UFC 151 may just be the most talked about event in recent MMA history. The oddest thing with that statement is that it won’t even be happening. I remember the Strikeforce buyout, the Fox deal and the Affliction debacle. None of those was a completely dominant topic of the media for as long as this 151 situation. With the Fox TV deal being so young, and the sport trying to gain credibility, this latest installment in the UFC saga could have long term, detrimental effects. Everyone and their mother has an opinion on the subject, but certain ones tend to carry more weight than others, at least with me, anyway.
We did a recent interview with legendary fighter and creator of the Miletich Fighting System, Pat Miletich, and tapped in to one of those esteemed opinions. He didn’t mince his words when discussing the mishandling of the whole affair, or the way they’ve unceremoniously thrown their light heavyweight champion under the bus. Check out Pat’s quotes after the jump.
I understand the pressure that Zuffa is under with the Fox deal, FX deal, and all that stuff. By putting on a massive number of cards, I think they’ve stretched themselves a bit thin. The quality of the cards has gone down, and I think everybody has noticed that, not just myself. When you have a card that is only carried by one match, given the attrition rate in MMA, the injuries in training, they kind of set themselves up for the fall.
They need to hold themselves accountable. It’s become a bit of a habit, of late, by the leaders, to blame others for their problems, instead of letting people hold them accountable. It’s across the board in a lot of different spectrums of life right now. I think that Jon Jones not taking a fight with a guy who’s not five foot eleven, he’s six foot two, or six foot three, whatever he is, he’s much bigger than Henderson, is ok. He’s younger and probably moves a little better. Dan, obviously can kill a bull with his right hand, but he’s a little older now, and Sonnen is a lefty, so it’s really a different fight.
I think Jon Jones had nothing to gain in that fight. Sonnen, moving to a different weight division, having not fought there for quite a long time, and competing at 185, hasn’t earned the right in the first place.I think Jon Jones was well within his rights, and I back Jackson on the decision that he made and the advice that he gave Jones to pull out of the fight. It doesn’t do the UFC any good to chop the legs out from possibly their biggest star, because he doesn’t take a last minute replacement fight. There was nothing to gain for his career. I think it’s organizational suicide to do that to your biggest star.
You can follow Pat via his Twitter account, @PatMiletich
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