Strikeforce: An Analysis

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on August 03, 2009

Ever since I first heard of Strikeforce, I’ve liked them have been quietly rooting for them. They’ve got a very cool name and a lot of potential broadcast support behind them. They’ve also got something of a truce with the UFC—something that can save your backside as an MMA organization. They have some very exciting fighters like Cung Le, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Brett Rogers.

The biggest problem they’re facing is "Champion Lethargy". All totaled, their current champions have defended a total of zero times! For their Heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, the problem seems to be a need to compete outside of Strikeforce, which may be due to boredom within Strikeforce. Sobral has racked up one fight since winning the title, but that fight was for Affliction and unrelated to the Strikeforce belt. Cung Le is a phenomenal fighter who seems to have lost interest in fighting, and would rather pursue a Hollywood acting career. As for their Welterweight Champion…well, they don’t have one of those yet. The Lightweight Champion Josh Thompson hasn’t defended since he got the belt a little over a year ago, which led to the creation of an Interim champion.

If the UFC has taught us anything about successfully building an MMA promotion, it is this: If you want to survive, you have to keep busy. That means your champions need to stay active and defend their Championship Belt frequently. One solution would be to get your champions to stop running off to fight in other promotions. But Strikeforce is still a small name promotion. Do they have the clout to insist that Overeem must (at long last) defend his Heavyweight Title? Can they even hope to insist that their fighters stay inside Strikeforce without triggering a mass coup and seeing them leave Strikeforce in droves? For example, it’s quite possible that if Strikeforce tries to push Overeem, he’ll just drop out of the promotion. Prior to signing Fedor, the outlook for Strikeforce’s leverage over Overeem was pretty bleak.

The best thing that could happen to Strikeforce just landed in the person of Fedor Emelianenko (and right in the middle of putting the finishing touches on this article, I might add.) Gergard Mousasi was just the gravy on top. It will be interesting to see what Emelianenko does for Strikeforce. Every other promotion he’s ever signed with is dead—and one could make a good argument that he’s a massive jinx—but he brings a lot of legitimacy to Strikeforce, even if it is only at the heavyweight level of competition. On the other hand, this could open a feud with the UFC, something that might destroy Strikeforce as a promotion. Time will tell if Strikeforce survives their greatest signing ever.

Here’s what the champions at Strikeforce look like right now:

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION = Alistair Overeem

Title Defenses = 0.

Last fight for Strikeforce = 11/16/07 (when he won the title.) Overeem has fought 4 times since, all for non-Strikeforce promotions.

Fight record Strength (on a scale of 1 to 5) = 4-Excellent. Losses to Chuck Liddell, Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, two losses to “Little Nog” Antônio Rogério Nogueira, two losses to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Getting pummeled by the Light Heavyweights doesn’t look that good for a Heavyweight Champion. Most significant victory: Vitor Belfort twice. Has a lot of wins under his belt, but you’ve never heard of most of the fighters he’s beaten.

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION = Renato “Babalu” Sobral

Title Defenses = 0

Last Fight for Strikeforce = 2008-11-21 (when Babalu won the title). One fight since winning the title, for non-Strikeforce promotion.

Fight Record Strength (scale of 1 to 5) = 5-Elite. Sobral has quite handily beaten some of the best of the best Light Heavyweights in the world. Easily ranks in the top 10 Light Heavyweights in the world on any sane person’s rankings.

Additional Notes: Babalu still has the end of the David Heath fight hanging over his head. Renato refused to let go of a choke hold well after his opponent tapped. During his post-fight interview, Sobral told UFC analyst Joe Rogan that he was aware that Heath had tapped, but "he (Heath) has to learn respect. He deserved that. He called me 'motherfucker'." So any speculation of it not being intentional was forever shattered. The fallout from that fight makes Babalu a potential PR nightmare to whatever promotion he fights for, especially to those who are critical of MMA for being “too brutal.”

MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION = Cung Le

Title Defenses = 0

Last Fight for Strikeforce = 3/29/2008 (when he won the title.) He also hasn’t fought for a year and a half, raising concerns over how committed his is to his fighting career.

Fight Record Strength (scale of 1 to 5) = 4-Excellent. Cung Le has an undefeated career MMA record of 6-0, with all wins by KO or TKO. It is only the scant number of MMA fights that keeps him from ranking amongst MMA’s elite fighters. His most impressive win over Frank Shamrock was particularly interesting: Repeated kicks that Shamrock blocked left Frank Shamrock with a broken arm by the end of the fight. Cung Le is also undefeated in kickboxing.

WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION = VACANT

LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION = Josh Thompson (Champion), Gilbert Melendez (Interim Champion)

Title Defenses for Josh Thompson = 0

Title Defenses for Gilbert Melendez = *1 (Melendez is a former Lightweight Champion, and successfully defended the title once. He lost to Josh Thompson in his second title defense.)

Last fight for Strikeforce for Josh Thompson = 9/20/2008.

Last fight for Strikeforce for Gilbert Melendez = 04/11/2009.

Josh Thompson Fight Record Strength (scale of 1 to 5) = 4-Excellent. Josh has a lot of wins, but most have come over mediocre MMA competition. Still, credit must be given for his 16-2-1 record. Most significant win: beating Gilbert Melendez for the belt. Most significant loss: losing to Clay Guida.

Gilbert Melendez Fight Record Strength (scale of 1 to 5) = 4-Excellent. Gilbert also has a lot of wins, the most significant of which was beating Clay Guida for the Lightweight belt. Most significant loss: losing title to Josh Thompson.

Additional Notes: The Lightweight Division is the busiest of Strikeforce’s weight divisions. Both the champion and interim champion seem to be sticking around and fighting for Strikeforce exclusively, a feat that none of their other champions seem to be able to do.

WOMEN’S CHAMPION = VACANT

The fact that Strikeforce sports a Women’s MMA division at all makes them a rarity amongst all MMA organizations. This certainly might help them become a more significant force in the sport.

The Heavyweight Division: The Cursed Division in MMA

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on July 16, 2009

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The Heavyweight division has been the Achilles Heel of the UFC for a long time. Several of the best Heavyweights in the world have, at various, times refused to fight in the UFC.

To the more knowledgeable fans, that has meant that the UFC's best Heavyweight might not be the word's best Heavyweight; and interestingly enough, this really only applies to the Heavyweight division. In every other weight class, the UFC champion is widely-considered the best fighter in the world at their weight. To make my point:

According to Fight Matrix rankings:

• Lyoto Machida: No. 1 Light Heavyweight, and nine of the top 10 are UFC fighters.

• Anderson Silva: No. 1 Middleweight, with seven of the top 10 in fighters in the UFC.

• George St Pierre: No. 1 Welterweight in the world with seven of the top 10 fighters in the UFC.

The Heavyweight and Lightweight divisions of the UFC are the exceptions to this trend:

• Fedor Emelianenko, who is in Aflfiction: No. 1 Heavyweight in the world, but six of the top 10 are in the UFC.

• Satoru Kitaoka: No. 1 Lightweight in the world. Five of the top 10 are in the UFC. I disagree with this ranking because BJ would destroy Kitaoka, but that’s my unprovable opinion.

The UFC's Heavyweight division has taken a beating from the lack of Fedor Emelianenko. It also lost some credibility when it's poster-child Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture, was knocked out twice by a Light Heavyweight Chuck Liddell. What does it tell you when your best Heavyweight gets owned by a lighter weightclass' champion?

There have been a series of other disasters. PRIDE had a relatively problem-free line of Heavyweight Champions. Then Zuffa bought PRIDE and dissolved it, and that was the end of that. For some reason, the Heavyweight division of all of MMA is perpetually beset with problem after problem. Since the UFC owner, Zuffa, tends to seek out, destroy, and eat all other MMA promotions, the UFC's problems at Heavyweight became all of MMA's problems at Heavyweight.

The UFC Heavyweight Title, in particular, seems to be horribly cursed. There has been so much drama, bad luck, nonsense, and other crap that has gone on that many people have given up on the UFC Heavyweight Division ever retaining any semblance of stability. The history of the UFC Heavyweight division reads like a scripted tragedy or comedy—take your pick.

History of UFC Heavyweight Champions—The Cursed Title:

-- Mark Coleman becomes the first champion by defeating Dan Severn. February 7, 1997.

-- Coleman loses the title to Maurice Smith. July 27, 1997

-- (1) Maurice Smith successfully defends, beating David "Tank" Abbott (October 17, 1997)

-- Randy Couture beats Maurice Smith, taking the title. (December 21, 1997)

-- ** Couture was stripped of the title and left the UFC in January 1998 due to a contract dispute. **

-- Bas Rutten defeats Kevin Randleman to claim the vacant Heavyweight title. May 7, 1999

-- ** The title was vacated in June 1999 when Rutten retired due to training injuries. **

-- Kevin Randleman defeats Pete Williams to become the new Heavyweight Champion (November 19, 1999)

-- (1) Randleman successfully defends his title, beating Pedro Rizzo (June 9, 2000)

-- Randy Couture defeats Kevin Randleman to become Heavyweight champion again.(November 17, 2000)

-- (1) Randy Couture defeats Pedro Rizzo, successfully defending his title. (May 4, 2001)

-- (2) Couture beats Pedro Rizzo again, once again successfully defending his title. (November 2, 2001)

-- Josh Barnett defeats Randy Couture and becomes the new Heavyweight Champion (March 22, 2002)

-- ** Barnett was stripped of the title on July 26, 2002 after testing positive for steroids. **

-- Ricco Rodriguez defeats Randy Couture to claim the vacant Heavyweight title. (September 27, 2002)

-- Tim Sylvia defeats Ricco Rodriguez to become the new Heavyweight Champion. (February 28, 2003)

-- (1) Tim Sylvia defeats Gan McGee to defend his title. (September 26, 2003)

-- ** Sylvia stripped of his title in September 2003 after testing positive for steroids in a post-fight drug test.**

-- Frank Mir defeats Tim Sylvia to claim the vacant Heavyweight Title. (June 19, 2004)

-- ** On September 17, 2004 the champion Frank Mir is severely injured in a motorcycle accident. **

-- Andrei Arlovski defeats Tim Sylvia for Interim Heavyweight Championship (February 5, 2005)

-- (1) Andrei Arlovski defeats Justin Eilers, defending the Interim title. (June 4, 2005)

-- ** Frank Mir is unable to defend his title due to injuries and on August 12, 2005, he is officially stripped of the title and Arlovski becomes the undisputed Heavyweight Champion. **

-- (2) Andrei Arlovski defeats Paul Buentello successfully defending his Heavyweight Title. (October 7, 2005)

-- Tim Sylvia defeats Andrei Arlovski, once again becoming Heavyweight Champion. (April 15, 2006)

-- (1) Tim Sylvia defeats Andrei Arlovski, successfully defending the Heavyweight Title (July 8, 2006)

-- (2) Tim Sylvia defeats Jeff Monson, successfully defending the Heavyweight Title (November 18, 2006)

-- Randy Couture defeats Tim Sylvia, becoming Heavyweight champion for the third time. (March 3, 2007)

-- Randy Couture defeats Gabriel Gonzaga, successfully defending the Heavyweight Title (August 25, 2007)

-- ** On October 11, 2007 Randy Couture announces his intention to leave the UFC. According to Couture, he was leaving due to the UFC's failure to sign Fedor Emelianenko, considered the best Heavyweight in the world, that he is leaving the UFC to pursue a match-up with Fedor. Couture has two fights remaining on his contract and Dana White refused to release Randy from his contract. Couture decides to wait it out, hoping that White would give up. Throughout all of this, Couture is never stripped of them Heavyweight Title. **

-- Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Tim Sylvia for Interim Heavyweight Title. (February 2, 2008)

-- ** After losing the legal battles with the Zuffa, Couture agrees to return to fight in the UFC. (September 2, 2008) **

-- Brock Lesnar defeats Randy Couture to become the new Heavyweight Champion. (November 15, 2008)

-- Frank Mir defeats Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira to become the new Interim Heavyweight Champion. (December 27, 2008)

-- Brock Lesnar defeats Frank Mir for undisputed Heavyweight Title. (July 11, 2009)

The UFC Heavyweight Title has been stripped from or vacated by the reigning champion six times, counting Randy Couture's failed attempt to leave the UFC in 2007. The total number of times all other UFC weight class titles have been stripped or vacated: five times spread over four weight classes.

Another area where the UFC’s Heavyweight Title is unstable: Champions come and go so fact that it’s hard to remember the all.

Consecutive title defenses by UFC Champions:

• Heavyweight: Randy Couture = 2, Andrei Arlovski = 2, Tim Sylvia = 2
• Light Heavyweight: Tito Ortiz = 5, Chuck Liddell = 4, Frank Shamrock = 4
• Middleweight: Anderson Silva = 5, Rich Franklin = 2
• Welterweight: Matt Hughes = 5, Pat Miletich = 4, George St Pierre = 3
• Lightweight: Jens Pulver = 2

Total Number of Champions in the History of the Division, including Interim:

• Heavyweight: 13
• Light Heavyweight: 9, 5 of which are since Jackson KO’d Liddell
• Middleweight: 5
• Welterweight: 5
• Lightweight: 3

The divisions that garner the most interest from the fans and the media are the most stable divisions: Light Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight. The Heavyweight division in particular, and the Lightweight division to a lesser degree, has been too unstable to generate nearly as much fan loyalty and interest.

In my opinion, the UFC Heavyweight division really needs two things to happen:

1. For the love of God, sign Fedor Emelianenko already! The whole point is not whether or not Fedor wins. It's about knowing who is the best Heavyweight in the world. The fact that Fedor continues to fight outside the UFC is absolutely crippling to the credibility of the UFC Heavyweight Champion; and frankly, all of MMA as a sport needs there to be only one undisputed best Heavyweight just so the sport makes sense. Making that kind of sense makes growing the sport a lot easier.
2. Some UFC Heavyweight champion needs to rack up four successful title defenses. I don't care who that someone is. It just needs to be done.

Proof Brock Lesnar is Good for Business

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on July 12, 2009

It's only just the day after Brock Lesnar completely dominated and embarrassed Interim Champion Frank Mir. That dominant performance was followed up by an absolutely ridiculous series of outbursts.

What am I seeing on Bleacher Report? I'm seeing very little mention of the actual fight and a lot of discussion focused on the aftermath. Some saying that they are shocked at his behavior. Some saying it's all for show. But the most interesting thing is this. Day 1 after the fight and Brock Lesnar's antics have generated:

17 articles and 123 comments. That's the current tally and it's going to keep going up in the next month or more. People can't stop talking about it. Antics like those of Brock Lesnar have served to vault other sports into ever increasing popularity, and I think we can expect history to repeat itself.

Can any of the new converts to the "Brock Lesnar Hater Club" honestly tell me that they're going to be willing to miss any of his fights from now on? I mean, you might see Brock get the ass-kicking you feel he so rightly deserves.

And in MMA, you never know who or when that will happen.

Will those of us who feel Brock Lesnar has finally proven himself to be the most terrifying and dangerous Heavyweight on the planet, and proven himself to be a complete fighter miss the next fight? Not a chance in hell!

If Brock Lesnar proceeds to demolish his next several opponents in like fashion, I think we can expect to see folks like Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko take increasing heat until they fight the big UFC loud-mouthed behemoth.

And from what I saw last night, I think that Brock has a lot stronger chance to beat Fedor that I used to. With each fight, Lesnar will diminish Fedor's mystique of invulnerability. Nothing could be better for MMA than to have Lesnar and Fedor fight, and the sooner the better.

Ultimately, I think that Brock's bad behavior will be reigned in by Dana White and others, but it will not be stopped entirely. At the end of the day, it's publicity and it's going to make the UFC a lot of money.

Honoring the Workhorses of the UFC and MMA

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on June 23, 2009

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I'd like to offer up some respect and gratitude to "working-class" fighters of MMA.

Has anyone else noticed that there are certain fighters who emerge in each division who are the unofficial "Welcome to the UFC, I'm going to kick your butt" or "Let's see how good you really are" fighter? They are used to test new fighters, and old fighters alike. They are used to prove up and coming fighters as well as revitalized legends of the sport. These fighters are workhorses. With too many losses and too few wins to get a title shot, they continue to gut it out and go back into the Octagon/Ring. They fight on and on. Some divisions may have a few of them, while other divisions have just one. These guys can lose and lose, but as long as they keep stacking the surprise wins in between their losses, the UFC (and other MMA promos) keep them onboard. Having a living measuring stick for MMA talent is just way to valuable to let go. You can spot most of these guys because generally they have a TON of fights and an usually high number of losses – the kind of numbers of losses that would usually get you kicked out of the UFC. But fight after fight, these guys bring it and they're always dangerous to virtually any level of fighter. They are always a good test for any fighter.

Please pardon me if I focus this on the UFC, but all other significant promotions have a very short history, so picking out their blue collar fighters isn't very clear yet. Those promotions with a bit of history keep losing their fighters to other promotions and quite often that's the UFC.

Heavyweight Division = Heath Herring(28-14-1). Heath Herring is the very definition of “MMA Workhorse.” He’s a tough guy with well rounded skills, but Herring has consistently lost to top contenders and a title shot seems to be perpetually out of reach for the “Texas Crazy Horse.” Yet he is repeatedly used as a litmus test to see if Fighter X deserves a title shot in the near future or if Fighter Y can make it in the UFC or if Fighter Z is still as good as they used to be. Up and coming fighters and aging veterans alike are pitted against him regularly. This guy was PRIDE's workhorse too. In his 43 MMA fights, Herring has never been in a championship bout, yet his list of opponents is a list of “who’s who in MMA.”

Light Heavyweight Division = Keith Jardine(14-6-1). Keith keeps doing the most bizarre thing imaginable: He wins the fights he should lose. He loses the fights he should win. How do you give a title shot to a guy who loses in the first round to Wanderlei Silva when nobody is losing to Silva these days. He lost to Houston Alexander. He had a very impressive fight against Quinton Jackson. He beat Chuck Liddell. He completely beat the crap out of Brandon Vera and Forrest Griffin. What do you do with such a fighter? Keith Jardine is absolutely NOT resigned to be the LHW workhorse, but he fits so perfectly into the job that it's hard to argue with. One thing remains certain, despite his many losses in the UFC, Keith Jardine is a solid test for anyone in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC.

Middleweight Division = Chris Leben(18-5). Leben has an iron chin, powerful strikes and he's no slouch on the ground. Leben may be one of the few "Workhorse" fighters that might not mind the job. He's beaten a lot of fighters he wasn't supposed to. In his losses, he only been KO'd once (Anderson Silva) and submitted once (Jason MacDonald). He can take a lot of punishment and it looks like he'll keep going for a long time to come. When Anderson Silva signed with the UFC, who did they send to welcome him? Chris Leben. When Michael Bisping dropped down to 185, who welcomed him to the division? Chris Leben. The "Crippler" has a lot of those.

Welterweight Division = Marcus Davis (16-5) & Chris Lytle (27-17-5). Davis is a tough guy, well rounded and hits like a truck. He can take punishment and he can give it out. But when you talk of title shots at the Welterweight level, Marcus Davis' name never comes up. And when you're trying to imagine who can beat George St Pierre, Marcus Davis just doesn't come to mind. Marcus Davis has a growing string of "welcome fight" and "talent check" fights. Chris Lytle, on the other hand, is even more your stereotypical Workhorse fighter. Iron chinned brawler with 16 fights in the UFC and 49 MMA fights overall. He is a perfect test for fighters to prove themselves against. He's not looking at any chances of a title shot anytime soon, but that doesn't seem to phase him. And his toughness and resilience continues to impress. Chris has 4 "Fight of the Night" honors to his credit. If you doubt how tough he is, just ask his last two opponents, Marcus Davis and Kevin Burns.

Lightweight = Clay Guida (25-10). Always up against the best, but never quite getting a title shot, Clay Guida is tough as nails. With 3 Fight of the Night honors to his credit, there's no doubt that he's one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. Clay just keeps surprising me by making a war of it against guys that I figured would have him for breakfast. He's also fought the majority of his UFC fights on free broadcasts -- small wonder he's one of the most popular fighters in the UFC! Clay has been up against some incredible strikers, but he's never been knocked out. He's been up against some incredible grapplers, but has only been subbed once in the UFC. Honorable mention for Lightweight workhorse goes out to Joe Stevenson.

I would like to give a big, "Thank you" to these warriors and recognize how much they mean to MMA. They deserve our respect and gratitude.

If you can think of an MMA Workhorse you feel deserves props, please put it in a comment and tell us all about it.

Best Training Camp in MMA? Black House Rising!

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on June 06, 2009

When we think of dominant gyms in MMA (both past and present), several come to mind:

Jackson's Submission Fighting
Miletich Fighting Systems
Team Quest
American Top Team
Brazilian Top Team
The Gracie Family
The Lion's Den
Team Punishment
Chute Boxe Academy
Wolfslair MMA Academy
The Pit
Red Devil Sport Club
Xtreme Couture

I may have missed a few. All of these I’d heard of and knew of. But has anyone else ever heard of The Black House?

“Black House (Casa Preta) is a mixed martial arts fighting team and gym based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Opened on November 27, 2006, Black House was started by former Brazilian Top Team member and black belt Carlos Barreto, Jorge Guimaraes and Rogerio Camoes. Guimaraes acted as the team's manager and Camoes was in charge of the team’s training.

Fighters on the team include Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former Chute Boxe Academy fighter Antonio "Nino" Schembri. In addition to training fighters, the gym offered classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Savate, Muay Thai, Boxing and American Wrestling. The facility featured an octagon, a boxing ring and two dojos in the workout space.”



This team has effectively stormed onto the MMA scene. They are a relatively new camp, founded in 2006 obviously. Yet they have a star-studded lineup of first-rate fighters. These fighters include:

* Anderson Silva 24-4 (Current UFC Middleweight Champion)
* Lyoto Machida 15-0 (Current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
* Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira 31-5-1 (Former Pride FC heavyweight champion and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion)
* Antônio Rogério Nogueira 17-3
* Carlos Barreto 14-9
* Rafael Feijao 7-1
* Paulo Filho 17-1 (Former WEC Middleweight Champion)
* Nino 'Elvis' Schembri 5-5
* Junior dos Santos 8-1
* Andre Galvao 3-0
* Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza 10-2

So the Black House has two current UFC champions: Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. They have the Nogueira twins—with Big Nog as former UFC Interim champion and an MMA legend. They have Paulo Filho, the former WEC Middleweight champion. Their camp has a combined record of 151-31.

With the Nogueiras’ mastery of Brazilian Jui-Jitzu, and the striking credentials of Machida and Anderson Silva, this may be the uncrowned most powerful gym in all of MMA! Can anyone think of a better one?

Some people are clamoring for a fight between Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. The trouble is, both men are Black House fighters. They are team-mates, and it is unlikely that they will fight. The motivation to do so is not significant either.

Both have a championship belt of their own after-all.

The team is going to be relocating—probably to the United States—and quite likely will be renamed.

Whether the name changes or remains the same, I can’t think of any camp with better credentials to claim “best MMA team in the world” at this point in time. The truly amazing thing is that so many people have never heard of the Black House. If I was an up and coming MMA fighter, this would definitely be my first choice of Training Camps.

Written May 20, 2009: "The UFC Needs an Official Minor League"

The UFC Needs an Official Minor League

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on May 20, 2009

I was skimming through yet another article discussing the evils of Dana White and how he runs every competitor to the UFC out of business. He's a very smart tactician at taking on and destroying competing promotions. Love it or hate it, that's not going to change anytime soon.

But what the MMA world needs right now is a viable minor league. Currently, there is a long list of promotions that are continually stepping up to try to challenge the UFC for supremacy. It never goes well, of course. Even the strong promotions like PRIDE end up bringing lackluster fighters to the UFC, with a handful of good prospects.

I'm not going to tell you that the UFC is perfect. What I will say is that it represents the pinnacle of the sport of MMA. No MMA promotion has such an impressive list of top-rated fighters. And when the non-UFC greats come to the UFC, we are disappointed more often than not. Some small handful of fighters are impressive, but in the vast majority of cases, the non-UFC "top ten" fighter is a disappointment (Mirko Cro-Cop, Carols Condit). Even guys like Dan Henderson are doing well, but are not really living up to expectations.

What do MMA fans really want? Get the best fighters in the world to fight the best fighters in the world. We can create Fedor Emelianenko and Wanderlei Silva problems with “nobody knows who the greatest is because the top two fighters are not allowed to fight by contract.” My opinion is to forget that; stick with one top MMA promotion and be done with it.

It seems to me that you have to concede the obvious at some point. UFC is the major leagues of this sport. But the UFC is very unforgiving of any fighter that loses several fights in a row. They keep a short roster and that seems to work for the UFC. And an up-and-coming fighter is not always ready to fight in the UFC.

So, where does a struggling fighter go to regroup from a series of disappointing losses? How do you build it so that the goal of each fighter is to make it in the UFC, instead of leading into competing promotion?

With the purchase of the WEC, Dana White was handed exactly what he needed in order to make a "minor league" version of the UFC: An American-based promotion that already had fighters and weight classes—many that the UFC does not currently have. The logical thing is to convert the WEC weight classes that the UFC doesn't have directly into the UFC, champions, fighters and all. Their Bantamweight fighters and champions become the UFC's fighters and champions. Keep intact all of the WEC weight classes the UFC already has and use it as a proving grounds for up-and-coming fighters or proven fighters down on their luck. Recreate the Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions in the WEC with the same purpose in mind: a minor league to the UFC.

Article Written April 29, 2009. "UFC 98: Clash of the Undefeateds, Clash of the Giant Killers"

UFC 98: Clash of the Undefeateds, Clash of the Giant Killers

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on April 29, 2009

I'm extremely excited to see Evans vs Machida, but most of MMA fandom is barely even talking about it.

UFC 98 features the first-ever championship bout between two undefeated fighters, both with over 10 MMA vicotories.

Both men have racked up an extremely impressive resume of victories. This is a battle between two men that nobody has been able to figure out how to beat, and both are continually getting better and better.

It's truly sad that there appears to be more interest in the Hughes vs Serra undercard than the main event. Both Machida and Evans have beaten multiple of the best fighters in the world. What does it take for these guys to get a little bit of respect?

Both have the reputation of being "boring fighters." I disagree. If your "boring" strategy means you can kick the crap out of all comers, then I'd say it's a pretty damn good strategy.

Evans has demonstrated that he can take out anyone, including men who outweigh him by 50 pounds or so, by winning the Ultimate Fighter Two as a Heavyweight. To the best of my recollection, Machida has never lost any round in any fight in his entire career.

Big names that Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida has beaten:

1.) Stephan Bonnar
2.) Rich Franklin
3.) BJ Penn
4.) Vernon White
5.) Sokoudjou
6.) Tito Ortiz
7.) Thiago Silva

Big names beaten by "Sugar" Rashad Evans:

1.) Keith Jardine
2.) Brad Imes
3.) Stephan Bonnar
4.) Jason Lambert
5.) Michael Bisping
6.) Chuck Liddell
7.) Forrest Griffin

The overall fight card looks solid enough. Irvin vs McFedries looks like a "who knocks out who" fight. Sherk and Edgar will say a lot about what kind of future both of those men will have in MMA. The winner of that will (probably Sherk) is probably one fight away from a title shot.

I'm even curious to see if Serra can actually come up with a way to beat Hughes. He'll have a bit of help there, as Hughes is definitely not the fighter he once was. Then again, neither is Serra.

I'm just dying to see who wins the main event. Who's with me?