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By Anthony De Franco  March 10, 2010, at 4:20 pm
I wrote before the event that was a very important card in the history of the WEC. They needed to put up a strong number to show that there was interest in the pay-per-view that they are putting on next month.
Yea…not so much. According to MMAJunkie, this was the second-worst rating that the promotion has done on Versus in nearly two full years.
WEC 47 (Bowles vs. Cruz): 373,000 viewers
WEC 46 (Varner vs. Henderson): 640,000
WEC 45 (Cerrone vs. Ratciff): 330,000
WEC 44 (Brown vs. Aldo): 414,000
WEC 43 (Cerrone vs. Henderson): 419,000 (first event after loss of DirecTV viewers)
Why did this happen? Well, the event did certainly lack some pop. The only real star on the card was Miguel Torres, and he was coming off a pretty embarrassing knockout loss. The main event was between two bantamweights that only the real MMA fan would know. Bowles was coming off a win, but hadn’t fought in more than six months. Cruz has only one loss, but doesn’t have a resume that screams superstar.
However, I bring you another possibility. This card was on a Saturday night. While me and you may block some prime weekend time for the WEC, Joe Average is out at the bar getting crunk at that time. He might stop for a UFC, but not for it’s awkward little brother.
Well, can the WEC draw on a PPV if they can’t draw on cable on a Saturday night? We’ll see. This next card coming up has a TON of star power on it. The featherweight triumvirate of Urijah Faber, Mike Brown and Jose Aldo are all in action. Donald Cerrone and Ben “Pootie Tang” Henderson go at it in a repeat of WEC’s 2009 fight of the year. Not to mention the possible inclusion of hot prospect Chan Sung Jung, who is best known as “The Korean Zombie. Mmmm…Brains.
Should we assume that the WEC is screwed next month? No, not quite. However, this can’t be good news for Reed Harris and the boys.

By Anthony De Franco  March 5, 2010, at 4:05 pm
I’ve been waiting for a picture to post this, but I have one, and it’s glorious.
Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to Paulo Filho’s face tattoo.

Filho’s life continues to be a complete train wreck. Now, that he has gotten this tat, is there any way to avoid comparing him to Mike Tyson? Paulo is a huge Mike Tyson fan, and that probably has a lot to do with why he got it in the first place. However, it just makes him seem all that much crazier.
And shave the creepy child-toucher mustache Paulo.
Shout out to @Bauzen who sent me the picture.
By Anthony De Franco  March 1, 2010, at 2:25 am
There is a lot to report in the world of video game MMA. THQ has begun the UFC 2010: Undisputed news cycle as they are going to release a new blog post every tuesday and Thursday, and do a Q & A with the community every two weeks. Be sure to get your questions in on their forums to make sure that they get answered.
Of course, We’ll be here to break down the news for all the true MMA fans. You know, all the people who are more excited about Gogopalatas than Kimbo Slice.
Let’s get started with some of the answers from this week’s Q & A:
Q: Are there going to be TKO’s due to injury and stoppage in Undisputed 2010?
Yes! Victories in 2010 can be achieved in a number of ways, one of which is stoppage due to cuts and injury. Did anyone tune in to UFC 110 and see the Bonnar fight that ended due to ref/doctor stoppage? ‘Stoppage’ was one of the biggest requests from our fan base, so we just had to implement these victory conditions.
A welcome addition for sure. MMA is a complex sport that has a lot of different ways to end a fight, and as such all of them should be represented in virtual form. It remains to be seen if Herb Dean is going to dive in and pull you off of your counterpart, but I hope he does.
Q: KO animations: have they changed?
Completely. Last year, we divulged that KO animations were a combination of animation and free form physics. The same is still true this year, but we changed a few things…We’ve emphasized the physics share of the equation much more. This makes the Knockout a much more high fidelity experience. How the KO looks will also be a product of how a player gets his lights put out: depending on where and how hard you land a strike, you’ll get a different looking KO. Cant wait to see some community compilations come May!
Last year, one of my biggest gripes with the game was the flying mouthpieces. While it was cool the first few times, it just made the whole thing feel fake. Now, no word on if that still happens, but we do get new KO animations. Let’s just hope that knocked out fighters don’t end up looking like ragdolls.
Q: Whats up with the game menu this year?
We redesigned the entire navigation system so you can get to where you want quickly and easily. ‘Nuff said.
Thank you, Jesus. Last year’s game was so clumsy in terms of menu navigation that it made not want to change the sponsors on my shorts in career mode. Seriously, it took SIX clicks of the “A” button to change one logo on my shorts. Does that make any sense to anyone? It’s good to hear that this complaint was heard. Hopefully the menu system makes more sense the second time around.
Alright, that is it from the Q & A, so let’s move on to the Blog entry regarding submissions.
We’ve kept the bread and butter subs that you know and love from last year’s Undisputed, but we’ve added some great variations and new options for those who want to use them. We saw a ton of people asking for the full Omoplata submission in 2010, which you’ll now be able to execute in the virtual octagon. Even the rare and elusive Gogoplata is making its Undisputed 2010 debut. Nothing spells ‘awesome’ like an shoulder lock to submission, right?
We’ve also added the Americana, D’Arce (think Thiago vs Swick in UFC 109), Peruvian Necktie, Achilles lock, Ankle Lock, Heel Hook, Arm Triangle, and tons of leg locks, just to name a few. You’ll even see some Ultimate fighters breaking out their signature subs on the mat, like BJ Penn’s rear naked choke by way of arm trap (think UFC 101 and his submission of Kenny Florian).
In addition to over twice as many new submissions along with their own distinct animations, there are new positions from which you can attempt a submission. Your posture when in the guard will affect what submission you can initiate. So if you’re down posture, you’ll be going for a Kimura whereas if your postured up, you’ll be going for a kneebar.
Another complaint from last year’s game was that there simply were not enough submissions. Now, that should be solved as just about every submission I can think of that I’ve seen in a fight in the last five or six years is in there. Well, actaully, there is no anaconda choke, which has to annoy Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Nothing lifeshattering, but some good reveals nonetheless.

By Anthony De Franco  February 11, 2010, at 1:49 pm Sorry, but comments are closed
Nothing like another good striker v. grappler matchup. Here’s the news from Bloody Elbow:
Welterweights are set to do battle on May 29 in Las Vegas at UFC 114 as “Ultimate Fighter” winner Amir Sadollah returns to action to face Korean Judoka Dong Hyun-Kim.
The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight, with both fighters verbally agreeing to the tilt. Bout agreements are expected soon.
Sadollah has quietly worked his way back from the being the forgotten TUF winner and become a fan favorite. His self-depricating sense of humor reminds many people of Forrest Griffin. For me, he mention the Family Guy Road House running joke in his post-fight. I’m sold.
Hyun-Kim will look to take the fight to the ground and work the ground and pound that earned him victories over Matt Brown and T.J. Grant. Kim is 12-0-1 (1). Yea, that’s a lot of columns.
This should be a good fight to see where both of these guys stand. If Kim wins, expect a jump in competition for his next fight.
By Anthony De Franco  February 10, 2010, at 6:55 pm
Mike Swick might be in a little bit of trouble. While he’s a fan favorite and in no danger of losing his job, he has lost two in a row and might be in danger of no longer being terribly relevant. His loss to Paulo Thiago at UFC 109 was his second in a row, but both have come to (what appear to be) legit contenders.
I still love Mike Swick, and there is no doubt that he will probably receive a reprieve in the form of a tomato can in his next fight.

The Dethrone Archer Tee isn’t a Mike Swick exclusive, but it is a really cool shirt. The 2010 Dethrone shirts are going the way of specific graphics, like this archer, rather than the Family Crest and other things like that.
MMA Warehouse has this one for 39.99.
For more Dethrone Royalty gear, check out The 3rd String Store.
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