The Audacity of Hype!

If Barack Obama can write a book called, "The Audacity of Hope", the unauthorized biography of the Ultimate Fighting Championship should be called, "The Audacity of Hype"! They have built a humongous business around that philosophy. The brass at Zuffa won't admit that that's what they've done, but that's exactly what they've done and what they continue to do! And they do it extremely well!

UFC 114 epitomized that philosophy, or in this case, business practice. Right from the outset of the show, Mike Goldberg started bombarding the viewing audience with drivel about the main event between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans being the BIGGEST, most anticipated fight in UFC history. Really, Mike, to who? From the amount of action the fight received on MMA forums, it wasn't even close to living up to those words. I understand that Goldie is a company man, and his job is to say outlandish things like that, but its insulting to any educated fan to have to listen to that nonsense. There wasn't even a title on the line!

The hype machine has been on overload for the entire career of Diego Sanchez, one of the combatants on the UFC 114 card. Diego is a very good fighter but far from a "nightmare" for any top echelon fighter, as his nickname would mislead people to believe. And that's regardless of any weight class he wakes up in the morning and decides to fight in. Obviously, from the one-sided beating he took from relative newcomer John Hathaway, the move back up to 170 doesn't look like a smart decision. No disrespect to Hathaway but Joe Silva gave Diego that fight as a gift to facilitate an easy transition back to WW. In that division Diego will be at a serious size and strength disadvantage. Hathaway dwarfed him, and physically manhandled him. Imagine what guys like Alves, Rumble, Kos, Hardy and Fitch would do to him? No need to even mention GSP. While Diego did hold his own against Fitch and Kos, those fights would be very different a second time around. Diego has to realize that he is primarily a grappler. His striking is nowhere near the level of the top guys and he's never shown to have even a semblance of power in his hands. He also needs to vastly improve his slow, flat, plodding footwork. If he smartens up and fully commits to fighting a more grappling based style, he'll have a much better chance to fullfill the hype that's been surrounding him for years. If he continues to try to win fights with his relatively weak kickboxing game, his chances at success are thinner than Corey Hill.

Another UFC 114 fighter with apparantly undeserved super-hype is Todd Duffee. And I do mean super-hype. Duffee himself has said he was uncomfortable with all the hype he's been getting, especially with his limited resume. Duffee appeared to be the "real thing" while dominating Mike Russow for 2 and a half rounds, only to be shockingly KTFO cold by a punch from a fighter who can't really punch well. That said, fighters get caught. Its part of the game. Given Todd's age and physical gifts, he can still work his way into becoming a Top 10 HW, but the point is, the hype came WAY too early. The big difference between Duffee and Sanchez is those aforementioned physical gifts to build off of. Diego isn't especially explosive, strong or athletic. Duffee undoubtedly is. While Diego appears to have peaked, Duffee is just in the embryonic stage of his career and skill development. With the proper training and smart career management, Duffee can still live up to the super-hype. He epitomizes Joe Rogan's description of the new breed of heavyweight fighters, being "giant, powerful and athletic." I just hope for his sake that his chin is compliant with the grand plan.


To be fair, aside from ridiculously hyping the Jackson/Evans fight as one of the biggest fights in UFC history, Zuffa isn't only to blame for hyping fighters. The entire MMA community is. We all like to jump on a fighter's bandwagon early to look prophetic. I've never stepped foot on Diego's bandwagon, and never will, but I'll still reserve a seat on Duffee's. This kid just might turn into a beast! After Diego's last showing and his quest to find the right weight class, I'm pretty sure his bandwagon has run out of gas and is sitting in the shop awaiting repairs that will probably never come. Duffee's, on the other hand, just needs a few minor adjustments and will be back on the road, motor revving LOUDLY.

Now if you want to see hype come to fruition, look no further than Junior Dos Santos! JDS is a superstar in the making. There's no doubt in my mind that he is a future champion. He's got the whole package as far as skill, talent, desire, proper attitude and physical gifts. Beyond that, he is training with arguably the best team in the world and also has top level management. JDS is as real as it gets! In a division living off of unrealized hype, he's in a perfect position to separate himself from the pack. Lesnar, Velasquez and Carwin, all recipients of tons of hype, are in for some surprises when they get to throw down with Junior.


There's no disputing that hype is a HUGE part of the fight game, always has been, always will be. Decades of boxing has shown us that, and now its also an important element of the MMA promotion game. But as knowledgeable fans of the sport, its our job to weed out the bullshit. And from what we've seen as of late, there's more bullshit going on than a Dana White press conference.


How dare they?!?

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