What's in a name?

It is hard to believe that the UFC will reach it's 100th pay-per-view this year. If anything shows you the longevity and scope of what MMA can and has done this would be it. I think that UFC has legitimized itself as a sport and not a sport entertainment sideshow as some have said in the past. I can't help but wonder though, will the UFC continue to number their shows and if so, when does it become unnecessary?

I propose that UFC go to the amazing UFC 100 title and then after that come up with a new concept of naming the shows. I believe they can take a page out of boxing and instead of calling it UFC 101, call it (hypothetical) UFC Penn Vs. Florian. You just have that main event to go on, while the UFC has these recognizable names they should be using them. I am the first to say, with the UFC having some sort of fight going on every month, I can't always keep track of who is fighting what "Numbered" show. This would clear up any confusion for that month's card. The UFC is doing a great job cultivating younger, lesser known fighters, so bring them up right and within a few years those fighters have drawing power on the main event namesake.

If that is not an option the UFC could go back to "Naming" the PPVs. Redemption, Meltdown, Boiling Point, these have all been used in correlation with UFC #s, but never on their own. The only problem here is that the show begins to sound gimmicky, too WWE. The WWE and all other pro wrestling promotions has done this since the dawn of time. It is a great way to promote a show, WCW's Halloween Havoc, TNA's Road To Victory, WWE's Royal Rumble. These names play to a certain curiosity in the demographic that watches both UFC and wrestling, but as you can see they are a little juvenile in the grand scheme. Let's evaluate one here, what sounds better to you? UFC Lidell Vs. Couture3 (which was actually the name of this PPV) or UFC 57: Execution. To me, hands down the fighters make the PPV not some catchy name. BTW, that card was the largest gate UFC had done to date up until UFC 91 with, Oh, another fighter Vs. fighter named PPV, Couture Vs. Lesnar. I believe I have made my point and a strong one at that, but unless Dana White and Co. stay up long Vegas nights Googling UFC, they probably won't see this, so they won't get it and we will get UFC 218: Beat Down instead of UFC Hogg Vs. Dvorak.

The Iceman Cometh

Chuck Liddell made an appearance at Max Muscle this evening. We got there at 3 and stood in line for about 45 minutes to an hour before we got to meet him. The line continued to be long even after we left, which just goes to show that MMA is definitely a hugh sport right now. Chuck is a superstar in his own right. Former UFC light-heavyweight Champ, he stood almost as tall as me and was as broad as me. But, obviously he was cut (in great shape). A real class act, he signed the DVD and T-shirt we laid down in front of him. We got pictures with him and he looked like he was enjoying himself. Here is a little bit of info for you- Chuck had his toenails painted blue, black, and white. Iceman colors, pretty awesome for a tough guy to do. I am always so excited to meet these guys, so far I have gotten to meet Chuck, Randy Couture, Tim Silvia, Jens Pulver, Houston Alexander, and Ken Shamrock. All but Shamrock were cool, Shamrock was just there for the money. He was a jerk and his wife, well I won't use a negative word because I have more respect than that, but lets just say, a bad manager! Anyway, good stuff, that Chuck!