The Big Picture (in Buzz Words & Bullet Points)
Posted by contributors on Oct 5, 2007 at 9:00 am ET7 Comments
It’s easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees in the information age. So I thought I’d take a quick look at the big picture, where the industry was last year, where it is this year, and where it looks like its heading next year:
- 2006 – GROWTH – UFC buyrates triple; EliteXC, IFL, WFA, Pride enter the American market.
- 2007 – CONSOLIDATION – UFC consolidates its gains; UFC acquires WEC, Pride, and WFA; EliteXC acquires, in whole or in part, Icon, Rumble on the Rock, Cage Rage, and King of the Cage.
- 2008 – GROWING PAINS / FIGHTER GAINS (?) – Fighter salaries noticeably increase; first high profile free agent bidding wars; UFC loses its first top star; oversaturation; true competitor emerges to challenge UFC?
It’s still three months away, but 2008 is shaping up to be an interesting year in my estimation. I’d be curious to hear from others what they see in their crystal balls for next year. What will the buzz word be for 2008?
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I don’t know what the buzz word for 2008 will be, but I hope one of the names we have on the UFC roster is Fedor. I would love to see our guy Couture fight him, also I think it is a fight that Couture could pull off an upset.
I will take a few guesses at some buzz words for 2008:
Trilogy:
Franklin vs. Silva III: Franklin beats Silva to defend his title
Liddell vs. Rampage III: Liddell regains his title against Rampage
Hughes vs. GSP III: Hughes defeats GSP to retain his title; then announces retirement
Blockbuster:
Fedor vs. Couture: Couture defeats Fedor by ground and pound
Cro Cop vs. Arlovski: Arlovski returns to his old vicious ways via knockout
Franklin vs. Henderson: Franklin defeats Henderson to unify the belts
Mir vs. Lesnar: Mir submits Lesnar easily in the first round
Liddell vs. Shogun: Liddell knocks out Shogun to
re-establish himself as the consensus number one Light Heavyweight Fighter in the world.
I think you are being a little bias in your choice of winners. GSP should conquer Hughs. I think the UFC will likely lose a star or two but I truly do not see another organization challenging the UFC. UFC has and is still gaining all the top talent. Each division is being built fighter by fighter and in my opinion, getting stronger the majority of the time. Along with that there is still the TUF show on spike giving UFC even more air time introducing us to up and comers. More than anything, I am hoping one of these Pride guys goes on a rampage because as of now they all seem to lack the cardio oppose to many of the UFC guys and in my opinion have not lived up to much of the hype.
To Shawn:
Did Mir “catch” Sylvia?(punch or something?) If I recall, Sylvia’s arm broke while lifting up Mir and trying to escape a triangle hold or something to that nature.
What I’m saying is that it was one occasion where he landed a devastating finishing move on a credible opponent. While I look at Mir as a solid veteran, there have been many instances where better fighters have simply been made the smallest of mistakes and their lesser opponents have capitalized. In that sense, Mir “caught” Sylvia in an arm bar and locked it in in such a way that Sylvia’s arm snapped wile trying to pull out.
Hmmm looks like somebody is a mark for home grown UFC stars. I too also hope Franklin goes on a tear but I don’t know if I can say the same thing for Hughes. On the flip side, attempting to pick a winner in a Arlovski-Cro Cop fight is tough as I love both guys and really want to see each of them become devastating fighters once again.
With that said, I honestly believe Brock Lesnar will become a legitimate force in the UFC and destroy someone like Mir. Mir’s big wins are over Tank and Tim. Tank is a joke and he just happened to catch Sylvia on one occasion. I’d like to see the guy become a legit contender again but I just don’t see it happening against Lesnar. Lesnar is bigger and much stronger than any heavyweight out there. On top of that his wrestling skills would literally become the best if not the best in the UFC and supposedly he’s had a good adjustment to jiu-jitsu. I’m sure in training over the last year and a half or so the guy has developed a satisfactory standup game and with the type of power he has, I’m sure there’s bombs on the ends of those arms.
Hey KOouch, how’s it going? Yeah, I agree with your assessment of you telling me I am being biased. Each guy I chose to win I am a big fan of. You caught me.
wow…
silva beats franklin
gsp beats hughes
serra beats hughes for that matter.
where is forrest griffin?
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