While We’re Waiting… Tribe fizzles, replacing Phil Dawson and Mike Brown: FA recruiter
July 7, 2013MLB News: Tribe sends Carrasco to Columbus, calls up reliever Preston Guilmet
July 7, 2013It’s the morning after UFC 162 and I still don’t know what to make of Anderson Silva’s loss to Chris Weidman. We’ve seen Anderson Silva clown around in the ring, taunting his opponent throughout contests. We’ve seen him take more post-fight criticism than punishment in fights where he seemed disinterested in finishing as he danced to somewhat easy decisions. On the one hand it’s fitting that the style that has both amazed and infuriated fight fans since Silva secured the title in October 2006 is also the one that saw him lose the title as Chris Weidman’s fists finally took the smile off his face. On the other hand it does feel somewhat cheap, as if Silva didn’t care as much about the fight as the fans or his opponent.
It’s the hack phrase of an elderly wash-woman, but Silva might have finally gotten too big for his britches. Silva’s clowning act was never this dangerous before, and I don’t know if he knew the difference before it was too late. When Silva had done the dance and mug act prior, it was in fights where he was already landing shots with ease. Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonner come to mind. In those fights it seemed Silva could just decide what he wanted to throw at his opponent and hit his target to devastating results. Last night was different.
Silva was into the full taunting act before he’d landed even one meaningful shot against Chris Weidman. Silva had landed some decent leg kicks and far be it for me to discount those, but he hadn’t demoralized his opponent. Weidman didn’t buy into the act, but he did look a little confused at times trying to figure out what he should do to a fighter that’s dancing and dropping his hands continually. Much like other fighters who’ve tried to maintain their composure, Weidman continued to stand in and deliver shots. Unlike those other fights, Silva wasn’t landing devastating counter-shots to complete the embarrassment.
So in the end, rather than embarrassing the next Forrest Griffin, Silva got embarrassed. Except that you don’t get the sense that he’s capable of embarrassment.
As he talked to the audience in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Silva was praising the new champ, but it all felt kind of sarcastic to me. Maybe he meant it, but if a guy who didn’t put up his best effort praises the new champ as being the best isn’t he playing the audience for fools? I guess it’s more gracious than to discount the new champ, but these are the problems of perception when a fight has such a strange ending. We’re not used to title fights ending when one of the fighters gets caught because he wasn’t paying attention to the fundamentals of fighting – namely keep your damn hands up.
But Silva was never an orthodox champ. For what was going on seven years, Silva had defeated anyone the UFC could throw at him. Maybe this was the only way it could have ended. Even if the last fight feels a little bit cheap, there’s no denying how excellent the run has been. You just don’t get the sense that the UFC’s other long-reigning champ, George St-Pierre could ever put any doubt around his belt in victory or defeat.
So, what’s next? Despite Silva’s in-ring claim that he didn’t want a rematch it appears that is where we’re headed. A guy who held the belt that long certainly deserves an instant rematch, and UFC President Dana White’s thoughts on it are instructive as to what happened in this fight where Anderson Silva was heavily favored.
“The next one’s going to be very interesting, White said. “I think I would have the odds pretty much the same this one for the last one, 2-1 for Silva. I think he’ll be 2-1 again.”
And that’s ultimately the problem I think I had with the fight last night. You want your title fights to leave no doubt about who the best fighter is, and because of the way Anderson Silva went about his business, that wasn’t the case.
27 Comments
Anderson Silva wanted to lose the fight. He was tired of being the champ. He’s getting old and it’s time to focus on other things in his life. He wanted to get caught clowning.
Agreed completely
Is this Cleveland-related? Honestly, I don’t know.
UFC. Wake me when it’s over….
You said it… Silva wanted to embarrass Weidman and instead, he got embarrassed. He said before the fight, that doing those things aren’t about showboating it’s part of his style. If that’s true, then he lost fair and square. Maybe next time, instead of pretending like the punch hurt him “so bad” and then getting knocked the f out, he’ll come to fight and take care of business.
The psychological impact those tactics have is well-documented. It’s not “showboating.” Maybe you had to have participated in a man v man sport to understand it, but psyching your opponent out is as important as matching up with them physically. In this case, he was a fraction of a second too slow avoiding the punch (which he usually counters with perfection.)
Not a second too slow… a fraction of a second. It happens.
I’ve asked this question before as well and haven’t received a satisfactory answer from Craig et al.
Not only do posts about the UFC not fit in the scope of the site, they also countenance the brutality of a “sport” that, as John McCain astutely said is essentially “human cockfighting”.
I would urge greater discretion on behalf of those who run this “family-friendly” site.
Your last point suggests that ESPN, SI, and Yahoo Sports are family-unfriendly because they splash this sport on their front pages. Surely that’s not correct…(or is it?)
Also, similar sentiments are felt about the NFL’s level of violence, but can you imagine this site not covering the Browns?
I get the “not Cleveland-related” criticism, but that’s about all that makes sense above.
You don’t have to read every page of the site. Occasionally when the mood strikes me (because I do this for fun) I write about something like UFC or the US Men’s Soccer team.
The scope of the site is whatever the writers and owners of this site choose to make it. We’re pretty tight on that scope I think for the most part, and any leeway that we’ve taken I believe has been earned, but correct me if I’m wrong about that.
That quote is from 1990. John McCain spoke about MMA again in 2007…
“They have cleaned up the sport to the point, at least in my view, where it is not human cockfighting any more. I think they’ve made significant progress. They haven’t made me a fan, but they have made progress.”
Let’s not kid ourselves Craig – MMA is not a sport, it is violence as entertainment. Any “progress” they have made in convincing the public otherwise is due to a concerted effort to brand themselves better and play up the myth that this primitive brutality is actually “sport”.
I study the link between TBI-Dementia and see the downstream clinical effects of repetitive brain injuries. Therefore, I cannot accept any argument in favor of an event where the stated goal is literally injuring the brain or inflicting crippling bodily harm on another person. That is brutality on par with cockfighting, and we – as modern, civilized sports fans – should not countenance it.
I ask you guys to consider this because I genuinely enjoy and otherwise respect the site. This is out of bounds for you, and, with all due respect, feels like an editorial misjudgment.
The media companies you mentioned above are in the business of making money. Absent of a heroic/potentially suicidal leadership decision from a powerful executive within, they could not financially justify ignoring a sport that has gained an (inter)national audience. As I understand it, WFNY has a less cynical raison d’être and can exercise better judgment in what it covers and therefore deems as “sport”. They don’t cover dog fighting or cockfighting, for instance, but for some reason consider it acceptable to cover a sport in which two humans try to damage one another’s brains whilst locked in a cage. I have a difficult time reconciling this.
As for your other question, I have always felt the argument that “football is violent” is overly simplistic. While it is certainly a sport that is abidingly aggressive, football is a far more complex game than MMA, and, importantly, its objective is not merely the showcase of brutal violence/brain damage. While the NFL has been inexcusably slow phasing both the head and the more violent elements out of the game (not to mention taking care of injured former players), the league under Roger Goodell has taken meaningful action over the last several years. As fans, we should support changes to make players safer and help normalize the controversial rules (i.e. shorter kickoffs, stricter penalties for hits to the helmet, suspensions for bounties, etc.) that are immediately deemed to be reducing the NFL to “flag football” by the same masses that likely tune in to MMA.
If the NFL were not making these improvements, and continuing to ignore the problem in light of a preponderance of neurological evidence linking head trauma with dementia, we would be justified in asking sites like WFNY to reduce their coverage of the Browns. I am simply asking them to consider their stance towards MMA, which has demonstrated almost zero regard for these issues.
“The scope of the site is whatever the writers and owners of this site choose to make it.”
Okay, it just seems that you all chose to make it Cleveland-based sports. That’s why we’re confused. Or at least why I am.
Yes, you are right that we don’t have to read every page. But I actually wasted my time reading that post, thinking that it was going to highlight something Cleveland-related. Now I know, I guess, that in the future, you will publish such stories and that they’ll be wholly irrelevant to Cleveland.
By the way, the hubris behind your pronouncements concerning having “earned” leeway is not endearing.
Oh noes! You wrote about something that wasn’t solely centered in Cleveland!! My head asplode now.
MMA is every much a sport as much as the NFL. Yes, in both, there is significant risk for injury, particularly brain injuries (as we learn more that they are cumulative and you are definitely more well-versed on it than possibly any on here).
“football is a far more complex game than MMA”
this is where you lose things. you are absolutely correct in that there is significant risk to brain trauma in MMA (and football). but, it is an incredibly complex sport that involves understanding multiple disciplines of martial arts that some study one for their entire lives. It’s incredibly complex and intricate.
the one area where football has it’s advantage (long-term) is that it can eventually move to flag football. most scoff at this now, but a generation from now I can very much see this happening (and I’m not really all that opposed either. flag is a fun sport, it still highlights alot of the same things we enjoy seeing and it is still physical – just with less head collisions).
I get the the UFC isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, or that it isn’t Cleveland related, but I personally appreciate reading about other things on this site than just who’s going to be the Browns backup long snapper. Also, when something like this happens in a sport (and yes, it is a sport), it should be covered. Silva has been champion for over 7 years. Think about that. 7 years. That’s almost as long as most of you guys spent in high school. When he loses, it should garner some attention from even the casual sports fan. I don’t like boxing, but when Floyd Mayweather finally loses, I’ll probably read about that, too. Just because it isn’t Cleveland related doesn’t make it relevant.
“Maybe this was the only way it could have ended.”
this could have been the title for the article. it is exactly the only way Silva’s reign was going to end. finally finding someone capable of keeping up with him except that he was too stubborn and vain to realize it (until it was too late). the rematch should be enthralling.
-Objective of football: To outscore the other team.
-Objective of MMA: To damage the brain or critically injure one’s opponent.
There may be great complexity underlying the means to achieving those objectives in both sports, but the ultimate goal is fundamentally different. That is why football can alter its rules to make the game safer for players, while the UFC can only “rebrand” and paper over the brutality from which it profits.
Sorry for the stubbornness on this, mgbode, but it is an issue I am close to and feel strongly about. Always good to have these conversations to challenge convictions/firm beliefs though.
and how do you outscore the other team? the OL taking the DL’s knees out each play? or bashing their forearms over their helmets if they try a swim move? how about the RB going through the middle? what happens to him? what happens when a 250lb guy who runs a 4.4 40yd runs full speed into another guy of similar ilk? what about that guy who just stands around hoping to get rid of the ball before a bunch of 300lb+ behemoths jump on him?
the objective in MMA is to out-move your opponent and either put him into submission or knock him out (which is obviously what you are focusing on). I am not opposed to drastic measures of safety in MMA to make it more about submissions and protect the fighters (why they don’t have Olympic-style boxing headgear is beyond me). However, you are simplifying it too much.
all the likes for all of humboldt’s points in this thread. i happily yield my proxy to him on this subject.
mgbode MMA can eventually be moved to Brazilian jiu jitsu which is a major aspect of MMA Helio Gracie competed until he was well in his 80s.
@humboldt Your negative input regarding something you are ignorant about is a nasty reflection arrogance. You are one of those people of self entitlement in the sense that you think people should only write to appeal to your liking, get over yourself.
If you don’t like the article don’t read it or troll in the comments, the editor doesn’t owe you an answer or an apology.
Go look at the amount of injuries to the brain in MMA vs football. The difference between us (humans) and cock fighting is that we have a choice to compete and risk injury, be it football or MMA. People fight and train in mixed martial arts because they choose to, not because they are forced to get in a cage with another creature to fight to the death.
I played football for six years and have fought for eight. The only time I got a concussion wasn’t from fighting..
You claiming that MMA is not is sport is pretty much saying the olympic sports wrestling, boxing and judo are not sports.. Or any form of martial arts. It is disrespectful to those of us that have committed our blood and sweat to perfect our art to compete in the SPORT that we choose to enjoy.
All aside good article thanks for it.
that was funny!
yes, the Gracie’s are what got me into MMA after wrestling back in the 90`s. I even joined a Royce Gracie gym in Sacramento. It would be interesting to see how they would enact rules to get it closer to wrestling/jiu jitsu rather than the current style. It started off that way before the promoters incorporated more boxing into it to boost ratings.
What’s sad is that Weidman is really a good disciplined fighter. This made him look bad, because if he fought hard and lost, he would have got more respect than knocking out a joking Silva.
Ultimately, it is the problem of the Earth, being run by insane people, and aliens, which leaves us without much purpose here on the planet as sleeping brain washed, manipulated Humans who are barely animated, and are decimated, detached from our soul via contaminated fluoridated water which damages the pineal gland. Of spiritual purpose, we have none, so the smart person goes on to destroy himself to escape this prison. MMA reveals our underlying desire to escape this prison of the soul, which is Earth. Earth is controlled by ET’s, run by artificial intelligence, and politically manipulated and postured by Humans and human hybrids. It’s just a farce… Yes, I am an insane, and no it is not my fault. It is a failed system. We are given few avenues to truly exercise our minds, because the very fabric of spiritual reality is entirely obliterated from our paradigm, so that people are bored without even knowing they are bored. The violence is not in MMA, the violence is in Earth, in our controllers who have handed down a violent regime to us. Our entire existence here is violent. We are born unto violence. MMA is a reflection of our singular function here which is to be servants of violence. Until Earth is no more a prison planet, the violence will persist. GSP is a star seed, he subconsciously knows of aliens and their manipulation, and you can hear him speak of it. He is here to help the brain washed males, by showing them kindness, because we have an attraction to violence, and yet GSP stands out as a kind soul in a sea of violent people. Is that an accident? No it is no accident, GSP and Jon Jones and Silva and Weidman are examples of how the correct people, with the correct souls, are in the sport to help change the template of Human behavior. You must become the person you wish to change, and they have become violent monsters, but they are anything but, and they are changing us, one person at a time, by giving us a new ideal, new virtues and morals and integrity. This is the purpose of star seeds. Joe Rogan is also a star seed, his mind is many orders of magnitude beyond the average person who listens to him. He is speaking to an audience that needs the intellectual and spiritual help. So now if you look, the whole of MMA is built of star seeds, spiritual leaders who are helping to spiritual change people by displaying violence. The violence attracts people, but the star seeds are in the upper echelons, and they are they by fate, by a design, to change people by displaying virtues unseen in the common man. It isn’t obvious on the surface, nothing is, and that’s the paradox of Earth. You may have to re-read this to gain a better insight.
Ultimately, it is the problem of the Earth, being run by insane people, and aliens, which leaves us without much purpose here on the planet as sleeping brain washed, manipulated Humans who are barely animated, and are decimated, detached from our soul via contaminated fluoridated water which damages the pineal gland. Of spiritual purpose, we have none, so the smart person goes on to destroy himself to escape this prison. MMA reveals our underlying desire to escape this prison of the soul, which is Earth. Earth is controlled by ET’s, run by artificial intelligence, and politically manipulated and postured by Humans and human hybrids. It’s just a farce… Yes, I am an insane, and no it is not my fault. It is a failed system. We are given few avenues to truly exercise our minds, because the very fabric of spiritual reality is entirely obliterated from our paradigm, so that people are bored without even knowing they are bored. The violence is not in MMA, the violence is in Earth, in our controllers who have handed down a violent regime to us. Our entire existence here is violent. We are born unto violence. MMA is a reflection of our singular function here which is to be servants of violence. Until Earth is no more a prison planet, the violence will persist. GSP is a star seed, he subconsciously knows of aliens and their manipulation, and you can hear him speak of it. He is here to help the brain washed males, by showing them kindness, because we have an attraction to violence, and yet GSP stands out as a kind soul in a sea of violent people. Is that an accident? No it is no accident, GSP and Jon Jones and Silva and Weidman are examples of how the correct people, with the correct souls, are in the sport to help change the template of Human behavior. You must become the person you wish to change, and they have become violent monsters, but they are anything but, and they are changing us, one person at a time, by giving us a new ideal, new virtues and morals and integrity. This is the purpose of star seeds. Joe Rogan is also a star seed, his mind is many orders of magnitude beyond the average person who listens to him. He is speaking to an audience that needs the intellectual and spiritual help. So now if you look, the whole of MMA is built of star seeds, spiritual leaders who are helping to spiritually change people by displaying violence. The violence attracts people with violent souls, but the star seeds are in the upper echelons of the UFC and MMA and they are they by fate, by a design, to change people by displaying virtues unseen in the common man. Tyson, he is not from here. Why did Mike Tyson have more spiritual strength over his opponents? Again, he is a star seed. It isn’t obvious on the surface, nothing is, and that’s the paradox of Earth. You may have to re-read this to gain a better insight.