After a long and extensive process, esteemed colleague Brent Brookhouse and I are proud to bring you the 2011 Bloody Elbow Tournament of Bad, an idea from the local Chicago sports radio show, Boers and Bernstein. The concept is simple: compile a list of 64 of the worst things related to the sport of MMA and pit them against one another in an NCAA Tournament-style bracket. You, the readers, vote on each match up until we have our ultimate champion.
As we near completion, I find myself reflecting on this inaugural Tournament of Bad and lamenting the decisions of our voters. Instead of making decisions with the irreverence and playfulness that went into making this thing, you've decided to attach a tone so serious as to make editor emeritus Luke Thomas look like a bubbling twelve-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert in comparison.
And while I won't name names, left in the wake of your poor decision making, dear reader, was the potential for one of our contestants to provide us with an acceptance speech! Instead, we're left with an unimaginative Final Four and the faraway hopes for next year's tournament.
To chart the progress of the tournament, check out the full, updated bracket.
And now, the matchups:
(6) Leonard Garcia scorecards vs. (8) MMA judging
(7) UFC's Youtube policy vs. (8) Cecil Peoples, in every form
(7) UFC's Youtube policy vs. (8) Cecil Peoples, in every form
Photos courtesy of Dave Mandel, Jeff Sherwood, Sherdog, Google Image Search, and MSPaint.
Voting after the jump. Polls close at midnight ET Tuesday.
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