WORLD VICTORY ROAD 7: LIFE AS JAPAN’S #2
Posted by Alan Conceicao on January 4th, 2009
Pro wrestling fans love comparisons to that pseudo sport, and Sengoku offers a great one. While sliding (but still solid) ratings continue to bury the WWE with each passing day, the one refrain they can constantly pronounce is that at least they aren’t TNA, a promotion who has generally operated like a retarded stepbrother. The same goes for Japan: DREAM is all ready to go in 2009 with a slate of shows, despite endless talk of that not going to be the case over here, and their “competition” in the market is a promotion that essentially does retarded versions of everything they’ve gone, right down to copying which weight classes they ran tournaments in. Last night, Sengoku fufilled the promises of this entire calendar year with another generally forgettable show with some bizarre highlights.
Posted in Alan Conceicao, Sengoku | 1 Comment »
UFC 92 has come and gone, and we, the fans were treated to quite an event to cap off another productive year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Some good, some bad, some indifferent and some just baffling, this was UFC 92. Thoughts.
UFC 92 is a card that offers intrigue to as broad of an audience as the UFC can ever target, with fights that appeal to the newer viewer as well as the established MMA viewer. The Light heavyweight Championship Main Event between Rashad Evans and current defending Champion Forrest Griffin will be the first time that two “home grown” Zuffa stars have fought over a major title on PPV. One of the other main attractions pits Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against former (pre-TUF-era) Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir after a stint as coaches on the most recent season of TUF, as Nog being the most successful submission fighter from Japan in the weight class, and Mir from America. Then Light heavyweight stand-outs Wanderlei Silva faces off with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in what should be a war.
Each fight has their appeals, with Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight Championship having weeks of build from this season of the Ultimate Fighter for fans who aren’t familiar with either man all too much. While the animosity between the two wasn’t as heated as some of the past seasons, it was enough build up between them to want fans to see submission artist vs. submission artist. Nogueira having submission victories in UFC over Heath Herring and former Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia to capture the Interim Heavyweight title, and Frank Mir having a submission victory over current Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, both men have proved their mettle at the ground game enough to interest fans in who is the better jiu-jitsu fighter. For older fans, we have two Heavyweight Champions of the same era from different companies facing off. What is interesting is that upon his return from injury, Mir did very little to prove his worth to fans and was, by all means, being fed to Lesnar before he held on for dear life to submit Lesnar, propelling him into insta-stardom in Zuffa’s UFC. Most fans who know both well see this fight as Nogueira’s to lose and Mir getting another chance at the limelight which most likely isn’t deserved.
As the sport of Mixed Martial Arts grows, as does the public’s interest with the fighters, the personalities and the history of the sport. Of course, to meet that demand that means that publishers are going to start to demand books on the subject are available. With that being said, 
So, after a day long marathon of some uneasy moments, some sub-KOTC-level bitch-slapfests and things that make Ivan Trembow feel uncomfortable about watching Mixed Martial Arts, it is time for the finals o this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Hopefully you’ve been following Kendall’s breakdowns of each and every episode, or if you are like me, you are in the process of digesting the entire show on a slow Saturday afternoon, either way, we’ll be providing you with live analysis of The Ultimate Fighter Finale.