Combat-Hooligans.com's guide to what's on: September 2007
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Welcome to the first ever Combat-Hooligans.com guide to what’s on. This column is going to break down the major MMA and Wrestling shows this month (sorry boxing fans, but I’m still learning about your sport so I don’t feel qualified to list the bigger boxing events here in comparison to these others) and I’ll prioritize them for you from must watch to must skip. We’ve got 6 major shows this month in the U.S. and two more overseas. I’m not including things such as the IFL Championships, which aren’t being broadcast until well after their conclusion.
So, from best to worst, you’re watch guide for the month.
The UFC is holding 3 cards in the month of September, but this is the one of the three that packs the most interest for me. First, you have Chuck Liddell and how he’ll respond to his loss to Quinton ‘Rampage Jackson back at UFC 71 and he’s taking on Keith Jardine who was upset by Houston Alexander on that same show. It is an intriguing main event to be sure.
You also get the UFC debut of one of, if not the best, 205-pound fighters in the world in Mauricio Rua as he takes on a much-improved Forrest Griffin. You also get a key matchup in the Welterweight division as Diego Sanchez looks to bounce back from his first ever loss against a man looking to climb in to the top 3 of the division in Jon Fitch. Plus, in a lightweight bout, Thiago Tavares takes on Tyson Griffin and Griffin doesn’t have boring fights.
If you can only buy one show this month, make it this one. If you can only watch one show this month under penalty of divorce, make it this one.
I recommend this show over some of the other shows you can see for free because of its familiarity. Chris Leben, Nathan Diaz, Kenny Florian, Din Thomas and Mike Swick…those are all names of guys who are known by the UFC audience because of the Ultimate Fighter. I think the main event between Din Thomas and Kenny Florian could be a very interesting fight excitement wise, but may be important if Sean Sherk is stripped of his Lightweight title. The winner of this would join Joe Stevenson and BJ Penn as guys who could be in the mix to take that belt. Plus, this show leads in to the premier of the Ultimate Fighter 6 and that’s not too shabby.
You probably expected UFC to take the top 3 spots but that’s ok, the punishment for your being wrong is merely death. Anyway, I rank this ahead of UFC 75 for a couple of reasons. The televised portion of this card is going to air live in the United States, which is always a plus, and it features the lighter weight classes. I think the most compelling match on this show is Beebe Vs. Yahya for the Bantamweight Championship. The one drawback for the casual fan is familiarity. Unless you watch the sport a lot you’re probably not going to know about Crunkilton and McCullough before it airs but that can also be advantageous because it makes for some unpredictability. I might’ve ranked this show higher if not for the injury that took Jens Pulver out of his bout with Cub Swanson.
Yes, you get Dan Henderson Vs. Quinton Jackson in what could ultimately be the only unification match between Pride and UFC champions. However, there are several drawbacks to this show that made me drop it to 4th on the list and truthfully I almost put it at #5.
The first drawback is that this is a tape-delayed event. So, not only do you have to go the whole evening without being spoiled but it also allows SpikeTV to insert more commercials than they would in a Fight Night show or other live event.
Plus, outside of the top match there’s not a lot to look forward to seeing. Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Cheick Kongo is a battle of strikers and could be interesting but if neither is eager to engage it could be very boring as well. Michael Bisping Vs. Matt Hamill is interesting to those who remember the Ultimate Fighter 3 and why we didn’t see that matchup sooner but Bisping’s appeal will be for the live audience more than the PPV audience. The other guaranteed televised bout is Houston Alexander Vs. Alessio Sakara and while I love Alexander and want to see if he can follow up on his performance against Jardine, there are better fights this month. But, I can’t dismiss this show completely because of the title fight and the fact you don’t have to pay for it. If this had been a PPV I might feel differently.
I’m personally looking forward to this show more than UFC 75. There is a curiosity factor around this show. If you’ve not ever seen Gina Carano or Women’s MMA then this is a show to check out. I’m curious to see the return of Nick Diaz and I believe the Main Event between Murilo Rua and Robbie Lawler for the EXC Middleweight title is a very interesting matchup between 2 quality fighters. You can also see one of the best Welterweights not under UFC contract in Jake Shields.
So if I like this show so much, why rank it below UFC 75? Remember, this is my guide for what I think the casual fans will want to see, not necessarily myself. Since that is the case, familiarity is a factor. Robbie Lawler’s time in UFC came before the boom, Diaz is definitely a known name but outside of that there isn’t much for someone who doesn’t know these people to get excited about. However, if you have the chance, watch this show because EXC has not put on a boring show yet and I don’t see it starting to with this one.
I’d love to recommend this higher but I simply can’t do so for people in the U.S. In the states you’d have to watch this over ProElite.com and the familiarity factor is lower for this show than for any of the ones listed above it. If you’ve got time while waiting for UFC 76 then check out the stream (I’m assuming it will be available but don’t know for sure) and if you don’t then come to combat-hooligans.com as Euan will have a report up shortly after the show ends.
It is tough for me to recommend this show without knowing the card. I also find it tough to recommend because WWE shows have the potential to be good but most are never $40 good if that makes sense. Add to that the fact you can wait a month, buy the DVD of the event for $14 and have a permanent copy with extra features and it is a tough sell. However, it isn’t as tough a sell as…
I can’t recommend this show because of the TNA Boycott. Even if there were no boycott I wouldn’t recommend this show because of how awful last month’s show ended up being. Add to that it is on opening day of football season and that Pacman Jones is advertised to wrestle but won’t be doing so, oh and don’t forget the horrible booking, and even at the $29.95 mark I’m telling you to skip it.
I will say that usually TNA PPV events do feature good wrestling matches but the booking and general direction of the company far outweighs any of that. If you’re a fan of Kurt Angle though, he is scheduled to wrestle 3 matches on this show.
I hope you have enjoyed this month’s guide to what’s on. You’re welcome to leave your own list in the comments section and stay tuned for this columns return to examine October in about a month.
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