UFC belt is now MMA's Pinnacle

Underground
1

Like it or not people...the UFC belt is now the pinnacle of the sport.

Maybe Bodog or EXC can make a serious go at being competitive with the UFC in 3-4 years, but for the next few years, it's going to be hard to argue that whoever is fighting in the UFC isn't the best of the best.

They have doubled their shows...Hendo, Nog, Crocop, Werdrum, Rampage, are all now UFC...more will follow without a Pride-type show running strong.

My bet is that you will see many of the older guys in MMA retire, for a miriad of reasons...they don't wanna fight upcomming talent that has a shot at beating them when nobody has ever heard of them (other than diehards), they don't want to change venues and the smaller shows don't offer much but novelty fights with big money for names only, and many of them probably cannot get sanctioned in the US and be able to pass the drug screening.

I think Lindland and Fedor are both the top of their weightclass, yet they aren't gonna fight the best in smaller shows...honestly will you be able to consider them the best in two years if all they fought are upandcommers and UFC rejects?

I don't think so... now is the time for the top condenders to truthfully solidify themselves and their rankings in MMA....and that will be done in the UFC and UFC only most likely.

At least until one of the others blows up.

2

Basically, for all those Fedor threads out there...Fedor is still No.1 in my head, but in a year he will not be if not fighting in the UFC.

Bodog and EliteXC simply don't have the talent right now to push Champion-Level MMA.

Unless Pride comes back from the dead, it's over...the UFC will cherry-pick most of the best...that plus it's current roster will make Bodog+EXC+K1 sill < UFC as far as MMA goes.

3

"Than why didn't Rampage gave a fuck about it after winning?"

It doesn't really matter does it? He is after all, a UFC fighter now whether he is happy with that fact or not.

4

We'll soon have a unified champ too....and you know Shogun will fight the winner soon too so it'll be a full on unified undisputed champ at that. That'll be pretty cool.

5

"Than why didn't Rampage gave a fuck about it after winning?"

Yeah he said he didnt give a fuck. But he sure is loving the attention it is garnering him....you cant say you dont give a fuck about the belt but bask in the glory that it delivers you, very contradictory.

6

^^^exactly... then the beltholder can truthfully claim No.1 status.

No other org is capable of Champion-level fighting at this point...if your not fighting the best, (and their is now clearly a "best") then your a challenger for the throne at best.

8

"Randy is not the best HW in the world.

Rampage may not be the best LHW in the world (I'd give him a better shot against Shogun/Wand now)

Anderson Silva is not the best MW in the world."

They are if they still have that strap 1-2 years from now.

They are the men to beat, like it or not...If somebody wants to call themselves champion then the road goes thru them.

The cards over the next 2 years will be the most exciting IMO... they will decide the real TOP of the sport.

IF guys like Lindland and Fedor aren't fighting for them, their stock will sink like a stone.

9

I will take the collective silence as grudgingly accepting these facts...

10

sorry but JimmersonzGlove just destroyed your "facts"

12

Yeah today we still have unanswered questions with the influx of pride guys but I agree with caveman that in a couple years when everything sorts out it'll be very hard to argue that the champs in UFC aren't the best in the sport.

13

Sorry this isn't hugging...this is obvious.

The other org's simply don't have enough talent in them put together to crown anything close to a "Champion"

The run is happening now, and will be settled probably by the end of next year. Bodog, EXC, and K-1 don't have the talent pool...sorry to break your hearts.

The UFC champion MUST by simple logic be considered the MMA champion, once the Pride guys get to show what they can do in the cage.

14

The UFC has Pride, and Pride seems to be dead.

The lightweights, Shogun, and everybody else will now go to the UFC, or be scattered amonsts several lesser orgs and fight nobodies, while their talent wilts due to lack of real competition.

Sooner or later an Org will probably come close (my guess is Bodog, seeing how much they are willing to lose to get this thing started) but that probably won't go anywhere for 5 years.

15

"Bodog and EXC have to start bringing in every young fighter who is trying to get on TUF and looks to be a legit stud and lock them up to long contracts."

That's what they are doing...and one will most likely fail miserably in the process, then get eaten, making the other and the UFC still stronger.

There will be alot of failing in that process though, it will take alot of time, and during that, they will get plenty of their fighters that show promise picked off by the UFC, or have to pay thru the nose for them.

16

"They are if they still have that strap 1-2 years from now."

  • I agree in principle. But that's one huge IF, and as JimmersonzGlove noted, 1-2 years is an eternity in MMA time.

Just 2 years ago, Pride was at its peak (MW GP, Bushido GP, NYE with Yoshida-Ogawa where they finally beat K-1 in the ratings). Now they're dead.

Up to this point, the Pride HW title was THE HW championship in MMA, with its 2 holders each universally ranked #1 (Nog and Fedor), and having proven themselves the best out of the best HW division in MMA.

The UFC WW title was also THE 170-lbs. championship in MMA since most of Shooto's stars had moved on, and the UFC was left as the only major-league org. with that division.

And with the LW GP, Pride's LW title became THE LW title for MMA since the UFC had scrapped their 155 division, along with Shooto's continued decline and migration.

But from now on, with the consolidation of talent, the UFC's titles will almost certainly become THE titles for all of MMA. They already have most of the top ten fighters in every weight class, and will be adding even more.

But again, as JimmersonzGlove noted, aside from their WW title, as of now the UFC's titles are not the definitive championships yet.

But as the UFC continues to acquire more top 3 talent to fight it out for #1 (like Shogun-Hendo-Rampage at 205, Filho at 185), whoever comes out the winner and the champion will certainly end up as the true #1.

But why don't we wait for the actual to arrive before anointing them in advance. As Pride has shown, a lot can happen in 2 years.