
Give the interview a read and let us know what you think of Jaclyn’s work!
___________________________________
Do you know the real Paul ‘Semtex‘ Daley?
When thinking of welterweight contender Paul Daley, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The strike to Josh Koscheck after their fight during UFC 113 most likely, not the aggressive striker or acclimated Muay Thai fighter that he truly is. What’s ironic is the Diaz brothers for example (Nick and Nate), engaging in fights during cards that weren’t even remotely justifiable and yet, not even a slap on the hand for their lack of self-control? Was Paul wrong? Absolutely and he has taken his punishment respectfully, but what about Josh? Yes, Josh too. If you watched that fight and assumed Paul got up and did what he did as a result of simply being out-wrestled, your assumption could not be farther from the truth.
While watching the fight live, it certainly appeared Daley lost his mind and the shame of it is, very few people actually know why that is. Just as there are strict rules in the UFC regarding a punch thrown after the bell will clearly not be permitted, there are the exact same policies in effect for fighters behaviorism’s during the actual fight. A fighter is not permitted to speak to their opponent during the bout unless it is fight related (Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area). Perhaps these rules don’t apply to Josh, as he had Paul tightly in his guard and continued to verbally bash him minute after minute of the fight. The bell rings, Paul has had enough and goes after Josh swinging. Daley’s temper got the best of him certainly, but the public has yet to hear any apology from Josh regarding his unprofessional tactics during the fight or even Dana White, who is well aware of the remarks Josh illegally made to Paul during the fight.
(more after the jump )
While Daley has successfully moved on and obtained a contract with the Strikeforce organization, the actual truth behind his dismissal from the UFC is mind-blowing. MMA fans tuned into watch what harsh words Dana would serve Paul with at the press conference, and he made it very clear stating “He’ll never come back, I don’t care if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world, he’s never coming back here.” While White was on point with his comments in front of the entire world, he neglected to utilize that same professionalism with one individual…Paul Semtex Daley. That‘s right, what many imagine occurred actually did not, Paul was made aware of his termination not by the UFC, but by a fan. Yes a fan, anxiously awaiting Daley’s autograph is how Paul was notified. In fact to take it a step further, Paul has not spoken to or heard even one peep from White since the second he walked out of the octagon at UFC 113. As a result of his actions, Daley apologized to Koscheck publicly just after the incident as well as losing his UFC career and serving a thirty day suspension issued by the Athletic Commission of Quebec.
Some other things to consider in the future when the name Paul Daley comes to mind- he began training in karate at the age of seven, he has trained in Holland and fights out of Team Rough House in Nottingham, England. He has also contributed to the Mothers Against Guns Project as well as recently opening a school for training in the Nottingham area called The Spirit Dojo Mixed Martial Arts Academy. His record is currently 25-9-2, and the 27 year old contender is ready to face off on December 4th against Scott Smith at the Strikeforce event: Henderson versus Babalu. Catching up with the heavy hitter during his busy schedule and recent trip to Egypt, this is what he had to say:
1- Paul, what in the world are you doing in Egypt?
On holiday with my girlfriend, having some down time.
2- Congratulations on your win over Jorge Masvidal. Imagining it has been quite some time since you have won a fight over a point advantage, is there anything you would change looking back at the fight now?
I would of liked to have been out to the USA earlier instead of the Wednesday before the fight, but the US Embassy were taking a while with my visa, but they came good in the end.
3- It is no secret you are an aggressive striker. Some would say if your ground skills were parallel with your stand up you would be unstoppable. Do these opinions alter your views or techniques you work on in your training camps?
I am always working to improve in all areas, the more I fight the better I get.
4- You are one of the very few fighters that has competed in both the UFC and the Strikeforce franchises, how has the reception been for you from your fans since making the change?
I have yet to experience the Strikeforce fans properly, but I’m guessing they will be just as cool as the UFC fans.
5- You recently completed wrestling training in Texas over the summer. What are your thoughts on fans and even other fighters (Mike Bisping for example) making remarks regarding UK fighters selling out by training in the States?
I train all over the world. I train where I can concentrate without interference and get the best out of my coaches, whether that be in the USA, Holland or Thailand or if I fly them to me.
6- You’re a busy man with the recent success of your training club “The Spirit Dojo Mixed Martial Arts Academy” in Nottingham. Would you say you have a deeper passion for training others or for competing at this stage in your life?
I have a deeper passion for life, I have a lot I want to achieve and I am confident I will.
7-Now that the public is aware of your upcoming fight against Scott Smith, should they brace themselves for an all out slug fest?
I don’t really get into slugging matches. I hope to go in and get the job done quickly, winning without having it go to the scorecards.
8-Dream fight, you versus who?
I want to be the champ wherever I fight, so I guess right now that would be Nick Diaz.
9-What is one thing the MMA community would be surprised to learn about Paul Daley?
I don’t know, but if I think of something…you’ll be able to read about it on my blog at www.semtex.tv
10- Is it safe to assume in the event the fight the MMA world is craving to happen featuring your good friend Dan Hardy against Josh Koscheck you will be in Dan’s corner or at least in the front row laughing?
I would love to be, I think that would make for an awesome fight.
Now that we’ve had a couple of day’s to absorb the event that was “UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop” we at The MMA News are wondering if “Fight Night” bonuses are enough to motivate fighters to put in a great performance.
Has the UFC’s policy of “one and done” got fighters so scared they’re unwilling […]
Now that we’ve had a couple of day’s to absorb the event that was “UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop” we at The MMA News are wondering if “Fight Night” bonuses are enough to motivate fighters to put in a great performance.
Has the UFC’s policy of “one and done” got fighters so scared they’re unwilling to take risks that could end up costing them the fight and their job. Looking back at the past two UFC events, UFC 119 and UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares conspiracy theorists might see a trend emerging that points to yes.
UFC president Dana White offered fighters $70,000 “Fight Night” bonuses for this past weekends UFC 119 event. It was a higher payout than the usual $60K offered during normal pay-per-view events, but no where near the highest bonus payouts of $100K handed out at UFC 100. Maybe White new the card was a little flat and felt he could motivate fighters with a bigger payout.
Fighters taking part on the Sept. 15 UFN 22 in Austin, Texas were offered $40,000 “Fight Night” bonuses, a 33.3% increase over the usual $30,000 bonuses handed out at recent UFC Fight Night events.
Both event cards featured a total of 21 bouts, 13 of which went to decision.
The headliner for UFC 119 was certainly headed that way but Frank Mir’s third round knee to opponent Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovi? stopped the fight before the bell. At UFN 22, five straight bouts went to unanimous decision on the preliminary card with another two on the Spike TV broadcast going that way also. Thankfully Cole Miller was able to submit Ross Pearson in the second, and Efrain Escudero was finally caught by Charles Oliveira in the third with a rear-naked-choke to end that fight before the judges could preside over that bout.
Is this a trend mixed martial arts fans are doomed to witness in future events? One could never know, but as fighters look to protect their livelihood and training camps prepare their fighters to earn a Win, the answer appears to be yes.
Fighters not in the top tiers of their division have to deal with the fact that one loss could put them on the unemployment line. Coming out and laying it all “on the line” for an exciting fight just isn’t worth it when you compare job security in the UFC to the chance of earning a big bonus for a win.
So fighters are looking at ways of winning that reduces their chances of being cut from the UFC.
A perfect example was a bout many had tagged as a “Fight of the Night” candidate, between lightweights Melvin Guillard and Jeremy Stephens. The fight was anything but “Fight of the Night” material.
Not to point the finger at either fighter, but BloodyElbow.com had an interesting article on Guillard and the untypical strategy he employed against Stephens.
The article notes that since joining the Greg Jackson camp, Guillard dropped his typical exciting fighting style for the Jackson “Winning Above All” strategy against Stephens. Basically the fighter dances in and out while never putting themselves in danger, all the while doing just enough to win the fight.
Not an exciting strategy from a fans perspective, but one that wins fights using the Ten Point must system.
So will we be stuck watching unexciting fights for the foreseeable future?
For the short term the answer would be yes, but we can see a move by the UFC to change the rules or offer fighters some greater incentive to put on a great fight if the trend continues.
One easy change the UFC could employ which would certainly go a long way, would be dropping their right to release any fighter after a loss, that would certainly encourage fighters to put on an exciting bout.
Telling the UFC that you were simply “laying it all on the line” to earn a “Fight Night” bonus definitely won’t save your, especially after your opponents hand has been raised and yours wasn’t. But employing a strategy that looks to minimize the danger to you while scoring points will certainly keep you around for the next fight.
Saturday night saw the two biggest mixed martial arts promotions, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce, go head-to-head with free shows on television. There will always be those out there who will ask, “Well, who won?”
