Another Monday rolls in and so does more MMA thoughts for the masses. As the great band C+C Music Factory use to say, “Things that make you go hmm….”
Round One: Nick Diaz’isms
UFC 158 goes down this Saturday at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec. Another home cage advantage for GSP; when doesn’t this guy fight in Montreal? Seriously, if you were his opponent, wouldn’t you ask for the fight to take place somewhere else? I get that he is one of the most popular athletes in Canada, but he does have a pretty big following in other countries, maybe spread him around a bit?
Nick Diaz went off on the conference call last week. It was funny to hear some of his fans talk like they totally understood what he was saying. Maybe that should be a sign that marijuana is bad for brain cells. Seriously, if you could understand what Nick Diaz’s point was, you are high. He made absolutely no sense. Entertaining? Yes. Logic? No. For instance he went on some rant about martial arts.
“Being stronger and explosive, beating you to the punch in five minutes, it’s not what martial arts is about. Fans can recognize this. I’ve watched a s—load of fights. People want to see real skill level, real Jiu Jitsu, real boxing, put together and mixed up. They want to see mixed martial arts. They don’t want to see five minutes of holding. I think there should be points deducted when you do that. You should have to punch down and have action. People should see that a little better. Maybe one day”
What? Yes Nick, maybe one day. How about this Saturday night? Because the guy you are facing is good at all those things. It’s called mixed martial arts, and GSP pretty much has all the tools in the tool box when it comes to fighting. I’m still lost with the point Nick was trying to make, but many of his minions will say, “he speaks the truth!” except you have no idea what that is. Regardless, Nick’s outbursts of madness are what make him who he is. He truly is an enigma and at times he talks in circles and completely contradicts himself, but that doesn’t stop him, and that’s why we talk about it and that’s why the UFC bent over backwards to allow him to compete in the Main Event against their main attraction. We laugh at Diaz but we respect what he can do in the cage.
Round Two: Maximum Fighting Championships
The MFC is Canada’s number one MMA promotion. That isn’t saying much considering there really isn’t anyone else. Sure there are some local promotions sprinkled throughout Canada but none that could be considered on the same level. I thought The Score Fighting Series was on the way, but for some strange reason they went “bye, bye” after Sportsnet bought out The Score Sports Network. My guess is that Sportsnet is only in bed with the UFC and they didn’t want any other organization shown on their network, even if it that organization was small potatoes compared to the big show.
The MFC can brag they are on AXS TV, which is nice; the problem is nobody has the channel in Canada. So Canada’s largest MMA promotion cannot be viewed live in their own country. MFC President Mark Pavelich will say Canadians can watch the fights on TSN 2, which is true, but three weeks later? Any good MMA fan will have already known the results and I’m guessing ratings probably aren’t exactly stellar. I don’t blame the MFC, but it’s getting rather ridiculous that you have some of best Canadians fighting on a card that no Canadian can watch live. I’m not sure what the holdup is to get AXS TV in Canada, it used to be HD NET, and so there shouldn’t be a problem. What I don’t understand is why AXS TV and the MFC haven’t got a little creative and offer Canadians a chance to pay for a live stream on one their websites? From what I understand MFC 37 in May will have the prelims streamed on Facebook. There has to be way for Canadians to have access to watch all the MFC fights live. We do have the technology.
Round Three: Dave Begel
I don’t like giving dumb ass media people the time of day, but this guy from OnMilwaukee.com went off about women’s MMA and the UFC as a whole, and it made me laugh. I wasn’t even mad like many others were. Mr. Begel wrote a harsh article criticizing the UFC, their fans and the women who fight in the sport. He was also on Inside MMA and the humor that followed was unintentional but it made for some good laughs. It’s always funny to see humans who are stuck in the past and don’t have any real argument to back up their opinion. I loved this quote, “I think it’s a disgusting, barbaric entertainment event,” Dave Begel said. “I can’t even call it a sport. It’s absolutely ridiculous to think that people do this and pay money to watch this kind of crap.”
It’s 2013 and we are done defending our sport. There are going to be people who love it, who respect it, and then there are going to be people like Mr. Begel who will hate it. We shouldn’t care anymore. The sport is not going anywhere, and people will have their idiotic opinions.
Mr. Begel didn’t want to listen to reason from Bas Rutten either. The comparison of boxing or NFL football wasn’t allowed to come into the conversation because why let logic ruin a good story? To you Mr. Begel, I thank you. It’s another reminder that Dinosaurs do live amongst us and you can find him in Milwaukee. Start your Monday with a laugh and watch below. I’m out.
________________________________________________________________________________
You can listen to Trevor on MMASucka Radio heard weekly on MMASucka.com and Sportsnet.ca. Follow him on Twitter @tdueckMMA
