12. Monte Cox named president of M-1 Global
With the excitement surrounding the sensational announcement that Monte Cox was named president and CEO of mixed martial art's latest buzz promotion M-1, nobody seems to have acknowledged the gross conflict of interest inherent in a man being the president of a fight organization, and at the same time the manager of several top fighters and prospects. Even Dana White knew you couldn't be both, and relieved himself of managing Tito Ortiz before assuming the role of UFC president. Here's to Monte Cox, continuing the proud tradition of cartoony looking bastards corrupting fight sports.
11. Frank Shamrock
Where to start? Shamrock prides himself on being a gentleman, a man among boys, and yet isn't beyond releasing inflammatory videos questioning nemesis Phil Baroni's sexuality on Youtube. He insists that he is one of the greatest fighters active today, but decides to start his march towards total conquest with Renzo Gracie, a man fighting under a largely obsolete ethos who hasn't been a relevant competitor for years. And on top of that, he can't even beat him. Shamrock was taken down repeatedly by Renzo before resorting to illegal knees to the back of Renzo's head. And while Renzo was checked by the doctor, Shamrock aped and mugged for the camera, later questioning Renzo's fighting spirit. Renzo Gracie, who refused to tap out after having his shoulder torn off by Sakuraba.
To his credit, Shamrock managed to choke Phil Baroni unconscious. But then again, so did Pete Sell. Add to this the fact that Shamrock conveniently ignored Jorge Santiago, winner of the Strikeforce 4-man tournament and unofficial number 1 contender, in favor of challenging an obviously green Cung Le, and you have a giant turd.
10. "No Decision" for Nick Diaz and Takanori Gomi
When the Nevada State Athletic Commission takes the fight of the year and makes it officially non-existent, you're describing a far-reaching sort of pain and frustration. Should Nick Diaz have been fined and suspended for testing positive for marijuana? Sure. Should he have his win taken away in order for the NSAC to send a message to other prospective violators? Er, try waiting around for someone who tested positive for a performance ENHANCING drug. Say, Sean Sherk. And I don't know about you, but maybe beating the number one lightweight in the world with one of MMA's rarest submissions while having a performance-hindering drug like marijuana in your system calls for some sort of special medal, or certificate, or coupon book, perhaps.
Besides taking away one of the greatest fights of their careers from Diaz, Gomi, and the fans, this can of worms fueled PRIDE FC/UFC tensions. When the UFC's number one competitor holds a show in Las Vegas (UFC territory) and receives a black eye like PRIDE FC did, for a violation that UFC fighters have far surpassed, it's sure to raise some eyebrows.
On top of it all, I'm now guaranteed some moment in my old age where I blather on about some fantastic, mystical fight that my grandkids assure me never happened. Just before I fill my underwear with feces. Terrific.
9. Renato Sobral
Sobral decided to celebrate his 2006 knockout loss to Chuck Liddell by leaping into a punch from Jason Lambert while attempting to deliver one of the worst flying knees in history. For a follow up act, he would get himself arrested for trespassing and assault, only a week or so before a come-back fight with David Heath, in which he would choke his opponent unconscious despite Heath's submission and the referee's intervention, and then gloat about it afterwards. As a reward for such an illustrious year, Sobral was fined $50,000 and cut from the UFC.
8. Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes
What could be better than putting the exciting welterweight division of the UFC on hold for almost a year while Dana White hypes up a bad-blood match between champion Matt Serra and all-time great Matt Hughes on The Ultimate Fighter: Hughes vs. Serra? How about going through all that bullshit, and never actually having the fight?!
7. Dana White
Or should we say the character "Dana White," the cursing, no-nonsense, tough-love, hard-drinking (implied) boss-man from the "reality" show The Ultimate Fighter. Nothing shows professionalism and respect for your assets (that's assets, not employees) like encouraging one of the show's coaches to "bitch slap" those "motherfuckers." Motherfuckers, of course, meaning the future stars and moneymakers of your organization.
That Tito Ortiz/Dana White boxing special doesn't help his reputation either. Desperate to make himself out to be a tough guy while childishly cutting his former colleague off at the knees, Dana White put together a vanity show that documented how hard he works (particularly how diligently he trained boxing despite his hectic schedule) and at the same time, inexplicably, how stupid and cowardly Tito Ortiz, one of his prime earners, is.
Ultimate Bad Ass or World's Savviest CEO? Why not both? Because that would be retarded.
6. Shogun Rua in the UFC
Shogun Rua, one of the most dynamic, dominant fighters in the sport today and, at the time, widely considered to be the number 1 light heavyweight in the world, made his debut in the UFC against Forrest Griffin. He stumbled around the cage, sucked wind, and got punched in the face repeatedly before succumbing to a rear-naked choke by the popular but critically unheralded Griffin, and got paid top dollar to do it. Bust.
5. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi
With the Fertittas' buyout of PRIDE FC, once impossible, cross-promotional superfights looked to come to fruition. Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell, Takanori Gomi vs. Sean Sherk, Tim Sylvia vs. Cro Cop, and Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi. Oh wait. I mean, anything but Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi. With a spotless MMA record (of 1-0-0) Choi is about as unqualified a fighter as you can get to fight arguably the number 1 pound for pound fighter in the world. The most unqualified, that is, besides maybe this guy:
With a record of 0-2-0, Yuji Nagata must have been the greatest pro-wrestler in the world, because they decided to throw him in the ring with Cro Cop right off the bat. After 21 seconds and a knock out loss, management decided he showed enough moxie to be thrown in with Emelianenko. A second fight between Nagata and Emelianenko would be a little more ridiculous than the fight with Choi, but at least it would make the management's intentions more clear: cash in on Emelianenko's name and legend with freak show fights and fat paydays, all the way to retirement.
4. Cro Cop's career in the UFC
Why, god? Why?
4. Matt Hughes
Hughes' nearly 10-year career has been spent building his legend: a hard-working, simple, good hearted man triumphing over incredible competition. That's about 8-years of engendered goodwill, which he has managed to almost completely bury in the last year. Thanks to off-hand racist comments on The Ultimate Fighter: the Comeback, childish, chest-beating nationalism in questioning Canada's fighting spirit (in the form of Georges St. Pierre), a pushy, self-righteous religious zeal, and his ability to be both emotionally sensitive and defensive and yet passive-aggressive and insulting, "Country Breakfast" might end up being remembered as the most successful asshole in MMA's early years.
3. Performance, and the drugs what enhances it
When both fighters in a UFC lightweight title fight test positive for steroids, then what the fuck? At least Hermes Franca came clean and owned up to it. Now-former champion Sean Sherk continues to ignore the idea of decorum in defeat and insist on his innocence. And congratulations to Melvin Guillard for momentarily capturing the title of World's Biggest Asshole by accusing Joe Stevenson of taking steroids, losing that fight, and then testing positive for cocaine.
2. Randy Couture leaves the UFC
How the hell can anyone take Dana White's side in this? Couture states that he quit the UFC for three reasons: 1. to fight Fedor Emelianenko, 2. because he didn't feel respected by the UFC's upper management, and 3. he didn't like the way he was being compensated. It's simple, and yet when Dana White crows that they gave Couture a signing bonus, everyone thinks that the UFC must be doing right by Couture. There's still the messy issue surrounding point number 1, and besides money, the intangibles associated with the UFC's lack of respect for Couture. The only reason why it seems like money is Couture's main issue is because that's the only issue people have been asking him about.
And frankly, if all things looked even and it came down to one man's word or another, why would you pick "tough-guy" businessman Dana White over Couture, a man respected by his peers who has proved himself over and over to be a conscientious gentleman, a true statesman of the sport, in and out of the cage.
Frankly, Couture's resignation from the UFC belongs in the top 12 best moments of 2008 as well. In quitting, Couture exhibited no fear in the face of a large brand, faith in himself and his fans, and showed himself to be a true competitor. Only for the shameful way that the UFC and MMA fans have reacted, and the unfortunate halt to some compelling fights does this earn its spot here.
1. Fallout from the buyout of PRIDE FC
I'm not that sad to see PRIDE FC as a fight promotion take a dirt nap. Fixed fights, partial judging and refereeing, preferential treatment, freak-show fights, and a lack of any legitimate drug testing don't leave the best taste in my mouth. Yet while in existence, PRIDE FC, along with the UFC, provided one of two homes for the vast majority of MMA's best. With UFC owner Zuffa's acquisition of PRIDE, it looked like they would all come under one roof. One thing after another went wrong, though, and what the fans ended up with was a canceled lightweight grand prix. For their troubles, the UFC got a burnt out Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva, a couple of huge busts in the form of Shogun Rua and Cro Cop, and the questionably profitable additions of Sokoudjou, Ryo Chonan, Akihiro Gono, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and Fabricio Werdum. Meanwhile, top fighters like Takanori Gomi, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gilbert Melendez, Mach Sakurai, Ricardo Arona, Rogerio Nogeuira, Alistair Overeem, Sergei Kharitonov, Mark Hunt, and Aleksander and Fedor Emelianenko have taken part in the fighter diaspora made possible with the rise of several new fight promotions.
For its wealth of potential resulting only in great disappointment, the purchase of PRIDE FC stands as the big Turd of 2007.
