The UFC's Global Domination

The UFC’s Global Domination

 

After an impromptu trip to NYC, the death of Michael Jackson, and some weird writers block… which is strange since I am not a real writer, I have decided to just get something down: ANYTHING.  I thought what better way to force myself back into the swing of writing than to pick what might be the most complex topic in MMA and just free-write. I promise one day I will come back to this with more thought.

 

 

It is not novel to suggest that the letters MMA and UFC are interchangeable to a significant segment of the population upon which this sport relies. One might even argue that the letters MMA mean nothing to a startling number of those people. I am not just talking about fans; I am talking about sponsors, commissions, building executives, and so on and so forth.  I would be tempted to say that this phenomenon extends to a number of fascinating oddities in the American manifestation of MMA culture.  I bet Stephan Bonnar is a more recognizable name in the United States than Fedor Emelianenko. Even if that is an overblown statement now, before Affliction: Banned, it was not at all.  This and many other situations are not odd because they don’t make sense, they make perfect sense when one understands the total and complete domination of the UFC over the domestic and now international MMA market.  The UFC’s systemic tentacles have reached as far as the most legitimate sites for MMA news and discussion. So many writers have been accused of brown nosing Mr. White and his Zuffa support system and who could really blame them for not biting the hand that feeds.  That is just what the UFC is. It is the hand that feeds the MMA universe. 

 

Now I am not saying it is inherently good or bad that the sport be dominated by one private company, but I am saying it is absolutely important that we try to understand this beast. MMA can’t survive without the UFC just as much as the UFC can’t survive without MMA. Sometimes I think the UFC would survive longer just on interviews and Dana White video blogs than MMA would without its most lucrative company.  As this sport grows, this relationship is going to become more and more important.  Take for example women’s MMA.  Strikeforce and before it EliteXC have done a fantastic job of pushing Women’s MMA into the mainstream of the sport and for that I will continue to applaud them.  Lets face it though, Gina Carano vs Cyborg Santos will make a big impact as a title fight headliner with five minute rounds under the Strikeforce banner but it would make just as much if not more headroom for women’s MMA if it were the first of its kind on a UFC card with three minute rounds on the under-card of a fight night.  Women’s MMA has been taking the extra long road to popular legitimacy because it must add a lack of acknowledgement from the sports don to the myriad obstacles it faces.  Tim Sylvia has become the butt of countless MMA jokes as of late and while his last two performances have a lot to do with that, he was well on his way to this fate when Dana White mocked him all the way out of the UFC’s door and down the block a good ways.  Certainly the UFC does not have a total monopoly on legitimacy in MMA. Strikeforce and Affliction are doing their part to show the world the talent outside of Zuffa contract.  Fedor has been the rock that supports legitimacy outside of the UFC, having a solid claim to the pound-for-pound crown and never stepping foot in a UFC cage.  These are the things that keep Zuffa’s power over the business in check, a check that I fear is necessary. 

 

The power relation will not stay like this forever and as the market for this sport grows, things are going to have to become more unified. The question remains weather the UFC will be the one calling some of, most of, or all of the shots as the sport become more mainstream. Dana White says the sport will be an Olympic event and the biggest sport in the world soon enough. Don’t you think he wants Olympic MMA to look as much like the UFC as possible. Don’t you think he wants the whole culture of the sport to be a reflection of his company and its events?  The UFC’s domination could be great for the sport and has been great for it so far. However one company making this much money for this long on physical violence is bound to be problematic. Fighter rights could become a bigger issue in the future. Fighter relations and fighter/owner relations could become an issue. As of right now the MMA world is fragmented and the only way to get past it is cross promotion, something the biggest player in the game has zero interest in. If the UFC waits long enough and plays its cards right, MMA could be united under its banner much like football is united under the NFL.  This is a sport born of capitalism and it may very well be manifest as such.  If this were to happen, could the UFC help it reach the mainstream status it aspires to as a sport or will it be always understood as a commodity first. There is a difference and it could be profound. 

UFC 99: The Comeback - Thoughts

UFC 99: The Comeback – Reflections

 

As a somewhat critical fan of MMA I am always interested in what we learn from a major event.  Far from stagnant, the MMA universe is always moving and shaking but I want to learn something about fighters, rankings, and divisions with each major event. If I am not, the matchmaking needs work. Despite the main event being held at a weight that does not have a division between two guys coming off of loses and no titles on the line, UFC 99: The Comeback taught us a few things.

 

There is something unsettling about watching Wanderlei Silva lose a fight.  I think for those of us who followed his Pride career and wanted so badly to see him in the UFC, the most recent stint has been a bit heartbreaking.  Anyone who saw the performance that he put on with Rich Franklin should have felt this way, at least to some miniscule extent. Wandi has never been amazingly technical but his wild style was directly juxtaposed to Franklin’s much more precise striking, which is why Wandi took the L in this one.  To be honest, I had it 29-28 Wandi because I think he hurt Franklin more and pushed the pace. I didn’t give Franklin credit for the takedown at the end because it was empty; I never give anyone credit for empty takedowns unless they are part of the larger game plan and this one was nothing but opportunistic. My score doesn’t count though and I give credit where credit is due. Franklin fought a good fight and will move up the 205 rankings with the win. I am really down for Luis Cane vs Rich Franklin next. As for Wandi, I just hope we haven’t seen the last of him.

 

I am not sure we learned more about anyone than Cain Velasquez, who mauled Kongo for 15 minutes. A lot of detractors are dismissing him for displaying less than stellar punching power and more than questionable stand up defense. Even the Velasquez haters begrudgingly admit his recovery time looked solid though. He made Kongo look like a kid on the ground. With the recent Cro Cop news, I would love to see Cain vs Carwin next. These two guys seem to be paralleling each other right now in their rise and a meeting is inevitable. They are so similar in background but so different in execution that its tought to tell how it would really go.

 

Speaking of the Cro Cop news… wow.  Dana White learned something, his no one fight contract policy was a good one. He got used by Mr. Mirko, who was clearly booking himself a warm-up fight for the big run he is going to make in DREAM… wait what? What big match-ups does he have in DREAM?! If he was headed to M-1, Affliction, or Strikeforce I could understand him seeking out an arguably better crop of HWs to challenge himself with, but DREAM! This is disappointing and just a down right shitty thing to do. Not as much to the UFC or Dana White, but to the fans of Mirko Cro Cop and MMA in general. He stole a spot on the main card of a PPV from someone else, put on a bland performance, and then ran off to an organization where he will dwell in the mediocrity he has so masterfully performed as of late. That’s fine, the HW divisions in the states are picking up nicely and if Mirko doesn’t want to fight top guys then I don’t want to see him fight top guys. I will never begrudge a guy for his professional decisions. He is a full-grown man. I just don’t have to be a fan of his.

Cro Cop may have lost some fans but I think Dan Hardy might have earned himself some new ones. I have been fairly vocal about my belief that he was over hyped and would be outmatched by Davis. Nothing could have been further from the truth.  Hardy used his reach, his height, and his mind games with precision.  I never really minded the trash talk from Hardy because I thought it was clearly a tactical move to get himself a big fight and a mental edge.  It worked. Davis was not having any of the hand shaking afterwards, which is unfortunate but who could blame him. The thing Davis takes the most pride in (presumably outside his family) was mocked relentlessly. Its all over though. Davis will have to get over it and move on. Hardy will have to face a bigger challenge next.  Dan Hardy has earned his spot among UFC ranked WWs.  Kampmann vs Hardy anyone?

 

Hardy vs Davis was the only close decision I actually agreed with. Odd considering it was the only one that was not unanimous. My opinion on two of the three can be seen above but Fisher vs Uno was a whole different beast. I found the match fascinating. It was really a contest of two evenly matched, conflicting styled fighters.  At the end of the day I thought Fisher controlled the fight early but Uno took it later.  One could also argue that another minute or two in the third round would have allowed Uno to finish. He didn’t do enough in the time period though so he took the chance.  I hope to see Uno again, that is for sure.

 

Its been well documented that UFC 99 was a filler card. It was a filler card with a few ramifications on a few different divisions, but it was filler. No card headlined by two guys coming off of loses at a catch-weight can be put in the same category as most UFC cards. It set up the mood and kept everyone appeased going into UFC 100.  There is a lot of MMA ahead and this card will soon be a distant memory but it was fun while it lasted.