NSAC...as Spike Lee Says...Do the Right Thing

GSP is a better fighter than BJ Penn.

If they fought 100 times GSP would win 95 of those fights. He is bigger, stronger, quicker and has much better cardio. That fact is not sitting well with BJ "The Prodigy" Penn. So upset was BJ that he latched on to a lapse in judgment by GSPs corner and rode it all the way to a formal complaint.

While I will agree that there is some good that can come from this...Vaseline needs to be handled with more care...the fact that GSP would have won that fight regardless needs to rise above everything else.

Keith Kizer and the rest of the NSAC need to put a procedure in place to avoid this from happening again but they should not overturn the victory or fine or suspend GSP. To do so would validate the ego-centric rants of the king of all Sore Losers = BJ PENN.

GSP > BJ

Video Game Envy...

EA wants to play too...

As reported by kotaku.com

Electronic Arts has long been rumored to have eyes for a mixed martial arts title. IGN got to the EA Sports chief at a launch event and asked, obliquely, if that was so.

Phrasing the question as "which sport he'd like to see EA Sports tackle next," Moore said that, while they're "incredibly excited" about Fight Night, boxing is fading into the distance.

"Boxing, for me, sadly feels like it's the past of fighting and Mixed Martial Arts feels like it's the future of fighting. So when we look at where people's attention is going, that's something we keep a very close eye on."

THQ has the license for an Ultimate Fighting Championship game until 2011, but there are, conceivably, ways to go ahead with an MMA title without UFC branding, just like there are football games out there without NFL licensing. Whatever the case, Moore's comments were pretty direct that mixed martial arts will be part of his division's next big leap.

EA Sports Mixed Martial Arts Title in the Works? [IGN via GoNintendo]

First off...Moore is right. Boxing is a dying sport and MMA is the next evolutionary step of combat sports.

What's more....Zuffa has control over the fighters in Undisputed FOREVER...yes that forever...as in always. It's called perpetuity which is latin for "by the balls". If ANY company wants to make a UFC game with any of those fighters...Zuffa gets a piece. Like him or hate him, Dana White is not stupid. I still can't wait to play this game.

Run Forrest Run!

There is a lot riding on the upcoming THQ videogame...UFC undisputed. THQ has hit rocky times financially and the UFC have not entered the game market in almost a decade. This will either help to save THQ and help to continue Mr Whites dominance of the MMA landscape OR it will push a THQ into deeper waters and well...Zuffa will still be dominant.

One component...what fighter will grace the cover has been decided:

From IGN.com:

March 13, 2009 - THQ and Zuffa today announced that Forrest Griffin has been tapped to appear on the worldwide cover of UFC 2009 Undisputed. Griffin is a former light heavyweight champion after winning his UFC contract on Spike TV "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show in 2005.

Canada will see a special cover that will only be available to Canucks. It features Georges St-Pierre, a Quebec native. St-Pierre is currently the welterweight champion and was recently named Canada's Athlete of the Year for 2008.

By the looks of what is out there...I think both companies are all set...I can't wait to play this game and then have my 10 year old son beat me.

For more on the production of the game and its features go to THQ's official UFC Undispited web site

For the original IGN story, head over to IGN.com

Training...it's not just for fighters anymore

Once upon a time if you were hitting a punching bag or training in a gym with a punching bag...you were there for one purpose; To Fight.

Not anymore.

The South County Times online reports:

"We call it a fun boot camp," said Finney, owner of Finney's Kickboxing and Boxing, one of the premier training gyms in St. Louis. The gym specializes in teaching novices and professionals alike the fine art of boxing, kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

"Out of more than 300 of our members, only 10 percent are professional fighters and at least 40 percent are women," Finney said. "Most people don't want to fight, but they want to train like a fighter."

"What draws people here is the extensive cardio training they get, along with strengthening their core, while at the same time learning important techniques and timing of how to protect themselves," Finney said. "There is no other place in St. Louis you can go to get this kind of high-level instruction with a professional fighter as your trainer."

This is great for two reasons. Number 1: Less fat people...we have far too many in this great land of ours. Number 2: Better fighters...The more athletes (of all ages) that are exposed to the benefits of training as a fighter, the higher the likelihood that a few will choose that path.
Better athletes = better fighters. Better Fighters = Better Fights. Better Fights = More Fans. More Fans = Sustainable Growth.

We are witnessing the evolution of the sport. From Tank Abbott to GSP and beyond.

The most important question for all of MMA LAND...

...is can the growth trend continue?” I can tell you right now that I do not know the answer. However, I know that if the answer is yes then MMA will eventually be one of the most popular sports in the world. “Socceresque”, global popularity.

However, if the fan base does not continue to grow the sport will eventually end up the very same way it started; an underground cult.

For anyone who is thinking of that scenario as a good thing, you are sorely mistaken and foolish.

If the new fans simply dry up it would start a chain reaction of economies that would result in a sad shell of a formerly great and promising sport. As fast as this sport soared in popularity…it could decline twice as fast.

In the immortal words of Christopher Cross circa 1981 “I know it’s crazy, but it’s true”. The quality of MMA as a sport has a direct correlation with the quality of athletes. This should not be surprising to anyone as that equation would hold true in any sport. The point is that the best athletes are (at least in part) fighting for the money.

You can try and kid yourself that there are fighters that “don’t do it for the money” that notion is truly false. Name one that would continue to fight…long term…for free. It simply could not happen…life is not free. Therefore the higher the prize the better the athlete. George St. Pierre is a perfect example of a guy who could have played any sport and played it well…an unreal athlete…and has chosen to fight.

No new fans = No new deals with Sponsors
No new deals with Sponsors =

Without continued fan growth, MMAs