On April 19, 2008 the UFC finally made its Canadian Debut and although it can only be held in Quebec due to legislation and a lack of an MMA council in Ontario, I truly hope that it will open the door to the UFC eventually making its debut in Ontario especially at the Skydome.
UFC 83 showcased many Canadian fighters which I definitely liked even if most of them were on the under-card.
The first televised fight between Bocek and Danzig was a better fight then I expected, especially with the undefeated lightweight Bocek at the disadvantage of debuting in Canada against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 winner and welterweight turned lightweight Mac Danzig.
Not what I would have expected for first matches for either fighter but a good solid match overall. I was very impressed with Bocek's tenacity even after taking a hell of a beating in the late second round and just before the final (lots of heart unlike some we will mention later). I would love to see Bocek tested at his weight class against say Rich Clementi just to see what he can do. As for Danzig, I'll chalk up his inability to get the KO to Bocek just being able to handle alot of punishment rather then Danzig's lack of strength or skill due to cutting weight.
The second fight between "Captain Miserable" and Michael "The Count" Bisping was a farce. I will never understand the UFC desire to give every single fighter that goes through TUF a contract to fight.
"Chainsaw" is a fool and proved it when he started taunting Bisping and then after taking the beating he rightfully deserved didn't even have the heart to get up and come back out for the second round but got up and congratulated the winner pretty quick when he wasn't in any more trouble. That was a disgraceful thing to do and I hope McCarthy gets fired for it.
Now if that wasn't bad enough then we have the worst fight of the night by far with Kalib Starnes (a Canadian that I was expecting ALOT more from) taking on Nate "Rock" Quarry (who I don't fault at all for the poor match).
Kalib was another example of why the UFC shouldn't bring every single fighter back from TUF events. Why would you just run away from your opponent the WHOLE MATCH? That's gutless and just plain stupid.
You're at the Canadian PPV premier for the top company in MMA and you DON'T FIGHT!!!!! Why are you even their then?!?! Nate deserved better then this and he tried to get the win the right way even going so far as to taunt Kalib by covering his own eyes and fighting left handed.
Next the fight between Rich "Ace" Franklin and Travis Lutter. Now we ALL knew who was gonna win this match and I really didn't see what the point was for it in the first place. Travis was coming fresh off of his TUF4 finale victory and immediately got a title shot against the new Middleweight Champion.
However, on the biggest night of his life he failed to make weight and lost the opportunity to fight for the title and lost the non-title match in the second round just as most of his other loses with the exception of the only win he has been able to get in the second which was only 33 seconds in (this doesn't say much for his conditioning).
Now Rich Franklin is in the unique position of being the second best fighter in the division, however, he still isn't ready to challenge for the title he lost to Anderson Silva at UFC 64 and then failed to regain at UFC 77. No disrespect to "Ace" but Silva is just unstoppable right now and whoever does finally take the title from him will probably have pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Needless to say, Rich is still in title contention with a victory over Lutter who has now suffered back to back losses against major players in the Middleweight division.
Finally, the main event EVERYONE was waiting for. Would Serra beat St. Pierre again, this time in his home province or would GSP prove that it was a fluke the first time. I'll admit I was a little nervous after all to lose so convincingly in the first round by TKO was shocking enough but to drop the title in what was supposed to be his first title defense was just unbelievable.
Then I saw the first 30 seconds of the fight and knew without a doubt that the "Complete Fighter" was back and would become the UFC Undisputed Welterweight Champion.
All in all the event was a great success with the UFC bringing in a calculated gate of over $5 Million and an all time UFC attendance record of 21,390 definitely proving without a doubt that Canada is great for the UFC.
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5 months ago
So you said you don't see why they keep fighters like Starnes, but then you said you expected a lot out of him. So why wouldn't the UFC keep a fighter from TUF if you expect a lot out of them. But I agree his release was deserved.
And Lutter is a good fighter, to say Franklin had no chance of losing is ridiculous. In fact, he was a second away from losing in that armbar. So I don't know about that, but Lutter's conditioning is a problem, there you are correct.
from 5 months ago
True I said I expected alot from Starnes but can admit that I am very disappointed. What I was referring to was that almost every tuf fighter is retained for some period and it just doesn't make sense.
Thanks for reading the article and responding and have a great day : )
5 months ago
The reason they keep these TUF guys under contract is because they are on very inexpensive contract deals and also, they just went through a ton of marketing based on the TUF show, so you don't have the spend money marketing them as fighters. UFC fans already know them.
from 5 months ago
Very true, however marketing on lazy or poor fighters is still a waste or resources and most should not be retained.
Thanks for reading the article and responding to it. Have a great day : )
5 months ago
It always bothers me when I see veteran fighters get gassed. If it were a rookie and not Travis Lutter I would think they were just ill-prepared, but this is the second time that Lutter seems to have not put as much effort as possible into preparation. It doesn't seem like he really wants it anymore, assuming that he ever really did.
from 5 months ago
Maybe if he drops weight and starts from the bottom and slowly works up he might have a far better chance at succeeding and he may even be in better shape and less likely to gas. Then again, if he is having trouble making 185 who knows if he can drop and be successful at a small middleweight or even reach welterweight and still be a contender. 185 isn't heavy at all and to see someone gas like their 265 is very disturbing. I agree he doesn't look like he has it in him anymore.
Thanks for reading and responding to the article and have a great day: )
5 months ago
Rich Franklin is in an awkward position now. He is essentially the second best middleweight in the UFC but he's already fought and lost twice to anderson silva and no one wants to see a 3rd. Now that bisping is locked in for another fight i'd love to see a franklin/hendo battle.
from 5 months ago
The division has some great prospects and some fantastic opportunities for great fights and I do wanna see Franklin/Hendo but I agree with you, the number one contender is in a terrible position cause no one wants to see him most likely lose a third time to the champ.
I'm nostalgic and hope that somehow Jeremy Horn gets a shot and pulls it off to win a title with the UFC. He has made a huge name for himself in MMA with a spectacular 88-17-5 record (even if his UFC record is 7-5).
Now realistically Nate Marquandt (sorry if spelling is wrong) or even Patrick Cote might have a shot if worked properly but Silva needs to be put up against as many contenders as possible to see who might do well against him, hell give Gracie a shot and see if he could do it. Could you imagine the draw on that fight for the title?
Thanks for reading and responding to the article and have a great day : )
5 months ago
McCarthy is taking a lot of heat for what was actually a good strategy on his part. He had no business trying to stand with Bisping so he didn't. He waited for the opportunity and if he had sunk that armbar he'd be getting all the props. And as for his "heart," he was stopped by an arm injury.
from 5 months ago
I don't agree with that at all but that is why its great to live in a free world cause you still get to share your ideas. His arm injury kept him from going on in the tuf event but not from mooping around and being miserable on the show.
As for trap fighting, if he pulled it off it would have been a monster of an upset winning it like that but I still wouldn't want to see him fight much less for a title especially like that would you?
Thanks for reading the article and responding to it. Have a great day: )
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