Author: Luke Thomas

UFC 186 wasn’t the best of events, but it wasn’t the worst of them either. The main card turned out better than many anticipated, the main event offered a thrilling finish and the pacing throughout was mostly pleasing. On the other hand, the card didn’t have any real zip or pop, it was promotionally anemic and fans left before the main event finished.

It’s time to separate the best from the worst, the good from the bad and the signal from the noise from UFC 186.

Most Important Reminder: Elite Technical Is Not Pleasing in All Forms

There’s a tendency to frame UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson’s inability to be a commercial draw as evidence of his technical bona fides. The argument is that, sure, Johnson isn’t a brash talker, but his skill makes him worthy of admiration. And because he doesn’t earn as much said admiration as other champions, it’s because huge swathes of the fan base don’t properly appreciate him.

This is partly true. Many in the community either do not appreciate him or, if they do, still can’t bring themselves to care. The reality, though, is that even if you understand why he’s special or what’s noteworthy about his technical acumen, that doesn’t always translate into thrill, even for initiated audiences.

Elite skill isn’t always a preference in terms of fan taste, for both casual and hardcore fans. It’s frankly too broad a description. Top talent showcase their worth in myriad technical ways, not all of which are universally appealing.

So, if you admire Johnson and what he’s able to accomplish. But if you don’t, that doesn’t necessarily imply the reason why is because what’s happening to high art or too esoteric. It may just not be for you.

Best Photo of the Event: The Post-Fight Panopoly of Emotion

Is it rage? Is it joy? Is it frustration let loose? Is it sadism? It is maybe all of those things. You don’t get a reaction from a person like this when it’s just one emotion. You don’t get a reaction like this even when it’s two complimentary promotions. This is a weird admixture of alikes and unalikes that force a response like a chemical reaction. More photos from that event from MMA Fighting’s Esther Lin here.

Most Bizarre to Help One’s Legal Situation: Quinton Jackson

I’m no lawyer. Many of you aren’t either. But when you’re facing ongoing litigation where the party opposite from you is looking to prove you’ve done a certain measure of harm to them (or could do more), bad mouthing that party doesn’t seem like the idea I’d go to first. Rampage seems to feel otherwise, mentioning Bellator by name after the fight (albeit not to Joe Rogan, though he still managed to highlight UFC as the best organization in the world). In the end it may not matter, but for someone who was able to fight by the skin of their teeth, adding even the slightest bit of ammunition to one’s enemies seems like the least prudent thing imaginable.

Least Appreciated, but Stupendous: Michael Bisping

Fighters are delusional. Elite fighters are particularly delusional. I don’t write this as an insult. Delusion, and heavy doses of it, are required for success. It helps fighters push themselves through training, challenges, discomfort and doubt.

Sometimes that delusional becomes toxic. Fighters hold onto it at the very end of their career, willing themselves into pits of danger they no longer can surmount. This is where delusion turns into sadness, but more so, where delusion is mostly highlighted. Delusion pushing someone to greatness is viewed as grit or determination or some other euphemism.

Other times, though, delusion hits the sweet spot in between. Bisping is at once cognizant of his limits, but willing to entertain the idea he’s capable of more. His fights follow that balance, too. He fights poorly (or, at least, below his normal limit), only to scrape, claw and inch his way into winning moments. It brings the best out of him, takes the most to his opponents and gives the crowd all they can reasonably ask for.

The trick to delusion is to let it boost you in your professional career, not weigh you down in overreach. As for Bisping, he’s getting closer to one edge than the other, but he’s still got it in a way that makes it all work.

Best Thing About Mighty Mouse: Presence of Mind

One more note about the champion. UFC commentator Joe Rogan marveled at Demetrious Johnson’s finishing armbar over Kyoji Horiguchi. He should. It was fantastic. It was also executed flawlessly from a technical perspective. But what made it over the top special was not how detailed the technical specifics are, but the context in which they were applied.

Look, applying even basic techniques in heightened moments of importance deserve to be celebrated. I’m not telling you to not enjoy that portion of the armbar. But I’d also argue that having chipped away at Horiguchi’s defenses and competitive spirits while still knowing the end was nigh from a time perspective, he still decided to add a dose of lethality. That takes precision, a will to dominate and the situational awareness to know what’s possible. It also takes extreme belief in one’s ability.

Johnson’s amazing. We know that not just because other people in authority roles so say, but because there are so many different ways to parse it.

Event That Needed to Happen the Least: UFC 186

I’m not saying those fighters didn’t need to be on the card (well, some of them didn’t, but that’s a discussion for another day). I’m also not saying UFC didn’t need to go to Canada to help maintain or rekindle the market. What I am saying is, to some extent, that’s the case with any card. In fact, the better the card, the better that card is able to service other cards if we break them up.

However, at some point, a great card becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. It takes on an identity. And when the pre-fight hype matches the post-fight reality, they become cemented moments of greatness. UFC 186’s main card turned out better than most expected and yet, is already mostly forgotten. It did not have any larger identity than the individual pieces of itself. It did not need to take place to preserve the integrity of the whole.

Not all fight cards need to exist (not all that do need to be broken up, in fairness). But you know a good card when you don’t want anything to happen to it. You know you’ve got something else when you’re hanging on individual pieces of a card to carry you through.

This is episode 136 of the Promotional Malpractice Live Chat.

It’s as if UFC 186 has already been forgotten, isn’t it? What a crazy week in the sport. Former (!!!!) UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been stripped of his title, removed from his title fight from UFC 187 and is now facing felony hit-and-run charges in his new home state of New Mexico. This is an absolutely stunning development. What does this mean for Jones’ future? Does the UFC have the authority to do this? Will this work to send Jones a wake-up call? There are so many implications to what’s happening here. We’ll break them all down.

I’m also in Las Vegas this week for the mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. I thought Mayweather vs. Canelo…

Manny Pacquiao spoke to his fans on Tuesday at a rally held for him at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. Pacquiao expressed confidence he’d defeat Floyd Mayweather, Jr. on Saturday among other things. Watch the highlights above to see what the scene was like.

On Tuesday, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. made his ‘grand arrival’ at the MGM Grand, specifically the Garden Arena. Tons of media and thousands of fans were in attendance. SB Nation was there, so check out the highlights of the event including comments from Mayweather himself.

Mayweather faces Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd at the venue.

By last Monday morning, UFC light heavyweight Gian Villante had two black eyes. So unsightly were they that he felt the need to cover them by wearing glasses to help cover them up.

“I’ve never had a black eye before, to tell you the truth, from all my fights before,” Villante told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “I’ve had scratches here and there. Two of them and I’m so embarrassed. I hate it.”

Of course, Villante might be embarrassed, but he’s still on cloud nine. Not only had Villante just notched a win over Corey Anderson at UFC on FOX 15 the previous Saturday, but in so doing, earned Fight of the Night honors. It was arguably the best performance of Villante’s career and one that showcased a well-rounded striking ability.

“I was willing to get punched to land those kicks. Probably landed a little bit too much,” he confessed. “He was good. He was a tough guy. At the point where it got later in the fight, I was willing to get punched because I thought it was worth it. I thought he might get stopped because of the leg kicks because I was landing them so frequently in a pretty good spot.”

For the Serra-Longo fighter, though, it’s more than just the nice win and extra cash. It was about redemption.

Villante had fought twice previously in front of his friends and family, but it had gone poorly. Against both Chad Griggs in Strikeforce in 2011 as well as Ovince St. Preux at UFC 159 in April of 2013. Villante lost both fights and, as he puts it, looked boring in one of them, which is just as bad.

“The last time I was in that ring in that same place, couldn’t have went any worse getting poked in the eye and losing a fight. I thought of that going into the right,” he said. “I thought of fighting in front of all my friends, family, so close to home. It’s a little bit of pressure with that many people there. I’m fighting a guy I thought I was better than and he showed me he was a lot tougher than I gave him credit for. Not that I didn’t think he was tough.

“It was just a tough fight. So many things went into it. So people people there rooting for me and having good people on my time, great coaches they push you through things like that. It’s just an amazing, amazing feeling.”

Villante estimates that, along with the rest of his teammates who fought at UFC on FOX 15, they had 500 supporters in attendance, from the assistant principal he had in middle school to wrestling coaches to members of his Italian family.

“Both have their pluses,” he notes. “New Zealand, way less pressure. You just go out there and fight. When you win it’s not as great because you don’t get to go celebrate and embrace everyone after.

“Before I the fight, I’d say I’d rather fight in New Zealand, but after the fight, I’d say I’d rather fight in Newark or New York or close to home. It was great to see everyone after, have fun and be able to enjoy my victory with them. They enjoyed it just as much as I did.”

And that, Villante claims, is what made it all worth it. It took three tries to get there, but he did it and after it was over, the feeling and moment was beyond compare.

“This feeling out there was just amazing,” Villante noted. “That’s why when you’re fighting at home, the last time I’ve done it was those two times. It kinda was a little bit nerve wracking, but getting in there and getting it done, it was all worth it.”

On May 2nd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will meet in one of the most-anticipated boxing fights of all time. Yet, the fight was almost never made. So, in the end, how did it happen? In this short video, we explain the historical events that took place, what it all means, the staggering numbers involved and more.