On the December 18 three-hour Raw extravaganza, Vladimir Kozlov, “a Russian mixed martial artist/sambo specialist” was introduced.  Turns out his real name is Oleg Prudius, and that made me wonder just what WWE is up to.  Are they trying to jump on the MMA bandwagon in their own special ham-fisted way? 

It would seem that professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are mutually exclusive.  One is fake (or predetermined, if you prefer).  The other is “as real as it gets,” as UFC tells us often.

But could it really be possible to combine the two in some subtle way?

I guess we’ll have to wait to see where WWE goes with Vlad, but noted mixed martial artist, Kimo Leopoldo, is starting a new fed that will “combine . . . real fights and scripted pro-wrestling storylines” in his attempt “to drive MMA to another level of sports entertainment.”  According to a recent press release announcing Kimo’s plans for New Era Fighting, he stated that the “fighting will be real but the storylines outside of the ring or cage will be scripted. What the UFC and WWE are missing is that their markets are the same. UFC fans really like some of the WWE’s entertainment but won’t watch it because the fighting is fake. WWE fans may enjoy the UFC’s brutal fighting, but many aren’t into it because a fight could last only 30 seconds and then there’s no other entertainment value.”

Ya know, I think Kimo could have a hit on his hands.  If anybody can pull it off, he probably can because he has a passion for fighting. 

The same cannot be said for whatever WWE has in mind for Vladimir Kozlov.  I hope Kozlov will become just another over-the-top pro-wrestling character.  McMahon, I fear, does not have a passion for fighting and sees it as just another revenue stream.  Without the passion, it cannot succeed.  For example, he didn't have a passion for ECW, and look what happened to that.     

UFC 66 - A Preview

Saturday night, December 30, UFC will present “UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz” live on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The main event is another in UFC's series of dream matches—this time between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.  This won’t be like Tito’s last dream match, though.  Ken Shamrock was an opponent who wasn’t quite up to the challenge.  Liddell vs. Ortiz will be much different.

The very first UFC match I ever saw was the first Liddell/Ortiz battle.  I had no idea what UFC was at the time; the show I was watching was about the Fertitta Brothers’ luxury hotel in Las Vegas and the fight just happened to be included on that episode (in an clever example of cross-promotion).  Liddell was so impressive in that match that I wanted to know more about UFC.  Not long afterwards, “The Ultimate Fighter” came along, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.  I’ve also been a fan of both Ortiz and Liddell.

Chuck Liddell is going to be a formidable opponent for the Huntington Beach Bad Boy.  No offense to Tito, but if I was a betting person, I’d be putting money on the Ice Man to retain his title.   

Everybody seems to have an opinion on this fight, and Randy Couture weighed in on the subject in a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle:

 "If Tito finds a way to beat Chuck, I'm going to have to come out of retirement and give Tito a whack."

Asked if he was serious about lacing up the gloves again to fight Ortiz, Couture responded with an emphatic "absolutely."

If you haven’t made up your mind yet, you can catch some of the pre-fight hype on Spike TV.  Following TNA Impact on Thursday night, Spike will air “Countdown to UFC 66” at 10:00 (ET) and an episode of “All Access” featuring Chuck Liddell will follow.

The remainder of the card for UFC 66 is top notch, too, with many favorites from the past seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, such as:  Keith Jardine vs. Forrest Griffin; Andrei “Pit Bull” Arlovski vs. Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz; Jason MacDonald vs. Chris Leben; Eric Schafer vs. Michael Bisping.

Forrest Griffin and Chris Leben are always exciting to watch, as is Bisping.  He was supposed to fight a few weeks ago and ran into visa problems, so we’re finally getting to see him make his UFC PPV debut. 

Undercard matches which may not be shown are:  Tony DeSouza vs. Thiago Alves; Carmelo Marrero vs. Gabriel Gonzaga; Yushin Okami vs. Rory Singer; and Anthony Perosh vs. Christian Wellisch.

Check with your local cable provider regarding availability in your area.

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Happy New Year, everybody.  Thanks for reading and I’ll see you back here next week.