Author: Matt Saccaro

UFC 151 Canceled: Dana White’s Reaction to Jon Jones Shows Why He’s the Man

UFC president Dana White’s refreshingly honest words on the UFC 151 cancellation were the only good thing concerning the whole debacle.No, they weren’t hot-headed, they were refreshingly honest and open. “This is probably one of my all-time lows a…

UFC president Dana White‘s refreshingly honest words on the UFC 151 cancellation were the only good thing concerning the whole debacle.

No, they weren’t hot-headed, they were refreshingly honest and open. 

“This is probably one of my all-time lows as being President of the UFC over the last 11 years,” White began.

He then summarized Dan Henderson’s injury and addressed the reason why the card had to be canceled—Jon Jones refusing to defend his title: 

One of the things that you guys have heard me brag about a million times, how UFC doesn’t have to cancel events, we can always find a replacement.

For somebody to fight Jon Jones on eight days’ notice is tough to do, but to be totally honest with you guys, one guy did. Not only when we called him did he say, ‘I’ll take the fight,’ he said, ‘I’ll fly to Las Vegas tonight and fight him,” and that was Chael Sonnen. Chael Sonnen accepted the fight with Jon Jones, wanted the fight bad. As of 8-9 o’clock last night, we had a fight. We here at the UFC started working, creating different commercials, PR started to crank up.

I was gonna do this call and obviously it was gonna be a different call this morning but the one thing that I never thought in a million years would happen, happened. Jon Jones said, ‘I’m not fighting Chael Sonnen with eight days notice.” Again, something that’s never happened in UFC history. A guy who’s a world champion and considered one of the pound-for-pound best turns down a fight. That has never happened either. 

Jaded pundits and fans seek to bash White here for allegedly throwing Jones under the bus, especially when White said that he was “disgusted” and made accusatory remarks about how Jones essentially robbed the undercard fighters of their pay.

But in that situation, how can you maintain a level of candidness while anything else but that? 

Jones is the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. As such, he’s obligated (or so one might think) to face all challengers that the UFC deems worthy. 

When your champion reneges on this basic understanding of what it means to hold a title, how can you be anything but honest about it while not coming across as patronizing to the fans?

Yes, a Roger Goodell-like reaction that would’ve put even the most conservative PR intern to sleep would’ve been more “professional” but the UFC’s slogan isn’t “As real as it gets” for nothing. 

Dana White’s reaction was from the heart. It was real, and it was visceral. Such behavior from White might put some people off, but it makes the UFC product that much more real and that much more alive. 

If White’s off-the-cuff remarks were so bad, why did the UFC perpetually grow from Zuffa’s purchase of the company in 2001 and why did FOX decide to support the UFC?

Besides, the age of the cold, corporate, lifeless, monotone CEO is over. People respond better to free-speaking, casually dressed businessmen like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

White’s sincerity gives the company an edge that no other in the sports world has. If he has to “bury” his own fighters or say things that overly sensitive Internet fans deem unpopular, so be it.

 

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Jones vs. Sonnen: Jon Jones Has Become the Most Hated Man in the UFC

Jon Jones has irrevocably damaged his reputation with the UFC and, more importantly, with fans. In fact, his recent actions have made him the most hated man in the entire UFC roster. The deluge of hate stems from the cancellation of UFC 151. UFC p…

Jon Jones has irrevocably damaged his reputation with the UFC and, more importantly, with fans. In fact, his recent actions have made him the most hated man in the entire UFC roster. 

The deluge of hate stems from the cancellation of UFC 151. UFC president Dana White was forced to scrap the event when Jones, the current UFC light heavyweight champion, refused to defend his title against Chael Sonnen on eight days notice when the previous challenger, Dan Henderson, withdrew due to injury. 

Backlash, hate, and overall miasma from the MMA community has never been this palpable—not even when Nick Diaz vs. Georges St.Pierre was canceled, when Anderson Silva danced around Demian Maia for nearly a half hour, or when Alistair Overeem failed his drug test.

After all, how many of these fighters had a shirt made to mock them only hours after their most notable faux pas? And how many were buried by a rival on ESPN that same day?

Jones PR team should be concerned, especially since this hate wasn’t just a result of “ducking” Chael Sonnen but has been building up over a long period of time. 

Many fans never really bought into Jones’ shtick of being the humble, pious Christian. They believed that it was an act and that Jones was actually cocky, egotistical, and arrogant—and Jones kept giving evidence to their claims. 

First Jones dissed toy UFC belts, saying that children obtaining replica belts wasn’t fair since they didn’t have to work for them. Then he was apprehended for a DWI days after stating that the UFC and potential sponsors never had to worry about him doing something like that.

Then this UFC 151 scenario took the churning pot of Jones haterade and made it completely boil over.  

“The ironing is delicious,” as Bart Simpson would say. In trying to preserve the power of his brand and his image by not taking what he apparently perceived to be an unnecessary risk, he ended up destroying his brand, his image, and likely destroyed any chances at an amicable relationship with his employers. 

Jones’ reputation will forever be marred by not accepting the fight with Sonnen. He’ll be called a paper champion, a coward, a ducker and worse before his career is through.

 

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UFC 151 Canceled: Is Jon Jones a Coward for Not Taking the Chael Sonnen Fight?

Jon Jones has refused to take a fight with Chael Sonnen on eight days notice according to Dana White on a media conference call—and that’s not something a champion should ever do.A champion should fight all comers rather than pick and choose oppo…

Jon Jones has refused to take a fight with Chael Sonnen on eight days notice according to Dana White on a media conference call—and that’s not something a champion should ever do.

A champion should fight all comers rather than pick and choose opponents.

Now, fighters like Jon Jones (and recently Anderson Silva) are finagling their way around fights for one reason or another, forgetting that the belt is a symbol for dominance and courage rather than a means to securing bigger sponsors. 

Jones’ recent career faux pas is the most egregiously bad example of a champion choosing not to defend his belt in the sport’s history. 

Dan Henderson injured his knee, Chael Sonnen stepped up to the plate, and Jones—in a moment that will live forever in infamy—refused to take the fight against Sonnen (or any fighter) on eight days notice.

This is at worst cowardly, and at best aloof. 

Could you imagine if an NFL team refused to play another team due to a sudden roster switch? That wouldn’t fly in the NFL and Jones choosing not to defend his belt shouldn’t fly in the UFC. The situation makes the UFC look horrendous and, I dare say, bush league.

Furthermore, it shows abysmal financial/public relations acumen by Jones and his management. 

Yes, taking a fight on eight days notice is a risk and Jones could lose some of his value or vaunted sponsorships with a loss, but the downside to taking the fight is nowhere near as bad as the downside of not taking it. 

MMA fans are notoriously vindictive and outspoken. Now, since Jones didn’t take the fight, he’ll forever be known by fans as a coward and as the guy who ducked Chael Sonnen; he’ll be a paper champion now and always.

Also, infuriating one’s bosses is also a bad move to make; Zuffa’s relations with Jones will be soured for quite some time due to this incident.

Ultimately, a UFC title belt is something that signifies you’re the best in the world at that weight class. It’s something to be defended to prove you’re the best, not something to be protected or hide behind whilst using it to guarantee bigger pay days.  

Jon Jones is guilty of violating this sacred truth of MMA and in doing so destroying his reputation as a fighter and champion for the rest of time.

 

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Michael Phelps 2012: Is Ronda Rousey and Ian McCall Dissing Phelps a Good Thing?

Women’s MMA starlet Ronda Rousey and flyweight sensation Ian McCall have both unleashed verbal assaults at famed Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps—but this isn’t a bad thing at all.The common thread in both Rousey’s and McCall’s jabs at Phelps was t…

Women’s MMA starlet Ronda Rousey and flyweight sensation Ian McCall have both unleashed verbal assaults at famed Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps—but this isn’t a bad thing at all.

The common thread in both Rousey’s and McCall’s jabs at Phelps was that he was solely a swimmer. 

“Get over yourself. All you do is swim. If someone slapped you every single time you jumped in the pool then I’d have a little more respect,” Rousey said. 

She elaborated on her sentiments, saying that Phelps was something of an egomaniac: 

Phelps needed his own private section of the club to be private, for him. Even the NBA players—who are a bigger deal than this guy—they’re all hanging out with the rest of us. We’re your teammates! We’re not a bunch of groupies! Come hang out with us. Who the hell are you? Then we had the Oprah thing…they had all the medalists on there…Michael Phelps had to be kept separate in a different backstage area so he wouldn’t be harassed by all the other Olympians. I don’t like being somebody’s teammate and being treated like I’m a groupie.

Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall was equally unimpressed with Phelps and his accomplishments.

“People give all this credit to what’s his name…Phelps. You’re ****ing swimming, dude, it’s not that big of a big deal…I think swimming is dumb. I like swimming as a workout—it’s hard—although I don’t see why he gets glorified for that. He’s not like a multi-sport athlete,” he said. 

Responses for MMA fans were not positive, specifically to McCall’s statements. The flyweight fighter posts on the famous MixedMartialArts.com forums known as “The Underground,” where a thread about his views on Phelps has taken a turn for the worse. 

McCall himself responded to the critics in that thread, stating: 

People ask for my opinon [sic] and I give it to them I don’t care, if you don’t agree that’s fine, I didn’t ask for you to agree. 

When it comes to being an athlete I am more impressed with an athlete who knows how to do multiple things at a very high level than just swim the fastest.

Swimming is an awesome work out, I love it. That is all it is to me though, is a great work out.

The whole Rousey-McCall-Phelps escapade seems like a blemish on the face of MMA, but it has a positive side. 

The stance that Rousey and McCall come across poorly—and, as an extension, so do all fighters and MMA as a whole—is flat-out wrong and is only adopted by timid naysayers who are afraid of offending people. The famous saying “any publicity is good publicity” is applicable where Rousey, McCall, and Phelps are concerned. 

Rousey’s Phelps-related video has over 110,000 views a little less than a month after being posted. McCall’s has just under 4,000, and it was only posted two days ago.  

Videos extolling the virtues of the famous swimmer or any other Olympic athlete wouldn’t have garnered nearly as much attention—attention that the sport of MMA (specifically women’s MMA and the UFC’s burgeoning flyweight division) needs.

Furthermore, was there anything factually wrong with what Rousey and McCall said?

Yes, their words were phrased in a somewhat aggressive manner (they’re fighters, not diplomats) but they spoke the truth.

Swimming races, while taxing, are (like many other Olympic sports) arbitrary and don’t deserve to be held in the same esteem as the purest sport on earth: the sport of fighting—MMA.

Phelps needs to swim really fast in a straight line whilst Rousey and McCall need to train in an array of combat sports, get beat up day in and day out, as well as weight lift and engage in cardiovascular conditioning. 

Which one sounds more difficult?

Now, thanks to Rousey and McCall, tens of thousands more know the right answer to that question.

 

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UFC 150 Results: Is Frankie Edgar the Greatest Role Model in UFC History?

Frankie Edgar is the greatest role model in the history of the UFC.Yes, he lost last night, and yes, his life narrative isn’t as compelling as Junior Dos Santos or Brian Stann or any other UFC fighter whose backstory is constantly referred to in pre-fi…

Frankie Edgar is the greatest role model in the history of the UFC.

Yes, he lost last night, and yes, his life narrative isn’t as compelling as Junior Dos Santos or Brian Stann or any other UFC fighter whose backstory is constantly referred to in pre-fight advertising, but the fact still remains that he’s the greatest role model of all past and present UFC fighters. 

“Frankie Edgar beats up other little men with his fists so now he’s a great role model? Absurd!” You say?

Think again. 

Frankie Edgar’s status as a role model doesn’t stem from his literal actions in the cage but from what those actions in the cage represent. 

When Edgar fights, he perseveres. He weathers the storm and continues to find a way to win (or at least win in the eyes of the majority of MMA fans, according to Bleacher Report MMA’s front-page poll).

Edgar has also been the smaller fighter in nearly all of his fights, yet he was always undaunted by that fact and even became UFC lightweight champion despite pundits claiming Edgar’s true weight class was featherweight.

Edgar’s more recent behavior is also worthy of praise. Despite being on the wrong end of a controversial decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC 150, he didn’t whine, he didn’t complain—he just decided to forget it and move along. 

The common MMA fan (and the common person in general) can learn a lot from these examples Edgar set forth. 

People can harness Edgar’s fighting spirit when they are depressed or downtrodden after a terrible day at work or after grim revelations that they may not ever amount to anything. Edgar’s in-cage exploits also teach people that, despite being smaller, they can still claim victory over a larger, more menacing foe if they just keep at it and never give up—if they persevere like Edgar. 

Furthermore, Edgar accepting the loss to Henderson also teaches people not to dwell on defeat and temporary setbacks, it teaches them not to endlessly complain like the mindless cows on Teen Mom or Girls and to just forget it and move onto your next goal, whatever that may be. 

Thus, following Frankie Edgar’s behavior would benefit people more than any other fighter in UFC history. Emulating Edgar would make whiny, slack-jawed gawkers into capable people who stop at nothing to accomplish their goals, and aren’t daunted by the inherent unfairness in life. 

 

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UFC 150 Results: Should MMA Have a Rule Similar to Boxing’s 3-Knockdown Rule?

Athletic commissions should consider adding a variation of boxing’s famous “three-knockdown rule” to further guarantee the safety of MMA fighters. One of the points used to argue that MMA is safer than boxing is that MMA fighters don’t suffer repe…

Athletic commissions should consider adding a variation of boxing’s famous “three-knockdown rule” to further guarantee the safety of MMA fighters. 

One of the points used to argue that MMA is safer than boxing is that MMA fighters don’t suffer repeated head trauma the way boxers do. Once a fighter is knocked down, he’s either finished via ground and pound or the ref stops the fight. There’s no getting up before the count of 10 only to take even more damage.

However, this talking point may not be as valid as it was once thought to be. 

What happened? 

Fights like Jared Hamman vs. Michael Kuiper happened. 

Kuiper beat Hamman from pillar to post throughout the eight or so minutes of their UFC 150 encounter, knocking Hamman down repeatedly and landing crushing blow after crushing blow. 

This fight demonstrated why MMA might need a knockdown rule (maybe not three knockdowns since sometimes slips can happen and may wrongfully be counted as knockdowns, so maybe five knockdowns). 

Such a fight was fun to watch, but it was hard not to feel bad for Hamman, a fighter who was taking a tremendous amount of punishment and was clearly only delaying the inevitable TKO each time he rose back to his feet to continue fighting (especially since Hamman tore his hamstring in the first round).

What was the point of him getting blasted over and over again? Sure, it’s possible that he could’ve pulled off a comeback on the level Cheick Kongo vs. Pay Barry, but such miraculous events don’t happen often in MMA. 

Thus, it’s sometimes better to err on the side of safety.

Just as the cage-side doctors are there to protect fighters from themselves and end a fight when a cut is too devastating, so too should a knockdown rule be there to protect fighters from their indomitable fighting spirit. For what good is their iron will when their brain has been reduced to a flaccid, grey blob capable of only the simplest thoughts?

 

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