UFC buys Pride – The good and the bad

Officially announced yesterday, The Ultimate Fighting Championship (Zuffa to be exact) has purchased the Pride Fighting Championship (DSE to be exact). The news is huge to the mixed martial arts community and will ultimately be the impetus that will officially make the UFC a household name. I know that most of the MMA world is celebrating this major acquisition but there are some drawbacks that come to mind. The good of UFC and Pride coming together is pretty obvious. The match making and the fights that will result should be amazing. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Dan Henderson vs Anderson Silva, Gomi vs. GSP, and possibly Fedor vs. “The Natural” Couture. MMA wet dream right there. These stellar fights will only bring in more and more fans and the UFC will continue to grow. And maybe, just maybe we’ll see a UFC section on ESPN.com. I can’t believe those morons have a boxing category but still do not have a MMA section. For god sake, they have a section devoted to Bassmaster Tournaments (no lie, http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/index). I’ll save this particular rant for another day. On the flip side, there are a few negatives that result from the UFC / Pride deal. MMA fans lose the Pride. The ring will forever be replaced by the cage. I liked having different fighting environments because it altered fight styles. Also, say goodbye to the beloved soccer kick and knees to the head. Some are not a fan of those rules but I for one liked that about Pride. That added element of attacked really upped the intensity of a fight. I also appreciated the fact that the refs in Pride fights tend to let the fight go on a little longer before they step in and end the fight. The UFC is overly cautious (yeah, yeah, they need to protect the fighter..i get that). Allowing a couple of extra strikes to ensure that there is a clear cut need to stop a fight is appropriate. You get stuck with UFC ref Herb Dean who may stop the fight because you call the other fighter a bad name. One of the other important things to consider is that one man, Dana White, will be king of the MMA game. If you are a hungry upcoming fighter, but get on his bad side, you’re fucked when it come to a career in MMA.