In the sport of MMA, the biggest stars come from the UFC. Or do they? A closer look may reveal that the UFC corporate side has actually driven the product more than we may realize. Because the UFC doesn't build stars so much as it acquires them.
Read More
In the depths of UFC 215, somewhere between rounds three and five of Amanda Nunes and Valentina Schevchenko's dance-off headliner, I caught myself on a rant. In less than a week, I found my mind going from one delighted by the UFC product to one frustrated by it.
Read More
In Women’s MMA, Mount Rushmore is still being carved. Cris Justino, Ronda Rousey, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk are there. However, the fighters trying to ascend there dance dangerously close to a steep cliff, a long drop, fifty feet of crap and everyone else.
Read More
Rousey's loss to Amanda Nunes was a tragedy. Rousey's dominance was unlike anything the sport had seen. She became an icon - and icons inevitably crumble.
Read More
From dominant champions, big-money draws, and ludicrously competitive divisions to delinquent G.O.A.T.S., toxic parity, and money fights, there's a lot to like and a lot to loath about the UFC.
Read More
We’re dumb. That’s the message you should take from Holly Holm’s upset over Ronda Rousey on Saturday. As fans, as analysts, as journalists — we’re all dumb. Sun Tzu was smart. He wrote a book some 2500 years ago that to this day is still quoted for its depth of wisdom as it relates to combat.
Read More
Very seldom does an athlete ascend beyond their sport, transcending it. When it does, the story of who they are within the public sphere begins to crystallize. These public constructs then take on a life of their own. As the sports iris narrows on 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey’s title defence this weekend, let us explore the five public constructs of Rousey.
Read More