Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this latest edition of YAMMA. I took a break last week since I was just absolutely beat from the weekend, but I'm back, I'm well rested, and ready to go. Anyway, last night (Nov. 7) was a great night to be an MMA fan. Fedor vs. Rogers was broadcast for free last night on CBS, and the UFC countered by showing Nogeuira vs. Couture on free for Spike. I, for one, chose to watch Rogers pummel Fedor until the Russian unleashed a furious right hand that connected square on the jaw of Rogers. From my POV, Rogers was out before he hit the ground, regained consciousness when he impacted the ground, then Fedor was on him like Dwight Freeney on an opposing QB. Yes, I am watching the Colts dominate the Texans, and I'll go out on a limb here and say that Bob Sanders's services (sitting on the bench injured) will not be required next season by the Colts.
(The Bullhorn)
So last night I was (as stated before) watching the Strikeforce card on CBS, and there are two things that I remember clearly: Fedor knocking Rogers's block off, and Jason "Mayhem" Miller's entrance. Most fighters chose to not take full advantage of the entrance, using some minimal pyro. But Mayhem went all out, using pyro and backup dancers to herald his entrance into the cage. As I watched this hilarious spectacle, I texted some of my friends to ask them their thoughts on it. The consensus was that Miller was entertaining, and some of the more casual fans mentioned that they were rooting for him solely because he (gasp) entertained them.
There is one aspect of MMA that the fighter's need to work on. Most, if not all, want to entertain the fans. All want to win. But there is more to entertainment than just in the ring. The fighters need to have personalities. A fighter has two choices: Be loved by the fans, and have them tune in to cheer for you as you fight, or be reviled by the fans, and have them watch in order to see you get a whuppin'. Here are some quotes from a very famous boxer. Those of you who were around during his reign will know exactly who said them:
"Lennox Lewis, I'm coming for you man. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children."
"My main objective is to be professional but to kill him."
"I could have knocked him out in the third round but I wanted to do it slowly, so he would remember this night for a long time."
"There are nine million people who see me in the ring and hate my guts... That's okay. Just spell my name right."
If you haven't figured it out by now, the aforementioned boxer was "Iron" Mike Tyson. His record of 50-6-2 is impressive, his in-ring skills were dominating, his personality was legendary, and his name conjured up either love or hate, depending on your view. His most infamous act, biting the ear off of Evander Holyfield, is known everywhere, even today. If you were alive in the world and had the mental capacity to be active, you knew who he was. A master self-promoter, he knew how to get his name into the papers. Tyson played a huge part in bringing boxing to the mainstream, and etched his name into the public consciousness.
In MMA today, there are exactly two fighters that I can name that have even a measure of "Tysonness" (R). One: Jason Miller. He's parlayed his ability to talk into a TV hosting gig on "Bully Beatdown" on MTV, and he's a good fighter to boot. He may not be a champion, bu he still has the personality to be the face of an organization.
My second pick is one that definitely causes more controversy. The current UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, has the tools to take MMA to the next level. His postfight interview after his pummeling of Frank Mir was the essence of Tyson. In one speech, Lesnar managed to embarrass his vanquished opponent, insult a major sponsor of the UFC, and, my personal favorite, say he is going to "get on top of my wife tonight". That, ladies and gents, is the stuff of MMA legend. Yes, he was yelled at by Dana White. Yes, the keyboard warriors all made mention of the fact that his behavior was highly unsportsmanlike. Yes, his wife probably made him sleep on the couch for a few weeks. But, for all the negative comments thrown Lesnar's way, he was in the news. The fans may have hated Lesnar's guts,
but they knew how to spell his name. And that, readers, is the quintessence of Tyson.
(Echoes)
So Fedor vs. Roger's was last night. A pretty decent card, with the main event definitely taking the FOTN award. I have a couple comments about it though:
1. Why weren't elbows legal on the ground?
I know that they can be brutal, but throwing 'bows a legitmate strategy. If you're going to ban them, why not ban some other brutal moves, such as knees or headkicks?
2. Why did (Strikeforce light heavyweight champion) Gegard Mousasi fight a nontitle bout in his own weight class?
This one really irked me. A champion should never, ever, ever fight in his own division without the title being at stake. This doesn't apply to Fedor, however, because I don't consider the WAMMA belt a real title.
There is never a three.
Four: Strikeforce cannot afford to have another Miller vs. Shields
While the match was fun for me to see, since I enjoy good ground work, to the average fan the fight was pretty boring. The crowd definitely is going to take a more prominant role in a primetime card, since they will directly influence the TV audience's opinion on what they are watching.
Overall, it was a pretty good free card, and it showed that Strikeforce can handle the pressure of putting on a prime time card. If they can keep from placing all of their hopes on Fedor, than Strikeforce should be just fine. The rumored signing of Dan Henderson should go a long way towards this goal.
(Closing Thoughts)
So that concludes this latest issue. I'm slowly working my way to double digits in (regular) columns, and hopefully I can keep this streak up. Anyway, same old spiel at the end here, thanks for reading, vote in the poll to the side, tell your friends, follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/Evan_C. Overall I just hoped you enjoyed this one. Feedback is appreciated, so just drop a comment if you have anything to say. Speaking of which, as I always say:
Peace out, and Rock on.
-Evan
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