UFC Fight Night 81 is nearly in the books tonight (Sun., January 17, 2016) from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts The event features the long-awaited bantamweight title clash between champion TJ Dillashaw and former champion Dominick Cruz, while former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will look to storm back into title contention against formerly touted
UFC Fight Night 81 is nearly in the books tonight (Sun., January 17, 2016) from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
The event features the long-awaited bantamweight title clash between champion TJ Dillashaw and former champion Dominick Cruz, while former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will look to storm back into title contention against formerly touted free agent Eddie Alvarez.
After the event’s main card on FOX Sports 1, join LowKick MMA for the post-fight press conference starting at 11:15 p.m. EST:
Dominick ‘The Dominator’ Cruz and UFC bantamweight champion TJ ‘The Viper’ Dillashaw weigh-in for their UFC Boston clash right here… Here we go, fight weekend is here, as we look to tomorrow (Sunday January 17, 2016) for the UFC Fight Night 81 showing from Boston. Headlining the events return to Beantown is a bantamweight title
Dominick ‘The Dominator’ Cruz and UFC bantamweight champion TJ ‘The Viper’ Dillashaw weigh-in for their UFC Boston clash right here…
Here we go, fight weekend is here, as we look to tomorrow (Sunday January 17, 2016) for the UFC Fight Night 81 showing from Boston. Headlining the events return to Beantown is a bantamweight title burner between TJ Dillashaw and his old rival and predecessor Dominick Cruz. ‘The Dominator’ and ‘The Viper’ have exchanged heated barbs recently, giving the championship clash a much more ‘current’ feel than we’re used to in the very low weight classes.
Also colliding on the card will be co-main lightweights Anthony Pettis and Eddie Alvarez, as each man looks to make headway towards a 155-pound title shot.
Join us right here at 4 PM ET for the live streaming UFC Boston weigh-ins, or check in right after for the updated results!
Event: UFC Fight Night 81: “Dillashaw vs. Cruz” Date: Sun., Jan. 17, 2016 on FOX Sports 1 Location: TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
Main Card (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET):
T.J. Dillashaw (135) vs. Dominick Cruz (135) – for bantamweight title
(The funniest thing is that this kid had no idea who Michael Bisping was until he walked out; he just saw him and let instinct take over.)
You might recall that, amidst all the kerfuffle of visa and fighter licensing issues that threatened to derail the UFC’s trip to Boston for their FS1 network debut, city councilor Steven Murphy filed a resolution to ban minors from attending MMA fights. Backed by the Culinary Union’s “But Think of the Children!” division, Murphy’s bill argued that “extensive research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive and violent behavior, bullying, desensitization to violence, fear and depression.” That’s right, Murphy’s “extensively researched” argument boiled down a laughable criminal defense usually seen on an episode of Law & Order.
“You see, it was the video game that made my client go on a shooting spree! He couldn’t tell the difference between reality and virtual reality because VICE CITY BRAINWASHED HIS FRAGILE, INNOCENT MIND.”
Yes, despite the UFC’s fervent efforts to support the anti-bullying movement, it’s an organization that, according to Murphy, lacks proper role models like say, Aaron Hernandez. As one would expect in a society that absolutely refuses to place any responsibility or blame for a child’s behavior on the parents, the bill passed unanimously this afternoon, stating “children under the age of 16 years old be prohibited from attending live amateur and professional cage fighting events in the City of Boston unless accompanied by an adult.”
(The funniest thing is that this kid had no idea who Michael Bisping was until he walked out; he just saw him and let instinct take over.)
You might recall that, amidst all the kerfuffle of visa and fighter licensing issues that threatened to derail the UFC’s trip to Boston for their FS1 network debut, city councilor Steven Murphy filed a resolution to ban minors from attending MMA fights. Backed by the Culinary Union’s “But Think of the Children!” division, Murphy’s bill argued that “extensive research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive and violent behavior, bullying, desensitization to violence, fear and depression.” That’s right, Murphy’s “extensively researched” argument boiled down a laughable criminal defense usually seen on an episode of Law & Order.
“You see, it was the video game that made my client go on a shooting spree! He couldn’t tell the difference between reality and virtual reality because VICE CITY BRAINWASHED HIS FRAGILE, INNOCENT MIND.”
Yes, despite the UFC’s fervent efforts to support the anti-bullying movement, it’s an organization that, according to Murphy, lacks proper role models like say, Aaron Hernandez. As one would expect in a society that absolutely refuses to place any responsibility or blame for a child’s behavior on the parents, the bill passed unanimously this afternoon, stating “children under the age of 16 years old be prohibited from attending live amateur and professional cage fighting events in the City of Boston unless accompanied by an adult.”
You know the deal. Roll that beautiful bean footage…
Murphy’s original resolution called for the banning of any person under 18 from UFC events, so this neutered bill probably isn’t the home run he was hoping for. On the other side of the coin, the passing of the bill represents yet another step back in the “MMA is not a barbaric sport watched by skinhead heathens” debate.
The main problem with this bill is that it seems to operate under the assumption that the impact of MMA’s inherent violence is somehow heightened when witnessed live (or that children can only gain access to MMA content in a live setting). Without going down the “Why not ban violent movies and video games altogether?” rabbit hole, it’s safe to say that Murphy’s argument is fundamentally flawed. Placing the blame/responsibility on anyone but the individual has become standard operation nowadays, and this bill only enforces it.
Dana White’s reaction (via USA Today) was as you’d expect, although he managed to go almost three sentences without dropping an F-bomb in the process. Way to subvert the stereotype, DW!
This Murphy guy. You elect a politician to hopefully go out and bring in jobs, create revenue in your city, bring in events that bring revenue to your city. This guy comes out and he’s saying all this (bleeping) stuff like ’18 and under’ (not allowed at the event) and all this other stuff they’re doing to us. Then sure enough, this hearing, 25 of the Culinary Union members are there. And this guy busts out a video of Chael Sonnen talking about Anderson Silva in Brazil. First of all, this is the fight business. This isn’t the nice business. This is the fight business.
Hard to argue with the man. If you can’t tell the difference between Chael Sonnen the man and Chael Sonnen the character, well, you probably comment on MMAMania. ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.
Honestly, our opinion on this law can best be summed up by baddaykate, a Twitter user who responded to the news with the following:
(Word Life? Nevermind. Cena is brilliant. He can communicate without the use of verbs, adjectives or pronouns.)
Before all the Pro Wrestling fanatics jump all over me for the title of this post, read the quote below, then take a deep breath and think a…
(Word Life? Nevermind. Cena is brilliant. He can communicate without the use of verbs, adjectives or pronouns.)
Before all the Pro Wrestling fanatics jump all over me for the title of this post, read the quote below, then take a deep breath and think about things in perspective.
Cena, who is a native of Newbury, Massachusetts, was asked about what he thought about the UFC coming to Boston last weekend, likely by an oblivious reporter ,who, like many mainstream scribes, think that MMA and WWE are just variations of the same acronym. Why else would you ask a wrestler to talk about a sport that has as much to do with his profession as hunting does to being a butcher?
Here’s Cena’s well thought out reply which likely earned him a bonus from Vince McMahon:
"It’s just not something that particularly interests me," Cena told The Boston Globe ahead of UFC 118. "UFC is where boxing was years ago, and I was never really into boxing, either."
In town for last night’s WWE "Monday Night Raw" at the TD Garden, Cena said he prefers professional wrestling because it’s "regulated entertainment that’s safe for anyone to enjoy." And UFC? "It is what it is," he said. "It can be pretty over the top, and it’s not something I’d want my children to watch."
