It’s been a few weeks since my last “weekly” column and during that span many occurrences manifested throughout the mixed martial arts world. Actually, my last column was based upon my thoughts on the brilliant move on Zuffa’s part to ban all MMA media from covering their events.

Wow, has it really been that long? Jeez. No wonder my bosses at Sherdog.com sent me a box of vintage WWF Shrinky Dinks instead of a paycheck last time out.

Anyway, back to business with my column, a scribbling of the cornucopia of events that were scattered around the MMA community. I will try my best to elaborate on the last two UFC events, the workings of the resurrected World Fighting Alliance (WFA), Don King and Bob Arum possibly becoming involved in the sport, K-1’s absence from American pay-per-view and, maybe, some e-mails from some of our loyal readers.

UFC’s stranglehold on American MMA

If last week’s UFC 56 inside the MGM Grand was any indication of what’s to come, it’s crystal clear that Zuffa has their fist clenched tightly around the U.S. MMA market. The Ultimate Fighter II finale was arguably the best televised UFC event in recent years and thankfully for my good friend Dana White and his cohorts, it happened on cable television.

Who cares that TUF season II wasn’t anywhere near as intriguing as season I and who cares that the four finalists of the show are not yet in the top 10 or 15 in terms of their respective weight classes. Zuffa proved that sometimes a little marketing ingenuity, some talent and plenty of luck can transform into jaw-dropping entertainment.

The two finals matches, the opening bout and the main event capped off a memorable night of MMA action. The only downside to the event (if there even is one) was the fact that it wasn’t telecast on, say, NBC at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Kit Cope is one of the most marketable fighters in the fight sports today. It’s just a shame that the unbelievably gifted and talented Muay Thai extraordinaire decided to train in MMA a few years too late. Had Cope been training in grappling/jiu-jitsu for at least another three or four years, he may have wound up defeating Kenny Florian (Pictures). But it is what it is and Ken-Flo, one of the sport’s toughest little mofos, took advantage of Kit’s inexperience and basically took Cope through an MMA clinic.

Rashad Evans (Pictures), who, it seemed after watching the entire season, wasn’t exactly the coveted one to win his portion of the reality series — but he did anyway. Sure, Evans might not be a carbon copy of Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), but his heart and desire to prevail thwarted Brad Imes (Pictures)’ attacks. It was a sensational fight and Evans deserved to win the decision. Let’s just hope (ah, you know it will happen anyway) that Rashad isn’t tossed into the Octagon against Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) anytime soon like Nathan Quarry (Pictures) was against Rich Franklin (Pictures).

Joe Stevenson (Pictures), whom I picked to win TUF II before it was aired, thankfully proved me right for once and fought his heart out against Luke Cummo. Aside from how thrilling their battle was, the event was topped off by Stevenson’s horrible crack at trying to be Darth Vader before the contest began.

And finally, my last thought on TUF II. In regards to one of the greatest wars in mixed martial arts history that was Diego Sanchez (Pictures) versus Nick Diaz (Pictures), I have only one thing to say: WE HAVE TO SEE THESE TWO GO AT IT AGAIN!

UFC 56: It was OK

Not that I actually cared to see Matt Hughes (Pictures) defend against Joe Riggs (Pictures), but his Kimura was beautiful. Other than that, I was actually planning to watch reruns of Auto Man while that fight occurred, and that was before Riggs failed to make weight on 13 separate occasions.

Did anyone give Riggs a snowball’s chance in Hell to beat Hughes? Come on. I know Hughes’ original combatant Karo Parisyan (Pictures) fell through, but Zuffa could have picked someone … wait, Riggs actually had as much a chance beating Hughes as anyone else outside of B.J. Penn (Pictures).

Either way, who cares?

Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out Kevin Jordan (Pictures). So bloody what? I swear to God that if those two ever square off again, I’ll be sure to check into the nearest Motel 6 and swallow a gallon of racing fuel. Sure, the knockout was brutal, but the damn thing came, oh, about 14 minutes and 32 seconds too late. Zuffa matchmaker Joe Silva rolled the dice on that one and crapped out. Can’t blame him for such a fistic atrocity.

Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) absolutely dominated Sean Sherk (Pictures). St. Pierre is clearly the best welterweight on the planet who isn’t named Matt Hughes (Pictures). His win (and Hughes’) sets up a highly anticipated rematch between the two. But does anybody actually think St. Pierre will pull off the victory? I know the fight will be entertaining as all hell, but I just don’t see “Rush” winning.

And finally, Franklin destroyed Quarry and literally rearranged his face. I saw that coming a mile away and actually forewarned Zuffa after Quarry’s official UFC debut many months ago not to throw him in with the lions of the division. Quarry has so much untapped potential and with time he will be someone to behold, but he was too green to fight someone as lethal as Franklin. If Quarry had another three fights under his belt against upper-tier comp, he might have faired better against “Ace.”

Quarry is a popular fighter, no doubt, but most hardcore and casual fans will probably view Quarry as a fighter with a glass chin. Sorry, Zuffa, but devastating knockout losses usually are embedded within fight fans’ minds longer than devastating knockout wins. “The Rock” was rushed and it was pretty obvious that Zuffa was just cashing in on Quarry’s TUF I success. Too bad for Quarry because this will certainly curtail his career for a while. I’m not saying he is finished by any means, but he was wrapped in dead mackerel and thrown to the sharks. Maybe Zuffa will learn from this mistake? Nah …