Midnight Mania: Free Speech Or Bad Business?

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

The word of today in the MMA sphere is Hitler.

Bryce Mitchell made a bit of an oopsie in a recent podcast appearance, arguing that Adolf Hitler wasn’t such a bad guy after all. His embrace of the infamous German warmonger and genocide perpetrator was nasty enough that UFC CEO Dana White was forced to issue a response. White, clearly agitated by having to address this nonsense, rattled off some Holocaust stats like he was revealing gate numbers then buried Mitchell for being an absolute moron.

Mitchell will have to let a few insults brush off his shoulders, but otherwise, he suffers no actual consequences. He’s not suspended, released, or even sentenced to sensitivity training. Does the UFC even have an HR department? Regardless, Mitchell is free to go on a different podcast and discuss the virtues of Joseph Stalin or apartheid next if he’s so inclined, because FREE SPEECH is king in the modern UFC era.

Let me be clear: I don’t personally care what happens to “Thug Nasty.” I’m not invested in his fate, so I won’t be calling for his head or demanding UFC change its practices. I’ve met some very thoughtful and intelligent martial artists in my 15 years around the sport, but none of them power tooled their own genitals, so I’m not personally bothered by the village idiot.

It’s still worth pointing out that things weren’t always this way. A decade or so ago, UFC was implementing a full athlete Code of Conduct policy and firing former champions for tweeting s—tty Workaholics jokes. When UFC was struggling for general acceptance or trying to keep FOX happy, taking a stand behind free speech was less of a concern. In the age of the Endeavor takeover and ESPN contract, conversely, the promotion clearly isn’t bothered about upsetting a few people, especially if the controversy can be marketed.

What’s interesting here is the UFC’s current deal with ESPN is set to expire later this year. In fact, many experts predict Netflix will outbid ESPN and secure the UFC broadcast rights. It could mean a massive windfall for UFC shareholders, but the change in management could affect the current embrace of free speech above all else.

My question is this: how many fighters have to support Hitler before potential bidders like Netflix are turned off? There are still people and organizations in the world who care about concepts like hate speech. If such controversies scare away even one potential broadcasting partner, well, the bidding war just lost steam.

Who knows how many millions of dollars that could equate too?

On a smaller scale, advertisers are paying UFC a lot of money to show their products in a favorable light. If UFC starts looking like the market of skinheads, that doesn’t sound like great business either. One has to wonder: how much is Bryce Mitchell’s freedom to praise Hitler worth from a financial standpoint? How long until the promotion cracks down on fighters being s—tty not because of any moral obligation, but because it starts costing them money?

Someone will go lower than “Thug Nasty” — my money is on Sean Strickland — and maybe we’ll find out exactly where the promotion’s bottom lies.

Insomnia

The simple fact that the Karate Combat Guy seems to hate the PFL Guy is quite funny. I’ve no dog in this fight and hope both promotions succeed, but I’m reminded of THIS Mad Men scene …

Whatever Muhammad Mokaev did behind the scenes must’ve been pretty bad since he’s been treated more harshly than Bryce Mitchell.

Speaking of “Thug Nasty,” this Josh Emmett response to a Reddit AMA aged like fine wine.

The California Kid is back!

Conor McGregor doesn’t seem too bothered by his latest controversy.

Loma Lookboonmee should fight more often, it’s cool to see pure Muay Thai represented in the Octagon.

Good sportsmanship ahead of the fight!

… Does anyone else remember Jesse Taylor cutting weight via pingpong way back on TUF?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Scrambled to his feet and got his legs beneath him quickly …

Using the guillotine to stand, bait the reshot, and reapply the choke — textbook!

Kick low, kick high!

Random Land

Rough day at the office.

Midnight Music: R&B, 2016

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.