As I watched Stephen Bonnar walk to the Octagon for his title fight against Anderson Silva, he looked familiar. He looked like a string of fighters I had watched as they walked to the boxing ring to face Mike Tyson in his prime. Determined, but pretty sure that he is not only going to be beaten but get a beating as well.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Stephen Bonnar isn't a warrior or that he isn't a good fighter, but he really didn't belong in the cage with Silva last night. Even the commercials leading up to the fight seed to acknowledge that fact. "Either one of two things is going to happen," they said, "a knockout or an incredible upset." When the league promoters themselves give you no chance, that can hardly inspire confidence in the underdog.
So the question is, then, why did Bonnar get the title fight? Sure, one could say that as a measure of respect for all he's done in the sport, offering him a shot at the title, even if it is a longshot, is the right thing to do. You could say it, but the truth of the matter is that the UFC simply lacks depth. There aren't enough top tier UFC fighters to fight on the headline of almost weekly pay-per-view specials.
Instead we see recycled fights in which any two fighters who put on a good fight get almost immediately rematched at least two more times or a handful of top level fighters get shuffled into the deck. Once all the possible permutations are used up, you're left with guys fighting for the title, knowing as they walk to the Octagon that the other guy is a much better fighter and they are almost certainly going to have their brains rattled.
The UFC needs to attract and keep more talent if it wants to attract and keep more fans. If I want to see the same two guys try to recreate an exciting fight, or if I want to watch a fight where the outcome is a foregone conclusion before it starts, I can watch UFC Reloaded on Fuel TV instead of paying more than fifty bucks for another pay-per-view.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Stephen Bonnar isn't a warrior or that he isn't a good fighter, but he really didn't belong in the cage with Silva last night. Even the commercials leading up to the fight seed to acknowledge that fact. "Either one of two things is going to happen," they said, "a knockout or an incredible upset." When the league promoters themselves give you no chance, that can hardly inspire confidence in the underdog.
So the question is, then, why did Bonnar get the title fight? Sure, one could say that as a measure of respect for all he's done in the sport, offering him a shot at the title, even if it is a longshot, is the right thing to do. You could say it, but the truth of the matter is that the UFC simply lacks depth. There aren't enough top tier UFC fighters to fight on the headline of almost weekly pay-per-view specials.
Instead we see recycled fights in which any two fighters who put on a good fight get almost immediately rematched at least two more times or a handful of top level fighters get shuffled into the deck. Once all the possible permutations are used up, you're left with guys fighting for the title, knowing as they walk to the Octagon that the other guy is a much better fighter and they are almost certainly going to have their brains rattled.
The UFC needs to attract and keep more talent if it wants to attract and keep more fans. If I want to see the same two guys try to recreate an exciting fight, or if I want to watch a fight where the outcome is a foregone conclusion before it starts, I can watch UFC Reloaded on Fuel TV instead of paying more than fifty bucks for another pay-per-view.
