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At this point I think it’s fair to say that there’s almost too much news in the combat sports world to cover. Too much drama, too many fights, too much business intrigue. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try and hit a few bold points on the stories that maybe don’t mean all that much on their own, but give us something interesting to talk about.
To that end, I’m debuting this Love/Hate column to round up a few stories each week that made me feel ways about things that aren’t otherwise major industry shaking points of news. In the future, I may try to hit more stories with quicker takes, but just for now, this is a trial run. So, let’s see where it goes.
LOVE TO SEE IT
Tom Aspinall calls for Jon Jones to be stripped
When Jiri Prochazka tore his shoulder up last year it felt like the news he had ‘vacated’ the UFC’s light heavyweight title was practically called in on his way to the hospital. Had the UFC finally learned the lesson taught to them so brutally by Dominick Cruz and Cain Velasquez? That you shouldn’t try to wait for champions to recover from serious injury before letting the division move on?
When the same thing happened to Jamahal Hill this past July it seemed like the answer was a clear and confident ‘yes’. It may be a harsh outcome for top end talent finally getting their first taste of real bargaining power after years and years of competition, but there’s no point in having a belt in the hands of someone out for an indefinite amount of time.
Then Jon Jones got hurt, and it turned out that everything was just the same as it ever was. Jiri and Jamahal were small fry in the UFC’s eyes and JOnes was a star. Stars get kid gloves while everyone else gets hosed.
Those optics were only enhanced after Tom Aspinall won an Interim heavyweight belt over Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 295 and then quickly resorted to pleading with Jon Jones to give him a crack at unifying the belts instead of just riding off into the sunset. It was a sad look all around for a man supposedly in the running for the title of ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’.
Good on Aspinall then that he’s no longer asking for the UFC and Jon Jones to throw him a bone. In a recent conversation with Michael Bisping, the fellow Brit staked his claim to the heavyweight crown and made it clear that in his eyes, he’s the champ.
“I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that,” Aspinall admitted (transcript via MMA Junkie). “I don’t see why he’s still got it. I don’t understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now.”
“It’s hard to say without sounding rude, but who’s asked about Jon Jones and Stipe anymore? Why do we get this legacy fight, and they get to live by their own rules? What’s a legacy fight, a retirement fight for a title? I want to fight Stipe and then I want to fight Jon Jones. … I think all this other stuff is rubbish. Stop protecting him now. Stop protecting your boy Jon Jones at the top. If he’s injured, get out of the way and I’ll fight Stipe.”
By all accounts, you’ve got 9 more months to make this point Tom. Get louder, use the position the UFC has granted you with that interim title. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is a cool fight and I’ll watch it, but Aspinall will be doing himself a disservice if he really just sits quietly and waits on the sidelines.
Bill Burr goes to bat for his wife
At this point, there’s no two ways about it, MMA is Trump country. While the community has always had a cozy relationship to conservative politics of all kinds, from deeply religious athletes to anti-government/anti-tax business interests, Dana White has kicked things into overdrive in recent years. The UFC CEO has nearly turning the Octagon into a presidential campaign stop, and used the pull of anti-COVID rhetoric and booming profits to push himself way up the speaker list for the 2020 Republican National Convention in the process.
Hell, the UFC’s friendlyness as a conservative political platform even turned Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington into political pundits.
It does the soul good, then to see actress Nia Renee Hill take an opportunity to break up the love fest and give a high ranking former (and very possibly future) politician the finger when given the chance. She hand her husband, comedian Bill Burr, were at UFC 295 as guests of Dana White, when Trump was ushered into Madison Square Garden along with Tucker Carlson and Kid Rock.
Burr addressed the incident in a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, noting that not only were his wife’s actions entirely non-confrontational, but that it’s exactly the kind of free expression that everyone says they want to see.
“I love my wife. You know where you stand with her,” Burr said of the incident (transcript via MMA Fighting). “The guy walked in the arena, everybody cheered, she gave him the finger, nobody got arrested. That’s why this country’s great. Everybody expressed themselves. Can we all be adults?”
“I don’t know about you but I came there to go to the fights. I didn’t know I was going to the Republican National Convention.”
“It’s like those Trump guys — they’re always going, ‘You snowflakes, eff your feelings,’ and all of that, and then you make fun of Trump and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so disrespectful!’” he added.
Honestly, at this point in time, I can’t think of one recent president I wouldn’t mind seeing get the bird in public. Politics shouldn’t be the realm of hagiography, there’s too much at stake for it to be a job people get to enjoy. If the payoff is power over life in America, then the cost can be people not wanting to be seen around you in public.
HATE TO SEE IT
Deontay Wilder talking about the UFC (again)
With Tyson Fury still seemingly on pace to face Oleksandr Usyk in early 2024, the hunt is on for Francis Ngannou’s next opponent. With a big splash of a debut in boxing under his belt, it seemed like the obvious choice for ‘The Predator’ would be a return to the ring. After all, why take $8-$10M to fight in the PFL when the right boxing PPV could easily pay multiples of that.
Instead, however, the former UFC heavyweight champion sounds intent on making his return to MMA—claiming that he wants at least one fight in the cage and one boxing bout next year. And if he can’t do the boxing bout first, then he’ll do the MMA fight. Given that Ngannou has also made it clear that the only boxing bout he’s really interested in right now is a rematch with Tyson Fury, it seems like the PFL better start making some phone calls.
That’s what makes Wilder’s recent interview with EsNews feel so dire. In it, Widler says he’s “trying to come into the UFC family,” and that he wants to be a champion in both the “UFC and boxing.”
It could be that the man is just playing coy, looking to drive up the PFL’s price and make it look like he has other buyers on the table for a potential move to mixed martial arts. But even that is bad news. Anything that puts the PFL in position where they have to lean on current free agent MMA talent to make Francis Ngannou’s next fight is a loss for fans. Because, you know what that gets you?
“I can make Middleweight, I can make Light Heavyweight, I can make Heavyweight, so if they need somebody to fight Francis Ngannou, you never know, man,” former top-ranked middleweight Derek Brunson told MMA Mania recently.
That’s right. Today Deontay Wilder plays hardball with the PFL, tomorrow we’re all watching Derek Brunson try to lean Francis Ngannou against the cage for 25 minutes. Nobody needs that.
Khamzat Chimaev calls out Alex Pereira
At this point it feels like we’re well into Khamzat Chimaev’s ‘meme-fighter’ era, and I truly hate to see it. When he burst on the scene in 2020, the Chechen had the look of a true force in MMA. Someone that would work his way quickly to a title shot and make his name among other great talents from the Caucuses.
Illness, travel issues, and political machinations seem to have slowed all that down, however, and after competing three times in 2020, ‘Borz’ has fought just four times in the past 3 years.
While the reasons for his slow down feel largely circumstantial, I can’t help get the suspicion that there are other factors at play as well. Chimaev’s bout against Kamaru Usman was supposed to guarantee him a title shot, to the point that he was even asked about it in the Octagon.
“I didn’t come here for the titles. Just make money, be happy,” he told the crowd in Abu Dhabi.
Is this then a sign of regret from the Fight Club Akhmat fighter? Did he realize that his seeming disinterest in fighting for gold after beating Usman pushed him away from both his pursuits of making money and being happy? Or is this just the latest in an increasing series of career moves that seem to have Chimaev going nowhere fast?
I honestly don’t know, but I think the thing about this that I like the least is the realization that I also don’t care. I know Khamzat Chimaev isn’t about to fight for the light heavyweight title. Nor is he going to fight for the welterweight title. And I’m not even convinced he’s going to be fighting for the middleweight title anytime soon. I want to see the dude back in the Octagon in fights that mean something, but until that happens the Chimaev smash/kill gimmick has been run dry.
That’s all for this week. Love to see it/Hate to see it will be back next Wednesday with a fresh crop of MMA news that strikes some kind of nerve, for better or worse.