Bad Stoppages, The Ruining Of Potential Classics, And The Thankless Job Of Refereeing

Yes the Uriah Hall and Derek Brunson bout took place a few days ago in Hidalgo, Texas. Yes it is Tuesday, so I’m aware of how much time had passed since then so I’m sure some of you will make it a point to let that fact be known. Nevertheless, there are still some talking points to discuss on the subject no matter how long ago the event took place. The subject that that must be discussed is the thankless job of refereeing.

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It’s one of those jobs that are extremely important to the survival and enrichment of our sport. The responsibility of referees in MMA is a simple yet complex affair. They have to ensure that fighters are performing within the confines of the rules while at the same time ensuring fighter safety. Sure, a ref can make nine great calls out of ten, but with one slip up all their good work can be undone, at least in the eyes of the fans.

This past Saturday, one the most well respected referees in the game, Herb Dean, made in the eyes of some a terrible gaff. The co-main event of UFC Fight Night 94 saw the aforementioned Hall and Brunson locked horns. Just moments into the fight Brunson landed a crushing left hand on Hall, flooring the latter. Brunson follower up with some ground and pound and the fight was soon waved off by Dean. Sounds cut and dry right. Too bad that Hall seemed to recover extremely quickly. Thus sparks the minor controversy involved in the co-main event.

There’s no reason for a fighter to take unnecessary punishment which was likely Dean’s thought process as he called the match. Unfortunately Uriah Hall appeared to have gotten his sea legs back and was ready for more. Or at least that’s the argument that Hall and others are using. The truth is that for Herb Dean and all the other referees in MMA there is a different kind of pressure at hand when overseeing fights. Where boxing has a pause in the action, MMA is a sport where for the most part combatants don’t get to take a breath. An MMA fighter must be able to battle nonstop for five minutes, but if severe enough damage is inflicted then you can bet the ref is going to have no choice but to stop things before they go too far. No pause, no restart. Once a decision is made, it must stand.

But that unfortunate rule means that potential classics could be sacrificed because of a suspect call from the referee to end things prematurely. Sure, the good news is that Uriah Hall didn’t receive unnecessary damage. But we have to take under consideration the fact that Hall prepared himself for war. While fighter safety is important, it must be said that even when a fighter received damage they must be allowed to at least have a chance to battle back. These fighters know the risk at hand with becoming a professional pugilist. With that in mind we shouldn’t look for fighters to be throughly brutalized before fights are stopped. But at the same time we must allow fighters to at least try to pull themselves back from the brink of defeat particularly when they still have some fight left in them. Refereeing is a thankless job indeed.

Do you think Herb Dean made the right call last Saturday? What other fights do you think were stopped prematurely?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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SCORE ONE FOR THE BAD GUY: CHAEL SONNEN’S COMEBACK FUELED BY “PURE ANGER” ON THE GAME

Chael Sonnen has never been my favorite guy. While a great fighter and the only one to solve the puzzle that is Anderson Silva in his heyday (partially anyway) – his loud mouth WWE wrestling style never took with me. While he did bring a lot of eyeballs to the sport, I always thought he was fake, and called for fights he knew he couldn’t win. So it came as a surprise when I found out he was coming out of “pure anger” for the current state of the game.

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Enough is enough

Chael Sonnen recently signed with Bellator at the age of 39. In a conference call with Bellator MMA, Sonnen revealed the real reason he decided to sign with the Scott Coker run organization.

“I keep watching these guys, and it’s like Marshall Mathers says: they might walk like me and talk like me, dress, act, not give a dang like me, and they just might be the next best thing, but they are not quite me,” Sonnen said Friday on a Bellator conference call. “I’m watching these guys and they’re talking about money and who their opponents are and the weight class and then this happens. Who cares about all of that stuff?

“You either want to fight or you don’t, and one of my main motivations for coming back is pure anger. I sit back as a fan, I watch these guys quibble and squabble. I put this deal together with Coker over three phone calls. I didn’t negotiate. I didn’t ask for anything. I wanted an opportunity to fight, that was it. And he’ll tell you the same thing. It was as simple as that.”

What resonated with me is when he started talking about the fans. And how they’re the ones being cheated in this UFC age of shot calling and importance being placed on money.

“I am legitimately pissed off as a fan when I sit and read about guys who will only do this for ‘x’ amount of money, and everybody needs to be bribed,” Sonnen said. “They need this big carrot dangled in front of their face. It comes back to the Olympic spirit. It comes back to ‘let’s get that world championship.’

He’s saying a lot in that statement. While it’s arguable that he’s the one who essentially started this new age, even he’s saying it’s enough. We need to bring back the olympic spirit, with the importance being placed on being the best in the world, winning a championship. C’mon guys, let’s make the UFC great again.

Now let’s get realistic here. Sonnen is not the most altruistic guy and could be using this as an angle, he’s a genius at making people tune in. But either way, the message is true. While economy is definitely a real thing when you’re getting punched in the face with a possibility of irreversible head trauma, it’s only a part of it. There should also be that strive for greatness.

“Do you want to do it or not? And the right guy, the best guy, every time says yes. And (number) three and four and five can go and do all these pity parties and come up with all of these reasons why they don’t want to jump and fight. I’m not one of those guys. I want to do it.”

I will give Sonnen this, while he’s been the character many of the UFC personalities he is now criticizing are based on, he’s willing to step in there with anyone and never turns down a match. In that capacity, he’s a real fighters fighter. But in the same breath, he goes on to talk about UFC numbers, and how he wants to have the highest PPV’s.

“I get competitive in other ways than just in the ring,” Sonnen said. “I want the highest rating. I want the biggest pay-per-view numbers. I want to move more t-shirts and more tickets than anybody else. I look at those numbers, and I had all of those records. I retired. When I retired, I got beat. All of those records are gone now. I used to have the North American gate (record). I used to have the pay-per-view (record). We were on FS1, I had the FS1 (record). I had them all. I’ve lost them all, and I’m here to get them all back.

Only time will tell what Sonnen’s really about, but the real question is what do you think of the message? Do these new school premadonna’s rub you the wrong way? Or is shot calling and money grabbing precisely where we need to be going?

Chime in with your comments below.

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Uriah Hall vs Derek Brunson: The Awesome Rivalry No One Is Talking About

Why the hell has no one been talking about this fight?! Could it be because of the legions of UFC events that we’ve been bombarded with for the last month or so? Is it because both these men aren’t household names? The truth is that it’s anyone’s guess. There’s no way that this fight won’t be intriguing to watch, particularly due to all the trash talk both men are throwing out at each other. Uriah Hall and Derek Brunson certainly have no love lost between each other and really, isn’t that what you want out of a fight?

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Uriah Hall is quite the enigma. Though he has all the tools and athleticism to make him a champion, he’s often found it hard to find his groove inside the octagon. When he’s light on his feet and using lateral movement he’s an absolute destroyer. When he’s loading up on his strikes and looking to kill, he can be predictable and very beatable. If he hopes to conquer his rival in this bout then he’ll have to utilize his superb movement and look to establish his jab. Falling into a pattern simply isn’t an option in this fight as doing so will mean being taken down by Brunson who is the superior wrestler. If hall can utilize his jab, use feints to get Brunson backing up, then landing one of his patented kicks then we could be in for an interesting fight.

Which is exactly what Derek Brunson should avoid.

Let’s put it this way: the more exciting this fight is, the worst it’s going to be for Brunson. Uriah Hall can create chaos with one well placed strike and Brunson needs to be cognizant of that. Brunson’s wrestling will rule the day, but he’ll still need to use his striking to make things happen in this bout. He has long arms and knows how to set up his punches well. Though he isn’t a polished striker by any means, his length coupled with his explosive speed can certainly make things difficult for Hall who sometimes drops his guard. Derek Brunson needs to utilize his long range striking to get Hall into a groove then immediately look to take things to the mat where he can potentially grind out a victory through positioning and steady ground and pound.

While many may be giving Derek Brunson the advantage in this bout, due purely to his wrestling pedigree, Uriah Hall is a man who is always dangerous while the fight lasts. Look for Uriah Hall to give us another alarming and exciting victory with a unanimous decision win.

Who do you think wins this Saturday?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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JOSE ALDO WANTS ANTHONY PETTIS FOR MONEY FIGHT.

It seems everyone’s catching on to the new economic turn of the UFC. Previous nice guys from Tyron Woodley, Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, to now Featherweight interim champ Jose Aldo are calling for big money fights! Where did they learn this current trend? Daddy Dana, that’s who.

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“No more Mr. nice guy…”

It seems everyone’s catching on to the new economic turn of the UFC. Previous nice guys from Tyron Woodley, Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, to now Featherweight interim champ Jose Aldo are calling for big money fights! Where did they learn this current trend? Daddy Dana, that’s who.

In a recent interview with Brazilain TV show Revista Combate, Aldo explained that he’s looking for a big money fight, and if it’s not with Mcgregor, his close second would be former lightweight champion and kick heard round the world performer Anthony Pettis.

“I’m already frustrated that it might happen, but we’ll see,” Aldo recently told Brazilian TV show Revista Combate. “Every night I ask ‘give me one more chance to get in there again with him and I know it won’t happen again.’ but if it’s not him, I think I’d prefer to fight Pettis. I with them learned that I don’t have to look at the promotion’s side, the title run. A fight with Pettis would sell a lot more than Holloway.

He’s right. While Max Holloway has been on a 9 fight win streak since losing to Conor McGregor in 2013, the Anthony Pettis match up is a much bigger fight. And while it may be “fair” for Holloway to get the next big matchup, we all know that term is very fluid in the world of UFC. Plus, Aldo held the belt for 5 years and is now the #1 contender in a division where the champion is all but vacant, he should have some say.

“Holloway is way tougher than Pettis today,” Aldo said. “‘Do Bronx’ (Oliveira) was winning the fight, but (his cardio) goes down drastically during the fight. I think that a fight with Pettis would sell a lot and is way easier for me. If I had to choose one of them it would be him because it sells more and I have a better chance, but I respect him.”

“I’m trying to get a fight at this UFC card in New York, but we’ll see what ‘Dede’ (Pederneiras) has to say when he comes back. ‘Dede’ is (in Cleveland) now for a meeting with Dana to decide our future. I hope everything goes right. If it’s not against (McGregor) we fight for the undisputed belt. We’ll see.

Before we get into the issue of whether Jose Aldo is ducking anyone let’s not forget that this fight was set to happen years ago. After seeing Jose Aldo defend his belt against Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, Pettis texted Dana White saying he would accept the fight. Pettis later had to pull out due to a knee injury.

“Something interesting happened about 10 minutes ago,” White said at the postfight news conference. “Anthony Pettis said, ‘I want to go to 145 and fight Jose Aldo.’ He told me he’ll make 145.” –Dana White (2013)

Ultimately it comes down to Dana. Even though the organization has new owners, it seems they’re still leaving him to headline the sport aspect of the UFC. While either fight would be a barn burner, it would be nice to see these two wizards go head to head.

Smart move, or coward’s journey? What do you guys think of Jose Aldo calling out the featherweight newcomer?

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Tag Team: The Light Heavyweights Speak Out On Jon Jones

Enough is enough.

Former light heavyweight champion, and current interim title holder (I think) Jon Jones is no stranger to controversy. The pregnant woman hitting, coke snorting, PED taking (allegedly), MMA God has had a rough couple of years, to say the least. But somehow, the Muay Thai prodigy keeps rising to the top. The media forgives him, the fans forgive him, and the fighters forgive him too…right? Wrong. It seems the who’s who of the light heavyweight division have had enough, and are calling for the ex-champ to get to the back of the line.

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Enough is enough

In recent interviews both #2 ranked lightweight of the world Alexander Gustafsson and current champ Daniel Cormier agree that not only is Jon Jones out of the title picture, he shouldn’t even be competing against the top 3.

“It wouldn’t be fair, giving him a title shot,” Gustafsson said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I’m not saying I’m going to get it. I’m just saying, after everything that happened, it’s not fair to other fighters too, who’ve been working their asses off and they’ve been fighting each other. So, not a title shot right away. Just give him a fun fight first and that’s it.” – Alexander Gustafsson

Now Gustafsson has a real point. While Jones has been messing up for things which are well within his control, other fighters of that division have been keeping their nose clean (pun definitely intended). Cormier claims he had a heart to heart with #1 contender Anthony Johnson and they both agree that Jones has no business fighting for the title. Cormier going as far as calling for the interim title to be stripped.

”Now one thing I completely disagree with, completely – and I don’t care who hears it – why in the hell would Jon still be the interim champion? That makes no sense. That makes absolutely no sense. They should not be fighting for an interim championship. That makes no sense at all. I don’t even know why he would still be the interim champion. His ass was disqualified. Take that freakin’ belt off of him. That’s stupid.” – Daniel Cormier

This whole conversation was sparked of course by Dana White hinting at an interim title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson. While any fight fan would salivate at the thought of seeing that fight, if they didn’t give it to Jon for his past mishaps. One could only be but so mad. I completely agree on the interim title being pretty much a paper weight while the current champion is still active. It makes no sense. But as far as stripping, we’ll pretty much have to wait until the verdicts out on his failed USADA test.

“I hope to God Dana misspoke, because that makes absolutely no sense. They aren’t fighting for some interim title if they fight. They can fight in the main event because it’s a big fight but it’s a fun fight. If they fight, they fight to determine the number one contender it’s not some interim championship fight. That makes no sense at all… You’d have an interim champion defending the interim championship while the actual champion is actually still there. That makes no sense whatsoever.”

While it may seem obvious why the top lightweights in the world wouldn’t want the G.O.A.T. (arguably) to be competing, their gripes are certainly warranted. With his most recent positive testing of Hydroxy-clomiphene, an anti-estrogenic agent, and a Letrozole metabolite, an aromatase inhibitor, he makes it easy for the rest of the division to call him out.

While it’s freaky to see fighter of the same class in this type of union, what really sold me was Gustafsson. He’s a mild mannered dude with just as much integrity as fighting skills, so if he’s speaking out there must be something wrong. Unlike Cormier, I don’t think he’s afraid of Jones, he’s the only one that ever really made him look human.

Jones still has to stand before a USADA judge to determine his faith. If he’s acquitted, one can guess he’ll stand to lose 6 months from the time the issue was found; if found guilty, Jones gets at least one year from USADA and possible further sentencing from the NAC.

Check out Alexander Gustafsson’s full interview below:

Stay tuned to hear all the crazy hi-jinks Jon Jones does next. What do you guys think, do you care about Jon Jones paying a price for his actions, or do you just want to see him fight?

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CM Punk: A Cautionary Tale

If there’s one principal to live by when it comes to combat sports it’s this: you need to be all in or not all. Phil “CM Punk” Brooks had his first and possibly last fight at UFC 203 this past weekend. Now, before you start thinking that this will be a roast of CM Punk, let me save you the time and tell you that you’re dead wrong. If anything CM Punk should be commended for putting everything on the line. In fact, he took MMA very seriously and was all in.

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But sometimes it isn’t enough.

What Phil Brooks had to learn on Saturday night is usually something that individuals learn early on in their fighting careers on a local circuit, with few eyes on them. It’s in the small time shows that a person realizes if they have that absolute drive to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Unfortunately CM Punk took another route to the big show.

CM Punk chose to fight his first match in the UFC with millions of eyes on him. Granted, that takes a ton of heart and grit, but ultimately it proved that combat sports aren’t something you simply experiment with. When it comes to fighting it takes a certain dedication, more than simply saying “hey, I’ll give this a shot.” It takes a single-minded commitment nearing on obsession.

Dammit, it still sounds like I’m being harsh on CM Punk. But in reality, whether you love him, hate him, or feel anything in between, you do have to respect the man. Fighting in front of a crowd of individuals in a nerve racking experience. To do so in front of millions is something else entirely. CM Punk put himself on the line and that is something remarkable to behold. But where he may have failed, perhaps another UFC hopeful will examine the story of Phil Brooks and see exactly where he went wrong and right. Who knows, CM Punk’s inspirational turn as a short-lived mixed martial artist is exactly the kind of tale that will allow others to ask themselves the tough question. Just how bad do you want it and what are you willing to go through to get it?

What do you think of CM Punk’s MMA saga?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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