You know the drill, so let's skip the unnecessary preamble. Here are some choice responses to the recent spate of op-eds, including rebuttals on talent swaps, Zuffa's acquisition of PRIDE,
Herb Dean (Pictures)'s take on standing up
Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) and boxing's inferiority complex.
Wow, I had, up until I read this article, believed that sherdog.com was a mostly unbiased news outlet for everything MMA. After reading a recent article of yours, "Ultimate PRIDE," it saddens me to see blind loyalty to the point that someone who reports all of the goings on in MMA entertainment could view the buyout as anything less than superb.
This deal in no way is a dilution of your precious product. If anything, this merger will finally put an end to the pointless quarrelling of fanboys on which favorite fighter would (insert expletive) any other popular fighter. You, my friend, can keep your home videos of PRIDE events long dead. I, for one, will be tuned in to see the death of UFC and PRIDE fanboys alike. - Jedidiah
I don't recall being that all that pessimistic about the "merger," but having a single entity controlling the majority of MMA product on the globe is going to have its advantages and disadvantages. While we may see big deal matches, it sets up an "our way or the highway" structure that is inevitably going to burn athletes who desire better compensation and treatment.
Competition for talent and customer dollars is what keeps a market healthy and balanced; Zuffa's pseudo-rivalry between its own two brands isn't comparable.
As for "unbiased" news, I think you'll find plenty of that on the site. But commentary pieces are going to be subjective by nature. This space is for soapboxing; click on Gross for the Jack Webb act.
I liked your comments in your most recent article. I think the success of the new PRIDE will boil down to the ability of the Fertittas to read the Japanese/Asian fan. Frank and Lorenzo have done well when it has come to the American fan, but the fighting arts have centuries-old roots in Asian culture and they view combat sports differently than we Americans.
Surely the old feuds like you said will die away, but hopefully the new feuds will fuel the new generation and bring fighters like Fedor and Shogun to the forefront for their unique abilities. -- Bill Wagner
This is the most intriguing component of the buyout: how is Zuffa going to reconcile their sensibilities with that of the Japanese culture? They plan on eliminating the circus attractions -- practically stealing Giant Silva's porridge and magic beans right off his table -- but that's something the Asian market covets.
I wonder if the homogenized PRIDE is going to be appealing to fans that filed in for single-night tournaments, David-Goliath contests, and soccer kicks to the grill. The real winner in this story might be K-1, who could become the sole proprietor of genetic misfortunates.
All of the trades that you mentioned were intriguing. There is a kind of trade that I feel you neglected, however. There are a number of camps that have a lot of talent in one weight class. Compounding this problem, the talent all seems to be in the same organization. There are a number of situations like Jardine-Evans, Fitch-Koscheck, Shogun-Wanderlei, and arguably Sokoudjou-Henderson.
Why not trade out of these situations? I would imagine that people from the same camp would be more willing to fight each other in a title vs. title fight a year from now than in a bout to sort out the contenders next month. That's my thinking anyway. - Glendon
Great point. Evans and Dana White exchanged harsh words about this issue at a recent press conference, with Evans adamant that he would never fight Jardine and White adamant that he would.
With Zuffa hanging twin banners both stateside and overseas, it makes no sense to have a single camp represented by multiple athletes in one venue. Even if they're willing to compete, lackluster bouts are going to be scrutinized for premeditated action or reserved aggression.
The UFC continues to insist that the cross-pollination will happen only during annual championship events, but I think it would be a shame not to mix up contenders during the year.
Tito Ortiz (Pictures) is an example of as high-profile athlete with a glass ceiling in the Ultimate; his popularity could draw more attention to the PRIDE brand.
Should there be anything controversial in the way current refereeing in the UFC is done? I'm looking at the Hughes-Lytle fight and the Gonzaga-Cro Cop fight to show how unrelated current refereeing is done. Normally the reasoning given is that effective offense/defense has stopped to incur a stand-up, but in the Hughes-Lytle fight there were two or three times (in my unprofessional opinion) where there could have been legit stand-ups, whereas the stand-up in the Gonzaga-Cro Cop fight was completely uncalled for as Gonzaga was landing very effective grounded elbows. What's your perception on this?
2) B.J. Penn (Pictures) was recently on the Beatdown saying that MMA scoring using a boxing format is completely undated and should be reformed to support all forms of effective martial arts. I for one agree that a wrestler taking down a JJ guy four or five times over a fight and doing nothing should be as much a testament to the JJ guy's defense, as it is to the wrestler's offense, I mean that's where they both want to be, right? So why is one favored over the other? What are your thoughts on this? -- DJ in San Diego
Scoring in MMA continues to be a haphazard affair; the athletic commissions really need to sit down and produce a sheet of paper that takes the subjectivity out of the judges' hands.
I was surprised
Herb Dean (Pictures) stood up Gonzaga while he was delivering a steady stream of elbows to Cro Cop's forehead. Worse, Gonzaga had just improved his position, cramming Cro Cop's head to the side of the cage and stifling his defensive movement, before the separation.
I asked Dean about his decision. "I let them stay on the ground for the majority of the round," he said. "Gonzaga did good work, but you need to try and finish the fight. Holding a guy down and lumping him up is not enough."
Gonzaga, believes Dean, was active but not doing anything to advance his position. "He never posted, nor did he attempt to pass. I figured it was time to stand it up. There was enough time left (in the round) for something to happen. And something did."
You took it too far by taking a "comedic" stab at Fedor's family and Russia's very serious poverty problem. But it's OK for you, I guess, sitting behind a computer and criticizing people that have achieved more than you ever will. Absolutely no class on your part. - Oleg
My apologies. I would've included more of the letter, but your carrier pigeon got caught in the rain and smeared the ink.
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