When Zuffa and the UFC bigwigs overthrew their main competitor and bought out the Pride FC, the debates began as to how it would affect the ever growing, ever changing sport of MMA. Some felt that this was the big break that would put MMA into the mainstream with fight fans in Japan and the world over now forced to watch a new breed of MMA with the UFC logo, rules and cage as their only option. Others thought it would be terrible for the fighters because of the new monopoly for the UFC and the power that comes with it. What most MMA fans could agree upon is that some of the dream matches that have been talked about for ages would finally become a reality. UFC 67 marked the start of some of the best Pride Fighters coming over to throw down in the octagon. With Quinton Jackson and Mirko Cro-Cop making their UFC debuts the excitement throughout the arena and no doubt in living rooms across the world could be felt as hardcore fans attempted to explain to their Pride-deprived friends how amazed they would be by Cro-Cop’s devastating high kicks and Jackson’s bone crushing slams. Just to make sure that fans approved of these newfound marketing products, they were both given fighters that it was widely conceded that they should beat easily. Which leads us to the problem of a UFC takeover as a whole. Do these fighters who have spent the last five years proving themselves in a stacked talent pool over in Japan really need these “Tune-up” fights so that the American fans can get an initial taste of them before giving them a title shot? No hardcore fan would have questioned Cro-Cop getting an immediate UFC title shot, he had just knocked out Wanderlei Silva and soundly dismantled Josh Barnett to take the Pride Open Weight Tournament crown. According to plan, both fighters won their fights via TKO, but then the decision of where to go again brought cloudiness into the area. Have the fans seen enough to approve a title shot? And if the UFC doesn’t care what the fans think, then why even have the tune-up fight to begin with? Why was Cro-Cop, whose record and credentials arguably outweighed Jackson’s, being asked to run through another little-known fighter before his destiny was fulfilled as UFC Heavyweight Champion? Was his 1st Round TKO of an undefeated UFC fighter not enough to warrant this even to a UFC only viewer? Why was Jackson who self-admittedly looked shaky and nervous in his debut given a shot at the UFC’s best in the form of the Iceman? Then the UFC worst-case scenario happened, in the paths that both fighters branched off to. In possibly the most ironic event in the history of MMA, stepping stone Gabriel Gonzaga sent Cro-Cop’s head into the fourth row with a high kick in the very first round. The feeling was like watching Royce get submitted, it wasn‘t that Cro-Cop was unbeatable, he just wasn‘t supposed to lose in that way. With that kick the talk of championships and title belts did a complete 180 to “So where does the UFC go from here with its Million Dollar Man?” Jackson has come to the forefront at the expense of the UFC’s biggest icon, at a time when MMA and the UFC are desperately trying to make a name for themselves in the mainstream sports media. One has to wonder if every former Pride Fighter, assuming the UFC will only want to bring in the best Pride had to offer, will assume either the path of Rampage and Anderson Silva or of Cro-Cop. Will they claim the championship belt too quickly in the fans eyes and at the expense of a beloved UFC Champion? or lose one fight and be considered a bust, a shame, or simply overrated? Lets just hope that if Shogun, Silva, Arona or Fedor come over to the UFC that they are given the fights they deserve and not a “no-win” tune up against a fighter they are supposed to annihilate just to show off their signature styles. That’s what they make the pre-fight highlights for. |
