Boxing Fans??

I have to credit my love of M.M.A. to Boxing. I have always been a fan of the sport, I grew up watching it with my Dad. While the sport has been a little lackluster lately (in my own opinion of course) there is a pretty big fight coming up next weekend.

~Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao~

Now the reason I am bringing this up is because my husband and I are having a dispute over my opinion of who will win this fight.
I believe that Pacquiao (trained by the great Freddie Roach for this match) will win this fight, and I am sure it will be done convincingly! My husband however feels that it won't be as simple as that.
This dispute includes a monetary bet. My husband loves to bet on sports but his record isn't too great, to help him out, I make my fight picks which he will then bet on. I must say I have done pretty well and have made enough money for him to lose on all of his other sport bets.
Even though I do well, he has a hard time with my choices.

Some of my past "off the wall bets" include;
(I say off the wall bets because they were all underdog bets that most people thought I was crazy for making)
-Rashad Evans over Chuck Liddell
-Eric Schafer over Houston Alexander
-Bernard Hopkins over Kelly Pavlik
The last one I consider the most interesting because as boxing fans know Kelly Pavlik was undefeated prior to this fight. I also consider it to have been a crazier bet than my choice for Pacquiao over De La Hoya.

My choice has nothing to do with age, or even my dislike of De La Hoya. :) I can say honestly he has been one of the best in the sport, but in this case I feel that Pacquiao is the better boxer. I also can say that in my opinion it's really not a hard pick to make, however I must say that right now Pacquiao is the underdog, so am I wrong?

I guess what I am asking is I would like to hear what everyone else thinks.
-Who will win?
-Will it be a one sided fight for one opponent? Or will the fight be pretty even?
-Will we see 12 rounds or will it end early?
-Will we see a KO?

All of you boxing fans out there....I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

UFC 88 Fight Picks!

UfC 88 Breakthrough

Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans
Rashad! I think he will dominate this fight!!!!! sorry Chuckie!

Rich Franklin VS. Matt Hamill
Hamill will totally take this fight. Enough said!

Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Hopefully Yoshida. I have my reasons.

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares
Hendo all the way!

Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt
Marquardt

Thiago Tavares vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Tavares

Tim Boetsch vs. James Lee
Boetsch

Dong hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown
Brown

Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan
Chonan

Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald
Lambert



Rashad Evans
Matt Hamill
Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Dan Henderson
Nate Maequardt
Thiago Tavares
Tim Boetsch
Matt Brown
Ryo Chonan
Jason Lambert

There they are folks!

A few thoughts on Dana White and the UFC

A few thoughts.....


I agree that Dana White is responsible for the growth of mma, without him we may not even be discussing mma in this forum. I will never take that away from him.
However, the decisions he has been making lately have affected the way I view mma and the UFC. Without the fighters the UFC is nothing.
I do realize that Dana and Tito have always had issues, but it is not just Tito anymore.
I don't understand why Dana has to alienate his fighters rather that compromise. I am not saying he should give the fighters whatever they want, I am saying that he should at least listen to what the fighters have to say and try to reach a solution that works for everyone.
I was upset when the fighters I love left the UFC, these guys are who I watch fight once a month and pay quite a bit of money to see them fight live. I would rather have them stay, but I think most of them have valid reasons why they didn't.
Yes, I am sure Dana enjoyed the sport at one time and he worked his ass off to make it what it is today, but how can he fight so hard for a sport and then create a reality show where fighters live in a house with no access to the outside world and more alcohol in it than a liquor store?
I was a fan of mma long before "TUF" so I know what mma is about, but for a viewer watching TUF for the first time, is it really a good first impression when these guys vandalize a house, get wasted and run into walls, break windows out of Limo's, fight with each other outside the cage, and grope women all because "I am a UFC fighter"
I enjoy TUF but I can't say that if I didn't know already, I would assume that the sport is violent and the fighters are too. Its ridiculous. It does not show mma in a positive way.
It's about the money...I get that Dana has to get a paycheck too, but at the expense of the sport?
The Money he helped Rampage out with coming from his own pocket? well ya...money Rampage made for him, and Tito made for him, Couture, Arlovski, Sylvia.....
If Dana got off his high horse and worked with the fighters and the other orgs, we could be watching Fedor vs. Couture right now. Imagine the possibilities if he worked together, rather than against them.
I appreciate the fact Dana White has done wonders for the sport of MMA, but the decisions he has been making lately have affected me as a fan.
If the general consensus is not liking Dana White, well, there must be a reason.

My MMA soulmate!

UFC 87 Thoughts

UFC 87 Thoughts
Category: Sports

*Warning* May contain explicit dialogue.....yes, this blog does involve Dana White!

I am sure everyone watched the fights last night......I am interested in hearing thoughts. So if you have them comment! Of course I will be sharing my thoughts right now!

I enjoyed the fights, there were a few surprises and some expected outcomes....but I have to say first...kudos to Rob Emerson!!!!! His knockout of Manny was amazing!!! I do not like to be wrong and if I am I have a very hard time admitting it, however in this case I am thrilled and overjoyed to be wrong!!!! I picked Manny for the win but not only did Emerson win, he did it in a very convincing manner.....knocking him out in 12 seconds! It was great and I am happy to have been wrong! Great job Emerson!

MacDonald vs. Maia was a great fight! I knew Maia was good and had a great chance at taking the fight. MacDonald is a tough guy as well, so I knew it would be hard work for Maia. Maia did well and he did win, I think we will see more of him in the future and he is definitely a guy to keep your eye on as he moves up in his fighting career!

I was a little disappointed with the Florian vs. Huerta fight. I was really pulling for Huerta, I just thought this fight would be way more explosive. Not that I didn't appreciate the fight, I just thought Florian looked scared and Huerta looked frustrated that Florian wouldn't stand and trade with him. I will be interested to see what will happen with Huerta and the UFC, will Dana let him out of the last fight he has on his contract or will he make him stay???? If he leaves you can add him to the long list of my favorite fighters who no longer fight for the UFC.

Now on to Lesnar...what to say about Lesnar...he won. The rest of what I have to say will not be so nice. The guy is a Jackass first of all. Everyone knows that I am a huge fan of the controversial Tito Ortiz, but even that guy is respectful after a win or even a loss!
(most of the time )
I am sure Lesnar will have a title shot soon, Dana needs a new heavyweight poster-boy. There isn't anyone left in the UFC heavyweights capable of bringing attention back to the UFC. I mean negative attention is better than no attention at all right?

Now what I found amusing, was his statement to the crowd after his fight "Can you see me now?"
Yes Brock, we can see you. Its hard not to when you have a huge penis tattooed on your chest!
(for the record, I know it is not really a penis but you can't tell me that it doesn't look like one, and also, those were Matt Arroyo and Allen Berube's words to me at the UFC 81 weigh-ins!)
Also Brock, while you may have won your fight against Herring, after the impressive blow to his eye, did you plan on doing anything else?

I have to ask about the whole "bad guy" act...was this paid for by Dana White or did Lesnar forget he didn't have to bring a "character" into the octagon? I guess the third option is that the guy really is a jackass....seems to be pretty likely. He may of won his fight but I doubt he won over any new fans. Not to worry, he still has his WWE following and Dana White.

Yes, I can see Brock Lesnar and Dana White becoming the best of friends.

Congrats to GSP, Emerson, Maia, Kongo and the others! While the fights were good, the card was just ok for me, this was the first time in a loooong time that I didn't buy the PPV, I went out to watch it.
Looks like my cable bill will be going down. Sadly this is not a good thing, when the cause is MMA.

UFC 87 Fight Picks

Monday, August 04, 2008

UFC 87 Fight Picks

Here are my picks for UFC 87

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch
GSP....Obviously!

Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
This one is a little tricky....I absolutely want to see Herring take it. A few things to consider though.......When Lesnar fought Mir he actually looked like he might win, I got a little worried while watching it. So can Herring do the job? Another thing, what about Lesnars game plan? Will he come out swinging like he did with Mir? Or has he decided to be more cautious with Herring? I predicted that if his fight with Mir went to round 2, Lesnar would be gassed having used all his energy in that first round. So I may have to go with Lesnar (even though it pains me to even write it) I would love to be wrong though!!!!!

Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta
I believe that this fight will be one of the better fights on the card.
Going with Huerta on this one! He just needs to stay away from Florian's elbow!

Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson
Once again...I would be ecstatic if Emerson wins....however, I gotta go with Gamburyan

Jason MacDonald vs. Demian Maia
Maia all the way....can he retain his undefeated record??

Luke Cummo vs. Tamdan McCrory
Cummo! McCrory is an awesome fighter though....

Cheick Kongo Vs. Dan Evensen
Kongo

Andre Gusmao Vs. Jon Jones
Not too familiar with either but I do know that both are undefeated which means...Someones 0 has gotta go! I will say Gusmao.

Chris Wilson Vs. Steve Bruno
This is a tough pick as well... Wilson it is!

Ben Saunders Vs. Ryan Thomas
Saunders.



There you have it!

GSP
Lesnar (a part of me just died...)
Huerta
Gamburyan
Maia
Cummo
Kongo
Gusmao
Wilson
Saunders

Arlovski vs. Barnett!!!!!

Monday, August 04, 2008

Arlovski vs. Barnett!!!!!


Just got the news about Arlovski vs. Barnett in October!!!
WOW!!!! I assumed this fight would take place but wasn't too sure with the talk of Arlovski vs. Fedor.

Either opponent would make for an awesome fight in my opinion! The best part is that the fight will take place in Vegas and you all know what that means......
I will be there!
(I had planned on going, Fedor or not!)

Now I am hoping that the rumors of Tito vs. Babalu have some merit to them...that would just be the icing on the cake!!!!!

Arlovski vs. Barnett will be a killer fight! The fact that I will be there just makes it sooo much better! Don't get me wrong, I love watching the PPV'S but there is nothing like actually being there!!!!

What more could a girl ask for!!!!

Affliction "Banned" Fight Picks!

Affliction "Banned" Fight Picks!
Can I just say one more time how excited I am for these fights????!!!!
Well, I guess I just did!
Totally one of the best fight cards I have ever seen!!!!! Lets hope Affliction does it right!

Here are my picks.....
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
I will go with Fedor on this one. However, if you put money on Sylvia to win and he actually does....you could get rich! Also, if Sylvia happened to win as well as Arlovski....would we see another fight between the two? I know most people will not see this the same way I do, but it would fill my evil little head with so much joy if I could see Arlovski put Sylvia in his place...face down in the cage! For now, I may have to settle with Fedor doing it.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell
Does anyone really need to ask???? Arlovski all the way!!!!! Everyone knows that I am not a big fan of the Iowa boys....(with the exception of a few) Sorry!
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro RizzoGotta go with Barnett. Pedro is good but unless those Ruas have a great game plan, I see this as Barnett's fight.

Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
This is a difficult one, I am going to say Lindland. He is a great fighter but his last fight was against Fedor over a year ago. That fight lasted what? 2 minutes or so??? I will still have to side with him though.... Prior to his loss to Fedor, he beat Carlos Newton and Jeremy Horn.

Renato Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Sobral. I almost feel guilty because I always have to go with the hometown fighters. It's not really about who I like more, I have to go with the fighter I think will win. For the record though, I do like Sobral and I am pretty sure he will take this one.

Mike Pyle vs. JJ Ambrose
Another tough one! Both fighters are coming off submission wins. I will take Ambrose....just cause I want to. :)
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul BuentelloEmelianenko. Hopefully he has his game together now.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Edwin Dewees
I am a big fan of Dewees, but gotta go with Nogueira. I would love to see Dewees take this one though.....

Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin
Belfort. His last fight was nearly a year ago, but I think he has still got it.

Ray Lizama vs. Justin Levens
Lizama.

Savant Young vs. Mark Hominick
Savant Young.

There you have them!!!
My fight picks for Affliction "Banned"

Fedor
Arlovski
Barnett
Lindland
Sobral
Ambrose
Emelianenko
Nogueira
Belfort
Lizama
Young

Affliction vs. UFC

Affliction vs. UFC

In about 3 weeks I will be in California to see the best MMA fight card in history!!!!! There is no where else I would rather be!
I certainly will not be at home watching UFC live on Spike TV, although that is what the UFC President would want us to do, in fact up until a couple of weeks ago there was no need for MMA fans to have to make that decision.

Obviously I think that there is no comparison between the 2 choices! The Affliction card is the way to go! Don't get me wrong, while I am in Cali, watching the fights, my DVR will be recording the UFC fight on Spike.
To be honest I am almost afraid to watch the UFC fights, I think it may end up being a disaster. I am only concerned with the fighters involved. Is it really in Anderson Silva's best interests to move up in weight, and fight James Irvin? I am a fan of both fighters, but what happens to the UFC poster boy if by chance Irvin beats Silva? I have absolutely no idea where Silva going UP in weight came from. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about this sport and I follow it closely, but up until the announcement of this fight, I had never heard of Anderson Silva going up in weight.

Am I the only MMA fan who feels this way???

I would also be interested in knowing how long the fighters had to prepare considering that the UFC who advertises their fights months in advance, came out of nowhere with this less than 2 weeks ago. I do realize that most fighters now, are actually in fighting shape all of the time but there is still that part where knowing they will be fighting makes a difference. I wonder if this is where the idea for Anderson Silva to go up a weight class came from. With so little time to prepare, he couldn't drop the weight in time? Maybe I am just trying to reason because I can't come up with anything valid as to why this is happening.

Obviously Dana White and the UFC are not concerned with what happens to their prize fighter, they are only concerned with trying to compete with the Affliction card taking place the same night. It is apparent to me that Dana and the UFC feel threatened by this other MMA organization. They must be worried a bit, otherwise why would they try to compete? Why would they put up one of the better fighters the UFC has, to fight on Spike TV, free to viewers? Anderson Silva is a moneymaker, and Dana is willing to forgo potential money in his pocket to compete with Affliction. That says a lot! Especially because we all know how much Dana loves his money!!!!!
Sounds like someone is a little afraid!!!!

I think its a nice try, but MMA fans such as myself, know the Affliction fight card does not happen often, actually in my opinion, there has never been another MMA fight card in history that can compare to this. I think most UFC fans may be loyal and watch the free card on Spike, but I KNOW most MMA fans will be watching the Affliction fights and set record on their DVR'S for the UFC card.
As a HUGE MMA fan, I watch the sport regardless of the promotion. I may not agree with the choices the UFC has made lately, but I will never stop watching!
I know that this has a lot to do with money and this is where the promoters earn their paychecks, but when was it that the money became more important than the sport?

One positive thing that has happened recently was the announcement that Lorenzo Fertitta will now be working with the UFC full-time. I have my suspicions of why he is choosing to focus solely on the UFC. They may claim that it is because the sport has grown so much over the years, but I believe they are finally coming to the realization that quite a few decisions made lately have not been positive ones. Maybe this change will be what the UFC needs right now.
In closing I will say this, I am a huge Anderson Silva fan, but I don't know that I can agree with the choice made to fight James Irvin. Regardless of who wins, it is so off the wall it sort of seems like a joke to me. Apparently I am more concerned with what happens to them than Dana White and the UFC. The choice to put this fight on proves that their only concern is with themselves and their own pride and does not lie with the fighters.
They no longer have the best interests in mind for the fighters and for the sport. They are only interested in what the fighters and the sport can do for them.


Could this be another reason why the UFC can no longer retain the amazing fighters that continue to leave the organization?

UFC 86 Fight Picks!

UFC 86 Fight Picks!!

OK, Finally getting my fight picks up! Its about time, right?

Tiff's UFC 86 Fight Picks

*Rampage vs. Forrest Griffin
-Rampage! Enough said.

*Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida
-Patrick Cote

*Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
-Joe Stevenson. This was a hard one, I thought Tibau did well against Tyson Griffin. I don't know that his skill would be enough to beat Stevenson though.

*Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
-Koscheck. I honestly would rather see Chris Lytle win, but Koscheck will take it.

*Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio
-Gotta go with my man Tyson Griffin!!!!!!

*Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully
-Gonzaga. Although I would like to see Justin McCully win, I think Gonzaga will.

*Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller
-Jorge Gurgel.

*Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
-Going with Guillard on this one, I am not familiar at all with Dennis Siver.

*Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz
-Corey Hill. Same reason as above, not familiar with Buchholz.

There you have it! My picks for UFC 86!

CBS wrong in choosing to air MMA?

CBS wrong in choosing to air MMA?

A friend suggested an article about M.M.A. he thought I might be interested in reading.It just so happened that the article was from a Utah newspaper, (where I live)The Deseret News.

The article titled "CBS gets it wrong in deciding to air MMA" was published May 30, 2008 by Scott D. Pierce.I am going to post the article, followed by my response to it.
I would be interested in hearing more opinions, so if you have one, feel free to leave a comment.

CBS is the home of NFL football. The NCAA men's basketball tournament. SEC football. U.S. Open tennis. Golf tournaments like The Masters and the PGA Championship.And, as of Saturday night, CBS is also the home of mixed martial arts. The one-time "Tiffany network" airs the first "EliteXC Saturday Night Fights" (8 p.m., Ch. 2).I know this will get me hate mail (because it's happened before), but mixed martial arts is more like the Christians vs. the lions in the Roman Coliseum than a legitimate sporting event. Mixed martial arts is a euphemism for guys beating each other into a bloody pulp.That's not an exaggeration. The object is for the combatants to beat each other into submission. To knock them unconscious. If there's blood, broken bones, concussions — well, that's entertainment!Boxing looks tame by comparison.If what's going to happen on CBS on Saturday night were to happen out on the playground, somebody would be jailed before the night was over.An article in ESPN The Magazine that's overwhelmingly favorable about MMA describes it as "human cockfighting."You go to jail if you're caught being involved in cockfighting. It's a crime.There's no doubt that this kind of stuff is becoming increasingly popular. It's done well on cable and in syndication, but CBS signing on to telecast EliteXC adds an air of legitimacy to an event that's questionable at best.Questionable seems too mild a description. Reprehensible is more accurate.CBS should be ashamed.Parents, be warned. This is not something any child should be exposed to.Let the hate mail begin ...

I actually wrote 2 responses to this article because I thought the first one might have been a little too racy for the Deseret News. I am not sure if either will be posted.
Here is one of them,

Those who practice Mixed Martial Arts are some of the most talented and diciplined people I have ever come across.I would rather my children watch those athletes and the sport of M.M.A., than some of the other crap that is available to see everyday on public television. Do I really want my child watching a talk show where the topic is something to the effect of "I have been with 20 guys! Please tell me which one is the father of my baby."I think not.You are entitled to your own opinion, as I am entitled to mine. I am also entitled to watch any program on T.V. that I choose, as are you.Here is the solution.....If you don't like it, don't watch it.
Pretty simple, don't you think?

MMA BLOG

M.M.A. BLOG

Wednesday May 28 2008

I decided to create a new blog about my favorite thing.....M.M.A. of course! I have posted some of my older blogs, in case anyone would care to read them. Hopefully I will be adding links to fighter websites soon, it will make it a lot easier on me, rather than having to look them up.Anyone who wishes to comment on any of my posts please feel free to do so, I always welcome a different point of view or opinion.Any cool fight pics, video's, or stories are always fun as well, just give me the info.I guess we will see how this goes.........

I LOVE THIS GUY!!!!!

I LOVE THIS GUY!
Saturday May 24 2008

I LOVE THIS GUY!

Out of all Tito's T-shirt messages, I think this one has got to be my favorite!As this will be Tito Ortiz's last fight for the UFC, strangely enough it has nothing to do with his opponent Lyoto Machita. It is just to bad for him that he is caught in the middle of an ongoing war between his opponent Tito Ortiz and the UFC's president Dana White.Tito's message to Dana is loud and clear! And I for one, totally agree!This will probably be the only way Tito can get his point across. As I am sure Dana won't let the former champ have his say after the fight. Not like any of us would be surprised by this right? We all know what happens when Dana can't have his way......Andrei Arlovski probably knows better than anyone.I hope Tito proves his point in the octagon, too bad it won't be the UFC president in there with him!ROCK ON TITO!!!!!!

UFC 84 FIGHT PICKS

UFC 84 FIGHT PICKS
Tuesday May 20 2008

I am very excited for UFC 84!!!! I was actually supposed to be there, but as circumstances are.......I won't be going. Still working on tickets for the fights in July!
Here are my picks for UFC 84.
B.J. Penn over Sean Steroid Sherk
Wanderlei Silva over Keith Jardine (I would love to see Jardine win though)
Wilson Gouveia over Goran Reljic (not familiar with Reljic)
Tito Ortiz over Lyoto Machita (anyone care to speculate what will happen after this fight? Will Tito get a chance to say his piece??? we will see!)
I guess that is all. I am not too familiar about some of the others opponents.
Anyway, just got finished watching the countdown.....even more exciting now!!

UFC 83 FIGHT PICKS

UFC 83 FIGHT PICKS

Tuesday April 15 2008
UFC 83 FIGHT Picks! Current mood: impatient

My picks are as follows......
I am taking GSP over Serra
Travis Lutter over Rich Franklin
Nate Quarry over Kalib Starnes
Michael Bisping over Charles McCarthy
Mac Danzig over Mark Bocek
Jason MacDonald over Joe Doerksen
Alan Belcher over Jason Day ( only cause I am not familiar with Day)
Demian Maia over Ed Herman (once again I am not familiar with Maia, but I will cheer on anyone who beats Herman down!)
Sam Stout over Rich Clementi
I will take Cain Velasquez over Brad Morris (not familiar with either fighter)
Jonathan Goulet over Kuniyoshi Hironaka

So all of my MMA fan friends, I am eager to hear what you think!!!! Let me know!!!!!

Chuck vs. Kimbo

Chuck vs. Kimbo
Saturday April 5 2008

Chuck and Kimbo Current mood: amused

OK people, help me out a little bit......I am a huge fan of Chuck Liddell, the man is a great fighter and his fights have been some of the most exciting that I have seen in MMA.But now he feels the need to speak out about Kimbo. I am really not understanding why. Chuck says that Kimbo doesn’t deserve the admiration that he is getting from fans and promoters.Not that it should even matter to Chuck, as long as he is under contract with the UFC, Dana won’t let him out of the house with out a check-up. Why should he be worried about Kimbo who is fighting for Elite XC?What Chuck should be more concerned with is the fact that the UFC brought in Brock Lesnar who is a WWE fighter. (in other words....FAKE!) and is being paid more than most of our favorite UFC superstars.I know all about Lesnar and his wrestling background so I don’t need anyone defending Lesnar to me. But think about this......I am sure Kimbo and his "Street Fights" are more real than anything Lesnar did previous to fighting for the UFC.I would rather watch Kimbo and his street fights than Lesnar’s fights in the WWE anyday. I know that it is hard for some people to understand, but WWE fights are FAKE people!!!!!!!!!!So while Chuck feels the need to give us all his opinion about Kimbo.....lets see what he has to say about Brock Lesnar!

The Future of M.M.A.

The Future of M.M.A.


Tuesday April 1 2008
The future of MMA! Current mood: irritated

OK Peeps! I am getting a little frustrated so I think its time to write another blog!I am sure once again I will offend a few people, but I really don’t care....don’t read my blog if you can’t handle it!As a hardcore MMA fan, I am wondering what the future will hold for my favorite sport!I have always been a fan of the UFC, but lately I feel like they are making very poor decisions concerning a few different fighters.I understand that Dana White and Tito Ortiz have never seen eye to eye on a lot of their issues, so it makes sense to me why Tito will be fighting his last fight for the UFC in may.They failed to sign Fedor and they had the money to do it. That decision in my opinion, was pretty stupid. It surprised me that Dana, who has a hard time parting with his money, didn’t understand that had he signed Fedor he probably would have made more money on the Fedor/Randy fight, than he had to pay Fedor to sign with the UFC.On the other hand, I wouldn’t put it past him to lose a little money just to spite somebody. It has happened before.When Dana doesn’t get his way, he will punish the fighter until his contract is up or until he eventually get what he wants. I am not understanding what he is thinking.The UFC has the money to pay the fighters what they want or agree on a fair amount. If he did so, I think the fighters in the organization would be loyal to the UFC. Instead he is losing a lot of big name fighters to other MMA organizations. And with the fighters go their fans!I think Dana and the UFC could make even more money if they got together with other MMA organizations, and put together bigger fights. Am I wrong to think this?Like I said before, I understand Dana and Tito have their differences, but this isn’t just about Tito anymore. Now Randy is having issues, and we all saw what Dana did to Arlovski, when he didn’t sign a new contract. They didn’t even air his fight on the PPV. What the hell?????I actually thought Dana was just unhappy with Arlovski’s performance at first. But then after thinking about it I wasn’t too sure....Tim Sylvia who has never really had an exciting fight unless he was losing, has pretty much been the main event. Arlovski has not lost a fight since Sylvia, and now his fight isn’t even televised?????And as of a few days ago, the UFC has even lost Tim Sylvia!The heavyweight division is totally lacking in great fighters, I mean come on! Brock Lesnar?? what the heck was that??? A new way to fill Dana’s pocket? Getting WWE fans to watch? The UFC has sunk to a new level.So now I have to ask this question, are the UFC fighters having the problems? Or is it one person? Dana White!I don’t think that they realize that with these big name fighters, go their huge fan base. Do they really think they are established enough to lose all of these huge names and stay 1? I don’t think so! Real MMA fans are going to watch their favorite fighters in other organizations.I know the UFC is the most recognized MMA org. right now, but when the others organizations are getting all of the fighters Dana is screwing over, the fans are going to go elsewhere to see their favorites fight.It really says something about Dana, when this many fighters are going elsewhere. I think the UFC and Dana White are actually helping these other organizations become mainstream.And who’s bright idea was it to pass on putting fights on CBS???? Now people who are gonna watch and discover MMA, are not going to recognize the UFC as the top MMA organization. helping the other Organizations become more popular to a new fan base.It seems really sad to me that this is not about the sport anymore, its about how much money Dana can get his hands on. Instead of taking care of these fighters and staying the number 1 MMA organization, the UFC and Dana are screwing the fighters over and are in danger of losing fans to these new MMA Organizations.I have been very impressed with Elite XC. And if anyone has watched the last few fight cards, you know what I am talking about.Dana White is burning his bridges. Even if he would pay the fighters more money, are they going to even want to fight in the UFC after all the garbage he puts them through?I guess we will soon find out.....Anyone care to share their opinion???

UFC RANT

UFC RANT
Sunday January 20 2008
UFC RANT....... Current mood: annoyed

First and foremost, what I am about to say, is my opinion. I will probably offend someone but thats ok. That is what comments are for, right?? I am sure there will be others with a different opinion, but I welcome any opinions that those who read this, want to share.With that said, here goes......I am a huge fan of any, and all Mixed Martial Arts, no matter of the organization it comes from. As I was watching UFC 80 last night, something happened that I just couldn't ignore any longer. This is something that has happened in the past and I am almost certain it will happen in the future. It bothered me then, and it bothers me even more now.I will start off with a riddle, and if you are a mma fan , this shouldn't be too hard.What do Tim Sylvia and Sean Sherk have in common??????Answer: Title Holders that have had to give up their belts due to testing positive for banned substances!Giving up their belts is not what bothers me. What bothers me is the fact that after a short suspension, they are able to fight for that title upon their return to the organization. I think that it is total crap, that after getting caught, they are able to come back and have a shot at the title in their first fight after the suspension!It is not fair to the other fighters who legitimately win their fights! I am not saying that they won because of the banned substances or that the fighter who lost, would have won if their opponent wasn't using the banned substances. I am merely saying that I have no proof of knowing that the reason they hold those titles isn't because of the banned substances. Would they have the belt if they hadn't used banned substances? We don't know that, because we have no evidence how many times they fought using the illegal substances.I am not sure of the edge they get on their opponent when using the substance, and no one else can either! That is why they are illegal. small or large, they still get an edge over their opponent.I believe that if a fighter is caught using illegal substances, they need to work their way up in their weight class. Why should they get a title shot when we don't know how many of those fights were legitimately won?We don't know that had they not used banned substances, they would have won all of their fights on their way to that title. They may have won all those fights anyway, but because of the banned substances we can't know that for sure. The question will always remain in my head however, that they might have lost a few of those fights, had it not been for those banned substances. There is just no way for anyone to know the answer to that question. Whether the banned substances helped or not, who knows?If I were the opponent who lost to the title holder, whether it was their first fight or their title shot, I would always wonder if the outcome would have been the same.I really think that those fighters who are caught using the banned substance, need to fight those opponents again, legitimately.While substance abuse in any sport is negative, this is not a few people on a team doing it. This is one person who chose to cheat, to have an edge over their opponent.I also feel that the punishment for using banned substances should be harsher. These fighters know that if they get caught, they are only suspended for a year and get a title shot upon their return. The risk is not severe enough to prevent fighters from using illegal substances.Some people may argue that if athletes are punished for a more significant amount of time, there will be no one left to compete in any sport. But a harsher punishment might make it harder to take the risk.That being said, I hope BJ Penn teaches Sean Sherk a lesson! I found it humorous that after Penn's fight he said he wasn't impressed with BJ Penn, does he honestly believe that any fan is impressed by a fighter who cheats because he is afraid that he can't win on his own????? I don't know if Sherk was saying that for promotional reasons, he may have been, but it still made him look like a big joke! If a fighter feels he needs to use illegal substances to win, save it for the soap opera world of the WWE, NOTHING in that sport is real!I am finished ranting now, and like I said previously, this is MY OPINION, and if you don't like it or you are offended by it, I guess that is just too bad!I would love to hear other people's opinions, whether you agree with me or not. So feel free to leave me a comment!