Twitter Mailbag: On UFC vs. Bellator, Cormier vs. Oezdemir, and the sport vs. the business

Twitter Mailbag: On UFC vs. Bellator, Cormier vs. Oezdemir, and the sport vs. the business

UFC

Twitter Mailbag: On UFC vs. Bellator, Cormier vs. Oezdemir, and the sport vs. the business

What’s going to happen when Bellator and the UFC go head-to-head on Jan. 20? And would it be a worst-case scenario if the UFC light-heavyweight title changes hands at UFC 220? Also, what’s your most unpopular (or popular but dumb) opinion when it comes to this sport?

All that and more in this week’s Twitter Mailbag. To ask a question of your own, tweet to @BenFowlkesMMA.

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Sounds to me like the exact kind of situation that DVR technology was made for.

Look, I’m interested in that Douglas Lima (29-6 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) vs. Rory MacDonald (19-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) title fight. I’ll even admit to being somewhat interested in seeing Chael Sonnen (29-15-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) smother Quinton Jackson (37-12 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) up against the fence as part of the Bellator “heavyweight” grand prix. But when it happens on the same night as the best heavyweight title fight – champ Stipe Miocic (17-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his title against Francis Ngannou (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 220 – in years? Man, Bellator can wait.

Really didn’t think I was going to have to do any soul-searching during this week’s mailbag, but it is a good question about Cris Cyborg. I suspect we’ve all got one (or more) of these things hiding out in our unexamined biases about the sport of MMA.

For me, it’s probably a sustained interest in the antics of the Diaz brothers. As in, while I realize that Nate Diaz hasn’t fought in nearly two years, and Nick Diaz hasn’t won a fight since 2011, some part of me remains fascinated by them in a not wholly logical way.

Part of it is nostalgia. I remember watching Nick’s fight with Takanori Gomi on a laptop in my Queens apartment. I remember hurrying to check into a hotel so I could get into my room just in time to see Nate flash the double birds while he had Kurt Pellegrino caught in a triangle choke. On a personal level, I remember the two trips I made to Stockton – one endlessly frustrating, the other surprisingly rewarding – chasing stories on both guys.

Now it seems like they don’t want much to do with MMA. Even if they did, neither one of them is at or near the top of any UFC division. What’s more, there’s a part of me that wants them to stay away. One of the great things about them is their honesty, how they could sit there two days before a fight and admit that no, this was not anything they were really looking forward to doing. So while I think the sport is more fun with them around, I’d also like to see them stay away and live a life without this in it.

Still, if this were anyone else I’d be baffled at the continued interest. Especially when it comes to Nick, who cares about a guy who hasn’t won in over six years and is nothing but a headache when he does come around? But then there’s that annoying voice in my head speaking up to say: I do.

Considering some of the stuff we’ve seen from past champs, especially in the light heavyweight division, punching people outside a bar is one of the more manageable problems to have in a potential new champ.

It’s still a bad idea, obviously. It’s already caused trouble that Volkan Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) doesn’t need. But the seasoned observer also can’t help but appreciate the fact that he didn’t even hurt any pregnant women, so maybe this is something we can work around.

The real question at light heavyweight is what’s going to happen with Jon Jones. You’ve got Jeff Novitzky out here talking like Jones might get off relatively easy after his most recent failed drug test. You’ve got champ Daniel Cormier (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) walking around with a belt that doesn’t really feel like his anymore.

Regardless of who goes home with the title at UFC 220, Jones will probably still feel like the man to beat at 205 pounds. It’s just a question of whether or not anyone will get the chance.

It sure wouldn’t be a bad idea. Lately the UFC has contented itself with using a rotating cast of active fighters in the color-commentary role, but that approach has its limitations. Fighters can’t help but bring their own allegiances and conflicts into the job, especially when they’re calling the fights of teammates or rivals. It wouldn’t hurt to add to the roster someone like Jimmy Smith, who did a great job with Bellator.

Mostly I wonder what Bellator was thinking in letting him go. Smith was their Joe Rogan: respected by hardcores, good at his job, an identifiable voice who fans immediately associated with the Bellator brand. What, you’re going to replace him with the ex-UFC fighters on the roster who happen to have some broadcasting experience? Maybe it’s cheaper, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll result in a better product on TV.

Pretty typical album name (for Blink 182), mostly crappy album. I go to your house to drink Natural Ice and play Mario Kart, and you start playing “Rock Show” on your 10-disc CD changer? Brother, I’m going to demand to know why we aren’t listening to “Dude Ranch” instead, and also where the hell are those pizza rolls you said you had in the freezer.

Depends how you mean that. As in, will people get pumped up about paying to see a Russian fighter take people down and jump up and down on their faces until they either quit or lose a decision? Yeah, I actually think they will.Khabib Nurmagomedov has a real charisma, as well as an intensity that translates very well.

But then there’s the flip side, which is what I suspect you’re really getting at here – can he stay healthy enough to defend the title somewhat regularly?

That’s tough to predict, but his track record so far isn’t spectacular. He’s only fought four times in the last four years. Even if we’re ready to believe that he’s got the weight issue figured out, he still seems worryingly injury-prone.

Then again, that seems like a strange thing to worry about right now, considering the situation with current champion Conor McGregor. Maybe it would be a refreshing change to have the title out of circulation due to injury rather than constant contract renegotiations.

We’re still around. We’re currently finalizing the system through which we’ll conduct our first election of officers, and hopefully by the end of 2018 we’ll also be in a position to vote on our first series of year-end MMA awards. Thanks for thinking of us.

News broke today that some of those legislative changes may face challenges soon, but it seems like most regulatory bodies in this sport have been moving in the right direction on marijuana for the last several years. More and more agencies appear to be recognizing that it’s not a performance-enhancer, it’s not dangerous, and it might even be a safer alternative to stuff like prescription opioids. (And, call me crazy, but isn’t that the drug problem we were supposed to be dealing with?)

In general, we can’t assume that making a substance legal automatically makes it fine for fighters to use. You can get stuff off the supermarket shelf that will get you in trouble with USADA (just ask Lyoto Machida).

But with marijuana, my opinion is that commissions and anti-doping agencies should just stop testing for it. You don’t even need to make a big deal out of it. Just stop. Trust me, no one’s going to be breathing down your neck to crack down on fighters who stay home and smoke weed in between training sessions.

It’s a good question, and I know I get sick of fans who rush to justify some of the UFC’s decisions as if they’re shareholders rather than customers. There’s a difference between understanding what motivates UFC management and using it as an all-purpose excuse for anything that boosts profits. It would be “good for the business” if the UFC could make you pay more for less, but that doesn’t mean it would be good for you as a fan, or for the longterm growth of the sport as a whole.

And yet, we can’t pretend that the state of the business doesn’t affect the state of the sport. It’s like when people wonder why so many fans seem to care about TV ratings or pay-per-view buys. They care because the UFC obviously cares, and will make future decisions accordingly. So will other entities, like TV networks.

Trends in the business of MMA and the UFC could very well determine how fans consume the product. And those of us who remember some of the dark days in MMA’s past know you can’t take easy, frequent TV exposure for granted.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.

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