This past weekend was an historic one for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). It marked the major network premiere of live MMA and there were impressive performances put forth by some of the pound-for-pound best in the sport. So, for better or worse here is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of MMA.

The Good
Many critics didn’t think that Faber/Pulver would go 5 rounds. Well it did and it was an instant classic. These two champions fought tooth and nail with Faber inching out each round. You can’t watch the fight and NOT appreciate Jens Pulver’s huge heart …and chin. This will hopefully be a fight we get to see again in the future.

Miguel Torres has to be one of the slickest fighters on the planet. He was virtually unknown on a national level, but here in Chicago his legend grew with every never say die win. His crafty ground game and amazing transitions from long range, clinch and ground epitomize what Bruce Lee meant when he said “flow like water”. This is only complimented by his out of the cage humbleness and overall positive representation of the sport.

Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith was a back and forth war that was shaping up to be a Griffin/Bonar but for a MUCH bigger home audience. Both fighters fought back from the deep end of the pool to hurt the other. The only bad thing about this match was the no-contest result. What puts this in the “good” category is the fact that potentially 7 million people witnessed the hearts and skills of these two on a free CBS broadcast.

CBS’s commentary on MMA has to be the most important aspect of this weekend’s good events. The broadcast team was given no direction by the Elite XC promotion, so just like the NFL, NBA, MLB and every other major sport that appears on national television, the broadcasters could be HONEST. This is a first in MMA. While the fights and fighters might not have been the top level, while the broadcasters themselves may not be an award-winning team, they were refreshingly honest in their assessments of the fights and fighters in the cage. They didn’t agree with everything that happened. They didn’t say that Elite XC has ALL the best fighters. They were allowed to talk about other promotions. They DID talk about the shady pasts of some of the fighters. They didn’t shy away from what makes sports real in an effort to tow a company line, and that, more than anything else will be the key to getting MMA accepted as a real sport.

The Bad
While there wasn’t a lot bad this weekend contrary to what some people would have you believe, there are a few complaints. Elite XC can lose the dancing girls---they just aren’t needed, ring card girls are fine. The WEC should have aired Jeff Curran’s fight and not Razor Rob. I would rather see live how he did since he, up until Jens, gave Faber his toughest test. Finally, the match making and/or refs for Elite XC have to allow more ground fighting. We all know the masses of American fans crave the KO, but watching some ground and pound or skilled BJJ is just as good, and throw in skilled transitions---it can even be better.

The Ugly
I can name quite a few things here, but I’ll keep it brief.

James Thompson’s ear----yuck!

Kimbo Slice’s ground game---he is new to it, so I don’t expect much, but Bas better bring some help to increase his wrestling and BJJ skils, and fast.

I love the UFC. They do have the majority of the MMA talent. That is not in question. They don’t have ALL the MMA talent. (Fedor) The biggest thing the UFC lacks is integrity. It is that very lack of integrity that allows steroid stripped champions to be present on the commentary team during a bout for the vacant belt. It is that lack of integrity that will attempt to push a well-known fighter out of a press conference to silence his outspoken thoughts. It is that lack of integrity that will have a “sports league” erase its history because the president doesn’t like former champions…see Frank Shamrock…or toss out top 5 talent because an individual doesn’t play yes man…see Matt Lindland. While the CBS card may not have been the best for MMA’s hard core fan base, at the very least it was honest. UFC does not equal MMA. And if the UFC was honest in its approach to MMA being a sport, if the UFC actually loved MMA more than itself, then CBS would have been airing Randy Couture vs Fedor as a main event. Just imagine where the sport would be today if that had been the highlight of Saturday night.

In a perfect world, the best fighters fight the best. That isn’t happening yet, but Saturday took one small step towards making MMA a more legit sport, and that was finally treating it like a legit sport, so thank you for that.