Nov 22, 2009 - 2:43:50 AM By Wade Keller, MMATorch Supervising Editor
About 9:20 p.m. - Mike Goldberg's sales pitch for the UFC PPV on Spike TV: "He says he has never been more healthy as he gets set to enter the Octagon against Forrest Griffin."
About 9:45 p.m. - Mike Goldberg sales pitch for the UFC PPV on Spike TV: "I just talked to a longtime friend and training partner of his, Tiki Ghosn, and Kiki said he has never seen Tito so strong."
12:40ish a.m. - Tito Ortiz in his post-loss interview explaining how he had a back injury and cracked skull going into the fight: "I ain't gonna pull out of a fight, even when I'm injured... I stepped in with a cracked skull. You guys don't like a show, let's see someone else step in and do the same shit."
My problem with Tito Ortiz this weekend is, in part, that he has a streak of talking about injuries after his fights - only hours after he or others pitch how he's at 100 percent so buy the fight because "Tito is back!"
My problem is also with UFC's hype machine and the idea that it's okay to hide from fans that there's a less than good chance that a main event fighter is going to step into the ring 100 percent.
I could see Tito firing back that no fighter is going to give away to an opponent ahead of time that's he's injured. Fair enough. But it all adds up to making UFC look bad and chipping away at their good will with fans. Fans hear what Goldberg and Joe Rogan said about Tito looking great in his training sessions and how he's finally injury-free and past his back problems. Then as soon as Tito loses, not only does he go back to the excuses, but Forrest Griffin vouches for him and lectures the fans.
I understand that fighters get hurt when training. What fighters need to understand is that $50 for a PPV is a lot of money. When they're sold a fight on one premise, then fighters who they were told were 100 percent beforehand are lecturing fans afterward about how injured they get training, fans are going to feel bad, if not ripped off - even if the rest of the show was good. That's why fan-favorite Forrest even got some boos when he stepped up to defend Tito. Yes, it was a good card. The main event wasn't what was promised, though.
I applaud Tito for fighting injured. I don't applaud him for making excuses afterward and drawing attention to it. His history of doing so, no matter how justified, makes it sound like a broken record. And worse, fans were explicitly sold ahead of time that he was not walking in at less than 100 percent. UFC should protect themselves in the future and acknowledge that fighters hide injuries and you never know ahead of time if someone walks into the Octagon saying they're feeling great, but they're not.
And most of all, don't lecture the fans. Ever. Apologize, hang your head, acknowledge their frustration, and explain yourself if you must without sounding like they have no right to be upset that one fighter stood there in the third and final round and did almost nothing - because he was injured - after UFC announcers hard-sold them on his health - something in retrospect they shouldn't have done because they can't know that they're not being lied to by the fighter.
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I don't think anyone who's on the fence on whether or not to order the PPV
are waiting on an update of the health of the fighters. You either like the
card or like one particular fight that you must see or simply you just love
the live fights regardless. As far as Tito's excuses....well what would you
expect him to do. They were giving him possibly a easy win with Coleman but
instead he gets Forrest and he comes up short on his UFC comeback. He's
gonna be pissed and upset so what else do you do? Take your loss like a man
and congradulate the victor or throw out a bunch of excuses? He obviously
did the latter. Tito will be fine. He will surely have a tougher road to a
title shot but a rematch with Forrest is almost certain and will definately
be a must see. As far as the UFC's hype machine....with the string of
unfortunate injuries and illnesses I think they are managing the best they
can.
Greg Baumgartner
22 Nov 2009, 09:01
Talk about hitting the nail but only on the side of its head, Keller. You
applaud Tito for fighting injured? I would have applauded Dana for
canceling the PPV. Is a non-title bout really THAT important? Wouldn't
White be libel if Forrest had hit the soft spot and killed Tito in the
ring, knowing full well that his skull was cracked? I'd invite you to
solicit Christopher Nowinski to give us a rebutal to your opinion.
Jared
22 Nov 2009, 18:07
I agree with Wade. If Tito was injured, but didn't want to pull out after
the main event already being canceled, I can respect that. If he had
explained it, fine. But to get mad at paying customers is a little much,
especially considering that there were multiple references to Tito being
100%. I think making excuses after a fight is not needed, but I am a little
more understanding in this situation because the way UFC's cards are
falling apart left and right.
Greg, I don't believe Tito's as injured as you make it sound. He would not
have been cleared to fight if there was risk of injury, especially death,
as you suggest. I think the term "cracked skull" sounds more serious than
it can be. I'm no anatomy expert, but I don't think a cracked skull is
fragile enough to cause death from a punch. Again, If that was even a small
possibility, he would not have been medically cleared to fight.
Noah
30 Nov 2009, 13:39
Great article, solid points. Too bad the UFC will never heed this advice.
