MMA odds and ends
* While the future of Brock Lesnar is still up in the air, a host of other injured UFC stars will be finding their way back to action over the next several months. Frank Mir fights Shane Carwin, Anderson Silva faces Vitor Belfort, Georges St. Pierre takes on Dan Hardy, B.J Penn defends his lightweight title, Matt Hughes will battle Renzo Gracie and Jon Fitch will go up against Thiago Alves. We may even get Rashad vs. Rampage before the summer. Those are just some of the fights we’ll be treated to in the next four months (I’m sure I’m leaving out others). We’ve had a few cards recently that were light on big names, but we’re due for some big shows in the near future.
*A nice story from MMAweekly.com on Rich Franklin entering the twilight of his career. You have to respect a guy like Franklin who cares first and foremost about putting on fights the fans want to see. He’s jumped weight classes and fought several bouts at a catch weight, with few complaints. I hope he goes out on top, but even if he doesn’t, I’m looking forward to the last 4-5 fights we’ll get from him.
*The UFC is suing a bar in Massachusetts for $640,000 for illegally showing UFC 104. This will be an interesting case to watch as the UFC has been on a campaign to crack down on illegal pirating of PPV shows. To me, this is one of the biggest problems the UFC has: PPV. If Dana White wants to get bigger than (or at least on the same playing field) the other sports in this country, the fans should be able to watch the big events for free. Football fans aren’t shelling out $50 to watch an NFL game, even the Super Bowl. Luke Thomas, from Bloodyelbow.com, thinks the solution is an MMA version of iTunes.
*A nice story from MMAweekly.com on Rich Franklin entering the twilight of his career. You have to respect a guy like Franklin who cares first and foremost about putting on fights the fans want to see. He’s jumped weight classes and fought several bouts at a catch weight, with few complaints. I hope he goes out on top, but even if he doesn’t, I’m looking forward to the last 4-5 fights we’ll get from him.
*The UFC is suing a bar in Massachusetts for $640,000 for illegally showing UFC 104. This will be an interesting case to watch as the UFC has been on a campaign to crack down on illegal pirating of PPV shows. To me, this is one of the biggest problems the UFC has: PPV. If Dana White wants to get bigger than (or at least on the same playing field) the other sports in this country, the fans should be able to watch the big events for free. Football fans aren’t shelling out $50 to watch an NFL game, even the Super Bowl. Luke Thomas, from Bloodyelbow.com, thinks the solution is an MMA version of iTunes.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
I'm excited for the fight night this Monday. It'll be my first UFC event live.
Back to the topic, I hope Dana does find a way to do something about the PPVs. If its a mega card, I'm all willing to pay the $45, but if the card has been like the past few with one great fight and a couple of OK fights, it really is hard to jusitify getting... That being said, UFC 108 was the first PPV I didn't buy since last Februrary.
Posted by: Phi | January 8, 2010 5:12 PM