Nate Quarry was on G4 TV's Attack of the Show tonight. Great interview. Nate's a lot more charismatic than I thought, and is definitely a good ambassador. Apparently he was used as a zombie model for some game (that I've already pre-ordered!!) called Left4Dead 2. Nice work Nate!
That's the question floating around right now. D Dubbs spoke to RawVegas and doesn't seem to think so.
Zod I hope not.
In light of last week’s Silva/Belfort title fight announcement, I find myself in the unenviable position of being a fan of the fight, but not of the ramifications. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort should be most fans’ wet dream. Two of the best strikers the game has seen, old vs. new, and the potential of someone with the skills to knock off one of the greatest fighters of all time all make a sound case, at the very least, for an intriguing fight.
So what’s not to like?
The UFC is building their business. It’s bigger than ever, with good reason. But mainstream success doesn’t always mean sustained success. The UFC was built on the backs of names, not fights. Liddell, Couture, Hughes. Ortiz/Shamrock drew a crowd, but it’s not what people came back for.
With this announcement, the UFC is putting itself on the wrong side of this equation. They aren’t building up fighters. Vitor Belfort in NOT a title contender. Not yet. Shogun is NOT a title contender. I don’t care how dominant he was in Pride. Diego Sanchez is NOT a title contender. Giving title fights to people who haven’t fought their way through at least part of a division means the UFC doesn’t care who it’s champions are, as long as they’re exciting. Giving a shot to some one who beat a slumping/past their prime/verge of retirement “name” means the UFC is hoping to cash in on the old names to make the brand bigger than the fighters. In the meantime, say Vitor loses this fight. What’s next? The “Rich Franklin Treatment”? The “Dan Henderson Treatment”?
Don’t believe me? Ask Anderson Silva. Have a non-exciting fight, and D Dubbs is all over you, even though you hold the record for the most octagon wins, you cleaned out a division, and are widely considered one of the best fighters in the world.
Ask Lyoto Machida. Never lost a round? Beaten everyone put in front of you? You get nothing. Dominate an exciting fighter? Even then you only get a title shot when the “preferred” fight doesn’t materialize.
Don’t get me started on this guy.
When you give someone a title shot who hasn’t earned it, the fans don’t care. They love to watch the fights. But they don’t know who these fighters are. Correlation? Name 10 boxers who fought in the 80’s/90’s. Probably pretty easy right? I can do it and I HATE boxing. Name 10 boxers, active today, who have mainstream name recognition. A little harder?
Build up the names. Let people get behind their favorite fighters again. Don’t turn the MMA fan base into crows, squawking at anything shiny. You owe it to us.
What do you think? Totally off base? Let me know… leave a comment!
