“A look at what’s happening this week (and last) in MMA.”

Since a trifecta works well for Christians and horse tracks, who am I to disagree?

**

“We’ve got a ways to go, but at least we’re moving in the right direction.”

“The control that White exercises over the UFC underscores the sport's central mission: to claim an air of legitimacy. That, however _ whether it's because of promoters who acknowledge staging mismatches to guarantee a bloodbath or crowds who regularly boo black and Asian fighters _ is no simple task.” – Scott Gold, staff reporter for the Los Angeles Times, from his January 14, 2007 article.

I guess the fans at this past Saturday’s UFC PPV all read that article and decided to change their tune. “Guys, cut out the racism and xenophobia. We’re rooting for the minorities tonight.”

However, maybe there’s an alternative explanation. First up was Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – a black man. He was over. Really over. The cheers he got equaled those received by all but perhaps Chuck Liddell, the UFC’s biggest star. He was a clear fan favorite and was pushed as a main-event attraction prior to the PPV. BUT, he was fighting Marvin Eastman, who is also black, and American, so I guess the crowd HAD to cheer for one of the black guys.

Then there was Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic. The Croatian, who had never fought in the United States before, still came out to a thunderous applause – maybe bigger than the one Jackson got. Doing his best imitation of a lion spotting a sick gazelle, CroCop literally stalked Eddie Sanchez around the cage en route to finishing the American in the first round. This is a little trickier. The crowd went out of their way to root for a non-American against an American, but Sanchez doesn’t “sound American or white” so I guess those racist fans figured they should support the only white guy in the fight.

It all comes tumbling down in that main-event though. Anderson Silva, the non-American (Brazilian in fact) black man, who publicly speaks no English, was the overwhelming fan favorite in his contest. His opponent, white-American Travis Lutter, grew up in South Dakota and now lives in Texas. South Dakota and Texas. I heard he won an award for being the whitest man alive. I guess by the time the main-event started, all the racist UFC fans had grown tired and left the building. Right?

Of course, a little over a week earlier, the UFC did a great job of hiding all those bigot fans. Spencer Fisher, a man having split time between North Carolina and Iowa (one of the white capitals of the United States, along with South Dakota), fought Hermes “I’m originally from Brazil” Franca. After Franca, the non-American with darker skin whose English isn’t all that hot, shockingly knocked out Fisher in the 2nd round, he got the crowd behind him in a major way in begging for a title shot (Using the same tactic French-Canadian Georges St. Pierre used. FRENCH!). Still, Florida has a large Hispanic population. Maybe the Hispanics are in on the racism thingy? That’s an odd combination, but weirder things have happened. Perhaps, if you’re an MMA fan and Hispanic, you don’t count.

Again, it all comes tumbling down in the main-event. Rashad Evans, who is black, knocked out Sean Salmon in the 2nd round with what might be the greatest high kick in UFC history. Salmon, being a smart man and knowing the UFC was full of racist fans, was so pale he was in danger of becoming transparent. I guess he must’ve been really confused when Evans left the event as a major star, so much so that people are talking him up as a legitimate title contender. (This could all be a ruse though, with the racist fans tricking the UFC into booking the black Evans against the white Liddell so they can all watch as a black man gets beaten by whitey. Hey, racist UFC fans are a clever bunch.) Maybe Salmon should’ve worn a big white hood.

Look at the headliners from the UFC PPV’s last year. David Loiseau, a black French-Canadian (what a combination), headlined against Rich Franklin. Royce Gracie, one of those pesky Brazilians, was on the marquee with Matt Hughes. Tito Ortiz, proudly carrying a flag displaying his Mexican heritage to the cage, was on top for both of the UFC’s biggest PPV’s. Anderson Silva, previously noted as being black and Brazilian, went head to head with Rich Franklin back in October. And Georges St. Pierre facing Hughes was the big one in November. Oh, and Diego Sanchez is maybe the UFC’s fastest rising star.

What’s that you say? “Mike, Jackson is charismatic. CroCop was pushed as a major star. Lutter failed to make weight. Silva has great knockouts. And Evans had the greatest knockout. Of course they were over.”

Exactly. The UFC fans aren’t cheering or booing guys simply on their skin color. They’re judging them by what they do, “The content of their character.”

**

“It’s MMA, a day before my birthday, but do I really count it as a gift?”

Elite Extreme Combat have their debut show this Saturday and I’m not sure what to think. “What’s in a name?” Normally, not much, given that roses really do smell nice no matter what you call them. But, “Elite Extreme Combat?” It just sounds so … lame. I know there should be a better word, but it’s just goofy, like a bad indy pro wrestling group.

It IS MMA on TV, but it seems like those in power are criminally clueless. Reports from a while back that Frank Shamrock wasn’t sure if he was fighting in a cage or a ring is laughably unprofessional. How can the man headlining your show not be aware of these things?

Speaking of Frank Shamrock. I know that to a select group of hardcore fans he’s a living legend, but does he really mean anything to your new UFC fan? No one seems to understand that, sad as this may be, you’re not a star unless the UFC makes you a star. Wanderlei Silva may get a roaring show of love when he shows up for PRIDE’s next show, but there’s a darn good chance that a sizeable portion of those aware of him will actually be in live attendance. PRIDE PPV buys that fail to crack 100K are pretty and the one big show with Shamrock-Gracie aside, no one but the UFC has done anything to dispel the notion that this isn’t an MMA boom, it’s a UFC boom.

Even if EXC had a group of really smart MMA people, who understood that this is more pro wrestling than sport, running things, you’d still have a hard time making Frank relevant. Would he work in the UFC? Sure. Will he work with EXC? To a modest degree at best. Showtime is not HBO, no matter what people may want to think. If HBO puts something on TV, people talk about it. Showtime? I hear that “The L Word” is good, but then again, I’m not sure I know anyone who actually watches it. Shamrock needs to be on non-pay TV, with his face all over the place 24-7, like Spike does with UFC stars. Until that happens, maybe a small niche of people will watch.

And Renzo Gracie is the opponent? Shamrock was able to work magic, on a very, very local level, with Caesar Gracie, who isn’t near the name of Renzo, but when you’re going national a different set of rules apply. Renzo gained some fame from 60 Minutes, but I don’t foresee it as enough to make people plan their evenings around his fighting. And yes, it’s the “Gracie v. Shamrock” feud, but it’s not Royce, and it’s not Ken, so it’s NOT the same. It’d be like hearing that Bush and Clinton were going to debate, and then finding out it was Jeb Bush and Roger Clinton.

This isn’t to say that EXC can’t succeed. Showtime isn’t huge, but it does have money. The group can keep going so long as Showtime is happy with the ratings and finished product. My faith though, is tested when hearing that a lot of boxing people are behind this, and that MMA folks are being kept away. Because, ya know, boxing has been doing so well the past few years – especially Showtime boxing. When it’s all said and done, I hope EXC does well just so I can have more MMA on my television.

**

“Close your eyes and throw a stone, you’ll hit something.”

It’s getting to be that you have to go out of your way to find a station not carrying MMA. Very soon we’re going to have UFC on Spike (and probably HBO), WEC on Versus, EXC on Showtime, IFL on FSN and MyNetworkTV, and BodogFIGHT on Ion (the former PAX). But this Saturday at 11 PM est., the world is gonna have one more taste of MMA on MSNBC as the Warrior Nation series wraps up with a piece on December 30th’s Ortiz-Liddell fight. I’m sure it’s a huge coincidence that this piece got pushed back to “accidentally” go head to head with EXC. Honestly, I’ve got no clue if the people who put it together are doing this deliberately, but it’s funny how these things just “happen.” Should be a good little show though, as it’s been fun watching the Warrior Nation series.

Make sure to listen to Mike Coughlin every week as he hosts Five Star Radio, found exclusively at f4wonline.com

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