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Opinion & Analysis
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Keller's Take
KELLER'S MMA BLOG: MSNBC replays their sloppy hour-long report on MMA, UFC, Extreme Pro Wrestling Wade Keller, MMATorch editor
Oct 4, 2006 - 1:53:00 AM
Jesse Houser just emailed me and alerted me to the replay of the Extreme Fighting special on MSNBC tonight. I saw this when it originally aired a couple years back (give or take), and I remember it got my blood boiling. So I'm going to type up some comments as I rewatch it "stream of consciousness" style.
-The show opened with footage of teenagers fighting in their yard, with one dropping the other on his head. It looked devastating, like it could have broken his neck. He ended up fine, but the footage was used to show what was described as youth's "obsession with violence" in this country. The mom said boys wrestle for fun, so no big deal. The local sherrif, though, thought it constituted assault. As I watch this, though, I think it's a nice start to a show about people fighting in backyards, but it has nothing to do with MMA.
-Host Lester Holt says kids get the idea to take their fighting to the point that there's bleeding from watching Ultimate Fighting. They cut to footage of an old UFC event where "fighters get $2,000 to show up and $2,000 to win." Footage includes Tank Abbott, Tito Ortiz, and Frank Shamrock. Then they went to Mr. Protect The Sweet Science of Boxing himself, Sen. McCain, who called it "cock fighting." That's so disrespectful and ignorant, and I lost so much respect for him during his mid-'90s obsession with it.
-Holt described a tapout as "incapacitating a fighter" or "choking him into unconsciousness." There is no hint given about how it's an honorable way to lose, and fighters often give up because they know there's no escape, not because they're choked unconscious or incapacitated.
-Most ridiculous comment when talkiing about UFC: "Contestants would fight until knockout, submission, doctor intervention, or death." Yeah, that's how it works.
-Holt said the worst part of UFC is that much like pro wrestling, it attracts boys as spectators. Holt talked about Nevada and other states sanctioning the fights, giving it some legitimacy.
-In 2000, Frank Shamrock predicted in five years it'd be the hottest sport, bar none. He was only a few month off in predicting when UFC would really take off, as that came in early 2006. This is a situation where MSNBC should almost have a responsibility as a news entity to post an original airdate on the bottom of the screen throughout the show since so much has happened since then, including an incredible safety record that flies in the face of McCain's over-the-top predictions.
-Holt introduced the next segment by calling it a "brutal form of entertainment." Then they went to footage of "amateur ultimate fighters" in matches at local gyms. They show one fighter passing out and being woken up. They showed Eddy Rolon, the local hero, in trouble in the main event, but making a comeback with a submission out of nowhere forcing a tapout with an ankle lock. That segment, other than the biased introduction, was pretty fair, showing the fighters shaking hands and hugging afterward, discussing strategy and how the fight went.
-They went to "Extreme Wrestling," focusing on Jersey All-Pro, which is so very different from UFC, yet you don't really get that idea from the MSNBC report, which groups them all in as promoting violence.
-They went to an extended profile of Frank Shamrock, leading into a recap of his 1999 fight against Tito Ortiz. Shamrock talked about the low payoffs at the time, just $2,000-4,000 per PPV fight. Boy, times have changed in seven years. They went to a clip of Shamrock announcing with a younger, thinner Mike Goldberg. Shamrock presented himself well and was a great spokesman for the MMA genre.
-They went to an interview with Dan Severn talking about his entrance into UFC and clips of Severn vs. Pedro Rizzo. They showed Severn's quick loss to Rizzo with two roundhouse kicks to his inner right knee. It was Severn's failed comeback to UFC after a three year absense. For newer UFC fans who watched this, they'd be amazed at how far UFC has come in just seven years. Small crowds, inferior production values, and clearly less sophisticated fights.
-After a couple fair segments, Holt read his line referencing UFC as more "violence for entertainment's sake." They went to clips of UFC, extreme pro wrestling, local MMA fights, and backyard fights, trying to tie a bow around the theme of the show, putting a negative spin on the violent aspects of them, grouping them all in together. That was the most frustrating part of the program - the lack of a clear differentiation between various genres and levels of professionalism and organization.
Updated Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 2:25 p.m.
Tonight's Pride PPV premiere is a dream event for MMA fans featuring the Grand Pirix Final Four combatants. The tournament format which UFC used early on is always intriguing - tough on fighters, with potential for a huge letdown, but added strategy that makes it feel different than a regular event.
When fighters know they've got to fight twice over a short stretch of time, it can change how they fight - for better or for worse for the viewer. An early win in the semi-finals via submission or knockout is a huge advantage over your eventual finals opponent. Fighting second in the semis is a huge advantage because you have an idea of what kind of shape your finals opponent is in.
Predicting the finish of tonight's PPV final four is a challenge. In our MMATorch poll, Wanderlai Silva is the pick of 32 percent, ahead of Josh Barnett at 29 percent, Mirko Crocop at 24 percent, and Nogueria at 15 percent. Yet, if those who voted were to fill out another category indicating how strongly they felt or how confident they were in their pick, it'd probably be a very low. It's just a great final four, with various fighters having history between them, and others being first-time dream matches.
Whoever wins can lay claim to being the best fighter in the world in the heavyweight class, as UFC's heavyweight division isn't strong enough to counter that at this point. If Silva wins, it will be all the more impressive as he'll have defeated two fighters bigger than him, and at least one top striker who matches up well against him (Cro Cop). A Silva win could be further inspiration for Chuck Liddell to move up and try to capture the UFC Heavyweight Title, too.
There is no bad final match-up as whoever wins the semis will have gained prestige just from that. My preference for a main event would be Silva vs. Nogueria as it'd be the most intriguing test for each.
I'll be avoiding spoilers this afternoon and watching it "live" tonight. I plan to cover the PPV as it airs, so check in throughout the show or afterward to read my thoughts on the show. I'll include a quick spoiler-free "Recommendation" in my report if you're holding out on buying it until you hear whether it was a strong event in terms of fight quality.
After the show, please send feedback! We're a new site and really need every one of you reading this to send us feedback on these PPVs, so I appreciate even if it's not something you'd typically do, taking a few minutes out after the show tonight to send in your name, a 1-10 score, your pick for best and worst matches, and a paragraph of thoughts on the show so we can publish a batch of feedback in the "Torch Reax" section. Thanks very much! You can click on the Contact Us button above and just send it to my email.
Updated Thursday, September 7, 2006 - 1:56 p.m.
We've received some nice feedback so far in less than 24 hours of being launched. Here are a few quick notes I've been sent.
PWTorch subscriber Gabe writes: "I had been wondering when you were going to do this! I knew you were a fan and had covered early UFC, and I figured this was inevitable with the rise of MMA in the U.S. I've bookmarked the site and will be checking in regularly."
Derek Rose writes: "I was actually pretty interested in MMA in its infancy as well, watching the first four PPVs, but got away from it and am just in the last few months getting back into it. I was ecstatic to see the new website, since there's not really a good site for MMA news and commentary (at least not one that I had found). Keep up the great work both in MMA and in wrestling."
Rohan of London writes: "I wish you every success with the new site. The features I'd most like to see quickly is a set of MMA DVD reviews (UFC, Pride, Cage Rage) as well as trying to get strong UK coverage if possible."
PWTorch subscriber J. Bleckman writes: "Glad to see you started this."
***
One of my guilty pleasures in watching UFC is listening for how many unnecessary words Bruce Buffer uses during his ring introductions. He must be paid by the word, especially those which are completely superfluous - he's a journalism instructor's nightmare, since one mantra of good journalism writing is "Omit Needless Words." Here's a quote I jotted down when watching UFC Unleashed the other day.
After Rich Franklin beat Evan Tanner to win the title, Bruce Buffer - whose never seen an unnecessary adverb or adjective he didn't like - said: "Ladies and gentleman, the referee has called a stop to this contest at the doctor's advice, at three minutes, twenty-five seconds of the very fourth round..."
Buffer has gotten much better over the years, but he remains one of the unintentionally funny aspects of UFC PPVs. Ring announcers are kind of like kickers in the NFL. They're a brand all their own.
Backstage five years ago for UFC's debut in Las Vegas (that disastrously bland event), I still can picture Bruce pacing backstage on his own, concentrating heavily, as if he were trying to memorize his lines for a school play.
