With all the negative comments directed at the UFC right now,am i the only one looking forward to some great looking cards in the not so distant future?
Yes, UFC 72 is a poor card but it is one of many cards that the UFC is putting on in a very short space of time. How many cards were put on a few years ago compared to this year? I dont see how people can keep complaining when they can see how good the next three events are shaping up, with TUF finale thrown in.
I can see that many, understandably, miss Pride. Pride was a great organization but lets not pretend it was perfect. Complaining about Nog/Herring three may be valid(Even if it is Nogs first fight in the UFC and it is only the fourth fight on the main card) but Pride put on loads of pointless and/or mismatched fights. Have people forgotton about Tamura vs Sapp, Giant Silva vs anyone, Sak/Silva rematches etc? A fighter like Zulu actually got to face the two best heavyweights in the world, where they could have been facing top guys. Lets also not forget the shameless manipulation of the Heavyweight GP, allowing Japanese fighter Ogawa to occupy a semifinal slot with Nog, Fedor and Kharitinov(giving Ogawa Leko and the formidable Giant Silva to get there). Im not even going to into the issue of suspected works.
For all those faults, Pride put on some great shows and excellent fights. Even so,i dont see any reason why Pride's talent cant put on those same fights in the UFC. Now, fights like Liddell vs Silva will actually happen. Cro Cop, Rampage, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson and Nogueira are either established UFC fighters or schedualed to be in the mix soon. This depth will mean a series of excellent matches and cards. UFC 73 is the first sign of that, with the next two looking to continue the trend.
With promising upcoming cards (more frequent than ever), mainstream press coverage and a hugely increased fighter roster that is very close to covering all the worlds best fighters i think those who watch the UFC should have better things to do than complain.