For Tim (cuz I didn't feel like posting it on your wall =P)
The UFC is entering a new era. As they develop and become more and more mainstream, there is an inevitable parity that starts entering the league. When the top fighter really becomes the top fighter, there's not much that can be done to make their fights not suck when matched with clearly worse opponents. It's also part of the nature of the sport. Rarely are there true upsets in MMA. Unless the better fighter gets clipped with a wild punch, poked in the eye, broke a bone, or something improbable, the better fighter usually wins. When the level between the fighters is as great as it was two nights ago with Silva vs. Maia, the fight is going to suck...there's no way around it.
GSP got criticized a lot for his last fight against Dan Hardy. Dan Hardy couldn't stop GSP, and GSP just imposed his will on Hardy, but GSP was still vilified. It's ridiculous. GSP and Anderson Silva are just too much better than their opponents. I think Silva felt disrespected when they put someone nowhere near his caliber into a fight with him. Silva and GSP are levels above their opponents and while the ufc likes to sell itself with exciting fights, overmatched opponents don't make for good fights.
Imagine yourself being put in a math contest, and the best that the opponent team could come up with was a 3rd grader. Wouldn't you feel disrespected? There is no risk of you losing at all. I might even get a few questions wrong on purpose just to keep it interesting. This is what Anderson Silva must feel like. It is this disrespect from the UFC that probably frustrates Anderson so much. He knows who he wants to fight, but the UFC insists on putting incapable fighters up against him.
The UFC needs to think hard about its future. Knockouts in the first round usually come when two crappy fighters fight each other. Fight of the night rarely goes to the main event...it goes to two evenly matched fighters. When one fighter dominates another, it often goes the distance (weird huh?). Think about the last few title fight's we've seen. Even Penn-Sanchez almost went the distance, if it wasn't for a nasty, nasty cut that ended it.
As the UFC increases in popularity and has more and more fighters, the parity in the league is also going to increase. The truly great fighters will emerge as great and mediocre fighters will be mediocre fighters. Think of the NFL and the NBA. Are Patriots-Raiders games ever going to be interesting? Are Lions-Packers games? Are Lakers-Clippers games? This doesn't even do the parity of the UFC justice. This parity is part of "getting big" as your great fighters really are great and really that much better than all other fighters. If people wan't to stop seeing crappy fights, the UFC needs to stop putting overmatched opponents against the likes of GSP and Anderson Silva.
Silva acted out of line. there's no denying it. But the Dana White's gotta take responsibility for setting up a fight he knew was going to suck....like GSP-hardy. I knew the fight was gonna suck once i heard about it. GSP is just too good. Same with this Silva-Maia fight. Anderson Silva is a jiu-jitsu black belt, and I doubt he ever felt threatened by Maia's JJ, much less by his striking.
Silva acted out of line. there's no denying it. But the Dana White's gotta take responsibility for setting up a fight he knew was going to suck....like GSP-hardy. I knew the fight was gonna suck once i heard about it. GSP is just too good. Same with this Silva-Maia fight. Anderson Silva is a jiu-jitsu black belt, and I doubt he ever felt threatened by Maia's JJ, much less by his striking.
The UFC needs to take responsibility for bad fights instead of always blaming the fighter. They are a business, and top names like GSP and Anderson Silva make the big bucks, but you can't seriously expect a great fight when you put them against mediocre opponents.
Some good articles on the topic:
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