All MMA fans know it, and it is the one thing that earns a collective groan from MMA fans and fellow fighters alike.  It is the "injury excuse".  The post fight injury excuse has been around since I first started watching MMA, and will likely not be going anywhere in the future.  Fighters ranging in quality from UFC Hall of Famer to MMA novice have blamed eye pokes, broken hands, broken feet, knee injuries, back injuries, and "cracked skulls" for coming up short inside of the cage, ring, or Octagon.

Injuries happen, plain and simple.  MMA is an extremely physically demanding sport and fighters get hurt in training, during a fight, and even in the locker room while warming up.  I fully believe that an injury can play a huge part in a fight, and there are countless losses on fighters' records that are there mostly due to a mixed martial artist fighting at less than 100%.  However, the problem that I have with injuries is the dreaded post fight injury excuse.  Here is my take on these stomach turners.

Continue reading this post »

I am a very avid MMA fan, not to mention a serious MMA bettor.  I am always on the look out for a small edge in a fight...something that I know that the sports books don't.  I try to have a keen eye for fighters people over-estimate (Houston Alexander) and fighters people underestimate (Randy Couture).  After looking over the odds for the upcoming landmark Zuffa event, UFC 100, there are some very interesting odds.

I believe there is more than one fight where a substantial underdog has more than a fighting chance.  I'm not going to go far enough out on a limb and say that I like Mark Coleman or Jake O'Brien's chances as much as other 'dogs on the card.  However, there are three specific underdogs that may surprise us this Saturday.  Here is my case for one particular fighter who has the odds stacked against him.

Continue reading this post »

Today, the WEC has really come into its own. They have created MMA stars like Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Carlos Condit and Mike Brown. Their most recent event, WEC 41, broke the WEC attendance and gate records. The 12,706 fans and $815,415 gate has been the pinnacle of the WEC's success up to this point.

Although the WEC has seen success, reading the payouts for their fighters was very disheartening. The top earner for WEC 41 was Jens Pulver at $31,000 in a losing effort. WEC Featherweight champion, Mike Brown, took home a paltry $25,256 including his $13,000 win bonus. The WEC's most popular fighter, Urijah Faber, only garnered $25,790 in his losing effort.

Even with the $10,000 bonuses that Brown and Faber made for “Fight Of The Night” honors, that is still $71,046 between the two of them. To put that number into perspective, the normal UFC bonus for “Fight Of The Night”, “Submission Of The Night” and “Knockout Of The Night” is $60,000. Take Brown and Faber's bonuses away, and that is more than both of them made combined. For further comparison, ex-UFC Welterweight champion, Matt Serra, who holds an unimpressive record of 9-6, made $75,000 for his last fight with Matt Hughes.

I understand these fighters signed into these contracts, but it is still frustrating to see such exciting, gifted mixed martial artists make so little. Since every WEC event is on free television, not pay-per-view, there is obviously going to be less money in the pool. The WEC is gaining popularity, but it isn't reflecting in the fighters' paychecks. WEC needs to further market and brand their product to give these fighters professional pay. In order to make the WEC brand an industry leader in MMA, I suggest the WEC and Zuffa consider these 3 ideas.

1. Air a Bantamweight/Featherweight season of “The Ultimate Fighter”

As much as MMA purists want to complain about “The Ultimate Fighter”, the UFC and American MMA wouldn't be where it is right now without it. This reality show has given the UFC 3 champions (Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans) as well as perennial contenders Kenny Florian, Joe Stevenson, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez etc.. It was the catalyst for arguably the best fight in UFC history (Griffin vs. Bonnar I). Also, it propelled the Tito Ortiz/Ken Shamrock feud to record breaking proportions.

Making a WEC oriented Bantamweight and Featherweight season of “The Ultimate Fighter” is a win/win situation. The occasionally repetitive show can be injected with some new interest and flavor with the exciting, lighter fighters. Having coaches like Miguel Torres, Jens Pulver or Mike Brown would give the show credibility and ratings. Air the season finale on Versus, with the winner earning a Zuffa/WEC contract, and have the coaches (Faber/Torres) meet in a long awaited match up in the main event.

2. Have inter-promotional fights on both WEC and UFC cards.

The WEC has the benefit of getting the UFC rub. Since Zuffa owns both companies, talent is generally free to transfer. We have seen this in fighters like Manny Gamburyan, Jens Pulver, Brian Stann, Chael Sonnen, Brock Larson and Carlos Condit to name a few.

Now that UFC 100 approaching, it is a shame that a blockbuster WEC fight couldn't find it's way onto the monumental card. Having a fight the magnitude of Urijah Faber/Mike Brown II on the main card of a UFC pay-per-view wouldn't take money out of the WEC's pocket...it would put money in. The more interest there is in a WEC fighter, the more interest there will be in the WEC product. With the WEC putting on legendary fights like Faber/Pulver I, McCullough/Cerrone, Torres/Maeda and Faber/Brown II, I doubt the casual or educated MMA fan can deny the quality of the product. The trick is getting people to watch.

With that being said, this situation could work the opposite way as well. The UFC could make WEC cards deeper by including UFC fighters. Having a Josh Koscheck, Joe Stevenson, Shane Carwin, Demian Maia, Keith Jardine or Brandon Vera on a WEC card would give it a huge shot in the arm without taking much away from the already stacked UFC events. With the WEC and UFC putting on events each month, this would give fighters a chance to fight more and make more money. Plus, would a Vera/Jardine fight on a WEC card do more good for WEC or bad for UFC?

3. Hold 3 pay-per-view events per year.

MMA fans can easily argue against pay-per-views. Of course we are going to choose free TV over paid TV. However, for the WEC to truly grow as an organization, they are going to need the money generated from paid events. With more money, the WEC can go after higher profile Bantamweights, Featherweights and Lightweights. They can also better market their product as an MMA leader.

By having 9 WEC cards on Versus and 3 pay-per-views each year, they can build up fighters and then capitalize financially. If the WEC loaded up these PPV cards with their superstars, as well as popular UFC fighters, people will pay money to watch. If there is an MMA fan out there that says they wouldn't have paid to watch Brown/Faber II or Torres/Maeda, they aren't an MMA fan. Fights like Cerrone/Varner II, Brown/Aldo and Faber/Garcia could easily headline a paid event.