It never ceases to amaze that someone who is willingly fighting outside the organization which houses the best fighters in the world, the UFC, continues to laud himself as one of the best in the world. Does Diaz truly believe that the elite of the welterweight division are ducking him, that they don't desire to fight him for fear of losing? It's a ridiculous claim, one that no reasonable fan of the sport could objectively believe. Nick Diaz specifically, and the Diaz brothers generally, do a wonderful job of looking mean, acting like street thugs, and claiming that everyone who has achieved more than them in the sport are somehow lesser fighters than they. Would I love to see GSP vs. Diaz? Certainly, but Nick Diaz fails to grasp why such a match cannot (at this moment) take place. The reason he can't grasp it is twofold: first, he has a psychological need to believe not only that he is better than all other welterweights, but that anyone who hasn't fought him is afraid; secondly, Diaz seems unable to understand anything approaching professionalism. He belongs in boxing, an interest he expressed recently (and one apparently left open on his most recent contract). Boxing is filled with criminals unable to string a sentence together who can fight like a motherfucker. Nick Diaz falls into that category. The world of educated, articulate, professional martial artists is not for him. If you're a Diaz worshiper, you'd say that he hasn't sold out, hasn't done what Dana White has consistently referred to as "playing the game". If you're a reasonable human being, you'll see that he sees any reasonable compromise as being a bitch. That's street mentality, not that of a professional athlete whose popularity and paychecks are dependent on the very organizations they love to criticize. If you don't want compromise, and want to exist on street cred and a lack or rules, pull a Kimbo and upload some YouTube clips of you boxing outside Wendy's.
Is Nick Diaz incredibly talented? Of course he is. Is he one of the best welterweights in the world? Probably so, yet I'm not entirely convinced he belongs in that discussion yet. The problem with Diaz's complaints is that he had numerous opportunities to be in an organization which would allow him shots at the GSP's of the world. He couldn't get past Sherk, he couldn't get past Sanchez, and he couldn't stop acting like a complete asshole outside of the cage. Dana White has said repeatedly in recent interviews revolving around the main event of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, that Diaz would be in the UFC if he only played the game a little bit. Therefore, Diaz has no right to stand on the sidelines and spew bullshit about other fighters ducking him when he had the opportunity to fight every last one of them if only he really wanted to. It's not the welterweight division of the UFC that's afraid, it's Nick Diaz. A few less after-fight brawls, a few less offhanded comments, a few more smiles, and Diaz could be staring down GSP as Bruce Buffer announces "ITS TIME!", but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon. The truth of the matter is that Diaz is his own worst enemy, and he will continue to complain while unwilling to take the necessary steps towards what he claims he wants.
Showing posts with label UFC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UFC. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Why We Need Champions or "Why Jon Jones Matters"
May 26th, 2007 was almost 4 years ago. Why is this date significant? It was the date of UFC 71: Liddell vs. Rampage, for the UFC light-heavyweight title. Not only was this fight significant in the general decompensation of Chuck Liddell's career (he would post only 1 victory in his next several fights until his retirement recently), but it was also the beginning of a painful game of hot potato, played by all of the top 5 elite of the light heavyweight division. A few names...
Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua, and Jon Jones. 7 men who have all had their hands raised as Bruce Buffer declared them the 'undisputed' champion of the UFC. 7 champions in 4 years! To offer some perspective, Anderson Silva has been the middleweight champion since October of 2006, George St. Pierre has been welterweight champion since April of 2008.
This is not to denigrate any of the former champions of the 205 lb division of the UFC, but if the adage that you are not a true champion until you defend your belt is indeed true, than some examination is not inappropriate. Of the aforementioned 7 men, 3 were defeated in their first title defense (Griffin, Evans, and Rua), and 1 (Machida) lost in his second defense (and many thought he should have lost the first on points). Enter Jon "Bones" Jones.
To be honest I didn't pay him much mind until fairly recently. I thought, as I'm sure many others did, that the hype surrounding him was perhaps slightly overblown, a manifestation of the collective public need of a phenom. He's lived up to the hype now, with a absolute dismantling of one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, Mauricio Shogun Rua. That being said, I have little interest in singing the praises of Jon Jones anymore than they already have been sung, his fights speak for themselves. I am interested, however, in what Jones represents for the sport of MMA. A young, black, American kid with limitless potential and an undefeated record thus far in his career. He's not only what the 205 lb division of the UFC needs, he's what American MMA needs. He's a champion with the potential to actually earn the moniker, someone who can conceivably hold the title for a long time, someone who young fighters can follow and look up to. Jon Jones fills that collective psychological need for a sports hero, a guy who little kids can have posters up in their room while they pester their parents to take them to wresting or jiu jitsu practice, and in that Jon Jones is incredibly valuable.
Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua, and Jon Jones. 7 men who have all had their hands raised as Bruce Buffer declared them the 'undisputed' champion of the UFC. 7 champions in 4 years! To offer some perspective, Anderson Silva has been the middleweight champion since October of 2006, George St. Pierre has been welterweight champion since April of 2008.
This is not to denigrate any of the former champions of the 205 lb division of the UFC, but if the adage that you are not a true champion until you defend your belt is indeed true, than some examination is not inappropriate. Of the aforementioned 7 men, 3 were defeated in their first title defense (Griffin, Evans, and Rua), and 1 (Machida) lost in his second defense (and many thought he should have lost the first on points). Enter Jon "Bones" Jones.
To be honest I didn't pay him much mind until fairly recently. I thought, as I'm sure many others did, that the hype surrounding him was perhaps slightly overblown, a manifestation of the collective public need of a phenom. He's lived up to the hype now, with a absolute dismantling of one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, Mauricio Shogun Rua. That being said, I have little interest in singing the praises of Jon Jones anymore than they already have been sung, his fights speak for themselves. I am interested, however, in what Jones represents for the sport of MMA. A young, black, American kid with limitless potential and an undefeated record thus far in his career. He's not only what the 205 lb division of the UFC needs, he's what American MMA needs. He's a champion with the potential to actually earn the moniker, someone who can conceivably hold the title for a long time, someone who young fighters can follow and look up to. Jon Jones fills that collective psychological need for a sports hero, a guy who little kids can have posters up in their room while they pester their parents to take them to wresting or jiu jitsu practice, and in that Jon Jones is incredibly valuable.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Why I Love Fighting
"People see a lot of times fighting as an ugly thing, as a thing that denigrates the human body...in reality you see fighting in everything...everything's fighting, it doesn't matter what it is...to wake up in the morning, to get out of bed is a fight...fighting is actually the best thing a man can have in his soul."
---Renzo Gracie, as a guest on 60 Minutes
It's the name of the blog as well as the first post, so I suppose I should explain exactly why it is that I love fighting. It's a complex and slightly misleading question in that it warrants some semantic clarification. I don't love street fighting, or general violence, or people getting hurt without purpose or structure, nor is any of the aforementioned the focus of this or any other blog post. What I mean is that I love martial arts in all of the various incarnations it may manifest in. Both of my parents were lifelong martial artists, and as you can imagine I grew up in a household that fostered the ideals that go along with such endeavors. My father was a more active martial artist, having attained a black belt in Shotokan karate, and several other high level belts in disciplines such as wing chun, kung-fu, and others. It's in the blood. My father died before Mixed Martial Arts gained the status it now occupies, and we never got to have so much as a discussion about what is now the only sport that I watch, the best sport that there is. It will always be a regret.
Nevertheless, I've been a politician thus far and have danced around the original question. So why do I love fighting? Fighting is, as Renzo Gracie stated, in everything that I do, every day of the week. As a concept it dictates my consciousness when I don't feel strong enough to deal with something. In fact, I find myself able to handle difficult obstacles when I think of them as fights. For whatever reason the idea of a challenge is quite unmotivating, but the idea of a fight gets my blood pumping. Applying that paradigm to the difficulties of life gets me ready, it gets me motivated, it gets me in the frame of mind I need to move forward.
As a sport, MMA is the only sport that matters, the only complete sport insomuch as a sport is, at heart, a competitive endeavor. That is not to step on other sports (not so explicitly anyhow), but a man who can get a fastball past the bat of another man is simply better at a given skill, one that doesn't matter in any context outside of a baseball game. Fighting is different. Fighting is something that we all do, whether in the philosophical context mentioned above, or in the literal sense, we are all fighters. Even the baseball player struggling through his game is a fighter. Fighting is the state of mind that allows victory in all other sports, and the physical manifestation of that spirit represents the domination of one human being over another. To simplify, you can run faster than me, or hit a better jump shot than me, who the fuck cares? If you can't stop me from taking you off your feet and holding you life in my hands, than nothing else matters. Now in a professional sense this is seen in what former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin has called "human chess", beautiful violence when it's done correctly.
So this is another MMA blog, one of countless others, but one I hope will hold a little distinction in that it's not about stats, it's not about saying outrageous things, but it's about the sport and the business of MMA, a sport in which I find true beauty, and the only sport that matters to me.
More to come....
---Renzo Gracie, as a guest on 60 Minutes
It's the name of the blog as well as the first post, so I suppose I should explain exactly why it is that I love fighting. It's a complex and slightly misleading question in that it warrants some semantic clarification. I don't love street fighting, or general violence, or people getting hurt without purpose or structure, nor is any of the aforementioned the focus of this or any other blog post. What I mean is that I love martial arts in all of the various incarnations it may manifest in. Both of my parents were lifelong martial artists, and as you can imagine I grew up in a household that fostered the ideals that go along with such endeavors. My father was a more active martial artist, having attained a black belt in Shotokan karate, and several other high level belts in disciplines such as wing chun, kung-fu, and others. It's in the blood. My father died before Mixed Martial Arts gained the status it now occupies, and we never got to have so much as a discussion about what is now the only sport that I watch, the best sport that there is. It will always be a regret.
Nevertheless, I've been a politician thus far and have danced around the original question. So why do I love fighting? Fighting is, as Renzo Gracie stated, in everything that I do, every day of the week. As a concept it dictates my consciousness when I don't feel strong enough to deal with something. In fact, I find myself able to handle difficult obstacles when I think of them as fights. For whatever reason the idea of a challenge is quite unmotivating, but the idea of a fight gets my blood pumping. Applying that paradigm to the difficulties of life gets me ready, it gets me motivated, it gets me in the frame of mind I need to move forward.
As a sport, MMA is the only sport that matters, the only complete sport insomuch as a sport is, at heart, a competitive endeavor. That is not to step on other sports (not so explicitly anyhow), but a man who can get a fastball past the bat of another man is simply better at a given skill, one that doesn't matter in any context outside of a baseball game. Fighting is different. Fighting is something that we all do, whether in the philosophical context mentioned above, or in the literal sense, we are all fighters. Even the baseball player struggling through his game is a fighter. Fighting is the state of mind that allows victory in all other sports, and the physical manifestation of that spirit represents the domination of one human being over another. To simplify, you can run faster than me, or hit a better jump shot than me, who the fuck cares? If you can't stop me from taking you off your feet and holding you life in my hands, than nothing else matters. Now in a professional sense this is seen in what former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin has called "human chess", beautiful violence when it's done correctly.
So this is another MMA blog, one of countless others, but one I hope will hold a little distinction in that it's not about stats, it's not about saying outrageous things, but it's about the sport and the business of MMA, a sport in which I find true beauty, and the only sport that matters to me.
More to come....
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