(Fight video props: IronForgesIron. The hot man-on-man action starts at the 7:01 mark.)
Joe “Daddy” Stevenson’s return to the cage was foiled by everyone’s favorite not-really-gay gay porn star Dakota Cochrane last night, who submitted “Daddy” with a rear naked choke. For Stevenson, this is obviously a disappointment. His losing streak has reached five in a row now, his skills have seemingly peaked, and thanks to Ian McCall he doesn’t even own the best patriarchal nickname in MMA anymore. Though to be fair, that was probably because no one else had one. At any rate, he’s not going to reach the big time again, as the sport has passed him by. It’s a shame, but at least he can always hold on to the fact that his face will always be remembered. Well, at least the parts of it that were not obscured by his own blood.
For Dakota, a win over Joe “Daddy” definitely bolsters his resume. He may never be able to shed his reputation, but being a successful cagefighter probably helps quell any critics he has to deal with. And frankly, while I’m not suggesting that singling out a fighter because of their sexual orientation is a good thing, I do think that Cochrane’s presence and success in the sport bodes well for any future (or currently closeted) gay or bisexual fighters. Even if Cochrane doesn’t consider himself one of them.
In many ways, the MMA, especially the UFC — as a promotion and a sport — is fundamentally rooted in modernity. It has very little history beyond the past two decades. As the sport has evolved in the past few years, so has the moral perception of homosexuality. While these two things aren’t necessarily related, they also mean that the sport hasn’t really had time to cultivate a culture that is oppressive to homosexuals. Sure, Dana White has dropped the other f-bomb occasionally (though, if a word’s offensive, you can bet it came out of his mouth at some point), Big Nog won’t train with gays and there are probably a decent number of fans who are homophobes. But given the complete lack of outrage over Cochrane’s past, the fact that he was allowed to try out for TUF and that he was in a headlining fight last night, it seems that the general MMA community is prepared to adopt a moral standard for sexuality that reflects the modern age during which the sport has developed.
It doesn’t matter who you fuck, just as long as you can fight.