It's been 10 years since Kazushi Sakuraba started earning his nickname, beginning with a technical submission of Royler Gracie...
A decade since Mark Kerr had a winning year in mixed martial arts...
And a decade for Enson Inoue...
10 years since Vitor Belfort's unsuccesful debut overseas at PRIDE 5...
10 years since Frank Shamrock ended his UFC career with a TKO of Tito Ortiz...
And a decade since the late Evan Tanner made his victorious debut in the UFC.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Superlist: UFC 94
1. Bye Bye Greasy
The controversy surrounding Georges St. Pierre's alleged greasing is beyond ridiculous. To even call it a controversy gives the whole matter too much consideration, as only a lunatic fringe could sincerely believe that St. Pierre's corner intentionally placed some vaseline on his back in between rounds, or that what dubious bit of it remained after the athletic commission official wiped it off made any difference in the outcome of the fight.
Consider: St. Pierre's tactic was to clinch Penn and drag him to the mat. Any extra slipperiness would have only made this more difficult for St. Pierre to accomplish. Furthermore, St. Pierre's corner was only approached by officials following a virtually perfect round from St. Pierre. Given the apparently dominant performance from St. Pierre, any motivation to cheat quickly disappears.
One might attempt to find a correlation between the alleged greasing and St. Pierre's surprising ability to pass Penn's guard, but a second look at the fight will provide a much more obvious explanation. In the second round, following a flurry of punches on the ground from St. Pierre, Penn was visibly hurt, dazed to the point where his preturnatural jiu-jitsu skills abandoned him.
Taking into account the strategy St. Pierre employed, and that strategy's early, flawless execution, any notion that St. Pierre and his corner would willingly cheat is absurd. That the athletic commission responded quickly--and frankly, that Penn offered no appreciable offense that might have been foiled by excess vaseline anyway--makes the possibility of inadvertent cheating almost as ridiculous.
Penn failed to deliver on his hyperbolic threats and promises leading up to the fight, which makes this defeat harder to swallow for fans, Penn's training camp, and Penn himself. These ill-founded accusations are only making things worse.
2. Heads out of Asses
Among other things, UFC 94 was notable for the fact that eight of the ten fights went to decision, and that of those eight, five were split decisions. This may speak to some brilliant match-making, where fighters were so closely matched and fought such dynamic, back-and-forth fights that judges were hard pressed to pick a winner. More likely, though, is that there is a pressing need for refined judging criteria.
For example, while the judges had a hard time deciding the victor for the card's first fight, three major MMA websites delivering play-by-plays unanimously awarded the fight to Dan Cramer over Matt Aroyo. Clay Guida and John Howard's respective victories were close calls but ultimately apparent to the journalists as well, and yet one judge for each fight was compelled to voice a dissenting opinion.
It is not that unusual for a reporting MMA site to clash with an official judge's call, but that a given official's verdict should differ so consistently with devotees of the sport ought to raise a small alarm, at least.
MMA needs judges that are students of mixed martial arts, rather than former judges of boxing, karate, or wrestling matches, and the sport needs more detailed criteria for victory.
3. Keep your Enemies Closer
Karo Parisyan kicked Dong Hyun Kim in the head in an attempt to defend a heel hook.
Jon Jones' spinning elbow dazed Stephen Bonnar, after landing to the back of his head.
These are facts that ought to be apparent to anyone watching the slow-motion replays of the respective fights, and yet Joe Rogan, in his incessant cheerleading and gushing over Jones and Parisyan (a pal of Rogan's, as stated by Mike Goldberg during the broadcast), failed to acknowledge either.
Rogan's enthusiastic and knowledgeable fight commentary has been a great boon for the UFC. While other broadcast teams devolve into an incoherent mush of promotional aggrandizement and hyperbole, Rogan, with Mike Goldberg in tow, has managed to deliver just about the most critical, perceptive cage-side discussion this side of Bas Rutten. Having said that, Rogan's intimate, personal relationship with the sport occasionally gets in the way of objective fight analysis.
The much-hyped Jones was impressive in his decision victory over light-heavyweight stalwart Stephen Bonnar, but the elbow strike that sent Bonnar to the canvas ought to be called for what it is: an inadvertant foul. Multiple replays showed the elbow clearly landing at the back of Bonnar's head, with no notice taken by Rogan whatsoever. Rather, Rogan continued to applaud the flashy technique throughout the replays.
Rogan's bias was also on full display in his incredulity following the referee's intervention in the Parisyan-Kim fight. Rogan was appalled that the referee stopped the fight for what he called a shove to the grounded Kim's face by Parisyan's foot. Yet replays showed that Parisyan's foot was first not in contact with Kim's head and then, with some considerable force, did make contact with Kim's face--about as clear a definition of a kick as you can get. And yes, there is a blurry line between a proper kick and a hard shove, but in a sport like mixed martial arts, officials ought to err on the side of the offended party.
Among high-profile fighter contracts and rumored network television deals, Joe Rogan has been a surprise asset to the UFC. I might be asking more of him than other broadcasters when I wish that he would tweak his self-editor just a bit (not too much so that he loses enthusiasm, but just enought to tone down preferences born from personal relationships). Then again, when you serve as a voice for "The Superbowl of MMA," you open yourself up to all kinds of criticism (even from pasty-skinned keyboard jockies).
4. Working Title
Two winners at UFC 94 may have ended up a little further from a title shot than they anticipated
last Saturday night.
On the short list of contenders since 2005, Parisyan's march toward the welterweight belt has been plagued by untimely defeats and canceled fights. His showing against the undefeated but largely untested Dong Hyun Kim may have served him just as poorly. His unrefined striking, lack of raw power, and poor endurance were defecits made all the more glaring when held up next to welterweight champion St. Pierre's stunning performance that same night. In a division continually swelling with talent (Carlos Condit has been confirmed for the UFC, and Jake Shields is a rumored import), Parisyan will have to reinvent himself in order to remain relevant.
In the light-heavyweight division, Lyoto Machida's first round knockout of Thiago Silva (which improved Machida's record to a sterling 14-0-0), seems to have not been enough to erase his four box-office-poison decision victories in the UFC.
According to Dana White, Machida's shot at the title is contingent on the result of Quinton Jackson versus Keith Jardine--should Jackson falter, Machida will become number one contender. Otherwise, Jackson gets the title shot while Machida has yet one more fight before he can challenge for the belt. This is a surprising choice considering the high number of converts Machida likely earned himself with his impressive showing on Saturday. I would have expected the UFC to strike while the iron was hot rather than risk another long-distance fight from Machida. Jackson as a title contender must really be too marketable to pass up.
5. Unlockable Character...
Afro Jon Fitch for UFC: Undisputed 2009, please.
Also: thinning-hair-ill-fitting-suit Dana White.
Dana White says a silent prayer for a day when everyday is Casual Friday and business men can scowl and flex as freely as the eagle soars.
The controversy surrounding Georges St. Pierre's alleged greasing is beyond ridiculous. To even call it a controversy gives the whole matter too much consideration, as only a lunatic fringe could sincerely believe that St. Pierre's corner intentionally placed some vaseline on his back in between rounds, or that what dubious bit of it remained after the athletic commission official wiped it off made any difference in the outcome of the fight.
Consider: St. Pierre's tactic was to clinch Penn and drag him to the mat. Any extra slipperiness would have only made this more difficult for St. Pierre to accomplish. Furthermore, St. Pierre's corner was only approached by officials following a virtually perfect round from St. Pierre. Given the apparently dominant performance from St. Pierre, any motivation to cheat quickly disappears.
One might attempt to find a correlation between the alleged greasing and St. Pierre's surprising ability to pass Penn's guard, but a second look at the fight will provide a much more obvious explanation. In the second round, following a flurry of punches on the ground from St. Pierre, Penn was visibly hurt, dazed to the point where his preturnatural jiu-jitsu skills abandoned him.
Taking into account the strategy St. Pierre employed, and that strategy's early, flawless execution, any notion that St. Pierre and his corner would willingly cheat is absurd. That the athletic commission responded quickly--and frankly, that Penn offered no appreciable offense that might have been foiled by excess vaseline anyway--makes the possibility of inadvertent cheating almost as ridiculous.
Penn failed to deliver on his hyperbolic threats and promises leading up to the fight, which makes this defeat harder to swallow for fans, Penn's training camp, and Penn himself. These ill-founded accusations are only making things worse.
2. Heads out of Asses
Among other things, UFC 94 was notable for the fact that eight of the ten fights went to decision, and that of those eight, five were split decisions. This may speak to some brilliant match-making, where fighters were so closely matched and fought such dynamic, back-and-forth fights that judges were hard pressed to pick a winner. More likely, though, is that there is a pressing need for refined judging criteria.
For example, while the judges had a hard time deciding the victor for the card's first fight, three major MMA websites delivering play-by-plays unanimously awarded the fight to Dan Cramer over Matt Aroyo. Clay Guida and John Howard's respective victories were close calls but ultimately apparent to the journalists as well, and yet one judge for each fight was compelled to voice a dissenting opinion.
It is not that unusual for a reporting MMA site to clash with an official judge's call, but that a given official's verdict should differ so consistently with devotees of the sport ought to raise a small alarm, at least.
MMA needs judges that are students of mixed martial arts, rather than former judges of boxing, karate, or wrestling matches, and the sport needs more detailed criteria for victory.
3. Keep your Enemies Closer
Karo Parisyan kicked Dong Hyun Kim in the head in an attempt to defend a heel hook.
Jon Jones' spinning elbow dazed Stephen Bonnar, after landing to the back of his head.
These are facts that ought to be apparent to anyone watching the slow-motion replays of the respective fights, and yet Joe Rogan, in his incessant cheerleading and gushing over Jones and Parisyan (a pal of Rogan's, as stated by Mike Goldberg during the broadcast), failed to acknowledge either.
Rogan's enthusiastic and knowledgeable fight commentary has been a great boon for the UFC. While other broadcast teams devolve into an incoherent mush of promotional aggrandizement and hyperbole, Rogan, with Mike Goldberg in tow, has managed to deliver just about the most critical, perceptive cage-side discussion this side of Bas Rutten. Having said that, Rogan's intimate, personal relationship with the sport occasionally gets in the way of objective fight analysis.
The much-hyped Jones was impressive in his decision victory over light-heavyweight stalwart Stephen Bonnar, but the elbow strike that sent Bonnar to the canvas ought to be called for what it is: an inadvertant foul. Multiple replays showed the elbow clearly landing at the back of Bonnar's head, with no notice taken by Rogan whatsoever. Rather, Rogan continued to applaud the flashy technique throughout the replays.
Rogan's bias was also on full display in his incredulity following the referee's intervention in the Parisyan-Kim fight. Rogan was appalled that the referee stopped the fight for what he called a shove to the grounded Kim's face by Parisyan's foot. Yet replays showed that Parisyan's foot was first not in contact with Kim's head and then, with some considerable force, did make contact with Kim's face--about as clear a definition of a kick as you can get. And yes, there is a blurry line between a proper kick and a hard shove, but in a sport like mixed martial arts, officials ought to err on the side of the offended party.
Among high-profile fighter contracts and rumored network television deals, Joe Rogan has been a surprise asset to the UFC. I might be asking more of him than other broadcasters when I wish that he would tweak his self-editor just a bit (not too much so that he loses enthusiasm, but just enought to tone down preferences born from personal relationships). Then again, when you serve as a voice for "The Superbowl of MMA," you open yourself up to all kinds of criticism (even from pasty-skinned keyboard jockies).
4. Working Title
Two winners at UFC 94 may have ended up a little further from a title shot than they anticipated
last Saturday night.
On the short list of contenders since 2005, Parisyan's march toward the welterweight belt has been plagued by untimely defeats and canceled fights. His showing against the undefeated but largely untested Dong Hyun Kim may have served him just as poorly. His unrefined striking, lack of raw power, and poor endurance were defecits made all the more glaring when held up next to welterweight champion St. Pierre's stunning performance that same night. In a division continually swelling with talent (Carlos Condit has been confirmed for the UFC, and Jake Shields is a rumored import), Parisyan will have to reinvent himself in order to remain relevant.
In the light-heavyweight division, Lyoto Machida's first round knockout of Thiago Silva (which improved Machida's record to a sterling 14-0-0), seems to have not been enough to erase his four box-office-poison decision victories in the UFC.
According to Dana White, Machida's shot at the title is contingent on the result of Quinton Jackson versus Keith Jardine--should Jackson falter, Machida will become number one contender. Otherwise, Jackson gets the title shot while Machida has yet one more fight before he can challenge for the belt. This is a surprising choice considering the high number of converts Machida likely earned himself with his impressive showing on Saturday. I would have expected the UFC to strike while the iron was hot rather than risk another long-distance fight from Machida. Jackson as a title contender must really be too marketable to pass up.
5. Unlockable Character...
Afro Jon Fitch for UFC: Undisputed 2009, please.
Also: thinning-hair-ill-fitting-suit Dana White.
Dana White says a silent prayer for a day when everyday is Casual Friday and business men can scowl and flex as freely as the eagle soars.
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