We've been looking forward to an uncommonly good matchup between T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz all week long. But long before we got to Sunday's night's fight in Boston, we had a pretty wild news week in mixed martial arts, which we'd also call uncommon, but, you know, it's actually pretty common.
So let's get right into another edition of Fightweets.
Ronda Rousey and UFC 200
@KevinGiron217: Is UFC 200 taking a big hit by not having Ronda Rousey on the card in terms of viewership by the casual fan?
Of course it does. The whole reason why the idea that Rousey's rematch with Holly Holm seemed such a no-brainer for UFC 200 at first glance was because it just about ensured that the landmark event set for July 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas would shatter all existing UFC business records.
Without it, that's no longer the case.
Hopefully, the news that Rousey won't likely return to the Octagon until November means that she's determined to go about her return to the cage the right way. Rousey's routine of working outside projects, followed by a short fight camp, followed by a short fight, then starting all over again, worked spectacularly right up until it was a spectacular failure against Holm at UFC 193. Rousey is going to need a dramatic change of approach if she's going to figure out how to solve Holm in the rematch.
Of course, Friday afternoon, news broke that Rousey will co-star with Tina Fey in the movie "Do Nothing Bitches," which is on top of the two movies she's already got slated. So maybe, instead of a renewed MMA focus, Rousey is getting ready to go the way of Gina Carano, who took one butt-kicking and never returned to the cage. Beyond that, given how tight-lipped the Rousey camp has stayed, its too soon to tell either way which way she's going to go.
As for UFC 200, while he lack of Rousey keeps it from "instant biggest show ever" status, it's not like the show is hurting. It's the first card at the new Vegas arena, it's a milestone event, and the UFC will be sure to load it up with the best available fights. It could be Conor McGregor's next fight after meeting Raphael dos Anjos in March. It could be Georges St-Pierre's return. It could be the winner of Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate making a title defense. It could be all of the above. UFC 200 will be a blockbuster one way or another. Without Rousey, though, it won't be as big as it could be.
Frankie Edgar's title shot
@k_Sups: Better odds: Me winning the Powerball or Frankie Edgar getting a title shot this year?
Well, one of the Powerball winners was in Florida and your Twitter profile says you're in Florida, so, you tell me. Seriously though, as for Frankie, part of me really wants to say that it's both common sense and logical that he gets a title shot in 2016 one way or another. He's the obvious next choice at 145 pounds, and if the dominos fall right, he could be rewarded with a title shot at UFC 200.
However, at this time last year, if someone walked up to you and told you that McGregor, fresh off a 13-second knockout Jose Aldo, would keep his newly won featherweight as he goes on to challenge lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, who battered Anthony Pettis to win the belt and then steamrolled Donald Cerrone, you would have told them to put down the crack pipe and get into rehab.
So at this stage of the game, your guess is as good as mine.
B.J. Penn vs. Nik Lentz?
@AbernTerry: Challenging Lentz? Man that's sad, and BJ thinks this will make him still relevant how?
Deep down, we all knew this day was coming. We knew Penn too well. We all felt melancholy as Penn lost it during The Ultimate Fighter 19 post-fight press conference after his third loss to Edgar as he announced his retirement. But we knew somewhere along the way, the fire would come back.
Penn comes from a moneyed family, so he very likely doesn't need the paycheck. So what's the motivation? Maybe he's bored. Maybe you just can't kill the competitor in him, the same one who came back to the UFC as a welterweight in 2006 and promptly challenged heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia.
Whatever the reason, in hindsight, the surprise is not that Penn wants to return, its that it took so long to get here.
I'll admit part of me is intrigued to see what JacksonWink can do with what's left of Penn as a fighter. But that's about it. A fight against Nik Lentz -- a UFC undercard fixture since 2009 who is milking his moment in the sun for all it is worth -- does little for Penn's legacy.
If Penn produces a Tito Ortiz-Ryan Bader-type moment, it's will be feel-good, but will probably also lead to him thinking he can still do this full-time, which won't have good results. If he loses, it just becomes another sad tale of a fighter who used to be champion who doesn't know when to quit.
What next for Wanderlei Silva?
@N_Stepp1927 (and others with similar questions): Now that Wandy is released, who do you want to see him fight next? If at all?
Like with Penn, I don't know that "want" is the word we're looking for here. With Sliva, it is more a matter of who will he fight next? I worry about Silva more than I do Penn. This is a man who has made one self-inflicted mistake after another over the past several years, and it doesn't exactly take a doctorate to see the lingering effects of Silva's life choices in his actions.
As for this week's specific action which led to Silva's Zuffa release (the retraction of his claim the UFC was fixing fights, followed by Zuffa dropping its lawsuit against him): There are plenty of claims you can make against Zuffa which have validity, but the one about fight fixing ain't one of them. Not when the Fertittas' gaming license, the one that brings in revenue which enabled them to lose tens of millions on the UFC without batting an eye before things turned around, could be called into question. At least Silva manned up and admitted he was wrong, whatever his motivations for the apology were.
So we'll probably see Silva fight somewhere. Maybe he'll have a date with Fedor Emelianenko in Japan. Maybe he'll join the Bellator senior circuit. I can't say I'm thrilled to see Silva take more blows to the head, but, then, I've been vocal about enjoying things like Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock, so I'd be a hypocrite if I said Silva shouldn't be allowed to do the same if he so chooses.
All in all, the best thing you can say about Silva's legal situation with the UFC is that it's over.
What's next for Nick Diaz?
@Paperboy_ca: Diaz vs.....Everybody? Or just Lawler
I mean, it's always been the Diazes vs. the world, hasn't it?
I've long maintained that I'm willing to overlook every unwritten rule about who should get a title shot and who shouldn't if it means we finally get the rematch 11 years in the making (For those of you who weren't around at the the time, Diaz made Robbie Lawler face plant with a straight right on the kisser at UFC 47. While Lawler fought one more time in the UFC before wandering the desert for the next several years, the Diaz loss marked an end to the notion Lawler was on the fast track to stardom).
But that said, I just don't think you can pull the trigger yet. There are too many good fights with credible contenders for Lawler at the moment, whether it's the rematch with Carlos Condit, a bout with Tyron Woodley or who knows whether GSP bigfoots the whole process.
Diaz hasn't won a fight since 2011 and has only fought once in the past three years. He's not ready for Lawler. His return fight is going to sell regardless who is on the other side of the Octagon, so I say give him a tuneup fight (Matt Brown?) and then see where things stand.
Woe is Yoel
@RuckerYeah: Man, everyone is piling on Yoel Romero. Does he deserve it?
I certainly can't blame guys like Tim Kennedy and Michael Bisping, who are quite possibly the two biggest examples of fighters who have tested clean every step along the way and had their career paths altered for the worse by cheaters, for piling on Yoel Romero the way they did when word broke about his apparent PED infraction.
And it's not just that he used. We can be pretty forgiving of cheaters here in the MMA space. It's everything else that goes with it -- the extra time on the stool between rounds against Kennedy. The flagrant fence grab against Jacare Souza. And that he does so while wrapping himself in a protective layer of religious righteousness. I'm fine with fighters thanking their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all night long if that's what they feel gave them the mental strength to win their fights. More power to them. But don't preach piety to us while also beating us over the head with the idea your actions aren't matching your words.
Dillashaw vs. Cruz
@jrcasmir518: Does @TJDillashaw have what it takes to beat @TheDomin8r?
Yes? No? Maybe? I can't bleeping decide, which is why I'm anticipating Sunday night's bantamweight title fight between champion Dillashaw and the guy who never lost it in the ring, Cruz, as eagerly as everyone else. You're in the middle of reading about 30,000 different breakdowns of the style matchup, so I'm not going to just repeat what everyone else is saying. (And if you want to read something different, check out my piece with Cruz reflecting on the legacy of the WEC)/ The fight's a tossup, and yes, I'm factoring Cruz's inactivity. So let's tune in Sunday and find out.