Saturday, July 1, 2017

So I watched the PFL ( Professional Fight League) Daytona Event: (WSOF)

1) the broadcast ran early for some reason so I tuned in to have missed 3 of the 4 fights, saw what was essentially the last fight (Zeferino's fight), then they broadcast the event from the beginning

2) NBCSN puts it on at 1030pm normally, a sure sign that not only is it not a priority in programming they just bury it with a brutally awkward time slot

3) Bas Rutten in your ear distracting one of your coaches for a MID-FIGHT INTERVIEW in a fight that will be decided by the 3rd round is a terrible idea

4) awkward commentary trio of randy couture, Kayla Harrison and some guy saying things like "the Daytona Plunge!" when one fighter jumps up to try and land a punch on a downed opponent

5) humidity and rain made the mat incredibly slippery in the fights which was obviously giving the fighters problems other than just fighting another professional in a cage

6) Kayla Harrison giving technical insight on the striking portion of the fights felt forced at best. Randy Couture does an effective job exchanging grappling to a audience/fanbase which may have little or no grappling experience

7) One of the judges scored the Zeferino fight 30-27 against Zeferino which made NO sense whatsoever.

8) the event with only 4 fights delivered several competitive/close fights, several of which were decided by the 3rd round, with grappling and striking in most of the bouts which was a welcome change from some of the kickboxing-centric affairs I've seen as of late on UFC and Bellator cards

9) Jon Fitch got a win by finish. Go figure.

VERDICT: I'll be tuning again when it's not stacked up against a Bellator or UFC card, but the organization will have to do something to be worth tuning into without the spate of post-UFC resumes or freakshow fights that Bellator will throw out there or the legends retirement tour they've offered up intermittently over the past year or so. The problem is, as I see it, that as Bellator found out the tournament format has some issues as guys get injured in fights, and the general public if asked will tell you a tournament format makes sense, but my suspicion is that fading UFC names and freakshow fights did more for Bellator's visibility than their tournament format, as evidenced by the fact that they abandoned it. I liked WSOF, I liked a number of guys on its roster, and as a guy who has fought before, I'm always pro-fighter in the sense that the more organizations are out there, the better it is for fighters in terms of options and life as opposed to the UFC monopoly. That being said, I just don't see what PFL now offers as a I don't want to say gimmick or novelty, but simply something that will be unique to its product. I'm all for having another avenue to watch professional MMA on non-PPV, but their guys simply lack the visibility to compete with Bellator and the UFC as distinct brands within a sport that some people still call "UFC" as opposed to knowing mixed martial arts is the actual title of the sport itself.


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