Undisputed MMA Champions?
Oct 28, 2003
Fans have great ideas. There’s nothing more rewarding than lazing
and grazing. Grab a beer, sit back with some jiu-jitsu buddies,
kickboxing buddies, any kind of buddy, and enjoy watching some of
the best fighters in the world do what they do best.
But one thing fans can do that MMA personnel can’t, whether it be a promoter, scribe, fighter or the guy that sweeps the ring or octagon canvas, a fan knows what they want and can say it.
They don’t worry about what would be good for the sport, what would
be most profitable, and there’s no reputation to uphold in the
fight game. It’s fans that have incredible ideas and daydreams for
their sport, and one such fan struck daydream gold.
Daryl Arquero, a run-of-the-mill fan, put on paper an idea that has floated through the brains of everybody involved in MMA, and it’s time for a ruckus to try and make it happen.
It’s damned tough to get an undisputed, linear champ in any weight class for boxing because there’s ducked fights, corruption, and lots and lots of money. But guess what? Individually, there isn’t nearly enough money to stage the soon-to-be-explained. However, if the powers that be at the countless of MMA events around the world work together, putting heads and wallets together, crazy things can happen.
There are flaws to any supper show or tournament staged. Whoever wins the PRIDE elimination tournament will have the utmost respect from the MMA community, but will they be an undisputed champion? No way!
For descriptive purposes, say Wanderlei retain his title and walks out wit the silver strap. He can feel all the confidence in the world that he’s a bad, bad, fighter, but he won’t be a world champion because Randy Couture still walks and still fights. Which is an exact ticket to what hardcore MMA aficionado Daryl Arguero, among thousands of others, wishes for.
A tournament that says put up or shut up. World champions can be made in every weight class, and dream match-ups can happen The old school UFC staked its claim and gained early popularity by pitting all different kinds of fighters into match-ups where they had no choice but to yearn for victory.
If all the organizations worked together, this could very well happen. With the minds of the best promoters in the business working together, anything is possible for a tournament and while organizations have great side effects, how appealing would it be for the best fighters in the world getting it on to see who really is the world’s champ? Inter-weight class fights have been riveting, especially with the light-heavyweights and the heavies.
The match between Wanderlei Silva and Cro-Cop Filipovic was one for the ages, as was the excitement that Quinton Jackson’s slams provided in his fight against Igor Vovchanchyn. Randy Couture also pulled the old switcheroo down to light heavyweight with unexpected results.
It’s time the MMA world gets a world champion. If all the promoters and shows get together every so often to see who is the best, fireworks are bound to go off. Also with the teamwork of all the shows, the fighter purses will go up, up, up. There would be fine incentive to step up and throw down if the money was what these athletes deserve.
Weight classes shouldn’t matter. The best professionals in the world know what is right and what isn’t, and at the level the top fighters are at, they should be in control of if they want to give it a shot. Elimination rounds could be held with preliminaries, and it could be narrowed down to a certain number for the main tournament. Put the likes of Cro-cop, Fedor, the Shamrocks, Jeremy Horn and countless others into the same brackets, and see what happens.
Also, if you’re tired of people from the sporting news and boxing world displaying their ignorance for everyone to see and degrading MMA fighters to the public, throw in a top-10 cruiserweight boxer with a seasoned mixed martial artist, and then enjoy the excuses the critics give the next day for why their man didn’t get enough air to his brain the previous night, or why he’s using a handy sling for the next month.
MMA fighters have always practiced boxing and gave boxers the respect they deserve. It’s time the boxing world gives it back to MMA and stops badmouthing the sport. It’s a catch-22 in that they are the ones with clout, influence and exposure, but the glory of the ring lies in it’s unparalleled skills as an equalizer, and if it were a person, it would be a real Honest Eddy, because in the ring, the truth comes out for the fans to see.
So why not go for it? The fans would come out of the woodwork for a world championship elimination tournament where anyone with the right qualifications can enter. With a lot of teamwork and motivation, the MMA world could be in for some breathtaking matches in a tournament that exemplifies what the UFC was founded on: finding the undisputed greatest fighter in the world.
No specific shows, no organizations, no discrimination on who fights. Whoever makes it, makes it. It would surely be a rough and tumble tournament filled with classic highlight reel finishes. It’s the perfect, fairest way to determine what would be the most prestigious title on earth. The worst thing that could happen is the fans get an undisputed world champion, and it would be about time.
But one thing fans can do that MMA personnel can’t, whether it be a promoter, scribe, fighter or the guy that sweeps the ring or octagon canvas, a fan knows what they want and can say it.
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Daryl Arquero, a run-of-the-mill fan, put on paper an idea that has floated through the brains of everybody involved in MMA, and it’s time for a ruckus to try and make it happen.
Mixed martial arts have evolved into a world very similar to
boxing. There are governing bodies all over the world, with their
titles having sometimes more meaning, and sometimes less. Just as
for boxing there’s the USBA, the NABO, the WBC and others, MMA has
the WECD, the RITC, the KOTC, UFC and others.
It’s damned tough to get an undisputed, linear champ in any weight class for boxing because there’s ducked fights, corruption, and lots and lots of money. But guess what? Individually, there isn’t nearly enough money to stage the soon-to-be-explained. However, if the powers that be at the countless of MMA events around the world work together, putting heads and wallets together, crazy things can happen.
There are flaws to any supper show or tournament staged. Whoever wins the PRIDE elimination tournament will have the utmost respect from the MMA community, but will they be an undisputed champion? No way!
For descriptive purposes, say Wanderlei retain his title and walks out wit the silver strap. He can feel all the confidence in the world that he’s a bad, bad, fighter, but he won’t be a world champion because Randy Couture still walks and still fights. Which is an exact ticket to what hardcore MMA aficionado Daryl Arguero, among thousands of others, wishes for.
A tournament that says put up or shut up. World champions can be made in every weight class, and dream match-ups can happen The old school UFC staked its claim and gained early popularity by pitting all different kinds of fighters into match-ups where they had no choice but to yearn for victory.
If all the organizations worked together, this could very well happen. With the minds of the best promoters in the business working together, anything is possible for a tournament and while organizations have great side effects, how appealing would it be for the best fighters in the world getting it on to see who really is the world’s champ? Inter-weight class fights have been riveting, especially with the light-heavyweights and the heavies.
The match between Wanderlei Silva and Cro-Cop Filipovic was one for the ages, as was the excitement that Quinton Jackson’s slams provided in his fight against Igor Vovchanchyn. Randy Couture also pulled the old switcheroo down to light heavyweight with unexpected results.
It’s time the MMA world gets a world champion. If all the promoters and shows get together every so often to see who is the best, fireworks are bound to go off. Also with the teamwork of all the shows, the fighter purses will go up, up, up. There would be fine incentive to step up and throw down if the money was what these athletes deserve.
Weight classes shouldn’t matter. The best professionals in the world know what is right and what isn’t, and at the level the top fighters are at, they should be in control of if they want to give it a shot. Elimination rounds could be held with preliminaries, and it could be narrowed down to a certain number for the main tournament. Put the likes of Cro-cop, Fedor, the Shamrocks, Jeremy Horn and countless others into the same brackets, and see what happens.
Also, if you’re tired of people from the sporting news and boxing world displaying their ignorance for everyone to see and degrading MMA fighters to the public, throw in a top-10 cruiserweight boxer with a seasoned mixed martial artist, and then enjoy the excuses the critics give the next day for why their man didn’t get enough air to his brain the previous night, or why he’s using a handy sling for the next month.
MMA fighters have always practiced boxing and gave boxers the respect they deserve. It’s time the boxing world gives it back to MMA and stops badmouthing the sport. It’s a catch-22 in that they are the ones with clout, influence and exposure, but the glory of the ring lies in it’s unparalleled skills as an equalizer, and if it were a person, it would be a real Honest Eddy, because in the ring, the truth comes out for the fans to see.
So why not go for it? The fans would come out of the woodwork for a world championship elimination tournament where anyone with the right qualifications can enter. With a lot of teamwork and motivation, the MMA world could be in for some breathtaking matches in a tournament that exemplifies what the UFC was founded on: finding the undisputed greatest fighter in the world.
No specific shows, no organizations, no discrimination on who fights. Whoever makes it, makes it. It would surely be a rough and tumble tournament filled with classic highlight reel finishes. It’s the perfect, fairest way to determine what would be the most prestigious title on earth. The worst thing that could happen is the fans get an undisputed world champion, and it would be about time.
