The other night on Tapout Radio, Tito Ortiz announced he and Dana White were no longer mortal enemies. They met with each other and decided to end their longstanding feud.
Does this mean Ortiz is likely to return to the UFC? At this point, I have no idea. I'm done speculating on Ortiz's future. The guy has flat out lied on multiple occasions about where he's going to sign. Every couple months it's another promotion who's about to sign him to the biggest MMA contract in the universe. The fact this might happen does show me a few things, though.
1) Interest in Ortiz from Affliction and Strikeforce was low.
2) The term "never" does not exist in a promoter's vocabulary.
3) Liddell/Ortiz III is on the table.
Until he actually signs, that's all I'm saying for now.
An interesting quote is buried within Ariel Helwani's interview with Scott Coker. At the 4:30 mark he discusses his plans to hold Pride style tournaments with Strikeforce's female fighters. It's surprising because American MMA promotions have stayed away from using the Pride style tournaments, where the semifinals and finals are held on the same night. There is obviously the risk of a winning fighter not being able to compete in the second fight, but most fans love the structure. It builds drama when you see two fighters compete twice at an event. I love the idea and hope they pull it off.
Bobby Lashley continues to straddle the line between MMA and Pro Wrestling. He recently signed a deal with TNA to work four dates a month. The move will not win Lashley any love from the MMA community. While Brock Lesnar has won over a large portion of the fan base with his dedication to the sport, Lashley remains an enigmatic figure. No one is totally sure about his motives for competing in Mixed Martial Arts. Although he still plans on fighting while with TNA, the move is strange.
From a pure money angle, I understand it. Lashley never made a crazy salary from Pro Wrestling. He's doing well with MMA, but he's not fighting for any of the major promotions. The deal with TNA allows him to collect a nice check, while still pursuing bigger paydays down the line in MMA. The problem is the perception attached to working with TNA. Lashley (or his manager) probably see how big of a draw Lesnar has become and figure they can do the same thing. They're incorrectly reading the situation. You gotta put that stuff behind you, if you expect to be taken seriously.
It'll line his pockets, but he's losing the little credibility he had with MMA fans.
When the winner of Mike Swick vs Martin Kampmann is assured of a title shot, you have problems. The UFC's Welterweight Division has deteriorated into a one man show and become the least interesting weight class in the promotion. Here's a list of the top UFC Welterweights. Go ahead and throw some of the names together in match-ups and you'll find a recurring theme - you hardly care about any of them. St-Pierre's dominance isn't the problem. It's the other guys.
Mike Swick
Jon Fitch
Matt Hughes
Josh Koscheck
Thiago Alves
Martin Kampmann
Below are the 185 pound contenders. It's like comparing The Rolling Stones to Styx. And, the UFC's Middleweight Division isn't exactly their strongest weight class.
Dan Henderson
Nate Marquardt
Demian Maia
Yushin Okami
Michael Bisping
Yoshihiro Akiyama
I'm not sure why the UFC decided to grant the winner of Swick/Kampmann a title shot. Swick's last three wins were against Ben Saunders, Jonathan Goulet, and Marcus Davis. Kampmann only has two Welterweight wins vs Carlos Condit and Alexandre Barros. Didn't the UFC learn their lesson with the Anderson Silva fiasco? You gotta challenge your top fighters or they get bored. You also have to build up your title contenders before throwing them into the cage with a beast. I just don't see the logic of it at all.
Gina Carano's former boyfriend, Kit Cope, claims he has a sex tape of the two (or as he put it "media"). How long will it take for "Gina Carano Sex Tape" to reach the Top Ten on Google Trends? I say 4pm ET.
Pro Wrestling icon Jim Ross on UFC 100 and Brock Lesnar...
"GSP is the best all around fighter in the world. You don't have to agree but this is my website and that's my story and I'm sticking to it. The striking, takedowns, strategy, defense, poise, and class displayed by the French Canadian are exemplary. GSP should be the new "face" of UFC if he isn't already. UFC officials will likely never have to worry about GSP making negative headlines for unprofessional conduct. This man has the kind of character that every organization needs more of in their locker room and especially among their "rookies." Many had thought that Alves would be GSP's toughest opponent to date and that St. Pierre might even lose. I said earlier in the week that I had to see GSP lose to believe it."
-St-Pierre still needs a foil. He hasn't reached the Liddell level where you can throw him on the top of a card against anyone and it'll sell. This isn't a knock on St-Pierre. Liddell did not reach the level on his own. Without Couture/Ortiz, he never becomes the focus of the sport. The UFC needs to locate those types of opponents for St-Pierre. As much as I trust the UFC's judgment on most things, I have my doubts about their ability to get this right. The Anderson Silva mess (Irvin/Cote/Leites) has left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe they learned their lesson and won't ruin St-Pierre's appeal. I'll stay dubious, though, until I see otherwise.
"Lesnar's post match, unscripted remarks did not completely surprise me. Those that do not personally know Lesnar as do I need to understand that his level of intensity and fury is scary. Brock has said many things in private conversations that I have been a part of that would make one do a double take. He is an intimidating, emotional jock who has been known for speaking first and thinking later. I don't think Brock is an inherently evil person whatsoever but his level of competitiveness can be dangerous. It's like Brock "moonsaulting" at Wrestlemania 19 in Seattle against Kurt Angle when being advised not to prior to the bout. Lesnar was told that men his size don't do top rope Moonsaults which was the wrong thing to say to the former NCAA All American and National Champion. Lesnar came close to tragically ending his athletic career that night while defying logic and doing what others told him that he could not do."
-The thing I'm most interested in following UFC 100 is the dynamic between Lesnar and Dana White. During the pre-fight press conference, Lesnar tried to leave and White basically told him, "Sit down", and he took a seat. After the fight when he insulted Bud Light, White basically told him, "Apologize", and he said he was sorry. How long will Lesnar continue to listen to White? At this point, they both realize they need each other, but down the line I can see this relationship boiling over. Their personalities are not made to work together for long. For the UFC, it might be better if Lesnar loses another fight in the near future to humble him. If not, we're gonna see an epic clash of PPV Draw vs Promoter that will make the Randy Couture saga look like child's play.
"Bottom line is the next man to beat Lesnar is 'made'."
-Exactly. It'll be interesting to see how things play out in the next couple months. The UFC has things lined up to give Lesnar one of two in-house opponents (winner of Couture/Nogueira or Carwin/Velasquez). There's also the possibility of signing Fedor when he finishes his contract with Affliction at "Trilogy" on August 1st. As great as Fedor is, he remains unknown to mainstream fans. A Lesnar/Fedor matchup is a win/win for the UFC in every way. The only problem is securing his services, which I still have my doubts about. Fedor's first choice will be fighting in Japan. It'll take concessions on both sides for him to sign with the UFC. A third option is Josh Barnett. Lets say a miracle happens and Barnett defeats Fedor. He then becomes the #1 Heavyweight in MMA. He's also easier to sign than Fedor. The UFC could market him as "the guy who beat Fedor" and do very well. The next few weeks will be exciting. That's for sure.
As I mentioned during the UFC 100 Live Blog, the UFC chose a new Octagon girl during the Fan Expo. Her name is Natasha Wicks. At first I wasn't too blown away. Then I had a look at her competition and I can see why she won. Vegas is the Mecca of stripping. You'd think they would have found a better group to choose from. The only thing I can think of is the best Vegas strippers probably make more in a month than the Octagon girls do in a year.
It's only a matter of time before her naked pictures show up. In this cell phone camera era, every girl has them.
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