A Sherdog Thanksgiving
Jason Probst Nov 27, 2008
Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, contemplation and plenty of
other 50-cent words. Preferably with extra gravy.
So let’s get down to it -- the Sherdog thanksgiving list!
It’s bigger and better than ever, particularly since it’s my first
installment.
Things I’m thankful for include:
Despite the demise of EliteXC, the IFL and the on-the-bubble status of Affliction, this Bay Area-based promotion keeps chugging along, seemingly immune to the market dominance of the UFC.
That’s because Strikeforce knows how to build a strong card with solid matchups and exciting fighters. Cung Le may be one of the most exciting fighters in the world to watch, while lightweight Josh Thomson was very impressive in shutting down tough Gilbert Melendez.
Who knows what the future holds for Strikeforce. Rumors abound of it possibly being acquired by the UFC. Perhaps it and the WEC could form an alternate series of co-promotions or something equally synergistic. But the truth is that Strikeforce, with its ability to sell 20,000 tickets to shows, doesn’t need anybody to succeed. And in an increasingly shrinking marketplace for fighters to shop their wares, that’s a good option to have.
Hangin’ TUF
I’m thankful for the continual format improvements made to the reality show. In the first couple of seasons, it was apparent that there were two kinds of guys cast -- those who could and wanted fight and those who were merely going for a once-in-a-lifetime shot, much like the drunk guy trying his luck at the Roulette wheel on a 3 a.m. bender.
With fighters having to win a match to secure a spot on the show, the last two seasons have produced a far superior crop. Granted, the antics this season -- including an NC-17 series of filthy, body-fluid-themed hijinks -- have led some to question whether or not TUF has jumped the shark. Fight-wise, it hasn’t. Antics-wise, it probably has, but as long as there’s a good scrap at the end of each episode, we’re probably willing to forgive who did what to somebody’s food.
And there’s still enough of the magical everyman appeal to it when an Amir Sadollah, with zero pro matches under his belt, wins the finale.
MMA's boom has allowed
Miguel Torres to emerge
as a budding star.
If you compare the top half of fighters from each season, there’s
no question they’re better. With the one-off theory of matchmaking,
it brings serious game theory into the equation. Why use your best
guy to knock off their top dog if your second- or third-best
teammate might have a chance? It’s definitely a more coherent sense
of strategy with regards to the weekly matchmaking, and a lot less
mismatches due to the no-frills vetting process.
Also -- and this is an Extreme Fight Geek observation (would you be reading this if you weren’t one too?) but nonetheless relevant -- I’ve always theorized that the crowd-free setting of the fights lends itself in a huge way to the appreciation of MMA. Instead of cheesy sounds and family camera shots dubbed in (which made “The Contender” agonizingly bad), we are instead treated to the real-life tactical grind of two guys battling it out. When you hear the coaches yelling for a specific tactic or move, in a situation in constant flux, that’s when the casual fan starts to appreciate how technical MMA really is.
That kind of realization is probably a freak accident given the show’s humble beginnings, but I hope they never change it. I don’t want to hear what Junie Allen Browning’s second cousin looks like when he’s getting mounted and pounded. I’d rather hear his coach yell instructions on how to execute an elbow escape and turn the fight around.
The pranks, however, have seemingly reached their zenith. It’s hard to top what’s happened this season for pure Frat Guy factor … unless season nine involves the kidnapping and subsequent tossing of a dwarf into the pool, followed by a group stomping. Let’s keep it clean out there, people.
Static Weight Classes
Your humble author is also thankful that MMA has largely resisted the inclusion of more weight classes, even though there have been a few exceptions of little impact (more on that in a minute).
The argument for more weight classes is problematic on several fronts, both logistically and linguistically. Let’s say some whiz-bang promotion started a division between 155 and 170. Not only would it water down the depth of the divisions, there’s really no option to call it anything but “super” or “light” relative to the division it’s above or below. Which is terrible, as it smacks of boxing’s habit of doing just that.
The key to building storylines and interest is a deep pool of challengers to draw from. You can’t have it both ways. And, creating more weight classes only cheapens the accomplishment of going up a weight class and winning a second belt.
Put it this way: Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter (as long as Floyd Mayweather, Jr., stays retired), has already won titles in five divisions (if you include the linear featherweight title he won by besting Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003). From 112 to 135, that includes skipping 115 and 118 (weight classes that stand all on their own, to boot). Ironically, his Dec. 6 bout with Oscar De La Hoya (another five-division beltholder) isn’t for any particular belt, probably because if they brought both guys’ hardware into the ring, there wouldn’t be any room to fight. Somewhere, Henry Armstrong is turning over in his grave.
The prevalence of belts and multiple divisions is precisely what destroys the credibility of a sport, creating the same kind of confusion elicited by reading about a local scholar headed to an Ivy League school due to a 4.8 GPA, something previously impossible due to standards that once limited the gaudy piling-on of credentials.
EliteXC tried to get a 160-pound division going, but thankfully, that idea was as smart as, say, using an Internet sensation to carry a promotion. The one good bout they had -- a Karl James Noons-Nick Diaz rematch -- never came off, luckily sparing fans the possibility of another weight class to contemplate. Was it super-lightweight or junior welterweight? Luckily, we don’t have to care.
Listen, champs deserve a solid crop of contenders. It isn’t like the major promotions scoff at serving up the next best guy. In fact, that’s been one of the main keys to MMA’s success. While boxing makes the “intuitive next match” about every two years or so among its major players, MMA fans know who’s likely to get the next shot. We’re spoiled, in a way, like someone in a good relationship that’s never suffered abuse.
It is sometimes said that MMA needs a rankings system, when, actually, rankings have existed in boxing for the reverse purpose of justifying title shots that otherwise would be patently undeserved. As long as the champions are kept busy -- three times per year, please -- there’s not much need for rankings.
Young Talent -- The Next Wave
A few years ago, the paltry pay in MMA made transitioning into the sport a mixed bag for potential competitors. Nowadays, with sponsorships and the sport’s long-awaited foothold into the mainstream, the allure seems to have caught on.
Today’s MMA fighters started earlier than ever, have better pedigrees and are a dazzling infusion of young talent. Seeing athletes compete -- not just guys from a core discipline who wanted to fight -- has produced a raft of young talent that is so gifted, you wouldn’t know guys like Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was a good college wrestler because his hands are so deadly. And the sport’s boom has allowed smaller fighters, such as Miguel Torres, to emerge as budding stars.
In five years the crop of MMA talent will probably be another level up. It will be comprised of guys who started training specifically for MMA in high school, even junior high, as a rule rather than the exception. That is quite a thing to contemplate, especially given the widening talent pool that has already produced a raft of up-and-comers who are dispatching the old guard.
So let’s get down to it -- the Sherdog thanksgiving list!
Advertisement
Things I’m thankful for include:
Strikeforce: The Little Engine That
Could
Despite the demise of EliteXC, the IFL and the on-the-bubble status of Affliction, this Bay Area-based promotion keeps chugging along, seemingly immune to the market dominance of the UFC.
That’s because Strikeforce knows how to build a strong card with solid matchups and exciting fighters. Cung Le may be one of the most exciting fighters in the world to watch, while lightweight Josh Thomson was very impressive in shutting down tough Gilbert Melendez.
Who knows what the future holds for Strikeforce. Rumors abound of it possibly being acquired by the UFC. Perhaps it and the WEC could form an alternate series of co-promotions or something equally synergistic. But the truth is that Strikeforce, with its ability to sell 20,000 tickets to shows, doesn’t need anybody to succeed. And in an increasingly shrinking marketplace for fighters to shop their wares, that’s a good option to have.
Hangin’ TUF
I’m thankful for the continual format improvements made to the reality show. In the first couple of seasons, it was apparent that there were two kinds of guys cast -- those who could and wanted fight and those who were merely going for a once-in-a-lifetime shot, much like the drunk guy trying his luck at the Roulette wheel on a 3 a.m. bender.
With fighters having to win a match to secure a spot on the show, the last two seasons have produced a far superior crop. Granted, the antics this season -- including an NC-17 series of filthy, body-fluid-themed hijinks -- have led some to question whether or not TUF has jumped the shark. Fight-wise, it hasn’t. Antics-wise, it probably has, but as long as there’s a good scrap at the end of each episode, we’re probably willing to forgive who did what to somebody’s food.
And there’s still enough of the magical everyman appeal to it when an Amir Sadollah, with zero pro matches under his belt, wins the finale.
Photo by
Sherdog.com
Miguel Torres to emerge
as a budding star.
Also -- and this is an Extreme Fight Geek observation (would you be reading this if you weren’t one too?) but nonetheless relevant -- I’ve always theorized that the crowd-free setting of the fights lends itself in a huge way to the appreciation of MMA. Instead of cheesy sounds and family camera shots dubbed in (which made “The Contender” agonizingly bad), we are instead treated to the real-life tactical grind of two guys battling it out. When you hear the coaches yelling for a specific tactic or move, in a situation in constant flux, that’s when the casual fan starts to appreciate how technical MMA really is.
That kind of realization is probably a freak accident given the show’s humble beginnings, but I hope they never change it. I don’t want to hear what Junie Allen Browning’s second cousin looks like when he’s getting mounted and pounded. I’d rather hear his coach yell instructions on how to execute an elbow escape and turn the fight around.
The pranks, however, have seemingly reached their zenith. It’s hard to top what’s happened this season for pure Frat Guy factor … unless season nine involves the kidnapping and subsequent tossing of a dwarf into the pool, followed by a group stomping. Let’s keep it clean out there, people.
Static Weight Classes
Your humble author is also thankful that MMA has largely resisted the inclusion of more weight classes, even though there have been a few exceptions of little impact (more on that in a minute).
The argument for more weight classes is problematic on several fronts, both logistically and linguistically. Let’s say some whiz-bang promotion started a division between 155 and 170. Not only would it water down the depth of the divisions, there’s really no option to call it anything but “super” or “light” relative to the division it’s above or below. Which is terrible, as it smacks of boxing’s habit of doing just that.
The key to building storylines and interest is a deep pool of challengers to draw from. You can’t have it both ways. And, creating more weight classes only cheapens the accomplishment of going up a weight class and winning a second belt.
Put it this way: Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter (as long as Floyd Mayweather, Jr., stays retired), has already won titles in five divisions (if you include the linear featherweight title he won by besting Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003). From 112 to 135, that includes skipping 115 and 118 (weight classes that stand all on their own, to boot). Ironically, his Dec. 6 bout with Oscar De La Hoya (another five-division beltholder) isn’t for any particular belt, probably because if they brought both guys’ hardware into the ring, there wouldn’t be any room to fight. Somewhere, Henry Armstrong is turning over in his grave.
The prevalence of belts and multiple divisions is precisely what destroys the credibility of a sport, creating the same kind of confusion elicited by reading about a local scholar headed to an Ivy League school due to a 4.8 GPA, something previously impossible due to standards that once limited the gaudy piling-on of credentials.
EliteXC tried to get a 160-pound division going, but thankfully, that idea was as smart as, say, using an Internet sensation to carry a promotion. The one good bout they had -- a Karl James Noons-Nick Diaz rematch -- never came off, luckily sparing fans the possibility of another weight class to contemplate. Was it super-lightweight or junior welterweight? Luckily, we don’t have to care.
Listen, champs deserve a solid crop of contenders. It isn’t like the major promotions scoff at serving up the next best guy. In fact, that’s been one of the main keys to MMA’s success. While boxing makes the “intuitive next match” about every two years or so among its major players, MMA fans know who’s likely to get the next shot. We’re spoiled, in a way, like someone in a good relationship that’s never suffered abuse.
It is sometimes said that MMA needs a rankings system, when, actually, rankings have existed in boxing for the reverse purpose of justifying title shots that otherwise would be patently undeserved. As long as the champions are kept busy -- three times per year, please -- there’s not much need for rankings.
Young Talent -- The Next Wave
A few years ago, the paltry pay in MMA made transitioning into the sport a mixed bag for potential competitors. Nowadays, with sponsorships and the sport’s long-awaited foothold into the mainstream, the allure seems to have caught on.
Today’s MMA fighters started earlier than ever, have better pedigrees and are a dazzling infusion of young talent. Seeing athletes compete -- not just guys from a core discipline who wanted to fight -- has produced a raft of young talent that is so gifted, you wouldn’t know guys like Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was a good college wrestler because his hands are so deadly. And the sport’s boom has allowed smaller fighters, such as Miguel Torres, to emerge as budding stars.
In five years the crop of MMA talent will probably be another level up. It will be comprised of guys who started training specifically for MMA in high school, even junior high, as a rule rather than the exception. That is quite a thing to contemplate, especially given the widening talent pool that has already produced a raft of up-and-comers who are dispatching the old guard.
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