Dana White, President of the UFC, on the demise of EliteXC:
"I'm glad this organization folded because they were bringing disrepute to the sport that I love. These bastards who ran EliteXC were not interested in the beauty of the sport, they were only interested in cashing in on what I worked so hard to create. The poor quality of fights, the allegations of match-fixing, all threatened to destroy the reputation of mixed martial arts that I helped build. So I'm glad they're gone. They built their entire organization around one guy, one guy who was a complete fraud, a guy I said I would never have in the UFC. But right now I'm going to go back on my word. I'm going to offer Kimbo Slice $100,000 for one fight. A one-shot-deal against Gabriel Gonzaga on the undercard of the biggest fight in UFC history, Randy Couture against Brock Lesnar. So when this Kimbo fight ends in 14 seconds at least the fans won't be disappointed this time."
Saturday, October 25, 2008
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6 comments:
I like what he actually said much better:
http://escapefromboston.blogspot.com/2008/10/kimbo-slice-sucks.html
Paul, do you really care? I don't see what the big deal is about the UFC anyway. I don't find it nearly as entertaining as old school boxing before it got corrupt. I don't know why a strictly stand up fighting sport like kick boxing hasn't garnered more attention and become the next big thing. There's too much boring stuff happening during the "ground fighting" with the pin attempts, head locks, and wrestling moves for me. Would be fun to watch on cable for free, like you've stated in the past as your reason for wanting the UFC to have competition, but certainly not worth shelling out money for.
Jems, yeah I do care, I'm starting to really like MMA. I used to love boxing but it's unwatchable now because of how crooked it is.
I agree with you about some fights being boring because they go to the ground but when you learn more about the sport you can appreciate more of the technical aspect that occurs when the fighters are on the ground.
Also, I judge fight cards as a whole. I want to see some quick knockouts, some long brutal striking wars, and a few technical battles that go to the ground. An entire show of 6 30-second knockouts would be exciting but disappointing as well.
Here a few things the sport of MMA has over the sport of boxing:
1) Without gloves, the knockout blow seems more likely. You rarely see a boxer knocked out cold by one solid shot.
2) The submission aspect allows for comebacks. A fighter who has been getting demolished can catch his opponent's arm, leg or back and finish him just like that. So many boxing matches get boring at the end was one fighter tries to run away and hide with the lead on the cards.
3) Boxing is just punching, MMA has a lot of different tactics and a lot of different styles, creating some incredibly intriguing matchups.
4) Anderson Silva.
The important question is: will I have my new plasma in time for Couture-Lesnar?
I liked that Dana White interview...thanks for the link.
I disagree with you though. By giving Kimbo ANY fight in the UFC, it would somewhat legitimize him, just by getting on the card...making the UFC look like it was trying to get in on the gimmick of Kimbo.
Also, MMA does take a little bit longer to fully understand than boxing...but once you fully understand the non punching/kicking elements, you realize how much more fun it can be to watch.
I guess it's a matter of opinion but I think if one of their second-tier heavyweights completely dismantled Kimbo it would prove he's a fraud. And they could be like "see how awesome our guys are?" But then again, if he wins, or even loses and survives, Dana would look like a loudmouth jerk, which of course he is.
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