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Jake Shields fighting Martin Kampmann in his first fight in the UFC isn't really surprising. The UFC wants to test Shields, they're not going to give him an easy opponent. Kampmann was in title contention not long ago, and a win over Shields puts him right back up there.
If Shields beats Kampmann, the logical extension is to have him face the winner of Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck. Shields has done more than enough to justify a title shot in his second UFC fight, assuming that he beats Kampmann. That won't be easy, but Shields should be able to beat Kampmann with his boring, but effective, fighting style. I don't think that style matches up well against St. Pierre or Koscheck, but Shields has to get through Kampmann first.
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James Toney has been talking a lot of junk about what he plans on doing in the UFC. Toney gets the entertainment aspect of sports, but he's past his prime so he can't back up his words. The last thing a fighter loses is his power, so he'll always have a chance in any given fight. However, his other skills have diminished to the point that he can't beat elite fighters anymore.
Whether it's boxing or MMA, James Toney can't cut it anymore. He can spark up interest in his fights with his trash-talking, but that only takes you so far. MMA fans are going to hate Toney and root for him to get his ass kicked to "prove" that pro boxers can't succeed at MMA, while boxing fans will root for Toney to prove that a trained boxer will always beat a "substandard" cage fighter. The truth is this isn't a real indicator of what would happen if an elite boxer jumped to MMA. James Toney is 41 years old and he's not who he used to be.
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News has come out that UFC 116 drew over 1 million buys. No surprise there, as that event featured the return of Brock Lesnar. The guy's pure money. People will pay to see Brock fight, whether they like him or not. Brock is like the Nintendo of professional fighting. He's a money-making machine that won't be slowed down anytime soon. Brock is such a draw that even if he loses to Cain Velasquez, people will still line up to see him fight. Nobody in MMA is as big a draw, and there are very few fights that will draw like Brock vs. anyone.
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Ken Shamrock fought and lost to Pedro Rizzo last weekend. Shamrock was pummeled by leg kicks and basically had to give up. Now, I've never been one to tell a guy when to retire, except in cases where he's endangering himself. However, after the fight Shamrock said that he'll keep fighting as long as the fans want him to. I believe his exact words were something to the effect of "I'll keep coming in and getting beat up." What the hell is that?
It's painfully obvious that Ken Shamrock doesn't know when to walk away. It doesn't help when the crowds keep encouraging him. Shamrock is suffering the same fate as so many great athletes of the past, he just wants to keep going. All he's doing, though, is getting his ass handed to him by whoever he's in there with. Shamrock lost it long ago, and it's time for him to enjoy life after fighting.
Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com
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