Official MMA Thread

[BengalMan]

Conference call ended a few minutes ago. I for one am very excited about Franklin vs. Vitor, even though after this fight at 205, Vitor will likely drop back down to 185. Love him or hate him, I'm pumped that Tito is back. The energy he brings and his popularity with fans both new and old will be nice to have back in the UFC.

[ActionAndy]

Originally Posted by BengalMan

Conference call ended a few minutes ago. I for one am very excited about Franklin vs. Vitor, even though after this fight at 205, Vitor will likely drop back down to 185. Love him or hate him, I'm pumped that Tito is back. The energy he brings and his popularity with fans both new and old will be nice to have back in the UFC.

Was Franklin always at 205? I was never big into him, so I can't even remember.

[BengalMan]

Originally Posted by ActionAndy

Was Franklin always at 205? I was never big into him, so I can't even remember.

Rich started in the UFC at 205, then dropped to 185 and went on a tear holding the title for some time until Anderson Silva came into the picture and owned him 2x in a row. After that Rich moved up to 205 as a third fight with Silva wasn't going to happen and he didn't want to be Anderson's gate keeper. The only problem is that he still is Anderson's gate keeper. He fought Wandy at 195 to see if he could cut it at 185. Wandy drops to 185 and will now be a contender for Anderson. He fought Hendo at 205, who he lost to, which led to a fight with Bisping which, after todays press conference, resulted in Hendo getting a title shot. Now he's fighting Vitor at 205, who openly said he wants Anderson. If Vitor wins, he'll also drop to 185 to go for a title shot as well. Everyone Rich has fought above 185 since moving up in weight has dropped to 185 to go for the title. Rich should have stayed at 185 if he was going to just have the gatekeeper role that Dana told him he wouldn't. The whole point that Rich moved to 205 was because he didn't want to be a gatekeeper and he felt he could make a title run at 205.

In the end, I think Rich needs to be fighting legitimate 205 lb title contenders and stop fighting people that will do nothing for his career. How about Rich vs Jardine? Rich vs. Forrest? Maybe Luiz Cane or Thiago Silva? There is so much talent at 205 that for Rich to continue to be Anderson's gate keeper at 205 to determine if the guy he fights drops to 185 to make a title run is stupid. Don't get me wrong, I'm PUMPED for Vitor vs. Rich, but it makes ZERO sense for Rich.

Originally Posted by BengalMan

Rich started in the UFC at 205, then dropped to 185 and went on a tear holding the title for some time until Anderson Silva came into the picture and owned him 2x in a row. After that Rich moved up to 205 as a third fight with Silva wasn't going to happen and he didn't want to be Anderson's gate keeper. The only problem is that he still is Anderson's gate keeper. He fought Wandy at 195 to see if he could cut it at 185. Wandy drops to 185 and will now be a contender for Anderson. He fought Hendo at 205, who he lost to, which led to a fight with Bisping which, after todays press conference, resulted in Hendo getting a title shot. Now he's fighting Vitor at 205, who openly said he wants Anderson. If Vitor wins, he'll also drop to 185 to go for a title shot as well. Everyone Rich has fought above 185 since moving up in weight has dropped to 185 to go for the title. Rich should have stayed at 185 if he was going to just have the gatekeeper role that Dana told him he wouldn't. The whole point that Rich moved to 205 was because he didn't want to be a gatekeeper and he felt he could make a title run at 205.

In the end, I think Rich needs to be fighting legitimate 205 lb title contenders and stop fighting people that will do nothing for his career. How about Rich vs Jardine? Rich vs. Forrest? Maybe Luiz Cane or Thiago Silva? There is so much talent at 205 that for Rich to continue to be Anderson's gate keeper at 205 to determine if the guy he fights drops to 185 to make a title run is stupid. Don't get me wrong, I'm PUMPED for Vitor vs. Rich, but it makes ZERO sense for Rich.

It's obvious from reading your post why this will never happen and Rich will continue as the gatekeeper...it makes complete sense! As we know this is not a feasible condition for UFC, we will probably see GSP fighting Rich at the 192.637 lbs catch weight!

[NCRadioMan]

Just for clariification about Fedor's role in M-1. He is part owner.

"We made it clear that Fedor, now and forever is part, even part owner, of M-1 and those two cannot be separated, Raimond noted. If the rest of M-1 is excluded from any kind of deal, it makes the deal difficult." - Joost Raimond, CEO for M-1 Global

[Ken]

I'll take a foot in mouth for going on some bad info.

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Just for clariification about Fedor's role in M-1. He is part owner.

Good to know. As good as Fedor is I have to side with the UFC on this. M-1 wants to bring one fighter to the show but rake half the pot. They can go somewhere else and fans will know they are not putting forth the effort to fight the top guys. UFC's HW division has improved 10 fold and will be more stacked than others.

It's a shame as I still wanted to see Fedor vs Couture

For heavens sake, if Franklin is going to move to 205 then just let him fight guys in that division .