Bubba Uncensored

Some critics are saying that heavyweight MMA juggernaut Fedor Emelianenko has not fought a legitimate opponent in some time. Many are saying this reduces his standing as the best fi ghter in the world, taking the cache off a possible match-up with Randy “The Natural” Couture. Is it possible that none of the legit heavyweights available are willing to take a fi ght with Fedor? Fedor stated on New Year’s Eve, after his fi rst round submission of Hong Man Choi, that he fi ghts who M-1 Global tells him to, and it doesn’t matter who it is. Couture no doubt will take this fi ght as soon as he is available. No matter what any critic says, Fedor is the best fi ghter in the world.

Speaking of Randy Couture, the saga with Zuffa continues. Zuffa has fi led a lawsuit against Couture for his public statements about the company and his involvement with the International Fight League. UFC is seeking an injunction to prevent Xtreme Couture from being one of the four teams to competing in the IFL’s February 29 debut. UFC President Dana White stated, “Captain America is not keeping his word.” Sometimes you sign a contract that isn’t completely favorable to you, but you must man up and work through the deal you signed. Our show knows this fi rst hand; we also know how bad lawsuits are for any business. It would be nice to see Dana White and Randy Couture come to some common ground for the good of the business. It would be equally great to see a Fedor/ Randy match any way it can happen.

Honesty and credibility are really important in the world of mixed martial arts. These fi ghters train hard, put their bodies on the line, and expect the promoters to live up to their contracts. Saturday, January 12 showed how hard this business can be for fi ghters, even big names like Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Mark Kerr, David Loiseu, and others. In a nutshell, the event slated for the San Diego Sports Arena was cancelled by the California State Athletic Commission’s Armando Garcia, because the promoter, Rick Bassman of Valor Fighting, didn’t have the money to pay the fi ghters. He blamed who was said to be the real promoter, Bruce Bellochi, for not coming up with the funds. Fighting should not be a “get rich” scheme for some promoter. It is serious business and these fi ghters’ hard work and dedication deserves more respect than that. No matter what you may think of Dana White, on the contractual end, he does the right thing by his fi ghters.

We will be glad to see Nick Diaz compete again after surgery on his eye and getting some well-deserved rest. Diaz has by all accounts some of the best cardio in the business. He has also been a fi ghter that questions being drug tested for marijuana. It does not give you any kind of competitive advantage, so why test for it? The moral police are seeping more and more into our lives. Now they are bringing this nonsense into MMA. These fi ghters all cope with the pain of rigorous training different ways. The decision on how to handle the pain should be left up to them, not athletic commission nannies. Prescription pills are far more harmful to the body than marijuana. If the drug isn’t a performance enhancer, then it shouldn’t matter. Fighters are grown-ups that can make these decisions for themselves; taking that away from them treats them like children.

Presently the UFC doesn’t have any female fi ghters. We had Julie Kedzie on our show, and there are some other really talented female MMA fi ghters out there. It would be great to see the UFC have some sanctioned female fi ghts. It may add some excitement to some of their more lackluster cards. With any event, a good female fi ght makes it that much better..

“