[The Official MMA Discussion Thread]

The UFC is a business. And a business operates by giving the customer what they want. Otherwise, they don't stay in business long. You want MMA run as a sport, watch Bellator, and even they are making the transition to a business approach by now saying that a title fight can be rematched without the need for someone to go through a tournament.

 

I's not a 'WWE argument'; it's a business argument. You don't like MMA being run as business, then watch one of the few MMA groups than runs things like a sport. But you'd better be quick because they don't seem to last long. Hmm; I wonder why that is?

 

Fitch never got another shot at GSP for two reasons; GSP thoroughly dominated him the first time and nobody outside of the hardcores cares about Fitch which, put together, makes a GSP/Fitch rematch very hard to sell. As a business, unless you have no choice, you don't put together a main event that is going to be hard to sell. That would be bad business. Rashad is in a similar position; people care about him but he was so totally dominated by Jones that a rematch would be a hard fight to sell. Unless Rashad walks through some top guys without breaking a sweat, is anyone really going to think that a rematch with Jones would go any differently? If Rashad beats some top guys, sure, give him a rematch. But otherwise, unless Rashad actually did walk through some top guys, it would be a bad business move to make the rematch because it's going to be a tough sell.

 

Too bad for Rampage. He's on a big contract but he lacks the skill to be put in a position to justify that contract. He isn't beating Jones, ever, and he would struggle to look competitive against Davis. Gustafsson would embarrass him. He got an undeserved win against Machida and would probably lose that rematch. What else is there? A rematch with Shogun? Maybe. But other than that, what else, that is marketable or worthwhile, can you do with the guy? Nothing. So feed him to Glover and send him on his way.

 

You don't have to like UFC being run as a business but at least try and understand it.

 

Wow, gotta put someone down in order to make your point? And to think I left middle school so many years ago.

 

I didn't ask why those guys didn't get the chance. I pointed out that they are or were top guys who aren't in the mix at the moment because of the business of the UFC. I understand that plenty. You want to debate the ins and outs of certain match ups fine, but you don't understand, MMA is a sport. Just because there is no BCS of MMA to determine the title shot or the national attention or money that the other major sports bring in doesn't mean that it shouldn't have the same expectation. Simply put, Hendricks and the entire WW division have been screwed up since GSP was injured. Condit waiting was his right, but throwing Diaz back in the mix right away was a mistake. Personally, I hope Diaz wins, that'll mean a rematch right away (the public demands!), and Hendricks will have to wait until 2014 and it'll just make this discussion all the more relevant or someone will beat him and we'll never hear from him again. In the end, it won't matter, because no fighter is bigger than the UFC, and we'll all keep watching because we love the sport/business/product, whatever you want to call it.

 

BTW, I do watch Bellator and love the product. I would have loved to see a Chandler/Alvarez rematch right away. That was an incredible fight, and it would have been accepted as the right thing to do that time as well.

[The Official MMA Discussion Thread]

The UFC making the fight that will make them the most money? No, say it isn't so.

 

 

 

Once the UFC have done their job, it will be the fight the fans want. And even cold, I think GSP and Diaz does more business than GSP and Hendricks, and UFC are in the business of doing what does the most business. That and they can quite legitimately point out that GSP wanted the Diaz fight and asked for it.

 

That's all well and good, but sports can't be run this way. It undermines the integrity of the sport itself. Otherwise Notre Dame would play for the national championship every week and the Yankees would be in the Series every year regardless of their accomplishments. Simply because it makes the most money.

 

I don't think that a WWE argument that it's what the fans want or that it's what makes the most money, or it's what GSP wanted holds much water at all. Hendricks had been told numerous times that he would be the #1 contender and he should be. In a fair sport none of that other stuff matters.

 

So yes, they can do it, but the sport itself suffers in the chase for the almighty dollar. This isn't the first time that this kind of thing happens. The UFC backs away from guys that they don't know what to do with. It's why Fitch (pre-Hendricks) never got another shot at GSP or why Rashad isn't even mentioned anymore despite being one of the top 205ers around. It's part of the reason that Rampage walked, and it clearly shows that the UFC is in total control of it. Sometimes that good, sometimes it's bad. In this situation it's bad.

[The Official MMA Discussion Thread]

Nothing on Hendricks getting totally shafted by the UFC in favor of Nick Diaz? UFC shows it's doing nothing more than chasing dollar signs rather than give the shot to the guy who has earned it.

[The Official MMA Discussion Thread]

This is just my repost from another forum.

 

It shouldn't be any surprise that a strategist like Jackson had a stellar gameplan in place for the main event. Condit did a great job being faster, setting the tone with leg kicks and moving very well. It was great seeing Diaz being the one frustrated. I don't think that there should be any controversy. The numbers speak for themselves. Condit was more accurate and landed more and more power shots. Even though he wasn't the aggressor being the aggressor doesn't win fights.

 

I loves me some Big Country and his loss was expected, but I was more impressed with Werdum's Muay Thai skills. His standup looked good, and although he didn't really hurt Roy (nobody can put him away) he really did a whole shitload of damage. It's a good fight to put Werdum into the mix.

 

Ugh, the rest of the fights didn't do a whole lot to set themselves apart. Barao has a great skill set, and Jorgensen is a tough dude. While the fight was entertaining neither fighter is all that intriguing.

 

Koscheck's fight was just boring. Pierce was just not good enough, but Koscheck just isn't good enough to be a top contender either.

 

Dustin Porier should have been on the main card. He did a great job with a beautiful submission. His ground game is smooth. I had never seen a fight finished with an armbar in the mounted triangle position.

 

If anyone got to see the first fight with Stephen Thompson you got to see a great lead leg roundhouse. I had never heard of this guy, but I guess he is undefeated in MMA, Kickboxing and Karate matches. Makes an interesting story to say the least. His standup is going to need tweaking with more in and out like Machida or he is going to end up getting taken down and tapped out too fast. He pretty must stood still for much of the fight. A grappler would really give him a test.

 

So that was it. Like I said last week, we continue to see a progression in MMA toward more decisions, where strategy continues to separate fighters but where casual fans have trouble getting into the fights.Fighter skill sets continue to merge even closer, and the fights become more tightly contested, and not necessarily in a way that is conductive toward exciting fights.

[The Official MMA Discussion Thread]

The first thing that Strikeforce needs to do is get rid of their announcers. The Diaz/Noons fight was good for about one round, maybe two. There were so many mistakes and mis-speaks, and over blown statements that it was terribly unprofessional.

 

I was watching the fight last night thinking that neither of these guys would go very far against a top 10 fighter, and frankly I think that a guy like Ben Askren could take them.