The new MMA promotion that has been created by UFC founder Bob Meyrowitz has announced its inaugural fight card that will take place on April 11th at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The card will feature 2 Main Event bouts and an eight-man Heavyweight tournament. Don Frye will take on Oleg Taktarov, and Gary Goodridge will fight the massive “Butterbean”. Well… it could be at least entertaining.
To be honest, what did anyone expect? New promotions seem to be coming to life every day, and the biggest problem is that the talent that can draw a crowd has already found a home. The old names like Frye, Taktarov, or Goodridge are definitely not huge draws, and having a tournament that really has only one logical choice in winning the entire thing is absurd.
Looking over the card, it really is tough not to laugh. Don Frye was knocked out by Leland Chapman’s bodyguard in a lobby following the cancellation of the Brawl For It All event back in October. Taktarov hasn’t fought in ages, and has just recently made a return to MMA after having big success in the movie industry. I’d still give it to Taktarov. Goodridge still has some big power, and “Butterbean” has short little arms and zero ground game. It should be a quick one.
Travis Wiuff is the only real veteran in the 8-man tournament. His 49 wins are bigger than all of the other competitors wins combined. Rex Richards, Marcelo Pereira, Alexey Oleynik, Chris Tuscherer, Tony Sylveter, Sherman Pendergarst, and George Bush are all expected to be battling in this tournament as well. Of course, there are some prospects that will be looking to prove themselves to onlookers, but can anyone give Wiuff a run for his money? He’d have to get run over by a truck.
Overall, the card is so damn predictable. It’d be strange if Taktarov or Goodridge loss, but does anyone care? The 8-man tournament really only has one big name unless you think Pendergarst should be mentioned. Wiuff should win it quite easily. A predictable card full of bad matchups just won’t cut it these days. This promotion shouldn’t be around long with this kind of quality. Maybe they expect George Bush to be the anchor for its popularity... bad move.