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By: Cameron Lyman, MMATorch Contributor
As MMA continues to evolve and reach new audiences, it is clear that the UFC has been successful at legitimizing the sport. No longer seen as a cage for human cockfighting, the Octagon is now an arena where warriors at the highest level of the sport, do battle to determine who will prosper in a display of skill, sportsmanship, and honour. I know it may look a lot like a fist fight, but it's not... seriously.
As an audience, we have been blasted with perception changing rhetoric from Zuffa and the MMA media. Within the last few years, the UFC has reached new heights and have added new tools to its arsenal in order to legitimize the sport. One of these tools is fighter punishment. Whether it be cutting a skidding fighter or suspending a fighter for breach of code of conduct, the UFC has drawn a line in the sand as if to say, "this is what we are and this is what we are not." One has to wonder, however, if it is more like "this is how we want to be seen and how we do not want to be seen."
In sports, interest is generated and maintained when the audience is educated on the sport and knows the competitors. Some fighters may alternate between wins and losses but always draw interest because they are a household name. But something we are beginning to see is the UFC cutting well known fighters; names like Vladamir Matyushenko, Leonard Garcia, or Jon Fitch. Fitch aside, this is the UFC's way of saying we only want to have the best fighters in our stable. Even if you are a legitimate gatekeeper or a fighter that always puts on a show, you need to get the W. While this may enforce their position as being the home of the best fighters, this may create a feeling of loss in fans who have invested their interest in a fighter over the years.
With the UFC's recent implementation of its Code of Conduct as well, they are starting to hold fighters accountable for their out-of-Octagon activities. It seems to me that the UFC has gone from saying, “Shhh Rashad and Forrest! You can't say that s***!”, to “We absolutely do not condone the viewpoint stated by Mr. Mitrione." The UFC used to have - and in some cases still does have - many enemies, though they may have recently won over some of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual audience with Liz Carmouche. But does Dana White really not agree with Mitrione's transphobic remarks, or does he just know that it gives his enemies ammunition?
It seems to me that the recent fighter suspensions of Matt Mitrione and Nate Diaz were more a PR move, rather than what Dana and Co. really wanted. Fans and pundits alike have pointed at the UFC's decision to condemn and suspend Mitrione, only to book him for a fight weeks later, as proof that they don't believe what they preach. For instance, Nate Diaz recently used the word "faggot" in a tweet. While Diaz would argue he used "faggot" as a synonym for "bitch", the UFC quickly announced that he would be fined and suspended or cut altogether. And who better would understand profanity use than Mr. White?
The move of punishing a fighter based on their actions immediately differentiates Zuffa's position from the fighter in question. Hopefully, this will result in more fighters pushing for a decisive win and not more fighters trying to grind out a decision. As well, let's hope that this will cause the fighters to not spew hateful remarks but still maintain the unscripted personalities we have come to love. Legitimizing the sport may be a positive; however, I can't help but feel that the blood of the fighters is on the knife the UFC is using to carve its image.
[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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