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Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:05 am EDT

Koscheck-Johnson added to UFC 106: Will it end fans' anger?

By Steve Cofield

AJ put down the chopsticks, you need to make 170 in 23 days!

This is the most vicious week of fan reaction I can remember while covering mixed martial arts. Between the UFC 104 decision in the Lyoto Machida-Mauricio Rua fight and Brock Lesnar pulling out of UFC 106, many MMA fans are spitting fire.

It looks like the UFC has chosen to move Shane Carwin off the card and reschedule his tilt against Lesnar. The scramble for a fill-in fight has produced Josh Koscheck against Anthony Johnson as a co-main event. Koscheck broke the story with a tweet last night.

Good for both guys. Koscheck could bitch that he doesn't have to fight someone further down the rankings like Johnson. He's also being asked to fight on short notice. Last time he did that, Koscheck wasn't himself in a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 90.

This is a huge opportunity for Johnson. Koscheck is easily the best opponent he's ever faced. An impressive win over Koscheck moves him into the discussion for a title shot against Georges St. Pierre. Although logically he may have to go through the entire American Kickboxing Academy 170 crew (Jon Fitch, Mike Swick and Koscheck) before reaching GSP.

UFC 106 is certainly deeper with that fight added to the card but will Koscheck-Johnson stem the tide of fan anger probably not. A samplingof message board posts at UFC.com shows there's a pretty high level of outrage from folks who bought tickets early for the event at Mandalay Bay: 

mmaaddiction:

I am going to UFC 106 and I am extremely disappointed that the Lesnar fight is off and there is no replacement fight. There are only 7 fights on the card now. I paid alot of money to be at this fight and I am feeling severely ripped off. Dana you need to do something to make this right!

nick757:

Come on UFC, you have to add another headliner. I spent $2,100 for my tix and Ortiz vs Griffin just isn't worth it.

jtn9981:

Wow, looks like I picked the wrong event to buy tickets to - pretty weak headlining fight for a PPV event...I really like Tito and Forrest, but you gotta add another big name match-up here.

denverfan:

I agree with every dissappointed fan, this fight card is a joke for a PPV event. Take out Forest and its a Fight Night at best, and I love Forest but he's not going to make me pay $55 by himself. Dana, please add another good fight or two becuase I really was looking foward to spending $55 that weekend.

DaveC09:

Dana, you seriously just gonna move the Tito/Forrest fight into the main event slot an be done with it?! If I had the power, I would make this PPV event now free on Spike, cause theres no way I'm gonna pay $55 to see that card. The Lesnar fight was your whole PPV selling point, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks this. You should rename this event, UFC 106: Can You Say Affliction? I feel sorry for evryone who actually bought tickets to this.

tknyrmny

I paid 500 bucks each for 2 tickets and now this card completely sucks. Who cares about Tito fighting Forrest. This is my first live ufc and my honeymoon which was planned completely around that fight. Does anybody know if you can get a refund cause I wouldn't pay 100 bucks to see Ortiz and Forrest as the main event

Fans don't want to hear this but there's an inherent risk in buying tickets early. "Card subject to change" is the key phrase. Ticket buyers certainly have a right to be angry, even livid, but there's not much the UFC can do.

The other embarrassing development this week is the "investigation" under way on some blogs to uncover why Lesnar "really" pulled out of the fight. An Oct. 18 video of Lesnar at a Vikings game is now proof that he's healthy and simply ducking Carwin. That said, indirectly the talk of Lesnar being afraid will add more fuel to the prefight fire before the behemoths go at it in 2010. 

Photo credit to SF MMA Examiner

Related: UFC 106

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62 Comments

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  1. Barry McCociner
    1. Posted by Barry McCociner Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:20 am EDT

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    I went to ortiz-shamrock 3 and I will never go to another live UFC event again. Those tickets were bought for me as a birthday present (450 apiece) and I spent 90% of the night watching the big screen. Maybe because I had floor seats only 3 rows from the cage, but it was nearly impossible to see what was happening when the fight went to the ground. When they stand up and bang it is better, but if I wanted to see good stand-up I would go to a boxing match. The atmosphere is pretty good, if you can put up with all the meatballs in their tight affliction t-shirts, but the atmosphere in a bar is better, and they bring the beer to you.
  2. Bruce J
    2. Posted by Bruce J Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:25 am EDT

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    Cofield, MMA fans embarass the hell out of me. Are all the posters on this blog 14 years old? BTW, Tito made a new fan last night on your ESPN1100 show. He seems to have matured.
  3. JJ
    3. Posted by JJ Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:46 am EDT

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    Adding Kos vs Rumble still doesn't make this card a $50 ppv-worthy card. No amount of hype will get me to believe that this is a card that deserves to be on ppv. It's a good card, but not ppv-worthy. Not $50 worthy.
  4. Robert C
    4. Posted by Robert C Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:55 am EDT

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    This is a good fight. When Rumble KO's Kos in the first round, maybe we won't have to see Kos again.
  5. tdube09
    5. Posted by tdube09 Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:56 am EDT

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    i completely agree with you Barry... I was at UFC 101 and found myself watching the big screen most of the night. as soon as the fight goes to the ground it is tough to see whats going on. the um-teen camera men standing around the cage don't help either, but the meatballs are hard to deal with. we had 2 behind us and they just booed the entire time. at what, i have no idea and i wouldn't pay more than 50 bucks to watch Forrest as the main event again.
  6. Rob R
    6. Posted by Rob R Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:02 am EDT

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    Assumption of risk aside, I can understand a fan being upset when they buy an expensive ticket for a heavyweight championship fight and they instead get stuck with a light-heavy non-title fight between guys who are coming off two losses (in Tito's case, 2 losses and a draw).
    Koscheck-Johnson is a nice addition to this card, but is it really co-main event worthy? I'd actually consider Cane-Noguiera the co-main, assuming it officially gets added to the card. Someone mentioned trying to lock up Hendo-Marquardt as the co-main. While that's a great idea in principle, and those guys haven't fought in a while, that fight is too important for those guys to agree to three weeks notice...and that's if you can even sign Hendo at all.
    Anyway...People whining about PPV can zip it. If you don't want to buy it on PPV, don't. If you still want to watch it, go to BW3 or whatever. Or...find some friends and split the PPV cost among yourselves. You don't necessarily have to shell out $55 to watch these fights.
  7. leonardo
    7. Posted by leonardo Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:03 am EDT

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    Im so upset . Im one of BRocks biggest fans . EVerytime he fights there is some sort of Delay . What a rip off. I hope he gets knocked out now ! Im tired of waiting for him to fight. Dana is a master of puppets and is angering fans and ripping them off. He should give thier money back . Thank God i didnt buy any tickets .
  8. tdube09
    8. Posted by tdube09 Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:03 am EDT

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    With that said i still wouldn't pay 44.95 for this card even with the addition of Kos v Rumble. So they're going to add a guy that cant make weight and have him fight in the main event of a ppv 20 days later? this fight isn't even good enough to be the main event of a fight night never mind a pay per view card
  9. Chad M
    9. Posted by Chad M Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:05 am EDT

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    At least with this short amount of time, Rumble won't have time to add 80 pounds to his frame then miss weight by 17 pounds. Plus he should KO Kos, which is always a good thing. I'm looking forward to this fight, big time. I actually like Rumble a lot, and I'm looking forward to him moving up the ranks.
  10. KJ-MMA Armchair
    10. Posted by KJ-MMA Armchair Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:08 am EDT

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    That's the risk of getting tickets too soon. Cards are always subject to change, and despite what UFC often say about a card selling out, there are still plenty of tickets available through official sources (eg ticketmaster) even a week before the fight.
    Johnson vs Koscheck is a great fight, but not a marketable one to justify spending money on.
    Unfortunately there's nothing UFC can do because aside from BJ Penn, all the champs are injured or 'ill'.
    Of course had UFC folded WEC by now, we could have had a featherweight or bantamweight title fight on the card which would boost the event's credibility considerably.
    Ultimately fans will vote with their wallets when it comes to PPV, but maybe this'll serve as a lesson to 'early adopter' ticket buyers.
    Rumours of Machida vs Shogun only doing 400k, and knowing how poor Anderson Silva draws as a champion leads me to believe Lesnar vs Carwin was needed at UFC 108 so these less marketable fights can share the spotlight.
  11. Black Steve-O
    11. Posted by Black Steve-O Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:09 am EDT

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    Maybe this will be the last time Rumble fights at WW. I like AJ a lot but he's damaging his heart and kidneys by fighting at WW. Move to MW and make a run at A. Silva. I also agree that watching the PPV at a sports bar beats the live scene every time. $5 cover, cheap food, comfortable seat, lower meat-head percentage; what's not to like?
  12. mike5o
    12. Posted by mike5o Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:13 am EDT

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    Watch it all free, just come to Iraq! UFC supports the Troops! Hell yes, I'll watch Johnson try to whup Kos. I've always enjoyed watching Kos fight. Will be a revealing moment for Johnson, and possibly Kos too. I pick Johnson on this one. Tito matured? I'd like to see that one. I hope his injuries are healed/repaired. See if his game has stagnated, evolved, or deteriorated. I thought Mrs. Ortiz had retired?
  13. frazierfan86
    13. Posted by frazierfan86 Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:16 am EDT

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    "UFC 106 is certainly deeper with that fight added to the card but will Koscheck-Johnson stem the tide of fan anger probably not."
    Steve, do you consider yourself a professional? Because there's crap like this in a lot of the posts you put up.
  14. Tom K
    14. Posted by Tom K Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:32 am EDT

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    Wait -- even if Lesnar was healthy, how do we know that he chose to pull out of the fight? Isn't it just as likely (if not more likely) that Dana White asked him to "pull out of the fight due to illness" so Dana could put a marquee fight on the UFC 108 year end card? I don't know how this is remotely close to "ducking" or being afraid of Shane Carwin. It's not like they're not going to fight at all. If Brock was actually scared, what good does pulling out of the November fight do, if it's only rescheduled less than two months later?
  15. tdube09
    15. Posted by tdube09 Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:37 am EDT

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    good point KJ
    i would love to see faber, brown, bowles, or torres over kos any day
  16. Rob R
    16. Posted by Rob R Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:37 am EDT

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    "An Oct. 18 video of Lesnar at a Vikings game is now proof that he's healthy and simply ducking Carwin."
    Wow, Cofield. I mean...he didn't look like he was dying, but it takes a lot less energy to attend an NFL game and fake blow a fake horn than it does to train for a heavyweight title fight.
    A lot of times when I get sick, I have 2 or 3 days when I'm laid up in bed, but then I'm still feeling the effects a week later to the point where I wouldn't play a game of basketball even though I'm OK to do things like go to work and hang out with friends.
    I don't think that video is "proof" of anything other than that he went to a Vikings game.
    Iole's statement in his mailbag is much more reasoned and thought out. Your reaction to the video is way too knee-jerk to be taken seriously.
  17. Rob R
    17. Posted by Rob R Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:41 am EDT

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    Tom K...Kevin Iole suggested that Lesnar told Dana White he's not sure if he'll be ready to go in January either.
    I'm not going to accuse Lesnar of using steroids, but if he's "ducking" anything, it's not Carwin...it's steroid tests. He already signed the Carwin fight...how could he be "ducking" him? I guess Kelly Pavlik's been "ducking" Paul Williams too by getting all these staph infections.
  18. Clifford J
    18. Posted by Clifford J Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:46 am EDT

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    This Johnson guy is clearly a beast, but how the hell is he going to get the welterweight belt if he can't cut down to 170? Cutting fifty pounds is just absurd.
  19. BOSS
    19. Posted by BOSS Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:49 am EDT

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    so this article claims Lesnar is healthy and ducking Carwin? come on coefield you cant post that type of bull$hit. why in the world would Lesnar duck anybody? if he says he's sick, he's probably sick. there's a huge difference between balls to the wall training for a heavyweight title fight and sitting at a football game doing nothing. this card does suck now but your claims of lesnar lying about his health and ducking carwin is flat out idiotic.
  20. Kevin S
    20. Posted by Kevin S Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:53 am EDT

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    Lesnar probably didn't cycle his roids correctly and doesn't want to fail his piss test.
  21. crazedcanuck99
    21. Posted by crazedcanuck99 Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:59 am EDT

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    He easily could have been sick for most if not all of the first 3 weeks of October, which follows the Dinner with Dana in Vegas around Oct 1st time-line until the Vikings game on the 18th.
    So not only did he lose 2 or so weeks to illness, but he's still so weak he can't train. That leaves 1/2 a camp for him to get ready.
    If he could go, he would.
    Conspiracy nuts should be going the route of covering up injuries perhaps in addition to being sick, but I doubt he's faking the illness itself.
  22. Sandman
    22. Posted by Sandman Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:05 am EDT

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    Johnson said he was injured and did not make weight due to a knee problem. Thus he could not perform his weight-cutting cardio regiment. Alves had the same problem at one point. I don't think it will be a problem (if he is healthy).
  23. JJ
    23. Posted by JJ Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:25 am EDT

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    Some people don't go to bars and wouldn't go to a bar to watch a ppv. Some people live in tenbucktwo and would have to drive 45 minutes to find a bar that is showing the fights. If they're not going to pay $50 because a card sucks, they're not going to drive an hour to watch the fight for $5. What if people don't have the internet and can't watch the fights for free? And what if they only have 2 or 3 friends that enjoy watching MMA ppvs and none of them want to pay a dime to watch Forrest vs Ortiz. You may call it whining but it's a legit issue with some people. Tito vs Forrest as a main event of a ppv IS A JOKE. Spin it anyway you want but it's laughable. And putting Kos vs Rumble won't make a person say "Oh wow...I guess I will buy that ppv now that they've added Kos vs Rumble to the card". To many ppvs aren't always a good thing.
  24. David B
    24. Posted by David B Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:26 am EDT

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    Brock was sick. H1N1 drains everything out of you - He got sick halfway during his training. Then to start up again after H1N1 is like starting from scratch again. Shane Carwin is a beast and Brock is taking him very seriously, so why in the hell would he want to fight if he hasn't trained properly? It's amazing that all the Brock haters say he is just a Donkey Kong fighter - if this was true he would step in the cage with a half arse training camp under his belt. Brock is a serious MMA fighter and he knows that Carwin is a definite threat to his belt and he has to take him seriously. I feel this will be Brock's toughest fight ever. As far as him being at a football game - big deal . I can go to a football game if I was under the weather ,maybe he left at halftime , how hard is it to sit in a press box with top shelf food ? Idiots saying it's a sign he is fine are total fools . Lets say you call in sick for work on Monday , then around noon your buddy calls you and says he has skybox seats for the big game and that the team wants you on the field for pre game festivities. Lemme take a wild guess and say that 99.9% of the world would say - LETS DO IT!!! Brock rules and is worth the wait!
  25. mrbk
    25. Posted by mrbk Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:47 am EDT

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    wtf!!!! brock aint sick...he was blowing the horn at the game hahahaha!!!! wtf is going on with the ufc dammit!!!! seems like its turmoil..dana fix it ..youre the boss!!!!!..tito vs forrest?????? who the hell wants to see that crap hahahahaa...better come up with bigger names for the main event!!!!!

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