With an over-the-top buildup leading into UFC 100, Zuffa’s promotional effort for Saturday’s card left virtually no stone unturned, including a countdown that recapped the greatest 100 UFC fights as voted on by fans.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
by Jason Probst
http://sherdog.com/news/articles/Erasing-Shamrock-from-the-UFC-History-Books-18470
That is, the greatest fights except those involving Frank Shamrock.
The UFC’s first middleweight champ and arguably its biggest star in the late 90s, Shamrock never lost a fight in the Octagon. However, the UFC excluded all of his bouts from fan voting -- even his epic scrap against Tito Ortiz in September 1999 at UFC 22.
In short, Shamrock-Ortiz was one of the UFC’s earliest title bouts that felt like a top championship boxing match, given the buildup and drama that made Shamrock’s fourth-round TKO his finest -- and final -- performance in the Octagon. Giving up more than 20 pounds after the weigh-in, Shamrock calmly and tactically dissected Ortiz in what stands as a masterpiece of strategy, along with a heady dose of down-and-dirty know-how.
Sadly, the bout won’t be featured on the UFC’s countdown that has been airing on Spike TV.
“I thought it was a pivotal fight (in MMA),” Shamrock told Sherdog.com. “Physically and mentally, it was a pivotal fight in the history of the sport itself. It’s obviously pretty ridiculous and childish they left it out. That’s obvious. I was the first-ever champion, and Tito was the first guy in a weight class to work his way up. In my opinion, it was the first real legitimate build-up to a championship fight. It was a real story.”
Shamrock doesn’t get along with Dana White and UFC brass. Nor does Ortiz, another former UFC champion, whose losses only -- not wins -- were made eligible to be voted on by fans.
Given the good the UFC has done -- from pushing MMA into the mainstream spotlight to contributing to positive causes such as last December’s Spike TV card that raised funds for soldiers dealing with Traumatic Brain Injury -- such treatment of fighters seems overtly bush-league.
Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company, has skirted the potholes that derailed a half-dozen competing promotions in the past three years. The company has carefully built the UFC brand and scrupulously polished its image to become a mainstream attraction with a revenue upside that is seemingly limitless given its talent base.
But rumblings inside the industry, along with observations by assorted Zuffa watchers, suggest power moves underway that will significantly alter the considerable sums of money the UFC generates.
Stephen Martinez/Sherdog.com
Shamrock and Dana White
have long been at odds.As reported by multiple sites recently, the UFC has begun making sponsors -- whose guerrilla marketing through fighter gear and banners is a big source of dough for athletes -- pay a fee to the promotion, reportedly up to $100,000, to sponsor (and advertise on) fighters. White acknowledged Friday on CNBC that the UFC has implemented such a policy, though he didn’t say how much money his company is requiring from sponsors.
For years fighters have secured individual deals with sponsors through agents and managers. Those criticizing the new policy have suggested that fighters will lose sponsors who can’t pay the fee and, by losing sponsors, will lose money. To wit, all is not well in UFC-ville amidst the rank and file who comprise its citizenry, but the tourists keep coming in bigger numbers then ever, blissfully unaware for the most part.
“I think it’s terrible,” said Shamrock of the sponsorship fee. “It would be different if (the UFC was) on network television and the network, say, ABC, said, ‘Hey, you can’t have a Condom Depot ad on your trunks,’ but the UFC is not on ABC. They’re going to be putting that money in their own pocket.”
Shamrock added that if the UFC is tightening up sponsorship requirements with the fee-based policy, it could push athletes to other promotions.
“It will attract fighters to Strikeforce,” said Shamrock, who is currently under contract with the promotion himself. “When I go in and fight, endorsements are 30 percent of my purse, and I make a good purse. When you’re working your way up, that’s your house payment. I know what the UFC is doing. They’re trying to change their business model midstream, and that’s hard to do. But do you really need 100K so someone can put a logo on (a fighter’s) shorts?”
To the UFC’s credit, the organization did make a hugely needed change a few years ago when it quashed the problem of fighters thanking sponsors during post-match interviews. A tradition begun by Ortiz, it quickly mushroomed into an embarrassing sideshow as fighters would thank an ever-expanding list, instead of discussing the match that just transpired. Critics of the move howled that sponsor thank-yous would dry up funds, and were savagely incorrect, and the sport seems a lot more professional now that Joe Rogan can interview fighters about fights instead of having the fans get bombarded with nettlesome sponsor thank-yous.
But the latest move could in fact reduce fighter compensation and also thin the long-expanding ranks of agents, managers and middlemen. For now, though, the UFC’s market dominance figures to only rise after this weekend’s stacked UFC 100 card.
Hmmmmm.........just made a thread believing Dana's story about black balling EA Sports for not believe "MMA is a sport," leaving Frank Shamrock's fights out of the top 100 would also lend support for the same notion.
LMAO @ Frank disecting Tito.Tito was punishing him the whole fight until he gassed out.
Maybe Frank shouldn't be heavily involved in a rival company. It's all business. In the end Zuffa will give him his respect.
crowbar - LMAO @ Frank disecting Tito.Tito was punishing him the whole fight until he gassed out.
Not really, Tito was winning but not doing a whole lot of damage. Frank had him gaged.
THP - Maybe Frank shouldn't be heavily involved in a rival company. It's all business. In the end Zuffa will give him his respect.
"Business" has nothing to do with the 100 greatest UFC fights unless its 100 Greatest UFC fights of current UFC fighters or those whom Dana doesnt get along with.
Wasnt Dana claiming EA should be punished for not believe MMA is a sport?
That fight is a good indicator how how much the ground game has progressed over the years. Does anyone else remember watching this fight and thinking about how amazing Frank's defensive guard was? By modern standards, his guard is utter junk.
"LMAO @ Frank disecting Tito.Tito was punishing him the whole fight until he gassed out. "
wow, talk about revisionist history...
Sorta. Its always been no secret Frank was never good at positional BJJ but he was always a survivor on the ground no matter if he was mounted, etc and he was very good with subs for his time as well. He was able to fend off Tito's GNP for the most part so his guard ws at least good to very good for his time. Of course, things have come long since that time though.
Wow, there is a reason i never click on these threads...
crowbar-"... LMAO @ Frank disecting Tito.Tito was punishing him the whole fight until he gassed out..."--------------------------------------------------Uuuuh, no. Tito did little damage, just had top control because he was so much bigger and heavier. Frank rode him like a pony and gassed him out...then TRULY hurt Tito. Made him tap...Tito said he felt his body go numb after the elbow and he tapped.
That ws classic whether the storm in guard and gas the wrestler then come back to outstike him ala William/Coleman, Maurice/Coleman, Herring/Kerr, Bas/TK (sorta ;p) etc, etc.
Fight should have been on there, although personally I always thought it sucked aside from the last 20 seconds.
^ It was kinda like Sak/Renzo. Kinda uneventful for the most part but as a whole, watching Frank tire Tito out then take him out was pretty masterly. But a huge fight and big test for Frank. He was waaay smaller than Tito too.
If it sounds like I am a big Tito fan....I am not.I just remember him controlling Frank for the majority of the fight.I was glad when Frank won.I didn`t like Tito at the time.
That fight was great and Frank showed great technique throughout. He did alot of subtle things in there on the ground and had a great rapport w/ his corner. However, I could see someone who doesn't train at all being lost w/ the details and thinking it was boring.
the 100 greatest fights countdown show kind of sucked. I thought they were gonna show fights that changed the UFC, instead we got alot of meaningless fights with only a few history changing fights thrown in.
Frank/Tito was significant at the time because it showed the importance of cardio. After that fight many fighters took their training to a whole new level including Tito.
You guys couldn't live a day in Dana or Lorenzo's shoes. They're just doing the best job to preserve their brand.
Not sure what that has to do with the so-called 100 top UFC fights.
crowbar - LMAO @ Frank disecting Tito.Tito was punishing him the whole fight until he gassed out.
step away from the crackpipe .......