UFC curiously attempting to sever ties with AKA

While doing some late-night web browsing, I came across some interesting articles regarding the UFC and one of the top MMA gyms in the country, American Kickboxing Academy.

Evidently, some AKA fighters have refused to re-sign with the UFC due to a provision in their contracts which would force them to surrender the rights to their likeness for life to the UFC. The fighters have wanted to negotiate these very valuable merchandising rights, and the UFC has taken a strict take it or leave it policy.

This could have huge implications for the UFC and MMA in the U.S. as a whole. Top UFC fighters such as Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Cain Velasquez and Mike Swick train with AKA and if they all were to leave the UFC, they could provide the kind of starpower that could propel a rival MMA promotion to the level on which the UFC currently sits.

It also will take quite a few stars out of the UFC. Fitch's last fight was a loss to George St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title. Koscheck is a TUF season-one alum and one of the most well known fighters TUF has produced. Swick was also a member of the first season of TUF and has amassed a 7-1 record inside the Octagon while splitting his time between welterweight and middleweight. And Velasquez is one of the few, young prospects in the very thin, very weak heavyweight division. In fact, Koscheck and Fitch are considered two of the top-10 welterweights in the world, while most consider Swick in the top 15.

Add the loss of these AKA fighters to the fighters that have recently been released by the UFC and Zuffa Inc. (the company that owns the UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting) and the UFC seems to be letting go of some of its top fighters.

The UFC/Zuffa has recently cut Marcus Aurelio, Fabricio Werdum, Paulo Filho and Jason Lambert and could add Fitch, Koscheck, Swick and Velasquez. All of these fighters, except Lambert, have been cut within the last week. That means that in the span of a single week, Zuffa has parted ways with three top-15 welterweights (Fitch, Koscheck and Swick), a top-20 lightweight who holds a victory over Takanori Gomi, one of the top-three lightweights in the world (Aurelio), a top-10 heavyweight (Werdum), a top-10 middleweight (Filho) and one of the few prospects it has at heavyweight (Velasquez).

The potential winner in this situation could be Strikeforce, the San Jose, Calif.-based MMA organization. Strikeforce is one of the few MMA promoters that actually makes money because it specializes in building local stars while having a few elite fighters on the roster. Considering AKA is also located in San Jose, if Strikeforce were to sign the quartet of AKA refugees, Strikeforce could make a move to increase its operation and rival the UFC. Throw in the fact that Strikeforce has been signing some of the top Japanese fighters (namely Kazuo Misaki and Yoshihiro Akiyama, both of whom the UFC needs to challenge Anderson Silva) and it has a roster that has plenty of fighters that can sell pay-per-views.

The exodus of the AKA from the UFC is not entirely surprising, though. For years, the UFC has been able to use the fact that it is the only viable MMA organization in North America as leverage to bully fighters. It knows it's the top dog and so do the fighters, so in the past, fighters have caved to the UFC's demands. However, the UFC may have bitten off more than it could chew with this one. Severing connections with one of the nation's top gyms is a bad move on the UFC's part. AKA has a track record of producing top-level fighters and it will likely produce more great fighters and the fact the UFC won't have access to them means their competitors are going to get future stars without having to worry about competing with the UFC.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next couple of months, but I think Dana White and the UFC will end up regretting making this decision.

A look at the title pictures in the UFC

On Saturday, The UFC completed it's UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar pay-per-view. The main event featured the ever popular Randy "The Natural" Couture losing the UFC heavyweight championship belt to former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar in what the UFC billed as "the biggest fight in UFC history." Lesnar winning the belt could mean a new era is dawning in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Naturally, this got me to thinking about what this means to the heavyweight division and, as an extension, the rest of the weight classes. So here's a mix of speculation and what I'd like to see happen in each of the weight classes as far as future championship fights.

Heavyweight
Current champ: Brock Lesnar
Contenders: Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir, Gabriel Gonzaga

Lesnar's victory over Couture was a monumental victory. The fact that Lesnar has only four pro fights, yet is the new champ creates an interesting situation where the top fighter in the heavyweight division is vastly inexperienced. On Dec. 27, the UFC will stage the next part of its heavyweight tournament when Mir fights Nogueira for the right to take on Lesnar in 2009.

I doubt Lesnar will be able to defend his belt considering his submission defense has looked suspect in his young career, and seeing how Mir and Nogueira are world-class grapplers, I would look for Lesnar to get submitted regardless of who he faces. From there, there really aren't any contenders in what is arguably the UFC's weakest division. Couture is 45 and no one knows how many fights he has left. The Nogueira vs. Mir loser will probably have to win a couple of fights before he gets another crack at the belt, and Gonzaga really has padded his 10-3 record against opponents of little consequence. Consider that Gonzaga is 6-2 inside the octagon, yet outside of his upset victory over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, he has defeated Carmelo Marrero (1-2 UFC, now fights at light heavyweight), Kevin Jordan (0-2 UFC, 2-3 in his last five fights), Fabiano Scherner (7-7 overall, 0-2 UFC, 2-6 with one No Contest in his last nine fights), Justin McCully (1-1 UFC) and Josh Hendricks (0-1 UFC). Overall, Gonzaga's wins inside the octagon have come against opponents that have a combined record of 73-30-4, but a 3-10 record in the UFC.

The only other option, aside from making a big signing outside the organization, could be either Cain Velasquez or Shane Carwin--two young prospects the UFC has high hopes for. Both are young, but Lesnar won't defend his belt until spring '09 at the very earliest, and it may not be until summer or fall. That would give Carwin and Velasquez some time to get some more fights under their belt. Currently, neither Carwin nor Velasquez are ready to challenge for the belt, but then again, neither was Lesnar.

Next: light heavyweight

First polls released

This week, both the AP and Coaches preseason men's college basketball polls were released.

North Carolina was unanimously named the No. 1 team by both polls and with good reason. The Tar Heels are returning a roster that is almost as talented as an NBA team. Almost every player from last year is returning, and the Tar Heels put together a top-notch recruiting class to boot. With reigning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough (22.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg), Wayne Ellington (16.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Danny Green (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Ty Lawson (12.7 ppg, 5.2 apg) UNC is clearly the favorites heading into this basketball season.

As far as surprises in the polls, I found it surprising to see Tennessee ranked so low (No. 14 AP, No. 13 Coaches). The Vols did lose Chris Lofton and Jajuan Smith, but I think they could be better this season. Last season, Lofton didn't look like his old self, probably because he was battling cancer. However, losing Lofton isn't going to hurt UT as much as people think. Taking his place will be Scotty Hopson, Rivals.com's No. 5 prospect in 2008. Throw him in there with three other top 70-prospects (Emmanuel Negedu, Renaldo Wooolridge and Philip Jurick) and an already talented roster featuring Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince, and surely the Vols are a top-10 team. They are at least better than the AP's No. 13 team, Memphis.

Primm done

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, former MTSU student and Murfreesboro native Shane Primm was defeated by rear naked choke in a quarterfinal bout against Team Mir's Eliot Marshall on season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter." The loss most likely ends Primm's chances of winning the show since his only possibilities of returning would come if another fighter leaves the show due to injury, misconduct, etc., and since Primm was beaten in dominating fashion, it is unlikely he would be the first choice to return.

Troy embarrasses FAU on national TV

The defending Sun Belt Conference champion, Florida Atlantic, saw its chance of repeating as SBC champs greatly diminish on Tuesday.

Troy put a 30-17 schooling on the Owls in front of a national audience on ESPN.

Here are a few thoughts on the game:

Penalties, penalties, penalties

These teams did not do their conference proud on national TV. There were so many penalties in the first quarter that it made one wonder if these two squads were really Division I-A (I'm protesting renaming it FBS) teams. There were 11 total penalties in the game with nine coming in the first quarter alone. To make matters worse, most of the penalties were the kind that result from mental errors. Of the first quarter penalties, six were false starts or offsides infractions.


What happened to FAU?

FAU won the conference last season and returned nearly its entire team from a year ago. The Owls had eight players appear on the preseason All-SBC First Team, including five on defense. Cornerback Tavious Polo picked off seven passes last season. Quarterback Rusty Smith is the reigning SBC Player of the Year and linebacker Frantz Joseph is the preseason SBC Defensive Player of the Year, yet this team is 1-5 with a disappointing 0-2 conference record. Despite all the talent on defense, the Owls are giving up 30.7 points a game. On paper, this is easily the most talented team in the conference, but it sure hasn't played like it.

What happened to Rusty Smith?

Statistically, Smith was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2007. He completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 3,688 yards (283.7 per game) and 32 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He had the look of a guy that could make it into the NFL after his senior season. He had the NFL size (6-5, 212) and some amazing numbers as just a sophomore. However, he's taken a huge step back this season. Smith has a measly 48.8 completion percentage for 1,367 yards (227.8 per game) with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Of the seven SBC quarterbacks that have thrown at least 100 passes this season, Smith ranks seventh in pass efficiency. Also, he's thrown a whopping eight interceptions over his last three games.


Turnovers

Last season, FAU had an incredible +18 turnover margin. This season, the Owls have committed 16 turnovers and forced five. In 2007, cornerbacks Tavious Polo and Corey Small combined to intercept 12 passes, the highest total among cornerback duos. Thus far, they have managed only one pick apiece. Polo is suffering the same fate as Smith--after looking like a potential pro in 2007, he's looked average in 2008. On the flip side, FAU needs to coach its players on how to hold onto the ball. In six games, the Owls have fumbled the ball 12 times. How many other teams out there fumble twice every game?

Troy is just one of those teams

Although it is on a much smaller scale, Troy is one of those teams that every season just make you say, "How are they that good this year?" The Trojans are 3-2 (2-0 SBC) despite the fact they lost all their stars from a year ago. In fact, they lost their top starter at every skill position on offense from the 2007 team. Gone is SBC Offensive Player of the Year Omar Haugabook. No more Kenny Cattouse, former starting running back. Starting receiver Gary Banks has departed. And don't forget corner Leodis McKelvin, taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Despite all the personnel losses, it looks as though Troy and Arkansas State are going to be duking it out for the SBC title.

FAU plays dirty

Following MTSU's win over FAU on Sept. 30, one MTSU player told me that the Owls are a dirty team, and after watching them tonight it's clear to see the truth in that statement. FAU receiver purposefully tore the helmet off MTSU cornerback Ted Riley last Tuesday; a foul that was completely unnecessary. Against Troy, the Owls were no more tact. Of FAU's seven penalties against the Trojans, one was a personal foul, one was an illegal block in the back and another was a face mask. FAU appears as they have no respect for their opponents, which is unfortunate considering how terrible they've played.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen

For the first time in my young, 22 year-old life, the University of Tennessee is not the best team in the state.

That distinction, oddly enough, goes to Vanderbilt, a 5-0 team that boasts wins over Auburn, South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Unfortunately for the Vols, they're not even the second-best squad in the state. That title belongs to the forgotten child of Tennessee football, MTSU. Yes that may be a controversial statement, but the 2-3 Blue Raiders hold wins over Maryland and Florida Atlantic, while UT has managed to defeat UAB and Northern Illinois. It's going to be difficult to convince someone that the Vols possess better wins than MTSU.

In fact, Tennessee may not be the third-team in the state, but they sure are giving Memphis a run for its money. The Tigers are 3-3 with wins over UAB, Nicholls State and Arkansas State. Both have beaten UAB, however, Memphis did it at UAB while UT was playing on its home turf. Normally I would say UT would have won even if the game was played in Antartica, but I'm not so sure considering the Vols only managed one touchdown against Northern Illinois. Also, Northern Illinois doesn't look like a contender for the MAC title while Arkansas State is one of the early favorites to take the Sun Belt crown, and given that the MAC and SBC are fairly comparable conferences, I'd give a slight edge to the Tigers.

So, that leaves UT as the fourth-best football team in the state of Tennessee, behind a perennial SEC doormat, a school that has been playing D-I football for about 10 years and a basketball school from Conference USA.

At least they're still better than Chattanooga

Tennessee football--how pathetic can one team be?

Tennessee-13, Northern Illinois-9. 'Nuff said.