Issue 033

January 2008

When Anderson Silva defeated Rich Franklin for a second time at UFC 77 he established himself as one of the few mixed martial artists who can truly lay claim to the distinction ‘Best Fighter in the World’. 

Such a prestigious crown is reserved for only a handful of competitors who are both feared and revered by peers and fans alike, fighters who aren’t just good or even great, but champions who crush world-class opponents on a regular basis.  

Defeating Franklin twice verifies that the Brazilian is not just a great fighter, but a dominant champion who possesses a skill-set so refined, he is capable of swatting aside all challengers, usually in a brutally decisive manner. 

Dominant champions were becoming an endangered species, such was their hard luck against hungry challengers over the past year. The slew of upsets rocked the sport like a Silva knee to the nose. Upsets undoubtedly keep MMA fresh and exciting, but a certain level of consistency is required if the sport is to thrive as a mainstream attraction. 

The Average Joe, with only a passing interest in sport, pays attention to great champions, the very best athletes in a particular field. Athletes who entertain, excite and above all else, win, and win, and win. Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson and Michael Schumacher all became global sporting icons (and in so doing raised the profile of their respective sports to new levels) because they were the absolute best at what they do. Peerless champions are box-office stars in any sport. Without them business will not grow, as casual fans only invest in the best. 

MMA is no different. While losing is not the end of a fighter’s career, a constant turnover of champions is bad for business. It tarnishes the very meaning of the word ‘champion’ and foils a promoter’s ability to market his best fighters.

For the best part of two years Chuck Liddell was perceived to be the best fighter in the world by many casual fans, thanks to the UFC’s promotional proficiency. While most ‘hardcore’ followers of the sport believed Fedor Emelianenko to be MMA’s pre-eminent fighter, Liddell’s commanding two-year reign as light heavyweight champion transformed him into the most marketable and popular fighter mixed martial arts had ever seen. He would go on to sell upwards of one million pay-per-view buys, such was his drawing power as a fighter who would knock out every challenger.

‘The Iceman’ transcended the sport and established himself as a mainstream sports celebrity because he was not just beating opponents, but destroying them at a time when the UFC was generating mainstream acceptance.

Dominant champions not only sell pay-per-views, they give the title they hold an air of legitimacy and prestige. If a title is something that is passed around fighters like a Staph infection in the gym, it means nothing.

A title should stand as a mark of greatness. It’s more than just a belt; it’s a symbol of everything a fighter has accomplished and sacrificed to reach the pinnacle of his profession. It has to be earned through years of blood, sweat and tears because anything less diminishes the feat and makes the sport look more like a lottery than a game of skill and concentrated training. When championships are contested the question that should be asked is, ‘Who has trained the hardest and prepared the most?’ Not ‘Who can land the first wild punch on the button?’

There is great difficulty in establishing dominant champions in a sport where one mistake can cost you a fight. Georges St. Pierre, for instance, looked virtually unstoppable as he cleaned out the welterweight division and beat Matt Hughes to capture the title at UFC 65. The likeable French-Canadian, it seemed, would sit atop the division for years to come and develop into a megastar of Liddell-like proportions.

Yet, just 5 months later he was laying flat on his back eating punches as Matt Serra snatched away the belt in astonishing fashion. St. Pierre the fighter quickly bounced back, but will his marketability as a truly superior fighter ever be restored? Can such a humiliating defeat ever be erased from fans memories?

Only time will tell, but that’s why the likes of Silva, Fedor and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson are vital if the sport is to mature. They are MMA’s elite competitors who consistently beat the best the sport has to offer and, in so doing, prove they are in a league of their own.

The regularity with which they win sets them apart from the rest of the field and confirms that supreme ability, both physical and mental, is required to compete (and more importantly stay) at the very highest level of the sport. They are MMA’s legends in the making.