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On Saturday night in Saitama, Japan, Ryan Bader will continue his efforts to jump from prospect to contender when he takes on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the co-main event of UFC 144. However, even with some solid wins on his resume, people have quest…
On Saturday night in Saitama, Japan, Ryan Bader will continue his efforts to jump from prospect to contender when he takes on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the co-main event of UFC 144.
However, even with some solid wins on his resume, people have questions about the former Sun Devil, not the least of which include:
There’s been an interesting correlation going on in the past few years: The bigger the UFC becomes, the more it discriminates against companies trying to give its fighters money. First it was Condom Depot, which funneled countless dollars into fi…
There’s been an interesting correlation going on in the past few years: The bigger the UFC becomes, the more it discriminates against companies trying to give its fighters money.
First it was Condom Depot, which funneled countless dollars into fighter sponsorship but was considered too racy for the new age of UFC broadcasting. Then it was any energy drink sponsors, on account of conflicts with the Xyience line of supplements that just happen to be a corporate subsidiary of the UFC itself.
Most recently, with the UFC in a partnership with FOX broadcasting, it’s any sponsor that makes its business in guns and ammunition that’s been struck from what’s acceptable in the octagon.
Undeniably, the UFC gets to decide which companies are in the octagon and which ones aren’t. It’s their game. They also have such a good track record of helping fighters financially, and in other ways, it’s probably not true to say that these sponsorship bans are wrong, per se.
More like…misguided.
The Condom Depot case was questionable, particularly when Spike TV broadcasts were often broken up by Trojan commercials while the ban was ongoing. Yet as a direct sponsor of fighters, condoms are somehow considered dirty and uncouth for a television audience (one largely filled with males aged 18-34, no less).
Saying fighters can’t be sponsored by energy drinks that compete with Xyience is questionable because you’re saying competitors of your covert company can’t sponsor fighters in the more public one. Unless Xyience chooses to sponsor every single guy who lost money from that ban—and I don’t know one way or the other if they did, though it seems unlikely—then there’s some murky morality involved there.
Now, guns and ammunition are taking it on the chin in a similar fashion.
When no one cared about the sport, companies like The Gun Store were dropping money into the pockets of guys on the UFC roster so they could train, improve, and cause the sport to grow. Once that growth gets to a certain point, though, their money is no longer acceptable in the octagon.
It’s stupid, because these companies are being singled out for reasons based on perception from network executives, and not for anything concrete. It’s not like Nate Diaz having “The Gun Store” stamped on his trunks is the same thing as Nate Diaz having “Shoot Innocent Bystanders Using Guns” stamped on them.
There’s also the double standard of not allowing such a company inside the octagon as you choose to allow sponsors like Bud Light or Harley Davidson to buy as much ad space as they can. The dangers of alcohol consumption are well-documented, and it could be argued that a Harley Davidson motorcycle is dangerous in the same way a gun is: It’s OK in the right hands, but there’s enough room for error there that misuse can lead to people dying.
Furthermore, what’s it saying to have an event sponsored by beer and a motor vehicle company at the same time? Is that promoting drinking and driving? Is that better than a guy having an ammunition shop’s logo on his walk-in shirt?
Sure, these are extreme cases in many ways. Most people don’t see Budweiser and Harley Davidson together and immediately think the UFC is in favour of drinking and driving. But those same people don’t see a condom website or a gun shop on a guy’s trunks and think they’re inappropriate either.
This selectivity, however they wish to frame it, is an absolute PR minefield, and trying to navigate it is tricky. If this is the way business has to be done as the promotion pushes towards mainstream acceptance, it needs to be handled with more than the usual “we’re doing this, don’t ask questions, deal with it” approach that Dana White often throws out there.
Every company is dirty if you look at them from the right angle.
Every company’s money is also the same color green.
Finding a balance you’re comfortable with, and can reasonably explain, is how your organization is defined. Right now, no one can say they have the UFC’s sponsorship policy clearly defined though, and that’s something that has to change going forward.
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If you were told the NFL Network’s right to Thursday Night Football had been bought out by, say, the Food Network, and that all production of those games would be done in the style of all other Food Network programming, how would you react? It wo…
If you were told the NFL Network’s right to Thursday Night Football had been bought out by, say, the Food Network, and that all production of those games would be done in the style of all other Food Network programming, how would you react?
It would be the same talking heads and athletes you know, but there would be Food Network personalities horned in wherever they’d fit, Food Network graphics all over the place, Food Network music playing prior to the game. Basically, it would take all that you know and like about the production of the NFL Network, all that they know about how to broadcast their own league, and replace it for no reason other than to say that they did.
Doesn’t sound great, does it?
Well, if you’ve been looking at the early days of the UFC on FOX, that’s basically what you’ve seen.
It was interesting at first to see how FOX Sports married itself to the sport of MMA and how the brand would play with that of the UFC. Since then it’s become less interesting, more clumsy and awkward.
FOX has its plan and it believes it knows sports and how to broadcast them. That’s probably true, as it routinely does excellent work with the NFL and MLB, plus the other sports it covers that don’t get as much attention as they should.
However, MMA is a different beast, and no one does it better than the UFC (especially now that the horrendous Gladiator opening has been retired). The UFC understands how to deliver fights, how to hype them and how to optimize the viewing experience. FOX, on the other hand, does not.
Having a booth above the arena where fighters sit at a desk and discuss fights doesn’t work for MMA—at least not unless the guys are polished in front of the camera. Randy Couture and Stephan Bonnar can get by, a swaggering Jon Jones reading his notes verbatim definitely can’t. The same goes for any combination that involves Dana White, who simply can’t give unbiased analysis and be credible doing so.
Curt Menefee has been a revelation thanks to his natural smoothness, but why not have Jon Anik—a guy who actually knows the sport—in that seat on nights he’s not calling the fights? Or even try Ariel Helwani, who knows the sport and has paid his dues covering it when no one cared. Regardless, if it isn’t Menefee, it surely shouldn’t be Jay Glazer, whose lack of charisma is only matched by his lack of comfort in guiding discussion for the camera.
Make no mistake, some of the FOX additions have been good. A more in-depth pre- and post-fight show is nice, and Anik alongside Kenny Florian is as good as or better than the tired tandem of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. They’ve also brought pre-fight interviews into the mix and a more “sporty” (for lack of a better word) feel to the broadcast overall.
It’s still early in the relationship between the FOX family and the UFC, and it will get better. People have absolutely jumped off the deep end at this stage, thinking the sky is falling because things haven’t been fantastic off the hop. That’s not the case, but some things definitely need to be reined in going forward.
Dana White was right to say he’d take the advice of FOX on some production issues, because it knows a lot about doing sports right. However, FOX would be wise to open its doors to the UFC in a similar fashion, because it’s proved in the early going of this relationship that it definitely doesn’t have all the answers.
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During the broadcast of UFC on FOX 2 this weekend past, something became evident in a hurry: There will never be another Randy Couture. He was assigned analyst duties in between Curt Menefee and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and exuded confidenc…
During the broadcast of UFC on FOX 2 this weekend past, something became evident in a hurry: There will never be another Randy Couture.
He was assigned analyst duties in between Curt Menefee and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and exuded confidence and intelligence as he broke down fights and explained nuances of the sport. Once again, just as when he first entered the cage in 1997, he unsurprisingly lived up to his nickname and seemed to be a natural.
Perhaps it was the fact that he was flanked by an MMA layman and a young champion who was more focused on swaying in his chair and trying to look cool (hard to do when relying so heavily on the prepared notes sitting on the desk in front of you), but Couture seemed to be the steadying presence in a broadcast that needed one.
And from that reality, so came the realization mentioned above that no man will ever fill his shoes.
He’s a man who started in MMA in his mid-30s, won championships in multiple weight class multiple times, fought into his late-40s, and embodied all that was ever right with the sport. He fought legends of every generation, fought guys who came from other sports and stuck a finger in his chest, and even fought Dana White when he felt that he wasn’t getting a fair shake in his contract.
Nobody can match that.
When the time came that he wasn’t so sure he wanted to fight anymore, he took one last matchup against a former world champion still in his prime. He looked sluggish, but soldiered on until he was victimized by a fantastic knockout that brought the biggest live crowd in UFC history out of their seats. He went out as he wanted to, fighting the best and being cheered heroically as he left the arena for the final time.
However, now he’s popped up on television and in movies, extending his shelf life in the public eye with savvy business ventures such as his MMA gyms and clothing lines. He endorses products when he’s not running his businesses or appearing in action flicks. He’s said he’s open to working in some capacity for the UFC should it need him, and perhaps his appearance on FOX was the first such example of that need.
The bottom line is that Couture was a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. As MMA grows bigger and more guys come along, there will be fewer men interested in fighting across multiple weight classes or fighting into their fifth decade on Earth. Even if the interest is there, chances are the physical tools won’t match the commitment the way that Couture’s did.
Randy Couture is an MMA legend, nobody will deny that. The things he accomplished in the cage are unheard of, and they’ll never be replicated. He’s also among the classiest, brightest ambassadors the sport could have, and that’s something that will always be needed.
Fighters come and go, but The Natural will be around forever. He’s one of a kind, and wherever his career takes him, it’s safe to say MMA will never see another one like him.
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While it’s mostly blown over now after he gassed out and got choked senseless for his troubles in Brazil a few weeks back, Anthony Johnson shone a light on a notable issue in MMA these days: cutting weight. Johnson has since been released, and wi…
While it’s mostly blown over now after he gassed out and got choked senseless for his troubles in Brazil a few weeks back, Anthony Johnson shone a light on a notable issue in MMA these days: cutting weight.
Johnson has since been released, and with complete justification, as his loss at UFC 142 to Vitor Belfort marked the third time he’s been unable to make a contracted tipping of the scales. It even took place after he moved up a weight class to avoid such a folly.
However the issue at play here goes beyond Johnson, despite the fact that he’s the man most point to as an example of how extreme cuts can effect one’s well-being in and out of the cage. As the UFC grows and becomes more attention-worthy in mainstream sports, the promotion has to continue to develop wellness policies and support programs for its fighters.
They currently do a phenomenal job of caring for fighters, offering full-time health insurance, substance abuse support, countless performance bonuses and even some off-the-books bonuses.
One thing they don’t do, however, is monitor where an athlete is in terms of his weight between fights, during camp and leading into the weigh-in, and it may be something they want to look into going forward. This may seem like overkill to many, but there are a host of reasons the promotion should consider such an idea.
The first that comes to mind is the most obvious, that being health of the fighters.
No matter what anyone says, dropping 50 or 60 pounds over an eight week training camp is lunacy when you do it three times a year. The body isn’t designed to sustain that sort of punishment, and while it may be nice to have a size advantage over your opponent, it’s probably nicer to have functioning kidneys past your 30th birthday.
The second is the impact on matchmaking and the shuffling of cards. In the case of Johnson, he was fighting in the co-main event against one of Brazil’s greatest legends. He missed weight so badly that their “middleweight” fight ended up taking place at 205 instead. The thing is, fighters who have been contracted to make weight need to make weight.
Could you imagine the backlash if Johnson-Belfort was cancelled? Or if Belfort had been given some bum just going in there to be knocked out and grab a quick paycheck? Fans in the arena and around the world would have been furious that they paid for one fight and got another, or outright didn’t get one at all.
The third thing that comes to mind is the potential PR nightmare when something goes wrong with a drastic weight cut. And make no mistake, something will go wrong with one sooner or later. Johnson himself lost feeling in his legs and was forced to rehydrate in Brazil, and there are cases of collegiate wrestlers dying from cutting weight in the past. As mentioned, the body isn’t meant to go through drastic weight fluctuations and certainly isn’t designed to drain itself of all fluid for a period of time after rapidly shedding pounds daily for two months or more.
How would Dana White and his front office handle a fighter dying on his way to the scale? How would the mainstream media portray it? What would fans think? Many people already think that MMA is basically legalized homicide, what would they say if they knew fighters were literally killing themselves just to make it into the cage at a certain weight?
Make no mistake, I’m no bleeding heart hippie in sports or anything else. I understand that cutting weight is part of the game, as is living life between fights like a normal human being – which often means pizza, beer and a bit of a spare tire for some guys.
But there also needs to be some room to keep fighters in check in terms of weight, because if no one does there are serious risks to health and business that the UFC simply can’t afford.
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Motivation is a funny thing. Enough of it can have an old lady on the news explaining how she lifted a car off her trapped granddaughter, while when it’s lacking, that same old lady might not be able to get herself out of bed in the morning. In t…
Motivation is a funny thing. Enough of it can have an old lady on the news explaining how she lifted a car off her trapped granddaughter, while when it’s lacking, that same old lady might not be able to get herself out of bed in the morning.
In the world of sports, motivation is more key than perhaps in any other walk of life. Fans and media watch and dissect everything a pro athlete does, and if those athletes lack motivation they lack one of the fundamental bases required to perform at a high level.
Combat sports feels that influence even more so, as the inherent risk of a combat athlete lacking motivation comes in the form of potentially great physical and mental harm. Look no further than B.J. Penn, as he is one of the most notable examples of how motivation can defeat a man before he ever makes it to the cage. In fights against Jens Pulver or Diego Sanchez, he was hungry and motivated and left remarkable destruction in his wake. Against Frankie Edgar (both times) and Nick Diaz, he looked listless and bored and was an unceremonious loser as a result.
Behind Penn, the most baffling mixed martial artist out there in terms of motivation is current Strikeforce star Gegard Mousasi. When he’s on, he’s utterly ruthless. When he’s not, he’s completely content to walk into the cage and eke out a lame win or lose an uninspired decision. He remains stoic regardless, so disinterested that his facial expressions rarely vary from bland indifference no matter what.
However, much like Penn, Mousasi harnesses some of the greatest natural skill in the sport. He’s not yet 27, however he’s been a force at 185 lbs. and 205 lbs. for his entire adult life with his smooth striking and exceptionally complementary ground game. When he decides he wants to beat you up, you’re getting beat up and it doesn’t matter who you are—it’s getting him to make that decision that proves difficult.
One way to inspire him? A UFC contract.
Mousasi has spoken about fighting the best in the world, and that in order to do that he understands he has to find a way to the UFC. As it stands, he’s more apt to rematch “King Mo” Lawal or throw leather with Feijao Cavalcante in Strikeforce, and while those guys are tough customers, they aren’t likely to inspire Mousasi the way Lyoto Machida or Shogun Rua might.
To put it simply, Gegard Mousasi needs to be in the UFC to give him a reason to keep fighting. He’s talked at length about trying to leave the fight game young before he ruins his body and mind, and he’s also said he’s going to commit to proper training camps and a more MMA-focused regimen until that exit happens. The last piece of the puzzle is finding him fights that matter to him, because without them he could just as easily end up back in Holland enjoying that early retirement.
Strikeforce isn’t the place for Gegard Mousasi. He’s in the game to fight big names and make big money, and the promotion can’t guarantee him either these days. He has all the talent in the world, more than enough to reign over whichever division he chooses to compete in.
It’s the motivation that’s missing, and he won’t find it anywhere other than in the UFC.
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