Richard Hubbard
Editor's Note: Today marks the final installment of the UFC 100 on-site coverage from Nokaut's own Richard Hubbard, who was in Las Vegas for the UFC Fan Expo as well as the historic event itself. In this installment, Richard discusses his post-event thoughts as well as his feelings on some of the decisions at the event and the potential of some of the UFC's top prospects who saw action in Las Vegas. To say that UFC was a smashing success would be an understatement. Regardless of one’s take on, or position in, the MMA world, the UFC’s landmark event offered a bit of everything for everyone as well as a lot in between: Great striking, solid grappling, a big knockout, a controversial decision, the rise of MMA’s closest thing to a villain, and the firm entrenchment of the sport’s closest thing to a hero into one of its most competitive divisions. Veteran fans were offered the resolution of an inter-continental feud, and neophyte observers were given a panoramic display of the well rounded and diverse skills that make MMA unique amongst combat sports. Attendees were offered a great fan expo, superlative training and development sessions, and a Grapplers’ Quest tournament that showcased the range of Jiu-Jitsu skills from white belts to black, in both gi and no gi divisions.
And, as the UFC 100 promo video repeatedly reminded us, “We’re just getting started.”
So, with this most recent event firmly in the books, it’s time to take a walk through the fallout to examine what we have learned, and what we have forgotten, and what it is that lies ahead.
Brock Lesnar, Late Hits, and MMA Professionalism
The human hurricane that is Brock Lesnar is a mixed blessing to the sport of MMA. One one hand, he brings scores of crossover fans, oodles of publicity, and a once in a lifetime talent and athleticism to a division terribly thin and desperately in need of a star. On the other, his demeanor and persona both in the ring and out cause him to be despised by a broad range of viewers, and his connection to the world of professional wrestling is viewed by many to undercut the legitimacy of MMA as a sport. ESPN’s Skip Bayless has even gone so far as to call MMA “fake” just like professional wrestling. Scores of fans, post UFC, have gone to various different fora to express either their indignation or their delight at his behavior, labeling it as everything from “hysterical” to “unprofessional.”
Many long time MMA fans are bemoaning the death of the purity of the sport as a figure like Lesnar attacks all they hold precious: the triumph of technique and skill over power and size, the idea of MMA fighters as respectful athletes as opposed to villainous hooligans, and the differentiation of true fighters from scripted entertainers. And while much of the criticism is rooted in valid concerns for the sport at a time when it seems particularly vulnerable to scrutiny, what most of these purists forget is that the connection between professional wrestling and MMA is an historical fact that reaches as far back as Count Koma and the catch wrestling of circus side shows in the 1800’s. Only the most willful blindness can ignore the fact that it was characters such as Tank Abbott, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock who, through their participation in the world of pro wrestling, kept MMA alive during its dark years.
That it is decidedly unprofessional for one of an organization’s highest paid and most publicly regarded employees to deride that company’s major corporate sponsor at the height of its largest event is not in debate. That Lesnar brings his own brand of unique bravado and braggadocio into the sport is also not in debate. What is in debate is whether or not the cumulative effect of those aspects of his personality are good or bad for the sport. At a time when MMA appears poised to explode into the mainstream sports world, is a character such as Lesnar, with all of his available fodder for critics and opponents of the fight game, going to assist or hinder that process? Working that math is a bit like trying to win a presidential election: balancing the number of voters you lose as oppose to gain by taking a particular stance on a particular issue. Like it or hate it, Lesnar is here to stay. The reality of his career is that, when compared to many professional athletes in other sports, his brashness is really quite mild: He is not involved in gangs or dogfighting; he is not followed by a cloud of drug abuse and rehab programs; he does not assault fans or the media, and he has a college education. That’s a lot more that can be said for many other stars of so the so-called “legitimate” sports.
It is in this same vein of talk of “professionalism” that has put Dan Henderson on the hot end of a firestorm of criticism. The final forearm smash to a clearly unconscious Michael Bisping was eerily reminiscent of Hendo’s fight with Wanderlei Silva. Aside from the fact that the shot that sent Silva out was a left hook, and the one that ended Bisping was a right hook, the highlight reels are virtually identical. However, there was no public outcry after Henderson’s defeat of Silva. Perhaps it was because the spectacular KO of Silva came as the cap of one of the greatest end to end fight cards of all time. Perhaps it was because, despite the awesome performances, it was not a heavily viewed event in the U.S. Perhaps it was because of the astonishing feat that the knockout represented, making Henderson the only fighter in history to simultaneously hold two championship belts in two different weight classes. Perhaps it was the lack of bad blood, international rivalry, and smack talk building up to the event. Perhaps, like with most things, it is the totality the context, created by of all of these factors and not entirely dependent upon any single one of them.
If Henderson hadn’t commented that the last shot was “just to shut him up,” the entire incident might have just been written off. After all, fighters are supposed to fight until the referee stops the action, and the literal split second between the blow that put Bisping out and the late hit that followed is well within the margin of error of a fighter sensing that he has his opponent injured and closing in for the kill, and the brain’s ability to register that something fundamental has changed. When one trains in the manner that an athlete like Henderson does, it can be near impossible to overcome that conditioned response in the blink of an eye.
However, given Henderson’s post-fight comments, there is considerable room to question the validity of the hit, if for no other reason than from the perspective of how such a display of overt brutality would play to the general public and casual fan who are still in the nascent stages of their MMA flirtation. The incident has already given opponents of the sport more ammunition with which to load their anti-MMA guns, and websites such as MMAJunie and Sherdog are inundated with hardcore fans, indignant with Henderson’s actions.
On the plane back from Vegas, I sat between two neophyte MMA fans who had gone out for the show. When asked, they both expressed outrage. One suggested fines and penalties for such late hits. The other suggested that a standing 8 count be instituted, “like in boxing” that would prevent a fighter from following a downed opponent to the floor. While the latter is completely unheard of as it would too drastically alter the nature of the sport (and also shows the level of ignorance that the casual fan has about the nature of the sport as well), the former seems much more reasonable on the surface. However, the unintended consequence of such a policy would be disastrous: Fighters, fearing suspension or the loss of significant percentages of their purses, would become much more timid about closing in to finish the fight. This in turn would lead to less exciting matches, more decisions, and arbitrarily enforced fines against fighters who perhaps, in good faith, were merely trying to close in for the kill and couldn’t stop in time. After all, isn’t that why referees are in the ring in the first place?
An Era of Dominant Champions?!?!
Never in the history of MMA have such a high level of champions occupied the top tiers of the sport simultaneously. There are currently five weight classes in the UFC, ranging from 155 pounds to 265 pounds. Of those five weight classes, four presently have champions who have successfully defended their titles at least once (BJ Penn and Brock Lesnar), and two have champions who have defended their titles at least 3 times (Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva). Two of those classes (170 and 185) are presently dominated by fighters who are regarded as the #1 and #2 pound for pound best fighters in the world (Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva) and for whom it does not appear that there is any clear end to their title reigns in sight. Although a stiff test against Kenny Florian is imminent, at 155 pounds, B.J. Penn is also generally regarded as a dominant champion, provided that he stays focused and within the weight class. Although he has yet to defend his belt at 205 pounds, Lyoto Machida is universally regarded as a top 5 pound for pound best fighter in the world and is thought by many to be the next long term champion in his division.
With Lesnar’s stunning and impressive mix of technique and raw physicality at UFC 100, many are looking down the UFC’s heavyweight roster and coming up very short with likely candidates to strip Lesnar of his belt. Provided that Penn shows up in shape and doesn’t have a meltdown in the process, Machida sticks to his strengths and doesn’t get sloppy and over-confident as a result of his new found KO power, and Lesnar continues to improve, the UFC may find itself with all five weight classes simultaneously dominated by unbeatable champions for a considerable amount of time. Whether one thinks that this is a good thing or a bad thing, there is no doubt that the idea itself is an intriguing one, as a perfect storm of historical Championship reigns may be just getting fired up.
Great Prospects and Questionable Decisions
Jon Jones is the real deal. Many did not give him a shot against a fighter like O’Brien, who has spent his career at heavyweight and owns a win over a veteran of the caliber of Heath Herring. However, “Bones” demonstrated on Saturday night that he has not only considerable physical talent and good technique, but a mature and evolving strategic and tactical acumen to back it up. What the UFC needs to be cautious of is bringing a fighter like Jones up too quickly and making the same mistakes in his matchmaking that have been made with such fighters as Ben Saunders, Mark Munoz, and Michael Bisping, putting them well out of their depth way too soon and injuring their careers (and their bodies) in the process. Let’s hope that Jones gets a tough, but well matched, opponent for his next outing.
Yoshihiro Akiyama had a very stiff task ahead of him going into his fight with Alan Belcher. To compound the issue, he also had to recover from both a devastating groin shot and an inadvertent eye poke. The shower of boos and hot indignation that met Akiyama after the rendering of the split decision were indication enough that the crowd and commentators overwhelmingly favored Belcher, and Akiyama’s emotional post-fight display seemed to also point to his own surprise at being declared the victor.
However, if one goes to Fightmetric and looks up the stats for Akiyama vs Belcher, one can see that the fight was actually much less close than those in attendance, or Joe Rogan’s commentary, would have one believe. Although Fightmetric is not perfect, it IS, at least presently, the only objective judging criteria for MMA presently in existence. As such, it can serve us as a great frame of reference when determining whether or not certain judgment calls are accurate. As someone who scored the fight a draw and thought that (for right or wrong) the nod would go to Belcher, I must admit that I was surprised to see the stats. Once I was able to review the fight in greater detail and with the benefit of rewind and slow motion, I was certainly put in my place: There is no doubt in my mind that objectively, Akiyama won that fight.
Conclusion
And as soon as the luggage is unpacked and the analysis sent to the archives for posterity, the next round of matches gets geared up. Arriving in New York City directly from Las Vegas to train at Fighthouse in Manhattan, I was greeted with a giant, seven story high advertisement for UFC 101 rising above 7th Avenue as I traveled to my hotel. An evening later, passing a cab as I crossed the street near Madison Square Garden, the triangular advertisement atop its roof was a picture of Josh Barnett with the caption “Do You Know Who I Am?” With Affliction’s third card just a few weeks away, I am constantly reminded that MMA is growing exponentially with every passing moment, and that, with those passing moments, millions of people who don’t even think about MMA at all are getting closer and closer to knowing exactly who Josh Barnett is.
And we’re just getting started….
Contact Richard with your thoughts and comments at MMASpecialist@gmail.com.
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