Fleeting Dominance

     With the next two UFC pay-per-views featuring exciting, but nonetheless non-title matches for  main events, the five UFC titles are all safe for now.  Over a year ago, I wrote about how dominant all UFC champions were and how it might get boring if no one could defeat them.  Well, what a difference a year makes.  

     This year, four of the five dominant, god-like champions have all been revealed to be actually human.  Lyoto "Dragon" Machida, who was the fighter that was hit the least in UFC history, slipped and then got pummeled by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.  Then, coming back from a debilitating bout with diverculitis, Brock Lesnar successfully retained his Heavyweight Championship, but not before he was pummeled in the first round by challenger Shane Carwin. Then, pound-for-pound king Anderson SIlva, was taken down, grounded and pounded by Chael Sonnen for four and a half rounds, before escaping with a "Hail Mary" submission less than 2 minutes before the final bell.  Finally, B.J. Penn, who had been barely challenged in the lightweight division since winning the title several years ago, lost not once but twice(!) to the diminutive Frank "Answer" Edgar.


      The question now becomes, "Why the sudden decline?"  Have those previously dominant champs lost something due to age or injury or is it a matter of the challengers figuring out how to defeat the champs?  

     Although champs like Silva and Penn are getting on in age, Lesnar possibly not fully recovered, and Machida finally encountering someone who wouldn't chase him, the two questions probably are the wrong ones to ask.  As Joe Rogan has constantly said, "Styles make fights," and I believe that was the case with all those four champions.  Each of them faced a challenger whose greatest skill posed as the champ's greatest threat.  Machida was a counter puncher, but so was Rua.  Silva may be the world's greatest striker, but Sonnen was the ultimate wrestler with excellent takedowns.  Lesnar is simple an intimidating powerhouse, but Carwin had unreal striking power.  Penn was a dominant force both with power and jiu jitsu, but Edgar was a whirlwind of a striker who Penn couldn't catch.

     Whether my theory is accurate or not will be known in the coming months, with each of the four champions mentioned getting significant tests.  Lesnar will meet fellow athletic wrestler Cain Velasquez, Silva will have his rematch with Sonnen, Rua will test his skills against former champ "Sugar" Rashad Evans and Penn attempts a welterweight comeback against Matt Hughes.  If they all come back and go back to their dominant ways, then the "Style Theory" holds true.  If not, then the UFC may be deeper than people think.  Either way, it will be good times for the UFC and fans like me. 

Taking (Second) Chances

     On Sunday, UFC Middleweight and MMA Pound-for-Pound Champ Anderson Silva gets yet another main event fight, despite his last three being inexplicable head scratchers.  In his last three main event fights, SIlva toyed around with his clearly overmatched opponents, namely Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and Damian Maia, refusing to engage them in any serious exchanges.  It was clear he could knock out any of the three at any time he wanted, but he instead chose to dance around, doing for talking and running than anyone cared for.  This Sunday represents a new beginning for him, his second and last chance, according to UFC President Dana White.  Before he gets anymore ideas to again dance around and waste his second chance against challenger Chael Sonnen, I have some cautionary tales for him.  

Delonte West - Despite being drafted with high hopes by the then rebuilding Boston Celtics, West was quite a disappointment for Beantown fans and his name slowly began fading into oblivion.  The Cleveland Cavaliers, seeking to fit pieces to help Lebron James win a championship, gave West a second chance.  Instead of rising to the challenge, West continued to be an inconsistent scorer, missed games due to a battle with clinical depression and got arrested by carrying not just a handgun, but a shotgun on his all terrain vehicle.  (Plus, there is a rumor that he was having an affair with James' mom.  Okay, so that's not verified. Sorry.) Now, West's appeal for teams have so plummeted that one of the NBA's worst teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves, traded for him, just so they can waive him and save money.  If you get waived by the Wolves?  Ouch.

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Repeat Please!

     This year's Wrestlemania in Arizona looks to be another blockbuster pay-per-view event for the WWE, and it should, since it will feature Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels 2 ('Taker's Wrestlemania undefeated streak of 17 wins vs Michaels' career.)  This was a rematch over a year in the making and in the wrestling world, a year is an eternity.  This got me wistfully thinking about other matches that should've gotten a rematch, but didn't.


Portland Trail Blazers vs Chicago Bulls (early 90s NBA)

     The two teams met in the 1992 NBA Finals, with the Bulls, courtesy of astounding play and suddenly accurate three point shooting from Michael Jordan taking the championship.  Both teams were very loaded, with the Blazers having Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams, Cliff Robinson and Kevin Duckworth.  Meanwhile, the Bulls featured John Paxson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright and B.J. Armstrong and the two teams were just evenly matched, that it seemed they would be headed for an intriguing rivalry for at least another 2 years.  Alas,it was not meant to be as the revamped Phoenix Suns emerged as Western champs the following year and then Jordan retired the 1st time after that.  Just the thought of the aerial battle between His Airness and the Glide is more than enough to be wistful about a rematch.


Mike Tyson vs James Douglas (Heavyweight Boxing)

      In what was easily the upset of the decade in boxing, "Buster" Douglas knocked out the until then indestructible "Iron" Mike Tyson, taking his undisputed heavyweight championship. Douglas was at his best, moving, jabbing and frustrating Tyson until the fearsome champ tired out.  Finally, he seized his opportunity in the 11th round, dropping Tyson for the first time in his career.  Despite this almost perfect night from Douglas, it was still a close fight, as Tyson also dropped Douglas with a smashing right in the 10th round.  That is why a rematch would've been tremendous for the boxing world.  Unfortunately, the loss was only the first of a string of bad developments for Tyson, who then was found guilty of rape, sent to jail and found himself bankrupt.  Douglas, meanwhile, enjoyed his championship too much, showing up bloated for his first title defense against Evander Holyfield and got knocked out of significance.  


Ryo Chonan vs Anderson Silva





     Silva, generally considered the best mixed martial artist in the world, pound for pound, has been undefeated in the UFC.  Before he got his aura of invincibility in the UFC, however, Silva lost four times.  One of those losses in the now defunct Pride Championship in Japan, was to Japanese Ryo Chonan who is currently in the UFC roster as well.  In what has to be one of the most spectacular finishes in MMA, Chonan unleashed a flying scissor takedown which led straight to a heel hook to defeat Silva.  It's almost a certainty that Silva would want to avenge that fight, but Pride has been bought out by the UFC and Chonan, while still in the UFC, has seen his career fade into oblivion.  A rematch may not draw as much interest, so it's unlikely a rematch will be set up.  

Better Than Streaky Bacon

     For sports junkies, few things make sports more exciting than streaks.  To do a great thing is impressive, but to do a great thing multiple times and to do consecutively at regular intervals?  That deserves lots of recognition.  The world of sports has provided us with some truly lip-smacking streaks, two of which were just achieved recently.

Fed Up

Aside from being called the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer has won an unprecedented 15 Grand Slam titles, including impressive streaks at Wimbledon and US Open titles. This past week, though, Fed continued with his streak that I personally love.  As of today, the Swiss hotshot has a streak of 22 consecutive Grand Slam Semi-Finals appearances.  While for some being a semi-finalist is less impressive than being champion, being a semi-finalist for 22 straight times means that Federer has been one of the best in each of the four Grand Slams for over five consecutive years! Still not impressed? Consider this. The closest streak rivaling Federer's?  Ivan Lendle's streak stands at 10.

One-Named Wonder

     Baseball has several impressive streaks and this past week, one was established by a player so good people call him by only his first name.  Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki now holds the MLB record for consecutive 200-hit seasons after his infield single against the Texas Rangers this past week.  Ichiro now has 200 hits for nine consecutive seasons and he isn't even close to retiring yet.  How impressive is this achievement?  He broke "Wee" Willie Keeler's record of eight consecutive seasons, which stood for over a century!  Yes folks.  Keeler achieved his record from 1894-1901.  That was even before the World Wars!

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Too Good For Their Own Good?

     With any sports organization, the champion is the embodiment of the organization's character and spirit.  That's why it's always nice to have a great champion because the organization is only as good as its champion.  The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), then, should be mighty proud of themselves at this point.  After all, each of their champions have dominated their divisions, almost too well.  This led me to think, "Are the UFC Champions too good for the UFC's good?"  

     First, a look at the UFC's Champions' Fraternity.

Lightweight (155 lbs) - B.J "The Prodigy" Penn

Record: 14 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw

Last Fight: Defeated Kenny Florian via submission

     Despite being thoroughly dominated by George St. Pierre in their welterweight bout, Penn reminded everyone that he is human only in

 a division higher than 

lightweight.  With his domination of a game Florian, Penn has defeated all challengers deemed to have a chance against him, save for one.  With Penn's scary knockout power and his underrated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills, even the threat of Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez is not enough to sway the people's confidence that "The Prodigy" will remain atop the lightweight division for quite awhile. 

Welterweight (175 lbs) - George "Rush" St. Pierre

Record: 19 wins, 2 losses

Last Fight: Defeated Thiago Alves via unanimous decision

     Considered by many as one of the world's top pound for pound fighters, GSP had defeated every single challenger to his belt.  Currently on a 6-match win streak, "Rush" has made sure of defeating his legendary rivals (Penn, Matt Hughes) twice for good measure.  While an interesting fight between Martin Kampman and Mike Swick will d

etermine his next probable challenger, no one on this planet believes either would give GSP any trouble whatsoever.  His wrestling skills are bordering on legendary and his striking is not shabby either.  He is simply too skilled, too well rounded and too hard working to be challenged right now.

Middleweight (185 lbs) - Anderson "Spider" Silva

Record: 24 wins, 4 losses

Last Fight: Defeated Forrest Griffin via knockout

     The world's top pound for pound fighter as voted in by Yahoo! Sports, Silva has a

stounded everyone not only with his devastating striking but also his current UFC record of 10 straight wins.  What was supposed to be a challenge in a light heavyweight bout against Forrest Griffin turned out to be another piece of evidence supporting "The Spider's" greatness.  In fact, he has become so good that he has never had to resort to fighting a ground game (he is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) in all but one round of his 10 UFC wins.  While another bout with Dan Henderson would make a good main event, UFC President Dana White and Silva himself are contemplating on a move to the light heavyweight division just to find Silva a challenge.

Light Heavy Weight (205 lbs) - Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Record: 15 wins, 0 losses

Last Fight: Defeated Rashad Evans via knockout

     Possessing an unorthodox fighting stance and style, Machida has befuddled all of his opponents, even those who are supposedly tough and dangerous.  Big names like Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans have all fallen victim to Machida Karate and they have been utterly dominated.  Machida moves well, is hard to hit and lately, has shown tremendously accurate and sudden knockout power.  His own karate style combined with his study on sumo wrestling has made it tough for opponents to take him to the ground and if the fight remains a stand up one, it can only mean bad things for fighter not named Machida.  His skill has even Quinton J

ackson passing up a title shot, leaving Mauricio Rua the task of trying to solve the mystery of this Japanese Brazilian martial artist.

Heavy Weight (220 lbs) - Brock Lesnar

Record: 4 wins, 1 loss

Last Fight: Defeated Frank Mir via knockout

    

 Love him or hate him, the former WWE Superstar has proven he can fight the real fights.  People consider him largely untested with just 5 fights to his credit, but considering the quality of his last two opponents and the way he dominated them, Lesnar is for real.  A freakishly large but amazingly quick athlete, Lesnar is a difficult match up for most heavyweights.  

He has power in his hands and his wrestling skills in the octagon show why he was an NCAA National Wrestling Champion.  Perhaps his next opponent, Shane Carwin, could give him trouble with his knockout power, but Lesnar has shown he can win on the ground as well and he will have a significant advantage over Carwin there.  Perhaps the only thing Lesnar can't do in the UFC is perform an "F5" on his opponent in the octagon.

     

     With a list of dominating champions like that, it's easy to think that the UFC could get in trouble, pay per view wise.  If the champs continue to dominate their opponents with ease just like what they've been doing, then PPV buys could go down, as promotions become predictable.

     I, however, beg to differ.  Each of these fighters bring excitement to the table, despite being seemingly too good for their opponents.  From Penn's and GSP's overall skills showcase, to Machida's unorthodox movements, to Silva's creative and devastating striking, to Lesnar's quickness and power game, each of their fights promises to be worth watching.  Furthermore, despite their past domination, fights are won in the octagon, not on paper or web blogs.  A slip here, a mistake there, and any one of these champs could be taken down a notch. 

     That's why I plan on continuing to watch the UFC despite the high probability of all their champions retaining their belts.  Who knows? I'd hate to miss a historical fight.  

photos from bjpenn.com and mmajunkie.com

Rise of the "Villains"

     Over the weekend, the public was treated to big and entertaining fights, with the victors suddenly turning from hero to villains, from "babyface" to "heel."  I'm not even talking about the WWE Smackdown and ECW Live in Manila show (where I ahem, ahem, held hands with Melina).  I'm talking about the UFC 100 show.  What turned the UFC into a bigger and more outrageous than the WWE?  It's really just two people.  UFC 100 victors, Dan "Hendo" Henderson and UFC Heavyweight Champ (and former WWE champ) Brock Lesnar turned the already landmark and memorable show into a spectacle to be discussed for weeks to come.  Unfortunately for them, they are now being condemned for their actions.  Well, I've decided that before they hang, we ought to give them a trial first.

Case # 1  People vs Dan Henderson

Plaintiffs (Critics) say: Attacking an already knocked out Michael Bisping with a vicious flying forearm/elbow and later saying, "that (elbow/forearm) was just to shut him up a little."  It was poor sportsmanship on Hendo's part and it was very dangerous.  It was fortunate that Bisping was able to leave on his own power.  

Defense (Supporters) says: In a fighting sport, especially MMA, there are plenty of flash knockdowns, where the victim goes down as if they were out but then are capable of standing up and fighting again.  This is why most fighters instinctively keep attacking until the referees stop them.  While Henderson attacked an unconscious Bisping, it was more of an automatic habit rather than a malicious attack.

Judgement (Mine): On the charge of maliciously attacking Bisping, I think Henderson is not guilty.  It's too much of a risk not to keep attacking your opponent in mma as any second of let up could mean your opponent gathering his/her wits, recovering and fighting back.  To his credit, he immediately stepped away when the ref touched him.  Henderson has been known as a classy guy and endangering an opponent by wantonly attacking them while incapacitated doesn't seem to be his style.  I've seen more malicious attacks than this.  "Babalu" Sobral was kicked out of the UFC because he wouldn't let go of his choke hold on an unconscious opponent even after the referee stopped the fight.  "Rampage" Jackson's fight with Wanderlei Silva ended worse that Bisping-Henderson when he landed two or three extra punches on an incapacitated Silva while the referee was pushing Jackson away. 

     What Henderson is guilty of is probably bad taste.  Bisping's brash words all throughout the Ultimate Fighter Season 9 probably wore on Henderson, as he promised to shut him up in behalf of Team USA.  That's probably why he thought it would be funny to joke about having the last elbow/forearm "shut him up."  Henderson has never been an outspoken guy, and maybe he should stay that way.

Case No. 2     People vs Brock Lesnar

Plaintiffs (Critics) Say:  After defeating Frank Mir to become undisputed Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar confronted Mir saying, "Talk all the (expletive) you want now."  Then, responding to the boos of the pro-Mir crowd, Lesnar decided to flip the finger(s) at the mammoth Nevada crowd. As if this display wasn't enough, Lesnar then ragged on Bud Light (UFC sponsor) by claiming he would drink Coors Light since, "Budweiser's not paying me nothing."  The icing on the cake was when Lesnar announced that he would celebrate with friends and then, "get on top of my wife (former WWE diva Sable)."

Defense (Supporters) Says: Frank Mir had the trash talk coming since he kept attacking Lesnar with his own set of trash talk leading up to the fight.  He took great pride in, "poking the bear," comparing Lesnar's ground and pound attack to girl's pulling hair.  Lesnar's giving the finger to the crowd was his response to the unfair public who keeps questioning his skills despite defeating Hall of Famer Randy Couture and then Champion Frank Mir.  Meanwhile, his Bud Light comment and comments about his wife were nothing more than a funny jokes that not all people appreciate.

Judgement (Mine):  After seeing and hearing Frank Mir's trash talking about Brock and even his very entertaining Echo Unlimited ad, I do agree that Mir had it coming.  Mir was hyping up the fight, but attacking your opponents skills and agility is not the classy way to go.  Besides, Lesnar's comments still seem tame compared to other UFC post fight altercations.  Tito Ortiz proceeded to play act digging a grave after defeating a Lion's Den fighter just to piss Ken Shamrock off.  As for his comments about Bud Light, I'm willing to bet that not only do the Bud Light people not care about that comment, they're probably secretly happy about the comments, as they still bring added publicity to their product.  In their minds, those comments actually made their money's worth.

     As for the middle finger response, I think Brock is guilty here.  Fans can get irritating oftentimes, and while they are human, pro athletes have a responsibility to refrain from attacking fans.  Such an obscene gesture is like attacking the fans and Lesnar has to remember that fans are what keeps professional sports alive.  As for his comment about his wife, Brock is guilty a second time.  No matter how hot your wife looked in leather cat suits during her WWE days, it's not classy to make comment like that with any person other than the couple in the room, let alone the thousands in attendance and the millions watching on pay-per-view.  That comment was just boorish and uncalled for. 

     People on the internet are quick to condemn these two victorious fighters, calling for their heads.  I think that's a bit of an overreaction.  What these guys are guilty of is a lack of proper training to deal with high profile public situations with class.  What Hendo and Brock need are PR people helping them speak and act properly in public.  As for the people threatening to ditch the UFC because of the two's boorish behavior?  Please.  When Henderson has his rematch with Anderson SIlva and Brock faces Fedor Emelianenko, these naysayers will be first in line to buy tickets.