Hawkius Maximus

Elite XC really gambled with Carano & Cyborg on that last show. It's very much pro-wrestling logic, in that you give them fights they *should* win, and then build it up when they do win. The problem is, MMA is not pro-wrestling, and booking like that is a fool's errand. So many things can go wrong, they just got lucky. Ironically when they got critically unlucky with Kimbo. I'd like to see that fight, but it's hard to see what Elite XC should do with it. Gina apparently popped a good rating, so I suppose you could do it on another special...but at the same time, that may be able to headline a PPV...but then on the flipside, if it fails then Elite would be crippled. Well, they already are...Maybe having a limb chopped off would be more appropriate. Fight wise, nothing was really blow away on Elite last Saturday. I...honestly can't remember much beyond Gina's fight, Kimbo dying, and Arlovski killing a man. Ah. Jake Shields fought Paul Daley. That was fun, if not completely onesided when it hit the ground. Ah! Ninja vs. Radach. That was probably the most fun fight, and it was reeeeeeeeeeeally sloppy. Radach lived up to Facemashing-Fu though. Apparently the best fight on the show in Cyborg/Takahashi wasn't even shown except for some clips that I missed. So that's a shame. I don't know why Elite put Cyborg in the undercard when they want that fight to be huge. Logic states you'd put her on the main card. And Kimbo getting 500,000 is fucking funny in hindsight.

You're a dumbass. Using this logic, you'd be much happier watching Danny Bonaduce knock out one of the Olsen twins in celebrity boxing than watching Edgar vs. Griffin from UFC 67. Most MMA fans like watching good fights, and don't give a shit about business or general interest. A good fight means plenty to MMA, and is good for business. Bonnar and Griffin were no name fighters who had an action packed fight that helped lift the UFC up to where we are today. That's what happens when you build legitimate fighters. Urijah Faber was a no-name fighter not too long ago, and now he's slowly becoming a star because he's whooping ass, not because he's a big scary looking nigger with fights on the internet. I would like proof that most MMA fans care about business, or "general interest" whatever that means. I would argue in the first place that if you're not interested in watching solid, competitive fighting than you're not a fan. I can assure you that trying to cater to the freakshow demographic is not a sustainable business strategy. All these internet retards that talk about "ITS GOOD FOR BUSINESSSS~!!!!" don't understand how fucking stupid it is to base your company around a fucking street fighter with no ground training. If it's such a great business, why did it blow up in their face? Horrible business move, and I don't applaud charlatans like Gary Shaw who manipulate the stupidity of the general public (people like you, apparently) and try to legitimize Bob Sapp v0.1 (at least Bob Sapp hung in there with some decent comp) vs. a WWF Intercontinental champion (because no matter how you spin it, Shamrock's popularity has always been tied into the fact that he was a rassler). I'm sure that things are going real well for EliteXC right now, and that they're not having any problems behind the scenes WHATSOEVER I haven't done this in years. I'm going to systematically break down your "post" and show how big of a retard you are. Point #1: "I would rather watch Celebrity Boxing then watch Griffin vs. Edgar" - No, not really. If anything, the sheer lack of size of those two entertains me. Plus, while I'm sure the Olsen Twins and Bonaduce would have more charisma, it still doesn't change the fact that the Olsens are kind of fugly. Point #2: "Forrest and Bonnar weren't stars when they first fought so therefore that means fans like action over star power because their stars now!" - Dumb idea here. That was the *FIRST LIVE SPECIAL IN THE HISTORY OF MMA ON TELEVISION*. Need I repeat that? Okay, I will. IT WAS THE FIRST LIVE SPECIAL IN THE HISTORY OF MMA ON TELEVISION. It was also main evented by KEN SHAMROCK and up and coming star RICH FRANKLIN. It also had a reality show behind it full of *whacky* characters who all got interest not because of their fighting, but because of their characters. Diego catching LIGHTNING anyone? Leben pissing on other people's beds? LEBEN IN GENERAL? The only reason Forrest/Bonnar 1 has reached mythical standings is because it was a good fight, the first of such on LIVE TELEVISION, and both were insanely charismatic and entertaining. You throw two uncharimatic fucks in that situation? No buys. Diego Sanchez murdering Florian didn't help him immediately, did it? Point #2: "Urijah Faber is a star for beating people now! This proves that you get over just by winning!" - No. Well, it's not fair to say that since we have no idea what he can do...but ONE drawing fight with Pulver who had UFC exposure, a reality show, and a personality behind him does NOT mean Faber is a draw. Jens Pulver drew that rating through PR work, promos, and Versus's great advertising campaign. None of that has *ANYTHING* to do with Faber other then being the young pretty guy who beat on Pulver. Faber's next title defense will be the litmus test to see if he can draw on his own. The last WEC show didn't draw even half as well as that show did, so it sure as *fuck* didn't make WEC more popular. Outside of Faber, I dare you to name me *one fighter* who became a draw just by winning and not PR, charisma, or attitude. You won't be able to do it. Because there are none. And no, Fedor never drew in Japan himself, nor in America. Thought I'd cut you off on that. Point #3: "You're not a real fan if you don't like fighting!" - I never said people didn't like fighting. I never said I didn't. What you, and seemingly every other smart ass in here seems to not realize is that fighting is a BUSINESS. Whatever will draw you money, you run with it. Two no-name fighters having a great fight means *NOTHING*. Sure, it may be fun to watch, but it's still going to draw maybe 2,000 fans no matter where you run in the world. Japan? Maybe less now. US? Yeah, using "WE'VE JUST GOT GOOD FIGHTERS NO BS HERE~!" worked for IFL didn't it? UFC sells itself as a hybrid between the two. Great fighting, and great build up. The only thing they lack is PRIDE-like theatrics. Dana White enjoys a good fight. He enjoys money more. Point #4: "Freakshows do not draw" - Bullshit. It's always drawn well when there's freakshows with interest. IN ANY MARKET. If not, Tank Abbott wouldn't have been half as popular. BROCK LESNAR WOULD NOT BE GETTING A UFC TITLE SHOT NEXT MONTH. The fact is, Ken Shamrock versus Kimbo Slice was a brilliant move that would have most likely saved Elite XC. What they didn't count on was Ken Shamrock's stupidity. You're a idiot if you think a FREAK ACCIDENT somehow proves that the business model with Kimbo was a failure. Was it in the end? *YES*, but not because of what Elite XC tried to do. Kimbo would have lost to someone. Hell, he might have lost to Ken Shamrock, but in the end under perfect circumstances Elite XC would have been able to market and control who he lost to. The only reason Kimbo fought *AT ALL* was to save this show. Dave Meltzer even reported that they gave him money to fight since he didn't want to. Elite XC shot themselves in the face to try and get somewhere. Know where their next big step is? Gina Carano vs. Cyborg. That should be more then enough to appease you "I WANTZ HOT FIGHT ACTION" people. Point #5: "Ken Shamrock's popularity is based off being a pro-wrestler!" - Historically untrue. Shamrock wasn't even known as a Pro-Wrestler in America when he was the TOP DRAW of the UFC in the early 90's. But let's play devil advocate. So what? So is Brock Lesnar's right now. So was Takada. So was Sakuraba (initially at least). So was Don Frye in Japan. THEY ALL DREW MONEY. What is your point? None. This is elitist "Pro-Wrestling is gayzors" talking. And in summary. A good fight is a good fight. But without PR, without charisma, without INTEREST generated from *OUTSIDE OF THE FIGHT* then it means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Fighter A winning a fight against Fighter B does NOT MEAN he will draw against fighter C. That's just basic principle. A good fight is disposable entertainment. "A good fight! Neat! HEY HERE'S LIDDELL YAYAYAYAY!" is how your average UFC fan thinks. It doesn't go any deeper then that. If you think your average MMA fan is some junkie for hot man on man action to the point where that's all they like, then you are a fool. And for whatever reason, since I don't accept the "GOOD FIGHTS ARE AWESOME AND ALL YOU NEED~!" theory always presented in this forum, I'm suddenly enemy #1. Hell, EHME I believe insulted me. In the end, when another Fight Night special is main evented by two unknown fighters and doesn't draw, you'll think back to me~! and this post.

Could you please explain why I would wish to kill myself over this? Is it because I think there has to be a significant secondary promotion in MMA? This would make me a Kimbo fanboy? Or is it because I don't get a boner over watching two no-name value fighters having a good fight that means nothing to MMA, business, or general interest? Like most MMA fans?

Ken Shamrock knows how to sell a fight. A little shove here. A little pull apart. And the MMA world is abuzz due to the HATRED~! Shamrock would probably be a damn good promoter if he could handle money.

Next week? This was already the Junie show. The old coach was AWESOME. Outside of watching Junie implode, he was by far the most entertaining part.

What really sucked, is I was in the middle of a hellacious COD 4 game when the downtime hit. Which meant all our hard earned XP and work was not saved. Not to mention we were winning.

Because Overeem wasn't trying to do it. The one that really dropped Mirko was an absolute monster where both threw knees. Mirko's legs were apart because of it, and Overeem just...*WHAM*, right up the alley you could say. Before that he only hit one clean one, and a couple grazes. But that final one...My god. They said Mirko's ball was *INSIDE* him. Mirko got lucky that the ref caught it, because Overeem immediately nailed him, threw him with a slam and looked to kill him. He didn't seem to care at all that he crushed his manhood. Even while Mirko was crying, Overeem came off like a dick. He didn't seem to care at all...and then cut a promo like he won. Fedor smiled at Mirko's misfortune. Not like "Hah, served him right!", but more of the "football in crotch" variety of groin related humor.

It's not just because what he did to Sakuraba. That didn't help, but that isn't the full reason why Akiyama is booed. Akiyama is a Korean who is legally Japanese. Kind of like Pro-Wrestlers like Riki Choshu. Rikidozan and Akira Maeda. When Akiyama did that to Sakuraba, he was "outed" as a Korean, and a huge public outcry/media blitz took place. Japan and Korea have always been enemies, and on both sides there is alot of hatred. So, when Akiyama gets booed, it's part past transgressions, part act, and part racism. It's not as awesome when you know everything. Yet it still is, because the man milks it. As for Overeem/Mirko...Overeem was winning, but I don't think that means Overeem was a lock. Mirko wasn't looking good, but Overeem has a history of gassing. With his mass, and his pace, he could have gassed out. In any case, he needs to learn how to fucking aim those knees. He hit Mirko *ATLEAST* four times I saw in the groin, with the last being an absolute monster right to the nuts. Mirko was on the ground crying over how much it hurt. There was no way Mirko would/could have continued from that.

Not going to say anything for anyone who hasn't seen or read spoilers...but not a good show. From the minute the show started, something felt off, and it never got really going. The fact that there was TWELVE fights didn't help either.

I feel absolutely no shame going out on Patriots/Dolphins. No fucking way I could have ever predicted that.

There's also the fact that matching up new contenders against people Silva murdered is very bad match making. The odds of Quarry or Maia losing to people like "Nate the Great" and Henderson are at the very least 50/50. If the person who lost to Silva wins without showing improvement, then what do you have? A situation where no one gives the former challenger a shot against Silva, which results in a poor buyrate which means less money. The only reason Franklin's second fight with Silva worked at all is because Franklin has credibility with fans, and he was trying to reclaim his title. If that had been his second SHOT at the title, it would have done even worse. Matching up Maia and Quarry, both who would be new challengers for Silva against each other makes it for sure that one of them moves closer.

Shotime has apparently made an offer to buy Elite XC 100% outright. This will be interesting to watch. Elite XC, even if they do a good rating on this upcoming show, are still bleeding money. And if Shotime does buy them then what happens to the CBS deal? Intriguing.

Quarry/Maia is a good match up, because it's a win win. Say what you will about Mr. "Rock", but UFC REALLY likes him. The fact that he has a truly inspirational message to be told since his return and his complete mocking of Kalib are two things that I'm sure Dana White absolutely loves. No matter how that fight goes, UFC can use it easily. Maia can prove he's a legitimate guy by beating someone who had a UFC Middleweight title shot, or Quarry can prove that he's the best he's ever been. He has won twice since his major surgery, and overall he is 10-2. So, the case can be made that Quarry isn't a "step down" at all, really.

It is a goddamn shame one of those two have to go. One compares himself to Hitler. The other claims that his opponent has a better chance of knocking him up then knocking him out. Awesome.

It's one thing to be taught by a fantastic pure BJJ guy. It's a totally different thing to be taught by the Interm UFC Heavyweight Champion, the unbeatable Middleweight Champion, and a 100% completely undefeated top five Light Heavyweight. Those guys will be getting practical high level MMA Jiu Jitsu, High level muay thai, and...can Lyoto train someone in the style of "Hit before hit"? If nothing else Lyoto can train them how to sprawl. He's got that.

Meltzer is saying that this cast has the highest crop of talent in several seasons. He's also said that from what he's heard, Mir & Nog never get into it because they like and respect each other...but the fighters more then make up for it. I didn't really enjoy last season much at all, but just on paper this group looks more impressive. The only thing I REALLY don't like, is the first two episodes with the eight fights per episode. TUF is supposed to make us care about fighters...doing that just seems like a waste. Why not just show clips real fast and move onto the drawmuh. Another thing that has me interested, is I want to see what Team Nog can do for their fighters. In sheer talent, that has to be the most stacked coaching cast in TUF history. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Anderson Silva & Lyoto Machida? How could you not become a great fighter stuck with them every day for several months?

I've never bought Rampage's claims. Every "gaijin" in PRIDE was doped out of their mind. I bet Rampage was as well. So him claiming that about Silva and Shogun doesn't lend any credence. If anything, it's more likely that Silva just bought better stuff. And Curry's right. Rampage still says he hates the clinch. He never displayed any improvement from Silva 1 to Shogun. He was defenseless in the clinch, and we still don't know if he is any better. It isn't like Silva and Shogun overpowered Rampage in any of those fights. They just slowly and methodically murdered him. That's not doping there. That's skill and a bad style match up.

If those fights had been that close, maybe. But Rampage got MURDERED both times. Since coming to UFC, no one has really been a striker of the style of Silva against him. Rampage has fought Marvin Eastman, Liddell, Dan Henderson, and was beaten by Forrest Griffin. Silva lost to Liddell in his UFC debut, but then came right back and murdered an up and coming Keith Jardine. Plus, the whole "There won't be doping this time!" thing is a fallacy. Just about everyone in UFC dopes to some degree. That's really just *sports*. The key is, most people are pretty smart about getting off the stuff in time to test clean. Rampage would be correct if he means Silva won't come in roided out of his gourd though. The only thing Rampage has in his favor this time around, would be Silva can't draw the yellow card. That was his prime defense against ground work. There is no such thing in UFC, and if you are a big star (IE Rampage), they'll give you extra long time to work on the ground. So in theory, he'll have a much easier time winning a decision just by holding Silva down.

Minowa/Funaki is interesting interest wise...until yo uread that Akiyama's on the card too against a 1-1 guy. That boggles my mind. Akiyama would likely thrash Minowa or Funaki, but that's a drawing fight either way. Funaki/Akiyama even has the storyline that Akiyama cheated Sakuraba, and whooped Shibata, so Funaki is aiming for REVENGE~! It should be a good show, but it just does not look good.

I honestly forgot who I picked. Yay for Green Bay.

Almost a year since the last post. Talk about resurrecting a thread. About a month or so ago, me and my friends picked D&D back up...This time we went from 3.5 to 4th. Quite the leap. We had to build our characters from scratch, and I've accepted the role as DM. 4th Edition has simplified things (you know, for us dumb folks like myself) so that we could actually UNDERSTAND and not be overwhelmed by seemingly pointless choices. It still has been rough going, but we've gotten along much easier this go around then before. We almost, ALMOST seem like we know what the fuck we're doing. As a DM, I find it to be incredibly fun to do. Unlike the original go around where I found modules and maps, I've forwent that and made my own campaigns from scratch. There's something unexplainable about setting up situations, and watching how they do things. They've done things I would have never expected that I had to deal with on the fly. A great example...In the first campaign I set up, they were confronting the crooked mayor who had been working with pirates to use the town as a smuggling operation. When the mayor clammed up, the rogue named Khanryuu suddenly ran up, pulled out his dagger and held it against the Mayor's throat while threatening to kill him if he didn't talk. I naturally had the mayor give his information at this point, and they locked him up...He later broke free and led an attack on the town (With the Pirates Jack De'Locke and Martha De'Locke...), but the party subdued him and presumedly killed him. What the PC's didn't know, was he wasn't dead but just injured. He was locked up and sent to another town from there. I then brought back the Mayor for the next campaign...He led a revolt in the Prison of Barrigal. Before the PC's handled that, they had blundered into the lair of a dragon. The dragon gave them the choice to either all die, sacrifice a person in the party, or bring an "innocent" to be eaten, because the Dragon was an evil, evil being and liked watching them squirm. What the party did, was they went to the Prison, took out the revolting prisoners, and then proceeded to knock the former mayor out, and then threw *HIM* to the dragon, insuring that there was no possible way I could ever bring him back. They found glee in that. Our set up is interesting too...We all live in different states (well, two live in California since their brothers), and so we set up our games using Skype, and Maptools. We create basically an interactive online place for us to play D&D on...or even shit like Zombies!!! We're figuring out stuff as we go, but we have fun. I'm interested to know if anyone on here would be interested in joining us? We generally play Thursday-Saturday depending on our schedules. You'd need at the very least Maptools 1.3 B41, and I'd have to get one of our other players to keep you informed through text, but it would be manageable (I cannot see chats...or much...on Maptools due to my WALL OF TEXTS). Otherwise we could try to get over the shyness from Skype and do that. Our games are informal, varying from third person speak to breaking the character walls down. I'd like to find someone on our level of experience, but experienced is fine. If you've got no 4th edition experience, that'd be fine too...J00 just would have to be willing to learn. That helps. Alot. Right now I'm handling three NPCs, monsters and everything else. It...gets taxing, depending on the situation in game...but if I just make it so it's just the PC's while it would speed up the game I feel it would lose some of the flavor. If anyone has any D&D stories, I'd love to hear them too. I'm new to the DMing thing, but we've already got some pretty cool stories. Plus, stories = new ideas for future events. I got no problem idea jacking people. Victimless crime I says.

This may be the weakest UFN in history. The only one I can remember that may have been worse was Stout/Fisher which I believe did the worst rating for a live special in UFC history. This will probably be how UFN's go from now on with so many PPV's. There is no buzz whatsoever for this show. I haven't even seen Spike advertising it. I keep forgetting it's going to be on. It's like I check to see if there's a UFC show...there is...and then I PROMPTLY forget it because nothing really catches my eye, or is important for title contendership. I have hopes for Danzig/Guida, but beyond that I can't say I'm interested in anything on this card.

The movie is interesting also because there's no sign of kayfabe from what I've read. Rourke blades himself, discusses finishes, etc, etc. There's not even a hint of "It may be real!" which I think is a new step for wrestling based movies that aren't documentaries. So I doubt WWE will be working at advertising this. That and the whole "The life of a wrestler really fucking sucks" message.

It's sad to hear, but when you go off on your own like that into the world it can happen. I'm sure he knew the risks, but still wanted to do it. Gotta do what you want to do sometimes. I think this is the first time UFC's had this happen, isn't it? Tanner just fought what...three/four months ago for them? I wonder if they'll do a "in memory" blurb, or put together a video or something, or an in-octagon tribute of some kind. He was a former Middleweight champion. He has a place in their history.

I don't see how Kubo is at fault at all with the anime. It's not his job to manage that. It's his job to provide something that can be adapted. Whatever they do with the anime from there is not his responsibility. The anime could have went for several more weeks before it stopped. In fact, the manga had a perfect built in stopping point that had been already done up by Kubo. I know because I went and read the manga AFTER they hit the filler break off point on the anime. The anime people just upped and decided for no real reason to suddenly go to fillers. They've taken multiple week breaks with the fillers. Why they couldn't have either done a reduced Bleach schedule, or taken a break isn't Kubo's fault. It's the anime people and the station for being greedy. This is the same exact thinking that killed Kenshin off. I would not be surprised to see it happen to Bleach given how absolutely boring Bleach's are. If there's one saving grace. Is Kenshin's post-Kyoto arc ranged from mundane to down right INSULTING. While Bleach's are just...there.