Issue 084
January 2012
Forget win rates or rankings, calling champions out inside the Octagon seems to be the key to contention. Or is it? We ask the FO universe for its opinion…
SHOULD TRASH TALKING IN THE CAGE FAST-TRACK A TITLE SHOT?
YES
Tito Ortiz
Former UFC light heavyweight champion
There are a lot of guys that should have been in line for a title fight but didn’t get it, as other guys step in front of them, and I guess that comes down to whether you sell tickets. That is a problem with a lot of fighters, they don’t wanna do the PR or all the extra work that goes with being well-known. That’s the marketing part of the sport, you’ve got to work at that too. At the end of the day this thing is about selling tickets and making money. I mean, look at Brock Lesnar. He was a world champion after four fights. It’s about your name, man. You can be one of the toughest guys and not be well-known because all you do is the fighting and you don’t do the other work, the PR stuff. Then you’ve got the guys who do both and they get all the rewards that go with it. It is what it is. What you put into it, is what you get out of it.
NO
Ben Henderson
Former WEC 155lb champ and UFC number-one contender
It’s a good question because it’s happening, but for me it takes something away from an actual performance, from the sporting aspect. What it does is kind of go down the road of the entertainment side of the sport, that whole kind of WWE thing, really. It’s sad but it’s true, how does the saying go? A squeaky wheel gets oiled, right? So if you get out there and you talk a lot and you’re saying things like, “I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do that,” or, “I’m gonna kill this guy,” and, “You suck,” all that stuff, you know, sometimes it works for these guys and sometimes I guess it doesn’t. But I’m not that sort of guy, I’m not that sort of character, personally. So I’m not intending on doing anything like that. Eventually, if you deserve your shot, you should get it.
What you had to say on the matter ...
“Trash talk has no place in any sport and doing it should come with penalties. Fighters should represent the sport with respect!”
@MRJAMIELOCKWOOD
“I think that if trash talking can be backed up with skill, then yes, but anyone can talk the talk, only few can walk it.”
@NEIL_HUMPHRIES
“They know which fighters we want to see. Everyone will ignore a trash talking waster. If the big boys trash talk, bring it on!”
@MIKEYARBON
“No I don’t think smack talk should fast-track title shots. MMA doesn’t need that fake WWE crap! #MMAis4Real keep it that way!”
@STUART_GUNN
