The latest signing of CM Punk by the UFC has caused a lot of controversy so in this Colossal Concerns I’ll be taking a look at these varying opinions to see what all the fuss is about. I’ll see who in the MMA world should be half-expecting the smug, high-pitched crowing that signifies the arrival of that irritating jester of anti-comedy- Ashton Kunter. He will appear and announce that someone’s been Punk’d. But who?
The Fighters
Is it fair that all the MMA fighters who are on the same card as Mr Punk will have all paid their dues in various ways (all these ways involved blood, sweat and tears) to the realest sport in the World and he waltzes in from the fakest sport in the World to massive media attention and God knows how much cash? No, no it isn’t. But as someone a lot wiser than me once said “that’s life”, and it really is as simple as that. Everyone walks a different path, it just so happens Punky’s path has crossed over into MMA and the UFC. Because he’s a name he’ll put bums on seats- which equates to cash prizes- and that’s the way it works. If the Punkster wants to try his hand at MMA people will pay to see if he sinks or swims. Is this right? I’m not sure, I just know that this is the way things are.
Look, is it fair I got a shot against YouTube legend, the King of KO-ing, the toughest bloke at the family barbecue- Kimbo Slice- after Brett Rogers bingoed me? No, no it wasn’t. Is it fair that Kimbo was even there in the first place? No, no it wasn’t. In the Kimbo case I wish I’d grown a beard, purchased a camcorder, found a few wannabe hard men to dispatch, put it on YouTube and reaped the rewards- but I didn’t- so that’s that. Look, I get it but what’s a man supposed to do- turn down his chance because you never got yours?
The salt gets further massaged into the wounds by the fact the majority of MMA slaves fighters aren’t getting paid yet some long-haired, spandex-wearing, steel chair-wielding make-believe fighter suddenly gets the red carpet treatment. I get it, but rather than invest a lot of your time crying about how unfair the World is either change it, get used to it or use it as fuel to make sure you prise the cash you so rightly deserve out of the iron-fisted grasp of the UFC dictator’s hands.
The Fans
Are the fans being fed a watered-down version of what top-class MMA should be? Maybe. But then that raises the question as to who decides what is top class MMA. Many fans would argue Prides was top class MMA and they certainly had a lot of freakshow fights- I know I was in a few. Plus there is a big difference between a hardcore MMA fan and the casual cage-fighting connoisseur. The latter far outweigh the former, their money is just as good, and there’s more of it. At the end of the day if the “fans” don’t want it they won’t buy it, so it’s something of a moot point. If they’re getting Punk’d they’re punking themselves and self-punking doesn’t count.
The UFC
I was shocked to hear that the UFC signed C.M. (What does C.M. stand for, does anyone know?) because it goes against their business model. I mean the UFC had never been one for freak fights (after Dana took the reins). So it will hurt them, not in the short term, that’s for sure- there’ll be plenty of people putting their money down to see how he does in a world where it doesn’t matter what you say on the mic or if your gimmicks win over the fans (that much). What’s meant to matter is seeing whether Punkington doing this will give the ailing UFC PPV numbers a shot in the arm- so short-term great, long-term, who knows? He might end up being the catalyst for a whole host of WWE stars to fold away their steel chairs and think about giving this MMA thing a go given how easy Punks made it look; or he might become the dirty little secret the UFC are desperate to forget. Who knows?
C.M. Punk
How’s C.M. Punk punking himself? He’s getting loads of cash, attention and all the other good stuff yet he hasn’t had a fight yet- how can that be bad? Well you see all this comes with a flip side and that flip side is pressure. I don’t care who you are or what you think you can do, none of it matters when you’re in the cage and that spotlight is shining squarely down on you. This can make a big difference- everyone knows (or has heard of) a gym fighter: guys who are world-beaters in the gym yet can never replicate their results on the big stage. Why is this? Simply, pressure.
Now C.M. Punk’s never had a fight- he might’ve watched a few DVDs and done a bit of Jits but big deal, that hardly qualifies him for what he’s about to encounter. Plus, it takes a hell of a lot of time to get good at MMA and the Punkerator- at 36 years old and 0-0- certainly hasn’t got much of that on his side. What I’m saying is the bed of roses that most people complain about might end up being a bed of thorns- ohhhhhh pointy and uncomfortable thorns…I’ll guess we’ll see whether the Punk ends up punking himself.
Dana White
Mr White is a promoter- his job is to promote the biggest and best fights, as well as the ones the casual cage-fighting connoisseur will pay for. It’s a business. I fully understand this- see what’s written above. However you can’t have it both ways: you can’t say “we’re the UFC, we only have serious fights for the best legitimate fighter” and then go and sign C.M. Punk and not expect to get called on it. That’s my point and I’ve been making it since day one. Dana White is a promoter; he will say and do whatever he has to to protect his bottom line. The fact is, he’s not a fan of MMA, he won’t even fucking say it.
Dana White reminds me of the old fable I heard as a kid which sums up the situation. The snake offers the rabbit a ride across the river. He gives his word he won’t eat the rabbit, so off they go. Half way across the river the snake turns to the rabbit and opens his mouth. He’s just about to bite into the rabbit so the rabbit says “you gave me your word you wouldn’t eat me”. The snake looks at the rabbit and says, “I’m a snake, what did you expect” and with that, swallows the rabbit whole.
So when Dana white says “we’re not signing (former Olympic wrestler and unbeaten MMA fighter) Ben Askren, he’s not got enough experience” but then the very next week goes and signs 0-0 WWE wrestler C.M. Punk, and they’re scratching their heads thinking “this makes no sense”, it’s because they haven’t figured out that The Baldfather’s sensibility changes depending on which way the wind’s blowing. He’s just being what he is- a promoter. As soon as this sinks in, the better it is for everyone. He’s been so quick to jump on anyone and anything he doesn’t deem as proper MMA yet he’s left himself wide open when he’s done exactly the same thing.
And that’s why he’s the one that ends up being Punk’d.
.
Thanks for reading my blog, please remember to ‘follow’ it for updates as to when the next one is posted before it hits the social media platforms.
If you enjoy reading my blogs then please feel free to make a donation to the cause, the amount donated directly links to what COLOSSAL Karma you’ll receive.
Donations via PAYPAL – colossalcollective@hotmail.co.uk
Please note, the thoughts and opinions posted here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of anything linked or related. All content provided on this Colossalconcerns.com blog is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner of ColossalConcerns.com blog will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found orembedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.
I’m not sure where to start this practical Colossal Concerns blogpost, but not because I haven’t wrote a blog for a while; no, don’t worry, I haven’t lost my mastery of the written word. I don’t know where to start because of what I heard on the latest The Fighter and The Kid podcast, a show where Bryan Callen, a comedian and “the kid”, and Brendon Schaub, a UFC heavyweight MMA fighter, do a podcast together. The episode I’m writing about came out a couple of days after Schaub had lost a first round TKO MMA fight to #3 ranked heavyweight Travis Brown. Joe Rogan joins them and they talk about Schaub’s loss. Now, from watching the podcast, Joe mention to Schaub that, “he wanted to do this on the podcast; it was his [Schaub’s] idea”. So it was expected to come up. And, after all, if you’re going to do a podcast about MMA, and you’re fighting in the UFC, then surely you should talk about it. As it’s a straight from the horse’s mouth take, people like this. But when Schaub agreed to talk about it on air, I guarantee he did not expect to be blasted with Rogan’s forceful version of ‘the truth’.
Before I go any further, I feel I better set up the debate/brutal verbal shellacking as well as point out I’m a fan of the Joe Rogan Experience and have even been lucky enough to be on the podcast as well as enjoying countless hours of it. All through the podcast Joe pointed out that fighters should hear what he has to say to Schaub about brain trauma and retirement. Brian Callen talks about the transition from fighting mma to normal life which many fighters struggle with. All subjects that should be have more light shone on them. As these are real problem that you don’t hear anyone talk about. Full marks for that, what I didn’t like was, well here’s what I didn’t like
So the podcast starts with Schaub taking about how his fans go on a journey with him, how he feels like he’s let these same fans down but he doesn’t feel any pressure from that – remember, this is only two days after his loss. He was all over the place, contradicting himself and basically trying to make the best out of the shit he was left with after the TKO lose. Now generally doing a in depth podcast about this so soon after the event isn’t the best idea. But this depends on what kind of character you are and how honest you can be with yourself. In this case, Schaub doing a podcast before he’s properly come to terms with the loss was not a good idea. He talks about how he didn’t feel right on the night, the press conferences, selling the fight with trash talk – all just a lot of verbal designed to patch up his bruised and battery ego. I’ve never really taken to Schaub. I don’t feel like he’s particularly honest with himself; hearing him talk about how it was his fault that he ate that uppercut and he’ll take the blame for that, I was kind of like, “Yeah. No shit”. All Schaub’s talk was acting as a kind of bubble wrap insulating him from as much pain as it could. He was trying to say he was looking and talking at the ref yet the ref still stopped the fight. Obviously Schaub hadn’t quite come to terms with what had happened. This used to bother me about fighters, how they just can’t seem to grasp the reality of the situation. But now I understand: it’s important to a lot of fighters to have this mental wiring in place to help them deal with a loss as well as getting back in the cage. However misguided their thought process might be it does serve a useful function. Does it serve a useful purpose if you’re constantly being beaten half to death and have more fights lined up while not changing anything? No, is Schaub at that cross roads? Not in my opinion.
Now this is where it gets tricky. You see, Joe Rogan is a very intelligent man. He might talk about how he’s just a retarded shaved ape who knows nothing, but take it all with a pinch of salt because Joe’s sharp and all the points he made at the start were valid. Schaub was stiff, looked unprepared, his movement was poor, he left gaps, and basically how shit he looked and the fact he wasn’t a elite fighter. All of this I think is fair game. Rogan was being honest, brutal but honest. He’s was giving constructive criticism talking about what needs to change to get Schaub to that top level, to reach that rarefied air of elite mma fighter. After all, Schaub said he wanted to talk about it on air, but be careful what you wish for I would have said to Schaub at that point. But the conversation didn’t stick to those constructive points, we ventured far away from constructive criticism and end up on brain trauma and retirement. Rogan said he worried about Schaub and his commitment to fighting, that he thinks he has one foot out the door, and he’s looking at where the future will take him and where he’s going to go with MMA, till one day they (the fighter) think ‘How long can I do this for?’ Now, I don’t know Schaub and I don’t know how true any of that is, but that heavy shit, it goes beyond saying I think your movement sucks and needs to get better. This is where I start having a problem with what Joe was saying because I feel he forgets himself. The more Schaub kicks back, the more Joes goes deeper. Joe said, “What if I went on stage and I wasn’t funny and sucked dick, I’d hope my friends would let me know”. Yeah, I’m sure you would appreciate it, Joe, if you had a bad night and your friends told you to quit your comedy career for your own good because you weren’t funny anymore and all this was done on a podcast to the whole comedy community. Of course you’d be fine with that… I’m surprised Schaub didn’t lose it then having his performance rated at dick sucking level, so bad he should retire.
My main problem is Joe decided Schaub isn’t going to get to that next level so he might as well quit and save those brain cells because every fighter is bound to get brain damage, it’s just a fact. Then you get Callen interjecting and talking about how funny Schaub is and how he could do so many other things. It was so painful and patronising to hear. Listening to Joe decide that because of what he knows about brain damage and combat sport, because he’s friends with Schaub and this information could save him, that’s why he’s telling him HIS painful truth. Someone needs to remind Joe that just because he doesn’t think Schaub can get to the next level, doesn’t mean Schaub can’t, and telling him he can’t in front of an massive audience of mma fans can compound and magnify whatever issues Schaub might have. The chances Joes words help is friend are minimum. But Joe can say I told you so, if Schaub carries on with his mma career and he does get hurt. I’m not saying Joe did this for that reason what I’m saying is it more likely to hinder then help.
Because Schaub’s going to say, ‘Yeah Joe, you’re right about everything. I’m just going to shelve my MMA dreams and throw this ego and pair of balls away. I mean, I won’t be needing them and we’ll just rename the podcast I do with Bryan ‘The Ex-fighter and The Kid’, No, is he fuck! He’s going to think “fuck it!” and get back in there. Because he’s a fighter, and that’s what fighters do epically a fighter who young-ish (30) and has come a long way. A one point after Joe dropped his Implied versions of the future, a future were Schaub dribbling, rocking and shouting out potato at random passer bys (those are all my words) Joe says to Schaub who’s probably in shock and wondering wtf all this is, he says to Schaub “don’t look at me defiantly “after Schaub says he will carry on fighting, this is upsetting to me I mean, do you want to suck all the fight out of the guy who’s a fighter ?” Everything Joe said will hang heavy on his shoulders – or maybe he’ll switch camp and use it as fuel and prove Joe wrong and they’ll laugh about it while getting stoned on the podcast in years to come. Or maybe the pressure that builds up because everyone is watching only to see if you fall, makes you more likely to fall. I don’t know, the point is no one does and I know for that reason Joe shouldn’t have gone down that road especially on a podcast. Look, one of the worst things to do in a fight is overthink. Joe said it himself in not so many words when he said that stupid fighters do a lot better because they’re not smart enough to get the risks. Ignorance is bliss. I know from my only experience fighting pro mma for a year and a half and then finding myself in Pride, stupid can get you a long way. So what I’m saying is all this talk about how shit Schaub is or isn’t, about brain trauma and getting knocked out, will surely play on Schaub’s mind, how can it not? Not because it’s the truth, but because it can become the truth if Schaub becomes so consumed and worried about the issues instead of fixing them. I feel Joe didn’t really think about how Schaub was feeling; it was just a case of ‘take this nasty medicine, it’s for your own good’. It was very galling to listen to.
It got especially hard to listen to when Joe told Schaub that, “the issue you’re going to have to deal with now is not wanting to go out like that”. Then Joe goes on to tell us about his experience about when he was fighting and going out on a KO loss after a kickboxing bout and how you just have to get over it. This sums up a lot of my problem with how Joe approached all this. He decides what the issues Schaub will have and how he needs to deal with them. It smacked of arrogance and didn’t actually help his friend because Schaub’s not going to stop fighting because of this.
It really reminds me of when Dana took it upon himself to retire Chuck Liddell. I mean, Dana had a point, no doubt, but the way it was done was distasteful. No one has the right to say, ‘You’re done’, but you can say ‘I’m not giving you another fight, but take this great job at the UFC’. That’s a cool thing to do, but don’t say ‘Chuck’s done. I’ve got him a new job now’. I feel Joe said this because he’s done the maths and the results do not come out good for Schaub. Joe thinks it’s his place to inform Schaub – but then I believe he just made thing worse.
Take this from me I know this well from having fallen in to similar pitfalls and trying to cope with it. If you fight MMA, seriously fight MMA, It takes everything you have, you give it more, it takes more until you become (in this case) Brendon “the UFC cage fighter” Schaub, that’s your identity and when that’s your identity, you become your results. So a TKO loss isn’t just a loss, now it’s part of you, you literally feel like you’re dying inside. I went through a massive KO losing streak when my opponents got better. I started MMA late 23 with no experience. I wasn’t training in the right places and cultivated drug and gambling problems. Life was dark. That insipid cycle kept spinning downwards. People have often said, and rightly so (at that time) about me quitting fighting for all the very same reasons Joe said to Schaub – just not done so publicly and with more tact. And guess what: I came back. I came back because I addressed these issues. If I go further, it’ll be because I’ll address more issues. If I don’t, it’s because I didn’t. But regardless, it’s my choice. Who knows how long I’ll fight for. I’ve been close to the edge of quitting a few times but I kept going and it was the right choice. Even though a few years ago I was done for, because I thought I was done for and now I’m not because I believe I’m not. The key is backing the belief up with hard work. This is all down to Schaub my point is whatever reality he wants to achieve he can and he shouldn’t let anyone tell him differently.
I’ll attempt to play amateur psychologist, I think Joes eyes being opened to brain trauma and how delicate the head is, has taken some of the shine away from working with the UFC and watching MMA. He talked about quitting commentating because of seeing his friends making mistakes in fights and the price their health had to pay for it. I see how, as a friend, you would be concerned. But don’t overstep the mark, don’t try and make the decision for that person. It was so awkward that it cracked me up when, after Joe had done a good fifteen minutes on head trauma – so much so that I’m sure I could feel my temples starting to pulsate and ache listening to how Schaub “Would pay the price because no one rides for free” – Callen the comedian desperately tries to play both sides and not piss anyone off and says after Joe head trauma biltzeig “Take some time, not to out you on the spot or anything” and Joe says, “Yeah, kind of on the spot”. I think, fuck me, you have just been railroading poor Schaub for the last hour and a half so much so I was wondering if Joe was looking for a tap out from Schaub on air. And Joe thinks Callen is putting him on the spot. Classic!
The last thing that really showed me that this kind of in-depth, soul crushing convo would be better off done behind closed doors was when Callen said, “Everyone’s made their point. We don’t have to talk about it anymore”, which translates to Joe’s told you how it is. You don’t have to give a response because I find this all too awkward because I can’t appease both sides. So he launches right into a Hulu Plus commercial. Or when Schaub says, “I can see myself with the title, it’s the only reason I do this”. Long big arse pause filled to bursting with awkwardness before Callen says, “The ONLY REASON …?” It was just wrong on so many different levels. I really felt for Schaub, everyone telling him how funny and good looking he was, about how he can do anything he wants. I’m sure Joe had Jamie (technical support) looking through ‘help wanted’ ads as Callen told Schaub, “Not many people have the wherewithal to handle this”. What was this? Is it coming to do a podcast and finding out Uncle Joe decided it’s time you stop this fighting malarkey? I bet Jamie was shitting himself thinking I’m going lose my job, it’s going to Schaub any minute now’.
I was screaming for Schaub to stand up to Joe, apart from saying “how easy it is for Joe to comment with millions in the bank” he didn’t offer any kind of offence at all. The reason I think Schaub didn’t stand up for himself more, apart from being in shock, was that I don’t think he figured on getting the “brain trauma intervention”. If Joe and Schaub did talk beforehand about retirement, brain trauma etc and agreed to talk about it on the podcast this whole blog means nothing and sorry for wasting your time as Schaub knew what was coming. But I can tell from Schaub’ reaction that they didn’t talk about it in that much detail beforehand especially as Schaub voiced his opinion on air about not even putting the podcast out. The other reason I THINK he didn’t stand up for himself more was because he didn’t want to piss Joe off. I mean they’re talking about Schaub’ life after mma, doing things with someone like Joe Rogan, fight companion (where they watch and comment on UFC fights), having Joe on their podcast the fighter and thekid Is all good. Joe Rogan is a good friend to have to help you make that move if that what you want to do. This is just idle speculation I’m just guessing but it does make sense. You don’t have a go at the guy who says you should quit mma because you don’t want to upset him just In case when you do quit mma you need him. All very twisted and why I felt for Schaub. He was in a very strange, difficult spot. I’m really hoping he take Joe’s opinion at what it is, an opinion, not the truth or the future or fact. If he works hard enough he can achieve anything he sets his mind to. I’ll certainly be cheering for him next time he’s in the cage.
Here’s the podcast I’m talking about
.
Thanks for reading my blog, please remember to ‘follow’ it for updates as to when the next one is posted before it hits the social media platforms.
If you enjoy reading my blogs then please feel free to make a donation to the cause, the amount donated directly links to what COLOSSAL Karma you’ll receive.
Donations via PAYPAL – colossalcollective@hotmail.co.uk
Please note, the thoughts and opinions posted here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of anything linked or related. All content provided on this Colossalconcerns.com blog is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner of ColossalConcerns.com blog will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found orembedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.
To many who hear these words reverberating off of their eardrums from Mr. Dana White, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” But since I’m not in that pressure cooker like these new fighters are and since I actually AM a fucking fighter, I took time to ponder what the question really means.
Nowadays, this question is being asked more and more. Why? Because the UFC is having more and more shows, which means more fighters are getting injured, which means more fighters are needing to step up on some short notice, causing Dana White to bark out the inevitable question. I’m going to look at both sides of this coin, and, since every case is different, I’m going to do my best to give you my humble opinion of what makes a fighter. So are you fucking ready? Ready for some fucking MMA knowledge bombs, motherfucker?
I apologize–I’ve got that all out of my system now.
The Promoter, a.k.a. Dana White:
Now Dana’s point of view is this: if you make your living as an mixed martial artist, then you should be ready at any time to step up and fight. I mean you’re a fighter, right? He’s only asking you to do what you do. I think Dana gets constantly frustrated because he’s trying to make the best fights possible for the fans, and more and more he’s running into roadblocks in terms of unwilling fighters who don’t want to step up on short notice and risk losing. Which to a lot of people, Dana included, is the essence of what makes a fighter. And, to the credit of Dana, he has avoided the pitfalls of boxing, where to make a fight happen means a year of negotiations. I can’t see that happening (thankfully) with MMA, and the reason for that is Dana. Now, the “do you want to be a fucking fighter?” question was first asked on the TV show “The Ultimate Fighter.” Let’s always keep in mind that it’s a television show, but, having said that, it’s a valid question when it’s being posed to inexperienced fighters, many of whom haven’t got that many fights under their belt.
I remember seeing a few fighters who didn’t really want it. They had this chance to be on a big TV show, and they didn’t want to take it. You shouldn’t have to ask this question when you’re talking about fighters who are in the UFC. I mean they’re there for a reason, of course they want to be a fighter. But Dana is finding it harder to get fighters to step up, which is causing problems. Look what happened with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen and how Dana laid the blame and heaped untold pressure on to Jones. He did this simply because it’s black and white in Dana’s mind. You’re a fighter. If the situation calls for it, you step up, it’s as fucking simple as that.
The fighter:
Now, there are many different types of situations, and I can’t go through every single one of them. So let’s stick with the Jon Jones situation. Of course, I’m not talking for Jon Jones–just where I think he was coming from by not taking the fight. Jones is at the top. He has fame, he’s making money, and rightly so. When he didn’t take the fight with Chael, who would be coming up a weight, and the UFC was canceled, a lot of people scratched their heads and went for the jugular with Jones. I mean, why not save the day, taking on a competitive, but smaller, fighter? He’d been training anyway, so just take the fight! But what people forget is that, once you’re at the top of the mountain, and you’ve gotten there through following a certain system, you don’t want to change that system. I believe in the case of Jon Jones that it was an unnecessary risk. It deviated from the system and therefore was a risk he and Greg Jackson weren’t willing to take. Jones wasn’t scared of fighting Chael…it was just unplanned. So, I guess the question is: when should you take a fight you haven’t fully prepared for? If you don’t step up, are you not a really a fighter? This is a very personal question which each fighter who is in that situation has to answer.
My opinion:
Where to start….I’ve looked at both points of view, and I can see valid points on both sides. At the end of the day, Dana White is looking at it from a promoter’s point of view. Of course he wants fighters to step up. He wants to put the best show possible on. And Jon Jones is looking at it from his point of view. Why should he take unnecessary risks? I look at it like this: as a rule, mixed martial artists aren’t scared to fight other mixed martial artists. If they are, then they’ve chosen the wrong profession. What fighters are scared of is stepping up, taking the fight on short notice, losing, and getting cut (I’m speaking in general here, not about the Jones/Chael fight). I think this is the problem with the UFC–the upside doesn’t weigh out the potential downside of losing your job. I haven’t fought for the UFC, but from being around the MMA world and knowing a lot of people it seems very dog eat dog. That’s great to a point, but when competition is so fierce, stepping up and losing while making Dana happy for the time being is risky. How long is his memory? How good is the memory of mma fans? This is why more and more fighters aren’t willing to take the risk. They know that they could only get one shot in the UFC and they have to be at their best to take advantage of that shot.
When I fought for Pride, they would change my opponent seemingly by the hour. It was just the way it was, and I know I wasn’t the only one. Were the fighters of Pride more braver, more fighter-like? No, of course not, but the difference was that in Pride, as long as you fought with all your heart and gave it your all, you’d be back to fight again. If you just fought to win, there was a strong possibility that you wouldn’t be back. The reverse is true in the UFC. I believe Dana can’t have it both ways. You can’t have fighters so fearful of their job security and then get mad when they don’t jump at the chance to take a fight at two weeks notice.
So, to wrap it up, I think if Dana and the UFC want more fighters to step up then they can’t have the threat of executioner’s axe resting on the fighters neck. Of course fighters can’t keep losing and expect to keep their position in the UFC, but I think that if you talk to most of the fighters in the UFC they will tell you that they fight constantly, surrounded by an air of uncertainty.
Colossal Concerns 