Quote of the Day: The British Arrive at UFC 105
by Luke Thomas on Nov 16, 2009 8:59 PM EST
in MMA News
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"If there was an overriding theme for UFC 105 Saturday night, it was the coming-out party for British mixed martial arts.
In a country that hasn't embraced major American sports like football, basketball or baseball, MMA, in two and a half years has become one of the country's most popular sports, with a fan base that matched crowds in the UFC's hometown of Las Vegas in their appreciation for the technical points of the sport, and a roster of fighters that continually improves.
The country's two most popular MMA fighters, Michael Bisping (pictured) from Manchester and Dan Hardy from Liverpool, had the most impressive performances of their respective careers at the Manchester Evening News Arena, as British fighters had wins in six of eight matches against opponents from other countries.
...
With the exception of football, the national sport, boxing, and native sports like rugby and cricket, MMA is as visible any sport as in the country. And in comparison, the night before UFC 105, in Manchester, Ricky Hatton promoted a boxing show headlined by his brother, which was nationally televised and heavily promoted, and drew less than 1,000 fans, while the UFC event drew a sell-out of 16,693 fans. White said he believed that set an all-time record for the Manchester Evening News Arena."
-- Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! News.
I never bought the forced T.U.F. declaration the British were invading. However, I will confess to being impressed - legitimately impressed - for the first time by the development of the larger professional MMA scene in the UK at UFC 105. Still many hurdles to climb, but the progress is now truly undeniable.
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The British are coming!
Keep firing Assholes!
The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.
ewww
I hope there’s no sushi around
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Don't worry, we've got George Washington
He’s 6-foot-20, weighs a fucking ton
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 11:25 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
doh..
looks like the UK is going to surpass Canada soon :(
damn you jason mcdonald! you’ve failed us all.
war gsp for life.
Patric Cote has had something that Michael Bisping will never have…
a title shot.
Keep firing Assholes!
The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.
yeah, look what THAT did for his career.
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
Once MMA is legalized in Ontario it’ll show how many fans there are in the country. It’s much more than most people realize.
by timetosaygoodbye on Nov 17, 2009 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
Im not sure why Bisping is getting so much credit. The only thing his fight really proved to me was that Kang is a complete headcase who just looks awful once he starts falling apart.
I was way more impressed with the Rough House guys ecspecially Ross Pearson. His ability to move in and out of the clinch and land accurate and powerful strikes the whole time was incredible. Reminded me of vintage Couture that i was watching on the UFC Unleasheds before the event started.
by Rabbit915 on Nov 16, 2009 9:20 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Yeah, everybody is going nuts over Rough House going 4-0. Who’d they beat? Swick, fine, that’s a good win. Then you got Riley, Riddle, and Delgaldo.
Fine, they won. But while Hardy was able to defend takedowns, Bisping’s ugly-ass single that somehow got “black belt” Kang to the ground serves to underscore the real takeaway from this card:
None of them can wrestle. Still.
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Nov 16, 2009 10:37 PM EST up reply actions
The Americans were jet lagged.
Just kidding. This article sums up my impression as well.
And let’s not forget the Swede and the German who also looked great.
the UFC has arrived not MMA
should be the headline. the local UK MMA scene is in shambles since the fall many of their top local shows going under over the past 2 and 1/2 years
Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/ultmma
So we don't have Cage Rage anymore...
…but what about Strike & Submit? Or Ultimate Challenge UK which is now regularly being shown on Sky Sports, or Bushido Challenge which is bringing over some of Europe’s genuine top contenders to fight in the UK? Then many other smaller local events. We might not have a company that will bring in any big names at the moment, but no question there has been more shows and UK fighters than ever before.
In a country that hasn’t embraced major American sports like football, basketball or baseball
Rugby > American football and baseball is just freakin boring.
Kuwabara Kuwabara
by J. B. Maddox on Nov 16, 2009 9:41 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
American football Handegg
Keep firing Assholes!
The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.
by Ubernoober on Nov 16, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Sorry
You said baseball is boring, and I agree with you, but you know that they play cricket in GB right?
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
by mythbuster on Nov 16, 2009 9:55 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Yep and that's even stupidER
not really standing up for the brits, more like taking a jab at the yanks :P
Kuwabara Kuwabara
by J. B. Maddox on Nov 17, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions
Rugby is the ugly retard love child of American Football and Football.
by Chris Barton on Nov 17, 2009 1:02 PM EST up reply actions
MMA, in two and a half years has become one of the country’s most popular sports
I would be curious to see if the general British population would agree. It is rare to see anyone correctly create a summation of a culture they aren’t familiar with.
The same quote could be applied to the US, with there also being a select half dozen mainstream sports, and it be said that MMA is popular here, but White can be quoted repeatedly saying the UFC (or MMA) is not mainstream.
The distance between tier 1 and tier 2 sports is incredible. And despite MMA arguably leading tier 2 it’s still the first place of the losers bracket. So while “one of the most popular” may be technically correct, the context is lost when being the seventh most popular is dozens of points below the sixth.
Also worth noting is that the gate attendance only increased 1500 since the UFC’s first venture into England two and a half years ago. So using that as a barometer for success is pitiful. And this is besides the ridiculous parallel of UFC = MMA in the first place.
Lastly, the comparison of this event to an event headlined by a family member of Ricky Hatton in a city 1/10th the size is also frustratingly senile.
brocklesnar 4evah
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
?????
huh?
I am the bastard love child of Junie Browning and Diamond Dave Kaplan.
With the exception of football, the national sport, boxing, and native sports like rugby, stealing hats, and cricket, MMA is as visible any sport as in the country.
Hmmmm.
it wassss actually pretty refreshing to hear a crowd cheer so loudly when a fighter moved from being mounted to grabbing half guard. Im pretty sure during the Siver fight, they were actually doing the Muay Thai thang, yelling Knee Knee when a clinch went down. Sweet.
I haaaate when crowds Boo, and looooove when they cheer during transitions (as well as during violent combinations).
Agree fully
I hate when a guy on the bottom regains full guard when he was in side control, there is alot of skill that goes into trying to get that position back from another experenced grappler.
ole ole ole ole, ole, ole.
(repeat x 1 million)
Keep firing Assholes!
The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.
I loved hearing that at UFC 99 in Germany. It’s the universal mating call for drunken sports fans.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Nov 17, 2009 1:03 AM EST up reply actions
hmmm
no one sang this at 105, when i went to UFC in London the crowd sang it so long and loud joe rogan had to make a comment on it. That and mexican waves
KNEE, KNEE, KNEE
i was at the event and every time someone got into a clinch thats all your could hear it was crazy!
Does anyone have any news on how Paul Kelly is doing?
I haven’t heard anything.
I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.
<blockquoteWith the exception of football, the national sport, boxing, and native sports like rugby and cricket, MMA is as visible any sport as in the country.>
So with the exception of all sports relevant to the British public then? I would add F1 to that list too, given the past 2 years successes..
I suppose the real barometer for success would be if and when MMA/UFC is recognised as a sport by the BBC, which alas it s not. :( Hopefully Hardy getting a titleshot will pique their interest,
Theres definitely progress, but there is a ton of work to do. The ESPN deal is a good one,but being on Sky Sports would have been better, it would give them more legitimacy here (ironic given that an ESPN deal would give them more legitimacy in the US) and the Sky hype machine is unparalleled. I would be wary of taking a snapshot of MMA here (i.e. a single event) and think it is indicative of the situation as a whole.
The comparison to the boxing event is a bit of a pointless one.
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