Chael Sonnen got pulled from UFC 175 because he pissed hot in a random drug test. It gets funny, here. Chael's initial opponent, Wanderlei Silva, was pulled from the event because he left town rather than give a piss test - and then Chael publicly mocked Silva's flight, calling him a cheating drug user. Funny stuff.
It comes from comedy into farce because this isn't the first time Sonnen has failed a drug test. After Sonnen's first loss to Anderson Silva, Sonnen was popped in a drug test and suspended by the California State Athletic Commission. The hearings were a riot as Sonnen claimed to have never gone through puberty, you had the quack doctor, crocodile tears, you name it - it was like a soap opera.
The big lie he told, though, was that he told the Nevada State Athletic Commission that he was using testosterone replacement. He never told them that - or at least he was never able to produce any documents saying he did, and the then director of the NSAC testified that Sonnen has never gotten any medical use exemptions for testosterone replacement.
Around the same time, he got a suspended sentence for real estate fraud - he was taking kickbacks. The guy is a real charmer. A real honest character.
In a spiral of weirdness, UFC president Dana White condemned both Sonnen and the NSAC. Sonnen for breaking the rules but the majority of his hectoring was over the NSAC providing no guidelines for athletes coming off of testosterone replacement that had been approved in previous years.
I'm sure that one baffles the NSAC because there is a standard in place for that kind of thing - you don't apply for a license to fight until you're clean. Lots of people use lots of drugs that are forbidden in the context of an athletic contest. Painkillers given to soothe an injury are illegal to use in competition - so you don't apply to fight until that stuff is out of your system. AND you report your use of it to the commission when the time comes, which Sonnen also failed to do.
Unlike many other athletes who are two time drug cheats, Sonnen will not be fired from the UFC. Dana White likes the guy too much, and he's a big draw, as well. Somehow, after losing a title shot to Anderson Silva - again - he managed to talk his way into a championship fight at higher weight class! Dana White said he was sending a message to the people who said they needed a full training camp to fight Jon Jones, the best mixed martial artist now fighting . . . even though Dan Henderson, who was a legitimate contender, was trying to book the fight.
Chael Sonnen is a real life lesson, though. The message is clear - if you're a good-looking white Republican man, you can lie, cheat and steal and be rewarded for it.
Showing posts with label dana white. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dana white. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Dana White mouths off after MacDonald v. Ellenberger, pretending that winning and losing are the same
Dana White blasts MacDonald and Ellenberger because of their slow fight.
First, of course, since I am mentioning this, look, hostile workplace environment! Your boss going out and calling you names in front of the press! Jesus, someone sue this man.
Moreover, I dislike these simplistic analyses. Sometime, even fights can be dull. The styles of the fighters don't mesh very well.
But what mostly gets me is that Dana White pretends that winning a slow fight has the same consequences for the fighter as losing well. Dana says that it isn't good for MacDonald to fight that way - but you know what's worse? Losing. Even Ellenberger admits he froze up (something I wish I had predicted on my blog so I could point and say, "I knew that would happen"; for the record, I think that MacDonald v. Ellenberger prefigures GSP v. Hendricks and I think there's a very good chance that Hendricks will freeze up in the same way). But you know what would have unfrozen him? If MacDonald had started charging in. I bet that he would have perked right the fuck up. He would have suddenly remembered how to throw bombs off of stuffing a takedown and the value of counterpunching, which are his usual strategies.
But losing well doesn't match winning poorly. When you win, you get double your base pay, for most fighters. Even the UFC's morally and legally dubious undocumented discretionary bonuses don't do that. Sure, while boring fights aren't likely to thrill sponsors, losses are worse. A "bad" win might not get you much closer to the title, but a loss gets you further away from it (something that is certainly on Ellenberger's mind, right now, after losses to both MacDonald and Kampmann - his title dreams are shot until he can put together a decent winning streakk, again).
What about head trauma? Careful fighters fight longer, they avoid injuries, they aren't laid up with long periods of time where they can't fight or train. It is the difference between fighting until you're 40 or fighting until you're 32, it's the difference between three fights a year and two fights a year.
Let's face it, a "bad" win is just better than going out on your shield - except for the UFC, who knows that fans like dramatic finishes more than measured, tactical fighting. A decent one time discretionary bonus isn't worth what you lose if you do lose - sponsors, greater distance from a title shot, your health.
So every time a tactical fighter wins tactically, Master of Hostile Workplaces, Dana White, goes to the press and bitches and moans about it. That kind of win is bad for a fighter's career! It's bad for the sport. When the truth is, it's bad for Dana White's vision of how an MMA fight should look. Only Dana, whose body and career aren't on the line, can pretend that losing well is the equivalent of winning badly.
I am not particularly defending MacDonald. I think he could have been more aggressive, I think he could have hunted Ellenberger down more. But I don't think he should have been too much more aggressive. Ellenberger was clearly turtling up. It's really hard to finish a fighter who is not engaging. Dana White should know that. It is not for MacDonald to try to get fighters to come out of their shell. They should arrive physically and mentally prepared to fight. Ellenberger wasn't. But that isn't Rory's fault. Dana should fucking know better, Dana should know it takes two to fight.
First, of course, since I am mentioning this, look, hostile workplace environment! Your boss going out and calling you names in front of the press! Jesus, someone sue this man.
Moreover, I dislike these simplistic analyses. Sometime, even fights can be dull. The styles of the fighters don't mesh very well.
But what mostly gets me is that Dana White pretends that winning a slow fight has the same consequences for the fighter as losing well. Dana says that it isn't good for MacDonald to fight that way - but you know what's worse? Losing. Even Ellenberger admits he froze up (something I wish I had predicted on my blog so I could point and say, "I knew that would happen"; for the record, I think that MacDonald v. Ellenberger prefigures GSP v. Hendricks and I think there's a very good chance that Hendricks will freeze up in the same way). But you know what would have unfrozen him? If MacDonald had started charging in. I bet that he would have perked right the fuck up. He would have suddenly remembered how to throw bombs off of stuffing a takedown and the value of counterpunching, which are his usual strategies.
But losing well doesn't match winning poorly. When you win, you get double your base pay, for most fighters. Even the UFC's morally and legally dubious undocumented discretionary bonuses don't do that. Sure, while boring fights aren't likely to thrill sponsors, losses are worse. A "bad" win might not get you much closer to the title, but a loss gets you further away from it (something that is certainly on Ellenberger's mind, right now, after losses to both MacDonald and Kampmann - his title dreams are shot until he can put together a decent winning streakk, again).
What about head trauma? Careful fighters fight longer, they avoid injuries, they aren't laid up with long periods of time where they can't fight or train. It is the difference between fighting until you're 40 or fighting until you're 32, it's the difference between three fights a year and two fights a year.
Let's face it, a "bad" win is just better than going out on your shield - except for the UFC, who knows that fans like dramatic finishes more than measured, tactical fighting. A decent one time discretionary bonus isn't worth what you lose if you do lose - sponsors, greater distance from a title shot, your health.
So every time a tactical fighter wins tactically, Master of Hostile Workplaces, Dana White, goes to the press and bitches and moans about it. That kind of win is bad for a fighter's career! It's bad for the sport. When the truth is, it's bad for Dana White's vision of how an MMA fight should look. Only Dana, whose body and career aren't on the line, can pretend that losing well is the equivalent of winning badly.
I am not particularly defending MacDonald. I think he could have been more aggressive, I think he could have hunted Ellenberger down more. But I don't think he should have been too much more aggressive. Ellenberger was clearly turtling up. It's really hard to finish a fighter who is not engaging. Dana White should know that. It is not for MacDonald to try to get fighters to come out of their shell. They should arrive physically and mentally prepared to fight. Ellenberger wasn't. But that isn't Rory's fault. Dana should fucking know better, Dana should know it takes two to fight.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Dana White is the UFC's big daddy, alright
One of the things I like the least about the UFC is how Dana White act the role of big daddy to all of the fighters. Not only do I dislike that on a personal level and think it should be, well, illegal (and I think that many UFC fights have a real case to make for workplace harassment, which I believe is related), but it has hurt the career of fights I like, who have no interest in playing into Dana's daddy issues. Fights like Jon Fitch and Roy Nelson have had their careers effected in large ways because of their unwillingness or inability to treat Dana White like their big daddy.
It can be hard to pin that down, though, that Dana sees himself as the patriarch to his fighter employees. But, recently, he's showed his hand more than a little with Chris Leben.
Talking about Leben, Dana said, "His fight style isn't healthy for him, the way that he fights. He's getting up there in age, and the big layoffs don't help him either. I don't know. I've got to figure. I've got to figure out what I think will be best for him, which people hate when I say that and do that."
So, Dana has to figure out what's best for a 32 year old man, because White thinks that Leben's lifestyle isn't healthy for him? Where does Dana White get the moral authority to make those kinds of decision for another adult? Oh, he's the UFC's big daddy.
Look, Dana, I dig it that you love Chris Leben. But you're not his father. You're his boss. And the right choice is easy. Leben is shot. He doesn't have what it takes to be in the UFC. We all knew this day would come, and that it would come sooner rather than later because of his problems with substance abuse and his fighting style. Yes, if you fire Leben, he'll have to cope with that, but he's an adult. Yes, he has had problems with alcohol and drugs but there's nothing you can do to fix that. Chris Leben has to fix it. Like you, Dana, I wish him all the best, that he can find it inside of himself to stay away from booze and drugs. I absolutely wish him the best and I recognize the road is long and hard. But you're his boss.
If you really want to be his friend and help him, fire him. Then still be his friend, but don't expect it to be the same when you're not the guy signing his paychecks, when he's got no reason to think of you as an authority figure. But it is cruel to keep him in the UFC to maintain your paternal hold over him.
Anyway, the idea that Dana White feels the moral authority to make decisions about Leben's health and well-being, rather than sticking to his fucking job as the president of the UFC, making decisions based on athletic and business criteria, is a pretty clear indication that Dana sees himself as more than his employee's boss - that he sees himself as a father figure to the fighters in his employee.
It can be hard to pin that down, though, that Dana sees himself as the patriarch to his fighter employees. But, recently, he's showed his hand more than a little with Chris Leben.
Talking about Leben, Dana said, "His fight style isn't healthy for him, the way that he fights. He's getting up there in age, and the big layoffs don't help him either. I don't know. I've got to figure. I've got to figure out what I think will be best for him, which people hate when I say that and do that."
So, Dana has to figure out what's best for a 32 year old man, because White thinks that Leben's lifestyle isn't healthy for him? Where does Dana White get the moral authority to make those kinds of decision for another adult? Oh, he's the UFC's big daddy.
Look, Dana, I dig it that you love Chris Leben. But you're not his father. You're his boss. And the right choice is easy. Leben is shot. He doesn't have what it takes to be in the UFC. We all knew this day would come, and that it would come sooner rather than later because of his problems with substance abuse and his fighting style. Yes, if you fire Leben, he'll have to cope with that, but he's an adult. Yes, he has had problems with alcohol and drugs but there's nothing you can do to fix that. Chris Leben has to fix it. Like you, Dana, I wish him all the best, that he can find it inside of himself to stay away from booze and drugs. I absolutely wish him the best and I recognize the road is long and hard. But you're his boss.
If you really want to be his friend and help him, fire him. Then still be his friend, but don't expect it to be the same when you're not the guy signing his paychecks, when he's got no reason to think of you as an authority figure. But it is cruel to keep him in the UFC to maintain your paternal hold over him.
Anyway, the idea that Dana White feels the moral authority to make decisions about Leben's health and well-being, rather than sticking to his fucking job as the president of the UFC, making decisions based on athletic and business criteria, is a pretty clear indication that Dana sees himself as more than his employee's boss - that he sees himself as a father figure to the fighters in his employee.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Thoughts on WSOF 3's main card
In the wake of Josh Burkman avenging his loss against Jon Fitch, I have a few thoughts.
First and foremost, get Mazzagatti out of the goddamn cage. He's a menace to fighters. I understand that reffing MMA is harder than reffing boxing – there are more judgment calls. I get that. But Mazzagatti is terrible. Fire him before someone gets hurt.
Second, John! This just validates Dana White's assholery! It elevates his bad decisions to the realms of oracle! Now he can just smugly say that he knew that this was going to happen, which is why he fired you!
Third, well, yeah, I also saw it coming so it's possible White, with his greater access to information, knew it, too. Fitch came off of a year-long rehab of a separated shoulder to get kneed in the face by Johny Hendricks. Then he got outwrestled by BJ Penn for two rounds before pulling off a draw more due to Penn's lack of stamina than anything in particular he did. Then he narrowly beat Erick Silva and was dominated in a positional battle by Demian Maia before getting submitted by Burkman. There is a word for this and the word is “shot”. He's getting to be in his mid-thirties and more than one athlete has failed to recover from a separated shoulder. I'm sure Fitch works real hard, but since he's utterly opposed to the kind of therapies that would allow a 34-year old dude to recover from a bad separated shoulder, his inability to beat anyone of stature in his past four fights indicated to me he should start looking for a job with less physical trauma involved. Fitch has shown greatly diminished ability to win the positional battles upon which his style depends and it isn't like he's radically improved his striking to make up for it. Also, his chin seems to be going. There are only so many head blows a dude can take, after all.
I know, this seems to disrespect Josh Burkman, diminish the significance of his victory. Well, yeah. This is not the same John Fitch as before his shoulder separation. Maybe it's the shoulder, maybe his love of fighting has waned, maybe it's something else or some combination, but regardless of the cause, the effect is that if John Fitch can't beat Josh Burkman, he's no longer a force in MMA. The fight was, I think, far more a referendum on Fitch's diminished performance than a demonstration that Burkman is now a top welterweight.
But, really, the takeaway message from all of this is that Steve Mazzagatti is a terrible referee and need to be taken out of the game before someone gets seriously hurt.
First and foremost, get Mazzagatti out of the goddamn cage. He's a menace to fighters. I understand that reffing MMA is harder than reffing boxing – there are more judgment calls. I get that. But Mazzagatti is terrible. Fire him before someone gets hurt.
Second, John! This just validates Dana White's assholery! It elevates his bad decisions to the realms of oracle! Now he can just smugly say that he knew that this was going to happen, which is why he fired you!
Third, well, yeah, I also saw it coming so it's possible White, with his greater access to information, knew it, too. Fitch came off of a year-long rehab of a separated shoulder to get kneed in the face by Johny Hendricks. Then he got outwrestled by BJ Penn for two rounds before pulling off a draw more due to Penn's lack of stamina than anything in particular he did. Then he narrowly beat Erick Silva and was dominated in a positional battle by Demian Maia before getting submitted by Burkman. There is a word for this and the word is “shot”. He's getting to be in his mid-thirties and more than one athlete has failed to recover from a separated shoulder. I'm sure Fitch works real hard, but since he's utterly opposed to the kind of therapies that would allow a 34-year old dude to recover from a bad separated shoulder, his inability to beat anyone of stature in his past four fights indicated to me he should start looking for a job with less physical trauma involved. Fitch has shown greatly diminished ability to win the positional battles upon which his style depends and it isn't like he's radically improved his striking to make up for it. Also, his chin seems to be going. There are only so many head blows a dude can take, after all.
I know, this seems to disrespect Josh Burkman, diminish the significance of his victory. Well, yeah. This is not the same John Fitch as before his shoulder separation. Maybe it's the shoulder, maybe his love of fighting has waned, maybe it's something else or some combination, but regardless of the cause, the effect is that if John Fitch can't beat Josh Burkman, he's no longer a force in MMA. The fight was, I think, far more a referendum on Fitch's diminished performance than a demonstration that Burkman is now a top welterweight.
But, really, the takeaway message from all of this is that Steve Mazzagatti is a terrible referee and need to be taken out of the game before someone gets seriously hurt.
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