Tuesday, June 17, 2008

From the Mailbag: "Dude, are you for real?"

"Dude, are you for real? Some of the things I read on your blog are way out there. You have some cool bits about the history of MMA and underground shows and stuff, but most of the time I can't tell if you're joking or not. Are we supposed to take you seriously or what?" -SanJoseUFCfan1968 Thanks for the email, SanJoseUFCfan1968. Yes, MMAJournalist is real. Your Internet browser took you to an actual webpage, didn't it? Geez. Listen, if you're looking for news, go to FiveOuncesOfPain.com, Sherdog.com, MMAPayout.com or FightOpinion.com - that's where I go when I want up-to-date info. But if you want a different perspective on the sport, a perspective rife with sarcasm and wit, well... you're screwed. So you might as well keep coming here.

Only One Winner in the Escalating War Between Promotions

In the old days, when Abraham Lincoln was president and getting eaten by a dinosaur was a very real threat, the UFC was the only game in town offering up MMA to fight-hungry consumers. My how times have changed. Case in point: the star-studded July 19th Affliction card on pay-per-view. Sherdog reported yesterday that the UFC might be putting together serious counter-programming on SpikeTV to combat Affliction's "Banned" debut, with Wanderlei Silva one of names thrown into the mix. Is this a dirty tactic on the UFC's part? Or is it just a smart business move? A free UFC on SpikeTV will undoubtebly sink Affliction's PPV buy rates, and maybe inflict a mortal wound on the fledgling promotion, but one thing is clear in this escalating war: the fans are going to win. Yes, in terms of having more MMA on TV, the fans are going to win big.