[350 lbs fist]

Let me first express my respect for both the PFC and the UFC and say that this isn't meant to be a Pride vs UFC thread.

Okay. Here goes.
In Pride the champions more or less represent the diversity of the MMA world with one Russian, one Brazilian, one American and one Japanese champion.
If you look across the pond you can see that the UFC as the premier venue for MMA have 3 out of 4 champions with American backgrounds.
Arlovski is the sole exception and the last 4 fights he's fought ( including his 2 defenses )he's faced Americans and is now facing another American in his next defense.
It gives off the impression that the UFC is hard pressed to dethrone Arlovski to make way for a more marketable American champion, even if that is not the case in actual fact.
Franklin's last 4 opponents have all had North American backgrounds with Loiseau as the lone non U.S resident but he is still Canadian.
Liddell's last 5 opponents have been Americans as well.
And in the case of Hughes his last 9 opponents hail from North America and 2 of those from Canada.
It is not my intention to diss these champions and their skills but it gives the appearance of an org trying to ensure a North American profile on their champions by protecting them from foreign competition.
What I'm concerned about is the possible fall in the credibility of the UFC belts in the fans' eyes as this seeming trend towards becoming an Anglo Fighting Championship instead of one drawing top talent from around the world to find out who is the best unfolds.
I'm not saying that Pride is perfect and all and I understand the need for high profile American fighters to keep the American audience interested but this predominance of North Americans imo tarnishes the reputation of the great champions they have who fight whoever they are put up against.

Anyone else who shares my concerns or totally disagrees or is just itching to flame someone?

[babo0n]

basically a product of the ufc not having any top international talent (foreign fighters) aside from a few

[Some_Black_Guy]

also, anglo implies white, caucasian, european descent. the ufc's past champions included carlos newton (caribbean black descent), tito (latino), bustamante (brazilian) and bj penn (hawaiian).

if anything, afc should have been american fighting championship

[LonelyBull]

very intelligent, and well put. the ufc seems to almost be protectionists, which is not as good for us consumers, while pride has fighters from all around, which is good for the consumer.

[Truethug]

I disagree........I just think that the UFC represents the best No American fighters with a few exceptions, where as Pride is more International. I dont see the UFC as trying to be separatists, just limited in what they'll spend to lure talent.

Again, just an opinion.

[SmokyMtMan]

This is one of the best threads ever. Great job, man. The American over-dominance in the UFC is why so many American fans think this world ranking is "Pride biased." The UFC fans that don't have much experience in MMA or that don't know that many foreign fighters, of course see a bias. But actually it is the lack of diversity in the UFC that makes them think like this, they see a very shallow talent pool in the UFC that lacks any real diversity.

Originally posted by fedorfan789.

New mma rankings .
AFP TOP TEN FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH


HEAVYWEIGHT


1.) Fedor Emelianenko Russia
2.) Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira Brazil
3.) Mark Hunt New Zealand
4.) Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic Croatia
5.) Sergei Kharitonov Russia
6.) Fabricio Werdum Brazil
7.) Alexander Emelianenko Russia
8.) Andrei Arlovski Belarus
9.) Tim Sylvia USA
10.) Josh Barnett USA


LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT


1.) Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua Brazil
2.) Vanderlei Silva Brazil
3.) Ricardo Arona Brazil
4.) Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson USA
5.) Chuck Liddell USA
6.) Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira Brazil
7.) Alistair Overeem Holland
8.) Renato 'Babalu' Sobral Brazil
9.) Randy Couture USA
10.) Vitor Belfort Brazil


MIDDLEWEIGHT


1.) Dan Henderson USA
2.) Murilo Bustamante Brazil
3.) Kazushi Sakuraba Japan
4.) Rich Franklin USA
5.) Paulo Filho Brazil
6.) Yuki Kondo Japan
7.) Frank Shamrock USA
8.) Matt Lindland USA
9.) Anderson Silva Brazil
10.) David Loiseau Canada


WELTERWEIGHT


1.) Georges St-Pierre Canada
2.) B.J. Penn USA
3.) Matt Hughes USA
4.) Frank Trigg USA
5.) Karo Parisyan USA
6.) Daniel Acacio Brazil
7.) Renato 'Charuto' Verissimo Brazil
8.) Sean Sherk USA
9.) Crosley Gracie Brazil
10.) Jake Shields USA


LIGHTWEIGHT


1.) Takanori Gomi Japan
2.) Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro Brazil
3.) Hayato Sakurai Japan
4.) Joachim Hansen Norway
5.) Tatsuya Kawajiri Japan
6.) Kaoru Uno Japan
7.) Genki Sudo Japan
8.) Koutetsu Boku Japan
9.) Luis Azeredo Brazil
10.) Yves Edwards USA



FEATHERWEIGHT


1.) Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto Japan
2.) Gilbert Melendez USA
3.) Jens Pulver USA
4.) Hideo Tokoro Japan
5.) Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira Brazil
6.) Joao Roque Brazil
7.) Ivan Menjivar El Salvador
8.) Jeff Curran USA
9.) Antonio Carvalho Brazil
10.) Mark Hominick Canada

I have a few problems with the rankings, but overall they are far better than BloodyKnux or MMAWeekly liosts, which being written by Americans for Americans, are simply inaccurate and obviously slanted toward Americans.

[Ranger48]

the UFC is trying to corner the American market... a freakin huge market... whats the point of bringing in all forign fighters right away to attract people from here? if i was running the UFC i would want to initally capture the market by bringing in people can relate to... as far as them saying they are the best fighters in the world, what are they supposed to say? Pride is better??? if the UFC takes off and MMA becomes the sport that it should be... once people get familiarized w/ the fighters the talent pool will rise and the international fighters will come... i dont understand how this isnt simple logic.... and i really dont understand how some retard from another country cant grasp this and thinks that because the UFC doesnt have some weirdo from holland rather than an American,from a city everybody can back, they are doing the sport a diservice... its called running a business one step at a time so thats it will be most profitable in the long run....

[SmokyMtMan]

350 lbs fist, I just wanted to state that you did an awesome job gathering the evidence for your argument. I think that you broke it down beautifully, and the fact that you back yourself with knowledge and facts that are well-written and logical place you in the top 1% of Sherdog members. Great work.

Hopefully the UFC will begin to bring in more international talent, because in this regard they are far behind other organizations.

[Ranger48]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtMan

This is one of the best threads ever. Great job, man. The American over-dominance in the UFC is why so many American fans think this world ranking is "Pride biased."

you really dont think before you talk... do you think the average UFC fan cares about world rankings... no they care about the UFC... thats about it.... most fans arent hardcore sherdoggers who care about that crap, they see it as entertainment and dana plays to that... as he should... hes building a BUSINESS

[Ranger48]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtMan

Hopefully the UFC will begin to bring in more international talent, because in this regard they are far behind other organizations.

I just really think they are behind Pride and maybe K-1... and I really dont think they care, because they are not fighting for any of thier audience... the UFC is trying to create their OWN... A NEW AUDIENCE... which they are successfully doing....

i just dont know any logical person lookin at this from outside a hardcore MMA position... but looking at it from a position of advertising and building an industry can say that bringing a whole bunch of forigners that the average UFC cant relate to from places the average UFC fan doesnt care about is the smartest thing for them to do ...