The Doggy Bag: 205-pound Sequel

The shameless inclusion of three fights already broadcast for free on Spike TV in a PPV event I laid down $60 for is a f---in' travesty. Why did the PPV event not broadcast undercard fights? If the same happens for UFC 107, it'll be the last event I pay money for.
-- Mike

Loretta Hunt, news editor: I remember a time when I couldn’t watch a UFC event even if I was willing to pay for it. My brother and I would comb the lone two or three Web sites that covered the sport and keep refreshing until the results were posted. We relished in anything we could find -- a brief fight description or a random picture that gave us some hint of what had gone down.

When my brother found the only bar in New York City that would show the UFCs on satellite television, we’d meet there every two months without fail at 5 p.m. sharp. That way we could stake our seats at the bar right in front of the establishment’s biggest screen. When the bar wouldn’t put the UFC on the big screen, we’d complain to the bartender until he did. I’m 100 percent sure he despised us, because we ordered our burgers and chicken finger dinners, and then sipped on sodas all night.

Today, I get to watch the UFC, “The Ultimate Fighter,” Strikeforce, Dream, Sengoku, “Inside MMA,” ESPN MMA Live and a host of other fight-related programs from the comfort of my home. There’s so much at my fingertips, I sometimes don’t get to watch everything in one night.

Last week, I delighted in watching Ben Saunders and Marcus Davis exchange knees with bad intentions during the UFC 106 Prelims one-hour special on Spike TV. And how fast was that triangle choke Kendall Grove pulled around determined newcomer Jake Rosholt? When those two live fights finished ahead of schedule, I wasn’t bored by some long-winded promo trying to convince me to buy the $54.95 high-def pay-per-view (A little pricey, I know, but I wouldn’t miss it). Instead, I got to see two more prelim bouts I wouldn’t have seen otherwise that night on top of that.

Then, I turned on my UFC 106 pay-per-view, where the promotion delivered the five fights it had promised me. Between both broadcasts, I got to see nine of the 10 UFC 106 fights. When the repeated bouts came on during the pay-per-view, I watched them again or I got up to go get a drink -- and I didn’t even have to bother a bartender to get it.

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