SB Nation User Blog: Kid Nate

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights on Spike TV Tonight

Kid Nate — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:32:42 -0000

Tonight at 9pm EDT on Spike TV is the first installment. The rest will air:

Monday, July 6 at 9:00pm ET (Part 2)
Tuesday, July 7 at 9:00pm ET (Part 3)
Wednesday, July 8 at 9:00pm ET (Part 4)
Saturday, July 11 at 9:00pm ET (Part 5)

The USA TODAY/Bloody Elbow Top 50 MMA Fights in History III: 1997-2000

Kid Nate — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:05:30 -0000

Here's our third installment of the USA TODAY/Bloody Elbow Top 50 MMA fights in modern history. Sergio Non has written up the next block at USAT's Fighting Stances blog. To start, here's our criteria:

Some of the 50 fights we'll list aren't necessarily the best MMA bouts, but all of them are milestones for one reason or another, for better or for worse. The idea is to show how the sport has evolved. These are the fights that made the sport what it is today.

Here's the next 5 fights, covering 1997 to 2000:

Randy Couture def. Vitor Belfort, Oct. 17, 1997 — UFC 15
Looking back on this match, both men are still active fighters, but one has gone on to a Hall of Fame career and the other is still driving fans to ask "what if?" But coming into the fight, there was only on superstar in the Octagon -- Vitor "Phenom" Belfort. The Carlson Gracie protege's fast hands and string of KO wins had everyone assuming he would become the next UFC heavyweight champ. Enter Randy Couture and a textbook display of dirty boxing. Their careers would intertwine over much of the next decade, with Couture consistently reaching higher peaks than the mercurial Belfort.
Frank Shamrock def. Kevin Jackson, Dec. 21, 1997 — UFC Ultimate Japan
This fight decided the first UFC Middleweight title (now the Light Heavyweight belt). Instantly it became the marquee belt of the promotion. Jackson was heavily favored to win. An Olympic Gold medalist free-style wrestler, Jackson had steamrolled every opponent he'd faced in his young MMA career. Shamrock was on the comeback trail. In 1996 a combination of back stage politics and in ring losses had run him out of Pancrase. He then went on to lose his first true No Holds Barred fight to John Lober, an opponent Jackson had mauled in his MMA debut. Frank redeemed himself by winning a war against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The momentum from that win got him the opportunity to face Enson Inoue at Vale Tudo Japan 97. The UFC had already indicated that they wanted the winner to face Jackson for their MW title. Most expected Inoue to win, but Shamrock pulled out the win (technically a DQ win, but he'd already dropped Enson when Enson's brother entered the ring) to face Jackson. The UFC title fight itself was an anti-climax as Frank instantly armbarred Jackson for the win, the first of a string of dazzling wins for Frank as UFC champ.
Pat Miletich def. Mikey Burnett, October 16, 1998 — UFC Ultimate Brazil
This fight was for the first UFC lightweight title, now the Welterweight belt that GSP and Thiago Alves will fight for on July 11. Burnett was an impressive talent out of Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den, the top MMA camp of its day. He'd pioneered the sprawl and brawl style that Chuck Liddell and others would later use so well to batter top wrestler Townsend Saunders and Luta Livre ace Eugenio Tadeu. His opponent had already won a UFC lightweight tournament and was probably the top talent to come out of Iowa's pioneering regional MMA scene. The fight itself was a typical Miletich grinder, going to a decision after an appalling lack of action. But its on the list because the title it awarded has a linear legacy that still matters to this day: Miletich > Carlos Newton > Matt Hughes > Georges St Pierre (yeah yeah I know about B.J. Penn and Matt Serra being in the mix two, but they are just blips on the belt's history).
Frank Shamrock def. Tito Ortiz, Sept. 24, 1999 — UFC 22
This fight on the other hand is not only of historical significance, it was also an epic bout, truly one of the all-time best MMA fights. Shamrock had defended his UFC title three times since taking the belt, virtually cleaning out the division at the time but one challenger stood out. Tito Ortiz had exploded onto the scene by humiliating Shamrock's former Lion's Den teammates Guy Mezger and Jerry Bohlander. Tito seemed unstoppable. One of the first fighters to cut a lot of weight, he would enter the Octagon with a 20lb+ weight advantage over his opponents. His wrestling skills and knack for devastating ground and pound made most expect him to win. But Shamrock delivered one of the greatest ever performances in the fight. Pulling guard and riding out Tito's blitz for three and a half rounds, he stood up in the fourth round, reversed Tito and unleashed a battering that won the fight and had the fans roaring. The UFC is writing this fight, and Frank's whole reign, out of their official history, but don't be fooled, this is probabaly the greatest UFC fight of all time. Bonus animated gif in the full entry.
Kazushi Sakuraba def. Royce Gracie, May 1, 2000 — PRIDE Grand Prix 2000
In the last installment, I talked about Rickson Gracie's humiliation of Nobuhiko Takada at the first PRIDE. Well payback's a bitch and Takada protege Kazushi Sakuraba met Rickson's younger brother Royce at the first PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix. Royce Gracie demanded and got special rules, including no time limits. This came back to bite him as Sakuraba's superior conditioning and wicked leg kicks wore him down over the course of the longest match in modern MMA history. Here's a nice condensed version of the match. This fight, along with Sakuraba's wins over Royler and Renzo, established the legend of "the Gracie Hunter" and ensured Sakuraba's place in MMA history. Modern fans coming to Sakuraba for the first time are strongly urged to watch his bouts with Carlos Newton, Vernon "Tiger" White and Alan Goes to see some grappling battles that are still some of the most entertaining MMA bouts ever waged.

Read Parts One and Two and the Prequel.

Here we see Frank Shamrock getting a sweep on Tito Ortiz (after 3 and a 1/2 rounds of defending from the guard) and putting a beatdown on Tito standing. I still fondly remember the way my packed house of MMA fans went apeshit at my PPV viewing party when Frank turned the tables on Tito.

Thanks for the memories guys! Even if Dana White hates you, both of you contributed to the history of the sport.

The USA TODAY/Bloody Elbow Top 50 MMA Fights in History II: 1996-1997

Kid Nate — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:31:41 -0000

Here's our second installment of the USA TODAY/Bloody Elbow Top 50 MMA fights in modern history. Sergio Non has written up the next block at USAT's Fighting Stances blog. To start, here's our criteria:

Some of the 50 fights we'll list aren't necessarily the best MMA bouts, but all of them are milestones for one reason or another, for better or for worse. The idea is to show how the sport has evolved. These are the fights that made the sport what it is today.

Here's the next 5 fights, covering 1996 to 1997 (the links go to pieces that discuss the fight in question):

Mark Coleman def. Don Frye, July 12, 1996 — UFC 10
This fight introduced the term "Ground and Pound" to the MMA universe. Coleman wasn't the first wrestler with serious amateur credentials to enter the UFC, that honor goes to Dan Severn. But Coleman was the first wrestler to combine his finely honed position control skills with a brutal and relentless striking attack on the ground. Watching him roll over Don Frye in the tournament finals, at a time when Don Frye's wrestling/boxing combo was state of the art left no doubt that a new era of MMA history had dawned. Still a fun fight to watch.
Mark Coleman def. Dan Severn, Feb. 7, 1997 — UFC 12
This fight put a capstone on the Coleman era of mega-wrestlers. Dan Severn, the holder of the Superfight belt that he took from Ken Shamrock at UFC 9, came in as the reigning champ. Severn's win at the first Ultimate Ultimate had further sealed his status at the crest of the first wave of UFC stars. After Coleman dismantled him in a one-sided bout, Mark Coleman left the Octagon as the first official heavyweight champ in UFC history. This fight showed that the second wave of UFC stars had a clear leg up on those of the first wave who were still active.
Maurice Smith def. Mark Coleman, July 27, 1997 — UFC 14
It was a short reign. Just when it looked like Mark Coleman (and his peer the equally hulking Mark Kerr) was an unstoppable force and that no one would have the combination of power and grappling skill to stop the new wave of monster wrestlers, kickboxer Maurice Smith came to the UFC. Smith had already KO'd the heavyweight BJJ fighter Marcus "Conan" Silveira to win the Extreme Fighting Championship title. He came to the UFC after a couple of years in Pancrase and, more importantly, after putting together a new camp with Japanese RINGS star Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Frank Shamrock. Maurice Smith had a forumula for beating the grapplers -- learn enough jiu jitsu to defend yourself on the ground, survive the early assault, drill some escapes, get back to your feet and have a kickboxing match with an exhausted grappler. The formula worked perfectly in this fight except Coleman survived to lose by decision rather than being KO'd. The highlights of the bout are well worth a look, the whole thing is a bit much. In retrospect its amazing how static the groundfighting was, even in a landmark bout. This fight firmly established the rock-paper-scissors dynamic of modern MMA and proved there was a place in the game for top strikers who were willing to learn enough groundfighting to compete.
Renzo Gracie vs. Eugenio Tadeu, draw, Sept. 27, 1997 — Pentagon Combat
I was watching American Top Team head man Ricardo Liborio on Inside MMA last night and he was talking about how he sees the other big MMA camps as "rivals, not enemies." That was not how the exponents of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Luta Livre saw each other back in the 1990s. The feud went back to the 1940s and had political and cultural implications that went way beyond gi vs no-gi grappling. This fight was the end of the feud. Tadue was one of the standard bearers of Luta Livre who had participated in two of the biggest Brazilian MMA events of the 1980s and 1990s, splitting the pair. He'd also fought Renzo's cousin Royler Gracie to a stand-still in a dojo match. This bout ended in a riot that finally ended the BJJ vs Luta Livre feud. It also ended NHB/MMA as a viable business proposition in Brazil. Luta livre would go on to fade as a distinct style with its biggest prospects like Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira going on to be more associated with BJJ than their old style.
Rickson Gracie def. Nobuhiko Takada, Oct. 11, 1997 — Pride 1
By 1997, Rickson had already established himself as the most feared name in Japanese MMA through his sweeps of the 1994 and 1995 Vale Tudo Japan tournaments. Combined with the exposure his brother Royce's UFC wins had gotten in Japan and the Gracie myth was in full-effect in the Land of the Rising Sun. Nobuhiko Takada was one of the biggest pro-wrestlers in Japan. As a protege of Antonio Inoki, Takada was part of a generation of Japanese pro-wrestlers who pushed their form of sports entertainment closer and closer to becoming "real." Unlike his peers who founded Shooto, Pancrase, and RINGs, Takada's UWFi was a 100% worked promotion that simply traded on an image of toughness and real catchwrestling skills. To burnish their reputation, Takada had dispatched his protege Yoji Anjo to Rickson's LA dojo to challenge the top Gracie. Rickson battered the unfortunate Anjo and sent him home. In 1997, PRIDE put on the biggest MMA show of all time and signed Takada, the biggest pro-wrestling star of his generation to face Rickson Gracie, the invincible MMA legend. The 47,000 fans packed into the Tokyo Dome didn't get to see much of a fight as Rickson armbarred Takada in short order, but PRIDE was born and Takada's protege Kazushi Sakuraba was waiting for the Gracies.

This has inspired me to get back to my MMA History series which still hasn't gotten thru 1997 (a helluva year for MMA). I'm also putting together a list of 25 or so fights that didn't make our top 50 list -- the hardcores top mma fights.

Read Parts One and Threee and the Prequel.

UFC 100 Quote of the Day - Brock Lesnar, "I'm a Fighter Now"

Kid Nate — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:28:56 -0000

"I hardly even lift weights anymore." "I lift weights, but that's not my main focus. I'm a fighter now, and I want to evolve and make myself a well-rounded fighter, so obviously I'm not going to leave any stone unturned, when it comes to submissions, submission defense, striking, knees, leg kicks, and also learning to defend everything. It's not just an offensive sport because you're going to take some punches and you're going to give some punches. You've got to be able to handle both sides of the spectrum. I've brought in a number of highly trained trainers to help me evolve, and I believe we've left no stone unturned."

Brock Lesnar on the UFC 100 conference call. Per AOL Fanhouse.

Jeremy Botter argues at Fox Sports that Lesnar is a whole new type of heavyweight:

Lesnar, on the other hand, is so massive that it nearly borders on comical. But, it's not just his size and strength that's overwhelming. Lesnar, an NCAA wrestling champion in 2000, is as quick as some of MMA's top light heavyweights. He can pummel an opponent or just dominate him on the canvas.

Heading into next Saturday's title unification bout at UFC 100 versus Frank Mir, Lesnar is considered the prototype for the new heavyweight, just as Georges St. Pierre is thought to be the new mold for lighter fighters. Lesnar's the reason some pundits are clamoring for a cruiserweight division, a place for people who would typically be considered a heavyweight but don't even come close Lesnar's size.

We'll find out on July 11th if Lesnar is the leader of a new wave or not.

UFC 100 coverage

UFC 100 Preview: Brock Lesnar's Coach Greg Nelson Talks

Kid Nate — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:06:57 -0000

From MMA Junkie:

"I would have to say that our school was really ahead of the curve," Nelson said. "We started training mixed martial arts in, well, it was 1992, but even before I had my own school we were already mixing Thai-boxing and shootwrestling, and I wrestled for the University of Minnesota. We just always had been putting stuff together and combining. That's kind of how I did things.

"We've had a really good training camp, a lot of guys in there," Nelson said. "This has been an extremely good camp because we've had a lot of guys that are big and can move. We brought in a guy from Arizona who was an all-armed forces boxing champion who is 300 pounds and can hit like a Mac truck."

"Brock is a very smart fighter," Nelson said. "Since his first fight, he went in there and that was more just pure get-in-there, raw aggression, try to run them over like a truck. You could see from that fight to Heath Herring to then with Randy Couture, you see a steady growth in his striking development and ability to pace himself – control to not be so anxious in the ring.

"He's got the ability to really run through you like a freight train, ... but at the same time he now has a lot more movement."

They brought in 7 time world jiu jitsu champ Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros to train Lesnar before the Heath Herring fight, but I haven't heard who they've brought in for this camp.

UFC 100 coverage

Quote of the Day: Georges St Pierre: Kenny Florian "Better Human Being Than" B.J. Penn

Kid Nate — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:35:29 -0000

"I've trained with him two times and he looked really sharp. I put my money on him against B.J. Penn.

"Kenny Florian is a great training partner, and is going to be a great champion, and he's also a greater person and human being (than B.J. Penn)."

Georges St Pierre talking to MMA Weekly about training partner Kenny Florian.

[UPDATE] by Nick Thomas - BJ Penn's message to Kenny Florian:

Luis Cane wants Rich Franklin for his next fight.

Kid Nate — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:42:53 -0000

Luis Cane wants Rich Franklin for his next fight.

The USA TODAY/Bloody Elbow Top 50 MMA Fights in History: 1993-1996

Kid Nate — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:31:05 -0000

Beau Dure at USA Today has posted the first two installments of our top 50 fights in MMA history series. Again here's the criteria:

Some of the 50 fights we'll list aren't necessarily the best MMA bouts, but all of them are milestones for one reason or another, for better or for worse. The idea is to show how the sport has evolved. These are the fights that made the sport what it is today.

Here's the first 10 fights, covering 1993 to 1996 (the links go to previous MMA History pieces we've done that discuss the fight in question):

Ken Shamrock def. Masakatsu Funaki, Sept. 21, 1993; Pancrase 1
You can watch this fight here. The Pancrase rules will be a bit of a shock to modern MMA fans. They didn't allow closed fist strikes while standing and a "gentleman's agreement" precluded striking on the ground. Nevertheless, this match from the premier event of the "hybrid wrestling" promotion was a key moment in the development of modern MMA. Shamrock surprised everyone by beating Funaki, the man who had taught him submission grappling in their several years of doing worked wrestling matches together. Thus, when Ken Shamrock traveled to the states a couple of months later and fought in the UFC, he was truly fighting as the champion of Japanese shootfighting. Their 2nd and 3rd fights are worth a look too.
Royce Gracie def. Ken Shamrock, Nov. 12, 1993; UFC 1
Unfortunately for Ken, once he got there he found that he was in the same quarter finals bracket as a representative of an even more robust proto-MMA tradition: Royce Gracie. Royce's jiu jitsu allowed him to capitalize on the weaknesses of Shamrock's submission over position style. His gi allowed him to sink a choke that Shamrock probably didn't know was possible. This fight is still a hoot to watch today. One thing I've always found kind of ironic is that Gracie's Brazilian fighting tradition was based on Japan's ancient jiu jitsu fighting style, while Shamrock's Japanese fighting tradition was based on the English/American catch-wrestling style first brought to Japan by Ad Santel and Karl Gotch. Right from the beginning, modern MMA was a cultural melting-pot.
Royce Gracie def. Kimo Leopoldo, Sept. 9, 1994; UFC 3
This was the first MMA fight I ever saw, but that's not why it's on the list. Kimo was the first opponent to expose cracks in Royce Gracie's seemingly invincible aura. Kimo showed that a mad brawling intensity and a major size and strength advantage could really give Royce trouble. Take a look. Its a very ugly fight by today's standards. There is hair pulling and repeated and deliberate nut shots and it was all legal. This fight occured in a tournament that was designed to end in a Gracie vs Shamrock finale, but Royce had to drop out after this fight (which he did in the cage at the beginning of his next fight, picking up a loss) and Shamrock injured himself/quit after his quarter-finale win. This began a pattern of Shamrock botching major events that continued all the way up to the death of EliteXC.
Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie, draw, April 7, 1995; UFC 5
This is NOT a fun fight to watch and probably did as much to kill the commercial momentum of the early UFC as John McCain. Shamrock had been watching Royce closely in the two years since their first match and had figured out that if he just turtled up in his guard, Royce wouldn't be able to do much about it. This was before the stand up rule so Shamrock literally stalled for the full 30 minute regulation period. In the overtime, he landed a right hand that put a big mouse on Royce's face before they returned to Royce's guard. It was officially a draw, but it effectively ran Royce Gracie out of the UFC. After this event, his brother Rorion sold his ownership share in the UFC and Royce wouldn't return until UFC 60, eleven years later.
Ken Shamrock def. Dan Severn, July 14, 1995; UFC 6
This one was a fun one, well worth a viewing. Severn was the first modern MMA fighter to come out of a collegiate/Olympic wrestling background. His run at UFC 4 ended with an epic loss to Royce Gracie (in a match that's on my top 65 list for sure). Royce showed everyone what a triangle choke was -- a move so unexpected that the UFC commentators had no idea what was happening. Severn went on to win the tournament at UFC 5, setting up this "Superfight" at UFC 6. Effectively this is the beginning of the UFC heavyweight championship belt that Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir will fight for next week. In this one, Severn shows that he is a physical force to be reckoned with, but he just isn't ready for even the most basic submission holds -- in this case a guillotine choke. Shamrock would hold the UFC superfight title until Severn took it in their UFC 9 rematch, also known as the worst MMA fight of all time.
David "Tank" Abbott def. John Matua, July 14, 1995; UFC 6
This was acutally earlier in the same evening as the Shamrock vs Severn fight so technically should be #5 on this list. Oh well. Its also the first UFC fight I ever saw live on PPV. I wasn't the only budding jiu jitsu acolyte who was stunned and staggered by the brutal beating the thuggish Abbott inflicted on his burly opponent. Abbott made MMA safe for testosterone addicts who wanted to see pure brutality and raw power get their due. Abbott actually had a fair amount of wrestling and boxing training, but that wasn't really dwelt on in the presentation of this outsized new character. He went on to lose in the tournament final to Sambo stylist Oleg Taktarov in a fight with a good bit of drama, but Tank is the one who got people talking.
Marco Ruas def. Paul Varelens, Sept. 8, 1995; UFC 7
UFC 7 saw the emergence of yet another new stylistic tradition that would go on to become a major influence in the modern MMA mix: Muay Thai. The brutal traditional prize fighting style of Thailand was brought to the UFC by a Brazilian, Marco Ruas. His use of leg kicks to chop down the giant Paul Varelens was a triumph of technique. Ruas was also the earliest UFC competitor to combine effective grappling with a solid standup attack. He had studied no-gi grappling with Brazil's top Luta Livre camps. Unfortunately, he didnt get to continue his rivalry with Jiu Jitsu (see this fight from the 1980s for Ruas vs BJJ) in his MMA career, nor would he ever top this win, but his influence is seen in virtually every modern MMA fight when the leg kicks fly.
Dan Severn def. Oleg Taktarov, Dec. 16, 1995; Ultimate Ultimate '95
The UFC's Ultimate Ultimate tournament was the kind of event that MMA fans have come to know all too well, a fight card so impossibly stacked with dream matchups that it can't help but disappoint. Bringing four UFC tournament champions (Severn, Taktarov, Ruas and Steve Jennum) together with four of the most formidable also rans (Tank, Varlens, Keith Hackney, and Dave Beneteau) into one eight man tournament delivered a few good fights, but it also featured some dancing from Ruas and a bravura display of lay and pray from Severn. Nevertheless, the final between Taktarov and Severn, a rematch of their UFC 5 bout, was the kind of battle between an expert positional grappler and a master of submissions that I still find to be a treat. This event firmly established a clear pecking order among the early major UFC fighters not named Shamrock or Gracie and Severn emerged on top, setting up his rematch with Shamrock at UFC 9.
Don Frye def. Gary Goodridge, Feb. 16, 1996; UFC 8
If the Ultimate Ultimate closed the books on the first chapter of UFC history, chapter two opened with a bang at UFC 8. It was possibly the most action packed UFC to date. Both Frye and Goodridge scored spectacular knockouts in the early rounds of the tourny and their collision in the finals was one of the best back and forth fights in the early years of the promotion. Frye brought a more polished version of the boxer-wrestler blend and Goodridge relied on raw power. That wouldn't be enough as Frye unleashed some of the first dirty boxing MMA fans would see.
Bas Rutten def. Frank Shamrock, May 16, 1996; Pancrase - Truth 5
This bout was the apex of mid-period Pancrase. Still hobbled by their eccentric rule set, they continued to put on great fights. Rutten was a Muay Thai trained Dutchman who had learned submissions on the job in the hybrid wrestling league. Frank Shamrock was the adopted younger brother of Ken Shamrock and a key member of the early Lion's Den gym team. Not just an epic battle, this bout was a key formative experience for the young Shamrock. It marked the end of his early run of triumphs and began a series of defeats that he would have to dig deep to recover from. For Rutten, it represented a star at his apex. Dominating his league and reaching a career high even his brief run as UFC champ wouldn't match. Watch the fight in the full entry. Also see this post on Bas Rutten.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next installment of this series and let me know where you disagree in the comments.

Bas Rutten vs Frank Shamrock

Bas Rutten vs Frank Shamrock
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Antoni Hardonk personally foiled a mugging in L.A. this week, duking it out with the would be...

Kid Nate — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:39:34 -0000

Antoni Hardonk personally foiled a mugging in L.A. this week, duking it out with the would be robbers as they menaced several citizens. Kevin Iole has the story.

How Many $40,000 Tickets to UFC 100 is Affliction Buying?

Kid Nate — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:29:50 -0000

The story of the $40,000 ticket to UFC 100 is now getting mainstream press coverage, from the Vancouver Sun:

Ultimate Fighting Championship events generally cost a pretty penny to attend, and getting a spot at ringside isn't just a matter of having the means to pay for it - you also have to buy your tickets within a few minutes of them going on sale.

But demand for tickets for July 11's UFC 100 mega-event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, in which Canada's Georges St Pierre will defend his world welterweight title against Brazilian Thiago Alves, is so heavy that ticket resellers are asking as much as $40,000 for a ringside seat.

But they miss the real story as to why there's so much demand. Rumor has it that Tom Atencio is passing out huge stacks of Affliction T-Shirt money to anyone who will sit cage side and chant FEDOR! FEDOR! Ok, so the part about Atencio buying the tickets is something I just made up, there is a scheme to chant FEDOR! FEDOR!:

Sometimes the Power of the Potato Nation is just too strong to be ignored, brother. For those of you who don't hang out in our forums section, you missed this recent brainstorm from "LargeMidget":

I was just thinking how cool it would be if the crowd chanted Fedor's name after the upcoming heavyweight belt unification match. Dana would probably shit his pants, and then hopefully get out the checkbook.

The point is of course that this fight doesn't truly determine the best heavyweight in the world because Fedor is still #1. Consider this the beginning of a virally coordinated effort to make this happen.

Despite some parade-raining by "My Fight Wiffa Cheeto," our friend "kadumel" took up the mantle and began promoting the idea on several MMA message boards. Though his thread on Sherdog was taken down for unknown reasons (maybe it was too awesome?), his thread on the UG is flourishing, with almost 100 responses, most of them positive — which inspired one supporter (or kadumel himself, it isn't really clear) to launch an official homepage for the movement, fedorchant.com. All from one little post on one little message board.

UFC 100 coverage