SB Nation User Blog: kamander

MMA in a tight economy

kamander — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:49:42 -0000

Making money has never been easy for MMA promotions, and in today's tough economy, its even more challenging. The UFC's dominance doesn't make it any easier, with their brand recognition, fan loyalty, and ability to practically saturate the market with MMA content.

Besides the UFC, it seems that almost every promotion's continues existence is in question. Will any of these promotions be able to survive in the upcoming environment of dwindling disposable income? What about foreign promotions? How important will it be for these promotions to put on high quality events vs. gimmicks and novelties? What other factors, such as TV deals, will make or break promotions?

Though there are a lot of unknowns, one thing we can look at is how the top promotions have performed in terms of the quality of their events. Here are some results according to fan ratings using a five star rating system:

3.94 - Affliction (1 event)
3.78 - UFC (events only) (9 events)
3.76 - WEC (4 events)
3.71 - Dream (6 events)
3.49 - UFC (all shows) (14 events)
2.97 - EliteXC (4 events)
2.95 - UFC Fight Nights (5 events)
2.90 - Strikeforce (3 events)
2.56 - Sengoku (4 events)

Violence in MMA

kamander — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:54:41 -0000

In the recent episode of MMA Nation, Luke was talking about Violence in MMA, and why it is attractive to so many.

Why do I like MMA and what is the appeal of violence and violent competition?

Violence is simply a reality of life, regardless of to what extent one might try to avoid it. Whether its the possibility of having to defend yourself and your family on the street, to defending your country, to wanting to punch that annoying person in the mug so they'll just shut up. There is just no way to avoid that reality.

Once you accept that reality, and embrace it, its only a natural progression to ponder the competition aspects of violence. Would you be able to defend yourself? Are those self defense classes going to help you? What about boxing, krav maga, etc.?

Mixed Martial Arts is all about finding out who is the best fighter. As MMA evolved it has morphed into "who is the best fighter within their weight division and using certain rules implemented for their safety and the health of the sport?"

If you like competition, and you embrace the inherent relevance of violence in our lives, its not hard to understand the appeal of mixed martial arts.

Regarding Felony Fights, I've never seen it, however I'm sure that I would find it entertaining. Nevertheless, I would abstain from watching it or supporting it in an effort to contribute to a positive society. While violence is a real factor in our lives I also think its important to promote a society where people can reasonably feel safe.

What Are The Year's Top 5 Fights So Far?

kamander — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:12:16 -0000

I always like to link up Tomas Rios' pre-fight articles from Sherdog. They are fun and entertaining, as they should be. However, his latest article about the year's top 5 fights is about as accurate as his fight predictions.

#5: Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson (UFC 86) was a good fight, but the only way it would be #1 one is if the basis were title controversy.

#4: Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura (WEC 35) was a back and forth battle of attrition where either fighter could have dropped at any time, but they just kept going. Both fighters demonstrated impressive heart and skill on their feet and the ground.

#3: Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell (Affliction) showed the former IFL heavyweight star face his first opponent outside the now defunct organization, and we saw Arlovski demonstrate the type of aggressive style that garnered so many fans back in the days of his incredible knockout streak in the UFC.

#2: Miguel Angel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda (WEC 34) was an absolutely vicious battle that went back and forth constantly with both fighters taking plenty and dishing it out with impressive doses of tenacity and skill.

#1: Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (Dream 5) was without a doubt the best fight of the year so far. Watching these two battle it out with the intensity they did had fans on the edge of your seat in disbelief. Combined with the Grand Prix relevance and decisive TKO finish, there is no disputing it's place in the ranks.

Of course Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen (Dream 3) was a great fight (#6), but Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 81) isn't even top 10. Overall it was a plodding fight, and there have been too many fights that are far more exciting and relevant.

Well Tomas, thanks for the pre-fight laughs over the years. Stick to your specialty.

What do you think were the best fights this year? Add your ratings at MMA Ratings

The Best MMA Radio Shows

kamander — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:16:34 -0000

Fronted by Luke Thomas.

I heard some debate, so I ask you, what do you think is the best (and worst) MMA radio show?

Click the image to vote.

Notes about lists:
- Use the arrows to vote up or down.
- You can only vote once for each.
- At the bottom of the list you can add to the list.
- Click the list heading to reorder/edit your list (the number in parenthesis is points, which does not equal votes).
- You can republish your personal list, or the community list on your own site.