Tag: UFC opinions

Mr. White Takes His UFC 151 Ball and Goes Home

Now that the smoke has settled on the cancellation of UFC 151, I’m convinced that this is the most idiotic decision in the history of the modern UFC. I’m tired of reading that this is.

Now that the smoke has settled on the cancellation of UFC 151, I’m convinced that this is the most idiotic decision in the history of the modern UFC. I’m tired of reading that this is Jon Jones’ fault. I’m tired of reading that this is Greg Jackson’s fault. They both did exactly what they should have done and anyone who disagrees lacks a fundamental understanding of what it takes to prepare for a championship fight in the UFC. How is Jones supposed to watch tape, gameplan and then drill that gameplan in three days, which is how much actual training time he would have had before the onset of his media commitments? Yes, Jones could probably beat Sonnen nine times out of ten even without proper preparation but why take any risk at all at this point in his career? He didn’t create this situation and it isn’t his responsibility to fix it.

The people who did create this situation are Dan Henderson, Team Quest and Dana White. Hey, Dan Henderson and Team Quest. How about you tell the UFC as soon as soon as an injury occurs so that they can prepare a backup plan in case Henderson can’t go? Hey, Dana White. How about you not react in the least professional way possible? Here’s a step by step breakdown of Mr. White’s reaction. One, freak out. Two, call Jon Jones and try to strong arm him into taking a fight against Chael Sonnen with three days of real training time to prepare. Three, double down on your freak out when Jones declines the fight and throw your most marketable asset under an oncoming semi truck full of matches and gasoline in front of every microphone that happens to be in range of your spittle spewing lips. Four, cancel the entire event screwing all the other fighters on the card as well as fans who paid for tickets and travel, vendors, event staff, PPV providers etc.

Anything would have been better than what happened here. Have Anderson Silva fight Joe 205er. Have Jones fight Sonnen in a non-title fight with Sonnen guaranteed a title shot if he pulls off the upset. Find two in shape name guys and throw together a catch weight fight. Move the fight to free TV. Drop the price of the PPV and partially refund ticket prices. Anything other than this immature nonsense. I’ll take any bet that if Mr. White would have put out the word that Henderson was scratched and the card needed a headlining fight within 48 hours or the card was going to be cancelled altogether, a solution would have presented itself. Instead, he made a ridiculous worst case scenario snap decision.

Dana White has done some great things in his time overseeing the UFC. This is not one of them. Hopefully, everyone involved learns lessons about the importance of having a second fight that can carry the card and immediate notification of serious injuries. This is a scenario that cannot be repeated if the UFC hopes to continue its explosive growth.

UFC 146 – Thoughts and Opinions

–Let’s make this all-heavyweight card a one time experience. I enjoy watching the big guys go at it but for fifty bucks, I’d like to see more than 22 minutes of fights out of the.

Cain

–Let’s make this all-heavyweight card a one time experience. I enjoy watching the big guys go at it but for fifty bucks, I’d like to see more than 22 minutes of fights out of the main card. And with all the prelims airing on Facebook and FX, the old fix of just plugging in the earlier fights to fill the gaps in the broadcast isn’t as reliable because most fans have already seen them. The entirety of the five fights on the main card didn’t even add up to one full five round fight. So while the heavyweights are usually good for some fireworks, let’s make sure we mix in some lower weight classes to balance out the first round knockouts with some hard fought scraps that go the distance.

–Give us a rematch between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. I know the result will probably be similar to the first fight but after feeling the champion’s power, maybe Velasquez will be more aggressive in getting the fight to the ground and be able to put up a better fight. And more importantly, does anyone want to see Alistair Overeem anywhere near the UFC belt? He has long been considered one of the most egregious PED abusers in the sport based on circumstantial evidence and now that he’s been popped by the commission, can’t we just move on from the idea of him as a legitimate MMA contender? His body has changed more over the course of his career than Barry Bonds. I’ve been watching him since he was a young fighter with good striking, a weak chin, no cardio and no ground game fighting in Pride in Japan. Now, he looks like a completely different human being and having grown up in the era of PED use in all sports, I refuse to be naive and believe him when he says he’s clean.

–The entire MMA community is showering Cain Velasquez with praise after his win over Antonio Silva. Everything I’ve heard and read refers to the performance as dominant. To my eyes, that was not a dominant performance. Early in the first round, Silva threw a kick and Velasquez used it to score a takedown. Silva was defending well on the ground and keeping Velasquez from landing anything cleanly. The former champion managed to slip an elbow through Silva’s guard and even though it wasn’t a powerful strike, it opened a gushing gash on the bridge of Silva’s nose. From there, the cut blinded Silva and Velasquez was able to take advantage and land punches to finish the fight. I guess I just don’t consider landing a glancing elbow and then beating up a blind opponent to be as impressive as most other people in the MMA community, which leads to the next point.

–I suspect that if the situation on Saturday night was reversed and Silva had landed a glancing elbow that turned Velasquez’s face into a blood fountain, people would be calling the outcome a fluke and arguing for the UFC to ban elbows to the head of a grounded opponent. But because Velasquez was perceived to be the superior fighter going into the fight, his performance is viewed as justification of his status in the heavyweight division. So, should the UFC remove elbow strikes to the head of a grounded opponent from its fights? No. The only things that should be removed from the sport are techniques that can either cause life-altering injuries or require absolutely no technical skill. The classic example of that is groin strikes. Groin strikes are not allowed because anyone can kick someone in the groin and if they were allowed, the entire sport would be based on around developing a stance that protected the groin while setting up a myriad of groin attacks. And no one wants to see that. Obviously, elbows on the ground don’t fall into that category so they should remain a part of the sport. And while I’m on the subject, the UFC needs to bring back twelve to six elbows and knees to the head of a grounded opponent. I know they’re more focused on getting licensed in every state and in reality, they should be. But I’m tired of watching guys put one hand on the ground so they can’t be kneed. That goes against the spirit of the sport and it looks cheap. The more techniques remain in the sport, the faster and more fluid the fights will be.