lovetoaster

They put a lot of their eggs in the basket of the fighters that came over from Pride and some disappointed. The combination of that and Dana running a few off has taken a toll on the division.

I am not a huge fan of Belfort, but I do like to watch him fight. I have not seen him in a while. I think it is debatable about whether it is the most important division in MMA. I would probably go with LHW right now. I know every fight can not be great, but a lot of heavyweight fights I have gotten excited for over the last few years have been stinkers. Granted, this Affliction card is the best group of heavyweight fights that may have ever been assembled, and I am fired up about it. But if you put together a similar card of light heavyweight superfights like this, it would be mind-boggling. I just think that LHW has better, more exciting competition right now, and the UFC, for the most part, has that market cornered. Just my opinion...

How did I miss Vitor Belfort on the Affliction card? Was he just added recently, or did I just not notice before?

Bobby Lashley is a hell of an athlete. I thought he had pondered this a few months ago and decided against it. But I guess I was wrong. I am pretty sure we will see him in a larger promotion pretty quickly, maybe within a year. I think he is a lot further along than Kimbo, but might not have the buzz that he had. We'll see, but I think he could be something a little further down the line.

That was a great show. And the thing is, their next one the first weekend of August might be better. That is really a good promotion, and is really gaining some steam.

That is one thing that really surprised me. I thought after working with Bas for so long that his ground game would be better, but it was awful. I know he is relatively new, but has been working with one of the greats for a while and he did not show me much.

Many people think that was no accident.

I have been referring to it as - UFC 85: Ignored

That was awful. I was screaming at the TV when that happened.

Man I miss those days. AWA was some good stuff. I think it came on at midnight on Fridays on ESPN in the mid-80's...but I could be wrong of course. There has been a lot of beer since then.

The one thing I can't stop thinking about from Saturday night is how focused and in shape this guy looked: I was so happy to see him come out like he did and win Saturday night. As focused as he was, I don't think there are many LHW's that would have stood a chance against him. Nobody wants to fight him, and he could really get back to being a force no matter what division he ends up in. I personally think he stays at 205, but what does everyone else think? I just think there are better fights for him at 205. I can only think of a few that would intrigue me at 185. Thoughts?

I don't know about him doing porn or selling drugs, but he definitely used them. I have heard him talk about that as well. There is no doubt that he has had a crazy past. I am sure a lot of other MMA guys have as well. With that being said, it looks like he really is on the right track and is dedicated to the sport. I will admit, it annoys me how out of control the hype machine is for someone that has not really beaten anybody of note, but I guess it is good for the sport. Yes, he is new to the sport, but so was Lesnar and it will be a while before Slice faces someone like Mir, Mark Coleman (even though that is not going to happen now), or Heath Herring. I really respect the fact that he is being trined by Bas, but the Goldberg WCW squash fights are going to get old after a while.

I thought Edge got suspended? I could be wrong though.:whoknows: KENNEDY got suspended as well, and both of those guys were involved in major storylines. I am not sure about Orton though. I know he has been suspended a few times, but I am not sure if any were roid related. Look, I hate Vinny, but it looks like he is actually making an attempt at doing something now. Whether his intentions are completely good or not (rather than saving face), is up for debate, but it looks like he is disciplining guys regardless of what their status is on the card. KENNEDY!

Don't know if anyone saw this. There was a decent story in the Wall Street Journal this morning about police officers becoming MMA fighters. Full story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121149350922315557.html?mod=sports

I am getting there. I think by fight time, I will be pulling for him. I have never been that big of a Tito fan, but he has grown up a bit in the last few years, and the end of that video actually made me want to root for him.

I don't know... Spike is owned by Viacom, aka CBS. Viacom also owns Showtime, who normally runs EliteXC, except for the show next weekend on CBS. So essentially the same parent company airs both organizations. Would Viacom let UFC air shows on another network, allowing a product that they provide substantial coverage for compete against CBS? What would happen if EliteXC becomes more competitive to UFC and has an sweet contract with CBS while UFC is relegated to Spike? That could aid in a little shift in power. I mean Showtime (again, Viacom) owns a significant percentage of EliteXC, so you would think that they would want to place them as prominently as possible so they would make more money. I don't think they have a financial interest in UFC (other than ratings), so if they were stuck under the same giant umbrella, I would think that EliteXC, although not as competitive and respected as UFC, would get the most exposure. Even if they could explore a network deal, I wonder how extensive UFC's options would be. I assume that CBS is going to go forward with EliteXC for a while, and NBC just started airing those Strikeforce shows recently. Granted, they are on at 2 a.m., but I wonder if they have any exclusivity or promises to greater exposure down the line. That would leave UFC with ABC, which would probably be the best scenario, given the ties with ESPN. But I don't know if that would come to pass, because then you would have two cable networks involved with UFC, ESPN and Spike. It has worked with NASCAR in the past, but that was a bigger sport and more established. I have speculated a lot here, and have no idea about a lot of the agreements and the fine print in existing contracts. But when it comes to Viacom's interests and a lot of the variables in play, things could get very interesting.

The fact that this was on page seven makes someone angry.... MISTER....KENNEDY!!!!!! KENNEDY!!!!!!

Yeah, I am excited for this fight. I like Faber, but this is definitely going to be a test for him.

I was shocked when he said that. I literally had no expression on my face. Even if you did do that, how do you have the audacity to say it on camera? If he has a future in MMA, it is going to be hard for people to trust him from here on out.

Well that sucks. I was looking forward to Bisping losing. I know that might not be what many think the outcome would have been, but I just had a feeling. Plus I really don't like Bisping.

I am flabbergasted that Mike Adamle is still on TV in any capacity. I could not watch wrestling seriously with him calling it. But then again, I have had a hard time taking ECW seriously since WWE got involved.

No problem. Yeah, I usually go to the one in Ballantyne, it is a good time for the fights. If you go, try to get there a little early because it will fill up. They have three or four big screens that will be showing the fights in the dining area and then a few in the bar area. Everyone is usually really into it...it is a good time.

If you wanted to watch it, Fox & Hound as well as Baileys in Charlotte shows them. There are a few F&H's and a Baileys around town. I watched UFC there a few months ago. It was packed and a pretty good time.

Wow...simply wow. That would be a great card. Sign me up!

That is the same thing I was curious about