jesterx7769

the knee to the body was very impressive to me. i think Tito purposefully stayed on his knees so Rashad couldn't knee him in the head (or get DQ'd) and Rashad was not doing a good job of getting around Tito's arms so far in the fight then boom! nice concsious decision. good job by vitor, wish he swarmed Anderson. thought he would after he knocked him down but whats done is done. Not sure who I want vitor to fight next as coming off a win but not top 3 for a title shot makes it hard (since he just lost of course). I've always been a fan of watching Vitors old fights and he is def. one of the best strikers in any division (yes despite getting kicked in the face but even he admitted he thought the kick was going for his stomach) and one of the best consistent physiques in my mind, 6 foot 185 of pure muscle and I cant recall him ever being out of shape. After all the injuries though the UFC has to be glad how the card played out with the co and main evenet being exciting.

Watched Overeems interview on Inside MMA last night (f'n love that show) and he is saying the UFC never asked for any medical information. To me, that shows they never told the UFC he was too injured to compete. He said all along the date was too close as he was on vacation, then once he was cut "oh oh look! A broken rib and toe!" that interview did not help. However he says he still wants to go to the UFC, so I guess we will see as only he knows his personal desires. I think part of the law suit is GG's way of getting money to help pay their fighters. They will never admit it but they have done a crappy job as of late. As BH mentioned many of their guys that fought in Japan did not get paid/paid in full (as with many others) now 4 of their biggest names (potentially five if Sergei won't sign exclusive) are out of work. Would you stay/sign with GG right now? "Hey come work for us, you won't get paid or fight for the biggest organization in the world!" On Rashad, I think people hate him just cuz of his attitude and his ego that has grown exponentially in the past 2ish years. On the TUF, Rampage came off as the bigger ego/d*ck, Rashad talked trash but not the extent. Then Rashad won and BOOM! There went his ego. He also has been very blunt during interviews and makes no attempt to acknowledge fans positively. Watch the weigh ins from last night, when asked about being booed he said he knows if he went in the stands they would all want his autograph. Talked bad about Rampage (fan favorite), Dana talked bad about him (who the media/fans tend to follow), He bad talked Shogun (who fans like) for months, the whole Jones thing who's a fan favorite, and left Jackson's who is a fan favorite. On top of that he hasn't been active in the public eye which doesn't hurt, but doesn't help. I don't think he "deserves" the hate, but I think its more of a snow ball effect. He is kinda like the Jay Cutler of the UFC is the best person I can compare him to. Hasn't done anything majorly wrong but never does anything nice either.

Just a quick qualification as I'm surprised BH didn't say it but since a few people have mentioned it and the news sites keep saying it, Fedor wasn't "cut" like the other fighters. The Hendo fight was well known to be his last fight on his contract and they are choosing not to re-negotiate. M-1 is claiming that Fedor's contract was never with SF or Zuffa (post take over) and his contract is part of M-1's larger contract with Showtime. However they tried this before right after the take over saying Fedor didn't have to fight for Zuffa (SF) anymore. They were clearly wrong there as he still fought Hendo but I imagine we will see Fedor on one of the M-1 broadcasts on Showtime if he continues to fight again aka if M-1 whips him until he does. Touching the legal bit, I see no way how GG would beat Zuffa in Nevada. The UFC has their sh*t together and has for years, hence how they don't lose. The only way they could win is if they had a medical document dated before the cut and proof that they showed it to Zuffa otherwise they have nothing. I clearly doubt they did the above as otherwise Zuffa would not have been so stupid as to outright cut him. Was Zuffa sneaky about it? Sure. I'm sure they purposefully did things quick so they could document him and get him cut before GG had the chance to respond. Overeem better fight Badr Hari now in the WGP if he goes back to kick boxing otherwise he's lost my interest. Predictions are pretty much the same for 133, its set up to have some exciting fights. The prelims are pretty good as well. It isn't "stacked" name wise minus the main event but I think it should be good over all.

The UFC does not need a reason to cut their fighters. Just look at how many guys get cut before their contract is done. However what BH (and other news sites now) have said is this. - UFC offered september fight to Overeem - They declined due to injury - UFC cuts him, saying because he turned down a fight - his camp is saying thats a breach of contract as he is injured. Which they probably have grounds on or they wouldn't pull that card. - The rest are justified cuts, the fighters lost. Kinda hard to get around that legally when they cut people all the time. Honestly I feel bad for Sergei right now. he has been fighting really good his last couple fights before SF, and had a chance to cash in for some big bucks (potentially. At least bigger than before). Now it seems if he loses his next fight hes out. UFC will get a lot of heat but I don't blame them, just like with the Fedor negotiations. I remember M-1 wanted to do the co-promotion have have the UFC sign X number of guys. That might be how it works in Japan (which is going down hill, so great business plan there) but not in the US. So you have to adjust and those management teams didn't want to and know if their fighters sign exclusive deals then the mngmt isn't getting the money they want so they just get off negotiations. I know guys like Overeem and Fedor make lots of money overseas but I don't think they really get how much money they could make with the UFC behind them. Half a mill is nice for the WGP but thats nothing if the UFC got behind him. As for the story, I can see Couture being that type of guy who is laid back until you try something, then he just snaps like F You you're gonna get it now. Don't know if I would describe them as a big one and small one though, cant be more than 20 lbs of difference between them out of fight, I was thinking Bas could have been one of them for some reason, or if its an old story Lee Murray.

I don't see him joining the UFC right away, seems like that would be really bad PR. Let someone go from basically you're same company because you don't agree with him in some regard (whatever the final issue was) only to re-sign him? It would make SF look really bad and continue the UFC image of they can do whatever the F they want. If they wanted him in the UFC wouldn't they just sign him to a new contract and move him over saying his time in SF is done?

Overeem reportedly released from SF with one fight left on his contract. Does this mean Zuffa is done with him or just SF? Hmmmm, interesting, interesting. So many different places your thoughts could go with this one. One of mine I had is that with only one fight left Overeem did not wanted to resign and wanted to go to the UFC (or somewhere else). However they put him the Grand Prix with only two fights left on his contract when if he were to win he would fight 3 times. Hmmm, time to renegotiate and maybe that's where things fell through? Also though if the kickboxing fight was a problem that would be a Zuffa overall problem since they probably wouldn't let him kickbox/boxing matches when he was signed to the UFC. Also interesting that this news comes out on the eve of a SF event which was probably planned and they can now address at the press conferences

Think the Cena/Punk thing is good, but def. did it too quick. Two title matches on one show when you usually get none for six months? Would have liked to see them build Cena/Rey for the PPV then have Punk return then for the feud. Now it is just panifully clear Rey was just used as a tiny pebble of a stone for the main feud to take over. Also really diminishes their 8 man tourney they had been hyping. "Hey win this EPIC tournament its the biggest thing ever! Oh yeah, then when you do we are just going to job you out to Cena since we don't want you in our main storyline anyways"

Everything is speculation at this point but I was thinking it has to be some actual medical problem, not something like PED's as others have done it and not been fired. Such as either failing his pre-fight blood work (HIV), or pre-existing injury he didn't disclose but could have. "Oh yeah by the way I got a concussion last week in training camp". It has to be something that Nate himself had some control over or Dana wouldn't be pissed and fired him. Thiago pulled out with that brain thing and Dana was supportive so it can't be something like that. edit: Kind of a PS and once again speculation but wonder if he pulled out cause of anxiety/panic type stuff like Karo did, that could get him fired.

That isn't fair to Nick. I am a fan of watching the Diaz brothers fight but Nate clearly isn't as aggressive or have the killer instinct that Nick has. Nate likes to fight slower and try to catch guys (hence all his guard finishes in the UFC) I actually like this fight alot, for the main reason that GSP will finally be fighting someone with balls. Shields/Kos/Hardy all p*ssed out in their fights, talking crap about going for broke then playing it safe and wussing out. Shields got three and half rounds of GSP with one eye and didn't do one serious takedown attempt or serious flurries coming from GSP's blind eye. Could you imagine if BJ or Hughes got GSP with one eye? GSP may very well cruise but Nick's MMA submission game is great and anyone that actually has been watching his fights knows that. While Santos isn't known for being a world level grappler Nicks submission on him showed his killer instinct and how fast he can submit someone. If GSP takes it to the ground Nick def. has the ability to pull of a triangle or arm bar with those long limbs. After all anything can happen and it only takes one mistake, just ask Chael. If its standing GSP will have to deal with Nicks height and reach and Nicks jab is for real. This fight could end up boring if GSP can lean agaisnt Nick on the cage with the occasional takedown into side control so he ends up safer but the one thing you cannot take away from Nick is his ability to put on a fight and a show. He will taunt GSP with his hands down and talk trash on the mat even if he is losing but if it really is dominatio boredom on the ground Nick has at least shown he will go for broke which no one else has lately and GSP can get the finish. Bottom line, just give me a finish or a well competitive fight. I would honestly like Nick to win eventhough its a long shot of course as GSP is the most complete MMA fight but just to shake things up but if GSP comes out and KO's him in the first round thats fine as well. I just want something different from one of the P4P fighters and his opponents (who equally share the blame)

What I would like to see at WW... Condit vs. Penn: That way you negate the HUGE size advantage and obvious lay in guard approach that Johnson just did. He may try to stand with BJ but if there is any problem he would resort to what works and grind it out. If Condit wins its a resume big resume builder and passing of the guard, if BJ wins...well the UFC never loses when he wins. As for AJ... Johnson vs. Sanchez (late summer/early fall) Sanchez is a FOTN machine and these two could have some fireworks on their feet. With Sanchez' wrestling pedigree and size he would hopefully stop any attempt of the lay in guard approach for the whole fight. The winners could then fight toward end of the year for WW title if GSP beats Shields and vacates, but if that doesn't happen at least we still get good fights so its a win-win. Only thing to note is that while I would love for Thiago to be in the mix he already has a fight soon and its not against a mainstream/ranked guy. Also I would say these four listed above have more mainstream popularity over all(Penn is Penn, Sanchez got on ESPN w/Kampmann, AJ is being hyped, Condit is the only argument)

Using SF as a minor league for rising talent makes no sense and I don't see them doing it. The UFC is synonomous with MMA right now, if they want to have a "minor league" they can just create a UFC show or run more shows i.e. UFC Challengers, like SF did. Especially now that you KNOW its a minor league, why use the SF name for that event when the UFC name is so much stronger? The fighter thing as BH said is also kind of fishy. Lots of people immediatley were talking about fighters going to the UFC but it isn't that simple with most of the people you would want to see since as BH Showtime pays for them which is what kept SF alive. The TV contracts are something I think they were interested in. White has talked before about HBO/Showtime negotiations so maybe this is there way to start negotiations again and maybe be on CBS. However this doesn't really make perfect sense since UFC has the ESPN deal who is with ABC so if they wanted to go that route they could. The ProElite stuff made a little more sense as BH said. Reason being lets say one year ago (unlikely but its just an example) the UFC was looking into buying SF but passed, then all of a sudden someone else is "close" to buying them, that could have forced the UFC to just be like "lets do it and get it over with" What I do could be interesting is if "banned" fighters or fighters with troubled past get a second chance, whether its a fair one or not. What I mean is, even though Daley was "banned" if White said, "hey get up in front of the microphone and admit you were wrong and apologize we will accept you back" now they may or may not do that (especially when guys like him speak out against Zuffa/White) but I think it would be interesting if they did. Afterall White has had many fighter feuds over the years which seem to get worked out. I think they will wait to disband SF but will eventually do it. I read the Showtime contract with SF lasts two more years. So I think UFC may just wait it out then disband so they dont look totally like d*cks the way the WWE did. I think the most important thing right now for the UFC looking good out of this is to make sure the HW tournament finishes since if you crush it before its done people will now blame you. All in all it seems pretty complicated right now since the only thing to go off of is White's interview and since they can't completley absorb all the fighters either like WEC.

Wrestling is also 211-264 (absurdly close), Boxing is over 200 lbs, ADCC's is over 218. Basically when they regulated MMA they clearly looked at what the other combat sports were doing and decided on the weight limit (265) instead of going unlimited (like Pride) they put the cap on it. It should be noted that it is defined by the Nevada Athletic Commission and not the UFC who decides it. And like BH said there were not/ are not (becoming arguable) enough big guys. Your big guys were like Bob Sapp fighters, you didn't have 250+ huge athletic skilled HW's. Just look at a list of the former UFC HW champions and only Sylvia and Lesnar are huge. I do think it may change it 5/10 years tops now that you have maxed out HW collegiate/olympic wrestlers getting into MMA. Or everyone else will just be forced to cut.

Prelims were good, I personally like to see good prelims but I don't know how much effect it has for SF and people subscribing to Showtime since they are on different channels. Entertaining fights all night so they have to be glad of that. Del Rosario looked good against Johnson, will be interested to see him against better competition. While I was rooting for Arlovski I thought Sergei would knock him out. AA did look good but Sergei was very aggressive in cutting off the cage, the ref even made him back up twice and once the bell rang he marched right across the cage to make sure AA wouldn't be able to just circle around picking him apart. Good strategy by Sergei. AA of course backed up like an idiot with hands down allowing him to get caught and unfortunately he went out like a light. A little dissapointed he didn't try for any takedowns. I know he is a good boxer but when you are going up against a heavy handed guy and you have been getting knocked the F out it might be a good idea to try to take it to the mat and use some of that sambo. I don't think AA retires, if anything because the money is too good. However he may take a serious step down in comp and if he gets KO'd again then I could see him being done. Fedor and Silva was surprising of course. I thought if Silva was able to dominate on top Fedor might be able to catch him but that wasn't the case. I dont think Fedor looked bad in round 1, I thought he looked alot more aggressive and each were taking good shots. Round 2 was just brutal and I think if it was a match between no name fighters it could have been stopped sometime during that beating but the ref let it go I don't know if Fedor retires, from Fedor's stand point I think he could. Winning this could have been his last big thing to try to shut up his haters but I guess bottom line is you either like him or you don't and nothing will change that. He has beaten 5 UFC champs and a PRIDE champ but he will always have haters that say he never fought the big dogs and aside from going to the UFC that will never change. I will still say he is the greatest HW in this early age of MMA, since if you say he isn't then who is? There isn't anyone with a comparable history besides Couture. I do think the size thing is finally catching up to him as well as bigger guys are now better than back in the day when they relied on size (Hello Timmy), Silva walked in at 285 last night 50 lbs heavier with actual MMA training unlike Tim or Choi, thats tough to beat. As to why I don't see him retiring, M-1 and Vladim. Fedor has basically been the only reason M-1 has existed and they may "pep talk" him to fighting more in order to save their own butts. After all they've used him all along. If Fedor is done I doubt SF will put the SF and M-1 Present on their future cards. However I don't think he will fight again in '11. His eye was so bad he may have a broken orbital bone which would probably but him on the shelf for six months. Even if it isn't broken he probably needs/needed minor surgery/eye care which he needs to recover from and he probably wants time off. The only fight I can see him doing is against Werdum in December if Werdum doesn't make it to the final. edit: Finally, I discovered I still hate Showtime announcers. They are pompous idiots and should just be talking out of their butts the whole time. Gus and Mauro are bad and Shamrock wouldn't be as bad if he didn't try so hard and the other two didn't refer to him as a legend every two minutes. Mauro was such an idiot at the end "That 10-8 is totally disturbing" (paraphrasing) to which Shamrock immediately responded "Not really you idiot did you not see Fedor's eye get bashed in stopping the match?" once again, paraphrasing. Still hate Mauro for trying to shove Shields out of the way when Johnson was interviewing just to get his last little line in. I wish they were on HDNet

I thought Rocha was really impressive in round 1,but no way did he win round 2, he was stuff and took some shots, stand up was about equal as neither did enough damage to stand out, then got taken down but didnt take any damage. Rocha didnt get his butt whooped in round 2 but no way he won it.

Wow so UFC 129 is actually stacked and awesome. I know they want to sell out the big arena but I thought they would just rely on on GSP in Canada like they have before. This card is much much better than the last GSP fight where they just relied on him to sell. MAIN CARD Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields (for welterweight title) Champ Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick (for featherweight title) Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson then of course some good solid undercard action as well but all of those main card fights are amazing.

I don't really think their wrestling is as bad as everyone says (yes I know I'm a little bias , I think its more their personality and fighting styles so that they are not executing well. - Motivation. Nick outright admits it. I think if you offer him $10 mill for fight he can compete with just about anyone. However the whole point of being a "fighter" is you should be motivated no matter what. - Ego. Both of course like to slug it out instead of try for take downs so since they do not choose to wrestle alot it seems like they "don't know how to" - Ego 2. Because of their submission game I don't think they fight wrestlers as hard/serious as they should. Look at how many triangle chokes Nate has in the UFC. I think they believe if they get taken down they are good enough to submit people ala what Nick just did. Santos took Nick down, does that mean Nick has bad take down defence? Or did he allow himself to be taken down so he could work the submission? The problem arises when they don't get the submission ala Nate vs. Kim. -Bottom submission fighters. Kinda goes with the above but their submission wins come from the bottom where they are comfortable instead of trying to be on top like fellow Gracies Melendez and Shields. Finally neither has been dominated by wrestlers recently as their rep suggests, instead they have submitted more of them consistently than they have lost. Nick's last meaningful loss was 06, Nate lost to Stevenson and Guida but has submitted others along the way. Yes his most recent was to the grappler Kim but he was constantly working submissions going to point 2. I know Nate just lost to Maynard which some may point to but in the actual fight wrestling ability played little factor, it was more Nate was afraid of Maynards take downs so he fought so conservatively. I think he was expecting Gray to come in so hard he wanted to catch him in a choke or make sure he ended up in guard instead of Gray ending up in half or side. What I want to see is Nick go up against Fitch or a top grappler but of course instead of going to the UFC he would rather smoke weed and fight almost every fight in California or states that permit marijuana in fight tests. Otherwise I think his record speaks for itself in defeating strikers which is why I don't understand why people will think Daley will win easily. Daley is 5'9 to Nicks 6'1 (don't know their actual reaches) so I don't see Daley getting inside. Also his ground game is actually pretty bad when you watch his matches, both Shields and Kos embarrassed him on the ground and I see no reason why Nick can't work his jab, push forward, grapple against the fence, trip takedown and work a sub. If he stands right in front of Daley for three rounds sure Daley could win but if he plays it smart, on paper there's just no reason it shouldn't be an easy win. Also Nick has never been KO'd and only suffered one TKO very early in his career. Compared to Daley's 5 of 9 losses came via submission, I'll take the sub over the KO.

Ihave followed them and always support them here before fights. I said Nate would win by triangle last time and he just fell short. Showing goodcardio in the past or talking about it doesn't mean anything if you don't execute on fight night but he did which is what matters. It wasn't a revelation but around other forums ppl knock on his striking saying Santos is slow and not an elite striker and shrug off the sub saying once again because of Santos but nicks card is all on him and I am glad too see him perform well in an area that ppl cannot make excuses about. I don't thinks he's the #1 ww like he wants to be considered due to inconsistent comp but I don't see how some consider him a total slouch either.

My guess was just fans since no one said anything. I thought at first it was Mrs. Cyborg, but then thought that was too dickish for him, then Miller, but too obvious for nothing being said, then since nothing has still been said its probably random since if it was a fighter they would be hyping/talking about it. He went over right away so I'm guessing he just heard an F You and went right after where it came from. Good fight from Diaz, he is taking heat for Santos not being a legit contender (guess thats what happens when you are just above .500) but face is he beat the man in the cage with him and thats all you can ask. He outstruck a striker and despite the leg kicks Diaz seemed unaffected then showed how dangerous he is on the ground. If he fights Daley I think its more of the same with Diaz using his reach and jab or Diaz takes a smart/conservative approach and takes him down to submit him like fellow team mate Shields did. edit: What actually impressed the most about Diaz was his cardio. Not only was he constantly moving and throwing strikes or avoiding them but he got the sub at the very end of the round after going at it for the 4:30 before it but could still pull it off.

The heat has died down since and it probably wouldn't happen for April but I would not be surprised if Dream and Aoki pushed for a Melendez rematch on Japanese soil, that would be something they could market. I think Barnett would draw interest over there, especially if would come down to him in the final against Fedor or Overeem. He has fought there in the past, and recently, and of course his wrestling days on top of that.

I think a major part of the lack of interest I am seeing on different forums and event MMA news sites (I go to MMAJunkie, MMAWeekly, then Sherdog in that respective order) is because of the lack of the consistency. Strikeforce averages what, a major event every 3 months at best? Kinda hard to keep up on that. Especially when your "mainstream" guys aren't mainstreaming events. I don't get Showtime anymore but I'll still watch the fights I want online. The not getting behind Diaz is totally understandable but I don't think Santos is a legit route either to get behind as he isn't known to the common MMA fan and if he is its because of his wife. Lawler seems like a good guy to get behind so I'm betting they hope he wins. In a somewhat related topic regarding Diaz, I remember awhile ago CSAC was looking into bannign Marijuana. This would be a major blow to Diaz as it seems that is one of the reasons he has stayed with Strikeforce instead of the UFC as many of SF's events are in California allowing him to smoke without care. I posted before that I'm a Diaz brothers fan though and it will take alot for me not to like them. I thought MMA Junkie's article covering Diaz's interview was very unprofessional as it constantly ripped him and came off more as a blog more so than a legit MMA news site. Was Diaz unprofessional in his conference call? Yes, but he's the "immature fighter" and you are supposed to be better than that. in a quick run down... Diaz vs. Santos= Probably a stand up war, Diaz has the ego not to work his jits effective and while I think he can out counter strike him him darting in and out I dont think he has the power. Ideally they stand for the first two with Diaz working the jab and winning a few exchanges but staying out of reach and the clinch but come round three takes him down and work for the sub. that would be my approach but we'll see. Lawler vs. Jacare= I actually think Lawler will KO him. Jacare could control him on the ground but its just my feeling. Walker vs. Who Cares= I'm actually glad about Walker, I wasn't at first but he brings alot of attention and has always been known as a legit athlete so its better than a washed up random football player. Gracie vs. Prangley= This fight actually interets me alot. The new generation of Gracie's have not done anything spectactular in MMA but Roger is still young and has been working at it. I watched Prangley's fight online before his Jardine fight so I want to see if he is legit or gets tapped quick. Then unfortunatley nothing interests me on prelims.

Hey what's wrong with King of the Cage I helped out at two events! Onto the night... Won money on Guillard, glad he was listed as the underdog. I remember about a year ago doing predictions here someone jumped on me for talking about its either time for him to rise up and not be a prospect and since then he's torn it up. I think he is one of the most naturally gifted athletic/potential guys out there and it looks like being at Greg Jackson's has given him the discipline he needed. Didn't really like his post fight ego though as I thought he lost that but baby steps. Too bad Miller is already booked because Guillard vs. Miller would be a nice ladder match. Barry was unimpressive and we'll see how he does in the future. The biggest thing like BH just said is he really should have first rounded him if Barry is to be taken seriously. Leg kicks were awesome but otherwise not much there. Hominick looked good of course so hopefully the Aldo fight turns into a back and forth war which always makes title fights more interesting when they're not one sided. Thoughts on Franklin/Grififin. I totally understand why Franklin is the favorite. Griffin is a product of the UFC hype machine, not that he's awful, but being a poster boy for the company helps a lot and he has made his name and career out of "being the guy with lots of heart that won TUF 1" rather than a dangerous fighter. I think they are both very similar which could make for a good close fight. He has been far far from Stellar in his recent performances just actually look at them, I won't go too far back. He beat Shogun who was not recovered and totally unprepared, a win is a win yes, but it wasn't the truest Shogun test many thought it would it be or was at the time. Then the ever argued Rampage decision which he won via leg kicks. Once again a win is a win but it was far from stellar/dominating. Loses to Rashad, embarrassed by Silva, then a split decision over the old and "my back hurts" Ortiz. Now really, how is any of that impressive? He has a lot of heart and is a "fighter" but that only gets you so far as he is discovering and add on injuries and there you go. I don't think he will ever be 205 champ again and cannot consistently fight the best guys. Franklin on the other hand isn't stellar or dominating either I'll admit, but he has been more active and looked better against his competition. Yes Belfort KO'd him but thats his only real bad loss. Needless to say I won't be betting on the fight.

In other Strikeforce tournament news I didn't see mentioned, Coker says it may become international holding some events in Canada or Japan. Which makes sense since in his world its a "Major Inernational tournament and only makes sense" Isn't everyone just sick of his lies and bull crap by now? Seriously, just put on a few actual consistent meaningful fights for once then we will listen. He reminds me of the guy on the corner shouting his religious end of the worldl non-sense, I just don't listen or take him seriously anymore. UFC LW division will be fine. The divisions fluctuate (wasn't it only 18 months we talked about how weak the HW division was and now its talked about as one of the best?) also BJ is by no means out of things. If he wins this coming fight, then his next, he can easily fight for the LW belt as long as Maynard or Petis have it and not Edgar. He is just stuck right now as no matter what he does right he isn't getting GSP or Edgar again for the title edit: people are severly over rating the fact that it was Edgar vs. Maynar 2, why? Because no one cared the first time they fought. E vs. M 2 was all about little known/uncharismatic guys to the casual audience fighting, Edgar was coming off his two wins of BJ but thats all the match really had going. Frankie isn't on ESPN, in movies, or in Gatorade/Under Armour/UFC/Workout supplement commercials and doesn't have a legacy like every other champion. For this third match, I believe it will sell alot more and get a lot more coverage, and not because of the rubber match factor but because of how close the title match was. It also gave them charisma. Maynard was devastated and lots of people have talked about that since. Frankie of course still has shown litle charisma but I think Maynard will (hopefully) take the PR duties on his shoulders and get people to either really rally behind him or hate him.

So if everything I said is wrong and everything has worked for them in the past and present then why is the biggest Japanese company struggling to seem to even put on shows when the UFC (who Japan or no one else cares about apparently) is making $$$$$$$ in countries all over the world? We only have about 10-15 solid years of MMA being a major sport to look at historically anyways and most of Japan's was with PRIDE which is clearly a different situation. While they aren't necessarily competing HEAD TO HEAD with the UFC ala WWF/WCW back in the day, the UFC is getting in more and more house holds and is taking more and more foreign fighters away. So how is that not the least bit competing or caring what they need to do again? You don't think Japaense fans would have liked to see Gomi on Dynamite? (just for a random example) You also say they don't care about the US, then why are they on HDNet, bringing in American fighters, then sending their fighters over there "if its all about the Japanese populace? Great Overeem has more belts than testicles, too bad he won't be fighting there any time soon if Coker gets his way, real solid business plan there. I guess so many people cared thats why, once again, ratings continued to drop and they continue to lack sponsors. Wouldn't it be better if a regular Japanese DREAM fighter had that belt? I am by no means a Japaense MMA expert but after making a point to go against everything I said it by no means has any evidence to support them with their latest outings. You just had to criticize it all without showing those things are helping them currently or will help them in the future. Clearly all Japanese MMA will not "Die Forever" but it seems they are far far off from becoming a factor in grand aspect of the world.

I think its just part of our stupid alpha male nature. You guys are European but look at the NFL and QB concussions. A MLB player got hit in th knee while sliding in June and got a concussion, out for the rest of the year even the play offs. An NFL QB is considered a wimp if he sits out a week with a concussion. In a contact sport especially like boxing in your examples, you are so incoherent you are not thinking of playing catch with your son tomorrow, or grand son in 30 years, instead its "if I quit now people will think less of me" which in the long run when you are in that field playing catch with grandson and not in a wheel chair...who cares?

Well even though I have only started watching DREAM events since 09 Dynamite then of course 10 dynamite, there unfortunately seems to be many many problems. - UFC: PRIDE of course could be argued as the best. They had top fighters with top fights. Now boom, the UFC is THE top promotion with THE top talent, 9/10 top guys are with them which makes it hard to compete from that stand point in numerous ways. First you cant say you have the best, second, because of that your fights clearly aren't the best quality (in terms of best fighter vs. best fighter) or most important since it doesn't involve the best. - Talent Stealing: More and more guys that used to fight in Japan now fight in the UFC or Strikeforce making it hard of course to promote your home grown guys when they are somewhere else. - Talent losing overseas: As if it was not bad enough your fighters are in the US, they consistently lose to top level American fighters. Okami has been fighting for what seems like forever in the UFC and is finally getting a chance. Aoki was embarrassed, Gomi has failed to produce, just a few examples. - Using other talent: FEG continue using other talent on their shows which is very good short term, but hurts long term. Overeem for example is useless in MMA fights IMO long run. You just crowned him your HW interim champ, if SF tourny goes well, odds are he will not even compete for DREAM this year making a joke out of them and their HW title. They also use other guys as well he was just an example, good short term, very bad long term. Hence why you never see the UFC do it. - Freak Shows: They can be fun and entertaining but if you want to build yourself as a legitimate MMA company, you can't rely on it. - Mixing in K-1: I know this is just FEG and DREAM but since DREAM is the biggest in Japan right now, you cannot mix them. It may good for FEG and help get some viewers in the short term but it does't help your over all MMA. - Reliance on Entertainment: I love watching the entertaining aspect but lets face it, if you want funny/goofy you will watching something else. Hence why their Dynamite!! ratings are going down. Without emphasizing solid sporting action it just becomes regular entertainment which there are other venues. - Finances: I saw where they are and have been having financial issues which obviously good. - Lack of draw from US/other markets: I know the US isn't king of all kings but right now with the UFC being based in America and all those fans DREAM or other companies need to take advantage of that. I know they are on HDNET sometimes but here is my biggest concern...the ring. I know some will give me heat for this but it is hard to fit in universal when you are doing old traditional things. For a global example, this would be like playing soccer/football on an oval field then wondering why people just cannot appreciate/understand it just because FIFA uses a rectangle - Older stars: It seems most of Japan's top fighters like Minowaman (sp?)are older/washed up and it is hard to keep drawing on them when they are not very good. This may be good for entertainment but what happens when they finally do retire? Who do you rely on then? - Finally, no major exclusive star. This is of course very hard to do but can help out tremendously. If they had a fighter in any weight class who was running through Japanese talent AND american talent it would give them reason to stick out their tongue at the UFC (ala Fedor and M-1 before) but as of now, they have no one even close. - Finally consistency. I was reading the interview with the FEG guy and how he isn't sure about t heir next DREAM event and all the details blah blah. thats horse crap. How do you expect fans to look forward to something that isn't there? That is IMO THE best thing the UFC does, every month you know they have a PPV on, no matter how close you follow. Even if DREAM did a conservative every 4-6 months, but you NEED something.