UFC 109 and UFC 110 are both solid fight cards coming up in February, but how could they be even better? With no title fights on either card the casual MMA fan might be reluctant to order either of these upcoming events, let alone both of them. The answer is simple: all main events on pay pew views should be five round fights. This gives every event the dramatic ending it deserves and gives fight fans a better dollar value. To take it a step further, a main event that is a non title fight should be a #1 contender bout; this gives a clearer picture to the fans, and all of the fighters in each weight class.
First and foremost, this rule change would be for the fans. At UFC 108 we saw Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva fight to a three round split decision. Why cheat the fans? Why end the night’s main event in three rounds? Rashad kept to his game plan and used his wrestling to ultimately win the split decision by the judges while Thiago almost ended the fight in the third. Let it keep going; let Rashad continue to execute his game plan, let Thiago use his standup. After five rounds, 25 minutes of action with both fighters leaving it all in the Octagon, then send it to the judges.
Who would not want to see Couture vs. Coleman, a fight that has been years in the making, go four or five rounds? Two veterans of the Octagon showing they still have what it takes to compete and prove to themselves and the fans that they still have enough left to battle for five rounds in a title fight would be great. If you look ahead towards UFC 110, Cain Velasquez will be taking on Antonio Minotauro Nogueira in the night’s main event. Either fighter, with a victory, could be next in line for a shot at the Interim Heavyweight Title. Why not let them prepare for that with a five round war of their own; allow them to not let it go to the judges by giving them an additional two rounds if need be to prove they are the better fighter.
Allowing two fighters to compete to be the #1 contender gives a clearer picture to the fans as well as the fighters. The division will know who the top two challengers are at the current time, and what they need to do to elevate themselves to be apart of the next #1 contender bout. This policy change would also allow fighters to learn how to train for a five round fight, as well as what it takes physically, mentally and emotionally to actually go all five rounds. When it comes time to fight for the title they will be well prepared because they were given the opportunity in their last bout to prepare their mind and body for a five round war.
Give the change a chance; allow a growing sport to evolve just a little bit more. Give more people the opportunity and reason to become a fan. If you're not a fan of installing this plan in every weight class in the UFC then try it with one weight class and see how it goes over the course of a year.
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If you have any questions or comments please email me at skeebochamp@yahoo.com
[Thiago Silva art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]
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See I like this idea, but if the UFC makes a formal thing of the main event
being a #1 contender bout, then they leave themselves no room to Hendo the
winner out of his title shot.
Actually, I would not like to see Couture / Coleman go 5 rounds, which
would be 4 minutes of Coleman walking around gassed with his mouth gaping
open.
I'll have to review the rest of the column, but I'm in favor of more,
specifically title contender, matches going 5 rounds. It seems too easy to
not get a decisive win from a 5-round fight.
On the other hand, boy howdy, there are some ugly slow Round 5's out there
when both fighters are sure one guy's won 3 out of 4 rounds. Imagine
Griffin-Ortiz if went for 25 minutes.
Er, I meant it seemed easy to not get a decisive win from *3*-round
matches.
Boles
19 Jan 2010, 07:34
Better yet, let's make every fight 5 rounds. Why stop there? Let's make
every round go 10 minutes. Better yet, let's even have fights that and in
KO or submission go 5 rounds. Let's make sure that NOTHING separates title
fights from regular fights.
Boles
19 Jan 2010, 07:45
To elaborate...
If Coleman v. Couture is a bad, boring fight (possible), who wants to sit
through 5 rounds of that? It seems very possible that the fight will be
clinch, push against fence, stall, break, repeat.
Now, if the fight is a barnburner, then you leave the audience wanting more
(see Henderson v. Franklin). And yes, I realize that when Henderson v.
Franklin 2 was proposed to headline UFC 103 the fans killed it. Not that
no one wanted to see the fight, but no one wanted it to headline again,
that was the source of the outcry.
If a 3 round fight is a barn-burner that ends in a decision, people will
clamor and debate for a rematch. A rematch that will sell, mind you.
There is nothing to be gained by adding 2 rounds. The pace will slow, the
quality of the fight will be reduced, and the likelihood of a finish will
be remote (check the stats, a VAST majority of finishes in 5 round fights
are in the first 3 rounds. I might be wrong, but I think there have only
been 2 stoppages in the fifth. Ricco v. Couture and Penn v, Sanchez). So
what are we ADDING to the value? We aren't adding a likely finish. We
aren't necessarily adding 2 rounds as fast paced as the previous 3 rounds.
Let's examine that point a little closer. Let's say, hypothetically, the
supposed greatest UFC fight in the history of forever, Griffin v. Bonnar,
headlined a PPV, and went 5. Who here thinks that round 5 would have been
any more exciting than Shivers v. McSweeney? Certainly not I.
The "Championship Rounds" are one more mental obstacle that make winning
the title so special, and important. The first time a fighter fights for a
title, he has to prepare for the, "he's never had to prepare for the
championship rounds before, how will he handle that hurdle," debate. If
you're going to win a title in the UFC, you need to be able to do something
on that night, and in the weeks of training leading up to that night, that
you've not only never done before, but never even been ASKED to do before.
Cole
19 Jan 2010, 09:30
I don't think Couture vs Coleman is going to be as bad as everyone says it
is. Lets just watch it and see what happens. If you don't want to pay for
it then find a bar to watch it at.
I could see number one contender bouts going an extra round, but the
Championship bouts should be special in that regard and have more rounds
than any other fight. That's part of what makes it special.
Also, there are some main events for example that if extra long would take
time away from some possible amazing undercard events. I'd rather see more
of those than two more rounds of Evans hugging Silva.
charlie_magugi
08 Feb 2010, 02:30
i agree boles.
Not every main event should be 5 rounds. Not even the fight for the #1
contender should be 5 rounds. Why?
Because mma is unpredictable. Promises are not always kept and it would
make the ufc look bad. It would be a weird situation for Henderson and
Marquadt for instance. They got "promised" a title shot, but none got it.
kinda same thing now with Sonnen. He got promised a title shot, but,
seriously, Anderson Silva is already 34 and the UFC should have him fight
bigger names at 205. Like Evans, Rampage, Thiago Silva, Shogun.
