Compustrike: Telling a Different story

 I have been a MMA fan and enthusiast since UFC 90, and while there have been many controversies over those 70 events I’ve never heard so many skeptics and Fight fixing allegations as I have in the last year. MMA have been judged the same way since the reorganizing of the sport in 2002. Judging is based a 10 point scoring system; where 10 points are awarded to the winner of each round and the loser is given 9 points or less.  The judges base the scoring off of 4 criteria: effective striking, effective grappling, control, and aggression.  While the judges are responsible for tallying those criteria and deciding a winner; stats for striking and takedowns are provided for fans by a computer system and displayed on their screens.

This is where the problems can occur. While the judges decide a winner based on their educated opinions, the fans are given an exact numbers for strikes and takedowns. If you watched the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight this weekend you may have noticed that the Compustrike revealed a different story. You and I saw Gustafsson get off to an early lead but the Compustrike considered Jones’s leg kicks as significant strikes.  

To fix this problem, the UFC and other MMA promotions should completely remove the opinion element making a computer judge.  Or quit paying Compustrike altogether. Either way, this issue needs to be addressed.

Niche Rankings 9/23/13

Mayweather's Plan to Save Boxing: MMA

Last weekend, during the promotion for the “Canelo” vs. Mayweather fight. ESPN and other sports networks billed the match as, “The One”.  As in the one to save boxing from being washed out by lack of talent, questionable scoring, and Mixed Martial Arts as competition. Making high expectations for live gate and PPV buys, the fight was expected to break the 2.5 million PPV buy record set by Mayweather vs. De La Hoya fight held in 1997.

Despite a one sided victory, a lousy undercard and 1 displaced judge; the fight lived up to that billing. Mayweather courted Alvarez around the ring for 12 rounds in route to the largest purse in boxing history ($40 million). While the PPV numbers have not been released yet, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated says that the live gate set a $20 Million NSAC record. 

Embracing the business as well, Floyd’s Mayweather Promotions manages many of the best up and coming boxers in the world. Including the likes of Ishe Smith and Mickey Bey Jr. This morning, SB Nation reported Mayweather’s intentions to “take it to the next level with MMA.” Not as a fighter but as a promoter. Planning to manage fighters on MMA’s largest stage, the UFC.

While a stable of dedicated boxers to spar with is every MMA fighter’s dream and the sport of MMA is sure to benefit by simply adding the Mayweather branding the market. Regardless of public perception, Mayweather claims his relationship with UFC president Dana White is “cool”.  Al Haymon of Mayweather promotions is said to handle management but the MMA and boxing worlds will surely explode with the words MMA and Mayweather!

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Wrestling borrows from MMA... And then gives back

 In February, the IOC (the governing body for the Olympics) voted for 25 sports to be included in the 2020games. Wrestling was not included.  When the news broke that the sport could possibly lose its bid for the Olympics; thousands of wrestlers, fans, and families took to the Internet, signed petitions and made billboards all in the effort of defending their sport. FILA (the governing body for international wrestling) elected a new president and began looking for new ways to promote the sport. Taking a page from the MMA book; FILA began to look into losing the singlet and adding walk up music in an attempt to market each wrestler as their own brand. This new approach has added a level of marketability and helped wrestling to restore wrestling to its former glory. As, a result wrestling was voted in as the final sport to fill the docket for the 2020-2024 Olympic games.

Inspired by a nations love for the sport, Ernie Ciaccio and Agon Wrestling created the first combat promotion that features real wrestling. Bringing together a combination of Olympians and the best wrestlers from MMA; Agon has assembled a who’s-who of American wrestlers in hopes of lifting the sport to new level of national recognition.

Agon 1-the Revolution, will premiere on October 27, 2013 from   the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and will feature a main event between MMA star Ben Askren and 4x NCAA Champion Kyle Dake.

As wrestling begins pushing it's way into combat sports, wrestlers and fans from around the world are left wondering, what took so long?