By Joe Ferraro
With UFC 106 now part of the history books, the fallout from the main event and subsequent matchups have joined a variety of stories across the rest of the MMA world to set up a great end to 2009, while setting the foundation for an impactful 2010.
For the third straight UFC main event, and you can also include the recent WVR: Sengoku main event, once again, MMA judging has come under scrutiny.
At the UFC 106 pre-fight press conference, Keith Kizer, the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Executive Director told me that he agrees, something needs to be done.
After the event had concluded, UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner summed it up by saying no matter what, there is will always be issues with MMA judging and when pressed by the media at the post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White told everyone to contact Keith Kizer.
What appears to be a “passing the buck” scenario is really a situation where none of these parties are truly willing to make the necessary changes. If Dana White and Zuffa get ticked off enough, they will make a change.
It starts with Ratner, who can obviously represent the organization, contacting not only Kizer, but all of the commissioners involved with the Association of Boxing Commissions and truly get this ball rolling.
I’ve written and spoke about this on too many occasions – until the powers that be finally decide enough is enough, all of this judging controversy stuff will not end anytime soon. For the record, here are my suggestions ( link to http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2009/11/04/showdown_judging/ ).
Misc News and Notes
* While I scored the Ortiz-Griffin rematch two rounds to one for Tito, the media in attendance at UFC 106 were split down the middle. What that means to me is must sit down and rewatch the fight and rescore the bout. I suggest everyone do the same – post your thoughts in the comments section below with your original score and what you came up with the second time around.
* Welterweights Ben “Killa B” Saunders ( http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum_framed.posts&forum=1&thread=1557826&page=2 ) and Mike “Quick” Swick ( http://twitter.com/officialswick )are having quite the war of words online. Any one else want to see this rematch, or would you rather see Saunders vs Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Swick take on Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann?
* The “Shane McMahon joining the UFC” story continues to pick up steam. Shane-O-Mac has a serious business acumen behind him and has built a fair amount of global relationships with television stations as well as a wide variety of marketing and merchandising contacts. Should he buy in and join the UFC, one can just imagine the possibilities. Word is he believes that his father’s WWE Sports Entertainment business will never reach the popularity it once had, so Shane is moving to bigger and better things, like the UFC. Will this tick off his old man, or is this a plan to bring his Dad into the picture at a later date? (On a side note, former WWE Canada President Carl DeMarco also met with the UFC – can you say “UFC Offices in Canada”, like the one set up in the UK?)
* Remember the UFC 110 main event between Wanderlai Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama, set for February 21st in Sydney, Australia? Well, you can scrap Akiyama and replace him with “The Count”, Michael Bisping. I got word that Bisping has replaced “Sexiyama” and might also be joined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Georges St-Pierre and “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy….stay tuned.
* With UFC 113 scheduled for May 01st in Montreal, you can bet Dana White is going to be super ticked if the rumoured Mayweather / Pacquiao superfight is booked for the same day ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/6645236/Manny-Pacquiao-v-Floyd-Mayweather-negotiations-begin-for-May-2010-superfight.html ). I think it’s a safe bet that boxing promoters Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer will pick this date, if not solely to steal pay per view buys from the UFC.
* And it doesn’t end there for Zuffa, parent owners of the UFC and the WEC. Strikeforce’s next event “Evolution”, is scheduled for December 19th, the same day as WEC 45. Strikeforce will feature the long awaited rematch between Josh Thompson and Gilbert Melendez, as well as Cung Le vs Scott Smith, Robbie Lawler, as well as the event debuts of Ronaldo Jacare de Souza, Matt Lindland and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. The WEC event will feature Donald Cerrone vs Ed Ratcliffe, the debut of Canadian lightweight sensation Chris Horodecki and a plethora of amazing talent from the lightweight and featherweight divisions.
* Roger Huerta has officially entered free agency ( http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Huerta-Enters-Free-Agency-21155 ) but in reality, he is still stuck under the UFC’s one year “matching” clause. Huerta still wants to fight for the UFC, but has no issues signing for Strikeforce or DREAM, setting up potential bouts with Shinya Aoki, Josh Thompson or Gilbert Melendez. Anyone else get the feeling we won’t be seeing Huerta in a fight, anytime soon?
* Competing Japanese MMA promoters DREAM and WVR: Sengoku have decided to team up and co-promote a New Year’s Eve show next month. Historically, December 31st is the highest rated television day in the land of the rising sun, where it’s generally a cultural thing for many of our Japanese friends. The only thing remotely close for us here in North America is the Superbowl, but many of my friends overseas have told me that even this analogy pales in comparison. Either way, it’s going to be a great card, with a rumoured card of nearly 20 bouts.
* The demographic that watches MMA is seeing some interesting trends. My pal Kelsey Philpott breaks it down ( http://mmapayout.com/2009/11/mma-demographic-young-wealthy-high-tech/ ) and proves that the sport is really going to be seeing big dividends soon.
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