WEC arrives in Columbus, OH tonight with a packed card at the Nationwide Arena. Prelminary bouts begin at 7:00pm, with the televised card airing on Versus at 10pm EST. Brian Bowles and Domenick Cruz will square off for the bantamweight title while Miguel Torres and Jens Pulver return to the cage looking to rebound from recent losses. Also featured on the card is rising star LC Davis and the debuts of Chad Mendes and Eric Koch.
Benchwarmers United will bring you the play-by-play call of the action throughout the evening:
Preliminary Results:
Ricardo Lamas over Bendy Casimir by knockout at 3:43 of Round 1
Fredson Paixao over Courtney Buck by rear naked choke at 2:39 of Round 1
Leonard Garcia and George Roop declared split draw
Anthony Pettis over Danny Castillo by KO at 2:17 of Round 1
Chad Mendes over Erik Koch by unanimous decision (30-27 on all cards)
Scott Jorgensen over Chad George by guillotine choke at 0:31 of Round 1
Bart Palaszewski Vs. Karen Darabedyan
Round 1
The fighters feel each other out in the middle of the cage. Palaszewski lands a left hook. Leg kick lands for Palaszewski. Darabedyan lands a vicious combination of shots that hurts Palaszewski. Darabedyan takes Palaszewski down and Palaszewski stops the assault. Palaszewski goes for armbar but Darabedyan defends. Darabedyan lands a few hammerfist, postures up and lands a few more. Palaszewski lands an upkick and Darabedyan comes back down for a mount. Palaszewski is now in closed guard preventing Darabedyan from posturing up. Darabedyan breaks the closed guard and unleashes another barrage of punches. Darabedyan begins landing elbows. Palaszewski goes for an armbar and cinches it tight. Darabedyan fights it off, but Palaszewski digs his hips in harder, stays on the arm and forces the tapout.
Official Result
Palaszewski by armbar submission at 4:40 of Round 1
Deividas Taurosevicius Vs. LC Davis
Round 1
The fighters come out cautiously. Davis attempts a leg kick, Taurosevicius counters with a head kick attempt. Davis grabs a clinch and backs Taurosevicius against the cage. Davis lands a few knees. Taurosevicius works off the cage and now has Davis backed up against the cage. Davis turns the table back around and lands some knees. Ref breaks the clinch. Taurosevicius lands inside leg kick. Davis lands a stiff jab. The fighters clinch again with Davis pushing Taurosevicius against the wall. Taurosevicius attempts a knee lift and Davis times it perfectly with a right hook. Taurosevicius turns it around and drops for a single leg. David sprawls and turns Taurosevicius back into the cage wall in the clinch. Taurosevicius works off cage and goes for the single leg again. Taurosevicius works his way up into a body lock but Davis defends as round comes to an end.
Close round goes to Davis as he was the aggressor and controlled the pace.
Round 2
The fighters come out aggressively both missing leg kicks and punches. Taurosevicius goes underneath for a takedown attempt, but Davis easily defends. Taurosevicius circles Davis to cage and attempts another single leg, but Davis sprawls out and drops Taurosevicius flat to canvas. Taurosevicius doesn’t give up on it and gets the takedown. Davis uses the cage to stand back up and the fighters clinch again. Taurosevicius lands a knee to the groin of Davis and it appears low. Davis is hurt, but ref will not stop action. Taurosevicius goes to work on Davis to the body and Davis finally recovers from the low blow. Davis works Taurosevicius to the cage in the clinch and Taurosevicius lands another obvious knee to the groin. Davis complains and ref tells him he didn’t see it. Ref breaks the clinch. Davis lands a nice right to the head and Taurosevicius reaches in for a body lock. Taurosevicius drops for a single leg, but Davis defends well again. Round comes to an end.
Due to referee not calling low blows, round has to go to Taurosevicius
Round 3
Davis lands quickly with a left and Taurosevicius counters back with his own. Davis grabs the clinch and backs Taurosevicius into the cage again. The crowd begins to boo. Taurosevicius shifts to a body lock and lands knee to Davis’ head. Taurosevicius lands an elbow to the head. The fighters break the clinch, back to the center. Davis blocks a head kick. Davis shoots for a takedown, but Taurosevicius pulls him back up into a clinch. The fans begin to boo again. Taurosevicius grabs another body lock along the cage, trying to bring Davis to the mat. The referee breaks the clinch. Davis lands a straight left and shoots underneath for a double leg takedown. Davis has his left arm pinned underneath Taurosevicius and cannot take advantage before referee stands them up. Thirty seconds left and the fighters are very cautious. Taurosevicius comes forward for a clinch, Davis circles him into cage wall one last time before the fight comes to an end.
Final round goes to Davis in an uneventful defensive affair.
Official Result Davis by majority decision of 29-29, 29-28 and 29-28.
Jens Pulver Vs. Javier Vazquez
Round 1
Fan favorite Pulver enters the cage to an excited crowd that is clearly in his corner. The bell sounds and Vasquez lands first with a solid left to the head and Pulver backs away. Vasquez goes under and Pulver catches him in guillotine. Vasquez breaks the choke and they are on their feet. The fighters scramble on the mat and Vasquez takes Pulver’s back. Vasquez lands a few shots before Pulver turns tables and gets a mount. Pulver postures up, landing a few shots on in his way up. Pulver attempts to come back down, but Vasquez reverses and gets side mount. Vasquez gets a crucifix and begins raining down shots. Pulver scrambles, Vasquez gets his back and cinches a rear naked choke. Pulver defends and scrambles to get to his back. Vasquez gets a mount position, Pulver extends his arm and Vasquez makes him pay for it as he locks in an arm bar. Vasquez stretches the arm tight and Pulver taps out.
Official Result
Vasquez by arm bar submission at 3:41 of Round 1
Miguel Torres Vs. Joseph Benavidez
Round 1
Torres lands inside leg kick. Lots of caution between the fighters as Torres circles around the cage. The fighters both miss with kicks. Benavidez blocks a head kick. Leg kick lands for Torres. The fighters trade shots to the head. Torres lunges in with a shot to the head, but Benavidez backs him of with a right. Torres leaps in for a lower leg kick and Benavidez drops him to mat with a straight right. Torres looks for an upkick but Benavidez refuses to be drawn in. The fighters clinch and Torres nails Benavidez with a knee. Benavidez scrambles and gets a takedown. Torres is in guard and lands heels into Benavidez’ lower back and and legs. Benavidez has side mount, but Torres has solid guard. Torres back to full guard. Benavidez pulls out of mount as the round comes to an end.
Round goes to Torres with his defensive scoring.
Round 2
Benavidez lands a leg kick. Benavidez lunges in and connects with a few hard shots. Wild punches by Benavidez miss. Torres lands a leg kick. Kick to body by Benavidez. Leg kick by Benavidez. Torres is pecking away with the jab consistently. Benavidez gets a takedown with a leg trip and lands a few elbow shots to the head. Torres is cut real bad and bleeding all over the place from the elbow blows. Benavidez pounces and Torres scrambles. Benavidez grabs a guillotine choke, cinches it tight and Torres taps out.
Official Result
Benavidez by guillotine choke submission at 2:57 of Round 2
Brian Bowles Vs. Dominick Cruz
Round 1
Cruz connects first with leg kick. Bowles responds with a left to the chin. Bowles misses a looping right and Cruz counters with a right. Cruz misses with a kick and Bowles counters with a combination of punches. The fighters trade blows with each scoring. Bowles lunges and misses, Cruz nails him with a counter right that hurts Bowles. The fighters trade blows again. Bowles steps in and lands a left. Cruz sticks a jab and Bowles lunges forward. Cruz scrambles to score a takedown. Bowles is in guard and defends well. Cruz pulls out and they are back on their feet. Combination followed by a leg kick for Cruz. The fighters trade blows as the round comes to an end.
Solid round goes to Cruz
Round 2
Cruz connects with a counter right hook. Cruz sticks the jab. Leg kick by Cruz. Bowles connects with a straight right. Bowles catches a body kick and lunges but doesn’t score. Cruz hits Bowles with jab as he falls backwards. Combination by Cruz and lower leg kick sweep drops Bowles. Cruz allows Bowles to get back up. Leg kick by Cruz, but Bowles sticks a right to head. Bowles is bleeding heavily from his nose. Cruz nails another hard leg kick. Bowles goes for a clinch and Cruz lands a kick to the groin. Timeout in ring as Bowles catches his wind. Flurry by Bowles as action begins again. Cruz misses with looping right and Bowles counters with a combination. Cruz goes underneath and easily lands a double leg takedown as the round comes to an end.
Another solid and clear round for Cruz. During break, the fight doctor reviews Bowles and calls a halt to the action due to a broken hand. Cruz is the new champion.
Official Result
Cruz by TKO due to injury at 5:00 of Round 2
As a fan of mixed martial arts, I admit I am a purist. I remember sitting down as a teenager with my dad and brother watching the very first UFC 1. I love the sport and catch as much action on television as I can. As I see it, the more successful promotions out there, the better for the MMA fan.
Joe Soto Is A Champion, Not A Prospect
So here’s my gripe.
All the supposed MMA fans and bloggers are out here cursing over not getting see the bouts they want to see. I’ve never seen this level of strife like this before online. We want Fedor vs Lesnar. We want BJ vs Aoki. Blah. Blah. Blah. There is a reason why we aren’t getting these fights. Because Dana White and Zuffa are blocking them from happening.
It is important to remember that the UFC is just a promotion, they are not a league. Their champions are actually paper champions, not real champions. Champions are crowned by sanctioning bodies, not the Don King of MMA. White has taken the purity of UFC 1 and turned the UFC into biggest sports entertainment rival to WWE.
What irks me most are bloggers and MMA columnists that push this drivel that a fighter can only earn his stripes by fighting under the Zuffa banner, either UFC or WEC. In a column I ran across yesterday on BleacherReport.com by correspondent Ken Foss, he pastes Bellator’s current champion Joe Soto as a prospect and that “Because Bellator has slumbered, Joe Soto’s stock has stagnated. Even so, he’s still arguably the top prospect at 145 pounds, and it’s only a matter of time before we see this 22-year-old beating up on WEC featherweights.”
BleacherReport’s Foss goes right for the jugular on Bellator, diminishing their accomplishments and asserting that Soto has made a mistake in fighting for them instead of WEC. As pointed out in a response comment to the story, Joe Soto was the highest paid featherweight fighter in the world in 2009. Needless to say, it impossible to be a prospect when you made more money than anyone else at your weight class.
Foss then tries to compare a salary paid to a failed NFL player to try and back up his point while sticking to his guns that Soto isn’t the best until he fights in WEC. Too bad that correlation makes no freaking sense at all since fighter pay is tied to success in the cage and NFL players get their first contract before they ever take the field and its based on their draft order.
It’s this kind of naivete that really hurts the sport. Bellator is one the bright spots in MMA. Guys like Foss, who hase probably never watched any of Bellator’s fight cards or attended one of their events are instantly experts that Bellator is bush league and piss all over it. In their minds, you are nothing until you kiss Dana White’s ring.
In my opinion, kudos to Joe Soto for controlling his fighting destiny and bucking the ranks. Bellator is primed for a great second season and Soto is the man to watch. And I’ll put my money down right now that next year, Foss will be eating his words, because money talks and bullshit walks. Bellator pays more and they will get the better fighters in the long run at featherweight.
Benson Henderson (11-1) scored a guillotine choke submission to unify the title with a victory over Jamie Varner (16-3). Henderson, coming off an electrifying victory over Donald Cerrone to earn the interim belt, adapted his style to caution and patience, refusing to be overly aggressive against Varner. His game plan paid off as he surprised Varner with a guillotine choke that quickly ended the fight in the third round.
Varner, returning to action after multiple injuries kept him on the shelf for 11 months looked rusty and slow throughout the fight. Henderson was able to easily dodge his boxing blows and lulled Varner to sleep and pulled him in to his clutches. The loss sends Varner back down the contender list to work his way back up.
Here is the play-by-play breakdown of the fight:
Round 1
Henderson Unifies WEC Lightweight Belt
The fighters feel each other out, with Henderson showing tentativeness. Varner goes for the takedown and gets it. Henderson goes for a knee bar, but gives up on it as Varner lands blows to body. Varner gains a front headlock and then tries for guillotine choke in standing position along cage wall. Varner lands a knee to the head, bringing Henderson to his knees. Varner continues to land knee blows. Referee stands the fighters up. Henderson lands a kick to body. Varner walks back to a neutral corner and Henderson bull rushes. The fighters scramble and both gain body locks along the cage wall. Henderson lands an overhand right and the bell sounds.
Solid and definitive round for Varner.
Round 2
Varner opens the round with a wild flying knee that misses and Henderson counters with his own knee to the body. Varner lands a leg kick which drops Henderson, but Henderson pops up quickly. Varner lunges and eats a combination. Henderson lands a left kick to the body. Henderson lands again with a kick to the body and Varner misses with a roundhouse kick to head. Another kick landed by Henderson. Varner catches a Henderson kick attempt to head and throws him to canvas. Henderson pops back up. Varner charges and lands a combination of body shots. Fighters clinch. Varner lands hammerfists to Henderson’s face as Henderson works of the cage wall. Henderson work of cage as bell sounds.
Close round that could go either way. Give it to Varner as Henderson still is tentative in the cage
Round 3
Varner charges Henderson and gains clinch along cage wall. Clinch is broken. Leg kick landed by Henderson. Varner lands kick to head, and follow that up with another which Henderson blocks. Varner goes for a body tackle and Henderson lands a knee as he comes in. Varner’s head drops and Henderson jumps on the opening, cinching a guillotine and crawling up Varner’s body to lock his legs. Varner quickly taps out to end the fight.
Result
Henderson by guillotine choke submission at 2:41
With the victory, a rematch of Henderson vs Cerrone should be soon in the making. Most cageside observers gave Cerrone the nod in a very close fight, but the final judges gave Henderson the fight which setup the unification bout with Varner.
With the first fight a finalist for Fight of the Year in 2009, a re-match will be even more exciting with so much more on the line.
Urijah Faber (23-3) returned to the cage in the co-featured match at WEC 46 and scored a thrilling submission victory in the closing seconds of the third round over Raphael Assuncao (14-2). Faber, sidelined for seven month after suffering a broken hand in his championship bout loss to former WEC champion Mike Brown. Fighting in front of his hometown fans in Sacramento, Faber put on an exciting display of technique in a defintive victory.
Faber Victorious In Return
Here is the play-by-play call of the bout:
Round 1
Faber scores first with a leg kick. Assuncao misses with a superman punch and grabs a clinch to back Faber into the cage wall. Assuncao has double underhooks, but Faber is able to work his way out of the clinch. Faber runs forward and misses with an overhand right. Assuncao grabs another clinch and pushes Faber into the wall again. Assuncao lands a few blows to the head and lets Faber off the cage wall. Faber comes forward and lands an overhand right and backs Assuncao into the cage wall. Back to the center, Faber lands a left uppercut. Faber lunges forward and loses his balance. Faber lunges forward again, Assuncao catches double underhooks again and pushes Faber into the cage wall. Faber breaks the clinch and the fighters exchange wildly. Faber lands a left uppercut on the chin. Faber goes for a flying knee, but Assuncao defends and counters with strikes.
Close round that goes to Assuncao. Faber was the aggressor, but his sloppiness cost him round.
Round 2
The fighters circle each other, with Faber scoring a takedown. Assuncao catches an arm bar during the takedown attempt, but Faber breaks the submission attempt. Assuncao has guard, but Faber is actively striking. Faber cinches a guillotine choke, but Assuncao counters submission attempt by rolling out. Fighters back to their feet. Assuncao lunges forward with lower leg kick and is caught flush by an overhand right. Assuncao is floored, Faber pounces, but Assuncao catches another arm bar. Faber break the submission and Assuncao take guard. Assuncao scores nice elbows from the bottom as Faber is conservative on top. Assuncao attempts a ogoplata, but Faber strikes Assuncao in face hard to break lock. Faber grabs sidelock along cage wall, but Assuncao breaks free as bell sounds
Clear round for Faber. Great strikes and clean scoring along with some great defense.
Round 3
Faber starts the round with a powerful single leg takedown. Assuncao scrambles and is back on his feet. Assuncao goes for a single leg, but Faber hits a whizzer to defend. Faber goes for kick to head and Assuncao sweeps his leg. Faber pops back up quickly and lands an overhand right that floors Assuncao. Faber pounces, but Assuncao claims guard. Faber is unable to break guard, but Assuncao moves for an escape with time dwindling. Faber grabs his back, gets his hooks in and cinches the rear naked choke. Assuncao fights it off for a short period but has to tapout.
Result
Faber by rear naked choke submission at 3:49 of the third round.
After the bout, post-fight interviews in the ring shed some light on Faber future dance card, as current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo came in for a promo. It appears that Aldo/Faber is likely the next feature title bout for these two fighters.
Given the electricity the fighters display, this could be fight of the year in MMA.
Former Olympic wrestler Kamal Shalorus (6-0-1) won a unanimous decision over Dave Jansen (14-1) in a battle of unbeaten fighters in a WEC 46 undercard matchup. Shalorus, an Iranian born fighter, dominated the bout for most of the fight, displaying a significant power advantage a neutralizing Jansen’s strength in wrestling. The fight was unexpectedly a standup affair despite both fighter’s wrestling background.
Shalorus Wins Battle of Undefeateds
Here is the play-by-play call of the bout:
Round 1
Jansen strikes first with a sharp kick to the body to start the round action. The fighters trade punches withansen getting the best of the exchange. Shalorus catches Jansen with a hard right to the head. Jansen goes for a takedown but Shalorus defends nicely. The fighters exchange blows to the head again, this time Shalorus getting the better of the exchange. Jansen goes for another takedown, Shalorus gets a front headlock and Jansen pulls out to get back to his feet. Jansen come in firing blows and Shalorus takes a body lock to the mat. Jansen scrambles back to his feet. The fighters exchange blows again. Jansen now has a cut above his left eye. Shalorus connects as Jansen comes in face first, buckling Jansen to his knee. Jansen recovers quickly, but Shalorus lands another left to the chin, buckling Jansen to his knee again. Jansen rebounds back to his feet with blood flowing heavier as the round comes to an end.
Round goes to Shalarous given his closing of the round
Round 2
The fighters meet in the middle and circle one another. The fighters exchange again with Shalorus getting the better of the exchange. Jansen plunges in again and takes another shot to the head from Shalorus. Another flurry with Shalorus getting the better of the exchange. Jansen comes forward again and Shalorus grabs a lock for a takedown. Jensen scrambles back to his feet. Jansen lands a knee to the midsection. Jansen lands a hard right that shakes Shalorus, but Shalorus regains his legs and fends of Jansen’s attack. Jensen again catches another shot on the chin from Shalorus as he drives in. Jansen now has a cut on the middle of his forehead. Jansen goes for a takedown as the round comes to an end.
Close round that goes to Jansen.
Round 3
Shalorus comes out firing with a combination to the head of Jansen. Another takedown attempt by Jansen that Shalorus stops with a front headlock. Jansen lands a kick to midsection and eats a right from Shalorus that floors him. Jansen pops back up quickly to his feet as Shalorus lets him back up. Shalorus lands a leg kick that buckles Jansen’s knee. Jansen eats another left as he goes in for another unsuccessful takedown attempt. Shalarus grabs another body lock and takes Jansen down. Shalorus lets Jansen back to his feet. Jansen lands a nice knee to the side of Shalorus’ head. Shalorus grabs a single leg for a takedown. Shalorus has Jensen pinned against the cage wall but is unable to score. Jansen works to a standup, but Shalorus holds on as the bell sounds.
Clear round that goes to a dominating Shalorus.
Result
Shalorus by unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.
Kamal Shalorus put on an impressive showing in his second bout with the WEC. He showed impressive strength and conditioning as he pushed forward constantly for 15 minutes. Dave Jansen was an undefeated fighter, provide Shalorus a huge notch on his belt.
Shalorus looks primed a for a solid future in the WEC, although he has some improvements he needs to make in his standup. He consistently telegraphed his strikes throughout the bout with Jansen, lowering his head each time he threw leather. Against the top-tier fighters in WEC lightweight class, that telegraphing will result in a quick knockout for his opponent if he cannot improve his offensive stance.
Former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown (23-5) scored a submission victory over Anthony Morrison (15-8) at 1:54 of the first round on the undercard of WEC 46. The victory by Brown returns him to winning column after a disappointing loss to current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Brown delivered as less the stellar outing against Aldo, showing a lack of speed and quickness as Aldo dominated the bout before earning a TKO.
Mike Brown Scores KO
Here is the play-by-play call of the bout:
Round 1
The fighters meet in the middle and feel each other out. Morrison connects with a few kicks to the body with follow up combination punches to the head. Brown goes for the takedown, backing Morrison to the cage wall. Brown brings Morrison to the canvas and takes full mount. Brown begins raining down punches, but Morrison defends well. Morrison works back to guard and Brown begins to land blows again, this time to the body. Morrison scrambles to his base and Brown takes his back, cinching in a rear naked choke. The lock is tight and Morrison taps out quickly.
Result
Brown by rear naked choke submission at 1:54 of the first round.
Obviously, Brown’s management team sought out some raw meat to chew on in Morrison. It was important that Brown bounce back strong from a very solid defeat. A smart strategy to get the fight back in a good rhythm.
With the victory, Brown inserts himself back into the featherweight contender conversation with a dominating victory. Brown will probably need two or three more wins before he gets an opportunity for a rematch against Jose Aldo.
Mixed martial arts had a tremendous year om 2009. The UFC put on more fights, garnered its largest attendance levels and generated the most revenue in the history of the company and the sport. Everything was clicking on all cylinders and mixed martial arts is on the cusp of a breakthrough. All of this in spite of a struggling economy
Happy New Year UFC
With all the success, Dana White and his organization have still not reached the pinnacle, that being reaching a mainstream sports audience. To reach that “tipping point”, as defined by Malcolm Gladwell in his famous book, White and the UFC must make a few changes to its business to make mixed martial arts. Once those changes are implemented, the unstoppable force will come into line and take MMA mainstream.
The following are a few New Year’s Resolutions for the UFC to consider that will finally get mixed martial arts into the mainstream.
Resolution #1 – Pay The Fighters
If the UFC is the elite promotion, then it should pay fighters correlative to the gate. Over the course of 2009, many other promotions are sharing the proceeds at events at a much higher rate. Bellator Fighting Championship guaranteed its tournament champions $150k over the course of three fights. Strikeforce’s recent Evolution event featured on Showtime paid out $481k on a gate of $634k (76% of gate went to the fighters).
In contrast, Zuffa took in $818k at WEC 41 while paying out salaries of $216k or 26% of gate. For UFC 106, they took in a live gate of $3.00M and paid salaries of $1.02M, or 33% of the gate. At UFC 104, they took in a live gate of $1.9M and paid out $922k, or 48% of the gate. These revenue figures do not include PPV revenue and sponsorship fees. When included, this doubles to triple the gross receipts. What we can surmise is that fighters appear to be getting about 10%-20% of revenue. The remainder goes into Zuffa’s pockets.
The UFC needs to begin improving its payouts into the 75%-100% neighborhood of live gate. The fighters are being paid peanuts in relation to the revenue they are generating. If improvements don’t occur, expect more defection like that of Dan Henderson in 2010.
#2 – Fine Tune or Cancel “The Ultimate Fighter”
The original concept of The Ultimate Fighter served as a launching pad for the organization in 2005. It introduced the sport to new fans and found a special recipe of connecting the fighters personally with the fans. The most recent season jumped the shark and has shown that the reality show is not about creating a training ground for new fighters, it’s just Big Brother in a cage where losers of the fight are banished from the house.
Not since 2007, Season 5, has the show produced a quality contender. The focus has shifted to personality rather than fighting ability. Season 10 epitomizes the problem. While scoring record-level ratings with its media barrage of Kimbo Slice, his time in the house helped him little and he displayed why he should not have been considered for the show during the TUF 10 Finale.
Either the show needs to return to its roots of seeking out talent or the UFC should shut it down. The Ultimate Fighter is part of the branding of MMA, and the circus-like stench of the show lowers the sport to the ranks of professional wrestling.
Resolution #3 – Make The Best Championship Fights By Cross Promoting
The UFC’s biggest issue for 2010 is the lack of bonafide championship belt matches. Outside of the light heavyweight division, there are no interesting championship bouts on the horizon. Anderson Silva, George St. Pierre, BJ Penn and Brock Lesnar are head and shoulders ahead of their competition. Simply put, who is left in the UFC for these guys to beat?
Fans want to see Lesnar hook up with Fedor Emelianenko. They want to watch Penn hook it up against Shinya Aoki or Eddie Alvarez. They are aching for GSP to fight Marius Zaromskis or Jay Hieron. Or how about Anderson Silva against Jake Shields or Gegard Mousasi?
For the good of the sport, the UFC must break its stance on cross-promotion that will help the sport as a whole breakthrough. The upcoming “Dynamite” event in Japan that pairs DREAM and Sengoku’s best fighters is the road map for the future. If the UFC’s champs are truly that great, then what is the issue?
Resolution #4 – Expand The Number Of Fighters Under Contract
While the UFC has expanded the number of events it hosts, the number of new fighter signings have not increased at the same rate of growth. This has left the UFC to regurgitate the same fighters over and over again on its PPV broadcast. You can really only enjoy so much of the same guys until it gets old…and old quickly.
The great thing about combat sports is the belief that there always somebody coming up the ladder behind you to take your belt. As noted previously, none of this is happening in the UFC. The champs stand at the top and the contenders are a few rungs below, not one. This can only be turned around by signing new fighters and developing them.
Recent contract cancellations for Jake Rosholt and Brock Larson are key examples of bad judgment by the UFC. These guys were thrown to the lions immediately and tossed out with the garbage after two losses. If you want to develop fighters, black marks eventually have to occur on their record. Every UFC champ has a blemish on their record. Its better these blemishes occur in the UFC rather than elsewhere.
It’s the end of the year. Its the end of a decade. Nothing great ever ends without a list and a debate over that list. Today, we focus on the 10 best sports stories of the 2000 decade and their impact on sports in America.
10. Emergence of Mixed Martial Arts
In January 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the fledgling, close-to-bankruptcy MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. They then secured state sanctioning with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Zuffa struggled for a few years to emerge from the shadows of the negativity that surrounded MMA until it secured a reality TV show called The Ultimate Fighter which first aired in January 2005 on Spike TV. The sport then exploded with a multitude of competitive promotion both regional and national. The sport is now on the brink of generating near $1 Billion in revenues per year and is on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Love him or hate, Dana White is responsible for making MMA the sport it is today.
9. Rulon Gardner Upsets Alexander Karelin
Do you believe in miracles? Most fans of the Olympics are familiar with that saying and its forever bond with the 1980 USA Hockey team’s upset of Russia. In the Summer Olympics of 2000, a much more unimaginable upset of a Russian occured when Rulon Gardner shocked the world with his stunning victory over undefeated superstar Alexander Karelin. Coming into the finals, Karelin had not lost a match in 15 years and had not even surrender a point in the last 10 years. Gardner pulled out a 1-0 victory and delivered the most stunning upset in Olympics history against the 3-time gold medal winner that was deemed to be invincible.
8. New England Patriots Near-Perfect Season
The New England Patriots were the darlings of the 2007 NFL season, putting together the first perfect regular season in a dominating fashion never before seen in the sport. One toughed out victory against Baltimore and a valiant effort by the New York Giants in the final game of the season were as close as anyone got during the regular season. The Patriots then carved out two solid, conservative victories in the playoffs, setting up a rematch with the upstart New York Giants to end the season 19-0 and go down in history as the greatest team ever. An Eli Manning circus-like pass to and catch by David Tyree will forever be remembered in NFL lore that drove the nail into the coffin of this special team that was denied greatness. And in the process, the Patriots scored the largest Super Bowl viewing audience in the history of the game.
7. Red Sox Break The Curse
Buck F-ing Dent. Bill Buckner. Aaron Boone. The Red Sox were perhaps the unluckiest team in professional sports. Down 3-0 to their bitter rival New York Yankees in the 2oo4 ALCS, the Red Sox forged the biggest comeback in baseball history to defeat the Yankees and go on to win their first World Series since 1918, the year before they traded Babe Ruth away to those very same Yankees. Curt Schilling pitched one of the most courageous game ever by a pitcher, his bloody sock on display in Cooperstown for all to remember the pivotal moment of that amazing playoff season.
6. Roger Federer Streak at Top Ranking
There having been many great tennis players over the years. Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Bjorg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Federer did something that none of them ever did, holding the #1 ranking in tennis for almost four and half consecutive years between February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. During that span, Federer won 65 straight matches at Wimbeldon and holds a 72-1 record on grass over the past seven years. Federer also holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 15, while finally earning his first French Open championship this past year. Without question, the greatest tennis player in the history of the game and he still has a lot left in the tank to set records that may never be matched.
5. Tiger Woods Wins Four Straight Majors
Woods made history in April 2001 winning his 2nd Masters championship. With that victory, he became only one of five player in the history of golf to win all four major titles in his career. To one up them, Woods won the championships consecutively, becoming the first ever to hold all four major golf championships at the same time, earning him a pseudo Grand Slam. Woods has gone on since that point to win 8 more majors, bringing his career total to 14, leaving him just four shy of the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.
4. 2001 World Series
With the country reeling from the recent terrorist attacks that had taken over 3,000 lives, Major League Baseball gave grieving Americans an outlet to cope with their losses. The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks provided perhaps the most exciting World Series in history, filled with riveting National Anthems, seventh-inning stretches echoing to God Bless America and some of the most unbelievable ends to World Series games ever seen. In Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying two run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter closed the game with an opposite field walk-off homer in the 10th to win the game. The very next night, Scott Brosius hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would lead to another extra inning victory. The magic would fade in Game 7 though, as Mariano Rivera would surrender two runs in the bottom of the ninth to end the Yankees consecutive World Series run. A truly magical World Series for the ages at a time when America needed its pastime the most.
3. Major League Baseball Steroids Scandal
In a sport defined by stats and where Hall of Fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times, baseball has been defined by its statistical records and comparison of current ballplayers to those in its past. At the end of the last decade, MLB treated its fans to the most compelling drama in years when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to surpass Roger Maris’ single season home run record. At the turn of the decade came BALCO, a book by Jose Canseco and revelations that MLB owners and execs turned a blind eye to rampant steroids abuse. After a humiliating Congressional hearing where Mark McGwire pleaded the 5th Amendment so, baseball was forced to implement drug testing. The Mitchell Report would then follow, containing over 100 names that were linked to steroids, many of them the biggest names in the sport. In the end, we are left with era that will forever be scarred and represents some of the darkest hours in the sport’s history.
2. Michael Phelps’ 8 Olympic Gold Medals
The swimming star from Baltimore MD had prepared for this moment all his life, but nobody expected the drama that would go down at the pool in Beijing. Phelps and his relay teammates were heavily favored in six of his eight races. The remaining two races will go down in Olympic history forever. Teammate Jason Lezak would anchor the final leg of the 4 x 100, facing off against Alain Bernard of France, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. The Frenchman was provided an ample lead for the final leg, all but assuring Phelps quest being over. But in the final 25 meters Lezek tracked Bernard down for the gold. The drama was even more amazing a few days later, as Phelps dug deep in the final 25 meters of the 100M butterfly to defeat Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second for his seventh gold medal. You can be assured most Americans will not forget that moment as they cheered and screamed in front of their TVs trying to help will Phelps to victory.
1. Lance Armstrong Winning 7 Tour De France Titles
Armstrong lays claims to the greatest story of the decade. In a sport dominated by Europeans, Armstrong did the unthinkable…he dominated them at their own game. Armstrong set the record of seven victories, besting the previous record of five held by Miguel Indurain. A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong became an American hero in a sport that most in this country rarely followed or cared much about. With his unbelievable climbing ability in the mountains and untouchable time-trial sprinting, Armstrong dominated the competition like nobody before him. His victories spawned an explosion of interest in cycling in America and his story gave hope to everyone around the world that you can beat cancer and strive forward to be the best in your craft.
Another year has come and gone with MMA broadening it fan base while moving closer to mainstream acceptance in the sports marketplace. UFC hosted it 100th major event, Strikeforce brought Fedor to CBS and Bellator came out of nowhere to deliver some of the best fights all year. It was a year of milestone and big fights.
Here are this year’s awards winners:
Fighter of The Year
Fighter Of The Year
Lyoto Machida (UFC)
2009 was the Year of The Dragon, as Machida laid claim to the title of best light heavyweight in the world. All he did was dispatch two previously undefeated fighters in Thiago Silva to earn a title and Rashad Evans to win the UFC championship belt. He then fought a tightly contested matchup versus former Pride champion Mauricio Rua and earned a controversial unanimous decision. Machida recently underwent surgery on his hand, but a rematch versus Rua is on the schedule for early 2010
Fight Of The Year
Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson (WEC 43)
Unquestionably the best display of mixed martial arts skills in any fight this year amongst top-tier fighters. While other may point to Sanchez vs Guida or Melendez vs Thomson as their pick, those bouts were merely street fights in a cage. Albeit entertaining, they are not representative of true MMA skill sets. The Cerrone/Henderson was a back and forth war between the athlete (Henderson) and the technician (Cerrone). Henderson would be the aggressor and land his shots and get his takedown, then Cerrone would turn the tied with his great defense and submission moves. It was every MMA fans true delight to watch this match and most cannot wait for the rematch of this tightly contested fight.
Knockout of the Year – Dan Horbuckle vs Akihiro Gone (Sengoku)
This was a tough decision, as there were some fantastic knockouts in 2009. UFC’s Dan Henderson’s drilling of Michael Bisping was one of the best punches delivered in a long-time. Bellator’s Yahir Reyes’ spinning backfist of Estevan Payan rates high purely based on the sound of the crack of that hit. In the end, you gotta give the kudos to Dan Hornbuckle for his leg kick to the head of Akhiro Gono. Rarely do you see a guy knocked cold from a leg kick like the one delivered by Hornbuckle. When you watch the super slow motion replay of the kick, you really feel Gono’s pain.
Submission of The Year – Toby Imada vs. Jorge Masvidal (Bellator)
The was the easiest to pick, simply because MMA has never seen such a move applied in its history. Imada had everything thrown at him but the kitchen sink by Jorge Masvidal. Imada never quit and Masvidal let his cockiness supercede sensibility. Masvidal lifted Imada off the ground for a slam, and in the process got himself choked unconscious while standing on his feet. It wasn’t just the submission of the year, it was the greatness submission of all time.
Breakthrough Fighter Of The Year
Breakthrough Fighter
Jose Aldo (WEC)
Jose Aldo was a relative unknown to most MMA fans to start the year, just another featherweight in the stacked WEC. His body of work was questionable as well, having fought mostly guys that had many losses on their records. He caught the attention of fans with his highlight reel flying double-knee knockout of top contender Cub Swanson and followed that up with a dominant victory over WEC champion Mike Brown. While’s Aldo longevity at the top is still questioned by many industry observers, his rise in 2009 from a preliminary bout fighter to close out 2008 to champion.
In January 2001, Zuffa LLC purchased the fledgling, close-to-bankruptcy MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. They then secured state sanctioning with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Zuffa struggled for a few years to emerge from the shadows of the negativity that surrounded MMA until it secured a reality TV show called The Ultimate Fighter which first aired in January 2005 on Spike TV. The sport then exploded with a multitude of competitive promotion both regional and national. The sport is now on the brink of generating near $1 Billion in revenues per year and is on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Love him or hate, Dana White is responsible for making MMA the sport it is today.
Do you believe in miracles? Most fans of the Olympics are familiar with that saying and its forever bond with the 1980 USA Hockey team’s upset of Russia. In the Summer Olympics of 2000, a much more unimaginable upset of a Russian occured when Rulon Gardner shocked the world with his stunning victory over undefeated superstar Alexander Karelin. Coming into the finals, Karelin had not lost a match in 15 years and had not even surrender a point in the last 10 years. Gardner pulled out a 1-0 victory and delivered the most stunning upset in Olympics history against the 3-time gold medal winner that was deemed to be invincible.
The New England Patriots were the darlings of the 2007 NFL season, putting together the first perfect regular season in a dominating fashion never before seen in the sport. One toughed out victory against Baltimore and a valiant effort by the New York Giants in the final game of the season were as close as anyone got during the regular season. The Patriots then carved out two solid, conservative victories in the playoffs, setting up a rematch with the upstart New York Giants to end the season 19-0 and go down in history as the greatest team ever. An Eli Manning circus-like pass to and catch by David Tyree will forever be remembered in NFL lore that drove the nail into the coffin of this special team that was denied greatness. And in the process, the Patriots scored the largest Super Bowl viewing audience in the history of the game.
Buck F-ing Dent. Bill Buckner. Aaron Boone. The Red Sox were perhaps the unluckiest team in professional sports. Down 3-0 to their bitter rival New York Yankees in the 2oo4 ALCS, the Red Sox forged the biggest comeback in baseball history to defeat the Yankees and go on to win their first World Series since 1918, the year before they traded Babe Ruth away to those very same Yankees. Curt Schilling pitched one of the most courageous game ever by a pitcher, his bloody sock on display in Cooperstown for all to remember the pivotal moment of that amazing playoff season.
There having been many great tennis players over the years. Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Bjorg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Federer did something that none of them ever did, holding the #1 ranking in tennis for almost four and half consecutive years between February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008. During that span, Federer won 65 straight matches at Wimbeldon and holds a 72-1 record on grass over the past seven years. Federer also holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 15, while finally earning his first French Open championship this past year. Without question, the greatest tennis player in the history of the game and he still has a lot left in the tank to set records that may never be matched.
Woods made history in April 2001 winning his 2nd Masters championship. With that victory, he became only one of five player in the history of golf to win all four major titles in his career. To one up them, Woods won the championships consecutively, becoming the first ever to hold all four major golf championships at the same time, earning him a pseudo Grand Slam. Woods has gone on since that point to win 8 more majors, bringing his career total to 14, leaving him just four shy of the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.
With the country reeling from the recent terrorist attacks that had taken over 3,000 lives, Major League Baseball gave grieving Americans an outlet to cope with their losses. The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks provided perhaps the most exciting World Series in history, filled with riveting National Anthems, seventh-inning stretches echoing to God Bless America and some of the most unbelievable ends to World Series games ever seen. In Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying two run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter closed the game with an opposite field walk-off homer in the 10th to win the game. The very next night, Scott Brosius hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would lead to another extra inning victory. The magic would fade in Game 7 though, as Mariano Rivera would surrender two runs in the bottom of the ninth to end the Yankees consecutive World Series run. A truly magical World Series for the ages at a time when America needed its pastime the most.
In a sport defined by stats and where Hall of Fame hitters fail 7 out of 10 times, baseball has been defined by its statistical records and comparison of current ballplayers to those in its past. At the end of the last decade, MLB treated its fans to the most compelling drama in years when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to surpass Roger Maris’ single season home run record. At the turn of the decade came BALCO, a book by Jose Canseco and revelations that MLB owners and execs turned a blind eye to rampant steroids abuse. After a humiliating Congressional hearing where Mark McGwire pleaded the 5th Amendment so, baseball was forced to implement drug testing. The Mitchell Report would then follow, containing over 100 names that were linked to steroids, many of them the biggest names in the sport. In the end, we are left with era that will forever be scarred and represents some of the darkest hours in the sport’s history.
The swimming star from Baltimore MD had prepared for this moment all his life, but nobody expected the drama that would go down at the pool in Beijing. Phelps and his relay teammates were heavily favored in six of his eight races. The remaining two races will go down in Olympic history forever. Teammate Jason Lezak would anchor the final leg of the 4 x 100, facing off against Alain Bernard of France, the current world record holder in the 100 freestyle. The Frenchman was provided an ample lead for the final leg, all but assuring Phelps quest being over. But in the final 25 meters Lezek tracked Bernard down for the gold. The drama was even more amazing a few days later, as Phelps dug deep in the final 25 meters of the 100M butterfly to defeat Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second for his seventh gold medal. You can be assured most Americans will not forget that moment as they cheered and screamed in front of their TVs trying to help will Phelps to victory.
Armstrong lays claims to the greatest story of the decade. In a sport dominated by Europeans, Armstrong did the unthinkable…he dominated them at their own game. Armstrong set the record of seven victories, besting the previous record of five held by Miguel Indurain. A survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong became an American hero in a sport that most in this country rarely followed or cared much about. With his unbelievable climbing ability in the mountains and untouchable time-trial sprinting, Armstrong dominated the competition like nobody before him. His victories spawned an explosion of interest in cycling in America and his story gave hope to everyone around the world that you can beat cancer and strive forward to be the best in your craft.
