Holy shit.
That looks waaay too good to be true. I'm very skeptical that this card will ever come together.
First of all, with all those high-priced big names (even just Fedor alone) on the same card, whichever promotion will be putting it on will not only need to have some really deep pockets - but be willing to lose just a ton on their first show.
And second, that card would almost monopolize the very top few HW's in the world.
There are 6 HW's who are a cut above everyone else in MMA - Fedor, Nog, Randy, Sylvia, Arlovski, and Barnett - and 4 of them would be on that one card.
(And if HDNet is at least one of the players putting on this card, they would also have Randy, since they have him signed to a contract which will commence once his UFC contract expires.)
And lastly, the UFC is crazy if they let Arlovski go. Incomprehensible.
They should have taken the money they were offering Sylvia and taken at least a portion of it to add on to what they were offering Arlovksi.
Without AA, they'll have only 1 of those 6 top HW's - Nog.
But anyway, that card is just unbelievably sick - IF it really happens (which I doubt).
4 of the top 6 HW's in MMA, plus 3 other top-20 HW's in Aleksander, Rizzo, and Rothwell.
Brig, so you're saying this will be HBO?
Holy shit if true.
it's cool that someone with an infinite pit of money is planning this, considering upcoming heavyweight extravaganzas like yamma
"4 of the top 6 HW's in MMA, plus 3 other top-20 HW's in Aleksander, Rizzo, and Rothwell. "
Better put 6 top 10 heavyweights. Fedor, Sylvia, Barnett, Arlovski, Aleks, Rothwell
"First of all, with all those high-priced big names (even just Fedor alone) on the same card, whichever promotion will be putting it on will not only need to have some really deep pockets - but be willing to lose just a ton on their first show."
Well, if what Sherdog reported was true, the people involved are Affliction and Mark Cuban so, I would say "Deep pockets" would be an under-statement.
You have to remember, the arena, the production company, etc. that they'll be using are all owned by Mark Cuban as well.
whistleblower - Brig, so you're saying this will be HBO?
Holy shit if true.
I didn't say anything. I think it'd be cool. I put the smiley face because, if they are associated with Golden Boy who, it was rumored they were by MMAWeekly, all of Golden Boy's boxing is on HBO so, it would only make sense, don't you think?
Brigham -But trust me, after one card, they will be a major player in MMA. I personally think, with the financial backers I've heard, they will be around for a long while and I could see them making a huge dent in the MMA game.
Don't you guys ever get tired of saying these things and being wrong? You haven't even seen a card yet.
sparkyman -Brigham -But trust me, after one card, they will be a major player in MMA. I personally think, with the financial backers I've heard, they will be around for a long while and I could see them making a huge dent in the MMA game.
Don't you guys ever get tired of saying these things and being wrong? You haven't even seen a card yet.
So? It's still fun to talk about.
I'll give you that!
Brigham - "Well, if what Sherdog reported was true, the people involved are Affliction and Mark Cuban so, I would say "Deep pockets" would be an under-statement."
-Yeah, if Golden Boy, Affliction, and Cuban are all in this together, then yeah - hell of an understatement.
But still, the way that card is now, it would probably be the highest total fighter payroll ever for an MMA event.
They wouldn't be just getting their feet wet, but taking a precipitous plunge into the deep end.
The skeptic in me still doesn't view that card as being realistic - but if it does happen, that's an absolute blockbuster lineup. One of the most stacked cards ever.
(And btw, anyone not excited about a potential Barnett-Rizzo rematch must have forgotten, or just never saw, their first fight. They threw down.)
A few thoughts:
whistle/brig- Quite a lot of what you're saying is debatable.
As for those specific guys being the top 6 you would have to completely ignore Vera, Werdum, Gonzaga, Herring, Kongo, CC, etc.
Also Andre & Randy are still in (signed or in signing period) the UFC (as is Nog of course). So assuming they actually sign Fedor which others have struggled with AND get Barnett that's 3 of the A level HW's out there. Not bad sure but acting like it's the best show ever is way overboard.
Oh and Rothwell is still extremely unproven and has to actually beat someone at or near the A level to be considered with these guys. Aleks is really in the same boat as Rothwell as he's lost his only real big fights with CC, Barnett, and Werdum (he's closer than Rothwell though IMO with the win over Kharit.).
If Cuban is invovled it will almost undoubtedly be on HDNet.
I hope they can put together a great card as I love (basically) free MMA but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've heard the same kind of big talk from other new promotions that didn't live up to their word and took a dive (i.e. M-1). I won't hold my breath.
I have heard that the Golden Boy/Affliction relationship fell thru.
Not positive though.
"Also Andre & Randy are still in (signed or in signing period) the UFC (as is Nog of course). So assuming they actually sign Fedor which others have struggled with AND get Barnett that's 3 of the A level HW's out there. Not bad sure but acting like it's the best show ever is way overboard."
Arlovski's contract is up for the record.
"As for those specific guys being the top 6 you would have to completely ignore Vera, Werdum, Gonzaga, Herring, Kongo, CC, etc."
No one said they were top 6 but, as the rankings go, Fedor is #1, Sylvia is #4ish, Arlovski is #5, Barnett, depending where you look is at #6 or #7, Aleks is in everyone's top 10 either at #9 or #10, and Sherdog has Rothwell at #10 so, yeah, those are 6 of the top 10 heavyweights.
"If Cuban is invovled it will almost undoubtedly be on HDNet."
Wait and see...
"I hope they can put together a great card as I love (basically) free MMA but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've heard the same kind of big talk from other new promotions that didn't live up to their word and took a dive (i.e. M-1). I won't hold my breath."
Well, with all do respect, M-1 didn't have a billionaire involved.
Looks to be a good card
I think there's a solid case to be made for Arlovski being ranked above Sylvia now. Just look at what each guy has done since their last fight.
Boldar - "whistle/brig- Quite a lot of what you're saying is debatable.
As for those specific guys being the top 6 you would have to completely ignore Vera, Werdum, Gonzaga, Herring, Kongo, CC, etc."
- Seriously LOL @ anyone considering Vera, Herring, or Kongo "better" than Fedor, Nog, Randy, Sylvia, Arlovski, or Barnett - or even more highly "ranked," either (unless based solely on the technicality of excluding Fedor and Barnett altogether for inactivity).
What top-ten opponent has Vera EVER beaten?
And as for Herring - until Kongo, who was the last top-ten HW that he beat?
You'd have to go back to Gan McGee in 2004.
And as for the last time that Heath actually impressively and decisively beat a ranked HW - it was Mark Kerr all the way back in 2001 (yeah, 2001).
As for Kongo - he has the one win over Cro Cop - and then was upset by a long-past-relevant Herring (who has now only forced himself back into relevancy because of that win over Kongo).
Gonzaga's been stopped in his last 2 fights and still only has that one top win ever in Cro Cop for his career.
Cro Cop lost twice last year in major devaluing upsets to previously unranked opponents.
And as for Werdum - he's just under those six (Fedor, Nog, Randy, Barnett, Sylvia, AA).
But before beating Gonzaga, Werdum had just been hanging on to being top-ten after the loss to Arlovski - and Werdum was never considered top-five anyway.
So how did beating Gonzaga suddenly leapfrog Werdum ahead of any of those other 6 (again, except by virtue of technical inactivity for Fedor and Barnett) - especially when Randy had already just dominated and somewhat exposed Gonzaga before Werdum did?
So name who else in the HW division has been proven so that they should be considered "better" or more highly "ranked" (without counting the technicality of exclusions for inactivity) than Fedor, Nog, Randy, Barnett, Sylvia, or Arlovski?
Boldar - "Oh and Rothwell is still extremely unproven and has to actually beat someone at or near the A level to be considered with these guys."
- You mean, just like Vera. Which is why neither deserves to be ranked top-10 - because they've never actually beat a top-ten HW to rightfully enter that top 10 themselves.
Boldar - "Also Andre & Randy are still in (signed or in signing period) the UFC"
- No, they're not.
Randy has stated on the record multiple times that he will not fight for the UFC again - and that if the court rules that his UFC contract will not expire, then he would rather retire.
Andrei's contract with the UFC, on the other hand, HAS expired and the only term still in effect is a 3-month non-compete, which will expire in May.
So Arlovski is NOT currently signed with the UFC.
anyone who doesn't think that's an awesome first card is insane or paid by Zuffa......
I would pay for that card. Lots of top HW's, Babalu, what is wrong with that?
This would be rad if it comes to fruition
JimmersonzGlove - "I've always considered Sergei & Aleksander along the same lines as Arlovski & Sylvia, and actually those are the matchups I pretty much want to see more than anything."
-Oh man. You read my mind exactly.
I too have ALWAYS considered Sergei the direct analog to Arlovski in terms of skills set and style, and Aleksander the analog to Sylvia as well.
JimmersonzGlove - "I just think its weird that AA & Sylvia are always top 10 or top 5 when their biggest wins are each other, when Sergei & Aleksander are out of the top ten, have just as many big wins, and in some cases have fought better competition."
- Frankly, it's because Arlovski and Sylvia were the perennial top 2 in the UFC HW division, where they were clearly the cream of the crop and a cut above everyone else for years, up until 2007.
So in that time, they didn't have to face a Barnett, Cro Cop, or Werdum for the most part - and thus have more dangerous chances to potentially lose. The UFC HW title picture was really just basically a 2-man revolving door between Arlovski and Sylvia.
But nevertheless, the fact remains that they still beat mostly everyone else that was in that less intensely populated division (e.g., "#1 contenders" like Eilers, Buentello, Monson) - which at the same time meant having fewer realistic chances to lose, except primarily to each other.
This in turn meant fewer occasions for them to drop in the rankings than guys like Sergei and Aleksander had.
So I hear exactly what you're saying.
If you had put Sergei and Aleksander in to replace Arlovski and Sylvia in the UFC, they would have likely been favored to beat most, if not all, of the non-Sylvia/AA competition that Sylvia and AA got to face from 2002 through 2006 (like Eilers, Buentello, Telligman, Cabbage, Pe De Pano, Ian Freeman).
But the bottom-line reality is, they didn't.
So the hypothetical that Sergei and Aleksander could have done what AA and Sylvia did (i.e., beaten those other guys and mainly lost only to each other to still be the top 2 in the UFC) remains just that - hypothetical.
And therefore, despite whatever presumptive expectation, it was not actually proven to be true (i.e., to be a real basis for rating them higher than they are, and thus still behind Sylvia and AA).
JimmersonzGlove -I'd still have Sergei in the top 10 over Rothwell.
Yeah, true, me too.