You see this photo? It was posted by Zoila Frausto over the weekend, with the caption “Today’s training session @csagym was with these two!! They were awesome and I feel so fortunate!” On the right is none other than former Strikeforce featherweight champion Gina Carano.
As you might expect, this photo has led to rampant speculation that “Conviction” might be returning to MMA, but for realz this time. And we are here to say that not only is Carano not returning to MMA, but that we as a community need to stop discussing or even hinting at the idea of Carano fighting in the UFC, Bellator, WSOF, Titan FC, or the long defunct YAMMA pit fighting. In fact, it is far more likely that YAMMA pit fighting will experience a renaissance than Ms. Carano’s MMA career, so for the good of us all, we need to let her go quietly into that good night.
You see this photo? It was posted by Zoila Frausto over the weekend, with the caption “Today’s training session @csagym was with these two!! They were awesome and I feel so fortunate!” On the right is none other than former Strikeforce featherweight champion Gina Carano.
As you might expect, this photo has led to rampant speculation that “Conviction” might be returning to MMA, but for realz this time. And we are here to say that not only is Carano not returning to MMA, but that we as a community need to stop discussing or even hinting at the idea of Carano fighting in the UFC, Bellator, WSOF, Titan FC, or the long defunct YAMMA pit fighting. In fact, it is far more likely that YAMMA pit fighting will experience a renaissance than Ms. Carano’s MMA career, so for the good of us all, we need to let her go quietly into that good night.
Look, we’ll readily admit to partaking in this fool’s pursuit before. We’ve arguably been the worst offenders of the bunch. I guess you could say we’ve got a soft spot for memorable personalities like Carano, what with her proclivity for lip bite gifs and general adorableness. And for a minute there, it seemed as if a Carano return to MMA was actually on the table. “I’ll be signing Gina Carano next week,” Dana White told us, and despite everything we’ve come to learn about him, we believed it. And oh, how it hurt when those negotiations inevitably fell through.
And I know what you’re thinking, “But Jared, if Kimbo can return to the game after a half decade absence, why not Carano?” Well, 1) Because Kimbo has at least been keeping busy crushing cans in the boxing ring since leaving MMA and 2) Because Kimbo doesn’t have a burgeoning film career to worry about (though in all honesty, he should). I know the UFC’s re-signing of Mirko Cro Cop has led many of us to believe that we might be entering a mid-2000′s throwback era of MMA, but Carano’s return to the game is simply too good to be true. It always has been.
The point is, it’s over. Carano has moved onto bigger, better things, and she isn’t coming back. She hasn’t fought in the better part of a decade. She has five film projects lined up for this year alone, and seems well on her way to establishing herself as one of the most ass-kickingest women in Hollywood. And most importantly, no amount of money that the UFC could possibly offer her we be enough to rectify the absolute embarrassment she would suffer at the hands of Ronda Rousey. I mean, can you even imagine how quickly that fight would be over? The UFC would have to enact some kind of EliteXC/Seth Petruzelli deal just to ensure that Carano would last longer than Alexis Davis: an actual, current MMA fighter who Rousey treated like so:
So please, legitimate MMA media, stop biting the idea of Carano’s return sinker, tackle box, and canoe (to borrow a phrase from Tito Ortiz). You’re only embarrassing yourself with this clickbait nonsense. What was it that Red said about Andy Dufresne after he escaped Shawshank prison?
“I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they’re gone.”
If you’re like me, you often like to spice up the average night of fights by placing a few bets. In an era where Tony Ferguson vs. Danny Castillo is deemed worthy of a PPV co-main event, a good old fashioned wager is sometimes necessary to excite an increasingly nihilistic MMA fan such as yourself. First it starts off as a few dollars here and there against your less-informed friends, most of whom you tricked into betting on the clearly inferior fighter (“Yeah, Sinosic is pretty good. I mean, just check out his nickname!”), but next thing you know, you’re gripping the edges of your TV and praying that Stephan Bonnar makes it to the second round against Anderson Silva so your pelvis won’t be broken by Johnny Numbers and that mook Alonzo.
That got oddly autobiographical for a second there, but the point is, gambling is a serious commitment that has serious consequences. Placing bets you don’t actually plan to follow through with is not only an insult to true gamblers worldwide, but a general sign of male deficiency and cowardice. It’s all but taking a piss in the face of Kenny Rogers, is what it is.
“I’ve got a wager. Bisping is grossly overpaid, comparably to where we are. So, I bet Michael Bisping, if I don’t finish you in the first round, you can have my purse. But if I do finish you in the first round, you give me your purse. So if I don’t finish you in the first round, whether I beat you in a decision or what, you get both of our purses. But if I do finish you in the first round, we switch purses, and I get yours.
Of course, Rockhold’s wager is heavily dependent on whether or not Bisping emerges victorious from his fight with Cung Le this weekend, which the bookies seem to think he will. But that’s beside the point, which is that Rockhold should not be making such ridiculous and empty promises in the first place.
If you’re like me, you often like to spice up the average night of fights by placing a few bets. In an era where Tony Ferguson vs. Danny Castillo is deemed worthy of a PPV co-main event, a good old fashioned wager is sometimes necessary to excite an increasingly nihilistic MMA fan such as yourself. First it starts off as a few dollars here and there against your less-informed friends, most of whom you tricked into betting on the clearly inferior fighter (“Yeah, Sinosic is pretty good. I mean, just check out his nickname!”), but next thing you know, you’re gripping the edges of your TV and praying that Stephan Bonnar makes it to the second round against Anderson Silva so your pelvis won’t be broken by Johnny Numbers and that mook Alonzo.
That got oddly autobiographical for a second there, but the point is, gambling is a serious commitment that has serious consequences. Placing bets you don’t actually plan to follow through with is not only an insult to true gamblers worldwide, but a general sign of male deficiency and cowardice. It’s taking a piss on the teachings of Kenny Rogers, is what it is.
“I’ve got a wager. Bisping is grossly overpaid, comparably to where we are. So, I bet Michael Bisping, if I don’t finish you in the first round, you can have my purse. But if I do finish you in the first round, you give me your purse. So if I don’t finish you in the first round, whether I beat you in a decision or what, you get both of our purses. But if I do finish you in the first round, we switch purses, and I get yours.
Of course, Rockhold’s wager is heavily dependent on whether or not Bisping emerges victorious from his fight with Cung Le this weekend, which the bookies seem to think he will. But that’s beside the point, which is that Rockhold should not be making such ridiculous and empty promises in the first place.
Rockhold is currently higher ranked than Bisping, for starters. Therefore, he should be worthy of Bisping’s consideration. These two also have a somewhat notorious hatred for one another (which I’m sure Bisping would just chalk up to another case of jealousy, misunderstanding, etc.). There’s also the fact that Bisping gets paid to fight, and very rarely (if ever) turns down a fight. And if Rockhold is making the wager in an attempt to get fans more excited for the potential matchup, he can just stop right there. It’s a fight, I’m interested. That’s kind of why I’m here.
Rockhold’s bet is pure hyperbole, plain and simple, as are all bets made in this vein. Rampage Jackson bet his whole purse that his fight with Forrest Griffin wouldn’t go to decision, and when it did (in Griffin’s favor, no less!), surprise, surprise, Jackson did no such thing. Jackson made a similar wager against Matt Mitrione for a fight which thankfully never came to fruition, and Jackson’s just one of many MMA fighters who have made similar “bets” in recent years.
In a day and age where roughly half the UFC’s roster is barely making a minimum wage salary, does Rockhold honestly expect us to believe that money is of no concern to him? At 80k a fight, he’s surely making more than most of his peers, but rolling in dough to the point that he’d be willing to pay all his training expenses, medical bills, and whathaveyous out of pocket to prove a point? Please.
I appreciate that he aptly described Bisping, who cleared $425,000 for his decision via eyepokes over Alan Belcher at UFC 159, as “grossly overpaid [for] where we are,” but I can’t overlook the irony in his line of thinking. “MMA fighters are underpaid, so I’ll offer to give the one ridiculously overpaid guy my purse, which accounts for less than a third of his usual paycheck.” That is some Master Shake-level logic right there.
But I get it, Rockhold is confident that he can finish Bisping inside five minutes. Having picked up back-to-back first round finishes in 2014, it’s not hard to understand why he’d be so confident. But as the old saying goes: Anything can happen in MMA, and Michael Bisping has never been finished in the first round. Never.
As a guy whose life is literally on the line every time he steps in the cage, you wouldn’t think that Rockhold would need any extra incentive to really get his blood pumping, especially not against a guy that he legitimately seem to dislike. *No* MMA fighter should really need additional motivation other than “not die” when entering the octagon, yet Mr. Rockhold has apparently been desensitized to the point that fighting on its own just doesn’t cut it anymore. What’s next, Luke? Shockfighting? A mid-freefall fracas? A fight in a gator-infested swamp while you’re high on mescaline?! I’M SO EXCITEDDD!! I’M SO EXCITEDDDD!!
Point is, if you’re an MMA fighter looking to add a friendly wager to your upcoming fight, at least be original about it. Propose that the loser must get an awful tattoo, like Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin did prior to UFC 126. Make the loser wear the winner’s cup on his face and speak like Bane for the entirety of the post-fight press conference. I dunno. Just make it something, anything you actually plan to follow through with.
But since he’s such a sport, I’ve got my own proposal for Mr. Rockhold.
(*stares directly into camera*)
You and I, we fight. If I can last more than 45 seconds, you give me the $80,000. If I don’t, I’ll give you two VIP tickets to see my band, Universal Suffrage, Universal Suffering, live at the Palladium, date TBA. You have 24 hours to accept.
(Bagautinov’s doping wasn’t enough to earn him a victory — but that’s no reason to let him off the hook. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
Now that random drug testing is nailing MMA fighters on a regularbasis, the truth is inescapable: PEDs have become the sport’s most urgent and embarrassing problem. But not every fighter is an anti-drug crusader like Tim Kennedy and Georges St. Pierre. Before his star-making beatdown of Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 on Saturday, Conor McGregortold MMAJunkie how he really feels about performance-enhancing drugs:
“I don’t really care about that stupid s–t,” McGregor said. “I’m just doing my thing. I’m just performing and getting better. I don’t care what anyone else does….Take whatever you want, I’m still going to whoop your ass.”
“I don’t care if my opponents are cheating or not,” Johnson said. “I train my butt off to fight the man who is put in front of me whether he’s on steroids or not. I want to play on a level playing field, but if they knew about it beforehand and didn’t stop it, at the same time, I took care of business. No big deal.”
Except it is a big deal, and saying otherwise makes MMA look like a joke.
Look, I get it. Claiming that you don’t care if your opponents are doping scores you badass points, and it can endear you to the segment of the MMA fanbase that really doesn’t care about the ongoing scourge of PEDs. (“I like Conor because he doesn’t bitch about drug-testing like these other pussies. Let ’em take what they want!” — Darryl T. Justbleedguy)
(Bagautinov’s doping wasn’t enough to earn him a victory — but that’s no reason to let him off the hook. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
Now that random drug testing is nailing MMA fighters on a regularbasis, the truth is inescapable: PEDs have become the sport’s most urgent and embarrassing problem. But not every fighter is an anti-drug crusader like Tim Kennedy and Georges St. Pierre. Before his star-making beatdown of Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46 on Saturday, Conor McGregortold MMAJunkie how he really feels about performance-enhancing drugs:
“I don’t really care about that stupid s–t,” McGregor said. “I’m just doing my thing. I’m just performing and getting better. I don’t care what anyone else does….Take whatever you want, I’m still going to whoop your ass.”
“I don’t care if my opponents are cheating or not,” Johnson said. “I train my butt off to fight the man who is put in front of me whether he’s on steroids or not. I want to play on a level playing field, but if they knew about it beforehand and didn’t stop it, at the same time, I took care of business. No big deal.”
Except it is a big deal, and saying otherwise makes MMA look like a joke.
Look, I get it. Claiming that you don’t care if your opponents are doping scores you badass points, and it can endear you to the segment of the MMA fanbase that really doesn’t care about the ongoing scourge of PEDs. (“I like Conor because he doesn’t bitch about drug-testing like these other pussies. Let ‘em take what they want!” — Darryl T. Justbleedguy)
But that “Do what thou wilt” stance towards cheating — especially when it’s expressed by champions and top contenders — is exactly the kind of thing that will keep mixed martial arts ghettoized as a small-time sideshow. At a time when MMA’s drug problem is reaching the ears of mainstream sports fans, we don’t need the UFC’s most public faces to play devil’s advocate and argue that doping is acceptable behavior.
To paraphrase the 24th Thesis: Do you half-wits realize that athletes of other sports do not behave this way? Is Yasiel Puig doing interviews claiming that A-Rod should be able to take as many steroids as he wants? Have you ever heard Peyton Manning say, “yeah, the Chargers can grab our face masks all game, we’re still gonna whoop ‘em on Sunday.” Of course not, because why in God’s name would a professional athlete support cheating? Why wouldn’t you care that your opponents are competing with an unfair advantage, if you’re trying to win?
By the estimates of every MMA fighter who has dared to speak out about it, at least half of MMA fighters use performance enhancing drugs. Some fighters, like Matt Serra and Krzysztof Soszynski, have stated that only a small percentage of professional fighters don’t do some form of illegal doping. (“I don’t give a [expletive] if it’s happening in baseball,” Serra said. “But when a guy can kick your head off, someone can get hurt. There’s a chance for serious bodily harm.”) But if you make a stink about it, you’re a troublemaker, and if you pretend that PEDs aren’t really a big deal, you’re a superhero. I mean, after all, it’s a fist fight, y’know? Chemicals don’t give you technique or heart, and those steroids aren’t gonna help you when I touch your chin. Ugh.
Random question: If Demetrious Johnson lost to Ali Bagautinov, would he feel the same way about PEDs — that doping is “no big deal”? And if he tried to defend Bagautinov’s EPO-usage after that loss, how ridiculous would he sound?
MMA fighters are a different breed — for better or worse — and the tough-guy culture of the sport leads generally-rational fighters to say some boneheaded shit. While I’m sure that many MMA fans would be fine with the sport returning to its barely regulated Golden Age (PRIDE NEVA DIE…OR TEST FOR STEROIDS!), anybody who wants to see this sport become universally respected as a legitimate enterprise should be publicly against cheating in all of its forms. Especially the athletes themselves, who this issue actually affects directly.
So we hereby drop the CagePotato Ban on MMA fighters saying they don’t care if their opponents are doping. Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs have become a potential sport-killer, and honestly, you’re not helping.
Johny Hendricks has not fought since narrowly defeating Robbie Lawler to earn the welterweight title back at UFC 171. Chris Weidman has defended his middleweight title all of two times, via a broken leg TKO of Anderson Silva and a recent UD win over Lyoto Machida. That neither man has even come close to cleaning out their division has not deterred certain members of the MMA media, however, from proposing the idea of a “superfight” between the two at every possible opportunity.
To his credit, Dana White has rightfully shot down the notion of a Hendricks-Weidman superfight, stating on Inside MMA that “[Hendricks is] in a very nasty division packed with talent from No. 1 to No. 13. You have a lot of housework to do before you clean out the division and talk about Chris Weidman.”
I don’t even think that I’d entertain that. Not that he’s not good or anything like that, but it just doesn’t make any sense to talk about it now. [Hendricks] hasn’t defended his belt yet, and I have more people to fight in my weight class. On top of that, I would never call out a guy who’s smaller than me. I’m a lot bigger than him, I think. I know he walks around heavy but I’d feel like I’d have a huge advantage in that fight, so I’m not calling him out.
And thank science for that. Now if only we can finish this interview without entertaining another ridiculously premature superfight question…
(Horrendous photoshop or future UFC poster? The answer may surprise you…)
Johny Hendricks has not fought since narrowly defeating Robbie Lawler to earn the welterweight title back at UFC 171. Chris Weidman has defended his middleweight title all of two times, via a broken leg TKO of Anderson Silva and a recent UD win over Lyoto Machida. That neither man has even come close to cleaning out their division has not deterred certain members of the MMA media, however, from proposing the idea of a “superfight” between the two at every possible opportunity.
To his credit, Dana White has rightfully shot down the notion of a Hendricks-Weidman superfight, stating on Inside MMA that ”[Hendricks is] in a very nasty division packed with talent from No. 1 to No. 13. You have a lot of housework to do before you clean out the division and talk about Chris Weidman.”
I don’t even think that I’d entertain that. Not that he’s not good or anything like that, but it just doesn’t make any sense to talk about it now. [Hendricks] hasn’t defended his belt yet, and I have more people to fight in my weight class. On top of that, I would never call out a guy who’s smaller than me. I’m a lot bigger than him, I think. I know he walks around heavy but I’d feel like I’d have a huge advantage in that fight, so I’m not calling him out.
And thank science for that. Now if only we can finish this interview without entertaining another ridiculously premature superfight question…
Jon Jones is different. He’s taller than me, he’s bigger than me, so that’s a different story. That would be more of a test than Johny Hendricks.
God damn it.
Look, MMA media, I know that you are content to recycle the same five or so base-level questions during these interviews (“How’s your camp going? Who would you like to fight next? How would you rate your performance? What’s your perfect Sunday like?”) until the end of time, but enough with these superfight questions already. If Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva taught us anything, it’s that the only matchups good enough to actually warrant the “superfight” moniker are never going to happen, whether due to contract issues, scheduling conflicts, or simply because one fighter doesn’t see the merit in moving up or down in weight for a non-title fight with few actual stakes on the line.
And not only that, but repeatedly forcing a superfight narrative where none such exists is pretty much the closest thing you can do to placing a curse on one of the fighters being discussed. You’re all but asking one of them to lose their next fight. It happened with Anderson, it happened with Fedor, etc. It’s the TUF coaches rule of excessive fight hype: For every word spoken about a potential juggernaut MMA fight, the likelihood that one of the two fighters will go down with an injury increases 10%. You don’t actually think that Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez are going to thrown down at the end of TUF 20, do you? Bad Tater! Bad! (*hits you with stick*)
So please, MMA media, let’s wait until our current UFC champions at least get a few title defenses under their belt before we call for a superfight. Or better yet, let’s wait until our champions can string together two straight defenses without having to undergo a surgery that benches them for the majority of a year. I know, cautious optimism…
Even as a big fan of Lytle’s, I cannot understand how this fight is possibly being considered. Lytle retired from MMA in 2011, has not boxed professionally since 2005, and is easily the smallest draw of any of the MMA fighters Jones has been linked to over the years. Say what you want about Lytle’s granite chin, or how much Jones’ skills have deteriorated, or how Lytle was 13-1 as a boxer with wins over…
This shit needs to stop. News flash, MMA fighters & Boxers: It isn’t 1993, and there is no longer a need to prove that one fighting style is better than another. We already know that MMA is superior, we know this, so why are we as a community so insistent on leveling the scales that were tipped in our favor following Toney vs. Couture? THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS, YOU GUYS.
(Ariel Helwani breaks the news of this potential freak show on MMA Tonight.)
Even as a big fan of Lytle’s, I cannot understand how this fight is possibly being considered. Lytle retired from MMA in 2011, has not boxed professionally since 2005, and is easily the smallest draw of any of the MMA fighters Jones has been linked to over the years. Say what you want about Lytle’s granite chin, or how much Jones’ skills have deteriorated, or how Lytle was 13-1 as a boxer with wins over…
This shit needs to stop. News flash, MMA fighters & Boxers: It isn’t 1993, and there is no longer a need to prove that one fighting style is better than another. We already know that MMA is superior, we know this, so why are we as a community so insistent on leveling the scales that were tipped in our favor following Toney vs. Couture? THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS, YOU GUYS.
With all due respect to Lytle, I must reiterate how terrible of an idea this is. The MMA vs. Boxing debate has long since lost all relevance in our society, and I point to the hilarious “debate” of Rousey vs. Mayweather as proof of this. Simply put, we do not need to add fuel to the fire by allowing Lytle, a consistently entertaining fighter, to get his ass whipped by one of the greatest boxers of all time.
How would this fight be billed, exactly? The average steadfast boxing fan barely knows who Anderson Silva is, let alone a guy of Lytle’s caliber. That “Light’s Out” has been retired for three years doesn’t exactly make things more enticing, especially when considering that Jones has fought as recently as December 2013, where he captured the vacant WBU Cruiserweight title.
In the octagon, we have seen Lytle outboxed by the likes of Marcus Davis, Robbie Lawler, and even Dan Hardy in his final MMA fight before rallying in the third round. Lytle is a power-puncher with decent footwork who relies on looping, home run swings of right hands that often leave him exposed to counter strikes (in his MMA career, at least). Roy Jones Jr. is perhaps the smoothest counter-puncher to ever step foot in the ring, next to Floyd Mayweather, with equally devastating offensive capabilities. So please, tell me how this will end in anything but a one-sided beatdown.
And God, how Jones would talk after defeating Lytle. We’d never hear the end of how Anderson Silva was “next” on his list, or how Rampage was “ducking him.” You guys remember all the nonsense Ray Mercer spat after destroying Tim Sylvia, right? How MMA fighters were all afraid of him, a 48 year-old former boxer, because he had knocked out an uncoordinated, past-his prime Fatty Boom-Boom who showed up to the fight some 40 pounds heavier than we had ever seen him? Think about the embarrassment you felt for our sport that day, Nation. Think long and hard (heh) about it before you offer an opinion on this fight.
Perhaps the most troubling angle of this fight is that Lytle is more or less viewing it as his final “farewell fight.” He’s no longer interested in MMA, but a boxing match with Jones is the one thing he apparently needs to call it a career (for seriously this time). Yahoo’s Kevin Iole recently wrote a great piece on the futility of these farewell fights, and his main point was simple:
The final act of so many fighters is not good. Retirement or so-called farewell fights should also be outlawed, because if a fighter isn’t fit to compete, then it makes no sense to go out and get kicked and punched in the head again in order to say goodbye.
On behalf of MMA fans and the sport in general, I’m begging you, Chris: Do not take this fight. You went out on possibly the highest note an MMA fighter has ever gone out on, and accepting a fight with Jones, an idol of yours he may be, will only tarnish that. You’ve got a wife and got kids who I’m sure would be just fine with the prospect of never seeing you fight again, and for good reason: MMA fans don’t need this fight, boxing fans don’t need this fight, and most importantly, you don’t need this fight.
The same goes for the rest of you, post-prime MMA fighters considering a fight with Jones. Let’s leave the MMA vs. Boxing debate where it belongs: Buried in a shallow grave and hidden from the sight of rational-thinking people.
(I respect and adore these brave warriors who risk their WAIT HE MAKES MORE MONEY THAN I MAKE WORKING PART-TIME AT HOT TOPIC?! DIE IN A FIRE, SCUMBAG!)
This is a ban that we’ve been meaning to enact for quite some time. In the MMA community, long-winded rants about issues such as low pay, cruel treatment, and disrespectful articles about the men and women who sacrifice their health for our entertainment are as much a part of being an MMA fan as owning a glittery Affliction shirt. Most fans want you to know that unlike other sports, MMA is a sport whose fans truly and deeply care about the general well-being of the fighters.
And about 90% of those fans are completely full of shit, and need to finally be called on it.
The opportunity to do so has never been better than it’s been these past four days, while UFC veterans have tried to express their displeasure with the organization, only to be told to bite their tongues by the fans. First there was Chris Leben, who actually said point blank that he would have been better off driving a truck instead of fighting for the UFC for the past decade. Next, there was Nate Quarry, who exposed both how little most guys make through sponsorships and how little the UFC actually cares about their fighters. If even half of the fans who claim to respect the fighters actually did, there would be serious pressure on the UFC this week.
(I respect and adore these brave warriors who risk their WAIT HE MAKES MORE MONEY THAN I MAKE WORKING PART-TIME AT HOT TOPIC?! DIE IN A FIRE, SCUMBAG!)
This is a ban that we’ve been meaning to enact for quite some time. In the MMA community, long-winded rants about issues such as low pay, cruel treatment, and disrespectful articles about the men and women who sacrifice their health for our entertainment are as much a part of being an MMA fan as owning a glittery Affliction shirt. Most fans want you to know that unlike other sports, MMA is a sport whose fans truly and deeply care about the general well-being of the fighters.
And about 90% of those fans are completely full of shit, and need to finally be called on it.
The opportunity to do so has never been better than it’s been these past four days, while UFC veterans have tried to express their displeasure with the organization, only to be told to bite their tongues by the fans. First there was Chris Leben, who actually said point blank that he would have been better off driving a truck instead of fighting for the UFC for the past decade. Next, there was Nate Quarry, who exposed both how little most guys make through sponsorships and how little the UFC actually cares about their fighters. If even half of the fans who claim to respect the fighters actually did, there would be serious pressure on the UFC this week.
Instead, the majority of fans immediately began defending the UFC. Leben was dismissed as a drug addict who blew his money. Quarry was dismissed as a troublemaker who overestimated how much money UFC 56 made at the gate. And of course, there were the more generic arguments, too. “These guys make more money than I do, so who cares?” “If you don’t like it, go fight for someone else and see if you get paid more.” “You knew the terms when you signed the contract, so don’t start complaining now.” None of those arguments are technically wrong; they’re just the types of things you’d say to a bartender who complains about annoying customers, a stripper who complains about being fondled, or anyone else you don’t care about at all whatsoever.
Essentially, the justification of – and in many cases, reframing of – poor treatment towards the fighters proved that most of the same fans who preach about how much they care about the athletes actually don’t. And spare me the “We’d listen to different fighters” line, because when Georges St. Pierre – the dominant champion who dedicated his life towards being the perfect ambassador for our sport – tried to put pressure on the UFC to implement better drug testing, he was met with casual indifference from the fans.
This certainly isn’t to say that we don’t care about the fighters, and this especially isn’t to say that we’re the only people who care about them, either. But rather, this is a call to the fans who throw a fighter under the bus because he wants to treat his injuries, who think nothing of a former WEC champion only being offered $17k to fight, and who cheer for an employer who does things that they themselves would never tolerate at their jobs to quit pretending to care about the well-being of the fighters, because you obviously don’t.
Again, for those of you who do care about the fighters, by all means continue rallying for better fighter treatment, because that isn’t just going to happen on its own. But for the fans who gladly protect the predatory behaviors that plague our favorite sport? Don’t use words if you don’t know what they mean.
