Did Countdown To UFC 96 Hype You Up?
Most of the time I'm pretty interested in watching the UFC Countdown shows, UFC Primetime, and HBO's 24/7 series. However, last night I was kind of just going through the motions and debating if I was even going to stay up to watch the show. The wife fell asleep on the sofa, so I was like why not, tomorrow's Friday and I'm not really sleepy right now. I'm glad I watched the show. I still think Rampage is going to knock Keith Jardine's face off, but the way they profiled all four fighters was very good.
In Jackson, you got a sense for where he is right now. It's like he's on a mission and he's making the big sacrafice in taking his entire training camp over to the UK for the second time. They also did a good job of describing his thought process going into his last fight against Wanderlei Silva. A fight that definitely a do or die fight for him against a guy he'd been brutally KO'ed by twice. It gave me the sense of, "man if he can overcome that there's no way he's gonna lose this fight against Jardine" type of feeling.
In Jardine, they went with the only angle they could have gone with. The hardworking, blue collar, never quit fighter that's always dangerous. I also like the fact that they brought in his father to give his perspective. They had dude leaning up against a caterpillar machine! Also, mentioning the type of work he did just reinforced the whole angle they were going for. Although Jardine is the noticeable underdog, they made him beating Jackson believable.
I was more interested in the Carwin session moreso than the Gonzaga portion. I mean we basically know Gonzaga's story for the most part. They basically emphasized the physical strength of Carwin with him lifting weights and whatnot. I thought it was great that they showed more of his earlier fights while also showing his two UFC fights. They needed to do that since none of his fights have gone out of the first round. They harped on the conditioning factor in this fight that I wrote about earlier this week. However, after watching this segment I'm glad I went with Gonzaga. His all around game is just much more refined and the footage they showed between both fighters showed it. However, just the sheer physicality of Carwin could be a factor in this fight for sure. The guy is a monster.
All in all I thought it was a very good and effective countdown show. It'll be interesting to see how many people watched it, and if that will translate into PPV buys. If you watched the show, give me your thoughts on it.
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I enjoyed it…it came on at like 8 on T101, which is a channel only on DirecTV….if I could get home by 4, they’re showing the weigh-in’s live on that channel too
by Charles Walker on Mar 6, 2009 9:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I watched it
and it made me want to order it. Then again I’m a Rampage fanboy so thats as good a reason for me to order it anyway. Dont know yet, might go down the street and watch it at BW3’s or maybe jusy stream it through my PS3 to my TV. Hopefully we get to see the Vera and Grove fights from the undercard.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 6, 2009 9:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I didnt watch it. And to be totally honest, I forgot it was even going to be on. Aside from having stuff going on tomorrow, I’m just not into this PPV.
...some call me "el mexicutioner"...
by _Felix_ on Mar 6, 2009 10:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I wasn’t that hyped for it honestly and I’m still not THAT hyped for it. I don’t know though, the closer I get to Saturday the more I’ll anticipate it I’m sure. Like FenixKnight I’m a big Rampage fan.
http://www.mmaforreal.com
by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 6, 2009 10:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
:)
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 6, 2009 2:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
it added a bit to my marginal interest, but i simply couldn’t get more interested in Jardine or Jackson. Jackson’s less humorous than when he first came over to the UFC, Jardine, I just can’t get behind his plodding Marmaduke shuffle/style.
Gatti.
Dekkers.
Pele.
Tadahiro Nomura.
Hidehiko Yoshida.
Aoki.
Kang.
Vanderlei.
by theworldsoldestsport on Mar 6, 2009 10:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
lol!
@ Marmaduke shuffle style!
http://www.mmaforreal.com
by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 6, 2009 12:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i liked it. the carwin/gonzaga feature is what got me pumped. they do a good job with these countdown shows.
by bdw on Mar 6, 2009 12:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
But could we get some outsiders do the hyping? We get Dana and we get Joe Rogan in his Tapout shirt sounding like he’s reading off queue cards.
“Blank Blank vs. Blank Blank is a very important fight because…”
How hard could it be to invite some guys over from SI.com, yahoo.com or just anyone that has some credibility and offer a different take on why these fights are intruiging.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 6, 2009 2:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
they used to have kevin iole from yahoo sports.com on these countdowns, then everyone started calling him a “ufc schill” and they stopped doing it. i agree that it would be nice to hear outsider opinions though.
by bdw on Mar 6, 2009 3:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Man
I hate people like that….if you like the UFC…you are a UFC shill or whatever. That’s ridiculous…
http://www.mmaforreal.com
by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 6, 2009 3:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It does get Monotonous
But, casual fans know who Rogan and Dana White are…and that’s(casual fans) who these countdowns are designed to attract for the most part. Having outsiders or whomever wouldn’t really add credibility in that respect. In that case, put me up there!
I get the just of what you’re saying though Fenix for sure. To fans like us a fresh perspective would be nice.
http://www.mmaforreal.com
by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 6, 2009 3:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I know what you mean. I think if a casual fan saw a guy they’ve never seen before with a caption on the bottom of the screen reading “So and so, head writer blah blah blah from SportsIllustrated.com” they’d be okay with it. Maybe even make more of an impression on them than the same ole we get.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 6, 2009 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

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