There are a lot of great fights on the UFC 146 card. In fact, the undercard itself could have been its own PPV card. That said, there are two fights I have a close eye to: Jason “Mayhem” Miller taking on CB Dollaway and the title fight between Frank Mir and Junior Dos Santos.
I am in the minority on both counts, but I’m taking Miller and Mir. I think they both win by submission.
Who do you have taking home the gold this weekend?
Really?
Really?
Really? Did that just happen?
The UFC had just moved past the “Rampage” … well, rampage through the streets of Las Vegas and now another light heavyweight champion falls from grace with vehicular activity. The current champion Jon Jones was arrested this weekend for a DUI.
Not the type of activity the UFC wants to see one of its champions engage in. Especially one that was the recent model of its new UFC clothing line and someone being groomed to be the public face of the organization. (Even I said he could potentially be the next GSP. However, I doubt Georges is impressed with this performance.) What’s worse, is this DUI isn’t the first auto incident for the young champion.
I’m sure there will be the usual detractors that jump on this story to give another argument that these fighters are just dumb brutes and not actual athletes. The sad fact is, activity like this is seen in almost any sport. Athletes find themselves in a spot where they think they are invincible and act accordingly.
This isn’t a “PR issue” for the UFC as much as it is a public image issue for Jones. The UFC like the NFL, MLB or NBA is bigger than any one athlete. Much like these other groups, the UFC can move onward and upward despite the bump in the road. How this will affect Jones will be directly tied to how he responds to this. If he meets it head on and shows that he is sorry, he could gain support. If acts defiantly, he could very well find himself in a position of being someone no one wants to watch fight. Champion or not, the UFC is in the business of satisfying viewers. If they are no longer in the Jon Jones business, neither will the UFC be.
I’ll be interested to see what is next for Jones. I mean, Go get some fans Jon…
In other news, Nick Diaz has been suspended for one year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his “extra curriculars.” Enjoy the time off Nick, I’m sure you’ll find a charity superfight or two to no show while you wait the next year out.
Update: 5/22/12 via Yahoo! Cagewriter:
Jon Jones posted a statement on his Facebook page. He started by saying he “screwed up big time.”
“I’m truly sorry to those of you that I may have embarrassed in any way, to those of you with kids that I may have let down. I will prove to them as well as to myself that no matter what is happening in life, we can always work our way back and make things even better than before.”
Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa, went on MMA Weekly Radio and pleaded for fans to give Jones a chance.
“I would just kind of like to let the fans know to give him a chance. Give yourself a chance to get all the facts in yourselves, wait until everything gets said and done, and then at that point if you want to vilify him afterwards and you heard him speak and you heard him say his part and then vilify him, I can’t control what people are going to say. But it is too soon; it is too quick in my opinion. He really is a decent guy. He’s a very, very good guy, trying his hardest to be a good role model, a good example, and he wants to be that. No one’s perfect and he’s never said he was and never said that he doesn’t make mistakes. It’s a fact he made a mistake. He messed up and I’m sure he’s going to come out and apologize and do what he’s got to do.”
Step one is always to address the issue, not run from it so I’ll give the Jones camp credit for that. We’ll have to stay tuned to see what he does next to try to keep the fans from jumping ship….
Once again I am forced to open a blog with the old “has it been this long since I wrote?” and “this will never happen again” statements. Yet, this post is different I’ll open it with reality. This will happen again. I will likely get caught up in work and be late to write. You know what, that’s ok. I own it. The 9-5 will dictate when I have time for the hobby.
With that pseudo explanation finished, let’s get down to what has gone down the last few weeks:
Nick Diaz missed a charity super fight at a grappling tournament. Shocking. I have nothing to add as I think nothing of Diaz.
Urijah Faber is now fighting for an interim belt. The rubber match with champion Dominic Cruz is now on hold as the champion is sidelined with an injury. In order to keep a title fight on the books, the UFC will have Faber fight for an interim championship belt. This will lead to the eventual unification bout with Cruz as, let’s face it, he is the only challenger for Faber in this weight class.
UFC Prime Time: Dos Santos vs Mir has begun. This is by far more interesting than the Jones-Evans videos ever were, so please tune in.
Critics assaulted UFC on Fox ratings. People need to calm down. Not every event is going to break records. Especially if the card does not have a “big name” billed to the top of card. Fight fans may know Miller and Diaz, but let’s be honest – the average Fox viewer will not. As such, we need to expect that some cards will have fewer eyes on them than others. Rather than “call out” after the fact, fans could be telling their friends to tune into the “smaller” cards to help build fighter profiles. Let’s be honest, word of mouth sells almost as much as sex does in marketing.
Fedor is talking retirement. After being irrelevant the last few years, “the Last Emperor” is now talking potentially, “last fight.” This would be against another falling heavyweight star, Pedro Rizzo. We’ll have to see what actually happens.
Tom Lawlor gets a win! Poor Tom Lawlor is usually only known for his funny ringside antics and not his physical talents. Well, they were on display last night knocking out the former “TUF killer” Jason MacDonald.
Korean Zombie is Set for Aldo. With a submission win at UFC on Fuel, the Zombie is next in line for a shot at Aldo. Yes, I’m aware Aldo has another contender first but let’s all be honest…Aldo is keeping the strap for a while.
Dana White sidelined with medical issues. Dana white missed his first UFC event in over a decade last night due to ailments from Ménière’s disease. I obviously think very highly of White, and wish him well. MMA as an industry would be at a loss if he needed to step back (even slightly) from his duties at the head of the UFC.
Stephan Bonnar looking to go 360. Keep your eyes to Facebook and Twitter. The “American Psycho” is looking to come full circle and return to The Ultimate Fighter – but as a coach. He wants to square off against Forrest Griffin as a tribute to their first season and of course, to get the rubber match on the books. This would be a marketing dream, but in terms of the division, not sure if this fight makes sense. If both are looking to retire, it could be hell of a way to go out.
More to come as I try to be more consistent here in my posts.
With “The Reem” pushed out of UFC 146, I must be the only person excited to see Frank Mir step up and take on reigning champion Junior Dos Santos. Why? Because this poster is already circulating for a July PPV.
Two title fights lined up, two grudge matches to build. It will be an interesting ride from now until July to see what the UFC marketing machine will pump out
Don’t worry Frank, I’ll still tune in to see if you can become a 3x heavyweight champ…
Can anyone stop Jon Jones?
This is the question that everyone keeps asking. The answer is – yes. There is always someone that can beat someone else. Matt Hughes ruled the welterweight world until Georges St Pierre emerged, Rich Franklin is but a memory compared to Anderson Silva’s rule, and up until Jones the light heavyweight title changed each card. The real question is what can Jones do while on top?
The reality is that Jon Jones has the potential of being a true face for the UFC organization. Stop comparing him to Anderson Silva and start thinking in line with St. Pierre. Young, charismatic, and can work the camera/microphone. Assuming Jones’ ego does not grow with his legacy, he could become a marketing juggernaut.
That is about all I have to say about this one. Partly because I’m suffering some major writer’s block of late, and partly because this was a real dud of a PPV. It hardly lived up to the hype of this pretty awesome infographic the UFC shared with Mashable leading up to show time.
What did you think of UFC 145?
The MMA world may be all-a-flutter with the fact that Jon Jones will be sponsored by the UFC this weekend. However, I could not care less. Why? The UFC should have its champions showcasing its merchandise. As champion you are an ambassador to the sport and ultimately the UFC brand.
That said, I’m never a fan of shirts that costs as much as a monthly mobile phone payment. Not too long ago I wrote about the new clothing brand Knockout Merchandise. I recently saw the following deal on their Facebook page:
Ten t-shirts for almost the same price as one from other companies. If you have a team looking to coordinate walk in shirts, I’d jump on this deal before it disappears.
