UFC 100 and everything else that packed this summer with a punch
Excitement is abounding in the world of mixed martial arts, and I'm thrilled to be back again for the year, as your ranting, raving, and go-to source for what's important in MMA across the globe, NOT just in the world of the UFC.
July 25 marked the biggest day of the summer, as everyone who follows the sport was left to pick their jaws up off the floor. Three days prior, Josh Barnett tested positive for a banned substance (believed to be steroids), and was forced to forfeit his headlining match with Fedor Emelianenko as part of the Affliction's “Trilogy” event. Many fighters were rumoured to step up and replace Barnett on short notice, but Affliction made the executive decision to completely fold their promotions, and in a surprise move, they signed back on with the UFC as an official sponsor.
For the diehard fans, such as myself, we were left with many unanswered questions like why Affliction would completely cancel their promotions a mere week ahead of their third scheduled event? But, what was on the minds of most viewers is exactly what this meant for the fate of Fedor Emelianenko, the man considered to be the best pound for pound fighter in the entire world?
Many felt that the UFC was the only logical home for the Russian cyborg, but as it turned out, negotiations with Strikeforce, the UFC's main US promotional rival, proved more favourable to Fedor's management.
Continuing on with this year's busy summer…UFC 100 came and went, and for the first time, truly brought mixed martial arts to the forefront of the sports-fighting world. The aforementioned card featured three main-event type fights: Brock Lesnar, defended his title, and avenged a loss to Frank Mir; Georges St. Pierre showed he's truly the king at 170lbs by dominating Thiago Alves for 25 straight minutes while defending his Welterweight crown; and finally, Dan Henderson clocked Michael Bisping with two brutalizing punches which will undoubtedly be replayed on highlight reels for the rest of time.
In celebration of the sporting affair's return to its traditional home (that being Vegas), the UFC hosted a weeklong expo with fighter meet-and-greets all across the city. With a reported over 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, UFC 100 was without a doubt a success, and considered by some a “coming-out event” as the fights were seen by more people around the world than ever before.
This summer more than delivered in terms of smaller happenings as well. For starters, the UFC video game hit stores, and was a major success as indicated by the fact that a second edition has already been spawned, Gina Carano and Cris Santos brought women's MMA to the forefront with their title fight, and Tito Ortiz made nice with Dana White and signed back with the UFC. Fans can already start looking forward to his highly anticipated match versus Mark Coleman at UFC 106.
But my friends, that's not all…Kimbo Slice, the famed street fighter will be appearing in the upcoming tenth season of the “Ultimate Fighter,” starting September 16 (‘Rampage' Jackson and Rashad Evans are the season's coaches); Anderson Silva turned heads in the 205 weight division by taking out Forrest Griffin in the first round; Gegard Mousasi took the Strikeforce LHW title by issuing a quick knockout win to Renato ‘Babalu' Sobral; and finally B.J Penn is back where he belongs - fighting at 155lbs, he defended his title against Kenny Florian and will fight Diego Sanchez before the year ends.
In more bizarre news, it appears that Chuck Liddell may be done with fighting for good. After an April K.O., at the hands of Shogun Rua, the former 205 lbs. champ joined the cast of “Dancing With the Stars” (no joke).
Those are but a FEW of the high points in MMA that this summer had to offer. With the UFC having cards lined up already for next February, it's sure to be an electrifying future for MMA fighters, and their loyal followings.
July 25 marked the biggest day of the summer, as everyone who follows the sport was left to pick their jaws up off the floor. Three days prior, Josh Barnett tested positive for a banned substance (believed to be steroids), and was forced to forfeit his headlining match with Fedor Emelianenko as part of the Affliction's “Trilogy” event. Many fighters were rumoured to step up and replace Barnett on short notice, but Affliction made the executive decision to completely fold their promotions, and in a surprise move, they signed back on with the UFC as an official sponsor.
For the diehard fans, such as myself, we were left with many unanswered questions like why Affliction would completely cancel their promotions a mere week ahead of their third scheduled event? But, what was on the minds of most viewers is exactly what this meant for the fate of Fedor Emelianenko, the man considered to be the best pound for pound fighter in the entire world?
Many felt that the UFC was the only logical home for the Russian cyborg, but as it turned out, negotiations with Strikeforce, the UFC's main US promotional rival, proved more favourable to Fedor's management.
Continuing on with this year's busy summer…UFC 100 came and went, and for the first time, truly brought mixed martial arts to the forefront of the sports-fighting world. The aforementioned card featured three main-event type fights: Brock Lesnar, defended his title, and avenged a loss to Frank Mir; Georges St. Pierre showed he's truly the king at 170lbs by dominating Thiago Alves for 25 straight minutes while defending his Welterweight crown; and finally, Dan Henderson clocked Michael Bisping with two brutalizing punches which will undoubtedly be replayed on highlight reels for the rest of time.
In celebration of the sporting affair's return to its traditional home (that being Vegas), the UFC hosted a weeklong expo with fighter meet-and-greets all across the city. With a reported over 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, UFC 100 was without a doubt a success, and considered by some a “coming-out event” as the fights were seen by more people around the world than ever before.
This summer more than delivered in terms of smaller happenings as well. For starters, the UFC video game hit stores, and was a major success as indicated by the fact that a second edition has already been spawned, Gina Carano and Cris Santos brought women's MMA to the forefront with their title fight, and Tito Ortiz made nice with Dana White and signed back with the UFC. Fans can already start looking forward to his highly anticipated match versus Mark Coleman at UFC 106.
But my friends, that's not all…Kimbo Slice, the famed street fighter will be appearing in the upcoming tenth season of the “Ultimate Fighter,” starting September 16 (‘Rampage' Jackson and Rashad Evans are the season's coaches); Anderson Silva turned heads in the 205 weight division by taking out Forrest Griffin in the first round; Gegard Mousasi took the Strikeforce LHW title by issuing a quick knockout win to Renato ‘Babalu' Sobral; and finally B.J Penn is back where he belongs - fighting at 155lbs, he defended his title against Kenny Florian and will fight Diego Sanchez before the year ends.
In more bizarre news, it appears that Chuck Liddell may be done with fighting for good. After an April K.O., at the hands of Shogun Rua, the former 205 lbs. champ joined the cast of “Dancing With the Stars” (no joke).
Those are but a FEW of the high points in MMA that this summer had to offer. With the UFC having cards lined up already for next February, it's sure to be an electrifying future for MMA fighters, and their loyal followings.
