| 5 Rounds with Wildfire & Skippy |
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| The fans have demanded it, so we've brought them back. "Wildfire" Johnny Rage and Skippy McMannis are back in the same column for the first time since Skippy's positive drug testing during the Pick 'Em Contest. The two men will square off on 5 statements concerning the world Of MMA and will respond with either “Agree” or “Disagree” and then defend their answers. Round 1) Jon Fitch is deserving of a Welterweight Title Shot if he defeats Chris Wilson at UFC 82. "Wildfire": Disagree, only because of the fact that Fitch has fought one upper-level fighter in the UFC. He was supposed to fight Gono here but Gono got injured. Fitch should get the winner of the Karo/Alves fight for the #1 Contender spot. Skippy: Agree. At first glance when I saw this I thought, "no way, he needs a bigger win first." Then I took a strong look at the Welterweight division and it made sense that the next guy to get a shot was indeed Jon Fitch. He already has wins over Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez, and the only person I could see him facing first is Karo Perisyan, but if Karo can't get by Alves, it's a moot point. Fitch vs. GSP/Serra winner. Round 2) Fedor's recent letter challenging Dana White to stop talking about him and to send his Champion to M-1 is nothing more than M-1 trying to draw off the UFC’s popularity. "Wildfire": Agree. What Fedor’s doing is simple: he's trying to challenge Dana's manhood in order to get Dana to make a dumb decision. I think that it would be a bad business decision for the UFC to partner with a company that isn't popular and isn't even remotely in their league. Skippy: Agree. If Fedor really wants to put his money where his mouth (pen?) is, why does it have to be under the M-1 banner or a co-promotion even? And why complain about exclusivity inherent in a UFC contract? It's simply good business for the UFC to have contracts like that and it would be horrible to let Randy or Nog fight elsewhere. If Fedor truly wanted to fight the best fighters in the world, he would've signed with the UFC, plain and simple. His last win in Japan proved he can beat guys in lesser promotions, nothing more. Round 3) Brock Lesnar will be a huge disappointment for the UFC. "Wildfire": Disagree, because of the fact that Lesnar was dominating Mir until Mir got the submission. It's obvious what Brock has to work on and that's submissions. Brock might be the champ one day but he's got a few years to go before that can happen. Skippy: 100% disagree. Brock has insane potential. Given the right coaches and sparring partners, as well as enough time, he will eventually become the real deal. I give him a ton of credit for wanting to fight real fighters and not cans. Let’s see him against some guys that aren't former world champions and see what happens. I was excited by what I saw. Round 4) Yushin Okami's comments about the American fighters always tapping out early are accurate. "Wildfire": Disagree, because it was such a broad statement. I thought that Sylvia tapped early, but then again, I didn't have a Minotaur hanging from my neck. Okami is trying to market himself because he's a rather boring fighter. Okami needs to worry more about Evan Tanner then the ole Red, White, and Blue. Skippy: Disagree. I have absolutely no clue what the hell Okami is babbling about here. If you know you're done, you know you're done. I'm not a pro fighter, so I'm not about to judge Timmy for tapping when a beast had him by the neck. Round 5) The UFC needs to have fewer events each year in order to have longevity as a company. "Wildfire": Agree. They are milking the cow for all it's worth right now and they will hit the wall sooner or later. It's kinda the same thing that wrestling did when they went from having 4 pay-per-views a year to having one every month. Every couple of months max would be appropriate. You could still add in some Ultimate Fight Nights as well. Skippy: Disagree. I think the UFC is doing just fine, so long as they do not expand any further. The American market is just being scratched, let alone the worldwide market. There are more than enough fighters that can keep the competition level high and challenge those on top. I understand the concern to not water down the sport, but the market is there and people are hungry for something to replace boxing, and just for something fresh and unpredictable. The sport is here to stay, and the UFC has the opportunity to take the market by the balls for a long, long time. Judge’s Decision: Skippy McMannis edges a Split Decision Victory by use of the words “exclusivity inherent.” |