Category: MMA

UFC 230: The Unethical Return of Jon Jones

So we still don’t have an announced headline bout for UFC 230, an event that is taking place in six-and-a-half-weeks at Madison Square Garden.  What we do have, however, is rumour and conjecture, which enables me to put pieces of a puzzle I don’t possess together, to come to a conclusion that probably won’t happen.  Stay with me though, because if it does play out like I think it may, blimey, it raises a hell of a lot of questions.

On September 20th Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in New York to attend a press conference to promote their upcoming fight.  Everybody knows, when Conor is in town, it demands attention, which means the presser is bound to have a lot of mainstream media coverage.  I can’t think of an opportunity as perfect as this to announce the main event of the card taking place in the very same city in a mere 45 days.

So, who’s actually fighting in this main event?  The latest gossip doing the rounds is Jon Jones will make his return in a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson.  Wait.  Isn’t Gustafsson injured and Jones suspended?  Precisely what I thought, so I set about finding out the facts.

Gustafsson was scheduled to fight Volkan Oezdemir in early August at UFC 227, a bout he pulled out of due to a ‘minor’ injury.  In the most recent interview of his, that I was able to find on YouTube, Gustafsson spoke with MMAViking.com and he confirmed he’s no longer injured and is aiming to return in October/November.  Perfect, one half of our rumoured main event is available.

Jon Jones is a bit more complicated.  He had a hearing with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) in February this year.  He was fined, and his fighter’s license was revoked until he completes the suspension handed to him by USADA.  The problem is, USADA hasn’t publicly issued Jones with a suspension yet.

The flagged sample was taken from Jones after he weighed-in on July 28th 2017, a day before he beat Daniel Cormier to regain the Light Heavyweight Title, a result that was consequently overturned and Jones was stripped of the title. The start date of the pending suspension Jones is facing is the date of his flagged sample, so Jones has effectively already served nearly 14 months.

The question is, if the rumours of a Jones return are true, when will USADA announce the length of his suspension, how will they explain why it took so long for them to come to this conclusion, and most importantly, how did it miraculously manage to line-up so Jones is able to make his return at one of the biggest cards of the year?

The introduction of USADA, randomly testing fighters, has had a largely positive impact.  However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, ask Josh Barnett…

The main bone of contention is the lack of rhyme or reason behind the processes USADA follow.  Everything seems to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.  In theory, this is good as it allows for the nuances of each violation to be accounted for, enabling USADA to levy suspensions or indeed exonerate each fighter on merit.

In my humble opinion, where this approach falls down, however, is when the person in charge of developing the USADA testing program; Jeff Novitzky is employed by the UFC.  This is a clear conflict of interest.  It gives the UFC the ability to influence the USADA decision-making process, enabling them to affect the outcome of individual cases their fighters are involved in.  So in theory, if you’re in uncle Dana’s bad books, you get the maximum penalty for a violation.  If you’re a big draw at the box office, maybe they go easy with your punishment.

Obviously, I’m in no position to accuse the UFC of foul play, however, it was their decision to issue Brock Lesnar with an exemption from the requirement to be in the USADA testing pool for four months before taking a fight.  This enabled Lesnar to fight on the UFC 200 card at a month’s notice, and I’m sure you remember how that played out?

The precedent USADA has set is for someone in Jones’ position to be suspended for two years.  Call me cynical, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the UFC could influence USADA just enough so that one of their cash cow’s suspension fell short of the date of one of the biggest UFC cards of the year?

The premise of all this is all built off the rumours of Jon Jones returning at UFC 230.  This is something that hasn’t been confirmed yet.  If Jones’ return is made official in the coming days, however, it cast’s serious aspersions on the relationship between USADA and the UFC.

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The “Face Turn” of Woodley

 

I’d like to begin by apologising to the MMA purists for the title of this piece, some of you guys hate it when I use pro-wrestling terminology in MMA posts.  Having said that, you have to admit, it seems the tide has begun to turn on the way the MMA community perceives Tyron Woodley.  The reigning welterweight champion has finally begun to get his dues from fans and the press.  I’d be a liar if I sat here and told you guys I felt this change in attitude is long overdue.  Hell, I myself struggled to warm to the man outside the cage, even though I have the utmost respect for his craft within it…so what’s changed I hear you ask?  Let me explain.

The general consensus on Tyron Woodley since the Wonderboy rematch was; T-Wood is a boring fighter who loves to moan.  I’ve always found the ‘boring fighter’ tag massively unfair.  I appreciate the Maia fight wasn’t the most exhilarating and the aforementioned Wonderboy rematch didn’t live up to the excitement of the first time they fought.  However, we also need to appreciate the first Woodley Vs Thompson fight did win the fight of the night bonus, as well as the fact T-Wood won the strap by ruthlessly knocking out Robbie Lawler (see what I did there? 😉)

Indeed, before he challenged for the belt, Woodley was billed as an explosive, powerful and fast fighter with monstrous KO power.  So why were we so quick to tar Woodley with the ‘boring’ brush?

I genuinely believe, Woodley’s inability to connect with the fans perpetuated the narrative of him being a boring fighter.  I remember listening to Woodley during press-conferences and interviews, after winning the belt, continually knit-pick and moan.  If it wasn’t about being promoted incorrectly, it was the fact he wasn’t being offered the ‘big money’ fights.  That’s not how I want my champions to conduct themselves!

I’m not here to pass judgement or even comment on the validity of the issues he raised around race and treatment by the UFC, that’s a whole different topic and several cans of worms.  The issue I had was the way he chose to do so.  Constant.  A constant barrage of focusing on external influences on the core of the situation – fighting to remain the best in the world.  I very rarely heard T-Wood speak positively about being the champion or about the sport itself, and that’s where the disparity between fans and champion formed.

During the build-up to the Till fight, however, we saw a different T-Wood.  A Woodley with a “Fuck it” attitude.  A Woodley that knew the deck was stacked against him, but he had the confidence and self-belief to overcome the odds.  A Woodley that knew the UFC wanted him to lose the title but guess what, he wasn’t going to let that happen.

This attitude shone through in his media engagements.  No more moaning and no more acknowledgement of his perceived mistreatment by the UFC.  Just a single-minded focus on beating up a formidable opponent.  We saw a man who kept his cards close to his chest and spoke in a calculated manner using words doused in self-belief forming a compelling argument about why he will remain the UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.

Woodley BlackB

We all know how the fight played out, (If you don’t, why have you even read this far?) and the performance by T-Wood was fitting of the persona of the man during fight week; confident, assured, measured and dominant.

Dana White’s absence from the post-fight press conference after taking every opportunity to berate Woodley before the fight spoke volumes.  It became a news story.  ‘Why didn’t Dana show?’  ‘Is it because he doesn’t want to compliment Woodley?’  ‘Is it because he called Woodley boring before the fight?’  ‘Is it because he said fans don’t like him but there were strong chants of “U-S-A” in support of him during the fight?’  Fact is we don’t know why he chose to give it a miss, but uncle Dana’s absence helped with the shift in attitude towards Tyron Woodley.  A sense of injustice consumed members of MMA media and they set about the journey I’ve been on during this piece; trying to understand why T-Wood was downplayed and misjudged as a champion and as a fighter.

I’m about to use a pro wrestling analogy so MMA purists, skip this paragraph.  We are basically at the precipice of when Vince McMahon (Dana White) began his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin (Tyron Woodley).  Stone Cold was a bad guy who didn’t ‘turn’ good.  His actions remained largely the same.  It’s the fans that started to understand and get behind him.  The fans chose him and cheered him, making him a “face” by proxy.

Woodley is at this precise crossroad and the best thing about it is the fact the UFC have the perfect opponent In Colby Covington to help push Woodley further into the good graces of the MMA community.  it’s just so obvious. A ‘lay-up’ as our American friends like to call an easy opportunity to positively influence a situation.  Queue an Instagram post next week confirming Woodley’s next title defence in February next year in a random city in the States against Kamaru Usman 😐.

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UFC 226: Thoughts

So yesterday, I wrote 85% of a UFC 226 preview piece.  When I write a post, I tend to write the majority in one day and then come back the next day to apply the finishing touches.  I find it helps to look at my work with fresh eyes and edit the piece so it’s more concise and an all-around better read.

It just so happens, the majority of my preview was about the Max Holloway Vs Brian Ortega fight.  I haven’t been this excited for a fight since Tony Ferguson booked himself some one-on-one Khabib Time, and we all know what happened there…

I woke up this morning excited to finish off my preview and publish it on The Battle Camp so the world could revel in the glory that is my perspective on an amazing fight.  I had even earmarked a one-hour slot in my day that I was going to use to finish my preview (this one-hour slot is also known as my lunch break).  Anyway, as I was lying in bed thinking of ways I could beautifully craft the closing sentence of my preview to leave you with that excited feeling filled with anticipation and mystery in the pit of your stomach, similar to how I’ve been feeling all fight-week, I decided to take a break and look at my phone.

I opened Instagram (@TheBattleCamp365 😉) and started scrolling down my timeline.  Wait. Pause. Read it again…and again.  The second post I saw on my timeline was from MMAJunkie.  Breaking: Max Holloway has withdrawn from #UFC226 after showing ‘concussion like symptoms’. 

Well, the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach changed from excitement and anticipation to the heavy sinking feeling I got when Ferguson was unable to make his Khabib Time appointment.  To add insult to injury, the preview piece I had originally written was no longer relevant.

I thought better of writing about my thoughts of Holloway’s withdrawal just yet.  Of course, the priority should always be the fighter’s health.  With so much at stake, I’m glad those around him made the decision to prioritise safety.  Until we know more about the circumstances around Holloway’s withdrawal, all we can do is wish him a full and speedy recovery.

So here I am, feeling quite shitty about how shitty the MMA Gods are treating us, looking at my laptop trying to think of ways to write another preview piece without being unjustly pessimistic about UFC 226 because let’s face it, although my personal main event has fallen through, the card itself is still super stacked with the actual main event still intact.

Let’s not get it twisted, the term “Super Fight” is bandied about way too often these days.  Just because a fighter chooses to move weight-class and challenge the champion, it doesn’t make it a “Super-Fight”.  For example, I intend no offence when I say this, but if Tyron Woodley moved up to face Robert Whittikar, I’d be damn excited to see it, but I wouldn’t file it in the “Super Fight” section in the area of my mind consumed by combat sports.

So what’s the recipe for a “Super Fight”?  Well, in my opinion, Stipe Micoc Vs Daniel Cormier most definitely contains the right ingredients.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, both champions have to have dominated their respective divisions by beating all available and deserving challengers.  I’ve intentionally used the word “available” as I’m perfectly aware of Cormier’s losses to Jon Jones.  The fact Jon Jones is serving a suspension with no sign of a return date, for me, his name must be removed from this equation.

Secondly, there needs to be a genuine air of uncertainty about this fight.  It’s all well and good for a fighter to move up a weight class to challenge for the strap, but if said fighter is an overwhelming underdog with experts and analysts then I’m sorry, it isn’t a “Super Fight”.  In the case of Miocic Vs Cormier, one can argue a strong and coherent case for either fighter winning.

Finally, the fight itself needs to have an “X Factor”, a certain jena se qua.  For me, this fight has it in droves.  Cormier has never lost a fight at heavyweight.   In fact, I can’t recall him ever losing a single round when he operated in that division.  He looked formidable.  Ironically, the mystery in this fight is actually in the fact we’ve already seen Cormier dominate at heavyweight.  So, the question isn’t ‘Can Cormier compete?’ because we know he can.  The question here is ‘Can Cormier win?’ which is a realistic outcome but it’s extremely difficult to predict because…well…because Miocic.

Miocic is a guy who I always believed is a well-rounded, solid heavyweight.  When he called for a title shot after defeating Arlovski in 2016, I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t convinced.  Even after he blasted through Fabricio Werdum in Brazil to win the title I thought “He got lucky with that punch he landed”.  I’m happy to admit, Miocic has shut me up, proved me wrong and then shut me up again with every victory since.  He’s a deserving champion who has the opportunity to cement his legacy in a…yes, you’ve guessed it, a legitimate super fight.

Prediction?  I can’t.  Not because I enjoy removing splinters from my bum after a satisfying session of fence-sitting, but because I genuinely can’t decide who I think has a better chance of winning.  What I will say is, Cormier is a 7/4 underdog on the betting app I use so I put a cheeky bet on him to win.  I think the bookies have got it wrong by placing Miocic as a 4/9 favourite.  The fight is a lot closer in my opinion.

Speaking of wagers, I also placed an accumulator on the weekend’s fights.

20180705_002122.jpgTo call this optimistic, it would be an understatement.  I look at these kinds of bets as more of a lottery where we get to apply some prior knowledge and logic to predict the outcome as opposed to a total game of chance.

I always try to pick at least one underdog.  On this occasion, it’s Anthony Pettis.  Although he’s been a shadow of his former self over the last few years and Chiesa has a style he struggles against on paper, I feel like Chiesa is a bit predictable in his offence.  He’s also been inactive for a year and I get the feeling both of these factors will be an advantage for Pettis.  I believe this is Pettis’ last chance to prove himself at this level and he knows it.  If he’s able to avoid the takedown and pick Chiesa off with low kicks and strikes, I think he may just have enough to cause an upset.

That’s it from me.  I’m looking forward to this weekend despite the loss of the co-main event.  Let’s hope it’s the only one!!

 

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