Perez's Take
PEREZ: The Gift and the Curse of Fighting Outside of the UFC
Sep 14, 2010 - 10:43:02 AM PEREZ: The Gift and the Curse of Fighting Outside of the UFC

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By: Anwar Perez, MMATorch Columnist

This past weekend saw two higher profile small promotions - in Shark Fights and Shine Fights - feature well-known, former UFC fighters in their respective main events. Shark Fights featured Trevor Prangley, Keith Jardine, Houston Alexander, and Paul Daley, while the lightweight tournament winner for Shine was former UFC standout Drew Fickett.

These are all names that were, at one time, not only associated with the UFC, but also regarded as some of the up and comers or contenders in the organization. Now, after falling short in some of their bids for contendership or championship gold in the UFC, they are now on their own, fighting in smaller organizations to make ends meet or continuing to feed their hunger for competition.

When you're left with no choice, one of two things is going to happen from competing in smaller organizations outside of the UFC.

First, there's the possibility of stringing a couple of solid, quality wins together to get you into the UFC again. Fighters from this past weekend looking towards that possibility include Drew Fickett, Houston Alexander, and Trevor Prangley. They have an opportunity to right their ship and get themselves towards getting back into the UFC at some point in their careers.

Some have to continue to fight to support their family, as is the case of Houston Alexander (who, in reality, should always have a job because of his tenacity to keep moving forward). These fighters could benefit from a second chance in the "big show" and also, may have looked at their release - and the wins they were able to attain while they were gone from the UFC - and be reinvigorated to achieve more than what they had previously.

The second thing, which happens more often and is also the negative side for these fighters, is when you fight for smaller promotions and begin to lose those fights, you may need to take a step back and re-evaluate your current standing in the MMA world. One fighter that has been talked about over the weekend at possibly being at that crossroads is Keith Jardine.

Not three years ago, this same fighter dispensed of Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell in the matter of a year (with a KO loss to Houston Alexander coincidentally in between that). He always showed promised, even from his stint on the Ultimate Fighter season two, but now it seems that the "Dean of Mean" may be in need of a new school. Losses at this level is where fighters start to see that maybe its time to move on. Look at the likes of Don Frye, Ken Shamrock, and Mark Coleman. They still continue to fight, even in smaller organizations, where every loss is a step lower from their legacy.

Sometimes fighting at that level is what is needed to motivate a fighter back into a leaner, meaner version of himself so he can return to the big time, and sometimes it's a sad reminder that maybe it's also time to step away and re-evaluate their standing in MMA.