MMA 3:UFC 87 Recap

[Horus Ex Machina]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1479858' date='Aug 14 2008, 10.10']I have a hard time believing this though. It's nice that he is trying to keep it cool, but he blows his cover here:



:rofl:

So if he couldn't be a fighter he would teach fighting, although he really isn't that interested in fighting. Whatevah Fedor. Maybe I will enter that contest and give you an ass-kicking.[/quote]
I believe that what he means here is that he is not as much a fan of MMA as he is of Sambo. Which is perfectly reasonable considering the fact that MMA isn't what made Fedor such a big name in Russia as Sambo did. That is the mixed martial art of Russia after all. If Fedor didn't fight, he would teach Sambo, not MMA. MMA is what pays the bills but Sambo is his, and most Russian's, true love

This goes into his reasoning about why he didn't sign with the UFC despite the (at the time) lack of skilled MMA opponents for him to fight outside because of them barring him from Sambo competition. DW claims to understand fighters and such but he is culturally illiterate. This is partially what I can't stand about him.

[url="http://www.fightticker.com/story_0815080955_rumor_jake_shields_vs_matt_lindland_affliction_day_of_reckoning"]On another not Jake Shields may fight Matt Linland on the next Affliction card.[/url]

[Ken Stone]

So what does everyone think of the KJ Noons conterversary? For those of you who don't know what is going on here is the skinny.

EliteXC is trying to set up a championship fight with KJ Noons against Nick Diaz. KJ Noons isn't returning their phone calls and such so Jay Shaw, VP of EXC basically puts it out there that KJ Noons is ducking Diaz and scared to fight him. Noon's management responds that Diaz is the top ranked competitor so they have no desire to fight him, and that it does nothing for Noon's career so they aren't interested in that fight. As of right now there is a stalemate.

There are a few things I find very interesting about this story. First off I'm surprised at how little power EXC seems to have. If this was Dana White he would strip Noon's of the belt in a heartbeat.

To me if you are the champ you fight who the organization tells you to fight. Period. I don't care what they are saying about wanting to fight a better fighter it sure looks like they are ducking Diaz. Noons beat Diaz but it was stopped because of cuts back before Diaz got the surgery. It's not like Noons stopped him definitively. Diaz has fought and won since that fight so I think he has a good argument at being the #1 contender. Noons management team doesn't get to decide who the #1 contender is. They shouldn't even get a say in the matter. When you have the belt you fight who ever they tell you too.

ETA: Linkie

[url="http://mmajunkie.com/news/5115/kj-noons-camp-nothing-is-going-to-happen-by-bout-agreement-deadline.mma"]MMAJunkie[/url]

[Analu]

[quote name='Ken Stone' post='1490026' date='Aug 21 2008, 14.35']So what does everyone think of the KJ Noons conterversary?[/quote]
Dion isn't doing Noons any favors with his hardball stance on this. The Vera situation was different, as Vera was undefeated at the time and getting a lot of hype in the UFC. I doubt the casual MMA fan even knows who Noons is, and the fans who [i]do [/i]know who he is also know that he has almost zero leverage here. EliteXC is already bleeding money and isn't going to pay out big bucks for someone who can't even headline a card.

And maybe Alvarez should be the #1 contender over Diaz given his performances in DREAM, but that was in another organization. Diaz has fought and won his last two fights in EliteXC, albeit over questionable fighters and circumstances (missing weight), and is the #1 contender in a very weak division. Sure, KJ beat Diaz down in that first round, but it was hardly a definitive victory. Diaz is notorious for absorbing a lot of punishment before settling in, and a doctor stoppage victory is nothing to gloat about. Also, KJ's only fought three legit fighters, by my count: Yves, Nick, and Krazy Horse, who knocked him the fuck out. Diaz has fought, won, and lost some super close decisions to guys like Sherk, Karo, Diego, Gomi, Lawler, etc. He deserves a rematch.

I always support local fighters, so was a semi-fan of KJ, but he needs to wise up and take advantage of the chances that he's being given. The exposure he'll get if he beats Diaz on national TV far outweighs his gripes about how much more Diaz is getting paid than him. He signed the contract and should honor it.