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Previewing UFC 101

In a busy week of blogging, allow me to make sure I remind the readers about UFC 101, tomorrow night from Philadelphia. UFC 101 is surely not the quality of UFC 100 last month, but with Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin and BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian, we clearly have 2 fights up top that should be excellent.

Obviously, with UFC 103 on September 19, the PPV’s are coming fast and furious. It is clear that Dana White is not worried about over-exposure and is laughing at the premise that “less is more”. As long as people like me keep buying PPV’s, they will continue to make more. $54 bucks every 3 weeks? I wonder where it hits a point of too many. Perhaps a few of these shows on free tv is a good idea, right?

Anyway, If you have never seen Anderson “The Spider” Silva, then you owe it to yourself to check this monster out. He is so confident and dangerous in the octagon that despite knowing nobody is invincible, he seems very, very close to being just that.

My fun fact for the very dangerous Kenny Florian, is that he is the MMA fighter who most resembles Ben Stiller. Not sure if that will help you much, but I just had to share that with you.

As is our habit on the UFC PPV’s, Greg Garcia, the Dallas Examiner’s MMA writer, sends me some questions and I send him back answers. Here you go for UFC 101 – my answers are in bold:

Hey Bob,

Greg here with a few questions on this month’s MMA smorgasbord of action.

Affliction has become the latest to bite the dust, not that it wasn’t expected with there over paid fighter contracts (750K per fight for Tim Sylvia??) and poor marketing. Will we ever see a company rise up and punch the UFC in face or will UFC always be the only one standing on the mountain?

this is a great question. I have to think that at some point, someone will figure it out. But, the competitors seem to be all following the same idiocy of paying 3 or 4 guys huge cash and then having a garbage card otherwise. It is very USFL logic, and until you get someone to build a quality stable slowly and methodically so that you have 40 quality fighters, then the UFC is safe.

It is amazing how Dana White has done such a good job in a really short time of making the UFC this juggernaut that everyone is now wondering if it is invincible. he is quite a genius, it would appear, despite his abrasive personality.

We get our first taste of what a women’s headlined card will be like in Strikeforce’s ‘Carano vs Cyborg’ outside of the question can and will they make weight, what is your take on this fight? & your take on women’s MMA in general?

Wow, Greg. Congrats. You have found something I have no answer for. Carano is interesting, from what little I have seen, and these girls do pound eachother silly, but I have no real interest, and I cannot imagine it has much staying power.

Anderson Silva will presumably get the test we have all been waiting for in Forrest Griffin. Is the fact that Griffin will actually force Silva to fight (unlike Cote & Leites) a bad thing for Griffin?

I love Forrest Griffin. I really do. But, I just don’t think he has anything for Silva. Silva is so dangerous and so intimidating, that I am trying to find someone who I think can beat him. GSP would have to put on some weight, but that is the super fight. Forrest is ready to fight anyone, anywhere, but I don’t care for this match-up from his perspective. I just think that he is not cautious, and I am not sure Cote or Leites had a bad gameplan. Just a boring one, right?

BJ Penn is defending against Kenny Florian which is an exciting match up. How much, if at all, do you think the smacking that BJ took from GSP will affect his mentality going into this fight?

BJ is another warrior of the highest order. But, something tells me it is Kenny’s time here. I think Florian is on a tremendous roll, although the lay-off concerns me. This should be a wonderful fight, and I am taking Ken-Flo, but I clearly have a track record of getting these wrong.

Fedor Emelianenko eludes the UFC again. Blame is being passed around everywhere, who do you blame?

I think both parties are negotiating against eachother as they hold the hammer. Fedor knows that all MMA fans consider him the heavyweight champion of the world. But, Dana, despite wanting him to a point, does not feel desperate to land him with the Lesnar fever going crazy. I wonder what the outcome might have been if Mir had won last month. But with Lesnar, people want to see Fedor fight him, but they also just want to see Brock demolish whatever is in front of him for the next few years. I expect that the UFC will be fine. Fedor will make his money as well, but it is no longer vital for the heavyweight division to be saved for now.

Bonus question: Is $150 for top level $250 for mid level and $450 for ground level seats worth it when I can watch at home on the big screen for $54? Or does it depend on if you have I-Phone money?

another great question. Do we know how ticket sales are going? I think I will be in the building, but the ticket prices are staggering for UFC 103 in Dallas. It would seem the best seat might be the couch.

Thanks for the time.

Greg Garcia
MMA Writer
Dallas Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-10622-Dallas-MMAPro-Wrestling-Examiner