Robinson: UFC 100 Antics Deserve Consequences
July 15, 2009
by Zac Robinson of SportsbythenumbersMMA.com for MMA Payout
Let me begin by saying that I am oddly enough more in the dark about the aftermath of UFC 100 than I have been about any other recent event, and obviously a little late to the party. I was in Vegas for the event, but after I had limited Internet access and I was traveling.
First, Dan Henderson’s final shot on Michael Bisping is regrettably part of the sport. The game is fast and the referee doesn’t always have time to dive in and save a downed fighter before he takes an unnecessary blow. The fighters can’t be faulted, they are in a high-intensity moment and trying to end it in victory, so I had no problem with Henderson’s final punch until he said it was intentional immediately afterward.
Second, Brock Lesnar’s actions were over the top. He didn’t need to go WWE on everybody after he pummeled Frank Mir, but he did.
Now here’s the kicker. I understand why these two reacted as they did after the fight. In those few moments they are wired up like we can only imagine. Weeks and weeks of training, all the anticipation, the stress leading up to the fight, and then just like that it is over and their hands are raised. It is hard to fault them for sometimes saying or doing inappropriate things. Even so, they need to be held accountable.
I recognize that both men changed their tunes a bit after the fights. That’s good, but still there needs to be repercussions. The UFC, while not a league, is now routinely being compared to other sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, or MLB. Even Dana White has recently compared the promotion to other leagues when discussing the sponsorship issue. Any of the other leagues would fine or suspend their athletes for actions that compare to Henderson’s or Lesnar’s. The same should hold true with the UFC.
Maybe the fact that they have since dialed down their words or actions should help lessen the consequence, but each man, Henderson and Lesnar, should be fined or receive some kind of suspension from the UFC. I say UFC, not the Nevada State Athletic Commission, because the promotion is now looked upon as a league similar to the leagues of other sports.
Now in saying all that, the fine or suspension should not be made to truly hurt the fighters. A suspension of six weeks or three months would not damage either man’s career. A $5,000 fine would certainly not send them to the poorhouse, but what it would do is tell the mainstream media and everyone else that the UFC is not going to tolerate dangerous or outrageous actions.
Dana White and the UFC are once again in an unenviable position. The Henderson KO of Bisping and Brock Lesnar’s domination of Frank Mir and his subsequent antics sell a boatload of tickets and pay-per-views. But at the same time the UFC is still teetering on the brink of total acceptance so any misstep or unwillingness to squash uncalled for behaviors might damage the promotion’s hard-fought efforts.
Hopefully the UFC will get it right.
Zac Robinson is author of the upcoming MMA IQ Trivia book, Sports By The Numbers MMA book and blog, as well as the author of the upcoming book on cutman Stitch Duran. He can be reached at zacrr6@yahoo.com
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