Interim Titles: A History Lesson

AEW’s path to crown an interim world champion is clear. Last Wednesday on Dynamite, #1 contender Jon Moxley beat Casino Battle Royal winner Kyle O’Reilly in a good back-and-forth contest. O’Reilly’s battle royal win was surprisingly damned with faint praise in the crowd and online. He’s a good wrestler, but some find the Undisputed Elite member boring.

NJPW was in a similar situation with their half of the interim title equation. Hiroki Goto is a good wrestler, but some find him dull as a character. No one expected Goto to beat Hiroshi Tanahashi at Dominion on Sunday, and they were right. Tanahashi pinned Goto in a highly engaging match despite the result never really being in question.

Jon Moxley will face Hiroshi Tanahashi to determine the interim AEW World Champion at Forbidden Door on June 26 in Chicago. CM Punk’s injury put a damper on things, but hopefully, the interim title will begin to right the ship. Of course, the end game down the line is the interim titleist colliding with Punk to determine an undisputed champion.

Does anyone know how the interim concept got started in the first place? I do, I do (eagerly raising my hand in class). So, here’s a history lesson.

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The New UFC Legacy Championship Belt

The UFC unveiled their new Legacy Championship belt, which will be awarded to those who win title bouts and used for the duration of their career inside the octagon. The belt is customized for each individual champion by the athlete’s country and weight class. The red stones on the side plates represent each title defense.

The women’s championship belt will be slightly smaller. However, identical to the men’s belt in every other detail. Each belt comes with a plate on the backside with a unique serial number assigned to the specific champion. UFC President Dana White’s engraved signature is also included for authenticity.

The first eight countries that were home to UFC champions will represent flag iconography on the belt. USA, Canada, Brazil, Netherlands, Poland, Belarus, UK, and Ireland. Mark Coleman (USA) was the inaugural heavyweight champion.

The first belt will be presented at the UFC’s debut on ESPN+ streaming service when Henry Cejudo defends the flyweight title (125 lbs.) against bantamweight king (135 lbs.) T.J. Dillashaw. Both fighters will enter the octagon with the proceeding title belt, which the new legacy design and awarded to the winner.

The global motif of the belt is representative of a true world championship. The belt actually says “world champion,” unlike the previous incarnation. The center plate looks clunky and lacks a certain sleekness.

Overall, the new title looks very 2019 and carries an ambitious exhibit of accomplishment and celebration.

UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero II Review

269_Robert_Whittaker_vs_Yoel_Romero — Photo by Esther Lin of MMAFighting.com

Over the last couple of years, I have found MMA, specifically the UFC, to be a complete bore. The lack of stars and divisional relevance, along with the oversaturation of events, has made most fights a standard affair instead of something special. That all changes, at least for one night, as UFC 225 from the United Center in Chicago produced meaningful fights from top to bottom. Continue reading “UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero II Review” →

UFC 211 Preview: Miocic vs. Dos Santos 2

MMA content on my website has been few and far between as of late. I still follow the sport on a regular basis. Still, it’s become difficult to get excited about the fights due to an oversaturation of events that carry a decreasing amount of divisional relevance.

This Saturday will serve as a different story as UFC 211 presents a stellar main card. Two title fights, a welterweight bout that will solidify a #1 contender along with two great pairings will round out what could be the best show in years.

Continue reading “UFC 211 Preview: Miocic vs. Dos Santos 2” →

Alvarez fell into the Trap at UFC 205

Featherweight champion Conor McGregor made history last Saturday when he walloped Eddie Alvarez to become the Lightweight Champion, making him the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles in two weight classes simultaneously.

The fight capped off a monumental night of fights as UFC 205 was the first event in New York since the statewide ban was lifted after a nearly 20-year political battle.

Eddie Alvarez was the test to prove once and for all whether Conor McGregor was fact or fiction. McGregor aced the exam with relative ease, but Alvarez didn’t execute the best game plan. Continue reading “Alvarez fell into the Trap at UFC 205” →

CM Punk’s UFC Debut Officially Announced

After many delays, which led to even more question if he would ever step foot in the octagon, on September 10^th, CM Punk will make his long-awaited UFC debut when he faces Mickey Gall in a welterweight bout at UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio.

UFC 203 is headlined by Stipe Miocic, defending the heavyweight title for the first time against Alistair Overeem. In the co-main event, Fabricio Werdum, who lost the title to Miocic, looks to get back in the championship picture as he takes on Ben Rothwell. Continue reading “CM Punk’s UFC Debut Officially Announced” →

Report: CM Punk Not Progressing Well As A Fighter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gndc0XU5T4w

Reports have surfaced regarding CM Punk’s MMA training, and they’re not good. If this is true, what does the future hold for the former WWE superstar, and will he ever fight in the UFC? I recorded a news update on the story along with some analysis that you can listen to on the official YouTube channel of Gerweck.Net

UFC Review: The Count tops The Spider in London

Fans tuning in on UFC Fight Pass this past Saturday were treated to a main event showdown that encapsulates the sport and spectacle of scripted melodrama that was all too real. Michael Bisping toppled Anderson Silva with grinding determination while showing no sign of bewilderment over the status and application of Silva’s combative brilliance.

In the first two rounds, Bisping was busier, constantly moved forward, and kept his head on a swivel, which diluted Silva’s counterstriking. Bisping even dropped Silva, twice, something no one felt he had enough power to administer. Bisping was on his way to winning the third round until the last 15 seconds took a bizarre turn.

Bisping lost his mouthpiece and informed the referee, and it appeared that Herb Dean was stepping in to halt the action to recover the mouthpiece. Bisping stopped fighting, looked down at the mouthpiece, and Silva walloped him with a picture-perfect knee to the head. Silva walked away as the buzzer sounded, believing he had won the fight.

Bisping was down and seemed to be out. Silva celebrated on top of the cage with his corner joining in, all while Dean vehemently yelled, “The fight is not over.” Once Silva got the message, he was agitated but ready to fight while the crimson mask of a wobbly Michael Bisping stained the octagon canvas.

The fourth and fifth-round saw Silva catch Bisping with a shot below the belt, and Silva received a karmic eye poke in return. Bisping looked like something out of a horror film as the blood seeped into his left eye. Blood be dammed, the unwavering Brit withstood Silva’s onslaught, including a Superman punch and a front kick to the face, while constantly tagging Silva’s chin.

The judges unanimously scored the bout 48-47 for Michael Bisping. Silva did more damage, but Bisping out landed him in the pocket where most of the fight occurred. Silva did his usual histrionics to no avail, and you’d think he would have learned his lesson after his loss to Chris Weidman.

This was an incredible fight where both fighters walked the razor’s edge. The mixture of star power, action, excitement, and controversy made for a special event that should only serve the UFC’s digital streaming service well going forward.

To summarize this fight, I would like to steal a phrase from the film White Men Can’t Jump. Silva wanted to look good first and win second. Bisping just wanted to win, and he did.

UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia Predictions

On Saturday, UFC 190 will emanate from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. This event will be bigger than most as the main card will be four hours with seven fights as opposed to the standard three-hour show with five fights.

This might have something to do with Ronda Rousey finishing her last three opponents in 1 minute and 46 seconds combined, and many expecting her to do the same again, as she looks to defend her title against Bethe Correia.

If the main event doesn’t tickle your fancy, then fear not, this card is long on nostalgia via PRIDE Fighting Championship, including what could be a rematch for the ages. The women’s strawweight division gets a boost as arguably the divisions’ number one fighter makes her UFC debut.

There are also two protect bouts courtesy of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil and the cherry on top of this combative ice cream sundae comes in the form of a heavyweight slugfest that shouldn’t go anywhere near the distance.

While this card is short on divisional relevance, the entertainment factor, along with the continued rise of a superstar in the making, should make for an action-packed evening.

Continue reading “UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia Predictions” →

Shamrock vs. Kimbo: A Work of Fiction

shamrockKimbo — Photo Credit: Sherdog.com

Last Friday, in the main event of Bellator 138, Kimbo Slice knocked out Ken Shamrock. The former bare-knuckle brawler seemingly came back from the jaws of defeat as he escaped from a rear-naked choke and landed a right hand that sent Shamrock crumbling to the canvas.

The thing is, there are a lot of people who are questioning the integrity of the bout. Some scoff at the very idea that there was anything fishy with the bout, while others believe without question that the fix was in.

When examining these matters, the two big questions you have to ask yourself are why the event would unfold this way and what Bellator has to gain from Kimbo getting a big win on national television? Continue reading “Shamrock vs. Kimbo: A Work of Fiction” →