UFC Welterweights: A Cure For Insomnia

A short rant, if you don't mind.

Here are the top UFC welterweights in the world as it stands:

Georges St. Pierre (champ), Carlos Condit (#1 contender), Nick Diaz (stoned), Josh Koscheck, John Fitch and Jake Shields.

Here are the results of their last fight:

GSP: win via decision.
Condit: win via decision.
Diaz: loss via decision
Koscheck: win via decision.
Fitch: loss via knockout, but his last win was, yup you guessed it, via decision.
Jake Shield: win via decision.

Now, I know, the list of top contenders can include a few other names like Jonny Hendricks or, um, you know what? I don't care.

If you take the last 5 fights from the above six fighters you have a combined record of 24-5-1, which in itself is pretty damn good. Except for the fact that 21 of those 30 fights went to decision. And of those 21 total fights, they racked up wins in 19 of the 21 times the fight went to the judges.

And lets not forget, if we wade a bit deeper, Mr. Fitch went to decision in 9 out of his last 10 fights.

...adfssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss wait, who, what... holy s*** even just writing about this stuff made me fall asleep on my keyboard.

What the F*** is going on!?!?

Now, I've been a MMA writer and fan for a long time...

Crap, tangent time.

Can everyone stop saying that you were fans ever since UFC 1? Can you stop trying to convince people that ever since you "watched the smaller Royce Gracie use BJJ to beat bigger opponents" that you were hooked? It's bullshit and I don't believe you any more than the guy with the Bluetooth on the off ramp asking for spare change. F***ing stop it!

If every fan and fighter that made that claim was actually telling the truth, then the UFC wouldn't have been an a** hair away from bankruptcy prior to the TUF 1 Finale in while Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar saved the sport.

And a special f*** you to everyone that has anything bad to say about them as fighters now. They earned a lifetime pass for that fight.

But I digress...
I remember a time when the welterweight division was looked at as the most explosive, athletic and action packed division. A time when Matt Hughes was slamming his way around the Octagon. A young GSP taking apart his opponents. Even Frank Trigg making his mark in the sport. BJ Penn, Sean Sherk and Carlos Newton bringing their own kind of aggression and skill to the cage.

Now we have entire fight teams whose fight is structured around the business of MMA.

The sport is growing too fast too soon. Fighters are afraid of so much as a single loss and will play it safe to ensure longevity over glory, or even fan interest.

I mean, who really wants to watch a Jon Fitch/GSP rematch? Or Kos for that matter?

Even Carlos Condit, one of my all-time favorite fighters went simple for his last fight against Nick Diaz.

To be fair, he found the way it takes to beat Diaz. Avoid the ground and DON'T STAND IN FRONT OF HIM. It is within the rules and structure of the sport and he did it to his advantage. Even if it was boring.

That is what the sport has become. I'm not interested in the main events any more. I want to watch the undercard with some young up-and-comer hungry for the win, the glory and the title coming out and acting like a f***ing animal inside the cage.

The more that the sport grows and finds its place in the mainstream sports culture the more it gets diluted with fighters not just out there to win, but actually afraid to lose.

The first victim has been the welterweights. They were on top of the mountain and now they work better than Xanax to put me to sleep.

It's a tough business and these are tough guys who can no doubt beat the s*** out of me, but still, for all the sacrifices that they made to make it to the show it is all gone with the payday.

What happened to the desire to fight and dominate? Where are the Pride rules that kept the fight moving or you lost your precious money? Where is the intensity that came with being a professional in a sport with the most well rounded fighters and possible athletes in the world?

It's been lost in a search for the mass audience.

When Icarus flew too close to the sun he fell back to Earth. I think, I was never good at NES games.

God I feel f***ing old. None of you even remember this anymore do you?

You probably watch Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh and don't even remember Captain Nintendo.

What? Yes this was a real show.

No! F*** you!

Great, now I'm p***ed not only about the UFC welterweights, but also how old my balls are.