I am not impressed...

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Last night the UFC announced that Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin will meet for the second time this year as the main event of UFC 103. 

The UFC was searching for a main event for their Dallas card and Rich Franklin was the logical choice but since Dan Henderson and Franklin were suppose to be in separate weight classes no one assumed that we would see a rematch especially so soon after their first bout, which took place in January this year. 

Thomas Gerbasi offered the UFC's justification saying, "Their first bout split the mixed martial arts community, making it obvious that they needed more than 15 minutes to settle their score."

Pardon me but I think there was a larger outcry of wrong doing in the Michael Bisping Matt Hamill fight than the first chapter of Franklin Henderson and we have yet to see the Hamill-Bisping rematch. 

There are two ways to look at this announcement. The first is that the UFC felt they needed a big main event at UFC 103 to push ticket sales and pay-per view buys and the only two fighters that were available were Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin. With the way the card was shaping up WKR feels that  a Rich Frank Luiz Cane bout would of been an excellent main event as it would further move either Franklin or Cane up the light heavyweight ladder. Besides UFC 103 is beginning to look like one of the best cards of the fall.  

The second way to look at it is that the UFC has no idea what to do with either Franklin or Henderson. Franklin should be fighting light heavyweights as he has professed his desire to be a permanent addition to the 205lbs. division. While Henderson's recent victory over Michael Bisping should have garnered a title shot against Anderson Silva later this year. But now both are stuck fighting each other again. For all intents and purposes both fighters are right back where they were in January and the past year has meant nothing. Seriously, where are these fighters going? Are they going to be stuck fighting in divisional limbo forever?

WKR would be remiss if we didn't mention certain personality traits that could have affected the rematch. Franklin was not pleased about the split decision loss to Henderson and it is possible that he requested the fight. Henderson also likes to fight at light heavyweight so it is more than possible he jumped at the chance to move up in weight again. Still both fighters are essentially stuck in neutral.  

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Whose ready for another split decision!? (via photos.mmaweekly.com)

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The UFC announced that Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin will face off for the second time this year as the main event for UFC 103 in September. 

Once again it appears that the UFC does not know what to do with either Franklin or Henderson as several questions remain to be answered.

Will this fight be at middleweight or light heavyweight? Will Henderson ever get a shot at the middleweight title, the way that Michael Bisping would of had he beaten Henderson. Will Rich Franklin ever start fighting current light heavyweights or will he be forced to keep battling against fighters with names but who are stuck in limbo like Franklin?

Ultimately we will have to wait for these questions to be answered, something that WKR thought had occured after UFC 93.

Franklin and Henderson fought at UFC 93 and Henderson pulled away with a narrow split decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 27-30). Franklin was hit hard by the decision later describing it as the equivalent to robbery.

Since that fight in January both fighters won their respective bouts. Rich Franklin defeated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99 (they fought at 195lbs catch-weight). At UFC 100 Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping for what many thought would be a middleweight title shot. 

Now it appears that both fighters are back to square one. 

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Which one of us was telling the truth and which one was full of bull?

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Now that Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has signed a new UFC contract (his third within the promotion) and is set to fight at UFC 103 there are still lingering questions regarding the aftermath of UFC 99.

The first issue is Dana White's post fight comments and Kevin Iole's report that Filipovic signed a three-fight deal with Dream. Mirko would later claim to have not signed with Dream and was weighing his options as he had only agreed to a one-fight deal with the UFC. Then Mike Kogan, who runs the U.S. operation of Dream's parent company, Fighting and Entertainment Group confirmed that "Cro Cop" had indeed signed with Dream.

The next twist in the story came when Lorenzo Fertitta flew to Croatia to negotiate with Filipovic in his home country. (Quick aside: if Mirko had in fact signed with Dream how/why could Fertitta negotiate a deal?)

Once Filipovic and the UFC agreed to a new contract Kevin Iole reported that Mirko had in fact not signed a contract with Dream as FIlipovic himself claimed in the immediate aftermath. 

So who is being truthful and who is being deceitful?

As of this moment it appears that Filipovic was the most honest party in the whole affair (perhaps some individuals and fans owe him an apology?).

If Mirko did not sign with Dream immediately after UFC 99, as is currently being reported, and it was only his intention to sign with Dream after he fulfilled his one-fight contract; then we can conclude that Mike Kogan and White were, at the very least, attempting to control the narrative if not outright misrepresenting the situation.  

This is nothing to be shocked about, sports executives often attempt to control the media perception when dealing with athlete contract negotiations. Just look at the posturing between the NFL Player's Association and the League office. 

As MMA fans, observers, and online media we need to learn from this situation and continue to strive for quality independent reporting while silumtaneously keeping our knee-jerk blog reactions in check. 

I am still reading a lot of "Cro Cop" sucks posts, stories and comments so I figured I would weigh in with a economic perspective. 

Mirko Filipovic didn't make his decision to "screw over" Dana White or the UFC. He made the decision based upon economic realities and which contract gave him the greatest benefits. Filipovic will get to fight in Dream whenever he wants, against weaker competition and all the while for equal, or perhaps, better pay than he would of received in the UFC. Sounds like a pretty cushy deal when compared to the alternative. 

Look, "Cro Cop" made a decision that was in his best interests both financially and for his health. While it may be the exact opposite of what we the fans want and it will surely damage his legacy and perspective political aspirations, I can't fault an athlete for making a financial and health decision. As I said before, if we are going to be a die-hard capitalist people we can't take umbrage when someone acts like a die-hard capitalist. 

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The UFC's expansion into Germany hit a snag when local politicians used the event as cheap fodder to drum up support for their reelection campaigns. 

UFC officials shrugged off the harsh rhetoric. After all, the sport has gone through the same thing in the United States. While there was no John McCain figure who came out to brand the sport "human cockfighting" local politicians did ban minors from attending the event. 

Now that UFC 99 has come and gone, how are the German media portraying the event? Not very well according to Sherdog,

Editors were texting headlines like "Blood and Circuses" (Berliner Morgenpost), "Cologne Cage Fight Pleases International Mob" (Die Welt) and "Bloodstain on the Canvas" (Süddeutsche Zeitung), and while the majority of coverage surrounding UFC 99 was rather negative, there were a couple of surprisingly well-researched articles written within the past 48 hours.

Many editors and reporters citing the bloody Stefan Struve fight as the norm, declaring that the fighters are Roman gladiators and the fans are a blood thirsty mob. 

It should be stated that not all press was bad as several publications actually did some research as oppose to repeating slogans as fact.  

Of course we know that these statements are the farthest thing from the truth besides being blatantly hypocritical. If anyone is familiar with European soccer then you know that important soccer matches often lead to riots (as pictured above). I am fairly confident that the MMA fans in attendance at UFC 99 did not go World Cup on us and torch the city in disgust. The German political and media opposition just illustrates the massive hurdles the UFC and MMA have to overcome every time it enters a new market. Maybe that international expansion that Dana White trumpets will be far more costly and take far longer than anyone anticipated. 

WKR's latest is up on MMA Convert and addresses the potential of a rematch between Dan Hardy and Marcus Davis. 

At UFC 99 Dan Hardy came away with the victory though it was a narrow split decision. While not as controversial as some split decisions there is a fair amount of discussion regarding the outcome of the fight.

Marcus Davis has come and out declared victory, eloquently saying, "I won that fight" and demanding a rematch on his own turf, either in Boston or Ireland (I thought he was a fake Irishmen though).

Dan Hardy responded by telling fiveknuckles.com that he is game for a rematch, 

Read the rest at MMA Convert

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Fighter's Only is reporting that Mustapha Al Turk is appealing his loss to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. During the fight it appeared that Al Turk was poked in the eye, whether it was intentional or not is disputable. 

Since the fight was in Germany there is no independent athletic commission to arbitrate the appeal. Indeed this is the case for all European UFC events. Zuffa has modeled their European athletic commissions after U.S. athletic commissions, which rely on the 'Unified Rules'. 

MMA Payout breaks down how the appeal should work, 

The standard operating procedure in this situation would have Zuffa as the arbiter of the appeal, in the initial stage, according to the Zuffa Standard Contract:

.........   

The question to ask in this situation is "Is there a sufficient firewall between the person who is acting in the role of commissioner, and the Zuffa brass who are making the monetary/financial decisions?" I would assume in this situation that former head of NSAC Marc Ratner is serving in the Keith Kizer role, or at least he should be.    

I highly suggest that anyone who is interested in how Zuffa's overseas operations work read the post. 

This will be an interesting test of impartiality for Zuffa's European commissions. Since Filipovic left the organization to sign with Dream it stands to reason that a reversal of the fight, or a declaration of no contest, would be met with suspicion and cynicism, maybe even questioning the legitimacy of Zuffa's expansion. Thus it seems logical to expect the arbiters to rule against Al Turk just to avoid such a political dilemma.

For those who see Zuffa's overseas commission work as a farce, the promotion suspended Chris Leben for testing positive for steroids after UFC 89.  

[Update: Note by Zak Woods, 06/15/09 10:27 PM EDT ]

MMA Weekly says no dice on the appeal,

Marc Ratner, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Monday told MMAWeekly.com an appeal was not possible.

...........

"In any sport, a judgment call cannot be overturned," he continued. "It's one of those things that happens, but nobody saw it around the Octagon until the replay."  

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Depending on your point of view Cain Velasquez's victory over Cheick Kongo was either proof positive of a future champion or a recrimination of an inexperienced fighter. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Detractors will point out that Velasquez, an All-American wrestler, beat a fighter who has consistently shown that he is unable to deal with proficient wrestlers. Proponents will see Velasquez's speedy recovery from an early combination as proof of a strong chin and will to succeed. The debate will continue for some time with both side presenting legitimate points but the real issue at work here is the debate over how the UFC develops prospects.

Jordan Breen takes a decidely anti-UFC tact,

 The most bizarre truth about prospects developing within the UFC is that early mediocrity is a blessing in disguise. If you impress fans and the brass from jump street, you're going to get fast-tracked, and likely to your detriment. If you can manage to win as sterilely as possible, you'll actually get to face a greater number of opponents, different stylistic tests and you'll evolve into a better fighter because of it.The most bizarre truth about prospects developing within the UFC is that early mediocrity is a blessing in disguise. If you impress fans and the brass from jump street, you're going to get fast-tracked, and likely to your detriment. If you can manage to win as sterilely as possible, you'll actually get to face a greater number of opponents, different stylistic tests and you'll evolve into a better fighter because of it.

This approach ignores several points. First the UFC is far more patient with their prospects outside of the heavyweight division. Anthony Johnson and Roger Huerta have been feed a healthy amount of low-level competition. 

The second issue is that the UFC is in constant need to sell PPV cards as a whole. Thus it is in their economic interest to elevate the stature of fighters. The problem with this is that it creates a disconnect between current capability and hype. This fact is compounded by the perceived weakness of the UFC heavyweight division, which can easily be partitioned between the contenders, the prospects, the gatekeepers and the scrubs. 

Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture make up the contenders while Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin represent the prospects. The gate keepers are Heath Herring, Kongo and Gabriel Gonzaga with the scrubs being Justin McCully, Al Turk and Eddie Sanchez. 

Due to this obvious classification, as well as the exodus of big name heavyweights to rival promotions, the UFC is stuck hyping the abilities of prospects in an attempt to paint the UFC heavyweight division as the best in the business. Whereas the truth is,  all three of the prospects still need time to develop their skills.

For those looking for a break down MMAforReal does an excellent job of recapping the recent fights for all three of the UFC's top heavyweight prospects. 

The UFC has a difficult choice ahead of it. Both Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin have beaten fighters who are right outside the top four title contenders. Does the UFC put Carwin and Velasquez against the losers of the top-four or do the stick with the same level of competition? They could also fight each other. 

Hopefully the UFC demonstrates patience and slows down the hype while the prospects develop their skills. That way we can watch the development of athletically gifted fighters without clamouring to see them fight contenders. 

 

UFC 99: The Comeback coverage

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If the newest report regarding Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's contract status is correct than the Croatian fighter has not signed with Dream. 

What is going on here? We just spent a day discussing conspiracies and turncoats and it may be the case that White and the UFC are steamrolling Cro Cop with a well organized media attack. 

The first indications that Mirko Filipovic was preparing to leave the UFC was a report by Kevin Iole during the aftermath of UFC 99. Iole reported that, "Filipovic informed UFC president Dana White that he had signed a three-fight contract with the Japan-based DREAM."

There were no quotes or confirmations from Mirko. The Croatian usually skips press conferences and he did the same at UFC 99.

From Iole's initial report the entire MMA media apparatus (including the blogosphere and WKR) latched on to the report. Dana White appeared in front of the media in Cologne and cried foul over Filipovic's purported desertion. But never once did we receive independent confirmation from Filipovic, his camp or Dream officials that Cro Cop had indeed signed with the Japanese organization. 

The newest report regarding Filipovic's contract status suggests that Mirko had not yet decided who to sign with. So why did this issue devolved into a tale of treachery?  

It is easy to speculate that Filipovic had not yet made a decision regarding his future and was weighing all his options. If he informed Dana White that he was hearing chatter from Dream it is not inconceivable to see Dana White lose his temper. It could also be that White was trying to hurt Filipovic's negotiating power. Whatever the case surrounding the he said, she said it is now apparent that there are issues with Kevin Iole's initial report.

In the past Kevin Iole has been accused of being a mouth piece of the UFC and if it turns out that he was wrong, regarding Mirko's contract status, than these criticisms will gain steam. 

Right now we need to wait and see what develops without throwing labels onto either party.

[Update: Note by Zak Woods, 06/15/09 11:19 AM EDT ]

It is now confirmed through USA Today (via MMAforReal) that Filipovic has singed with Dream. 

Soon after beating Mostapha al-Turk on Saturday at UFC 99, Filipovic told UFC officials that he has signed a three-fight deal with the Japanese organization Dream, Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole first reported. The news was later confirmed to me in an e-mail from Mike Kogan, who runs the U.S. operation of Dream's parent company, Fighting and Entertainment Group