The Rubik's Cube that is the UFC Rankings

When I was ten years old I asked my parents to let me take martial arts classes after I saw a Bruce Lee film and an amazing journey began for me.  My love for Martial Arts has grown over the years and led me to start watching Professional Mixed Martial Arts almost two decades ago.  I remember watching online replays of Bas Rutten Pancrase matches and Royce Grace vs Sakuraba PRIDE Superfight. I also watched the nights Vitor Belfort’s speed blitzkrieg of Wanderlei Silva and Tank Abbott, when Rich Franklin defeated Evan Tanner to become the UFC Middleweight champion, and the amazing technical war between Cung Le and Frank Shamrock in Strikeforce. 

I have been allowed the privilege, thanks to my many years in the radio industry and background in MMA, to cover several Bellator and UFC events.  I have seen the sport grow from a misunderstood “combat sport” to one of the top five highest grossing professional sports in the world.  But along the way a lot has changed, for better and for worse.  The “better” is what gets frequently publicized such as major sponsorship dollars MMA athletes have in today’s world and the mainstream acceptance of MMA.  That acceptance, thanks to fighters like Ronda Rousey, Randy Couture, and Ken Shamrock, paved the way for MMA fighters to crossover into the Television and movie industries.  The major television contracts that the UFC has with FOX, Bellator has with Viacom (Spike, CBS Sports), and World Series of Fighting with NBC Sports has put MMA on television on a weekly basis.

One common thread is that the UFC is the king of professional MMA world, where the most of the best fighters on the planet compete.  The UFC led the way in the 1990’s and helped bridge the gap to bring MMA into mainstream sports conversation.  But the UFC also has made promises to the casual and hardcore MMA fan bases that have loosely been kept.  When the UFC took over MMA organizations PRIDE, WEC, and Strikeforce, the plan was for those organizations to keep going forward and there to be crossover fights.  In each case the UFC slowly absorbed fighters into their own ranks and then dissolve the organizational structure, ending their existence. 

In 2015 the UFC is again giving something that frustrates fans and media alike, whether most of them are willing to admit it or not.  On the UFC’s website there are weight class rankings, allowing fans and media alike to have a gauge of where different fighters stand in relation to potential to championship matchups according to them.  Yet we have seen numerous times the UFC neglect their own rankings and put together fight cards headlined by title fights most people did not expect.

UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler is set to face Carlos Condit in November even though Condit has a record of 2-2 since his title fight loss to George St. Pierre in 2012.  Condit, the former WEC Welterweight Champion, is currently ranked 4^th in the UFC rankings, so he leap frogged three men for his title shot.  Meanwhile Johnny Hendricks (number one contender ranking) and Tyron Woodley (number 3 ranked Welterweight) are facing off in October at UFC 192.  Both men have previously defeated Condit while also having better overall records over the last few years.  Woodley has a 5-2 record since arriving in the UFC in 2013, with his only losses coming via judges’ decision.  Hendricks has 3-2 record over the same time period, his only losses coming via controversial split judges’ decisions.  Yet the UFC chose Carlos Condit for the title shot despite him being ranked behind Hendricks and Woodley.

Another example of mixed messages from the UFC is with the evolving conundrum of the UFC Women’s Strawweight division.  Current Women’s 115 lb. champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk is set to face Valérie Létourneau at UFC 193 in November, yet Letourneau is the number 10 ranked fighter in the division according to UFC rankings.  Letourneau is leap frogging Claudia Gadelha (number one contender in the division), Carla Esparza (former champion and number two ranked in division) and Tecia Torres (number 5 ranked fighter and undefeated in her pro career).  Both Gadehla and Esparza are out of action due to injuries so many people expected Torres would be next in line to fight for the belt.  Instead Torres is scheduled to fight Michelle Waterson next; Waterson is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.  Meanwhile on her way to a title shot Letourneau has a 3-0 record in the UFC, all victories over women who are currently not ranked in the UFC’s top fifteen for the weight class.

The reality is the UFC is an organization that signed multiple big money media contracts at a time when they MMA landscape was very different.  A few years ago the UFC’s biggest stars were Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and George St. Pierre.  Whether people were fans or haters, they tuned in every fight to watch these men either win or lose.  The UFC was also building the brand of Cain Velasquez, Frankie Edgar and Anthony Pettis after their famous championship winning fights.  In recent years since UFC signed media and sponsorship deals grossing the organization billions of dollars here’s what has happened to their stars:

-Jon Jones is currently suspended indefinitely due to his legal problems after a Hit and Run accident; he has been stripped of his title.

-Anderson Silva lost his title for Chris Weidman and since then tested positive for steroids after his fight with Nick Diaz.

-George St. Pierre retired after his controversial win over Johnny Hendricks in 2012; St. Pierre has stated he is not coming back anytime soon.

-Cain Velasquez has won, lost, won again, and lost again his Heavyweight title all while dealing with injuries.

-Frankie Edgar lost his UFC Lightweight Title in 2012 and has moved down to the Featherweight division where is working towards another title shot.

-Anthony Pettis lost his title in 2015 to Rafael Dos Anjos months after being a featured athlete on Wheaties boxes.

In 2015 the UFC is attempting to bank their marketing power around three current champions:

-Ronda Rousey, A woman who has said she will retire by 2017 and wants to spend more time pursuing an acting career.

-Chris Weidman, A talented fighter from New York whose coach is former UFC champion Matt Serra.

-Connor McGregor, A brash Irishman coming from a boxing background who just recently won the Interim UFC Featherweight title.

So with this shortened list of marque marketable fighters, why is the UFC insisting on putting together title fights that conflict with their own rankings?  The whole point of having these rankings published and updated almost weekly is to attract more fans interest in upcoming fight cards. 

One of the UFC’s biggest media deals is with Brazil’s Globo and is potentially in jeopardy due to poor TV ratings.  It does not help that three years ago there were several Brazilian UFC champions and title contenders.  In 2015 only two Brazilians hold UFC titles, one being Jose Aldo who has been dealing with injuries.  The other is Fabricio Werdum who is not even in the top five list of most popular MMA fighters in Brazil.

Certainly it is perplexing the UFC’s reasoning for many of their recent fighter matchups.  The truth is that the UFC needs the MMA fans to continue their support for the king of MMA in order to maintain financial strength and media visibility.  Their current deal with Reebok is still unpopular in many MMA circles since it cut off many sponsors from the UFC arena and some fighter’s lifelines.  There is nothing wrong with calculated risks, but only time will tell if this Rubik’s cube the UFC has placed in front of the media and fans will continue to produce results or if it will be tossed away due to the inability to be understood.

5 Things Learned from UFC 191

Last night’s UFC 191 Fight Card was overlooked by many casual fans, no thanks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s “Go Big” press conference on Friday.  That press conference cast a shadow over an event that included one of the top fighters on the planet, a match-up of two former UFC Heavyweight Champions, and a top contender in the light heavyweight division.  So here are the top five things the Mixed Martial Arts world learned from last night:

1.  Demetrious Johnson is one of the most underrated, dominate MMA fighters on the planet.

This may appear like a hyperbole, but the casual MMA fan has not seen all of Demetrious’ fights since the 125 pound division was formed in the UFC.  Since winning the UFC Flyweight Championship in in 2012, Johnson has defended his title seven straight times while looking better and more dominant in each match-up.  Johnson has been so exceptional in the octagon that he has made very talented fighters such as Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, and Ali Bagautinov look underwhelming.  Johnson’s footwork, high MMA IQ, speed, wrestling skills and undervalued striking all set him apart from his competition.

At 29 year old Demetrious still has time to get better and more dominant, which will be a problem for his future opponents.  The UFC has the dubious task of trying to schedule great fights moving forward thanks to most of the fighters in the weight class doing little to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.  Ronda Rousey and Demetrious Johnson both have that in common: they are both dominant in their weight classes and finding future fights for them will become more difficult.

2. “Going Big” can backfire on a fighter, just ask Frank Mir.

The Heavyweight division in MMA is the only weight class that does not have strict weigh in restrictions.  At weigh-ins the major requirement is that a fighter be under the 265 pound weight limit.  This means that the fighters could weigh anywhere between 220-265 pounds.  Frank Mir was hanging around the weight limit thanks to his plans to get big and be the new “big” heavyweight in the UFC.  Mir saw in years past that guys like Brock Lesnar and Steve Carwin had past success as men who had to cut down to 265 pounds in order to compete. 

The problem with this way of thinking is two-fold:

-First of all, Mir has worked to gain weight and become a bigger man.  Lesnar and Carwin have been that size and weight most of their adult lives with most of that weight being muscle.  Mir had a gut last night and physiologically looked sloppy, his footwork was awkward and lacked the speed he has had in the past.  In previous fights Mir had come into the fights weighing between 10-18 pounds less and looked better.

-Secondly a natural side effect of competing at a weight heavier than what an athlete is use to is the potential to be tired more quickly.  Last night Frank Mir was tired early in the fight and it showed as his opponent, Andre Arlovski, was able to stay nimble and energetic.  Carrying that extra weight hindered Mir’s ability to execute his game plan and as a result the fight was underwhelming to watch.

There were expectations for this fight of two former Heavyweight champions, both looking to make another run at the belt.  Instead it was a fight in which one fighter looked like he didn’t belong; Mir looked slow, tired, and lacking initiative.  If Frank Mir has a future in MMA he needs to get back to the aggressive, balanced fighter he was four years ago.  Since his loss to Junior Dos Santos in 2012, Frank has lost four of his last six fights; in those losses he has looked slow and indecisive.

3. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson deserves his number one contender ranking.

Anthony Johnson with his Knockout victory last night showed why he deserves that number one contender spot in the Light Heavyweight rankings.  Johnson’s last fight was a loss to UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, a fight that he did not perform his best in.  Outside of that loss, Anthony has not lost any fights since January 2012.  His showing at last night’s match-up with Jimi Manuwa was another example of Anthony at his best: staying aggressive, good side to side movement, and was calculated.

With excellent striking power and a good wrestling background, Anthony Johnson has the tools to be a UFC champion.  The weakness of Anthony’s game has been simple over the years and that is his susceptibility to being submitted.  The reality is that four of his five career losses have been by submission.  “Rumble” Johnson has the physical skills to be a champion and after last night he is clearly next in line for another shot at the belt.

4. Corey Anderson is an example of why who you train with is so important.

In his win last night, Corey Anderson showed well rounded striking and grappling skills.  A collegiate wrestler, Corey never aspired to be a Mixed Martial Arts fighter.  But after meeting former longtime Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askrin, Corey Anderson was convinced to come out to Ben’s MMA gym.  After a few pro fights, he got the opportunity to compete on season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter.  The show known as “TUF” is the UFC’s reality TV development/talent evaluation proving ground.  Corey would go on to be the Season 19 TUF Winner; the winner of the Ultimate Fighter wins a guaranteed UFC contract.  As part of that contract, he is required to fight on at least one Pay-Per View fight card; this is a big deal because fighters who compete on PPV cards get paid more since they also earn shares of PPV sale.

Corey Anderson has grown from a raw, athletic wrestler to an up and coming all-around MMA fighter.  This happened because he moved to New Jersey to be coached by Mark Henry and Richardo Almeida after working with former UFC Lightweight champion Franke Edgar on TUF.  Henry is a boxing coach with a high fight game IQ and Almeida is a high level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and coach.  Working with great coaches and training in the same facility with top level fighters such as Franke Edgar, Edson Barboza, and Marlon Morales, this type of an environment helps athletes grow and develop their skills.  Anderson has gone from a wrestler with no interest in Mixed Martial Arts to an up and coming MMA fighter who has a bright future in the UFC.  Amazing what happens when an athlete is in the right kind of environment.

5. The sky is the limit for Paige Vanzant.

At 21 years of age, Paige Vanzant is rising up the Women’s MMA ranks and getting attention from advertisers too.  Now one of the faces of Reebok’s MMA promotional campaign, Paige has rewarded the faith placed in her by going 3-0 during her time in the UFC.  Vanzant, who trains at Team Alpha Male, has shown the progression of getting better with each fight and last night she won by submission, utilizing excellent jiu-jitsu skills.

Her all-around MMA skills have been developing at a solid pace and it has been smart for the UFC to bring her along slowly.  Paige Vanzant has the potential to be a UFC champion and also the future face of Women’s MMA.  Ronda Rousey has said publicly she doesn’t want to keep fighting into her 30’s and with a budding acting career, she doesn’t have to.  Paige has everything the UFC needs to build her into the next Women’s MMA star: she’s attractive, good with the media, talented, and fans like her.  Now yes, some fans may like her because of her looks, but her growing set of skills cannot be ignored by any objective viewer of her fights. 

Paige’s only potential downfall will be how she handles adversity in the future.  If she can handle losses inside and outside the Octagon the way she has handled everything else fame has thrown at her, her potential as a fighter is limitless.

Ronda Rousey: Making Sense Of An Enigma

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey will be facing Former WBF Boxing Champion Holly Holm, January 2, 2016, at UFC 195 in Las Vegas.  This announcement comes as a surprise since UFC President Dana White had stated weeks ago that Rousey’s next opponent would be former Strikeforce Women’s Champion Miesha Tate.  Tate, who is on a four fight winning streak, has faced Rousey twice before and is the only woman to take a fight last beyond the first round (UFC 168) versus Ronda.

Rousey will be defending her title for the eighth time at UFC 195 and she had dominated her competition over that time.  With a career record of 12 wins and 0 losses, many claim Ronda Rousey is the greatest Women’s MMA fighter on the planet.  This claim is disputed though, by Christine “Cyborg” Santos-Justino, the current Invicta FC Women’s Featherweight Champion.  “Cyborg” has not lost a fight since 2005 and has talked publicly about fighting Rousey in the UFC.  Since UFC parent company, Zuffa, also owns Invicta FC, there is nothing legally or contractually holding this match up from happening.

What is holding the fight back is the lack of agreement on the when and how to make the matchup happen.  “Cyborg” has fought at 145 lbs for most of her career and UFC President Dana White has said that she needs to cut down to 135 lbs to fight Rousey.  This issue has put the potential women’s “Superfight” on the back burner. It doesn’t help that Rousey has no willingness to make an attempt at compromise, saying the fight “should” happen at 135lbs.

While Rousey is a great fighter, the “Dog and Pony Show” from her and the UFC is getting old.  Almost every opponent for Rousey is billed as “the most dangerous opponent yet” and Rousey typically talks about how hard she is preparing for the fight knowing how she must be ready for anything.  Then fight night comes along and she dominates, walking away with her title again and again.  This is by no means a disparagement of her opponents, who all are talented in their own right.  Top tier MMA fighters such as Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche, and Sara McMann all presented unique challenges for Rousey, but no one has yet to figure out the enigma that is Rousey in the octagon.

While it is true Holly Holm is a dangerous fighter, what makes her such an underdog against Rousey is the same as most of Rousey’s opponents over the years: Rousey is a former Olympic Silver Medalist, Holm is not.  Yes, Holly Holm has won six different boxing championships during her pro career as a fighter, but she has never faced a fighter of Rousey’s pedigree.  The truth is, very few women’s MMA fighters ever have seen anyone like Rousey until now.

What makes Rousey great isn’t her undefeated record; instead it is how she got to this point and what sustains her.  She is not motivated like most athletes, because most athletes could never compete in the Olympics.  In order to be an Olympic athlete, that individual must work their way up the ladder of competition for years, preparing for the chance to be able to go to Olympic Trials.  At the Olympic Trials the athlete must compete for the chance to represent their country at an elite competition that is hosted every four years.  Once chosen, that athlete then goes to the Olympics and has to compete against the best every nation has to offer, all who have spent many years preparing themselves for that moment.  In that moment, all those years of preparation can either prepare that athlete for victory, or compromise them, leading to defeat.

Rousey won the Bronze Medal in Judo at the 2008 Olympics. Judo is a Martial Art discipline that is equally a demonstration of mental chess match as executing physical technique. Most of the women who comprise the professional MMA landscape have Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai or Kickboxing as their fight game foundation.  These four fighting disciplines test mental toughness while requiring physical endurance and fluid execution of technique.  Fighters with years practicing these disciplines faced issues decades ago when Royce Gracie won 11 straight fights utilizing a Martial Art discipline similar to Judo: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Like Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is as much of a mental competition because both involve the manipulation of the opponents’ momentum, joints, and offensive mentality.  Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are counter-offensive disciplines based in strategic defense.  When you have a fighter who has been trained for years to take advantage of opponent’s aggression and weaknesses, that fighter has a built in advantage in competition against fighters are not trained with the same mentality.

Like Ronda Rousey, Royce Gracie seemed invincible early on, even when he was in trouble in a fight, he would find a way to walk away with a victory.  But will history view Rousey as they do Royce Gracie twenty-two years later, as a legendary pioneer yet as a fighter who was outpaced by competition that evolved their game plans?  The greatest difference between Ronda and Royce is that she has worked tirelessly to improve the weak areas in her fight game instead of being overly dependent on her strengths. Rousey on many occasions said her goal is to finish her career undefeated, whether that happens or not only time will reveal.

Is Holly Holm the most dangerous opponent Rousey has ever faced?  The argument can be made since Holm has competed as a professional fighter for 10-plus years and has won multiple titles.  This championship fight at UFC 195 is the classic “Striker versus Grappler” matchup, but both fighters are working with coaches who are skilled at the all-around Mixed Martial Arts game plan.  The fighter who comes into the matchup most prepared to handle their opponent’s strengths and can execute properly, that fighter will walk away with the UFC belt.  Rousey’s “legend” only grows with each win, but it is her background as an Olympic Judo fighter that has laid the foundation for her excellence in the UFC Octagon.