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It's time for another edition of Ask MMATorch, where MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen and MMATorch Editor Jamie Penick answer your questions on the world of MMA. If you have a question you'd like answered on the site/app, send it in to askmmatorch@gmail.com today!
Tanar writes:"Simple question: With Eddie Alvarez's new contract, why does it matter how his last two fights go? What he does at Bellator doesn't matter because the UFC is the only game in town. This isn't the NFL with 20+ teams bidding on a free agent. It's a guy going from one monopoly to another. Once his contract is done, the UFC can put forth any offer it wants because no one is competing against them. Whether Alvarez takes a knee in the first second of his fight or puts on two Fights of the Century where he invents ten moves, his stock can't go up or down because there's only company buying the commodity: The UFC. We won't know if Alvarez is a bust like Cro Cop was or a superstar like Bendo is until he steps into the Octagon. So, why all the fuss about his next two fights affecting his standing?"
MMATorch Editor Jamie Penick Answers: I think you're looking at the concept of his standing in the MMA world bit differently than I right now. When we're talking about how Alvarez stands in regards to these next two fights, it's about the type of monetary value he'll be to the UFC, not how he'll fare in the UFC in particular. Sure, they may wind up being the only ones bidding, but there's certainly going to be a disparity between the type of offer they gave Alvarez the first time around and the type of offer he'd receive depending upon these next two fights.
Let's look back at that first offer: $250,000 signing bonus, $70K to show and $70K to win on a rising scale as long as he continued winning. Oh, yes, and the opportunity to make extra money on any pay-per-view event where he was in a featured fight.
This next fight, and possibly two fights, will likely have an effect on those numbers, either positively or negatively. If Alvarez loses to Chandler on Nov. 2, the UFC might still be interested, but that signing bonus won't be as significant, his rising scale of show and win money won't start at $70K/$70K, and he certainly won't receive pay-per-view points. If he wins the first fight, but loses the second, he'll also receive less of a contract, though a win over Chandler in the first place could help him keep it closer to the original offer, sans pay-per-view.
But what if he wins both fights? That's the thing Eddie Alvarez is out to do right now. If he defeats Chandler twice, he can walk away as Bellator's Lightweight Champion. Not only that, he'll have bested the man Bjorn Rebney continues to call the "best lightweight in the world." The UFC is going to want him on their roster, and they're going to pay him accordingly if nothing more than to snatch him up from Bellator. That initial offer could very well rise in that situation, because Alvarez will be in an even hotter spot with two more high profile wins under his belt.
What I'm getting at is this: the next two fights are hugely important for Alvarez, if only for a monetary standpoint. It might not mean anything to his standing in the lightweight division, but rest assured that the UFC's interest in him is going to be dampened or bolstered depending on how he performs.
Nathan writes:"Do you really think it is fair for Matt Brown to call out GSP even though he hasn't beaten a top 10 opponent? I'm not saying his wins aren't impressive, I just don't think he's even close to GSP."
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: He can call out Georges St-Pierre until he loses his voice for all I care. What's not fair? Chael Sonnen fights Jon Jones, that's not fair. But Matt Brown getting on the stick and continuing to make a name for himself, that's just a good way for him to get his name out there. What would you rather have him do? Ask Kate Upton for a date? Denigrate Barack Obama (because that worked so well for Jacob Volkmann)? Propose to his girlfriend in the middle of the cage? I had a bigger problem with him trying to justify asking for GSP by saying that he beat a guy (Mike Pyle) who was better than GSP than I had with him just asking for GSP. He's supposed to want to get a shot at the champion, and as Chael Sonnen proved in getting Jon Jones, sometimes talk isn't cheap.
Luke writes:"What would your opinion on the UFC hosting an openweight tournament be? Who do you think would win?"
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: Well, first and foremost, this isn't going to happen, of course. The commissions wouldn't let it happen, the UFC doesn't want it to happen, fans aren't clamoring for it, and doing this would be a step backwards for a company that didn't take off until well after the commissions got involved. So, with that out of the way...
Now, another question - What type of open weight tournament? Are we putting the champion of every division in the tournament, with Demetrious Johnson vs. Cain Velasquez meeting in the opening round? Are we trying to replicate the very olden days, where the lightest guy was a 175 pound Royce Gracie, because that makes this easier to answer. Since I think the thought of John Dodson vs. Alistair Overeem is asinine, and impossible to speculate upon, I'm only going to pick fighters from the welterweight divisions and up. Let's say the tournament includes the three best fighters from each division and four wild cards.
Heavyweights
Cain Velasquez
Junior dos Santos
Fabricio Werdum
Alistair Overeem
Light Heavyweights
Jon Jones
Alexander Gustafsson
Raashad Evans
Dan Henderson
Middleweights
Chris Weidman
Anderson Silva
Vitor Belfort
Jacare Souza
Welterweights
Georges St-Pierre
Johny Hendricks
Carlos Condit
Nick Diaz
Look at those names for a moment. Do you see one guy who would get through Jon Jones? Me neither.
[Eddie Alvarez photo (c) Henry Dziekan III]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
