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Guest mr. potato head

So basically Dana's complaint is that Iole and Meltzer didn't spin the ratings so that they made UFC look as good as possible and that they didn't take into account The Avengers and Cinco de Mayo and all that other stuff that Meltzer actually did mention as potential mitigating factors?

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That was an awesome event. Tom Lawlor with that hilarious KO, Fat Fabio and Evil Igor just being made of granite and Korean Zombie getting his rightful shot at the title. This was a great night of fights.

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Guest mr. potato head

Another old UFC feature from a 1995 Observer, this one featuring John McCain:

NBC's Prime-time "Dateline" TV news magazine show aired a piece on the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 3/3. The piece was a disappointment because it was really a superficial piece going back-and-forth with Arizona Sen. John McCain, who wants UFC banned because he believes it to be excessively brutal, and Bob Meyrowitz of Semaphore Entertainment Group, which promotes UFC on PPV.

Both came off poorly in the piece by Jon Scott, which offered a lot of rhetoric with absolutely no foundation. Clearly, Meyrowitz came off the worse of the two as he was caught in embarrassing situation on two points and also kept insisting that the events weren't dangerous and that nobody had even been injured in a UFC match, which is plainly ridiculous although there have been no major injuries by the standards of major injuries in contact sports. McCain, when it was brought up that the events are gaining in popularity, compared it with feeding Christians to the lions, which was equally as ridiculous. The piece missed the boat entirely since it never really discussed UFC fighting styles. Perhaps the biggest story of UFC is that it has in many ways been an expose that traditionally popular martial arts like karate, kung fu and tae kwon do really don't work in real-life hand-to-hand combat, at least at the top level against ground fighters versed in submissions and that most people's perception of what a real hand-to-hand non-weapon fight looks like is very different from what it really is. In addition, it has created cult celebrityhood of Royce Gracie and the Gracie Family, and this unlikely-looking skinny 175-pounder has become the king of these events goes against every public perception of not only what constitutes a real street fighter and tough guy, but his style goes against all of those perceptions as well. In fact, Gracie's name was never once mentioned in the piece which would be like a producer in 1985 being asked to do a piece on the NBA and its gaining popularity and never mention the names Magic Johnson or Larry Bird in the entire piece. It would be like ignoring its popularity and the skills involved that had taken the game to a new level, and do the entire piece on what a high percentage of the players are black.

Even in the form the piece took, only talking about the dangers and damage, it demanded an interview with a doctor who has presided over the shows. In fact, Charlotte's Dr. Joseph Estwanick (who some of you may remember from a couple of pro wrestling angles he was involved in during the 1980s), who worked the past two UFC's and has extensive experience with boxing needed to be interviewed to give the piece any credibility as to just how serious the injuries have been and his theories of what the risks really were. To compare it as far as potential injuries and brutality to pro boxing, which McCain rigorously defended, even calling it "the sweet science," needed to be done in that piece to give it any credibility with both doctor's and participants in both.

Instead, we got a series of sound bites that made McCain look like an old prude ("This kind of event poses an unacceptable risk to the lives and health of participants") and Meyrowitz coming off as a totally sleazy lying boxing promoter type.

Scott made Meyrowitz look bad the first time when he claimed the doctor's (Estwanick's) report after the last UFC said that his event was safer than a high school soccer game (actually the report by the doctor stated he's treated far worse injuries during high school soccer games, which isn't the same thing as saying it was safer although the doctor's report which was never brought up in the piece except by Meyrowitz did say the event was surprisingly injury-free in comparison with other sports. If there were as many UFC matches as high school soccer games I'd guarantee far more serious injuries in the former). Scott then read out of the fighters' contracts to Meyrowitz, which stated: "This event involves risks and rigors not normally associated with martial arts, boxing or kick boxing events and there exists a substantial probability of participants suffering serious injury." Meyrowitz tried to shrug it off saying that's just done for legal considerations. Perhaps even more vivid was them showing a clip from UFC I when Gerard Gordeau broke his foot on the face of Teila Tuli with a devastating kick and Tuli's tooth flew out. Meyrowitz denied it was his tooth and said it was his simply his mouthpiece, that all the fighters wear, that was kicked out. They then showed a clip interviewing Tuli who said it was his tooth and that he wasn't wearing a mouthpiece in his fight.

Meyrowitz may not have known better (he is not as directly involved in UFC as the piece would have had you believe), but if he did, he was foolish to deny it because in comparison with injuries in all sports, getting a tooth knocked out really isn't all that serious or brutal and hardly is an unacceptable risk of a contact sport, but he went overboard trying to deny that an event that was originally sold on brutality isn't brutal. Meyrowitz was correct that the matches, in general, looking back, haven't been as brutal as critics make them out to be. In general, my belief is the brutality controversy for the most part is stirred by those who haven't watched the fights closely or have an understanding as to what they've evolved into. Still, spots in UFC II where Patrick Smith literally re-arranged the face of Scott Morris causing him to need some reconstruction and Renco Pardouel elbowed Orlando Weit into unconsciousness were nothing short of savage and there can be no denying the potential for serious injury in almost anything goes fights.

Largely in response to McCain, who claimed he's contacted North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt about getting the 4/7 event stopped and who worked very hard to unsuccessfully stop the previous event from Tulsa (and it appears at this point there is far less promotion of this event going in as compared with the previous ones, perhaps because of fear if it's shut down it's wasted money), the UFC promoters have really downplayed the violence in hype, trying to argue that the bare-knuckle aspect of the fights actually make them safer because the gloves and taped-up hands in boxing and full contact karate allow for more blows to the head than a bare-knuckle fighter. A bare-knuckle fighter will usually break their hands punching someone in the head after just a few blows whereas a gloved fighter can punch all day long although the flip-side is a single bare-knuckle punch correctly thrown has more potential for damage than a single gloved punch.

Scott also tried to make an issue out of the fact that there were some children in attendance at the Tulsa UFC. Meyrowitz said he thought kids watching was great because it might encourage them to take up a martial arts discipline and Scott responded, "You want kids to watch this?" in disbelief. Truthfully, if there is no issue in kids attending boxing or full-contact karate matches, this is no different as an issue.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this story when it comes to wrestling fans is what didn't air. NBC Dateline was working on two other aspects of the story if there was any evidence of either. The idea that matches may be rigged and that top fighters may have been excluded from tournaments because the promotion was protecting Gracie. Both ideas were never broached because after a lot of research they couldn't find evidence either was the case.

Those looking at this piece as superficially as those who did the piece itself may say this piece was a positive for UFC and all it will do is help the buy rate of the next show. The piece won't hurt as far as limiting PPV buys, but if it puts pressure on the promoters and makes them squeamish about the brutality and changes the rules of the new "sport" it had a significant effect. It may also change significantly the way it's going to be advertised. Whether that's good or bad depends on if and what those changes are.

UFC, as it stands now, can be brutal and has been brutal in spots. There is potential danger, as there is in all combat and contact sports. The question that needs to be discussed is if the risks of danger are unacceptable. It may not be as dangerous as boxing or karate competition as its promoters claim. A lot of people, and they may be correct, claim it's not even as dangerous as what people like Sabu or Cactus Jack do to themselves and the risks may not be as great as those taken by many pro wrestlers, particularly in Mexico, that do the crazy flying moves outside the ring. If it isn't, then by standards of what already exists, the danger isn't unreasonable in our society but there is no denying the danger exists. If it is worse, then that issue is open to question. The injury risks in high school football are incredible if you look at the stats compared even with boxing, yet it will always exist. More than 300 people have died from boxing matches in the last 40 years and it has survived as a popular sport despite the AMA and many of those who know it best thinking things would be best served if it were destroyed. UFC probably won't survive one death.

A few notes on the 4/7 UFC show scheduled for Charlotte. Jeff Ruel, a kick boxer and pro boxer (12-0 record as a heavyweight) will fill one of the three recent openings. The promoters were negotiating over the weekend with Tyrell Biggs, the 1984 gold medalist in the heavyweight division in boxing who held a version of the pro heavyweight title before losing to Mike Tyson. There is a good shot that Steve Nelson, who has wrestled professionally including for UWFI, will be in UFC VI which is scheduled for late June and they are attempting to open up discussions as far as bringing Alexander Karelin, the famous Russian Greco-roman superheavyweight gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, into UFC VI.

Perhaps of even more consequence to UFC's future is the interview Ken Wayne Shamrock gave at the Narita Airport on 3/5 upon arriving in Japan for his 3/10 Pancrase title match against Bas Rutten. Shamrock said that both he and Royce Gracie would be retiring at the end of this year. Shamrock said he's retiring from Pancrase at the end of the year. Shamrock said that at 31, his body is continually breaking down in such a tough sport but that he's determined to not lose his title before the end of the year so he can retire as champion. This is the first anyone has said publicly about Gracie possibly retiring although it isn't the first we've heard about it when it comes to the rumor mill.

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Surprised at the lack of comments on last night's main event, Zombie/Poirier is probably the best UFC fight of the year so far and Zombie ended up with a well deserved victory. I was surprised when it was said on commentary that he was the underdog with the bookies going into the fight as I always thought he'd end up with the victory here, I didn't realise it was a five round fight until the introductions though.

Did they skip over the result of the Sadollah fight or was it just missed out on my copy of the show? Had to look it up online afterwards to find out who had won!

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Fights to make coming off of UFC on Fuel TV 3:

Alex Soto Vs Byron Bloodworth

Francisco Rivera Vs Jeff Curran

Johnny Eduardo Vs Kid Yamamoto

Vs Aaron Riley

Rafael dos Anjos Vs Jeremy Stephens

Carlo Prater Vs Rafaello Oliveira

TJ Grant Vs

Marcus LeVesseur Vs Tommy Hayden

Vs John Makdessi

Dongi Yang Vs

Brad Tavares Vs

Jason MacDonald Vs Tim Credeur

Tom Lawlor Vs Ronny Markes

Fabio Maldonado Vs Cyrille Diabate

Igor Pokrajac Vs Vladimir Matyushenko

Jeff Hougland Vs Walel Watson

Yves Jabouin Vs Mike Easton

Donald Cerrone Vs Anthony Pettis

Jorge Lopez Vs David Mitchell

Amir Sadollah Vs Che Mills

Dustin Poirier Vs

Chan Sung Jung Vs

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Fights to make coming off of UFC on Fuel TV 3:

Alex Soto Vs Byron Bloodworth

Francisco Rivera Vs Jeff Curran

Johnny Eduardo Vs Kid Yamamoto

Vs Aaron Riley

Rafael dos Anjos Vs Jeremy Stephens

Carlo Prater Vs Rafaello Oliveira

TJ Grant Vs
Yves Edwards

Marcus LeVesseur Vs Tommy Hayden

Cody Mckenzie
Vs John Makdessi

Dongi Yang Vs
Kyle Noke

Brad Tavares Vs
Alessio Sakara

Jason MacDonald Vs Tim Credeur

Tom Lawlor Vs Ronny Markes

Fabio Maldonado Vs Cyrille Diabate

Igor Pokrajac Vs Vladimir Matyushenko

Jeff Hougland Vs Walel Watson

Yves Jabouin Vs Mike Easton

Donald Cerrone Vs Anthony Pettis

Jorge Lopez Vs David Mitchell

Amir Sadollah Vs Che Mills

Dustin Poirier Vs
Dennis Siver

Chan Sung Jung Vs
Chad Mendes

Promoting your site I see :rolleyes:

Not many of those make sense or are likely, Korean Zombie will fight the winner of Koch v Aldo, Siver is coming off a win so will not fight Poirer, same with Sadollah vs Mills, that's not how the UFC does match making, they tend to match winners vs winners and losers vs losers bar injuries and exceptions like rematches, I see nothing of real value in many of the matches that you have listed there, and not many of them are likely, with the exception of Pettis vs Cerrone.

Oh and Mark Hunt, :(

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So sad that Mark Hunt is off the card. :( That sucks really bad. Also yeah, Chang/Poirer really was the best fight of the year so far; so now, when Diaz wins the Lightweights title, Korean Zombie can subsequently win the Featherweight title and then Mark Hunt should merely KO either Dos Santos or Mir then I will be the happiest fan on the planet!

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