Randy Couture has resigned. Andrei Arlovski has one fight left on his current deal. Gabriel Gonzaga is a one-kick wonder. Mirko Cro Cop is lost. Brandon Vera just lost.
What’s all that mean?
It means that Fabricio Werdum — with his technical knockout of Gonzaga at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” this weekend — perhaps locked up a title shot against the winner of the interim championship between Tim Sylvia and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” on February 2.
Uh-huh — the same man who was berated for his lackluster losing performance against Arlovski at UFC 70: “Nations Collide” during his Octagon debut in April 2007.
What a difference one fight — and a wild set of circumstances — makes.
Make no mistake: Werdum is a top-ranked fighter. He is without question among the ten best in the sport in the weight class. It’s just odd that he perhaps has a chance at the crown with just two UFC fights to his credit (one of which he lost).
Furthermore, he’s not been heavily marketed nor do most casual fans even know he exists.
But again, it’s apparently slim pickins’ in a division that seemed to undergo a nice renaissance just about one year ago. The only other options include the winners of the bouts between Cheick Kongo-Heath Herring and Frank Mir-Brock Lesnar.
If Mir and Sylvia both win then that rematch seems to make the most sense — Mir broke Sylvia’s forearm in a fight for the championship in 2004. However, the likelihood of that happening is far from guaranteed.
With an impressive win Lesnar could be another option, but he’d get owned on the ground against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud like Nogueira. The UFC wouldn’t want to jeopardize his broad appeal, either. Lesnar can put butts in the seats if he racks up some wins.
Might as well cash-in while it’s possible.
The best option, however, is to line up Werdum against either the winner of the Cheick Kongo-Heath Herring or Frank Mir-Brock Lesnar fights to determine a number one contender.
Or just pray Couture accepts the fight instead (he will be offered it).
What a mess.
48 Comments »
not totaly fair to AA but whatever…
Guess this locks up Arlovski walking once his next fight is over. The guy he beats last April gets a title shot before him. Dumb move to let AA walk
the ufc has to resign Arlovksie and let him fight more…the ufc heaviewight division has to be the best of the best…nog and sylvia are two of the best heavywieghts in the world, but who will they fight after they fight eachother, werdum is good, but i dont think he should be considered the 3rd best heavyweight in the ufc…with randy and fedor never fighting in the ufc, they have to keep arlovski to keep the division as legit as possible…imo
Well the UFC really needs to get Arlovski resigned. The division is looking pretty weak and if by some chance Sylvia beats Big Nog…we’re in for another reign of terror from the Maine-iac which is not something I particularly want to see cause then we’ll see the Syliva that is content with doing just enough to win all over again. I think they really need to get Cro Cop back in action and try to build his confidence. They need Mir to win only because he can contend quicker than Lesnar can. I’d like to see Kongo win but he’d be no match for Big Nog but he’d give Sylvia a fit with his size. They need to get Vera back in action soon against a decent fighter to bring him back up again as well…maybe Hardonk? I’d be really disappointed if they let Arlovski go. They need to keep him off the open market so there are fewer and fewer fighters for Fedor to challenge and hopefully that will force someone’s hand to get him to fight top level competition again.
The UFC Heavyweight division is melting away right before our eyes. Just months ago, it looked like the HW’s were finally back, Cro Cop landed in the UFC, Randy was champ, Gonzaga was on the up and up, Verra was making his return to the octagon, and Fedor was supposed to be close to signing a deal with the UFC……How did we get to this point?
The destruction of the Heavyweight division:
Fedor signs with M-1
Randy retires from UFC
Cro Cop gets knocked around all over the Octagon (BUST)
Arlovski is being wasted by having him fight Jake O’brien and then letting AA walk away to M-1
Tim Sylvia, could potentially be champ again (SAD day for mma if that happens)
Gonzaga is showing why the public should be cautious before crowning and unproven fighter as the next great thing
Verra is one fight away from finding out that he should be fighting at 205 lb.
Werdum has been officially awarded a title shot vs. the winner of Sylvia/Noguerra
Kongo has emerged but still lacks a ground game to be taken seriously.
The Heavyweight division is slowly evaporating in front of our very eyes….Thanks Dana…Where did it all go wrong? I will tell you exactly where it went wrong…..When Dana offered Fedor a BS unsignable contract, thats when the demise of the UFC heavyweight division began…Thanks Dana…we are months away from potentially seeing the worst UFC Heavyweight title fight of all time between
Tim Sylvia vs. Werdum……God help us….only thing that can stop that attrocity is Noguerra via arm bar!
they need randy back badly
dana should offer him the cash he wants as the HW division is getting desperate
it is crying out for a true champion who can fill seats even if fighting a line of uninteresting nobodies
they also need to keep AA
if either lesnar or mir puts on a strong performance then theyll be close to a title shot
it may sound crazy but if lesnar crushes mir then i reckon 1 more win would get him a shot especially if sylvia has the belt
could reach out to randleman and possibly coleman or ask some LHWs to step up
maybe ortiz he has said he could beat sylvia before
werdum doesnt look like hes even close to being ready for top competition he looked to fight too loosely and gas in the gonzaga fight
maybe aa deserves more credit for beating verdum
Sorry to break everyone’s hearts but they need to forget Arlovski now, cause come April he is GONE! Evidence of this is that they are matching him up with O’brian in the last fight of his expiring contract. They are doing this because they dont want to risk Arlovski beating a big name contender and then leaving for M-1 which will be his next destination!
Arlovski is gone. Andre is a big spender and loves his MONEY. Dana tried to low ball him, and Monte Cox and M-1 were just smiling and ready to sign Andre to a big money deal that will undoubtably include a big Time Mega Pay Day in a fight on Russian Soil against Fedor. I will bet anything that I am right.
Hopefully Arlovski sticks it to Dana by returning to his PITBULL form in his last fight and DESTROYS O’brian….and then walks away from the UFC building up more fan hatred to the Dr. Evil of mma, DANA WHITE!
I’m hoping against hope that AA is fighting O’Blanket just to knock off the ring rust from all this inactivity before resigning him and putting him into title contention. but if Werdum is in line for a title shot ahead of AA then AA will leave.
[quote comment=”275473″]I’m hoping against hope that AA is fighting O’Blanket just to knock off the ring rust from all this inactivity before resigning him and putting him into title contention. but if Werdum is in line for a title shot ahead of AA then AA will leave.[/quote]
I hate to say it but Andre is gone. He already said he wants to test the free agent market:
EliteXC is looking for more legit challengers to there champion Antonio Silva. EliteXC has been calling out the UFC to put up a HW against Big Foot Silva so that they could prove his value and boost there brand name. Arlovski is a former big time UFC champ thats EliteXC is dying to get their hands on.
M-1: Is looking for Legit fighters to match up Fedor against. AS I stated above, I am sure they will throw him the big bucks for a match up against FEDOr in Russia. Also Mark Cuban has expressed a lot of interest in working with M-1..and Cuban’s money and willingness to spend the money is second to none.
StrikeForce: Has a new HW champ in Alistar Overeem who needs a challenger
So what if Alovski doesn’t fight in the UFC. I dont like the way the use him or treat him anyway. No matter where he fights, he will be involved in intruiging match ups
brandon vera to the rescue!
LightWeight - BJ Penn = charisma and Sean Sherk contraversy
WelterWeight - GSP = Charisma and amazing to watch
MiddleWeight - Anderson Silva = amazing to watch
LightHeavyWeight - Rampage = charisma and many hunters behind him.
HeavyWeight - hmmm…if randy and fedor do not fight…..i guess Lesnar has expectations.
HE BETTER NOT BE. THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE.
Werdum is next in line. Whether we like it or not, that is what the dictator of mma Dana White has decided on. The only ray of hope is that if Noguerra wins, Randy comes back to fight him, which I highly doubt will happen.
Get used to it:
Sylvia vs. Werdum
or the rematch of Noguerra vs. Werdum
1 of those fights will be the next UFC Heavyweight title fight after Sylvia snoozes it out with Noguerra at UFC 81
Does anyone think that the Randy will fight fedor ever? Well probably not in the ufc with all the money problems going on. When will we see a great heavyweight fight, with two top guns swinging at it. It will happen in every other division but heavyweight, why because of the money. “Show me the money”, well i say show me the fight. Who do you think would win and why?
Heart: Couture
Striking: Toss up/Fedor does have heavy hands, but hows his chin?
Ground: Randy is an animal on the ground.
Stamina:Couture the man keeps coming.
Recovery: Fedor the fight with Randleman proves this.
Submission: You would think Fedor has this in the bag, but i just saw Randy compete in a sub mission league called PSL(Professional Submission League), anyone heard of it. He took on Ronaldo Santos a stud and had a draw with him.
Overall i would have to take Couture he has proven he can overcome all obsticles and win unlike Fedor who has yet to prove himself over elite fighters.
Check out these sites if your into submission grappling/ Professional Submission League, mmaclassics.com/ or you tube videos keyword LA Sub X or Xmission.
[quote comment=”275500″]LightWeight - BJ Penn = charisma and Sean Sherk contraversy
WelterWeight - GSP = Charisma and amazing to watch
MiddleWeight - Anderson Silva = amazing to watch
LightHeavyWeight - Rampage = charisma and many hunters behind him.
HeavyWeight - hmmm…if randy and fedor do not fight…..i guess Lesnar has expectations.[/quote]
Does Penn not fall into the catagory of “Amazing to watch”??
[quote comment=”275500″]LightWeight - BJ Penn = charisma and Sean Sherk contraversy
WelterWeight - GSP = Charisma and amazing to watch
MiddleWeight - Anderson Silva = amazing to watch
LightHeavyWeight - Rampage = charisma and many hunters behind him.
HeavyWeight - hmmm…if randy and fedor do not fight…..i guess Lesnar has expectations.[/quote]
I agree but why is everyone trying to rescue the HW division?
The lighter divisions are more exciting and energetic. AA was the only HW that showed LHW or MW lightness on his feet.
Dana is bizarre with who he lets walk and who he lets fight. After all he is letting Rob Emerson fight, what a crock of sh@#.
He preaches on about how he doesn’t want fighters to give the UFC a bad name. Solution…..invite convicted fighters of gang related activities including beating up defenceless kids.
Sorry to go off subject slightly there.
Bottom line is that HW is soon just an old boxing attraction. MMA is all about technical ability coupled with great stand up with constant action for 3 or 5 rounds. AA and Randy were the only stamina machines in that division.
I wouldn’t miss that division. AA could easily fight at 205 as Randy has. The rest should join WWE
[quote comment=”275606″][quote comment=”275500″]LightWeight - BJ Penn = charisma and Sean Sherk contraversy
WelterWeight - GSP = Charisma and amazing to watch
MiddleWeight - Anderson Silva = amazing to watch
LightHeavyWeight - Rampage = charisma and many hunters behind him.
HeavyWeight - hmmm…if randy and fedor do not fight…..i guess Lesnar has expectations.[/quote]
I agree but why is everyone trying to rescue the HW division?
The lighter divisions are more exciting and energetic. AA was the only HW that showed LHW or MW lightness on his feet.
Dana is bizarre with who he lets walk and who he lets fight. After all he is letting Rob Emerson fight, what a crock of sh@#.
He preaches on about how he doesn’t want fighters to give the UFC a bad name. Solution…..invite convicted fighters of gang related activities including beating up defenceless kids.
Sorry to go off subject slightly there.
Bottom line is that HW is soon just an old boxing attraction. MMA is all about technical ability coupled with great stand up with constant action for 3 or 5 rounds. AA and Randy were the only stamina machines in that division.
I wouldn’t miss that division. AA could easily fight at 205 as Randy has. The rest should join WWE[/quote]
I AGREE, all its going to lead to is a bunch of Tim Slowvia! And against crap opponents 2! What a waste of a main event! Atleast all the other belts are in good hands (GSP’s belt, NOT Serra’s) with good healthy champions that can all fight often (Everyone of the current champions inked their next fight a day after their last!) so you could start to see what the ufc use to do which was CO Main Events; See some Penn Lightweight Title action coupled with a Rampage Title fight and an undercard with guys like Ken-Flo, Wanderlie, Kongo, Guida, Franklin, Liddell, Huerta, Fitch, Krocop, Henderson etc etc etc!!! Its gonna be great 2008, and 2009!!
[quote comment=”275468″]Sorry to break everyone’s hearts but they need to forget Arlovski now, cause come April he is GONE! Evidence of this is that they are matching him up with O’brian in the last fight of his expiring contract. They are doing this because they dont want to risk Arlovski beating a big name contender and then leaving for M-1 which will be his next destination!
Arlovski is gone. Andre is a big spender and loves his MONEY. Dana tried to low ball him, and Monte Cox and M-1 were just smiling and ready to sign Andre to a big money deal that will undoubtably include a big Time Mega Pay Day in a fight on Russian Soil against Fedor. I will bet anything that I am right.
Hopefully Arlovski sticks it to Dana by returning to his PITBULL form in his last fight and DESTROYS O’brian….and then walks away from the UFC building up more fan hatred to the Dr. Evil of mma, DANA WHITE![/quote]
I hate to say it, but John is right again. HW division sucks once again.
WHY IS KONGO ALWAYS OVERLOOKED???? Werdum should fight Kongo for a title shot!!!
Werdum does not deserve the title shot anymore than arlovski. theres just no reasoning with dana.
Does anybody ACTUALLY know what is going on with Barnett?
I hear about UFC rumours and M1 Global rumours but nothing is ever concrete.
The UFC could use the talent at HW, and should be doing everything in their power to bring in COuture, Emelienko and Barnett.
It’s like basebasll saying A-Rod, Pujols, and Morneua aren’t that big a deal. The best hitters in the game are not worth the effort. Please, there would be riots….RIOTS!
20 years from now, after all the money made has been spent, and people look back and argue who won.
Reader John will argue that Fedor won, I will argue that Randy won, but it would be an absolute waste to not have the premier league in the sport have a hand in producing what will go down in history as the biggest MMA related PPV in history. Even if M1 goes away, we will always remember the
promotion as they are tied to this fight.
DANA it’s time to start thinking in Macro. What is best for the brand of UFC is to attach the brand to all the most important moments in MMA.
This fight will happen with or without the UFC, it’s time to take what you can get and move on to the next business deal.
Fabricio should need more wins to deserve a shot, this is a joke. So if Jake O’Brian wins against AA should he fight the loser of Sylvia/Nog. If we use the same logic, then yeah.
Our next HW #1 contender is…. blah.
We’ve all been wondering how the UFC could fall from grace given the stable of fighters they have, but Fedor could have been the first domino. Randy is domino number 2 and AA could be number 3. If the same organization (M-1) ends up with all 3 of those fighers, they’ll become a serious alternative to the UFC. As fighters in the UFC fulfill their contracts, they could transition to M-1 one at a time for more money. It would only take a couple years to turn everything upside down! Dana, Zuffa Brothers - WAKE UP!!
[quote comment=”275466″]maybe aa deserves more credit for beating verdum[/quote]
i cant believe your only just realising that. I knew all along GG was a fluke artist and he would beat werdum, AA was solid in his last fight - he beat werdum who was coming off a big win against Aleksander Emelianenko.
If AA doesnt hang around and only if Nog takes the belt should werdum be in line next. He went the decision against Nog already, maybe next time he will win.
** “GG wouldNT beat werdum **
This is soooo messed up to AA. Poor guy. I hope he goes on to beat Fedor and Randy at the same time if only as an in your face for the UFC.
Dana White is a hipacrett……….he was talking shit when PRIDE wouldnt do the chuck and silva fight because PRIDE was afraid to lose………WELL WTF……….sound famillar!!!
AA better be sighned or this could be the begining of the END for the heavyweight division!!!
the big issue i have with the whole rangy thing is make up your mind. what does he want. don’t get me wrong i am a big randy fan and don’t wanna see him leave, but one second he’s whinning about how much the ufc offered fedor and that the ufc should pay the guys that have been with them for a long time the big dollars, agrred(sort of). then when fedor signs with M-1 randy cries about the ufc not signing the biggest name in the sport. he then pouts a little more then resigns (by fax no less, not even in person).WTF. what does randy want the ufc to do!?!? they tried and fedor didn’t want to.(stupid decision on his part, really hurt his reputation).if a guy like penn or ortiz did something like what randy did they would have been crucified by everybody, and i mean EVERYBODY in the sport. but because its randy everybody immediatly looks at the ufc for being in the wrong.
i hate to say it but i lost a lot of respect for fedor for not coming to the ufc. but what hurts for to say is that i lost some respect for the natural as well.
[quote comment=”275686″][quote comment=”275466″]maybe aa deserves more credit for beating verdum[/quote]
i cant believe your only just realising that. I knew all along GG was a fluke artist and he would beat werdum, AA was solid in his last fight - he beat werdum who was coming off a big win against Aleksander Emelianenko.
If AA doesnt hang around and only if Nog takes the belt should werdum be in line next. He went the decision against Nog already, maybe next time he will win.[/quote]
i was stating that for other people, i said befor gonzaga looked good but had not proven anything yet with only one notable win against cro cop witch who many here say is no good now.also big nog will be champ and i don’t see aa beating big nog fedor barnett or randy nor do i see verdum beating them.
[quote comment=”275661″]Does anybody ACTUALLY know what is going on with Barnett?
I hear about UFC rumours and M1 Global rumours but nothing is ever concrete.
The UFC could use the talent at HW, and should be doing everything in their power to bring in COuture, Emelienko and Barnett.
It’s like basebasll saying A-Rod, Pujols, and Morneua aren’t that big a deal. The best hitters in the game are not worth the effort.
Please, there would be riots….RIOTS!
20 years from now, after all the money made has been spent, and people look back and argue who won.
Reader John will argue that Fedor won, I will argue that Randy won, but it would be an absolute waste to not have the premier league in the sport have a hand in producing what will go down in history as the biggest MMA related PPV in history. Even if M1 goes away, we will always remember the
promotion as they are tied to this fight.
DANA it’s time to start thinking in Macro. What is best for the brand of UFC is to attach the brand to all the most important moments in MMA.
This fight will happen with or without the UFC, it’s time to take what you can get and move on to the next business deal.
Fabricio should need more wins to deserve a shot, this is a joke. So if Jake O’Brian wins against AA should he fight the loser of Sylvia/Nog. If we use the same logic, then yeah.
Our next HW #1 contender is…. blah.[/quote]
Big Zino: u make some good points, in the end the big question will be answered because Fedor vs. Randy will happen but not in the UFC. I believe it will happen because big time business men keep saying that it will go down. Mark Cuban and Monte cox are no dummies. Dana will die trying to stop this fight from happening but by 2009, I dont think there will be anything he can do to stop it. Cuban and Cox have actually hinted that they hope to bring this fight to Madeson Square Garden. Wherever or whenever isn’t important as long as this fight happens I am happy. Fedor will prove to be too Brutal for Randy and overwhelmingly strong. Ask strong man Gary Goodridge about Fedor’s strength.
It would have been great if this fight were to go down in the UFC but at this point after the way Dana has been acting, i will be happy for the biggest fight in mma to go down in another organization. When that day comes Dana will be sick to his stomach, but he will be on the bandwagon probably being the 1st person to order it on pay per view….Dana, back off u hater!
The UFC Heavyweight division is in the toilet.
Randy made that whole division, and everything else has turned to shit. Too many of these lumbering goofballs are slow and they gas moments after the bell rings.
Perhaps Vera can clean it all up if he can up his calcium intake.
Gonzaga needs a top name training camp.
And Lesnar is not a real fighter. Only 1 fight and he beat a guy who is known to loose. Give me a break.
[quote comment=”275737″]The UFC Heavyweight division is in the toilet.
Randy made that whole division, and everything else has turned to shit. Too many of these lumbering goofballs are slow and they gas moments after the bell rings.
Perhaps Vera can clean it all up if he can up his calcium intake.
Gonzaga needs a top name training camp.
And Lesnar is not a real fighter. Only 1 fight and he beat a guy who is known to loose. Give me a break.[/quote]
Brandon Verra although talented is 1 fight away from realizing he belongs at 205 lb
Gonzaga gasses and like u pointed out needs some tough HW training partners to work with
Arlovski is leaving to fight elsewhere
Kongo still has no ground game
Sylvia is a snoozefest waiting to happen
Lesnar is 1 and 0, nuff said
Werdum is improving, I think the move to Chute Box acadamy was the smartest thing he could have done since he desperately needs to improve muy tai, and it looked better then usual against Gonzaga, but I dont see Werdum ready to be a dominant champ
Couture will never fight in the UFC again
Cro cop is DEAD
I would like to see the UFC sign Aleksander Emeilenenko:
Nobody has better hands than Aleksander….Nobody!
I just rewatched the Ricardo Morais fight like 10 times today….Aleksander is the most gifted puncher in the game. Sorry but its true. I have never seen a display of grace and power like that before in my life, and Morais is a big mofo too…6′8 at least 300lbs…he fell face first onto the mat after getting tagged with the most beautiful combinations i have seen in MMA. Aleks has the most gifted and lethal hands in MMA…I really hope he starts to fight some real competition again. he was schooled by Barnett and Werdum on the ground and of course Mirko sent him to the cemetary w/ LHK…but those are respectable loses. There is no shame losing on the ground to those guys and in 04 there was no shame in losing to Mirko via Head kick a lot of dudes went down just like that. He is top ten HW in my book, if he can beat some real competition again and show better sub defense he will be a monster
Maybe the ice man could move up seeing the LHW is so stacked… randy dominated HW and ice mans just as good so it could open up a whole lot more great matches… Not likely I know but just an idea seeing the HW division a bit light at the mo…
I have to agree with everything that has been said before me but I have a question that not really anyone has mentioned. What about Frank Mir? Lets say that Frank Mir win against a untested, unproven and I am hoping a horrible submission defense Lesner. Nog hopefully wins over Sylvia. That sets up obviously a rematch between Slyiva and Mir. Lets say Mir wins that rematch. That sets up a HW matchup of quite possibly and easily two of the best HW BBJ guys in the world. I would see that as a good entertaining match. Maybe its just me but I would love to see, and expect to see, Mir come back to his form and be the Frank Mir of old. From there we will see what happens. Of course Lesnar could slam Mir on his head and ground and pound him into nothingness and my idea could be shot down in flames.
Steven
I need to see Mir face off against Brandon Vera again before he could challenge for the title. It was a flash tko, and if he is going to be champion, he is going to have to clear up that loss on his way up the latter.
Where the hell is Monson? i heard the fedor rumour, but this guy should be a UFC regular. He is a great gate keep for all the Brandon Lee Hinkles out there and will always put on a good submission clinic against guys with no ground game.
I would love to see what would happen if…
Snowman Monson vs. Cheick Kongo.
This one could go either way in a hurray. Interesting match up that i would probably pay for.
What the fuck, Arlovski has a couple boring fights and suddenly he’s chopped liver? Ditto on Vera - he’s lost once to a guy who’s like 8 inches taller. I’d like to see both of them fight some of the top guys - you know, if fighting each other’s too much to ask.
Why is Heath Herring getting all the good fights? What has he done ever?
[quote comment=”275584″]Does anyone think that the Randy will fight fedor ever? Well probably not in the ufc with all the money problems going on. When will we see a great heavyweight fight, with two top guns swinging at it. It will happen in every other division but heavyweight, why because of the money. “Show me the money”, well i say show me the fight. Who do you think would win and why?
Heart: Couture
Striking: Toss up/Fedor does have heavy hands, but hows his chin?
Ground: Randy is an animal on the ground.
Stamina:Couture the man keeps coming.
Recovery: Fedor the fight with Randleman proves this.
Submission: You would think Fedor has this in the bag, but i just saw Randy compete in a sub mission league called PSL(Professional Submission League), anyone heard of it. He took on Ronaldo Santos a stud and had a draw with him.
Overall i would have to take Couture he has proven he can overcome all obsticles and win unlike Fedor who has yet to prove himself over elite fighters.
Check out these sites if your into submission grappling/ Professional Submission League, mmaclassics.com/ or you tube videos keyword LA Sub X or Xmission.[/quote]
Yes, once Randy clears up his contract mess with UFC Mark Cuban and HDNet Fights will team with M1 to make the Randy-Fedor match happen.
no disrespect to Fabrico b/c he’s a good fighter but what WTF…….if they let AA walk then i am personally challenging Dana to a fight….mma, boxing, or a good ole fashion street fight and stump some since into him. i like the ufc and the majority of the fighters but i think the ufc is getting to big for their britches,they think they can push aside everyone that does go with their flow….i’m really not happy with the ufc right now….especialy if they let AA go.i think john could be onto something and could probably be right for the most part.by the way the ufc is acting towards AA…john could be right…we’ll just have to see what happens.
couple boring fights for AA and hes thrown to the wolves what about the maniac almost every fight of his carrer has been boring
ah yes the hwgt div of the UFC crappy..i will say this k1 has the top hwgts
DANA on RANDY’s interim title……”We will hold on forever…….
If you hate interim titles then you’re not going to like UFC president Dana White’s latest comments in Kevin Iole’s post-UFC 80 wrap up on Yahoo!. According to Iole, White has no plans of stripping current heavyweight champion Randy Couture of his title. Usually such loyalty is only received for fighters who test positive for steroids, but I digress:
“It’s out of my hands,” White said. “He’s got a half million of my money. He can fight. He can fight if he wants to. We’ll keep it (an interim title) forever. Believe me, we’ll hold on forever.”
That’s just crazy talk if you ask me. The UFC, which filed a lawsuit against Couture earlier this week, is likely only keeping the title around Couture’s proverbial waist solely for legal maneuvering and not because White is nostalgic.
Also, was it just me, or was the fine print during vignettes during last night’s UFC 80 telecast that clarified Tim Sylvia vs. Rodrigo Nogueira’s match at UFC 81 was for the interim title pretty much buried? I saw the words “heavyweight” and “title” pretty clearly but “interim” was almost microscopic.
I understand why the UFC plans on keeping the heavyweight title as interim for an extended duration but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. The prospect of the the winner of Nogueira vs. Sylvia being just an interim champion for a protracted period of time just sucks.
And yes, I realize “interim” is merely a technicality and whoever wins that match will be the UFC heavyweight champ for all intents and purposes but isn’t White the same guy who was just quoted in an interview with SI.com that he still believes that MMA is pure? Well, what’s pure about having an interim champion with no end?
why is sylvia getting a title shot? he just got owned by couture and won a decision against vera in one of the most boring fights i’ve ever seen. all that sylvia did is hold vera against at cage. he used to be a good fighter, now he is too afraid of losing to put on a good show. Antonio Nogueira deserves this shot for what he has done before coming to the ufc, but they should have put him in against a better fighter. one that looks to finish fights and not just edge out a decision.
werdum should be at the very least one big win away over a top contender before he is considered. arlovski should square off against vera, or kongo. hopefully when cro cop gets back he will be his old self (his loss to kongo might have had something to do with being kneed in the balls like 5 times, just maybe)
hopefully lesner lives up to the hype. and hopefully mir is back to the fighter he was before his accident. that would at least add some much needed depth to the division.
so here is how i see it…
1. UFC does not sign Fedor
2. UFC won’t resign Arlovski
3. UFC won’t do a co-promotion with M-1 to bring the most in demand fight in history to us, the fans, and file a lawsuit against their own champ Randy Couture.
4. We now get a chance to see Sylvia become champ again.
5. Werdum, although a good fighter is the #1 contender.
my response to these points…
1. Not being able to sign Fedor was a huge mistake. Also the terms they offered him being made public was not very flattering to their business approach. We got to see how they do business and props to Fedor for saying no to a contract he didn’t like.
2. By not signing Arlovski they are making a huge mistake and are letting him pretty much go to M-1 for a really good fight with Fedor which will happen. Especially if Cuban gets on board. Will you buy that PPV? I will. And the UFC will get nothing from it. Good news for M-1 because this would be their first major event.
3. By not allowing Randy to fight Fedor in a cross-promotion, the UFC is losing major $$$!! This PPV would be Huge money, and it looks asthough when October rolls around and Randy’s contract is up, M-1 is gonna treat him very well financially. The UFC says that Randy owes them 2 more fights, but why then is there a time span until October? This will apparently be up to the judge to decide. Either way, this fight will happen.
4. Tim Sylvia as champ again possibly. This has all the excitement of watching paint dry attatched to it. Tim is the most boring and useless champ they have ever had. He complains to the ref to stand it up if he gets taken down, and holds the opponent against the cage when on the feet. Really exciting stuff Tim. The funny thing is that the UFC will resign him when his contract is up but not Arlovski.
5. I was impressed with Werdum on the weekend, yes, but #1 contender? Not a chance. IMO Arlovski, Kongo and Vera should all be ahead of him eventhough Vera lost to Sylvia.
Basically i feel that the UFC is doing business in a very dyslexic way in the HW division. Let Randy and Arlovski go, but Keep Sylvia. Sounds like a fair trade, right? Anyway, good luck to you wherever you may sign Andre. I loved watching you in the UFC and look forward to seeing you fight wherever you sign. And good luck Nogueira with the title shot. Train hard because if you have ever had to sit through a Sylvia fight you know that having him as champ is gonna be painful. Please to do us a favour by sparing us of that again.
thats was pretty good spider style.
This is insane…Arlovski beat Werdum…Arlovski is an ex champion…Arlovski IS one of the greatest fighters out there…Arlovski is very popular…Dana grow some comon sence and resign one of the most exhiting fighters ever…or else one fan minus.
[quote comment=”275946″]so here is how i see it…
1. UFC does not sign Fedor
2. UFC won’t resign Arlovski
3. UFC won’t do a co-promotion with M-1 to bring the most in demand fight in history to us, the fans, and file a lawsuit against their own champ Randy Couture.
4. We now get a chance to see Sylvia become champ again.
5. Werdum, although a good fighter is the #1 contender.
my response to these points…
1. Not being able to sign Fedor was a huge mistake. Also the terms they offered him being made public was not very flattering to their business approach. We got to see how they do business and props to Fedor for saying no to a contract he didn’t like.
2. By not signing Arlovski they are making a huge mistake and are letting him pretty much go to M-1 for a really good fight with Fedor which will happen. Especially if Cuban gets on board. Will you buy that PPV? I will. And the UFC will get nothing from it. Good news for M-1 because this would be their first major event.
3. By not allowing Randy to fight Fedor in a cross-promotion, the UFC is losing major $$$!! This PPV would be Huge money, and it looks asthough when October rolls around and Randy’s contract is up, M-1 is gonna treat him very well financially. The UFC says that Randy owes them 2 more fights, but why then is there a time span until October? This will apparently be up to the judge to decide. Either way, this fight will happen.
4. Tim Sylvia as champ again possibly. This has all the excitement of watching paint dry attatched to it. Tim is the most boring and useless champ they have ever had. He complains to the ref to stand it up if he gets taken down, and holds the opponent against the cage when on the feet. Really exciting stuff Tim. The funny thing is that the UFC will resign him when his contract is up but not Arlovski.
5. I was impressed with Werdum on the weekend, yes, but #1 contender? Not a chance. IMO Arlovski, Kongo and Vera should all be ahead of him eventhough Vera lost to Sylvia.
Basically i feel that the UFC is doing business in a very dyslexic way in the HW division. Let Randy and Arlovski go, but Keep Sylvia. Sounds like a fair trade, right? Anyway, good luck to you wherever you may sign Andre. I loved watching you in the UFC and look forward to seeing you fight wherever you sign. And good luck Nogueira with the title shot. Train hard because if you have ever had to sit through a Sylvia fight you know that having him as champ is gonna be painful. Please to do us a favour by sparing us of that again.[/quote]
I agree with ever sentence of this whole post!!!! Good Sh*t!
Werdum should have to rematch with AA.
if minitaro wins he shoud fight A,A but they have to have a fighter like werdum to fight if silva wins the cant have silva arlovski 4 lol cuz if they follow the trend they get more boreing every time lol fighting tim silva seems to ruin your career, it kinna posses the question: can u have a interesting fight after u fight the guy hes like a disease… couture didnt catch it tho hes to old his body is imune to boring fights..