5 Things to watch for in ‘09
January 2, 2009
2008 continued to raise the bar in mixed martial arts. Hilo’s BJ Penn got back on track by winning the lightweight championship and then defending it against Sean Sherk. Kendall Grove started his comeback with a big win over Evan Tanner. We also saw the rise and fall of EliteXC, which was a good home for Big Island boy KJ Noons, who upped his namesake big time with wins over Nick Diaz and Yves Edwards.
What will 2009 bring? Here’s five things to watch for.
5) Will the UFC fully monopolize mixed martial arts?
EliteXC tried and failed. So did the IFL. Right now, it looks like Affliction is the only hope in the United States for a mainstream mixed martial arts promotion to compete with the UFC. As long as Affliction is able to headline PPV’s with heavyweight phenom, Fedor Emelianenko, they probably will. But as we saw with EliteXC and Kimbo Slice, one bad loss suffered by your main draw, and it can all end in a hurry.
4) Will DESTINY fill the gap left by the possible end of Icon Sport?
If Icon Sport doesn’t hold another local show, is that the end of MMA in Hawaii or will DESTINY be able to take Icon’s place. DESTINY put on its November show at Aloha Tower and it came with mixed reviews. Some whispers say Icon might be coming back for a couple shows. The small MMA shows at small venues will always be around, but is big-time MMA in Hawaii finished?
3) Is this the end for Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva?
All three legendary figures are coming off brutal loses and look to be nearing the end of their careers. Will 2009 be the final time fans get to see this trio of fighters fight? Couture looked old finally against Lesnar and Silva ate yet another brutal knockout. Couture and Liddell are the two main guys that helped put the UFC on the map while Silva was one of the key guys that brought PRIDE to its peak in Japan. It’ll be a sad day for all MMA fans when these guys finally hang it up.
2) Will Fedor Emelianenko lose a fight?
Affliction is giving him the quality of fighters (Tim Sylvia last year, Andrei Arlovski later this month), but he has given no reason to show anybody can beat him. If Affliction can’t get it going, maybe FINALLY we see Fedor in the UFC long enough to fight a couple of the top dogs there, (Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar). If he goes back to Japan, there isn’t anyone there worthy of facing the Russian Emperor. Whatever happens to him and wherever he fights, I think the reign of Fedor continues through 2009 and beyond.
1) Does BJ Penn become the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world?
January 31 is the date. Biggest fight ever for Hawaii fans, biggest fight possibly ever in the UFC. Two current champions in their prime fighting. GSP. BJ Penn. A win, and Penn becomes unprecedented, the top dog, right there with Fedor as the best P4P fighter in the world. A loss, and he’s back to ruling a lightweight division void of many interesting opponents. Other than Kenny Florian and possibly Diego Sanchez now that he’s at 155, not many options for Penn there. As the 170-pound champ? Oh man. Penn won’t wait long to shape what his year is going to look like. Everything is on the line come the 31st. It’s a fight nobody in Hawaii will want to miss.
Posted in Fights
