Bubba Uncensored

In mixed martial arts, you always hear analysts speak about fi ghters being well rounded. Taking a close look, there are just a few top-level fi ghters that really fi t the well rounded bill. Obviously, number one is Anderson Silva. Without a doubt, he is the best Muay Thai striker in mixed martial arts. Additionally, he is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and his wrestling has greatly improved. The second fi ghter is Georges St. Pierre. He can strike, his Jiu-Jitsu is phenomenal, and he beat Matt Hughes at ground and pound. Then you have BJ Penn. A motivated BJ Penn is one of the fi ercest opponents any fi ghter could face. Fedor obviously belongs in this group as well; he can do it all. However, Fedor hasn’t had a highlevel opponent in some time.

Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Matt Hughes are three fi ghters that make you play their game in the cage. Chuck, with his outstanding takedown defense and his powerful punches, usually forces a Jiu- Jitsu or wrestling guy into trying to stand. With Chuck, that usually ends up bad for his opponent. Randy Couture is a master at getting any opponent to follow his game plan. We saw it in his last two fi ghts, with Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga. It makes you wonder what Randy’s strategy would be with Fedor. Finally, we all know Matt Hughes’ striking is not very good. Instead, Matt is a master at controlling his opponent through his strength, athleticism, wrestling, and submissions.

Competition is great for any business. The same will prove true in televised mixed martial arts. CBS just announced that they will be airing Elite XC on Saturday nights. This is fantastic news for fans of the sport – airing fi ghts on broadcast television will grow the fan base, and mixed martial arts will become an even bigger deal in the sports world. On the heels of that announcement, NBC released the news that they will be airing Strikeforce late on Saturday nights. While some people speculate that this will hurt the UFC, in reality it can only help the UFC, by expanding the fan base and continually putting MMA in the public eye.

We recently had Randy Couture in the studio, and he talked about fi ghters putting together an association to protect them as employees of organizations. A union would help fi ghters bargain collectively, work for a more competitive pay scale, and assist in getting fi ghters health insurance so they are protected in case of injury during training or competition. Fighters lay their bodies and hearts on the line every time they fi ght. Some protection for these guys is only fair. And who better than Randy to be president of this type of association?

Dana White and Zuffa deserve to be commended for their efforts to get MMA sanctioned in the state of New York. They‘ve hired a political consulting fi rm, Global Strategies, to help with this task. There is no reason mixed martial arts should not be sanctioned in every state. These fi ghters are grown men who know exactly what they’re getting themselves into when they enter the cage. The various state athletic commissions are more than enough government in MMA. Mixed martial arts is a legitimate sport that deserves respect, not to be treated as something unlawful.

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