Issue 062

May 2010

Whether you’re from the Tank Abbott / Frank Shamrock old school or you belong to MMA’s new wave, treasure Dana White. The sport’s leading man (confirmed by voters in the Fighters Only World MMA Awards last year) has his detractors – some are high-ranking US politicians, which arguably adds something about the man’s gravitas, pulling power and influence. Although the UFC president is wont to unload with expletives at inappropriate times and places, the bottom line is that he is a ‘visionary’.  

There is forever sniping between boxing and mixed martial arts, and it gets my goat. In my book, a fight fan is a fight fan. As a writer who covers both sports journalistically, it was gratifying to open Boxing Monthly a few weeks ago and find editor Glyn Leach (who is pretty long in the tooth and knows a thing or two about fight sports) constructing an insightful piece on White.  

Leach believes White (who started in boxing) has his radar fixed correctly, with an antenna perfectly pinpointed towards both fighters and fans. But the fans are tantamount to the success of the UFC. “Any boxing promoter worth his salt should pay attention to White’s success with the UFC,” wrote Leach of the workaholic White, acknowledging that he has captured the 18–35 male (and increasingly female fan) demographic.  

The kind of fan loyalty the UFC now enjoys does not come without its work. Behind the scenes at UFC events, I have always been impressed with the fan club afternoons, and the smooth way in which aficionados are catered for. There is a proximity to fighters and fans that few sports have. May that never change.  

The UFC makes its fighters work. The product is polished, televisual and constantly evolving. The secret? Investment, investment, investment. The dividends have started to be reaped during the last three years. Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, is now estimated to be worth 1.2 billion dollars. And that enables more investment.

Come on Joe Rogan, you’re a funny guy, but responsibility please

There are three voices synonymous with UFC events. Bruce ‘The Talking Bullet’ Buffer, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Much as Joe is one of the sport’s stalwarts, he needs taping across the mouth over using the hold he referred to as the ‘Rape Choke’, on air. It has spawned dozens of copycats on Internet sites. Fan-favorite Rogan should know better. I’ve noticed it being used time and again recently.   

If UFC is going to be just a ‘spectacle’, then fine. But if it is genuinely entering the mainstream sports landscape, call the hold what you like informally, but not on air. What’s wrong with ‘Eagle Claw Hold’, or whatever. I’ve always found Rogan intelligent and insightful, both as color commentator and comedian. Come on Joe, don’t use the term. In fact, why not come out and denigrate it?  

And Mir is at it… 

I feel the same about Mir’s dark comments aimed at Brock Lesnar. Death in the Octagon? Please. Mir may be a hate figure to some fans, but I can attest that he and wife Jen are decent people. They are tough. Frank can be stubborn, irascible at times, but definitely decent. The comments about Lesnar were well out of line.  

This is where MMA currently falls by the wayside – there is no world governing body with the clout to suspend Mir’s license and fine him. The charge? Bringing the sport into disrepute.  

Talking about your opponent dying in the Octagon, or about ‘rape’ chokes, gives real fuel to those still wanting to label MMA ‘human cockfighting’. The fact is that MMA, a full-on combat sport, is statistically safer than boxing. Yet those the sport is looking to influence might not be aware of that.  

Winning TUF, equivalent of winning the Olympic boxing gold medal?

With talk of MMA and the Olympics doing the rounds, I reckon there’s an analogy between Olympic gold in boxing and winning The Ultimate Fighter. The personable Ross Pearson, the former bricklayer from the north of England and the lightweight winner of TUF 10, UK v USA, reckons “the attention is incredible.” He agrees that it launched him as a fighter into a different stratosphere. You only have to look at his social networking sites and at his sponsors. He certainly hasn’t laid a brick since.  

…and finally

Save your hate for fighters from new territories who are being labeled as ‘marketing tools’ for the UFC. Dan Hardy, Michael Bisping and George Sotiropoulos spring to mind. Hardy got the title shot at GSP. Deserved, yes, because he beat the contender Mike Swick and left him scarred mentally.  He did the same to Marcus Davis. Bisping came within a whisker of victory against Wanderlei Silva in Sydney, proving that, with a tweak, he belongs at the top level. Nate Marquardt next, I think.  

And Sotiropoulos announced himself as a challenger for the lightweight title. He’s the real deal – brain and brawn. He schooled Joe Stevenson on the ground and in the stand-up. UFC 155lb champion BJ Penn vs ‘The Souvlaki’ in Sydney, late 2010, early 2011? Wouldn’t bet against it.  h.