(‘Oh, hello there. This? Just some stuff I’m autographing because I’m famous. No big deal’)
He may be still trying to fill out the first fight card for his new promotion, but Monte Cox is always looking ahead. The Adrenaline MMA CEO told MMA Weekly that the organization’s second show will take place in Moline, Ill. on September 6, and it will feature both Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell.
Of course, this means that Sylvia will be fighting for Adrenaline less than two months after taking on Fedor Emelianenko in their July 19 Affliction bout. When asked about how the suddenly overwhelming demand for Sylvia’s services might be affecting the new promotion and its non-exclusive contracts, Cox played it cool.
“We signed Tim Sylvia to Adrenaline. That’s a great sign for us. Then the Affliction thing comes along, what am I supposed to do? Tell Tim that he can’t fight the No. 1 fighter in the world in one of the biggest fights ever?” said Cox of the decision to allow Sylvia to fight for another promoter. “I’m not gonna tell him that. Why, just because I have a contract for him to fight for Adrenaline?
“We’re not going to do that stuff. If there are better fights out there that they have a chance to fight in and they want to do them and we want them to do them. Then that’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to fight outside of our own event.”
It’s a smart decision by Cox to put Sylvia and Rothwell on the card in the Quad Cities, which we like to refer to as “Miletich Camp Country.” Much will depend on who they can find as opponents, however. Regardless of what happens in Sylvia’s bout with Fedor, his stock is likely to move in one direction or another as a result. Still, it could be a long and busy summer in the world of new MMA organizations, so planning for September may be nothing more than hopes and dreams at this point.
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commentsI absolutely agree that Tim Sylvia's upcoming fight is bigger than his fight against Monson. There is no way I can argue against the fact that some fights are more important than others, that's not my point. My point is that every fight serves to raise or lower a fighter's status.
Fedor vs HMC? Fedor didn't look as good as expected against a presumably low level fighter, his stock goes down. HMC also went down because the fight proved he has no ground skills. As I suspected, that fight was a lose lose.
Lindland vs Fedor? Lindland gains respect for having put Fedor into some trouble with that cut, Fedor gains respect for working through it and finishing the fight like he should have. That's a win win.
Couture vs Gonzaga? Couture further proves that an old man can still fight, his stock goes way up! Did you forget that Couture was quite the underdog? Before his fights with Sylvia and Gonzo, Randy was seen as a good fighter who was past his prime. Now he is ranked well in every top 10 list. As for Gonzaga, his heart comes into question. I know his nose was busted, but he seemed to be giving up before the fight was really over.
Obviously, all of what I've just said is up for argument, it's just my opinion after all. I just feel that no matter what the stakes are, there is little likelihood that the perception of a fighter stays exactly the same after any given fight.
Some fights are much more important than others in determining the path of a fighter's career. Title defenses, debuts in new organizations, returns after a loss—those are defining moments. Tim Sylvia executed a series of relatively boring title defenses before he was upset by Randy Couture. Now he's left the UFC and he's going to fight a man whom many regard as the best heavyweight alive. I'm gonna say that this one is more important than his bout against Jeff Monson at UFC 65. Respectfully, I don't understand how you could say otherwise.
This remark is clearly aimed at UFC fighters who feel that Dana White has limited their ability to aggressively pursue fights with fighters outside of the UFC. He's trying to show them that if they sign with Adrenaline MMA, they have all sorts of freedom to fight anyone they want, any time, anywhere.
While this may sound sincere, I can't help but be cynical. Honestly, if Adrenaline MMA were to suddenly become a big player, he'd lock his guys down faster than you can blink. I'm no Dana White fan, but a lot of these guys would look an awful lot like pigs through the window of Farmer Jones's barn if their places were reversed.
hahhhahhahhahaha...that's gotta be good for a t-shirt.
Use the inverse example, GSP loses to Matt Serra and all of a sudden GSP's stock goes way down. GSP, who everyone thought was untouchable, is now being questioned about his mental toughness. He came back to prove those doubters wrong by getting some dominant wins against Koscheck, Hughes, and Serra, thus regaining his untouchable status. Before the loss to Serra, how many people thought that Koscheck had a chance against GSP? After the loss to Serra, how many people thought that GSP was mentally weak and Koscheck might give him a whipping? I don't know the numbers, but it's something to think about.
I'll give one last example on this argument, Brock Lesnar. Had the fight gone to Lesnar, everyone would be hugging his nuts. He pushed Mir to the brink of defeat and Lesnar gets credit for that, but everyone points to his inexperience with BJJ. Had Lesnar pounded Mir out, which didn't happen thanks to some questionable reffing, people wouldn't be so concerned about Lesnar's BJJ skills. The end result of the fight showed that Lesnar is a great athlete and has a ton of potential, but you can't tell me that Lesnar's stock didn't go down at least a little.
That's a little obvious, isn't it? It's like saying, "Regardless of what I say to this girl, I will likely get laid or be rejected." Well, no shit!
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