Only Mike Perry would have a random Reddit user in their corner for a fight. Back in October, Mike Perry announced via social media that he was going to be auctioning off a spot in his corner for his bout against Tim Means at UFC 255. The unique experience was available to the highest bidder, […]
Only Mike Perry would have a random Reddit user in their corner for a fight.
Back in October, Mike Perry announced via social media that he was going to be auctioning off a spot in his corner for his bout against Tim Means at UFC 255. The unique experience was available to the highest bidder, unless you are named Darren Till. Till sensationally announced that he wanted to bid for the vacant seat amongst Perry’s team. In typical trolling fashion, he even went so far as to set up a Go Fund Me page. Of course, this dream team of Till and Perry sadly didn’t come to fruition.
One reason was that Dana White said Perry wasn’t allowed to sell the spot. The second reason was that Perry hates Till. Hard to blame “Platinum” seeing as Till threatened online to “raw dog” Perry’s girlfriend back in May. A rivalry between the two has continued to brew online since. Amazingly, the term “raw dog” has proved tremendously popular online. So popular that Till has even opened an online merchandise store under the same name.
“Platinum” does what he wants. As, despite being denied by White, Perry did end up giving away the spot in his corner. The lucky winner was a Reddit MMA member by the name of bsWINcups. The once in a lifetime experience was captured on behind-the-scenes footage by the Reddit user. However, Perry went on to lose the fight to Tim Means via unanimous decision. Despite this most recent loss, White seems relatively unfazed by the unprofessional weight-cut and recent controversies surrounding his divisive fighter.
With plenty of merch in hand and lots of pictures of himself posed beside such UFC champions as Deiveson Figueiredo and Valentina Shevchenko, it’s safe to say the Reddit user had a memorable time. I’m very surprsed the UFC allowed the experience to go ahead, considering Dana was quite explicit with his denouncement. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if this act of giving away of spots in a fighter’s corner becomes a trend.
Do you like Mike Perry’s theatrics? Which fighter would you most like to be in the corner of?
Chael Sonnen still spits hot fire when given the mic. Or, in this case, a keyboard…but the point stands. The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger recently held a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) in which Reddit users were free to fire away with any and every question they had for the American […]
Chael Sonnen still spits hot fire when given the mic. Or, in this case, a keyboard…but the point stands. The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger recently held a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) in which Reddit users were free to fire away with any and every question they had for the American […]
(“Jon Jones love u…pussy” / Caption and photo via Reddit)
Late last night, someone posted this photo of school-age Jon Jones (sorry, Jonathon Jones) to r/MMA. It’s hard to guess his age from the picture, but he looks pretty young. Maybe he’s a freshman or something? The Redditor who uploaded the photo said this was from a high school yearbook. Are freshman usually included in those? Yearbooks were seniors only in my school. Then again, my school was so poor and shitty that administration regularly canceled the basketball team’s games when it rained because the roof leaked so badly.
Anyway, the Reddit commenters made all the obvious jokes. So We’ll just end this slow-news-weekend post by asking this: Who would’ve thought the smiling teenager would’ve become the most feared and talented fighter known to man? Just think about that. While Fedor and other legends were striking awe into our hearts and terror into the hearts of their opponents, Jon Jones was awkwardly writing “love u” in yearbooks. More food for thought: Some punk 14-year-old out there decked out in TapouT merch (or now Tapout-WWE merch, I guess) is going to beat the shit out of Jon Jones in a few years. Cool to think about, isn’t it?
(“Jon Jones love u…pussy” / Caption and photo via Reddit)
Late last night, someone posted this photo of school-age Jon Jones (sorry, Jonathon Jones) to r/MMA. It’s hard to guess his age from the picture, but he looks pretty young. Maybe he’s a freshman or something? The Redditor who uploaded the photo said this was from a high school yearbook. Are freshman usually included in those? Yearbooks were seniors only in my school. Then again, my school was so poor and shitty that administration regularly canceled the basketball team’s games when it rained because the roof leaked so badly.
Anyway, the Reddit commenters made all the obvious jokes. So We’ll just end this slow-news-weekend post by asking this: Who would’ve thought the smiling teenager would’ve become the most feared and talented fighter known to man? Just think about that. While Fedor and other legends were striking awe into our hearts and terror into the hearts of their opponents, Jon Jones was awkwardly writing “love u” in yearbooks. More food for thought: Some punk 14-year-old out there decked out in TapouT merch (or now Tapout-WWE merch, I guess) is going to beat the shit out of Jon Jones in a few years. Cool to think about, isn’t it?
Of course, MMA fans being MMA fans, half of the questions Brown was forced to answer were either related to the back injury that forced him out of his UFC on FOX 9 fight with Carlos Condit, or how many wins he felt he was from a title shot. Real thought-provoking stuff, you guys. There were, however, a handful of questions that managed to get a rise out of “The Immortal,” so here are the 10 best ones.
1. How would you feel about if the UFC adopted Pride rules, or GSP’s and Gilbert Melendez‘s sugestion (sic) that there should be only one round (lasting around 25 minute)?
I agree with Gil. I understand why they don’t do it, but I wish the fight would be no time limit and no rounds and Pride rules with elbows allowed.
Of course, MMA fans being MMA fans, half of the questions Brown was forced to answer were either related to the back injury that forced him out of his UFC on FOX 9 fight with Carlos Condit, or how many wins he felt he was from a title shot. Real thought-provoking stuff, you guys. There were, however, a handful of questions that managed to get a rise out of “The Immortal,” so here are the 10 best ones.
1. How would you feel about if the UFC adopted Pride rules, or GSP’s and Gilbert Melendez‘s sugestion (sic) that there should be only one round (lasting around 25 minute)?
I agree with Gil. I understand why they don’t do it, but I wish the fight would be no time limit and no rounds and Pride rules with elbows allowed.
Cuz I don’t patty cake. Anyone I hit that many times will be ko’d no question.
3. Do you really want Cyborg to fight topless?
How did I know this would be one of the first questions?
4. Who is the toughest opponent you have faced thus far?
Douglas Lima I think was my toughest fight cause he kicked my leg harder than it had ever been kicked before or since.
5. What do you think is the reason for your career resurgence?
I look at it differently. My career went through some hard times due to personal issues and internal focus. So I fell off the path for some time. I am simply back on the path that I was previously on.
6a. What do you feel is the most memorable event in your MMA career so far?
Fighting in my home town (Columbus, Ohio) against Pete Sell and putting on a really good performance.
6b. Do you know why that ref hated Pete Sell?
Haha because Yves Lavigne is not a good ref.
7. Do you ever read news about Mike Brown and freak out thinking its about you? I know we all flipped out here a couple of days ago when they announced Mike was out of his latest fight because 90% just read ‘M Brown’ and thought it was you.
No but I have got tons of fan mail for him. A lot more when he was champion. People also used to ask me if I was Mike Brown. Eventually I just started saying no and walking away. I always came back though lol
8. Can you clear the air about the comments you made on your podcast. Was it humor taken out of context? If so, what’s your real take on WMMA?
It was taken out of context, yes. It was blown out of proportion by a juvenile media reporter on a slow news week. (Ed note: He couldn’t be talking about *me*, right? No, definitely not.)
A discussion about the MMA media surfaced on r/MMA recently, with the inflammatory title “Why do people on this subreddit refuse to acknowledge that the MMA media is bought and paid for?”
The OP (original poster for those unfamiliar with Internet lingo) linked our Shill ‘Em All series as proof of the media’s misdeeds, and also discussed Zach Arnold’s Fight Opinion piece about the connection between WSOF and Zuffa.
MMA fans responded with apathy and quips. Here three select comments:
1. “Sports journalism should be about the sport, they are covering UFC fighters and fights, you don’t need to be unbiased to write who won a fight and how it looked.
I personally don’t give a flying fuck about what did Dana White do today, so if someone is biased and reports only the good stuff that paints him in a good light or someone is shitting on him I don’t give a fuck either way.
My favorite writer is Jack Slack, and I don’t think he mentioned UFC-s promotional practice or what color DW-s shit is, I read him because he is very good at analyzing fights and fighters, if I wanted to know about contracts, pay and substance abuse I’d go read a real newspaper (or not, given the state of journalism in general).”
2. “Who the fuck cares? Mma media sucks because of blog spam and click baiting, not your bullshit.”
And my personal favorite:
3. “Cagepotato are only bitter because they had their credentials pulled.”
(“ARIEL!! ARIEL!! OMG HE TOTES JUST LOOKED IN OUR DIRECTION, YOU GUYS!!” *faints* Photo via Sherdog.)
A discussion about the MMA media surfaced on r/MMA recently, with the inflammatory title “Why do people on this subreddit refuse to acknowledge that the MMA media is bought and paid for?”
The OP (original poster for those unfamiliar with Internet lingo) linked our Shill ‘Em All series as proof of the media’s misdeeds, and also discussed Zach Arnold’s Fight Opinion piece about the connection between WSOF and Zuffa.
MMA fans responded with apathy and quips. Here three select comments:
1. “Sports journalism should be about the sport, they are covering UFC fighters and fights, you don’t need to be unbiased to write who won a fight and how it looked.
I personally don’t give a flying fuck about what did Dana White do today, so if someone is biased and reports only the good stuff that paints him in a good light or someone is shitting on him I don’t give a fuck either way.
My favorite writer is Jack Slack, and I don’t think he mentioned UFC-s promotional practice or what color DW-s shit is, I read him because he is very good at analyzing fights and fighters, if I wanted to know about contracts, pay and substance abuse I’d go read a real newspaper (or not, given the state of journalism in general).”
2. “Who the fuck cares? Mma media sucks because of blog spam and click baiting, not your bullshit.”
And my personal favorite:
3. “Cagepotato are only bitter because they had their credentials pulled.”
There were many other comments (and Bleacher Report’s own Jeremy Botter made a guest appearance to dispel the whispers about the WSOF-Zuffa connection) but the three above—specifically the first two—summarize the general sentiment MMA fans had towards the MMA media. Some only care about what happens in the cage. Others really didn’t care much at all outside of maligning the copy + paste websites that litter the landscape.
Regarding the first comment about outside-the-cage stories not mattering: I’m tempted to call fight breakdowns a lost art in MMA, save for the fact that they’re everywhere come fight time. Extremely high quality ones, however, are harder to find. The Reddit commenter who mentioned Jack Slack is right. Slack is by far the greatest assessor of in-cage techniques that has graced the keyboard.
But most fans fail to realize that much of MMA takes place outside the Octagon. Contracts, fighter pay, fighter behavior, PEDs, and other matters have a tremendous impact on the sport. These issues need to be covered. If a fan doesn’t care about these problems, they’re viewing the sport through an Octagonal microscope. What happens during a fight simultaneously matters most and least and in MMA. The fight is the only reason for all the so-called trappings, yet the trappings have such an influence on the fight that they seemingly exceed it in importance and urgency. What’s a fight without promotion and marketing? What’s a fighter without a fair wage and a good contract? What’ll happen to the sport if the UFC doesn’t crack down on TRT? What if Dana White’s heavy-handedness backfires? Question like that matter. If the media isn’t objective about them, they won’t be answered properly, if at all. Abiding by a list of topics you’re not allowed to talk about doesn’t help anyone but Zuffa and the people who shill for them.
Fans not caring about this kind of stuff is disheartening. While some MMA fans are amazingly passionate and cool, the more vocal fans are awful. Look at their reaction to Tyler Manawaroa’s recent Instagram woes. As Bloody Elbow poster Nick Yidaris said, “the worst part of being an MMA fan is MMA fans”.
A sport’s perception reflects its fans. Is it any doubt then that when major news and culture websites finally give MMA some coverage, it’susuallynegative.
Worshiping (or even liking) the media isn’t necessary. But paying attention to it, and reading about all the stories in MMA—not just fight breakdowns, live blogs, and post-event summaries—is crucial.
To harness my inner Dana White, DO YOU WANNA BE A FUCKIN’ MMA FAN? If so, you need to pay attention to everything that happens in MMA, including media matters.
