Chicks Heart Fights

So. Much. To. See.

Watching two separate events tonight was fantastic, as there was rarely a moment when there wasn’t a fight going on. On the flip side of that is the fact that there were few fights that I could watch closely, so I know I missed some things.  You can catch the full results here.  Some observations from the evening:

• Good gosh almighty, Fedor was amazing. He was frighteningly calm going into the ring, but the second that bell rang, Tim Sylvia’s night was over. He had textbook striking, a perfect takedown, and a perfect rear naked choke.
• My favorite  body part of the evening was Andrei Arlovski’s knee. That flying knee to Ben Rothwell’s head was the beginning of the end for Rothwell.
• For Affliction being a clothing company, there were many wardrobe malfunctions. First, Mike Whitehead’s shorts were ripped in a very odd way. DH and I were very concerned that we were going to see a little bit too much of Mr. Whitehead. One friend said he looked like he got fired from Chippendales. Also, Josh Barnett’s shorts looked one size too small, causing Barnett to have a muffin top. Mixed martial artists should not have a muffin top.
• When Anthony Johnson suffered that bizarre eye poke that caused him to lose, one of the guys at my table yelled “He poked him in the brain!” That’s pretty accurate.
• I was so happy to see C.B. Dollaway win, and with the Peruvian necktie, nonetheless.
• Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Nascimento was the all-ugly fight of the night. Nascimento looked like an elephant. Or a bat. Or a rhinoceros.
• I was very happy to see Brandon Vera get comfortable in a new weight class. With Anderson Silva’s win, I wonder if he is going to stick around at light heavyweight.
• Joe Rogan needs a new shirt. I think I’ve seen this one about four times.
• Because I was in a bar, it was tough to judge the overall Affliction production. I like the cage better than the ring, and Michael Buffer just doesn’t seem to fit. However, I enjoyed the overall show. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

I think that’s it for me. Good night, friends.

In the discussions I’ve read of this weekend’s fights, I keep reading the same theme. Those who watch Affliction are hardcore MMA fans, those who watch UFC Fight Night are only UFC fans, and not real MMA fans. Can’t a person be both?

I was introduced to MMA through the UFC, and most of my live MMA watching is limited to the UFC. I’ve watched plenty of Fedor on Youtube and DVDs, and am excited to see him fight in a non-circus match-up. On the other hand, I am familiar with many of the other Affliction fighters because of their experience with the UFC. Does that make me a bad MMA fan?

Though Saturday’s UFC fights are hardly blistering match-ups, some great fighters are going to be showcased. No matter who he fights, I always enjoy watching Anderson Silva’s all around dominance. Brandon Vera is in a must-win situation, and I am thrilled to get a chance to watch Cain Velasquez. Does this make me a bad MMA fan?

There is a tendency in the MMA world to vilify the UFC as the Evil Empire, which I guess would make Dana White Darth Vader. And possibly the Fertittas the Emperor, who looked a lot like my great-grandmother. Anyway. The reason that they’ve lasted so long is because no matter what, the product in the Octagon is, by and large, good. Is there anything wrong with an MMA fan watching that product instead of paying for Affliction?

By no means am I saying that the UFC is perfect, and competition is a good thing. Like I said, I am watching both shows this weekend. But can we stop with the subtle digs at the people who don’t?

This is the complete card for tonight’s event:

Main Card

• UFC and Pride Middleweight Title unification bout: Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
• Heavyweight bout: Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
• Middleweight bout: Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami
• Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
• Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson

Preliminary Card

• Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O’Brien
• Welterweight bout: Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
• Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
• Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
• Lightweight bout: Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson

Am I the only one puzzled by some of the fights put on the undercard? Andrei Arlovski, a former champ, and Josh Koscheck, one of the more popular, if not always the most successful, fighters in the UFC are both relegated to the unaired early fights? That makes no sense to me. It made no sense until I realized that both fighters are in their last fights of their contract, and both fighters have aired their discontent with the UFC.

Keeping a fighter off TV can seriously hurt their wallet, as sponsors will not pay as much to a fighter who will not appear to the pay-per-view audience. It also sends a pretty strong signal to both Koscheck and Arlovski - play ball, or you won’t get paid. Of course, that’s not really true. Fighters can now sign with many other fight organizations who offer exposure and higher purses. I’m sure Mark Cuban would fall over himself to sign either fighter, and with EliteXC’s new television contract with CBS, they will be looking to sign fighters with name recognition. The UFC should stop playing contract negotiations like they’re the only game in town.

As I’ve mentioned before, I will be working on February 2, thus missing UFC 81 and Brock Lesnar’s debut in the Octagon. I am so not happy about this. However - if I had to work on March 1, the night of UFC 82, I would probably just quit my job. This card, which was officially announced on Saturday at UFC 80, is too jampacked to miss.

UFC 82: MARCH 1 IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
venue: Nationwide Arena

-Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Dan Henderson (#3 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Josh Koscheck (#5 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Dustin Hazelett
-Diego Sanchez (#8 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Roan Carneiro
-Cheick Kongo (#10 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Heath Herring
-Andrei Arlovski (#6 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Jake O’Brien
-Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
-Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
-Jon Fitch (#4 Welterweight in the World)* vs. TBA

The rankings are from MMA Weekly. A few of my favorites, Koscheck and Kongo are on the card, not to mention the title fight between Silva and Hendo. According to MMA Junkie’s rumor page, UFC 83 is not such a loaded card, and is just a week after after UFC 82. Does that make any sense? Why load up one card and yet leave the other one so weak, and schedule it just one week after UFC 82? Since Jon Fitch is opponentless, it would stand to reason that he would be moved back to UFC 83, but will that one week difference really help the UFC find Fitch an opponent? Before fights are announced officially, a ton of rumors tend to come out about that fight. If the UFC is holding off a major fight for 83, they sure are keeping it under tight wraps. That is a shame, because that hardly gives them the appointment-television cache of UFC 82.