Middleweights Yoel Romero and David Branch will meet, as the two have been signed for the upcoming UFC on FOX 28 card. The bout was first reported by The Orlando Sentinel. Romero (12-2) suffered his first loss since 2011 when he dropped a five-round de…
Middleweights Yoel Romero and David Branch will meet, as the two have been signed for the upcoming UFC on FOX 28 card. The bout was first reported by The Orlando Sentinel. Romero (12-2) suffered his first loss since 2011 when he dropped a five-round decision to Robert Whittaker for the interim UFC middleweight title. The […]
When UFC 1 took place on a cold November night back in 1993 from McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it ignited the beginning of the world’s foremost mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, fueled by the concept of the best fighting the best to call themselves champion. It may have been extremely rough around the edges in […]
When UFC 1 took place on a cold November night back in 1993 from McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it ignited the beginning of the world’s foremost mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, fueled by the concept of the best fighting the best to call themselves champion.
It may have been extremely rough around the edges in those ‘dark’ days where the sport having few rules and regulation had it on the precipice of doom, but the opposite is very much true today. After the Fertitta brothers along with Dana White purchased the UFC for a paltry sum and turned it into a legitimately regulated competition watched on pay-per-view the world over, the UFC exploded into a global brand that put shows on nearly every weekend.
When its popularity peaked in 2016 on the heels of the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rivalry, the Fertitta brothers saw an opportunity to cash in, and cash in they did. Selling the UFC to Hollywood talent giant WME-IMG (now Endeavor) for a then-record $4.2 billion, one of the biggest franchise sales in sports (of any kind) history was complete. But all was not rosy. This year has seen the advent of some truly horrific pay-per-view and television ratings, with UFC 213, UFC 215, and UFC 216 ranking as three of the lowest-watched PPVs ever, while December’s TUF 26 Finale was the least-watched UFC live event of all-time.
So while it was undoubtedly rough around the edges in its infancy, the UFC is dealing with a whole different set of problems heading into 2018, and many would argue that the UFC owners don’t exactly know what they’re doing. A growing sense is that the Hollywood agency is now trying to book the more mainstream, over-the-top spectacle fights rather than those that clearly have a more legitimate meaning based on meritocracy.
It’s lead to a steady stream of criticism that the UFC is becoming more like pro-wrestling and their WWE counterpart, obviously not the most endearing of words from fight fans. The argument, unfortunately, cannot be totally denied. Let’s take a look at the reasons why:
Jason Silva/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
5.) Titles Mean Next To Nothing:
Endeavor has to be commended for finally getting the middleweight division moving in the right direction by booking Robert Whittaker vs. Luke Rockhold for UFC 221, but there is one weight class that is an absolute mess in the UFC.
It’s obviously Conor McGregor’s held-hostage lightweight division, where “The Notorious” fought once and won the belt way back at UFC 205 in November 2016 before leaving to box – and lose – to Floyd Mayweather for the entirety of 2017. McGregor made the record-setting payday he was always looking for and can’t be blamed for doing it, but the fact remains the 155-pound landscape, which is still one of the most talented in MMA, has no clarity whatsoever at the current moment.
An interim belt was given to Tony Ferguson at October’s UFC 216, but without a path to a unification bout with McGregor, he opted to have elbow surgery, leaving not one but two champions on the sidelines with no real news about a return. Take into account the middleweight situation as well, where Michael Bisping was allowed to avoid the top 10 contenders by facing a retiring No. 14 Dan Henderson and an unretiring Georges St-Pierre, who had never even fought in the division. St-Pierre won and vacated the belt hardly a month later.
Interim titles are also created around much more frequently, making them seem more like the WWE titles that are handed over and won back on a never-ending cycle.
Because of these occurrences, UFC titles seem like little more than gold belts to be flaunted after a win rather than symbols of true MMA supremacy to be defended with pride.
When UFC 1 took place on a cold November night back in 1993 from McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it ignited the beginning of the world’s foremost mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, fueled by the concept of the best fighting the best to call themselves champion. It may have been extremely rough around the edges in […]
When UFC 1 took place on a cold November night back in 1993 from McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, it ignited the beginning of the world’s foremost mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, fueled by the concept of the best fighting the best to call themselves champion.
It may have been extremely rough around the edges in those ‘dark’ days where the sport having few rules and regulation had it on the precipice of doom, but the opposite is very much true today. After the Fertitta brothers along with Dana White purchased the UFC for a paltry sum and turned it into a legitimately regulated competition watched on pay-per-view the world over, the UFC exploded into a global brand that put shows on nearly every weekend.
When its popularity peaked in 2016 on the heels of the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rivalry, the Fertitta brothers saw an opportunity to cash in, and cash in they did. Selling the UFC to Hollywood talent giant WME-IMG (now Endeavor) for a then-record $4.2 billion, one of the biggest franchise sales in sports (of any kind) history was complete. But all was not rosy. This year has seen the advent of some truly horrific pay-per-view and television ratings, with UFC 213, UFC 215, and UFC 216 ranking as three of the lowest-watched PPVs ever, while December’s TUF 26 Finale was the least-watched UFC live event of all-time.
So while it was undoubtedly rough around the edges in its infancy, the UFC is dealing with a whole different set of problems heading into 2018, and many would argue that the UFC owners don’t exactly know what they’re doing. A growing sense is that the Hollywood agency is now trying to book the more mainstream, over-the-top spectacle fights rather than those that clearly have a more legitimate meaning based on meritocracy.
It’s lead to a steady stream of criticism that the UFC is becoming more like pro-wrestling and their WWE counterpart, obviously not the most endearing of words from fight fans. The argument, unfortunately, cannot be totally denied. Let’s take a look at the reasons why:
Jason Silva/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
5.) Titles Mean Next To Nothing:
Endeavor has to be commended for finally getting the middleweight division moving in the right direction by booking Robert Whittaker vs. Luke Rockhold for UFC 221, but there is one weight class that is an absolute mess in the UFC.
It’s obviously Conor McGregor’s held-hostage lightweight division, where “The Notorious” fought once and won the belt way back at UFC 205 in November 2016 before leaving to box – and lose – to Floyd Mayweather for the entirety of 2017. McGregor made the record-setting payday he was always looking for and can’t be blamed for doing it, but the fact remains the 155-pound landscape, which is still one of the most talented in MMA, has no clarity whatsoever at the current moment.
An interim belt was given to Tony Ferguson at October’s UFC 216, but without a path to a unification bout with McGregor, he opted to have elbow surgery, leaving not one but two champions on the sidelines with no real news about a return. Take into account the middleweight situation as well, where Michael Bisping was allowed to avoid the top 10 contenders by facing a retiring No. 14 Dan Henderson and an unretiring Georges St-Pierre, who had never even fought in the division. St-Pierre won and vacated the belt hardly a month later.
Interim titles are also created around much more frequently, making them seem more like the WWE titles that are handed over and won back on a never-ending cycle.
Because of these occurrences, UFC titles seem like little more than gold belts to be flaunted after a win rather than symbols of true MMA supremacy to be defended with pride.
Former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s MMA return is currently unknown after he vacated the 185-pound title following his thrilling win over Michael Bisping at November 4’s UFC 217 if it ever even happens. But for one night, St-Pierre toppled a challenge many thought he would be overmatched against in the then-surging “Count,” rocking […]
Former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s MMA return is currently unknown after he vacated the 185-pound title following his thrilling win over Michael Bisping at November 4’s UFC 217 if it ever even happens.
But for one night, St-Pierre toppled a challenge many thought he would be overmatched against in the then-surging “Count,” rocking the brash Brit with improved striking before submitting him with a scintillating rear-naked choke that forced the former champ to pass out.
St-Pierre had touted a more action-focused style in the months leading up to the heavily hyped fight, but few seemed to believe him after he had been without a finish for nine years. He scored one in emphatic fashion, however, and it wasn’t by accident. Speaking during a recent episode of The MMA Hour, St-Pierre’s longtime Brazilian jiu-jitsu head coach John Danaher revealed the all-time great plan’s to come back with more power and drive to stop his opponent in an effort to shut up the critics of his legacy:
“We talked about it a little more and I said to him that there has always been three criticisms of your career. The first is that you’re so controlling and tactical in your approach to fighting that it makes for boring fights. That’s always been a persistent criticism.
“The second is that you never fought up a weight class. You always fought guys at welterweight. The third is that you don’t finish fights. Those are the three persistent criticisms of the legacy of Georges St-Pierre.
“I said why don’t we focus on a training regiment that strongly emphasizes submissions and TKOs/KOs and punching power that you need to finish a fight. You go up a weight division and you focus on the old, dynamic in-and-out and lateral movement of Georges St-Pierre to create a faster paced fight that people find more interesting. We ran the idea past other people – Firas Zahabi, Freddie Roach etc. – and everyone said that it was a good idea.”
Noah K. Murray for USA TODAY Sports
Danaher then opened up about how he and their team implemented this into their fighting strategy, noting that GSP shifted focus from mainly positional work to potentially fight-changing strikes and submissions:
“Georges came in and worked with the squad and we strongly emphasized submission holds. Normally when I train with Georges it’s really what we call ‘grapple boxing’, which is a mixture of striking and boxing on the ground. It’s mostly positional work. Instead we changed everything to submission holds, favoring strangulations from the back and leg locks. Georges made remarkable progress.
“He started working with Freddie Roach on the mechanics of punching so he was hitting harder. He was sitting on his punches more and just working on the mechanical element of straightforwardly hitting harder with a strong emphasis on left hook, jab and straight rear hand.He made significant changes and there was a notable sense that he was hitting harder and he was working submissions with a lot of success in the gym.
“He started working with a karate specialist who brought back the old, linear, in-and-out movement that Georges was so famous for in the early days of his career.We were pretty confident before the camp started that people were going to see something new, something that would add to Georges’ legacy. This wouldn’t be the Georges of 170 fighting another top welterweight and doing the same thing that he did for a decade.
“This was him fighting up a weight class with a strong emphasis on finishing the fight in a dynamic, mobile way, which people found exciting.”
Indeed more did obviously find St-Pierre’s new style much more exciting, but the victory was somewhat marred by him unfortunately going through a bout of colitis presumably from the increased food intake required for him to fight at middleweight. But thanks to his overall professionalism and skill, he was able to fight through the ailment and deliver a surprising knockdown and submission over one of the toughest contenders at 185:
“Unfortunately the plan ran flat into a physical problem, which was completely unforeseen. But Georges is the incredible athlete that he is and he managed to find a way to get through that and enact the original plan and he did exactly what the plan was designed to do,” he said.
“He finished the fight with a beautifully applied strike into a submission hold. He showed increased power, he knocked down a man who is extraordinarily difficult to knock down in a weight division above him.
“He showed genuine improvements in punching power. He showed genuine improvements in submission attacks finishing people from the back and he did it on a man in a weight class above him in a dynamic and tidy fight that went back and forth, and thrilled a sold out crowd in Madison Square Garden.”
There’s no discrediting ‘Rush’s’ win at UFC 217, yet his UFC future is cloudy following his rapid vacation of the middleweight championship. It avoided tying up the 185-pound landscape for an unforeseen amount of time like lightweight, but it also may have tarnished the entire idea of winning the title in the first place – something the UFC has been criticized of several times during 2017.
He’s now teasing a return for a “mega-fight” with Conor McGregor, which could, unfortunately, be the best course of action in today’s strange MMA climate.
After a four-year layoff, Georges St. Pierre returned to the Octagon at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 where he submitted Michael Bisping in the third round of their headlining bout to become the UFC middleweight champion. Although he appeared to tire as the bout dragged on, St. Pierre looked terrific at 185 pounds, out-striking […]
After a four-year layoff, Georges St. Pierre returned to the Octagon at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 where he submitted Michael Bisping in the third round of their headlining bout to become the UFC middleweight champion.
Although he appeared to tire as the bout dragged on, St. Pierre looked terrific at 185 pounds, out-striking Bisping and eventually out-grappling him as well.
Recently speaking on the fight, top contender Yoel Romero said that he wasn’t surprised by the outcome:
“It’s not a surprise for anybody, it’s not a surprise, it’s not a surprise,” Romero told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I knew that Michael Bisping didn’t have good wrestling or grappling, I knew this guy had nothing for St-Pierre. And I knew St-Pierre would beat him and go out again.”
Although he put on a strong performance against Bisping, St. Pierre vacated the title just a little more than a month after winning it, citing a sickness as the reason why. Romero also claims that he saw this coming, although he labeled “Rush” as ‘smart’ for doing so:
“For sure, (I knew St-Pierre would vacate the middleweight belt), because 185 pounds is a very dangerous category, many people have good quality,” Romero said. “I clap for Georges St-Pierre because he’s smart, ‘ok, I have another belt, very easy with this guy. I kill him and I have a very good Christmas.’”
After a four-year layoff, Georges St. Pierre returned to the Octagon at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 where he submitted Michael Bisping in the third round of their headlining bout to become the UFC middleweight champion. Although he appeared to tire as the bout dragged on, St. Pierre looked terrific at 185 pounds, out-striking […]
After a four-year layoff, Georges St. Pierre returned to the Octagon at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 where he submitted Michael Bisping in the third round of their headlining bout to become the UFC middleweight champion.
Although he appeared to tire as the bout dragged on, St. Pierre looked terrific at 185 pounds, out-striking Bisping and eventually out-grappling him as well.
Recently speaking on the fight, top contender Yoel Romero said that he wasn’t surprised by the outcome:
“It’s not a surprise for anybody, it’s not a surprise, it’s not a surprise,” Romero told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I knew that Michael Bisping didn’t have good wrestling or grappling, I knew this guy had nothing for St-Pierre. And I knew St-Pierre would beat him and go out again.”
Although he put on a strong performance against Bisping, St. Pierre vacated the title just a little more than a month after winning it, citing a sickness as the reason why. Romero also claims that he saw this coming, although he labeled “Rush” as ‘smart’ for doing so:
“For sure, (I knew St-Pierre would vacate the middleweight belt), because 185 pounds is a very dangerous category, many people have good quality,” Romero said. “I clap for Georges St-Pierre because he’s smart, ‘ok, I have another belt, very easy with this guy. I kill him and I have a very good Christmas.’”
