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[kickass32]

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The UFC's Reign of Terror Is the Price Paid for the WEC Merger

by Kid Nate on Jan 6, 2011 3:30 PM EST in UFC Analysis


As brutal as the action at UFC 125 was in the Octagon, the post-event carnage has far exceeded the toll taken in the cage.

Phil Baroni, Antonio McKee, Brandon Vera, Marcus Davis -- all cut following UFC 125.

Maggie Hendricks opines:

Losing fighters like these robs the UFC of some of the fun and personality that fighters like Baroni bring to it. Davis, Vera and McKee have perfected the art of trash-talking like few others. But with so many fighters on the roster after the merger with the WEC, this is the reality of the UFC today. This is especially true at lightweight, where McKee and Davis competed.

The upside is that it gives fighters in the UFC a level of accountability that is unheard of in professional sports. Football players can slump for an entire season and not worry about being cut. The same is true in basketball and baseball. The closest comparable can be found in golf, where players who don't make the top 125 in earnings don't automatically get their tour card for the next year. Like golfers, fighters know that they have to perform to keep their jobs.

A couple of these cases were arguable, but let's face facts none of these fighters was going to be contending for the title anytime soon.

In fact, S.C. Michaelson predicted 3/4 of these cuts before the event. McKee was the only one he didn't see being in danger.

Phil Baroni probably never should have come back to the UFC at all. Strikeforce cut him off a loss and his best days are long behind him.

Antonio McKee is 40 years old and is notoriously boring. He was only signed in the UFC because he'd strung together two straight finish wins and had built up a nice buzz online. Yeah he had a long winning streak but he's 40 years old and again, he's really boring. McKee had to know they would be looking to cut him if he lost a boring fight. His bout with Volkmann was dreadful, end of story.

Brandon Vera has been a bust at light heavyweight. In 2006 he was next in line for a title shot against champion Tim Sylvia after crushing Frank Mir. Instead of signing on the dotted line, Vera and his manager elected to hold out for more money. The UFC booked Randy Couture instead and the rest is history.

Vera went 3-4 at Light Heavyweight for the UFC with 2/3 of his wins via decision. The old Brandon Vera was a threat to win fights with brutal striking or lightening quick submissions. The new Brandon Vera was a threat to win or lose via a long tedious decision. His disturbing new tendency of getting his face rearranged was just the sad end of his UFC career. The 33 year old Vera needs to get some easy wins and get his confidence back or retire.

Marcus Davis had a great UFC run. At one point he won 6 straight and had worked his way into the top 15 in the division. Then he lost to Mike Swick at UFC 85. Since then he's gone 3-4 with all 4 losses in his last 5 fights. He tried cutting down to lightweight and despite looking really good for two rounds he got KTFO'd. At 38 it's time for Marcus Davis to move down the road.

Vera and Davis were protected for a long time because of their perceived importance to the UFC's international plans. But the UFC killed plans to do an event in the Philippines after the 2008 economic crash and Davis' Irish heritage is less relevant by the day as Ireland sinks into a deep depression.

You can bemoan the WEC merger for these losses, but me personally, I'd much rather see Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, Joseph Benavidez and Urijah Faber on the UFC roster than Baroni and company.

[NLRepublic]

The last paragraph of the article sums it up for me really. Sucks to see guys go, but I love the lighter classes, and when you have more fighters on your roster than there are fights available, this stuff is gonna happen. No reason anyone couldn't win their way back if they get their papers anyways.

Side note, seeing Davis get KO'd like he did after such a performance broke my heart

[Masscore]

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself this: Would you rather see Cruz, Aldo, Torres and Faber? Or Davis, Vera, McKee and Baroni?

[TBEAR]

You can bemoan the WEC merger for these losses, but me personally, I'd much rather see Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, Joseph Benavidez and Urijah Faber on the UFC roster than Baroni and company.

This, but Marcus Davis I would have kept around atleast one more fight

[kickass32]

Originally Posted by Masscore

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself this: Would you rather see Cruz, Aldo, Torres and Faber? Or Davis, Vera, McKee and Baroni?

When it's put like that, it's a no-brainer for sure!

[Otomosix]

Brandon Vera has been a bust at light heavyweight. In 2006 he was next in line for a title shot against champion Tim Sylvia after crushing Frank Mir. Instead of signing on the dotted line, Vera and his manager elected to hold out for more money. The UFC booked Randy Couture instead and the rest is history.

For the most part, I agree with the article but this bit is a little misleading. From what I recall, Vera was locked from participating in the UFC (for a year or so) due to a contract dispute between himself and his manager (not necessarily the UFC). I even remember Dana White saying that he wanted to have Vera back ASAP but they had to wait until a certain amount of time expired so Vera could re-sign with new management.

I never liked Vera, though and felt he always appeared more confident than he really was. Whatever the truth, cutting Vera (and the rest of them) now is still a good decision.

[IceCold48]

Originally Posted by Masscore

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself this: Would you rather see Cruz, Aldo, Torres and Faber? Or Davis, Vera, McKee and Baroni?

before the merger we couldve seen all of them...

[rivethead]

Originally Posted by IceCold48

before the merger we couldve seen all of them...

Exactly.

But I don't see the merger being the cause of these guys getting cut. They're losing against B level opponents, or worse.

There are very few fighters I want to see on a long losing streak. This will be better for everyone involved, but I don't see the merger as being responsible, nor do I see any of these cuts as indicative of a reign of terror. I'm pretty critical of dana but I don't feel like this was abusive.

rh

[DanC]

Man I was, just like some of the other guys, gutted to see Davis go, but I think that the WEC merger essentially means that the standard of the lighter classes has sky-rocketed, and if there are weaknesses in the division they will be highlighted much quicker, and let go. The UFC wants to continue to be known as the best MMA organisation in the world, and the merger is the best way of doing this.

As the saying goes 'you're only as strong as you're weak link', and by cutting out the weaker fighters (in all divisions), the UFC guarantees to have nothing but high-level, world-class fighters on their roster.

[rivethead]

Originally Posted by DanC

As the saying goes 'you're only as strong as you're weak link', and by cutting out the weaker fighters (in all divisions), the UFC guarantees to have nothing but high-level, world-class fighters on their roster.

...or at least guys who have a PPV-buying fan base, like Leben and Grove.

rh