"Official" UFC 68 PPV thread

[CharlestonPhan]

There's several guys Sylvia could've fought, like Brandon Vera or Frank Mir. Not to mention the fact that if Silvia did beat Couture, it wouldn't have cemented anything further for him. They tried to make an interesting main bout, with little regard for the fall out, and lucky for them, it made waves. Even still, now your former #1 heavyweight is out of the picture and got embarrased...Randy is the Heavy Weight champ, yet he is inferior to the ufc light heavy weight champ...dropping 2 of 3 contests to Liddel...the organization is a tad bit jumbled, and the heavy wieght division remains a bit of a mess. I appreciate your try, but I still dont get why the ufc made this fight. a guy who lost 2 straight attempts at the light hvy weight title, gets a heavy weight title shot? LOL....and the s.o.b. wins it! this divison is in all sorts of hell....but i love Randy.

plus, things move too slowly in mma, cro-cop wont get several fights or attempts to rack up highlight reel ko's...the sport doesn't work that way. this couture/sylvia fight doesnt allow anything for cro-cop..he probably gets the winner, and wont rack up anything.

i don't understand how can you say beating Couture wouldn't have been huge for Tim Sylvia? it's not like the guy has been retired for 5 years, and was old and out of shape. be serious, neither Frank Mir or Brandon Vera vs Sylvia are going to get anyone to pay for a PPV. Randy Couture equals a high ppv buyrate. he is universally respected and loved. thats why they chose to make this fight. you may not think the sport works that way, but business does.

you are right about the HWT division being a jumbled mess. but if they do it the way you say and give Cro Cop the next title fight, they are costing themselves some big money in ppv buys from more casual fans. if they build up Cro Cop with a few fights in UFC, and let Rogan talk him up for awhile, that will equal more money. that's all i am saying.

i don't buy the notion that Sylvia is out of the picture permanently. embarrassed yes, but no more so than Matt Hughes and Rich Frankin were. and they are still very much in the picture in their weight classes.

there isn't enough HWT depth for Sylvia to be thrown under the bus by UFC just yet.

 

[ckb2001]

Man, I couldn't have been more wrong in my prediction. At least I rooted for Randy. That guy has such a long history of being doubted, and I'm sure if he fights CroCop he'll be doubted once more (I probably wouldn't pick him again either, but betting against this guy is probably foolish).

 

[Sethdaddy8]

i don't understand how can you say beating Couture wouldn't have been huge for Tim Sylvia? it's not like the guy has been retired for 5 years, and was old and out of shape. be serious, neither Frank Mir or Brandon Vera vs Sylvia are going to get anyone to pay for a PPV. Randy Couture equals a high ppv buyrate. he is universally respected and loved. thats why they chose to make this fight. you may not think the sport works that way, but business does.

you are right about the HWT division being a jumbled mess. but if they do it the way you say and give Cro Cop the next title fight, they are costing themselves some big money in ppv buys from more casual fans. if they build up Cro Cop with a few fights in UFC, and let Rogan talk him up for awhile, that will equal more money. that's all i am saying.

i don't buy the notion that Sylvia is out of the picture permanently. embarrassed yes, but no more so than Matt Hughes and Rich Frankin were. and they are still very much in the picture in their weight classes.

there isn't enough HWT depth for Sylvia to be thrown under the bus by UFC just yet.

Silvia was the heavy weight champion. He was facing a guy from an inferior weight class with two consecutive losses on his record. Silvia was a heavy favorite, and when you do what you're expected, its no great feat. Itd have been considered no more spectacular than the beating Hughes gave Gracie. Just another notch on the bed post(and you'd be suprised, Randy's mma record isn't that amazing).
And when you have Franklin and Hughes on the card, you dont need Couture VS. Silvia. Vera or Mir vs. Silvia would have been just fine for ppv sales.

And no Silvia wont be discarded, due to the pathetic UFC heavyweight division. But his walk of shame is not comparable to Hughes or Franklin, who could still be considered poster boys, and for good reason. Silvia has a far less impressive career than those two, and this blemish on his record is very bad.

Having integrity in the rankings and title contentions is vital for MMA survival. If you make bouts from left field, it may help bolster the current show's sales...but it'll hurt them in the long run.