Mixed Martial Arts is exploding - the sport of the future is here. With mainstream media coverage, and fights on nearly all continents, it's now impossible to ignore the excitement, the complexity and the ferocity of MMA. My name is Ted Czech, and I've worked in York, Pa. for eight years as a police reporter. I've been a fan of MMA since UFC 1 -- seriously -- and I've dabbled in a few styles like karate, kung-fu, taijutsu and submission wrestling. I hope to give some press to fighters from the York area, while also commenting on things happening in the U.S. and beyond. Let's support the sport!
Gary Shaw
From mmajunkie.com:
Gary Shaw of EliteXC has his eye on Tito Ortiz and thinks he can make Ortiz an even bigger star than he was in the UFC.
"Of all my years in the fight game, I know one thing that I could see, touch, smell and feel, and that is a star and a superstar," Shaw said during a Thursday media call. "Every time I see Tito Ortiz, he wreaks (reeks) of stardom. I think I can even better his days in the UFC. I think I can reincarnate Ortiz. He is a talented fighter, and he has all the mechanisms that you need to make someone a superstar."
Ummm....not sure he really wants to touch, smell or feel Ortiz...
Dana White
During the UFC's media conference call Thursday, Dana White uncorked this one:
"Tito is a f***ing idiot," White said. "He's one of the dumbest human beings I've ever met. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes no sense. ... I put up with his s*** when he was a good fighter (but) he's not anymore."
Huh. So does that mean the fight between Ortiz and White is back on?
BJ Penn
And this gem from BJ Penn:
"Sean Sherk, [expletive] you and your steroids. I'm going to kick your ass."
How about when he said, "Sean Sherk, you're dead."??? Man, these guys are gonna scrap at the weigh-ins!
Ryan Hockensmith, a writer on ESPN.com, had this to say about the UFC's "long-term health" recently:
"to build the brand, the organization needs name stars to keep winning. The emergence of Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and possibly Rampage as unbeatable forces is terrific for growing the sport. Die-hard MMA fans will buy the pay-per-views no matter what. But casual fans seem to flock to the sport when there are big stars on big winning streaks, a la Chuck Liddell a year or so ago. It's a tried and true formula in sports: dynasties sell."
Ted's Take: It sounds good on paper, but only in the WWE will it REALLY work. Why? Because mixed martial arts is unscripted. Fighters lose. Yeah sure, it's cool when a fighter goes on a winning streak, but in reality, dynasties are boring. After all, what is a dynasty? It's when your team, or fighter in this case, always wins. How exciting is that?
Take Anderson Silva for example. He's lauded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The most accurate striker in MMA. Destined to hold onto the middleweight belt for as long as he wants. But really, it's going to be downright boring to see him just effortlessly mow through his next five opponents.
So, now that Silva's champ, say you want to keep him there as Hockensmith says. What you'd have to do is to feed him cans. Otherwise, every fight is an opportunity for a challenger to unseat the champion. That's what makes this sport so appealing - on any given night, any fighter can win.
So if I'm Dana White, I'm going to be scouring the earth to find the guy who I think can beat Silva, and then hype it like that. And if that guy fails, I'll find the next fighter who I think can do it, and so on ...
I'll tell you what's exciting. The natural drama of winning and losing, then winning, then losing again. Basically, the triumph of the human spirit. Georges St. Pierre lost the welterweight title in spectacular fashion to Matt Serra, the world's biggest underdog. Rumors then start flying that St. Pierre is not right in the head.
St. Pierre gets on the comeback trail, dominating a top wrestler by what? Wrestling. And the kicker was prior to his dominance over Josh Koscheck, he SAID he was going to out-wrestle him. Then St. Pierre submits the former top dog in the welterweight division, Matt Hughes, setting up a rematch with Serra. But is the match-up one of those things where Serra just has St. Pierre's number? Will St. Pierre crack under the pressure of performing in front of his home-town crowd? Now that's drama. And none of it would have been possible if St. Pierre had beaten Serra.
The best thing the UFC can do is what they've been doing: give the fighters room to develop their personalities and set up the best fights they can. Do that, and the fans will flock and multiply, no matter who wins or loses.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva
Greg Clark, of the blog mmafever, had some disparraging things to say about Wanderlei Silva. I'm all for increasing the traffic on my blog, but I'm not going to do it by spewing out comments most would view as racist. It was only last week I was defending Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson when someone called him a "slave."
It makes no sense for me to debate whether Wandy is washed up or will KO Keith Jardine into oblivion - Clark's comments on Silva overshadow his opinions. Enjoy the bump in your hits while you can, Greg.
Here's what Clark wrote:
Come on, let's get real now and state the obvious and that obvious is the fact that Wanderlei Silva is spent in the UFC.
Yeah I know the sack suckers for the half man-half monkey boy from the jungles of Brazil will swing in here on their Mommy's vine to give their 1 cent about their favorite Pride fighter blah, blah, blah.. ad nauseum.
That's the point -> RIP Pride FC 1997-2007
This is the UFC motherfuckers and ya better recognize the differences between the two or else you'll just be another disappointed Cro Cop, Shogun Rua, Dan Henderson, Sokodjou, Marcus Aurelio, Ryo Chonan, Heath Herring fan.
Finish reading 'Wow, Greg Clark is an idiot of epic proportions' »
“Affliction Banned” to make MMA history
Fedor returns to ring
July 19 PPV show in Anaheim
ANAHEIM, California (May 14, 2008) – Affliction, the premier fashion label for men who love hard rock and fast living, will make history presenting its own Mixed-Martial-Arts pay-per-view event in association with M-1 and Roy Englebrecht Events, appropriately named “Affliction Banned,” featuring the much-anticipated return of Russian heavyweight superstar Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, supported by an All-World caliber undercard, July 19th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
“Affliction Banned” will be distributed on Pay-Per-View and air live (9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT) on cable and satellite viewing in the USA and Canada via iN Demand, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewer’s Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice for a suggested retail price of $39.95. The telecast will be available in both standard and high definition television.
Fedor (27-1), the former undisputed PRIDE® heavyweight champion and Russian M-1 legend, has been universally recognized the past five years as the most dominating heavyweight in the world. He will face former 2-time UFC® heavyweight title-holder Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), fighting out of Iowa by way of his native Maine.
The exciting four-fight undercard is loaded with Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett (21-5), of Seattle, facing-off stateside for the first time in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent to ever knock him out, Brazilian strongman Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-7).
Three-time All-America wrestler Mike Whitehead (20-5), of Salt Lake City, will battle Brazilian sensation Renato “Babalu” Sobral (29-7), of Costa Mesa, California. 2000 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland (20-5), of Oregon City, faces Brazilian favorite Fabio “Negao” Nascimento (8-3). Former IFL® titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-5), of Kenosha, Wisconsin, is scheduled to fight an opponent to be determined in this groundbreaking event.
Tickets are scheduled to go on sale May 20th at the Honda Center box office and through Ticketmaster.
This week's installment features Gilbert Melendez vs. Tetsuji Kato at the Playboy Mansion.
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