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UFC 151: A Sober Look at a Cautionary Tale for the Ages

Has everyone calmed down? OK, fantastic.Now that the Interwebz has recovered from yesterday’s near critical mass explosion of resentment towards Jon Jones and Greg Jackson, we can examine the demise of UFC 151 with something approaching perspecti…

Has everyone calmed down? OK, fantastic.

Now that the Interwebz has recovered from yesterday’s near critical mass explosion of resentment towards Jon Jones and Greg Jackson, we can examine the demise of UFC 151 with something approaching perspective.

Who can we really blame for Thursday’s insanity? Quite honestly, everyone shares a portion of the blame for a situation that was both regrettable and comical, all at once.

Dana White’s impromptu propaganda campaign may have succeeded in shifting most of the blame onto the pair from Albuquerque, but no one came out of this mess smelling of roses.

Given the UFC’s deal with Fox and the resulting strain on the roster, the likes of Dana White and Joe Silva must accept some of the backlash for allowing their events to be so top-heavy. It should never be the case that the loss of one bout is enough to tank an entire show, even if it is the main event.

Jones and Jackson cannot be blamed for the fact that UFC 151 lacked a sufficiently compelling supporting cast. That particular error falls squarely on the UFC’s shoulders. They put all their eggs in one basket, crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.

Considering the UFC’s current injury epidemic, what on earth compelled the UFC brass to base their marketing strategy on promoting a solitary fight? That is not the Zuffa model; that is the boxing approach to event promotion.

The UFC promotes fight cards, rather than just main events. People pay with the expectation of enjoying a couple hours of entertainment, rather than just 25 minutes.

Hopefully Dana White comes to his senses and when his blood pressure returns to human levels, realizes that his reaction yesterday was more over the top than a Nicolas Cage performance.

With all that said, Jones must also accept some of the blame here.

While he was under no obligation to accept the fight with Sonnen, he could have taken one for the team. Indeed, carrying an event on one’s shoulders comes with certain responsibilities. Pressure is a privilege, as they say.

However, it seems that the 205-pound king wants all of the glory and none of the responsibility. He was aware that the entire event hinged on his answer, yet he declined to participate for reasons that I still struggle to comprehend.

There appears to be no middle ground when it comes to Dana White. If you do him a solid, he will pay you back in spades. If you refuse to play ball, he will throw you under the bus without hesitation. Just ask “Shogun” Rua.

And why did the current light heavyweight champ turn down a fight with an out of shape middleweight? It was apparently a decision based on the advice of Greg Jackson, who suggested that it would be the worst decision of Jones’ career.

Not since Rich Franklin told Matt Serra to start a fight on his knees has someone handed out such lamentably “lemon” advice.

Jones would have had every advantage had he taken the bout, even on eight days notice. What would he really gain by waiting? Everyone knows how Sonnen fights. He looks to close the distance immediately and clinch up.

By exhibiting such obscene caution, Jones has not only irritated his employer. He has also succeeded in tanking his already shaky reputation with the sport’s fanbase. Even if he had the right to turn down the fight, his decision was ill-advised in every sense.

In truth, every single decision that led to yesterday’s sorry state of affairs was an absolute howler. Years from now, Dana White’s progeny will likely tell terrifying bedtime stories about the ill-fated event.

UFC 151 is a cautionary tale for the ages.

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UFC: Has MMA’s Biggest League Reached the Point of Oversaturation?

How much is too much? It is an issue that has been raised frequently with regard to the UFC’s hectic, almost WWE-like schedule.The point at which a product becomes oversaturated can be debated, but some within the MMA media believe that the UFC h…

How much is too much? It is an issue that has been raised frequently with regard to the UFC’s hectic, almost WWE-like schedule.

The point at which a product becomes oversaturated can be debated, but some within the MMA media believe that the UFC has already hopped, skipped and jumped over that invisible line.

During his recent weekly chat—which is well worth checking out—over at MMAFighting.com, Luke Thomas claimed that this issue has passed the point of debate.

The UFC has, according to him, flooded the PPV market with entirely too much of its product, given its prohibitive cost and the current climate of diminishing returns.

But while I respect his opinion, this debate is a little more nuanced than that.

In order to prosecute this case, one would require access to Zuffa’s internal numbers. Dana and the Fertittas are astute business men, so it is doubtful that they would continue to bury us in content if it was harming their business.

It may be some time before we see a PPV to match UFC 100’s Pacquiao-like buyrate, but much of that can be attributed to the economic climate. You can be sure that Dana White and Co. are still raking in the paper.

Indeed, the notion that the UFC is putting on substantially more PPVs is an illusion. Perhaps it is an impression created by all of the free content they air, causing people to misremember which events were free.

The reality is that the UFC has added three PPVs to the schedule since the consensus golden era of 2009—from 13 to 16. That is not a huge increase, yet it appears to be substantial when we see their premium content sandwiched between numerous free shows on the Fox platforms.

Oversaturation of the market may not necessarily be the issue some are suggesting, but the avalanche of free UFC content poses other problems.

Probably the most virulent issue caused by the UFC’s ubiquitous presence on FX and Fuel is the diluted star presence on each show. I’m sure you have noticed that the UFC’s recent cards have been a little light in terms of compelling matchups.

This is the inevitable result of serving too many masters. The UFC can no longer litter their cards with bankable performers. As a result, their shows have become somewhat top-heavy over the past year.

While some fighters may have been slotted into the co-main event of a PPV in 2010, they are now more likely to be reserved to headline an FX event.

Injuries have also played a major role in the UFC’s current issues with card depth.

With so many shows on offer, Joe Silva and Sean Shelby cannot reasonably expect to be able to make proportional replacements when injuries occur.

This, as I see it, is the real issue. There is a distinction to be made between oversaturation and overreaching.

The UFC may not be at the point of market saturation, but they have unquestionably overreached.

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UFC on Fox 5: Dana White and Co. Are Finally Starting to Learn Their Lesson

A year on from their debut on Fox, the UFC will once again put on a card worthy of the partnership. The announcement that UFC on Fox 5 will be headlined by Henderson vs. Diaz and Penn vs. MacDonald is the first indication that the UFC is beginning to u…

Earlier this month I criticized Dana White and Co. for their somewhat short-sighted approach to the Fox deal. So far they have failed to live up to their promise to “bring big fights back to network television”.

When the deal was announced last year, White took pains to assure people that the UFC would be looking to invest in the future; they would be willing to sacrifice profits over the short term in order to succeed over the long term.

After the admittedly big splash of the first UFC on Fox show, they reneged on that promise and instead served up glorified Spike TV cards for mass consumption.

It was a bewildering decision—utterly counter-intuitive to what we all felt was necessary for the UFC to take the next step.

Dana White would likely never admit it, but he appears to have taken the media’s criticism to heart. UFC on Fox 5 is stacked, offering a mixture of stars and sure-fire hit matchups.

Putting Nate Diaz in the main event is an excellent decision. He has already been exposed to the Fox audience, even if ratings for UFC on Fox 3 were well below what we had hoped.

His matchup with Benson Henderson is an example of a fight that everyone wants to see, but only the hardcore fans, for the most part, would be willing to shell out for.

Perhaps more importantly, it is a title fight and that means something is legitimately at stake.

We have been crying out for the UFC to provide fights with real stakes. Deciding to make two headline bouts a No. 1 contender eliminator, in a transparent attempt to give the card relevance, is not the way to build an audience.

On the other hand, offering a lightweight title bout between two fighters who are all but guaranteed to put on a show is how you build an audience.

Penn vs. MacDonald might not have much at stake, but it does boast a bona fide star.

One could argue that “The Prodigy” is past his prime. However, his name still carries weight, even with the casual fans. He will draw eye balls, and that is what the UFC needs.

Naturally, it would be silly to celebrate too early. We all know the UFC’s recent track record with injuries and cards being overhauled.

But at this point, it seems like the UFC is finally starting to learn its lesson.

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UFC: Why ‘Shogun’ Rua Deserves More Respect Than Dana White Is Offering

Is there a fighter who puts forth more effort, who sheds more blood, sweat and his opponents’ tears than Mauricio “Shogun” Rua? Answers on a postcard, please. I certainly can’t think of one. Why, then, does Dana White insist on …

Is there a fighter who puts forth more effort, who sheds more blood, sweat and his opponents’ tears than Mauricio “Shogun” Rua? Answers on a postcard, please. I certainly can’t think of one.

Why, then, does Dana White insist on throwing the former light heavyweight champion under the bus at every opportunity, as he did recently at the UFC on Fox 4 post-fight scrum?

The UFC President appears to hold a grudge longer than your average 80’s action hero.

This seemingly all started when Thiago Silva withdrew from his bout with “Shogun” at UFC 149, leaving the Curitiban without an opponent. The UFC’s first pick to replace Silva was the ultra-hyped Glover Teixeira, who had recently beaten Kyle Kingsbury like a blood-filled piñata.

“Shogun” was reluctant to compete with such a high-risk, low-reward foe, and relayed this fact to Dana White. The UFC President then did what any good promoter would do.

He put a potential star “over” at the expense of a fading star, detailing to the media the sensitive contents of his communication with Rua and his management.

White all but told the media that “Shogun” was scared. He could scarcely have been less subtle had he formed wings with his arms and started clucking in the former 205-pound king’s general direction.

A contemptible act? Sure. A smart decision? Very much so.

As much as the fans love Rua, the former Pride phenom has clearly seen better days.

His knees have been reconstructed more often than the Great Wall of China and he has the cardio of a 60-a-day asthmatic, so one can understand White’s reasons for taking advantage of his diminishing name value.

Naturally, the UFC President was economical with the truth when explaining why he divulged the contents of a private conversation. He justified it thusly:

The guy’s been through a million wars with all the best guys in the world. But for some reason, he does not want to fight this dude Glover. And you know me – if you don’t want me to tell the truth, don’t say stuff to me on the phone.

This is apparently how Dana White operates. You tell him stuff in private and he cannot help but tell the next journalist he sees.

Of course, in an astonishing display of hypocrisy, he will publicly chastise a journalist for reporting his off-the-record comments—as he probably should, all things being equal.

There is no question that White is extremely forthcoming with the media and the fans. It is part of his appeal. That being said, let’s be clear about one thing. Dana White is only forthcoming when it is in his best interests.

The sheer hypocrisy of White’s actions was already indefensible, but during the UFC on Fox 4 post-fight scrum he decided to have another pop at “Shogun,” a man who had just put his body through the wringer in a gruelling, career-shortening contest with Brandon Vera.

The UFC President’s assessment of Rua’s gutsy display?

Everything about Lyoto Machida tells me he wants that title shot worse than ‘Shogun’ does. He’ll fight anybody. You can tell he wants that title shot worse than ‘Shogun,’ in my opinion, and he looked good tonight. He knocked Bader out convincingly. He didn‘t take any damage, and he had a good showing against Jones in his last fight.

Let’s examine a couple of the dubious claims in the above quote, shall we?

Apparently suffering from a brief bout of daytime soap opera-style amnesia, White states that Machida will “fight anybody.” One assumes that “anybody” also includes Rashad Evans, whom “The Dragon” flat-out refused to fight unless he received “Anderson Silva money.”

How about the notion that Machida wants the title shot more than Rua? Such a plainly ridiculous claim would ordinarily be ignored, but I will briefly indulge Dana White’s baseless assertion.

It is difficult to see how anyone can witness the pain endured by “Shogun” on Saturday night and then, with a straight face, argue that his will was somehow lacking.

Machida certainly deserves the next shot at Jones—or indeed Henderson, should something extraordinary occur. However, no amount of casuistry will convince me that Machida’s calculated performance demonstrated that he was willing to do more in order to earn a title shot.

The UFC President attempted to bolster his claim by arguing that “Shogun” did not protest the decision to not award him the next shot.

Of course he didn’t accost White or Joe Silva and demand that they change their minds. He, and everyone else, knew that Machida had looked the more impressive of the two fighters.

But perhaps more importantly, one gets the impression that Rua has far too much respect for the UFC brass to start making demands.

In turn, hasn’t Mauricio “Shogun” Rua earned more respect than is currently being offered by the UFC’s head honcho? He turned down a fight that didn’t best serve his career prospects. Surely Dana White can relate to such acts of self-preservation, given his own business savvy.

Failing that, one hopes the UFC President will realise that holding a petty grudge is both childish and unproductive. Perhaps then he will extend to “Shogun” a modicum of respect. I’m sure the old warhorse would take that walking away.

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UFC on Fox 4: Did Machida or Shogun Put on the More Impressive Performance?

So, who looked more impressive tonight, folks? Well, that really depends on what you happen to be judging. UFC on Fox 4 offered up two excellent light heavyweight display but for very different reasons “Shogun” put on a much more exciting, …

“Shogun” put on a much more exciting, gutsy performance against Brandon Vera. He could scarcely have put any more into the fight, as a demonstration of how much he wants another shot at the light heavyweight title.

On the other hand, Machida was his usual methodical self. He looked utterly at ease out there, completely outclassing Ryan Bader. In fact, it looked like he was toying with the former Arizona Sun Devil at times.

With all that said, Joe Rogan called it right when he said that Machida was the more impressive performer. He looked dominant against an extremely dangerous opponent.

In contrast, Rua’s bout was compelling largely because he gassed out early. His lack of cardio evened up the striking exchanges—Vera actually bested him on the feet.

To an extent, the same thing happened against Dan Henderson. “Shogun” has a habit of hitting a wall within the first few minutes of a fight, and somehow gutting his way through the remainder of the contest. If he took the time to get in shape, he would be even more formidable. A drop to 185 pounds—which is really where he belongs—would force him to improve his conditioning.

But more than tonight’s performances, the deciding factor may well have been their respective showings against Jones last year.

Rua looked extremely rusty against “Bones” last March, trudging forward and lunging at the would-be champion with telegraphed haymakers. He was comprehensively outstruck and outgrappled by the former Greco national champion.

Machida’s bout with Jones was in stark contrast to “Shogun’s” lacklustre effort. “The Dragon” arguably took the first round during their encounter last year, which is better than anyone has done since Stephan Bonnar took a young Jon Jones into deep waters.

Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that “Bones” will roll over Dan Henderson—a dangerous assumption to make. Should “Hendo” do the unthinkable, we may be deprived of the rematch we would all like to see.

However, the UFC appear to be playing the odds, banking on a Jones win. As a result, awarding Machida the shot is absolutely the correct decision and is the most compelling matchup they could possibly make for the current light heavyweight king.

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UFC Power Rankings: Rashad Evans and the 5 Worst Chins in UFC History

It is a distinction that no fighter craves, a curse that has undermined the potential greatness of many a mixed martial artist. Otherwise gifted fighters have been relegated to a punchline as a result of possessing a figurative “glass jaw”….

As a short companion piece to my list of the five most robust chins in the UFC today, I present to you a rundown of the most delicate jaws in UFC history.

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