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 stolen from 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 matchup until we have our ultimate champion.
So far, so good. We received a tremendous response to the tournament in the opening round, and I expect things continue to grow as we head toward the championship round.
We went on a hiatus for UFC 130 and Memorial Day weekend, but Round of 32 matchups begin tomorrow night.
In the interim, let's take a look at the highlights from round one.
TOO BIG, TOO STRONG, TOO FAST, TOO GOOD
Perennial powerhouse MMA judging blew out user play-in Lactic Acidosis 90-10, by far the largest margin of the first round, in the Jon Hess region. Next up? Number one seed Mike Goldberg, human sound board, in one of the top matchups of round two.
SOMEWHERE THERE'S TEN MAURO HATERS WHO REGRET NOT VOTING
We ended up with three matchups being decided by less than two percentage points. The UFC's media policy edged Mauro Ranallo's puns by a mere 50.5-49.5 margin in the Steve Jennum region. It enters round two as a huge underdog to strong number two Bob Reilly and the (lack of) regulation in NY.
WHO SEEDED THIS THING ANYWAY?
The biggest upset of the first round goes to male fighters with tramp stamps, which overtook weak number one seed tape-delayed MMA by a 2-1 margin. The Cinderella story could continue to the Sweet 16 with a victory over eight-seed "live" interviews during UFC Fight Night.
I NEVER CARED MUCH FOR DEMOCRACY, ANYWAY
What the hell were you all thinking? Shinya Aoki's tears was a genius play-in submission from YOU the reader, and you vote it out?! For "live" interviews during UFC Fight Night? C'mon, kids, it's time to play grownup now.
GUFFAW! I SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE!
Chris Leben and alcohol vs. Fight of the Night bonuses to bad brawls. See what we did there?