The UFC Is Not The Only MMA Spot In Town

It has been easy to forget that the UFC is not the only MMA show in town, but that will soon change. There are several other groups vying for dominance, and with many of the UFC fighters contracts coming due and better offers for some from other places, we may see a more diversified MMA front in the near future. CBS has picked up EliteXC.

Dave Meltzer At Y! Sports (Full Article)

The May 24 match between Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 from Las Vegas is among the most important matches of 2008.

Ortiz is a key component of a battle that ends with the last man left standing.

That battle isn’t in a ring or a cage, but a business war for supremacy of the mixed martial arts industry.

Ortiz is the biggest of a host of name fighters whose UFC contracts will be expiring at a time in which a slew of new rival promotions are in desperate need of big-name fighters.

For groups such as Elite XC, which debuts soon on CBS, and Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights, the key to challenging the UFC’s supremacy in the marketplace is having the right television exposure, the right stars, the right business sense and a degree of long-term planning and patience.

Only time can tell how big of an impact this will have. I do find myself coming to terms with the fact that the UFC is not the only MMA spot. There was definitely a time not too long ago when I would directly connect the two, MMA and the UFC. With the success of the show, ppv, and the impact Dana White has had on the industry, it is to be expected that other people would want to jump on the bandwagon and try to generate the kind of earnings that the UFC has been able to achieve.

Big John McCarthy Retires

After 13 years and 535 bouts, Big John JcCarthy has retired. To me he was as much an iconic symbol of status in the UFC as the belts were. I will truly miss seeing him in the Octagon, as I know all of you will.

A Post over at UFC.com discusses his career:

There’s only one Big John McCarthy

By Thomas Gerbasi

It was the perfect going away gift for a referee �” Saturday’s lightweight war between Roger Huerta and Clay Guida. But like all great ‘third men’, John McCarthy �” who retired as an active referee following last weekend’s main event - was noticeable by being noly noticeable, making all the right moves and all the right calls, a fitting end to a 13 year journey that saw McCarthy become as much a part of the UFC as the great fighters who have graced its Octagon.

And as I told him Saturday, there will always be just one Big John McCarthy.

A part of the UFC since its second show in 1994, McCarthy, with his trademark ‘Let’s get it on”, was the sole arbiter in the early days of a sport with little in the way of rules or regulation. Yet by UFC 3, McCarthy was given more responsibility in terms of being able to stop fights and protect the fighters, and as the years went on, he was known as not only a stern taskmaster when it came to enforcing the ever increasing list of rules which governed competition, but as a compassionate one who put fighter safety paramount over everything else.

Eventually, McCarthy became more than just a referee, as he was deeply involved with the training of future officials and as an ambassador of the sport to regulators, the media, and the fans.

But when it came down to it for McCarthy, through 535 bouts, it was all about the fights, and for the fighters, having John McCarthy referee your match was a sign that you made it to the big time. As Guida said after his gallant loss to Huerta, “He’s somebody this sport won’t soon forget. It was an honor to have that guy shake my hand and say ‘Let’s get it on’ one last time. You can’t put a price on something like that. It was awesome.”

John McCarthy stayed the course. He survived the sport’s ‘dark ages’ and was able to witness the explosion of the sport in the mainstream. It was something he knew would happen eventually, as he said in a 2005 UFC.com interview.

“I believe the UFC is only going to get bigger and better,” said McCarthy. “The sport of MMA is growing at a phenomenal rate right now and the popularity is only going to grow. Boxing is great, but it is the sport
of our fathers, while mixed martial arts is the sport of the new generation. Kids of today like the extreme sports; anything that goes faster, flies higher, hits harder or has more risks is what ignites the interest of today’s young man or woman. The sport of Mixed Martial Arts delivers those types of things in the fighting arena. It is not just about who punches the hardest, but who has the most overall fighting skill. Fighting is not just about punches. That is only one aspect of fighting and that is not enough. Real fighting encompasses all ranges of fighting. The ability to punch, kick, elbow, throw, take down, control and submit your opponent is what makes MMA so exciting. As a referee in the sport I am lucky to be a part of this evolution. I have been blessed by all of the experiences I have been through because of this sport. I have been there from the beginning; I have taken part in the changes and growth of the sport, being there in the beginning with the good times and then into the bad times and now back. I cannot say that I would not have changed a thing, because that is not true. I would have changed the bad times if I could and trust me I tried. But in the end it has all been an incredible experience and adventure that I will remember forever.”

Same here. Good luck Big John, and thanks for the memories.

Ultimate Fighter Season 7 Middleweights Griffin vs Jackson

UPDATE 4/09/08

Fight 9 Dan Simmler Vs. Matther Riddle

Simmler is a jj guy…Riddle gets a nice take down…Simmler gets up…Simmler has no standup….goes for some crazy flying arm bar.. falls down.. gets hit a little.. gets back up… This fight is not very good.. kinda just standing around against the fence…Riddle gets a sloppy take down at 1:10 ish… Round sucks.. Riddle gets the round IMO.

Round 2:

Riddle comes out.. touches gloves.. and knocks Simmler the fuck out. He is like literally crying on the ground. He might have brain damage the way he is moaning. I think his jaw is broken. This was like the knockout of the year. He is getting on the ambulance and he keeps asking where he is and what happened.. I think he got knocked about a week into the future or something.

Fight 10 Luke Zachrich Vs. Patrick Shultz

Patrick has an accent like Matt Serra. Weird kick.. couple punches… Luke falls down.. gets back to the feet.. Luke gets a take down.. he is on top in half guard… a little ground and pound action going on… Patrick scrambles gets on top.. back to feet.. luke gets a reversal and gets another take down.. ground and pound in full guard..Full guard now.. rolls to back.. has both hooks in… working on the rear naked.. and Patrick taps.

Fight 11 Tim Credeun Vs. Erik Charles

I think tim will win.. Erik sounds bad. Tim gets a take down early.. works into side control.. rolls into an arm bar… gets the tap. Dominated. Tim Wins.

Fight 12 Brandon Sene Vs. Aaron Meisner

Mesner gets early.. then Brandon gets take down… Brandon wins by RNC. Shows good heart.

Fight 13 Mike Marrello Vs. Gerald Harris

Gerald gets big take down.. ground and pound.. nice punches.. seems to dominate the fight.. wins by decision.

Fight 14 Daniel Cramer Vs. Jermiah Riggs

These guys are doing some weird techniques.. dude upkicks other guy in the face about 4 times.. illegal.. and Dana and forest are talking about it.. and Rampage is like.. “thats illegal”.. and Dana says..”What the fuck have you been doing .. fighting in pride?”.. i’m LMAO…This is just a weird ass fight… Cramer wins.. but.. they really both lost.

Fight 15 Nick Rossborough Vs. Jesse Taylor

Jesse gets take down.. full mount.. rolls.. stands up.. take back down… Jesse on top… pure domination.. Nick looks like he wants to quit… Wins by RNC… Nick didn’t do anything. Rampage isn’t impressed.

Fight 16 Josh Hall Vs. Matt Brown

Clench early.. punches back and forth in clench.. almost gets a triangle but he rolls out of it…Matt brown wins.. it looks like he just gets pissed and starts pounding that guys face.  I like this guy a lot.

UPDATE 4/02/08

Dana is going to make them all fight right off the bat. They thought they were already in the top 16, but they find out that they are in the top 32 and have to fight to make the top 16. So your on the show, but if you lose this fight tomorrow, your going home. I like this idea in the since that it allows Quinton and Forest a good chance to evaluate the fighters.

Fight 1 McLean Vs. Dolce

Dolce lands a nice punch early.. some scrambling, he gets on top.. they struggle, it goes back to their feet, and Dolce lands a huge knockout. Nice display of punching power.

Fight 2 Cale Yarbrough Vs. John Clarke

Cale is a friend of Forrest. They kind of fall down.. Cale is on bottom… John keeps punching to the back of the head.. there is another take down… Cale ends up on top. Armbar attemp by John.. Cale pops out. Cale gets on top, and winds by ground and pound. I would like to note that John had to cut 17 pounds, and was like 10 years older. He lost.

Fight 3 Steve Brynes Vs. Amir Sadollah

First round.. a lot of back and forth on the ground, there is a weak triangle attempt at the end of the round.. nothing really exciting for me.

Second round. Both these guys are so tired that they are barely doing anything. One if these guys is a Marine as well, so I would expect him to have a little more endurance. Amir wins by arm bar.

Fight 4 David Baggett Vs. CB Dollaway

DB Dollaway completely dominates, gets stopped early from ground and pound.

Fight 5 Dante Rivera Vs. John Wood

Dante wins early by an against the cage Kamora (sp?). This is a new one for me.

Fight 6 Nick Klein Vs. David Mewborn

Mewborn gets beat like he stole something by a side arm choke.

FIght 7 Paul Bradley Vs. Reggie Orr

Wins by a drawn out wrestling bs. He wins.. but he just lays on the guy.. and draws it out for the entire 10 minutes.

Fight 8 Jeremy May Vs. Dave Roberts

Roberts is a friend of Rampage, they were in high school together. Dave gets dominated early, Falls down into an arm bar. Jeremy May wins.

More to come next week.

UPDATE! 3/18/08

The show will premier on Wednesday April 2, at 10PM following UFC fight night live on Spike baby! I can’t Wait!

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Last night at Spike’s video game awards show Dana announced the coaches for season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter. Forest Griffin and Quinton Rampage Jackson. This season will be all about the middleweights, and Griffin and Jackson will fight in the finale for the title. This should be a great fight. Here is a little background on each fighter, in case you have been living in a box, or like Shane you don’t get Spike.

Forrest Griffin - He was the winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and has had great success (borat) since the culmination of his win. He has established himself as the #1 contender for the title. How did he do this you might ask? Well, After winning the show, he went on to fight Tito Ortiz, and he lost the fight, but he lost in style by a split decision. This fight was close, and he did well. His next fight was a rematch against Stepphan Bonnar, which he dominated, winning all three rounds. He then lost to Keith Jardine by way of knockout at the end of the first. He then defeated Hector Ramirez in UFC 72 by unanimous decision. His latest fight was at UFC 76 against PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua^[2]. Griffin won by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three. It has since been reported that Griffin required surgery after the fight due to a serious shoulder injury that was sustained in the bout. It seems this has been a reoccurring problem for him.

Quinton Jackson - He started his UFC career with a fight against Marvin Eastman in UFC 67, which he won by knockout. At UFC 71 as anyone who follows the UFC should know, he beat Chuck Liddell 1:53 into the first round. Jackson then defeated PRIDE middleweight champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75, which effectively combined the pride and UFC titles.

Both fighters have come a long way, and Griffin’s win against Shogun shows he his no pushover, if you ever thought he was, but Jackson is one mean looking guy. This should be a good stand up fight.

Ultimate Fighter Finale

I will update this post later tonight as each fight takes place, but I just want everyone to be aware that the ultimate fighter finale will be on spike tonight. Matt Hughes and Mat Serra will not be fighting for the belt, as Serra has back problems. So in the next UFC pay per view, GSP and Matt Hughes will fight for the interim belt, and the winner of that will fight Matt Serra at some point in the future.

More to come later tonight, My prediction: Mac Danzig will win hands down.

Update: First 30 minutes of the fight is sponsored commercial free by World Of Warcraft. How awesome , two of my favorite things, wow and MMA, together. Its almost enough to get me excited (sexually :P).

Fight 1: Dan Barrera vs Ben Saunders : This is a re-fight from episode six of this season of the ultimate fighter, barrera is from team Hughes, and Saunders from Serra’s team. Saunders won that fight, by majority decision.

1. Saunders lands a kick.. Barrera gets clench against the fence…good knee by saunders…still in clench…good knee to the head again by saunders.. on the ground.. Saunders has both hooks in on top but is up against the cage….rolls to armbar.. now ben is on his back in full guard.. using rubber guard… Round Ends.. I give this round to Dan Barerra.

2.Comes out fast , dan clenches, gets on top, saunders rolls into full guard, Dan still on top but saunders guard is good.. .. not a lot going on.. ref stands them up saunders tries flying knee, barerra ducks, saunders has dan’s back..on top with over under, rolls misses, dan gets on top in saunders full guard again….ref stands them up again…saunders lands huge head kick.. dan on knees.. saunders on top…end of round. I give this round to saunders for landing the only significant strike thus far.

3.Ariani is hot!… round starts.. saunders lands big body kick, dan goes for take down.. on knees in clench, Saunders has back with hooks in… body triangle.. strikes..two on one hand…trying to sink choke in.. dan rolls.. saunders on his back still…saunders looses it and dan gets on top.. ref stands up again.. big body kick again by saunders.. clench again… knees to body by saunders… dan still clenching.. fight over.. I give the fight to saunders hands down, dan was on top a lot.. but he was unable to do anything from the position.

Fight 2: George Sotiropoulos vs Billy Miles (billy from hughes, george from serra).

Round 1: Billy throws punches, clenches, has one of georges legs, George on top, on billy’s back, landing punches, george has hooks in, flattening out, softening up with punches, body triangle now, gets choke in.. billy taps. George wins by rear naked choke. Textbook.

Fight 3: Richie Hightower vs Troy Mandaloniz, I hope troy wins… Richie is a punk. Wear your hat strait.. thats all i’m saying.

Round 1: Troy throwing punches.. riche throwing bombs.. fast pace… hightower takes down.. side control.. half guard now… elbow by hightower.. both fighters really punching fast.. troy lands nice right, back in clench, hightower looks good… pace is slow now.. in clench against fence.. hightower landing nice short elbows, nice left by troy, big knee to the chin by troy, back in clench, hightower looking gassed, troy lands huge left.. fight is over.. troy wins by tko.

Fight 4: Jon Koppenhaver vs Jared Rollins

Round 1: take down by jrock, back on feet, war machine gets take down, jon still on top in jrocks full guard, both guys are cut, jrock opens up a nasty cut on Jon from the bottom.. round ends. Give this round to Jon for staying in a dominant position.

Round 2: Jon throwing punches, jrock punching, big knee, in clench, Jon on topin jrocks guard, more elbows from bottom by jrock, ref stands them up, good exchange, jrock tries flying knee, jrock gets takedown, jrock on top in jon’s full guard, throwing nice punches, war machie gives up his back, back into war machines half guard, big punches from the top by jrock, give this round to jrock.

Round 3: jrock goes for takedown, in clench, war machine on top in jrocks full guard, dropping big bombs, ref stands them up, war machine goes for takedown, jrock lands big knee, on top landing big bombs, jrock in war machines full guard, jrock referses.. in full mount, ref stoppage, war machine wins.

next fight: Mac Danzig vs Tommy Speer, this is for the winner of the ultimate fighter.

Round 1: tommy looks kinda stiff, not much head movement, tommy in clench against fence, knees by both, danzig gets takedown, gets in full mount, landing bombs,  gives up his back, danzig gets hooks in, flattens him out, fight over at around 3 min in the first round by rear naked choke.