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UFC Lets Another Get Away
by Bachir Ayoub, Team IronLife.com Writer
The Prodigy has left the building! In an unforeseeable move, Dana White and the suits at the UFC vacated another division by stripping the title off the current welterweight champ. BJ Penn did the unthinkable by stepping up in weight and defeating the Militech Fighting Systems wrecking ball, Matt Hughes. How is he rewarded for his heroic achievement? He is stripped of his title. Now I understand the reasoning of Dana White for doing what he did, but I don’t think it could have come at a worst time for the organization.
The first problem that I see arising is the obvious; Vitor Belfort is the only recognized and legit champ in the UFC. Not taking anything away from Vitor, who I greatly admire for even showing up for his title fight against Randy Couture, but I don’t see the Phenom jumping through all four weight classes defending the honour of the UFC. The lightweight division which seems to have been all but forgotten by the organization and the heavyweight division being constantly plagued by steroid scandals leaves the welterweight and light-heavyweight division with all the UFC has left. With the welterweight division being shaken up, the UFC is beginning to loose its credibility in the eyes of this loyal fan.
What is a fighting organization without champions? It is nothing more than a glorified fight club. If I was a fighter in any of the newly vacated weight classes I would begin to lack the motivation for a title fight. You bust your ass from day one to achieve championship status only to have your title taken from you for reasons that seem to be easily fixed. BJ did not want to leave the UFC he just wanted to go make money in Japan in a fight with Duane Ludwig. For the casual North American fan of the UFC, he wouldn’t have even known the fight would have happened due to a lack of North American broadcast. The UFC stood to loose very little by having BJ go over and fight in Japan. So an ultimatum was given and a decision was made, and like Jens Pulver before him, BJ Penn decided to let his title be taken away.
This article may look like nothing more than kicking the UFC and Dana White when their down, but it isn’t. I want nothing more than to see this great sport succeed and receive the recognition it deserves in the North American market via the UFC. I just can’t understand how the UFC lets up and comers like Pulver and Penn get away but use their resources to sign Tank and Kimo to multi-fight deals. Some quality grappling put the Tank experiment to bed. I think what Kimo has done to re-invent himself as a fighter is awesome. But in reality how many more quality fights is Kimo going to dish out after Shamrock, two? three? BJ Penn truly showed up in his fight with Matt Hughes and was beginning on what could have been a lengthy title defence, but will never know if that will happen. I just hope that Vitor Belfort stays put, because if he leaves so will the quality opponents he faces. The UFC is slowly going to turn into a breeding ground for freelance fighters to come in, have a couple bouts than go make some money elsewhere. The only suggestion I can make is the UFC try to hold unto the fighters they currently have in place so the viewer can still recognize the product.
* Article by Bachir Ayoub, Team IronLife.com Writer .
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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