Now that the UFC 59 dust has settled the lips are loosening as it relates to Tito Ortiz' somewhat controversial decision victory over Forrest Griffin. Most notably, mma fans and arm-chair judges everywhere are furious with Abe Belardo scoring the second round 10-9 Ortiz thus giving Tito a 30-27 total for the fight. No one should try to defend Abe for this abysmal error. Further, no one should look to the UFC for an explaination as to how this could happen. The fact is, the UFC has no control over the judging of the fights. It is the California State Athletic Commision that decided that Abe would be a judge for the event. Thank God they did.
Recently, Dana White himself indicated that that he was shocked by Abe's decision. He indicated that he scored Forrest the winner and Lorenzo Fertitta scored the fight a draw with Tito earning a 10-8 first round. Personally, I had Forrest winning the fight but respected the decision by two of the three judges especially after Griffin himself said in his post fight comments that he had no problem with the decision. What's always interesting with these situations is to see what is said days later after everyone has had time to seriously think about the ramifications. Forrest has since changed his thoughts on the fight after seeing it again. He also expressed deep dissapointment with Tito's comments both immediately after the fight and in an interview the next day where he claimed Forrest's legs were oiled up to help slip out of takedowns. Classy, Tito, very classy.
So, hardcore mma fans have been screaming for years that there needs to be some sort of consistency in the way mma fights are judged and finally, Abe Belardo has helped bring this issue to the forefront. I just hope that a few key elements are considered when the time comes to establish judging criteria. First, submission attempts have to be factored in as part of an overall aggressiveness rating. Especially when a fighter is on his back. Armbar and triangle attempts are, after all, an attempt to end the fight. When a fighter has to scramble to escape a submission attempt, it's the equivalent of eating punches and having to clinch to stop the onslaught. Secondly, takedowns are important and should score points but if a fighter is able to get up from a takedown, it should be scored equally. This is the way all grappling matches are scored as escaping the bottom requires just as much skill as a takedown, if not more. Lastly, low kicks can do a tremendous amount of damages and should be credited equal to a punch. These are the jabs of the kicking game and can drastically change the game plan of the fighter on the receiving end.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has a tremendous opportunity to jump on this issue first and bring California in to establish some unified rules. MMA is growing at a frantic pace and the longer these types of miserable judging scenarios are allowed to continue, the longer it will take for people to give the sport the attention it deserves. Just remember, when we finally have a unified set of judging criteria we'll have Abe Belardo to thank for it.
Will
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
The UFC is Not for You!!
O.K., so think of this as an open letter to hardcore fans of mixed marial arts. I have some startling news for you. The UFC is not for you. I know this may be hard to accept but it's a fact. You are not the typical person that watches the UFC on PPV or tunes in to Spike TV to see Ultimate Fight Night Live or Ultimate Fighter episodes.
Please understand, I'm on your side. I'm a huge MMA fan and rarely miss a UFC or Pride event. I train in the sport and have followed it since it's early beginnings when I saw a tape of UFC 1 back in 1994. I had to suffer through the cable tv blackouts with the rest of you. I'll never forget the anger I felt when I couldn't order UFC 14 because Time-Warner pulled it at the last minute. I had to read about the Mark Coleman vs. Maurice Smith fight in a live chat room as a result. I hung in there with the sport becuased I believed in it. I continued to read and keep up with the goings on in the UFC throughout the years that followed until its triumphant return to PPV. I'm as much a hardcore fan as you. Still, I know that the UFC is not in business to get my attention and money.
The fact is, the majority of the people who watch the UFC are general sports fans that are looking to enjoy some competition. They have no idea why Matt Hughes' armbar off of a kimura reversal against GSP was so pretty to watch. You won't see them screaming at the T.V. when Mario Yamasake puts yet another fighters life at risk by ingnoring his rolled back eyes. These people just like to watch fights. Most appreciate the skill and athleticism of the fighters. They understand to some degree what's happening. However, when the broadcast ends, so does their attention to it. They don't go to message boards to post their thoughts and opinions. They don't take the time to write long-winded blogs on the subject. They simply go about the rest of their day and try to remember to tune into the next event.
The reason I'm telling you this is to help you with your issues with how Dana White runs the UFC as well as how the Ultimate Fighter and other Spike shows are edited and aired. Message boards are littered with arguments about how TUF is too much fluff. There should be more focus on the fighting and training aspects. I read about how the Tito vs. Ken angle is cheap and too WWE for your tastes. What the die hard fans forget is that Spike TV is looking for new viewers. They know you're going to watch. It doesn't matter what they put on, as long as there is a fight at the end. The problem for us is that the sport is in the midst of enormous growth and when you build the kind of momentum that the UFC is building, it means you do what ever it takes to continue the growth.
This problem is not exclusive to our sport. It happens in many things and in just about every other sport. For example, I'm a very casual baseball fan, I keep up with my team sparingly throughout the year and start to pay closer attention in August when playoff time approaches. I play a March Madness bracket every year after having watched at the most 1 or 2 college basketball games during the season. I am a rabid college football fan though. I've been arguing for a division 1 playoff system for over a decade and when I bring it up at a party, know one really cares as much as I do. Similarly, when MMA comes up in a group discussion I spend most of my time explaining away false statements by my friends and acquaintances who think Tyson would kill everyone in the UFC or how dangerous a sport MMA is. This is who the UFC is going after right now. They have a massive amount of educating to do but the drama has to be there to attract them in the first place. So don't be so critical of the way the UFC is being marketed right now. UFC growth is MMA growth. MMA growth is what ultimately will get the sport to the point where being a hardcore fan will be much more common. Ultimately that's what we all want.
Will
Please understand, I'm on your side. I'm a huge MMA fan and rarely miss a UFC or Pride event. I train in the sport and have followed it since it's early beginnings when I saw a tape of UFC 1 back in 1994. I had to suffer through the cable tv blackouts with the rest of you. I'll never forget the anger I felt when I couldn't order UFC 14 because Time-Warner pulled it at the last minute. I had to read about the Mark Coleman vs. Maurice Smith fight in a live chat room as a result. I hung in there with the sport becuased I believed in it. I continued to read and keep up with the goings on in the UFC throughout the years that followed until its triumphant return to PPV. I'm as much a hardcore fan as you. Still, I know that the UFC is not in business to get my attention and money.
The fact is, the majority of the people who watch the UFC are general sports fans that are looking to enjoy some competition. They have no idea why Matt Hughes' armbar off of a kimura reversal against GSP was so pretty to watch. You won't see them screaming at the T.V. when Mario Yamasake puts yet another fighters life at risk by ingnoring his rolled back eyes. These people just like to watch fights. Most appreciate the skill and athleticism of the fighters. They understand to some degree what's happening. However, when the broadcast ends, so does their attention to it. They don't go to message boards to post their thoughts and opinions. They don't take the time to write long-winded blogs on the subject. They simply go about the rest of their day and try to remember to tune into the next event.
The reason I'm telling you this is to help you with your issues with how Dana White runs the UFC as well as how the Ultimate Fighter and other Spike shows are edited and aired. Message boards are littered with arguments about how TUF is too much fluff. There should be more focus on the fighting and training aspects. I read about how the Tito vs. Ken angle is cheap and too WWE for your tastes. What the die hard fans forget is that Spike TV is looking for new viewers. They know you're going to watch. It doesn't matter what they put on, as long as there is a fight at the end. The problem for us is that the sport is in the midst of enormous growth and when you build the kind of momentum that the UFC is building, it means you do what ever it takes to continue the growth.
This problem is not exclusive to our sport. It happens in many things and in just about every other sport. For example, I'm a very casual baseball fan, I keep up with my team sparingly throughout the year and start to pay closer attention in August when playoff time approaches. I play a March Madness bracket every year after having watched at the most 1 or 2 college basketball games during the season. I am a rabid college football fan though. I've been arguing for a division 1 playoff system for over a decade and when I bring it up at a party, know one really cares as much as I do. Similarly, when MMA comes up in a group discussion I spend most of my time explaining away false statements by my friends and acquaintances who think Tyson would kill everyone in the UFC or how dangerous a sport MMA is. This is who the UFC is going after right now. They have a massive amount of educating to do but the drama has to be there to attract them in the first place. So don't be so critical of the way the UFC is being marketed right now. UFC growth is MMA growth. MMA growth is what ultimately will get the sport to the point where being a hardcore fan will be much more common. Ultimately that's what we all want.
Will
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