Who is the best?
Not fighter but fight league. I have got to admit I have been a UFC guy and UFC only guy for a long time. I pay attention to other leagues only in passing but recently I managed to sit down and watch King of the Ring, UFC, Elite on CBS and WEC. Comparing the 4 on a limited basis.
I would have to say as a production the UFC is only rivaled by WEC. WEC put on a great show. The cameras were set up great. The production value of both are simply superior to both the low budget look of King of the Ring and the inexperienced catastrophe that is Elite on CBS. CBS had overly staged entrances that should be left for the WWE. They had all the right camera shots but a bonehead director that instead of keeping close angles showing the action insisted on occasionally cutting to a wide shot of the ring that showed you nothing. All have reasonably knowledgable commentary and I can't say any have a very annoying broadcaster. That being said the CBS broadcast could be considered a little amateur but only because they are trying to educate the public to the sport so I won't hold that against them (the over build up of Kimbo was very over the top).
The refs in UFC, WEC and King of the Ring were all great. I rarly saw a match that I disagreed drastically witha stoppage or the outcome of a decision. Again Elite was terrible have numerous questionable calls and stoppages including a fighter actually shoving the ref over a stoppage.
Quality of the talent. I have a natural tendancy to want to see best vs the best. The UFC is great in many aspects of this. But you have got to give WEC credit for having the best lighter weights. Torres and Faber are no doubt the best in thier weight class. Also credit must go to the Elite for the best women in MMA. King of the Ring though reasonably entertaining can't hold a candle to the others in this respect.
If I was going to recommend these to a casual fan I would rank them UFC (Best talent, great promotion, top production), WEC (Top Talent, good promotion, great production value). I would have a lot of trouble recommending either Elite or KOR to a casual fan. Both are in my books to flawed. They are fine for those of us that know and understand we are not watching the best talent out there but if your being introduced to the sport watching this is too risky in that it may steer you away from the sport rather then toward it. To use and example it would be like introducing someone to Stock Car racing and showing them Street Stocks at your local 1/4 mile oval driven by full time auto mechanics and tow truck drivers that piece their cars together between heat races. Sure it is entertaining but to really get someone into the sport you take them to Michigan, Bristol or Daytona and let them watch NASCAR.
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Comments
Nice blog! I agree with alot
Nice blog! I agree with alot of what you have to say. I would rank the WEC over the UFC to be honest! For the simple reason that the quality of fights are damn near the same or better IMO and they get in done a lot cheaper. They have two beasts that is just as tough as GSP or Penn IMO P4P in Torres an Faber at 135 and 145 and the rest of their weight clases look pretty good as well. As far as Elite they have some studs, but will they keep them if they keep pushing duds in front of them?
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.
Rogers is the stud.. in the
Rogers is the stud..
in the XC barn.. Kimbo is the big Name who will draw the Internet fans to the TV.. Gina brings the Chicks.. Lawler brings the Brawlers..
XC is good.. they should combine with WEC and Affliction & HDNET.. letting Affliction have clothing rights for fighters.. let WEC keep promotion management.. and CBS/HDNET writing the checks.. HDNET gets all fights [re-airs or live] that are not on the national network [CBS]
its time for MMA to be MMA.
its time to take on the UFC.
MMA MMA MMA 4 ALL !!!
WEC and UFC should join
WEC and UFC should join forces as they have the best in all the mens weight classes and they know how to put on a show. If they could buy the women from the Elite XC and add a womens class to the WEC's lineup that would be a great Package of fights.
Chronic420, There is no
Chronic420, There is no doubt that Rogers is a stud compared to Kimbo but did you forget about guys like Bigfoot and Rico?
EERS_1_Fan
I'm the Capo mess with me and I'll tell you where to go!
2 things: 1) when i watch
2 things:
1) when i watch the WEC, i don't consider it a far different product than the UFC. that said, i never had HDNET so i have no idea what the production was like prior to the zuffa purchase, but it feels almost exactly like the UFC when i watch it (except the venues are a bit smaller). to suggest that a company not run by zuffa join a zuffa brand in an attempt to rival zuffa's primary brand is pretty ridiculous.
the most logical thing would be if the UFC and WEC co-promoted some pay per views from time to time (like UFC 85, when there were no title fights, although the card wasnt necessarily terrible in and of itself) but to merge full time would probably cause a lot of roster hell; with too many bodies to juggle, which would lead to even more roster trimming. but with the amount of fighters the UFC currently has, i think they could still draw up compelling fight cards without the need of WEC fights.
2) rogers is a more talented fighter at this stage than kimbo slice, i won't argue that. but i believe rogers' issue is the money. i think its killing him to see a guy he knows he could likely beat making more than him, but when you talk about any business, its not just about who you can beat. there's marketing and self-promotion involved. its no different than corporate america, there are plenty of morons that get paid more than me, but i'm not going to talk shit about them because i can do their jobs better. rogers ought to be shitty with his agent or gary shaw, and less with kimbo slice.
that said, rogers is still new and i dont think he is the real deal for exc. big foot is likely the most talented heavyweight they have on roster, followed by an out-of-shape ricco rodriguez, who accounted relatively well for himself against bigfoot. exc just doesnt have the bodies at HW, but there arent many bodies to be had in general.
I thought the refs were all
I thought the refs were all pretty much the same? They dont work for the promotions, they work for the commission... thats what Terrbile Dan was at UFC and XC making questionable calls... right? I really would be interested to know more about how refs are chosen, how judges are chosen and who oversees them.
"The refs in UFC, WEC and King of the Ring were all great. I rarly saw a match that I disagreed drastically witha stoppage or the outcome of a decision. Again Elite was terrible have numerous questionable calls and stoppages including a fighter actually shoving the ref over a stoppage."