Skip to main content
SI

Losses suffered at UFC 168 may not heal as hoped

And that brings the sport to perhaps the biggest loss of UFC 168 -- star power. A mere two weeks after Georges St-Pierre vacated the welterweight title and
Jeff Wagenheim|
Losses suffered at UFC 168 may not heal as hoped
Losses suffered at UFC 168 may not heal as hoped

And that brings the sport to perhaps the biggest loss of UFC 168 -- star power. A mere two weeks after Georges St-Pierre vacated the welterweight title and walked off into the Quebec sunset, perhaps only temporarily but maybe for good, the promotion might have just lost Silva as well. Talk about a 1-2 punch to the gut. (What next, Jonny "Bones" departing for the NFL?) Some will decry these marquee losses in terms of their impact on the bottom line. But of greater impact may be one of aesthetics. The UFC already has lost a true artist in GSP, and if we never again see Silva in the octagon, the promotion will have lost its poet laureate. Who'll be left to create the next masterpiece?

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Jeff Wagenheim
JEFF WAGENHEIM

Paradoxically, Jeff Wagenheim considers himself a pacifist (except when driving in traffic) but nonetheless writes about mixed martial arts, the world's most combative sport (other than driving in traffic). As a veteran of three decades in magazines and newspapers, he's a bit grayer than most who attend UFC fights, even along press row. (A fan watching an MMA media panel show recently referred to him as "that crazy hippie uncle," to which Jeff responds, "Groovy, man!") Wagenheim also has tackled pro football for SI.com, and writes about sports and the arts for The Boston Globe. When he's not on the road chasing the UFC, Jeff spends Sunday afternoons spinning Sleepy LaBeef and Boozoo Chavis records for a popular (but not pop) radio show in western Massachusetts.

Home/MMA