Starting with last Friday's Euphoria MFC in Atlantic City and PRIDE: Bushido in Japan, 2004's final months are upon us. A lot has happened this year, especially during a busier-than-usual summer. Before we look forward to the always-interesting end-of-the year fights -- starting with this week's rapidly-changing UFC: War of '04 (which, at best, is now a skirmish) and continuing with PRIDE's epic Halloween rematch between Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson -- it's important to look back, see where we are, how we've gotten here, and what we've learned.
Tito Ortiz is Wrong About Wanderlei
It was one of his pat lines. Whenever he was asked how Wanderlei Silva's (or other PRIDE fighters) stardom would translate from Japanese to American audiences, ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz always responded that no casual viewer of the UFC would know -- or care -- about the Brazilian fighter.
So it must have come as quite a shock to the mohawk-sporting Ortiz -- If you can't beat Chuck Liddell, you may as well join him? -- when Silva earned loud cheers (less than Randy Couture and Liddell, but more than Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz and Howard Stern Wack Pack member "High Pitch" Eric) from the Las Vegas crowd at UFC 49.
Clearly, ticket holders inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena knew of the PRIDE champion. His sloping shoulders and brow demand you pay attention to him; mixed martial arts layman could sense that "I just might kill you" vibe Silva emits when he enters a room, even one as large as the arena.
The fans loved him and he was continually badgered for autographs and photos throughout the night.
It crossed my mind that the charged atmosphere of a fight-night-packed Las Vegas arena would be to Silva's liking. After all, the subdued setting of a Japanese-promoted fight show -- take away the lights and fancy hydraulic-driven stages and you've got little more than the feel of a World Chess Championship -- never seemed to suit Silva's style.
I craned towards Silva during the Chuck Liddell- Vernon White brawl to see if I could get a reaction. With the crowd roaring and fists flying, I imagined Silva strapped into his seat like Hannibal "The Cannibal" -- otherwise he would have taken out a section or two.
Silva's popularity must have come as a rude awakening to Ortiz, especially since the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" has turned into an ineffective fighter known more for his attitude outside the ring than in it. For a man that once enjoyed the greatest exposure and popularity of any fighter in America, the boos that have followed him recently can't sit well. And the realization that fans are aware -- and care -- about fighters like Silva, can't be that great for his psyche either.