MMAJunkie adds some more surprising details about what led to Johnson’s PED bust:
An elevated testestosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 6.6-to-1 triggered a carbon isotope ratio (CIR) test that confirmed Johnson had testosterone in his system that was “was consistent with the administration of a steroid.” Johnson, though, admitted he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy in a recent conversation with the California State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the Feb. 23 pay-per-view event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and suspended him based on the results of his test. Johnson failed to disclose TRT on a pre-fight medical questionnaire. A rep for AKA said the fighter may seek an exemption for the treatment.
Here’s how you know TRT is nothing more than a bullshit cheating-method — when a dude who looks like this claims to need it, and then avoids mentioning it during his pre-fight medicals. Ah well. You can’t say the UFC didn’t warn you. In other UFC drug-bust aftermath news…
MMAJunkie adds some more surprising details about what led to Johnson’s PED bust:
An elevated testestosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 6.6-to-1 triggered a carbon isotope ratio (CIR) test that confirmed Johnson had testosterone in his system that was “was consistent with the administration of a steroid.” Johnson, though, admitted he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy in a recent conversation with the California State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the Feb. 23 pay-per-view event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and suspended him based on the results of his test. Johnson failed to disclose TRT on a pre-fight medical questionnaire. A rep for AKA said the fighter may seek an exemption for the treatment.
Here’s how you know TRT is nothing more than a bullshit cheating-method — when a dude who looks like this claims to need it, and then avoids mentioning it during his pre-fight medicals. Ah well. You can’t say the UFC didn’t warn you. In other UFC drug-bust aftermath news…
UFC middleweight Riki Fukuda, whose positive test for a trio of banned stimulants following UFC on FUEL TV 8 earlier this month led to his own release from the promotion, is blaming the result on over-the-counter cold medication, which he says he took a few weeks before the event, but forgot to disclose to UFC officials beforehand. According to MMAFighting, “Fukuda’s positive test result will be reported to the Association of Boxing Commissions, which will then make a decision regarding how long before he would be allowed to fight for another organization.”
As for Alex “One Toke Over the Line” Caceres, the featherweight released the following statement on Wednesday regarding his bust for marijuana metabolites at the same event: “I accept full responsibility for my actions and the consequences from those actions. I apologize to all that I have disappointed, including the UFC, my family, coaches, training partners and fans. I accept the sanctions from the UFC, and I look forward to completing the necessary steps to getting back in the octagon following the suspension and assuring that this never happens again.”
As we reported previously, Caceres will be suspended six months, and must attend drug rehabilitation classes and pass a drug test before he’s allowed to return to competition. I know, I know — drug rehab for weed. Don’t get us started.
Being a “contributor” for CagePotato.com is kind of like being a barback at a seedy nightclub in Tijuana. We stock the bar with booze, ice, and clean glassware while staying in the shadows hoping to God that we don’t get yelled at. We try to help out wherever we can so the star bartenders (Ben Goldstein, Jared Jones, Elias Cepeda and Seth Falvo) can toss bottles of shitty Tequila like juggling pins while they pour fruit-flavored cocktails to semi hot chicks that they will inevitably hump later on. A contributor cleans up puke, empties ashtrays and eats shit from all the “made men” (both writers and tenured comment section dick-heads) here at CagePotato but it really is a great gig. Can you imagine the sloppy seconds that Danga sends our way?
Needless to say, most of the day-to-day MMA related news topics are taken care of by the staff writers and that leaves aspiring dipshits like me and Hutchinson to try and come up with a fresh or entertaining story idea on our own. Well, this idea is not fresh but it could be entertaining (at least my portions will be, but I have hope for Hutch since he is the guy who brought the word “dicknailed” to the CP). When Jon Fitch was released from his UFC contract last week, I wanted to write a piece on which higher profile fighters I would cut next if I were part of the UFC brass. Because opinions are like buttholes, Hutch had a thought to debate several of the choices in a YAY or NAY style. Before anyone starts hollering about Clay Guida, Jake Shields or the entire cast from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (that means you Koscheck) take note that we agreed on more than we disagreed and in the spirit of pointless arguments opted to leave the most obvious offenders out. Let’s get started.
Being a “contributor” for CagePotato.com is kind of like being a barback at a seedy nightclub in Tijuana. We stock the bar with booze, ice, and clean glassware while staying in the shadows hoping to God that we don’t get yelled at. We try to help out wherever we can so the star bartenders (Ben Goldstein, Jared Jones, Elias Cepeda and Seth Falvo) can toss bottles of shitty Tequila like juggling pins while they pour fruit-flavored cocktails to semi hot chicks that they will inevitably hump later on. A contributor cleans up puke, empties ashtrays and eats shit from all the “made men” (both writers and tenured comment section dick-heads) here at CagePotato but it really is a great gig. Can you imagine the sloppy seconds that Danga sends our way?
Needless to say, most of the day-to-day MMA related news topics are taken care of by the staff writers and that leaves aspiring dipshits like me and Hutchinson to try and come up with a fresh or entertaining story idea on our own. Well, this idea is not fresh but it could be entertaining (at least my portions will be, but I have hope for Hutch since he is the guy who brought the word “dicknailed” to the CP). When Jon Fitch was released from his UFC contract last week, I wanted to write a piece on which higher profile fighters I would cut next if I were part of the UFC brass. Because opinions are like buttholes, Hutch had a thought to debate several of the choices in a YAY or NAY style. Before anyone starts hollering about Clay Guida, Jake Shields or the entire cast from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (that means you Koscheck) take note that we agreed on more than we disagreed and in the spirit of pointless arguments opted to leave the most obvious offenders out. Let’s get started.
SMITH: CUT ‘EM
I was indifferent at first when it came to Frank Mir, but thanks to him beating the shit out of that weirdo Wes Sims in their rematch and then welcoming the former/current sports entertainer, Brock Lesnar, to the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu back at UFC 81, I took a liking to Mr. Mir. Sadly, those warm and fuzzy feelings have dissipated since he magically bulked up (really really really really fast by the way – just sayin’) and decided to conjure his inner Magnus Ver Magnusson while he dedicated himself to strength training with former World’s Strongest Man competitor Mark Philippi. For the record, the Fingal Fingers kick serious ass but I digress.
Mir has always shown that he does not mix the concrete milkshakes into his diet because all of his losses have come via KO or TKO and most of them have been pretty brutal. Then again, getting punched in the face by 250+ pound dudes is not exactly like getting beaten with a pillow. If Daniel Cormier is able to manhandle him, Mir’s walking papers get stamped and FREAKSHOW fights against a guy named Warpath await.
HUTCHINSON: KEEP ‘EM Frank may be a little bit of a douche and is most certainly an asshole but there is no denying the man’s talents. For starters, Mir holds the record for most fights in the UFC heavyweight division AND most submissions in the heavyweight division AND most finishes in the heavyweight division AND he’s fought 5 different UFC champions AND beat four of them AND really I could go on and on like this but that would be a run-on sentence AND on CagePotato we like to keep it grammatically correct. Take into account the two-year layoff from the sport of MMA after a devastating motorcycle accident — all the while he was in his prime mind you — and that makes his later accomplishments all the more impressive.
Argue price all you want but as a former champion, interim champion and being the only one to ever submit (as well as one of two to KO) Big Nog, I say he’s underpaid. Ok, maybe not underpaid but I’d say he’s earned it. In 22 fights he’s only been to a decision 3 times and all 6 of his losses have come by way of KO. So when Mir steps in the ring you can bet one of two things will happen: We’ll see some slick jiu-jitsu or Mir gets that smug smirk knocked off his face. Either way, the fans win. Think of the fans, Nathan!
HUTCHINSON: CUT ‘EM Real talk, guys. If Bisping wasn’t British would he be anything more than an average mid-level fighter? Allow me to spell it out here. Another former Ultimate Fighter winner who got there by beating the likes of Kristian Rothaermel, Ross Pointon, and finally Josh Haynes, one of whom you might actually know. He was then gifted fights against journeymen like Eric Schafer and Elvis Sinosic, both of whom are no longer Zuffa employees. A bullshit win over Matt Hamill and a loss to Rashad Evans forced the Brit down to middleweight where, not long after, Chris Leben introduced “The Count” to his inevitable moniker of “pillow fists,” and went so far as to encourage Bisping to take advantage of some free unanswered shots to his face.
At this point in his career, the UFC decided he would make a perfect coach for his own season of The Ultimate Fighter. Why you ask? Because “FUCK YOU” that’s why. The season set up a fight against Dan Henderson which also marked his first real test against an established top tier fighter, and I’m going to stop the walk down memory lane right there. His career since has followed the exact same path to the same outcome. He gets matched up with a couple of low- to mid-level fighter – WINS – and then gets destroyed by anyone close to the top ten.
This would all be well and good if we didn’t have to listen to the guy talk about being a top fighter who deserves a title shot every time someone sticks a microphone in his face. In fact, I doubt the microphone even matters. Can you imagine what it would be like getting a pint at the pub with this guy? One minute you’re sipping a beer and maybe playing darts and the next you’ve got Bisping standing on the pool table screaming that he will kill the next wanker that mentions Anderson Silva because “I’m one of the best middleweights in the world. Dana said so…Dana said” . . . . . then he collapses into a tear soaked pile on the floor.
This is a guy who:
A. If not for his country of origin, would never have had his name anywhere near talks of a title shot.
B. Based off his performances against top guys is way fucking overpaid at $275,000. That kind of cash could get us almost three Robbie Lawlers and that in my opinion is a far stronger investment all around.
SMITH: KEEP ‘EM
I know. I know. More often than not, The Count acts a lot more like The Count because of his “I could not give less of a shit” attitude during interviews, blog posts or press conferences but the fact remains — he is always in shape for a fight. Granted, the Wolf’s Lair is probably not the best gym he could be at, and a move to a more technical training facility in the US or Canada would probably benefit his career, but he is always game for a scrap. Was he spoon-fed outclassed opponents in order to pad his record early in his UFC career? Maybe. Probably. OK, YES! But he beat all of those opponents and if you doubt it just ask Matt Hamill who I assume is a top-selling telemarketer since his retirement. I am going to hell for that one.
Has Bisping lost to every big name fighter he has faced? Yes, but he is still a big draw in Europe. All the UFC has to do is have Bisping headline or co-main the FX or FUEL cards twice a year in the UK [Ed. note:You mean “UFC on FS1 UK” cards] and that will justify his paltry salary from the gate money alone. Besides, the UFC doesn’t have very many heels, and since Josh Koscheck is probably going to be on a lot of fishing trip vacations at with his BFF Jon Fitch in the near future, I say keep The Count around for shits and giggles even though he is heading into the twilight of his career at the ripe age of 34. God dammit that makes me feel really old. Thank goodness there is not an age bias for being a porno cameraman or I might find myself in the unemployment line really soon as well.
SMITH: CUT ‘EM
“If you aren’t cheating — you aren’t trying and it’s only cheating if you get caught.” I don’t know who said that but they are smarter than these chicks and once you are a cheater you are always a cheater in the eyes of the fans. Overeem went on a 1-4 losing skid back in 2006-7 which saw him lose to names like Arona, Nogueira, Rua and Kharitonov but he did pick up his only victory over a guy named Michael Knaap in a fight that took place in his native Netherlands. After that, the natural 205’er blew up like Magnus Ver Magnusson (that’s right – 2 WSM drops in 1 post – bring back the Hussafell Stone god dammit) and was straight killing fools in Japan. The dude physically looked like he was about to star in a porno where he was going to overpower and then totally plow a Predator, but we knew the dirty truth and were just hoping for the best even though it was just a matter of time before he pissed hot. Awe . . . . . . screw it . . . . . . he kicked Lesnar’s guts back into fake fighting so he isn’t all that bad. But now that his body has pulled physiology on him – he needs to get on the tread mill and hope to Christ that DW really likes him because after JDS turns his head into a speed bag and he gets his walking papers, The Demolition Man will have a tough time pan-handling because nobody is giving a 6’ 6” yoked dude that looks like a super villain any coin at a Netherland’s off ramp.
HUTCHINSON: KEEP ‘EM
No comment. (Ed. note: That is compelling stuff, Hutch.)
On the next page: two more TUF winners whose best days are in the rear-view.
As we all know, Johnson loves to stand and bang. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much opportunity to do either against Schaub, who repeatedly took Johnson down and laid on top of him. The ease with which Schaub executed this “cerebral” game plan suggested that perhaps Johnson wasn’t aware that takedowns would even be allowed in the match. When the dust had settled, Schaub had won ugly, and Johnson had lost uglier.
So why is Lavar keeping his job, when so many others have been cut loose? There are countless factors involved in the UFC’s firing policy these days, so we tried to make some sense of it by putting it into flowchart form. Click the image below to enlarge. We hope this can be of service.
As we all know, Johnson loves to stand and bang. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much opportunity to do either against Schaub, who repeatedly took Johnson down and laid on top of him. The ease with which Schaub executed this “cerebral” game plan suggested that perhaps Johnson wasn’t aware that takedowns would even be allowed in the match. When the dust had settled, Schaub had won ugly, and Johnson had lost uglier.
So why is Lavar keeping his job, when so many others have been cut loose? There are countless factors involved in the UFC’s firing policy these days, so we tried to make some sense of it by putting it into flowchart form. Click the image below to enlarge. We hope this can be of service.
For the second time in less than a year, UFC welterweight Matt Riddle has tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test, spurring the UFC to release him from his contract. Riddle’s latest failed test followed his split-decision win over Che Mills at UFC on FUEL 7 in London on February 16th, which came just seven months after his 90-day marijuana suspension following his UFC 149 win over Chris Clements. That victory was later changed to a no-contest, and it’s likely that Riddle’s latest win will be overturned as well.
Riddle was already on thin ice with the UFC because of the quality of his recent fights. Here’s Dana White calling him out by name while discussing the UFC’s decision to cut Jon Fitch: “Riddle fights just like Fitch. Has been lately, anyway. He went from being super exciting to now he wants to grab your legs and hold you down.”
Riddle had long maintained that he doesn’t use marijuana to get high, but for therapeutic purposes. As Riddle explained on The MMA Hour last October:
“I do smoke but I’m not smoking to get stoned. I’m smoking so I can finally relax, sit back and just not worry about things. People, maybe they did it in college one way, but for a guy like me, for a professional athlete that goes through what we go through, it’s medicine for me. Maybe for some little stoner sitting on the couch playing XBox, for him, it’s a drug. For me, it’s medicine…
For the second time in less than a year, UFC welterweight Matt Riddle has tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test, spurring the UFC to release him from his contract. Riddle’s latest failed test followed his split-decision win over Che Mills at UFC on FUEL 7 in London on February 16th, which came just seven months after his 90-day marijuana suspension following his UFC 149 win over Chris Clements. That victory was later changed to a no-contest, and it’s likely that Riddle’s latest win will be overturned as well.
Riddle was already on thin ice with the UFC because of the quality of his recent fights. Here’s Dana White calling him out by name while discussing the UFC’s decision to cut Jon Fitch: “Riddle fights just like Fitch. Has been lately, anyway. He went from being super exciting to now he wants to grab your legs and hold you down.”
Riddle had long maintained that he doesn’t use marijuana to get high, but for therapeutic purposes. As Riddle explained on The MMA Hour last October:
“I do smoke but I’m not smoking to get stoned. I’m smoking so I can finally relax, sit back and just not worry about things. People, maybe they did it in college one way, but for a guy like me, for a professional athlete that goes through what we go through, it’s medicine for me. Maybe for some little stoner sitting on the couch playing XBox, for him, it’s a drug. For me, it’s medicine…
I don’t really understand the process anymore because I thought if you have a medical license and you’re prescribed by a doctor, all the guys are taking HGH and testosterone and fighting and getting the upper hand on people and I’ve already had serious injuries in my career already and I am only 26 and I am in serious pain sometimes and I use that. I use medical marijuana for my pain and I use it for everything else, too. I don’t take anything else while I see all of these other fighters popping Oxycontin and taking testosterone and just beating themselves up, so you know. They can do whatever they want to do, I am going to do what I do, and there is a reason why I am who I am. There is a reason why I don’t get hurt or don’t get tired.”
“You can do steroids in the UFC now, didn’t you hear? [TRT] is steroids and you can do steroids as long as you get a doctor’s note now. So Vitor Belfort just pops for testosterone and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, he failed.’ No he didn’t, he has a doctor’s note so it’s okay. And honestly, I think it’s ridiculous. The reason why they say I can’t use marijuana is because it’s a performance-enhancing drug. Okay, I understand that. It’s a performance-enhancing drug to you. Whatever. But testosterone isn’t? Steroids aren’t? And if you’re saying I can’t smoke because you need to keep other fighters safe or myself safe because I’m too high, don’t you think you should keep others safe by not letting people using steroids into the cage? That’s how I look at it…
“And on top of all that, it wouldn’t bother me if they tested for THC, because I would never fail for THC because I would literally have to be that high when they tested me or I’d have to be high the day before. Instead they just test you for metabolites which you just mentioned which can stay in your system for up to a month after you’re done smoking. Let’s be honest. It’s White America, it’s the big man, it’s the guy with the money, it’s the pharmaceutical companies, it’s the alcohol companies that don’t want want marijuana legalized and they’ll do anything. They’ll ridicule it, they’ve already had slanderous campaigns about it.
I’ve been smoking weed since I was 13 and look at me. I’m in the UFC and I smash people with a smile on my face. It’s not a performance enhancing drug. It makes me relax. It makes me happy. Honestly, it probably keeps me from beating my three kids because they’re always screaming and crying at me and my wife’s crazy and you know what life’s like. It’s hard sometimes and honestly, I like to go to my game room and rip a tube and just sit back and relax and enjoy a 20 minute show, go out, see my family, take care of everything I have to take care of, and that’s what I do. A lot of people think it’s okay to drink a fifth of jack and beat their wife. I don’t.”
I tend to quote Dr. Drew in situations like this: Addiction is continued use in the face of adverse consequences. I know some people will want to turn this story into a conversation about personal freedom, and how athletic commissions shouldn’t even be testing for marijuana metabolites in the first place. And I certainly don’t disagree with that. But the reality is, marijuana is currently an unapproved substance in MMA, and if Riddle continued to smoke after his first suspension, it suggests that his usage is now beyond his control. Does weed improve his mood, and help him to avoid beating his wife and kids? Sure, probably. He’ll just have to decide if it was worth screwing his career over.
(The relevant ranting starts around the 20 minute mark, but scroll back to the 12:40 mark if you want to see White basically have a mental breakdown when discussing Jon Fitch.)
When the UFC announced that their latest batch of mass firings included none other than former #9 ranked welterweightJon Fitch, the MMA community responded somewhat alarmingly to say the least. When Dana White stated that the decision came as a result of Fitch’s price tag being too high — at a paltry 66K no less — it revealed a bigger problem that could be looming on the horizon for the UFC: Overspending. As BG pointed out, multiple television deals and decreasing pay-per-view buys could at least be partly to blame for the UFC’s recent string of…let’s just call them frugal decisions.
But as it turns out, Fitch & Co.’s departure is just the beginning. Oh yes, a great deluge of firings is headed our way, Potato Nation, one consisting of up to 100 UFC fighters. And if you think the first name that Dana White would place on the potential chopping block would be one of the Shane Del Rosarios, Keith Wisniewskis, or Leonard fucking Garcias* who are currently winless in the promotion, well you just don’t know how The Baldfather thinks. Believe it or not, former WEC champion Urijah Faber was the first to be mentioned as in danger of losing his job with a loss at UFC 157. When asked if his “down the ladder” argument in relation to Fitch applied to guys like Faber, White was characteristically frank (24:50):
Could be Saturday [that he’s cut]. You never know, There’s over 100 guys. We’re heavy.
The argument to cut Faber instead of Fitch already makes sense when considering both fighter’s records in the promotion (Fitch: 13-3-1, Faber: 2-2), and that argument only gains more momentum should Faber lose to Ivan Menjivar — who he is currently a 3-to-1 favorite over — tomorrow. But from a business standpoint, releasing as hot a commodity as Faber (or fighters like him) into the arms of “Viacom MMA” seems like promotional suicide, does it not?
(The relevant ranting starts around the 20 minute mark, but scroll back to the 12:40 mark if you want to see White basically have a mental breakdown when discussing Jon Fitch.)
When the UFC announced that their latest batch of mass firings included none other than former #9 ranked welterweightJon Fitch, the MMA community responded somewhat alarmingly to say the least. When Dana White stated that the decision came as a result of Fitch’s price tag being too high — at a paltry 66K no less — it revealed a bigger problem that could be looming on the horizon for the UFC: Overspending. As BG pointed out, multiple television deals and decreasing pay-per-view buys could at least be partly to blame for the UFC’s recent string of…let’s just call them frugal decisions.
But as it turns out, Fitch & Co.’s departure is just the beginning. Oh yes, a great deluge of firings is headed our way, Potato Nation, one consisting of up to 100 UFC fighters. And if you think the first name that Dana White would place on the potential chopping block would be one of the Shane Del Rosarios, Keith Wisniewskis, or Leonard fucking Garcias* who are currently winless in the promotion, well you just don’t know how The Baldfather thinks. Believe it or not, former WEC champion Urijah Faber was the first to be mentioned as in danger of losing his job with a loss at UFC 157. When asked if his “down the ladder” argument in relation to Fitch applied to guys like Faber, White was characteristically frank (24:50):
Could be Saturday [that he’s cut]. You never know, There’s over 100 guys. We’re heavy.
The argument to cut Faber instead of Fitch already makes sense when considering both fighter’s records in the promotion (Fitch: 13-3-1, Faber: 2-2), and that argument only gains more momentum should Faber lose to Ivan Menjivar — who he is currently a 3-to-1 favorite over — tomorrow. But from a business standpoint, releasing as hot a commodity as Faber (or fighters like him) into the arms of “Viacom MMA” seems like promotional suicide, does it not?
Sure, Faber’s on the downside of his career and is far from the most consistent fighter in the UFC, but we’re talking about one of the WEC’s biggest stars here, one who has only dropped decisions to the bantamweight champion and, well, the other bantamweight champion. We’d like to argue about the significance of Faber’s placement on the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings list (he is currently ranked #2), but that debate belongs right up there with “has _____ earned his title shot?” on the list of pointless arguments to be had in today’s MMA landscape.
While we understand the UFC’s need to cut back financially in the face of falling profits, their justification for cutting or keeping a fighter could not be any more nonsensical. I say this with all due respect to the fighters I’m about to mention, but you mean to tell me that it makes sense to cut guys like Faber and Fitch ahead of guys like George Roop, Matt Grice, Nam Phan, and Tiequan Zhang?
Although Bellator has stated that they aren’t interested in Fitch (which we’re calling bullshit on right here and now), they’d have to be insane not to snatch up a name like Faber were he to be released. And while Faber may not be at a championship level in the UFC anymore, the combination of his name and some of Spike TV’s relentless UFC counter-programming could easily snatch up those viewers who don’t feel like shelling out fifty dollars every other weekend for a UFC PPV. For a guy that prides himself on devouring the competition, White/the UFC would be doing just the opposite with a move like this.
Then again, Dana White runs the biggest MMA promotion in the world and I am currently eating a leftover ham sandwich in my underwear, so what the hell do I know?
*I understand that Garcia holds victories over Nam Phan and Allen Berube, but the former was the result of horrendous judging and the latter happened in 2007. So yeah, winless.
(Fitch finds himself on the wrong end of a Fitch’ing against Demian Maia at UFC 156. Photo via Getty Images)
In the wake of Jon Fitch‘s surprise firing during the Great UFC Bloodletting of February 2013, even die-hard Fitch-haters criticized the move. As the general argument goes, how the hell are you going to cut a fighter who’s one of the ten greatest welterweights in the world by your own rankings, and whose last victory over Erick Silva was a Fight of the Night performance that proved he still has greatness left in him?
“Jon Fitch was ranked number nine, OK, however you want to look at that, he’s ranked number nine, whether it’s right or wrong or the rankings are bullshit or whatever. Ranked number nine right now. Now, this isn’t a case where Jon Fitch was ranked No. 9, No. 7, No. 6, No. 4, No. 2 and then we cut him. He was ranked No. 1, fought for the title and then he was ranked No. 2. He was ranked No. 3, 6, 7, and now he’s 9. That’s called the downside of your career. He’s on the downside…
“He had a draw, then a loss, right, then a win, then a loss. It’s good, he got more money. He got Fight of the Night because it takes two guys to do that. Right? If Erick Silva’s wrestling wasn’t right there, that wouldn’t have been Fight of the Night. At the end of the day, when you really break it down, who did Erick Silva beat? This was Erick Silva’s first real big fight and big test. And it was a damn good fight. That’s called the downside. He’s not buzzsawing through guys, he’s not doing a [Johny] Hendricks. So it’s not like Jon Fitch was on this incredible fucking winning streak and ‘the greatest fucking welterweight in the history of the world and a fucking Hall of Famer. The guy’s never won a fucking title in his life.”
In other words, Fitch is #9 with a down-arrow, and Erick Silva was never that accomplished to begin with, though Silva nevertheless deserves all the credit for how good that fight was. [*I promise this is not a Scanners gif*] But let’s get back to the more important issue: That Jon Fitch, who makes $66,000 to show, is “super fucking expensive.” Please take a moment to realize what an absolute joke your favorite sport is. Ben Fowlkes puts it best on MMAJunkie:
(Fitch finds himself on the wrong end of a Fitch’ing against Demian Maia at UFC 156. Photo via Getty Images)
In the wake of Jon Fitch‘s surprise firing during the Great UFC Bloodletting of February 2013, even die-hard Fitch-haters criticized the move. As the general argument goes, how the hell are you going to cut a fighter who’s one of the ten greatest welterweights in the world by your own rankings, and whose last victory over Erick Silva was a Fight of the Night performance that proved he still has greatness left in him?
“Jon Fitch was ranked number nine, OK, however you want to look at that, he’s ranked number nine, whether it’s right or wrong or the rankings are bullshit or whatever. Ranked number nine right now. Now, this isn’t a case where Jon Fitch was ranked No. 9, No. 7, No. 6, No. 4, No. 2 and then we cut him. He was ranked No. 1, fought for the title and then he was ranked No. 2. He was ranked No. 3, 6, 7, and now he’s 9. That’s called the downside of your career. He’s on the downside…
“He had a draw, then a loss, right, then a win, then a loss. It’s good, he got more money. He got Fight of the Night because it takes two guys to do that. Right? If Erick Silva’s wrestling wasn’t right there, that wouldn’t have been Fight of the Night. At the end of the day, when you really break it down, who did Erick Silva beat? This was Erick Silva’s first real big fight and big test. And it was a damn good fight. That’s called the downside. He’s not buzzsawing through guys, he’s not doing a [Johny] Hendricks. So it’s not like Jon Fitch was on this incredible fucking winning streak and ‘the greatest fucking welterweight in the history of the world and a fucking Hall of Famer. The guy’s never won a fucking title in his life.”
In other words, Fitch is #9 with a down-arrow, and Erick Silva was never that accomplished to begin with, though Silva nevertheless deserves all the credit for how good that fight was. [*I promise this is not a Scanners gif*] But let’s get back to the more important issue: That Jon Fitch, who makes $66,000 to show, is “super fucking expensive.” Please take a moment to realize what an absolute joke your favorite sport is. Ben Fowlkes puts it best on MMAJunkie:
“You’re telling me that Fitch, who’s already had a better career than 90 percent of active welterweights, and who’s been with the same organization for more than seven years, has priced himself out of a job with $66,000 in show money? Seriously? Take away taxes, training expenses, his management’s cut, and all the other miscellaneous stuff that eats into a fighter’s pay, and that’s not a ton of take-home cash for a night of professional cage fighting. If that’s too much for a guy like Fitch, most other fighters should go ahead and start working on that law school application right now because the future is grim.”
Here’s something to consider: Would we even be having this conversation if the UFC’s pay-per-view numbers hadn’t fallen off last year, and the company had money to burn? Between all of the promotion’s television commitments — namely FOX stealing PPV-worthy fights for broadcast on free TV — as well as the UFC’s recent rush of international expansion, maybe the promotion is just over-leveraged. (You might have noticed that their end-of-night bonuses were lowered back to $50,000 apiece, another unexpected sign of belt-tightening.) No matter what the reasoning for the Fitch cut, it’s kind of an embarrassing admission for the UFC that a top-ten fighter who makes $66k to show has now become too expensive. I mean, what’s next — a freeze on no-show jobs for ex-champions?
“Viacom’s got plenty of money. Viacom MMA isn’t hurting for cash. There’s a lot of other places this guy can go and make some money…[Fitch] will end up at Bellator or one of these other organizations and he will win a world title. He’ll end up there and he’ll smash every single guy over there and he’ll be a champ. A guy goes outside, wins some fights, has some impressive runs and then comes back…the response that Jon Fitch has had (from fans) is awesome. I’m glad that many people are behind him and support him. That’s not a bad thing. Good for him. But I can tell you this: Jon Fitch isn’t cheap. Viacom MMA has some money, so he can go out on the free market right now and find out what he’s worth.”
“I have a lot of respect for Jon [Fitch] and I have a lot of respect for anyone who has to courage to do what these guys do and the athletic ability to do what they do but we are not going to be signing Jon Fitch…We have a stacked welterweight division right now. We have a lot of guys that we are developing that we anticipate are going to be world class fighters and break the top ten. We want to keep guys busy. We want to keep guys inside the cage and we have a plan in terms of the next year and who is going to be a part of the tournaments and it’s just not the time…
There is no hard and fast line in the sand with us. ‘King Mo’ Lawal came out of Strikeforce. He is one of my favorite fighters fighting in our organization. He is wildly exciting and awesomely talented. Ben ‘Killa B’ Saunders is another example and is fighting for us tonight. He came out and lost two straight in the UFC when we signed him. I just [liked] watching him fight. I love the knees and I love the clinch game and I thought he was exciting, so we signed him. There will be others like that. There will be other guys that get released from the UFC and it’s not a hard and fast rule.”
In short, top ten welterweight Jon Fitch is too expensive for the UFC, and not quite exciting enough for Bellator. If he’s lucky, maybe World Series of Fighting will let him fight the winner of Burkman vs. Simpson later this year. Jesus Christ, man, condolences.
