[Tokyudo]

MMA in 2006 – What Can We Expect?
by Al Yu (Tokyudo@gmail.com)

Overall, 2005 was a great year for MMA. In the U.S., MMA took one more step to becoming mainstream when UFC’s reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ brought in many new fans. We saw Chuck Liddell finally rise to the top by being the first to ever knock out Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture at UFC 52 and we were also introduced to many new faces. Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin catapulted his career by stopping MMA legend Ken Shamrock during the Ultimate Fighter season one finale. Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonner produced one of the most memorable slugfests we have ever seen, a fight that will probably never be reproduced. The UFC surprised us all when Dana White swallowed his pride and announced the return of Tito Ortiz and BJ Penn. Additionally, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz were named the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter season three.

2005 was also a historic year for PRIDE Fighting Championships. Fedor Emelianenko proved he is best MMA fighter in the world after defeating Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic in what was one of the most anticipated fights of the year. PRIDE gathered the best Lightweight and Welterweight fighters and put together their first ever tournament. Bushido Vol. 9 – The Tournament will go down as one of the best events in MMA history. We saw Wanderlei Silva’s undefeated Middleweight winning streak end when he was defeated by Ricardo Arona during the Middleweight GP semi-finals. We also saw Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua have a break out year, defeating Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona on his way to winning the PRIDE Middleweight GP. At Shockwave 2005, PRIDE crowned their first Lightweight Champion (Takanori Gomi) and their first Welterweight Champion (Dan Henderson). Wanderlei Silva also avenged his loss earlier in the year by winning a split-decision over Ricardo Arona. To put the icing on the cake, PRIDE finally defeated their Japanese TV rival K-1 in the New Years ratings war.


Such an exciting year it was for MMA in 2005, so what can we expect of 2006?


The emergence of Mark Hunt – Though he had a pretty light schedule in 2005, I believe we will see a lot more of Mark Hunt in 2006. Hunt’s stock rose significantly when he defeated Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic at the last Shockwave event. As the list of credible opponents for Fedor Emelianenko decreases, Mark Hunt becomes a few fights closer to becoming the next contender for the heavyweight crown. Beware of the flying atomic butt drop!


PRIDE announces a possible Open-Weight Grand Prix Tournament – DSE CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara expressed interest in holding an Open-Weight Tournament this year. This tournament would include fighters from Welterweight all the way up to Heavyweight. There’s a lot of mixed emotions regarding this upcoming tournament. Though it’s not completely confirmed by DSE, the MMA community has been discussing the pros and cons of this event. Not since the early days of the UFC has there been an Open-Weight tournament format. There are so many possibilities in terms of potential match-ups. What will PRIDE do about huge weight discrepancies? There’s been much discussion regarding about who will fight and how many fighters total will be invited. A tournament like this could never happen in the US since the UFC has adopted official MMA regulations that wouldn’t allow for such an event. However, in Japan, there are no such regulations. I feel that this tournament will be good for MMA. Yes, we will see some potential mismatches but we will also see other fighters rise against opposition. Until all the details are final about this tournament, I urge MMA fans to keep an open mind and reserve any negative opinions.


The return of the Lightweight Division in the UFC – Is it going to happen? I think so. UFC’s excuse before was that there weren’t enough PPV shows to showcase the lightweight talent. Now with all of the extra free ‘Ultimate Fight Night’ shows and the Ultimate Fighter season finales, there should be no excuse. There are so many talented unknown lightweights waiting to break out and make it to the ‘big time’. Without the lightweight division in the premiere U.S. MMA organization, there is no ‘big time’. Yves Edwards may finally return home.


The Ultimate Fighter Season Three – It can’t possibly be as bad as Season Two, or can it? I would say it’s going to be a solid year for the UFC. With UFC’s poster boy Tito Ortiz back, ratings are going to be high. I foresee Shamrock and Ortiz stirring up more drama than the actual fighters do.


Mirko, take a break and come back rested – Mirko had a busy year in 2005. He fought five times, going 3-2. In 2004, he fought eight times. It’s time for Mirko to take a break and recollect. He’ll be back in 2006, possibly in time for the Open-Weight GP.


Now that they’re on top… - …What is to be expected of PRIDE’s newly crowned Lightweight and Welterweight Champions? Takanori Gomi has been unstoppable in PRIDE. Everybody they throw at him has tasted defeat. So are there any formidable opponents for the ‘Fireball Kid’? I can think of one and he goes by the name of Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro. When will he finally make his PRIDE debut? I was truly surprised that PRIDE didn’t invite him to Bushido the tournament. Other good match-ups for Gomi include: Yves Edwards and a rematch with Joachim Hansen. Now onto the welterweights. There are so many potential match-ups for ‘Hollywood’ Henderson. There’s a possibility for Kazushi Sakuraba to drop down in weight and challenge for the belt. Even though he got a raw deal at Shockwave, I hope PRIDE brings back Yuki Kondo again, this time at welterweight. Other opponents for Henderson include: Phil Baroni, Dennis Kang, Paulo Filho and Murlio ‘Ninja’ Rua.


ChuteBox success continues – Wanderlei Silva continues to hold the PRIDE Middleweight belt and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua is the defending Middleweight GP champion. Look for Daniel Acacio and Luiz Azeredo to bounce back from losses and possibly be a force in their respective divisions. Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua will be dropping down in weight for first time, look for him to make a difference in the welterweight division. I anticipate a grudge match between ‘Ninja’ and Paulo Filho.


Smaller MMA organizations finally seeing more recognition - When people think of MMA, they only recognize the names UFC, PRIDE and K-1. What about the smaller organizations? Most fighters start their careers in the smaller shows and later make it to the big leagues. These smaller shows are now starting to stand out and are making a name for themselves. Cage Rage has been putting on some really good match-ups lately. They're definitely the premiere MMA org in England. WEC, King Of The Cage and Sportfight have also been making progress with solid fight cards. The newly reformed WFA could make splashes in 2006, especially if right investors jump aboard. Look for smaller MMA organizations to make a name for themselves in 2006. Someday, they may even compete with the big 3.