I still don't understand why it is that people want to see Vernon White in the UFC over Horn. Horn wins the fight but White made the fight "exciting." That means that it was exciting to see White get his ass kicked. Same thing with Randleman v. Babalu. Now there is a thread about Riggs who just got beat by Steibling. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to see the best fighters in the UFC. Not people who lose in an "exciting" manner. The sport won't be taken seriously until the best fighters are fighting at the premier show. You can have Butterbean style fights like Tank, but for the serious fights, you need the best fighters. It seems like a lot of you don't want to see the best fighters. You want to see a bar fight.
I really thought I was in the minority on this subject.
How can you tell competitors to not be the best, but the most exciting... It's so subjective to begin with.
Pulsar- I think that this is the downfall of the UFC. Similar to the way that the UFC was promoted back in the begining as "the most violent" specticle. It feeds in to peoples bloodlust rather than promoting a sport. If people want to see people get the crap kicked out of each other then they should go to a bar. As for me, I am a former wrestler, I appriciate takedowns and good grapling. Although I really feel that I suck at boxing, I am a big fan, I appriciate good boxing. Watching the second best fighter to see him get his ass kicked in an exciting manner is not fun to me.
Its not us "Hardcore" fans that our sport needs to help the sport become more "mainstream" Its the people who we are trying to introduce to the sport that want to see "exciting" fights.
bflex brought out the best in the correct
cerebralathlete has hit the correct. ttt for more exciting fighters (ie Masakazu Imanari,Genki Sudo, Takaharu Murahama, Jiro Wakabayashi, Johnathan Ivey, Ikuhisa Minowa, Karo Parisyan, Kristof Midoux, Rampage Jackson, Josh Barnett, Useless).
Randleman and exciting cannot be in the same sentence, especially when the bell for round 2 sounds:). I think if you want the "best fighters" mentality it would be like putting a lion, a leopard, and a tiger in one cage. My definition of an exciting fight is a very technical fight where fighters are active and try for different techniques (ie Barnett/Kondo, SAKU/Rampage, SAKU/Renzo) and not lay n pray (Royce/Ken II, Coleman/Frye).
Downfall is right.
Why are people so willing to give up on the mainstream too... what I mean is, why give in to public opinion... Why not force the issue and really educate the masses on the honour, integrity and SAFETY of the sport?
Why give up on the sporting angle?
I think people appreciate all athletes, as long as their is some understanding of their objectives.
UFC is a buisness, about fighting. Its also a buisness about entertainment. I want to be entertained, not bored. Watching an "exciting fighter" rather than a boring fighter is always a plus.
I'd rather pay to see a 20-10 fighter bring it, than a 20-0 fighter lay in gaurd and punch his way to victory.
Personally, I'd rather see a guy like Goodridge, who is not the best but always gives a good show, over a guy like Sherk, who is top 3 in the world but never entertains me.
But that's just me.
ttt
Horn is, without a doubt, one of the elite fighters at 185 lbs, and also at 205 lbs. He has made a lot of changes to his game as of late, in an attempt to make himself more marketable to the brass at ZUFFA (as well as to Japan). The work has paid off with some impressive wins early ... but, I think the big events are still just a little leery of Horn possibly reverting back to old ways against a top opponent (I am not saying he will do so, I am just saying I believe that is why he has not been signed so far).
The quick win over Loiseau was a good one, but he may need a couple more of those to convince them (matchmakers for big events) that he can have an open game under the pressures of big fights.
I still say that Horn subs Matt Lindland 10 of 10 goes (Matt has a bad habit of reaching in when in guard=certain quick loss against Horn) and I would not hesitate to make that match up (if I had the power to do so). IMO, Horn is, by far, the lesser of the two evils between Lindland and himself ... and does, indeed, deserve another chance some time in the near future.
My two cents.
Get Ivan Menjivar in there for excitement!
I want to see the best fighters, it's up to the referee to determine the pace of the fight. If it's 'boring' then the referee isn't doing his job.
"I want to see the best fighters, it's up to the referee to determine the pace of the fight. If it's 'boring' then the referee isn't doing his job."
I could not disagree more.
LOL @ the ref being responsible for the excitement level of a fight.
If the fighters are unwilling to create action, there's nothing the referee can do about it.
Leave the referee out of the way as much as possible. Let the fighters fight. Reward exciting fighters and punish boring fighters.
You obviously don't have any idea of what the ref is used for. If the fight falls below pace, that's why they are there. You must be a new fan to combat sports.
The ref is there to make sure the fighters are fighting by the rules, and to ensure their safety. Not to create action. The rules and fighters create action, not the ref.
lol@ Ryan, the newby to MMA.
The ref determines whether a match is exciting or not?
A ref might stand up those who are stalling for the win, or maybe keeping an eye out for dirty underhanded blows, but it is ultimately the fighters who should be bringing the excitiment, by staying active & not trying to save up energy for a move after their rested.
If fighters are just laying there...... trying to recuperate, is the ref supposed to stick his finger up the fighters butt to get them going again?? Thats where the importance of cardio comes in. They should have it before they step in to the cage or ring.
So a refs job is to maintain the flow of the fight, or the lack of it & hopefully will just be an onlooker from within, nothing more.
**gets pepper spray ready for attack**
my main objective is to be entertained. That means the performers need to be exciting. Sometimes they act out their excitement in the form of crazy kung fu fighting and sometimes they act it out in the form of crazy antics, grave digging, flipping the birdie, and generally just getting downright nutty. One thing UFC can do to make my trip peak is to add a couple of mismatches in with every card just to ensure people are entertained.
p.s. if you don't see things my way, then you should cause you'd really like it.
lol at anybody NOT wanting to watch exciting fights. Please. Save it for your momma. I know you don't get excited watching two half naked men lay and sweat all over each other for fifteen minutes. right? right??