Budget MMA Blog

PPV Battle: UFC 90 vs. $45

2008-10-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

Do you believe that Anderson Silva is so good that it is worth buying a PPV featuring him regardless of the rest of the card, even if he's fighting an oppenent that has roughly no chance against him?

Are you related to one of the fighters on the card?

If you answered, "yes," to either of these questions, then UFC 90 is worth your $45. Otherwise, save you money and look for video of Silva vs. Cote on the internet Sunday morning.

Shallow preview of the main card:

Silva vs. Cote

Arguably the best fighter in the world vs a good gatekeeper. It is Silva vs. Leben all over again, or maybe Silva vs. Irvin.

Koscheck vs. Alves

Best fight on the card in terms of matched talent and styles. Alves should be able to keep Koscheck from laying on him for 3 rounds.

Werdum vs. Dos Santos

Werdum is more of a favorite in this fight than Silva is in his. That should tell you everything you need to know about this one.

"King Lay'n Pray" Sherk vs. "Unable to finish" Griffin

If you could bet on whether or not a fight would go to a decision, what would be the money line of this going to a decision? -1000? -2000? (For non-gamblers, -1000 means that you need to bet $1,000 to win $100)

Possible undercard match because Silva vs. Cote finishes in the first round:

Best guess: Leites vs. McFedries because it is the undercard match least likely to go to decision.

To summarize:

2 squash matches
1 wrestler vs wrestler decision
1 competitive fight
1 undercard fight

Does that sound like $45 to you?

Overheard at UFC 89

2008-10-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Bisping vs Leben

"I haven't seen a Brit run that fast since Dunkirk 1940."

"Does Bisping owe Machida royalties for that fight?"

"Who knew Leben's cardio would ever be good enough to chase someone across the Octagon for 15 minutes?"

Jardine vs Vera

"I'm going go get a beer."

Sokoudjou vs Cane

"This is the best Sokoudjou we've ever seen," (2 minutes later) "never mind."

Other

"Is Shane Carwin more Brock Lesnar than Brock Lesnar?"

Worst weekend for Free MMA Ever

2008-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

On Friday, it was announced that Thiago Silva had to withdraw from his UFC 89 match with Machida.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/injured-silva-withdraws-from-ufc-89-14296

So, much for getting to watch 2 of the top 5 light heavyweights in the world fight for free, and probably fight for a title show.

But, that's ok because there's a free WEC event coming up this week, right? Wrong, that event had to be delayed until November.

http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/09/06/wecs-sept-10-event-postponed-until-nov-5/

In two days, we lost one of the best free MMA fights of all time and had a WEC event pushed back 2 months. Fuck

I didn't see that coming...

2008-09-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Damn, apparently Evans knocked Liddell way the fuck out of the title picture, or at least as out of the title picture as one of MMA's biggest names can be, and knocked himself off the "I won't pay to watch" list by Sean Salmon'ing Liddell.

Who now fights Forrest Griffin for the light heavyweight belt in December?

Liddell's out of contention, Machida has no name recognition & can't finish, Thiago Silva's injured (fuck, and more on that in a latter post), and Jackson isn't a viable champ until his criminal trial is over.

I'd say that leaves 3 people:

Evans who has the record and just gave himself some serious name recognition (fight could be billed as "UFC: Ultimate Ultimate Fighter")

Wanderlei has the history & is a decently sized name in the US (fight could be billed as "UFC: Generations")

Silva, assuming he beats Cote & doesn't get a medical suspension, has name recognition in the US & has the credentials. And, it is the easiest of these fights to sell, "UFC: Champion vs Champion."

Enjoy the real start of the NFL season tomorrow (1 game on Thursday night doesn't count as the start). Hopefully, it'll help ease the pain of today being the worst day in the history of free MMA (more on that later this week).

September PPV Battle: UFC 88 vs $45

2008-09-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Do you like lay & pray fighting? Do you think the most thrilling thing in MMA is watching a wrestler lay on top of someone for 3 rounds? If so, you'll love UFC 88. Otherwise, save your money.

Main Event:

Liddell vs Evans

The counter-punching face of the UFC vs an "I won't pay to watch" wrestler. If Liddell's sprawl holds up, he'll most likely KO Evans eventually. If not, Evans will lay on top of Liddell for the whole fight.

Main Card:

Frankln vs Hamill

Hamill is Evans, only slower, deaf, and white. Franklin is a guy other than Penn or Silva that's trying to fight above his weight class. Franklin's screwed. I doubt he's strong enough to keep Hamill off him, and he most likely doesn't have the power to stop a light-heavyweight. So, Hamill's going to lay on Franklin, early & often.

Parisyan vs Yoshida

Parisyan hasn't been the same since an injury forced him to withdraw from his title shot against Hughes. He's still a decision machine, they're no longer entertaining decisions. They're slow, uneventful decisions.

Henderson vs Palhares

Henderson was one of the best in the world. Is his 2 fight losing streak the result of him being over the hill or is it because he was fighting two of the best in the world (Jackson & Silva)?

But, more importantly, why the hell isn't he fighting Franklin? Henderson and Franklin are the 2nd & 3rd best 185 lb'ers in the world. Why the hell aren't they fighting each other?

If Henderson beats Palhares, he's probably 1 fight away from a rematch against Silva. If Henderson loses, he should consider hanging it up.

Kampmann vs Marquardt

Best fight on the card. Kampmann has looked fantastc lately & Marquardt is extremely talented. Winner of this could easily get to lose to Silva next.

Hmmm... lay & pray vs counter punch, lay & pray vs undersized, boring decision machine vs I forget who, finding out if some one has anything left, & a good fight. That equals save your money. Besides there's enough free MMA coming this month (WEC, Ultimate Fight Night, and a new season of the Ultimate Fighter) that there's no need to waste cash on this one.

Is this legal?

2008-08-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has decided joined Wolfslair. Jackson joining a gym/team is a good sign of him getting things back on track.

There's just one problem: Wolfslair is located in England and Jackson is currently facing multiple felony charges. I don't mean to imply that Jackson is trying to pull an Ira Einhorn and permanently flee the country, but aren't you not allowed to leave the country while on trial, or between arraignment and trail.

Are there any lawyers out there, who read this blog, that can explain the situation? Most of my knowledge of the US legal system comes from Jack McCoy and the oh so lovely Angie Harmon so I'm far from an expert.

http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=974

World's Most Overrated Man

2008-08-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

He hasn't won a MMA fight in 4 years.

He's an ex-professional wrestler.

He lost his last 5 MMA fights.

He turns his fights into embarrassing personal feuds.

He lost 8 of his last 10 fights.

If you complain after he cuts in front of you in line, he starts yelling about how you need to respect him.

He once tried to hide the fact that he tapped out after his opponent released the hold.

He hasn't made it out of the first round in 6 years.

He is Kimbo Slice's next opponent.

He is the World's Most Overrated Man.

"I don't always lose my fights, but when I do, I prefer referee stoppage followed by my complaining."

Olympic MMA?

2008-08-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

As the Bejing Olympics ended on Sunday, people started speculating about the 2012 Olympics in London.

Could England top China's Opening Ceremony and event sites?

Could England spend anywere near the $40 billion that China supposed spent on the olympics?

Would England sentence any of its citizens to hard labor if they asked to protest?

Would softball and baseball be back for the 2012 games or would they be dropped from the Olympics?

What other sports are on the chopping block?

Will any sports be added, and if so which ones?

Could MMA become an Olympic sport? The Olympics have a long history of popular sports. Beach volleyball became an Olympic sport after the AVP established the sport's broad appeal. Snowboarding was added to the Olympics after the X-Games started being televised on network TV. BMX, another "extreme sport" just road the rising tide of the X-Games to Olympic exclusion.

There's no arguing that MMA is experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity (http://budgetmmafan.blogspot.com/search/label/general%20intro) or that Olympic MMA would help the medal counts of Brazil & Japan. And, many MMA elements are already in the Olympics (wrestling, boxing, Judo, etc.). The big question is whether or not MMA can be made Olympic friendly.

Can MMA be Olympic-ified, like boxing, so athletes can fight 5 - 6 times in a fortnight? I don't think it can be.Olympic-ifing striking disciplines like boxing and tae-kwon-do involves throwing on a bunch of pads/protective gear. Problem is you can't wrestle or use jui-jitsu if you and your opponent are covered in pads.

I'd love to see the additional free MMA of Olympic MMA in 2012, but we're more likely to get stuck with Olympic skateboarding than Olympic MMA.

Where to go, Tito?

2008-08-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Tito Ortiz's UFC contract has officially expired (there was a 60 day no compete clause in his contract that took effect after his fight with Machida).

Tito recently claimed to have signed a "ground breaking contract" with Affliction. But he hasn't he's still in negotiations with Affliction, and with almost every other MMA promotion in existence (except for Strikeforce oddly enough). http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/2008/08/18/ddn081808spinside.html

Since, Tito's still on the market, let's take a look at his options:

Affliction
Pro's:
Affliction is the biggest MMA promotion that isn't the UFC.

Tito loves the spotlight Affliction is a big organization and can provide that.

Tito is still has name recognition with casual fans in the US. He'll bring in some extra PPV buys. Affliction needs those casual fans to buy their PPV's & see Fedor.

Con's:
Affliction has already gotten weary of giving out incredibly lucrative contracts and has already asked some fighters to take a pay cut.

Who would Tito fight? Affliction doesn't have much in terms of light heavyweight talent besides Sobral. Tito is no longer a top talent, and whoever signs him will have to be very "selective" in picking his opponents. So far, Affliciton hasn't given anyone easy fights.

EliteXC
Pro's:
EliteXC is built around an ex-street fighter & an American Gladiator. Having an ex-UFC champion will help EliteXC look more like a serious MMA promotion and less like a circus side show.

Tito's possibly more interested in being a celebrity than a fighter. EliteXC is the ONLY MMA promotion that can put him on network TV live in prime time. Tito signs with EliteXC had he's a main event on network TV. He signs with Affliction or the UFC and he's a main card fight on a PPV.

EliteXC has already shown that they're willing to give favorable match ups to their big names.

Word on the internet is EliteXC is done. EliteXC's October show on CBS is supposed to be a make-or-break event. EliteXC can't setup it's most legit fight (Noons vs Diaz) because Noons won't return EliteXC's calls http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116448/. EliteXC is considering pulling a Great White Hype http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116448/ with Kimbo by having him fight one of the guys that beat him as an "amateur" even though the guy isn't a MMA fighter. If Tito signs with EliteXC and EliteXC survives, Titos' the man that saved EliteXC. If Tito signs with EliteXC and EliteXC still fold, EliteXC was dead anyway, but Tito got to fight (and win, based on how EliteXC picks opponents) on network TV.

Con's:
Money

UFC
Pro's:
Tito still has enough name recognition to function as a gatekeeper. Put him in one or two fights against favorable competition. Then, put him in against an upcoming talent that needs a big name win to get some name recognition (ex. Thiago Silva).

Con's:
Tito & Dana White dislike each other.

Doubtful that Tito would settle for that role.

Ortiz vs Machida - Tito was supposed to be a big name win to give Machida some recognition with casual fans. The recognition Machida got was being the guy who won a boring fight against Tito.

AFL/other
Pro's:
Tito can be the main event.

Having Tito will slightly raise the profile of the organization.

Con's:
Money

No spotlight/publicity for Tito.

I've been waiting for Tito to sign with EliteXC ever since his last fight with the UFC. Its the perfect fit for Tito. Unfortunately, I doubt Tito will sign with EliteXC.

EliteXC and Affliction are the only two promotions that it makes sense for Tito. So, if Tito won't sign with EliteXC, Affliction is really his only other option.

UFC 90 Poster & Proposed Title

2008-08-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

There's the official poster for UFC 90. Based on the picture of Silva & Cote, I'm guessing this will be "UFC 90: Please, don't hurt me Mr. Silva."

Nothing gay about this..

2008-08-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

nope, nothing at all.

Cheick Kongo is delusional

2008-08-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

After TKO'ing UFC debutant Dan Evensen [who?], Kongo proclaimed:

“Everybody knows I deserve a title fight.”

Really, Kongo? I know the UFC's heavyweight devision is paper thin at best, but really? Everyone know you deserve a title shot? Let's look at your UFC career.

You started your UFC career with 2 impressive TKO wins against decent competition. After those 2 wins, a bunch of people (myself included) thought that you were the next big thing at heavyweight.

Then, you became a decision machine. And, not an entertaining lightweight decision machine. A big, slow, very little action, heavyweight decision machine.

You dropped a majority decision to decent competition.

Then, one of the lesser Silva's (Assuerio) exposed your complete and total lack of a ground game in a decision that you managed to win. I can still hear Rogan going on for 2 rounds about how you needed to be kidnapped and just work on your wrestling for a few months.

To your credit, you took Rogan's advice and developed a ground game, sort of. You spent your next 2 fights laying on top of ghost of Cro Cop that recently appeared in the UFC & Herring. Actually, you only layed on top of Cro Cop's ghost for 3 rounds, Herring did enough to beat you.

And, you finally got another TKO on Saturday.

Let's look at the numbers
5-2 UFC record (22-4-1 overall)
3-1 against decent competition
2-1 against mid-level competition (calling Assuerrio Silva, the Cro Cop that recently showed up in the UFC, and the current Herring, mid-level competition might be generous)
3 TKO's
4 painful decisions
Zero top 10 rankings that I know of. Not being able to crack the top 10 at heavyweight is brutal since Sylvia keeps managing to do it based solely on size and Cro Cop keeps doing it based on name recognition.

Who exactly is "everyone" that thinks you deserve a title shot?

UFC 87 Thoughts featuring Geto Boys

2008-08-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch UFC 87, but that's not going to stop me from talking about the event.

I'm using the Geto Boys timeless "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta" to help me comment on the event. Geto Boys & "Damn if Feels Good to be a Gangsta" are best known to MMA fans (ie. white people) for their appearance on the soundtrack to Office Space.

A real gangsta-ass nigga plays his cards right
A real gangsta-ass nigga never runs his fuckin mouth
Cuz real gangsta-ass niggas don't start fights
Jason MacDonald - You never hear him running his mouth and he keeps overachieving. Yeah, he lost, but who thought he'd be able to fight off some of Maia's submissions & get Maia in trouble.

And niggas always gotta high cap
Showin' all his boys how he shot em
But real gangsta-ass niggas don't flex nuts
Cuz real gangsta-ass niggas know they got em
Brock Lesnar - Even Tito Ortiz thought your post fight (and end of fight) clowning in the Octagon was excessive. Act like you've been here before. You didn't win a title or pull off a major upset. You beat a perennial also ran in a fight were you were a 2-1 to 3-1 favorite.

And everythings cool in the mind of a gangsta
Cuz gangsta-ass niggas think deep
Up three-sixty-five a year 24/7
Cuz real gangsta ass niggas don't sleep
GSP - He's not quite as active as Silva (but who is?), but moments after his win against the 2nd highest rated 170 lb in the UFC, and a consensus top 10 170 lb in the world, he acepted a challenge from BJ Penn.

And all I gotta say to you
Wannabe, gonnabe, cocksuckin', pussy-eatin' prankstas
Cuz when the fry dies down what the fuck you gonna do
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta
Jon Fitch - This is harsh because I like Fitch, and his loss came against the best 170 lb in the world and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in he world. But,what can he do when he can't out wrestle his opponent?

Although I was born in Jamaica
Now I'm in the US makin' deals
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta
I mean one that you don't really know
Demain Maia - He's not from Jamaica, but he's 8-0 (3-0 in the UFC) and looks like a serious contender to be the 2nd best middleweight in the UFC (no one's a contender to over take Silva as the best middleweight for at least a year and a half)

Real gangsta-ass niggas don't talk much
All ya hear is the black from the gun blast
Rob Emerson - You didn't hear him talking before UFC 87, partly because no one could figure out how his fight was on the main card, but damn people are now talking about his KO of Gamburyan.

Now when you in the free world talkin' shit do the shit
Hit the pen and let the mothafuckas shank ya
Heath Herring & Roger Huerta - Before getting in the cage, Herring was complaining about Mir fighting for the title instead of him & that he shouldn't have to fight Lesnar. Before getting in the cage, Huerta was bitching about his contract and asking for a Chuck Liddel level contract that pays a guaranteed 6 figures plus points on the pay-per-view. In the cage, both Herring and Huerta got stopped. Both men lost unanimous decisions with neither one winning a round.

Sadly, none of the lyrics can live up to Kongo's insane post fight comments which deserve their own post, that post is coming later this week.

Full lyrics:
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/officespace/damnitfeelsgoodtobeagangsta.htm
Full UFC 87 results:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26111758/

The WAMMA Problem

2008-08-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

WAMMA, World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts http://gowamma.com/index.asp, is a relatively new company that formed with the noble intention of crowning undisputed champions via the highly scientific and never controversial method of a media poll, a system that works fantastically for college football.

WAMMA has put together a ranking committee composed almost entirely of MMA reporters, and every month this committee comes up with the top 10 fighters in each weight class. The fighters voted #1 in their weight classes do not automatically become WAMMA Champions. WAMMA champions are crowned when the top ranked fighter in a weight class takes on a highly ranked opponent, in a fight that WAMMA approves.

Sounds like an interesting idea, right? There's just one major problem. WAMMA is not an MMA promotion, it has put on exactly zero fights, and it never plans on putting on a single fight. Instead, WAMMA tries to "partner" with MMA promotions where by the "partner" puts together the fight card & event, but WAMMA gets to give out the belt.

Oddly enough, Zuffa, which owns the UFC and WEC, told WAMMA to fuck off when WAMMA approached Zuffa. This was a smart move for the UFC. The UFC has developed into the best known MMA promotion/brand, and the UFC can promote Jackson vs. Griffin for the UFC light heavyweight championship just fine on its own without trying to explain to people that its WAMMA's top ranked light heavyweight versus WAMMA's #3 ranked light heavyweight for the WAMMA belt.

Since Affliction was a start up that hadn't put on a single event when WAMMA approached them, Affliction decided to "partner" with WAMMA. Hey, when you're a new promotion, you need all the additional publicity you can get.

So, Affliction was able to hype Affliction:Banned's main event as the battle for WAMMA's undisputed heavyweight championship. Which helped make Affliction: Banned look like a bigger event than it was and gave the event some added publicity.

We all know what happened. Fedor, WAMMA's #1, beat Sylvia, WAMMA's #4, and won the first ever WAMMA belt. Hooray, Affliction got to give out a belt at its first event and could have Fedor in a title defense in its second event, Affliction: Day of Reckoning against either WAMMA's #3 heavyweight, Barnett, or its #4, Arlovksi.

Unfortunately, Fedor can't/won't compete in Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Instead, the main event will be Barnett vs Arlovski in what WAMMA has decided will be Heavyweight Elimination Bout. That's fine and dandy because Affliction was planning on having the winner fight Fedor at its next event, right?

Wrong, there's a difference between having a plan as to how you'll run your promotion and having someone tell you how to run it. WAMMA just said that Fedor can only defend his belt against the winner of Barnett vs Arlovski. Think of the problems.

What if the winner ends up on a medical suspension and can't fight for a few months/until after Affliction 3? Too bad, that title defense will have to wait until then. If Affliciton wants Fedor to fight someone at Affliction 3, it'll have to be a non-title fight. That's always an easy sell, "come see the champion, fight someone in a non-title fight. No, he's not moving up a weight class or anything unique. We just can't call this a title fight because the champ isn't fighting the right guy."

The Barnett vs Arlovski winner could demand a new contract/crazy (make that crazier, I forgot how much Affliction is already paying them) money to fight Fedor, and Affliction will have to fold or there cannot be a title fight. For the first time ever, the contender will be as important to the title fight as the champ. The champ used to be way more important than the challenger because the champ was the only fighter you needed for a title fight. You could always grab a new challenger if the current one wanted too much money, and it would still be a title fight. Now, the champ and challenger are equally important to the title fight. I'm sure Affliction is pleased knowing that it'll have to appease 2 fighters in order to have a title fight.

Assuming there's no medical suspension problems or contract complaints and Affliction manages to have Fedor defend his belt against the winner of Barnett vs Arlovski at Affliction 3. And assume that Fedor wins, when can Fedor defend his belt again? If Fedor's opponent has to be ranked in the top 5 for it to be a title defense, Affliction is dependent on WAMMA's rankings for title defenses. Those WAMMA rankings will probably look something like this after that fight:

Champ: Fedor
#1: Noguiera (assuming he beats Mir, if he doesn't its even worse for Affliction because both Noguiera and Mir could potentially be in the top 5)
#2: Couture (if WAMMA was going to drop him for inactivitely/being retired it would have done so by now)
#3: Werdum (he's currently #5, and who's he going to lose to between now and January since he won't be fighting either Noguiera or Mir?)
#4: Barnett vs Arlovksi winner (the winner would have just lost to Fedor and I doubt WAMMA would drop them out of the top 5 for that loss)
#5: Sylvia (he's currently #6 & will probably leapfrog with loser of Barnett vs Arlovski due to his not fighting at Affliction: Day of Reckoning)

So, Affliction's options for a title defense could easily be either Sylvia, the guy Fedor walked through at Affliction: Banned, or the guy Fedor beat in Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Does either recycled main event sound like something that'll drive PPV buys?

WAMMA is bad news to any promotion. The little bit of added hype/publicity doesn't make up for losing control of your promotion, your fighters, and your championship belts.

Also, I wonder what would happen if a WAMMA champ lost in a fight that WAMMA didn't consider a title fight. Would WAMMA drop his ranking and strip him of his belt?

WEC: Kings of Free MMA

2008-08-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

The WEC is a funny promotion.

Zuffa, the parent company of the WEC & UFC, treats the WEC's lightweight through heavyweight divisions as the UFC's minor league.

The WEC has two of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world (Faber & Torres) in two weight classes that the UFC doesn't even carry, 135 and 145.

WEC events are broadcast on Versus, the extended, extended cable network best known for airing the NLL & NHL.

The WEC has arguably the best commentary team in MMA. Mir has grown into the best color commentator in the game, and he keeps getting better.

The WEC is the most consistently entertaining brand in MMA. Their most recent event on the 3rd was no exception. It featured 4 free fights, all of which were extremely entertaining with a lot of action standing and on the ground.

The WEC's success/entertainment value comes from how incredibly well it uses its roster. The WEC seems to embrace the saying, "you don't need 2 great fighters for a great fight, you need 2 evenly matched fighters." The WEC keeps its fights balanced. You rarely get a fight where there's a heavy favorite that walks through his opponent.

The WEC's next event is on Sept 10th, I highly recommend setting your DVR's. Heck, set your DVR's now for reruns of early WEC events. You'll be glad you did.

Note: I'm not saying that any of the WEC's lightweight to heavyweight fighters couldn't compete in the UFC. Some clearly could, ex. Condit, but on the whole the WEC's lightweight to heavyweight classes aren't as talented as the UFC's.

Worst Tattoo in MMA

2008-08-06T12:04:00.001-07:00

Hands down Lesnar's chest tattoo. The worst is when the handle of the knife/sword isn't in the picture.

August PPV Battle: UFC 87 vs $55

2008-08-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

There's only one big PPV this month, UFC 87. So, instead of deciding which PPV is more worth your money, I'm going to try and decide if UFC 87 is worth your $55.

Main Event:

GSP vs Fitch

GSP is typically a very entertaining fighter. He fights at a fast pace and is talented enough to not only take the fighter anywhere, but to also finish the fight anywhere, unlike, oh say, Forrest Griffin.

Fitch is a decision machine.

GSP is out to cement his place as the top 170 lb fighter in the world and try to get his name thrown back into the best pound-for-pound fighter debate.

Fitch wants to show the UFC how big a mistake they made cutting him from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter at the last minute (Note: He was dropped for Diego Sanchez).

As much as I like Fitch, I don't see this fight being close. I think Vegas listing GSP as -325 is an understatement. Fitch is pretty much a one-dimensional wrestler who can't finish, and GSP can finish a fight anywhere.

I can't call this one an entertaining fight because GSP's one-sided victories aren't as captivating as Silva's. When watching Silva walk-through an opponent, you feel as though you're watching one of the greatest ever. Right now, GSP doesn't give off that historically great vibe.

This main event doesn't kill the card and can easily be saved by a good main card. Let's look at the main card.

Main Card:

Lesnar vs Herring

It is the UFC's sideshow versus a perennial also-ran.

Herring's good enough to always be in the mix at heavyweight, but he's not good enough to be anything more than in the mix. Also, since coming to the UFC, he's proved incapable of finishing a fight.

Do you think Lesnar is jealous of Kimbo Slice? Slice gets to main event EliteXC while fighting Thompson & Abbott, while Lesnar gets thrown in against ex-champ, and possibly future champ, Mir and the solid Herring. It is a great strategy on Dana White's part. Either Lesnar proves himself to be an elite heavyweight or by the time his UFC contract is up he's useless to any other promotion (crappy record and no longer a novelty).

This will probably play out like Lesnar's 2 previous fights. He'll come charging out, get the take down, and flail away from full-guard. Only this time he'll probably get the stoppage because Herring's ground game has looked like crap lately (he got dominated on the ground by O'Brien and struggled on the ground against Kongo).

Entertaining? No, Herring's UFC fights have been crap. I've seen Lesnar's shtick before, and the novelty factor has already worn off.

Florian vs Huerta

Fuck and yes.

These 2 guys are arguably the 2nd and 3rd best lightweights in the UFC (I put both of them ahead of lay-and-pray Sherk, largely because I hate watching Sherk, and you can make an argument for putting them ahead of Stevenson) and both are either top 10 or top 15 lightweights in the world.

I can't recommend this fight highly enough. It has 2 extremely talented lightweights both of whom fight at a fast pace and can actually finish fights.

Entertaining: Absolutely.

Gamburyan vs Emerson

What exactly has Emerson done to deserve main card status? Gamburyan has ditched the lay-and-pray style that he used so effectively on whichever season of TUF he was on and has become a bit of a submission dynamo. Emerson lucked his way into a no contest when Maynard put his head too far forward on a slam KO'ing himself and won a bad spilt decision in an incredibly forgettable fight. And, that's after losing twice while on TUF. How does that translate into the main card of a PPV?

Entertaining: Neither fighter makes you groan, but I can't help wondering how this made its way onto the main card.

MacDonald vs Maia

This is a battle of 2 very good middleweights.

Right now, MacDonald is a gatekeeper for elite middleweights. He'll finish average to good middleweights, but will be overwhelmed by elite middleweights (see his fight against Franklin). But, he is always fun to watch.

This fight will let everyone know how good Maia is. He's looked very good finishing his 2 UFC fights against solid competition.

This fight has as much talent as Cote vs Almeida, but styles that should make for a more entertaining fight, of course, waiting in line at the DMV is more entertaining than Cote vs Almeida was.

Entertaining: Yes

In total, we have a lackluster main event, a novelty act, a fantastic fight, why is this a main card fight, and a solid fight. Does that make UFC 87 worth your $55? I'd say no.

But wait, my cable company is running a promotion where I can order this PPV for $45. Is this worth $45? Depends on your opinion of GSP vs Fitch & the Lesnar side show. $45 is right on the edge of whether or not I think this one is worth it (it is worth $40, but not worth $50).

Best news about this PPV? Kongo has finally been demoted to the undercard. I so thought this guy was a serious heavyweight contender after he started his UFC career with 2 TKO's. Then, he became a decision machine without knock-out power and no ground game. Then, he became unwatchable when he developed enough of a ground game to lay on top of Cro Cop and Herring. Be very, very glad you won't have to watch him. If you have tickets to the event, use his fight as a good time to run to the bar and/or bathroom.

Thought on EliteXC: Unfinished Business

2008-08-01T11:44:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I'm really late in talking about EliteXC: Unfinished Business, but that doesn't change the fact that the show was embarrassing from top to bottom.

Cyborg vs Baszler started out as a good fight. Baszler had some solid submission attempts in round 1 and controlled the round. Then, Cyborg started hitting Baszler in round 2, and Cyborg completely and totally dominated the stand-up. That's where things turned embarrassing. Cyborg dropped Baszler, Mazigatti (probably, not spelled right) half steps in, Cyborg thinks Mazigatti's stopping the fight because Baszler's fucked, Cyborg starts celebrating, Cyborg jumps on the cage, and Mazigatti instead of stopping the fight channels his best Shang Tsung starts telling Cyborg to finish her.

Guess what happens? Cyborg comes down off the cage and beats the tar out of Baszler who's covering up & not fighting back for about a minute and then finally KO's Baszler. Then, we have the post fight interview with the victorious Cyborg to talk about the strange end of the fight, right? Wrong, the post fight interview is an interview with Gina Carano who EliteXC constantly reminds us is the face/future of women's MMA.

After that, EliteXC trotted out 2 fights that were completely and totally unbalanced. Jack Shields walks through Nick Thompson, and then Thomas Denny shows that even if everything goes his way, he can only make it to the second round against Nick Diaz. Yeah, neither of these fights were remotely competitive. Shields vs Thompson was a legit fight, but what the hell was Thomas "Overwhelmed" Denny doing in the cage against Nick Diaz?

Then, before the main event. EliteXC shows highlights of the heavyweight championship fight that took place before the telecast. EliteXC effectively made its heavyweight championship a preliminary fight. Who decided to make a championship fight that features the highest paid fighter on the card a preliminary fight?

My final beef with the event is the unlistenable commentary. I've no beef with Gus Johnson, but Shamrock and the idiot that is "the voice of EliteXC" are painful to listen to. Here's the play-by-play commentary you get from "the voice of EliteXC," 'DOUBLES UP THE JAB!, TRIPLES IT UP!" All this guy does is yell that over and over and over. He's bad enough that I miss Mike Goldburg.

Other examples of great commentary:

"The women wish this fight was just as long as the men's" [10 seconds later] "Baszler's completely gassed"

"Some people refer to Denny as the Crash Davis because he's a career minor league fighter" So, this fight features a career minor leaguer versus a Diaz, why the hell should I be watching it?

"During the replay, you can really see Gina Carano jumping up and down and getting into it. Can we mention Carano a few more times?"

Thank God its Free

2008-07-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

How much would you pay to watch a UFC event broadcast in the middle of the day or at night on a tape delay with Bisping vs Leben as the main event?

$1?
$2.50?
$5?

Well, good news UFC has announced that UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben will be broadcast on SpikeTV, on a tape delay. http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=13660

This is fantastic news. For 2 reasons:

Sokoudjou vs Cane

and more importantly

Machida vs Thiago Silva

Those 2 fights wouldn't have been enough to salvage the event's otherwise lackluster card and make me buy the PPV, but I'll watch any MMA for free.

The fact that Bisping vs Leben is the main event over Machida vs Thiago Silva shows how little mainstream appeal/name recognition Machida & Thiago Silva have. Here's hoping that fighting on free TV ups their name recognition so they can start to be considered for a title fight. They have the talent for a title shot, but no promotion wants to have guys that don't get PPV buys fighting for a title.

2008-07-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

Remember when I said that Kevin Burns was a serious eye injury waiting to happen because of his inability to throw a close-fisted punch with his left hand?

http://budgetmmafan.blogspot.com/2008/07/that-was-lot-of-free-mma.html

I was wrong. Burns seriously injured Anthony Johnson's eye. Johnson talked to MMA Weekly about the extent of the injury and the surgery he had on it.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6770&zoneid=13

You might want to pass on reading the story because it is pretty nasty.

Johnson's doctor has told him that he'll be out until at least September. And, Johnson hopes to be fighting again in either September or October.

Nooooooooo

2008-07-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

http://mmarated.com/blogs/blog/20080718/exclusive__okami_breaks_hand__potential_silva_fight_off-310.html

According to MMA Rated, Yushin Okami has broken his hand. So, instead of seeing Silva defend his belt against Okami, we'll get Silva defending his belt against Cote. Fuck. That's a fight that'll test the theory that I'll pay to watch any Silva fight.

He made how much?

2008-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

The payouts for Affliction: Banned and UFC: Silva vs Irvin have been released. You can see the full payouts on http://www.mmapayout.com/

Highlights/Thoughts:

Affliction: Banned

$3.3M of total payouts? Damn, you better start selling out arenas.

A lot of people are complaining about Sylvia being overpaid at $800k. I mostly disagree. Sylvia would be overpaid if he was making $800k for a normal fight, but this wasn't a normal fight. Affliction was using this fight to establish its MMA brand and to build up its center piece, Fedor. Think of it this way, Affliction didn't pay $800k for Sylvia, Affliction paid $800k to get Fedor a big name opponent with a credible resume (2 time UFC champ) who's a top 5 or 10 heavyweight (no Sylvia isn't particularly skilled, but his size, and lack of heavyweights, do enough to earn him the ranking). If Affliction ever pays Sylvia this much again, its crazy, but it made sense for this fight.

Fedor's number is a joke because it doesn't include any PPV share or other revenue. Its not a complete number.

$500k base for Arlovski is overpaying. Unless, you signed him to be Fedor's next opponent (assuming Couture can't get out of his UFC contract). If Affliction's paying, Arlovski this much to wrap up another big name, big resume, big talent opponent for Fedor, this makes complete sense.

Barnett's close to being overpaid at $300k base because I doubt he's a big draw. But, this makes sense if he was Affliction's backup plan in case Arlovski lost. Affliction secured a big talent another big talent opponent for Fedor.

Rothwell's $250k is a bit of a head scratcher. It may have taken this much to get him to fight Arlovski. But, even if he won, he's at least 3 fights away from being a bookable opponent for Fedor, and that's a big salary to carry for that many shows.

I got nothing to justify Lindland's $225k base. I like him, but this is crazy money.

Affliction paid huge money for the top guys, but it doesn't look like it gave anyone else a raise. The lowest guys that fought are making $5k, and most of the other salaries seem in line with the rest of the industry.

UFC: Silva vs Irvin

$723k of total payouts. Do you see a difference between the UFC & Affliction?

After looking at those Affliction payouts, Silva seems completely underpaid at $200k. Even without looking at Affliction's numbers, I'd argue that Silva's underpaid. He's a guy you can build/center your promotion around. He can fight at multiple weight classes (185, 205, and possibly 170, based on rumors). He's the best fighter out there, and I have to believe that this UFC run is making him into a size able name.

Vera's practically stealing money at $200k. I know he's supposed to be the future & started out entertaining. But, I think one or two more performances like the last 2 and he'll be out of the UFC.

Aside from Silva & Vera, no one made too much.

I'd say Velasquez is definitely due to for a raise. He looks very promising, and the UFC needs to lock up heavyweights before Affliction signs them all.

That was a lot of Free MMA

2008-07-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on Saturday's free MMA (in order that the fights aired):

Buentello def Goodridge via unanimous decision: At least it was free. Goodridge has the excuse of taking the fight on 1 day's notice. Buentello, what's your excuse? No, I don't buy changing opponents at the last second as an excuse for a performance like that.

Belfort def Martin via TKO: You think Martin would have gotten better at avoiding flying knees after his fight against Irvin. Belfort put together an effective Machida-esque backing away & countering first round. Martin showed that he doesn't know how to cut off the ring & can only chase.

Dollaway def Taylor via Peruvian necktie: Dollaway lived up to his ASU/Hot Chicks with Douchebags lineage with an insanely illegal "how-the-hell-wasn't-that-a-1-point-deduction" knee to Taylor when Taylor was practically laying on the ground. Dollaway then submitted a still stunned looking Taylor later in the first.

Burns def Johnson via TKO: Burns gave a shining example of a Pyrrhic victory in a fight that probably won't set Johnson back, but might end Burns's career.

Why Johnson will be fine: Mazzagatti was the only one that mistook the eye-poke for a knock-down, and Johnson was winning the fight at the time. UFC management will probably consider it a win in future matchmaking and not set him back. He probably won himself a bunch of new fans because 1) fans like guys then think got screwed 2) he handled himself really well after the fight (eg. criticising the crowd for booing Burns).

Why Burns could be in trouble: Its one thing unintentionally poke someone in the eye during a fight. Its bound to happen when using MMA gloves. Its another thing to do it 4 times during a fight. It doesn't look good, but as long as you don't make a habit of it, people won't hold it against you or claim that you're a dirty fighter. Its yet another thing to admit after the fight that you have to throw your left hand as an open-palm strike (with your fingers near your opponents eyes) because you've broken that hand so many times. You've now admitted that you'll probably land one or two eye pokes a fight. Congratulations, you're now a major eye injury waiting to happen.

Velasquez def O'Brien via TKO: That was dominant. I'd say Velasquez has solidified his standing as a legit heavyweight.

Edgar def Franca via unanimous decision: Edgar reminded everyone that he's one of the UFC's elite, up-tempo lightweights that can't finish. Just like Guida & Griffin, he's fun to watch, but he just can't finish. Meanwhile, Franca learned that the lightweight division has changed a lot since he took on Sherk for the title.

Vera def Any via unanimous decision: I won't be using the word entertaining or any of its synonyms to describe Vera for a very long time. I think Vera and his bloated salary have earned a trip to the undercard after his last 3 fights. Its not a completely impossible idea, the UFC has sent big salaries down to the undercard before (ex. Gonzaga & Sokoudjou). Al tough, it was nice of Goldburg & Rogan to spend the second half of the fight making excuses for Vera.

Silva def Irvin via TKO: Damn! I expected Silva to win, but I didn't think he'd steamroll Irvin that badly. Damn! It was almost enough to get me to start pulling for Evans to beat Liddell just so there'd be a chance of Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin, Champion vs Champion (what better way to show that you have the best fighter in the world than by giving him a chance at 2 belts).

Markham def Farber via KO: Farber showed some very nice stand-up & dominated the first 95 seconds. Then, he dropped his hands too much, and Markham dropped him with a high-kick that you'll be seeing on highlight reels for years to come.

Even more free MMA in July

2008-07-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

My apologies to Affliction. When I listed July's free MMA, I neglected to mention that 3 of Affliction: Banned's preliminary card matches will be broadcast on FSN (8 pm et/ 5 pm pt).

Aleksander Emelianenko vs Paul Buentello and Anotion Rogerio Nogeuira vs Edwin Dewees will definitely be shown along with one other undercard fight. 2 confirmed fights feature guys best known for being the other Emelianenko or other Nogeuira taking on journeymen fighters, and the other preliminary card fights are less compelling. But, I'll watch them for free.

July really could be greatest month of free MMA ever. That's why all MMA fans should be pulling for Affliction: Banned to be, at least, a relative success. Its almost guaranteed that Affliction will lose money on the show due to the payroll of their card and the difficulty of starting a new promotion, but it can still succeed if it gets enough PPV buys. If it succeeds, we'll see more Affliction shows in the future (Fedor vs someone that isn't painful to watch, please) which will create more competition in the MMA world. Which should lead to more free MMA or at least keep companies from raising their PPV price, and maybe lower them (I'm looking at you UFC charging $55 for a PPV vs Afflicition's $40).

Breaking down UFC: Silva vs Irvin

2008-07-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on this weekend's free event:

Silva vs Irvin - I'm really excited to watch this fight on my DVR (sadly, I can't watch it live due to other plans). You already know how I feel about Silva, he's the best in the world, and the only fighter that guarantee's I'll buy a PPV. Irvin's no slouch, the man has great power in his hands (side note: Will people stop saying he KO'd Houston Alexander with the Superman-punch? The punch didn't land flush & Alexander slipped as much as he got knocked-down. Irvin KO'd Alexander with 3 fantastic flush shots from top-position, yes, Alexander, you were knocked-out). Irvin has a chance to win, if he comes out swinging. Silva starts fights very methodically, he typically spends the first 2-3 minutes getting his opponent's timing & range down. If Irvin comes at Silva hard & fast in those opening minutes, he has a shot. If he gives Silva time to settle in or tries to beat Silva in the clinch (as he says he will), we'll find out if Silva has enough power to KO a light heavyweight with a good chin. Based on Silva's fights against Franklin & Leben (Leben ain't a great fighter, but he has a fantastic chin), I'd say Silva has the power.

Vera vs Andy - Vera started off as an electrifying fighter (overstatement, but I was tired of using the word entertaining). Hopefully, dropping a weight class means he'll regain that form. I couldn't find Reese on Wikipedia, so, I'll offer some thoughts on the fight's origin. When the UFC was putting together this "very short notice fuck Affliction" card, it allegedly (based on Vera's claims & offered Vera, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua, and Reese Andy.

Silva, Henderson, & Sokoudjou all turned the fight down which was a good move for each man. Wanderlei didn't want to fight until the end of the year, which is perfectly legit, and may net him a shot at the title if Liddell loses to Evan. Sokoudjou didn't want to take a fight on such short notice (especially because he was on vacation when his representatives were contacted). Smart move on his part, there was a lot of hype surrounding his coming to the UFC, and he lost his first fight (granted the loss was to Machida). He beat his next opponent, but he's still in a somewhat precarious position because starting his UFC career 1-2 would drop him to 5-3 and set his career back a bit. I haven't heard why Henderson turned down the fight, but it was a smart move. Back is his prime, Henderson was arguably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter ever. But, he's 37. He's past his prime and will probably only fight a few more times. He needs to choose those fights very carefully.

Franca vs Edgar - This could easily be the main event for a free card. Both are top-tier lightweights. Be excited about this fight.

Velasquez vs O'Brien - The good news is that this fight can't be as bad as O'Brien's free TV debut against Heath Herring. Its free MMA so I'm trying to be happy. Let's hope Velasquez's takedown defense is good enough to keep O'Brien from sitting on him for 15 minutes or that O'Brien has figured out what to do after taking a guy down. Otherwise, this could be a good time to wash the dishes.

Johnson vs Burns - Johnson's a big guy that fights hard & fast, Burns submitted Roan Carniero. I'm intrigued.

Taylor vs Dollaway - Look 2 guys that were both on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter! OMFG! Taylor sat on top of guys to get to the finals & Dollaway beat 2 of the weaker guys on the show before getting arm-barred twice (but, at least he was man enough to complain after tapping the second time. If you miss this fight live, it'll probably be shown in its entirety on Hot Chicks with Douche Bags http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/.

Really, this fight makes the main card and Rory Markham's doesn't?

This is getting really disturbing

2008-07-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was arrested again (http://www.tmz.com/2008/07/17/round-2-cops-nab-rampage-again/). This time for behavior so erratic he was considered a danger to himself and others.

2008-07-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

The ever quotable Shonie "Mr. International" Carter needs to give the ever quotable Quinton "Rampage" Jackson lessons on how to be "incognegro."

What does this mean to MMA, or at least to the UFC?

Jackson's arrest removes a lot of debate as to who Forrest Griffin will defend his light heavyweight belt against. Everyone had been speculating that Griffin would defend his belt in December against either Chuck Liddell, assuming Liddell beats Rashad "Boring Decision Victory" Evans or Jackson.

I don't think Jackson will be fighting again this year. Even though, he was co-operative when he surrendered to the police, he still led the police on a high speed chase (Question: Doesn't leading the police on a chase make you not co-operative?). I think that will have him tied up, at least, in a courtroom for a few months. And, oh yeah, there's the fascinating detail that Jackson was "medically unfit" to be booked (http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/07/16/the-rampage-situation-morning-update/).

The smart money is that now Liddell gets the title shot. Unless, he loses to the "I won't pay to watch" Evans. If Liddell does lose to Evans, picking someone for Griffin to defend the title against becomes much more interesting.

Lead candidates:

Lyoto Machida -

Pros: Considered one of the best light heavies in the world. Has a fantastic record.

Cons: To mainstream fans he's the guy who beat Tito Ortiz in a boring fight. Doesn't finish fights. Bottom line: If he'd finished Tito Ortiz, he'd probably be the guy to get the title shot. But, I doubt the UFC wants to put 2 guys with trouble finishing in a main event. Especially, when one of them has no star/drawing power.

Wanderlei Silva -

Pros: A finisher. The UFC's best known light heavy weight that isn't named Griffin, Jackson, or Liddell. One of the best in the world.

Cons: Apparently, Wanderlei doesn't want to fight again before the end of the year.

Bottom line: December's the end of the year, and it'd be a title shot. Wanderlei has to be considered the favorite, if Liddell loses or gets injured and can't fight until next year.

Dark horses:

Thiago Silva - This guy is quickly moving up the light heavyweight ranks, and he finishes fights. But, he has even less name recognition than Machida and hasn't beaten the same level of opponents as Machida.

Anderson Silva, assuming he beats Irvin - He's the most entertaining fighter to watch. He's agruably a bigger name than Wanderlei, and "2 champions fighting each other" should be an easy PPV to sell. But, Silva plans on leaving the light heavyweight division to teammate Machida (http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/07/09/full-translation-of-anderson-silvas-new-tatame-interview/). As much as, I'd love to see this fight Silva has less of a chance than everyone on this list, except for possibly Thiago.

Update: Machida & Thiago Silva are pretty much out of the running now that they're signed to face each other at UFC 89 in October. Turning down the Vera fight might turn into a title opportunity for Wanderlei.

July Free MMA

2008-07-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

July is a fantastic month for budget mma fans.

The main card for UFC Silva vs Irvin has been finalized. It'll feature 6 fights (including the main event). Its the 2nd best free MMA card ever (UFC 75: Champion vs Champion is the best free MMA card ever. Main Event: Jackson vs Henderson & main card fights included: Alexander vs Sakara and Congo vs Cro Crop).

Here's the UFC Silva vs Irvin main card:
Silva vs Irvin - Anderson Silva's fights are always worth watching. And, James Irvin's pretty good too.
Vera vs Andy - Vera finally fights at light heavyweight.
Franca vs Edgar - 2 top tier lightweights
Velasquez vs O'Brien - A highly touted heavyweight making his UFC main card debut (unfortunatly, O'Brien's an "I won't pay to watch" fighter, but its a free event).
Johnson vs Burns
Taylor vs Dollaway

Thank you Affliction for deciding to put on Affliction: Banned, and thank you UFC for trying to kill Affliction: Banned by putting on a free event.

The week after that, we get EliteXC: Unfinished Business on CBS which will feature a solid 4 fight main card.
Lawler vs Smith - Does this count as a rematch since the first fight ended in a "No contest"?
Shields vs Tompson
Denny vs Diaz
Baszler vs Cyborg
I'll buy that card for $0.

Additionally, the UFC folks are "nice" enough to provide counter programing once again (http://www.cagepotato.com/page/2/). The UFC's counter-programing isn't nearly as good this time around, but its still solid. The UFC will rebroadcast UFC Silva vs Irvin & UFC 84 on Spike that night. If you didn't buy UFC 84, its definitely worth DVR'ing (as long as your DVR allows you to record 2 shows at once so you don't miss the live event.

We get all of this for free in addition to the regular free MMA, IFL & Strikeforce's weekly shows.

Here's to Affliction, EliteXC, UFC, IFL, and Strikeforce for making July arguably the greatest month of free MMA ever.

Hey Gurgel, know what's exciting? Finishing a fight

2008-07-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

After watching the Gurgel vs Miller fight on UFC.com (Thank you Bud Lite for sponsoring the fight so it'd be free to view on UFC.com. Bud Lite real men of genius) or maybe while watching the fight, Jorge Gurgel fell onto the "I won't pay to watch" list.

Gurgel's UFC fights haven't been boring in the traditional Cote vs Almeida/no action fight. Instead, his fights are maddening to watch because he's an idiot fighter. I'm not saying Gurgel is an idiot, just that he fights like one. He's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but he refuses to actually try for any submissions or even any take downs. His stand up isn't good enough to finish fights or dominate. But, he spends entire fights striking, and being struck a lot, because he thinks that's what it takes to make a fight entertaining. His stand up isn't good enough to finish fights or dominate.

Gurgel, taking a guy down, dominating him on the ground, and submitting him is entertaining. Very entertaining. And, fans love fighters who actually finish fights, not decision machines. Being able to finish fights is what got you into the UFC in the first place (Gurgel was 9-1 when he entered the UFC with all 9 wins coming by submission).

Gurgel isn't the only idiot fighter out there. We've all seen/heard submission guys talk about how they're going to stand with some striker to prove something or to be entertaining. Gurgel is the most consistent idiot fighter out there. So, I'm pulling for Gurgel to stop being an idiot and to start coming up with and executing fight plans that play to his strength (jui-jitsu) because if Gurgel can stop being an idiot fighter, there's hope for all idiot fighters.

UFC 86 Main Card: I was wrong

2008-07-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

Let's recap those fights that I thought would be exciting (& Koscheck vs Lytle)
http://budgetmmafan.blogspot.com/2008/06/july-ppv-battle-main-card-ufc-86-vs.html

Griffin vs Aurelio
While this was a decent fight that featured all aspects of MMA (striking, wrestling, & jui-jitsu), it didn't live up to my expectations. I expected it to be a lot faster paced with a lot more on the ground. Didn't live up to expectations, but still decent.

Koscheck vs Lytle
I should be saying that this fight was better than expected because it shouldn't have gone the distance, but the end of the 2nd round & entire 3rd painful to watch. From about the 3 minute mark in the 2nd round until the end of the fight, I was waiting for the ref or ringside doctor to step in stop the fight. Lytle had a cut right above his eye that Rogan informed us was the size of a "goat's vagina." He was a bloody tired mess. I give Lytle a lot of credit for staying in the fight, but it should have been stopped. Seriously, was the ringside physician in line at the bar during this fight?

Stevenson vs Tibau
Best main card fight, and coincidentally the only one that didn't go to a decision. A lot a solid ground work and submission skills. Solid fight.

Cote vs Almeida
This fight felt longer than Jackson vs Griffin. A lot longer.

Despite what the UFC says, this fight wasn't tactical, it was uneventful.

Cote looked like the guy that started his UFC career 0-4, and Almeida looked like someone coming off a 4 year layoff.

Let's look at this round-by-round:
First round - Decent action, Almeida shows off some solid ground skill. Cote manages to escape.
Second round - Cote moves forward & Almeida backs up for 5 straight minutes.
Third round - I didn't know 5 minutes could feel so long. Cote wins this round by landing 2 leg kicks. Those 2 leg kicks are the only action in the entire round. It was like watching the wood-cutter's tale of the sword fight in "Rashomon" or the 2 gangs squaring off while Mifune watches from the tower in "Yojimbo."

How bad was it? Even Almeida, one of the guys in the fight, was bored
http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/07/08/ricardo-almeida-blames-boredom-for-loss/

It was bad enough that Almeida fell onto my "I won't pay to watch" list & Cote is now really close to making the list. I'm sparing Cote because of his fight history.

Heck, even Dana White called it a boring fight. He also said that Cote will get a title shot. Which begs the question, what the hell does White have against Okami? Did Okami run over White's dog, repeatedly? Okami doesn't get a title shot because he's seen as boring fighter, but Cote gets a title shot after putting together a snooze-fest for the ages? That's messed up.

Guillard vs Siver
That was quick. Fast explosive striking by Guillard and a solid guillotine attempt by Siver. Solid, entertaining fight. Fast, but entertaining.

Not the entertaining card, I'd expected. At least, the UFC is giving us some free MMA later this month in UFC: Silva vs Irvin (aka "Fuck Affliction").

Good luck to the people that didn't take my advice and decided to buy Affliction: Banned instead of UFC 86.

Jackson vs Griffin: I was right

2008-07-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

Jackson vs Griffin definitely lived up to expectations as a very entertaining fight.

Griffin showed that while he doesn't have knock-out power, he is more than just a good interview. He had a fantastic game plan of staying outside of Jackson's range and peppering the champ with shots. And, jacking up Jackson's leg to limit his mobility & ability to put power behind his punches.

But, I think credit goes to Jackson for keeping the fight so entertaining. His one-punch knock-out ability kept he fight interesting. After Griffin hurt Jackson's leg in round 2, Jackson wasn't really able to go after Griffin the way he did in round 1. He stayed in even with limited mobility and seemed ready to win the fight the second Griffin made a mistake.

The result? I thought Griffin won round 2 10-8 & round 5 10-9, but I had Jackson winning the other 3 rounds 10-9 for a draw. That said, one can easily & rationally argue that Griffin won round 4 because he briefly looked in a triangle. It was a perfectly defensible decision and shouldn't generate any controversy, I just didn't see it that way.

Coming soon: "UFC 86 Main Card: I was wrong"

I've never wanted a Bud Lite so badly in my life...

2008-07-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you Bud Lite for sponsoring both Silva vs. Franklin 1 (yeah, we've all seen it before, but its still fun to watch) and Gurgel vs Miller on UFC.com. In exchange for you giving me those fights for free, I promise to order a Bud Lite next time I'm at a bar.

On a related note: UFC thanks for advertising that the Gurgel vs Miller fight was available for free on UFC.com. But, did you have to follow that announcement by showing Miller's triangle as the submission of the fight?

UFC 86 By the Lines

2008-07-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Is there anyway to recoup our ppv costs for UFC 86 by wagering on the outcome (of course, I'm only talking about placing bets inside a casino sportsbook due to online gambling now being illegal because adults can't be trusted with their money)? Note: THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. THIS POST IN NO WAY IS MEANT TO ENCOURAGE ILLEGAL GAMBLING. DON'T TAKE ANY ADVICE I GIVE SERIOUSLY.

Let's look at the odds:

Jackson -280 vs Griffin +210 - I like Jackson to win the fight, but I don't like him enough for that payout. Griffin on the other hand is tempting. His line has been creeping up (it was +180 yesterday). I don't know if he's worth it a +210, but if he were to hit +240...

Cote +120 vs Almeida -150 - I'm honestly surprised by this line. I expected it to be a -115 vs -115. I give a slight edge in this fight to Almeida, but I don't think he's enough of a favorite for -150. Cote at +120

Stevenson -220 vs Tibau +180 - I like Stevenson in this fight, but not at those odds.

Koscheck -325 vs Lytle +250 - I don't make rationale decisions about fighters on my "I won't pay to watch" list. So, let's just keep going.

Undercard fights - I only bet to add intrigue to whatever I'm watching. There's no guarantee I'll see these fights (& if I do they won't be live). So, I'm passing.

What do you think?

July Dream Card

2008-07-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

What's your dream card based on the guys fighting this week?

Take the fighters competing this month in any of the 4 size able MMA events this month (UFC 86, Affliction: Banned, UFC Silva vs Irvin (aka Fuck Affliction), & Elite XC Unfinished Business), and put together a 5 fight card (1 main event and 4 main card fights). You have to keep the fighters at whatever weight they're fighting at this month.

My card:

Main Event: Quinton Jackson vs Anderson Silva

I was tempted to keep Jackson vs Griffin, but I can't pass on the chance to see Silva fight. For my money, Silva's the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now. Also, he's the one and only guy who's PPV's I'll definitely buy. It doesn't matter what the rest of the card is, I'm buying the event if Silva's in it (yes, this is hyperbole because I'm sure the UFC could come up with an event, I'd pass on, but you get the point).

Anyway, best light heavyweight in the world vs best pound-for-pound, oh yeah.

Main Card:

Fedor Emelianenko vs Josh Barnett

I want to see Emelianenko, and Barnett's the 2nd best heavyweight fighting this month (Emelianenko being the best).

Renato Sobral vs Forest Griffin

Is Griffin really as good as his last fight suggests? Also, both guys typical have very entertaining fights.

Brandon Vera vs Ben Rothwell

2 upcoming heavyweights. Both are highly regarded & a win in this one would be huge for their careers. And we get to find out how Rothwell does against better competition & whether or not Vera can get by in the heavyweight division or if he really needs to drop to light heavyweight.

Correction: Vera is finally dropping down to lightweight for his fight this month. While that's probably a good career move, it disqualifies him from fighting Rothwell. I'll change this one to Gabriel Gonzaga vs Ben Rothwell

Joe Stevenson vs Hermes Franca

2 very good lightweights coming off losses in title fights. Did Franca benefit from being a lightweight when the division wasn't very deep & had just been reformed?

Fights that just didn't make it:
Rothwell vs Gonzaga
Any combination of Stevenson, Griffin, Aurelio, Franca, & Edgar
Lytle vs Johnson

July PPV Battle Main Card: UFC 86 vs Affliction: Banned

2008-06-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

The 2 big questions remaining in the in the UFC 86 vs. Affliction: Banned PPV battle are whether or not Affliction: Banned has a better main card than UFC 86 and, if so, whether that makes up for UFC 86 having a better main event.

When looking at the 2 cards, 1 thing immediately stands out in Affliction's favor. Affliction: Banned has 5 main card, non-main event fights vs UFC 86's 4.

The fights:

Cote vs Almeida or Barnett vs Rizzo

Cote vs Almeida - Cote has managed to shed his "big talent, but can't win in the UFC" label by winning his last 3 UFC fights, all of which were against quality competition. Cote has looked better with each fight, and the last 2 have shown off the heavy hands he was always hyped as having.
The only thing I know about Almeida is that he returned to MMA after a 4 year lay-off and managed to score an impressive first round submission.
I'm really interested in this fight. Its a big fight for both guys. If either guy scores a big, decisive (ie. non-decision) win, he might leap-frog Yushin Okami for a title shot.

Barnett vs Rizzo - Barnett is a rarity, a heavyweight with a ground game. He's one of the top heavyweights in the world (#4 if you believe WAMMA's rankings http://www.gowamma.com/rankings.asp).
Rizzo is your more typical big striker heavyweight. He used to be one of the top heavies in the world, but, at 34, he's starting to move past his prime.
I can't get that excited about this fight. Partially because I'm not a big fan of the heavyweight division (slow & one-dimensional).

Edge: UFC 86

Stevenson vs Tibau or Arlovski vs Rothwell

Stevenson vs Tibau - Stevenson is probably near the top of the lightweight ladder in the UFC. He faired as poorly against BJ Penn as most lightweights which ended his fairly impressive 4 win streak.
Tibau is also coming off a loss that snapped a win streak. Only his loss was to Tyson Griffin, and his win streak was only 3 wins.
I'm not that interested in either fighter. However, this fight should remind people how entertaining the ground game can be.

Arlovski vs Rothwell - Rothwell completely dominated the IFL's heavyweight division, and I'm really interested in seeing him take on higher level competition. Unfortunately, he's fighting Arlovski.
Going into Sylvia vs Arlovski 2, Arlovski had walked through he last 6 opponents and looked poised to dominate the heavyweight division for years. Then, he drops Sylvia with a big overhand right & moves in to finish Sylvia off, only his hands are a bit too low & Sylvia rebounds and finishes Arlovski with strikes. Since that fight, Arlovski has moved onto my "I won't pay to watch list" with uninspiring decisions against Sylvia & Werdum where he's looked extremely hesitant. Granted he's also stopped Cruz and O'Brien, but neither of them are top tier fighters.
WAMMA considers this to be a battle between the #6 & #9 heavyweights in the world, and I'm interested in how Rothwell will fair against top tier competition and whether or not Arlovski can regain his championship form. But, I can't bring myself to get excited about this fight. I can't shake the feeling that its going to be a lot of circling & jabbing.

Edge: UFC 86

Koscheck vs Lytle or Lindland vs Nascmento

Koscheck vs Lytle - Koscheck is the inaugural member of my "I won't pay to watch" list. He's getting better & moving away from his lay & pray roots, but he's still on the list.
Lytle's been fighting with a sense of urgency lately. He's 33 which means if he wants to make a title run, he needs to do that now. He seems to not only understand this, but to also realize that the fastest way to move up the ladder is to finish fights.
Lytle very entertaining fighter, Koscheck an "I won't pay to watch" fighter.

Lindland vs Nascimento - What can you say about Lindland? He's been fighting for over 10 years. He's a middleweight, but he'll fight anyone, anywhere. Hell, his last fight was against Fedor Emelianenko. He's a main card (& occasional main event) fighter that constantly bounces from promotion to promotion.
I've got nothing on Nascimento. I couldn't even find the guy on Wikipedia.

Edge: Affliction: Banned. That's how serious I am about the "I won't pay to watch" list. I'll take a fight with someone I know absolutely nothing about over a fight with someone on the list.

Griffin vs Aurelio or Nogueira vs White

Griffin vs Aurelio - This fight should exemplify my love/hate relationship with the lightweight division. It should be a very exciting, fast paced fight which will end in a decision.

Nogueira vs White - A very good light heavyweight who had a fantastic run in Pride vs a journeyman with a losing record. Why is a fight this lopsided on paper a part of Affliction's first PPV? My guess, Nogueira's there to provide star power & White's there because people know who he is and Nogueira needs an opponent.

Edge: UFC

Praying for undercard matches or Sobral vs Whitehead

Sobral vs Whitehead - This could be my favorite fight on the Affliction: Banned main card. Whitehead dominated the IFL and it'll be interested to watch he take on higher level competition. Sobral is a very good light heavy and proves that even guys weighing over 200 lbs can have a great/entertaining ground game.

Edge: Affliction: Banned

July PPV Battle: UFC 86 vs Affliction: Banned

2008-06-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

July features 2 big pay-per-view events, UFC 86 Jackson vs. Griffin and Affliction: Banned. Which PPV should the MMA fan with a budget buy?

Main Event: Jackson vs. Griffin or Emelianenko vs. Sylvia

Jackson vs. Griffin is guaranteed to have better post fight interviews, but what about the fight itself?

Quinton Jackson is a very talented and very entertaining fighter. His fights are typically exciting whether he's standing & throwing (see either Liddell fight, but preferably the first one in Pride) or picking guys up slamming them & working his ground & pound (see the insane highlight of him powerbombing Ricardo Arona). Yeah, its been 10 months since his last fight, and that would worry me, if I was betting on him (which I still might do, depending on the line). But, he's had long lay-offs before fights before & been ok.

Forrest Griffin is a very entertaining fighter. With the possible exception of the second fight against Stephen Bonnar, his fights are fast-paced & entertaining. He's not unskilled. I didn't refer to him as very talented because I'm still trying to get a grasp as to how good he is. I thought I had his skill level pegged, good enough to be a mid-card fighter in a top tier promotion/good enough to be a champion with a smaller promotion, but then he beat Mauricio Rua. Now, I think he might be good enough to be a champion in a top-tier promotion.

Fedor Emelianenko is the fighter I'm the most interested in watching. Lot's of serious MMA fans swear he's the greatest fighter ever, and he has a fantastic record. I've only seen his fights that made it onto Foxsport's Pride FC Fedor Emelianenko Special (the episode of the now defunct show on Foxsports showing highlights from Pride that was dedicated to Fedor). Truthfully, I was unimpressed with Fedor. Maybe, I was expecting too much because I'd heard so much Fedor hype. Fedor looked very good, but not greatest ever good. So, I really want to watch him fight. Unfortunately...

Tim Sylvia currently resides at the top of my "I won't pay to watch" list. Sylvia's record indicates that he used to be an interesting fighter to watch. But, after the 2nd Andrei Arlovski fight (or possibly after the Tra Telligman fight) he switched to an "effective"/cautious style. He uses his reach/size to outpoint his opponents either by keeping them at a distance with his jab or wearing on them against the cage. Of his last 5 fights, 4 have gone to decision. And, only one of those decisions didn't draw lots of boo's/criticism for its slow pace (the loss to Couture). Hell, during the Vera fight, Joe Rogan because completely biased, screaming for Vera to circle to his right. Tim's new philosophy on fighting can be summed by his post fight interview after his uninspiring 5 round unanimous decision over Jeff Monson. He was asked about people booing him/booing during the fight and his reply was, and I'm paraphrasing, "it doesn't matter, I won."

Despite my interest in watching Fedor fight, UFC 86 definitely holds an edge in the main event.

That's it for this week. Next week, I'll break down the rest of the pay-per-view main event cards & decide on the winning PPV.

Hooray for Harley Davidson

2008-06-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you Harley Davidson for letting everyone watch the Hazelett vs. Burkman fight for free on ufc.com. It'd be nice if Harley Davidson has started a new trend with advertisers sponsoring the unaired fights so they can be seen for free.

I'd argue this gives companies a greater return on their advertising dollars than having their logo in the octagon or sponsoring the fight clock. Having your logo in the ring/on the clock graphic means people see your logo a lot, but people don't view you as doing anything for them. People don't see your logo as much when you sponsor an unaired fight, but they view your company as giving them something for free. Let's put it this way, I have no clue who's logo was in the center of the octagon on Saturday night, but I'll always remember that Harley Davidson let me watch a fight for free.

Thanks Harley Davidson.

Welcome to Budget MMA Blog

2008-06-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

Howdy,

Budget MMA Blog is amazingly enough a blog devoted to following MMA while on a budget. Following MMA while on a budget means buying no more than 1 pay-per-view per month, not subscribing to VOD/Fight-on-Demand/Fight Achieves, and not spending all day searching the Internet for free fight videos.

Budget MMA is all about taking advantage of the MMA available on free TV. Luckily, there's a ton of free MMA right now. There's Strikeforce on NBC, EliteXC on CBS, UFC Unleash, TUF, Ultimate Fight Night Live, etc. on Spike, IFL on Foxsports, & Iron Ring was just on BET.

About the author/blogger: I saw the first few UFC Tournaments on VHS when I was about 10. After that, I didn't follow MMA for various reasons (ie. time/money). Until, the dawn of the current Budget MMA golden age/the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Here's to hoping this blog lasts longer than 3 months.