MMA Tycoon

MMA Tycoon - The MMA Management Game

Sunday 3 July 2011

Emotions

First it was being anxious.

Then excited.

Then disappointed.

Then confused.

UFC 132 certainly took me on an emotional rollercoaster and that’s one of the reasons I love MMA so much. With so much at stake Tito came in and he conquered. I really wanted to see him walk out with a victory but I never expected it to be a submission, I figured these two would go the distance and Tito would get a win on the scorecards.

I am glad I was wrong with that because he put on one hell of a performance. A lot of people wrote him off but his true fans stuck by him and although I was anxious I knew deep down he would get the win and his awesome career would continue.

After following Tito on twitter I adopted him as another favourite fighter, I wanted him to win so badly because he really is a nice guy so when he locked in that choke I cheered and I think I may have been the only one in the bar to do so, I can't remember, I was just so happy.

As soon as I could hear Wanderlei’s music over the sound system in the bar my heart was literally racing. The air was electric. My heart was beating out of my chest. You know? All the clichés you hear people say? Well that’s exactly how I was feeling. I had a smile on my face from ear to ear the second he ran in and hit Leben but in a matter of seconds my excitement turned to sadness and then to disappointment.

My hero, my favourite fighter was laid out. I still have the utmost respect for Wanderlei and it’s not like he was going into a fight with someone with paper hands, Leben can throw them like the best of them and his shots mean business. Wanderlei got caught, but I don’t think it should be the end of the legend. Give him another fight, one more chance at redemption and the sooner the better, no long lay offs this time around.

I don’t want to take away what Leben accomplished, he beat a legend but I want to see Wanderlei get another chance, he deserves that at least.

The main event was a cracker of a fight, one of the most exciting divisions in the sport was showcased in it entirety. I would NOT have liked to have been a judge on that fight, it was a tough call to make. I was confused when someone scored all five rounds to Cruz but the end result was not one of those “up in arms” moments you often see in MMA.

A side note if I may; What Matt Wiman did after his fight was ridiculous, I don’t often “bash” fighters because I think that it’s stupid to do so, but I will throw this one out there:

Failed takedown attempts, although aggressive, are still failed and it doesn’t mean you will win a fight where you clearly lost in the first and third rounds.

Back to our main event; Cruz and Faber put on a show and I was defiantly left entertained with that one, my disappointment in seeing my favourite fighter in a heap on the ground was able to be subsided when these two men went out and gave it their all.

Cruz has such an interesting fighting style and Faber is just a little pocket of dynamite. I still couldn't get over the height difference but Faber just didn't care, he kept on firing away and giving it his all. Cruz showed why he is the champion and no matter who he faces next I see a Cruz and Faber III showdown on the horizon.

I am looking forward to everything that will fall-out from this awesome card: Carlos Condit’s eventual title shot. Melvin Guillard’s return to the spotlight. Tito’s next opponent. Wanderlei’s recovery and next fight. Faber versus Cruz III and something even closer, another emotional rollercoaster with UFC 133.

Mixed Martial Arts by way of the UFC brings out something in all of us.

Embrace it!

Saturday 25 June 2011

The live experience

Dana White has even said it, there really is nothing like experiencing a UFC event live. I was in attendance at UFC 110 in Sydney and let me tell you, it was crazy. The atmosphere was electric, of course it helped that it was the first time the UFC had come to Australia but boy did we all eat it up.

There was one thing missing though.

Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg.

These two really make a fight night something special. I cannot imagine watching a UFC event on television without these two calling the action, it just wouldn’t be the same. I know that some people criticize what the guys do but hey, no matter what profession you are in there is going to be someone, somewhere who wants to complain. For the most part I think that the knowledge, passion and humour that these guys bring to the table is awesome.

For anybody who has been to a UFC event you know that the big screens bring a lot to the experience, not everybody has the opportunity to get the best view from their seats so the screens often allow you to see what is happening up close in the ground game or the clinch. The atmosphere is like no other sporting event you would have been to (except maybe the Superbowl!) and MMA fans are some of the most passionate fans out there when it comes to their favourite fighter stepping into the cage.

Could you imagine having Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg in your ear as you cheer for the fighters live? There would be nothing like it. Sure, not everybody would like it but I know that sometimes when I am sitting at the bar watching the fight on the big screen right in front of me I miss some pretty basic stuff that is only a few feet away from me and it really helps when Joe and Mike can point it out. This would just add to the live experience, and sure, as I have already said, it’s probably not for everyone but I know the vast majority of people would feel the same way, these two guys MAKE a fight night just as much as the fighters.

I know that if there was a choice to pay to use some kind of streaming earpiece in the arena at the live show, I would certainly shell out the cash for it. It may not be the most practical idea but can you imagine the live experience coupled with the play by play of Joe and Mike? Now that would be a winning combination for sure, I know the idea is probably a little unrealistic but hey, these guys make a pay per view all the more enjoyable.

Sunday 19 June 2011

Contenders

The times are a-changing’!

Well, not exactly changing but I have a feeling that in the near future we are going to see some new champions in the UFC and these are the guys that could be the ones to take the gold.

Anderson Silva has defended his title eight times, UFC 134 will be his ninth title defence and I think that he should be able to get through Okami. I am not sure what happens next, there is a lot of talk about a Silva and GSP showdown and who knows, Silva may relinquish his championship to move on up to Light Heavyweight. I think that the next man to hold the gold will be Mark Munoz, he has shown a skill set that will be able to dominate inside the octagon and once he gets his shot he will be the one to hold the belt for quite some time.

If anybody has a chance to dethrone Cain Valasquez  it’s Junior Dos Santos. We all saw what happened in that first round against Shane Carwin, can you imagine it all over again? Dos Santos is fast and his takedown defence just seems to be getting better and better. Surely he will continue training to ensure he can keep Cain on his feet. Cain has great stand up but JDS’ is just that little bit better. Cain has never lost in his career so that first loss has got to be rearing it’s ugly head. I think that JDS is going to be the dominant champion of 2012.

Jose Aldo really took the fight to Mark Hominick in Toronto and Kenny Florian did the same with Diego Nunes in Vancouver so naturally you would think these two would be colliding soon. Dana White said early on that should Florian win against Nunes he would be next in line for the title, who knows what is going to happen and whether these two face of next or whether Aldo steps into the cage with Mendes first. Ironically all four of Florian’s UFC losses were when it was all on the line, three unsuccessful attempts at securing a title and his first UFC loss being for the Ultimate Fighter Season One glory. I think that Florian will have learnt from his mistakes and his experience is what will get him a victory at one hundred and forty five pounds for his first UFC title. Kenny looked great against Nunes, I am sure he can replicate that against Aldo.

It’s going to be an interesting finish to the year, we still have six months and I think that JDS will be the first of these three to get his belt and the other two will follow in early 2012. I know for sure that all of those fights are fights I am going to want to watch.

And should they be successful in winning the gold, they are all champions I would cheer for.

Sunday 12 June 2011

Nice guys finish fights

Well kind of.

So I was sitting there waiting for UFC 131 to start and thinking, wow this is going to be a pretty sweet card when you look at it and I thought, three of the guys I think are going to win are also pretty nice guys and they are defiantly going to finish their fights.

I came up with a clever blog name that I thought would win me some needed internet points and I watched away. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t disappointed with the fights in any way and I certainly thought this was one hell of a card, I just wanted my blog name to tie in with the results.

Three of the nicest guys to grace Mixed Martial Arts fought last night and they all won and they were damn exciting to watch too.


I was absolutely devastated when Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) was booed after his win. I know that the Canadian’s are passionate about their hockey, I even went and made a clever twitter hash tag (#canadiansarepoliteunlessyoudontliketheirhockeyteam) to try and calm those folks down. It was just bad luck that Kenny is from Boston and chose to wear his Bruins jersey with pride. He was humble after his win and defiantly disappointed about being booed. Kenny is a pretty down to earth guy as well, he’s funny (as I have stated before) and has defiantly made the right choice to fight at 145. It’s a shame this fight was in Vancouver because if it were anywhere else I know that crowd would have cheered their asses off for what was an awesome debut in the Featherweight division. It’s title fight time for Ken-Flo in my opinion and this time around he’s taking it.


Cain Velasquez has a new challenger and he is one hell of a fight. Dos Santos (@junior_cigano) showed the world what he was all about during TUF and defiantly got some new fans from that mass exposure, he’s demeanour after a fight is classic. When he was standing there with his corner after his victory it reminded me of hanging out with friends, he looked happy and he really looked down to earth. His attitude is something all MMA fans can relate to, he’s a nice guy and he’s genuine. I can’t wait for him to step into the cage with Cain (who is equally pretty nice) because I know that the look on Junior’s face as Dana places that belt around his waist is going to be priceless. O título é seu Cigano! (for those who don’t want to use Google Translate that means “The title is yours Cigano!)

 

I will be honest straight up. I am new to the Mark Munoz (@mark_munoz) bandwagon, after watching Countdown to UFC I actually thought to myself, “wow” he is defiantly one of the nicest guys I have EVER seen promote a fight. His story is defiantly inspiring and he adds his name to the group of wrestlers who are rapidly starting to take over the UFC. Munoz helps coach top tier fighters with their wrestling but you wouldn’t be able to tell that by just taking a quick uneducated look at him. He smiled all throughout his weigh in and also throughout his Countdown to UFC interview and kind of made you enjoy watching him talk, he's going to be a star and could defiantly be the one to take the 185lbs title next.

The nice guys came out on top this weekend in what was certainly a sensational night of fights.

Nice guys don’t finish last anymore, they go out there and they win fights.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Books

I don’t really like to read.

Which is strange because I love to write.

However, this past week I found myself having to pass some time on a loooooooong bus ride from Toronto to New York City so I thought I would pick up a couple of books, and this got me thinking, a lot of MMA fans are probably like me and don’t like to read but could probably forget about their distain for books if the right MMA book came along.

I only read a couple of MMA books on my travel but it got me thinking about a few must read books for MMA fans.

The MMA Encyclopaedia is a big ass book but believe me it’s worth the read! I read it a few months ago and it was pretty interesting, sure some of the opinions in there are strictly those of the writer and they may be biased but it really does give you a wealth of information that you may or may not have already known. It has a lot of profiles on different fighters and even includes their win/loss records at the time of publishing as well as their notable wins and losses.

Chuck Liddell’s “Iceman” was the first fighter book I read. I read it a while ago and it really made me think about where Chuck has come from and what he has made for himself. It’s interesting to hear his thoughts on his first fights and also about what he did throughout high school with his training. He talks about his friendship with Dana White in detail and about where the UFC would likely be without The Ultimate Fighter. Chuck’s personal life is pretty intriguing and he really doesn’t shy away from anything which is great. Whether it’s going through the key fights of his career or recalling life growing up Chuck really makes you want to like him in this book.

It’s amazing to get an insight into the personal life of Brock Lesnar as he usually doesn’t let the public get into his private business. Brock Lesnar’s “Death Clutch” let’s you get to know Brock in a way that you never probably would have expected. He really leaves no stone unturned as he goes through his fallout with Vince McMahon and the WWE and also as he talks about his quest to win the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship. It’s interesting hearing Brock’s thoughts on his MMA career and his battle with
diverticulitis and what the meaning of his chest tattoo is. Defiantly a must read book, even if you don’t like the guy it’s interesting to see where he has come from and what he went through to get to his super stardom today.
I have been on a pretty big Tito campaign lately but after reading his book “This is gonna hurt” I have to say I am even more of a fan. The book delves right into his life and it’s pretty personal and it kind of makes you see things from a different light as it’s a life I never actually thought he would have lived. It really is inspirational and makes you think about what you could do with your own life. If a kid who was doing drugs and stealing could make something of his life why can’t you? Tito goes into parts of his life that most people would probably sugar coat and it really gives you a great personal outlook on the guy. He’s protective of what is important to him (family) and really is pretty smart about what he does with his money. If you are a hater turned fan I would recommend this book to you first because it will give you even more reasons to love the guy.

I am looking forward to getting into some more MMA books soon, my next long ass trip will be coming up in around August and if I can’t find any new books to read I would probably just read Tito’s and Brock’s again because they really are that good.

Sunday 22 May 2011

Playing Favourites

“Good morning my guys”

Anybody who follows Wanderlei Silva on twitter knows exactly how it feels to see this come up in their timeline. It’s amazing how down to earth and nice this guy is. So nice in fact that should he be awarded the $5000 “twitter bonus” from Dana White he is going to give it to one lucky fan.

Supporting a fighter like this really does feel good..

As a fight fan I love that feeling when I discover a new favourite fighter, it’s almost as if they are a new friend, as if I know them personally and that my support will mean they will be successful and lately I have found myself respecting and appreciating a few fighters that I didn’t really support before.

I have always liked Wanderlei Silva, ever since the fight with Chuck Liddell and he certainly will always be my favourite fighter, the guy just puts on great fights. I just wanted to mention some things that some people might not know. Wanderlei loves his friends (fans), he will always take a photo, shake your hand or say hello, no matter what. This has to be a strain on him but none the less that’s the kind of guy he is. The fact that he will part ways with $5000 should he win it is amazing on it’s own. Wanderlei is easily the most humble guy in MMA and he can throw down like there is no tomorrow as well. I for one cannot wait to see him enter the cage again and I’ll be cheering loud and proud for my “friend”.

Yes I have mentioned the next two guys in one of my previous blogs but I just want to go into a little more detail on a personal level. Tito Ortiz since day one has been larger than life. That’s just who he is. I always felt a little bit sorry for Ken Shamrock when Tito was “bullying” him and that’s why I never really liked Tito. It’s only recently that I have found that I respect the Huntington Beach Bad Boy, sure he still has an ego but you have to in the fight game, it’s called confidence and if you don’t have it you are sure to be eaten alive. I want Tito to beat Bader, now that is something I NEVER thought I would say. I want Tito back in the title picture, every day he interacts with fans on Twitter it’s kind of inspirational. He’s a pretty nice guy, as long as you aren’t an idiot.

Josh Koscheck is a pretty generous guy. He’s always interacting with fans and giving stuff away. It made me think that he has been dealt a pretty harsh hand by the online MMA community (who aren’t as holy as they may think). Josh, like Tito, has an ego and although he has come off as disrespectful at times he certainly doesn’t mean it. Josh respects the sport, he respects his fans and the fact that he retweeted this little blog right here and got me 75 website hits, $8 in advertisement revenue and 1 new twitter follower all in the span of 15 minutes means he has a fan for life right here, he does the right thing by people and that’s what really counts.

I’m a Brock Lesnar fan, I respect the guy so saying this kind of makes me feel weird. I would have wanted Junior Dos Santos (@junior_cigano) to beat Brock. The latest season of Ultimate Fighter gave me an insight into JDS I never had before. He is a nice guy, hands down, probably one of the nicest. He is fun loving and just wants to help the guys in his team on the show. He really showed he is pure class and if anybody deserved to hold the Heavyweight championship it’s certainly him. He’s brutal inside that cage but the second he’s out of it he is the nicest guy in the world. He made me smile so much throughout the season and even though I can’t understand some of his tweets I followed him on Twitter anyway and the translate tool will just get a workout!

There really is nothing like having fighters that you support, it brings a whole new level to MMA. Once you get past all of the whining posted on the internet and actually look at the fighters yourself you can find that nearly all of them have something admirable to offer.

Sunday 15 May 2011

The Average Joe

It’s Roy Nelson. (@roynelsonmma)

First off let me say that in no way am I saying that Roy is an “average” fighter, he is quite the opposite of that in fact. However he does possess some traits that many average MMA fans would probably have themselves.

If it wasn’t for me having to walk two kilometres a day in my work commute I would probably have a stature similar to Nelson‘s, the way that I treat my body with beer, burgers and what ever else I can get my hands on would blow my stomach out like nobodies business but I certainly would never be able to do what Roy does inside that cage nor look as good as he does when he‘s doing it.

He’s only lost once in the UFC and that was to Junior Dos Santos, who is one hell of a fighter. Roy goes in there and he gives it his all, that’s what won him the tenth season of TUF and that’s what makes people like him so much. I was a little on the fence about him when he fought Junior, I thought, okay, Junior is going to maul this guy just based on how I perceived Roy’s cardio. Roy showed a lot of heart in that fight and I’m sure he won over plenty of casual fans who may have just been waiting to see Anderson Silva defend his belt again.

He is another fighter who takes the time to answer his fans, by way of Twitter, when Roy has the time he is so often seen answering the questions of the fans. It almost seems as if “Big County” is just a regular guy. I know he certainly gained a lot of followers when he was guest tweeting for the UFC account, his comments were down to earth and also hilarious. He’s defiantly another fighter who has welcomed social media in MMA.

Roy embraces the way he looks which makes him all the more impressive, the fact that he can back up his words inside that cage makes him all the more of a fan favourite. It’s going to be a great night on May 28th, with the latest injury of Brock Lesnar who knows what will happen in the Heavyweight division. Should Roy be successful he may even find himself in the number one contenders position.

Roy is an inspiration for the “Average Joe” fan. There’s no six pack abs, there’s no clean cut model-esque good looks, and there certainly isn‘t a stylist helping with his hair for appearances. It’s just the average looking guy doing what he loves and being pretty darn good at it too. Roy is the portrait of what a lot of MMA fans probably see when they look in the mirror and that’s why so many people love him.

I wish Roy the best of luck at the end of the month I think that he will beat Mir, who will be the one big name that Roy needs to his resume to allow him to work his way into the title mix. He’s a “fans” fighter and really shows that if you have the right attitude you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Hell, he might have even convinced me to give MMA training a try.