NO. This is not one of those mixed martial arts or boxing is better than the other articles. I love fight sports, and truly comparing mixed martial arts and boxing is like comparing apples and oranges. What I can compare and share though is my personal experiences covering both sports.
I say this to either or both, to those who bash boxing and mixed martial arts in favor of the other, you are missing out. Both sports involve the same dynamics and similar disciplines. They train, get in shape, study opponents and try to beat the crap out of the man in fornt of them. As a fight fan, what's not to love? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to break it down, but for those who insist the other sport is garbage compared to their preferred fight sport, I'm sorry, I respect your preferences but in my opinion you are wasting you time hating on the other.
I can understand why you would prefer boxing or MMA from the other but to say the other is the opposite of the hyperboles you describe your "beat-em-up" sport with is simply pretentious or to some degree, ignoramus.
To each his own I guess, and I'm not one to debate another man's opinion. Live and let live.
So I'm here in Vegas and it's a day after the UFC 100 festivities. I covered the event as much as I could but I'm not going into much of the details of the actual fights in this article. If you want a blow-by-blow and in-depth coverage, I suggest you check out our MMA Examiner Eddie Graveline's pages. He is also here in Vegas covering the event and did a great job calling the action. I am here however to share my thoughts on all the festivities that went down together with some developments in boxing and Sin city in general.
UFC and everybody responsible for the weekend that gripped Vegas that is "UFC 100" should all be given praise for the way they hyped up and organized the event and catered to fans. The UFC Expo was a big success- although crowded- fans were given the full UFC experience as the biggest names in the sport all came out to greet and mingle with their fans from WEC stars like Urijah Faber, with his hand cast and all, signing autographs, to the beautiful octagon girls Arianny Celeste and Logan Stanton all the way to UFC's biggest stars such as Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin and even UFC legend Royce Gracie. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was ever his entertaining and comical self as he laughed and joked with fans and fellow fighters alike. During the weigh-ins while standing by his friend and training partner Michael Bisping, Rampage picked up UFC president Dana White acting as if he was going to take him down on the mat. He also did a similar but more elaborate show with Cheick Kongo while inside the Expo.
UFC fever definitely hit Vegas all weekend long. You'd see the most random UFC fighters walk the Vegas strip like when we bumped into Mauricio "Shogun" Rua together with a couple of females and friends walking by Las Vegas boulevard. At the lobby of Mandalay Bay, you name it, you'd probably come across them, from The Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero to some of the newer fighters that even I didn't know. The only indication that they were popular to me were fans that came up to them trying to get autographs and pictures. Vegas was truly the place to be this weekend if you are a UFC fan.
I was able to chat with Rashad Evans for a little bit and asked him about the upcoming Ultimate Fighter show this fall wherein he goes up against Rampage Jackson in a season where a not so unfamiliar name tries to get a UFC contract in Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. Evans guaranteed that it's going to be an interesting season and probably the best ever so all you fight fans should difinitely watch out for that.
While I was enjoying all the festivities, a shocking story started spreading around the media people at the Mandalay Bay. Reports were that Arturo Gatti was found dead in Brazil. Not too long ago Gatti was still significant fighting the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. It was sad news indeed as even mixed martial arts fans were all affected by Gatti's sudden death. I was talking to a random fight fan and he had mentioned to me how he had the greatest admiration for Gatti and Micky Ward during their classic wars in the early part of the century.
Fight night came and honestly, I wasn't all that satisfied with how last night turned out. It was almost as if it was impossible for the actual fights to live up to the hype of the extravagant weekend leading up to it but the way things went, I personally felt it was a let-down regardless if there was any hype at all.
The lone exciting fight that went down to me was Dan Henderson's brutal KO of loudmouth Brit Michael Bisping. It definitely brought back memories of Ricky Hatton getting knocked out by Manny Pacquiao last May especially when Bisping laid on the mat after the 2nd round KO for quite some time. After the vicious right hook Hendo landed on Bisping's chin, which ironically Bisping was aware of and yet kept sidestepping into the whole night, Hendo gave Bisping a souvenir in the form of a flying right hand on Bisping's mouth while he laid lifeless on the mat. Hendo admitted after the fight that he deliberately gave Bisping that extra blow "to shut him up".
St. Pierre versus Alves was a snoozer. I swear. Not that it was GSP's fault, he actually manhandled the otherwise compromised Alves. I just don't get how you can come in to a title-fight against the best takedown wrestlers in the game and not have any kind of takedown defense. GSP took Alves at will whenever he wanted to, and Alves wasn't able to land any of his kicks and punches all night long because of how GSP would keep taking him down.
Lesnar versus Mir was worse. If this was any indication of the sport's future, then they are seriously in trouble unless they get someone like Batista or The Undertaker to come in and put the tombstone on Lesnar somehow. The main event did not showcase the skill and craft mixed martial arts definitely requires. Don't get me wrong, Lesnar fought a smart fight and stayed within his physical advantages. He imposed his size and strength on Mir and beat the living crap on Mir while pinning him to the ground and the cage. He was simply too big and strong for even one of the best grapplers in the game. It was a great strategy for Lesnar, but it was abolutely boring as well. Luckily last night wasn't an indication of where UFC is going.
If you saw the fight on TV via Pay-Per-View, the night itself started in a controversial manner when Japanese Yoshihiro Akiyama managed to squeeze out a controversial win over Alan Belcher. Belcher looked like he was landing more shots througout the fight but for some reason Akiyama got the SD victory.
I'm not saying UFC 100 was a total disappointment, but it just lacked the firepower to close out the weekend with a bang. Most of the fireworks and thrills came from outside the octagon in my opinion, but that's just me though. Not a lot of skill MMA is known for were showcased last night. Lesnar looked more like a big brother picking on a smaller brother and just pinning him while beating him down while Alves whom a lot of people picked to upset GSP couldn't even stop a takedown. It would have been nice to have seen the likes of Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Nogueira in a card like this, but that's MMA and just like boxing, you get your explosive fights from time to time and sometimes you don't.
Before I forget, it was nice to see Mark Coleman make his UFC comeback after 12 years of not having a win in the UFC. Coleman defeated Indy's Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision. And what's all the fuss Dana White is creating again for Lesnar's antics after the fight. Honestly Dana White to me is the Mark Cuban of MMA. Yea, he did a great job with UFC but I'm just sick of him trying to whore himself out and always diverting attention towards himself. I did not find anything offesnsive with the way Lesnar acted after the fight. He's a fighter for crying out loud. What's next? Penalizing fighters for overly celebrating like the NFL?
Speaking of boxing, while I was enjoying being part of UFC 100, I read reports that Vic Darchinyan lost to Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko. It's interesting to see where Darchinyan's career leads to now. I got a hold of Nonito Donaire to try and get his thoughts on the Darchinyan loss but he had church obligations last night and has not seen the fight yet. I'll talk to him today or tomorrow and get his thoughts on the fight.
So in summary, I guess a lot of it boils down on hype. UFC 100 was definitely a big success regardless of what I felt about the fights. One thing that boxing can learn from UFC though is the way they package and market their fighters. We need more of the big names facing one another and for promoters to stop getting in the way of the megafights. Boxers need more exposure so fans can follow them closely the way MMA fans get to follow their fighters. Why not a Boxing Expo in Vegas too? Heck that would surely be a hit. It's just a matter of whether these promoters can come together for the overall benefit of the sport instead of their own pockets. Sadly, that's easier said than done.
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