Another great article Jesse.
I think Shaw’s remarks were in response to Dana’s remarks about Kimbo. I also think with that logic, Kimbo would have been a better choice to toss money at (and much less money compared to Brock) then Brock. In fact, I’d go out on a limb and say that in the next year or so, if they were to fight, Kimbo would beat Brock convincingly.

This is a really great article Jesse. You did an awesome job. AA is not def gone though from what I’ve read here and on other sites. I thought he might still negotiate a UFC contract. I dunno, maybe I’m just in denial.

Some fighters can recover from a loss. Some can’t. Therein lies the difference.

[quote post=”4927″]AA is not def gone though from what I’ve read here and on other sites. I thought he might still negotiate a UFC contract. I dunno, maybe I’m just in denial.[/quote]

Jesse doesn’t say that he is def. gone. I think he framed it rather carefully, in fact. It’s a possibility and a lot is riding on his performance at UFC 82. In fact, it’s safe to say that he is hopeful he seizes the opportunity on March 1 and puts on a great performance so he gets the contract he wants.

I really hope Arlovski wins with a nice 1st round KO. I like Irish Jake O’Brien but I want AA to stay in the UFC.

awesome….this is why i keep reading this page

Blame Arlovski for Werdum not doing anything. I see how it is. Arlovski is top 3 heavyweight in the world in my opinion. The UFC will eventually be sorry they lost him. Cro Cop on the other hand may need to stick with Dream.

[quote comment=”311121″]Another great article Jesse.
I think Shaw’s remarks were in response to Dana’s remarks about Kimbo. I also think with that logic, Kimbo would have been a better choice to toss money at (and much less money compared to Brock) then Brock. In fact, I’d go out on a limb and say that in the next year or so, if they were to fight, Kimbo would beat Brock convincingly.[/quote]
yeah brilliant article.the pitbull was my favourite fighter he was thwe epitomy of hw stand up fighting but to me he went downhill when he walked into that big uppercut against sylvia 2.i think he became gunshy after that and was never the same but hey in this game youre gonna be hit and hard.anyway i digress i have to disagree with your comments involving kimbo/lesnar.how many mma fighters have ever performed that well in there second fight ill tell u how many.zero lesnar took mir to the mat easily and lost because of a mistake due to being green.ill go as far as to say even now the only ufc hws whod have a chance of beating him are the elite ju jitsu practioners i dont think any strikers or wrestlers will beat him.his scrambling for position on the ground was as fast as a lw mark my words give him 2 years i he sticks at it he will be ufc hw champ.

Great article. Cro-cop’s departure goes against everything that a real fighter would do, which is fight and not run away from adversity. Obviously he felt he couldn’t hang with the big boys and so has to go back to the lower level of competition that he thinks he will face in Japan. Arlovski on the other hand has lost the “eye of the tiger.” He needs to get it back, or else he might as well join Cro-cop.

The real missed opportunety is that of the UFC and Zuffa themselves. Six months ago they had the potential to have by far the most dominant heavyweight division in the world with about 8 of the top 10 fighters. Instead its become the underachieving sibling of the light heavyweight division.

The UFC is scared - shit scared of Arlovski, where ever he goes he will rip whoever apart and they know that - why delay him killing vera, nog, heath, sylvia, lesnar …. if Arlovski leaves - when/if he comes back he will demand the big bucks - 1 mill per fight.

[quote comment=”311142″]Blame Arlovski for Werdum not doing anything. I see how it is. Arlovski is top 3 heavyweight in the world in my opinion. The UFC will eventually be sorry they lost him. Cro Cop on the other hand may need to stick with Dream.[

I think this whole scene sucks myself but if you go back and watch AA vs Werdum, Werdum engaged jsut as much and it was AA’s house (UFC), Werdums debut, and AA is known for his stand up where the fight starts and stayed the whole fight…

I think AA has more to responsibility for the pace of this fight than Werdum does. But that is just my thought…

Lesnar I think gained more fans in losing than winning I’d say. In his loss he was humble, admitted he lost to a better fighter and agreed that he needs more work with his ground game. My opinion a lot of people in the crowd changed their opinion of Lesnar and I’ll be interested to see him fight again.

Arlovski has looked bad, really bad, in most of his recent fights. He appears tentative and seemed to learn the art of “eeking out a decision” from Sylvia in their many encounters. Perhaps the Penthouse playmate girlfriend or time on Jerry Springer softened him into thinking he was a celebrity and not a fighter. I’m sad to see him go but he lost me as a fan with his last fight against Werdum.

CroCop should likely not have signed with the UFC at all. To me he never looked like he felt at home in the cage or in front of an english audience. His style is not really suited to the cage either and IMO he likely bought into his own hype and paid dearly for it. For me the most exciting fighters are those that are well rounded, the ones that have multiple ways to win and CC just didn’t fit that bill. I won’t miss him at all.

Email spike at feedback@spike.com, with this:

Hi
I’m writing to ask that the UFC Fight Night on April 2nd be given three hours of time instead of two. The card is one of the best UFC cards ever put on Spike, and it deserves a longer timeslot. The entire fight community is looking forward to seeing this event, and I am sure you’ll have a significantly higher number of viewers if you decide to show more of the card.

Thank you for your time

EXCELLENT article Jesse!

Regaring Arlovski, this is of course his last fight on his contract. He he wins impressively, they will most likely offer him a new contract. But if he loses, or is lackluster, they have similar plans for him as they did for Cro Cop? HOW CAN THEY??? Cro Cop still has fights left on his contract, and the UFC wants him to build up his confidence before fighting in the UFC again. But after the Jake O’Brien fight, Arolvski will have zero fights left on his contract and doesn’t have to listen to a word Dana has to say if he doesn’t want to. Why would he want to fight in DREAM where they have no HW’s yet, or fight in some small local promotion? IMO, he wouldn’t - he would become a free agent and sign a big money contract with M-1 or EliteXC.

[quote comment=”311135″][quote post=”4927″]AA is not def gone though from what I’ve read here and on other sites. I thought he might still negotiate a UFC contract. I dunno, maybe I’m just in denial.[/quote]

Jesse doesn’t say that he is def. gone. I think he framed it rather carefully, in fact. It’s a possibility and a lot is riding on his performance at UFC 82. In fact, it’s safe to say that he is hopeful he seizes the opportunity on March 1 and puts on a great performance so he gets the contract he wants.[/quote]

I agree. We all (including myself) prematurely assume because of Dana’s track records in negotiations and Arlovski getting shafted out of a title shot, and him being bumped to the undercard that AA is gone. But I feel, Arlovski wants to be here, he just wants to get paid as well. If the UFC makes the “right” offer I feel he would stay in the UFC. Jesse and Mania brought up a great point, that there could be a lot riding on this fight against O’brien. I mean if the old, scary, Pitbull Arlovski shows up and destroy’s Jake, at a time where the HW division is thin on title contenders…I cuold see the Fertittas breaking open the piggybank and re-signing Arlovski at the last minute.

Jesse and Mania, did either of you hear anything about K-1 “DREAM’ coming to a cross promotional deal with M-1?

Jesse… I won’t even comment on the subject… Just want to say that you are an excellent and informed commentator, and I hope you would put out more of these editorial-type articles. I know that not all subjects inspire you or may even merit such, but it is refreshing to read people like you.

Thanks.

AA is the former HW Champ. CC is a HW Chump. He looked great in the ring for Pride but has never adjusted to the Octagon. Surely a great fighter should be able to adapt his fighting style to whatever arena they are fighting in.

The UFC fans will always be behind AA as he has given them what they want for a majority of his UFC career, knock outs & finishes.

Cro-Cops only highlight reel moment is being on the receiving end of a ko head kick, ironically his own forte.

[quote comment=”311177″][quote comment=”311142″]Blame Arlovski for Werdum not doing anything. I see how it is. Arlovski is top 3 heavyweight in the world in my opinion. The UFC will eventually be sorry they lost him. Cro Cop on the other hand may need to stick with Dream.[

I think this whole scene sucks myself but if you go back and watch AA vs Werdum, Werdum engaged jsut as much and it was AA’s house (UFC), Werdums debut, and AA is known for his stand up where the fight starts and stayed the whole fight…

I think AA has more to responsibility for the pace of this fight than Werdum does. But that is just my thought…[/quote]
I think it should be the person’s, that is losing, responsibility. i.e. Werdum

[quote post=”4927″]Arlovski on the other hand has lost the “eye of the tiger.” He needs to get it back, or else he might as well join Cro-cop. [/quote]
A sure-fire cure for that is a run on the beach with Stallone and Creed.

First off,I will miss Alovski,if he leaves the UFC! He is a great fighter and a fan favorite to me.He has had some very exciting fights.Lets hope Zuffa will give him a good deal to stay. Next,As for Lesnar and Mir..I was going with Mir to win by tapout,and he did..There is however,NO SHAME in Lesnar’s loss.He was kicking ass when he come out.He has a few rough edges.As we would expect! He will soon be at the top of the heavyweights! His only downfall I can see so far is he has to respect other fighters and what they can do in the octagon.If he fights smart and learns a little more submission defense,Brock will be a very strong force to recon with!!Trust me! Brock Lesnar will be in the UFC for a long time to come! You will see him someday as the UFC Heavyweight Champ.Oh,One more comment..Randy Couture…Get back to the UFC..Your fans miss you!

well written my friend, kuddos, i really really liked that last statement you made about it only being an opportunity and not absolute. Very good, im glad i read that.

[quote post=”4927″]Perhaps the Penthouse playmate girlfriend [/quote]
Who was AA dating/f’n?

Such a great write up… you nailed it.
I’m curious to see what Dana White has to say about all this..Cro-Cop,AA…etc…Thanks for the article.

cro cop left because the ufc wanted him gone not because he is running away.he could have bounced back from those 2 loses look at liddel he lost 2 in a row and so have other fighters.cro cop has lost before and been knocked out before and came back.i think with there h.w. devision looking a little weak they needed both aa and cro cop in there.i hope cro cop does well in the future and there is plenty of top compition out there outside of the ufc.

“Another thing is that I never liked fighting in the cage. I always liked to fight in the ring. The second thing is that I liked fighting in Japan. Japan is like my second home — I feel like I’m home in Japan. All those reasons [have brought me] here, and I’m very happy that I’m going to fight here in Japan. But of course, one day, I don’t know when, but definitely I’ll be back in the UFC to show that it was just a bad period for me. Now I’m fully recovered, physically and mentally, most important mentally.”

Quote from crocop @ the “DREAM” press conference.

I find it interesting that a fighter like CroCop can have his contract modified by the UFC –effectively reducing his compensation and ushering him out of their organization, while Randy Couture’s contract is bound in iron and Randy has no leverage to change the contract in his favor. Im sure lots of people who want Randy to “honor his contract” have no trouble with the UFC not honoring the deal they made with mirko..
Its not much of a two way street, eh?

Btw, I realize that Mirko got himself into this situation by not performing…Im not really defending Mikro, Im just mystified at contracts that can be downgraded by the UFC, but I doubt many fighters say..oh yeah, btw I want an extra 100k for this fight…

It all depends on the chest hair. If it’s there he wins in dominant fashion. If it’s gone he gets lay and prayed to death by O’Brien.

dream hw:

cro cop
mark hunt
jerome lebonner

cro cop will be back in the ufc

(confirmed information on index.hr)

AA vs Mir!!!

IFL fighter Mike Dolce will be a cast member on TUF 7

I wasn’t too shocked that Cro Cop is leaving. He had a few fights that didn’t go his way. I can’t believe that Andrei Arlovski has been sort of sidelined. Just because all of his fights weren’t knock outs doesn’t mean he isn’t the best. I hope Arlovski gets another chance and will be the champion again. I couldn’t believe his next fight is going to be a black match, it should be televised.

It is becomming obvious that Dana White’s efforts to preclude competition for the UFC is backfiring. The more he tries to control fighters, the more they want to rebel. The pending departures of Randy, AA, CroCop and boring Tim Slyvia are going to give a competitive organization (or two) marqee level fights that will enable them to become competitors. The heavyweight division in particular is most likely to jump start another promotion. If Dana White and the UFC management focused more on giving the UFC fans the fights they want to see as opposed to the fighters that he can control, he would be successful in keeping out threats from upstart competitors and everyone would benefit. I can forse the UFC’s slippery slope is getting steeper.

[quote comment=”311303″]AA vs Mir!!![/quote]
If AA beats the hell out of O’Brien in devastating fashion, then I don’t see why Zuffa would not offer him another contract. If AA got a good offer he’d be a fool not to take it because he has a huge fan base in the UFC. Hoping all this happens and AA ends up back in the UFC, then this matchup of AA vs Mir would be a GREAT battle. They are both great on the ground in BJJ, but I’d have to give the standup to AA. Who knows though, Mir can take a beating which was evident against Lesner.

I posted this a little bit ago but I will say it again, there’s simply no reason for the UFC to let AA go if he wins big (which by all intents and purposes he should).

Let’s take a look at the situation. Arlovski is on the last fight of his contract — his contract fight if you will, much like a NFL or MLB star will have a great year on their “contract year”, Arlovski will be looking to prove what he’s worth for his new contract. AA is as talented as they come and facing an opponent who isn’t necessarily known for his knockout power, Arlovski will tear through him, enough said.

So AA wins and in dominating fashion. He’s now a free agent and assuredly has multiple promotions seeking his services — M-1, EliteXC, HDNet Fights, Strikeforce, etc. The UFC meanwhile, faces the very real possibility of losing a fighter who is really as talented as they come — as much as Fedor in all honesty — to a competitor. The chance of said competitor taking off and becoming an actual force becomes much more real. That’s if they let him go of course. Now we all know the situation between Dana and Arlovski. Dana had his feelings hurt that AA’s last few fights weren’t exactly barnburners so he disrespects AA by not giving him the title fight he promised him let alone a fight until basically a year later.

But if there’s one thing that rules Dana White more than anything, one thing that you can point to to predict how he will act in any given situation, it’s his complete unwillingness to strengthen any of his competitors. I’m sure above anything that the day that the Pitbull of old (rest assured we will see him) is allowed to walk away from the UFC, is the day that Dana White is no longer breathing.

My prediction is AA dominates O’Brien like the AA of old, entertains offers but in the end the UFC pays up, probably about $1 million a fight and he stays with the UFC.

I’m so sick of Cro Cop’s constant sulking. What you put out in this universe is what you will get back.

The guy has no heart and now, to add to that, he looks like a total coward. What a disgrace.

First off, very good article.
Although AA’s last few fights have been less entertaining, I think if he has a lights out performance against O’Brian Dana will seriously consider giving him a contract that is atleast close to what he wants. With the departure of of Couture and Cro-Cop, and just about everybody being tired seeing Silva fight for UFC HW titles, an energetic Arlovski is a very valuable asset.
I was a huge fan of Cro-Cop while in Pride, and peed on myself a little I was so excited when I heard he was coming to the UFC. The only thing that has been more frustrating than watching his mental breakdown in the UFC is losing the chance to watch a Couture vs Fedor or Couture vs Nog’ UFC HW title fight. Damn CroCop, I hope you can get your confidence back and prove the US MMA fans wrong.

actually Crocop’s managment team announced that CC was ready to fight in january and wanted a fight right away with Gonzaga but due to him loosing to werdum that fell apart and the UFC just wasn’t sure when to give him a fight. UFC was saying maybe May but that wasn’t a guarantee either. CC is a fighter and why should he be waiting for anyone when there is other fights being offered to him. The weirdest thing about this though is how CC told a croatian newspaper that he will keep training in the octagon that he has in his basement and the UFC will be contacting him if he wins three in a row in Japan then options will be opened again. Makes sense.

if dream use a ring and dont allow elbows then crocop is back in business

his striking will still be as it used to be and the competition is watered down

there may be a chance of seeing him fight fedor again down the line and possibly randy
josh barnett is up for grabs too as are coleman and randleman i think

so they could basically reform the pride HW division and coutoure -NOG

dana would have many a sleepless night if that was the case

its a great move for CC
hes too old to transition to the octagon
he is too weak in too many areas
he is basically a kickboxer no wrestling no BJJ
under pride rules can get away with it not in an octagon tho

i cant wait to see the old crocop again

letting CC leave is the best for all parties
hes not much use to the ufc as he cant fight under ufc rules
and hes rich enough to not take a beatdown for $250k

AA is a different story

hes definitely not a boring fighter

prior to the 3rd sylvia fight he hadnt been to a decision and had 6 straight early stoppages wins prior to 2nd sylvia fight

cant blame him for the snoozefest 3rd fight against sylvia

its hard for any guy who doesnt finish sylvia to have an exciting fight these days

after that AA has an early KO win against cruz

fair enough werdum wasnt that exciting a fight
but werdum is a tough guy and AA probably fought the correct fight to get the W

noone knocks randy for grinding out a win against tough competition

i cant see what danas problem is

the guy held the belt for a long time is a huge star and a decent ppv draw

please dana make him a decent contract offer and keep him in the ufc
HW division is crying out for contenders and in all honesty main contenders for NOG are AA Lesnar MIR TIM (again)and possibly vera

ufc cant afford to lose him

ufc seriously need to consider getting some LHW to step up to HW

chuck is a great champ from a marketing standpoint and HW would suit him as he is quite a big 205 who will of cleaned up the division after he beats shogun (bar rampage and jardine)

after chuck shogun id have chuck jardine with winner getting a shot at the HW title

jardine deserves a shot at a belt but sadly i cant see him facing LHW champ anytime soon

[quote comment=”311276″]I find it interesting that a fighter like CroCop can have his contract modified by the UFC –effectively reducing his compensation and ushering him out of their organization, while Randy Couture’s contract is bound in iron and Randy has no leverage to change the contract in his favor. Im sure lots of people who want Randy to “honor his contract” have no trouble with the UFC not honoring the deal they made with mirko..
Its not much of a two way street, eh?

Btw, I realize that Mirko got himself into this situation by not performing…Im not really defending Mikro, Im just mystified at contracts that can be downgraded by the UFC, but I doubt many fighters say..oh yeah, btw I want an extra 100k for this fight…[/quote]
Once again it comes down to what the contract says. The UFC obviously had a clause that allowed them do do what they did. That clause was in there when CC signed it.

This type of clause is guite normal. Such as in an NFL contract. If you are big enough you can get garunteed money or a no cut clause.

Randy had room for leverage. He could have renegotiated his contract of held out for more money. He instead chose to throw a fit and just quit. Make no mistake a big name like Randy had room to negotiate.

Contracts are both complicated and simple. The simplicity lies in that you must follow what is written. Apparently Cro Cop agreed to the contract stipulations and signed them. In Couture’s case he does not have an “I Quit” Clause. That is why the UFC can go after him for breech. In other words comparing Cro Cop’s and Randy’s contract issues is like compareing apples to oranges. They are set in different situations.

[quote comment=”311191″]EXCELLENT article Jesse!

Regaring Arlovski, this is of course his last fight on his contract. He he wins impressively, they will most likely offer him a new contract. But if he loses, or is lackluster, they have similar plans for him as they did for Cro Cop? HOW CAN THEY??? Cro Cop still has fights left on his contract, and the UFC wants him to build up his confidence before fighting in the UFC again. But after the Jake O’Brien fight, Arolvski will have zero fights left on his contract and doesn’t have to listen to a word Dana has to say if he doesn’t want to. Why would he want to fight in DREAM where they have no HW’s yet, or fight in some small local promotion? IMO, he wouldn’t - he would become a free agent and sign a big money contract with M-1 or EliteXC.[/quote]
Man, I think your right on. I’d hate to see AA go,( He is my all time favorite fighter) but gotta go where the money is. Hopefully he will put Jakes head in the nosebleed seats and get a renewal

[quote post=”4927″]IFL fighter Mike Dolce will be a cast member on TUF 7[/quote]

That is good news. I have seen a couple of his fights including that under 20 second knockout, or however fast it was. He seems like a pretty cool dude in his interviews, really down to earth. I just read a list of half of the 32 competitors, and they had said that they were going to be stepping up the competition this year, but the list I saw did not look like it. They even had fighters with records such as 4-5 and 0-0. As of this moment, I’m rooting for Dolce!

[quote post=”4927″]My prediction is AA dominates O’Brien like the AA of old, entertains offers but in the end the UFC pays up, probably about $1 million a fight and he stays with the UFC. [/quote]

ONE MILLION DOLLARS a fight? I want to smoke some of what you’re smoking! That type of money is reserved for Chuck Liddell and Randy Cou… Nope, just Chuck.

[quote post=”4927″]The UFC is scared - shit scared of Arlovski, where ever he goes he will rip whoever apart and they know that - why delay him killing vera, nog, heath, sylvia, lesnar …. if Arlovski leaves - when/if he comes back he will demand the big bucks - 1 mill per fight. [/quote]

Another rubbish comment. How can you say he would kill Sylvia, having lost twice in a row to him, kill Nogueira, who beat Sylvia, and kill Lesnar, who proved against Mir he is as dangerous as any heavyweight in the division, only needs a bit of time. Time and time again I see your posts claiming CroCop and Arlovski are the best heavyweights ever. They can only be considered the best if they are legit contenders to the title and Arlovski isnt and CroCop is even less of a threat, especially after running away.

And 1 mill per fight? You must be joking. Again, learn some MMA. He can only demand big bucks if he beats top HW and in Japan he isnt going to find any.

[quote post=”4927″]Blame Arlovski for Werdum not doing anything. I see how it is. Arlovski is top 3 heavyweight in the world in my opinion. The UFC will eventually be sorry they lost him. Cro Cop on the other hand may need to stick with Dream.[
I think this whole scene sucks myself but if you go back and watch AA vs Werdum, Werdum engaged jsut as much and it was AA’s house (UFC), Werdums debut, and AA is known for his stand up where the fight starts and stayed the whole fight…
I think AA has more to responsibility for the pace of this fight than Werdum does. But that is just my thought…
I think it should be the person’s, that is losing, responsibility. i.e. Werdum [/quote]

Blame Werdum for Arlovskis dullness? You might aswell blame me or my dead hamster. A fighter can make any fight exciting regardless of his opponent. Its about taking chances.

[quote comment=”311486″][quote post=”4927″]IFL fighter Mike Dolce will be a cast member on TUF 7[/quote]

That is good news. I have seen a couple of his fights including that under 20 second knockout, or however fast it was. He seems like a pretty cool dude in his interviews, really down to earth. I just read a list of half of the 32 competitors, and they had said that they were going to be stepping up the competition this year, but the list I saw did not look like it. They even had fighters with records such as 4-5 and 0-0. As of this moment, I’m rooting for Dolce!

[quote post=”4927″]My prediction is AA dominates O’Brien like the AA of old, entertains offers but in the end the UFC pays up, probably about $1 million a fight and he stays with the UFC. [/quote]

ONE MILLION DOLLARS a fight? I want to smoke some of what you’re smoking! That type of money is reserved for Chuck Liddell and Randy Cou… Nope, just Chuck.[/quote]

yeah…Dolce seems like a cool dude and a pretty GAME fighter.
The records of the cast members isnt that impressive. Fortunately the new format of starting out with 32 fighters and making them all fight the 1st 2 days will weed out the Blake Bowmans and show us who the real fighters are. Hopefully after those 1st 2 days we are left with a cast of 16 dudes ready to fight. Sopme of the best records of the cast members that I have seen are (7-1) (6-0 (6-1)…nothing too impressive. there are some guys with limited UFC experience trying to make the final 16. Also the dude that introduced Rampage to mma is one of the 32 guys so if he wins his 1st fight, expect team Rampage to pick ihm. Dolce is the biggest Name I have heard of so far. there is also a dude from Philly trying to make it in the house. I dont know much about him, but his record is nothing special. I am really excited about this season. It doesnt get much better then Rampage and Forrest entertainment wise.

1 million dollars? for arlovski? Chuck Liddell isnt even making that anymore. Thats what Chuck makes for winning Title fights…no way Arlovski gets anywhere close to that kind of money. Actually, I have no idea wehat Arlovski was making recently. His last fight against werdum, took place in England so the fighter salaries were never announced. Anyone remember how much he made for defeating “Pan de Pano” or whatever his name is. Cruz I think it was. If anyone could tell me how much Arlovski made in that fight I would appreciate it.

ViolentMike: Please e-mail me I misplaced your e-mail address. We have to discuss what we are going to do about CRAZE.

Andrei is going to comeback in spectacular fashion. (I hope)…At least when Arlovski was fighting timidly he still won. I’ve said it numerous times before, no way should he be 1-2 against Tim. He got over aggressive trying to finish Tim the second time. The third time he destroyed his leg in the first round.

Then he came back knocked Marcio Cruz out from the bottom. He then has one boring fight against Werdum a BJJ master who tries to pull guard and lies on the ground while Herb Dean stupidly waits half a minute to stand him up. One boring fight that Arlovski shouldn’t have had, that’s it. Hell he fought to win because they said with a win he’d get another shot at the title. His dispute is over money, Dana and co. won’t give him what he wants, what M-1 can give him, so to save face and not look scabby they just say he was boring, had lost the fire blah blah blah.

The heavyweight division is screaming out for Arlovski to tear through everyone again. He’s a killer. If they lose him, the division loses a lot of credibility.

I want to see:

AA vs. GG
AA vs. Vera
AA vs. Nogueira

AA vs. anyone. He will beat Nog. It will never go to the ground. Actually I would really like to see more of Andrei’s ground game. I don’t mean against Nog, no one should go to ground with him unless your name is Fedore. Arlovski to take Tim down and submit him…again

Excuse the typo above. I mean Fedor of course.

Someone bring me up to speed here. Is Crocop actually serious about coming back to the UFC after three wins in Japan. I call bs on that. What have the UFC said? Is it a case of yeah, IF you win 3 in a row convincingly, maybe you’ll fight in the octagon again sometime…the UFC knowing full well he actually doesn’t plan on coming back.

[quote comment=”311399″][quote comment=”311276″]I find it interesting that a fighter like CroCop can have his contract modified by the UFC –effectively reducing his compensation and ushering him out of their organization, while Randy Couture’s contract is bound in iron and Randy has no leverage to change the contract in his favor. Im sure lots of people who want Randy to “honor his contract” have no trouble with the UFC not honoring the deal they made with mirko..
Its not much of a two way street, eh?

Btw, I realize that Mirko got himself into this situation by not performing…Im not really defending Mikro, Im just mystified at contracts that can be downgraded by the UFC, but I doubt many fighters say..oh yeah, btw I want an extra 100k for this fight…[/quote]
Once again it comes down to what the contract says. The UFC obviously had a clause that allowed them do do what they did. That clause was in there when CC signed it.

This type of clause is guite normal. Such as in an NFL contract. If you are big enough you can get garunteed money or a no cut clause.

Randy had room for leverage. He could have renegotiated his contract of held out for more money. He instead chose to throw a fit and just quit. Make no mistake a big name like Randy had room to negotiate.[/quote]
I see, good points. So when Fedor and his management team recognize the one-sided structure of UFC’s contract where the idea is “employment at will” and rejects this notion, hes a tool that is afraid to face top competition. If he does sign, then he is dumb for signing a contract that is ENTIRELY one sided…to the point where the compensation can be reduced after the agreement is signed…

I think that a sleeper in the UFC HW division is Fabricio Werdum. I am not saying this because he beat Gonzaga because truth be told Gonzaga looked like crap in that fight anyway. We all knew Werdum was a master on the ground, but his stand up was weak at best. Now he is working with Chute Bow, and I expect them to make him a much more well rounded and dangerous fighter. He showed incredible improvemnet in the stand up from his Arlovski fight to his fight against Gonzaga. If he keeps training his my tai with Chute Box he could develope into a seriously BAD DUDE!

I dont think he deserves a title shot yet. He hasn’t earned it, but I wouldnt mind seeing him fight Brandon Verra at UFC 85 in may. That will have been 5 months since his Gonzaga fight and 5 more months of training under chute box and improving his stand up. i think a match up between Werdum and Verra would be very technical and exciting.

I hope Joe Silva is listening!

Correction: I want to see Werdum fight Verra at UFC 85 in June.

I don’t think Cro Cop is running away. I think his setbacks combined with the fact that he’s not getting any fights have led to his leaving. He wanted a rematch with Gonzaga…didn’t happen. He expressed that he wanted to face Noguiera…didn’t happen. No doubt the UFC isn’t letting him pick his fights due to his performance, but as Mirko has said, he’s a fighter, and waiting for whomever he UFC wants to throw at him probably doesn’t fly.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if the UFC DID agree to take Mirko back if he performs well in this new organization. Mostly because they probably see it as a huge if.

Besides, DREAM is going to work with M-1, which means that Cro Cop may face Fedor, which hardly seems to be the cowards path to me.

I hope he does well. His legacy in K-1 and Pride is a fantastic one, and it will be a shame if his UFC fights overshadow that.

this is ball crap those of you that think cro cop is runing way are you for real we dont actully dont no why hes making this desition to fight in japan anyways those who are cro cop fans really no that cro cop is a ring fighter not a cage fighter he only spend not even one year training in a cage in reality if you move anybody from the ufc cro cop will ko them

Alright well maybe not a million a fight but he’s gonna get a huge contract, make no mistake about it.

Another exceptional article. If only MMAMania’s majority had half the understanding you have……..

i think they should give arlovsky, cro-cops money. 350 grand per is alot of money. if a.a. wants more than this he is crazy.

[quote comment=”311748″]i think they should give arlovsky, cro-cops money. 350 grand per is alot of money. if a.a. wants more than this he is crazy.[/quote]

I would give him $350,000 per fight if he would return to his old form. The old arlovski would be worth every penny of that right now to the anorexic UFC Heavyweight division.

Its a shame he only has 1 fight to show it before becoming a free agent. Now that I hear that M-1 will work with DREAM and World Victory Road, and they have a nice talent pool of top Heavyweights, I dont care if Arlovski stays in the UFC or not. I will still be a fan of his and watch him in either promotion!

[quote comment=”311809″][quote comment=”311748″]i think they should give arlovsky, cro-cops money. 350 grand per is alot of money. if a.a. wants more than this he is crazy.[/quote]

I would give him $350,000 per fight if he would return to his old form. The old arlovski would be worth every penny of that right now to the anorexic UFC Heavyweight division.

Its a shame he only has 1 fight to show it before becoming a free agent. Now that I hear that M-1 will work with DREAM and World Victory Road, and they have a nice talent pool of top Heavyweights, I dont care if Arlovski stays in the UFC or not. I will still be a fan of his and watch him in either promotion![/quote]
me too. i wouldnt mind seeing a.a. vs fedor, as a matter of fact i would love it, although i would like to see him stick w/ the ufc.

[quote comment=”311839″][quote comment=”311809″][quote comment=”311748″]i think they should give arlovsky, cro-cops money. 350 grand per is alot of money. if a.a. wants more than this he is crazy.[/quote]

I would give him $350,000 per fight if he would return to his old form. The old arlovski would be worth every penny of that right now to the anorexic UFC Heavyweight division.

Its a shame he only has 1 fight to show it before becoming a free agent. Now that I hear that M-1 will work with DREAM and World Victory Road, and they have a nice talent pool of top Heavyweights, I dont care if Arlovski stays in the UFC or not. I will still be a fan of his and watch him in either promotion![/quote]
me too. i wouldnt mind seeing a.a. vs fedor, as a matter of fact i would love it, although i would like to see him stick w/ the ufc.[/quote]

Could AA be the man to dethrone Fedor?…I would love to see this fight. M-1 show in Moscow, would be very cool.

I’m not buying the story that Cro Cop just ran away. He was training in the octagon at home, hired extra people to help him with his training, asking for a fight and arguably in better shape than ever.

Assuming that the contract had changed with UFC and a good offer came from Dreams, everyone would make the same decision. Bonus points are that he’ll be in a familiar setting where he’s confident, has tons of support, may get a shot at Fedor, etc.

I don’t blame him for his choice, nor do I doubt his skills (I know, I know, Gonzaga and Kongo) but I do hate that we’ll have to wait longer now until he gets the UFC belt.

There was a claus in Cro Cop’s contract that if he were to loose 2 fights in a row, the UFC had the right to renegotiate the 350k payday per fight. That is what they did. They did not cut Mirko and Dana stated that he believed he may return some day. I also read that her had some serious breathing issues with the septum which held things up and he was supposed to fight on one of the London cards and bitched about traveling. He apparantly bitched about getting paid, bitched about traveling, bitched about who he was to fight. Hard to do when you come into an organization, beat a nobody, get your head kicked off by a nobody, then talk smack about being a better kick boxer only to get man handled (and kneed in the nuts)by him.

It is my belief that Cro Cop will go to Japan to help promote Dream, get paid, get a few quick fights in, and be back in the UFC soon enough.

However, imagine if they were to put a Fedor vs Cro Cop rematch together and Cro Cop prevailed? What would that do?

[quote post=”4927″]I see, good points. So when Fedor and his management team recognize the one-sided structure of UFC’s contract where the idea is “employment at will” and rejects this notion, hes a tool that is afraid to face top competition. If he does sign, then he is dumb for signing a contract that is ENTIRELY one sided…to the point where the compensation can be reduced after the agreement is signed… [/quote]

Understand first, this is a business. UFC is an employer. When you get hired at your job, do you dictate what you are going to do, when you are gonna work and what you are going to get paid? Not likely.

In a business like this, it’s all about 2 things. Winning to stay on top. And Winning to keep fan interest, which leads to merchandise sales, PPV sales, ticket sales. So if you bring in a guy like cro cop, who is on the upper scales of fighter pay outs (which, WAS well deserved when he came over), who drops 2 straight fights,(AND LOOKED LIKE SHIT IN BOTH. THE GONAZGA KO WAS ONE OF THE WORST I’VE EVER SEEN!!!), you don’t believe that the UFC should have the right to alter his payout?

I don’t see how you don’t have a claus like this in any contract. You’d be an idiot. Dana is a smart guy.

On the contrary, i’m sure their are clauses in the fighters contracts that state if they are on the lower end of the pay scale and move up in the ranks, then they have the right to renegotiate for more money.

So if UFC were to sign Fedor to a 4 fight, 500k per fight to show deal today and the following happens…

Randy comes back, fights Fedor and wins. Fedor drops this much anticipated fight. Loss 1. Randy goes out on top and retires.

Let’s just say Frank Mir beats Silvia. Now Mir and Fedor are set to fight to take on Nog (who already defended once against Werdum) for a title shot. Mir goes out there, get’s tossed around but oops, catches Fedor in an arm bar and taps him out. Loss number 2. He has just lost 2 in a row. Questions arise. The number 1 fighter in the world is called into question. This is cro cop all over again.

So now you are going to pay this guy 500k to fight who? Kongo, Werdum, Gonzaga, or maybe Heath again? Hell no. The fact that he would still be a fan draw with lots of potential to turn around and get used to the cage if that’s his problem, I offer him a 3 fight deal at 200k, which is still more than 90 percent of the fighters in the organization.

At this point, for 200k, Fedor rolls around with Lesnar and submits him. TKO’s Frank Mir (who lost his title shot to NOG), and now gets another battle with Nog. All this for what he was getting paid per fight to loose.

Now he beats NOG for the title. 3 fight contract is up, renegotiation time and the ball is in the fighters court.

***Imagine if this really happened?***

[quote comment=”311142″]Blame Arlovski for Werdum not doing anything. I see how it is. Arlovski is top 3 heavyweight in the world in my opinion. The UFC will eventually be sorry they lost him. Cro Cop on the other hand may need to stick with Dream.[/quote]

I WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD SEE THIS! and sylvia also can be a boring fighter so thats why arlovski gets the bad rep. As a fighter, the most important thing should be winning! if you can do it with entertainment though, thats icing…but its all about styles, throw him a stand up fighter and u see excitement from the pit bull any day! look at werdum, he proved it with gonzaga that his style was the reason why it dictates a slower fight.