Tuesday, October 10, 2006

UFC Thoughts

I didn't really care for tonight's special. I thought it was put together well and the fights were good enough I guess, but I just wasn't interested in what they were offering. I don't think much of Hamill, Grove or Herman, and they were given soft opponents to boot. Herman's loss was a bad one, and is going to really hurt his credibility continuing forward. I thought Hamill looked completely unready for television. He just isn't much of an MMA fighter yet. He was early UFC one dimensional. Grove looked good, but a fight with Rory Singer isn't going to get anyone excited. And Tito-Shamrock was pretty much predetermined. So the whole thing felt kind of pointless. I also thought Tito looked really bad. He was disrespectful towards Ken for no real reason, and then came across so phony when he "reconciled." So not a great fight night for me.

I'm looking forward to UFC 64. I like Rich Franklin over Anderson Silva. I think Silva's overrated by many, because many people have only seen his striking skills and forget his questionable takedown defense and ground game. He also naturally smaller than Franklin. He's a better technical striker than Franklin, but I think the matchup favors Franklin. I wish they weren't billing Kenny Florian vs. Sean Sherk as a Lightweight Title match. It just makes the title feel insignificant from the start. They should have allowed the division to sort itself out first. I'm not convinced these guys are among the top five LWs UFC has, and Florian might not be in the top ten. I like Sherk via GNP, but I wouldn't be shocked if Florian submitted him either. Spencer Fisher and Jon Fitch are the highlights on the undercard.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Hamill-Petruzelli fight was an embarassment and the last thing UFC needed to put on a show where it would get a high number of casual viewers. They needed to show skilled fighters not guys from previous TUFs who even dedicated fans weren't that interested in.
Herman has a strong non-UFC pedigree but this loss will hurt him big time.
The main event was what it was, I'm glad it's behind us.

8:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Caught the live special. Thought Kendall Grove showed that his training paid off, regardless of his opponent as he was in much better physical condition. Herman got his ass kicked and you could see he was cocky coming in. The guy who dominated him isn't as bad as I thought and showed supreme confidence.

I think you're being unfair in your judgement of Tito. I mean you took Sham's side when all he's been saying for years is Tito is some punk kid. Ken embarrassed himself last night and Tito loved every minute of it. He added to the embarrassment and he felt bad for that later and genuinely apologized for distrespecting himself. He shook his hand off the mic, he didn't have to say what he said. Shamrock was the guy shaking off the fight, saying it's all business (which ruins UFC, but they dont know it) and saying how great of a fighter Tito is after a third ass kickin. Dancing in the octagon, knowing he got his check and knowing he was about to get beat is why he was so relaxed. That and all the juice flowing through his body was probably making him feel a little limber.

These events I believe are designed for two reasons. They claim fan appreciation night, which it is in some degree. But it's also designed to market your product to as many people as possible. The last thing I want for someone who might potentially be interested in UFC, is to tune in to the "most heated rivalry" in UFC history to see one guy chasing down the victor claiming "it's all business", while the other tells the fans "it's entertainment". I suppose you have to be entertained or care about the fighter to want to see him fight, hence the Ultimate Fighter. But if they aren't the best at what they do, and UFC can't deliver the big fight, and they really haven't what's the point?

9:59 AM  

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