Bloody Mess

In the sports world, the phrase “Go Hard or Go Home” summarizes what it takes to be a winner. You bring your “A” game and go all out to win or just contend to be satisfactory and take a loss for your subpar efforts. MMA fighters who step into the cage to do battle, live and die by that phrase. If you never competed in any form of fighting, you may assume that a loss is just a loss and its business as usual for the fighter. In a perfect setting, maybe, but when your goal is to fight in the UFC and show the world why you belong there, a loss can earn you a pink slip with maybe no hopes of ever returning.

The UFC is indeed the crème de la crème of MMA. It is the biggest stage a fighter can hope to perform on and can definitely make that fighter become rich and famous. Don’t get it twisted or confused, it is not the only stage a fighter can show HIS potential, but it is the biggest. I did mention HIS and not HERS because at this time, the UFC executives are not sold on the idea of promoting women fighters at this time. I believe I’m not the only fight fan that would welcome a division for women fighters in the UFC, but I do imagine the minority for it gets outweighed by the majority against it.

In the beginning, I was under the impression that Dana White and Joe Silva were looking for fighters that went all out and gave a good performance in victory or defeat. Those were the type of fights fans appreciated and wanted more of. Now, I am under the belief it might not even matter if you win, lose, or draw, as long as you can presale fights out to the fans and increase the ppv revenue. After each ppv event, fighters and fans are looking to see who may be on the chopping block next because of a performance that may not meet the approval of UFC brass.

Jake Rosholt, a UFC middleweight fighter, let everyone know through his Twitter account that he had been cut by the UFC. Rosholt’s first fight in the UFC was at UFC Fight Night 17 in February against Dan Miller, who submitted him with a guillotine choke in the first round. His second fight, six months later was against Chris Leben at UFC 102, which he was able to put the UFC veteran to sleep by arm triangle choke and pick up the win. His last fight just recently at UFC 106 against Kendall Grove did not go in his favor. Grove was able to use his long legs to apply a triangle choke on Rosholt and secure the win by submission. According to Rosholt’s manager, he told MMAWeekly that Joe Silva wants Rosholt to get some more experience. It is true that Rosholt’s record being 1-2 in the UFC is not impressive by any means, but at least he actually put forth the effort to show up and fight, no excuses made. Hopefully, Rosholt can get back on a winning streak by working his way up through the smaller venues and get offered another shot at UFC stardom down the road.

Doin Work!

There have been some needed cuts in the UFC and then there have been some debatable cuts, at least debatable between you and me. They released Rich Clementi and kept Melvin Guillard around……go figure! Clementi defeated Guillard at UFC 79 by submission and Guillard’s past fights have ended in losses for him by means of the same submission hold………come on already, work on your submission escape Melvin! Jason MacDonald was another fighter who performed well against some of the best in the UFC, but after his first round TKO stoppage loss against Nate Quarry at UFC 79, the UFC cut him. Brock Larson is one fighter I am glad the UFC cut. For all of his record and experience, he definitely did not show up to fight. He looked lost and confused against lesser caliber opponents, at least on paper anyway. His subpar performance at UFC 106 definitely led to him being cut. Then of course Matt Danzig, TUF 6 winner and supposed future highlight reel of the UFC, highlight reel of losses that’s all. Danzig rocked his way through the TUF 6 show to win the whole thing and to only fall flat on his face right out of the gate. What gives on that one? Maybe the guys on that show really had no talent and Danzig was able to walk right through everybody. Maybe Danzig’s highlight reel of destiny was a movie playing only in his head. Either way, he should have been cut because there are more deserving fighters that should get a chance.

In my opinion, some fighters are just fighting not to lose instead of going for the win. When fighters go all out and try to get that win, sometimes there is a chance they do get caught by a punch or submission hold, but at least they left it all in the cage. Now, if you have a fighter scared to get cut after a loss, the fighter is not going to take chances and probably might use the Hughes tried and true method of “lay and pray” to squeak out a win by the judges. I do appreciate the job Joe Silva and Dana White are doing trying to put on the best fights possible for the fans. But, if you handcuff your fighters with the fear of losing their job after every fight, it will not lead to the best performances from your fighters. That reverse psychology only works on feeble minds and wannabe Dr. Phil’s. Let the fighters fight and let the bodies hit the floor!

T-Mack and also T-Mack’s Website Here!

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