Top-100/Weekend in Combat Sports Update

Ho ho ho, bitches! Since there won't be any YWICS this weekend (more on that in a minute), I figured I'd keep anybody who cares abreast on what to look for in the coming weeks/months.

Firstly, there won't be any YWICS this weekend, because of course it's Christmas weekend, but mostly because there's dick on TV this weekend. For fellow denizens of a broken home, you all know as well as I do, Television, sports, and televised sports can be an oasis from the dysfunction that is a family holiday. However, the TV Gods gave me goddamned nothing to work with this weekend. So we're on our own, folks. Bear down. YWICS should return the following week, however.

Secondly, a few of you have asked on TEH TWITTERZ about Top-100. Not only is it not dead, I've thrown myself into it headfirst the past couple weeks. I've graded every broadcasted/streamed/available MMA event through mid-April in the past week. I figure the grading part should be done before the new year, and the writing portion should be done by Mid-January. So come less than a month from now, you should have a hot copy of The Top-100 Best MMA Fights of 2011 on your computer screen. The fights themselves won't have as detailed of a write-up as when I first foretold, but I hope the thoroughness of me grading every single fight that was this year makes up for it.

In case you're wondering what the criteria was, and thanks to a few of you, I developed a system. Not in the Harold Howard-way of developing a system, but this is what I've been using to grade fights (if you give a shit, if not, I don't blame you, skip ahead).

I'm breaking down every fight round by round. In each round the fight gets a scale of 0-5 on:

Striking: Punches, kicks, knees, elbows. Effectiveness of strikes, frequency, and from different positions. They don't necessarily need to be varied, but it helps. (Example of a 5: Diaz vs. Cyborg Round 1)

Grappling: Effectiveness of grappling. Not just in takedowns, but in escapes, transitions, sprawl, defense, and grappling in the clinch. (Example of a 5: Lentz vs. Oliveira, Volkmann vs. Castillo, Healy vs. Beerbohm in different rounds)

Activity: WORK, GENTLEMAN, WORK! Chip Snider's favorite category. How busy are the fighters. I don't mean stand-and-bang, I mean are they working to improve position or generate strikes on the ground or in the clinch, are they counter-striking and not just running. Is pressure constantly being applied, or are fighters gassing? (Example of a 5: McDonald-Figueroa Rd1, Sanchez-Kampmann Rd3, Leben-Munoz)

Excitement: The reason we watch, at its core. Was it an exciting round? Did it leave us on our feet wanting more? Were we happy to be MMA fans after that round? Was the crowd in a frenzy? (Example of a 5: Diaz vs. Daley Rd1, Shogun vs. Henderson...any round, Edgar vs. Maynard UFC 125 Rd1)

So, I tally those up after every round. Average the rounds out at the end of the fight, add a bonus for however many rounds were fought (you have to give credit to a fight that can maintain excellence over many rounds over one or two), then add my last ingredient.

Fighting Spirit: Graded from 0-5, this is lifted from Japanese sporting culture. It is the heart of what sport has always meant in the Far East. Not wins and losses, not flashy finishes, but did you give it your all. It's the highest honor you can get in Japan. Did you leave your heart and soul in the ring and respected your opponent, yourself, and your fans. The fives in fighting spirit are the ones that really stick out.

After that, each fight gets a score. Any fight with a score under 15 isn't qualifying. I can eyeball a fight and see if it's going to qualify after watching it, so I'm not "Beautiful Mind"ing every fight's score. I haven't gone insane yet.

So anyway, enough rambling! As always, if you want to give me a break from my self-destructive obsessive madness of this grave-digging project, hit me up @BVandDietPepsi. Thanks for reading and hope you guys like what you see. Merry Christmas!