MMA Crunch

Every organization needs a breeding ground for its stars of tomorrow. Being as though the UFC is the most elite professional mixed martial arts organization, it also needs somewhere to cultivate new talent. In the world of mixed martial arts, there are several organizations where this new talent can be found. It seems like each and every week, new mma organizations are popping up all over the world. However, the UFC has enjoyed the most success cultivating that talent from within.

The Ultimate Fighter has been more than just an entertaining reality series. For the UFC, it has been the birthplace of many mma careers. Although some fighters have entered The Ultimate Fighter with a few UFC fights under the belt, they were pretty much unknowns in the UFC. For those fighters, their UFC futures truly began when they signed on for what would turn out to be the blossoming of their careers. Read more…

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UFC’s highly anticipated showdown between Forrest Griffin and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is now less than a week away. Next Saturday night, the two will finally take center stage and square off in the octagon. While Griffin is most recognized as the first Ultimate Fighter, Jackson carries with him the notoriety of the man who dismantled Chuck Liddell. Yet, this fight could be a defining moment for both men.

Jackson has since established himself as the man to beat in the light heavyweight division. A win would further cement the foundation he is building as one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC. Adversely, a loss may drop him down a notch and hinder his credibility. That doesn’t mean that Griffin is not a worthy opponent. But if Griffin can came out with a victory, he could find himself catapulted up to the same echelon as Jackson. Putting forth a game effort against Rampage just won’t be enough to elevate him to that same status.

A long time coming

Although the fight is still a few days away, the stage was set a long time ago. This past season, both Griffin and Jackson were coaches during the latest Ultimate Fighter saga. And that was by no coincidence. Throughout the season, the two seemed to get along. However, there always seemed to be an underlying tension in the air. In casting the two, UFC president Dana White carefully positioned them both as though they were chess pieces. Neither man made any bold moves during the Ultimate Fighter series, but rather waited until this week for the chance to say check mate.

In the past, both Griffin and Jackson also shared a similar opponent in Mauricio Rua. Rua was Griffin’s latest victim in a dramatic match that ended late in the third round this past September. Jackson is also no stranger to Rua as Rampage felt his wrath during a PRIDE match-up in 2005 in which Rua scored a first round knockout.

Needless to say, a lot of hype and history has led up to the Jackson-Griffin battle. More hype will follow in the week to come, and on Saturday both fighters will make history. There has been so much building up to this event, that anything less than the dramatic would be a bit of let down.

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The ultimate aspect of mixed martial arts is that any fighter can win at any given moment. Saturday night’s “Ultimate Fighter Finale” between CB Dollaway and Amir Sadollah proved just that. Dollaway came out and took immediate control of the fight and looked to have a handle on the early action. Sadollah hardly had a chance to find himself on the offensive as Dollaway seemed ready to cruise to a victory and become the seventh fighter to be crowned the Ultimate Fighter.

Nevertheless, Dollaway’s fate changed in an instant when Sadollah caught him in an arm bar and forced the heavily favored Dollaway to tap. Just three minutes into the first round, Sadollah had sealed up season seven of the Ultimate Fighter. Dollaway paced across the octagon with disbelief written all over his face. In the world of mixed martial arts, even the heavily favored fighter is susceptible to a loss at any given moment.

It was truly a moment for exultation on Sadollah’s behalf as he walked away with a six figure contract to fight in the UFC. But the road ahead will not lie on a bed of roses. Sadollah will now have to contend with much stiffer competition in mixed martial arts’ most elite organization.

What lies ahead

All Sadollah needed to do was feast his upon the night’s main event to catch a glimpse of what the future has in store. Nearly two years ago to the day, Kendall Grove capped off season three of the Ultimate Fighter with a unanimous decision over Ed Herman. But since then, Grove has struggled to make a name for himself in the UFC.

Following Sadollah’s win, Grove used up all three rounds to win a split decision against an aged Evan Tanner. Grove peppered Tanner with jabs and added a few fierce elbows and knees throughout the fight. Yet, Grove could not finish off his slower, weaker and much older opponent.

The win was a must for Grove coming off two straight first round losses. The win also improved Grove’s post Ultimate Fighter record to a mere 3-2. Although Grove won the fight rather convincingly, the win didn’t convince anyone that he is a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division. It is a future Grove probably didn’t foresee after he walked out of the octagon as the Ultimate Fighter two years ago.

Simply because Grove has had his share of struggles in the UFC does not mean Sadollah will follow the same path. So how can Sadollah truly expect to compete with fighters of a much higher caliber? The answer to that question came from inside the octagon. Sadollah’s victory of Dollaway is proof that any UFC fighter has a chance at any moment on the mat, especially the more technical fighters.

Granted, Sadollah probably doesn’t entertain visions of struggling to a split decision against an Evan Tanner type two years into the future. But only time will tell how his future will pan out. He is already armed with much more humility than Grove who displayed a bit of arrogance before, during and after his bout with Tanner.

Ultimate Fighters

On Saturday night, the UFC audience was able to witness back to back Ultimate Fighter champions of a very different nature. Yet, as different as every fighter is, they all share one common trait. Any one can fall victim to an arm bar at any given moment.

With so many ways to slip in a submission, it is extremely difficult to ever crown a true Ultimate Fighter. Nonetheless, other fighters will go on to follow in the footsteps of Grove and Sadollah as the Ultimate Fighter series continues. The names my change although the sport will remain the same. For it is not the ultimate fighter that makes the sport what it is, but rather the ultimate fight itself.

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This year’s Ultimate Fighter finale will take place Saturday night in Las Vegas, although there will be a slight twist to the final bout. One of the fighters who earned the right to step into the octagon on Saturday night had that right pulled out from underneath of him. Finalist Jesse Taylor was issued his walking papers by UFC president Dana White after his recent meltdown in Sin City.

White dismissed Taylor after he was caught on video tape kicking out a window of a limousine and subsequently terrorizing women inside a Las Vegas hotel. Furthermore, he boasted to security that he was a UFC fighter, as if that simple fact would excuse his behavior. The move didn’t sit well with White.

A New Ultimate Fighter

As a result, Amir Sadollah will replace Taylor and Take on CB Dollaway for the right to be crowned the Ultimate Fighter during its seventh season. The move showed a lot of grit as well as the execution of class on White’s behalf. In the eyes of many, mma fighters are simply revered as nothing more than bruisers and thugs. And, in some circles, even mindless barbarians.

Taylor’s behavior only gave credence to those theories. Yet, White’s decision to nix Taylor has attempted to contradict those theories. Regardless of what transpires inside the octagon, White sent a clear cut message to the mass public as well as the rest of the fighters in the UFC. That message was simply that such behavior will not be tolerated.

In the world of professional sports, so many athletes tarnish their name and the name of their sport because of their behavior outside of the sport. In the recent past, former NFL quarterback Michael Vick fell victim to off the field problems and as a result, he now resides in an 8×11 cell.

But Taylor also wasn’t the only one to fall victim to the perils of Sin City. Las Vegas seduced the NFL’s “Pacman” Jones more than a year ago and prohibited him from pursuing an immediate future in football. While these may just be isolated incidents, each one grabs major headlines and sticks out in the forefront of most people’s minds. Despite most of the positives generated by these sports, these incidents batter them with a black eye.

Going, going, gone

Nowadays, the name of a home run king cannot be uttered with out the word steroid following that name. In a lesser publicized move, the EliteXC banned women’s fighter Carina Damm for one year after she tested positive for steroids. The move took place this past April and nullified a scheduled women’s bout on the past EliteXC television event. Without many women grabbing headlines in the sport, it was a bold move for the EliteXC to take such a drastic measure.

The WEC also got into the act and issued a six month medical suspension to Urijah Faber because of an injury to his hand that was sustained during his last bout with Jens Pulver. Now how many organizations would prohibit a player/fighter from participating because of a medical injury?

It was pretty much a known fact that former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre was on a steady diet of Demerol throughout his NFL career. Nonetheless, no NFL representative ever stepped in and even questioned the status of his health, nonetheless how many pills he was popping at halftime.

Although some may look on the sport of mixed martial arts as one of brutality, it is doing an excellent job of showing it is anything but that. White’s most recent move to ban Taylor is just the latest to show that the UFC wants to be recognized as an organization equipped with a conscious.

A lasting theory?

Now, would White had move such a move if Rampage Jackson had kicked out the window of a limousine? That question doesn’t have to be answered even though White gave the impression that such behavior will not be tolerated. And he evidenced the fact, showing that Taylor is not above the law.

A great deal of athletes in this day and age adhere to a mindset that would repute White’s actions. Lucrative contracts, millions of adoring fans and astronomical endorsement deals lead a lot of athletes to believe as though they can behave however they choose. That way of thinking may suffice in other organizations, but White has made a stand claiming that it will not be part of the UFC.

As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow, White is likely to get more opportunities to test his theory. For it is only a matter of time before someone decides to let the fame, fortune and perhaps even the luster of Las Vegas get the better of them. It will be then when the world will get to see if White can duplicate the same sentiment he expressed in his decision to dismiss Taylor.

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