Usually, the UFC is a dart board at which most MMA analysts and fans hurl their harshest critiques of how the promotion handles its business. But this week the UFC deserves a pat on the back for three of the decisions they made:
1 – Jesse Taylor Goes Home
Jesse Taylor was bounced out of The Ultimate Fighter finale after kicking out the window of his limo after The Ultimate Fighter finished taping. If you got a kick out of watching Dana White lay the news on the bumbling brute, that’s just wrong. It’s a tragic set of circumstances when a person accomplishes their dream, only to have it quashed by their own hubris.
However, White unequivocally did the right thing. With the recent antics seen in a EliteXC shows, there needs to be a reminder to MMA athletes that the sport still has a ways to grow and bloodsport stereotypes to overcome. Terrorizing hotel guests while reminding them that you’re “a UFC fighter” is certainly not the way to do it.
2 – Countering Affliction
From the perspective of the objective fan this is a bad thing. It’s the equivalent of kneeing a downed opponent in the head, before the fight even begins. It means the UFC will successfully fend off another attempt at competition.
Basically, the UFC is taking their one of their top three fighters in Anderson Silva, adding the storyline of his jumping up to light heavyweight and selling it for free, as opposed to Affliction’s pay-per-view, which comes with a $40 price tag.
While it’s obvious the Affliction card had star power, it was most likely going to be an unprofitable venture. But profit and success never coincide out of the starting gate in MMA. If Affliction could at least create a buzz off that first pay-per-view, it would have been a success. But the UFC, through Spike TV, is offering a live card for free that will act as their insurance policy against Affliction’s success.
3 – Lorenzo Fertitta Goes Fulltime
Was this Dana asking for help? Was this the Fertitta’s babysitting Dana White? No and no. And does it really matter?
Running the UFC is not a one-man job anymore. The company is taking on a life of its own and the pilot could use the help of a co-pilot. As a tag team, White and Fertitta should be able to speed up the company’s growth, especially with plans to go international. However, in the immediate future the UFC really needs to nail down sanctioning in New York before expanding the empire worldwide.
In terms of this being Dana White’s big announcement, it really was not “mind blowing” for the average MMA fan. Most of them are more blown away that they won’t have to shell out $45 to see Silva’s next fight.
Leave a Reply