SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
October - 2016
27
ers and head butts; as some
things change, the more some
things stay the same.
Unlike any other major pro
sports league, the UFC em-
braces controversy, rolls with
its mistakes, and it’s always tak-
ing risks–all business practices
taken right out of the Vince
McMahon Book of Promo-
tion. The UFC is an NFL moth-
erboard with WWE software,
and it’s working- just ask Dana
White. Their business acumen
and promotional genius has
many people looking at the
UFC as the premier fight or-
ganization. Fighters can make
millions with their fists. Some-
thing that Kevin Randleman
and Mark Coleman probably
would have never dreamed
of. This is America’s stron-
gest
niche-guilty-pleasure.
Conor Mcgregor is a house-
hold name and Anthony Pettis
was on the Wheaties box. Two
generations into the pro MMA
experiment, it’s development
may be going back to basics.
Saturday’s UFC 203 felt like a
throwback fight card to Pride
1 or one the first UFC events,
like a 1990s “Let’s just see
what happens here” show.
Signing CM Punk (0-0), a
fightless celebrity amateur,
to face an unproven up-and-
comer Micky Gall (2-0) feels
like like a disingenuous cash
grab and publicity stunt. Many
people have grown accus-
tomed to seasoned fighters
who have trained in combat
sports in some capacity for
years. World champion kick
boxers, ex-boxers and former
intercollegiate wrestlers have
filled the rosters since the be-
ginning of the sport. However,
the UFC, Pride, and Shooto
promotions didn’t always have
a roster full of trained killers.
Some of them were, for lack
of a better word, sideshows.
These sideshows helped grow
the sport with their notoriety
and drawing power. We owe
them their thanks and adula-
tion as what we have now is
also because of them. All eyes
on a entry-level fighter like CM
Punk also puts eyes on others
fighters on the card. Growing
the sport and adding intrigue
regardless of the result.
UFC 203 reminded me of
Pride 1, which was filled with
many bizarre occurrences.
Heavyweight contender Travis
Brown was awarded a time-
out, an unusual occurrence
in the sport, in the first round
of his fight with Fabricio Wer-
dum. The referee’s mistake
was overlooked and the fight
continued with Brown’s index
finger protruding out of his
skin. Then there was Alistair
Overeem’s entrance music,
the original theme music for
Pride FC. Fight fans like myself
immediately recognized the
song and The Feels ensued. In
retrospect, The Reem paying
tribute to the promotion that
gave many their start was on
the nose, especially when re-
ferring back to the Gall v Punk
match.
Pride FC is a buzz word that
fight fans use when they’re not
