With the recent release of a Top Ten UFC Fights Of All Time list from the folks over at Sports Illustrated, Masson and I took it upon ourselves to develop our own lists and compare the fights.
We adapted criteria from Extremeprosports.com in order to form our own criteria (below) for our Top Ten lists.
1. The fight itself had to have significant drama. In other words, each fighter, at one point or another, must have been in a position to win the fight.
2. The bigger stage, the better. Non-championship bouts didn't get as much love as those giving out belts. The Ultimate Fighter Finales were also looked as with high regard due to the stakes involved.
3. Only UFC bouts were considered. To go beyond the foremost MMA organization would add even more chaos to an already impossible task.
Ben Zeidler's Top Ten
10. Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn (UFC 4)
9. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler (UFC 47)
8. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture II (UFC 52)
7. Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre (UFC 50)
6. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn (UFC 63)
5. Sean Sherk vs. Kenny Florian (UFC 64)
4. Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I (UFC 47)
3. Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell I (UFC 43)
2. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
1. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
Masson Liang's Top Ten
10. Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night 6)
9. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler (UFC 47)
8. Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I (UFC 47)
7. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
6. Georges St. Pierre vs. Frank Trigg (UFC 54)
5. Spencer Fisher vs. Sam Stout (UFC Fight Night 10)
4. Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia (UFC 69)
3. Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton (UFC 34)
2. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture III (UFC 57)
1. Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia (UFC 68)
Sports Illustrated's Top Ten Printed List
10. Nick Diaz vs. Diego Sanchez (The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale)
9. Clay Guida vs. Tyson Griffin (UFC 72)
8. Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn (UFC 58)
7. Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 59)
6. Kendall Grove vs. Ed Herman (The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale)
5. Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night 6)
4. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
3. Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell I (UFC 43)
2. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
1. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn II (UFC 63)
Sports Illustrated's Top Ten Original List
10. Tank Abbott vs. Oleg Taktarov (UFC 6)
9. Kendall Grove vs. Ed Herman (The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale)
8. Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC Fight Night 6)
7. Matt Lindland vs. Phil Baroni (UFC 41)
6. Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
5. Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo (UFC 31)
4. Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz (UFC 22)
3. Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture I (UFC 43)
2. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
1. Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn (UFC 63)
The only fight on all four lists is:
Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II (UFC 52)
The only fights on three of the four lists are:
Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn (UFC 63)
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez (UFC Fight Night 6)
Monday, June 25, 2007
Top Ten UFC Fights Of All Time
Ideas on what happens next in the WWE...
Unfortunately I did not get to see last nights Vengeance, however whilst moping about how I couldn't get the PPV, I had some thoughts about a few of the guys participating, in particular Lashley, Foley and Kendrick/London.
Before I go into details, I hope whatever kept Benoit off Vengeance last night is sorted with no harm to anyone. He is a great talent and looks like he is finally getting a brand built around him, which he deserves for his patience and hard work.
First up, seeing as how Raw is screaming for a dastardly heel, why not make Lashley one? Granted he hasn't got the mic skills, but that's where my big plan comes in. Why not stick him with Sgt Slaughter as his manager? They both have "military" backgrounds, though Lashley's is genuine.
Next up, why not have Foley back for a bit longer this time and have him feud with Cena. Foley has stated a thousand times that he likes to put the new up and comers over(even though Cena is pretty much over). What I can see however, is give the title to Foley and make him go heel, perhaps as Cactus Jack. Let Cena become the hunter not the hunted as he has beaten every other challenger. That way there is a new title holder, it pleases the smarks, Cena gets more over as a plucky babyface against the dastardly(god, I love that word!) Cactus Jack. Hell, why not bring Terry Funk back into the picture?
And finally, how cool would it been to see the Hardys take on London/Kendrick? The old school highflyers vs the new school. That way, London and Kendrick can put themselves over as the massive babyface tag team, leaving the Hardys to perhaps "fall out" and split the team up, giving Vince and the Creative team the singles runs that they crave so much.
Anyway, looking forward to Raw tonight, maybe they will end this silly angle!
Vengeance Was Not So Sweet
Hello everyone. First off, I lost my Internet to an idiotic AT&T worker this week, but I'm back!
Alright, Vengeance. I LOVE it when as many titles are on the line as possible, so naturally, I was hyped about the "Night of Champions." I had high expectations, and I think that was a bad idea. I let myself expect good things, so when they did not really happen, it seemed ten times worse than if I had not hyped myself too much. Anyways, quick thoughts.
World Tag Team Titles: This match was actually mostly what I expe
cted, good to open the show with. It just ultimately proves Vince's point of view that he likes the Hardyz as singles competitors.
Cruiserweight Title: Honestly, I considered this one somewhat of a "pick'em." I saw the outcome either way. I'll be honest though, I have read a few rumors of Chavo maybe joining up over at TNA and thought maybe Jimmy Wang Yang would get it. Either way, it was ok, I expected more from Wang Yang mainly because he has shown his wrestling ability back in RoH(I think he was in RoH? Sorry if I got that wrong.)
ECW Championship: Well, obviously a let down, this was my pick for possible match of the night. I do hope Chris Benoit's personal problems are resolved and it was nothing too serious, he is a great individual and an amazing talent. Once I saw Nitro, I expected him to win only because I hope they still want to give Benoit the title, which seems more viable off of Nitro than CM Punk.
Intercontinental Title: I expected this to be somewhat of a squash match and give Umaga the title. Man, I was wrong, it was actually a squash match with Umaga getting disqualified....HUGE difference! :)
United States Title: Somewhat decent, I expected more from the two of these guys. Seemed obvious that MVP would not lose the title. Side Note: Ric Flair's pink robe was pretty sweet, he is the ONLY man that could pull that off!
WWE Tag Team Titles: Wow. Sgt. Slaughter and Jimmy Snuka? Anyone else notice that belly on Snuka? It was quite hilarious in my own view. Anyway, it disappointed me. I know Deuce is Snuka's son, but I was expecting a decent match with The Major Brothers.
World Heavyweight Title: Much better than I expected out of Batista. I liked how they worked Edge cheating and then Teddy Long restarting the match. I also enjoyed the second ending of Batista basically screwing himself by power bombing Edge on the outside.
Women's Title: Stock women's match. Woo.
WWE Title: It was only about ten minutes, but it worked. They kept it non-stop(there were five of them) and they managed to get in everyone at some point. Lashley's leap of death was nice, especially since he did not hold onto the rope like he did when he jumped at One Night Stand. Booker took things a little easy for his knee's sake. Randy attempted to give Foley a concussion. Then Cena wins. At least he did not win with the STFU.
Overall, WWE has had some weak Pay-Per-Views since Wrestlemania this year. Backlash was very lackluster, with the main event being decent. I found Judgment Day to be the worst show of the year so far, One Night Stand was good.....until the two main event title matches, and now Vengeance. I would probably put this show on par with Backlash, I did not mind the World and WWE title matches. I'm not expecting much out of the Bash come July(although, the promos for it tonight made me laugh with Kane in there, don't know if anyone else noticed him). Basically, I'm hoping and praying that Summerslam will kick ass. Well, that's all I have for now!
-Jesse
Sunday, June 24, 2007
The Irish Whip Predicts (WWE Vengeance)!
All of our writers were polled and asked who would win the following matches at WWE's Vengeance:
World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (C) vs. Batista
Ben, Drew, and Lee see Edge retaining while Jared sees Batista winning the title. Edge 3-1.
WWE Championship: John Cena (C) vs. Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton vs. Booker T vs. Bobby Lashley
Ben, Drew, and Jared see Cena retaining while Lee sees Mick Foley winning the title. Cena 3-1.
WWE United States Championship: MVP (C) vs. Ric Flair
Ben, Jared, and Lee see MVP retaining while Drew sees Flair winning the title. MVP 3-1.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Chavo Guerrero (C) vs. Jimmy Wang Yang
All four writers see Jimmy Wang Yang winning the title. Wang Yang 4-0.
World Tag Team Championship: Cade and Murdoch (C) vs. The Hardys
Ben, Drew, and Lee see Cade and Murdoch retaining while Jared sees The Hardys winning the title. Cade and Murdoch 3-1.
WWE Women's Championship: Melina (C) vs. Candice Michelle
Ben, Drew, and Jared see Melina retaining while Lee sees Candice Michelle winning the title. Melina 3-1.
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Santino Marella (C) vs. Umaga
Ben, Drew, and Jared see Umaga winning the title while Lee sees Marella retaining. Umaga 3-1.
ECW Heavyweight Championship: Chris Benoit vs. CM Punk
Drew, Jared, and Lee see Benoit winning the title while Ben sees Punk winning the title. Chris Benoit 3-1.
WWE Tag Team Championship: Deuce and Domino vs. TBA
Ben and Jared see The Major Brothers winning the title while Drew sees Deuce and Domino retaining. The Major Brothers 2-1.
Our writers' consensus sees three title changes (Wang Yang, Umaga, and The Major Brothers) along with the obvious crowning of a new ECW Heavyweight champion. Enjoy the show and look for our results tonight!
