Fighters.com’s numero dos heavyweight “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8) told CagePotato today, “The exclusivity has to go away or else we’re going to have the same problems with becoming a fractured sport the way boxing has.”
With respect to MMA’s classiest act, I disagree.
The UFC’s stranglehold over the top of the sport has ensured the best fighters fight each other.
The best match-up in boxing right now is WBC welterweight titlist Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus WBA and IBF welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto.
For those not in the boxing know, it ain’t happenin’.
Mayweather is ducking the young bull Cotto for more lucrative, less competitive rematches with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Those happen to be match-ups Mayweather is more likely to win. Hell, he’s already beat them both.
It’s the UFC’s umbrella over the sport that has made sure champions fight contenders, not pretenders who allow champions to hold on to belts maximizing the marketability of their reign.
You see, when free agent fighters and their management pick their opponents, whether in boxing or MMA, they tend towards safe fights.
Exhibit A: Everyone’s favorite MMA ducker, sixth-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1).
While a showdown with third-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (21-5) has been an option, Emelianenko has picked fights against middleweight “The Law” Matt Lindland (20-5) and kickboxer “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1).
Such is matchmaking when managers and free agent fighters seek to prolong their marketability versus the safest reasonable opponents.
I mean, Lindland and Choi are both world champions, right? Nevermind that their championships were in a different weight class and sport respectively than Emelianenko.
I’m not advocating for the UFC. I could care less about which promoter logo is atop a fight card. It’s the card itself that interests me. The fact is, the UFC’s centralized organization of the sport has produced the best fights and, by definition, avoided “becoming a fractured sport the way boxing has.”
Notes From Around MMA
* Top Strikeforce lightweight contender “The Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2) maintains “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9) oiled up before their March 2006 title fight, won by Guida by UD. Thomson claims, “I mentioned it to Clay’s brother one time. I said, ‘Clay was really slippery in that fight…’ He just looked at me, shrugged, and said, ‘You do what you have to do to win.’ I just thought, ‘Whatever, douche bag.’ But, Clay…I think his career has leveled off. He got a few big wins, but he’s taken some losses the last couple of years.”
* Couture (16-8) told IGN he’s pursuing a video game deal with EA Sports. He also claimed, “I don’t care where the fight happens,” in response to a question about fighting sixth-ranked Emelinanenko in the UFC. Couture had previously expressed his desire not to fight Emelianenko in the UFC.
* UFC middleweight Rob Yundt (6-1), who lost his UFC debut in February to “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2), will return to the Octagon 21 June on the TUF 7 finale versus one of the TUF contestants. The UFC won’t reveal Yundt’s opponent to him until that fighter is eliminated on the show.
* The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and sanction MMA in the state by a vote of 95-2. The bill is held-up in the Senate by Senators Dewayne Bunch of Cleveland and Bo Watson of Hixson. The two southeast Tennessee legislators have attached an amendment earmarking the profits from MMA events for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Division I wrestling team. According to the Nashville Post, the amendment may violate NCAA rules. Tennesseans are urged to contact their state Senators and urge the passing of the bill next week without the earmarking amendment.
* Fourth-ranked welterweight “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) and UFC light heavyweight “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1), both New York state residents, and UFC executive Marc Ratner were lobbying New York state Senators Tuesday to legalize and regulate MMA in the state. A bill legalizing and regulating the sport in New York has passed the state’s assembly, but is opposed in the senate.
* Canadian kickboxer “Black Sniper” Michael McDonald (1-1), 2002 and 2004 K-1 North American Grand Prix Champion, won a decision over American kickboxer “The Jet” Rick Roufus (1-1) in an MMA bout fought under the radar in Romania last month.
* “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) and “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (1-1) will go head-to-head 31 May in a ratings battle. SpikeTV will air Ultimate Iceman to compete directly with CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights at 9:00 PM EST. SpikeTV will air an entire day of UFC programming on 31 May, beginning at 11:00 AM EST.
* Star magazine reported that actress/singer Mandy Moore has a crush on top-ranked welterweight “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2). Moore was in the UFC 83 crowd last month when St. Pierre claimed the UFC welterweight title from Serra (9-5).
* You know it’s a slow MMA news cycle when eighth-ranked lightweight “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-2-1) testing negative for steroids in a Nevada State Athletic Commission test is a headline. Of course he tested negative! The headline is if he had tested positive…again.
* As I concluded after the first episode of this season’s The Ultimate Fighter, Jeremy May (5-5) is a douche bag and nothing could’ve made me happier than seeing him get smashed by fellow-Cincinnatian Matt Brown (9-6) last night.
