October an interesting month in MMA
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The fastest growing sport in the world is showing no signs of slowing down. The popularity of Mixed Martial Arts can be seen in the number of TV outlets that are picking up its bouts as well as in the new reality shows popping up all over cable. All in all, October could possibly be the most interesting month of MMA action to date.
There will be seven different local cable channels with as many as twelve different MMA shows to view during the month of October.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is once again at the top of this pack with “UFC Fight Night 13,” “UFC Unleashed,” season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF), “UFC All Access” and “UFC Wired.”
The UFC has already aired the replay of “UFC 86” (Jackson vs. Griffin) and plans to air “UFC 87” (St. Pierre vs. Fitch) for free. They will also be showing “UFC 89” (Bisping vs. Leben) live on cable television. To end the month, UFC will have a Pay-Per-View card, “UFC 90,” (Silva vs. Cote) on Oct. 25.
Elite XC made its showing earlier this month in a very unimpressive fashion with its main event of Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli. This bout was originally supposed air as Slice versus Ken Shamrock, another former champion well past his prime. However, Shamrock was scrapped hours before the fight because the Florida State Boxing Commission deemed him unable to perform due to a laceration above his eye.
This sent Elite XC scrabbling to find a replacement for their main event. Petruzelli stepped up from the undercard, and gave up 30 lbs. to face Slice. Elite XC apparently thought this was a good idea, but the smaller Petruzelli knocked out Slice in only 14 seconds and destroyed the myth and reputation of both Slice and perhaps the whole Elite XC organization.
This fight left Slice looking like nothing more than a marketing ploy and a farce. To make matters worse for Elite XC, Petruzelli seemed to hint in an interview that the fight organization paid him to stand with Slice instead of taking him to the ground. This may not have been the brightest moment for Elite XC, but it was definitely one of the most interesting to watch.
The “Affliction: Day of Reckoning” fight card promotion would have sealed this as one of the strongest months in MMA so far. The card was originally scheduled for October 11 as a Pay-Per-View event, but was postponed until January. This delay added more speculation that Affliction is having financial problems due to the hefty salaries it paid to its fighters on its first show.
Affliction is also said to be working out deals with Elite XC. With the two organizations taking some heavy blows lately, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them form some type of partnership in the near future.
Even though the Affliction bout was scrapped, reality shows like “TapouT” and “The Contender Muay Thai” as well as showings of the World Extreme Cage (WEC) and WEC WrekCage can still be seen all over local cable.
October has already been full of action and controversy. With 21 days left in the month and countless MMA events to check out, it can only get better from here.
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